Luísa rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, I’m a little suspect of her tea.”
Daltry rubbed the back of his neck. “Hmm…I thought she slipped me something extra. But not to worry, the sleeping powder is something she adds to the water.”
Luísa picked up the clay jar and unwrapped the cloth covering. The crumbled remains of chamomile lined the bottom of the bowl. If they were lucky, she might get two cups out of it. She brought it over for him to sniff. “Are you sure this tea is safe?”
He took a shallow whiff and then a deeper one. “It’s safe.” He looked up at her. “Did she drug you too?”
“Yes. She wanted to make sure I stayed put.”
“My sister is nothing if not resourceful. The tea leaves are harmless though. She’d not keep the two ingredients together.” He readjusted the coverlet to better hide the growing appreciation of his houseguest.
He had to stop staring at her. But he couldn’t help it. Soft blush cheeks and the warm embrace of her smoldering gaze kept him prisoner. Even the scent of her inspired him with carnal thoughts.
The need for a mate gnawed at him. He’d not mated when he should have, and Luísa’s proximity reignited the primal urge.
A woman had been selected for him, a werewolf like himself, but he had no conscious desire for her, except for the savage ache that drove all of them. Luísa was different. He wanted her, needed her—not as a wolf, but as a man.
His common sense told him not to threaten the only chance he had to save his sister’s soul, but the animal side of him, the part that knew only passion, wanted this woman beneath him. The hairs on his hands grew incrementally.
Luísa came toward him with a fine china cup and weak tea. Her eyes seemed to see through him, perhaps preferring that to acknowledging his nakedness.
“What’s it like,” she said. “Being a wolf?” She sat at his side, student to his every word. There was an eagerness in her voice and the need to know. She picked up a soiled rag and scraped at the crusted blood on his arm. “Does it hurt to change?”
“A little. You get used to it.” The rag skimmed across the hair on his arms, teasing it with a delicious itch. Harder, Luísa. Harder.
“It must be lonely—living like that.” She paused her ministrations, and her breaths grew shallow, suddenly aware of her proximity to him.
“There are more of us than you know. We live among the common folk every day, though I dare say, we keep our distance. We’re in no hurry to meet the hangman’s noose.”
Daltry put down his tea then took her hand, pressing it gently against his chest. Her touch—even through the cloth—seared him, and yet he couldn’t bear to let her go. “Do I still frighten you?”
Her gaze flitted to the floor and then the hearth, everywhere but to him. “That depends. You don’t plan on changing into a beast right now, do you?” She tried being flippant, but it only served to make her look more self-conscious.
Daltry rubbed a callused finger along her chin. “There are many different types of beasts, kitten. Not all of them dangerous.”
She lifted her eyes hesitantly. Instead of censure, she wore a look of puzzlement. Her lips parted, anticipation and fear lacing her expression.
She saw through him, he was sure of it, but she didn’t understand the wildness inside. A virgin. This girl, a child who had seen the world in all its rawness, was as lost as a lamb. And now this lamb lay within reach of a wolf.
He leaned toward her and inhaled her fragrance, lifting her face until their lips were a breath away from each other. He nuzzled her and felt her stiffen when he pulled her into his arms.
For a moment, she refused to speak, even to breathe, hanging on to one heartbeat.
“Xander,” she whispered.
“Don’t be afraid, Luísa. This wolf won’t hurt you.”
Fire in the Smokies
Becca Jameson
His commands ignite flames in her that rival any forest fire…
Durham Wolves, Book 2
When Jaxon Durham isn’t raising thoroughbreds with his brothers, he’s using his heightened senses to search for missing hikers in the Smokies. This time the call is for a firefighter gone missing on the front lines.
In his wolf form, he’s the first to track the firefighter to a cave, but he’s stopped cold by a stunning realization—it’s his mate. To his relief, the body covered in fireproof gear is female.
Brianna White can’t decide if she’s died and gone to heaven, or unconscious and having a delicious dream, when the wolf standing before her shifts into a naked man. Either way, she can’t resist the urge to go along for the ride. She never expected to fall so instantly, and so hard, for the sexy hunk.
But an old enemy is lurking beyond the walls of their refuge. The clock is ticking while Jaxon races to evade the deadly threat, even deadlier flames, and overcome the stubborn will of a woman who’s not sure she’s ready to give up life as she knew it.
Warning: Dark, sexy wolves in the Appalachians evoke steaming sex in a cave, light bondage and dominance, various plugs and vibrators, and an interesting masturbation chamber…
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
Fire in the Smokies
Copyright © 2013 by Becca Jameson
ISBN: 978-1-61921-732-4
Edited by Christa Soule
Cover by Lou Harper
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 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
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
Epilogue
About the Author
Look for these titles by Becca Jameson
Also Available from Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Copyright Page
Fire in the Smokies (Durham Wolves) Page 17
