Happily Furever After is a limited edition collection you won’t want to miss – and every cent made goes to Hobo Haven Pet Rescue. While you read about these characters finding their happily ever afters, you’re helping vulnerable dogs to find their furever homes, too!
Everyone deserves a happily ever after.
Fall in love with these spellbinding paranormal romance and urban fantasy stories, where magic and mythical beasts collide.
Join shifters, vampires, witches, and so much more in these stories, where the things that go bump in the night aren’t quite as scary as they seem, and dangerous creatures roam dark worlds searching for their soul mates.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3cjJNAA
Universal: https://books2read.com/HappilyFureverAfter
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JQRCJVG
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08JQRCJVG
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08JQRCJVG
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55436848-happily-furever-after
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Roan Storm was born into a family of Marines, and leaving on deployment was nothing new, except this time it was. Bristol Abbot has been his best friend since childhood, but an unexpected moment of passion between them has opened the door to so much more.
Bristol never dreamed that the most important relationship in her life would turn into something new, and now instead of just saying good-bye to a friend she was saying good-bye to a lover.
Still reeling from a night of passion, these friends’ lives turn upside down when two pink lines show up on a pregnancy test. Bristol wants more out of life than to just be an obligation, so she insists they can handle this like new-age adults. Roan, doesn’t understand how the woman he needs more than air, can’t see that having her and a baby is his dream come true.
Coming home from overseas, Roan is one determined Marine with seduction on the brain…
#Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BM8WLNS/
#ibooks: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1361963324
#nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1128256840
#kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-marine-s-seduction
Make Mine MILITARY ROMANCE–and make it sexy, too! This October, it’s time to get down and dirty with our boys in uniform. We’ve got 18 perfect ways to do just that. Grab these books featuring military guys at a discounted price–but only for a limited time. AND don’t forget to enter our giveaway to be eligible to win a $100 Amazon gift card!
#militaryromance #military #soldiers #SEALS #sailors #sexyguys #romance #romanticsuspense #marines #army #navy #service #makeminemilitary #giveaway #giftcard
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Make Mine MILITARY ROMANCE–and make it sexy, too! This October, it’s time to get down and dirty with our boys in uniform. We’ve got 18 perfect ways to do just that. Grab these books featuring military guys at a discounted price–but only for a limited time. AND don’t forget to enter our giveaway to be eligible to win a $100 Amazon gift card!
#militaryromance #military #soldiers #SEALS #sailors #sexyguys #romance #romanticsuspense #marines #army #navy #service #makeminemilitary #giveaway #giftcard
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I have updated my Teespring store to give you a few new swag options! Check them out here: https://teespring.com/brat-pack-logo-tshirt
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COMING DECEMBER 1, 2020
Her Heat…
Cory Aleesi has been fighting for years to be taken seriously. Now she has her future in her own two hands and a burning desire to prove herself.
Their fire…
Cash Gray wrote the book on playboy firemen, while his brother Owen is a calm, cool, and collected attorney. Together they’re enough to destabilize any woman’s foundation.
The blaze…
Pitted against each other, and yet drawn together by an unexpected twist of fate, this human woman must find a way to accept a pair of shifter brothers into her world and her heart.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J7P59PQ/
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ballad-of-the-wolf
iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ballad-of-the-wolf/id1532012835?ls=1
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1137667862
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Most of my readers know I moved this spring to a great property outside of the city limits. Because of that, I had to change my PO Box address! Please make note…
NEW ADDRESS:
LORI KING
PO BOX 8104
TOPEKA, KS 66608
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Chapter 1
The thud of a bass could be felt a block away from the bar as Bristol Abbot climbed out of her car and carefully adjusted her skirt to protect her modesty. While she wasn’t a prude, she also had no interest in the whole world seeing her bits, and the skirt barely covered them, to begin with.
“I have no idea how you talked me into wearing this. I’m going to spend the whole night trying to keep my ass covered,” she grumbled as her sister, Olive joined her on the sidewalk.
“You look hot,” Olive replied with a shrug. “These guys are leaving in thirty-six hours and will be gone for months. They deserve a peek to jerk off to in exchange for their sacrifice.”
