Keeping Secret: Secret McQueen, Book 4 (35 page)

“Likewise.” He shook my hand, and while I could tell the firmness of my grip surprised him, I was pleased he matched it in return. More points for Detective Tyler. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“What?”

Holden cleared his throat dramatically behind me.

“Oh, him?” I gave a dismissive wave at the vampire, who proceeded to stand next to me, far too close, and offered his own hand to Tyler.

“Holden Chancery,” he said, and Tyler winced when Holden shook his hand. “Secret and I are—”

“Work colleagues.” I wasn’t sure what Holden was up to, but I wasn’t about to let him ruin my night. Not now that I saw what I had to look forward to.

The bewildered look on Tyler’s face softened, but he didn’t totally relax. A good detective never takes anything at face value, and Holden had placed his other hand on my back again, which wasn’t very businessy of him.

“Holden was just leaving.” I stared at the vampire with pointed ferocity.

“I don’t know.” He eyed the fetching brunette hostess standing inside the door. “This place looks pretty tasty.”

He released Tyler’s hand, and the detective flexed it next to his side, making me wonder how hard Holden had squeezed. I would have expected this kind of a territorial pissing contest if Holden had been a werewolf. Not that I knew any werewolves personally, but the theatrical masculinity seemed to be more their style.

Vampires were a little more cut and dry about claiming their property. All one had to do was announce that someone belonged to them and boundaries were respected.

But I sure as hell didn’t belong to Holden, or to anyone else for that matter. I also doubted Holden declaring
mine
right before Tyler’s and my date would have gone over well.

I gritted my teeth into what could have passed for a frustrated smile, but below the register of human hearing I growled at my liaison. I may not have been a huge fan of my furry brethren, but sometimes my lupine DNA really pays off. Vampires can snarl, but no one growls like a werewolf.

“Sadly, I have a date elsewhere.” He stopped touching me and tipped an imaginary hat towards us.

The whole encounter had been entirely unlike Holden. He had been almost…playful. He was usually so serious. His unusual behavior tonight made me wonder about the envelope in my purse. My new target
had
to be good.

“Good night,” Tyler said with more politeness than I would have managed.

I stepped away from Holden and was about to speak to Tyler when the vampire got in his last word. “Don’t forget to have a look at the contract, Secret. Wouldn’t want that one to get away.”

I turned to say something that promised to be painfully clever, but Holden was already gone.

Hope dangles by a silken thread.

A Hint of Frost

© 2012 Hailey Edwards

Araneae Nation, Book 1

When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.

Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.

Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, “What does dragon taste like?” Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
A Hint of Frost:

“Is that what I am? Do you look at me and see a flesh-eater whose hungers rule him?”

I recoiled from his touch and his temper. “I don’t know what I see, Rhys. You confuse me. You’re not what I expected. You’re more, better, and it makes me want more and better from you.” I gained a pitiful bit of distance. “Your brother taunts us both with a secret you’re unwilling to share, yet you hope my opinion remains unaltered? How can it? It’s impossible.”

“Lourdes…” His voice broke.

“No, you asked. You keep asking. Let me have my say.” My feet found strength on the riverbed, and I stood tall. “I don’t understand you, but I’m fonder of you than is wise. I can’t abide not knowing where we stand. If nothing else, tell me that. Tell me who Mana is to you.”

His harsh lips curved into a beatific smile I had no defense against. “You’re jealous.”

Had he heard nothing I’d said? Of course I was. “She’s something to you. What is she?”

Instead of answering, he waded to where I stood. Trembling with anger, I forced my knees steady as he palmed the base of my neck and dragged me toe to toe with him. Rhys towered over me, his smile shining like the sun’s rays upon my face, and my treacherous heart flip-flopped.

“You
are
jealous.” Wonderment filled his voice. “You care for me.”

“I’ve said as much.” Either he wasn’t listening, or what I said wasn’t sinking through his thick skull. I’d given him words. I wanted some in return. “I question your affection, not mine.”

His eyebrows slanted as a look of utter confusion crossed his features. Growling, I hooked my leg around the bend of his knees and shoved against his chest. I lost hair in his fall, but the shock on his face was worth the pain. I stood there, pleased with myself one second and then gasping the next as he dragged me under. Beneath the cool water, his mouth found its way to mine and his lips moved across them.
I’m yours
. I understood him as clear as if he’d spoken in my ear.

Peace suffused my limbs and tingled in the smile I could no longer hide. He was mine.

Dumbstruck by his trick, I think I would have floated blissful and unaware as I drowned beneath the pleasure of his vow. He was the one with sense enough to realize we’d both lost our air and dragged us choking to the surface. Spluttered laughter poured from me as he patted my back.

“Maven Lourdes?” The sharp, feminine gasp killed my hysteria. “Are you well?” Mana stood on the shore with stacked clothes balanced on one arm and supplies hung from the other.

Rhys pressed down on my shoulders until water rushed around my throat. “She is well.” He gave her a small smile, a fraction of the one he’d given me, and yet I found myself envious.

“Oh.” Her gaze averted. “Then I will leave your supplies by the water’s edge.”

Until he frowned down at me, I hadn’t realized my nails bit into his arm. I’d seen ursus in heat respond better to encroaching females than I did. He was
mine
. He’d said so.

