Once Bitten
Authors: Olivia Hutchinson
ONCE BITTEN
Netherworld Series 1
Olivia Hutchinson
Erotic Romance
Secret Cravings
Publishing
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A
Secret Cravings Publishing Book
Erotic Romance
Once Bitten
Copyright © 2014 Olivia Hutchinson
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63105-376-4
First E-book Publication:
November 2014
Cover design by Dawné Dominique
Edited by Sue Toth
Proofread by Renee Waring
All cover art and logo copyright ©
2014 by Secret Cravings Publishing
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PUBLISHER
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Dedication
"When tears are over, and the sorrowful spirit's
done, then grief can be given expression in words." - Ovid
For Marilyn, Anna, Karla, Sharon, and Jennifer.
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Trouble With a Cowboy
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18 wheels had her heart until one hard-up cowboy found her
kickin' up her heels and propositions her to take his bull to Vegas.
Jacie Hawkins drives big wheelers for a livin'. Something not
a lot of women do. Littleton Oklahoma is just a dry stopover for a few hours of
rest and relaxation at the nearest bar. Jacie needs to find a hot cowboy to
release some of her pent up frustrations on for the night, but wannabe's aren't
her style.
Tucker Marshall needs a big-rig driver to haul his prize bull
to National Finals Rodeo and he needs one fast. Who would have thought he'd
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Can some slashed tires and an ornery bull bring two
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**
Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers
1)
, paranormal erotic romance:
Ashleigh
Brown, the author of the popular Nightwalkers series, lives a quiet life free
of the limelight.
She keeps her
real identity secret by writing under the pen name, Victoria Allure.
She soon finds herself in a bind when
she's kidnapped by a group of handsome vampires seeking Victoria.
She then agrees to meet their Master,
who's a huge fan of her books.
But
instead of meeting him, she accidentally crosses paths with her rock star
crush.
He is the sexy muse behind
Nightwalkers and the man she based the hero in the series upon. She would do
anything to meet him but little does she know her crush has a secret...
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ONCE BITTEN
Olivia Hutchinson
Copyright © 2014
Prologue
A girl’s
night was just what Lila Connelly needed. She hadn’t been able to get together
with all her friends in one place for months. The seven of them needed time
together to unwind and relax, accompanied by Jack Daniel’s and roaring laughter.
Lila lounged back in the chair at her dining room table and grinned.
She
downed the amber liquid that was left in her glass before saying, “You want to
talk sexy? Two words—Gerard Butler.”
“Oh my
God! That accent turns me into melted butter every time he speaks.” Heidi
rolled her eyes back in her head and her body went limp. She fell back to the
floor from where she had been sitting on a pillow, painting her toenails.
Beth
laughed, looking down at Heidi from where she sat next to Lila at the table. “An
accent? Is that all it takes to get into your pants?”
“Absolutely.
A sexy accent is the only excuse I need to lose my panties and pop my legs
open.” She giggled and climbed to her feet. She padded into the kitchen to
retrieve an unopened bag of chips from the kitchen counter and returned to her
cushion. Pulling at the bag, she struggled to open it but it wouldn’t budge.
Andrea,
Lila’s cousin, shook her head and snatched the bag out of Heidi’s grasp. She
opened it herself with ease and thrust it back at Heidi. “Skank.” She flicked a
chip at Heidi’s head.
“Oh
come on. Just because you’re Saint Andrea the
virgin
, doesn’t mean everyone else is.”
Andrea
frowned. “I’m not a virgin.”
“Yeah,
okay.”
“Jeez,
leave the girl alone,” Natalie barked at Heidi, still managing to make it sound
sweet with her Southern accent, as she reached for the open bottle of wine that
was sitting in the center of the table. There was only a little left, and
Natalie drained it straight from the bottle.
Heidi
finished munching on a chip before she spoke. “She knows I’m only messing with
her.”
“You
better hope she knows that or you’ll wake up in the morning with a frozen bra
and a Sharpie mustache,” Natalie told her as she got up from the table to take
the empty bottle into the kitchen. She rinsed it out in the sink, set it on the
counter and retrieved an unopened bottle from the fridge before walking back to
her seat at the table.
When
Andrea laughed and dropped her head onto Lila’s shoulder, Lila smiled. Andrea
was already plotting her revenge, as harmless as it might be, but the
calculating look in her hazel eyes was unmistakable.
“I’m so
happy I’m more mature than the lot of you,” Carey said as she held out her
glass for Natalie to fill once she was done wrestling with the corkscrew.
