Impulse: Southern Arcana, Book 5

by Moira Rogers

  “Carly mentioned something like that last night.”

  “Or…” he went on, “…you could choose to fully embrace the small part of you that has always been different. Like your friends, you could become part of the bigger world—the world where shifters and bloodletters and even magic users share the Earth with regular folk. The world where we live in secret among them. You could join my world, Sally. You could join with your wolf.”

  His words were so stirring, she felt in that moment, almost anything was possible. For a split second, she was ready to throw caution to the wind. She wanted to be with him, to embrace all that he was, and all that she could be. Then sanity interrupted.

  “I’m not sure.”

  Sally thought about her life to this point. Her hard-won career was waiting for her back home, along with a beautiful apartment she had spent the last three years decorating until she got it just so. Her life was somewhat empty, now that all her friends were married and they saw each other less frequently, but it was still her life. The one she had created for herself.

  “It’s okay.” Jason dropped her hand and tucked both of his into his jeans pockets. His shoulders hunched a bit as he began walking toward the woods. She followed. “You don’t have to make any decisions today. You’re on vacation, right? We’ll just see where things lead. But I figured I should draw your attention to the facts at least once before we do some serious sightseeing.”

  His smile was easy, but she could feel the undercurrent of tension in his voice. Her response mattered to him more than he was letting on, for some reason. She liked that he wasn’t pushing her too hard. She had things to think over and she needed to learn more about Carly’s new existence. She needed to learn a lot more about shapeshifters too, for that matter. This world was completely new to her, though not as unsettling as she would’ve expected. Somehow, she had always suspected there was something more to the odd things that happened to her as a cop.

  She’d felt the pull of the full moon and chalked it up to coincidence, or perhaps superstition. She’d always been able to hear things others couldn’t and see things in greater detail than her colleagues. She had gained a reputation as a sort of super cop among her peers and enjoyed the way they treated her with increasing respect as she rose through the ranks.

  Hers was a sometimes violent job. It could be rewarding as well. Catching bad guys before they could harm anyone else had been her passion for a long time, though lately she had found herself more than once simply going through the motions. She hadn’t felt the same elation that she had when she was younger. Justice had become her goal in both work and life, and sometimes, it was hard to achieve. She’d become disillusioned with the system over the years and now that she was away from home for the first time in a long time, she realized she was at a crossroads. She could either continue the way she was going, or choose a new path.

  Jason had just laid a tantalizing new possibility before her. The question was, did she dare pursue it?

  “Jason…” She trailed off, uncertain how to ask all the questions in her mind.

  He turned toward her. They stood facing each other in the whispering woods. Suddenly the tension was back. The yearning. The need.

  “I had such good intentions.” His hand rose to touch her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. His eyes honed in on her lips, parted…ready…willing. “I think I know how Adam must’ve felt in the Garden of Eden. You are temptation itself, my Eve.”

  “Sally,” she reminded him playfully, though she was touched by his words beyond bearing. No man had ever given her such verbal tribute. And no man had ever looked at her like Jason did. As if she were special, though that was too mild a word. As if she held his world in the palm of her hands.

  Into the best-laid plans a little chaos must fall…

  Wolf Line

  © 2012 Vivian Arend

  Granite Lake Wolves, Book 5

  Jared’s not sure how his quiet morning coffee near the harbour ended with him on a cruise ship impersonating one of his pack mates. Well, it might have something to do with a woman, but who can blame him? The female of the species was made to love, and he’s more than willing to share his considerable skills in that area. Especially since he figures the chances of meeting his own one-and-only are slim.

  Keri Smith is positive the last-minute recruit sneaking aboard the Arctic Wolf Cruise Lines tour is her mate. Ix-nay on confirming that, though, at least for the next ten days. She’s promised her best friend to be overall troubleshooter for the shifter-only cruise. Getting tangled up in mating lust would reduce her skills to nil. Avoidance of the sexy wolf for the duration of the cruise, followed by jumping his bones, seems the logical solution.

