Claimed by J.R. Ward

Buy it here: Amazon

A heart-pounding new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, with a scientist fighting to save the timber wolves—and getting caught in a deadly trap herself...

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target.

One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious, and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?

As the stakes get higher, and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love... or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

What.
Was.
THAT?!

Lydia was a behaviorist and I loved her passion in protecting the wolves and their habitat. Although her impulsiveness, rash judgments and curiosity could be annoying, these traits also helped to move the story along and feed into the questions and secrets surrounding the plot. And while I'm no fan of women who know what they want, but play that they don't, I enjoyed the little flirting games she played with the hero.

Daniel was the character who would definitely raise some eyebrows. There was obviously more to him than met the eye and I still don't quite understand who he was supposed to be. His cover story of being a drifter and handy man made me question everything. What were his motives? Who did he work for? The fact that he was sexy was an interesting bonus!

Xhex was also featured and I practically drooled for every glimpse of John Matthew!! Seriously, what is going on with Xhex? What do the Wolven have to do with her present, her traumatizing experience with the labs, and her murky future?

Claimed was far more than your run-of-the-mill paranormal romance. It held mystery and intrigue and suspense. I did find that it was slow to start, however, when things started to pick up, I couldn't put it down. Here I am at the end and I'm devasted to learn that I have to wait until next summer to find out what will happen next!

For lovers of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, Claimed is a must-read! And if you're anything like me, it will inspire you to give the entire series a re-read just to be able to dive back into this dark, deadly, enchanting, and binge-worthy world again!

J.R. Ward is the author of over thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There are more than 15 million copies of Ward’s novels in print worldwide and they have been published in 25 different countries around the world.

After graduating from law school, Ward began working in healthcare in Boston and spent many years as Chief of Staff of one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation. She lives in the south with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot.

Visit the JRWard Facebook Page for more on the Brotherhood or email her at assistant@jrward.com.

Add it to Goodreads / Find it on Amazon

You’re the Charge…

Bad Boy. Screw-up. Good for nothing. Hero. Angel. These were all words Grayson ‘Torren’ Trammel had heard whispered behind his back over his lifetime. What he hadn't heard was ‘quitter,’ and he’d be damned if some little rehab chick, with her beautiful blonde hair, and hot, sassy little mouth was going to label him as such.

To My…

Tru knows Grayson’s not for her. He’s too bad. Too hot. Too demanding. Too taken.

She tells herself that almost daily as she helps Grayson get back into fighting shape after a horrific accident nearly ripped his life away from him. That had taken the life of one of the men in his MC.

Grayson is everything her father warned her about, but there’s just something about him that intrigues her. That makes her want more.

The man's a firefighter. How bad could he be?

Line…

Apparently, he could be way worse than bad, but he could also be so very, very good. Something Tru realizes, rather quickly, when the two can no longer fight the pull that’s between them.

Now there’s only one word she wants to hear when it comes to him: his.

I found the relationship that grew between Tru and Grayson to be sincere, organic and wonderful! She got him in a way that no one else had and it was beautiful. Thankfully, with Tru in the picture, Cleo's horrible little sister, Molly, didn't stand a chance!

In the last book (Life to My Flight), Torren risked his life to rescue Rue from a fire. He damaged his shoulder in the process and in order to get back to work he needed physical therapy. Tru was the woman to get him back on track and she gave her all to give him the power to be the hero he needed to be. Which was awesome because it allowed him to put down all threats to his woman.

Things got a little horrific towards the end, but overall, this was a sweet and funny romance with plenty of heat.



I loved getting that first glimpse of the love brewing between Reese (Tru's sister) and Luke Roberts. I'm looking forward to their story in Center Mass!

I'm a little confused with the story of Torren and his half-brothers. Ross seems to be the only decent one (I hope he gets a story) and I wish everything got fleshed out a bit more.

Watching Ashe and Ford playing/fighting together as kids made their connection so much sweeter, knowing that they end up together when they grow up :)

    Torren/Grayson & Tru's family tree:

        Their children
            Ashe (daughter) - Maybe Swearing Will Help
            Spencer (son)
            Coal (son)

        Grayson's family
            Ross Bradley (half-brother)
            Colby Prescott (half-brother)
            Bobby Prescott (half-brother)

        Tru's family
            Reese (sister) - Center Mass

Check out my reviews of the previous books:

Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.

