Hearts Aflame Collection II: 4-Book Bundle Read online

  “Do ye do that often?”

  Refusing to dignify the question with a response, Jade tried to put herself in order, painfully aware that a wet circle now circumscribed her backside. Conall peered over her shoulder, taking in her soaked derriere with an approving twitch of his eyebrow. Unconsciously, he gave his lips a subtle lick, but he made no further mention of her predicament. Jade, in turn, did her best to act like a professional, swallowing her complete mortification.

  Conall led her to the trap. There was dry blood splattered on the tall grass, and pooled by the trap. Conall had jammed a thick tree branch into the steel-toothed jaws to keep it from hurting anything else. “Carson said I could destroy it, but it seemed best for ye to see it here first.”

  Jade nodded in agreement as she inspected the area around the trap. “Let me see the bottom of your shoe.”

  Obligingly, Conall turned up one foot. The sole of his light hiker had a pattern of raised ovals in the tread.

  “Look at this.” Jade pointed to was a partial footprint in the blood, but the pattern was more like a series of rectangles. She took out her camera and took some close-ups before taking wider shots of the trap and the general scene. Widening her circle of investigation, Jade couldn’t find any other clues.

  “I guess that’s it for now. I think I want to go see what kind of boots Biggy and Frank Lemmons are wearing these days.”

  When they crossed the creek again, Jade accepted Conall’s helping hand. Her hand felt small in his, secure. And she liked the way his palm felt wrapped around hers. Little calloused rough spots were separated by softer, more tender, skin. Once she was safely across, Conall quickly dropped her hand, though, and dipped his head in farewell.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to check on my campsite. Since we seem to have vandals, trespassers, and killers about, I should probably be a bit more careful.”

  “That’s probably wise. I’ll catch up to the Winters later.” Their parting made Jade feel a bit wistful, and a hundred yards out, she turned around for one last look at Conall. The biologist seemed to have vanished into the landscape, but Jade did glimpse—for just an instant—a wolf standing on a rock, watching her.

  ***

  Rolling her eyes in total exasperation, Jade bent over and grabbed the rail of Frank’s rusted old creeper, pulling him out from under a 1989 Ford station wagon. He shot out headfirst, nearly colliding with an equally rusty tool bin before Jade could stop the creeper with her foot.

  “I said…I need to see the bottom of your shoes.” Jade inched her foot closer to Frank’s sensitive man parts to underscore the fact that he was in no position to be belligerent.

  “You don’t have to be such a bitch, Jade,” Frank sputtered at her.

  “That’s Deputy Lundgren to you.” Jade walked around to where she could see the bottom of his well-worn, steel-toed, work shoes. The bit of tread that remained had a zigzag pattern. She straightened up. “Have you been messing around up on the Winters’ ranch?” Jade moved her foot back to its perch on the creeper rail, inches from Frank’s testicles.

  “Why would I be screwing with Carson? That cowboy has enough money and influence to hogtie a working Joe like me in a heartbeat.” Frank sat up, “What are you after? Is this about the damn wolves?”

  “I don’t know, is it?” Jade tapped her foot a little, and Frank scooted away from the deputy’s menacing extremity.

  “Now listen here, girlie. You can’t come bustin’ in to a man’s place of business without some kind of…probable cause.” Frank scratched at his head, hoping he had gotten the legal jargon right.

  “We’re just having a friendly chat, why, the Bronco is due for an oil change any day.”

  “You know Slim and Delia do all your oil changes, so just cut to the chase.”

  No secrets in a small town, Jade thought with a sigh. “What do you have against wolves anyway? Didn’t you learn in Sunday school to be nice to all of God’s creatures?”

  Frank reached into his pocket for a can of chewing tobacco. He pinched off a chaw and stuck it in his mouth. “You don’t know your Bible, girlie. God gave men dominion over all the creatures, and that includes wolves. I ain’t breaking no laws.”

  “You are if you’re torturing them.”

  “Who says I’ve tortured anything?”

  “Biggy, for one.”

  Frank set his mouth in a hard line for a moment, and then spat tobacco juice contemptuously at Jade’s feet. “I ain’t tortured no wolves.”

