Want to know who won at the pre-party and the release party games? Winners listed below in order of game played and prize to be awarded!
***Party is May 16 – May 18 PRE-PARTY begins April 30th***
DID YOU WIN? AWESOME!!!
CLICK ON THIS LINK AND FILL OUT THIS FORM => WINNER CLICK ME
Having problems with the form? Email pa.millytaiden@gmail.com with Dangerous Protector Party Winner in the subject line.
YOU HAVE 48 HRs AFTER THE PARTY IS OVER TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE or your prize is FORFEITED and a new winner will be selected.
***PRE-PARTY, FLASH GIVEAWAYS and GRAND PRIZES do not count toward your 3 game wins***
Game # |
Host |
Prize |
Winner Name |
Cover Contest |
Milly |
$50 Amazon GC |
Jessica Parsons |
Pre-Party #1 |
Iris |
Smut Pack |
Jen Martin |
Pre-Party #2 |
Iris |
Swagmasters Bookthong |
Cody Smith-Candelaria |
Pre-Party #3 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Angela Walker Cruz |
Pre-Party #4 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Designs bookmark |
Susan Plake |
Pre-Party #5 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Keyclip |
Kimberly Talbot |
Pre-Party #6 |
Iris |
Water Cup |
Brooke Bumgardner |
Pre-Party #7 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Pendant |
Natasha Perez Camara |
Pre-Party #8 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Stephanie Roberts |
Pre-Party #9 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Key pendant |
Angela Brungardt Caldwell |
Pre-Party #10 |
Iris |
Smut Pack |
Stacey A. Smith |
Pre-Party #11 |
Iris |
Water Cup |
Karey Smith |
Pre-Party #12 |
Iris |
Nerd Accesories keychain |
Julie Dotson Hawk |
Pre-Party #13 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Keyclip |
Teracia Loretan |
Pre-party #14 |
Iris |
SwagMaster Bookthong |
Tena Barnes |
Pre-Party #15 |
Iris |
Stone Soup pendant |
Chris Lewis |
Pre-Party #16 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Brenda Hook |
Pre-Party #17 |
Iris |
Water Cup |
Angela Walker Cruz |
Pre-Party #18 |
Iris |
SwagMaster Bookthong |
Destiny Wright |
Pre-Party #19 |
Iris |
Smut Pack |
Barb A. Metheney-Kiser |
Pre-Party #20 |
Iris |
Travel Mug |
Kelly Erickson |
Pre-Party #21 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Brittany Mcdowell |
Pre-Party #22 |
Iris |
Stone Soup key pendant |
Malinda Dianna |
Pre-Party #23 |
Milly |
Mother’s Day Giveaway |
Danielle Peterson |
Pre-Party #24 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Bookmark |
Helly Kasprzak |
Pre-Party #25 |
Iris |
Swagmasters book thong |
Tiffany Saylor |
Pre-Party #26 |
Iris |
Smut Pack |
Alisha May |
Pre-Party #27 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Tanya Guthrie |
Pre-Party #28 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories Wolf Bracelet |
Heather Andrews |
Pre-Party #29 |
Iris |
Stone Soup keyclip |
Ann Ivey |
Pre-Party #30 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Bookmark |
Angela Gilliland |
Pre-Party #31 |
Iris |
Stone Soup keyclip |
Dana Marie |
Pre-Party #32 |
Iris |
Water Cup |
Kimberly Diane Gill |
Pre-Party #33 |
Iris |
Stone Soup keyclip |
Kelly L. Clevinger |
Door Prize |
Iris |
Cord Bracelet |
Destiny Wright |
Game #1 |
Iris |
Smut Pack |
Teracia Loretan |
Game #2 |
Iris |
Stone Soup ID Badge |
Kelly Erickson |
Game #3 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories Wolf Bracelet |
Rhys Christopher Ethan |
Game #4 |
Jenn |
Their Second Chance ebook |
Sony Killian |
Game #5 |
Jenn |
Stone Soup Pendant |
Dzintra Sullivan |
Game #6 |
Jenn |
DP Tote |
Bambi Fogleman |
Game #7 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Cara Nicole |
Game #8 |
Iris |
Pole Tricks ebook by N Kuhn |
Dana Marie |
Game #9 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Keyclip |
Margaret Wessel |
Game #10 |
Barb |
Walk on the Striped Side ebook by Jessie Lane |
Cody Smith-Candelaria |
Game #11 |
Barb |
Smut Pack |
Julie Dotson Hawk |
Game #12 |
Barb |
Water Cup |
Teracia Loretan |
Game #13 |
Iris |
A Mate’s Bite ebook |
Sarah Beaver |
Game #14 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Bookmark |
