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  Just as the monster banked its wings and dipped toward Lily, it had lifted its head and looked at Conn. He could have sworn he saw a cruel smile distort its face. That was followed by the memory of being carried away in the air, the odd sensation of hanging by his teeth, and his determination to keep his jaws locked even if the creature flew him to dragon hell.

  He remembered hearing the sounds of death throes coming from the very throat he held in the vice grip of his jaws and the sensation of descending too fast. Falling.

  Jerking his gaze to the left he recognized Lessie’s cabin. The fire had died down to hot glowing coals and he was glad of that because he suddenly felt too hot and needed to throw the covers back. He turned his head to the right and was stunned by the sight of Lestriv, her hair looking like a whirl of multicolored ribbons of auburn, chestnut, and amber.

  There was only one thing in the world he wanted more than to reach out and touch her and that was to see Lily. He knew she must be fine, but that terror he had felt wouldn’t be appeased until he saw that for himself.

  He eased himself out of bed, careful not to wake Lestriv and padded quietly to Lily’s little room. Willing the door not to creak, he opened it slowly, and smiled to himself when he saw her curled on her side hugging three stuffed, fur covered animals to her chest.

  Closing the door, he realized there was one other thing he wanted more than to be in bed with Lessie and that was a good long piss. He almost groaned with the sweet relief of draining his bladder. Before going back to bed, he drank water like he’d had none for days. It overflowed his mouth and ran down his chest. That also felt good against his heated skin.

  As he walked toward the bed, his erection sprang to full bloom in anticipation of claiming the woman who had been dallying long enough. As he was hanging in the air, jaws latched tight on the throat of a devil in dragon form, believing that he was flying toward his death, he remembered thinking that he had one and only one regret. That he’d never had the pleasure of sinking balls deep into the woman who’d been chosen for him by the whims of fate.

  As his knee depressed the mattress he threw the covers to the foot of the bed and slowly began pushing Lestriv’s long nightgown up her body.

  She opened her eyes in surprise, then realizing what was happening, opened her eyes wider.

  “Conn, you…”

  Whatever she was going to say next was smothered by his kiss, and her gasp that took his breath into her body. His hand stopped at the juncture of her thighs to administer some much needed, expert attention. When the delicious sensation made her cry out without warning, her hand flew to her mouth to muffle the sound so that she wouldn’t wake Lily.

  Lessie’s look of disbelief changed to a look of concern without warning. Her hands grabbed for his face. “Conn. You’re still feverish. We can’t…”

  “Aye, we can. And we will.”

  “But you’re still sick.”

  “I’m well enough.”

  Conn’s eyes were sparkling with lust and mischief. The look of his skin, flushed with fever, begged to be touched. After pulling the nightgown over Lessie’s head, he stared at her body as if he’d never seen a woman unclothed. She fought the impulse to cover herself and had an internal debate about arguing the point of his fever further, but instead she said, “You weren’t really assigned to help me. Were you?”

  His gaze jerked to her eyes as if he was looking for something. Seeming satisfied with what he saw, he grinned and shook his head no. Then he plumped one breast and ran his tongue around her nipple without taking his eyes from her face. After bringing the other nipple to a peak hard as a pebble, he began worshipping her body with kisses, strokes, and tiny nibbles that caused her to arch away from the straw mattress.

  Whenever she tried to urge him to hurry, he just looked at her, grinned, shook his head no, then proceeded to make love to her with a masterfully slow and painstaking deliberation. By the time she felt his cock probe her entrance she was covered in a slick sheen of perspiration that matched his. It caused what Lessie would always remember as the most erotic sound of their bodies slapping together rhythmically.

  Like most women who work with their hands, she kept her nails short, but not so short that Conn didn’t revel in the pleasure pain of feeling them digging into his back. When she peaked, her teeth latched onto his neck and bit down in a delicious crescendo of ravishment while the werewolf jerked once, growled deep in his chest, and trembled as his seed spilled inside her.

  Lessie felt an inexplicable tear race down her cheek and reached to wipe it away before Conn saw it and misunderstood. It wasn’t a sad tear or a happy tear. It was simply more emotion than her body could contain. She had released much more than an orgasm. She’d let go of her first love and given herself to another, body and soul.

  Konochur collapsed beside her, careful not to put his weight on the swell of her abdomen. Turning his head on the pillow he treated Lessie to such a captivating, and very wolfy, smile of male satisfaction that it made her heart flutter.

  “Will you be leaving us now?” She blurted it out before she could stop herself.

  Conn’s smile turned to a look of confusion. “Leavin’ ye? I do no’ understand ye.”

  She looked away. “I mean, you know…”

  He raised himself on an elbow so that he could look down at her. With brows drawn together, he said, “No. I do no’ know.”

  “I mean, are you done with me since I’ve let you in my bed?”

