Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2

by Bella Roccaforte

  She’s always thinking of the next story to indulge herself in and loves to settle down with a good book, when she gets the chance, a good Rosé wine, and those precious trips to the sun. She adores her homeland … with a passion … but wishes she could pick it up and place it down somewhere nice and hot!

  You can sign-up for her newsletter and receive a free book in your welcome email HERE -or connect with her on facebook HERE

  On the next page you can find details of some of Ava’s other work…

  More books by Ava

  Warrior of Darkness Series

  Man. Vampire. Dark Hunter.

  When a monstrous tragedy in my past forged me into the Dark Hunter I am today, I mistakenly believed I’d become invincible.

  But when she ran into one of my clubs, everything changed.

  Ariana Harmon ignites something inside of me, driving my inner beast insane. Our paths crossed, and now our fates are sealed. Secrets are revealed and evil is coming.

  I’ve no idea if either of us will survive—each other, or what’s headed our way.

  A Highland Wolf Clan Series

  Destiny will only take a backseat for so long…

  I’ve ignored my Wolf and home for years. I don’t need them or anyone. I’m rich and powerful. But with one phone call, I’m forced back into a life I loathe. A life I’ve never wanted … Pack.

  A Vampire’s Thirst Series

  An ancient Vampire. A Dragon on the run. A Thirst that won’t be denied.

  Victor

  I’ve never lost control, until now. A Thirst has overwhelmed me. It’s more powerful than anything I’ve ever encountered, causing cravings that are driving me to the brink of insanity, and to do things I abhor.

  Then it comes… a hint of a scent on the night air, tantalizing, hypnotizing, and calling me to my salvation.

  Black Rose Chronicles Series

  Lies come easy for me, as easily as I can change my face and my appearance with my forbidden magic. It’s necessary … I’m an Assassin.

  Dangerous and deadly and I’ve just agreed to take on the most treacherous mission of all. But when I meet my mark…the new leader of the Vampires, Cassius Allarde … my instincts are screaming that something’s wrong. My heart gets in the way of my job but if I don’t carry out what he’s paid me to do … I’ll have a powerful and angry Demon heading my way.

  The Witch, The Wolf, and The Vampire Series

  Always on the run…in case he tracks me down. He’s relentless. He’s evil. He’s the devil incarnate. He’s my father.

  Supernatural Enforcement Bureau Series

  The worlds of Vampires and Dragons collide in this hot paranormal romance adventure.

  Guild of Dragon Warriors Series

  Master of the Dragon Warriors, Jaxon, is sent on an urgent mission and finds the most precious gift of all.

  Sabrina’s Vampire Series

  I’ve ran from the only life I’ve known, disgraced, alone, and with no idea how to carry on. I was certain I could lose myself in ‘Sin City’, but I’ve ended up in trouble on my first night.

  Blaze

  S.J. Pierce

  Edited by Steve Soderquist

  Introduction

  A distractingly sexy wolf shifter that's smart, attentive, rides a motorcycle, and is good in bed—what more could Maddie Winters want? It's been years since she's opened her heart to another, and Blaze seems to be the perfect fit.

  But her love life has never managed to stay uncomplicated for long, so when her ex and father of her son comes running back into her life and begging for a second chance, she's none too surprised, though she's not prepared for the amount of drama he brings...or any of the chaos that follows.

  Everyone's demons catch up with them eventually, and his are more roaring and vicious than she ever could have fathomed.

  “A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very, very dangerous man who has it under voluntary control.”

  -Jordan Peterson

  1

  Maddie

  His fingers effortlessly glide over the keys, punching in code and who-knows-what else to get the program to update and start working again. I should be focused on getting charts pulled and making sure the exam room is stocked, but all I can seem to focus on are his fingers. His strong hands. The rolled-up sleeves of his dress shirt that expose tattoo sleeves along his forearms. The way the muscles along them ripple as he types.

  How far up do the tattoos go? Does the artwork splay across his chest?

