Erin eased back from Jared’s consuming kiss as the world intruded. They were still within the circle of the Scared Stones. She wished they were somewhere else, somewhere where she could share the love bursting within her heart, and share the joy of holding him in her arms and loving him completely. But the world would not go away.
“Calm down, Em. It’s not the end of the world,” came the sheriff’s surprisingly amused voice from the direction of the path to the clearing. Though she couldn’t see her friends yet, Erin knew they were almost upon them.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Samuel T. Sheridan. You gave me a bloody speeding ticket!”
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,” the sheriff said.
“Why don’t both of you can it until we see Erin and Jared. How can you be so sure they’re fine, Em? Finding his amulet on the path is a bad sign to me. The metal is still warm from his skin. People disappear from here. You know that.”
“She must have seen it in her crystal again. You knew that he was going to be fine all along. So what was that argument this morning all about? I am not anything close to a blathering gack,” the sheriff said, grieved.
“I didn’t see it in my crystal. It’s just a logical deduction,” Emerald replied. “They’re too bloody quiet for anything to be bad. Besides, the wind has calmed.”
Erin knew the moment her new friends reached the end of the path. There were two shocked gasps and an amused male chuckle at the sight of Jared’s naked body.
“Hold on, luv. I’ve got a towel in the Mini. It’s not much, but it’ll do.”
Erin laughed. “It’ll do just fine.” She’d developed quite a fondness for Jared clad in that killer kilt.
Upon leaving the Sacred Stones, Jared walked as a mortal, with no regrets for anything he’d left behind in the spirit realm. His willing sacrifice and the cleansing power of the ancients had freed him from the Tsara’s poison. He could feel the change within him, and in the absence of pain. The fire that had been consuming him since he’d awakened on mortal ground was gone. He knew in his heart he was no longer a Shadowman, but he was still a warrior, a protector who would go on to fight for that which was pure, and right, and good within the mortal world. His body felt as strong as ever, but different, cleansed.
Just before they reached the path leading to the road, he turned to scan the line of trees encircling the glittering stone pillars. For a moment, he thought he caught sight of a black wolf in the deep shadows, but before he could even say Aragon’s name, the vision was gone.
He wondered if this was because of his new life, but feared that it was something more than that. Aragon had lost his amulet, the very symbol that proclaimed him a warrior. Why? Dr. Batista carried the amulet clutched so tightly in her hand that Jared wondered if Logos’s emblem wasn’t permanently etched upon her palm.
Reaching the road that led from Spirit Wind Mountain, Jared made himself a promise to return to the Sacred Stones soon to look for the black wolf, to use the power of the ancients to help him speak to Aragon. But today his heart was with Erin, as it would be the rest of his mortal days. This woman had gentled his warrior’s spirit with the beauty of her own. She’d reached into his darkest despair and grasped his soul. Without hesitation, she had touched the wolf within him and claimed him as hers.
Seeing the red Mini and the sheriff’s flashing squad car—bigger, but not big enough—Jared swung Erin up into his arms. He glanced at the sheriff, Emerald, and Dr. Batista. “We’ll meet you back at the cabin. Take your time,” he said, then took off running.
“Jared!” Erin squealed as he ducked into the concealing foliage of the trees, drinking in the clean fresh scent of the morning air. He sent the mountain mists fleeing from the power of his stride and the passion of his need to be free.
“Jared! Put me down,” Erin demanded.
“No,” he said. He was anxious to get Erin alone and naked.
“Please,” she cried.
“Why?” he demanded, coming to an exasperated stop near a large boulder that sheltered them from the world.
“Because I want to kiss you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing her lips to his.
“And I want you,” he said. He met her passion head-on, claiming her kiss and demanding more.
Leaning forward to kiss him harder, Erin wondered if Adam and Eve had it so good.
“Hello,” she said as she pressed the receiver to her ear. The caller ID flashed “unknown,” making her frown. No answer met her greeting, though she could hear the rasp of breathing. "Hello? Who is it?"
"Don't hang up, not if you want to know where your sister is." The muffled whisper was nearly indistinguishable.
The blood drained from Annette's head and she gasped. Her back hit the hallway wall as she sought support to remain upright despite the swirling dizziness. "What did you say? Who is this?"