  “And last time I checked, vandalism, trespassing, illegal hunting, and cruelty to domestic animals were all crimes, Frank. Not to mention torturing wild animals. You might want to remind your big-mouth cousin of all that.”

  “You got nothing on us.”

  “Yet.”

  “You made your point Deputy; now get out of my garage.”

  “I’ll be back later to talk to Biggy, if I don’t find him bragging about his wolf kills over blueberry pie at the Brown Buffalo. Have a nice day, Frank.”

  She couldn’t eliminate the Lemmons as suspects yet, but something about the vandalism and the placement of the trap seemed too sophisticated for Frank and Biggy. Frank was right, Carson could bury them with a wave of his hand; they had no reason to want to antagonize the Winters on a personal level despite the fact Biggy and Frank were nasty, cruel assholes. Something else was going on, but she felt like she couldn’t see the trees for the forest. She needed Nicolette. Her friend’s investigatory tendencies made her an excellent sounding board. Jade flipped open her cell phone.

  “What are you doing for lunch?” she blurted when Nicolette picked up, “Can you meet me at the Brown Buffalo in fifteen minutes?”

  ***

  “What do you girls want today? We’ve got a great chicken pot pie special.” Sally pulled a pad out of the red apron tied over her jeans and brown and red Brown Buffalo Café golf shirt.

  “Sure, that sounds great.” Jade hated making menu decisions, “Small side salad…”

  Before she could finish, Sally interrupted, as she jotted, “With oil and vinegar on the side…water, no ice. And Nicolette…turkey sandwich, cup of cream of broccoli soup, and an unsweetened ice tea?”

  Nicolette nodded reluctantly.

  “You got it.” Sally bustled off to put their ticket up in the window.

  “Do you ever,” Nicolette grouched, “Get tired of living in a small town?”

  “You mean where everybody, including yourself, is predictable?”

  “Yeah. If I write one more story for the Gazette about Mrs. Dalton’s pear jam winning at the state fair, or George Black’s sheep getting top dollar, I’m going to poke my own eyes out.”

  “That might be a little drastic.” Jade ripped the end off her straw and blew the paper wrapper at her friend.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “So is that why you’re crazy about Nate? He’s not so predictable?”

  Nicolette face melted into a dreamy reverie, “That…and the fact that he is spectacular in bed.”

  “You can’t drop a bomb like that without dishing!” Jade poked Nicolette with the handle of her fork, hoping to hear something that would make her feel better about Nate.

  “He’s…exciting. Not…vanilla.” Nicolette looked around to see who was sitting in the nearby booths, and dropped her voice, “He tied me up the other night.”

  “Tied you up?” Jade blurted it more loudly than she meant.

  “Shhhh. Can you imagine my father if he caught wind of something like that? His head would explode in flames.”

  “Nate didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  But before Nicolette could answer Jade, Sally interrupted with a clatter of dishes. By the time the waitress was finished serving them, Nicolette changed the subject. “So what about you…and cutie pie Harlan?”

  “He asked me to go to the rodeo in Jackson tomorrow night.”

  “So you’re going, right?” Nicolette took a bite of her sandwich.

&
nbsp; “I kind of had it in my head that we were supposed to do something. I mean, every since Nate showed up a month ago with his W.O.L.F. group, I never see you.”

  Nicolette shrugged, “You’re seeing me now, right?”

  “I—I really need to talk to you.” Jade put her fork down. “I need to pick your brain about this case, and about Harlan, and there’s this…new guy I met.”

  “Not so predictable?” Nicolette gave Jade a sympathetic look over a spoonful of soup.

  “Not predictable at all…not that anything has happened. I’m probably being stupid.” Jade picked her fork back up and stabbed industriously at the lettuce in her salad. “I should just call up Harlan and go to the rodeo tomorrow.”

  “Look, you know that honkytonk out on State Route 30? A bunch of the W.O.L.F. people are going to go out there tomorrow night. Why don’t you come? You can meet some hip, interesting people, dance, get a little buzz on, and we can talk some more.”

  “Aren’t you going to want to hang out with Nate?”

