It was one of my favorite big cat with vampyre bite books. Not sure if every author falls for one of their MCs but I fell for Case Tangara. I liked his snark and I laughed as he found himself confused and mind boggled by a snow leopard shifter with green hair! Tres Moran takes my cat on a merry chase toward love.
If you missed it the first time around don't miss it this time. I'll keep you posted with date.
HARD CASE
Tres has her own plan, use the cat to forget her mysterious vampyre lover. She's drawn to both creatures for different reasons. The vampyre enjoys watching while the lion brings out a new side of her - performing for watchers.
Excerpt:
“I
don’t know who your girl is, but when she comes home, keep her under the porch.
Don’t let her come back here. You probably shouldn’t come back either. It
wouldn’t be good for your health.” She
didn’t see the chair sticking out as she backed up. Tres tripped over the leg
and went down and the wolf shifter landed heavily on top of her with a thud.
Oh hell, this is it, I’m dead.
Before
Tres could budge, she felt the weight of the man pulled from her. She stood
quickly and watched as Alek’s Kind friend held the beast in the air with his shoes
dangling two feet off the floor. The smell of lion was so thick in the room she
could taste it. His red swirling vamp’s eyes told the wolf all he should need
to know. At least she hoped the dog read his eyes like she did. “Get out or die”
was written all over his face. A shock wave of pleasure dived right between
Tres’ thighs. What the hell?
“I
don’t think the lady made herself clear. You are leaving, friend. And don’t
come back. You got that?” He dropped the shifter to his feet hard.
The
wolf nodded and Tres watched as he scurried to the door. If his tail was out,
it would be between his legs. She turned to Alek’s friend.
“Thanks,
I didn’t see the chair. Could’ve been a nasty situation. My name’s Tres, I
manage The Looking Glass.”
She
dusted her backside as she stared in the cat’s red eyes. Yeah, these dudes were
real bastards. And in both forms they were vicious sons of bitches. Except for
Alek, she steered clear of them. The one who stood in front of her should be
banned from public places. Along with the smell of lion was the look of death.
But he didn’t have the vile, putrid stench of a transgressor, cats addicted to
human blood and emotions. The blood of their victims would be drained while transgressors
remained in their vamp forms. They then became trapped in their beast gorging
on blood and flesh until someone or something
put them out of their misery.
Kind
eyes were always variations of emerald green, and his were now back to the
normal color of raw emerald, not too dark. They went well with ashy-colored
hair which, punctuated by the much darker brows, looked even lighter close up.
The chiseled planes of his face bordered on being gaunt, his straight nose
complemented by high, hard cheekbones.
All
of this came together to give him the look of one of those mysterious male
models who graced the cover of romance books around the world. The ones you
never really did see walking down the street. And his full lips—I got a place for them. This cat could
be real trouble. He was definitely a lion, and if he lived there, he’d be king
of the jungle.
She
got wet and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure why. She reminded herself
of all the reasons she shouldn’t be. Even now, she smelled the lion in him. As
he stood this close, she saw she’d been right about the ripped body too, all
sinewy muscle. Damn, his cock was hard and it bulged at the front of his pants,
beckoning to her. She had to fight not to reach out and touch it. Being an
animal could be a bitch at the worst of times.
“I’m
Case. Glad I could help.”
“Looking
for a job?” You can help me anytime with
that hard-on. Shit, what was she thinking? “One of my guards left suddenly,
leaving me in a spot.” She figured his answer would be no. But maybe she’d get
lucky. He might have hit bad times or something. Tres doubted this as she
considered the suit. If he was friends with Alek, most likely he was part of
the Reign, and they took care of their own.
“Sure.
I’m new in town. Alek can vouch I’m okay. We go way back.”
“Like
I said, I’m in a spot right now. I’ll take your word for it.”
Tres
was soaked. If her pants weren’t already wet from the vamp, they would be now. What the hell’s wrong with me? She was
usually so composed. The night was young and she’d spent the better part of it
drenched in her own carnal juices.
“When
do I start?”
“Now.
You can use my office to…uhh…whisk on proper clothes. Black shirt and slacks
are all you require. No leather.”
“You
wear leather.”
“I’m
the boss. You’re not the cocky type are you?”
“No,”
Case said. “I only wondered. I prefer slacks, no problem.”
“Good.
The guard at the door can fill you in on how we operate around here. Mainly,
keep your eyes and ears open for trouble. Stop it before it starts if you can
and keep your hands to yourself. No use of the private rooms unless you’re on
break, and you pay. Got it?”
“Yes,
ma’am.”
“And
don’t be a smart ass. You can call me Tres.”
“Okay,
Tres.”
* * * * *
Oh baby. Yes, I’m cocky and hard. And I’ll
be inside of you the very next chance I get.
He
was right about the opportunity. It had fallen in his lap. Enforcement
everywhere had become a lot harder because creatures humans believed only
existed in dreams were on the rise. Shifters in every form, cats, wolves and
even angels and demons all vied for a place in the world.
The
humans who sat in his club didn’t know they rubbed shoulders with the boogeyman
or that they were under Kind protection. In fact, their hunters probably killed
more of his people than anyone else. Whether lion, tiger or panther, many cats
preferred their natural state and it made them an easy target. Killing a cat
was only a matter of a bullet placed in any vital organ and death followed
quickly.
And
Alek was right. If he’d named the club Lion’s
Cave, the wolf would have never pulled any shit. He’d have known he would
be on his back in no time flat with the red glare of a big vampyre cat beating
down on his ass.
He
watched his manager head toward the office.
She
exuded sex and her desire assailed Case’s nostrils. The fangs he kept hidden
threatened to show themselves. His mouth remembered how good she tasted. His
hands itched to get in her pants again. He couldn’t have planned this better
himself.
Case
already loved his new job.
A
change into the proper uniform took him no time at all. He went in search of
the guard to receive instructions on how to handle his new position. The
security here did need to be beefed up. The incident with the wolf might have
been worse.
Unlike
his other clubs, this one was located in the remote high desert. Because of the
very nature of the place, it would attract Kind from the compound in the area
and a variety of normal shifters. Normal
shifters. An oxymoron if ever there was one. Case understood clientele here
would be a harder bunch to handle. The animal side of them made their primitive
needs stronger.
Vamps
were such deviant creatures, they pretty much saw to their own entertainment. They
would consider The Looking Glass
tame. But some would wander in after dark. That wasn’t a problem. They’d lived among
humans for a long time now and blending in was second nature.
Protection
of his business was paramount. For this reason, he had corporate stress Kind be
hired. They could handle the shifters because they were animals too. The undead
posed no threat to creatures just like them.
He
believed his initial concern of a shifter managing his club was valid. No one
would patronize a place they didn’t feel safe in. He didn’t think his new
manager had a handle on all of this. He made a mental note to discuss it again
with Alek.
Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out. - J. Hali Steele
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