Sensational Six: Action and Adventure in Sci Fi, Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Read online

  Sensational Six

  by

  Sasha White

  Jordan Summers

  Marsheila Rockwell and Jeffrey J. Mariotte

  Vivi Anna

  Caris Roane

  Gini Koch

  Sensational Six

  Copyright © 2014 Sasha White, Jordan Summers, Vivi Anna, Caris Roane, Gini Koch, Marshiela Rockwell and Jeffrey J. Mariotte

  All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be reproduced in whole or in part, scanned, photocopied, recorded, distributed in any printed or electronic form, or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Formatting and cover by Bella Media Management.

  ISBN: 978-0-9835121-7-2

  Dear Reader:

  Welcome to SENSATIONAL SIX, a collection of six award-winning and bestselling stories. Because the stories included here represent a variety of genres, lengths, and heat level, the authors have listed these details at the beginning of each book. As you reach the individual title pages, you’ll be able to assess the contents at a glance. This set was also designed to begin with our shortest offerings first, increasing in length as the set progresses, and ending with the longest book last.

  The stories within SENSATIONAL SIX include love with a psychic, trapping a saber-tooth tiger, a mercenary and a rebel, a fae and a werewolf, an ascended vampire and the darkening, and an epic battle between a werewolf cop and the Army of Evil.

  And now, all that’s left is to enjoy!

  Happy Reading!

  Sasha White

  Jordan Summers

  Marsheila Rockwell and Jeffrey J. Mariotte

  Vivi Anna

  Caris Roane

  Gini Koch

  Table of Contents

  Dear Reader

  Still Sexy (a Hunter Protection Group story)

  Phantom Warriors 2: Saber-tooth

  A Soul in the Hand

  Glimmer

  The Darkening

  The Night Beat

  Still Sexy (a Hunter Protection Group story)

  by Sasha White

  Genre: Paranormal Romance (erotic)

  Length: 13,000 words 30/pages

  Sensuality: 5 flames

  A weekend getaway with amorous intentions, an art show, and a magical entanglement all collide for a fun and sexy romp with a surprising twist.

  Caleb Mann didn’t believe in the mystical, until he fell in love with a psychic. Gina fills his life with love and lust, and he’ll put up with anything to be with her – including her ‘gifted’ family and the craziness that comes with them. When Gina’s debut at a Vancouver art gallery provides an excuse for a weekend getaway the couple jump at the opportunity only to find themselves caught in yet another supernatural tangle.

  1

  Caleb Mann caught a glimpse of the speedometer as he shifted the gears in his truck and grinned. Yes, he, the man who was often called uptight and who always followed the rules, was speeding.

  His blood heated and his foot got a little heavier on the gas pedal.

  It was Thursday afternoon, and he was in a hurry to get home because he and his lusty wife were going away for a long weekend together, alone. Away from home, away from work, and away from family.

  They weren’t getting completely away from Gina’s work because they were going to Vancouver for the opening night of her first art show at a gallery. But going to an art show was hardly work, and it would only be for a few hours. The rest of the time was theirs to do with what they please, which was why he was speeding — and grinning.

  Christ, he sure smiled a lot more since Gina had walked into his life just over two years ago. Without a doubt she’d brought some craziness along with her, but he was okay with that. Having her, and the family they’d started to build together, was worth anything in the world, even having a whole new world of paranormal shit opened up to him.

  Slowing down, he turned off the main road into a nice middle class neighborhood and made his way through the winding streets to his driveway. His sister-in-law’s beat up Nissan was in the driveway and a rush of eagerness swept through Caleb. Since Anna was already there, he was only moments away from getting his wife and getting out of dodge. Or Pearson as it were.

  Not that Pearson wasn’t a nice place. He and his brother grew up there and he loved it. But he hadn’t had more than a few hours completely alone with his wife since their son was born just over a year ago. He loved Michael, but he desperately needed some adult-only time with Gina.

  Galvanized by thoughts of Gina, an empty hotel room, and room service, Caleb quickstepped into the house — only to stop dead in his tracks as his heart jumped into his throat. Michael, his adorable tow-headed little boy, stood in the middle of the living room tugging on a wolf’s ear.

  No, not a wolf, he told himself. A werewolf.

  As if that made it any less scary.

  “You made it,” Gina said as she rushed into the room, slipping a small backpack over her shoulders. She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then noticed his stiffness. “What’s wrong?”

  Caleb gave his head a shake and tried to smile down at his wife. Yeah, she’d brought a lot of craziness into his life, along with the joy and the love he couldn’t live without. “Nothing. You ready?”

  She glanced over her shoulder to see what he’d been staring at. When she turned back to him, her eyes were alight with laughter. “Nothing, hmm? Maybe you should go say goodbye to your son.”

  Tension flowing from his muscles, he walked over and scooped Michael up in his arms. “Hey buddy, you playing with Aunt Nikki?”

  “Woof,” he said waving his chubby arms at the animal now sitting up next to them. With her muzzle open and tongue hanging out, it looked like she was laughing at him.

