Coveted (33 page)

Shayla smiled up at
him as if she knew exactly what he’d done. “You’re my very own Guardian. It’s
taken me years to find you. Did you really thing that I would let you go
without a fight?” She caressed his face. “Marry me.”

Aiden rested his
forehead against hers, and his grip tightened around her possessively. “It
would be my greatest honor.”

His wolf lifted his
head and gave a howl of triumph.

Without giving her a
chance to change her mind, he kissed her, slowly and thoroughly, determined to
prove to her how perfect they were together, even if he had to show her over
and over again for the rest of their lives.

The End

 Sneak Peek

Electric
Storm

Book 1 : A
Raven Investigations Novel

A
commotion at the other end of the room erupted. The boy. She knew it even
before she saw his face. Five women surrounded him, heckling and caressing him.
He stood there, a frozen smile plastered in place, tolerating the touch.
Tolerating but not enjoying.

Then he flinched. His smile became strained, the
women’s laughter more wild. The boy’s eyes hardened but he kept still, enduring
the obscene fondling and cruel taunts.

She scanned the crowd. A few people snickered at
his discomfort, a few looked away, pity leeching the life from their eyes. But
no one protested.

Then the man who had accompanied the boy stood to
his full height. The muscles of her back loosened, and she eased back into her
seat, unaware she’d half risen to her feet. The big man would keep him safe.
But instead of rescuing the boy, the Ogre turned his back and pushed his way to
the bar.

A lump grew in her throat at the unwanted
attention the boy endured. Memories of similar situations from her past cut
into her mind, blurring reason until fury burned along her face.

Stillness settled inside her, burying everything
but the need to do something, the need to prevent the past from repeating
itself. Before she knew what she was doing, she moved.

The closer she came, the more she sensed his
unwillingness and his resignation. She stopped outside the circle of women.
Their gazes collided. Recognition sparked, and his gaze latched on to hers.

Pleaded.

It was a mistake coming here tonight, but she
couldn’t leave without knowing he’d be safe. Couldn’t stop herself from
rescuing him.

“He’s mine.” She reached through the circle of
women, clamped down on his wrist and pulled him to her side. He came without a
word of complaint, his head lowered, a small smile on his lips that barely
lasted a second. His body trembled slightly before he controlled himself.

“What do you think
you’re doing?” A blonde in strappy, three-inch heels stepped forward, drink in
hand and a determined expression on her face. A woman who always got what she
wanted.

Raven wasn’t
impressed. “We’re leaving.”

As she turned,
herding the boy in front of her, the woman’s talons dug into her arm.

Reacting on
instinct, Raven spun and thrust out her palm, slamming her hand into the
blonde’s chest, releasing some of the pent-up power that swirled inside in
response to her anger.

The impact lifted
the woman off her feet. She sailed over the table, one heel flying. Her mouth
dropped open in moue of surprise, while her drink spun and sprayed her friends.

Conversation
slowed, people turned. No one touched the woman as she staggered to her feet.
Raven braced herself and scanned the crowd.

No one stepped
forward to detain her or the boy.

“Is there a
problem?”

Tiger.

He broke through
the wall of people who circled the small group. Broad shouldered, lean but
roped with muscles, he easily drew attention to him and it had nothing to do
with the elegant clothes or wildly untamed mane of hair. The combination
should’ve looked ridiculous but only succeeded in making him appear all the
more dominant.

It gave him a
dangerous air. An aura of bored arrogance seeped from him, but Raven knew
differently. Power thrummed beneath his skin at his annoyance for being
disturbed. The beast roamed close to the surface even in his human form.

“No, sir. The lady
here claimed me, and Miss Jackie objected.”

“A challenge?” The tiger’s eyes sharpened in the
muted light, his attention never leaving her face. He brushed against her
shields, then shoved against them as if surprised to find resistance. The
intensity increased, seeking a weakness. Her eyes narrowed. Usually only
vampires or very powerful alphas had such strong mental ability.

