by Lia Davis, Milly Taiden, Kerry Adrienne, Vella Day, Andie Devaux
With a gentle tug, he led her back to his house. Once she left him, the next twenty-four hours were going to be hell without her by his side. His bear was going to drive him mad.
Chapter Nine
Nichole sat at the small round table in her kitchen staring into her cup of tea. Connie had made it hoping it’d help relax her. It hadn’t.
Sleep was impossible due to a certain sexy bear shifter haunting her thoughts. Besides, he was true to his words and woke her at 5:00 AM to drive her home. That only gave her three hours of sleep. Once she’d arrived home, going back to bed was out of the question. Her skin felt tight, and oddly enough, she felt empty, like something was missing.
“It’s the mating pull,” Connie said as she sat across from her. “I heard it was more powerful than any love spell a witch can weave.”
Releasing a sigh, Nichole took a sip of her herbal tea. Notes of orange and cocoa coated her tongue before she swallowed. She was supposed to take the next twenty-four hours to run through the pros and cons of mating the bear her soul called to.
“How can I make a sound decision?”
Connie covered her hand and smiled. “Don’t think. Pack your bags and drive your ass back to the den, throw yourself into his arms, and then say yes, for the love of the gods!”
It sounded so easy. “But we just met.”
Sitting back in her chair, Connie folded her arms. “My parents loved each other from the moment their gazes connected. They were married three days later.” She laughed before continuing. “If it is the will of the Fates, you don’t really have a say in it.”
A smile tugged at Nichole’s mouth. Connie’s parents had been married for over fifty years and acted like a couple of lovestruck teens. “Will it last?”
“What? The thrill? The heat?”
Nichole’s cheeks warmed. “Yes.”
“I’ve heard it does for as long as you live together.”
“Who did you hear this from?”
Connie grinned. “My aunt was mated to a wolf. She told me the connection and love grew stronger each year of their lives together.”
“You mean Robyn?”
“Yep.”
Nichole frowned. She’d never known Robyn Hunter was mated. She definitely didn’t know she had been mated to a wolf. “What happened to her mate?”
“He was killed by a hunter while in wolf form.” Connie’s brows dipped. “You want a con on mating? It’s extremely painful to lose your mate, to lose the connection to one another. Aunt Robyn fell into a deep depression. It was Travis, her son, who pulled her out of it.”
“Oh.” They fell silent for a few moments. That was one con, but the pros still outweighed it. Damn. She wouldn’t last the full twenty-four hours.
She sat her cup down and stood.
“Where are you going?” Connie waggled her brows.
“To get myself mated to a bear.”
Her hands shook all the way to the den. She was surprised she hadn’t crashed her Mini along the way. “Oh, please be home.”
She pulled into Trey’s driveway and her stomach flipped like it was trying out for Cirque du Soleil or something. It was a good thing she hadn’t eaten yet. Okay, Nichole, calm down. You’re only gambling with the rest of your life. Oh God, help me.
With a deep breath, she shut off the engine, got out of the car, and ran to the house. When she reached the porch, the front door opened, but it wasn’t Trey who stood there.
“April.”
It came out in a husky growl. And the bitch actually smiled. “If you’re looking for Trey, he just left. Oh, and he said he didn’t want to mate with you.” She shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. “Said something about winning a bet with his brothers.”
Nichole’s stomach burned with fear and a lump formed in her throat. No. April was lying. Trey had warned her. “I don’t believe you.”
Turning on her heels, Nichole headed to Trey’s parent’s house. She got a few feet down the path before April caught up with her. Pain sliced up Nichole’s arm as the bitch gripped it in her claws. Nichole jerked around to face April. Fury boiled in her chest and she yanked her arm out of the bear’s grasp, ignoring the sting of the other woman’s nails tearing flesh.
“Trey is my mate. I feel him inside me.”
April narrowed her eyes and streaks of gold rippled across her brown irises. “There will be no mating if I kill you and be there to help Trey pick up the pieces.”
Enough. The bitch was crazy. There was no reasoning with crazy. Unfortunately, Nichole also knew she was no match for the bear.
“Trey!”
“Yell all you want. He can’t hear you.”
Nichole snapped her gaze to April’s. Suspicion ran its icy fingers up her spine. “What did you do to him?”
“Something I should have done before now.”
That was it. Nichole charged, throwing all her weight into the bear. April gasped for air and stumbled back, clearly not expecting the blow. Nichole took the chance to run back toward Trey’s, but didn’t get far before April grabbed a fist full of hair and jerked.
Nichole fell on her ass. Pain exploded in her hip and she cried out.
“What’s wrong? Too fat to fight?”
Pushing away the pain, Nichole kicked out, catching April in the back of the knee. Instantly, the bear went down. A crack sounded as her head hit the ground, then her body went still.
Shit.