“Oh my God, that’s disgusting.” Bristol tucked her cell phone into the cup of her bra and followed Olive toward the line of people standing outside the popular bar. They didn’t even make it to the line before the bouncer was waving them inside. She could feel eyes burning into the back of her head as the people left outside jealously watched the sisters enter.
It irked her a bit that she was being let in even as it boosted her ego. If the bouncer had seen her two hours earlier, he never would have registered her presence, much less considered letting her inside. Dressing up had been strictly for her best friend’s benefit and only at her sister’s insistence.
Roan Storm and his unit had been activated. Tomorrow, he and his fellow Marines were leaving the United States for foreign lands. Like the previous times, she had no clue where he was being sent or exactly when he would return, and that meant she had to make the most of her time with him now.
Olive grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowded bar. It seemed everywhere she looked, she came across the hungry eyes of people searching for something inside the bar they were unlikely to find. There was a sense of sexual urgency in the air that made it hard to breathe as bodies pressed together and moved with the music.
A girl laughed near her, and a man brushed against her, copping a feel of her ass as he went. Bristol didn’t have a chance to protest or punch him in the face before she was being wrapped up in a pair of massive arms and held against a thick chest.
“There you are B. I was beginning to think you’d chickened out.” Roan’s deep voice rumbled through her, and she relaxed in his arms. The discomfort from her walk through the bar soothed by his familiar touch.
Peering up at him, she wrinkled her nose. “Have I ever chickened out of one of these things? I’ve been at every one of your going away parties.”
“Sure,” Roan nodded, grinning down at her, “but only because there’s a chance I might die. It’s all the other invitations you’ve bailed on.”
Bristol couldn’t deny it. She was a notorious homebody. She would prefer to be in her pajamas watching Netflix alone with a bottle of wine than in heels surrounded by horny men. Despite the social stigma, she liked her life of seclusion. Her job working at a high-end, retail clothing store brought her into contact with the public on a daily basis, and when she left work, she just wanted time and space to be herself. There was nothing wrong with that.
“And I promise to always be there before you die,” she assured Roan with a pat on his chest before she stepped out of his arms. “You know, you could have at least picked a place to do this where we didn’t have to shout at each other to be heard.”
“What?” Roan yelled, his smile growing. “Sorry, can’t hear you.”
Turning to the table at his back, Roan grabbed a pitcher of beer and held it up in offering. When she nodded, he filled a glass and pressed it into her hand.
“Thanks,” she frowned when he put the pitcher back down. “Where’s yours?”
Roan pointed at her glass, “That’s mine. I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll drink it all, so I’ll just wait until you try to put it down, without me noticing and finish it off.”
Laughter bubbled out of her throat. He knew her well. She wasn’t a beer drinker. Hell, she wasn’t really a drinker at all, just the occasional glass of wine. Emphasis on one glass because more than one left her groggy the next morning.
“Hey, Roan.” Olive stepped up to hug him before asking, “Where’s the fam?”
“Asher should be here anytime, he had to work late,” Roan said, winking at Bristol. “That’s who you’re looking for, right?”
Olive rolled her eyes. “As if. I was just being polite. I really don’t care where your brothers are.”
“Mmmhmm. Well, Cooper is over there,” Roan pointed out his brother who was nearby with a couple guys from his squad. “Jaden had something come up and couldn’t come tonight, but he and I are grabbing lunch tomorrow before I check in.”
“And Micah?” Bristol asked, her eyebrow arching in question as Olive elbowed her in the side.
Roan just pointed across the bar. Following the aim of his finger, Bristol found the man in question between two gorgeous women on the dance floor. Neither woman seemed concerned she didn’t have his full attention, and he certainly seemed happy to be in the middle.
“Figures,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. Micah Storm was the only Storm brother she’d ever gone out with, and he’d treated her just like he treated all woman. Casually. Her pride had been bruised enough, she still held a small grudge. Olive, on the other hand, had never had eyes for any Storm brother but Asher who didn’t seem to even see her.
