Bad Boys of the Night: Eight Sizzling Paranormal Romances: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set

by Jennifer Ashley

  Aiden’s men.

  She waited until they passed. It would be almost impossible for her aunt and beta to search for Pandora’s Chest tonight, with Mitchell’s wolves on patrol.

  She started for the walkway leading to the basement under her cabin. No one ever ventured here from fear of offending the alpha. This was her private quarters. A truck door slammed nearby. Nia stopped, her heart pounding.

  Darius came toward her with his mate, carrying a box.

  “Hi!” Samantha shifted the plastic bags in her hand and waved. “We were told to bring these to your cabin.”

  Nia’s mouth went dry. “Sure, come inside.”

  She walked up the back steps, opened the door and stepped aside as Darius carried the big cardboard box. Samantha followed.

  “Where’s your kitchen?” he asked.

  She led the way and the couple set the items down on her dining table. Darius opened the refrigerator and freezer and began stowing the items.

  Groceries.

  Nia set down the tray of leftovers, wishing the food wouldn’t go cold. But Niki had cold food before. It was when her twin didn’t have any food that she worried.

  Samantha glanced at her and her smile was kind. “Aiden wanted to make sure your cabin was stocked. He’s a big eater.”

  How kind. She knew Samantha was trying to ease her humiliation, for certainly the woman had seen how bare the cupboards were. Then Darius removed a big box of cereal. Pride forgotten, she took it from him.

  “Chocolate puffs!”

  He gave a crooked grin and she saw why Samantha was smitten. “Aiden’s special request for you.”

  Mouth watering, she looked at the bags. Dare she hope…

  Samantha withdrew a gallon of milk. “Of course we got milk. What good is cereal without the milk?”

  “It tastes great without it,” she admitted.

  Samantha winked at her. “I know. Sometimes I love eating cereal straight out of the box, too.”

  When they finished unpacking, she shyly thanked them, wishing she could make friends. It was far too dangerous, no matter how nice the couple was. The last thing she wished for Samantha was for Darius to fall ill and die. Best they head back to their own home, where Darius would be safe.

  Nia waited until their truck pulled away. Then she took the tray, added the box of cereal and the milk, and raced down the hill to the basement door.

  Using the key beneath the cracked flower pot in the dead garden, she unlocked the front door and went inside.

  The basement had been fashioned into an apartment, complete with a kitchenette, full bath, living quarters, and a bedroom. There was even a lab where Niki worked, experimenting to try to find a cure for the disease. No windows, though. Nia shuddered. Her twin was strong to tolerate the lack of sunshine. All Lupines craved the outdoors.

  What little fresh meat Nia had managed to scrounge up, she gave to her twin. Niki needed her strength. And she needed to run as wolf at night, the only freedom she truly could enjoy.

  Nikita sat at the living room desk, absorbed in reading the ancient texts. She bent over a thick book, the green banker’s lamp casting a glow upon the ancient parchment. Her twin glanced up from the desk as Nia set the table. “You eat. I’m not hungry.”

  “Liar. I already ate. Mitchell’s men brought enough food to feed all of Montana. Want me to warm it up?”

  Niki shook her head, her nostrils flaring. Nia watched her twin sit at the kitchen table and devour the cold steak. Her stomach tightened at her sister’s obvious hunger.

  Nia went to the refrigerator and fished out a can of iced tea, popped the lid and set it on the table. Niki loved iced tea, one thing she did not share in common with her twin.

  Worry filled her as she sat at the table, chin on her arms, watching her twin eat. She was too damn thin. Nia had sold everything to pay for food, but it wasn’t enough to provide for the pack.

  When Niki finally finished, Nia dug out two bowls, filled them with chocolate cereal and milk. The twins sat on the living room carpet with happy sighs.

  “Remember when Dad used to buy this for us? And we’d eat out of the same bowl in bed while watching TV and he’d scold us for getting cereal between the sheets?” Niki crunched a mouthful of cereal.

  “And Rick and Don would grab the box and try to hide it from us, and then pelt us with cereal, until we threatened to show Dad where they hid all their porn.”