"Meet me in the Infectious Disease Department of the Sno-Med Center at midnight. She's in the computer there under 'X-files.' " He chuckled as if he'd heard a great joke. "Tell no one and come alone, or I won't show."
"Wait!" she cried. "Where is she? Is she aliv—" The blaring dial tone cut off her question. Was Stef alive? Where? Midnight was hours away yet! She cried out in frustration.
Suddenly the receiver was snatched from her hand, and Annette screamed before she realized that it was Aragon. She'd momentarily forgotten him. He'd followed her to the hall, naked and holding his sword at his side.
"Does this harm you?" He shook the receiver, glaring at it, looking very much as if he'd gladly subject it to the blade of his sword.
She pressed her hand to her chest, forcing herself to a calmness she did not feel. Her distress had disturbed him. "No. The phone did not harm me. The message I received upset me."
"Why?" he demanded.
She made the split-second decision to keep the call a secret. She wanted answers, and to get them, she might have to take a few risks, but she didn't have to be stupid about it either. She'd get there well before midnight and find what she could before Mr. X made an appearance, maybe even get the data from the computer herself. Until then she wouldn't even let herself consider what this meant about Stefanie. Infectious diseases ran the gamut from a cold to the plague and worse.
"It's nothing," she said, taking the receiver back from him and hanging up the phone. She was probably the first woman ever to look at a naked hunk like Aragon and wonder how fast she could get him out the door. Well, maybe not, considering he was an armed naked hunk . . . and not exactly human either. She had to remember that.
He lifted a brow and slid his thumb beneath her jaw to shift her gaze to his. "Why the need for untruths?"
She winced at the pure honesty in his voice even as the gentle warmth of his warrior's touch did something inside her that outrocked everything that had already happened between them. She wrapped her hand about his wrist, not even covering half its circumference, but enough to feel the throb of his pulse and the penetrating heat of his skin. If there was something inhuman about him, she sure as hell couldn't feel it.
"Sorry. You've a quest to take care of, and so do I. I don't know how to send you back or even exactly how you came to be here." Which was essentially the truth. She had an educated guess that the amulet was key, but she didn't know for sure. "What forest were you in? Can you tell me anything about the area? Anything different or unusual about it?" Her touch seemed to do something to him, because his gaze was riveted to her hand clutching his wrist. Then he slowly moved his gaze to her face.
"Different? Unusual?" he asked softly, staring at her intently, as if seeing her for the first time. The harshness of his features eased within moments as a sensual light warmed his gaze.
"You are so soft," he said. "Your touch and your skin." He slid his thumb down her throat to her collar bone and traced its ridge, making her heart pound and her body heat. She released his wrist and let her hand fall to her side, pressing her palm to the cool wall.
&nb
sp; "I've never known things such as this fiery interest you ignite inside me," he said, brows drawing together. He didn't look exactly pleased with his attraction.
She could have stopped his exploration, but her senses screamed too loudly for her to do anything but feel. How long had it been since she'd let herself feel anything but determination and guilt?
He leaned in closer and breathed deeply, making her impossibly more aware of him. "What scent do you cover yourself in?"
"Gardenia," she whispered, catching her breath as his fingertips splayed across the rise of her breasts, just above the edge of her towel. She arched to his touch before she could think, causing the tucked end of her towel to loosen and dip lower across her breasts, barely covering her nipples. Seemingly awed by the feel, he followed the towel's edge down, caressing the cresting curve of her breasts as his fingers pressed gently into her skin.
The erotically slow exploration had her trapped in a wave of edgy expectation. Her heart hammered with desire and fear, of him, of who and what he was, and of herself. She fisted the bottom hem of the towel in her hand, trying to keep from running her fingers through the silk of his hair or along the hard contours of his chest... and below. The six-pack tapering down to his impressive sex and thighs needed to come with a warning label.
She'd always lived her life under rigid control; yet here she was, a breath away from exploding. Whether it was the unexpectedness of the situation or the man himself, she didn't know. She only knew she'd never been this sexually excited in her life.
