Her eyes widened. “Yes, yes it is. How—”
“My brother is marrying your sister.”
She stood and eased away from him as if he’d suddenly contracted a contagious disease. “I’m sorry. Ronnie didn’t mention much about Kyle’s family. I never would’ve…I mean, I didn’t know you were…and I’m not normally…”
She clamped a hand over her mouth.
He pushed from the ground. Her eyes turned to saucers, and she stepped back. At six-seven, he towered over most people. Even with the heels she wore, he had a good foot on her and probably a hundred pounds, maybe one-thirty. He’d learned to expect a range of reactions to his size, but the fear in her eyes cut at his heart.
Slow steps brought him to within inches of her. He lifted a hand. She flinched. He dropped his balled fist to his side. “Don’t be afraid, Iona. I won’t hurt you.”
Another smile spread over her face, but it didn’t come close to touching the terror in her brown orbs. “Of course you won’t. I was just surprised at how very tall and”—she dropped her gaze to his chest—“wide you are.”
“Am I still handsome?” Why he asked, he didn’t know. He held his breath for her answer though.
She blinked, and whatever had upset her vanished. The hint of lust returned, making her eyes more black than brown. “Of course. I’m sure your girlfriend would agree.”
Cautious of her reaction, he raised his hand. No cringing. He breathed a sigh of relief and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “I wouldn’t have been mentally undressing you if I had a girl in my life.”
“Then the women in this country are fools.”
Or, more accurately, he was. Every time a girl brought up exclusiveness, he ran. “Just haven’t found the right one yet.”
It was the same excuse he’d been giving his mama for years. Iona’s cocked brow suggested she didn’t buy it either.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll meet her someday.” She stepped back, breaking their slight contact. “Now, I hope you’ll be able to help me with my car.”
He shrugged off the disappointment. “What’s wrong with it?”
“I just bought it yesterday.” She caught her bottom lip and worried it between her teeth. He had the sudden urge to nibble on it for her. “And I ran out of gas.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then snapped his mouth closed. “Did you put any gas in it?”
She studied the floor. Her shoulders slumped. He inwardly cursed his callousness.
“No, I should’ve, but”—she peeked at him from beneath her lashes—“I just didn’t think of it. The gas gauge read full.”
Her embarrassment slashed him like a whip. He tried to come up with an apology. None came to mind. He sucked at them. Any girl he’d dated would attest to that. “Why didn’t you call Ronnie?”
She blew out a rough breath. “My cell died before I hit Pennsylvania.”
“Okay, let’s go take a look at your car.” He motioned her forward.
“You might want to lock up. It stopped running outside of town.”
He pointedly glanced at her heels. “Don’t tell me you walked all the way here.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “I certainly wouldn’t get in any of the strange men’s cars who stopped.” She planted a hand on her hip. “Do I look stupid?”
“No.” Drop-dead gorgeous, cultured, and sexy. He’d guessed right. She was different from the local women. “You remind me of a princess.”
She cleared her throat. “A princess?”
“Yep, I remember Ronnie saying something about her birth father having ties to the Russian royalty.” Learning about the affair her mom had kept hidden had been a shock, but not as much as when her real dad’s wife arranged for Ronnie’s murder.
Iona gave a slow shake of her head, pulling him back to the present. “No, I’m not a princess.”
“Too bad.” He laid a palm against Iona’s lower back and led her to the door. “I could’ve pretended to be your prince.”
She stopped walking. Her back went ramrod straight.
“Iona?”
She flashed him an overly bright grin. “Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
She blinked. “Certainly. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious is all.” He opened the door and motioned her outside. “I think I’d make a horrible prince anyway. I’m more of a knight, ready to come to your rescue.”
Her expression softened. “Yes, you are.” She rested the tips of her fingers on his arm. “I’m truly grateful too. I could use my own protector.” She cleared her throat. “From shady car salesmen, I mean.”
