by Ashlyn Chase
“What the…”
The handsome firefighter, who had appeared like some kind of dinosaur in the smoke only a moment earlier, stepped out of the building and stretched as if trying to work a kink out of his spine. He whipped off his mask and stared at her.
Bliss scrubbed her eye socket with the heel of her hand. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me. There was no other possible explanation. Between her jet-lagged brain and smoke-filled vision, her mind’s eye had concocted a reptilian form that was really her hero firefighter.
Oh, fuck it. “Thank you!” He deserves a reward. She rushed up to him and cupped the back of his head, dragging him down until she mashed her lips to his in the mother of all adoring kisses. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her against him, returning her kiss. She fit his body as if they’d been made for each other. The fire he’d just rescued her from had nothing on the heat in his kiss.
Unfortunately for both of them, the chief came striding around the corner along with the paramedics. The paramedics led her away while her hottie fireman received the dressing-down of a lifetime, complete with explicit and crude language.
“Please don’t be mad at him,” Bliss called over her shoulder. “It’s my fault. I asked him to go back in.” But it was too late. A paramedic slapped an oxygen mask over her face as she heard the chief sputter the words “suspended” and “get the hell out of my sight” to her hot hero. She tried to wrestle off the damn mask, but by the time she did, he was gone.
***
Upon their return to the fire station, the guys whistled at a curvaceous blond waiting for them with a camera. Drake vaguely remembered the chief saying something about their posing for a calendar.
“Terrific,” he muttered.
The chief spotted her and groaned. Then he pointed at Drake. “He goes first.”
As they hung up their jackets, the chief strode to his office.
“Drake, buddy,” Benjamin said, “I’d hang around and watch, but I gotta shower.” He slapped Drake on the back and jogged up the stairs with the rest of them.
Drake glanced down at his filthy hands as the blond sashayed over to him.
“Hey there, handsome,” she said.
“Look, I hate to make you wait, but I should shower before you take any pictures. We just…”
She finger-walked her way up his chest. “Oh, I know. You were out fighting fires and saving people. I think that’s sexy as hell. Don’t change a thing. Except, take your shirt off.”
Drake stifled a groan. He was tired and about to be suspended. This was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
Figuring he was in enough trouble for defying the chief’s orders, he whipped off his white undershirt, faced the blond female photographer as if she were a firing squad, and asked, “How do you want me?”
She chuckled and raised one eyebrow.
“Uh… What should I be doing?” he asked.
From the look in her eyes and the way she licked her lips, the answer was X-rated. Maybe they shouldn’t have sent a woman to shoot the annual firefighters’ calendar. At this rate it would be December before she finished taking the pictures.
“I don’t want to be rude, but I really don’t feel like doing this right now.” When she didn’t respond, he waved a hand in front of her eyes. “Hello,” he said to break through the woman’s vacant stare.
“Your hair…I’ve never seen yellow streaks like that. They’re like primary colors.”
“Yeah, it’s unusual, and before you ask, it’s natural. My whole family has them.” It would be so much easier if I could just come out and say it’s how dragons know each other by clan. But, of course, he could not. Dragons were governed by the same rule every paranormal faction had to live by—namely not to reveal their existence to humans. To do so would cause widespread panic, witch hunts, and they’d probably wind up as government lab rats.
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Strange Neighbors
by Ashlyn Chase
He’s looking for peace, quiet, and a little romance…
There’s never a dull moment when hunky all-star pitcher and shapeshifter Jason Falco invests in an old Boston brownstone apartment building full of supernatural creatures. But when Merry MacKenzie moves into the ground floor apartment, the playboy pitcher decides he might just be done playing the field…
A girl just wants to have fun…
Sexy Jason seems like the perfect fling, but newly independent nurse Merry’s not sure she’s ready to trust him with her heart…especially when the tabloids start trumpeting his playboy lifestyle.
Then pandemonium breaks loose and Merry and Jason will never get it together without a little help from the vampire who lives in the basement and the werewolf from upstairs…
“The good-natured fun never stops. Chase brings on plenty of laughs along with steamy sex scenes.”—Publishers Weekly
For more Ashlyn Chase, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
The Werewolf Upstairs
by Ashlyn Chase
Petty crime never looked so good…
Alpha werewolf Konrad Wolfensen sees it as his duty to protect the citizens of Boston, even if it means breaking into their businesses just to prove their security systems don’t work. But when his unsolicited services land him in trouble with the law, he’ll have to turn to his sexy new neighbor for help.
She should know better…
Attorney Roz Wells is bored. She used to have such a knack for attracting the weird and unexpected, but ever since she took a job as a Boston public defender, the quirky quotient in her life has taken a serious hit. Until her sexy werewolf neighbor starts coming around…
“Original and full of laughs, steamy sex, and madcap mayhem.”—Night Owl Romance
“Beyond funny, extremely sexy, and jam-packed full of eccentric character-driven chaotic fun from cover to cover.”—Bitten by Books
For more Ashlyn Chase, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
The Vampire Next Door
by Ashlyn Chase
Room for Rent: Normal need not apply
This old Boston brownstone is not known for quiet living…first the shapeshifter meets his nurse, then the werewolf falls for his sassy lawyer, but now the vampire is looking for love with a witch who’s afraid of the dark…and you thought your neighbors had issues!
Undead Sly is content playing vigilante vampire, keeping the neighborhood safe from human criminals, until Morgaine moves in upstairs. Suddenly he finds himself weak with desire, which isn’t a good place for a vampire to be. And Morgaine isn’t exactly without her own issues—will the two of them be able to get past their deepest fears before their changes at “normal” slips away…
Praise for The Werewolf Upstairs:
“Witty and wonderful…the entertaining plot, humor, sizzling sensual scenes, and romance make this story unforgettable.” —Romance Junkies
“Original and full of laughs, steamy sex, and madcap mayhem.” —Night Owl Romance
For more Ashlyn Chase books, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
Acknowledgments
As always, my thanks go to my critique partner, the unflappable, talented Mia Marlowe. She laughs in all the right places and gasps when I take things one step too far.
A huge thank you to my fantastic, brilliant agent, Nicole Resciniti. I’m so lucky to hav
e found her. This petite Jersey girl not only loves my work, but can and will wrestle anyone to the mat for me.
More thanks to Leah Hultenschmidt, my editor, and Aubrey Poole, her assistant. Their feedback and suggestions were spot on, and I’m grateful they were delivered in a kind, constructive way.
And a special thank you to my husband, Mr. Amazing. Without him, I’d be working in an understaffed medical facility, terrified that I might accidentally kill someone. Now I kill characters on purpose and have fun doing it. Muahahaha…
About the Author
Ashlyn Chase describes herself as an Almond Joy bar. A little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet, wanting only to give her readers a scrumptious, satisfying reading experience.
She holds a degree in behavioral sciences, worked as a psychiatric RN for several years, and spent a few more years working for the American Red Cross. She credits her sense of humor to her former careers since comedy helped preserve whatever was left of her sanity. She is a multi-published, award-winning author of humorous erotic and paranormal romances, and is represented by the Seymour Agency.
She lives in beautiful New Hampshire with her true-life hot, hero husband (who looks like Hugh Jackman if you squint). They’re owned by a spoiled brat cat.
Where there’s fire, there’s Ash.
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