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BLOG BARRAGE ~ AWAKENED BY A DEMONESS by Felicity Heaton
Awakened by a Demoness, the tenth book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release of this awesome milestone in the series, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY and sharing sneak peeks of the book.
Enter the Awakened by a Demoness international giveaway (ends June 5th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate by using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post or at her website, where you can also download a 4 chapter sample of the novel:
Here’s more about this forbidden romance between a powerful angel warrior and one very sassy wicked demoness, including an excerpt for you to sink those teeth into!
Awakened by a Demoness
(Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 10)
Felicity Heaton
Asteria of the Second Legion of demons has messed up. Royally. With a capital everything. Certain that her dark lord is about to end her in the most painful way imaginable, she’s stunned when the fallen angel offers her an uncharacteristic shot at redemption—and determined not to fail him again. With her life on the line, she sets out on a mission that sounds easy but proves to be far from it when a hot slice of angelic eye candy comes storming into her life, stirring dangerous desires and tempting her more than any male before him.
Fifth Commander of the Echelon, the highest order of angels in Heaven and those responsible for hunting demons, he will allow nothing to stand in the way of fulfilling the mission he began close to a century ago so he can finally return to his home. On the verge of securing the half-breed he has been hunting, he can almost taste victory—until a sassy demoness struts into his life, awakening wicked needs and forbidden hungers that will test him to his limit.
When their mission brings them on a collision course, can they fight the fierce heat of the passion that blazes between them to claim a victory for their side or will it burn their resistance to ashes and set their hearts on fire with a love both forbidden and eternal?
Awakened by a Demoness is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer HERE:
Awakened by a Demoness – Excerpt
Asteria held her shit together as she approached the monolithic black citadel, her boots loud on the polished obsidian flagstones of its central circular courtyard. She tipped her chin up, clenched her fists at her sides to stop them from shaking, and strode towards her doom with the same resolve as she had managed to cling to during her trek through the previous six circular courtyards that surrounded the citadel like concentric rings.
She was fairly certain that these were the last few moments of her life and it was about to come to a grisly close.
It had taken her days of grovelling to her superiors, issuing profuse apologies unbecoming of a demon and having to bite her tongue when her temper had flared, but she had secured a meeting with her dark lord. She had been elated when the leader of her legion had informed her that their master was willing to speak with her, but as the hours had trickled
past, that elation had turned to full blown fear.
She had failed in a very important mission, the sort no amount of grovelling could actually correct, so she wasn’t sure why she had thought this was going to end well.
The meeting a ridiculous part of her had believed was going to somehow redeem her was probably in fact a meeting in which she was going to discover her punishment.
Would it be a swim in the lava pit while the Devil watched her burn, or something far worse?
She wouldn’t be the first demoness, or demon, to be sentenced to spend time in his bed.
It wasn’t an honour.
It was a death sentence.
She hadn’t heard of anyone surviving the torture of being his bedfellow, mostly because those he didn’t eventually kill during the act were tossed into the lava pit when he was done with them.
Several low-ranking young demons scurried past her, dressed in black jackets and trousers, their feet bare and bloodied. The black sacks they carried over their shoulders dripped crimson, smelling of entrails.
Asteria swallowed hard and it was damned difficult to hold her nerve as she watched the clean up team carting away whatever poor bastard had just finished meeting with the Prince of Darkness.
An unfortunate lover?
She had heard the stories from those who served in his dark citadel, the young souls assigned to mopping up the mess after a lover had done or said something to flip his switch. Rumour had it that he went through at least two mattresses a week, and demanded a fresh, brand new set of sheets every few hours. His appetite for fucking was as insatiable as his appetite for destruction and death, and unfortunately that meant the two often coincided.
She sucked down a deep breath as she reached the grand arched entrance of the towering castle and looked up its height, taking in the jagged towers that rose into the dark grey sky of Hell. Light from the bubbling pits of lava beyond the walls of the central courtyard and the braziers that formed a circle, lining those walls, tried to lend warmth to the matt black stone of the fortress but only managed to make it look more sinister by casting shadows in the recesses.
The four huge demon males guarding the entrance eyed her, their elliptical pupils stretched thin in the centre of their black irises and burning gold. Elite. They were kept in a permanent state of rage in order to maintain their appearance, keeping them looking as dangerous and deadly as her kind could be.
She had such a dark side herself, but unleashing it right now would be a big mistake. Huge. Her dark lord didn’t appreciate those below him showing up on his doorstep looking ready for war.