  Niki giggled. “Remember how pale they got? They were so scared.”

  Emotion tightened Nia’s throat. She set down the half empty bowl, her appetite diminished. Gone were the days of their little family, secure and hidden in their cabin, their older brothers fiercely protective of the girls and hiding the fact there were two. Oh how she longed for those innocent, carefree times when she could share things with her twin.

  Share cereal, share clothing.

  Share time.

  All that’s going away, she thought, tears pushing behind her eyelids. I’m losing her. All these years I’ve fought to keep her, and now because of the Mating Challenge, I can’t spend much time with her anymore.

  “How is your research?” Nia asked.

  Her twin’s expression shuttered for a moment. “I hit upon something that will guarantee a cure.”

  Her heart raced with excitement. “Niki! You sure? When?”

  “Soon. I need to run more tests to be certain. I need time, Nia.” Her twin looked at her, her gaze filled with determination. “Give me a little more time. I have to focus.”

  “I’ll give you all the time you need.”

  “Keep Mitchell occupied, and everyone busy and distracted. That’s all I ask. A week, perhaps.”

  Worry needled her. She hated deceiving Aiden. What would happen when the alpha found out the truth?

  He’d be furious. I’ll deal with it later. “Okay.”

  Niki pointed at Nia’s bowl with her spoon. “You finished?”

  “You eat it. I’m getting ready for bed.”

  Nia stood and gave her twin a critical look. “I know you’re bored and cooped up here, sweetie. I don’t think it’s a good idea to run in the woods anymore at night.”

  “I’ll be careful. I’m fast, and no one will see me.”

  Nia sighed. She worried about her twin getting caught, but couldn’t deny her only pleasure.

  After Nia finished in the bathroom, she climbed into the queen bed in green and pink polka dotted pajamas. Niki joined her a few minutes later, wearing a similar pair, only hers had pink pigs on them instead of polka dots.

  She curled up on her side and her twin slid her arms around her waist, snuggling against her. They had slept like this in the womb, after their birth, and as infants.

  When their parents separated them to keep Niki’s existence hidden from the Silver Wizard, and Nia was alone in her crib, she’d cried for hours until falling asleep. Every once in a while, the twins shared a bed and held each other for comfort.

  After tonight, she could never sleep with her twin again.

  A tear trickled from the corner of her eye. Niki kissed her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Nia. Everything’s going to work out just fine.”

  She closed her eyes, wishing she could share her twin’s optimism.

  ***

  Late that night, Aiden went for a run as wolf. The moon hung like a silver nickel in the sky. He headed for the pond and the circle of stones where ashes of old bonfires still lay scattered on the grounds.

  Something was wrong on this land, and he needed to find out what. His wolf sniffed around the pond, but could only detect very faint scents of game, indicating the smells were perhaps weeks old.

  Aiden sat on his haunches, panting, looking at the moon.

  A gray timber wolf emerged from the woods beyond the pond. He caught a tendril of scent and his nostrils twitched. Niki. He wagged his tail, giving a big wolfish grin. They couldn’t have sex until after the formal mating ceremony, but the rules said nothing about getting frisky.


  And his wolf howled to get frisky with her.

  Seeing him, the wolf raced past the pond, gaining the pathway leading up to the lodge. Eager for the chase, he followed.

  The wolf bolted toward the lodge, and vanished behind a clump of bushes.

  Slowing, he watched a woman emerge from the bushes. She waved a hand and clothed herself in sweatpants and a T-shirt and ran up the lodge steps leading to the dining room.

  Intrigued, he shifted back to Skin, conjured clothing and then followed her into the kitchen.

  Niki stood at the sink, her gaze wide. She looked like a cornered rabbit.

  Aiden hung back, getting a whiff of her fear. He didn’t want to scare her. Why was she so frightened?

  “I like to run at night,” he told her. “It’s peaceful. Quiet.”

  “I like to run at night sometimes,” she admitted.

  “Good to know you’re back to form and can shift.” He headed for the refrigerator and she watched him with a wary look.

