Make Me Burn: Fireborne, Book 2 (38 page)

Their mother had tried to discourage him, knowing his dreams were leading him far away from home, but she couldn’t stop his obsession with the past. Joseph could always out-stubborn all of them.

He’d gotten the scholarship he’d applied for a month before he announced to his siblings that he’d joined the military. He still longed to see the world their mother had tried to shield them from, since she was no longer there to be hurt by his decision, but now he was determined to make a difference in the present instead of studying the past. Once again, no one could talk him out of it. He hadn’t even given them a chance to try. He’d made up his mind.

No one ever asked Aziza what she wanted to do with her life. When she was eighteen, she was sure that even if she’d had a plan, it wouldn’t matter. She knew what her brothers expected. That she’d be the one taking care of their mother. Watching them move on with their lives while she remained behind, the aunt with lots of cats who’d spoil their children when she babysat for them and distracted them from the crazy ramblings of their grandmother. It wasn’t her ambition, but it was what she’d expected.

A year later her mother was gone.

So much had changed. Too much. Every two years, as if it had been scheduled in advance, she’d lost another family member. Another brother. Another piece of her soul. She’d give up her adventures in a heartbeat if it meant having them back again. She’d take care of her mother and never complain if…

She curled her hands into fists once more, breathing deeply to stop herself from crying.
Stop thinking. Don’t try to make sense of it anymore. Curses don’t make sense. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking completely. Look at the beauty around you. Look at your garden. Live in the moment. This moment. It’s all you have.

“Feel…”

She stilled, startled again. “Who’s there? Whoever you are, cut it out.”

Nothing.

She frowned. This was ridiculous. She wasn’t afraid, but maybe she should wait at the entrance until Greg arrived. She could people-watch, distract herself and then perhaps she’d stop hearing disembodied voices on the wind. “Okay, fairies, I’m leaving your garden now,” she mumbled. “Stop playing Scare the Tourist.”

Aziza tried to rise from the seat and was pushed back against the curved side of the window by some unseen force. She tried to resist it but it had weight. Power. “What the—?”

She looked down at her knees. It felt like hands were touching them. Strong, hot hands that were sliding up her legs, pushing her dress higher as they went. She still didn’t see anything, but her dress
was
lifting by itself. “Are you kidding me? What the hell
did
they put in my drink?”

“Feel, Aziza…”

“No thank you.” She tried not to. Tried to tell herself that her imagination was running away and had decided to take the rest of her mind along with it. She was hung over. Still jet-lagged.
Anything
so she wouldn’t focus on the fingers slipping beneath her white-lace panties. The extra set of hands lowering her peasant blouse until her breasts were exposed for anyone to see. Too many hands.

“Stop,” she whispered.

But she didn’t make another move to stop it or cover herself. She
could
feel and it felt good. Too good. Felt like exactly what she needed. A sinful distraction. “What are you?”

She knew this feeling. It reminded her of the godlike piece of lean perfection from her dreams. Maybe he’d followed her here because he wasn’t done with her yet. Because she’d worn what he’d asked her to. Because she wanted more. “Is it you?”

The fingers filled her sex and she whimpered, biting the inside of her cheek hard so she wouldn’t scream out her pleasure, some part of her still aware how close she was to the street filled with people. How crazy and impossible it was that she was feeling
what
she was feeling.

As fingers thrust inside her, deep and relentless, making her moan, the voice repeated her own words, “Is it you?”

He’s her alpha…and he knows how to push all her hot buttons.

Freedom in the Smokies

© 2013 Becca Jameson

Durham Wolves, Book 3

With a vampire still threatening the family, Micah Durham has no plans to follow his brothers into matehood. In fact, he’d prefer not to expose anyone else—human or shifter—to the dangers they face.

Yet when he returns from visiting a horse buyer, he’s beyond pissed to find his family has hired a new human trainer. A
female
human trainer whose “I’m your mate” scent steals his power of speech.

Kaitlyn Winston couldn’t wait to get out of California, and out from under her grandmother’s thumb, to take her dream job in her beloved Smoky Mountains. Except when she attempts to make nice with her new boss, their attraction sends them to his bedroom to make love.

The haze of passion doesn’t make their problems disappear, though. The life Kaitlyn left behind throws a left hook that could pull them apart. And the Durham’s old enemy is back, stronger than ever, and threatening to pick off the Durhams and their mates…one at a time.

Warning: Steaming hot sex in a tack room, saddles and saw horses put to good use, mutual masturbation, hot showers, and lovers’ spats smoothed over with intense make-up sex.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Freedom in the Smokies:

Micah paced his room, striding back and forth from one end to the other for the thousandth time. Thank God he’d grabbed a sandwich earlier on the road, because he hadn’t had the balls to join the others for dinner.

He hadn’t been ready to face Kaitlyn yet. And he sure as hell didn’t want to confront her in front of everyone else’s smirking faces. By now, the entire clan would be privy to his dilemma. If one could even call it a dilemma.

He glanced at his watch. It was only eight o’clock. The noises coming from the great room had died down. Everyone would have dispersed from the kitchen by now and headed their separate ways. Kaitlyn in her room, filling his wing of the house with her scent.

The only way to know for sure was to pull himself up by the balls and go to her. He headed toward the door to his suite and paused, running his hands through his hair.
Crap. Crap crap crap
. In all this pacing, he hadn’t formulated a single thing to say to her.

He tried to recall how his brothers had first confronted their mates and let them in on their fates. Damn. That did no good. Both relationships had started under extreme circumstances. Sergius had met Juliana when she’d been a missing hiker lost in the forest. Jaxon had also rescued his mate, Brianna, when she’d become trapped in a cave during a forest fire. Micah still wasn’t altogether sure who rescued whom in that event, since Brianna was a firefighter.