With that, she strode across the parking lot, head held high. His gaze drifted to the sway of her slim hips. He felt an answering awareness in his dick, but her words captured his attention and stirred his curiosity.
She needed a protector, huh? He couldn’t help but think she meant that literally.
Normally, he’d shrug it off as not being his business. With Iona, however, he didn’t. For the first time in his life, he wanted to take the time to find out what she was hiding and fix it. Then he’d get her to refocus her passion on him, not whatever frightened her.
Continue reading Love in Repair
Sometimes the greatest finds are unexpected.
After five centuries, Rafe Alexander knows what to expect from life—boredom broken by the occasional call from Shifter Affairs. No matter how mundane the job, he always accepts their plea for help. He knows what it’s like to lose loved ones to the shifter trafficking rings decimating their species.
But the task that takes him to West Virginia changes everything. A human is dead. A shifter child is missing. And the human female connected to both tragedies is hiding a secret.
He needs to discover the mystery surrounding her. But the felines he houses—lion, tiger and jaguar—want him to get close to her for another reason. Jasmine is special, both for how she affects him and for the treasure she’s been guarding.
And as danger mounts, he’s left balancing his desire for revenge and his need to protect. But the line between them isn’t always black and white, especially where his family is concerned.
Chapter One
A bar. He brought the kid to a damn bar.
Rafe Alexander gripped the steering wheel. The tips of his fingers burned from the press of his sharpened nails against his skin, and his jaw ached from the pressure of his fangs sliding into place. He wanted to beat the human for exposing a preschooler to world of drunks and illicit behaviors.
But if it saved her? Yeah. If the human kept their cub from falling into the wrong hands, Rafe would be thanking the guy, right after he explained with his fists that a bar in the backwoods of West Virginia wasn’t the right environment for a little girl.
He slammed the SUV’s door and strode across the bar’s parking lot. A few males tucked their dates closer and turned in the opposite direction. Others dropped their gazes to the pavement underfoot. The familiar reaction to his presence annoyed him, but it wasn’t their fault. Humans might not know what he was by looking at him, but they sensed the danger—the predator in their midst—and reacted accordingly.
He tightened his control over his primal side. He didn’t need any attention directed his way, not with the shit that had gone down here a few hours ago: a fire that resulted in a fatality.
Sure, tragedies happened all the time, and in the grand scheme of things, one human’s passing was a blip on the radar. For Rafe, though, Tony Conway’s death was personal. The male had unknowingly adopted a shifter, a rare white lion cub Rafe had been tasked with retrieving.
He cursed. The fire was too damn coincidental. Word of a shifter cub living among humans surfaces, and the next day her human father dies. Yeah, it’s not related at all. Right.
Once the fire chief finished his investigation, he’d realize the fire hadn’t been an accident too. The authorities would begin to search for the arsonist. It wouldn’t do them any good. Even if they
collected evidence from the scene, they wouldn’t understand why Tony had been targeted. Rafe couldn’t share the details surrounding Megan’s uniqueness with them either. Shifters were fictional beings in most humans’ eyes. That fact hampered Rafe’s efforts. He was left on the sidelines with limited options.
Rafe’s lion, one of the three feline spirits he housed, snarled, echoing his frustration. He used a mental hand to stroke the big cat’s side. It was the best he could do to calm the animal since it couldn’t speak or share its thoughts with him. His tiger and jaguar, the other two felines he’d been born with, nudged him, seeking his reassure too.
We’ll get our cub back. Promise. The vow wrapped around him, strengthening him. He let the connection to his cats fade and took a deep, calming breath. A familiar scent invaded his lungs. Lion. Faint, yet distinctive. He was on the right path.
Long strides took him around the bar, an older structure that appeared as if it had seen several upgrades and expansions over its lifetime. An upper and lower deck graced one side. The raised level had tables, while the lower featured a live band and dance area. People moved on both, and the sharp twining from instruments as the musicians warmed up carried over the drone of laughter and conversation.