It was the reason she had chosen her lighter black armour, the red-edged metal plates fitting more closely to her legs and hips, and across her chest, and had forgone wearing the gauntlets that normally encased her forearms and hands. She had also brushed her long black hair, tamed the gold-to-red streak that ran down the front right side, and had taken her time in front of the mirror in her hut, applying black around her blue eyes and painting her lips crimson.
She had even taken the time to preen her black leathery wings, buffing the membranes with wax until they shone, and had done the same with the small obsidian horns that curled from behind the pointed tips of her ears, following the curve down to end in a point near the lobes.
She eyed the four ripped bare-chested demon males guarding the entrance again, envied the bastards a little as she gazed at their horns. Males had bigger ones, the sort that twisted around to form deadly daggers beside their temples when they were enraged.
Asteria sighed, wishing she had such horns.
One of her friends had told her once that she had horn envy. She had denied it at the time, but it was true. Whenever she found herself banging a demon, she couldn’t keep her hands off their horns. She had even tried to rip one out of a male once. He had thought she was merely being rough and had enjoyed it. The damn thing had been rooted too deeply though and she had sort of forgotten about trying to break it off when he had begun thrusting harder between her legs, turning her brain to mush.
One of the male’s gazes slid her way and he raked an approving look over her. His black horns flared a little further, revealing his desire and interest to her.
She flicked her onyx hair over her shoulder, shot him a wink, and kept walking, a little swing to her hips with each step now as she silently flirted with the brute. She looked him up and down just as she passed him, bit her lip at the sight of so much hard muscle, and swore that if she survived the next few minutes she would be back to take him up on his offer.
Which would be a miracle, and those didn’t happen in Hell.
Still, he was a nice distraction as she ogled his arse over her shoulder, one that kept her thoughts away from her imminent death until someone approached her.
“Asteria of the Second Legion?” a demoness said, a wobble in her throaty voice.
She nodded and looked at her, and quickly masked the fear that bolted through her when she found herself face to face with a young female dressed in little more than a scrap of crimson around her hips and breasts, a thick black metal collar that was tight against her throat, and a lot of bruises.
By the Devil, was this the future she was doomed to endure staring right back at her with bleak bloodshot eyes and a startling lack of horns.
Someone had cut them off. Asteria tried not to gawp at them but she couldn’t stop herself, and her stomach plummeted when she realised they hadn’t been shorn.
They had been broken.
The black stumps that remained were brutally fractured.
The female’s hands twitched at her sides, as if with an urge to touch the horns Asteria stared at, so she dragged her eyes away, feeling bad that she had upset the young demoness.
Demons tried their best to be the toughest, most badass creatures in Hell, but when it boiled down to it, they had feelings too, and this female had been through the mill.
Probably at the hands of the one creature in Hell who didn’t possess a single jot of emotion.
The fallen angel she was about to meet.
The young demoness bowed her head and led the way, and Asteria tried to busy herself with taking in all the details of the palace her dark master called home in an attempt to stop herself from preening her horns, reassuring herself they were still perfect. Still there. On the outside, it matched his image perfectly, but on the inside… it was quite the opposite.
Oh, it was sumptuous and decadent, but it wasn’t exactly goth-chic as she had expected.
The black of the outside world gave way to white marble floors that were so highly polished she could see herself in them. They reflected the light from the crystal chandeliers, and that same light shone off the gold filigree that decorated the dark wooden ceiling. The walls were smooth and, of all things, papered. The vestibule and hallway that led off it had crimson wallpaper with black almost fleur-de-lys patterns on it. She had been in some expensive homes in the mortal world and the Devil had decorated his in that same style, but with a more sinister edge that she would have attributed more to a vampire than a fallen angel.
Her escort stopped at a set of arched wooden double doors and bowed.
Asteria guessed this was it. The bloody end to her somewhat not glorious career as a demon. She was a damned idiot for failing to capture the people who had slaughtered Barafnir but how the hell was she meant to have known the demon arsehole had been one of the Devil’s favourites?
She reached for the solid gold knob on one door, pulled down another breath to steel herself, and took hold of it. It was warm to the touch. Nothing like the cold bastard waiting on the other side. She could feel him there, his power vibrating through her, calling to her.
She closed her eyes, twisted the knob and pushed the door open just as she lifted her chin and fixed her gaze straight ahead.
It landed on a male lounging in a huge black throne in the centre of an enormous blue-walled room, wearing only gold-edged obsidian armour on his lower half.
Heaven be damned, because it had made him breathtaking.
She knew he was a brute, seven feet tall and dark and deadly, but he was a beautiful bastard, and he knew it as he sat there on his throne, black hair falling around his broad shoulders and chiselled torso on show.
The air in the expansive open room vibrated with his power, making her blood hum and skin tingle.