Beth
snorted. “Mature? You? Are you not the same woman who told the entire nursing
staff that Doctor Sallis enjoyed getting enemas as part of his sexual play?”
Carey
didn’t bat an eyelash. “He stole my pen.”
Beth
shook her head. “Wait a minute. You never even slept with him?”
“He
stole my pen.”
Lila’s
mouth fell open. She had heard Carey’s rumor at work, but she had never known
the reason behind why she spread it, let alone that it was all because of a
stolen pen. “You embarrassed that man because he stole a pen? Was it made of
solid gold?”
“No, it
was the one I borrowed from the bank.”
Lila
arched a brow. “It was a pen you had stolen yourself?”
“I didn’t
steal it, I borrowed it,” she insisted.
“You
had no intention of giving it back!” Lila yelled, laughing.
Carey
rolled her eyes. “I was going to give it back when it ran out of ink. Besides,
that wasn’t the only pen he ever stole from me. Every single day he steals my
pen. He had it coming.”
Beth
leaned across the table and grabbed the bottle of Jack. “I work in the lab and
I heard that rumor. You don’t think that was just a bit—oh, I don’t know—uncalled
for?”
Carey
folded her arms across her chest and glared at them. “I’ve worked with that man
for over two years and in all that time he’s never once said hello to me. And
every single day he’s there, he steals my pen. He doesn’t steal Lila’s pens or
anyone else’s. Just mine. Do you know how many pens that is?”
“Um,
no.”
“Three
hundred and forty six!”
All
Lila heard was crickets until Andrea broke the silence in the room. “You
counted?”
“What?
Is that weird?” Carey took a gulp of her wine.
“Yes.
Yes, that’s weird. That’s practically the definition of weird,” Maggie said.
“Then I
guess I’m weird.”
Heidi
chomped down on a chip and said, her mouth still full, “We’re all weird.”
“And
that is why we’ll forever be single,” Natalie whined, laying her head on the
table.
“It is
what it is.” Lila’s head was swimming, but there was still another bottle in
the fridge and she intended to help her friends drink it.
Carey
chewed her lip, her eyes focused on Natalie. “We don’t have to stay single, you
know. We could meet some men. Some good ones, too.”
“Right.”
“I’m
being serious.”
“And
just how do you suggest we do that?” Maggie asked and Lila immediately wished
Maggie had kept her mouth shut.
“We can
do a spell.”
Groaning, Lila dropped her forehead to
the table with a bang. “Not the witchy stuff again. Please, Carey.”
Lila
had known Carey for years, since the two had been in nursing school together,
and from day one Carey had claimed she was a witch. It was something that Lila
frequently rolled her eyes at, but Carey insisted it was real. Sometimes she
would give in to her and listen as she droned on and on about different herbs
and their magical and medicinal properties. Sometimes she would manage to find
a way to change the subject.
“Why
not? It’s not going to hurt anything,” she insisted.
Beth
laughed. “Famous last words.”
“I’m
game.” The sound of Andrea’s sweet voice surprised Lila. She had never believed
her cousin was into Carey’s hocus pocus routine, but she had a look of genuine
interest on her face.
Carey
was on the edge of her seat, her index finger thrust into Andrea’s chest. “Ha!
Thank you, Andrea. Who else?”
Just
because Andrea was her cousin and she loved her, Lila would oblige her. Even if
it meant being bored to tears. “I’m in, I guess.”
“Fine,”
Beth agreed, taking another drink.
“Yes!” Carey was clapping her hands
together as Heidi and Maggie finally agreed with very little prodding. There
was only one person left. Carey turned her head to look at Natalie.
Natalie looked surprised at the sudden
attention. “Oh, I thought it was a given. Of course I’m in. At least this is
easier than speed dating. And it doesn’t require waxing.”
Carey
bounced in her seat, her dark brown hair flying all over the place as she tried,
rather unsuccessfully, to contain her excitement. She rattled off a list of
things they would need a moment later and sent each of the women to go find
them. Excusing herself to the guest bathroom, Carey claimed she needed privacy
to clear her mind in preparation.
Lila
directed Beth on where she could find the salt and the small paring knife that
had been requested as she walked over to the fireplace in the living room to
where Maggie was stoking the fire.
“There’s nothing like the smell of
burning wood,” Maggie said before inhaling deeply and throwing another log onto
the roaring flames.