The place was packed, a good thing for those partying and an inconvenience for him. He had business to take care of that didn’t need an audience. He continued past the decks to the employee entrance. Several cars and trucks were parked near the door.
He followed the smell carrying on the breeze to a blue SUV. A child’s car seat was secured in the back. He tugged on the door handle. Locked. No matter. Going by the strength of the scent seeping from the cracked window, Megan had traveled in the vehicle recently.
He pulled out his cell and dialed his friend and fellow pride member, Devin.
“Yeah?” Devin answered.
“You were right. Megan is with her uncle. I found Josh’s car, and there are enough stuffed animals and toys in it to amuse any cub with a short attention span.”
“Have you spotted her?”
“Not yet, but if she’s here, I’ll get her.” Rafe glanced over his shoulder at the building. “And once I hand her over to you, Josh and I are having a little talk about how kids should be raised.”
“Just because the neighbor remembered seeing Megan with Josh doesn’t mean he took her to the bar. The woman said he owns the place. Maybe he’s working, and he dropped Megan off at a sitter or something.”
The idea didn’t comfort him. Actually, it’d almost be better if Josh had taken Megan to work with him. It’d be harder to carry a screaming five-year old through a packed bar than killing her sitter without bystanders nearby and walking away with their rare cub—the innocent child who had a price on her head.
“As soon as I find out, I’ll call.”
Devin’s sigh carried over the line. “Good. I want out of here as soon as possible.”
“You didn’t have to come. I could’ve brought one of my brothers.”
“You know I couldn’t stay behind, not when kids are threatened.”
Yeah, he knew that. It was a damn honorable trait, but Devin wasn’t exactly sane. Dropping him in a tense situation with humans close by was a disaster waiting to happen, but Rafe wasn’t their pride leader. He didn’t get to make the decisions. Kade did, and sometimes Rafe wondered if his twin thought through his dictates before issuing them.
“So, what did you find at Tony’s office?” Rafe asked.
“A whole box of documents from the lawyer who handled Megan’s adoption and…”
Rafe waited for him to finish and finally prompted, “And?”
Devin cleared his throat. “The female you smelled at Tony’s house has spent time here too.”
Rafe cursed. When they’d stopped by the house listed as Megan’s residence, they’d found it engulfed in flames. There had been no sign of their white lion cub, but her fragrance had lingered there—a feline scent-marked human. Rafe had to find her. He had questions for her, including what her interest was in Megan.
More importantly, he needed to discover which male had marked her. He’d been a Royal, not a single species shifter. That much Rafe had been able to tell from the unique scent. The mix of lion, tiger and jaguar was unmistakable, but he couldn’t put a face to the smell. Considering there were only a couple dozen Royal feline shifters in the States, an unknown male was a threat. The safety of their women and children couldn’t be risked.
“Did you pick up her trail?”
“Nope. She must’ve driven every time.”
“All right. Check out the next of kin addresses. I’ll corner Josh and find out what he knows. Hopefully one of us will get lucky.”
He ended the call, gave the pile of toys in the car another glance, then headed to the front entrance. The door opened before he reached it. The stench of sweat and stale beer swept out along with the heavy thump of music. He inwardly cringed at the sensory overload. With three animal spirits sharing his body, everything was enhanced, from his instincts to his senses. It was enough to drive a male insane. Fortunately, he’d been dealing with his shifter nature for centuries. He knew how to handle it—with patience and control.
Darkness edged the room. Rafe moved toward the farthest wall, needing a moment to acclimate to the environment. Eyes closed, he parted his lips slightly to taste the scents on the air. He had two very specific ones he sought—Megan’s and the feline scent-marked human’s.
After a few more deep inhales, he cursed. Neither had been in the bar over the last couple of hours. Still, he loped the room and checked the hallways. Nothing. He ground his teeth and leaned farther into the shadows. He might’ve missed out on finding the females he sought, but his trip hadn’t been a complete failure. Josh Conway, Tony’s brother and Megan’s uncle, stood behind the bar with his arms crossed over his chest.