His red eyes held hers, a bored edge to his handsome face, and he lazily lifted his right hand from the arm of his throne and crooked a clawed finger, beckoning her.
Asteria’s palms sweated. She should have dressed a little sexier, taken more time about her appearance. It ran through her gaining volume on each pass as she sauntered towards him, feeling his heat rolling over her, power curling around her, drowning out the part of her that had feared him and replacing it with something altogether more terrifying.
Desire.
The corner of his profane mouth twitched into a smirk.
He knew he was affecting her, and while his mouth said that pleased him, the way his eyes darkened said it didn’t.
She straightened her spine, crushed her unruly feelings and boxed them away, and held her head high as she marched towards him, all business. Not weak. Not affected by just his damned gorgeous presence.
Her step faltered when she noticed a smouldering bloody stain on the white marble floor.
His last appointment?
By the Devil, she was going to die in the next few seconds, or worse, at a later date after he was done with her.
When she was within a few metres, he lowered his right leg from his left knee and set his foot on the floor. His hands came down over the edges of the arms of his black throne, curling around to press sharp black claws into the stone and causing his biceps to bulge.
Behind him, a sheer black curtain did a poor job of concealing the other half of the room and she tried not to look there but her eyes were drawn to the hazy glow of candles on the other side, her focus snagged by the low moans coming from that direction.
That heat curled around her again, pushed at her will but she pushed back, refusing to fall prey to it and the Devil’s dark allure. She wasn’t about to become like those females on the other side of the curtain who were probably writhing around on his bed, waiting impatiently for the male who was staring at her.
“Asteria of the Second Legion.” His deep voice rumbled around the room like thunder, charging the air and sending tremors of pleasure through her, and she had to squeeze her thighs to stop herself from collapsing into a puddle of goo at his feet. Heaven be doubly damned, it had built this male for sin. Thoughts of dirty hard sex popped into her head, illicit images that she did her best to shove away as soon as they burst into existence. “You disappointed me.”
Just like that, the spell over her shattered and cold fear replaced the wicked heat of desire.
This was it.
Her death knell.
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
Hells bells & heaven above!!!! I loved Awakened by a Demoness
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Felicity’s work. PNR is my ‘go to’ genre and her books totally hit the spot!
This story continues the Eternal Mates series but, for me, it had a different kinda vibe from the rest of the reads. I actually got the same kind of feelings that I had reading some of the books in the Her Angel series – and that was mainly down to the storyline.
Heaven and Hell are up to no good, again… They are both out to get a half-breed; pitting a feisty, flirty and determined demoness and an uptight, straight-laced angel, an Echelon no less, against each other in their race to ‘turn’ the half demon/half angel to their own side.. but, as we’ve come to expect with Ms Heaton’s stories, not everything is as it seems……
I really fell for this couple. The spark between Asteria and the Fifth Commander is there from their first encounter… they are drawn to each other, regardless of how much they try to ignore the ‘enemy’. The build up of their relationship was fraught with doubt and second guessing of their connection and feelings. Was it all real, were they really mates, as Asteria thought, or was there something else behind the attraction and their inability to stay away or stop thinking about each other.
Asteria is a lot of fun. She’s got no filter, she’s sexy, sassy and will use any means required to get what she needs. When it comes to finding her target she determined as hell – she has to be as, with this mission, she’s pretty much fighting for her life – if she fails her duty this time, the outcome could be way worse than death – and for this particular demoness, that’s unthinkable!!
The Echelon; he’s hot, good looking and he HATES demons – his kind will kill any that they come into contact with… but when he meets Asteria, for some reason, he fights those feelings. He experiences emotions and thoughts that an angel shouldn’t have for anyone, never mind a demoness… and he doesn’t trust that they are real.
Even though they are in competition to find the half-breed, they end up working together to try to locate her as she’s currently hidden in a coven. When they do finally find her, she tells them something that blows everything they’ve ever known to hell and back…. That’s all I’m saying, ‘cos anything else would give the game away! 😉
Packed full of the action, adventure, twists, turns and intrigue, with all of the heat, passion and sexy times we love, Awakened by a Demoness felt like the start of something bigger to come in the Eternal Mates story arc…. I could be way off base in my thinking, but I’m excited to find out where this fab series goes next.
A fantastic, 5* read. Even though AbaD is the 10th book in the series, it could easily be read as a standalone, but IMHO, read the rest of the books, they are well worth it!
xxxxx
Awakened by a Demoness is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.