  He continued to stare as if he was uncomprehending right up until he threw himself to his back and nearly howled with laughter.

  Lessie sat up, scowling. “What’s so funny?”

  When he got himself under control, he said simply, “Humans.”

  “Humans?”

  “Aye. Humans. Did ye think that I’ve spent all this time givin’ flyin’ lessons to chickens, and carryin’ baskets of potatoes, and mendin’ livestock fences… No’ to mention provin’ that I’m willin’ to give my life for my family. Ye think I’d do these thin’s for a fuck?” Lessie’s mouth dropped open. “In case ye’re tryin’ to think up an answer, that question was rhetorical. That means…”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I know what it means.”

  “The answer is no. I did no’. I’m no’ a farmer, Lessie. I’m a warrior. For hundreds of years my brothers and I kept a country resplendent with desirable coastline, easily accessed by maraudin’ barbarians intact. But here I am throwin’ chickens and carryin’ corn… I think I’ve shown ye that there’s nothin’ I would no’ do to have ye accept me as yer mate. And nothin’ I would no’ do to keep my family safe.”

  Her eyes glazed with mist when he said ‘family’. She took his meaning very well. He was promising to be her husband, but he was also promising to be father to her children. All she could manage to say was, “Mate?”

  His face and voice softened as he settled himself over her, “Do no’ behave as if this comes as a surprise to ye.”

  “Well…”

  “That is no’ the way to begin that sentence.” He rocked his body into her, which was distracting to say the least.

  “You cannot possibly be, uh, ready again this soon.”

  “Reach down and take hold of the livin’ proof. I’ve been wantin’ this for a long time.” She shifted and squirmed a little, which made proof more than evident without the use of hands. “So?” Conn’s voice dropped to a sexy rumble as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth. “Are ye havin’ me to mate then?”

  He pulled back so as to better see her face. When her radiant smile appeared he let out the breath he’d been holding and the tiny lines around his eyes smoothed away.

  “I’m havin’ ye then.”

  “When did ye figure out that the Council did no’ assign me to look after ye?”

  “When I noticed that the other two widows didn’t have a gorgeous unmated werewolf regularly calling.”

  Conn laid his head back on the pillow for a moment. “Ye think I’m gorgeous
?”

  And she laughed.

  While Lestriv knew that there was a place in her heart that would always belong to Jimmy Clear Eyes, she also knew that Conn was right. Jimmy would want their children to have a strong protector who loved and cherished them. And he would want Lessie to be happy.

  Epilogue

  Luna and her apprentices had shooed Conn outside when Lessie’s labor began in earnest. And there he had waited in the darkness for hours. Hearing her in such distress was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He walked in circles. A couple of times he’d peeked inside only to have three women yell at him to, “Get out.”

  Finally, he decided to change into wolf form for comfort. At least he’d be warm. He lay down in the middle of the passage between buildings that would have been considered a road in Scotia and put his head on his paws. On hearing Lessie’s screams intensify, he rose, turned around, and flopped down with agitation. When she screamed again he lifted his head, which happened to be facing east. As the first sunbeam pierced the blackness of night he heard a baby’s cry.

  He changed to human form and burst into the room.

  With sweat trickling down the side of her face, Luna looked at him and smiled. “It’s a boy, Conn.”

  “A boy.” He whispered it with so much awe that he made it sound like no other male baby had ever been born. “Lessie?”

  “She’s fine. Just sleeping. She deserves it. She worked really hard.”

  Luna’s two midwife apprentices finished knotting the umbilical cord, wiped the baby off with warm water, wrapped him in a cotton cloth, and handed him to Luna.

  She in turn said, “Here’s your son, Conn. Take him.” Conn looked at Luna with a horrified expression and shook his head vigorously. She laughed. “Don’t worry. Look. Put your hand under his head to support his neck and let him rest in the crook of your arm, just like that.”

  Feeling the pliant warmth next to his body made Conn feel strange. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

  “He’s beautiful,” Luna said. “Perfect in every way.”

  “Perfect,” Conn repeated as he swayed back and forth with the baby in his arm.

  When Lestriv woke, the first thing she saw was Konochur’s smile. The second thing she saw was the bundle in his arms. She reached for the baby. As Conn gingerly placed him in his mother’s arms, he said, “We have a son, Lessie. Perfect in every way. And I know his name.”

  Lestriv managed a small smile. She had been part of a werewolf tribe long enough to know that werewolves approached naming like it was a mystic ritual. It could be said that they were superstitious about it, but oddly, they seemed to always get it right.

  “What will you call him?” she asked as she placed a kiss on the tiny forehead.

  “Mac ar Maidin.”

  She repeated it twice. “What does it mean?”

  “Son of the Mornin’.”