Protocol dictated certain rules, and he broke them
by probing her without permission. They both knew it if his sudden, impudent smile
was anything to go by. If he pushed harder, she’d retaliate. She refused to let
him enter her mind, refused to let him harvest all her secrets. It was too
dangerous for either of them.

When he persisted, she twisted a strand of energy
around his shields, using tremendous control to surround him instead of
breaking through. Then she slowly tightened her hold. She let it rest there,
let him feel her perusal, the threat. Her fingers trembled. Her stomach flopped
like a fish out of water. It took everything she had to hold back more power
and ignore the dangerous lure to crush the threat.

Then his aura fluctuated, rubbed against her own
shield in a way that sent a shiver down her spine in a very pleasant way. Her
blood heated, and she could almost swear she felt a purr from her core. From
the startled look and the aroused flush to his face, the reaction wasn’t
something he’d anticipated either.

Then he relented and retreated, bowing slightly in
deference. “Please forgive my rudeness. I’m Jeffrey Durant, manager of
Talon’s.”

She reeled in the string of energy, suppressing
the unholy need to curse. A formal greeting. Rules of the pack dictated she
reply in kind, supply her name at the very least, and the bastard knew it. She
had to work with shifters. She couldn’t piss in the pond just because she
didn’t want to do something. “Raven—”

“Do you know who I am?” Like a yippy little dog,
the blonde charged forward, red blotches of anger coloring her face. Her eyes
shimmered a yellowish-green with her emotions, but quickly reverted back to mud
brown.

Part shifter.

A weak one.

Most males could
shift no matter what percentage of animal DNA they possessed, but the women had
to be at least half shifter for their animal to take form. That meant Raven
could take this little dog.

Raven adjusted her
stance, keeping the kid at her back and met the threat, damning herself for
being a sucker. “I don’t give a shit. I know all I need.”

“Oh, do tell.” The
rumpled blonde crossed her arms and smirked. “This should be good.”

“You’re too weak to
be a pure blood. Not even quarter, if I had to guess. You surround yourself
with people who are weaker so you have someone who looks up to you. You enjoy
abusing the very people you’re supposed to be protecting.”

A fist flew at her face, and Raven caught it
mid-air. Anger allowed her to easily lower the blonde’s arm. She lifted her
chin, relieved to know she’d guessed right. If the woman had been a true
shifter, her jaw would’ve been crushed. “Are you issuing a challenge?”

A slight murmur went through the crowd. It was the
only thing she could think of to get them out of there fast. A challenge meant
more than possession of the boy, it meant pack position and a fight to the
death. Jackie would die. Raven would see to it. Although she relished a certain
poetic justice if she let the little wolf live. It would force the bimbo to the
bottom of the pack, where she’d have to earn her place in the hierarchy. And
something told Raven it wouldn’t be so easy to step over the very people she’d
been treating like servants.

Fury darkened the woman’s eyes, the brown
splintered and specks of yellow appeared, then vanished as fast as they came.

“No.” She spit out
the one word, a promise of retribution for this humiliation dancing in her
eyes.

Giddiness trickled through Raven. Her unique gift
remained secret. She’d been foolish to risk it over a boy. The need for fresh
air pressed heavily against her, effectively caging her without the use of
bars. She faced the tiger and raised a brow, doing her damndest to exude a calm
she wasn’t feeling. “Then I believe I’m free to leave?”

A charming smile curled his lips, but the intent
stare reminded her of his animal form. He was hunting.

And she was his prey.

“There’s no rush.” He edged closer.

Raven countered quickly, pulling the boy close to
her back. “Nor is there a reason to stay.”

The beautiful way he moved drew her gaze, hypnotic
and beguiling.

“Except to get to know one another.” The tone of
his voice was deep and soothing. So inviting. The beasts at her core inched
forward in curiosity.

A movement in the crowd snapped her to attention.
The Ogre. Then the tiger’s words registered, leaving a trail of cold in its
wake. Clever kitty. She’d bet he lulled many people the same way, using that
luscious voice, subtle movements and just the lick of wildness to lure them to
him.