“I see Karly just got here. I’m going to go say hello.” Olive was gone in a flash, leaving Bristol and Roan behind as she hurried off to meet her coworker and best-friend.
“And that’s the last I’ll likely see of her tonight.” Turning back to Roan, Bristol took a small sip of the beer in her hand. “Have you heard from Payton?”
“Yeah,” Roan nodded, “she’s not thrilled about her new digs.”
“Did you really think she would be?” Bristol questioned. “All she wanted was to come back home, and instead, she got shipped up to North Dakota.”
“It’s not like that and you know it,” Roan protested. “She needs this. As much as she says she’s fine, we can all see she isn’t. She needs some time to process what happened to her.”
Payton Storm was the youngest of the Storm siblings and the only girl in the group. With five older brothers, she’d been born to be a Marine. Sadly, an IED had cut her career short and left her with permanent injuries. Between the physical and mental therapy she needed, her doctors and family had decided sending her to a facility for her recovery made the most sense. Bristol didn’t know much about it other than it was a ranch of some sort in North Dakota. She had a hard time picturing Payton on a ranch of any kind, but she hoped, for her friend’s sake, it was good for her.
“Hey, pretty lady, wanna dance?” Cooper Storm’s voice sounded right next to her ear and she jumped, splashing her beer on her blouse.
“Damn it. Don’t do that, Coop,” she hissed, dabbing at the splotch with her fingers as if she could brush it away. “Scared the shit out of me.”
Roan snagged a napkin off the table and pressed it against her chest trying to help. Bristol flushed as she realized he was nearly cupping her breast in his hand. Jerking back a step, she pulled the material of her shirt away from her skin to escape the ice cold wet spot and the scorching heat of a man’s hand on her.
“I’ve got it, thanks,” she told Roan, glaring at Cooper. “Give a girl some warning.”
“I can’t help it if my mere presence turns intelligent women into fumbling disasters,” Cooper joked before wrapping an arm around her in a quick hug. “Come on, down the beer, and let’s dance.”
Taking a large swallow of her beer, she pushed it into Roan’s hand, “Watch that for me.”
“You got it. Just save me a dance,” he smiled as she was led away by his brother to the dance floor.
Bristol soon let herself get lost in the music and the freedom of her one night out. She loved to dance with or without a partner, and the DJ was keeping the dance floor full with his set. Avoiding the space Micah and his women occupied, Bristol found herself dancing with at least a dozen different people over the next hour or so. Roan was the only one she felt one hundred percent comfortable with, but he kept getting pulled away by friends wanting to wish him well on his tour overseas.
When she couldn’t go any longer, she collapsed into the booth and downed a full glass of beer, cringing at the sour aftertaste. “That’s disgusting.”
Garret Lole let out a long whistle. “Way to chug it, girl. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were a professional.”
Lole was Roan’s closest male friend and thus, Bristol’s friend. They weren’t particularly close, but she admired and respected the man for his loyalty to Roan. For the most part, he was like another Storm brother in her mind. Off limits in the love department.
“Where’s your flock?” she asked, wiping a drop of beer from her lip. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a bar without a gaggle of girls hanging on your every word.”
Handsome and charming, Lole was just as much a lady’s man as he was a Marine. In fact, Bristol often wondered if life came down to one or the other, just which role the man would choose. His sun-kissed, surfer boy look left many a woman speechless, and she’d heard tales of his prowess in bed.
“Nah, not at a going away party for my team. This is the first one I’m not going to be with them, so I’m getting in some quality time,” Lole joked. “At least, I was until you showed up, woman. Storm gravitated to you like the earth around the sun, nothing in nature can steal your shine in his eyes.”
For a moment Bristol was offended by the words, but when Lole laughed lightly and poured her another beer, she pushed it aside. She knew better than to take anything he said seriously. Instead of falling victim to her insecurities, she waved her hand in the air like a princess.
“I can’t help it if I sparkle, can I? Either stand back and enjoy the warmth or step into the shade.”