“He’s mine.” Gods above, had I spoken aloud? Judging by Mana’s broad grin and Rhys’s patient sigh, I had.

“Yes, Maven.” Mana laughed. “He is yours. He told me as much himself.”

“I’m glad I amuse you.” I was acting out, yet I blamed her for my foul temper. Far easier for me to point the finger than accept some animal part of me wanted Rhys bathed in my scent so other females knew where he belonged—at my side—always. Until our life threads joined, such marking was ill-advised, but the need roared through me. Desire was a pale word for what I felt.

“I meant no disrespect.” Her face drained of amusement. “I apologize for my rudeness.”

I rubbed a finger alongside my nose. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I’m sorry, Mana, I am. Whatever your relationship is—
was
—to Rhys, doesn’t concern me. It’s between you two.”

Mana dropped her supplies as her eyes rounded with understanding.

Rhys looked to her. “Thank you,” he said, shifting his attention from her on to me, “
cousin
.”

Embarrassment was a flash fire that ignited in my cheeks and constricted my throat. She was his
cousin
? Fine impression I had made on his family. What Mana must think of me, all but foaming at the mouth. After Pascale’s tantrum, I was amazed Rhys had dared risk the introduction.

“You are most welcome. I will fetch you when dinner is ready.” She hesitated. “I gave your brother the room beside Old Father. I assumed you would want privacy at your home.”

The look he turned on me melted my bones. “We do, and, Mana? If we don’t answer…”

More red blossomed in her cheeks. “I’ll leave a tray outside your door.”

“Thank you, Mana.” I broke Rhys’s gaze. “You’ve been more gracious than I deserve.”

“Hearts are fickle things, Maven. They drive us to act without thought at times.” Her smile was kind and conveyed perfect understanding. “That yours is a love match is a blessing only the two gods could have bestowed.”

My mouth ran dry and my lips puckered closed. Thank the gods for that mercy. I didn’t love Rhys. I didn’t know him well enough. I glanced back at him and my chest tightened. Did I?

His hand traveled my shoulder until he stroked the side of my throat, and all of my doubts scattered as if his thumb had flicked them away. “I judged you unfairly.” I’d let my insecurities speak for me. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” He excused me without hesitation. “Vaughn sews his seeds of doubt well.”

“I let him have his fun at my expense.” I should have known better. “If I’d asked you sooner, we could have avoided this.”

Rhys didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. He radiated smug male satisfaction.

“What?” He managed the word without inflection as he drew me flush against him.

I covered his hand with mine. “I think you’re enjoying yourself too much, that’s what.”

“My beautiful, jealous female is naked in my arms.” He smiled. “What’s not to enjoy?”

I sank lower in the water. “You’re unconcerned with nudity, aren’t you?”

“I am what the gods made me, as are you. There is no shame in what they created.”

His faith bolstered mine. “Your offer stands?” Perhaps it bolstered mine too far.

His heavy brow creased. I bit my lip and glanced between his face and, well, the rest of him. Understanding dawned in the flare of his nostrils. He nodded, and I looked my fill.

The current swirled about him, curving around his waist and drawing my eye to the hard board of his abdomen. Scars crisscrossed roped muscle, pale against his tan skin. My gaze skipped like a stone across a pond, unsure which part of him to admire first. A dark trail led from his navel to the waterline, and my fingers itched to trace its path. His legs were the first bare thing I’d seen of him, and even they fascinated me. He said look upon him. I had. Now how did I stop?

My fingers curled. “Can I touch you?”

“I think that would be unwise.” His gaze cast upon the shore.

“Oh.” My hand dropped. I hadn’t realized I’d lifted it.

“Water is sacred to the Salticidae.” He touched my cheek. “I have a healthy respect for Old Father and his walking stick. Otherwise, I would have left you under Mana’s supervision.”

Better for us both that he hadn’t. “No touching then.”

“Not while your skin is bare and your eyes are willing.” His grin turned wry. “I placed more faith in myself than was wise. Resisting you clothed is difficult, while naked it’s nigh impossible.” His fingers sank in my hair. “I thought coming to the water would be safer for us.”

“You mean with your honor to hold you accountable and my fear to keep me honest?”

He chuckled. “Something like that.”

I touched his arm. “I respect their beliefs, but I know myself and own my desire.”

He cleared his throat. “I believe I said I owned my
actions
.”

With a careless shrug that cost me the dregs of my modesty, I stood on knees weak enough to be swayed by the current. Sacred waters kept my virtue untouched, but it also kept Rhys untouched. Digging my toes into the sandy bottom, I owned my desire. My innocence was his. He would be my husband. I knew him well enough to understand he would never let me go.

“Come, partisan.” I curled my fingers. “Help me bathe, then take me to your home.”

I heard him swallow. “As my maven wishes.”

No super deed goes unpunished…

Breaking Bad

© 2012 Jodi Redford

A
Midnight Justice
Story

It’s been twenty-five years since the last Light Guardian was wiped out. Or so it’s believed. Ruby Winston is about to blow the lid off that theory, even though it’ll bring every Shadow Czar minion down on her ass.

She’s always known she was different from the rest of the evil-dictators-in-training Winstons. Uncovering the secret half of her gene pool proves it. Now she’s out to bring down her late father’s mind-control soda empire—and break the Shadow Czars’ hold on Earth.