  Thoughts of what his bare chest looks like, what it feels like, sends my head spinning and a breath-stealing heat flushes my chest, neck and face. His shirts are always tailored just so, leaving little to the imagination, so I’m certain I know what it looks like, or have a good inkling.

  Let’s just say he works out. A lot. And doesn’t skip any of his arm, chest, and leg days. And more than likely, ab days. He’s also a wolf, so there’s that. All that running lends to a good physique. That, and lots and lots of protein…

  My thoughts then trail down his chest and fantasize about that little V-shape musclemen like him have on either side of their torso.

  God, what I’d give.

  “You all right?” Blaze asks in the office chair beside me, fingers poised over the keyboard.

  I jolt into reality. “Yeah,” I say, breathless. I’m sitting on the desk while he works. “What’s up?”

  His lips quirk in that cute way beneath his well-trimmed beard. “You just said, God.”

  I clear my throat. “Oh.” Shit, I said it aloud. “I was… thinking about something.” Like your naked body.

  Get it together.

  It’s been too long since I’ve felt a man against me. Too long.

  “Sounded like it was something interesting.” He hiked a brow at interesting and started typing again.

  You have no idea.

  His eyes drift to a picture of Carson on my desk but his fingers don’t miss a beat on the keyboard. Skilled hands…

  Focus. I take a sip of coffee to ground myself and try not to wiggle against the wood grain of the desk.

  “How’s little man?” he asks.

  “He’s good. I took him to that spot you told me about.”

  He flashes a smile before refocusing on the screen. “Good. I thought you would like it.”

  He’s more familiar with all the good spots on the mountain for sightseeing…being a wolf and all. It was off the trail, but not far and the view of the waterfall was stunning.

  That was a month and a half ago, the last time he visited to fix a glitch. It does that every now and then and honestly, I don’t mind, because it means he comes to fix it. He’s their only tech in the area, and he’s always nice to me. Chatty. Our conversations border on flirtatious, though sometimes I think it’s all in my head because he never asks me out. And, I’m pretty bad at it. Flirting. We are one of his many clients, so maybe that’s why he doesn’t. Or, I could be reading way too much into all of it.

  Entirely possible.

  I’m way off my game. But to be fair, I haven’t been interested in anyone since my ex skipped town seven years ago. Open to the idea of love? Yes, but not actively searching. I was three months pregnant with Carson, his baby, when he left us.

  Heartbreak like that makes you pull inward. Well, until I met Blaze last year. I was a week into this job and had just moved back into Dark Moon Falls from Summermire, the town over, to be closer to my younger sister Rhee and her mated wolf, Jaxson.

  “That should do it,” he says, punching a few more keys. He closes some of the tabs with the mouse and rolls away from the desk. “Now, try not to screw anything else up this time.” A wink so I know he’s joking.

  “But when would I ever see you?” I say with a shrug.

  He laughs. “Good point.” He smacks the edge of the desk to signal the end of his visit and stands to go, pulling on his well-fitting pant legs to un-bunch them.

  Don’t stare at his thing… don’t st
are at his thing…

  “Stay cool,” he says, and shoulders the strap of his laptop bag. Heads for the door. When he pushes through, his head turns to eye me one last time with an unreadable expression, and then he’s gone.

  Ugh. Always gone too soon.

  I head for the breakroom for more coffee and inhale the scent he left behind like it’s the last time I’ll ever smell him—clean and musky. And woodsy. Not really like pine; something warmer. Delicious.

  I call Rhee.

  “Hey,” she says on the first ring. She’s due any day now and put on bedrest. She was probably playing a game on her phone when I called.

  “Hey,” I say and pour my second cup of coffee. Black. A splash of cream. I then consult with my watch. Eight o’clock. Dr. Payne should be here any minute. “Hottie McTight Pants was here again this morning. Met him before we opened so he could fix some glitches.”

  She sighs. “Stay away. What’s under his McTight Pants will only lead to pregnancy and bedrest.”

