Lisa Kessler

I have never, since the dawn of mankind, been adorable.

The monsignor called after him, __f I am to blame, then why have I not met the same fate as Brother Mentigo and Brother De Cardina before him? Why am I still alive?__alisto glared over his shoulder at the monsignor and growled. __ecause there are worse punishments than death. Live with your guilt, old man. May it rot in your heart and kill you slowly for manyyears to come.

I am many things. Stupid is not one of them. Your wrath is impressive for a mortal.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. __o you ever not get your way?__e stepped closer to her, his chest an inch from hers until her back pressed against the modular wall of the fitting room. __arely._ His dark gaze held hers, and the deep rumble of his voice sent heat through her body. __ut some things are worth the extra effort.

He took her hand. If it were in my power, I would take you to that place from your movie, over the rainbow where dreams come true. But all I can offer is myself, and I'm not going anywhere.

This time, I wanted to enjoy the passion that burned between us until we were both about to combust.

He'd watched the world change around him, civilizations rise and fall, and although he could have anything, anyone, he wanted her.

He__ given up his mortality, his soul, for this moment, this second chance, and if she fell in love with him again, he needed to know it was real.

Muriah approached him with a new pair of khakis and a couple of T-shirts. __ guessed at the size so you might want to go try these on first.__e took the clothes and slid his arm around her waist, maneuvering her toward the fitting room.__ey, I didn__ sign on to be your dresser._ She grumbled, but didn__ struggle.He pulled the door closed and turned to meet her eyes. __t__ light in here and full of people. Apep will not be able to surprise us, and his serpents cannot spy. We need to talk._***He stripped off the wet shirt, exposing his chiseled torso. She did her best not to choke on her tongue. His tanned skin and taut muscles tempted her, luring her to touch him. Turning around to give him privacy seemed like the right thing to do, but there wasn__ a hint of modesty in this Mayan god, and if he could handle getting this personal, then she could, too.When he unzipped the wet pants, she held her breath. Would an ancient guy wear underwear? She was about to find out. He bent over to lower the wet slacks. When he straightened up, she realized he__ been talking, but she didn__ have a clue what he had said. Instead, all her attention was focused on a fine trail of dark hair leading from just below his navel and disappearing under the low-slung elastic band of his boxer briefs.__uriah?__er gaze snapped up to meet his. Thank the universe he couldn__ read her thoughts. __eah?___id you hear my question?__e stood two feet from her in only his underwear, and he thought she was listening? He was either completely unaware of his sex appeal, or he was way too accustomed to being obeyed.Probably both.She cleared her throat. __ must__e missed it.__ spark lit his eyes that told her he might have more than a clue to his sex appeal.He picked up the T-shirt and pulled it on. __ asked if you knew of another hotel closer to the airport so we can get out of New York as soon as the sun sets tomorrow._____ sure I can find one._ She pulled out her phone, grateful to have something to pretend to focus on besides him tucking his package into the new khakis she pulled off the rack for him.__ probably should__e grabbed some dry underwear, too.___hey are nearly dry now. I will be fine._ He popped the tags off, and she glanced up from her hotel search. __hey__e not going to like you taking the tags off before you pay.__he corner of his mouth curved up. __hey will be honored to take my money.__he groaned and rolled her eyes. __o you ever not get your way?__e stepped closer to her, his chest an inch from hers until her back pressed against the modular wall of the fitting room. __arely._ His dark gaze held hers, and the deep rumble of his voice sent heat through her body. __ut some things are worth the extra effort.

A single doctor, with the body of a Greek god, sat across from me at a candlelit table, and all I could think about was a greasy-fingered motorcycle mechanic.I refrained from smacking my own forehead.

No room in my world for drama, and the last thing I needed was more death. This beautiful woman would bring me both.

I should__e let her walk right out the door, but something about Nadya made it tough for me to be the asshole I wanted to be.

She came closer, reaching up to inspect the cut on my brow, her breasts so close to my chest, the heat of her body warmed me right through our clothes. __ason, we need to get you to a hospital. Your brain could be swelling.__h, something was swelling for sure, but it was nowhere near my brain.

Foreboding, and an all too familiar lack of control, roiled in my gut. My opponent might be hungry for a win, but I was famished. Something in my life would be a victory. Sorry Shark, I wasn__ going down tonight. No chance. - Jason Ayers

He ran his fingers along the edge of my jaw. __ou__e my north star, Kilani. Being near you makes my heart, my soul, and my wolf whole for the first time in my life.

He stared down at her for a moment, wanting to heal everycut on her soft skin. But he couldn__, not yet. He needed to get her,and her car, far from this place so neither he nor Kate would beimplicated in any way with the gruesome murder site.It also meant he would have to drive.In all his years, he had never driven an automobile. The closest hehad come was watching various assistants through the years as theychauffeured him. He wasn__ sure he could even remember how tostart the car, but right now he had no choice.Grudgingly, he got into the driver__ seat, and finding the leverunderneath, he pushed it back so he sat comfortably behind thewheel. After trying three different keys, he found one that slipped intothe ignition.From what he had seen over the past hundred years, driving wasnot a complex operation, and he was an immortal with reflexes farmore keen than a human man.How difficult could it be?He turned the key and nearly jerked the wheel off the steeringcolumn when the car surprised him by lurching forward. The car wentsilent. The engine wasn__ running. What was he doing wrong?He stared at the gearshift, wondering if he should move it. Hisfrustration reared up, but his agitation would not make the car driveitself. He had to keep a cool head.Not knowing what else to try, he pushed one of the pedals at hisfeet to the floor and turned the key again. This time the car didn__move, and it roared to life. Grasping the gearshift, he jammed it intothe first position and glanced over at Kate.Why couldn__ she have owned a car with an automatictransmission?Shaking his head, he put some pressure on the gas pedal andslowly released the clutch. Thankfully the car rolled a few feet, butwithout warning it jumped forward. He pressed the clutch back to thefloor before the engine lost power again.Calisto slammed his hand against the wheel, muttering under hisbreath in Spanish. At this rate it would take him all night to drive herhome.The faded yellow convertible pitched forward again, threateningto stall as he continued out of the parking lot, thankful it was late. Thestreets were fairly empty. At least he wouldn__ get into an accidentwith another car. Her car staggered ahead, lurching each time hetried to release the clutch, bouncing and jostling them both until Katefinally stirred and woke up.§__re we out of gas or something?__alisto watched her with a tight smile. __ot exactly.__ate winced in pain when she laughed. __ou can__ drive a stickshift,can you?___oes it show?_ Calisto pulled over, finally allowing the engine tostall.She nodded her head slowly to avoid more pain. __ust a little.What happened?___ou don__ remember?___ remember being mugged. And I remember seeing you, buteverything after that is blank._ She watched his eyes as Calistoreached over to brush her hair back from her face, and his touch sentshivers through her body. This wasn__ how she had hoped she wouldrun into him, but she learned a long time ago fate didn__ always workout the way you expected.

The corner of his mouth pulled up into a crooked, boyish grin that melted the heart I was so desperate to protect. __ou don__ have a monopoly on fear. Until we kick Nero__ asses out of Reno__nd trust me, I have every intention of doing that__ou__e a target. If anything happened to you_ He shook his head, breaking eye contact. __an__ even think about it.

Her dark eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she stared up at me. "You are a moon child. She calls to you.