  “Yeah, she’s a wolf,” Caleb replied. And Christ what big teeth she had! “But it’s a secret, remember?”

  Michael patted his hands against Caleb’s cheeks and laughed. “S’cret.”

  “What’s a secret?” asked his sister-in-law Anna as she strode into the room.

  “That Aunt Nikki is a werewolf,” Gina said to the diminutive blonde who was cutting pieces off an apple and eating them right off the tip of a wicked looking knife. “And that Aunt Anna is a demon hunter, and that Aunt Mel and Aunt Nadya are shape-shifters.”

  Anna, who always had multiple silver knives strapped to various hiding places on her body, nodded. “What about the boys? Aren’t their powers a secret?”

  Caleb stood there holding his son, wondering how he wasn’t insane. Two-and-a-half years ago he’d have called anyone who believed in “mystical powers” delusional. He couldn’t do that now because, in that unbelievably short time, he’d fallen in love with and married a psychic whose brother was a telepath and best friend was an empath. Then the telepath fell in love with a gypsy, a man possessed by a demon attacked the house, the empath fell in love with a shape-shifter and then Caleb’s own brother married a demon hunter.

  The same socially challenged demon hunter who would be babysitt
ing his son for the weekend.

  Caleb never thought he’d consider his playboy younger brother the responsible one in a relationship before. Hugging his son to him, Caleb looked over at his wife. “Our flight leaves in two hours. You ready to go?” They really needed to go now, or he might rethink the decision to leave his child behind.

  Gina could see the panic starting to creep into her husband’s eyes and laughter bubbled up inside her. Pulling Michael from Caleb’s arms, she squeezed him and pressed a kiss to his still soft baby cheek before handing him over to Anna. She touched his fluffy hair and love filled her expression. Their son. She and Caleb had made this beautiful little being.

  Before she could start to cry at the wonder of it, Caleb grabbed Gina’s arm with one hand and the big suitcase with the other and pulled her out the door.

  “Bye everyone,” she called out over her shoulder, trying not to sniffle. “We’ll be back on Monday.”

  When they were settled in the truck and pulling out of the driveway, Gina risked a final glance at the house. Angelic-looking Anna stood there with Michael perched on her hip. Nikki, in wolf form, stood next to her, coming up to the tiny blond’s waist.

  “At least we know he’ll be safe while we’re gone,” Caleb said as they pulled away.

  Gina reached over and squeezed his arm gently. “He will be. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, I know it. It just gave me a shock to see Nikki like that.” His chest rose and fell on a sigh as he maneuvered the truck into the flow of highway traffic. “It always gives me a shock to see her like that.”

  “Michael knew we were leaving and was acting up, so she shifted to distract him. It worked.”

  “You really think he knew?”

  Her lips twitched. Her husband had had a hard time accepting her psychic abilities when they first met. As much as they’d been through since then, Gina knew it was still a shock for him to think his son might be gifted as well.

  “I do, yes.” She watched him from the corner of her eye. “Does it bother you?”

  There was a brief moment of complete silence before he chuckled. “Surprisingly, no. Maybe if he’s psychic he’ll be better prepared than I was for what’s out there in the world.”

  Unbuckling her seatbelt, she slid next to him on the bench seat. She kissed his cheek softly and whispered “Thank you” in his ear.

  His eyebrows jumped and he smiled at her. “For what?”

  She laid a hand on his thigh and her head on his shoulder. “For loving me. For accepting all of me.”

  “And your family.”

  “And my family,” she agreed with a laugh. Then, thinking of Mac, her cop friend and his werewolf wife, Nikki, she added, “And my friends.”

  His shoulders shook as he chuckled. “And your friends. And you, thank you for putting up with Gabe.”

  Caleb’s younger brother was more relaxed than Caleb was about, well, about everything. But he still hadn’t quite believed in psychics and shape-shifters and demons until he’d been tossed naked out of bed so his date could fight one. “He’s a lot easier to put up with since he met Anna.”

  “Do you think it was his falling in love with her that made him accept things, or the fact that he had to kill a demon to be with her?”

  There was a brief moment of silence before they both burst into laughter. “Oh, lord,” she said when she could finally catch her breath again. “Is it really bad of me to get so much joy out of him getting knocked on his ass like that?”

  “Not at all.” Caleb winked at her. “I enjoyed it too.”

  Warmth filled her until she was heavy with contentment. “I only wish I’d seen how he handled it when that demon popped into the hospital parking lot right in front of him.”

  He stopped the truck next to the parking pass dispenser. Before reaching out to take a ticket, Caleb leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m glad you weren’t there. I don’t like it when you’re in danger. It makes me ... ”

  She squeezed his thigh when his words trailed off. “I love you, too.”

  They stared at each other for a moment, just seeing each other and savoring the connection between them. Caleb leaned in, his mouth taking hers smoothly. Desire welled up and Gina pressed closer to her husband. One hand went to his chest while the other went up to wrap in Caleb’s soft windswept hair. She tugged at his hair and he groaned, the sound changing from one of desire to one of frustration when a horn honked behind them impatiently.