Find all the links, a fantastic 4 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website:
Books in the Eternal Mates paranormal romance series:
- Book 1: Kissed by a Dark Prince
- Book 2: Claimed by a Demon King
- Book 3: Tempted by a Rogue Prince
- Book 4: Hunted by a Jaguar
- Book 5: Craved by an Alpha
- Book 6: Bitten by a Hellcat
- Book 7: Taken by a Dragon
- Book 8: Marked by an Assassin
- Book 9: Possessed by a Dark Warrior
- Book 10: Awakened by a Demoness
- Book 11: Haunted by the King of Death – Coming Summer 2016
 About Felicity Heaton Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too. If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series. If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places: |
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PRE-ORDER BLITZ ~ A Right to Remain by Beth Rinyu
By: Beth Rinyu
She had a right to remain silent about hers.For better or for worse.
Those were the vows that I had taken with my wife six years ago. We had lived through the better and were barely getting through the worse. I tried to face our loss together, while she chose to have an affair instead.
Time apart was what we both needed.
What I didn’t expect in that time was her.
The beauty she possessed on the outside was a far cry from the scars she was harboring on the inside. She wasn’t looking for love and neither was I. She just needed someone to help her deal with the pain she had been carrying around for the past two years, and I was happy to oblige.
I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her, but suddenly I was seeing a future that I never dreamed of right in front of my eyes….only to find that the past had other things in mind for us. ***
I always believed that we only got one true love in life, and mine was gone and never coming back.
Through the tear-filled nights and never ending days, I was slowly and tortuously coming to terms with the pain that was my reality.
And then he entered my life.
Tall, handsome, genuine and caring, he was a friend when I needed one most. Together, we were a temporary fix to our own permanent pain. Just two people helping each other to get through a very dark period in life.
But when the light begins to shine ever so slightly with each passing day, and his face is all I can see at the end of that tunnel…..do I run back into the darkness or move into the light with him?
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RELEASE BLITZ ~ Paige’s Warriors by Ann Mayburn
Can Tren and Rell work together and overcome Paige’s fears in an effort to save all their battered souls? Find out in PAIGE’S WARRIORS, a Bondmates novel, from Ann Mayburn!
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Synopsis:
After a lifetime of war, Commander Trenzent has left behind the bloody battlefields of the Bel’Tan galaxy and traveled to Earth in the hopes of finding his bondmate. He can only pray that the one woman in the universe who can save his battered soul can look past his scarred exterior to the man within. Unfortunately for Tren, his potential bride is terrified of men thanks to years of abuse at the hands of her father and won’t be easy to seduce.
Paige Grant is pretty sure she’s losing her mind obsessing about a man who doesn’t exist. Ever since the night a wormhole opened up next to Jupiter she’s had these intense dreams about a terrifying, damaged man who awakens a passion inside of her she never knew existed. Despite his grim exterior, he makes her feel safe, something she desperately needs in the real world as she fights off the advances of a man who will not take no for an answer.
But Trenzent isn’t the only Kadothian warrior who believes Paige is his bondmate. An old political enemy of Tren’s, Rell Thantos, also believes the sweet and shy young Earth woman holds the missing part of his soul. He will do whatever it takes to win her heart, even if it means becoming bloodbrothers with a man he hates.
The men will have to find a way to get past their anger and work together to protect Paige against an unknown enemy who is determined to keep the women of Earth out of the Bel’Tan Galaxy forever.
Warning– This story is set in the Bel’Tan galaxy where polyamorous relationships are the norm and love in all of its forms is accepted including M/M, M/M/F, M/M/M/F sexual situations. Basically if you don’t like hot dudes kissing hot dudes, this may not be the series for you.
Available at: Amazon | Other favorite ebook retailers
Add PAIGE’S WARRIORS to your Goodreads TBR pile!
About Ann Mayburn
With over forty published books, Ann is Queen of the Castle to her husband and three sons in the mountains of West Virginia. In her past lives she’s been an Import Broker, a Communications Specialist, a US Navy Civilian Contractor, a Bartender/Waitress, and an actor at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. She also spent a summer touring with the Grateful Dead-though she will deny to her children that it ever happened.
From a young age Ann has had a love affair with books would read everything she could get her hands on. As Ann grew older, and her hormones kicked in, she discovered bodice ripping Fabio-esque romance novels. They were great at first, but she soon grew tired of the endless stories with a big wonderful emotional buildup to really short and crappy sex. Never a big fan of purple prose, throbbing spears of fleshy pleasure and wet honey pots make her giggle, she sought out books that gave the sex scenes in the story just as much detail and plot as everything else-without using cringe worthy euphemisms. This led her to the wonderful world of Erotic Romance, and she’s never looked back.
Now Ann spends her days trying to tune out cartoons playing in the background to get into her ‘sexy space’ and has accepted that her Muse has a severe case of ADD.
