lori king rough ride romeo (24 page)

said. She wanted a wild fing, but the Brooks brothers were out of her league for

multiple reasons.

They were all at least ten years older than her twenty-four years, and they

were al wickedly sexy men. The rumors around town were the four brothers

shared their women, and right at this moment, looking into Hudson’s heated

cocoa-colored gaze, she would have believed it. She had an inkling he had heard

her interaction with Parker, but she wasn’t going to tempt fate by asking.

Instead she tipped her chin up and turned back to the door, only to realize

that it wasn’t Hudson’s hand on her. Sawyer Brooks stood on her other side with

his hand resting lightly on the curve of her hip, and the rest of his body leaning

nonchalantly against the door jam.

“Rachel,” he said softly, and her pulse took off racing. Okay, the idea of

having a sexy one-night stand had merit, but now that she was surrounded by

large muscular men, she wasn’t so sure she could go through with the reality. “No

need to rush off. How are you tonight?”

Blinking in surprise, she answered automatically in a snotty tone, “I’m fan-

fuckin-tastic, Sawyer, thank you for asking.”

His eyes darkened with irritation, and his lip curled up in a grimace. “Don’t

use language like that, you’re a lady, and ladies shouldn’t curse.”

Rachel couldn’t help it. She burst into a roar of laughter. Not giggles, or

chuckles, but large loud belly laughs. “Are you kidding me? Sawyer Brooks, I

have seen you compete in the local rodeo, and heard the nastiness that spews

from those luscious lips. Do you really think you can tell
me
not to curse?”

Sawyer focused in on the one phrase from her whole little speech that he

liked, “Luscious lips, huh?” Those sexy lips curved up into an equally sinful smile

that had her pussy tightening, and her thighs clenching.

She forced herself to roll her eyes, even as a blush covered her cheeks.

“Whatever. I’m going inside to get a drink, dance a little, and maybe play some

pool. Excuse me, gentlemen.” She reached again for the door handle, only to

have a new set of hands settle on her shoulders and tug her backwards until she

stumbled. Instead of falling on her ass though, her plump butt cheeks settled

against the rough denim of a man’s Levi’s, and a heavy arm banded under her

ribs holding her upright.

“Apologize, Rachel, you were rude to Sawyer, and he was just trying to teach

you a few manners,” Parker’s voice rumbled against her ear, and she bit her

tongue hard to swallow her moan of lust.

“No. Let me go, Parker, this isn’t funny,” she ground out, and she began to

struggle to get out of Parker’s strong grip.

“Stop it. You’ll end up hurting yourself. Now, Sawyer and Hudson deserve

a sincere apology, and then I want an explanation as to what you’re doing at

Robin’s dressed like a two bit hooker on fight night?” Ice coated his words, and

she stilled in his arms. A wave of hurt and embarrassment went through her.

Did she really look so bad? She had put on the clothes that made her feel the

sexiest.

“I apologize if I’ve offended anyone, but I have plans inside the bar that

include a bottle of tequila, and a few spins around the dance foor. You are

currently delaying my plans. I have no intention of prostituting myself, because

I’ve never in my life felt the need to ask a man for sex. I’m dressed in clothing I

picked out, and like. I don’t personally give a damn if you approve or not, Mr.

Brooks.” She focused all of her anger on her words, and when he finally released

her she sighed heavily, “Thank you. Have a lovely evening, gentlemen.”

Hudson tugged the door open, and Sawyer stepped back from the doorway

allowing her to saunter past him. Once she was safely in the bar, she let out a

heavy, shaky breath and made her way across the room directly into the

bathroom to settle her nerves. It might take more than a drink or two to wipe the

Brooks brothers from her fantasies tonight.

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Destiny of Blood

Love of a Shifter Series, Book #4

By Bryce Evans

Chapter One

He said I was his mate. How could this happen? The man’s a king, for

goodness sake. Lilly wanted to run for the mountains, but that wasn’t her style.

Nope, she would tackle this head-on, and if that meant this man was supposed to

be her mate, then she’d handle that too. At least that was what she kept telling

herself.

Her heart was racing as she watched him scan the area, looking for her. She

had to come out from her hiding place and face him, but right now she had a job

to do; this would have to wait. Lilly took a deep breath, then lowered her head to

the door she was hiding behind. All she needed was a minute. Just one minute to

figure out what the hell was going on and how she could get out of it.

“Are you hiding from someone, miss?

Her head jerked up toward a young man who sat against the wall. She was

so preoccupied with hiding that she hadn’t even noticed him. She blinked.

“No… Well, yes, I guess I’m hiding from someone.” Lilly smiled back at the

young shifter and chuckled at how stupid she probably looked to others. “I must

look real silly ducking around corners and hiding behind doors.”

“Depends—maybe it means you should just tel him that you’re not

interested. I’ve seen a lot of people doing the same thing tonight. Instead of

running around, they should just be honest and say that they’re not interested.”

Lil y snorted. “Such wisdom coming from a young man like yourself ! But

you’re right, and I plan on doing that. What’s your name?”

The young boy stood up and bowed. “Gabriel Ryan at your service.”

Lil y smiled and walked out from behind the door. She liked this kid. “Who

are you here with?”

“Well, at the moment I’m staying with Alpha Newton until he can find some

of my relatives. Which won’t happen.” She watched as Gabriel tried to mutter

the last part under his breath, but she was a shifter and heard it plain as day.

“Then you should just tell him,” Lilly murmured back, knowing he could

hear her.

Gabriel’s eyes widened. He turned in his seat and faced her. “I’ve already

explained to him that I don’t have any family, but he thinks some FBI agent who’s

staying here can locate someone.”

“You’re staying with Marcus Newton?” Lilly asked.

“Yes ma’am, you know him?”