Lila
picked up the iron poker and stabbed at the logs. The heat from the flames
soaked into her skin, warming her to the core. There was nothing more relaxing
than a fire on a cold night and although the weather was slowly morphing into
spring, it would still drop down below freezing once the sun set.
“I bet
you’ll be happy when the weather warms up a bit more and you’re out in the
woods again,” Lila commented.
“Oh,
didn’t I tell you? Heidi and I are going up to my dad’s cabin in New Freedom
later this week to go hiking.”
Lila
frowned. “Heidi? Really?” Picturing Heidi outside, hiking through the woods
away from civilization, was nearly impossible. The woman could barely get off
Facebook for ten minutes to feed her cat, let alone be without the internet
completely. Heidi wouldn’t know what to do with herself.
“She
said she wanted to go when I mentioned something about it a couple months ago.
She hasn’t changed her mind, so we’re going.” Maggie shrugged and climbed to
her feet.
Lila
rose up as soon as she did. “Wow. How long are you guys going to be gone?”
“I don’t
know really. A few days, maybe a week. It all depends on how she does up there.”
Maggie cast a glance toward Heidi who was placing tea lights on the counter
tops and lighting each in turn. “How long do you think she’ll last without
electricity?”
“Your
guess is as good as mine. I do hope she likes it.” The sound of Heidi’s giggles
caught Lila’s attention and she glanced over to see Natalie and Heidi talking
quietly together.
“I hope
she likes it too. I don’t want to have to turn around an hour after we get up
there.” Maggie stretched her arms above her head. “You have your vacation this
week too, don’t you? You should come with us.”
“I don’t get off until next Saturday and
you’re leaving before then, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.
That sucks. You’d like it up there.”
“Next
time maybe. I’ll be happy to schlep around here for a couple weeks. Catch up on
some reading, maybe do a crossword puzzle or something.” Lila took a step back,
the heat from the flames beginning to be too hot on her legs.
“If I
know you, and I do, you’ll be bored to tears after a day or two.”
“You’re
probably right, but I haven’t had any real time off in years. It’ll be nice to
not have anything to do for a while.” Lila shrugged as she and Maggie made
their way back to the table to help Andrea move the chairs against the wall so
the seven of them would have plenty of room to stand.
A few
minutes later, when everything was set up, the six women stood around the
table, waiting for the seventh to find her way out of the bathroom.
The
room was dark, only illuminated by the glow of the candles and the blaze in the
fireplace. The lights, as well as the music, had been turned off in
preparation. Silence radiated through the room as the women stared at each
other, trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next and, without
their leader, it was impossible.
“Did she fall in?” Andrea asked, looking
to Lila who stood at her side.
Lila
shrugged. She had no idea what Carey was doing in there, but she was tired of
waiting. She yelled, “Any time now Carey! Before we fall asleep out here.”
There
was no immediate response from Carey, but after a minute the bathroom door
opened and she stepped out into darkness. The shadows from the candlelight on
her face made Carey’s high cheekbones appear even more prominent than they
already were, her face grim. She stood at the head of the table and looked at
each of them in turn.
“Finally,”
Beth grumbled, her hands on her hips.
“Friends,
it is time to assemble,” Carey said, ignoring Beth. Her voice was soft and airy
as she looked down at the salt and knife ready where she had asked them to be
placed.
Heidi
smirked and Lila sent her a swift elbow in her side, shaking her head. “Don’t
piss off the witch.”
Carey’s
black eyes narrowed. “I need everyone’s equal participation and silence for
this to work.”
When no
one said anything else, she lifted the container of sea salt from the table and
began to walk around them, pouring the salt on the floor. The large circle of
salt on the hardwood made Lila cringe since she’d be the one to have to clean
up the mess.
Stopping
at the same place where she began, Carey put the salt back on the table.
Lifting her arms into the air, she called forth the elements and Lila saw Beth
stifle a yawn. This wasn’t the most entertaining thing they could have done,
but Lila went with it anyway and repeated what Carey told them to repeat. She
had no idea what they were saying since it was Latin—or so she assumed—but she
did her best to mimic the sounds.
Carey’s
voice was loud and clear as she spoke when she finally switched to English. Her
voice filled the large room. “We call forth our soul mates. Men of honor and integrity,
both loyal and kind—”
“With
cocks of steel,” Heidi interrupted, which earned her a dagger-filled glare from
Carey, a sharp elbow in the ribs from Maggie, and smirks from both Beth and
Lila.