Ann loves to talk with her fans, as long as they realize she’s weird, and that sarcasm doesn’t translate well via text.
Connect with Ann: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest |Goodreads| Amazon Author Page
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RELEASE BLITZ ~ Andromeda’s Reign by KS Haigwood and Anne Conley
Andromeda’s Reign
Series: Moonrising #2
by KS Haigwood and Anne Conley
Publication Date: May 12, 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 407
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The Moonrising story continues… The Alpha Lion of Las Vegas, Ace Keller, has luck on his side, at the poker table and with the ladies, calling bluffs and breaking hearts whenever the notion strikes him. After bonding with the Alpha Wolf of Montgomery, Alabama, fate flips Ace’s simple world upside down when he finds himself desiring only one woman in his life — Andromeda. But not only does he want her, he needs her touch in order to live. The bond forces them to feel each other’s emotions and hear each other’s thoughts, which wouldn’t be a problem except Andromeda is in love with a Master Vampire, and Ace has dark secrets of his own that could put her in danger.
Other books in the series.
Accepting the Moon
(Moonrising Prequel)
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Midnight Moonrising
(Moonrising #1)
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Chapter 1
Wednesday, February 4th 2015 5:42 p.m. PST
Las Vegas, Nevada
Ace
“Do it again,” I demanded.
I could feel Andromeda trying to give up emotionally, as well as physically, but I pushed her harder. I knew what her body and mind were capable of, and we were nowhere near her breaking point. She was a lot stronger than she thought she was.
Our connection, as we both liked to refer to the bond, seemed to be growing stronger, rather than weaker, like Andromeda had hoped it would. She wanted to find a way to reverse the ritual.
I didn’t.
She could feel my every emotion and hear my every thought—unless I blocked the telepathy—but it worked both ways, so she could keep me out of her mind, too. Unfortunately, we couldn’t block the emotions.
I felt each and every happy memory she’d had with Phoenix and each and every sad moment she’d had without him. The only time she wasn’t thinking about him was when we were training. So I planned to make her train. A lot.
This damn rollercoaster of feelings was literally driving me insane. I had never in all my life felt as much as I had in the last week, and I hated it. Me… with one girl… forever… I rolled my eyes at the absurdity that my life had become in only the blink of an eye. But as crazy as that all sounded, and even though I had in no way asked or planned for any of it, I couldn’t bring myself to hate the fact that I was finally ready to settle down.
I blocked Andromeda’s kick, grabbed her shoe and threw her to her back on the workout mat. Grinning down at her furious, pale-green eyes, I offered her my hand.
She huffed as she got to her feet on her own, looking down as she limped away from me. What a terrible actress. Chaos could have done a better job of fooling me.
I shook my head as my hands came up to rest on my hips. “Don’t give me that shit. It might work on your wolf cubs or even your boyfriend, but you can’t fake it with me, Andra. We’re bonded. I know you’re not hurt, so don’t—”
“I’m tired, Ace—”
“You shouldn’t be tired,” I sneered. “You slept the whole flight here. But for the sake of avoiding a pointless argument, humor me. What are you going to do when you’re in battle and you get tired? Are you going to limp away? What if I’m not there to kill the fucker for you next time?”
“I never asked for this!” she screamed as she whirled around to glare at me, her beautiful eyes brightened by the tears shimmering in them.
“I didn’t, either!” I roared back. She flinched as our emotions tangled together. I knew those tears weren’t there because she was sad, because her fury washed over me like I had been doused with boiling water. The rush of it almost hurt. The anger sucked, but I knew anger. I could deal with anger. Anger was my friend. It was the sadness and the heartbreak and the sappy-frilly-frilly I couldn’t fucking deal with. Unfortunately for me, Andra seemed to be full to the brim with all that shit.
With more effort than I really wanted to put forth with the mood I was in, I waded through her rage, then through my madness and forced calm over us.
This bond was new to us both, but getting it through her thick head that it would be easier on us if she would dump her boyfriend was like trying to breathe under water. I might have understood her side of the argument a little better if she had been dating the vampire longer than a month, and never mind the fact that two of those weeks she was locked in a silver cage as a wolf. They hadn’t even had time to get to know each other. I knew her. She knew me. We had direct contact with each other’s thoughts, memories and emotions, yet she wouldn’t even consider the idea of us being together on an intimate level. I didn’t understand it at all.
After a moment, I held out my hand again. “Come here.” I’d be dead and damned before I went to her, not with how she’d been acting since we left Montgomery, Alabama.
She looked down at my hand and set her jaw. I knew she wanted to touch me just as much as I needed her to, but I also knew by her thoughts that she wouldn’t without a little more encouragement.