Neena Christianson-Martin |
Game #15 |
Iris |
DP Messenger Bag |
Jill Prandstratter |
Game #16 |
Barb |
April Angel Collection ebooks |
Malinda Dianna |
Game #17 |
Barb |
Stone Soup Bead necklace |
Tiffany Saylor |
Game #18 |
Barb |
Smut Pack |
Samantha Walker |
Game #19 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Keyclip |
Sonia Furbus |
Game #20 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessories Keychain |
Denise Allen Smith |
Game #21 |
Iris |
Wolf Cord Bracelet |
Patti McKenna Spell |
Game #22 |
Jenn |
DP Wine Charms |
Patti McKenna Spell |
Game #23 |
Jenn |
Stone Soup Pendant |
Angela Gilliland |
Game #24 |
Jenn |
Not Just Friends ebook by Lacey Wolfe |
Kimberly Talbot |
Game #25 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Key Pendant |
Roxie Ferguson |
Game #26 |
Iris |
Quick Secret Set |
Bambi Fogleman |
Game #27 |
Iris |
Nerd Accessorie Purse Charm |
Shannon Hunt |
Game #28 |
Sheri |
Friends with Benefits ebook by Anne Lange |
Donna Reynolds |
Game #29 |
Sheri |
Stone Soup Pendant |
Shannon Hunt |
Game #30 |
Sheri |
Nerd Accessories keychain |
Bsue Hook |
Game #31 |
Sheri |
DP Tote |
Shandi Leonard |
Game #32 |
Sheri |
Stone Soup Id Badge Holder |
Julie Dotson Hawk |
Game #33 |
Sheri |
Swagmasters Bookthong |
Ann Ivey |
Game #34 |
Jenn |
Boss’ Secret |
Tiffany Denise |
Game #35 |
Jenn |
Smut Pack |
Angela Gilliland |
Game #36 |
Jenn |
Bare Back ebook by N Kuhn |
Paul Wedmore |
Game #37 |
Jenn |
Stone Soup bookmark |
Jessica Parsons |
Game #38 |
Jenn |
Wolf Bracelet |
Iris Pross |
Game #39 |
Jenn |
DP Messenger bag |
Iris Pross |
Flash Giveaway #1 |
Iris |
Smut Pack |
Kimberly Diane Gill |
Flash Giveaway #2 |
Iris |
Stone Soup keyclip |
Margaret Regina Carrisoza |
Game #40 |
Jenn |
Water Cup |
Jen Crowhurst |
Game #41 |
Jenn |
Smut Pack |
Mary McCoy |
Game #42 |
Jenn |
Stone Soup Key Pendant |
Sheri Spell |
Game #43 |
Iris |
Dragon’s Honor & Chase set |
Jodie Bivins |
Game #44 |
Iris |
DP Tote |
Lisa Errion |
Game #45 |
Iris |
Stone Soup keyclip |
Amber Turner |
Game #46 |
Sheri |
Swagmaster bookthong |
Sony Killian |
Game #47 |
Sheri |
A Mate’s Bite ebook |
Nucking Futs Tammy |
Game #48 |
Sheri |
Boss’s Secret |
Nucking Futs Tammy |
Milly’s Chat Prize |
|
Kinky Secret |
Tiffany Krepps |
Bonus Chat Prize |
|
DP Messenger Bag |
Samantha Walker |
Flash Giveaway #3 |
Iris |
Wolf bracelet |
Kimberly Diane Gill |
Game #49 |
Iris |
Stone Soup Bookmark |
Nucking Futs Tammy |
Game #50 |
Iris |
Charm Bracelet |
Sonia Furbus |
Game #51 |
Sheri |
Stone Soup Keyclip |
Bambi Fogleman |
Oops My Bad #49 again |
Iris |
Travel Mug |
Amber Turner |
Surprise Flash Giveaways |
|
Nerd Accessories Swag item |
Angela Gilliland
Bambi Fogleman
Lisa Errion
Sonia Furbus |
Consolation Winners #1 |
|
Cheetah Vibe |
Roxie Ferguson
Christine Villano
Jen Crowhurst
Crystal Rister
Barb Hicks
Sony Killian
Kim Thorne
|
Consolation Winners #2 |
|
Surprise Stone Soup or Nerd Accessories item |
Tanya Guthrie
Donna Reynalds
Karey Smith
Wanda Flanagan
Andrea Mollett |
Consolation Winners #3 |
|
Backlist ebook from Milly Taiden, April Angel, N. Kuhn, Edie Hart or Alivia Anders |
Tena Barnes
Jessica Parsons
Keisha Talley
Christy Hilton Hall
Eskimo Princess Alisa |
Grand Prize – Gold Medal Winner |
|
Messenger Bag
Coffee Travel Mug
Water Cup
Smut Pack
Kinky Secret
Swagmaster Bookthong
Stone Soup Keychain
Stone Soup Key pendants
Stone Soup Bead necklace
Stone Soup Stoned Jar
Stone Soup ID Badge
Nerd Accessories – Bookmark set
Nerd Accessories – Wolf Bracelet |
Jodie Bivins |
Silver Medal Winner |
|
Coffee Travel Mug
Tote Bag
Smut Pack
Boss’s Secret
Swagmaster Bookthong
Stone Soup Bookmark
Stone Soup Pendant
Nerd Accessories – Keychains
Nerd Accessories – Purse Charm |
Angela Walker Cruz |
Bronze Medal Winner |
|
Smut Pack
Swagmaster Bookthong
Stone Soup Keychain
Stone Soup Key pendant
Nerd Accessories – Bookmark set
Nerd Accessories – Keychain
Nerd Accessories –
Wine Charms |
Tiffany Krepps |
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Hello there lovely readers!
