Bingeable read at it’s best
Longing was amazing. I tried really hard not to read it all in one sitting but let’s just say it was so good it shot my self-control out of the sky. Excellent plot, thrilling twists, lovable characters, and so much emotion! Shane and Lucy were a great continuation to the Legatum series. October is too far away for the next book but I know after reading the rest of the series it’ll be worth the wait! ~ an Amazon reader
Shane hates everything about his past and prefers to live as if certain events never occurred. Except for one, meeting Lucy. He can’t let Lucy go, he can’t have her either.
A chain of events puts Shane in Lucy’s presence in time to be there for her while her marriage falls apart and as her troubling past weaves its way back into her life. In order to have a future with him, she goes in search of closure, only to discover her past holds more deceptive secrets than she ever imagined.
The wolf barked. It was deep and menacing, a roar of a sound. Everyone froze and listened. A car had pulled into the driveway. The engine cut off. They heard the thud of doors closing and indistinct voices.
“Dad’s here.” Justin’s entire being sank, his posture folded, and his voice sounded shaky.
Lucy went to pull him into a hug, but the wolf lunged between them and sailed over the back gate. Justin bolted after him. “Holy crap, did you see that?” He opened the gate and ran after the dog.
Stacey stood. “I’m gonna try to catch him too. I really don’t want to see Dad either.”
Lucy nodded. “I understand. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t find the dog. I’m sure he’ll come back here when he’s ready. Hey, Stace, I think you should call him Fang or Magnum.”
Stacey paused and looked at her mother. “Oh, how about Remus or Sirius?”
Lucy chuckled. Shane now being associated with the Palatine family, he would not appreciate a connection to Remus. Not when his adopted family was a direct line of descent from Romulus, founder of Rome. Even though that’s not the Remus Stacey was referring to.
“Definitely not Remus, and not Sirius. He’s not black, he’s gray. Go on. I’ll deal with your father.”
Lucy stood as she watched her daughter tear after Justin and the wolf, usually known as Shane. Lucy slid the glass door closed behind her. And followed the shrill sound of Chrissie’s voice into her living room.
“We’re gonna need new furniture; you can let her keep this old junk. I don’t—”
“Get the fuck out of my house.” No greeting. Lucy came straight to the point.
“This isn’t your house, Lucy.” Geoff started to posture and puff out his now seemingly meager chest. She’d been hanging out with Shane too much lately. Everyone was small compared to him.
“Bullshit it isn’t. You left us; the property is in my possession. Get out of my house.” Lucy stood still. It took all her control not to shake. Damn Shane. Fine time to run away. She could use his strength right about now. Like he had so many times in the past, he would press against her legs while she gripped his scruff and found strength and comfort from his warmth. A low, menacing growl wouldn’t go unappreciated either.
The front door burst open, and framed in the afternoon glare stood Shane in all his muscular human glory. The mirrored sunglasses were a beautiful menacing touch. For a split second she wondered where he had hid his clothes to have gotten dressed so fast.
Lucy did not miss Chrissie’s inhale of fear, nor how she shifted behind Geoff.
“Gee-off.” Shane mispronounced the name in a way he knew that irritated the other man. Lucy smiled. Good guard dog. He took three long strides straight up to Lucy and twirled her into his arms, pinning her tight against him.
She knew exactly what he was doing, and she loved it. Showing off, oozing sexual prowess, flexing his muscles, and pushing every last one of Geoffrey’s buttons, from the mispronunciation of his name to continuing the ploy that there was something between her and Shane.
She ignored the slight butterfly flip that pulled at her core as a release of fear, as the rush she sometimes got from a fresh infusion, and nothing more.
“Hey, baby,” Shane purred in a deep rumble. He nuzzled Lucy’s ear. “Do I have to play nice?” he whispered.
“Not at all.” She laughed. She could feel the heat of Geoff’s rising blood pressure from where she stood. The combination of fear and attraction rolled off Chrissie in such thick waves even Lucy could smell it. The smell was tangy and full of rich blood. Shit. She pushed out of Shane’s grasp as senses she tried not to engage took over. Chrissie had the very distinct smell of…
“She’s fucking pregnant?” The screech tore from Lucy’s throat as she lunged for Geoff.
Shane caught her around the middle and held her tight. “Lucretia.” He said her name in a calming tone. He had to repeat it a few times before Lucy heard and stopped thrashing in his arms.
“How does she know, Geoffrey? We haven’t told anybody yet.” Chrissie’s voice was small, scared.
“She doesn’t know. She was just guessing. But you basically just told her.” Geoff snapped at his girlfriend. He held his hands out as if to calm Lucy down. “Look, Lucy, we just came to check out a few things. I wanted Chrissie to see that the place is plenty big. She wants to start picking out colors so she can—”
“She can’t do anything. This is my house.” Lucy seethed and spit the words from between her teeth. She struggled against Shane’s viselike arm around her like some superhuman belt-of-steel muscle.
Shane chuckled. “She can leave, and she can take you with her. This is Lucretia’s house.”
“You can’t stop me in this, Shane.” Had Geoff lowered his voice to sound more menacing? Middle management was no match for six feet of solid alpha brute muscle.
“You gonna try me?”
“Come on, Geoff, let’s get out of here. We can come back some other time.”
Lucy glared daggers as the couple finally began to leave.
Before she could say anything, Shane cut in, “That wouldn’t be a good idea. I heard they got a nice big guard dog who will rip out your throat at the drop of a hat. And I’m changing the locks tonight. You won’t be getting a key.”
Geoff started toward Shane, it was a brief twitch of movement in the wrong direction before he caught himself and guided Chrissie out the front door.
Lucy relaxed, her muscles melting into lumps.
Shane released her.
“Thank you. Your timing…” Lucy sighed, unable to put her feelings of relief at not having to face Geoff and Chrissie alone into words.
Shane reached out and lifted her hand in his. “I will always be here when you need me. I promised you that a long time ago. It still holds true.”
Lucy sniffed and threw herself into his arms for a comforting hug. “You always have my back, don’t you? Looks like I’m gonna need you to be my rock for a bit.”
“Shane!” Justin tackle hugged Shane and his mother. “When did you get here?”
Shane reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “How’ve you been, man?”
“Eh,” Lucy heard the false bravado in her son’s voice. “I was kinda watching for Dad’s car to pull out. I didn’t see you though. You must have showed up while I was off chasing the dog. Oh, Mom, did you tell him about the dog? She said we could keep him.” Justin’s excitement took over, and his words rushed out.
Shane stepped back from the group hug and smirked. “A dog, huh? What are you gonna call him?”
“Dogstar,” Justin announced triumphantly.
Shane cringed.
ISBN: 978-1948059633
ASIN:
Publish Date: April 25, 2026 by Gryffin Ink
Book 4 of 8: Legatum
| 310 pages |
What do you do when your imaginary friends start pestering you with images of sexy male strippers and hot were-shifters? You write stories about them. Well, that's what I did! Oh, and then I combine them and toss them in a kilt for good measure!
Hi, my name is Lulu and I write sexy hot contemporary and paranormal romance. Welcome to my website.
Making the Para "Normal" and the Supernatural Extraordinary.