Keys to My Cuffs by Lani Lynn Vale

Loki’s life was a lie. Everything he’d done for the last eight years was under an assumed name for the Benton Police Department. He’d lied, cheated, and stolen all in the name of the law. He wore himself thin, and not even the open road could take away the pain anymore. Then his little next door neighbor moved in, and suddenly he had a reason to get out of bed every morning. Except he was an officer of the law, and a member of a prominent motorcycle club in the area, The Dixie Wardens MC. Neither of which she could deal with.

It wasn’t the scars that covered her new neighbor’s body that scared Channing. It was the badge. The fact that he belonged to The Dixie Wardens MC was only icing on the cake. She should be running away as fast as her legs could carry her. But there’s something about Bryce ‘Loki’ Rector. Something that eased the unreasonable fear she felt every time she came into contact with something that reminded her of her past.

They say love isn’t easy, and it definitely isn’t for the two of them. Loki has to learn to feel again, and Channing has to learn to live. Their road isn’t an easy one by any means, but Loki makes two promises. One, he’ll never let anything hurt Channing again. Two, it’d be over his dead body that he’d ever let her go.

Find your copy of Keys to My Cuffs on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qqgK5v

I finally found out the truth of Loki and I'm extremely satisfied! This man made me sad in previous books, with his heartbreak leaking through, and I'm so happy he got his happy ending.

There were plenty of things I loved about this story...
Loki was an undercover cop, going after a dangerous drug lord and murderer
Loki was tired of living a lie, especially when he met a woman he could picture living a life with. Too bad she had a healthy fear of cops.
Although I had planned to dislike Channing because in a previous book, she was making Loki question even being a cop anymore (seriously, this guy was made to be a cop), I ended up really liking her. She had her reasons for being afraid and slowly but surely, with the help of Loki and his people, she was able to conquer them. Brave girl!
After meeting Peter Parker Penn in Maybe Don't Wanna and loving him, it was a bit of surprise to see a younger version of him in pain and why he was so heartbreaking.

I'm a huge fan of the way this author creates a connection between her characters. They feel genuine and I can't wait to see them all again!



I do wish there was more to be said as a resolution to the suspense part of the story. I'm happy that there was a happy ending, but there was a death that affected Channing and it was just swept away. Not cool.

Loki & Channing's family tree:

    Their children
        Justice (son) - Make Me
        Glory (daughter

    Loki's family
        Andrea (mom)
        Zeth (step-father)
        Unnamed father
        Unnamed older brother

    Channing's family
        Colton (father)
        Andrew (brother)

Check out my reviews of the previous books:

Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.

Drakon's Promise by N.J. Walters

Goodreads / Amazon

Darius Varkas is a drakon. He's neither human nor dragon.

He's both.

He's also the target of an ancient order who want to capture all drakons for their blood. When fresh, a drakon's blood can cure any illness and prolong a human's life, and the Knights will stop at nothing to get it.

When librarian Sarah Anderson stumbles across a rare book belonging to the Knights of the Dragon, she's quickly thrust into a dangerous world of secrets and shifters and things she never would have believed possible. When the Knights realize Sarah has a secret of her own, she becomes just as much a target as Darius. Her scary dragon shifter just might be her best chance at survival.

After falling so deeply in love with The Forgotten Brotherhood series by N.J. Walters, I added her all of her books to my to-read list. Drakon's Promise is the first in a series about dragon shifters and I was super excited to read it because... DRAGONS!!

Darius - a four thousand year old drakon, he has only feared one thing... either himself or one of his brothers being captured by the Knights of the Dragon, where they would be tortured and drained for the power in their blood. This was a fear he was familiar with, however, when he met Sarah, he realized that his long, lonely existence would never be the same and that fear for her safety was a whole other terror of its own.

Sarah - quiet and unassuming, she had a special affinity for objects, especially books. Her new job comes with new problems and when she finds out her new boss intends to kidnap and possibly kill someone (Darius), she feels duty bound to warn him.

