Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) by Theresa Hissong

Talon had moved his seat closer to hers. He was still holding
her hand.
    “Like one of us?” Winter asked. He’d been
quiet up until then, only listening to her and Talon’s
conversation.
    “I think so,” she answered hesitantly. “Like
you, but not you. I don’t know. It was a bit breezy. It could’ve
been anything. Maybe it was coming from the dumpster. God knows
that thing stinks on the weekends before it’s picked up on
Monday.”
    “What else?” Talon urged, taking his thumb
and rubbing it slowly across the back of her knuckles.
    “When we arrived here, I was unlocking the
door and heard a branch snap out in the woods.” She pointed in the
direction where she’d also found the three of them. “I thought
maybe it was you.”
    “It wasn’t me,” he cursed. “Liberty, I’m
worried we may have a rogue loose in the area. I don’t know why he
came here. Maybe he was just passing through, but I don’t like this
at all.”
    “But I thought your kind weren’t dangerous,”
she stated, looking at each of the men.
    “We can be,” Talon replied, his voice
dangerously low. “But we don’t hurt women…ever.”
    “Okay,” she said, drawing out the word.
“That’s good to know, I guess.”
    “Where’s your phone?” he asked, finally
releasing her hand. She wanted to reach out for his warmth again,
but didn’t. Instead, she stood up to retrieve her phone from her
purse. When she returned, he was frowning at the gun she had left
on the table. “Do you know how to use that thing?”
    “Yes,” she chuckled, handing over her phone
so he could enter his phone number into her contacts. “I’ve been
handling firearms since I was six years old. My daddy taught me how
to be safe around guns, and I’m a damn good shot.”
    “Do you have no fear, woman?” Winter asked,
shaking his head. “Never go out into a dark area to confront three
men in the woods.”
    “I was perfectly fine,” she said through
gritted teeth. “It stopped you, didn’t it?”
    “That’s because we were a friend, not an
enemy,” Savage offered, finally speaking up.
    “I’m going to send some Guardians to watch
over your property for a few nights,” Talon said, his tone telling
her his decision was final. But Liberty wasn’t one of his pride.
“If you have any problems, you call me immediately.”
    “Um, no,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “I
don’t need men around here, walking through my property at
night.”
    “I wasn’t asking you,” he argued, leaning
forward. She felt a wave of power emanate from his body, only
freezing her for a moment, before she shook herself and
laughed.
    “You can’t use that mystical mojo on me,
buddy,” she replied. “I’m human, remember?”
    “That’s the problem, isn’t it?” he muttered.
Liberty tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at
him.
    “Excuse me?”
    “With all of the excitement of our
announcement,” he started saying, then paused, looking deep into
her eyes. It was as if he was gauging something. Like he was
possibly trying to decide what or how he should say what he needed
to say.
    “Out with it, Talon,” she ordered, leaning
forward so they were almost nose to nose. This man thought he’d
come in here and boss her around? That was not happening.
    “There are things you do not know about
us…things you have no business knowing,” he snarled, a bit of amber
bleeding into his ice blue eyes. “Can you just let us keep an eye
on the place for a few days?” As soon as Talon started to relax,
Liberty raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if he would continue. He
didn’t, and she was glad because something inside her didn’t want
this man to be angry with her. Hell, she didn’t even know him and
for some reason, she wanted to… please him? She barely contained an
unladylike snort.
    “I don’t want men hiding in the woods,
watching my house. That’s a little creepy,” she complained, leaning
back in her chair and folding her arms across her