Jezebel's Lion

Evernight
Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2014 Hazel Gower

 
ISBN: 978-1-77130-745-1

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor:
Karyn
White

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of
this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written
permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To my family, who let me devote my time to the job I love. A huge thank
you to my editor,
Karyn
White, who always makes my
books shine.
Lastly, to my fans, thanks for all your support.

JEZEBEL’S LION

Sin City
Shifters, 2

Hazel Gower

Copyright © 2014

Chapter One

Jess sat on the sofa between her two best friends,
Zeck and Travis, in the family room of her house. They had popcorn, M&M’s,
chips, and soda as they sat watching cable. Usually on a Saturday they watched
a movie, but today their friend Sasha was in a dance competition that was being
broadcast live. Sasha was a new friend of theirs from Australia. Zeck had a
huge crush on her. Travis thought she was hot, too, but wasn’t as hung up on
Sasha as Zeck, or so Jess thought.

Today was her eighteenth birthday, and her two
closest friends had forgotten. She’d known and been best friends with Zeck and
Travis most of her life, and neither of them had ever forgotten her birthday.
Her mother had told her she could have a party, her brothers had called and
said they would drive over and take her somewhere special, but after she’d had
her birthday breakfast and unwrapped her presents with her parents Jess had
wanted to spend the day with her two
besties
.

Since Sasha turned up, Jess’s world had started to
change. Not only was she invited to parties, but to girls’ shopping trips and
girls’ nights out. For as long as Jess could remember it had been her, Zeck,
and Travis. Their parents had been friends, and she’d met them through them.
They started hanging out and never stopped. Jess’s mother and father had told
her many times that she needed to venture out of her circle, that Zeck and
Travis would want their own friends when she hit puberty, or high school. That
hadn’t happened. She’d hit both milestones years ago, and they were still going
strong. The sleepovers stopped for a while, but picked up again, and other than
that nothing changed. Lately, though, everything felt weird.

“Wow. Sasha looks amazing.” Zeck’s comment had Jess
blinking and focusing on the big screen TV.

Sasha did look hot. Jess felt the pang of jealousy
as she stared at her friend on screen. Jess wished she had a body like Sasha’s.
Jess had used to diet all the time but had given up last year when her mother
had started taking her to a shrink, worried about her eating and always
dieting. After many sessions Jess was slowly accepting her size eighteen,
sixteen on a good day, body.

Her mother continually told her that it was inside
that counts and that she was beautiful. That the guy she was meant to be with
would think that, too. Jess hoped her mother was right because no man so far
had been interested in her. Not that Jess had tried to get any guy’s attention.
Sure she crushed on guys, but they were way out of her league. Most of the guys
at her school were ridiculously good looking, and the girls were gorgeous.
Jess’s mother had joked that it was something in the water where they lived,
but Jess drank that water and she wasn’t a size 6 or 8, tall, and model
beautiful. Jess supposed it was Vegas, and all the gorgeous people seemed to
stick together and produce even better looking offspring.

Jess didn’t think she was ugly. She had light olive
skin with no blemishes, hazel eyes, and long chestnut hair. She just wasn’t in
the same league as most of the people around her. She was okay with that, but
sometimes, like now, when her two best friends forgot her birthday because of a
hot girl, it got her down. Jess knew it wasn’t Sasha’s fault she and her
friends had forgotten her birthday. Sasha did have a lot going on, and Jess had
only told her the date of her birthday once.

Playing with the hem of the baggy shirt she wore,
Jess berated herself for not saying something to remind her friends. She was
cutting her nose off to spite her face as her mother would say, but Jess
thought it was the principle. Travis and Zeck should remember. She shouldn’t
have to remind them. They didn’t have to remind her about their birthdays. Jess
never forgot theirs. She could say something now, but…
  

Travis threw a pillow at her interrupting her
thoughts. “It’s finished. It’s been finished for a while. What are you staring
into space about?”

Jess shook her head. No, she wasn’t going to tell
them. They had known her almost all her life and been friends all that time. They
should know her birthday.

Travis studied her for a moment before he continued.
“What do you want to watch now?” He winked at her. “Or has watching the dancing
made you motivated? Do you want to go out instead? We could go dancing and
shake our booties.”

Jess rolled her eyes at Travis’s attempt at being
funny. She looked at her tracksuit pants and her brother’s old shirt. She
wasn’t dressed to go out. “Where would we go?”

Travis shrugged. “There has to be something on. It
is Saturday night.”

Zeck winked at her.
“Yeah, Jezebel.”

Jess glared at Zeck. Lately he was being a real
asshole. Zeck knew she hated being called by her full name. “Don’t call me
that.”

Zeck’s lips curled in a wicked smirk. “What’s up
with you tonight? You’ve been all quiet and moody.”

Here was her chance to say something. “I’m upset
because you
idio
—” Her mobile rang, and Jess ignored
it and started again, but the ringing wouldn’t stop. Sighing, she pressed
answer. “Hello.”

“Hey, Jess,
wanna
come
around and help me celebrate how well I did?” Sasha sounded upset. Her voice
was shaky like she was crying or trying not to.

“Um, is everything all right? You sound like you’ve
been crying.”

“Everything will be fine when I have my friends
around me.”

Jess knew something must have happened with Sasha’s
boyfriend, Savron. From what Sasha had told Jess the relationship was rocky. If
Jess had a Pride man she’d do anything to keep him happy. The Pride men were
all gorgeous. Two of them, Tyler and Carl, had been friends with her brothers.
They were on the football team together. Jess had loved it when they came around.
Sasha dated the oldest brother, and she even lived with him. “Sure. I’m with
Travis and Zeck, and we’ll be around in half an hour. I just have to get
changed.”

“
Thanks,
Jess. I need the
company.” Her friend’s voice hitched at the end, and Jess felt bad for her
jealousy of her earlier.

Jess hung up, and Zeck got off the sofa with a huge
grin on his face eager for the chance to be with Sasha. “Quick, Jess, go get
changed so we can go.”

Getting off the sofa Jess glared at Zeck. Tonight he
was being a dickhead. Not only had he forgotten her birthday, but he’d used her
full name and was being a massive asshole. “What is with you tonight?”

“Nothing,” Zeck growled. “Ah, fine, I’m sick of staying
in almost every Saturday. This is our last year of high school. I want to enjoy
it, not be stuck here all the time.” His hands waved around her parents’ family
room.

Jess felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart. Did
Zeck not want to hang out with her anymore? Was that why he and Travis had
forgotten her birthday? “If that’s how you feel I’ll go up to my room and be
down in ten minutes, and we can go to Sasha’s boyfriend’s house and you can
pine over someone you’ll never have.” She turned and stormed away.

“Way to go, idiot.
Real smooth.”
Jess heard Travis speaking as she stomped up the stairs to her bedroom.

Angry with herself that she still hadn’t said
anything about her birthday, she went into her closet and picked out her best
party dress and laid it on her bed. Jess was going to have fun tonight.
Tomorrow she would ignore Travis and Zeck, and when they asked her why she
would tell them what they’d missed.

Going to her drawers she picked out some sexy black
lacy underwear. She always felt better when she wore sexy underwear. Even
though they were only going to Sasha’s house, Jess was going to make sure she
was ready to party.

Walking back to the bed she put her clothes on and
unbound her long hair, letting it flow behind her. She then went back to her
closet and put on her only high heels. Moving to her vanity Jess sat in front
of it and opened the drawer with make up her mother had bought her but which Jess
rarely used. She put on light foundation, a tiny amount of eye shadow, and
lastly a bright red lipstick that brought out the chestnut in her hair.