  But when libidos are on the line, “logic” and “wolves” don’t go together. Throw in suspicions of wrongdoing, and these two virtual strangers will need a lot more than luck to find their way through to forever.

  Warning: Really? You need to be warned about the hot nookie and sarcasm? Yeah, it’s in here. Also colourful cat shifters, lupine royalty, and wild adventures in cabins like you’ve never seen before.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Wolf Line:

  This was the third time they’d met. Surely if they were mates, he’d say something. Do something. Maybe she was wrong? Perhaps she’d hit the wolf equivalent of a hormonal overload and it was all in her head.

  All she knew for sure was the ball was in his court. No way would she make the first move, just in case. Because how awkward would that be, to assume someone was your mate and be wrong?

  As their eyes met, a nice little daydream flashed through her brain. It started with her punching the emergency stop button, skipped past exactly how they got naked, hesitated and moved in slow motion long enough for her to stab herself on his cock and finished with them both screaming out in orgasm loud enough to scare the dolphins leaping in the waves off the ship’s prow.

  “Hey.” His smile—lethal.

  She nodded rapidly, her jaw clenched tight to stop herself from begging for…something. Of course, that meant she didn’t actually say anything. Seemed safer. Really. Or she might shout something crude and risqué.

  She turned to face the elevator doors, locking her gaze on the thin vertical line between them as if it was the only safe point in the world.

  Taking tiny breaths of air through her mouth didn’t help—it meant instead of his scent rolling through her brain, his taste mixed with the lingering chocolate on her tongue.

  In her peripheral vision his beautiful biceps flexed and her libido fluttered, landing somewhere in her belly and continuing to flap incessantly.

  Mark coughed. “I hope you don’t think I’m being forward, but there’s something we have to do.”

  He leaned closer and she held her breath.

  Ohmygodohmygod.

  His body brushed hers briefly as he jabbed one of the elevator buttons. He stepped back and smiled easily. “Works better if you tell it where to go.”

  The mechanical cage rose slowly. Keri’s mouth was full of moisture. She wanted to talk, but was afraid anything she said would be accompanied by a spray of spit. Which would be an oh-so-attractive way to begin, right?

  His smile faded slowly as his chin tipped downward. A gentle concern crossed his face with the tiniest bit of a crease between his eyes. It was so adorable she wanted to rub it and make everything better. She swallowed hard, regretting the action immediately as his flavour rushed through her again. Keri closed her eyes and leaned back on the wall. Don’t touch. Don’t touch.

  A whisper-soft brush against her cheek made her eyes fly open. His knuckles finished a slow drag over her skin before he pulled back and showed her dark chocolate on his fingertips.

  “You were in a hurry, were you?”

  Oh boy. She sucked in her courage and slapped down her wolf. She rammed her hand forward. “Keri Smith.”

  He hesitated. Was he as reluctant as she was to make personal contact? Yet, why would he be, other
than if he was trying to protect her?

  Then he lifted his hand and licked the chocolate from his fingers. The warm buzz in her belly slipped a foot lower and attached itself to her clit. She could be wearing a strap-on rabbit-assisted vibrator right now, turned on high, and it wouldn’t have as much effect as watching him.

  He wiped his hand dry on his shirt and finally wrapped his fingers around hers. “Jar—Mark Weaver. We met in the crew staff room, right?”

  “Right.”

  She stared, mesmerized. With his hair pulled back into a ponytail, his dark, beautiful eyes were center stage. The light creamy brown of his skin turned her thoughts back to chocolate. Bad, evil thoughts she didn’t want to have to deal with right now.

  But when she retreated from dangerous territory, the only thing that remained was the haunting question of why in the world he hadn’t reacted to her? She was one second away from yanking him over and shoving her tongue down his throat.

  He was trapped. She wasn’t letting go. His wolf rubbed beneath his skin so hard Jared thought he might spontaneously shift, and still his intriguing stranger wouldn’t release his fingers.