Lil y smirked and propped her chin up in her hand, staring at Gabriel.

“Yep, I know him. I’m not usually this nosy, but what happened to your

parents?” Lilly watched as the kid’s face fell. She could see his pain before he

wiped it off his face.

“They were killed,” Gabriel answered through gritted teeth.

Lil y sat up straight and put her hand on his arm. She inhaled deeply, and

his scent told her he was a vampire. He smelled sweet, as all young vamps did,

until they were older. “Oh. I’m so, so sorry, Gabriel.”

She watched as Gabriel looked out at the crowd while he got control of his

emotions. “I think the man you’re trying to dodge just spotted you.”

Lil y looked at Sindrid. She could tell he was about to walk over to her, but

she frowned and shook her head. She almost jumped up with joy when he

nodded and sat back down.

Turning back around, Lilly directed her attention at Gabriel. “Hey, would

you like to meet me tomorrow to do a little snowboarding?” The smile on her

new friend’s face was the answer she was looking for. His grief was gone for a few

moments, at least.

Such tragedy for such a young one to endure by himself. Her mothering

instinct was coming out; she could feel herself wanting to look after this young

boy. She didn’t even know him, but she felt the need to protect him anyway.

“Really? I’ve always wanted to go snowboarding, but where we lived there

wasn’t any snow, so I never got a chance to learn.” Gabriel beamed.

“Well tomorrow, if Marcus says you can, me and you can go to the slopes.”

“Hello, Lilly.” As if the man heard his name being called in the air, Marcus

Newton appeared beside her. She turned to face the man she’d thought at one

time she was in love with. He was still the same good-looking Alpha she’d fallen

for years ago. The feelings she’d had for Marcus rushed forward, but the hurt

was no longer there. His dark brown eyes stared down at her, searching her face

to see how this was going to go. He wasn’t her mate, she knew that, but the way

he’d left her—in a hotel room, with only a note—still hurt and pissed her off. She

remembered waking up alone on that cold morning, a note left on his pillow and

all of his clothes gone.

The note simply said that he knew it wouldn’t work out between them, since

they weren’t mates. He couldn’t allow himself to continue the relationship,

because when their mates did show up they’d have to leave each other. She knew

that Marcus was waiting for his mate, but she’d made the mistake of listening to

his compliments and his professions of love. Shaking her head, she smiled, not

allowing him to see how much he’d hurt her. Nobody would ever do that again.

“Hello Marcus.” Lilly said. They stared at each other until she became

aware of Sindrid’s presence next to her. She hated that her heart futtered as his

hand rubbed up against her back, while he stood beside her, glaring down at

Marcus. He was the king of vampires, and his very presence sent out vibes to

everyone around them that he was an Alpha male. She could tell he knew

something was up between Marcus and her, but he didn’t say a word.

Marcus took a step back and looked up at the tall vampire. She wanted to

laugh at the sight of him actually having to look up at someone this time.

“Sindrid, I want you to meet Alpha Marcus Newton and Gabriel Ryan.”

Sindrid’s very presence made you take notice of him. His angelic beauty

was a sight to be seen. No one looking at him would guess that he was born

during biblical times; he still appeared to be in his late twenties.

Lil y waited, but Sindrid didn’t acknowledge Marcus at first. Both of the

predators stared at each other like they were going to fight. She elbowed Sindrid

in the stomach, which thankfully brought him out of his thoughts, and his eyes

shifted back to her with a smile.

“Sindrid Abner.” Even his voice commanded attention, letting Marcus

know that Lilly was his.

“We thought you were dead,” Marcus remarked.

Sindrid smirked. “As you can see, I’m very much alive.” “Sindrid, this is

Gabriel.” Lilly spoke quickly, interrupting him before he could claim her in front

of her ex. At least she thought she could consider Marcus an ex-boyfriend; they’d

spent three weeks together. But that was in the past now, and thinking about her

past was just silly. She was so over him—right?

She watched as Sindrid turned his attention to the young boy.

“Hello.” He smiled gently as he stuck his hand out to Gabriel, who just stood

up and stared, in awe of him. At first she thought Gabriel was going to jump up

and down, but the boy held it in.

She wanted to laugh as Marcus watched Gabriel’s fascination with the king.

The Alpha’s face hardened as it became obvious that Sindrid held Gabriel’s

attention.

“Are you really him?” Gabriel whispered.

“Who?” Sindrid asked. She knew he wasn’t trying to be cocky with the kid,

but he was young. It seemed improbable that he’d actually know who Sindrid

was.

“The king,” Gabriel answered.

Sindrid hesitated before he replied. He seemed kind of shy about his

position. “Yes, Gabriel. Did you not believe that I was real?” he asked.

“My parents said you were alive, that we…we needed to find you.”

Gabriel’s voice cracked as he spoke.

Lilly quickly put her arm around Gabriel. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“You knew my father, Jacob Ryan.” Pain fashed across Sindrid’s face when

Gabriel informed him who his father was.

“You’re Jacob’s son?” Sindrid’s voice lowered with emotion before he

regained control.

“Do you remember him?” Gabriel asked.

“Of course I remember him. He’s my best friend. Is he here?” Sindrid

turned around, his gaze scouring the dance foor.

“They’re dead.” Gabriel’s voice was low and shaky. “They were killed.”

“Dead?” Sindrid sat down abruptly. The news of his friend’s death

obviously shook him to the core.

Marcus and Lil y sat down at the table as Gabriel started telling them what

had happened to his parents. Chills ran up her spine as Gabriel explained, “My

father worked for a company called Sentrix Labs. He’d only worked there for

about a year, when I overheard him and my mom talking late one night.

“I got up to get something to drink, and I heard my dad say that he was

scared—and my dad wasn’t scared of anything or anyone. He said that the