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Well, my first menage releases today from
Resplendence Publishing and I'm pretty excited - and of course, a little nervous!
After the blurb and excerpt, I've posted what Gideon and Jude look like in my head. :)
When a bounty claim becomes a fight of five against one, Jude Caulfield and Gideon Wells step in to help hunter, Wrenn Saunders, before she’s mortally injured. Wrenn soon learns that three is a good number whether in a fight or in the bedroom. Especially in the bedroom—and that’s just where Jude and Gideon want to keep her.
She might be fooling some of the regulars at the Jack Pine tavern, but she sure as shit wasn’t fooling him. Gideon Wells eyed the blonde as she nursed her drink like a broken heart. Her depressed demeanor was Oscar-worthy, but this girl was hunting. He’d bet his right ball her prey would walk through the door any minute.
He leaned back in his chair and observed her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. Short, honey-blonde hair framed her face, stopping just past her chin. She had pale, almost translucent skin that reminded him of an angel’s or a vampire’s—but he knew she was neither. His gaze rose to her full lips. God damn if she didn’t have a mouth made for sin. His cock stirred behind the fly of his jeans, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
He watched her scan the room in the mirror, stopping when she met his gaze. Huge eyes the color of melted dark-chocolate glared at him, and he couldn’t help but smile. She was a bounty hunter. He’d never seen her, but he’d heard plenty about her over the last three years. While most members of the shifter community might not be best buddies, they kept each other apprised of shared dangers—like bounty hunters with hard-ons for feline shape shifters.
Her short, snug skirt rode up her legs, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of her thighs. It was impossible not to imagine how the creamy flesh would taste as he lapped at her. As if she knew his thoughts, her frown deepened and she looked away. He took that opportunity to continue his perusal of her gentle curves, following the delicately muscled line of her leg downward. Her feet were encased in impossibly high heels and thin bands of leather wrapped around her ankles. The sharp contrast of the black leather against her porcelain skin hardened his cock further as he imagined her bound to his bed, wide leather cuffs securing her hands and ankles, her body open and weeping for him.
Her foot tapped in an agitated rhythm against the metal rung of the bar stool and he dragged his attention upward. Her full lips were pursed in annoyance as she stared at him. Raising his bottle, he saluted her, barely stifling a laugh when she flipped him off.
The door of the bar swung open and her eyes darted almost imperceptibly toward the doorway. He followed her gaze and nearly groaned aloud as he saw his best friend zero in on the woman at the bar. This wouldn’t end well.
With an easy grin, Jude Caulfield approached the blonde and leaned on the bar while he ordered a beer. His smile faded as he crossed the room and sank into an empty chair next to Gideon. After a nearly draining the bottle, he set it on the table and sighed.
“The Montgomery build is on hold and I’m laid off indefinitely, the bar’s out of Killian’s Red, and I just got shot down by the hottest woman I’ve seen in months.”
Gideon grinned. “So you’re writing country songs now?”
“Fuck you.” Jude nodded toward the bar. “Who is she?”
“If I’m not mistaken, that’s Wrenn Saunders.”
“The bounty hunter?”
Before Gideon could respond, a triangle of dull light slid across the floor as the door opened, and Spencer Dane entered. Besides being a werelion and an all around dick, he was also the head of the local lion pride. While Spencer might masquerade as a reputable businessman, he was nothing more than a drug dealer using his import company as a front and the members of his pride to distribute his product. The tiny hairs stood up on the back of Gideon’s neck and the need to shift burned through his veins. It was more than cats not playing nicely with those outside their own genus. He hated this guy.
“Easy there,” Jude murmured. “The last thing I need today is for you to go panther on him. I can’t afford to bail your ass out of jail.”
Nodding, Gideon took another swig of beer, attempting to swallow his dislike with the cool liquid and watched as the creep made his way toward the blonde at the bar. His beast rose in his chest at the sight of Spencer’s hand stroking her forearm, his meaty paws caressing her bare skin.
Gideon’s fingers clenched around his bottle as she leaned toward Spencer, giving him a clear view of her ample cleavage. Forcing his grip to relax, he drained the last of his beer. What did it matter that she was flirting with a lowlife like Spencer? Gideon would love to think that she was in the Jack Pine to haul the bastard in, but so far, the other man had managed to keep his illegal dealings unproven, letting his pride members take the fall for him.
The bounty hunter swiveled on her stool. Buttons near to popping, her tight blouse left very little to the imagination, including the hint of black lace that cupped the full mounds of her breasts.
“Holy Mother of God,” Jude breathed.
“Yeah.” It was the only word he could choke out.
Equally enamored, Spencer laid his hand on her bare thigh as she giggled, peering at him through her lashes. In a move so fast, it must have taken years of practice, she pulled a pair of handcuffs from her waistband and snapped one of the bracelets around his wrist.
Spencer stared at his hand, dumfounded. “What the fuck?”
Hopping off the bar stool, she dragged his hand behind his back as she shoved his torso toward the bar top and wrestled the cuff around his other wrist.
“You’re under arrest, asshole,” she said.
“I think I’m in love,” Jude breathed.
Spencer pushed himself back to an upright position. Straining his muscles, he fought against the restraints. “You’ve got nothing on me, bitch.”
She grabbed the cuffs and pulled them upward, twisting his arms in his sockets. “Don’t bother—they’re silver. And actually, I do. There’s a bench warrant from a judge in Detroit for your arrest. You’re more than two years behind on child support.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“That’s life.”
“Look, I can triple whatever your bounty is. Just unlock the cuffs and the money’s yours.”
With her free hand, she removed a colt from her purse and pressed the muzzle into his back. “I’ve got a full cylinder. The rounds aren’t silver, so you’ll heal, but I can make sure it hurts like hell before you do.”
“Yep,” Jude nodded. “Definitely in love.”
“Whore,” Spencer growled.
“Helplessness is a bitch, huh?” Keeping a tight grip on the chain connecting the cuffs and the gun pressed against his spine, she shoved him toward the door.
Meet Jude and Gideon.
(Okay...in real life, they're really Jensen Ackles and Keith Hamilton Cobb...but in my head, this is who I see when I think of these two.)
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