Read Impulse: Southern Arcana, Book 5 Online

Authors: Moira Rogers

Impulse: Southern Arcana, Book 5 (33 page)

In her peripheral vision his beautiful biceps flexed and her libido fluttered, landing somewhere in her belly and continuing to flap incessantly.

Mark coughed. “I hope you don’t think I’m being forward, but there’s something we have to do.”

He leaned closer and she held her breath.

Ohmygodohmygod
.

His body brushed hers briefly as he jabbed one of the elevator buttons. He stepped back and smiled easily. “Works better if you tell it where to go.”

The mechanical cage rose slowly. Keri’s mouth was full of moisture. She wanted to talk, but was afraid anything she said would be accompanied by a spray of spit. Which would be an oh-so-attractive way to begin, right?

His smile faded slowly as his chin tipped downward. A gentle concern crossed his face with the tiniest bit of a crease between his eyes. It was so adorable she wanted to rub it and make everything better. She swallowed hard, regretting the action immediately as his flavour rushed through her again. Keri closed her eyes and leaned back on the wall.
Don’t touch. Don’t touch.

A whisper-soft brush against her cheek made her eyes fly open. His knuckles finished a slow drag over her skin before he pulled back and showed her dark chocolate on his fingertips.

“You were in a hurry, were you?”

Oh boy.
She sucked in her courage and slapped down her wolf. She rammed her hand forward. “Keri Smith.”

He hesitated. Was he as reluctant as she was to make personal contact? Yet, why would he be, other than if he was trying to protect her?

Then he lifted his hand and licked the chocolate from his fingers. The warm buzz in her belly slipped a foot lower and attached itself to her clit. She could be wearing a strap-on rabbit-assisted vibrator right now, turned on high, and it wouldn’t have as much effect as watching him.

He wiped his hand dry on his shirt and finally wrapped his fingers around hers. “Jar—Mark Weaver. We met in the crew staff room, right?”

“Right.”

She stared, mesmerized. With his hair pulled back into a ponytail, his dark, beautiful eyes were center stage. The light creamy brown of his skin turned her thoughts back to chocolate. Bad, evil thoughts she didn’t want to have to deal with right now.

But when she retreated from dangerous territory, the only thing that remained was the haunting question of why in the world he hadn’t reacted to her? She was one second away from yanking him over and shoving her tongue down his throat.

He was trapped. She wasn’t letting go. His wolf rubbed beneath his skin so hard Jared thought he might spontaneously shift, and still his intriguing stranger wouldn’t release his fingers.

He tugged a little harder. She gasped then jerked herself upright and whipped her amazing green eyes off him. Her hands disappeared behind her like a naughty child caught with her fingers in the cookie jar.

Damn, why’d she have to have a boyfriend? She was adorable, and sexy, and his wolf thought she was fascinating. So much to offer, yet so many barriers between them.

The elevator doors slid open and he gestured her out. She fled—the only word for it. He didn’t mind. That meant he got to stare at her ass as she sped down the lush red carpet. Fine. Maybe he couldn’t have her, but he could still be nice. Even women with bedmates liked being treated nice, and being a gentleman could be as much fun as having funky monkey sex.

Almost.

Kinda.

Not really, but oh well.

She stopped before oversized double doors, and he decided it was time to turn on the charm. The “just friends even though you deserve more” charm that left women feeling like a million bucks.

“So, one of the fancy suites. Nice. Bet it’s got more room than my two-by-four space.”

Keri knocked before answering. “Probably more room than yours, mine and twenty staff quarters shoved together.”

She talked to the floor. He examined the area by her feet. Nothing there.

Okay
…

There was no response to her second knock either, so she pulled a pass card from her pocket and let them in. Jared glanced around in appreciation. Not only luxurious, the place was bright with sunlight. “Sweet. I love the windows. Hate the tiny things downstairs. I’d rather rig a hammock on the deck and sleep under the stairs than stay trapped in that lower berth.”

Keri nodded. “I hear you. My room is better than yours, but nothing like this.”

He waited. When he’d checked in as required at eleven, Chad had informed him he was on the maintenance crew, then grudgingly found a work belt for him when he admitted to having “forgotten” his at home. Putting Chad’s sigh of disgust aside, since it had been deserved this time, the job placement came as a huge relief. He had to continue with the charade until he found a way off the ship, but if it had turned out his pack mate had been hired to cook, or worse, entertain? Jared would have been shit-outta-luck.

Fixing squeaky doors he could do.

But Keri wasn’t telling him what specifically needed to be done. She was alternating between staring at the floor and sneaking glances at him.

His wolf rumbled again as he caught a peek into her big wide eyes.
Yes, damn beast, I get the message. You like her. Down, boy.
He and his wolf struggled for dominance in a way he’d never experienced before. Then the wild part inside him retreated—almost pouting—into the corner.

Being a wolf had never been so weird.

Impulse

Moira Rogers

Her submission can heal him. His dominance can free her.

Southern Arcana, Book 5

Sera Sinclaire is a New Orleans rarity: a submissive coyote trapped in a town overrun by dominant shapeshifters. Worse, she lacks the willpower to deny the alphas-in-shining-armor who need her soothing presence, even when their protectiveness threatens to crush her hard-won self-reliance.

The only shifter she doesn’t want to push away is Julio Mendoza, a wolf so dominant he’s earned a place on the Southeast council.

Julio doesn’t have the luxury of indulging in the vacation his psychic shrink insists he needs. He can't turn his back on responsibilities he’s beginning to wish he’d never shouldered. When an obsessive ex endangers Sera, though, instinct drives him to get her out of town. Watching her come to life outside the city makes him feel like he's finally done something right, and her touch ignites desire he doesn’t want to ignore.

But soon, lighthearted flirting becomes a dangerous game of seduction, where every day spent falling into each other is another day avoiding the truth. Sera's ex isn't the only one who’d disapprove of their relationship. There are wolves who would kill to get Sera out of Julio's life—starting with his own blood kin.

Warning: Contains endless summer road trips, family drama, redneck werewolves, sexual power games and a taboo love affair between a submissive coyote who’s among the last of her kind and a dominant wolf who loves his heroine’s ass. Literally.

eBooks are
not
transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Impulse

ISBN: 978-1-60928-767-2

Edited by Anne Scott

Cover by Angela Waters

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: September 2012

www.samhainpublishing.com