Sapphire: A Werewolf Love Story (19 page)

“Babe, are you okay?”  Parker asks as he leans down
and kisses my head. He pulls my top out to peek down my shirt.  I slap his hand
away.

“Parker!”  I tease.

“What?  I wanted to sneak one little peek,” he
pouts.

I stand up and run my arms around his sweaty back. 
“I’ll let you have more than a peek, come on.”  I take his hand, tugging him
away to the house.

“I love you, Phire.”

“I love you, Park.”

Stay for excerpts from some amazing
authors.

 Could someone pinch
me?  No seriously, could you wake me up?  I can’t begin to tell you how many
nights I fell asleep while typing this book.  I guess you don’t want to hear me
complain about sleep.  Let me start this stream of gushing by saying thank you
to my daughter Paris for being such a huge help with this story.  If I made her
blush, she never said anything.  Yes, I was reserved about it, but in the end I
think we made a great team.  Imagine me in a fancy gunmetal gray evening gown
at a podium with million dollar jewels dangling from my ears.  Thank you to my
girls at YA at Heart Books for making me realize sexy stories are fun to
write.  That means you Tressa Messenger, Natalie Star, and Daniele Lanzarotta
for late night chats and tons of LOL’s.  Lacey Palmer for being the most
fabulous lovie, you are amazing.  Thank you, Christina and Lorrie, for being my
friend and believing in my stories.  Special thanks to Amber Clark for your
hawk-eye, you saved me a couple of times.  Thank you to my friends in New Bern
for supporting me.  Most of all, thank you to the fans for your encouraging
words.  Trust me, when I say I’ve almost given up a couple of times, and I’ll
get an email or review that reminds me why I do this.  Thank you to all the
bloggers that have pimped my books - you are really what makes a book fabulous!

You can read more about the Phelan Pack by picking
up The Legacy of Kilkenny.

Follow Devyn on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Devyn-Dawson/145383098868553

Twitter: @devyndawson

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.devyn.dawson.com

Books

The Legacy of Kilkenny Series

The Legacy of Kilkenny - Book One

The Seduction - Book 1.5

Malevolence - Book Two

The Great Wolf - Book Three  (Fall 2013)

The Light Tamer Trilogy

The Light Tamer - Book One

Enlightened - Book Two

Light Bound - Book Three (Summer 2013)

The Wisdom Series

Trust - Book One (Summer 2013)

The Following book is NA 17+

Insatiable
- A Mermaid’s Curse

By
Daniele Lanzarotta

He’s smiling down at me and all I can do is look
away.  Happiness seems to be such a rare emotion for him, it always has, and I
know it’s only a matter of time until I become the one responsible for that
smile turning into something dark.

He places his finger under my chin, lifting my head
up.  “Well, do you regret it?” he asks.

I want to tell him the truth, that I don’t regret
it, that I’d rather have had one day with him than none at all, but the words
don’t come out at first.  I take a deep breath and I know that I have to lie. 
I have to push him as far away from me as I can, because I have no other
option.  So I focus on the part that I do regret.  I focus on the fact that
when offered my dreams to be made true, consequences didn’t even cross my
mind.  Not just consequences to myself, but I also never once stopped to think
about how my choices would impact those around me, how they would impact him.

All I can think is that my next words are going to
shatter everything that both of us have lived for in the past few weeks.

***

There was only one thing that I ever wished for: to
be human.  I always felt like I didn’t belong.  My dad used to tell me stories
about the human world and how lucky I was to live in a place even humans
considered magical.  I used to believe that to be true.  Everything seemed so
fun: swimming all day, seeing the different colors around, and exploring the
ships that ended up on the bottom of the ocean.  One day, I stopped feeling
like that.

My dad and I lived near an island, which seemed to
be owned by one family only; after all, they were always the only ones there. 
Every summer when they came, I would swim as close to the island as I could and
hide behind the rocks to watch them.  I wasn’t trying to be creepy, I was just
curious about their world.

Years ago, when I was eleven years old, I was hiding
behind the rocks when I saw the boy who looked a little older than me.  He
seemed so mad.  I saw a woman coming out of the house yelling, ‘Blake!  He
didn’t mean it!’

The boy just ignored her and ran toward the other
side of the island.  That was the day my life changed.  I hated what I was
because I wanted to go after him and see if he was okay, but I couldn’t.

All I could do was swim back as fast as I could and
hide in one of the wrecked ships that wasn’t too far away from my home.  I was
so mad about what I was and how limited I was because of it, that I didn’t want
to see anyone.

I finally decided to go home when it started to get
dark.  It was only a matter of time before dad decided to send the whole
kingdom to look for me.

On the way back, I ran into my friend Desiree.  Like
me, she liked to watch the humans every once in a while.  She came to tell me
the humans were leaving and to ask if I wanted to watch them go.  I told her I
had to get back and that was it. 

That was the last time I saw him that summer, but
they always came back.  Year-after-year, I watched the boy come back to the
island.  I knew that whenever he was alone, he was the saddest being I had ever
seen.  I also knew that there were a few things that always made him smile.  He
loved reading and writing, spending time with his younger brother, and years
later, his little sister. I caught myself laughing with them several times, as
he played with her at the beach.  And then there was this year, the most
horrible year of my life… the year I turned eighteen.   That was when I saw him
with a girl, both lying down on a blanket at the beach, and I felt things that
I had never felt before.  When he leaned on top of her and I saw his lips
touching hers, I wanted to be that girl.  I wanted to have legs instead of a
stupid tail.  I wanted to be the one he kissed.

