Fiery Temptation
Fiery Temptation
Angels of Rock: Book Two
Marisa Chenery
Published: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-936950-45-4
Published by Summerhouse Publishing. Copyright, Marisa Chenery. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
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Editor
Craig Kim
Cover Artist
Mina Carter
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
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Neve pulled into the parking lot of the Calico Early Man site and parked her late model Chevy Aveo. She ran her fingers through her hair to make sure it wasn’t sticking up in any odd angles. Satisfied she didn’t look completely unkempt, she got out of the car and headed toward the small project building. In between jobs, she’d come today to see if there were any openings for a technician. She’d always had a fascination with fossils and early man finds. And given that it was only a fifteen mile drive from Barstow, California—where she lived—to the site, it was relatively close by.
Stepping into the building, Neve found a group of people waiting for a tour to begin. She’d taken it several times, enjoying the fact that those who took it were given the chance to do some excavating at a dig site. It didn’t take her long to spot the volunteer tour guide who stood across the room.
She crossed over to him and returned the smile he gave her. “Hi,” she said. “I don’t know if you’re the right person to ask, but I wondered if there were any positions available at the dig site for a technician.”
The older man shook his head. “Sorry to say, there aren’t any. But we do have a volunteer dig coming up in the next couple of months.”
Neve felt her spirits sink, but to be honest, she really hadn’t had high hopes of a position being available. The site was mostly run with volunteers, or Friends of Calico Early Man, as they were called.
“Thanks, anyway,” she said.
The man nodded, then added, “If you’re interested, I’ll be starting a tour in about five minutes. You’re welcome to join the group.”
Neve nodded. She was already out here and it wasn’t as if she had anything else she had to do. “I think I will.”
She headed over to the till where visitors could purchase souvenirs to pay the five dollar admission. That done, Neve joined the waiting group. Shortly after, as promised, the tour guide led them out of the building and onto the path that would take them to the main dig site.
As they walked the dirt and gravel path, Neve was thankful she’d worn her running shoes instead of sandals. The only thing she wished she’d brought was a hat to protect her from the hot sun. The site sat in the Mojave Desert with not much shade to speak of. At least, she had on a loose-fitting, short-sleeved blouse and jeans.
While the tour guide discussed the fossils and early man tools that had been found at the site, Neve looked up at the sky. Of course there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. Something suddenly caught her eye. She blinked, then it was gone. She scanned the sky, telling herself she hadn’t really seen what she thought she saw. There was no way in hell a winged man actually flew high above her. It had to be a trick of the eye, or the sun was getting to her more than she’d thought.
Neve continued walking, but slowed enough for her to be at the very back of the group. It had to be her eyes playing tricks on her, something they seemed to do at times. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d caught something out of the corner of her eye, only to see nothing there when she turned her gaze fully on the spot.
Still thinking about what she’d thought she saw, Neve looked up at the sky once more, using her hand to shade her eyes. Damn, did she just see a winged man again? She squinted, but once again there was nothing there.
Neve shook her head, her steps becoming even slower. Crap, she was going to do it. She had to go see if there really was something truly there. The second time she’d thought she’d seen him, the winged man seemed to be coming in for a landing past the main dig site, farther out in the desert. Even though she knew she was being ridiculous to think he was actually real, Neve had to see if she could find him. If she didn’t, it would drive her nuts thinking about it. Sometimes she was stupid that way.
As the tour group went to the main dig site, Neve slipped away unnoticed, heading into the desert. She was sure this little jaunt would end with her being a bit sunburned—with her fair skin it was inevitable—but she didn’t mind if it meant preserving her sanity.
Going over a small hill and rounding a corner, she just about jumped out of her skin when a man stepped out from behind a large Joshua tree. With his back toward her, Neve noted he had no wings, not that she expected to see any. As if he’d finally felt her presence, he turned her way, and she forgot about the supposed winged man along with everything else as she gazed at his face.
A pair of light green eyes stared back at her. She ran her gaze over his longish dark brown hair and oh so familiar face. Neve couldn’t believe she stood about twenty feet away from Jalen, the guitarist from the band Soar. Any red-blooded woman knew who they were. The five band members were more than drool worthy. Plus, Soar happened to be one of Neve’s favorite groups. What were the odds of actually meeting one of the band members out here in the Mojave Desert? Probably a million to one.
He stepped toward her and she swallowed to alleviate her suddenly dry throat. Jalen’s gaze didn’t seem to leave her face as he slowly walked toward her. What did one say to a famous rock star, anyway?
* * *
Jalen had flown from San Bernardino, where he and his band mates lived, to Barstow, then onto the desert, needing the much needed sense of freedom that flight gave him. After a year on the road touring, the band was pretty much doing their own thing these days.
