A bell’s tinkle pulled Willow from her reverie and self-pity. As she turned to greet her customer, her heart leapt to her throat. Him. Her mysterious fantasy man. As she tried to regain her senses, she took all of him in. He had to be one of the tallest men she’d ever seen, easily over six and a half feet. The tight black T-shirt he wore hugged his biceps and cut into his muscular physique, while his broad shoulders stretched and strained the seams. His body tapered down to a narrow waist and hips as they met his thighs. His long legs she wanted to grip, encased in worn jeans lead to work boots. Hmm, construction perhaps? She glanced back up his body to his striking face.
He wasn’t beautiful, but he did have a face most women would dream about. A strong jaw and cheekbones gave him an aura of strength, the kind of strength that would be protective. His hair was midnight black and long enough to brush his shoulders, however, today, a band held it back, showcasing his face more. He studied her, his green eyes calm and calculating. Willow let out a surprised gasp at the sexual heat radiating from him. Could she possibly be imagining things?
****
Jasper Jamenson fought himself as he walked into the bakery that morning. This would be the seventh week in a row he’d come here, every day but Sunday. And that was only because the damn store was closed. As good as the cinnamon rolls were, and they were little tastes of heaven, it was the woman behind the counter that brought him there every morning.
Following a particularly bad night in the forest on a hunt, Jasper had been pissed and hungry. Another wolf had tried to play a dominant game, forcing Jasper to hurt him. The stench of the other’s defeat had remained on him, only angering Jasper that much more. The scent of the morning’s freshly baked goods pulled him through the quaint and welcoming door, and the slender goddess who served him brought thoughts of a different form of servicing to mind.
Slightly above average in height – he would guess about five foot seven – she was the perfect height to settle against his body. For someone who owned and operated a bakery, she was as skinny as a rail. However, if he looked close enough he could see the telltale signs possible of curves. And with just a little bit of his help and pampering she would gain some well-needed cushion. No matter what, she’d look amazing underneath him. Her long, light brown hair curled in a bun on the top of her head. His fingers ached to pull out the pins and watch it tumble down her back. Hazel eyes sought him and begged for his protection. Damn, he was willing.
Her look made the wolf within him perk up and growl.
“Mate? I want her”. His wolf paced beneath the surface of his skin, calculating the best way to quickly claim their mate.
What his wolf spoke of was a possibility. There were only a few women in the world through time that carried the scent to signal the potential mating. Unlike his brother Kade, who had met two women recently that carried the scent, Jasper had never in his one-hundred and three years come across a woman who brought forth the mating urge. However, if all encounters were like this one, Jasper didn’t know how others walked away. The urge rode him hard and he fought his wolf for control if only for a moment, something that hadn’t happened since he was a pup.
He mentally spoke to his wolf. “We are not ready for a mate. And a human no less. She knows nothing of us. If, and that is a big if, we chose her to be our mate, we will have to go slowly into this. I don’t want us to scare her. But she is beautiful, no”
His wolf growled in response.
“Do you want to scare her away? Let’s get to know her first, see if she is a good match, other than that incredible cinnamon scent. I’ll talk to Adam and find out everything I can about her. I am the Beta; I cannot put my Pack in jeopardy.”
God, he really sucked at this. This time he needed to put on his big wolf panties and actually ask her out.
“Then we could mark her.”
He snorted at his wolf. Yeah, that was taking it slow.
Jasper shook himself from his inner thoughts and looked into those hazel eyes. The spot of flour on her cheek begged for his hand to brush it way. He fought the urge. No need to freak her out. Her chest moved slowly, her small breasts rising and falling. The cinnamon scent of her filled his nostrils and he took a deep breath, the aroma going straight to his cock. The slight gasp that escaped from her kissable lips almost broke his control, and he fisted his hands to regain it.
“Good morning.” His voice lowered an octave and became a growl. He cleared his throat and started again. “I come here every morning and I don’t think I ever gave you my name. Let me rectify that.” He closed the distance between them so only the counter separated them. “I’m Jasper Jamenson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand in hopes of touching her skin.
Willow blinked up at him and seemed at a loss for words. Her lips opened slightly, begging him to lean down and taste her.
“Uh… yeah… I’m Willow Delton.” She shook her head, gave him a small smile and placed her slender hand in his. He’d been right – her skin was incredibly soft and made him want to take a bite.
“Yes, I know, you own this place.” He gave her hand a squeeze and released her.