His riotous laughter drew attention, and a moment later, Roan was easing into the seat next to her, his thick arm over her shoulders. “You two appear to be having fun. What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” Bristol responded innocently. “Lole was just telling me he wasn’t going with you guys this time. Why didn’t I know that? Who’s going to watch your six?”
Roan’s dark brown eyes went soft, and he drew her in tight to his side. “Worried about me, B? Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of people watching my back while I’m there. I don’t need this pussy slowing me down with his bum knee.”
“What’s wrong with your knee?” Bristol asked, reaching for her glass with an inner cringe. She really needed to find something else to drink. The beer was on par with horse piss in her mind.
“Tore it up playing football a couple weeks ago. Defender went left, I went right, but my knee stayed dead center. Didn’t stand a chance.” Lole rubbed his leg below the table. “That would be the real reason I’m holding this bench seat down instead of grinding on your sweet ass on that dance floor, princess.”
“In your dreams, soldier-boy,” she taunted.
“Dude!” Lole’s mouth fell open in shock. “Did she just call me a s-soldier? What the fuck?”
Laughing at his dramatics, she listened to Roan and Lole throw out the millions of ways soldiers and Marines differed with only half an ear. The beer was buzzing through her veins, and she had to admit, she was genuinely having fun tonight. Sitting in the warmth of Roan’s body, comforted by the half dozen or so Marines surrounding their table, she felt content in spite of her short skirt and killer heels.
~ ~ ~ ~
In the midst of chatting with Lole and Bristol, Roan heard a loud booming voice call out his name. Turning, he spotted his oldest brother, Asher marching through the bar. The crowd parted for him naturally as if he were surrounded by an invisible shield. Asher had always had that effect on people. Quiet and somber, the senior Storm brother was no longer active duty, but he would always be a Marine.
“Hey, Storm,” Lole called out in greeting as Roan rose to give his brother a manly one-armed hug and slap on the back. “How’s it hanging?”
“Dead center as always, Lole,” Asher answered back. “Heard you got into a tussle at a game recently. Serves you right always trying to low-ball the defenders.”
“Aw, fuck you, Storm. Not like you’ve never gone under the belt for a hit.” Lole flipped Asher off, then took a big chug of his drink, pointedly ending the conversation.
Focused on Asher, Roan smiled and nodded at Bristol when she gave his brother a quick hello and made a prompt escape in the direction of the lady’s room. She’d once told Roan that ever since Asher had left the Marine Corps behind, she’d felt a sour energy from him. Silly as it sounded, Roan understood what she was saying and didn’t protest when she went out of her way to avoid time with his older brother.
“Work kicking your ass again, Ash?” Roan asked.
“Always. You ready to feel the sand in your ass crack again?” Asher shot back.
“Always,” Roan responded with a loud laugh. “Not sure yet where I’m heading though, so for all I know, it will be snow instead of sand.”
“Not likely given the current state of world affairs, but either way, play it safe.” Asher punched his shoulder. “I ain’t got time to be planning your funeral, so don’t go and get yourself killed.”
“I’ll gladly do my best, Ash.” Roan glanced around them, pointing out the other Storm brothers scattered around, so Asher could say his hellos. When they parted, he was surprised to find Bristol still hadn’t returned from the bathroom.
Perhaps it was his military training or his personal paranoia, but something felt odd to him. Bristol wasn’t a hoity-toity woman. She didn’t spend a lot of time primping in front of a mirror—even when she was dressed to the nines. Where was she?
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Coming January 28, the sixth book in The Gray Pack series.
Chapter 1:
“Ten more.”
“Are you kidding, man?”
“Just add ten more.”
“Don’t be stupid, Little Gray. I should have stopped you at four seventy-five. The last thing I want to do is explain to Dev why he’s short a Beta because you think you’re Superman.” Cash Gray peered down at Luke from his six-foot-four-inch height, and held the bench press bar in place on the rack. Although his fingers looked loose, Luke knew that if he pushed against it, the bar wouldn’t budge because Cash wouldn’t allow it.
“I’m ten shy of five hundred. Just add the weight, I’ll do two and we’ll bounce,” Luke argued, wiping sweat from his brow with his inner arm. He could feel the vinyl bench sticking to his back and smell the stench of his own sweat. It motivated him to push his body even harder.