WINNERS FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ARE:
Kelly Erickson #1
Alisa Jenkins #2
Kimberly Smith #3
Amber #4
I’m having a brand new giveaway starting today through Monday 5/19
DID YOU READ Dangerous Protector?
And…
Did you LOVE it?
Did you write a review?
Yes to all?!
Then this is the giveaway for YOU!
Send me a link to millytaidenparties@gmail.com and you will be entered to win one of these 4 AWESOME prizes…
P.S. All prizes are INTERNATIONAL Eligible!
Awesome Prize #1
Awesome Prize #2
Awesome Prize #3
Awesome Prize #4
So now that I have your attention with my awesome swag…you want to know how to win it, right?
It’s really easy!!!
If you READ and LOVED Dangerous Protector and wrote a review.
Send me a copy of your review link to: millytaidenparties@gmail.com
It could be from any of the following:
- Good Reads
- Amazon.com
- Barnes and Nobles
- Kobo
And if you send me more than one link you get extra entries for each one.
So what are you waiting for? Send me a those links for a chance to win win win!
Welcome to the Dangerous Protector Release Day Giveaway!
Dangerous Protector is Book 2 in the Federal Paranormal Unit. (Pssst! If you haven’t read Wolf Protector, grab it now for only 99 cents! Enjoy a #1 bestselling paranormal erotic suspense!)
WINNERS!!! (SORRY FOR THE DELAY)
NICOLE
THERESA ESTERLINE
BARB KISER
ON SALE NOW!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1rDaP66
B&N: http://bit.ly/1nEPlbr
ARe: http://bit.ly/PQpCxY
Dangerous Protector
Federal Paranormal Unit 2
If you run from love, you’re asking for a chase…
James Brock lived the past ten years without the woman he loves. Using his job as head of the Federal Paranormal Unit to help others, he’s done a good job of ignoring his lack of a personal life until she returns. His salvation. His first love.
Cynthia Vega had a very good reason to leave the only man she loved after she’d accepted his marriage proposal. Now she’s back as his boss. And he’s not willing to ignore their chemistry or the past.
Brock is determined to claim his mate and prove that their passion is even hotter than before. He wants her and her explanation behind their separation. Except, some secrets won’t stay buried in the past. Brock will fight his demons to follow her lead, but Cynthia’s reluctance to explain their lost love may be the one key to their destruction…
Add Dangerous Protector to your GR TBR Pile!
Excerpt
Dangerous Protector
© Milly Taiden, Latin Goddess Press 2014
An explosion rocked the ground. He jerked his gaze to the house. Flames consumed the structure. Screams and shouts filled the night. Men moved in all directions toward the house, but gunfire blasted through the shouts. Brock’s muscles tightened.
“Can we do anything?” Donovan yelled over the sirens and shouts. She ran a hand over her mussed up ponytail. Her fingers shook. He saw the desperate need to help in her eyes. It went against her nature not to.
Brock shook his head. “We wait.”
The thought of doing nothing didn’t appeal to him either. In fact, it was hell to hold back and not run into the house and get the kid himself. His power shoved outward. Pushing to get out. To take control.
“Finally!” Galvez sighed.
Brock’s vision followed Galvez’s line of sight until he saw a woman running out through the flames with a bundle covered in a dripping blanket.