Nichole scrambled to the female’s side. “April.” No response. Heart pounding, Nichole shook her. Nothing. “Come on, April.”
The bear’s head fell to the side, sliding off a sharp rock coated in her blood. Nichole covered her mouth with her hands and scooted backwards. April couldn’t be dead.
“Nichole?”
She jerked around to Anthony’s voice. Her whole body shook and tears filled her eyes. “It was an accident. I—”
The Marshal glanced at April, then pulled out his cell and sent a text. Returning his phone to his pocket, he held out his free hand. “Where’s Trey?”
Nichole took his hand. “I…I don’t know.”
Wait. April had been in his house. Her heart sank to her belly. What if she’d killed him? Releasing Anthony’s hand, she darted up the porch steps and into the house. “Trey?”
She rushed through the living room to the hall and checked each bedroom. He wasn’t there. When she checked the kitchen, fear rose from deep inside her. No, no, no. Trey lay on the floor, unmoving. She dropped to her knees and tapped his cheeks. “Please be alive.”
Tears fell down her cheeks and she rested her head on his chest. The slow thump of his heart soothed her a little. After a few moments, he circled his arms around her and let out a soft growl.
“Why are you bleeding?”
She lifted her head and framed his face in her hands. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Answer my question.”
He was angry, but not at her. Somehow, she knew that. “April…We fought. I think I killed her.”
His forehead creased as he raked his gaze over her and lifted her right arm to inspect the scratches. “Help me up, please.”
She did as he asked. When he was to his feet, Anthony walked into the kitchen. “April will live. Unfortunately. That was her last chance. I’ll arrange for her transfer back to the Rocky Mountains.”
Trey nodded and rubbed the back of his head. “Bitch hit me with something.”
Anthony glanced to Nichole and smiled. “I take it you’re back to stay?”
She nodded and was pulled into a tight hug. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks.”
“You two take all the time you need to get the newness out of your system. I have paperwork to do.” Anthony rolled his eyes before he turned and left.
Trey stared at her, hope and happiness brightening his blue gaze. “You’re here to stay?”
“Yes. Connie said I should stop thinking and ‘get
my ass mated.’”
He threw his head back and laughed, then picked her up and twirled her around. “I love you. I know you might think it’s too soon, but it’s not for me. I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you.”
She sniffed and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, too. I just didn’t know it until I saw you on the floor and thought I’d lost you.”
“It’ll take more than a hit on the head to kill me.” He peppered her face with kisses, then scooped her up in his arms.
When he began walking, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“To complete the mating. I want to feel you inside me mind, body, and soul for the rest of our lives.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
He burst into the master bedroom and laid her on the bed. His fingers caressed her forehead, then her cheek. “My beautiful mate. I’ll love you always and forever.”
“As will I. Now, make me yours, bear.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The End
Other books by Lia Davis
Paranormals
Ashwood Falls Series
Winter Eve
A Tiger’s Claim
A Mating Dance
Surrendering to the Alpha
A Rebel’s Heart
Divided Loyalties
Touch of Desire
Sons of War Series
War’s Passion
Ashes of War
Artemis’s Hunt
Vampire Lords
It’s A Vampire Christmas
Contemporaries
Pleasures of the Heart Series
Business Pleasures
Single Titles
His Guarded Heart
About the Author
Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and three equally special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, and a lover of romance. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it's her home and she loves it!
An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very active imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing is stress reliever that allows her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs.
Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.
Find out more about Lia Davis Here:
Website: http://www.authorliadavis.com
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/mBWx5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lia.davis.52
Facebook Fan Club: https://www.facebook.com/liadavisfanclub/
Twitter: @novelbylia
Match Made in Hell
by
Milly Taiden
Match Made in Hell
Finding the perfect match can be hell, unless you're already there.
Curvy and prudish Laura Nieves knows she belongs in the pit. But living in hell didn’t mean she had to act like a depraved soul. So when her boss sends her off to lead a matchmaking program, Laura knows shit is about to hit the fan.
Damien Wrath isn’t interested in being hooked up. He and his wolf like their life simple. But the mistress of hell doesn’t care what he wants. It took being in hell for him to find out his mate was a buttoned up, curvaceous beauty with a hot temper.
Taking a quiet woman from one era and tossing her together with a hot as hell warrior from another is sure to create sparks. Their basic urges will take over, or they’ll kill each other. This is hell, who said living in the pit was going to be easy?
Chapter One
Davianne Blackfeather, also known as Davi or mistress of the Seventh level of the underworld, sighed loudly. She crossed her arms over the plunging neckline of her crimson suit while she glared at the streets. Like her sisters, she was big, bold and curvy. But unlike her sisters, she had little patience for annoying competitions. Business went on as usual in the Seventh level or Seventh as most called it, even if things weren’t looking so good for their mistress. Watching her guards carry the damned to their place of torture, she clenched her teeth. Dammit.
