Mating Behavior (10 page)

I should have just called. I
can’t face him.

It had been over five years
since she’d been able to visit Dante and she wasn’t sure what to
expect. Sure, they kept in touch as much as they could on the phone
but they both led very busy lives. With the bombshell she had to
drop on him, she was positive that their days of doing their best
to stay in contact were numbered. Still, it was important that he
hear the news she had to share before anyone else told him.

Red rows of tulips flanked the
limestone circular drive, giving the illusion of a red carpet
welcome. The arched, notched-out entranceway had potted plants on
it, consisting mostly of ivy. Italian herbs were randomly growing
throughout as well. That suited Dante.

The plants softened the hard
edges of the entranceway perfectly. Francy could still remember
Dante planting them. She had been in high school, visiting her
family’s cottage, and he’d seemed desperate to find things to do to
occupy his time. After all, the man had centuries under his belt
and countless more to come. Immortality had its price—boredom
seemed to be part of it.

Desperate for anything to avoid
one-on-one time with me.

It was a harsh thing to think
and not entirely true. So much had transpired between them that it
was hard to pinpoint what they had. In her mind and her heart, she
would always hold Dante near—love him with more of herself than she
would ever offer another. In reality, he was her friend. Nothing
more, and now she was promised to another. That in itself was
something she was coming to terms with.

Francy didn’t bother knocking.
It wasn’t something she was known for when it came to visiting
Dante and it would seem time hadn’t changed the habit. She opened
the heavy wooden door and smiled when she found the front room
hearth covered in fruits and vegetables. It was an open layout,
leaving the hearth in close proximity to a large wash basin. It was
Dante’s stopping spot from the garden. Francy could still picture
him spending time cleaning all that he brought in from the garden
in preparation for whatever feast he was planning.

She smiled as she stared at the
hearth. The charred backdrop made her laugh as she remembered how
and why it was that way. Stepping closer to it, Francy put her hand
out, almost touching the scorch marks. The marks had been made when
they had decided to enjoy a late-night meal together with a
soothing fire going. Dante had insisted on cooking for her and
there was no way she’d ever pass that up. Not with as excellent a
chef as he was. His ability to turn ordinary pasta into something
extraordinary had always won her over.

The way to
your heart, Francy, is through your stomach.
Dante’s words echoed in her mind.

Francy let out a soft laugh at
the thought of her friend’s comment and how he would tease her that
he had but to cook and she’d forgive him for just about anything.
In truth, it wasn’t quite that easy. There were things she wasn’t
sure she’d ever forgive him for.

Staring at the charred wall, she
thought back to five years ago, when she’d last seen Dante. The
meal had started out like any other but had ended in a way she’d
never dreamt possible—with the two of them teetering on the edge of
making love. They had come so close yet hadn’t completed the act.
It was a regret she would forever live with.

So many nights, when she should
have been thinking of another, she’d lain in bed touching herself.
Making herself come with the use of her fingers and memories of her
night with Dante.

That night, Francy had been so
aroused, so in need of Dante to be in her, fucking her, taking her
every way possible that she’d been careless with the gifts she’d
been born with, accidentally releasing her magik and sending a
charge into the fireplace. A second before Dante was about to slide
his long, thick cock into her, huge flames shot forth, charring the
cream-colored stone wall. It had left the two of them in an awkward
spot, lying on his kitchen table, staring at the wall, and ended
what could have been the beginning of something else entirely.

Francy still wasn’t sure what
Dante’s reasoning was for casting her aside, telling her to go and
live her life, but she did know that she’d never truly gotten over
it. The odds were against that ever happening. Various scenarios
had raced through her head but the best she could come up with was
he didn’t feel the same for her as she felt for him.

She had left town shortly after
and hadn’t been home since. Sure, Dante had spent years trying to
convince her to return home, accept his apology and all would be
right. Nothing was ever that easy. Francy had let someone else
enter the equation but wasn’t sure exactly why. She had felt
compelled, as though a greater force was driving her, pushing her
to accept another and move on.

“I can’t believe he left the
wall like that.”

“
And I,” a deep familiar
voice said from behind her, “can’t believe you’re finally
here.
Come sei
bella
—how beautiful you are.” The very
sound moved over her, caressing her body in places it shouldn’t be
able to touch.

“Dante.” Turning, she found him
leaning against the entranceway. His onyx-colored hair came to his
chin, framing his rectangular face perfectly. It swept out a bit,
always looking as though it was windblown. Though he looked to be
in his mid to late twenties, he was much older than that, almost
two hundred years to be exact. Their age difference had bothered
him once. He swore each time they spoke on the phone that it was no
longer a concern but with Dante she wasn’t certain.

