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

chest. The action
sent Talon’s eyes southward to her breasts. She immediately dropped
her arms and rested her fisted hands in her lap. She really wanted
to punch the jerk.
    “They won’t be men,” he admitted, casting a
glance at his two friends. “They’ll be panthers.”
    “Oh,” she gasped, her eyes widening.
    “I’ll be leading the group,” Winter informed
her, putting her a bit at ease. She liked Talon’s
second-in-command. He had a smile that melted your heart ….not to
mention your panties. Winter Blue looked like he could be the boy
next door, with his blonde hair and ice blue eyes. His defined
muscles seemed to test the strength of the material in the borrowed
sweatpants. He kept a few days growth on his face and it was neatly
trimmed. “We just want to make sure you’re safe.”
    “Safe from what?” Nova demanded, standing in
the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, looking like a
younger version of Liberty.
    “Whatever it is that’s been creeping around
our property,” Liberty told her, standing up from her chair.
    “Did something happen after I went to bed?”
Nova asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “I heard voices and
decided to come down and see who was here.”
    Liberty offered her seat to Nova, and went to
lean against the counter. Talon filled her sister in on everything
that had happened up until Liberty had held a gun on them in the
yard. Nova listened, nodding occasionally.
    “I think Talon’s right,” Nova agreed after
she’d been told the entire story. “We have guns, but we don’t have
anyone else out here.” Liberty ground her teeth and hated to admit
that Nova was probably right.
    “Our kind are strong and fast,” Talon said,
rising to his full height. He walked over to stand in front of
Liberty. She had to lean her head back to be able to look him in
the eyes. She was an average height of five and a half feet, but
Talon towered over her. He had to have been six foot four or
five.
    “I have no doubt that you are strong,” she
snickered. “I’m sorry, but you guys are ginormous.”
    “With our…abilities, we also have superhuman
strength,” Winter added, his eyes on Nova, who was grinning like a
fool. “What?”
    “Told you my sexy romance books were spot
on,” Nova laughed, looking over her shoulder at Liberty. As Nova
got up from her chair, it was all Liberty could do not to run and
hide from Nova’s embarrassing confession.
    “Romance books?” Savage asked, his voice deep
and gravely.
    “Nothing,” Liberty bit out, shooing Nova out
of the room. “Go to bed. You have stuff to do tomorrow.”
    “No, I don’t,” Nova giggled.
    “Yes, you do,” Liberty stammered. “You…you
have to clean the backroom at the bar.”
    “What?” Nova gasped, but didn’t get a chance
to say anything else before Liberty placed her hand over her
sister’s lips, stopping any words that were next to fly out of her
dang mouth.
    “Go. To. Bed, Nova,” Liberty ordered,
shooting an angry look at her sister. Nova, being the smart one,
took the hint, but laughed all the way back to her room.
    “You need your rest, too,” Talon said.
    “That I do,” she said, suddenly feeling bone
tired. They’d been in her house for an hour already, and she found
that she liked them there for some strange reason. She’d think
about her feelings tomorrow when she’d had more sleep and time to
figure out everything that had happened tonight.
    “Can you give us a moment?” Talon asked his
men. They both nodded, wished Liberty a good night, and walked out
the back door.
    “What is it?” Liberty asked, taking a step
closer to Talon. That was one step too many because she could smell
him again, and damn if he didn’t smell amazing.
    “My scent attracts you,” he stated.
    “Do…what?” she gasped. “Excuse me?”
    “It’s the mating scent,” he said, then smiled
at her. She could’ve sworn his chest puffed out a bit, but...well,
maybe it did. Damn, she