Uncovering Egypt Read online

  “I love to watch you this way. Everything about you turns me on,” he groaned. “Faster my queen, faster.”

  She rocked her hips, no longer feeling the weariness in her legs. A second wind had overtaken her.

  “You’re on fire,” he whispered.

  She felt alive. More alive than ever. Lust burned through her veins, fueling her adrenaline. He slid a hand down to her clit and rubbed at it. Her breath came quicker. She’d wanted to solely pleasure him, but he wouldn’t have it.

  His eyes bore into hers. “Are you with me, I’m close.”

  Jasmine nodded. Too close.

  He brought his hands to her hips and helped her ride it out to the point of no return. Her elated cry filled the room at the same time his release rippled through his body. She waited a moment before moving, wanting to savor every last second with him inside her.

  Satisfaction oozed throughout her body as the spasms finally let up. She sidled up to him contentedly, tangling herself into his arms. “You know, I wouldn’t mind it if you brought that body chamber in here. I rather enjoyed it.”

  His look was priceless. “Is your mind still on sex? I fear my queen has an insatiable appetite.”

  Her body knew no boundaries. “I blame you.”

  “If you remember, the body chamber was built for punishment.”

  Jasmine didn’t see it that way at all. “Yes, and the things you do to me are torture.”

  His boisterous laugh gave her goose bumps.

  “I will have a special body chamber made, just for pleasure. How does that sound?”

  “Even better.” Her lips still craved the taste of him.

  “Uh oh, I recognize that look in your eyes. It’s dangerous. You should try and get some rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

  “I look forward to it.” She lowered her hand and teased his cock. “However, the night is still young.”

  About the Author

  To learn more about Ann Cory, please visit www.anncory.com. Send an email to Ann Cory at [email protected].

  Look for these titles by Ann Cory

  Now Available:

  Under a Warlock's Spell

  Melting Iron

  Blame the Rain

  The Howl and the Pussycat

  Her day couldn’t get any worse—until the wolf shows up.

  The Howl and the Pussycat

  © 2008 Ann Cory

  Jacqueline’s sexy little Red Riding Hood outfit was supposed to rekindle her boyfriend’s flagging interest. Instead she’s red in the face and dumped for another woman. To add to the indignity, she finds herself pursued into the woods by a wolf.

  Somehow she manages to escape, only to end up with two new pains—a twisted ankle, and a sexy rescuer who claims he’s been searching for her all his life.

  After several decades of searching, Baldric is surprised that his destined mate is a provocative human woman with a catty attitude. Hardly a perfect match for a werewolf, but there can be no other partner for him. To seduce the woman he’s hungered for all his life, he’ll have to convince her hardened heart that he’s capable of love. And do it without scaring her off with the truth—that underneath his hard body beats the loyal heart of a wolf.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for The Howl and the Pussycat:

  “Don’t be mad. Nothing may come of this and then we can just pick up where we left off. Absence is supposed to make the heart grow fonder and such.”

  Her stomach churned. “Oh shut up. The absence is going to make me even more ready to be with someone else. You had your shot. Sorry I wasted three years on your ass.”

  She clicked the phone off and slammed it shut, uninterested in anything else he had to say. Glancing into the rearview mirror, she took a good look at her reflection. Pathetic. All dressed up and nowhere to go. If she went to the party alone, it would be obvious what had happened. She’d spend the entire night catching glimpses of Sophie in Ted’s arms whispering naughty little words into his ear. The office would be buzzing with gossip in the morning. A great day to call in sick. Maybe even for the entire week. She wanted to hit something, strangle someone and scream obscenities all at once. Men.

  Even more upsetting than Ted were the tears starting up. She hated to cry or admit defeat. Weakness sucked and so did getting dumped. Had he seen her dressed up like sin in heels, he never would have chosen Sophie. The whole idea of her costume was to get him to realize what a great thing he had with her. Brilliant plan gone wrong.

  Jacquelyn wiped at her eyes, careful to not smear any mascara, and blindly tossed her cell phone to the backseat.

  She froze.

  Was that a growl? She was about to turn and look behind her when a car pulled into the next space over, distracting her. A man in a dark blue jacket got out and ran toward the costume shop. For a split second she considered returning Ted’s wolf outfit, but the humiliation of explaining the situation to Cassidy quickly helped make her decision. Instead, she backed out of the parking space and pulled out onto the street. It would be a long, miserable drive back. She couldn’t believe how cold Ted had been. All the times she’d put up with his selfish ways and this was her thanks.

  Not even ten minutes on the road, a light drizzle started that instantly turned into a heavy downpour, making it near impossible to see.

  “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered aloud.

  Before Jacquelyn had a chance to start up a solo tirade complete with f-bombs, she heard the same low growl she thought she’d heard before come from the backseat. She straightened and tried to catch a peek in the rearview mirror, a difficult task with the rain pounding the windshield. The blood rushed out of her face the moment she caught movement in the mirror. Or so she thought.

  “What the hell?”