  “Drink?” he asked, opening the refrigerator. “I’m thirsty after that run. Thought I’d grab some iced tea. Want some water?”

  “I’ll take an iced tea. Love it.”

  He stared at her. How could she not like tea one day and then change her mind? He looked at her again.

  There was only one can left. He grabbed it, popped the lid and rolled it over his forehead. “Nice and cold. We can share.”

  He’d stared at her mouth, thinking of consummating their bond. He’d thrust deep and hard inside her. Every inch of her soft skin he would know, every nuance…

  “That’s okay. You take it.”

  Aiden gulped down a long draught, then handed her the can. Niki shook her head.

  Irritated, he shook the can a little. “Go on. I don’t have dog germs. Hell, we’ve shared more with the kisses I’ve given you. And we’re going to share a lot more, sweetheart, on our mating night.”

  With a shaking hand, she took it and sipped. Then blood drained from her face. Niki’s mouth wobbled. She set the can down upon the counter, and ran for the sink and threw up.

  Stunned, he started for her. She held up a hand like a traffic cop. “No!”

  Niki ran water into the sink, and sipped some. She tore off a paper towel from the nearby roll and wiped her mouth.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Just need rest. Please, leave me alone. I need to get back to bed. Sleep.”

  Suspicion filled him. “Did you eat some bad meat?”

  “No. It’s nerves. I’ll be fine.”

  Hmmm. Nerves, the woman who faced dangerous gnomes with a dagger and kicked one of his best fighters in the gonads?

  He took a step forward and she backed off. “How about a good-night kiss?” he asked.

  Now Niki looked like she would throw up all over again. Blowing him a kiss, she backed up toward the door. Then she turned and raced away, out the door, down the steps.

  Confused, Aiden stared at the opened door. What the hell was wrong with his intended mate? Was she ill? Or did the thought of being intimate with him make her sick?

  It wasn’t a good omen.

  And yet, deep inside, he suspected it wasn’t him, but something else. Nikita Blakemore was hiding secrets on this ranch.

  Sooner or later, he would discover every single one of them.

  CHAPTER 6

  Rose and purple streaked the sullen, leaden sky the next morning. A chill hovered in the air as birdsong filled the trees near her cabin.

  Nia barely noticed the beauty of the sunrise as she headed down to the pond, shovel in hand. Dressed in old, grubby jeans, a gray sweatshirt, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, she hurried down the gravel pathway.

  Mandy had called and told her she’d timed the patrols of Aiden’s men. Every hour they passed by the old well. Her aunt had managed to dig for the map, but found nothing.

  Aiden’s men would not return to the area of the well for another hour. Nia had exactly sixty minutes.

  Forty minutes later, she had a series of small holes ringing the well. Nia sat on the ground, wiped sweat off her brow with the back of one dirty hand. Two minute break, and then she’d resume…

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Aw hell. A shiver raced down her spine. Should have known Mitchell would look for her, but she figured he’d be exhausted from fighting yesterday.

  Nia shrugged. “I buried a bone out here and my wolf wants to find it.”

  Aiden squatted down before her, picked up a handful of dirt. Thick waves of his ink black hair were brushed back from his face, still damp, as if he’d just showered. In his black T-shirt, tight jeans and faded Western boots, he looked rugged and every inch the alpha. Her female parts tingled and paid attention.

  He peered into the holes. “Looks like you’re searching for buried treasure.”

  As she looked away, he dusted off his hands. “Or looking to bury another body.”

  Suddenly weary, she sagged her shoulders. “There would be too many of those and not enough ground.”

  “Talk to me, pixie.” He slid a hand around her neck, his warm palm chasing away her inner chill.

  She relished his warm and drew closer. Aiden gave her a thoughtful look. “You feeling better?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You seemed pretty sick last night. I thought you ate some bad meat.”

  Puzzled, she shook her head. “The meal was terrific.”

  “Good. Now answer something else for me. Why did your males die? Why do you want me, and my men, off your ranch?”

  Instead of answering, she studied his angular face, the darkness of his gaze, his sculpted cheeks and full nose, the firm, thin mouth accustomed to giving commands…

  “You shaved off your beard,” she said, realizing the difference.