Karina Azarov - a young, ruthless woman who happened to be the learder of the Knights.

I absolutely loved Darius and I'm intrigued by his brothers. I'll definitely be continuing this series because I have to know how these drakons eradicate the Knights. While this story was just as brilliantly written as I expected it to be, the heroine was a drag and took away from how much I could have enjoyed it.



I haven't come across a heroine I've disliked as much as Sarah in a while. Every moment spent with her was its own special torture. Her words and actions inspired huge eye rolls and anger.

I'm not a feminist. I'm a realist. In my opinion, women cannot do everything a man can do, just like men cannot do everything a woman can do. Yes, we are equals, but it's our very uniqueness that makes life interesting. There's a reason for the difference in the sexes. So when a woman like the heroine of this story, who has never done anything heroic, has no physical strength, and merely has a strong will, comes across a male who is half-man and half-dragon, who has lived for thousands of years, who is battle tested and possesses strengths far greater than any human, she shouldn't expect to be able to do what he can do. When this man knows more about the world he lives in than you because he's lived for thousands of years and until recently you didn't have a clue that the supernatural world even existed... maybe take his direction. Maybe you don't complicate things with your nonsense. Maybe tone down the harpy and act like a sensible person.


Once upon a time N.J. had the idea that she would like to quit her job at the bookstore, sell everything she owned, leave her hometown, and write romance novels in a place where no one knew her. And she did. Two years later, she went back to the bookstore and her hometown and settled in for another seven years.

One day she gave notice at her job on a Friday morning. On Sunday afternoon, she received a tentative acceptance for her first erotic romance novel and life would never be the same. N.J. has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Standalone - Hunter Legends #2
Release - October 13, 2002
Genre - Paranormal Romance/vampires & demons
Primarily Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5
Format/Source - paperback purchase from Amazon
Length - 324 pages
Publisher - St. Martin's Paperbacks

Find Night Pleasures on Amazon: https://amzn.to/35hIEXG

Kyrian's story was heartbreaking. Over two thousand years ago, he was the general of the Grecian army, holding back the invasion of the Romans. He was also a prince, destined to inherit a grand kingdom. He was also a human being who was feeling the flush of young love. He was so in love with his wife that he ignored the warnings of his father and his friends. So blindly in love that he didn't see the truth of who he was in love with until he was tortured to death while staring into her cold eyes.

When Kyrian died so long ago, he gave up his soul to become a Dark Hunter in Artemis's army against evil. He had condemned himself to a lonely existence. However, when the most powerful daimon ties him to Amanda, a seemingly ordinary human who belongs to a family of extraordinary humans, Kyrian starts to question everything he knows. He feels connected to her in a way he's never felt before and she feels emotions for him that are unexplained. It's almost like they were fated, although there was no mention of this.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the creation of vampires mythos that the author illustrated, I did feel like I was dumped in the middle of a story. Quite a few characters were introduced that I'm guessing have had or will have their own story and I'm interested enough to want to read them. I liked learning about the other hunters, the types of hunters, the goddess they serve (and what's the story between her and Acheron?), and how getting their souls is different for each individual.

Kyrian was blessed that Amanda, despite the fact that she continued to refer to him as a vampire after learning he wasn't one, loved him the way he deserved to be loved.

New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series.

Her mouth tasted like everything I'd always imagined it would. Sweet, cherry, and mine.

Quit Bein' Ugly by Lani Lynn Vale

Standalone - The Southern Gentleman Series #3
Release - April 20, 2021
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/a couple of scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 181 pages
Publisher - Indie

There’s a crush, and then there are the type of feelings that Croft Cruisie evokes from a person.

He’s everything that any straight woman would want: tall, handsome, charismatic, muscular, and sweet.

At least, Carmichael thought he was sweet, until he brings another woman to the gym she owns with her brother, on the night that’s to be their first date, and lets her know in a quick and painful, non-verbal way that her feelings are not reciprocated.

Fast forward six months, and she’s still trying to move on from the rejection.

It doesn’t help that the jerk moves in next door to her, and that she has to see him workout shirtless every single day.
How can a woman get over a silly crush when that silly crush won’t so much as give her room to breathe?

***

Croft doesn’t know what happened.