“So, Jasper, do you want your usual?” The sound of his name on her lips hardened his cock. Without waiting for him to respond, she turned back to her work-table to ice her cinnamon rolls.
“Sounds good.” He watched as her hands moved swiftly and confidently across the baking sheets. “What time do you get off?”
“Smooth, Romeo. Why don’t you just ask her to bend over the work table for you?”
Ignoring his wolf Jasper continued, “I thought that we could grab a bite to eat tonight and go see to the arts fest they have running in town.”
Oh dear Lord. Why didn’t he ease into this?
“Oh, are you asking me out on a date?” She wrinkled her brow and looked utterly confused at the prospect.
“Yes, I am. I’ve been in here for over a month every morning, and as much as I love your food, I had an ulterior motive.”
Surprise flashed across her face before her eyes lit up with excitement. “I’ve never been to the arts fest in town. I didn’t want to go by myself and didn’t have anyone to go with me.” Her mouth snapped shut at her revealing statement.
Laughing quietly, he shook his head. “So what time do you get off?”
“You really need to stop putting it like that; it gives me ideas.” Again, he ignored his wolf’s sarcasm.
“I close at four and should be done cleaning up by five. It’s only me here today so it’s going to take me an hour to close.”
“What do you say I come back at six and we go to dinner from here?”
Her smile almost blinded him as she nodded before taking off her apron. “Okay. Sounds good. Here’s your breakfast.” She handed him his black coffee and a small brown bag with a pink logo.
Taking everything from her hands, he set them down along with the cash to pay for it. Giving into temptation, he leaned over the counter to brush the flour from her cheek.
She jumped and a flash of alarm raced across her face.
Chuckling under his breath, he reassured her. “Just some flour. I’ll see you at six, Willow.” He grabbed his breakfast and walked to the door, taking one last look behind him at the woman who was his mate. He was one lucky bastard.
Whistling a jaunty tune, he walked toward his Jeep, unconcerned and happy while leaving his mate to do her work. The hairs on the back of his neck lifted, and his wolf came to attention. The street was empty but for a few people; nothing looked out of place. Jasper took a deep breath but didn’t detect another presence. With one last look toward his slender brunette, he shrugged off the uneasy feeling and continued to his Jeep.
Excerpt: Destiny United
A paranormal romance by Leia Shaw
Erin knew any sane person would have been as comfortable traveling with a vampire as with a self-confessed serial killer. And she was probably the biggest moron in the universe for placing her safety in the hands
of a six and a half foot tall vampire, but what other choice did she have? Besides, Marcelo didn’t seem like he’d be taking no for an answer.
When they reached her car, an old beat up silver Hyundai Accent, she went to open the driver’s side door. She barely felt him behind her when a big palm landed on the handle. She looked up into the dark, predatory face staring down at her.
“I will be driving,” he said, his eyes daring her to challenge him.
“It’s my car.”
“You are a human. I would not put my life in your incapable hands.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “Aren’t you immortal?”
He grinned, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness. His lips may have been smiling but his eyes were warning. “I would not put your life in your incapable hands. I’m in charge of your safety now, which means I am in charge of you. I’ve never lost someone in my care before and I have no intention of starting now.” He thrust his open hand towards her. “Now hand me the keys.”
Her chest tightened and she had to force air into her lungs. Not because of a panic attack but for an entirely different reason. Anger flooded her. She couldn’t hold back a response to his blatant disrespect, not even if she had to tolerate him temporarily. They needed to get a few things straight.
“Not only is that insulting but do you really think to order me around this whole trip? That may work on other ‘females’, as you say, but it will not work on me!”
Marcelo’s eyes darkened and narrowed, his teeth snapped together echoing across the parking lot. She gulped. Perhaps provoking the vampire was a bad idea, she thought as the image of poking a wild bear with a stick came to mind. Subconsciously she grabbed onto her locket. He didn’t miss that, and she thought she saw a flash of humor in his eyes before it was gone. Replaced with a sort of lustful anger.
With his chest only inches from her face, he bent down and whispered in her ear, “Under normal circumstances, querida, should you have an issue with my request, I would seduce you, doing unimaginable things to your body that would make your toes curl until you did as I please.” A shudder traveled the length of her spine. “But since you are in danger – something you forget far too easily – I will be giving orders and you will be following them.”
Her mouth snapped open in shock. She wasn’t sure what was worse, that she was scared shitless or curious about this toe curling.
Marcelo stepped back, keeping that black look on her. “If you have a problem with that, take it up with your sister. She’s the one who sent me.”