“I know you promised Phoenix that you would try to be happy with me, here in Sin City. Do I need to make a call to the High Vampire of Montgomery to let him know you aren’t playing fair, Andra? My first attempt at getting him to break things off with you was just that: my first attempt. You may hate me before this is all over and done with between you and your bloodsucker, but, in the end, you will still need me and you won’t have him. I can live with that. Can you?”
Her lip quivered, and I nearly caved. I couldn’t handle the tears, but I could counteract with a little rage, just enough to give her a taste of how I felt. “Ace—”
“You’re mine, Andra. I’m willing to give you some time to let that soak in, but I won’t wait long.” I hardened my voice to a steely edge, even though she could undoubtedly tell I was serious. She had bonded with me, damn it! She was mine. She didn’t belong to some vampire nearly two thousand miles away. And when he got here, he still wouldn’t have her completely. I had to tamp down the utter rage at Andra’s memories of the vampire in bed with her, his skin sliding against hers, his mouth on my mate’s mouth. Fuck. If she wasn’t going to realize it on her own, I’d have to push the issue. “He can’t have you, Andra. I won’t let that happen.” I said the last part slowly, maybe for dramatic effect or maybe it was because, deep in my heart, I knew it to be true—I wouldn’t let him have her. By the fear in her widening eyes, I could tell she was seeing things from my perspective now. It was about damn time.
“I knew you would do this! I knew you would get me here and try to control me—”
“The only thing I’m trying to do is train you, but you won’t stop thinking of him long enough to concentrate on keeping your lovesick ass alive if this were a real situation!”
“Why do I need to learn how to fight so fast? We’ve barely stopped since we got here. And why haven’t you let me in your mind in two days? You shut me out the moment I asked about Justice.”
I huffed. I couldn’t tell her about Justice yet. If this upset her, I could only imagine how enraged she would be when I told her that I nailed a huge target on her head with our bonding. The worst part was that I knew it before I even did it. I didn’t know how to break the news to her without her hating me for it. Hell, I hated me for it. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
“Well, I’m not ready to stop missing Phoenix yet,” she bit back. “I’ve only been away from my home for a little more than half a day, Ace. Cut me a little slack.”
I guess I was damned and dead, because I took a step forward, reached out and took her hand. The relief was immediate. Our rage subsided and our tempers calmed as if we’d never been angry at all. Our fight seemed so petty now. “I’m sorry. I am trying, Andra, and I will talk to you about Justice soon. I promise. I just have to figure out how to go about doing it the right way.”
She nodded as she wrapped her arms around me, and I looked up to the high ceiling, thanking the good Lord above us that He had given me enough sense to apologize. There was no better feeling in the world than when she was in my arms. It felt like heaven. It was new for me—totally unheard of for me—but I was quickly getting used to it. That in itself was mystifying.
“I’ll understand,” she said, and I lowered my head so that I could whisper in her ear.
“About what?”
“About him. Whatever it is, I’ll understand, Ace.”
God, if that were only true! Sighing heavily, I said, “I hope you will.”
“Were you lovers?”
I blinked rapidly at that. What the fuck? “No!” I had to laugh. Of course she would think something like that! “I’ve never been intimate with Justice… or any other guy, for that matter,” I said in disbelief, and then a smile crept across my face. “I like puss—”
Andra quickly clamped a hand over my mouth. “I hate that word. Call it something else.”
I threw my head back and laughed harder than I had in a long time. After I calmed down enough to speak clearly, I said, “What do you call it?”
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she blushed, and then those walls swiftly went up, blocking me out of her mind. Damn it! “I’m not telling you what I call my… my…”
“Pussy?”
She slapped my chest, and I laughed. “Stop! That sounds so gross to me.”
She did a little shudder-wiggle thing, and I couldn’t stop laughing. I’m serious. It was freaking hilarious watching her squirm over a word I’d said in everyday conversation most of my adult life.
“Okay, we won’t talk about what you call yours. What do you think I should call it in general? I have to call it something.”
“Why do you have to call it anything? People don’t go around talking about hoo-has all day long. You could just leave that particular body part out of your vocabulary altogether,” she said matter-of-factly.
My eyebrows rose as I stared at her in fascination. “Hoo-has?”
“Well, hoo-has is plural, meaning more than one. Hoo-ha is singular, meaning only one.”
Shit! Is she really giving me a grammar lesson on pussy slang?
“I know what singular means, Andra. I’m fairly educated.”
“Oh, then there you go. Hoo-ha and hoo-has.”
Frowning, I shook my head. “I don’t like that word. Call it something else.”