One day he was supposed to go on a date with the girl that wouldn’t leave his thoughts for even a second, and the next she’s avoiding him like the plague.

No matter how hard he tries—and admittedly, it isn’t all that hard due to the biggest case of his career taking over his life—he can’t get her to tell him what he did wrong. She refuses to give him a second chance.

At least, not until he’s nearly killed in front of the courthouse, that is.

The moment he sees his chance, he pounces. Or, more literally, he limps.

But the limping is what draws Carmichael in. The Southern charm that was instilled in him since birth will be what gets her to stay.

That’s his plan, anyway.

Funny thing about plans… they never seem to work out how you expect them to.

This was a slow burn type of read and these characters had my heart in palpitations. Misunderstandings and assumptions are never my cup of tea, but when Croft brought another woman to Carmichael's gym, on the night of their much anticipated first date, I got where she was coming from. I'd probably arrive at the same conclusion too. However, I wouldn't wait SIX MONTHS to get answers!!

Once these two had things sorted, their relationship evolved into something beautiful. Croft was all strength and intelligence and dominance, but Carmichael was no slouch. She gave as good as she got, she loved just as hard, and together they built something that could last.

I loved getting to see all of the other characters again and how they played a role in this romance, even a small one. I'm definitely looking forward to Shultz's story, which comes next year, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that these people will be making another appearance.

I'm a huge fan of this author's work and every story is a winner for me!

───── ❝ but... ❞ ─────

Aside from how much I enjoyed this story, it didn't get five stars because I had some issues with it, such as:
☆ Here's the thing, I practice law so when a story has a lawyer or some other legal professional in it, I can immediately spot discrepancies. I may no longer work in criminal law, however, when I did, I never went up against another criminal law firm in court or during any kind of proceedings except for instances in which they provided co-counsel or were counsel for co-defendents. So the idea that a rival firm would plant people at a high school and at another firm to get... something... sounds utterly ridiculous. So while it made for good drama, it wasn't realistic and had me giving a look of bafflement more than amusement.

Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.

Step Into My Web by Cynthia Eden

Standalone - Death and Moonlight #1
Release - October 27, 2020
Genre - Romantic Suspense/Thriller
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5/a couple of scenes
Format/Source - Kindle purchase
Length - 417 pages
Publisher - Hocus Pocus Publishing, Inc.

Step into my web…and you’ll never get out.

Chloe Hastings doesn’t like rules, and she doesn’t exactly play well with others. But she does have one amazing talent—she can get into the mind of killers like no one else. A police consultant and profiler, Chloe is definitely not like anyone that Joel Landry has ever encountered. From the moment they meet—in the middle of a bank robbery—she throws him off balance and pulls him under spell. She seems to have no fear, she plots constantly, and…Joel quickly finds himself trapped in her web.

She needs a new partner…and he’s just the man for the job.

There’s a sadistic killer hunting in the streets of New Orleans, and Chloe plans to catch him. First, though she needs a partner she can trust, and she’s decided that Dr. Joel Landry is the best fit for the job. Sure, he has a dark past. The doctor was attacked by a serial killer, but Joel survived while his attacker did not. Now the ruggedly handsome doctor has turned to the shadows. He’s learned how to hunt, how to fight, how to kill in a thousand brutal ways—in short, he’s acquired all of the skills that Chloe absolutely adores in a man.

He’s exactly what she wants. She could become the only thing he needs.

Together, they should be a perfect fit. She knows the minds of criminals better than anyone else, and Joel can protect her from any threat that comes their way. They’ll have one hell of a time tracking down the bad guys, provided Chloe and Joel don’t kill each other first. Another unanticipated twist for the new partners? Their attraction to each other is explosive, their desire uncontrollable. One reckless kiss seals their fate, and their need won’t be denied.

And neither will the killer who waits for his moment to attack.

Once you step into a spider’s web, there is no going back.

Author’s Note: Chloe Hastings always has a plan in play. Her investigations are unusual, her friends are generally on the shady side, and her social skills? Well, those are pretty much non-existent. But Chloe solves every case that crosses her path, and she never, ever backs down. When she teams up with her new partner, all bets are off. Joel is gorgeous, sinful, and about to break through every wall that Chloe possesses. He’ll fight for her, she’ll fight for him, and the criminals in their path had better get ready. There is a new crime-solving team in town.