Breaths thundered in his ears. Everything narrowed until the only thing he saw was her. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Was his mind playing a trick on him? After all these years? But no, it wasn’t a trick. She was soaking wet as she ran from the burning house toward them. Paramedics surrounded her and took the covered bundle from her arms. She was gasping for air, coughing through the smoke she’d inhaled before she finally glanced up and met his gaze.
He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, watching everything like a spectator versus an active participant. The beast inside him roared. After all the years they’d been apart, after she’d left him for no apparent reason, she was back. He watched her march toward him. Her dark gaze slid from him to Galvez.
In the background, firemen fought the burning house. Sirens continued to blare. Loud. Driving the point that chaos had ensued around them. But he couldn’t find it in him to care. His sole focus was on the woman he’d loved. Hard. The woman who’d left him.
Cynthia Vega.
***
BUY IT NOW!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1rDaP66
B&N: http://bit.ly/1nEPlbr
ARe: http://bit.ly/PQpCxY
GIVEAWAY!
Prize #1
A Milly Taiden Messenger Bag!
Prize #2
Stone Soup Designs Handmade Gold DP Key Pendant
Prize #3
I know…I know you’re wondering who you have to throw into oncoming traffic to win one of these right? Nobody LOL.
BUT I do need you to do me a huge favor and share/pimp my buy links for Dangerous Protector.
-
Add DP to your GR library/ recommend it to some friends
-
Tweet (and mention me so I can know @millytaiden)
-
Facebook (tag me millytaidenpage)
-
Pin It!
And G+
Comment with links and Pimp Pimp Pimp
That is the name of this giveaway!!! PIMP Dangerous Protector! And come back. Comment with your LINKS and tell me what you did.
Each share is one entry!
3 – winners will be chosen on 5/16…
The day Dangerous Protector Party is held. Did you RSVP? Join it now and CLICK HERE!
SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A $50 GC EVERY MONTH!
here: http://mad.ly/signups/87477/join
Welcome to my stop on the Easter Blog Hop! hosted by myself and my lovely bestie Mina Carter! You are looking at some awesome prizes! including this as a grand prize.
My post for today is about my upcoming book, Dangerous Protector. I want to share an excerpt from the book.
Dangerous Protector
© Milly Taiden, Latin Goddess Press 2014
Brock studied his laptop screen, trying to make sense of the notes he’d taken for his report, but unable to concentrate. Fuck. Ten years. She’d left and said nothing for ten years. Her last message to him was to tell him not to look for her. That she couldn’t marry him. A familiar dull ache filled his chest.
Soft knocking jerked him out of his trance. He glanced up. Their gazes met and held. Her. For a moment, they stared at each other, unmoving.
Cyn turned the knob and entered into his private space. The soft scent of jasmine immediately dug into his lungs. He didn’t want to like it. Didn’t want to bury his nose in her neck and inhale hard. So damn hard he’d feel the animal under his skin fighting to let loose.
He grit his teeth and frowned instead. “What can I do for you, Vega?”
She lifted a brow. He watched her torture her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment before she finally spoke. “I guess you’ve heard, huh?” She shifted in her pantsuit, as if uncomfortable.
“Heard?”
Her hazel eyes turned a greenish color. Not the aroused gold.
“That bastard!” The green showed off her anger. “I should have known he wouldn’t tell you,” she muttered and started pacing the confines of his office. “No, leave it to me to have to break the bad news. Asshole!”
“What news?” He loved watching her curvy body move around his office in that pantsuit. Hell that outfit fit like it’d been made for her, and it probably had been since she always complained she never found clothes that fit right. If they fit her hips, then everything was too big around the waist. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d started having things tailor-made.
She stopped. “Okay, so here it is.” She visibly gulped and gripped one of his chairs. “I’m your new boss.”
He sat back, waiting for her to say gotcha or some other phrase when one was being played a prank on.
“Honey, I report to Thomas Wheeler. Head of the Bureau.”
She shook her head. Long dark curls bounced around her shoulders and arms. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
Her brows dipped. “No. You. Don’t.”
“Look, I don’t know what Galvez has been telling you, but—”
“It’s not him. Though he was used to recruit me, Wheeler hired me to oversee your group directly.” She gave an apologetic sigh. “I’m sorry.”
I hope you enjoyed that bit! Be sure to get book one,
Wolf Protector available at Amazon and B&N
And now for the giveaway!!!!
I am giving a $5 GC to one random commenter who tells me what’s their favorite paranormal creature to read….and go!
Once you enter my giveaway, be sure to enter the big rafflecopter for the grand prizes!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to check out the other blogs so you can enter to win even more prizes!
Enter these so you can win!
1.1 Mina Carter
Welcome to the Dangerous Protector Cover Reveal!