She grinned playfully, mimicking my head shake as she turned to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me, enclosing her in the iron-like frame of my arms. Her skin—coated in a thin sheen of sweat—slid against mine, bringing to mind all sorts of erotic delights, but I only held her tighter. She stiffened, but she was too distracted to keep her walls intact. We were too close and she wasn’t as experienced with blocking as I was. I felt her desire for me the exact moment I smelled it.
Not only did the lion in me wake up, but the bonded male in me did, too. I wanted her. Bad. But it was too soon. She still had that vampire on a leash and I hadn’t told her my secret. My wants could wait for the perfect time. And there would be a perfect time. I was damn sure of that.
I had her right where I wanted her, though. Her walls were down and she was fully aware of how much she wanted me. The bonding did that to us. The attraction we felt for each other was unavoidable when we were this close. It may have been mean of me to use it to my advantage, but I had to know; she could not leave this room without me knowing. I did exactly what I intended to do from the start and no more. I bent until my lips almost touched hers, and then I dove into her mind. She hadn’t even tried to hide it from me. It was right there, for the taking, what she called her Golden Grotto, her Holy Grail or, in her words, hoo-ha.
I smiled as I whispered, “Kitty-cat.”
Desire left her eyes as she pushed against me. I let her go with a light chuckle.
“You’re an ass, Ace,” Andra said as she avoided looking at me. I could feel her embarrassment and guilt. Yes, guilt was there, too. The fucking vampire was cock-blocking me from seventeen-hundred miles away.
There was no need to bring up the fact that she would have willingly let me pet her kitty-cat if I had only kissed her. There was no vampire here for her to run to now. She wouldn’t have stopped me, but she would have regretted it. I didn’t want her to regret being with me. Ever. I had to play my cards right. There was no folding or losing in this game. I would win.
The gym doors opened, and Slade walked in with Kai, Rogan and Chaos. Chaos ran straight to Andra, and she knelt down to ruffle his ears and baby-talk to him. She was spoiling him, and he was eating it up. I frowned, my mood turning a bit sour at admitting to myself that I was envious of my Rhodesian ridgeback.
“Great timing, assholes,” I grumbled.
Slade’s grin was a mile wide as he watched Andra pet my dog, and then his green eyes cut up to mine, his black eyebrows rising in amusement. He thought it was funny as hell that I’d finally met a woman I liked and she wouldn’t put out. His words, not mine. And what made it worse, I hadn’t even told him. My Beta knew me better than I knew myself most of the time. I guess he could tell by the sexually frustrated look on my mug that I hadn’t gotten any—or any worth bragging about—in a while. I was never, ever telling him what Andra called the cockpit. Hoo-ha… What kind of word is that for something so awesome? The fucker would never let me live down how vanilla she was.
Slade nodded to Andra. “Has Ace been a good host? Are you getting settled in okay?”
She smiled shyly as she gave him a curt nod, but her face was still a little pink from the embarrassment I had caused only a few moments earlier, so I closed the distance between us and took her hand. She squeezed my fingers in response, and I winked at Slade.
“I’ve got it taken care of. She’s staying in my room.”
All three men did a double-take. My dog even looked at me funny. It didn’t surprise me. No female of mine had ever been allowed in my room—not that I kept one for more than a night, but that was beside the point. I took care of my women away from the lion’s den. None of the other pride members who lived here were allowed to bring anyone to the house with them for some kinky play, either. It was best for everyone if humans didn’t know shifters existed. Every Tom, Dick and Harry would grab their pitchforks and hunt us. That’s all we needed, a bunch of simple-minded rednecks who didn’t understand a damn thing about us, trying to become slayers. That wouldn’t do anything except get a bunch of humans killed.
Rogan’s whiskey-colored eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Huh?”
“Your room?” Kai said as he swept his shaggy blond mop out of his deep blue eyes so he could see me with both of them. “But you—”
“How did I miss that?” Slade said, interrupting Kai. “I thought Olivia had an extra bed in her room that Andra was supposed to sleep in while she stayed here.”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I released Andra’s fingers so I could drape my arm over her shoulder and pull her closer to me. I already knew she had access to everything about my past, since she’d received all my memories the moment we bonded, but I didn’t want these dickweeds making her think she was like those other chicks. “Andra is special, guys. Shut up, will ya?”
The guys just stared at me in disbelief. I wasn’t joking, but they were obviously waiting for me to tell them I was. Did they expect me to be a bachelor forever? Of course they did. Five days ago I would have expected that of myself.
Andra snickered, I was guessing at the nervous feeling I was sending her through our connection. “I got settled in just fine. Thank you, though I haven’t had much time for rest. Ace has had me training since we arrived.”