  Jacquelyn went to take a second look when the car hydroplaned. Knuckles tense, she gripped the wheel and rode it out, doing her best to keep the car steady. Judging by the unfamiliar signs she passed, she realized her exit had come and gone. Shivers crept up her back as she heard something rustle around behind her. Not willing to risk getting in an accident, she veered off at the next exit and turned onto a gravel road. She followed it just long enough until she came to a patch of trees. God she hoped it wasn’t some rabid raccoon or stray dog. Before she panicked, she decided to take a look.

  “It’s just your imagination. You’re fine. There’s nothing back there,” she reasoned aloud. With the car in park, she counted to five and turned around, coming face to face with a large gray wolf.

  Jacquelyn screamed and bolted from the car. The rain pelted her skin and soaked her cape, making it twice as heavy. She looked back once and noticed the animal bound from the car and come after her. It let out a howl that reduced her to half-screams, half-whimpers. Why the hell did she pick to run toward the trees? She should have run toward the road and flagged down a driver, though dressed in her outfit she worried who would stop for her.

  With only the newly risen moon to see by, she found herself running through a forest that stretched for miles. Old crippled trees surrounded her, looking like they would reach down and swoop her up into their gnarled clutches, a thought she quickly shook from her mind.

  “I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die,” she chanted to herself, trying to ignore her screaming calves and ankles. Not only was it murder to run in high heels, but her stockings scratched against her inner thighs. Talk about chaffing.

  She looked back again and saw the wolf still hot on her trail. God, why was it chasing her? Dumped, desperate and now some wild thing’s prey. Her heart nearly beat right out of her chest, thundering loudly as she ran. How had it gotten inside her car in the first place? Did it crawl in when she first went into the costume shop? Someone’s cruel joke at her expense? Damn Ted. It was all his fault…somehow…in a way that didn’t make any sense, but made her feel better to think.

  As she made it to a clearing in the woods, the rain let up, becoming a light mist. Just in time too
, as up ahead she spotted a small cabin. Maybe her luck had changed? She tried to forget about all the scary movies she’d watched where a young woman runs into what looks like a deserted house, only to become dinner and a show for a band of nasty little men. Though, the other alternative, her limbs being torn apart by fangs and devoured, left much to be desired. One way or another she was screwed. And here she’d planned the night to be screwed for pleasure, not pain.

  Jacquelyn fought the pain in her calves and ran toward the cabin like a madwoman, jarring her ankle hard in the process. Nothing, not even the grueling pain, would make her stop until she made it safely inside.

  At the door, she stopped a moment to catch her breath and tried to peek in through the window. No lights were on. Should she knock? Waking an angry old man might not be a good idea. Out of good manners or stupidity, she didn’t know which, she knocked. A branch snapped behind her followed by another eerie howl. The sound vibrated and made her queasy. She didn’t dare look back.

  As her hand closed around the doorknob, something grabbed her from behind. She heard herself scream, high pitched and blood curdling. Her knees buckled. Instead of falling to the ground, she felt herself being picked up and propelled over something curiously solid. Whoever or whatever it was couldn’t be good. Finally, the delicious black shrouded her vision, and she let it take her.

  She’s the only mate he wants. But love isn’t on the menu.

  What’s a Ghoul to Do?

  © 2008 Mardi Ballou

  Lilith P. Graves needs to get a life. A social life. This shouldn’t be a problem, since she’s partnered with her best friend in the “Fangly, My Dear” dating service. Problem is, she keeps falling for the wrong guys, and they don’t get more wrong than the super-hot alpha Rafe Graywolf.

  With the history of bad blood between her kind and his, the message is clear: Vegetarian demi-ghouls need not apply.

  Obeying the call of duty, Rafe took the role of alpha at a rough time for the pack. For the sake of stability, the elders insist he find a mate. Now. A dating service isn’t normally his cut of steak, but he has little time—or choice.

  But Lilith…now there’s a choice morsel he could sink his teeth into. Too bad they’re on opposite ends of the ghoul-werewolf social spectrum. Not to mention the food chain…

  Enjoy the following excerpt for What’s a Ghoul to do?:

  “Can I get you a drink?”

  A gallon of ice water might be a good start.

  “We really need to finish the questionnaire,” she murmured. “And it’s getting late. I have to get home.”

  He got right in her face. “What’s your first question?”

  It’s about the questionnaire. She swallowed hard. “What is your most important value?”

  Instead of answering, he kissed her. His lips, full and well-formed, brushed across hers with unexpected tenderness. The element of surprise caught her off-guard and intrigued her. Though she should have known better, she pressed her lips back to his, which evidently was all the invitation he needed to begin a deep plunder of her mouth.

  His powerful arms drew her to him as their mouths tangled. Was that his heartbeat or hers? In his embrace, she lost track of boundaries. He felt so strong, so sheltering, as she burrowed in his embrace. Her legs pressed against his, which he’d splayed in an effort to diminish the difference in their heights. She stood on her toes to reach up to him, but he still had to tilt his face down.