“I think not.” Though she tried to rein it in,
power burned along her arms at the thought of being held against her will. The
beasts retreated, leaving all that power behind along with the dangerous urge
to release it. The leather she wore usually protected those nearest her, but
direct touch couldn’t mute the effects. Not even wearing gloves kept those
around her completely safe when her dander was up.

The boy sucked in a sharp breath, and she quickly
dropped her hand from him. She refused to look behind her, but she didn’t need
to. She could see everything in the tiger’s reaction. The way he tensed
slightly, the way his eyes flickered back and forth between her and the boy.

The crowd drew closer, pressing in on her from all
sides, stealing the air around her.

She needed to leave.

The music grew
louder, the lights brighter.

A bulb popped,
glass shattered. Three more blew in rapid succession.

She took off at a
run, dodging through the crowd, ignoring the shouts. The tiger quickly closed
the gap between them. She could feel his breath against the back of her neck.
Desperate for space, she thrust a burst of current into the crowd. A mass of
confusion ensued as everyone received a nasty shock and started shoving one
another. Lights flickered, plunging them in darkness. Electricity lashed out of
the floor and up into her feet, the charge filling her with power.

She slammed into
the door, out into the night and took off at a dead run. She should’ve known
better than to be seduced into entering a slave auction by some innocent
needing her help. She had a hard enough time staying out of trouble without the
need to borrow someone else’s. She just prayed no one could tie this whole,
rotten evening back to her or there would be no end of trouble to land on her
doorstep.

 
Sneak Peek

The Demon Within

B
lood
trickled from a gash, coating the rough surface of stone beneath Caly’s
fingers. Warming it. Pulling her arm back, she ignored the cut and parted the
vines.

And caught a glimpse of stone.

Spreading the vegetation further, she stilled when
powerful thighs filled her gaze. The voices of the men arguing disappeared in
the background as she tilted her head back and looked up.

A black beetle so large it had to be on steroids
paused climbing the statue and flicked a perturbed glance at her. With a little
hiss for disturbing him, the little critter launched itself in the air with a
flutter of wings. She flinched, bowed backwards to miss being hit in the face.

And met the open-eyed stare of a statue, a man
forever captured in time. All thoughts of bugs vanished. Caly’s lips parted,
her eyes widened and her breath stuttered out of her mouth.

There was a God.

The man—and from her view kneeling on the moss
covered ground, he was most definitely a man—was absolutely gorgeous. Not in
the normal sense, not by Hollywood standards. Prominent cheekbones, a full,
sharp nose and a strong jaw kept his face from being too feminine.

Desire twisted through her, and a deep yearning
tightened her chest. A bubble of hope swelled. This was a man she could depend
on to not let her down. When she looked at him, the chaos inside that defined
most of her life settled.

She felt normal.

Reality crashed over her, settling heavily on her
shoulders. Desire for a damn statue. How ironic she could be attracted to stone
when live men left her cold. But here, in the middle of nowhere, she found a
man who turned her on like nobody else, and he wasn’t real. It was enough to
make her cry.

Little details filtered into her brain. A thrill
of excitement thrummed under her skin. The answers she sought about her
condition were stuck in the past; she only had to uncover the clues.

This was why she came here, what quieted her
protests against the mission, all for the chance to learn if there was a
possibility for her to be human again. To find a way to finally destroy the
demon infection that had taken root and flourished in her body. Each time the
darkness opened up in her, the harder it became to fight. The more she wondered
why she fought it at all.

The mission forgotten, Caly took her time to
catalog each odd detail, a dark thrill brushed against the edge of her
awareness. The statue wasn’t what she’d come to expect from this region.
Instead of native garb, the grey stone man had chiseled, close fitted pants.
Two inch carved straps crisscrossed his chest, appearing to almost dig into the
stone. His long hair, wild with waves, was tied back from his face.

Her fingers twitched to run her hands over him.
Though his complexion was tinged green with age, the fierce expression drew her
gaze instead of repelling her. The turn of his lips was anything but sensual,
yet their full form made her think of sex and what a man could do with a mouth
like his.

