Inferno (38 page)

“Spare tire, Cyn. Put it on and get the hell to Vegas.” Popping my trunk, I—
What the
hell?
—Where were the jack and tire iron? I had forgotten to check for them in this car when I bought it from the used car dealership last week. Now that I needed ’em, they were nowhere to be found. Fan-damn-tastic. Time to call in reinforcements.

I opened the passenger door and fished around for my cell phone. Please, please, please let me have cell phone service. I was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, not daring to look. My breath whooshed out when I saw I had full bars. I pulled in a deep breath while I dialed my roadside assistance number. The number was programmed into my phone, just in case. You never knew when a Rambo-wannabe jackrabbit would hang on to your bumper and use his last breath to shred your tire. Fucking bunny.

I punched in all the appropriate numbers and listened to a recorded voice tell me to call 911 if it was a life threatening emergency. Well, duh. “Hello? I have a flat tire, and I need someone to come put on my spare—”

The woman dispatcher’s professionally concerned voice cut me off. “Okay, ma’am. Are you in a safe area?”

I looked around at the miles and miles of dirt. “I’m kind of in the middle of nowhere, but I guess I’m safe.”

“Good. Now where are you exactly?”

“I’m not sure. I’m eastbound on I-15 about a hundred miles west of Las Vegas. I don’t see a call box or any mile markers.”

“So, you’re east of Las Vegas—”

“No, I’m
west
of Vegas going east
toward
Vegas.” I rolled my eyes.

“What city did you just pass?”

Did I just speak English? I swear I’d told this woman I had no idea where I was. I was worried about Desi, not about where I might pop a tire. “I’m not sure. I know I’m about a hundred miles west of Vegas.”

“All right, ma’am. We’ll dispatch someone, and they should be there in about twenty to thirty minutes.”

“Thank you!” I could be with Desi soon, then. I shivered as the cold desert night air hit my bare shoulders and legs. Hurrying back to the driver’s side, I slid into my seat.

Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. Oh, good. Must be the tow truck driver.

“Hello?”

An older female voice responded, “Hi, Ms. Trent. I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to dispatch anyone until we know your location. Can you tell me exactly where you are?” I blinked. “Um. I already told the last lady I talked to.”

“Can you tell me again?”

Okay, stay calm
. I’d only been on the side of the road for about half an hour. Everything was fine. “Sure. I’m not one hundred percent sure of where I am, but I’m eastbound on I-15 about a hundred miles west of Las Vegas.”

“Are there any mile makers nearby?”

“No.” And I sure as hell wouldn’t wander around in the frigid ass desert to look for one.

She was silent for a long moment. “Um. All right, ma’am. We’ll dispatch someone, and they should be there in about twenty to thirty minutes.”

“Sounds good.” I sighed and dropped the phone on my lap.

Twenty minutes later, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

A pleasant male voice answered. “Hi, Ms. Trent. I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to dispatch anyone until we know your location. Can you tell me exactly where you are?”
What Happens When a Wicked Wizard Woos a Wary Witch?

Surrender Dorothy

© 2009 R.G. Alexander

Sequel to
Not in Kansas

Dorothy knows her new neighbor is too wicked to be trusted. As a natural witch, she recognizes the Wizard for what he truly is. As a woman, she recognizes him as a threat to her sanity.

Z has tried everything. Pursued her in dreams, bribed her cat, enticed her with peep shows meant to whet her appetite and drive her crazy. And still she resists. What’s a Wizard to do? He came to Earth to have an adventure, not lose his heart to the one witch whose guard he can’t get past.

When he finally gets his hands on her, the power between them is undeniable. But Dorothy’s family secret could make him sorry she surrendered.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Surrender Dorothy: He stood away from the wall, his fingers reaching up to undo the top button of his white linen shirt. Dorothy took a step back. “What are you doing?”

He took another step. “Earning your trust.” Another button undone. “I never had any interest in Emily. She was merely a way for me to get close to you. I never touched her.” Dorothy bumped against a piece of furniture, altering her retreat without looking where she was going. “You’re interested in everyone. You forget I had a bird’s eye view of just how interested.

Why should I believe you?”

He slipped the shirt off, and it dropped to the ground. Dorothy swallowed. He was beautiful.