Find your copy of Step Into My Web here:
Amazon * iBooks * Nook * Kobo

And this is why I will never ever question why Cynthia Eden is on my one-click list! Step Into My Web was on the right side of creepy (if creepy could be right) and gave me the thrilling story I was looking for.

After surviving an attack by a serial killer, Dr. Joel Landry was trying to get by. Surviving but not really living. He was scarred both physically and emotionally and Chloe Hastings believed she could offer him a way back. Be her partner. Help her catch a killer. Fall in love. No biggie.


There was so much to love about this story:
⭐ Chloe's mind, her secrets,her insights
⭐ Joel's strength and determination, his fight, his integrity, his endurance
⭐ the side characters that made their team — I hope to see more of them
⭐ the killings. I was seriously caught up in trying to find connections and didn't quite figure out whodunit until it was shown to me. I love to be kept guessing!

My only issue was the part about Chloe's ex, Morgan, who seemed to warrant more of an explanation. However, knowing that there will be another book, I'm hoping it will provide all that I found missing. I will definitely be one-clicking Save Me From the Dark when it releases in April.

"You're changing me. I feel like I've been sleeping. Or, hell, maybe I just haven't been living. Ever since that bastard put me in the ground, I haven't been the same. Nothing mattered. I dug myself out of the grave, but I felt like I was still buried. The days just passed and passed..."

"We should go —"

"Then I met you. You matter, Chloe. You matter." She'd changed everything for him.

She was searching his eyes. Searching —

"Joel?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Please touch me again."

Please. A fucking magic word. He slid his hand under her chin.

"Lean toward me.

He leaned close.

Her lips pressed to his. A soft, tender kiss. "You matter, too."

Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes sexy tales of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. She is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller. Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over one hundred novels and novellas.

Cynthia lives along the Alabama Gulf Coast. She loves romance novels, horror movies, and chocolate. Her favorite hobbies including hiking in the mountains (searching for waterfalls) and spelunking.

Wicked Cravings by Suzanne Wright

Standalone - The Phoenix Pack #2
Release - April 16, 2013
Genre - Paranormal Romance/childhood crush
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/frequent scenes
Format/Source - borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Length - 395 pages
Publisher - Montlake Romance

Despite having been besotted with Dante Garcea since she was a child, wolf shifter Jaime Farrow figures that it’s time to move past the crush. If he wanted her, he wouldn’t have ignored her flirtatious behavior, right? Hiding her intense attraction to him isn’t easy – especially now that they're part of the same pack again – but with bigger issues to worry about and with the submissive wolf act to maintain, Jaime is resolute on moving forward. Now if only the workaholic control-freak would let her…

As the pack Beta, Dante doesn't have the space or time in his life for a relationship. As such, he ignores his intense hunger for the willful – and sometimes crazy – Jaime. Yet when her flirtations abruptly end, Dante finds that he doesn’t like losing her attention. He finds something else too – Jaime's hiding something. Determined to uncover her secret, he sets out to break through her defenses, even though being around her intensifies his cravings for her. What he finds is a problem that Jaime is convinced not even a powerful Beta can solve.

After reading Feral Sins, I had to know what was going on with the rest of the pack. I was dying to see Trey again, see what other crazy things Taryn would find to say, and just spend time with these people who had become so familiar to me.

I was told to wait. Step away from the series and dive back in later, but I needed to do it NOW!

I should have waited.

I absolutely loved Dante, but I already knew I would because I already caught feelings for him in the first book. As Beta for the Phoenix pack, he took his job seriously. In Wicked Cravings, I finally found out what made this male tick. After falling in love and half-mating, he was ultimately betrayed and swore off lasting relationships. That's why Jaime's ridiculous crush on him was so irritating. At least it was until he lost her attentions.

It was a classic case of wanting, being pushed away, and then the chase. It was extremely entertaining. Actually, I found the entire story enjoyable. From Dante's hesitance to have something real to Jaime's battle with her traumatized wolf to the push and pull and fight for dominance between them. Even the side characters had me smiling.