Even though the band members didn’t stay in the same house, Jalen lived nearby Gannon, Keiran, Malik and Trae. Being what they thought were the last of their kind—the Alte—they had stayed close for the last thousand years.
And another had recently been added to their small group—Arwen, Gannon’s mate. Having been alone with no long-standing relationships with the human females around them, it had been a bit of a surprise when Gannon had shown so much interest in Arwen. It had taken a bit of adjustment to add her to their lives. She was the first human they’d revealed their true nature to, but she wasn’t exactly what she once was, anymore.
A short time after Gannon had met Arwen, they’d found out one other Alte had survived the illness that had swept through their people, wiping their race off the face of the earth. Even though he, along with Gannon, Keiran, Malik and Trae, had contracted the same illness, they had somehow survived, but not without being irrevocably changed. No longer mortal as their race had been, they’d been alive for well over a thousand years. The sickness had also changed their eye color to bright silver. Their senses had become heightened and they found they could manipulate the elements. They’d also realized they had the ability to hide what they truly were, to enable them to walk among humans. They could will their black wings away, making them appear as a large tattoo on their backs. They could also change their eye color back to what it had once been.
And to Vance, the other Alte who had survived, it had been a crushing blow to learn he’d been the one to cause the illness that had taken their people. Wanting to be the only of his kind, so humans would continue to worship him like a god, Vance had turned to black magic.
They’d learned firsthand how Vance had spread the illness, when he’d infected Arwen with it by brushing a powdery substance from his wings onto her skin. Only Gannon drawing almost all of Arwen’s life energy into himself, then giving her some of his, had saved her. After her escape from near death, her eyes were changed to silver and she was as immortal as they were.
Jalen soared over the desert, looking for a place to land. Able to bend light around him to make him appear invisible, he had no worries about any nearby humans seeing him. Flying over the early man site, he found the spot a little farther out in the desert.
He landed near a large Joshua tree and willed his wings away before he slipped on the t-shirt he’d tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He drew in a deep breath of the hot, dusty air. It smelled like home. The Mojave Desert had been the territory of the Alte. Jalen found himself returning to the area of his birth more often than not.
Stepping away from the tree, he heard a small intake of breath behind him. If his hearing weren’t so keen, he never would have picked up on the quiet sound. He turned and found a woman standing about twenty feet away from him. He couldn’t take his gaze off her. It wasn’t too hard for him to filter her scent out of the air. With each breath he took, it seemed to intoxicate him, causing him to focus completely on her.
Running his gaze over her, he burned to memory her shoulder-length dark auburn hair. In the sun, it was shot through with fiery-red highlights. He found her more than pretty with her small nose and kissable lips. Meeting her brown-eyed stare, his cock went rock-hard. Without really thinking about it, he sent out his senses to learn her energy mark, something all humans gave off and that he could read. With it, he’d now be able to focus on it and find her wherever she happened to be.
As he slowly walked toward her, the wind blew harder in his face, bringing more of her scent his way. He took a deep breath through his nose. His erection twitched inside his pants. The woman’s scent now carried the unmistakable odor of her arousal. He longed to pull her into his arms and claim her as his own. To sink his cock deep inside her pussy and ride her until they both cried out with their release.
Jalen came to a standstill when he was close enough to touch her, but he managed to restrain himself. She looked at him with recognition showing on her face as she opened and closed her mouth a few times.
“Hi…hi,” she finally stammered.
“Hi,” he replied back.
“Oh my god, you’re Jalen.”
He smiled. “I take it you’re a fan of Soar?”
She nodded. “Your band is one of my favorites. What are you doing out here?”
“Enjoying the desert air. What’s your name?”
“Neve.”
“And what are you doing here, Neve?” he asked as he took a half step closer.
She swallowed as the scent of her arousal increased. “I was over at the early man site. On one of the tours, but I thought I a saw flying ma…I thought I saw something and came out to investigate.”
Jalen stiffened. There was no way Neve could have seen him flying. She couldn’t have. With the light bent around him, no human eye would be able to detect him.
“Did you find this
something
you were looking for?” he asked cautiously.
Neve blushed. “No. Not that I thought I would. It had to be my eyes playing tricks on me. The only thing I found was you.”
He felt his muscles relax. Obviously, Neve hadn’t made the connection, even if she had truly seen him in flight. He gave her a half smile. “Was finding me a good or bad thing?”
“I’d definitely have to say it’s good.” Neve paused for a second, then said, “I’d ask you for your autograph, but I don’t have any paper or a pen on me right now.”
“Neither do I. How about I do one better? Let me take you out for supper. We could catch a movie afterward as well.”
She blinked. “You’re asking
me
out? As in a real date?”
He chuckled. “I believe I am.” Jalen stepped closer so the toes of their shoes met and looked into her eyes. “I’m finding I want to get to know you better and I think we’d have a good time.”