Riven
Whisper of Shadow (Also available in the Magical Mayhem anthology)
YA Paranormal Romance:
Red
Whisper of Shadow
Sneak Peek From Once Upon A New Year’s Eve
“Hello Gemma.”
She stopped mid-step and her focus narrowed on blue eyes she hadn’t seen in a decade but remembered like it was yesterday.
In all the honky tonks, in all the towns, in all the South, you had to walk into this one.
She actually felt all the maturity, all the layers of poise and composure she’d worked for slip away as nerves began to dance a rumba in her belly and her tongue tied itself in knots. Just like that, she was fifteen again, with a crush on her brother’s best friend. A crush that got totally shot down.
Aaron Hendricks smiled at her, flashing that slightly crooked incisor and she felt a blast of very adult heat blow through her system, complicating the nerves with a healthy dose of pure chemistry that scrambled her brain. Oh. My. God.
“Aaron,” she said. Her voice came out breathless. Mortification flared bright. She could feel the color rising in her cheeks and hoped the lousy lighting was low enough to hide it. The need to escape beat in her blood. No. No, she couldn’t deal with this, couldn’t deal with him.
“What are you doing here?” she managed, tightening her grip on Rick, who was only semi-conscious by now.
“I think Red went through Rick’s entire contact list. I got the voicemail, so I came to get him.”
Because Aaron was still the dedicated, responsible friend in the bunch. She’d always liked that about him.
“I’m taking him home,” she said. Under other circumstances, she might’ve cringed at the brusque, dismissive tone. She wasn’t rude, as a rule. But she didn’t trust herself to speak without stumbling over her own tongue.
“I think that’s a good idea. Let me help you with that.”
“No!” Gemma snapped. God, she didn’t want him helping. She wanted to get away as fast as humanly possible. “Jason and I have got him.”
Jason, who’d readily offered his assistance when she’d nearly face-planted off the stage with he
r brother, eyed Aaron with suspicion. “This guy hassling you?”
“No,” said Gemma, suddenly exhausted. The last thing she needed was some kind of testosterone showdown. “He’s fine. We’re fine. Let’s just get my brother outside.” She glanced over.
Aaron was still there, still looking concerned, still looking delicious as ever with those broad shoulders her hands itched to stroke and that sensual mouth that had starred in countless sexy dreams.
“Let’s go,” said Gemma, tugging their little trio toward the exit.
Aaron skirted around them, moving to Jason and starting to reach for Rick. “Look, man, thanks for your help, but he’s my friend. Why don’t you let me—”
“We’ve got this,” Gemma snarled, taking a firmer grip on her brother. “Thanks.”
Aaron jolted back as if she’d slapped him, but Gemma was beyond caring. If she had her way, she’d never see him again, so it hardly mattered.
Almost a year. A year back in Memphis and she’d manage to avoid running into him. She could make that happen again. It wasn’t like they ran in the same circles.
“Who’s that?” mumbled Rick.
“No one important,” she said softly. “C’mon. Just keep moving with us here.”
Aaron fell back and let them pass. After the noisy, stuffy heat of the roadhouse, the cool air of the parking lot was a balm to Gemma’s aching head.