Lover Enraptured: Thieves of Aurion, Book 2 (35 page)

A hand draped over the far edge, just visible from his new position.

Hell.

Tyler raced forward, reached into the water and scooped up the limp body of a blonde woman. Her head had been resting on a drink holder, the only thing that had kept her from becoming completely submerged.

“Wake up, little mermaid.” Tyler cradled her against him. He nudged the door open and brought her inside, dripping wet, examining her face for a reaction. She was breathing, but shallowly. He lowered her onto the couch then pulled a handy throw blanket over her shivering torso. “Can you hear me?”

Her lips moved, eyelashes fluttering. Nothing but slight muttering to his question.

Damn it. He had to call someone, and now. He leaned over her to snatch the phone from the side table. Her arms flailed. In his unprotected position, one hand connected sharply with his nose, and he grunted in pain.

Ignoring the phone for a second, he tucked her in again, holding down her arms to stop her from hurting herself or taking more pot shots at his face. “You don’t need to hit me, I’m trying to help you.”

“
Bear
…”

The word whispered past her lips, and Tyler paused. Leaned in closer and sniffed.

The scent of wolves clung to his waterlogged woman, but she wasn’t wolf. Human through and through, yet the fact she’d just called him a bear?

Something was happening he wanted to get to the bottom of.

“Can you hear me?”

Her lips moved steadily, drawing his attention to them. For the first time he paused long enough to look the rest of her over. Her blonde hair stuck up in spots, the pale colouring all the way to the roots. Her skin was pale as well—whether from soaking in his tub or her natural colour, he wasn’t sure. The deep red of her lips contrasted sharply against her skin, a delicate pout forming on their soft surface as she attempted to speak.

Speaking of bears, his was at full alert. The beast bumped to the surface, keen on him shifting for some reason. While he was the bear and the bear was him, there was one part of his brain that remained independent. His human side reasoning, rational. His animal side more…well, animal. Earthier and more connected to the wilder roots of shifterdom.

He understood why his bear was interested. Pretty face and pretty body, the swells of her breasts rose and fell as her breathing evened out and grew stronger. That was the reason he was staring at her chest, to make sure she was recovering from her ordeal. Not because he could see straight through the wet shirt and the bra underneath it. Not because the lush redness of her lips seemed to be reflected in the tips of those breasts…

Tyler shook his head to make his brains settle back in place.

Damn bear.

His mystery woman sucked in a deep breath, her eyes opening all the way. “Frack.”

He soothed her, attempting to keep her horizontal on the couch without actually forcing her back. “You should stay still.”

Her gaze darted over his face, and this adorable little crease appeared between her brows. “Who are you?”

Caution made him word his answer carefully. If this was someone planted by another bear clan, he wanted to know, so he used the oldest ploy in the book. His friend would understand. “I’m Justin. What’s your name?”

“Caroline.” Her eyes widened. “Why am I soaking wet?”

“I found you in my hot tub. I hoped you could tell me—”

“Oh, shoot.”

She would have surged upward, and this time he made contact, hands to her shoulders, to keep her from jerking to vertical. “Don’t. You nearly drowned. Until you remember what happened, you shouldn’t move.”

The fabric separating his palms and her skin warmed, and the scent of her skin grew stronger. She relaxed onto the overstuffed fabric as she tentatively touched the back of her head.

“I remember. I was finishing cleaning the suite and slipped on the tub.” She moved her fingers slowly but still cringed in pain. “There’s a goose egg to prove it.”

Tyler settled on his heels beside her. Cleaning staff. Okay, that was a possible solution to the question without turning this into some kind of political intrigue.

“Do you mind if I check?”

“Be my guest.” She frowned. “You’re Justin? You’re the security man for Tyler Harrison.”

Cleaning staff who knew details of the room’s occupants? Tyler returned to being suspicious all over again.

