Lauren Dane - Revelation

He has the one thing she never thought she deserved. A place to belong...

De La Vega Cats, Book 2

At long last, Kendra Kellogg has found her sister--but she's no closer to filling the gaps in her past. The magick that brought them together makes them targets for dark mages intent on finishing what started with their mother's murder.

As if her life wasn't chaotic enough, in barrels the one thing she doesn't expect, Max de La Vega. He's six-and-a-half-feet of cocoa-brown alpha male. He's strong, intelligent, sexy and intense. Everything she'd wanted in a man. And he scares the hell out of her. Still healing from a disastrous past relationship, she wonders if she'll ever have that kind of forever.

The next in line to run his jaguar jamboree, Max is unused to hearing "no". Once he knows what he wants, he assumes he'll get it. And he wants Kendra. She deserves happiness and it's his mission to give it to her.

When dark mages attempt to steal her magickal energy, Max's cat agrees with the man--Kendra is his to protect and he will stop at nothing to keep her safe. She can push him away as hard as she likes, he's not going anywhere.

Warning: Prickly, grumpy witch, bossy alpha male, scorching hot sexual attraction, toss in some bad words, a little bit of violence and a whole lot of action.

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

Macon GA 31201

Revelation

Copyright (c) 2010 by Lauren Dane

ISBN: 978-1-60928-110-6

Edited by Anne Scott

Cover by Natalie Winters

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: July 2010

www.samhainpublishing.com

Revelation

Lauren Dane

Thanks go to Vivian Arend, who gave me this title after I'd been searching for some time.

Anne Scott who took me on when I needed a new editor--thank you for your endless patience and your fabulous edits (even if you won't let me say "just" every three sentences).

Various people who make my life better simply by existing--my dude, Ray, who fills me with happy, my kids who make my hair gray but keep me on my toes, my parents and friends.

And as always thank you to all my readers!

Kendra sat up in her bed on a strangled gasp, her hand outflung to ward off the danger she'd dreamed of. Before she could shake off sleep enough to call Renee to check on her sister, her phone rang.

She scrambled to grab it as the dream wore off and set her free.

"Yes? What's happening?"

"Kendra, can you come over please?"

Kendra shoved her hair from her eyes, getting out of bed and yanking pants on. "Jack?" she asked, recognizing her brother-in-law's voice. "What's going on?"

"Renee's had a dream. She's upset and she won't talk about it without you."

"Give me a few minutes. I'm on my way."

"Max is on his way to your apartment right now. I'd send one of my men, but he's closer and obviously capable of protecting you. Don't leave until you know it's him."

"I don't need an escort," she managed to say as she pulled on her bra and then a shirt. Max. A delicious warmth pushed away some of her panic. Still, it wasn't time for adolescent mooning over a boy she could never have. "I'll be there in five minutes."

"Kendra, your sister will kill me if something happens to you because you were attacked." Jack's voice lost some of its bite. "She's safe now. I know you're worried. Just sit tight. Please?"

She smiled, knowing he couldn't see her and also that he loved her sister with a ferocity she'd only ever seen in a shifter. For such an alpha male to break down and plead only made her more worried about her sister even as it pleased her that he clearly adored Renee.

She sighed. "Fine. Just keep her awake and don't let anyone inside until I arrive. If he's not here in five minutes, I'm going without him."

His sigh was way less tired and more agitated.

"What? Come on, Jack, I'm worried about her and she's there and I'm here. I can't wait all night. I'm worried. All right?"

"All right. And Kendra?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"I love my sister. It's not a thing."

She hung up and put on shoes while she brushed her teeth quickly. Max de La Vega was one of the hottest men she'd ever laid eyes on, the least she could do was not look like a hag when he arrived. They'd exchanged some looks. Mild flirting. Renee had told her he was dating a woman, another jaguar shifter, but had broken things off a few months back. Renee seemed to think it was about Kendra. She'd love to believe that, but he was not her normal fare. Like a five-star restaurant with all the dollar signs and she was that little pho shop down the hill that everyone loved because it was good and fit a budget.

Hm. That didn't necessarily sound right. But whatever, it was an argument she was having in her head, who would judge?

She heard the purr of an engine and looked out to the street where Max had just pulled up. Not bad. Four of the five minutes she'd given Jack. He probably drove like a crazy person, which given the situation, she appreciated as she jogged down the inner stairs and outside to meet him.

He--good sweet heavens--looked soooo good standing there on her stoop she nearly forgot her sister was in trouble.

"Did you look through the peephole before you came barreling out here?" he asked her in that voice, the voice she'd been thinking about since she'd first heard it nearly four months before. A rumble, a growl and sometimes if she was very lucky, nearly a purr.

Still, hello, she wasn't a five-year-old.

"Nope. I rushed out here with dollar bills pinned to my shirt."

He snorted, a smile hinting at the corners of his mouth. "Come on then, car's right there."

If by car, one meant a sleek, black jaguar. Which, okay, she laughed and he looked at her sideways.

"What?" He hustled her inside the still-running car, and he lectured her about opening her door? "You're a black jaguar, am I not supposed to notice your car is too?"

Without asking, he reached over and belted her in before squealing away. "Watch the upholstery, you're going to rip it to shreds."

"If you didn't drive like a maniac I wouldn't have to hold on so tight. Also, you left your car running! You lectured me on opening my door, which yes, I did look out first, I'm not a moron, and your car was unlocked and running on a city street in Boston at three in the morning."

"Who's going to steal from me, Kendra? Hmm?"

He had a point she supposed. "It's not like a thief is going to know you're some super-dooper alpha jaguar shifter."

He laughed then. "Oh little witch, you're so smart and powerful and yet, naive sometimes. Predators always know other predators. Or they become prey."

Oh.

"I'm nearly five nine, I'm not little."

"You are compared to me."

Hmpf. If he wasn't eleven feet tall that wouldn't be true. Then again, if he wasn't six and a half feet tall of delicious chocolate skin, he wouldn't be as ridiculously sexy as he was. Which would be a shame because he was the fodder for many of her best masturbatory fantasies.