So why should I have waited before reading this book?

Jaime was a heavily diluted version of Taryn. I don't care what anyone says to defend it because it's true. While there were many outrageous things Taryn did that I might have cringed at in real life, she got away with it. Jaime... not so much. She came off as rude and obnoxious and not nearly as funny. She was my least favorite character so far. It's not that I didn't like her. I just felt that she was doing too much.

My issues:
⭐ Dante compromised WAY too much. Where was this guy's head at? What the heck happened to this Beta? He was going to stand against Trey??? His funeral.
⭐ I was disturbed by the lack of consequences for Jaime. She constantly bucked orders, although she was new to the pack, hadn't earned a place, and was LYING to everyone, and she had NO PROBLEM being disrespectful and out of order.
⭐ Jaime basically challenged her Alpha and NOTHING happened. What kind of pack were they running???
⭐ the lies... I was so tired of the lies. Lies are what turn me off every time.

Will I continue with the series? Absolutely! Aside from my above issues, I really liked this story and its characters. While Dante and Jaime weren't as hot as Trey and Taryn, they still had amazing chemistry and their story had a uniqueness all its own.

Half an hour and a lot of cursing, growls, and cries later, they heard Taryn declare, "I can't do this! Just leave her in there. She'll be fine."

"You're doing really well," Lydia assured her.

"No, I'm done! I'm tired, I'm sweaty, I'm in agony, and why do I feel like I need to shit?"

"It's totally natural to feel that way," said Gracein a placatory, calming voice. "Some women even have one during labor."

"What?" The word dripped with horror. "Women can shit when they're in labor? Tell me that won't happen to me! Don't you let me shit, Grace!" A loud, lengthy cry signaled that she was having another contraction.

Trey's voice was soft and encouraging. "Just breathe, baby."

"I am fucking breathing! And why does this gas and air make me sound like Darth Vader?"

"Here, how about I move it out the way for —"

Don't you touch it," she growled at him. "It's mine. Understand? Mine."

"Okay, okay, you keep it, it's yours."

"Wanna try it?"

"No thanks, baby." His smile could be heard in his voice. The only time his tone ever softened that way was when he was talking about, or talking to, his mate. It was a tone totally reserved for her.

A loud groan. "God, here comes another one."

"You're doing so well, Taryn," praised Shaya. "I think you've only broken one of my fingers."

"I think I've had a shit, Shaya." The poor woman sounded distressed and mortified. "Have I, Grace? Don't lie to me."

"No, you haven't."

"I have, you're lying. Is she lying, Lydia?"

"No," Lydia quickly said, "you haven't, I promise."

"Shaya, why does it feel like the bed's floating?" Tarryn asked in a very loud whisper, though Jaime was sure that Taryn thought she was being quiet.

"Maybe we should take the gas and air from her," suggested Trey.

"Fucking try it."

"Stop gowling at me," he whined.

"I'm not fucking growling! You need a fucking hearing aid!" More cries of pain as another contraction hit. "Grace... I think I can feel the head."

"It is the head, Taryn," confirmed Grace. "On the next contraction, I need you to push for me, okay." A long pause. "Ready? Go."

"Push," encouraged Trey.

"I am pushing, doofus." A few moments later, there was a sob. "Why isn't anything happening?"

"I know you're tired, baby, but —"

"Don't you touch me, Flintstone, this is your fault! Don't think we're playing Hiding Pedro ever again!"

Shaya sounded stern yet amused. "Now, Taryn, that wasn't nice."

"Cut it out of me!" Presumably Taryn was totally ignored, because she growled, "Fine. Give me a knife, I'll do it!"

"One more, Taryn, and it'll be over, I promise. I need you to push really, really hard this time."

"What do you think I've been doing all along?"

In her words...

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing something, whether it was stories, poems, or even songs – though I can’t carry a tune. I only have one rule when I’m writing a book which is that it has to have a happy ending. Other than that, pretty much anything goes. I write stories that I would enjoy reading and then I just hope that others will enjoy them too.

I was born and raised in England where I live with my husband (a person who doesn’t judge me for hearing voices in my head – how often do you come across people like that?), and my two demanding children.