Dangerous Protector is Book 2 in the Federal Paranormal Unit. (Pssst! You should begin this awesome series with Wolf Protector. Meet Trent, Erica and the gang and enjoy a #1 bestselling paranormal erotic suspense!)
So without further ado…*drum rolls please*
Dangerous Protector
Federal Paranormal Unit 2
If you run from love, you’re asking for a chase…
James Brock lived the past ten years without the woman he loves. Using his job as head of the Federal Paranormal Unit to help others, he’s done a good job of ignoring his lack of a personal life until she returns. His salvation. His first love.
Cynthia Vega had a very good reason to leave the only man she loved after she’d accepted his marriage proposal. Now she’s back as his boss. And he’s not willing to ignore their chemistry or the past.
Brock is determined to claim his mate and prove that their passion is even hotter than before. He wants her and her explanation behind their separation. Except, some secrets won’t stay buried in the past. Brock will fight his demons to follow her lead, but Cynthia’s reluctance to explain their lost love may be the one key to their destruction…
Add Dangerous Protector to your GR TBR Pile!
Book Trailer – Check out this sexiness!
Excerpt
Dangerous Protector
© Milly Taiden, Latin Goddess Press 2014
Chapter One
Sirens blared. One after another the police cruisers and fire department vehicles sped by in a rush. A honk sounded from behind James Brock’s SUV. He glanced over his shoulder.
“This moron is trying to cause an accident,” Tony Ramirez, one of the Federal Paranormal Unit team members, yelled at the rearview mirror.
Brock glanced over his shoulder. A black Sedan tailed close behind them. Too close.
Ramirez gripped the wheel so hard his tanned knuckles turned white. “I’m already doing eighty.”
“Tony, let them by.”
There was something big going on. He curled his hands into fists in his lap. He knew what it was. They all knew.
“Where do you think they’re all going, Brock?” The concern in Jane Donovan’s voice momentarily choked him. Her soft lilt reminded him of his mother’s voice. At first appearance, you’d think Donovan was a weak woman, but make her angry, and you’d have hell to pay.
Tension turned palpable with its own heartbeat in the fast-moving SUV.
“I can take a wild guess.”
They made a sharp corner on a bend into a dirt road. The SUV skidded on its wheels for a second. Everyone held on while they bounced in their seats.
“Jesus H. Christ, Ramirez! Can you not to get us killed before we get there,” Donovan growled.
“Sorry, cariño, but there is no time to be worried about your delightful ass bouncing on the seat when we have to find a missing kid.”
“I told you to stop calling me darling!”
“Ramirez…” Brock sighed.
Their constant bickering wasn’t unusual, so he ignored it and focused on the scene ahead. Multiple police cars parked outside the house he’d called the local PD on. The house he knew had the latest missing person they had been searching for.
“Oh, God!” Fear laced Donovan’s whisper.
They were thinking the same thing. That whoever kidnapped little Kyler Jones had killed her. That his request for the county to get to the house in question had been too late. His gaze roamed the area through the darkness of the early evening. Multitudes of tall willows surrounded the large house set in the middle of nowhere. Perfect. If he’d been looking for a place to do some of the things the person in that house was known for, this was the right spot. There wasn’t a body around for miles. Nobody to get help. Nobody to hear the screams.
Ramirez hadn’t fully stopped when Brock jumped out of the SUV, his feet hitting the ground with a thump. Immediate perspiration gathered on his upper lip. The humidity from August had brought intense heat. Though it was closing in on nighttime, the air sizzled with the high temperature from earlier.
He ran for the SWAT van. Instinct told him they’d know more than the local sheriff’s department. Radios beeped. Concern expanded in his chest. Everyone seemed to want an update on the situation. He recognized one of the FBI department heads—Martin Galvez—standing off to the side of the SWAT van.
The older man stopped mid-sentence to give him one of his degrading piercing glares. “Brock. What are you doing here?” Command oozed from his Latin accent.
Brock glanced from Galvez to the other two lower ranked agents. Took both men all of a second to move away. That allowed him and Galvez to talk.
“This is our case. We found Kyler Jones through intense searching of phone records and—”
“Save it,” Galvez cut him off. He turned away from Brock to study the area.
“How are you going to retrieve the child? Do we know if she’s alive?” Brock tried to tamp down the surge of power dancing through his veins. It wasn’t usually difficult to do. He’d mastered his darkness. But Galvez had a tendency of pushing his anger. The older man’s attitude lit a fire in his stomach.
Galvez smirked. “We have a man who went in through the back.”
Gathered men and women avidly stared at the house. Watching. Waiting. Brock knew there were no guarantees of getting the child out alive. They all knew that. It’s what made his job that much harder.