“And next time you’ll be trying for five twenty. No dice, bro. On your feet, take a walk and find some water.” Cash nudged Luke’s head with his knee. “Besides, you’ve already done the test runs for the CPAT, you know you can beat the clock.”
“That doesn’t mean I should sit on my ass. I can do better than just beat the clock if I keep training.” Shoving himself to his feet Luke stormed across the small firehouse gym and snatched up a towel to pat dry. Raw energy burned in his tired muscles, and adrenaline zipped down his spine. Working out was the only time he could put all the inner rumblings to good use. He and his wolf were as much in accord when they were pumping iron as when they were running in the forest. It was a form of release for the temper he barely kept in check, and an outlet to focus his chaotic mind.
“All right, I get that, but to what purpose? If you hurt yourself you’ll just have to wait another year to take the test. I don’t know about you, but it would bother the fuck out of me if I faced the possibility of living off my older brother for a year while I waited around on a job,” Cash said from behind him.
“I don’t live off Noah, damn it. I have a job.” He snarled at his older cousin.
“Right, part-time. I’m sure that pays the bills plus some. I know you’re working toward something bigger, but you’ve gotta grow up, Luke. You can’t keep doing reckless shit and expect everything to still go your way.” Luke watched in the wall of mirrors as Cash collected his own gear and headed for the locker room without another word.
It was better that way, because if he continued to push, Luke would snap at him, and it was never smart to snap at a Beta wolf. Underneath the relaxed cowboy persona, Cash was a lethal weapon, and the same temper and drive for competition that Luke dealt with burned in his belly, too. That’s why Luke had latched onto him in the first place when he was a scrawny twelve-year-old just past his first shift. Unlike the rest of the prepubescent boys of the pack who idolized Devin Gray, Luke saw all his older cousins as superheroes. Then a few months ago Cash had gone above and beyond to both betray and protect his pack-mates. The decision could have had dire consequences for one of their newest pack members, instead it saved multiple lives.
The water was running in the shower as Luke stepped into the locker room, and the smell of chlorine cleaners left the tiny space smelling like a swimming pool. Better than any other locker room I’ve ever been in, Luke thought with a grunt as he shoved his shorts over his narrow hips to the floor.
His lean runner’s build and the bad luck of birth placement had earned him the nickname “Little Gray” back in junior high. It was inevitable that he would be treated differently as the youngest of the Gray cousins, but it rubbed him wrong just the same. There was nothing little about him, until you stood him next to the other Betas of the Gray Pack. Then he looked like the sickly one. Long wiry muscles instead of bulky ’roid-looking ones made him the butt of more than one Popeye and Olive Oyl joke. Growling his frustration over things he couldn’t control into the spraying water of the shower head, he washed with quick efficiency. He was just stepping out with a towel wrapped around his waist when he heard loud voices entering the locker room around the corner.
“Hey, Little Gray!” Ryley Whetstone yelled across the thirty-foot expanse of lockers when he stepped into view. “You done for the day already?”
Nodding, Luke replied, “Yeah, I came ten shy of five hundred on the bench today. Cash wouldn’t let me go any further than that.”
A loud whistle pierced the air, and Luke turned to face Cash’s older brother, Owen. “Five hundred, huh? You’re a long way from where you were three months ago. Cash was telling me you’re three seconds under the clock time on the CPAT test, too. Good work.”
Owen Gray was the only non-firefighter in the locker room besides Luke. He’d worked alongside the other guys at one time, but after a horrible accident that resulted in a friend dying, he’d turned in his helmet and gone back to school for his law degree. Now he was a practicing attorney, and he volunteered at the firehouse for community involvement. The way Luke had heard it, his older cousin had very clear rules about not fighting fires ever again.
“Thanks. I’m going to make it. I can feel it in my gut.”
Ryley slapped him hard on the bare skin of his back. “That’s the right attitude.”
“Hey, are we on for poker tonight?” Owen asked Ryley, as the big blond man changed into his workout clothes.