  Aiden gave a rueful smile. “For tonight. I told you, your skin is tender.”

  Tonight. The tingle between her legs intensified. She cupped his cheek, rubbing her thumb across the smooth flesh. With the beard and mustache gone, he looked younger, almost vulnerable. More approachable.

  “I like it.”

  He closed his eyes as her thumb rubbed the corner of his mouth. “Had I known you liked it that much, I’d have done this sooner.”

  Nia smiled, liking how he seemed to almost purr as she stroked him. What other sounds would he make if she touched him all over? A shivery anticipation raced through her. Tonight they would make love and this big, handsome alpha would be exclusively hers.

  Except technically, he belonged to Niki, the true alpha. Her twin.

  Don’t do this. Don’t fall for him.

  Aiden took her hand and brushed a kiss against her dirt-stained knuckles. He rubbed her hand against his cheek. “I can’t wait for tonight, pixie. I’ve wanted you so long, it’s driven me wild. I promise I’ll make it good for you, despite the formalities. And after, we’ll stay at your cabin, let the world pass us by for a few days. I’m going to keep you trapped in bed, feed you, pleasure you, and see to your every need. You deserve a rest from ruling the pack.”

  She indulged in the fantasy, the dream she’d entertained each night for the past year: Aiden making love to her every morning, and each night, his strong arms wrapped around her, making all her cares vanish…

  Nia’s gaze dropped to the ground littered with holes. Aiden couldn’t make them vanish. Two boys who would soon celebrate their birthdays would die instead if she didn’t find the chest.

  “You can’t stay here,” she whispered, panic pushing aside her wistful dreams.

  His eyes opened and he studied her with sharp intensity. “Why?”

  “My people will resent it.” She thought rapidly. “After tonight, take me back to Mitchell Ranch with your men, and let’s settle in at your home. Roxanne can take care of things here. While your people are getting adjusted to my presence, it will give my pack time to adjust, too.”

  “They need to adjust together.”

  “You need to be home ru
nning things!”

  “I have Kyle, Jackson, and Jake in charge, and now Darius. J.J. is there as well, helping out. He even brought Rafe, who left his new pack to help out. I have everything covered, Niki.” He framed her face with his warm palms, searching her eyes. “Why are you so damn eager to get me the hell out of here?”

  She resisted the temptation to close her eyes and bask in his touch. Aiden could make her melt with a single stroke of his finger.

  “It’s my ranch.” She gazed up at him. “I worked hard to keep it together. I don’t want you taking over.”

  There, a partial truth. If he discovered the full truth, would he leave her to protect himself? Or be furious that he’d been deceived?

  He seemed to consider, and lowered his mouth toward hers. “I don’t want your ranch. Just you, and your very tempting, very beautiful body.”

  The kiss was so sweet, so soft, his mouth silken as he rubbed it against hers. Nia’s eyes fluttered closed as she parted her lips. But he didn’t slide inside. Instead, he gently nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, then sucked it into his mouth. She moaned, clinging to his wrists, leaning into him.

  Aiden broke the kiss and she opened her eyes. Stepping back, he tugged his shirt over his head.

  Her gaze widened. “What are you doing?”

  “Let’s go swimming. You’re dirty.” He chucked the shirt aside and grinned. “I like you dirty. I get to wash you all over.”

  Nia didn’t reply. She was too busy staring.

  His chest was sculpted muscle, the dark hair stretching from one small brown nipple to the other. She wanted to run her fingers through that mat of hair, then downward, following that naughty line of hair dipping down to the waistband of his jeans… She’d unzip those jeans, tug them past his narrow hips, and then she’d reach for his very long, and very thick…

  “Sausage,” he murmured.

  She blinked. Dear goddess, could he read her mind? Was this mate bonding between alphas?

  “I’m not thinking of your needs. You haven’t had breakfast yet. Sausage and eggs ok?”

  She wanted to giggle. Nia rubbed her chin with her dirty knuckles. “It’s fine, Mitchell. And you can’t go swimming in that pond. It’s filled with bacteria.”