Frozen Heart of Fire

Another great paranormal romance from best-selling author, Julie Kavanagh.

It's Valentine’s Night but Eva, the last of the Ice Witches, isn’t looking for love. On the trail of a demon, she falls into the clutches of the clan who killed her parents.

Joshua Ravenwood believes she is there to assassinate him for the crimes of his people and the presence of the mind-killing pain in his head is surely proof of her intention.

Neither of them expected to find passion in the touch of the other but neither can deny the sexual attraction building between them.

Will Joshua’s fire burn a pathway to Eva’s cold heart? Can natural enemies become friends and lovers?

Frozen Heart of Fire

Julie Kavanagh

Frozen Heart of Love

A Books to Go Now Publication

Copyright
©
Julie Kavanagh
2013

Books to Go Now

For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]

First eBook Edition –February 2013

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

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Look for Julie Kavanagh’s other titles

Christmas Kisses

The Seventh Son

Jessica’s Diary

Christmas with Mr. Jeffers

Night

Sunside

Loving Lies

Frozen Heart of Fire

Chapter One

“Boss, you’re gonna want to see this.”

Noah moved stealthily toward the bank of television screens on the wall, showing several shots of the club on the floors below. He leaned forward, both hands resting on top of the wooden desk. Two other men looked up from the consoles they watched, their eyes curious. He glanced at them for a moment before returning to the dark-skinned man who’d called for his attention.

“What is it?” Noah asked. He’d been pleased with how smoothly everything had gone in the club with his brother, Joshua, temporarily out of the picture. The business seemed to run itself. What could be wrong?

“Watch the female on screen four,” the man in the chair pointed out the figure as he zoomed in on the internal camera. She was slight in build, average height for a woman, wearing tight, dark trousers and jacket with a skimpy, sequined top beneath. There was nothing exceptional about her, but he’d never known Brendan to overreact to anything.

She stood in the Gallery, a long corridor leading from a dancing area to restrooms and stairs, and to other clubs in the building. They catered for all types of music lovers, but the woman on the screen didn’t appear to know what she wanted as she peered around her. Was she looking for someone?

“So, what’s wrong with her?” Noah leaned further onto the desk, his serious eyes scanning the figure and decided that she was a cute little thing, although unremarkable otherwise. She looked like a hundred other woman who came there seeking companionship, fun and maybe a little romance. Her hair was pale, short and sticking out in every direction, revealing a pretty face with large expressive eyes and high cheekbones. He didn’t see anything wrong with her, but Brandon wouldn’t have called him without a bloody good reason. Checking the varied clientele frequenting their establishment was part of his job and he was very good at it. Brendan’s dark fingers moved skillfully over the keyboard as the Gallery’s ceiling lights on the screen began to filter out.

“Now you see her, now you don’t,” he muttered, waving a hand at the screen. The shape of the unknown female disappeared when the ‘normal’ lights were switched off, although every other person on the screen could still be seen. By all rights, by all expectations and with this exceptional equipment, her body should have emitted enough energy to be detected. Her absence of an image wasn’t right and Noah knew instinctively Brendan was right to bring it to his notice. A soothing female voice could be heard calming the occupants of the club, assuring them that it was just a technical error and there was nothing to be alarmed about.

“How the hell…?” Noah gasped. “What is she?”

“That we don’t know. We’ve conducted several tests since she’s been here, but nothing shows up as it should. All we do know is, she isn’t human.”

****

The woman looked up as the lights failed, pausing in her steps as a voice from the speakers above warned of a technical hitch. But to her mind, it meant something else. The atmosphere around her changed, but since none of the huge, hulking doormen ran toward her, offering hostility, she relaxed. No one knew she was here and no one expected her. Face it; no one knew she was alive so why would they be expecting her? It was just a glitch in the system and she should be safe. Only a moment passed before light and calm were restored and she flexed her hands, testing the icy cold emanating from her fingertips, before continuing on her way toward the restrooms and the prey she sought. He couldn’t have gotten far.

****

“Better send someone to get Joshua,” Noah crossed his arms over his chest, an odd expression crossed his face.

“Are you sure? I heard he wasn’t well.” Brendan looked up, a deep frown etched into the skin of his brow.