Power swirled at his fingertips. He need only know what to do, and he could end the entire thing in a matter of seconds. “Do you need me to—”
“What I need, is for you to keep yourselves out of the way,” Galvez ordered.
Anger licked at his skin, growing at the speed of a derailed train. He shot a glance at Galvez. For a split second, Galvez paled.
“I’d watch how you talk to people, Galvez,” Brock said, no longer caring that his voice sounded hard. Steely. Deadly.
An explosion rocked the ground. He jerked his gaze to the house. Flames consumed the structure. Screams and shouts filled the night. Men moved in all directions toward the house, but gunfire blasted through the shouts. Brock’s muscles tightened.
“Can we do anything?” Donovan yelled over the sirens and shouts. She ran a hand over her mussed up ponytail. Her fingers shook. He saw the desperate need to help in her eyes. It went against her nature not to.
Brock shook his head. “We wait.”
The thought of doing nothing didn’t appeal to him either. In fact, it was hell to hold back and not run into the house and get the kid himself. His power shoved outward. Pushing to get out. To take control.
“Finally!” Galvez sighed.
Brock’s vision followed Galvez’s line of sight until he saw a woman running out through the flames with a bundle covered in a dripping blanket.
Breaths thundered in his ears. Everything narrowed until the only thing he saw was her. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Was his mind playing a trick on him? After all these years? But no, it wasn’t a trick. She was soaking wet as she ran from the burning house toward them. Paramedics surrounded her and took the covered bundle from her arms. She was gasping for air, coughing through the smoke she’d inhaled before she finally glanced up and met his gaze.
He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, watching everything like a spectator versus an active participant. The beast inside him roared. After all the years they’d been apart, after she’d left him for no apparent reason, she was back. He watched her march toward him. Her dark gaze slid from him to Galvez.
In the background, firemen fought the burning house. Sirens continued to blare. Loud. Driving the point that chaos had ensued around them. But he couldn’t find it in him to care. His sole focus was on the woman he’d loved. Hard. The woman who’d left him.
Cynthia Vega.
“Vega.” Galvez’s tone was clipped. “What took you so long?”
Her brows dipped low, eyes flashing. “Get over it. I got the child out alive. That was my main concern. I did what was needed. If it took all night…” She shrugged. “It would have taken all night.”
The black T-shirt soaked and plastered to her brown skin, showing off the curves Brock had always loved. Curves he’d kissed, licked, and bit in the heat of passion.
Brock’s hands itched to grab her. Power surged inside him. Dark. Deadly. It swarmed his veins and expanded through his limbs in a wave of heat. A haze of red clouded his vision.
Cynthia met his gaze. Her perfectly arched brows rose. “Brock.”
He took a deep breath. Inhaled the soft scent of Jasmine she loved to wear. Fear seeped from her pores, mingling with the sweet Jasmine scent. But this wasn’t the time or place to discuss their past.
“Vega.”
Pain flashed through her eyes for a millisecond before she went back to the detached professional. But he’d seen it. Knew that she’d heard the anger in the way he’d softly growled her name. She folded her arms over her chest. Defensive. He’d gotten to know each of her quirks. This was her I’m-not-at-fault move.
“We don’t need you here, Brock.” Galvez’s voice broke through the tension between him and Cynthia.
He eyed the older man. Saw the curious way he glanced back and forth between them.
“As you can see, we have it under control. You and your—” Galvez’s gaze slid over Brock’s shoulder to where Donovan and Ramirez stood behind him. “Team can go. The child’s safe.”
He wanted to argue with Galvez, but it wasn’t his fault Cynthia had messed with his concentration.
Cynthia swallowed hard. Indecision skated her features. He gave her a slow once-over before turning on his heel to face Donovan and Ramirez. “Let’s go.”
“But—”
“The child’s safe, Donovan. That’s what we came for.”
Confusion sparked in the depths of her eyes. “Are you sure she’s okay?”
“I wouldn’t leave otherwise.”
That was the absolute truth. All his team members knew it. He’d never leave a crime scene unless the victim was safe or— in a worst-case scenario he was much too familiar with—dead. While his gift was seen as a dark destructive force, he preferred to use it for the safe return of those victims he could help find.
Donovan gave a quick nod. He marched past her toward the SUV, leaving her and Ramirez to follow.
“Relax, babe. If he says the kid’s okay, then the kid’s okay,” Ramirez whispered at Brock’s back.
“Will you please stop calling me babe?” Donovan hissed.
“Brock!” The sound of Cyn’s yell reached him just as he was about to hop into the passenger side of his vehicle.