  He tugged a little harder. She gasped then jerked herself upright and whipped her amazing green eyes off him. Her hands disappeared behind her like a naughty child caught with her fingers in the cookie jar.

  Damn, why’d she have to have a boyfriend? She was adorable, and sexy, and his wolf thought she was fascinating. So much to offer, yet so many barriers between them.

  The elevator doors slid open and he gestured her out. She fled—the only word for it. He didn’t mind. That meant he got to stare at her ass as she sped down the lush red carpet. Fine. Maybe he couldn’t have her, but he could still be nice. Even women with bedmates liked being treated nice, and being a gentleman could be as much fun as having funky monkey sex.

  Almost.

  Kinda.

  Not really, but oh well.

  She stopped before oversized double doors, and he decided it was time to turn on the charm. The “just friends even though you deserve more” charm that left women feeling like a million bucks.

  “So, one of the fancy suites. Nice. Bet it’s got more room than my two-by-four space.”

  Keri knocked before answering. “Probably more room than yours, mine and twenty staff quarters shoved together.”

  She talked to the floor. He examined the area by her feet. Nothing there.

  Okay…

  There was no response to her second knock either, so she pulled a pass card from her pocket and let them in. Jared glanced around in appreciation. Not only luxurious, the place was bright with sunlight. “Sweet. I love the windows. Hate the tiny things downstairs. I’d rather rig a hammock on the deck and sleep under the stairs than stay trapped in that lower berth.”

  Keri nodded. “I hear you. My room is better than yours, but nothing like this.”

  He waited. When he’d checked in as required at eleven, Chad had informed him he was on the maintenance crew, then grudgingly found a work belt for him when he admitted to having “forgotten” his at home. Putting Chad’s sigh of disgust aside, since it had been deserved this time, the job placement came as a huge relief. He had to continue with the charade until he found a way off the ship, but if it had turned out his pack mate had been hired to cook, or worse, entertain? Jared would have been shit-outta-luck.

  Fixing squeaky doors he could do.

  But Keri wasn’t telling him what specifically needed to be done. She was alternating between staring at the floor and sneaking glances at him.

  His wolf rumbled again as he caught a peek into her big wide eyes. Yes, damn beast, I get the message. You like her. Down, boy. He and his wolf struggled for dominance in a way he’d never experienced before. Then the wild part inside him retreated—almost pouting—into the corner.

  Being a wolf had never been so weird.

  Impulse

  Moira Rogers

  Her submission can heal him. His dominance can free her.

  Southern Arcana, Book 5

  Sera Sinclaire is a New Orleans rarity: a submissive coyote trapped in a town overrun by dominant shapeshifters. Worse, she lacks the willpower to deny the alphas-in-shining-armor who need her soothing presence, even when their protectiveness threatens to crush her hard-won self-reliance.

  The only shifter she doesn’t want to push away is Julio Mendoza, a wolf so dominant he’s earned a place on the Southeast council.

  Julio doesn’t have the luxury of indulging in the vacation his psychic shrink insists he needs. He can't turn his back on responsibilities he’s beginning to wish he’d never shouldered. When an obsessive ex endangers Sera, though, instinct drives him to get her out of town. Watching her come to life outside the city makes him feel like he's finally done something right, and her touch ignites desire he doesn’t want to ignore.

  But soon, lighthearted flirting becomes a dangerous game of seduction, where every day spent falling into each other is another day avoiding the truth. Sera's ex isn't the only one who’d disapprove of their relationship. There are wolves who would kill to get Sera out of Julio's life—starting with his own blood kin.

  Warning: Contains endless summer road trips, family drama, redneck werewolves, sexual power games and a taboo love affair between a submissive coyote who’s among the last of her kind and a dominant wolf who loves his heroine’s ass. Literally.

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Impulse

  Copyright © 2012 by Moira Rogers

  ISBN: 978-1-60928-767-2

  Edited by Anne Scott

  Cover by Angela Waters

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: September 2012

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Author

  Look for these titles by Moira Rogers

  Also Available from Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  Copyright Page