He lifted her carefully until he could examine the back of her head. “I’m checking things out in the room. Everything seemed to be in order other than you doing unsupervised synchro.”

“Can you get me out of here before he arrives?”

“You sure you’re okay to move?” Tyler helped her upright, sitting next to her on the couch. He held one arm around her to stop her from shifting from side to side.

Caroline groaned lightly. “I’ll be all right. I’m not nauseous or anything, which is good. I would hate to throw up and ruin the great cleaning job I did.”

Tyler laughed. The conversation was far more blunt than he usually got to hear from people. “Well, yes. Let’s avoid vomiting, shall we?”

It was rather comfortable sitting with her. Far more comfortable than he should be after rescuing a strange woman in a strange place. He wanted to be wary, wanted to remain alert to the potential troubles in the situation, but with her wet body cuddled beside him, his damn bear seemed to have taken control of his mind.

Her shirt had separated from the waistband of her pants, and a sliver of bare skin rested under his fingers. The sheer willpower it took to keep from stroking that soft section of skin shook him.

His human side pushed forward in defense with logic. “I should call a doctor to check you out.”

She frowned. “I’ll go to the clinic. Let’s not have ambulances at the hotel today. It wouldn’t be a great way to start things off. Might set a damper on the meetings.”

Curiousier and curiousier. “You’ve obviously worked at the Moonshine Inn for a while.”

Give her a chance to admit she knew about shifters, and the game would change all over again. A tiny bud of a notion had burst forth in the last minute, probably planted by his bear, but damn if it wasn’t a working idea.

She nodded slowly, wincing. “I’ve been on staff for nearly five years. Since before the Takhini pack bought out the previous owners.”

And there was his answer. “You know about shifters, then.”

She snorted.

His bear was far too charmed by her instant and honest response.

Caroline motioned upward. “Help me to my feet, and we’ll see how I do. Yes, I know about shifters. Half-blood family, actually. My stepdad’s wolf, so I’ve lived with pack most of my life.”

A human who grew up with shifters. This might be the solution to one of his problems during the upcoming conference days.

Not to mention a lovely distraction, as long as she hadn’t injured herself with that crazy fall.

He had her standing, his arms still around her in case she wobbled. Caroline clutched his shoulder momentarily as her knees gave way. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against him for support. She was tall enough to make him not feel quite as enormous as he usually felt around the ladies. Other than that, he was desperately beating back the bear, who had just suggested they should peel her out of her wet clothes to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere else.

“I think we should get that doctor in here.”

“No.” Caroline spoke firmly. “Damn, you shifters are all the same, bossy as get out. I’m fine, and I really have to leave before your boss gets here.”

His boss. Oh right, his little name game. They could drop that ploy. “Actually, I’m—”

The door opened, and Justin walked in. His best friend froze in midstep as he took in the entire scenario. From the open door, the trail of water across the carpet, the wet and disheveled woman, and Tyler himself.

Caroline swore and to his great surprise, hid herself against his side, arms curling around his torso.

Worst case of mistaken identity EVER…

God of Fyre Mountain

© 2013 Renee Wildes

Guardians of Light, Book 6

As a teacher, Maili is adept at juggling multiple tasks, but this is ridiculous. Erotic dreams make her sleep anything but restful. Her father wants to marry her off to a neighboring chieftain’s son. Her grandmother’s whispered blasphemy about doubting the gods has the local volcano threatening to split wide open.

As she prays in the temple for mercy on her grandmother, Maili expects the mountain to smoke and rumble. She doesn’t expect Afu himself to pop through a dark fissure and squash her flat.

The last thing Dax remembers is vowing to prevent his queen’s assassination. He wakes up in an island paradise, where the primitive natives worship the statue of a troll named Afu. And they expect him—their fyre god incarnate—to stop their cranky volcano from blowing up.

As an incentive, they’ve given him a maiden sacrifice/bride, a dark-eyed beauty who’s just as determined to seduce him as he is to return home in one piece.