  “Well, yeah, but you know, leader of the pack, he has to make the rounds. We’ll have girl time, too.”

  “Okay, you’re right, I could stand to shake it up. Get out of my ruts.” Jade looked down at her uniform and added, “Get out of this uniform!” Nicolette started to snicker a little, and Jade corrected herself with a laugh, “I mean, wear something nice, feminine.”

  Nicolette reached for her purse, “Great! Lunch is on me. You buy the first round tomorrow night.”

  Jade spent the rest of the afternoon trying to track down Biggy Lemmons, to no avail. Once she got home, she threw in laundry, emptied the dishwasher, and went back over her notes and pictures, trying to see what she was missing about the case. Eventually, around nine, she heated up some leftover tuna casserole and popped a beer. Then it hit her: she had never called Harlan. Being hard to catch was one thing, but her parents had raised her to be unfailingly polite. Hesitantly, she picked up the telephone.

  After offering her condolences to Harlan about the dog that had been killed, and inquiring after the other Aussie who, happily, was going to pull through, Jade finally got around to the topic of their potential date.

  “Harlan, I, uh, I did promise Nicolette I’d go out with her tomorrow night.” She winced a little at the half-truth. “And she’s set on going to that honkytonk on Route 30. Could I please take a rodeo rain check?”

  Harlan mumbled some kind of affirmative response, but as Jade hung up the phone, she knew that her chances with Harlan were rapidly diminishing.

  That night, the temperatures started to fall, and Jade found herself snuggling deeper under the quilts on her bed. All of the day’s anxieties and problems seeped away, and as she drifted off to sleep, she was sure she felt the press of a warm body curled next to her, and what might have been the feathery brush of a tail.

  Do you like this book? Be sure to check other books in this series

  Vanishing in Plain Sight - Volume 2

  Luck of the Irish - Volume 3

  Broken Wheel Wolves (Trilogy Bundle)

  Eden Rising - Part 1

  Synopsis

  Adrift and uncertain about her future after her divorce, successful fashion designer Eden Valmont’s life drastically changes when she encounters Aminah Yakubu, a beautiful realtor working for a neighbor. Drawn to Aminah’s beauty and seductive energy, a casual invitation for coffee opens a dramatic new chapter in Eden’s life when she meets Aminah’s sensual husband, Lekan. An accomplished artist, Lekan’s lust for life and passion for his work translates into an erotic and bittersweet journey of self-discovery for Eden when her relationship with Lekan and Aminah blossoms into a polyamorous journey…a journey that will ultimately launch her into the future she had been searching for.

  Wiping a clear patch on the fogged mirror with her towel, Eden paused to stare at the dewy sheen of her body through dark, heavily-lidded eyes. Droplets of moisture clung to the ripe curves of her honey-colored skin, the amber nipples of her luscious breasts alluringly firm. Her fingers trailed lazy circles around the areolas, the dusky flesh pimpled with arousal. Though the bathroom was warm and steamy, she shivered from the sensation.

  With half-closed eyes, Eden allowed her hands to trail down the hills and valleys of her flesh, from the fullness of her hips to the globes of her ass and the silky expanse of her thighs. Her body had become an exotic territory to explore, her fingertips intrepid adventurers seeking sensory experiences. Loitering toward the moist, swollen crevices of her smoothly-shaven pussy, she teased her pouting lips with the edge of a perfectly-manicured nail.

  The delicate motion sent an electric thrill through her body, eliciting a gasp of pleasure. Leaning forward onto the granite counter, she spread her legs and caressed herself with both hands. Eden felt the heat emanate from her pussy. Droplets of sticky nectar clung to her fingers as they strayed in and around her gaping hole. Moving in time with her quickening breath, she teased her engorged clit until it swelled and throbbed.

  Eden softly moaned. Her thighs trembled from her mounting need, and she felt a familiar languorous ache course through her body. Reaching for a thick, round-handled brush on the counter, she bent forward as far as she could and inserted it into her pussy. She cried out from the firmness filling and stretching her hole, and worked it deep inside until it reached her hilt.

