Savannah let out laugh. “Flipping one burger,” she said dryly, and gave him a playful poke. “You’d have to learn how to control yourself and not eat everything in sight.”
“I guess you’ll just have to help me find something else to help sate my ‘appetite,’” he said in a low, seductive rumble.
She leered. “Oh, I’m sure I can conjure up something…”
Lady Dauphine’s light chuckle filled the air. “You two,” she said, shaking her head as she stood up. “You are truly meant for one another. Two sides of the same coin.” She raised one pale eyebrow. “I suppose this means you won’t be needing any spells to dissolve your Bond of Familiarity?”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Sliding his hand around Savannah’s waist, Justin pulled her down to sit on his lap. “I plan to get familiar with her every chance I can get.”
Both women groaned at the bad pun. “And on that note,” Lady Dauphine said, making her way to the door, “I will bid you both a good night.” She paused and gave the young couple a knowing look. “Oh, and I will be more than happy to officiate your handfasting in May.” With a cryptic smile, she waved her fingers and drifted out of the room.
“’Hand-fasting?’” Justin frowned. “What’s that – some kind of ritual where you starve yourself for a few days? Because you know there’s no way I can go more than a few hours without eating.”
“It has nothing to do with food,” Savannah laughed. “In most Pagan circles, ‘handfasting’ is another word for ‘wedding.’ During the ritual, the couple’s hands are bound with a cord during their vows – that’s also where the term ‘tying the knot’ originated.”
“Ah,” Justin said, nodding, only to stop abruptly a second later. “Wait. Did you say ‘wedding?’” He pointed after Lady Dauphine. “She thinks we’re going to get married?”
“In May, apparently,” Savannah said. She placed a hand on Justin’s shoulder. “But don’t go freaking out over it. Just because a powerful witch tells you something’s going to happen doesn’t mean it’s written in stone. She was probably just yanking your furry tail. Relax! No one’s putting a shotgun to your head and forcing you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Justin said with a grunt. He drummed his fingers against Savannah’s hip. “Although…maybe it could happen...”
She stared at him. “Come again?”
“Us. You and me. Handfasting.” Justin felt that warmth blooming in his chest, the heat of a gentle caress that first started when he found himself connected by a magical spell to this beautiful woman on his lap. He looked up into the green eyes that continued to captivate him. “It could happen – right?”
Savannah’s breath hitched, and he could see her struggle to find her voice. “You…you’re saying you want to get married?” she asked. “To me?”
Justin smirked. “No, to the fireplace,” he said, motioning to the hearth on the other side of the room. He grinned. “Yes, to you.”
“Need I remind you that we’ve only known each other a total of seven days,” she pointed out, deadpan serious.
He shrugged. “Yeah? So? According to some people, the universe was created in a week. Come on, Savannah: if werewolves and witches exist – and vampires and faeries, and probably even Big Foot, too – then what about ‘love at first sight?’”
“But we didn’t fall in love at first sight,” she said. “As I recall, you were on the run from guys who were trying to kill you, and I was pissed off because you disrupted my ritual. ‘Love’ was the furthest thing from both our minds, at that point.”
“Okay, fine,” Justin said, throwing up his hands in frustration. “I’m talking about since then.”
“Settle down, Wolf-Man.” Savannah giggled and ruffled his hair teasingly. “You are so easy to mess with; you know that?” She sighed and shook her head, regarding him with a look of endearment. “My god…what am I going to do with you?”
He gazed up at her with a hopeful grin. “You could always bake me one of your pies,” he suggested, and wrapped both arms around her again. “We can discuss marriage, later – right now, I’d like to put in an order for those candy-apple lips.”
“Coming right up.” Cupping his face in both hands, she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, long and slow and sweet. Then she hugged him around the neck and let out a deep sigh. “I’ve got to consult my Book of Shadows,” she said. “I need to see if there’s a rite to give thanks to the spirits for bringing you into my life.” She pulled back and looked at Justin, her eyes shining with affection and contentment. “My mother always told me, ‘When everything and everyone around you seems bad, if you just keep doing good, something great will come to you.’” Savannah stroked Justin’s cheek. “And she was right.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Justin murmured. “For years, I bounced around with no direction, full of anger and resentment at the world I was forced to live in. I felt alone on that fast track to an early grave, convinced no one could hear me screaming. Then, at the lowest point in my existence…I met you.” He reached up to take her hand from his cheek and pressed a kiss into her palm. “You believed in me when no one else would. You barely knew me and yet you were willing to risk your life to help me. But then, that’s just who you are. You treat the people who come to your restaurant like family – hell, you’re even nice to your actual family, those sisters of yours who treat you like shit.” He shook his head in wonder. “You really do live up to your name, Savannah Goode. I may have to join you during that ritual, because I’ve got some spirits to thank, too.”
“Oh, I already expect you to be there,” Savannah said. “After all, a witch’s Familiar is always at her side during ceremonies. That’s how it works.”
“Well, baby, that’s fine with me,” Justin said, drawing her back down for another kiss. “Because by your side is right where I want to be – for the rest of my days.”