The ruby amulet lay against his lean, smooth chest, stomach muscles rippling with his slow, deliberate movements as he continued to stalk her. “I was never intimate with any of them, not after seeing you, and you know it. I wanted you to know me. To know my appetites. To want me not in spite of them,”—he smiled—“but because of them. And don’t lie and say you didn’t enjoy every minute of it.”

She had. Dorothy heard the rushing of water and she looked behind her. He’d backed her into a room with a small waterfall. Steam rose from the heated pool at its base. This was a bathroom a woman could die happy in. But first she had to know.

“And Kansas?”

“He was fated to be the king’s consort. The magic of our world called him, but yes, I sent the storm. Yes, I was attracted to him. And yes, I slept with him. That
is
what you wanted to know, isn’t it?”

The waterfall blurred before her eyes. “Yes.”

“Look at me, Dorothy. Please.”

He was naked. Gloriously, unashamedly naked, aroused and looking at her as if she were the only thing he wanted in the universe. If only she could believe that.

He held out his arms. “I stand here before you, Zenamulous of the Crow Warriors, the king’s wizard, from a line of wizards dating back to the time of Transformation. I have never used my magic to increase my wealth or power, though occasionally I have used it to increase another’s pleasure. I have never repressed my passions, but I’ve never forced them on anyone either.” His chin lifted proudly, but Dorothy could see a hint of vulnerability darken his gaze. “And from the moment I saw you, I knew you were mine.”

The ball was in her court. She could see it in the way he held himself so still. He wouldn’t use words or powers to woo her, wouldn’t take her in his arms or sweep her off her feet. She would have to make the next move. She would have to choose to trust him…or not.

In spite of her pique, in spite of her insecurities and his past, the choice wasn’t hard at all.

Hadn’t she ridden a storm to find him? A few steps were nothing after that. She stopped directly in front of him, making sure he had a clear view. One twist of her fingers and the blanket fell silently to the floor.

His fiery stare scorched her skin. There could be no doubt he liked what he saw. His nostrils flared when she laid one tentative hand on his bare shoulder, skimming it down his arm to wrap around his wrist. He raised his eyebrow and she smiled, lifting his hand and covering it as it cupped her breast.

Dorothy closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of his hand on her. “Oh none of that.” Her lids lifted, startled at Z’s low command. “I want you to see everything. To look in your eyes as I make you come again and again and again.”

Just that quickly she was trembling, arousal coating her sex and heating her thighs. He inhaled.

“Makers, you smell amazing. I don’t think I can wait to taste you.” He knelt in front of her and she gasped, grabbing his shoulders as he pressed an open-mouthed kiss against her clit. He spread the lips of her pussy wide and flattened his tongue against her, as if he were absorbing her into his blood stream.

Z growled against her sex, the vibration weakening her knees until she was leaning heavily against him, her body bowing over his, hair grazing his back. He grabbed her waist, pulling her down to the floor and lifting her legs over his shoulders.

Dorothy lifted her head to watch him staring at her from between her thighs. She felt a moment’s insecurity. Her body was totally visible, completely open to him. He sensed her hesitation. “You have the most sensual body I’ve ever seen. Soft curves of silk and cream. I could drown in you. You are a goddess, sweet Dorothy. Let me worship you.” Her head fell back against the cool floor as he disappeared between her legs. She gasped when his tongue thrust deep inside her sex, his palms spreading her ass cheeks wide, opening her completely to him.

When his thumb, damp with her juices, pressed against her ass, she trembled. Hadn’t she fantasized, as she’d watched him entering that young, beautiful man, watching the look of pain and ecstasy on his angelic face as the wizard rode him that first night? Hadn’t she touched herself and dreamt of him inside her in that way? So forbidden. So wanton. Oh God.

He pushed through the tight muscles, biting her inner thigh at her groan. “No one has ever touched you here.” It wasn’t a question. “I will. I want you on your knees, begging for my cock in your ass. Shit, I could come just thinking about how you’ll feel around me. You’re so tight, baby, but you can take me.” He twisted his thumb inside her, and she screamed at the fullness.

“Not yet, but soon. Now I want to feel you come against my tongue, taste your sweet cream.” His actions matched his words, his tongue sliding deep inside her pussy, fucking her as he pushed his thumb in and out of her ass.

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