Strong shoulders led down to a lean, sculptured
chest. His open shirt did little to disguise his physique. The statue shouldn’t
have impressed her, but it was as if the stone called to her. She had to curl
her fingers into a fist to resist touching him. A streak of light filtered
through the canopy, wavered a moment then illuminated him like an offering.
Something just for her and no one else.

As she watched, she swore his chest moved to
breathe. It took a physical effort to pull her gaze away, regulate her
breathing, and longer to tuck away the desire to stake claim. The weird light
faded, and her focus came to rest on a knife strapped to his right side. The
fifteen-inch dagger rested close to his body, the curved handle arched up,
wrapping along his ribs. What drew her interest was the intricate design etched
along the outside of the scabbard and handle. It was too detailed for any stone
crafting of the time. Or it should have been.

Absorbed in the discovery, she leaned forward for
a better look. It reminded her of something important, but she couldn’t put her
finger on it.

A heavy hand landed on her shoulder, jolting her
attention back to her surroundings, leaving her guts in her throat.

“Did you find anything of interest?”

Oscar.

Shit.

“No.” The protest rose automatically to her lips.
Her fascination with the statue triggered her unease again. Especially the way
it so completely made her forget her surroundings and the mission.

It took more force than she liked to drop her
hands to her sides. A hand she hadn’t even known she’d raised. The vines swung
inward, the statue disappeared from sight, and her stomach dropped. Caly
honestly didn’t know if her reaction was due more to the fact she messed up or
because the statue was no longer under her watchful eye.

She had an awful, sinking feeling it was the
latter.

“Nothing of interest.” Guilt caused her to flush,
but she didn’t want the old man to find the statue, feeling protective of the
stupid thing. She tried to tell herself she was overreacting, but her mind
didn’t agree. She held her ground, waiting for him to move away.

The contest of wills broke when, with his usual
vigor, Oscar leaned past her and yanked on the vines. Vegetation shredded,
bruised leaves drifting abandoned to the ground. Bold and savage, her statue
faced forward, a sentinel frozen in time, waiting to be awakened.

She swore that Oscar instinctively knew what she
wanted and made sure she never received it. In her peripheral vision, she
watched him circling the stone, but once he disappeared from view, he
disappeared from her thoughts as well. 

One step forward, then
two, she stood only inches away from temptation, her palms itching for just one
touch. She stole a quick glance at the statue from under her lashes, then
forced herself to turn away and put him…it out of her mind. The urge to linger
pulled at her sense of duty. The simple task to turn and walk away was
surprisingly hard, especially since she’d dedicated her life to her work. 

“You know what it is.”
Oscar’s low growl didn’t have its normal bite, yet the tone stiffened the
muscles of her back.

Caly refused to face him,
refused to let him see the fear in her eyes. Fear for the stone man. She
swallowed past her painfully dry throat. “A statue.”

“Don’t be a fool. You
know it’s a demon, one of the cursed guardian statues. Just pray that your
blood isn’t human enough to wake him. If the blasted thing wasn’t mounted in
granite, I’d have it smashed.”

The lash of his words
stung, but the threat to the statue sent a surge of terror through her. And
that pissed her off. She opened her mouth to protest when a jungle cat’s roar
rang out and echoed in the treetops.

Caly whipped her head
around, her eyes narrowing at the undergrowth. At first she didn’t see anything.
After a moment, two eyes blinked lazily, staring back at her as a big ass cat
licked its muzzle. A chill crept down her spine. A twitch of muscles betrayed
her abhorrence of the creatures.

There was nothing behind
those eyes but pure predator. No hunger, but a need and desire to kill for the
pleasure of it.

“Skins!” Possessions were
when a demon took over a body. Skins were when demons forced the actual soul out
of the body and used them as indestructible suits that only a beheading would
free the demon and allow it to be killed.

Even as she bellowed the
warning, the guides screamed like kids and took off. A streak to the left broke
her concentration, and she saw another animal, a black panther, bound after the
two men. Their bloodcurdling screams were cut off abruptly, leaving no doubt to
their fate.

The other panther slowly
slunk out of its hiding place, its eyes locked on her.

A sound to her right had
the big cat’s head swing in that direction.

“Run!”