  Alternately writhing and thrusting against the brush, her heavy breasts swayed and slapped against the cool granite. Eden glimpsed herself in the mirror. Flushed, her full lips parted, strands of her lush, carelessly upswept ebony hair had worked loose and framed the sensuous contours of her face. A mix of European and Middle Eastern blood, she bore an exotic beauty tinged with an often fiery temperament.

  Feeling the delicious burn of an impending orgasm throbbing from her core, Eden raised her ass and ground the brush handle inside her. She came explosively a moment later, incredible waves of pleasure resonating throughout her body so intensely that her jellied legs could no longer support her. For a moment, she thought she would faint from the sensation, and gripped the counter to support herself.

  Her anguished cries echoed throughout the bathroom. Sweating, panting, the refreshment she had felt after her shower gone, Eden tossed the towel to the floor and collapsed on top of it. Reveling in the coolness of the marble tiles, she lay with closed eyes until she caught her breath and the heat from her body diminished.

  From the bedroom, the distant trill of her phone banished the lingering euphoria of her release. She opened her eyes and stared at the skylight, which spilled a pool of golden light into the bathroom. The azure depths of the sky pulled her in as deeply as the ocean, and for a moment, all she wanted to do was dive into its infinite embrace.

  But the phone continued to trill. It briefly silenced, then rang again, the sound as tenacious as cactus quills wedged into flesh. Eden sighed and rose, pausing to wrap herself in a fresh towel before entering the bedroom. A number flashed on the screen, a number she thought, and hoped, she had seen the last of. She hesitated, willing the persistent ringing to stop.

  As though reading her thoughts, the phone silenced. Eden noticed three missed calls, but transported by her episode of intense self-pleasure in the bathroom, she had been completely oblivious. Her respite was quickly banished by the ringing phone. Startled, she almost dropped it before answering with ill-concealed irritation.

  She heard the bustle of familiar background noise before she heard Gaylen’s voice. The subdued chaos of an airport was a sound she had long ago grown accustomed to, only this time, she didn’t know which location.

  “Eden? Hello?”

  Even now, her throat knotted at the bourbon and velvet tone of his voice.

  “Eden, you there? Been calling you for the last twenty minutes.”

  “I’m here,” she finally said.

  “Well, I’ve only got a few minutes before I board,” Gaylen said, “so I’m going to be out of commission for a while. Did you mail the papers?”

&n
bsp; Papers... she thought. What a quaint term for the loss of twelve years of life...

  “Yes, they went out yesterday.”

  “Okay, great. I’ll let my attorney know.”

  Eden heard a muffled announcement. The voice sounded distinctly foreign.

  “Sounds like you’ve got a long journey ahead of you,” she said with more irony than she had intended.

  “Dubai,” Gaylen said, “then Moscow. Got a full plate.”

  “Well,” Eden said, “you always did.”

  Awkward silence ensued. Eden had always hated the arguing, but somehow the silence was more damaging.

  “Yes, I always did,” Gaylen said. “I must have been a Bedouin in a past life.”

  The announcement echoed in the background.

  “Anyway, that’s my flight,” he said. “I’ll be in touch when everything’s finalized.”

  Eden dabbed at her eyes, shocked to find them wet with tears.

  “Okay,” she said, barely able to swallow the emotion choking her throat. “Take care, Gaylen.”

  “And you,” he said, hanging up.

  Clutching the phone in her hand, she stared past it toward a distant memory. She shivered beneath the towel, her earlier afterglow replaced by the chill of finality. Twelve years of love, companionship, and struggle had evaporated in the simple disconnection of a phone line.

  Eden tossed the phone to the bed and stared around a bright, open plan bedroom. Except for a few missing items only a trained eye would notice, the room appeared the same, but she knew in her heart that it would never be the same, no matter how many times she redecorated. The walls resonated with too many echoes, and too many tears.

  Uttering a deep sigh, she approached the floor to ceiling window and stared at a view that had once inspired her. Perched on verdant hills, the custom-designed house offered a breathtaking eagle’s nest view of the ocean. Shimmering in diamond bright brilliance beneath the warm sun of an early autumn day, the water merged into the infinitely blue horizon.