He is gorgeous.

Dante’s dimpled chin and full
lips had always been a source of fascination for her. Countless
nights she’d lain in the cottage just beyond the edge of his
property line with her hand buried between her legs, tweaking her
clit to images of him.

Stop thinking about him that
way. You have someone else in your life now.

He shifted slightly, causing the
unbuttoned thin white cotton shirt he had on to move to one side.
The sight of his steely, tawny chest and torso left her channel
moist and her breathing ragged. The bulge in his khaki-colored,
just past knee-length, cotton drawstring shorts only served to make
her moan softly. It didn’t matter how many years she put between
face-to-face visits, the man still made her body burn. If only he
felt the same way.

No. It’s better he doesn’t.
You’re with another man. Remember that.

END EXCERPT

To learn about this, or other Mandy M. Roth titles,
please visit her website at www.mandyroth.com

By Michelle M. Pillow

Alternate Reality Romance

Sorin of Firewall lives in a land forever at
war. In fact, the Starian men are so busy fighting, their marriage
ceremony has been reduced to a “will of the gods” event where they
simply pick a woman out of a lineup and claim her as a wife. With
women becoming scarce, it’s necessary to trade the offworld
Divinity Corporation for brides. Duty-bound to attend the ceremony,
he has no intention of picking a bride, let alone one from another
dimension. Duty-bound to attend the ceremony, he has no intention
of picking a bride, let alone one from another dimension. That is,
until he sees Lilith, the bewitching woman sent by the gods to
reward—or punish?—him.

Lilith, a data analyst for Divinity, is
betrayed by the Corporation and wakes up in a primitive, uncharted
dimension filled with warriors who only know war and duty. But her
initial fears of becoming a sex slave to a big beefy knight become
all too real when a warrior of god-like proportions claims she’s
his new woman. As Lilith discovers, there are worse fates than
being the focus of Sorin’s skillful and earthy seduction.

Rating: Contains graphic sexual content,
adult language, and violence

Read more about the Michelle M.
Pillow at
www.MichellePillow.com

The first in a new series, June 2012

The first Descendant in millennia with the
power to use an ancient artifact is being hunted. By the good, the
bad...and the worst.

Jayla Protegenu learned as a child to call
her protectors to keep at bay the things that prowled the night.
Now, as a woman grown, she never expected one of those protectors
would be a Fallen angel - Larien. His job: to help Jayla find the
mythical and mystical Seal of Solomon.

Even among those who created the very meaning
of good and evil, nothing is black and white. Neither friends nor
enemies are what they appear. The only one Jayla can be sure
of is Larien. He was sent by the Messenger and archangel, Gabriel,
himself. Larien is a man who has no interest in redemption. But
like everyone else, he definitely wants Jayla. But to what end?

For more on this urban fantasy romance,
visit www.tjmichaels.com

Daughter of Darkness Trilogy

Daughter of Darkness

The Enchantress

Bella Mia

The Valkyrie Trilogy

Valkyrie

Valhalla: The Valkyrie Beginnings

The Voyagers

Birds of Prey Series

King of Prey

A View to a Kill

Master of the Hunt

Rise of the King

Prince of Flight

Sacred Places Series

Sacred Places

Goddess of the Grove

Winter Solstice

Immortal Ops Series

Immortal Ops

Critical Intelligence

Radar Deception

Strategic Vulnerability

Separation Zone

Lion Shifter Series for Spice Brief

Sin’s Pride

Dex’s Claim

The Zodiac Series

Pisces Phenomenon

Somber Resplendence

Pleasure Cruise Series

Pleasure Cruise

Date with Destiny

Pleasure Island

Wicked Lucidity

Loup Garou

Eternal Seduction

The Guardians

Warriors of Darkness

Demonic Desires

Solo Tu

Secrets We Keep

Trust in the Season

Ambient Light

Gypsy Nights

Going the Distance

Mating Behavior

Last Call

Pike’s Peak

Adam's Angel

The King’s Choice

The Advisor’s Apprentice

Tipping the Scales

Blaze of Glory

Project Exorcism

Paranormal Payload

Force of Attraction

Point of No Return

Cyber Sex

Prepared to Please

Denial of Service

Droid Wars

Performance Criteria

Magnetic Attraction

Red Light Specialists

Executive Decision

Simmering Seductions

Ghost Cats Series

Best Intentions

Dance of Souls

Book III (Title TBD)

Talons: King of Prey

Stop Dragon My Heart Around

Sex on Holiday

Black Lace Quickies 5

Ellora’s Cavemen: Legendary Tails IV

Magical Seduction

For a complete, up-to-date list, visit
www.MandyRoth.com