Single
Wicked Wolf
Wolves
of Willow Bend series
by Heather
Long
A Wicked Tale
from ARe Books
Genre: M/F, Werewolves, PNR
About
the Book:
He’s single, wicked, and a perfect
pretend boyfriend…but exactly who is she fooling?
Giovanni Conti thrives on
protecting others. As a Centurion for the Seven Hills pack in Italy, it’s his
pleasure to serve his Alpha wherever he is needed.
Dispatched ahead in preparation for
the Alpha pair’s trip to Willow Bend, he has no problem entertaining the sexy
wolf he encounters in the airport. The last thing the playboy wolf expects,
however, is to find in Murphy the most captivating chase of his life…
Available at ARe
Excerpt:
“I’m in Rome, Mom,” Murphy repeated the
information for the third time. The connection sucked, but she’d promised to
let her family know prior to boarding the flight taking her back to the United
States. After two years of hopping all over Europe, she was actually ready for
a good old fashioned burger and beer with her friends. If it were warm enough,
maybe they could have a picnic by the old swimming hole and catch up.
Navigating through
the crowded corridors, she avoided being run over by businessmen hurrying,
tourists gawking, and mothers herding. She’d already checked her suitcase, but
kept her go bag with her. After visiting more than sixty U.S. missions and
consulates throughout Europe, she was heading home to Willow Bend. The roaming
had been fantastic for her, a dream come true. The idea of returning
home—returning to her pack—made her wolf heart sing.
“Rome,” she said
again when her mother’s voice crackled.
“I thought your
last assignment was in Zurich.” Switzerland was an appropriate place to finish
her European tour. Serving as a translator for an assistant attaché may have
landed her in boring meeting after boring meeting, but it had also taken her to
a wide variety of cities. A once in a lifetime opportunity, especially as not
all packs welcomed foreigners in their territory. Thankfully, most had given
her a pass for a day or two with freedom to leave the consulates or embassies.
Only three times had she received a text from either her Alpha Mason or his
second, A.J. advising her to stay with the detail in the host city or on the
embassy grounds.
Some packs killed
and asked questions later. She’d been turned when she was eighteen and at
twenty-seven, she’d had nine years of being a wolf. Even after two years of
limited shifting because of location and observation, she’d become more
comfortable with her wolf. Still, she avoided fights—and she dodged another
cluster of people. The airport made her crazy. She had to cross the entire
length of it to get to her connecting flight to the U.S.
“I was, Mom,” she
told her, weaving to avoid students from Japan who streamed past in organized
fashion. Part of the reason she’d taken the job was when she’d asked Toman for
the bite, she’d had to forgo a year of foreign studies.
Her wolf rubbed
against the inside of her skin. Yes, totally worth it.
“Now I’m in Rome,
I’ll be boarding my flight in fifteen and I’ll be home sometime tomorrow…and
no, before you ask, don’t send anyone to pick me up. I’m going to rent a car.”
“You’re sure?”
Alison DeWitt was the perfect mom. She baked cookies, attended all
extracurricular functions, encouraged her and didn’t hover. But she always had
to confirm everything. “The wedding is in three days, two after you get here,
and I thought we could meet your young man before the wedding. It will be so
crazy at the wedding.”
Crap. “I’m sure—I
see my gate. I need to go. I’ll see you soon. Love you.” Ending the call before
her mother could add anything else probably earned her bad daughter karma, but
she didn’t want to admit the mysterious boyfriend stories she’d entertained
them with on and off for the last few months were complete and utter lies.
Self-defense was her only excuse. After Shiloh and Matt announced their mating,
Mom began dropping huge, nuclear bomb-sized hints about marriage or mating
prospects for Murphy. The first fabrication had been to get her mother off the
phone, and it sort of snowballed from there.Not one to lie to her parents, she’d come right to them at fifteen and confessed her desire to be a wolf. Her human parents were a part of the Willow Bend pack, and all of her siblings were human, too. Her aunt and uncle, and by extension her cousins, however, were wolves. Her aunt had taken the bite, and her children had been born wolves. Murphy wanted to be like them.
No one in her
family tried to talk her out of it. Her stomach rumbled, so Murphy diverted
into a gift shop. Bottle of water, one pre-packaged turkey sandwich, and some
chips in hand, she dropped the food into her duffle bag after paying for it.
Returning to the concourse, she blew out a breath. No, no one tried to talk her
out of her desire to become a wolf. No one pushed her to be anything other than
what she was—and her mom talked to every wolf family, including her sister, and
they all took Murphy under their wings.
Plan firm, she
found an opening amongst the passengers hurrying along. Carry-on in hand, she
heard a mother call out to her child in French. The snap in the mother’s tone
jerked her attention more than the words. Homesickness swamped her all at once
and tears filled her eyes. It had been so long since she’d seen her mother,
save for the occasional Skype call, or been around the pack. The longing left
her aching.
Distracted, she
didn’t slow until she slammed into the hard bodied male and bounced off him.
All the air whooshed out of her, and her chest actually hurt from the blow. If
not for his hands on her arms steadying her, she would have landed on her ass.
Embarrassing enough to slam into someone, worse to fall.
Tilting her head,
she met the deep brown eyes glinting with concern and humor. The sexy brown
eyes matched the sexy, rugged features. Very Italian. Very hot. Her nostrils
flared and her heart clenched.
Oh. Crap. Very
wolf.
About
the Author
Heather Long likes long walks in
the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche
bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot
as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary
military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of
her stories—her characters drive the books.
When she’s not wrangling her
menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers
family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit
off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends
with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.
Sign up for Heather’s newsletter
at: http://eepurl.com/iKxQ5
For more information on other books
by Heather, visit her website: www.heatherlong.net
Giveaway
2 ARe ebooks (ARe
Imprints)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Heather is one of my favourite authors. I will have to get this.
ReplyDeleteSounds great!
ReplyDelete