Nevertheless, Kaitlyn Winston was in for a rude awakening. Even though they weren’t currently experiencing some sort of life-threatening event, she might disagree after he told her about him and his brothers.

One thing was for certain—the first item on his list of things to do tonight would be to introduce his mate to the way of wolves. No way could he claim her without first informing her completely about the Durhams’ shifting abilities.

With a long inhale, Micah jerked the door to his room open and stepped into the hall. He regretted the inhale immediately. Yep, his entire end of the house smelled like Kaitlyn.

As though headed toward the guillotine, Micah dragged himself to the door next to his.

Hand shaking, he knocked lightly.

“Come in.” Her response was quick.

Micah turned the knob and opened the door. She sat curled up in the window seat with a book in her lap. Her glorious long black hair hung around her face like a curtain as she lifted her head and smiled at him. In one instant she was soft and sweet. In the next she uncurled her legs, jumped from her perch and stood next to the window. Her book fell to the floor.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were Juliana or Brianna.” She wiped her palms on her jeans, and her gaze met his for a few seconds before she looked down and away.

Why did she seem so uncomfortable?
Oh yeah. That’s right, doofus. You acted like a dolt earlier in the barn. She probably fears you’ll fire her and send her away
.

Man, how he wished he could. If he could put her on a plane to anywhere but here, she’d remain safe. Unfortunately, fate didn’t work that way. He’d needed a few hours to wrap his mind around it.

“Sorry—about earlier,” Kaitlyn said in a halting manner. “I know you weren’t expecting me to be there…in the barn, I mean. And I know you aren’t too thrilled about your family hiring me, but I assure you if you give me a chance, you’ll see that—”

Micah held up a hand to stop her and shook his head. He needed to set her straight, but his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. Plus, it was hard for him to concentrate because she looked so fantastic. Her jeans hugged her to perfection. He wanted her to turn around so he could see her ass. He hadn’t had the opportunity earlier. The snug fit from the front left little to the imagination. His jeans suddenly felt too tight…again.

He took a deep breath. He could smell her arousal. It gave him the confidence to say what needed to be said. “Kaitlyn—”

She interrupted him. “Sir, I promise I’m qualified to train your horses. More than qualified actually. And—”

He shook his head again and her shoulders fell in dismay.

What was this “sir” business? He winced. She was totally misunderstanding his intentions.

“I didn’t come here to fire you, Kaitlyn.” He shut the door behind him with a quiet snick, stepped farther into the room and took a seat on one of the winged chairs by the television.

The proximity to his mate stiffened his c*ck even more. She smelled so damn good. She hadn’t showered yet tonight and he was glad. Her personal musk still stood out and combined with her expensive perfume. The two seemed incongruent—a woman who worked with horses for a living wearing some designer perfume—but he never wanted her to stop because he would forever know her by the scent. It burned itself into his brain.

Kaitlyn didn’t move an inch. She stood rigid by the window, staring at him with her brow furrowed. “Oh,” she muttered. “Well, okay.”

He needed to expound on the reason for his presence in her space, but words escaped him—again—as he stared at her.

He cleared his throat. “Sit.” He nodded to the other chair across from him. It might not have been the best idea, since she would have to get even closer and he could barely concentrate as it was, but he needed to look her in the eye and tell her a dozen things.

Stiff, like a robot, his woman approached. She perched on the edge of the seat and set her palms on her knees, rubbing them again. He knew he made her very nervous.

“Relax. You aren’t in trouble. You’re staying.” He smiled at her; at least he hoped he did. It was hard to get his facial muscles to do what he commanded. Perhaps it had been more of a half grin.

Her shoulders relaxed infinitesimally. “Okay. Good. You won’t be sorry. I promise.”

“I’m sure I won’t. I just hope you won’t be.” Now he smiled for sure. He was about to turn her life upside down. “You can’t imagine what you’ve stepped into here.”

Her eyebrows rose as she flinched. “Huh?” She shook her head. “No, I’m sure I’ll love it here. Horses are my passion and I have wanted to return to the Smokies for many years and find a job doing what I love most—horse training. This is the most perfect place on earth.”

Now Micah was shocked. If she only knew how not perfect the Appalachians were right now… But she was human. She had no knowledge of vampires. He hoped to keep that tidbit to himself for a while too. He had enough information to share right now as it was. Vampires did not make the short list for this evening. Wolves. Mating. Claiming. Screwing. That was the short list. Vampires could wait for tomorrow…or another day when he and his mate came up for air.

“Your farm is gorgeous. I’ve been introducing myself to your horses all day. They are clearly loved and have always been well taken care of. I hope you’ll be pleased with what I can add—”

“Kaitlyn…” he interrupted.

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it.

Micah had a hard time dragging his gaze back to her eyes. He wanted to suck that lip into his mouth and bite it himself. “I’m not here to discuss the job.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. It brought him within a foot of her face. He didn’t release the lock on her gaze.

Make Me Burn

R.G. Alexander

One wrong move and it all goes up in flames.

Fireborne, Book 2

Aziza Jane Stewart is the last of the Fireborne, and so far it’s been nothing but a curse, destroying her family and putting everyone she loves in danger. Now she’s on a quest to find her brother’s portion of the power that flows in her veins and track down the murdering Jiniyr who are a threat to her loved ones.

She and her Enforcer lover Brandon are officially “in a relationship”, but she’s still torn between two men who both set her on fire. Brandon’s duties are driving a wedge between them, and her need to protect her Jinn guardian isn’t helping. Exiled and stripped of his powers, Ram is focused on satisfying his darkest urges…and tempting her to come along for the ride.