“Not at our place we’re not,” Rafe answered for Ryley, shooting his brother a look that spoke volumes. The two siblings were able to communicate telepathically between each other and their mate. It wasn’t unusual for true mates to have that particular skill, and Luke thought it was cool as hell. “Axel just started preschool on Monday, and Jordan is having a tough time adjusting to going all day long without him. Shandi is worn out by the time we get home for the day.”
“Sorry to hear that, man,” Owen said, nodding in understanding. “We can have poker night at our place then. Cash and the O’Brien brothers won’t care.”
“I’m still going to bow out, boys,” Rafe said with a guilty look. “Like I said, Shandi’s been wiped in the evenings. I’m not going to leave her on her own. Ry, you should go. We’ll switch off next week. I’ll go and you can stay home.”
Ryley nodded. “I’m good with that. I’ve been itching for a night out where I can smoke a cigar and have a cold beer. Our fridge is full of juice boxes, grapes, and string cheese lately. Little Gray, you’re bringing the beer.”
Luke shook his head, but he smiled. “I’ll just call Noah and tell him to get the beer. He’s got nothing better to do.”
“That’s cold, man. Your brother is working his ass off taking those online classes,” Owen said, frowning at him.
His eyes rolled automatically, and he regretted the childish reaction immediately when Rafe and Owen both glared at him. “What? Pecking away at that keyboard all day isn’t exactly hard work. Besides what’s he going to do with a degree in Music History and English Lit?”
“Write music, fucknut. If you’d ever had a conversation with him you’d already know that,” Cash said from behind him as he joined the group.
“Cash is right, you should really talk to Noah. He’s got big plans for the future,” Rafe said, shaking his head as though he was ashamed of Luke.
Luke kept his lips zipped so as not to antagonize one of the highest-ranking members of the Pack. Rafe could snap him in two without breaking a sweat, and there was no point in arguing over something that was really no one’s business. Of the two of them, Noah was probably the easiest to get along with. Luke was younger by a year, but he’d always been the quiet, serious one. Until just recently they’d neither one really had much of a bead on what their future would hold. A few months ago Luke took a part-time gig as an EMT with the goal of becoming a firefighter.
When Luke signed up for the training classes with the Kansas City Fire Department, Noah hadn’t said much one way or the other, so when he decided to go back to school for his degree, Luke had been ambivalent right back. Lately they’d been on two very different schedules, which worked out nicely. They were both able to live their lives without the other one interfering. Noah slept most of the day, because he played guitar in Cash’s band, Gray Skies, four out of seven nights a week, and then studied.
It wasn’t like Luke didn’t care about his brother, but they’d just grown apart. Noah hated that Luke was so focused on his rank in the pack, and his desire to protect his fellow wolves at all times. Luke believed in the strength of the pack, and he would do anything to keep it strong. Hell, anymore it seemed like Noah would pack his shit up and leave if their Alpha, Devin, gave him the nod of approval.
Cash agreed to the poker plan, and then left to finish the rest of his shift for the day, while the other three men made their way out of the locker room into the gym, leaving Luke sulking on the bench still wrapped in a towel. He refused to feel guilty about his relationship with his brother. If Noah wanted to talk to him, he knew where to find him. Dressing quickly he slammed the empty locker on his way out of the fire station. He’d get the beer his own damn self rather than asking Noah. Saved time, and hassle.
* * * *
Tavi Reid was elbow deep in a sink full of hot soapy suds when her current boss-of-the-month snapped at her to go help on the floor.
“That new bus boy didn’t show, so you’re going to have to bus your own tables tonight.” The carrot-topped man would have been cute if it weren’t for the meanness embedded deep in his dark brown eyes. Everything about him made her skin crawl. From the top of his five-foot-eleven-inch frame, to the soles of his too-shiny black combat boots. He didn’t fit the image of a manager in the least, but the little white name badge pinned to his chest gave him the authority of the position.
“Okay, give me a minute I’m almost finished with this load,” she said, blowing a lock of her own dyed red hair from her eyes.