  I try not to laugh. I know she’s miserable. Not-pregnant Rhee would have wanted all the details, not that I have many to give her. “Don’t think you have to worry about that.” I head back to the front desk. “I think McTight Pants is only nice to me because—”

  As I round the corner I hit a wall of flesh and hot coffee explodes between us. It scalds my hands and I drop the mug out of instinct, splashing the rest of it on a pair of khakis.

  Oh no… khakis.

  I look up to see Blaze, his head tilted back and biting his lip to keep from cussing. Brown colors his white shirt across the chest and is still spreading downward. His left nipple shows through the fabric and I wince. Hot coffee hurts anyway, but hot coffee on the nipple…

  Thank God wolves heal fast.

  “Oh my God,” I rush out. “I’m so sorry.”

  He grunts his acknowledgement, still unable to speak.

  “Maddie?” Rhee says on the line.

  Crap, I forgot about her. “Lemme call you back,” I all but gasp, and punch the end-call button with a coffee-drenched finger. I then bend to pick up the mug. “I’m so sorry,” I repeat. “I didn’t hear you come back in.”

  “All good,” he says and clears his throat. “I’m fine.”

  I’d giggle if I wasn’t horrified. “Be right back,” I say, and run to get paper towels.

  He follows after.

  As I pull as many as I can out of the dispenser in the breakroom, he leans against the counter beside me. “It’s the first time I’ve ever had a drink thrown on me,” he says to add some levity.

  I huff a small laugh. I guess that’s a good sign.

  I hand over the paper towels and he runs them over his beard and neck to soak up the moisture. “It’s really fine,” he says, reading my expression. I’m mortified. “I have a change of clothes in the car.”

  I lean against the counter beside him with a sigh. “Let me at least wash these for you.” It’s the least I can do.

  He hitches an eyebrow. “Are you asking me to strip down, Madison?”

  I choke, my witty banter-maker suddenly broken. My mind is mush at the thought of him getting naked in here. And calling me Madison.

  “Kidding,” he says, misreading my silence, but he says in it a way I’m not sure if he was. Was that a test shot?

  My thoughts scramble to recover. “I don’t mix business and pleasure.”

  Crap, that wasn’t what I meant. “I mean…at work. While I’m at work. Pleasure at home is good.” Oh, God. I should stop now. “Or…anywhere but work…” I look to the floor between us and let my words trail into awkward oblivion.

  He chuckles, reaches out a hand and grasps my arm. His touch sends a race of shivers over my skin. “You okay?”

  I shake my head. “I’m horrible at this.”

  “At what?”

  “Flirting.” There, I said it. Put it out there. I stop myself from eyeing the door so I won’t be tempted to run away from the embarrassment.

  “That was flirting?”

  I shrug, and I can’t help but chuckle too. “See? I’m awful.” More like rusty. My cheeks flame when I meet his eyes again.

  His brown irises shine as he smiles. “It’s a good thing you’re gorgeous, then. You don’t need to know how to flirt.”

  I reel. Gorgeous? This Adonis thinks I’m gorgeous.

  He swipes the paper towels over his shirt. “I was actually coming back in to ask you out.”

  “You…you were?”

  A nod. A killer smile.

  My stomach jumps and I look back over his stained clothes. “And you still feel the same way after I doused you in hot coffee?”

  “I do if you do.”

  “Yeah…I…yes, of course.” I want to squeal and do pirouettes around the room at the thought. I guess I haven’t misread things, then. He’s into me too.

  Took him long enough to make a move.

  “One question, though,” he asks, wadding the paper towels up before chucking them into the wastebasket. Nothing but net.

  “Sure.”

  “Who’s McTight Pants?”

  2

  A New Kind of Wilderness

  “That’s…irrelevant,” is all I can think to say. My cheeks are on fire, and I turn to head to the front.

  “It is?” Blaze sounds amused. Follows closely behind. “Because, it sounded like McTight Pants is nice to you and you were confused as to why. That doesn’t sound too irrelevant.”