*****
THE END
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Bonus Book 1: The Vampire´s Bride Awakening
Description
What begins as a frightening interrogation by the dangerous brood ends with fire and blood. And, if curvaceous Ember doesn’t stop it, she could lose everything she holds dear.
Curvy girl Ember Terzi spent her life doing what’s right. Building a business while keeping her younger sister safe from harm was no easy feat, but the life she created for them is suddenly thrown into turmoil when a violent group of strangers come barrelling in on the hunt for someone she’s never heard of and has no desire to meet.
Only one man can help her, but there’s a problem. The sizzling hot man with Adonis-like features is as distracting as he is dangerous. With tales of soulmates, immortality, and vampire legacies, Ember is hesitant to enlist his help until one simple touch ignites a fire in her body and soul. She’s left wondering how someone who can make her feel that way could be so bad.
Sexy alpha male Kai has spent his life waiting for his soulmate. When he meets Ember, he’s immediately intoxicated with her, but he has a secret – a secret so dangerous, it threatens all that he’s ever cared about.
A vengeful organization threatens to destroy everything, including his mate Ember. But he proves to be a formidable opponent. He’ll stop at nothing to protect what’s his, even if that means he’ll have to burn his enemies to the ground.
Who will win in this deadly tug of war between vampires, a sexy alpha male, a vengeful organization, and the power
of eternal soulmates?
Chapter One
The night had been bad long before the strangers had shown up.
Her ex-boyfriend Lane had decided that Ember's bar was the perfect place to bring his new girlfriend and test out the road-readiness of her tonsils. Lane had sauntered in with some skinny little bottle blonde draped under his arms and found a couple of bar stools annoying close to Ember. It was all for the show, of course. Lane was playing the part of the jilted ex-lover. Was blondie acting out her role of rebound hookup perfectly and as for Ember? Ember just rolled her eyes and tried her best to concentrate on the NASCAR race one of her regulars had put on the television above the pool tables.
Erebus, the name of the small watering hole her father had built with his own two hands in the quiet mountain town of Devil’s Folly, was particularly busy for a regular Wednesday night and Ember was glad for it. If Lane and his bimbo had been her only customers, she just might have had to swallow a fork to pass her time.
Ember pushed her way through the tables collecting empty bottles and glasses and taking a few orders along the way. When she returned to the counter with her arms full, she was surprised to see three large men sitting at the counter.
Where had they come from? She didn’t remember hearing anyone come in the front door. From the corner of her eye, she saw the regulars nervously eyeing the huge newcomers in dark suits. To say they stuck out in a place like Devil’s Folly would be a huge understatement—in a town that boasted the most Carhartt purchases per square mile, three men in what looked to be Italian tailored suits just didn’t quite jive.
Dropping the dirty dishes in a bus tub, Ember wiped her hands on the bar towel tucked into her back pocket and approached the group.
“Good evening,” she said with a smile that was just a bit too wide. She was suddenly nervous and all three of them had faces made of granite—no expressions or any hint that they were actually human. “Can I get you guys something to drink?”
The man in the center shook his head no. He had a short, military-style buzz cut and light blonde hair. At 32, Ember guessed this guy to be just a few years older than her.
“We’re looking for someone and we hear you might be able to help us out,” he said. Ember couldn’t help but notice Lane’s ears perk up and his miserable attempt at eavesdropping without being noticed.
Nosy bastard.
“Mind your business,” she said as she shot Lane and his date a withering look. She rolled her eyes and focused her attention back on the man who had spoken.
“I’m not sure what, or who, gave you that impression,” she said casually. “I don’t get out much.”
Nonplussed, the man continued.
“Malakai Arkos,” he said. “About six and a half feet tall, broad built, black hair, brown eyes. Extremely dangerous. He’s a wanted man, so if you’ve seen him or know where he is, you need to cooperate with us.”
“Are you guys law enforcement?” Ember asked, looking from face to face.
“That’s not important,” Buzz Cut said. “What’s important is that you tell us what you need to know.”
Oh, really? A small smile quirked on the side of Ember’s mouth.
“Can’t help you boys, sorry,” she said and turned to get back to the business or running a bar. She felt a meaty hand snatch her right wrist before she got half a step away and Ember froze.
“Can’t help us or won’t help us?” The man in the middle spoke low, his lips thinning across his teeth. Ember moved to pull her arm free, but he squeezed harder. She bit back a wince as he ground her wrist bones together painfully.
“Out. NOW,” she said as loud as she could manage and pointed to the door. “You’re not welcome here any longer.”
Silence floated across the barroom as folks began to notice Ember’s agitation and the man grasping her arm. Soon, the only noise to be heard was the whine of the car engines on screen as the race played on above them.
The men looked at one another, slow to respond. Buzz Cut looked downright livid that Ember would dare talk to him like that.
Well, Ember was never one to back down from a challenge and when the man didn’t remove his meaty paw from her left arm, she used her right arm and pulled the shotgun from its rack just beneath the bar deftly with one hand.
As she raised it up and toward her shoulder, the crowd let out a gasp and Buzz Cut dropped her arm immediately. The three of them were off their stools in an instant and backing up.