He stopped. The frustration he was tamping down surged all over again. She reached him a moment later, still panting from the run out of the burning house.
“I just want to say…thank you.” Her gaze dropped down to his mouth. Lust bubbled up inside him. At her slow lick of her lips, he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from hauling her to him. To taste her. “I know your team found the child.” She met his gaze. Desire sparkled in the depths of her hazel eyes. “I appreciate it.”
The beast he never allowed control roared inside, demanding a taste of her lips. Ah, those lips. She had the full luscious bow shaped lips that he knew were soft, decadent, and fit perfectly against his. Her lips, along with every abundant curve on her sexy body, had been his downfall.
“You don’t need to thank me. This is our job.”
“I know I don’t need to thank you. But you and your team…” She glanced over his shoulder into the SUV. Ramirez and Donovan were actively studying them with interest. “You got her and called for help before anything could happen. You saved this child.”
He gripped the door handle. “No. We found her. You saved her.”
“James…”
The hairs on his arms rose. Something unlocked inside him. Her husky voice, pitched with that sexy Latin accent, was like a punch to the gut. It was low, so low over the still blaring sirens, over the shouts from the firefighters, if he hadn’t had enhanced hearing, he’d never have heard it. None of that mattered. To hear her say his name so softly instantly brought back memories of another time, another place. A time when they’d done much more than mere talking. She shifted. His attention was drawn to her chest. The material of her top plastered to her body, showing off her full breasts.
Ignore it.
He pushed the unwanted memories and feelings back. “You got the kid, Vega. That’s what matters.”
Hurt clouded her eyes. Should he care that she’d been hurt because he called her by her last name? No. He couldn’t care. She’d left him and never returned. Until now. Those emotions weren’t part of him any longer.
“Brock—”
He turned his back on her. He’d never done it before, but he did it now. Dammit, he hadn’t expected it to be so hard. He hopped into the SUV. Shut the door. And shut her out. Fuck. It filled his chest with a dull pain to leave her there with that gratefulness shining in her eyes. But he refused to glance out the window once he was in his seat. Instead, he turned to Ramirez and saw the questions in his team member’s eyes and ignored them.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Cynthia watched the red tail lights from the black SUV shrink with the distance. Drops crawled down her arms. It was soothing to have the coolness from the water beat away the heat from the summer. Plus, just seeing James again really knocked her axis off center.
“Anything you want to tell me?” The question came across as a demand for information.
She turned to the sound of Galvez’s voice. Short cropped, salt-pepper hair, perfectly coiffed showed off his wrinkled forehead and deep-set dark eyes. A thin mustache covered the pursed line of his lips. For an older man, he wasn’t hard on the eyes. Well, not for women who liked the know-it-all types, anyway. Unfortunately, for him, Cyn wasn’t the least bit impressed by him.
“We’re on a need to know basis here, Galvez.” She wrung the water out of her ponytail and headed for her car.
“Obviously there’s something I need to know about the relationship between you and Brock.” He barked the words over the shouts, following her toward her black, rusty Camry.
She stopped, whirled in place, and shook her head. Was the man growing delusional with his position? “Hang on a second here. You recruited me. You requested my expertise for the team. You wanted me to help lead the FPU. My past with Brock or anyone else has no bearing on my ability to do the job.”
“You know you’ll be working close to him.”
“And?” Anger simmered inside her.
Galvez’s nostrils flared. Disgust lit his eyes. Figures. He had never been the type for warm and cuddly conversations. And the last thing Cynthia expected was for him to encourage employee relationships. “He isn’t normal. He’s… He’s—”
“I know exactly what he is. If I were you, I’d be very careful what you say about him.” She snapped her mouth shut to keep from adding anything that could, and would get her fired. Dammit, she’d just started the job.
She yanked on the handle to her car. The metal creaked as it opened. Galvez placed a hand on the top of the door, stopping her from moving it further.
“Look, Cici—”
“Don’t!” She hissed. “Only my family calls me that. You’re my superior. Don’t get it confused. My accepting your job offer doesn’t make us friends. It doesn’t make us buddies. It just makes me your employee.”
“I’d like to think of us as more than just employer-employee. Possibly move things to where they should be between us.” His facial lines smoothed out. There was concern in his eyes for a flash of a second. Then an iciness entered his gaze as she shook her head.
“I don’t think so. All we’ll ever be is co-workers. Don’t confuse yourself.” She met Galvez’s stare with her own angry glare. He should know by now that intimidation wouldn’t work on her. Being raised by her grandmother, because her father had been missing in action, had toughened her up. Especially when her mother was more trouble than she wanted to think about. When her family’s reality finally hit her, some hard choices had to be made. And the result had been losing the only man she’d loved.