Trevelyan Series
The Mistress of Trevelyan
His Dark Desires
Killdaren Series
Midnight Secrets
Darkest Dreams
Silken Shadows
Shadowmen Series
Touch A Dark Wolf
The Lure of the Wolf
Kiss of Darkness
Bride of the Wolf
Silent Warrior Series
Writing as J.L. Saint
Collateral Damage
Tactical Deception
Weldon Series
Writing as Jennifer Saints
Wild Irish Ride
Smooth Irish Seduction
Hard Irish Luck
A Weldon Family Christmas
Frankly, My Dear Series
Writing as Jennifer Saints
Cocktail Cove
Upcoming Releases
A Rose From the Grave (A Nick Justus Time Travel Adventure – Book 1)
Hot Irish Lass (Weldon Brothers - Book 4)
Down Easy Street (Frankly, My Dear - Book 2)
Bewitching the Wolf (The Shadowmen - Book 5)
Find Jenni online on her website www.jennifersaints.com, Twitter @jennifersaints, Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest!
USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles/ J.L. Saint/ Jennifer Saints might have a split personality. Or as a nurse and mother of three, she knows how to multi-task. She writes in a number of genres from gothic historicals, paranormal thrillers, romantic suspense, and sexy contemporary romance. She has won a number of awards for writing excellence including, two National Reader’s Choice Awards, two-time Maggie Award Winner, Daphne du Maurier Award winner, Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award, along with RT Book Club’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Gothic/Mystery. She loves hearing from her readers via her website jenniferstgiles.com or you can find her on Facebook, Tumblr , Pinterest and Twitter @jenniferstgiles.
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From the Author’s Mouth
What can I tell you about me?
I don’t play video games or watch horror because I can’t take the heat, but give me a kickass thriller every minute of every day and I am there. Be prepared for a Hoover Dam meltdown if you’re with me and the movie is sad. So, to avoid disaster, I love romantic comedies.
Never coffee. Always tea. Never beer. Always champagne. There’s more, but hey, gotta save some secrets until after the first date, right?
I grew up in Miami. Went to nursing school in Georgia, where I now reside. I raised and home schooled three great kids. I wrote for nine years before I sold a book, which made me a firm believer that a person should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP ON THEIR DREAMS.
I remember my father’s remark after a particularly scandalous story about one of my ancestors, a story that involves a conspiracy, treason, betrayal, murder, and execution, a story that after a drink or two in the bar, I might be enticed to share. Anyway, what my father said was, “You can’t keep a good man down.” And I kind of see that in myself. Not that I am necessarily good, because the definitions of moral words are often relative, but I do persevere, and I am resilient. Nothing in life has ever worked out the way I planned for it too. In many areas of my life, I have yet to reach the level I thought I would, of where I envisioned I would be, but I haven’t given up. I won’t give up. I continue to work hard and do everything I can to help who I can and to make my dreams come true.
Besides great kids, family, and friends, that perseverance has so far garnered me a USA Today Bestselling tag and twelve plus books on the shelf in a number of genres (contemporary romantic suspense, historical suspense, paranormal suspense, and contemporary romance). I’ve won a number of writing awards, two National Choice Awards, three Maggie Awards, a RT Book Club Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the Marlene Award, and the Golden Heart Award to name most of them. I work with several amazing women in a charity to raise money for a shelter that helps abused and homeless women and children. I’ve revived my nursing career after a long hiatus, have renewed my license, and have found the right job for now.
I know there are many more great things ahead.
I write romance because I believe that when you boil all of life down to its essence, if you take a human being to the very core of his existence, then you will find that what matters more than anything else is to be loved and to give love.
Life is all about choices and to pull from one of Erich Fromm’s quote, I choose to create and to love rather than destroy and to hate.
I hope you enjoy my stories.
Go forth, dream, believe, create, inspire, and love,
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2006, 2014 by Jenni Leigh Grizzle
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cover design and formatting by Dayna Linton at Novels Alive TV.
Center emblem design by Dawbun at dawbun.deviantart.com
eISBN: 978-1500857486
TOUCH A DARK WOLF
Author's Note
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
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Excerpt from THE LURE OF THE WOLF
Other Books by Jennifer St. Giles
About Jenni
Copyright Information
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