Shane the demon manager huffed at her, but he moved on to pick on some other poor hapless employee, leaving her to finish washing the dishes in front of her. Ketchup colored the water red, and the fragrance of grease and onions made her eyes water. She hated this job, hated it with every fiber of her being, plus some. She never expected to still be washing dishes, waitressing and bussing tables at thirty years old, and it stung her pride how far from her childhood dreams she was.
Twelve years ago she’d left high school and started college with big ideas, and very little life experience. She just knew that in twelve years’ time she’d be the top doctor in the obstetrician and gynecology field, and well on her way to making a difference in some third-world country. Instead, less than two years later she’d dropped out of school to raise a baby of her own, and found herself homeless with nothing to her name. It was a hard fall, but she’d rolled with it, and worked hard to give herself and her daughter a stable life. So what if that meant dish pan hands and the smell of French fries embedded in her skin? It also meant her daughter had food on the table and a roof over her head, and that was what was important.
As it was, she and her daughter, Sonny, lived hand to mouth using every penny to cover the rent on their three-bedroom home and put gas in her beat-up Grand Am. Last week the electricity bill had been way low, because winter in Kansas City called for more gas consumption than electricity, so she was hoping that she could use that extra money along with her tips this week and take a night off over the weekend to spend with Sonny. It was so rare that they got to eat dinner together anymore, and she missed it.
“Tavi, are you still here? I told you to go bus tables,” Shane snapped from just inside the doorway. His lip curled up in a gesture that was somewhere between a smirk and a snarl, and she had to force herself to release the skillet she was washing back into the sudsy water rather than swinging it in his direction. The look in his eyes was a combination of lecherous pervert and disgust, and it made her stomach twist.
“Shane, I heard you. I have to finish one task before I can take on another. Despite the cape and mask I’m not quite the Superwoman you believe me to be,” she retorted in the same sweet voice she used on her daughter when she was having a tantrum. “Give me two more minutes and I’ll go out there.”
Mila Wiley picked that moment to walk through the swinging door behind Shane, carrying a plate full of food. “Hey Tavi, the lady at table six said she ordered the chicken sandwich with honey mustard not mayo.”
Before Tavi could formulate a response Shane was in her face, eyes blazing. “This is the third customer this week that’s sent food back to the kitchens because of your screw-up, Reid. I’ll be docking your check for their dinner. Mila, let table six know that dinner is on Tavi tonight.”
“You—you can’t do that!” Tavi sputtered.
“The hell I can’t. I’m the manager, Tavi, what I say goes. If you don’t like it, there’s the door. Fucking stupid women. I hate being surrounded by ignorance all day long,” Shane snarled.
Biting back a rude response, Tavi closed her eyes and counted to ten. It didn’t seem to matter how high she counted, all she could see was a red haze of pissed off. A gentle hand on her arm startled her and she dropped the pan she’d been holding into the water with a splash that left her and Mila covered in bubbles. Opening her eyes, she realized that Shane had stormed off leaving her and the other waitress alone again in the prep room.
“Are you okay, doll?” Mila asked, looking genuinely concerned. “Shane’s a douche. Don’t let him get to you.”
Drying herself with her now-damp apron, she nodded. “I’ll be all right, but he knows I can’t afford to cover food that’s sent back.”
“Don’t stress it, Tavi. I’ll chip in some tip money and help cover it. Thankfully it was just a chicken sandwich, so it’s only like eight bucks. Shane is just trying to prove he’s got a bigger cock than you do,” Mila said, making a graphic gesture with her hand over her groin.
Tavi laughed. “He might have a bigger cock, but I have bigger balls. That skinny peckerwood won’t last a month.”
“I’ll take that bet. I think he’ll make it two before Ray kicks him to the curb,” Mila teased back.
Ray Bunton was the owner of Between the Buns, and the worst business man Tavi had ever encountered. He spent ninety percent of his time on the golf course trying to look more important than he was, and the other ten percent hiring and firing managers at the restaurant.
“Nah, Shane will get too full of himself and leave for greener pastures. Ray doesn’t care what any of us does. Hell, Shane and Fawn have been using the storage room for extracurricular activities every afternoon,” Tavi said in a soft voice.