Erin forced her mouth to close and squared her shoulders. “I will take it up with her. Give me my phone so I can call her and have her send someone else in your place.”
“No.”
Surely he’s jesting. “No?”
“That’s what I said.” He crossed his arms in front of his massive chest.
“How am I supposed to take it up with her if you won’t let me talk to her?”
“I’m sure she’s indisposed at the moment so you will just have to wait until you see her in a few days.”
Erin’s eyes grew wide. “But…that…doesn’t even –” She sputtered through an incoherent sentence. She was so mad she actually stomped a foot.
“Until then, my rules. Now hand me the keys.” A cocky smirk crossed the vampire’s face. She wanted to wipe it right off with her fist, which shocked her. She wasn’t normally a violent person.
Cursing under her breath she slapped her keys into his palm and slid into the passenger seat, slumping down with her arms crossed. “When does the flight leave for Colorado? I can’t wait to be done with this.”
He didn’t answer. Worse, he seemed hesitant. Like he was holding back information she wouldn’t like.
“We don’t have tickets, do we?” she guessed. When he still didn’t answer she knew she was right. “If you take me to my apartment we can buy airplane tickets and I can pack some clothes.”
“Your apartment? Don’t you think the Counsel is already waiting for you there? Do you have any sense of self-preservation?”
“How will you buy tickets? Unless you have a smart phone, which I don’t –”
“We’re not flying. We’re driving.”
She shot upright in her seat. “What? You can’t be serious! That will take forever!”
He jammed the keys in the ignition and her car thundered to life. Marcelo’s body shook from the vibrations of a motor with a blown piston. The engine roared, the gear shift fought to stay in first, the back window was jammed half open, and the heat was stuck on full blast. Yes, her car was a beast. Slowly she turned her head and gave him the biggest, cheekiest grin she could. The look on his face was priceless.
“Still want to drive to Colorado?” she asked, smiling brightly.
With a grunt he forced the stubborn shifter into reverse and backed out of the parking spot so fast Erin flew forward and might have gone through the windshield had Marcelo not stopped her with an arm across her chest. He slammed on the brakes, grabbed her seat belt, pulled it around her body then snapped it in place. It all happened so fast she hadn’t even finished drawing in a breath.
“Safety first,” he chirped in a perky voice that made her want to run him over with the car. “Now, do you really think I’m going to take someone prone to panic attacks on an airplane?”
Erin had never flown before, but she and Jimmy had been saving to take a trip to California next summer so she’d already put some thought into how to handle flying. “That’s what the little bottles of alcohol are for. I’ll just take my anti-anxiety meds before the flight then keep me loaded and I’ll be fine.”
He scowled down at her.
“Think about it,” she said. “It will be at least four days stuck in a car. With me. If we fly, that’s three days off our trip.”
He sighed heavily, his scowl deepening. “Fine. We will fly. But no alcohol!”
That was going to be a problem. “Marcelo, I need alcohol and my medication to get on an airplane. There is no way around it.”
“I said no. You will just have to do without.”
“You can’t force me onto an airplane, I’m pretty sure they frown on th –”
“I will not be forcing you. I have leverage.”
He meant Sage, of course. Fear and desperation coursed through her. Her breaths came faster, her cheeks heated, and she suddenly wanted to hit something. Or someone.
“If you try to force me onto that plane, Marcelo, I swear to you I will scream in the security line that you’re a terrorist and…and…that you have nail clippers in your bag!”
She thought he was simply annoyed before, but now there was no mistaking his fury. But it was a quiet fury, which was often worse. “You dare threaten me? You will find, querida, that when it comes to dealing with vampires, it’s best just to do as you’re told.”
She gulped but jutted her chin out in defiance. “You even look like a terrorist. That will work to my advantage.”
He growled low in his throat and gripped the steering wheel so hard she thought it might crack under his palm. “All right. You can have one or two drinks before the flight.”
“And my medicine?”
He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Are you afraid then?” She tsked under her tongue. “Damn, I thought Sage would have sent the best. Well, I guess I understand. I’ve heard that sorcerers are very powerful. They could probably kick your ass without even touching you, couldn’t they?”
His jaw tightened, and, in a voice strained with fury, he said, “Where’s your bloody apartment?”
Available on amazon and all e-book retailers
Other titles by Leia Shaw include:
Destiny Divided
Destiny Unchained
31 Flavors (a BDSM romance based on a true story)
Destiny Bewitched (coming summer 2012)
www.LeiaShaw.com
Trinity Bound Page 28