Slade grinned at her mischievously. “He’s easily bribed. Give him something he wants. He’ll do whatever you want him to do.”
“You can go now,” I said, letting the lack of amusement that I felt seep into the tone of my voice.
Andra laughed softly. “I’ll have to try that. What would he want?”
Kai snorted. “What does every man want from a woman?”
I looked up to the ceiling and huffed in annoyance when her embarrassment crept over my skin. Every damn hair on my arms was standing on end. “Get the hell out of here, guys. We’re about to turn in for the night. The rest of the pride will be here early in the morning to meet Andra.”
“Turning in for the night?” Rogan said, and then looked at the other guys, as if he was missing something important. “We came to tell you it was time to leave for work. None of us are as good as you are, Ace.”
A muffled curse passed through my lips as I ran my free hand down my face. “Uh…” I stammered, and Andra turned to look at me, confusion pouring out of her and into me in waves. She was on the verge of freaking out that I might leave her here alone. I forced a smile as I pried my wide eyes away from the guys to look at her. “It is, uh… tonight is poker night, and kind of a tradition I started a few decades ago. I’m pretty good at it, hence why I named my lion Ace. Most of us don’t really work around here. We gamble. It’s how the bills get paid. And I guess it’s my night to make sure we have a place to live next month.”
She glanced around the huge gym that was only a small fraction of the house. “You gamble and win enough money to pay for this place?”
“Yeah… and then some. Look, I won’t go if you don’t want to go, but I’m better than anyone here. We’ll lose everything pretty quick if I depend on some of these losers to cover the bills. A few of them lose more than I win sometimes.”
“Wait… the chick is coming with us?” Rogan said on a chuckle, and then his expression turned serious. “You’re fuckin’ joking, right?”
I saw red, but managed to shove Andra out of the way before I shifted—the welcome feel of bones stretching and changing, the fur sprouting, the muscles morphing—and pounced on Rogan. My teeth not-so-tenderly brushed the skin above his jugular where his pulse was pounding hard enough I could hear it. Kai and Slade backed away, but I could sense Slade wanted to interfere, and I suppose that was the only thing that stopped me from biting Rogan’s head off.
“Rogan doesn’t know about the bond, Ace!” Slade shouted. “Nobody but me and the crew that went with you knows that you’re a bonded male now! Don’t kill him! Christ! He didn’t know any better!” I didn’t glance up, but I imagined that he was running his fingers through that stark black hair and gripping it hard enough to pull it out by the roots.
“Ace,” Andra’s startled voice said. “Don’t kill him.”
I moved my head back enough to close my mouth, and then just stared down into Rogan’s eyes as a low growl rumbled up my throat.
“I would advise against ever calling her a chick again if you value your life, Rogan,” Slade said on a relieved exhale. “Ace bonded with Andromeda in Alabama. She’s your Alpha now, too.”
There was cold fear in Rogan’s confused eyes. He knew he’d screwed up, but I could tell that he wasn’t sure how he’d managed it. The truth was that none of us knew how strong this bonding thing was—well, aside from me and Andra; we knew exactly how tough this bitch was, but I wasn’t in the mood to give lessons or talk about it unless bloodshed was involved. I’d let Slade explain it to Rogan. Instead of backing away, I stepped forward, placing one of my back paws on Rogan’s groin as I made my way back to Andra.
Howls of agonizing pain issued from behind me as I shifted back to my human form.
Ignoring the scene behind me, I chuckled when Andra held out my shredded gym clothes, her head turned away from my immodesty.
I took the threads and covered myself enough to make her comfortable. “So, how are you at poker?” I said as we walked toward the doors to leave.
She laughed. “I’m better at Blackjack.”
“Let’s go Double Down then, my dear,” I said with a flirtatious grin, and she beamed at me. God, I loved that smile.
“I need to take a shower first,” Andra said.
I grinned playfully. “Good. You can shower with me. There’s a spot on my back I can never quite reach.” She gaped at me, and I nearly busted a gut laughing. “I’m kidding… unless, of course, you want to shower with me. I wouldn’t tell you no. I’m nice like that,” I said with a wink.
Catching me off guard, she shoved me into the corridor wall, and then laughed when I hit my funny bone and let out a loud curse. “You are not showering with me, Ace.”
I scowled as I rubbed my elbow, until I glanced up to see her walking away from me. That high ponytail and the look of her ass in those workout shorts had me forgetting all about the sharp pain shooting from my elbow to my wrist. I bit my lip as I watched her hips sway, and then I ran to catch up with her before she noticed I had started panting.
She might not shower with me tonight, but she would soon. She would soon.
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K.S. Haigwood
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Anne Conley
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