“He’s fine,” Noah insisted, the tone of his voice harsher than the question warranted, but he didn’t want unnecessary rumors circulating about his older brother. He didn’t want to disturb him either, but Josh would want to know about it. “I’ll get him myself. Don’t let the woman leave.”

The lift was lavish with deep, cream carpeting and expensive pale wood inlay on the walls. Joshua didn’t stint on luxuries, but he drew the line at tinny music so Noah travelled in silence to the top floor where his brother lived. Only a few moments passed and Noah was stepping into his brother’s private apartment and heading to the room where Joshua slept. A soft tap on the door was enough to snap the other man from whatever slumber he had managed to catch.

“Josh, you awake?” Noah paused in the doorway. His brother was unreasonable when he didn’t sleep well, and lately Joshua had barely slept. There was no telling what kind of mood the older man might be in. He was a dangerous man at the best of times and there weren’t the best of times.

“I’m awake.” Joshua sat up in the huge bed, his hand pushing a mass of unruly hair from his face. “What’s wrong?” Noah wouldn’t have woken Joshua if everything was going right because he was a clever, capable man and perfectly able to manage the club and business in Joshua’s absence.

“There’s something I need you to see,” Noah said enigmatically, backing into the living area as Joshua climbed agilely out of the bed. He was a tall man, long of limb but lined with taut muscle. His hair was dark, like his brother’s, like all of their kind but the tendrils thickly covering his head turned from black to red and orange at the very tips. As he sauntered nonchalantly after his brother, his head shone like the very pits of Hell, flames licking through the shoulder-length waves of hair.

“Brendan, can you relay that tape to Joshua’s laptop?” Noah muttered into a handheld device and, with a flick of a button, the images of the unknown woman flashed onto the huge, sleek plasma on the far wall, relayed through the expensive laptop resting on the desk in the far corner. Joshua settled into the comfy couch despite his near nakedness; he wore nothing but boxers.

“Well, that’s interesting.” Joshua leaned forward as the images passed over the screen. He turned to stare at his younger brother, an eyebrow raised. “She’s not human,” he said.  It wasn’t a question.

“She’s still here; do you want to see her?” Noah awaited his brother’s decision. How important did Joshua think this was?

“Might be wise,” Joshua announced. “Give me five minutes and I think both of us should go talk to the magic lady.”

The shower was hot, just as he liked it but he didn’t notice for his thoughts were full of the woman with the cold blood. That’s all she could be. Joshua knew of all other magical races and any of them would have announced themselves to him or one of his team, as a courtesy and to safeguard their lives. His mind leapt through the list of species other than human and he couldn’t think of a single one with her lack of body heat. All the security equipment running throughout the building had the technology to detect every known species of non-human beings. Joshua Ravenwood of the Xandry clan was reputed to run a closed shop, and any race other than human would be wary of stepping into Ravenwood territory. He stood for two minutes under the steamy water, lifting the need for sleep from his mind but seconds after stepping out, his body was dry, a boon of his unusual blood. Three minutes later, he left the sumptuous apartment, heading into the lift with his brother. They wore matching white shirts and dark trousers, their taste in clothes explaining their link if their similar good looks weren’t enough.

Noah whispered into the upmarket walkie-talkie as his brother took a deep breath, fingers rubbing at his forehead. The dark headache hadn’t faded but as the doors slide open, his hands dropped to his side and none would know of his pain.

“She’s in the Cave,” Noah told him as they both turned right and proceeded down the slight slope towards the darkest bar of the club. Each level, each section of the club had a different theme, the Cave was the lowest level and two floors below where she had been spotted. It was shadowy as Noah and Joshua descended down two flights of stairs toward their prey. This being Valentine’s Day, huge pink hearts adorned the walls and hung from the ceilings, highlighting the romance of the day.

“There, that’s her.” Noah nodded at the slight figure perched on a tall stool, her back facing them.

What’s she drinking?
Joshua sent a deep thought to the barman, one of his clan, who could read the energy sent his way.

Water, but she wanted it to look like an alcoholic drink,
Aden replied.

Joshua smiled. As he slowly approached her, he noted how she sat, who sat around her, and her possible escape routes. Two large men lounged at each of the three exits, their determined eyes watching the woman’s moves; she wouldn’t get past them. Joshua nodded at Noah as they took seats on either side of her.