Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Huh? What do you mean?” Sam frowned in confusion.
“I mean, where is your next ghost hunt?” he asked patiently. “Because after last night and that fucking Slasher69, I’m never letting you go out hunting alone again!”
“But…I thought you didn’t believe in what I do!” Sam protested.
“I do now. What I saw that night in the Belgrave Mansion pretty much convinced me,” R’orn admitted. “And then talking to the Goddess…well, it made me realize the supernatural is real. Yes, baby—I believe in you and your Gift. I’m sorry I was an asshole about it before,” he added penitently.
“I forgive you,” Sam lifted her head to kiss him lightly on the mouth. “I know you were only trying to push me away because of your Beast.”
“Never going to push you away again,” R’orn promised. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer and returned her kiss. “Mmm, you feel so right in my arms! I was a fucking idiot to try and push you away!”
“Like I said, I forgive you.” Sam sighed contentedly and cuddled against him. It felt as though the big Kindred was a piece of her soul that she hadn’t known she was missing.
A thought suddenly occurred to her, though, which made her frown wistfully.
R’orn was instantly attuned to her mood.
“What is it, baby?” he murmured through their link. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong with us,” Sam assured him. “I never knew I could be this happy. It’s just…well, I wish my little sister could have this kind of happiness, too.”
“Bring her up to the Mother Ship,” R’orn suggested. “I’ll introduce her to some of my friends. They’re not Wulven Kindred,” he hastened to add, probably knowing that Sam would worry if she thought her sister had to go through the same experience she had the night before with his Beast.
Sam shook her head.
“I told her she should try dating a Kindred guy but I don’t think she’s really in the right place right now. She’s…having troubles of her own. Until she gets them settled, I don’t think she’ll be ready to find the love of her life.”
“You don’t always feel ready when the love of your life comes along,” R’orn pointed out dryly. “I sure as hell wasn’t ready for you, baby.” He gave Sam a squeeze and another long, lingering kiss on the mouth. “But now that I have you, I’m never letting you go!”
Sam sighed happily and kissed him back. She never had to be alone again, she realized. In R’orn, she would have a protector, a lover, and a companion by her side for the rest of her life. She only wished that Hanna could have what she had—that she could overcome the curse her Gift had become to find happiness and love as well.
But there was nothing she could do for her sister at the moment. And in the meantime, she could feel that R’orn was still hard inside her. Even though they had just finished making love, it made her want to Bond with her new mate all over again.
She never would have believed that having a Kindred Protector would change her life so completely for the better, Sam thought as she began to move on R’orn’s shaft again, drawing a low growl of pleasure from his throat. Or that she could be so happy and content with a man she’d only known a week. But through their new Soul Bond, she understood that R’orn was indeed her Fated Mate—the one she was meant to be with. And that made all the difference.
But none of it could have happened if she hadn’t been able to put aside her fear and allowed herself to be…Possessed by the Wulven.
BOOK TWO: GUARDED BY THE GHOST
1
HANNA
“That’s it—you’re fired!” Mr. Harvey, the graveyard shift manager of the Denny’s that Hanna was working at, pointed one pudgy finger at the door. “I mean it, Hanna! I’ve had enough of your bullshit. Get out now!”
“But it was an accident!” Hanna pleaded. “I would never pour hot coffee on someone on purpose—you must know that!”
“All I know is that I’ve had enough of your excuses and the way you’re always jumping at shadows and staring at things nobody else can see, like a goddamned cat!” the manager—a middle-aged, balding man with a paunch—snapped at her.
He had never liked Hanna, from the minute she’d first taken the waitressing gig three months ago. And to be fair, Hanna had never liked him either.
Part of the reason was his nasty attitude and the fact that he stole tips from the servers—he would take them right off the table if no one was looking! Several times after a kind customer had left Hanna a five or a ten-dollar bill, she had looked away for a moment only to look back and find it had disappeared. Then she would see Mr. Harvey walking away, whistling casually as he stuffed something into his pocket.