Leonia, her twin and biggest opponent, and her other sisters were growing their minions by leaps and bounds. Davi, not one to stay behind, had snooped on her sisters and found that they’d done it by matchmaking between their minions. The horror. Yet she knew if she wanted to increase her own numbers, which had been the highest before her sisters had started beating at her heels, she’d need to join in the matchmaking.
Soft knocks had her turning on her four-inch red patent leather Jimmy Choos. Just because she lived in hell didn’t mean she had to lose all sense of style. Not to mention her mother would kill her. As the queen of the underworld, Riyanna took pride in her gorgeous red and black suits and sexy spike heels. Her mother wouldn’t let one of her own live it down if she caught them dressed in anything but sexual perfection.
“Come in,” she growled, patience all but snapping.
Laura Nieves. Her assistant smiled demurely, showing off her perfect white teeth. She headed toward Davi, kitten heels clicking on the red stone floor. She held some papers in her hands. Davi made a growl of distaste at the old maid outfit her assistant wore. Like Davi, Laura was big with generous curves. She should have been showing them off instead of hiding them.
“How many times do I have to tell you to update your wardrobe?” She took the papers Laura handed her. New souls had been brought to Davi’s level of hell.
Hell wasn’t just a giant pit, like most mortals thought. It was divided into levels. A soul was sent to a level based on how evil they’d been in their mortal life. Davi’s level boasted of those souls that lived a life of gluttony. Too much of everything and not enough appreciation had brought them to her. In the Seventh, they learned to do without. In some cases, they were tortured by seeing others have more than them. Unless they were one of her guards or staff, souls lived with the minimum of basics. Whenever they tried to get more, they ended up with less. Such was their torture.
“And I’ve told you each of those times that I am not dressing to catch any male attention. I dress for comfort,” she lied. Davi knew she lied, but refused to call her on it. It was expected of her underlings. They were in hell. No way she wanted honesty around her. “I won’t dress like a whore because you say so.”
“You’re my minion,” Davi groaned. “You need to look the part. Sensuality isn’t a crime, though you act like showing a little skin will kill you. Again.”
“I’m your assistant,” she countered with a grin. “One of them, anyway. You know the deal. I do whatever you ask as long as it is related to the Seventh. My clothes don’t impact your business.”
“You look like a grandmother.” Davi shook her head.
Laura raised her brows. “And you look like a high priced hooker.”
“Thank you,” she grinned, glancing down at her boobs, “but that’s not the point.”
“Of course it is,” Laura chuckled. “I don’t have the body that you have and I’d never feel comfortable dressed like that.”
“Oh, don’t give me that crap. I know a lot about your time. You wore those plunging necklines and satin dresses that drove men wild.” Davi pouted. “As for the body, we have the same body.” She slapped Laura’s wide hip on the side, running her hand up to her shoulder, barely bypassing her heavily covered breasts. “You have big legs, big hips, big arms, and generous breasts.” She tugged at the fabric of Laura’s outfit. “You have a great body that should be seen.”
“I don’t like showing my body off,” Laura said with pursed lips, shifting from foot to foot. She always looked uncomfortable when they spoke about her clothes.
Davi licked her lips, biting back a giggle. She adored getting on her beautiful assistant’s nerves. “Look at your skin. It’s go
t an eternal golden glow. Half the souls living in the pit don’t have your beautiful complexion.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “My heritage, Davi. My family was Spanish. Of course I have darker skin.”
“And you also lived in the era of dresses that showed your boobs. Why not show them again?” Davi tskd. “Your time alive was of men falling over themselves for women who wore long dresses that accentuated their bodies. Now you want to be dressed like a nun!” she spat.
“Yes, I might have dressed a little showier while alive, though nothing that actually showed my boobs, but I never did it to attract a man. It was the fashion.”
“And this is the fashion now. So get yourself new clothes, or I will disappear the clothes you have in your stale-of-sexiness closet, and replace them with my own brand of sexy.”
Laura groaned. “I’ll think about it.”
“You know you’re my favorite.”
“I should think so. I do enough work around here.” She folded her arms over her chest. “But I won’t be changing my clothes to make you happy, though I had planned on buying some new things.”
Fine. If that’s how she wanted to play it, Davi would accommodate her. She never gave up the chance to mess with her tight-bunned assistant. She ran her gaze over Laura’s button up blouse and black trousers again. Not really so bad, but for her position, Davi expected Laura to play the part. Considering she’d been her assistant for a few hundred years now, she should have already gotten the gist of how things worked there. Riyanna’s daughters embraced sensuality. As Davi’s right-hand person, she expected a better sense of style from Laura.
“I have a job for you.”
Laura’s brown eyes went wide, giving her the deer caught in the headlights look Davi always got a kick out of.