  He ground his erection against the sensitive area of her lower belly and groin. She wanted to have him in her hot, wet pussy. She’d creamed so much already, the silk of her panties bunched up into her folds like a tease. She needed to feel him there, to wrap her legs around him and have him plunge his dick deep into her. Shivering with excitement and anticipation, she surrendered to the moment and the man.

  Lips still latched to hers, he began to massage her back. The erotic friction of his hands on her, kneading her muscles and rubbing her, brought her to the edge of an orgasm. A hair trigger away from becoming a screaming meltdown, she imagined herself on a speeding train, out of control on lightning tracks.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered when they broke apart. Though her head told her he’d said the same words to many women and would say them to many more, they lodged in her heart and took root. He found her beautiful. He wanted her. Right now, it didn’t matter what had come before or what would come afterward. For this moment, she was beautiful to him. She would cherish his words always.

  For a moment, she tried to find a way to tell him to stop what was inevitable between them. Before she took him into herself, her rational voice chided, she still could hold something back. Once they became intimate, she would be lost.

  She didn’t care if she stayed lost forever. At this moment, she was ready to toss everything aside but the burning need for them to be together. He wanted her—completely, passionately, all the ways she’d always dreamed of being wanted. She could read his heart and soul with a startling clarity, each desire lit up with the light of absolute understanding. And she matched him in ardor. More than anything in the universe, she longed to expend her passion, her desire, on this man.

  “I want to make love with you.” His whispered words penetrated her soul.

  “Yes.”

  Hand in hand, the two of them ran to his bedroom. His king-size bed beckoned. In moments, he’d tossed back the blue and beige quilt to reveal pale blue cotton sheets. He tore off his clothes, then drank her in with his eyes as she gave up on a sexy strip and got naked.

  Usually, she felt shy about being naked with anyone, but tonight was different. With Rafe she had the strangest desire to display herself with pride, to offer herself. The way he devoured her body with his gaze, Lilith could have sworn he was responding to her whacko emotions. Under Rafe’s intense scrutiny, she unfurled herself, opening like a blossom at last encountering sunlight. His gaze warmed her. Though she didn’t make it a practice to jump into strange beds, her leap into Rafe’s bed felt exactly right. Kind of like Goldilocks. Oof. She wished her mind wouldn’t play such weird tricks on her.

  “I want to savor your beauty with all my senses.” Rafe towered over her in his naked glory. Impossibly, the man appeared even more gorgeous in the actual flesh than she’d imagined. His body was the ideal. Not even Michelangelo could have sculpted such magnificence. Lilith couldn’t decide what she wanted to do more—look or touch. Not to mention taste and smell. Like a starving woman invited to a rich one-time only banquet, she went into glutton mode and prepared to feast.

  “I must touch you, now,” he growled, climbing in alongside her.

  Touching his skin set off electrical impulses within her. Before now, she’d never realized how much pleasure could come from simple skin-to-skin contact. Was it the wolf in Rafe that made him feel so different to her fingertips? Realizing this magnificent creature, this total man, contained within him a different nature took her breath away, exciting and terrifying her. She was completely out of her depth. But more than breath itself, she craved the erotic intimacy their being together promised.

  “Lilith Graves, you are a very special, beautiful woman,” he murmured, tracing the contours of her body with his fingertips.

  She closed her eyes and focused her whole being on the moment. His masculine scent—pine and forest and something she couldn’t name but found appealing—made her head spin. She wanted to remember that scent always, to imprint it within her so she could conjure it up, so she could summon up the sense memory of being with him every day for the rest of her life.

  His breath seared her as he nuzzled the space between her breasts. She always felt self-conscious because she was bigger than most of the models in fashion magazines. Though people always said men liked big breasts, she hadn’t found that to be true—until now. Rafe suckled one nipple with gusto while he fondled the other and appeared not only to accept but to appreciate her as she was. She moaned with pleasure in response to the way his hand and mouth moved, the
things he did to her with each movement and breath. Most of all, she loved the way he savored her and awoke her to the wonders of her body. She’d never before realized how sensitive her breasts were, or how direct the connection was between her areolas and her clit.

  “Mmm,” she murmured. Her fingers wove into Rafe’s thick black hair. With his ear near her heart, Rafe had to be able to hear what he was doing to her, how her heartbeat sped with arousal. His skin heated her everywhere they touched, as if he wanted to share his inner fire with her.

  Never one to remain passive, Lilith reached for Rafe’s flat, taut belly. Her hand immediately encountered his huge pulsing erection and they both moaned at the erotic contact. Rafe Graywolf was exceedingly well formed. His cock felt like velvet skin over a marble core. He responded to her slightest movement. With the thrusts of his hips and his deep growly moans, Rafe let her know how much she pleasured him.

  “You are one delicious lady,” he whispered. Using his talented tongue and teeth, he began to nibble the sensitive flesh of her breasts. She shivered. Moving with infinite slowness and deliberation, he began to work his way down her aroused body with his teeth and lips.

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