Ember let out a dramatic sigh.
“I tried to be reasonable, gentlemen,” she said with a fake, sugary sweet smile. “Now, out that front door without another word from you. Please.”
Two of the men complied, but Buzz Cut stood his ground a little longer.
“You better pray we never have a reason to come in here again,” he said, the malice dripping heavily off his words. “Next time, I won’t be so patient.”
Ember winked at him.
“I get to ‘three’ and you’re all gonna have buckshot in your ass,” she said, raising the shotgun up a few inches. “Wanna try me?”
Thankfully, the men left without another word and only two or three dirty looks cast over their shoulders as they left. Devil’s Folly was a bit of a rough town, so most of the regulars shrugged the incident off and went back to their car race. Most of them.
“Couple old boyfriends of yours, Ember?” Lane snickered from a few feet away. He’d come up for air after jamming his tongue down his date’s throat once Ember had put the shotgun away.
She rolled her eyes.
“The only old news around here is you, Lane.”
She didn't hear his response and concentrated really hard on not looking down at that end of the bar for the rest of the night. At this rate, he'd have the girl's clothes off and be mounted on her before the last call in a last-ditch effort to make Ember jealous.
Wasn’t happening.
They’d dated for almost a year before Ember happened to look at his phone one afternoon when he was sleeping off a hangover. Not one to really snoop, Ember had been unable to resist the text notification that began with “Baby. I need you inside me now. When are you coming back?”
That had definitely caught her attention and Lane was stupid enough to use is birth month and day as his lock screen password. In seconds, she’d uncovered that every time Lane took a roughneck job in a different city, he was setting himself up with a new girl and a new cover story.
After Ember smashed his phone into about a million pieces, she picked up every single trace that she'd ever been in his life or his apartment, and walked out his front door. That night when he'd sobered up and shown up at the bar, she'd bloodied his nose and thrown him out the front door on his ass.
That'd been four months ago and recently, Lane'd been showing up with random women doing his damnedest to get Ember to notice.
Whatever. It wasn’t exactly fun to see your ex-boyfriend cavorting with other women in an effort to hurt your feelings, but Ember wasn’t exactly torn up about Lane. He hadn’t even been that great in the sack.
“Average on a good day,” Ember mused to herself as she ran the last of the glasses through the dishwasher. She’d shouted out “last call” thirty minutes ago, and if she was lucky, she just might make it home before 3 a.m. this morning. More often than not, though, she had to play marriage counselor or relationship therapist to a feuding couple in the parking lot before she was free to leave.
Just after 2 a.m., the last customer closed the door behind themselves and Ember walked through the place turning off pool table lights, neon beer signs, and bathroom lights. By 2:15, she was locking the front door and silently celebrating her soon-to-be victory.
And when she reached her Tacoma truck by 2:18 in the morning, she was grinning. She was going home relatively early for the first time in a long, long time. Cranking the engine over, Ember let out a long sigh. To say it had been a long night would have been a major understatement.
Three alarm bells di
nged a warning on her dashboard and Ember let out a salty curse.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she swore. Her gas was dangerously low and now her victory had been tainted. She’d have to drive almost ten miles in the other direction to get to the only gas station in the county open at this hour.
“Maybe next time, old girl,” Ember whispered miserably to herself as she pulled onto the dark roadway.
Chapter Two
Coming to Devil’s Folly had been a mistake.
Malakai Arkos knew better than to let his curiosity get the better of him and now he’d likely put Ember and her sister in danger just by coming to town—all because he’d just wanted to see Ember Terzi in person, even just once.
He'd known the beautiful brunette, with her lush curves and full, pouty mouth was his fated mate. He'd known long before he had ever laid eyes on her, too. Ember's father, Phaedro Terzi, was a minor noble in the Arkos clan and had left Greece when civil war among the families had threatened their downfall. He'd taken his pregnant wife, Emelia, to America to hide among the mountains in hopes that the supernatural world would never find his wife or daughters. It had almost worked, too.
But Arkos vampires were imprinted with the souls of their mates long before their birth and something inside Malakai’s very being had stirred when Ember was born, far away from him—across oceans and continents and concrete city blocks full of millions of people—he’d felt her very first breath deep within his soul.
Kai had tried to honor Phaedro's wish to raise his family away from the danger and intrigue of Arko's court politics. He was a patient man and had planned to let Ember come to him if she ever chose—and she would, eventually. The pull in her was just as strong as the one he felt and the pressure to find each other would only get more persistent until they were finally united by blood.
When Kai’s cousin Aksel found a decade-old obituary from a random mountain town in Wyoming, everything had changed. Phaedro and Emelia had been killed by a drunk driver coming home from a weekend away, leaving their daughters alone in the world with no knowledge of the supernatural and certainly no protection. Malakai had sprung into action then, not really stopping to form a plan before boarding his plane from the Arkos' private island near Cyprus and flying straight into Devil's Folly.
Bonded to the Alpha Wolf: Paranormal Bad Boy Werewolf Interracial BBW BWWM Witch Romance Page 12