Galvez’s brow puckered. “If you can’t handle working with Brock, for whatever reason, just tell me. I won’t hold it against you.”
Yeah, she just bet he wouldn’t. He’d recruited her as a test. To see her fail. She knew what he was after, but she wouldn’t give it to him. He’d come to her. Right now, she had the upper hand. An upper hand she wasn’t willing to lose.
Her gaze strayed past Galvez to the ambulance where the child was taken. A paramedic shut the doors. It took off, sirens wailing. The thickness she’d felt growing at her throat expanded. Fuck. She had to hold it together or Galvez would see her as nothing more than a weakling.
“What happened to the suspect?”
His question brought her attention to his face.
“When I entered the house from the back, he was in the kitchen.” She gulped at the memory of the man, of what he’d been doing.
“And?”
She ground her teeth. “And he was sharpening some large butcher knives, happily singing a song about making stew. Kyler stew. There. Are you happy?”
Galvez’s unwavering gaze was stuck on her face. She tried not to flinch, knowing that any sign of discomfort would be seen as a weakness. She inhaled slowly, mentally preparing herself for the torture of reviewing what just happened.
“He’d already started a fire in the kitchen. Stood there sharpening those knives. All the while, the flames spread through the place.” Her stomach clenched. Oxygen had frozen in her lungs when she’d seen the man light himself on fire when he’d seen her. “He walked to the blaze taking up one side of the kitchen. And just stood there. Burning.”
She still had a hard time believing what she’d seen. The maniac had continued to sing while he burned. That song. She’d have a hard time sleeping remembering the stupid song. It had made cold fingers of dread crawl up her spine.
“And the kid?”
She took a breath. Let it out slowly. “She was tied up to a tub filled with water. The entire house started to collapse around me. By the time I reached her most of it was on fire.” She gripped the door handle. Although it bothered her to have to go through what just happened, she knew it was procedure. Plus, she’d have to write it out on her report anyway. “I ran to the other room, grabbed a blanket, cut her binds, wet myself, shoved the blanket into the tub, wrapped it around her and got her out.” She swallowed hard against the dryness in her throat. “End of story.”
Thoughts kept whirling around her mind of all the possible things she could have found in that house. None of them good. She needed to go home. Right now. She was too raw. The throbbing in her chest, since she’d first laid eyes on the child, hadn’t dissipated yet. Too many emotions were clogging up her throat. Seeing that little girl tied up was like getting stabbed in the gut. Absolute hell. Kyler’s pale green eyes had been filled with fear. Watching the drenched six-year-old shaking, her lips turning purple from the icy water almost broke her. Jesus. But this was her job. She was damn good at it and no amount of stress on a case—or her pathetic excuse of a personal life—was going to make her give it up.
“Are you sure you’ll be fine working with Brock and his team?” Galvez asked. There was annoyance in the way he asked the question. Not concern. Never concern. That simply added to her rising temper.
She was tired. Tired of having to be the responsible one in her family. Of giving up everything she’d ever wanted. And she was especially tired of Galvez and his condescension. “Did you want me to promise that in blood or something?” His dark skin turned mottled with anger. Too bad. “I already said I’m fine. Now let me go home and let me do my job. I can handle Brock. And his team.”
Galvez stepped away, giving her space to slide into the car. He continued to watch her. Her muscles felt tight from the tension of the past hour. The engine’s roar was music to her ears. Galvez dropped down to eye level. Fuck. She thought he was done.
“I won’t have you or him messing with the plans I have in the Bureau.”
She bit the inside of her cheek hard, until she swore she tasted blood. Then she counted to ten before finally answering him.
“I know what it is you want.” She’d been informed he was gunning for a high-ranking position. “I don’t really care about it. That’s your problem.” She gripped the wheel, staring into his angry dark gaze. “But I think you should know, that you won’t ever be allowed to lead the FPU. It’s why they made you hire me.” She smiled coldly. “You see, you need to be paranormal to lead that team. It’s why I’m reporting to the head of the Bureau directly.”
“I don’t care what you think you know. I want to make sure that you are able to handle this. I’ll have the group reporting to me at some point,” he growled.
She shook her head. “No. You won’t. I know you’ve tried. You can’t lead a special team.” She shifted gears, put the car in reverse, and hit the accelerator. Tires squealed. Galvez rushed off in order to not be run over. She stopped, turned the wheel and put it in drive. “You know why you can’t lead a special team, Galvez?”
He stood there motionless. Watching her. His face clear of all emotions but the usual anger she’d come to know well.
“Because you’re not special.”
***
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