His commanding personality was clear from his confident stance and the way his wait staff interacted with him, responding immediately to whatever direction he gave. Had the tall, black-haired, blue-eyed male been born a shifter, he would’ve been a dominant or maybe an alpha, leading his own pack or pride.
Rafe rubbed his knuckles under his chin. Just his damn luck the human who’d been left as Megan’s guardian was Josh. Rafe doubted the male would blindly accept the bullshit speech or the legal papers claiming Megan was an Alexander and had been stolen at birth.
It wouldn’t matter if it were the truth. Or partially true. She had been stolen, but Rafe had no idea which pride she belonged to. White lion shifters were nearly extinct. Megan was the only female left. No matter the circumstances. Josh wouldn’t give her up without a fight. Rafe would bet his life on it.
Oh yeah, they needed to talk, and Josh’s answer would set his path. The way Rafe looked at it, Josh had two options: become assimilated into the shifter world, vowing to protect their secret, or be handed over to the human government for reprogramming, a procedure that mixed brainwashing and magic and had about a fifty-fifty success rate.
Neither option was ideal, but there was no choice. The general population couldn’t learn of shifters’ existence. They weren’t ready.
Rafe’s cell vibrated against his leg, pulling him out of his thoughts. He glanced at the screen and let Devin’s call go unanswered. It was too loud in the room, and he wasn’t about to leave Josh unsupervised. Rafe had no desire to hunt him down a second time.
Knowing the drill, Devin sent a text. The rhythmic thumping announcing its arrival traveled up his arm. He glanced at the screen and breathed a sigh of relief.
Devin had found Megan at the first address: Josh’s parents. Devin was laying low and watching the house. Everyone inside was asleep. At least one thing had gone right tonight. The most important thing—Megan was safe.
Rafe sent a reply saying he’d meet him after talking with Josh. He slid the phone into his pocket and made his way to the bar.
Josh ambled over to the counter. “What can I get you?”
&nbs
p; “Actually, the question you should be asking me is, can you help me?” Rafe grinned at the bemused expression on the male’s face. “You see, your brother’s desperation has dropped you in a world I can guarantee you don’t want to be in.”
Continue Reading Treasured Find
Enjoy more sneak peeks, including Nancy’s FREE books.
Sometimes the only choice is to take a chance…and enjoy the consequences.
Kagan Wolves, Book 0.5
Sean Reynolds is content wielding his dominant personality as the public face of Kagan Industries. Pack leadership—and all the responsibilities that go with it—don’t interest him. But when alpha-in-waiting Nic Kagan skips town, there’s no one to take on his aging father’s spirit wolf. No one but Sean.
Sean wants none of it, but with his wolf growling in eagerness to fill that void, he heads for the bar in an attempt to drink the beast into submission.
He’d like to ignore the sultry blonde shifter burning up the dance floor with moves that make him painfully aware of the full moon. But when she abruptly disappears, his wolf sends him in hot pursuit. Following the scent of a female he can see in his bed not for a single night, but for a lifetime…
Chapter ONE
Another loop around the Kagan Industries’ office, and Sean cursed. Pacing wasn’t helping. Nothing he’d tried since sundown had. He hurt, plain and simple. His skin itched, and his bones ached. The sensation of claws raking the inside of his chest made it worse, but it wasn’t the pain gripping him that left him angry. It was the obstinate wolf he housed. The separate entity he’d been born with had its own wants and goals. At the moment, they conflicted with Sean’s plans for the evening. Since he was ultimately in charge, the animal would just have to suck it up.
His wolf’s pissed-off snarl echoed within him. No doubt it disagreed. Not his problem. His wolf wasn’t the only stubborn one, and he refused to allow his primal side to rule him. He would not make the same mistake his friend Nic had.
Rewind & Go: A Blue-Collar Billionaire Romance (Sander's Valley Book 1) Page 13