  “The Q and A portion of this conversation is over,” I shoot back. “Thanks for playing!”

  He laughs, leans against the front desk. I settle into the office chair beside him.

  “Strange…” he says to himself, and he tugs on his damp pants. “These are pretty snug. I like them tailored.”

  I act like I don’t hear him. Partly because I want this segment of the conversation to be over, but mostly because I’m trying to keep from staring at his eye-level junk through his wet pants. “So, you were saying something about asking me out?” Ugh. I try to keep my voice even and nonchalant but fail miserably.

  “I need to hear you say it first.”

  I eye him.

  “That I’m McTight Pants.”

  A smile breaks through. “You’ll never get such a confession from me.”

  His eyes squint to challenge my defiance.

  For a solid minute, we’re in a stare-off, but I’m the first to crack. “Fine,” I say with a laugh-sigh. “You’re McTight Pants.”

  He straightens victoriously. “Well, that was surprisingly easy.”

  Apparently. Something about this man, everything about this man, seriously tests my resolve. My eyes rake over his pants. “You already knew it was you.”

  He leans closer and my breath hitches as the space between us shrinks. He’s more comfortable with me now. More relaxed. Lighter.

  I like it.

  “I did,” he whispers. A secret for the two of us in this empty office. “And I’m nice to you because I like you.”

  All I can do is grin like an idiot.

  He pushes off the desk to leave. And probably change clothes. He could change in here. I wouldn’t argue. “Dinner tonight?”

  I want to melt into the chair at the thought—someone wants to make plans to feed me, for once. I couldn’t tell you the last time that happened. “Sure,” I say. Carson was already staying the night at Rhee’s. The only plans I had were with Ben & Jerry’s and Netflix…and then probably B.O.B., my battery-operated boyfriend.

  He tugs on his stained shirt as he heads toward the door. Through the glass, I can see Dr. Payne heading this way.

  Perfect timing.

  “Just no coffee,” he teases.

  That elicits a laugh. “Understandable.”

  “Preferences?” He’s backing through the door.

  I shake my head. Feed me, and I’m yours. “I’m easy.”

  The perfect opportunity to make a sexual joke, but he doesn’t.

  Funny, smart, thoughtful, an
d a gentleman.

  So, in other words, the total opposite of my ex. No wonder I’m drawn to him…

  “I’ll surprise you then,” he says with a wink.

  I smile my approval.

  “Seven o’clock. Just text me your address.”

  My boss breezes through the door that Blaze is holding open. They nod their hellos, and once Dr. Payne is inside, Blaze gives me one last wink and heads for his car.

  Don’t stare at his ass in front of your boss. Don’t stare at his ass. Just don’t—

  I totally stare at his ass.

  “What happened to him?” Dr. Payne asks.

  “Huh?” I say, dazed.

  “Blaze. He had something all over him.”

  I come to. “Oh. Coffee incident.”

  He seems mildly disinterested as he punches something into his phone. And totally oblivious as to what Blaze and I were talking about when came through the door. Either that or he doesn’t care enough to mention it. Either works for me. But, would he care that Blaze and I are dating? I honestly don’t know. I’ve never wanted to get naked with someone he does business with.

  Not that it’s going to stop me.

  “Did he fix the problem?” he asks, heading for the back.

  “He did,” I reply, and manage to gather my wits enough to turn my attention to patient charts. I’m way behind on my morning duties now…thanks to McTight Pants.

  * * *

  For the rest of the morning, I find it hard to focus. Not that I need to be all that razer-sharp at a small-town doctor’s office, at least compared to the ICU in Summermire hospital. The most excitement we have is a double ear infection and a funky looking rash, which is a good thing, because I keep snapping to daydreams of having Blaze all to myself. And then I have a mild freak out before lunch because I realize I’m grossly unprepared for a date. Where is my razor? Do I need to buy new razor heads? I couldn’t tell you the last time I shaved. But maybe I shouldn’t shave so I’m not tempted to get into bed with him on the first date.