“Oh yeah? Damn, see what I miss having to go to class during the day? I knew Fawn had something on Shane to get that prime schedule. I hate having to cover all the evening shifts.”
The squeak of the door had the two women jumping apart as though they’d been caught doing something wrong, and once again they were face to face with the red-headed devil wearing the managers badge.
“I’m sorry, did I miss the invitation to play Gossip Girl? Get a move on, ladies, or you’ll both be hitting the want ads tomorrow.” Instead of leaving, Shane stood guard with his arms crossed over his chest and his arrogant nose tipped like there was a stench in the air.
Mila rolled her eyes and grabbed a pile of menus on her way out the door. Tavi turned her back on Shane and focused on washing the last couple of dishes as quickly as possible. Her hair stood on end just before she felt him press against her backside, and his hot breath against her ear.
“You know, if you want to make things easier on yourself, I can think of a few ways,” he whispered. The effort that he made to sound sensual and sexy was lost on her as her stomach revolted at the idea of him touching her.
“So can I. A sexual harassment lawsuit would set me up nicely while I hit the want ads…” she taunted.
With a sharp curse, Shane stepped backward so quickly that he nearly fell on his ass. Tavi was disappointed when he caught himself. The menacing look he gave her kept her temper in check when she might have kept going. It was hard to control her tongue when he was such a disgusting person.
“I’m taking you off wait staff for the week. You can bus tables until I think you’re ready to promote again. I can’t have my waitresses unable to take a simple order.” With that he spun on the heel of his boot and stomped out of the kitchen leaving her blissfully alone.
Her mouth had once again gotten her into trouble. She needed to be waiting tables in order to make tips. Without tips she didn’t even make enough each week to cover her bills. Fuck this was bad. Her hopes for an extra night off in the near future went up in smoke, and she fought back tears of frustrated fury. Grabbing an empty dish tub she headed for the front of the restaurant to clean up after the dozens of customers that had already been served this afternoon.
Grumbling her dissatisfaction with her current circumstances would help no one, so she got busy clearing tables. The quicker they were emptied, the quicker they would be filled again, and hopefully Shane would reconsider when he realized he needed more wait staff. Otherwise she’d be hitting up the local church food pantry for groceries this weekend.
Could her life get any more complicated?
Start reading the series from the beginning: https://lorikingbooks.wordpress.com/books/gray-pack/
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Caress of the Wolf
The Gray Pack Book Five
In a time of transition, only the strongest will thrive…
Whitney Gray is less than thrilled that her werewolf pack is hosting another packs Alpha battle. She figures the Diego wolves have done enough damage to the Gray wolves to last a lifetime, but when cousins Cadence and Mateo Diego step into her life she finds herself on a new and dangerous path.
Cadence and Mateo are determined to protect their birthright, and secure their place as the leaders of the Diego Pack. They didn’t anticipate finding their mate, and now they are protecting her and her family from a threat that ends up being way to close for comfort.
The newly mated trio begin planning for a life or death battle, and end up on a journey from betrayal to forgiveness, but when you’re battling the past, someone’s bound to get hurt.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/37tjswn
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1119530368
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/caress-of-the-wolf/id1493160565
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/caress-of-the-wolf-1
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Dreams of the Wolf
The Gray Pack Book Four
Katie-Jo (KJ) Whetstone is on a mission to save her mother’s life and protect the Quiver Creek pack from Nicolas Kaplan, a deranged werewolf. She has already journeyed across the country from Wyoming to Missouri, to find brothers that she never knew, and now she must lead them back against their own reservations. She’s shocked when her libido goes haywire over the only human traveling with them, Dr. Thomas Jameson.
Fighting to keep her distance from the mating lust, KJ and Thomas both end up needing rescued. Bryson Samuels is an enemy wolf that makes her body sing as loudly as Thomas does. With strangers for mates, she fights the need to bond, with her desire to be free from the pack. In the end they will all have to decide if they are willing to do anything to protect each other.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2qDjRg0
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1116892095
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dreams-of-the-wolf-1
ibooks: Coming Soon!