  With an unladylike snort, Gina pulled back. Caleb shifted the truck into gear and drove under the mechanical arm that guarded the lot. They made quick work of parking and unloading; they only had one bag each, even if Gina’s was twice the size of Caleb’s. The playful energy stayed with them as they tromped through the crowd to the check in counter.

  There was a line-up, of course, so they stood in line and acted like honeymooners with plenty of amorous touches and nudges between them. Their weekend alone had started, and they were going to enjoy every moment of it.

  “What ever happened to the guy who freaked out when I kissed him in public?” Gina teased as she pulled away from him because the line had moved forward.

  He smirked and bent to grab her suitcase. “He married a woman with no inhibitions and a crazy family.”

  Her laugh turned into a little yelp as the guy behind them tripped and stumbled into her, almost knocking her over the suitcase Caleb had just moved.

  “Oh!”

  “Gina! Are you okay?”

  Both men reached to help her straighten up and she brushed away their hands while laughing. “It’s okay. I’m okay. It was just a little bump.”

  “I’m so sorry, Miss. I wasn’t paying attention.” The natty little man shook his head at himself, his lips twisting in a rueful smile. “Who trips when they’re only taking two steps?”

  “Next, please!”

  They were up. Caleb waved to the counter attendant and ushered Gina ahead of him. “It’s okay, really,” she called to the guy over her shoulder. “Have a good trip!”

  “You’re such a brat,” Caleb smirked as he handed their I.D. to the attendant. “Have a good trip, indeed.”

  The one hour flight to Vancouver was uneventful, despite the fact that Gina was like a little kid—constantly shifting in her seat, playing with the entertainment screen, nibbling on Caleb’s ear and teasing him with naughty suggestions in his ear about the mile high club that made his dick throb.

  Okay, so that hadn’t been like a little kid — more like a naughty lady, but damn he loved her.

  She’d strolled into his life and turned his world inside out. Literally, and figuratively. He now knew there was way more going on in the world than he could’ve ever imagined, and he was full of more love and happiness than any man had a right to. Which was why he’d never complained about her “special” family and friends and the craziness that came along with them. Just because he’d never complained, that didn’t mean he wasn’t looking forward to some time away from it all, even if it was only a couple of days.

  “I told the boys I wanted you all to myself tonight. We won’t see them until the gallery opening tomorrow night,” she’d said at the airport when he’d asked where Devil, her brother, would pick them up.

  “Really?”

  She’d winked at him. “Yes, really. Just you and me tonight, babe.”

  It had been music to his ears. Music that made it very, very difficult to keep his hands off her during the cab ride to the hotel. Christ, she made him feel hotter than a horny teenager.

  Tamping down his impatience, Caleb stood in line at the hotel front desk and thought about hockey while Gina sat in a nearby club chair, twirling a piece of purple streaked hair with a finger. Her dark eyes gleamed at him as she crossed her legs, her short skirt flashing a lot of leg.

  The line shifted and he stepped up to the desk eagerly. Stating his name, he handed over his credit card and listened with one ear as the prim little desk clerk went through the mo
tions. Gina strolled up and nestled against him, her scent taking over his senses while he listened to the clerk run down the list of hotel amenities.

  “It’s okay,” Gina broke in gently. She flashed a sassy grin at the woman behind the counter. “We don’t plan to leave the room often.”

  The clerk nodded, a new twinkle in her eye. “Room service is available twenty four hours a day.”

  Caleb struggled to ignore the heat that flashed through him as his card was swiped and handed back to him. He shifted away from Gina’s lush little body with the pretense of putting the card back in his wallet. If she rubbed against him one more time he would lose it.

  The image of lifting her onto the chest-high reception counter, shoving her skirt aside, and burying his face between her thighs filled his head and he bit back a groan.

  As if sensing he was about to break, his little wild woman shifted her stance, cocking a hip and thrusting her breasts out obviously. He had just enough time to think Oh Shit! at the devilish light in her dark eyes before she slid a hand over his taut biceps and spoke loudly.

  “God, I love your muscles. I can’t wait to strip you naked and lick you all over before I ride you like a cowgirl at her first rodeo.”

  Jaw slack, Caleb just stared at her for a second. Then a hot flush washed up his neck and over his cheeks, and his cock hardened to the point of pain.

  Biting the inside of her cheek, Gina took the room key from the grinning front desk attendant and turned on a heel. She took three steps with her hips swinging deliciously before she turned back. “You ready, cowboy?”

  He shook himself like a wet dog, and then chuckled as he grabbed the waiting suitcases and started to follow her. “Ready and willing.”

  They didn’t speak in the elevator, and the heat grew between them during the short ride up. Gina used the key to open the door and Caleb followed her into their room.

  He closed the door carefully then grabbed his wife and pinned her to it. The last few hours of almost constant teasing had tested his control, and he eagerly let it go.