***

Copyright 2013 Daniele Lanzarotta

All Rights Reserved

www.danielelanzarotta.com

www.twitter.com/DaniLanzarotta

www.facebook.com/authordanielelanzarotta

The
following book is rated 18+

The
Silken Edge

By
- Laci Paige

“Kristy, there’s someone else."

Kristy White stared at the man she'd called her
boyfriend up until three seconds ago. "What?" She felt a burn in her
chest, as if the air had been punched out of her lungs.

“Well, not exactly someone else. Not yet.” Steve
laughed nervously.

“Steven, just fucking say what you need to, and
start making sense. This isn’t funny.” Tears pricked at the back of her eyes.

His gaze darted around at the early evening crowd in
the dark bar. “No, I’m not meaning to make fun. Do you remember Mona from
work?” he asked. Kristy nodded.

“Well, you know I love you and I probably always
will, but it’s not enough. I want something different, something more. And I
think Mona is that 'more.' I haven’t explored any kind of relationship with her
at all. I promise you. I’ve been faithful, but I don’t think I can anymore.”
After that, Kristy only heard bits and pieces of what he had to say.

Walking home from where Steven Butcher broke the
news to her, she agonized over what went wrong in their relationship. Oblivious
to the traffic whizzing by, she drifted deep in thought. She needed to talk to
her best friend, Sherry. After phoning her, she was relieved to find out that
Sherry was just down the block at Stan’s, the local tapas bar and lounge they
liked to frequent.

Having just been dumped by the man she'd devoted
five years to, and had lived with for the past two years, Kristy’s gut told her
a major change was in order. Perhaps a makeover, and not the physical kind.

At the bar, Kristy sat next to Sherry, watching
those around her in disbelief. There were several tables full of seemingly
normal people on the other side of the room. Sherry explained that the day’s
gathering was there for a Munch. Once a month members of the local kink
community got together and had a casual meeting.

Sherry promised to be quick at the meeting and that
she’d be back to join her for a bite to eat. Sitting across the room, Kristy
noticed how comfortable her friend was with the group. They all appeared as
everyday people should. They could have been your mailman, grocer, or bank
teller. But no, they weren’t exactly normal in Kristy’s mind, they were all
into some kind of BDSM activities, and a bunch of perverts as far as she was
concerned. The thought gave Kristy a shiver down her spine, and she shuddered,
feeling a bit awkward.

Attempting for the third time to read her book, she
couldn’t help but stare at the people chatting and laughing around her friend.
Finally she put her book in her bag and got up to head to the restroom. Halfway
there Sherry stopped her.

“Hey, are you doing all right? You can come join us
if you want. We’re done with business, and now people are just talking
casually. When I left, they were trying to figure out what they were making for
dinner tonight. See? Normal conversation.” Sherry grinned at her. “I’d like for
you to come meet some of my other friends though.”

“No, not today, Sherry. Sorry.” Kristy wasn’t sure
she could handle a conversation with anyone in the group after having negative
thoughts about them, and feeling the way she did after the breakup.

Sherry frowned a little. “It’s okay. I’ll be with
you in a few. Let me just go say goodbye to some people.”

That’s the way it had been for months and more and
more with each passing week, Sherry was always trying to push her newfound
lifestyle on her. It was beginning to upset Kristy, but this was her friend and
she loved her, so she tried to be accepting and not too judgmental.

While Kristy waited she thought about how grateful
she was that Steven decided to come clean before having an affair with another
woman. He explained he and his coworker, Mona, were hot and bothered over one
another for weeks. He had no self-restraint around her anymore, and Steven
asked Mona if the feeling was mutual. Apparently Mona said yes, but she
insisted he break up with his girlfriend before acting on anything.

Taking a deep cleansing breath, Kristy pulled out
her cell phone and called Mona like she promised Steven she would.

Mona picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Kristy. Steven’s girl—ah,
ex-girlfriend. I wanted to let you know, it’s over between us. He’s all yours.”

“Oh, um, thanks?”

Kristy heard a man’s voice in the background. How
the hell did that ass get to her apartment so quickly? “Tell Steven I said
hello.” After a distinct click and then silence, she closed her phone and
dropped it in her bag.

“Whatever, bitch.”

Shaking off the strange phone call, she thought
about Steven. He’d always been predictable in bed. They had a routine during
their intimate times, yet they still had sex frequently. She’d heard of people
who had been together for years, whose romps in the sack were few and far
between. She’d always been thankful that wasn’t the case for them. She enjoyed
sex and never turned it down. Steven was the one who usually said no, which
should have alerted her to a problem.

She refused to get upset. Crying was not her thing;
at least it hadn’t been in over a decade. She used to be an emotional woman,
but nearing forty, she couldn’t afford to, and didn’t want to let her emotions
rule her. Being upset is too exhausting. Fuck it.

“Sorry that took longer than I expected.” Sherry
patted her arm bringing her from her thoughts. “Hungry?”

Kristy looked up and tried unsuccessfully to smile
at her friend. “No, if it’s all right with you, I’d rather just head home. Come
with me? I don’t want to be alone.”

“You don’t even have to ask. Let’s go.” When Kristy
stood, Sherry linked elbows with her and they headed out.

“So you’re sure Dan is okay with you being over here
so late?” Kristy asked as she unlocked the door to the house she shared with
Steven.