While she’s less than thrilled to be traded like a chicken, one thing is certain. Dax is the man in her dreams…and she’s hell bent on making the come true. Or her people may die.

Warning: Contains erotic dreams, volcanic-hot love scenes, one edgy F/F interrogation scene and some self-loving. Also treason, black sorcery and an evil witch doctor who shrinks heads.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
God of Fyre Mountain:

Maili dove naked from atop the cliff. The cold water of the deep pool felt wonderful against her hot, sweaty skin. A welcome, albeit temporary, refuge from the old gossips in the village. Despite the perilous climb and descent, this would be the logical place for them to get their water. Safer than facing the river dragons and the threat of the Kali. But for the moment, she still had it all to herself.

Betwixt her father’s plans to marry her off to Old Stone-Face and the shock of Afu’s prophesied coming, she’d hardly slept a wink. The dream had changed; it was Afu who’d taken her in his arms, captured her lips with his. Her dreams had been filled with erotic images and sensations, of heat and sweat and skin sliding on skin. The mere memory made her twitch.

Ugh. She needed to get away.

“Maili!” A familiar naked form plunged into the water, drenching her anew. Noelani surfaced, sputtering. “You must help me hide. Trade me to the Kali. I’d be better off with them than with Lanikula.” Noelani burst into tears and showed Maili her new tattoo, the sika-red mouth beneath her right ear. A way for the gods to speak to her. The mark of a witch doctor.

Maili’s heart ached at seeing the darkening bruise on Noelani’s cheek. Lanikula could be a harsh taskmistress. “There’s more to it than that. Apprentice witches learn the rituals and tattooing patterns. Soon you’ll have power unimaginable, and no one will hurt you ever again.”

“I never wanted that power,” Noelani protested. “I just want to be an ordinary village woman with a dozen kids and a loving husband.”

Didn’t look like either of them was going to get her wish. Pilipo wasn’t any gentler than Lanikula, and his fists were a lot bigger.

“I’m not performing the
muliwa
,” Noelani reiterated. “I’ll run away and join the Kali. I mean it. I’d rather bed a hundred smelly Kali than shrink one head.”

“Don’t be mad; that would be much worse. They’d feed you to their snake gods.” Maili shuddered. “Come on. Let’s lie in the sun and dry off. That’s always relaxing.” Maili swam over to their rock and hauled herself up to sprawl on the sun-warmed flat surface.

Noelani lay on her stomach, head pillowed on her crossed arms. “I know I need to serve a purpose but this is what they came up with?”

“At least your purpose is a true purpose,” Maili groused. “You get to help the whole village. I get to be Pilipo’s slave.”

Noelani frowned. “‘Wife’ doesn’t mean ‘slave’.”

Maili shuddered. “You haven’t seen how he looks at me when we’re alone.”

“He wants you. But that helps the whole village too. He’s agreed to lead and train our warriors if you wed him. Chieftain’s son and chieftain’s daughter, the strength of two Toka villages working together. We’ll all be much safer.”

“Not all.” Maili indicated Noelani’s battered face. “How long ’til I have a similar look? Neither one of us is suited to just giving in and doing what we’re told. I don’t know why we can’t trade places. You wed Old Stone-Face, and I’ll shrink Kali heads.”

Noelani bit her lip. “I’m not royal, and Lanikula says you’re not suitable for the power. Are you certain you’re not just nervous of the marriage bed? Don’t you find Pilipo handsome? Everyone else seems to.”

“He’s always so grim, and the least little thing makes him angry. I’ve never seen him smile. Have you? I wonder, do you think he frowns even when he’s over a woman?”

Noelani’s face flamed. “How can you say such things?”

“Don’t you wonder about what men and women do together in the dark? I caught Pilipo and Tia once. All that writhing and moaning, her legs over his shoulders and her feet in the air. Every time he thrust his man root into her, he grunted and her breasts bounced.”