  2014 Shield Wolf, LIULF, New Scotia Pack, 1

  (available at major ebook retailers)

  2016 Point Wolf: CENEAD, New Scotia Pack, 3

  Victoria Danann

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  Best-selling cross-genre FANTASY for 17+. A little scifi, a little romance, a lot of paranormal.

  2013 AND 2014 Winner BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES - Knights of Black Swan

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  Lost Embrace

  Immortals of New Orleans, Book 6.5

  Kym Grosso

  Lost Embrace

  Copyright © 2015 Kym Grosso

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  MT Carvin Publishing - West Chester, Pennsylvania

  Editor: Julie Roberts

  Cover Design: LM Creations

  Photographer: Golden Czermak

  Cover Models: Justin Keeton & Tamara Summers

  DISCLAIMER

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, locations and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events, locales, or real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  NOTICE

  This is an adult erotic paranormal romance book with love scenes and mature situations. It is only intended for adult readers over the age of 18.

  Chapter One

  The demon gored its claw into her belly, boring through her organs. She fell to the ground, and the thump of her skull cracking on the pavement reverberated in her ears. The black tunnel closed in as the beast spat into her wound, its acidic saliva burning her flesh. Clutching the cavernous gash, her bloodstained hands slipped from her skin as the life drained out of her.

  Never wanting to be vampire, her love of her humanity had superseded all else. Despite having been guaranteed immortality by her vampire lover, she learned that such promises were relative to the manner of death. Though age and disease would not come for her, the demon’s talons would prove to be fatal. Unlike everything she’d been told about death, her life didn’t flash before her eyes. Only he was omnipresent in her thoughts. With her last breath, she called for him to save her. Kade. She’d always been a fighter until her final moment when hope was lost. As light turned to darkness, she accepted the inevitable. Giving in to death’s embrace, she smiled, knowing that she’d loved, was loved.

  Sydney braced for the seizure, her body tensing, readying for the barrage of spasms it would endure. It had been a month since she’d been attacked. She’d been protecting an innocent child from the monstrous demon who sought to claim her. As a police officer, it wasn’t the first time she’d been in danger. But that day, she’d been no match for the evil beast who impaled her with his fist. As death reached for her soul, her fiancé, Kade Issacson, had saved her from its finality. Turned her without consent.

  Sydney loved Kade more than life itself, but they’d always had an understanding; she’d remain human. She’d agreed to drink miniscule amounts of his blood, allowing her the benefits of immortality. As Kade’s singular source of sustenance, she’d always known that if she were to be turned, he wouldn’t be able to feed from her. Having been transformed into a vampire, no longer could she serve that role in his life. In the blink of an eye, her life had been destroyed, promises crushed.

  The first round of chills racked her body, and she bit her lip raw. She curled into the corner of the room, the hardwood floor grounding her. She’d watched through the window as the donor approached the house. A healthy pink tinge on the woman’s cheeks told her she’d rushed to her appointment. Even though Sydney knew Kade wouldn’t partake of the stranger’s blood, it didn’t matter. Jealousy clutched at her gut. He’d feed eventually…sometime, somewhere, from someone else…but never from her. He’d need a human, and human she was not.

  A tear rolled down her cheek as her muscles relaxed. She and Kade had barely spoken over the past month. She knew he loved her, had done what he thought needed to be done. Yet being turned had rocked her world, shattering the delicate life they’d built together.

  Weak, she had been unable to feed without causing the donors excruciating pain. It was as if her fangs were intoxicated with the demon itself. Screaming herself awake had bec
ome the only relief from her nightmares of the beast. She’d convinced herself that Rylion had infected her with his saliva. Now her own fluids had brought terror to anyone she’d touched.

  When Kade brought donors to her, Sydney would wait for him to sink his teeth into their wrist. She’d be forced to watch the woman shake with desire caused by her lover. At one time, his bite was meant only for her. On this dark night, however, another stranger would quiver at his touch.

  A knock sounded before the doorknob creaked. Sydney shoved herself to her feet, and found a chair. Wiping the tears from her face, she took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to proceed. She struggled with thoughts of suicide, yet today the fight to survive prevailed. Reluctantly she’d accept the nourishment.

  “Sydney, are you ready for us?” she heard Kade ask. The door edged open an inch.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Her eyes met Kade’s as he walked into her bedroom. A rush of excitement filled her belly as he came into view. His blond hair had grown long, its shaggy edges brushing his collar. Sydney found his permanent five o’clock shadow every bit as sexy as his usual clean-shaven face. She wished she could hate him, leave him, but the deep burning love in her heart never ceased. It tore her apart to know she’d never be what he needed.

  “Love, it’s okay,” he said, his warm voice attempting to calm her.

  A petite blonde followed behind him. She knelt before Sydney and presented her arm in silence. Sydney glanced at her for only a second before meeting Kade’s gaze. She fought the moisture that brimmed in her eyes.

  “We’ll do this quickly,” Kade promised.