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Stoned is coming soon!
Stoned, the second book in The Four, will be releasing on Tuesday. As in, this Tuesday. February 12th. Tuesday!
Holy crap, that was fast. Eek. I am so excited about this book. Juno is forever my girl crush heroine, FYI. I mean, lower your standards and expectations, but fingers crossed it isn’t a suck bucket. LOL, kidding… kinda. 🤣
This book picks up right where Styx leaves off. I’m not going to say too much about this because I know not everyone has read Styx yet, but even though it’s about a different couple, the story arc continues from the previous book. So, if you haven’t read Styx, or if it has been a while, spend the weekend curled up with some donuts or gummy bears, a glass or four of wine, and reacquaint yourself with Nate and Denny, and Juno.
And when you finish, pre-order Stoned HERE so it hits your kindle ASAP.
Chapter One
The Man with the Grapes and Chuckle
Juno
Present Day
“Send in the man with the grapes,” I muttered, throwing my arm across my face. Even with my eyes closed, the bright light hurt. “And a bath of goat’s milk and rose petals.”
A deep chuckle snapped me from my pharaoh-esque fantasies.
Shit.
My head and body ached so badly, my own pulse was pissing me off.
How many gummy bears did I eat? Is there a gummy massacre strewn around me? Their poor little heads missing, their gummy family weeping around them.
Or maybe I just knocked back a shot—or ten—too many.
I tried to remember the night before, but I was foggy and disoriented. It must’ve been a rager because I was hungover and loopy. If the masculine presence was any indication, I’d also hooked up with someone.
But since the world hadn’t imploded around us, I must not have come.
Rushes of strong emotion set off an uncontrolled blast of my power. I could have small orgasms, carefully drawn out in just the right way, but not the bed shaking kind.
On one hand, I was relieved to know I hadn’t caused mass destruction, but on the other… I mean, it was just disappointing that a sexy chuckle was all he was offering.
Laughs were important, but an intimate chuckle was hard to find.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” a deep voice asked.
Hmm. Mighty formal for a hookup. And I still don’t have my grapes.
“Yes,” I muttered. “Just waiting for an Adonis to feed me grapes from the vine.”
“Can we get a medic in here? She’s either hit her head or is in shock.”
Me, the good chuckle man, and a medic?
Now it’s a party.
Wait. This isn’t right.
Bolting upright, memory after long, long ago memory hit me at once. The break in, my stores, and the police.
My island, puritan hell, and Absolve.
The battle.
Denny and Nate.
Hades and Death.
My brother, Death.
War.
I’m War.
“Ma’am?”
Lifting my hand to shield my eyes, I looked up. And up. And up. The tall man took pity on my painfully craned neck and crouched down in front of me.
Holy shit, he’s got a good chuckle and he’s hot.
As soon as my eyes met his hazel ones, every molecule in my body came to life.
Him, they screamed.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Now? Really?
My other half, in all his sexy glory, reached to help me, but I ignored his hand and stood.
And almost fell.
Standing quickly, his arms shot out to grab my hips, steadying me. As soon as he touched me, something zinged through my body, tightening my nipples and cranking my heart up to an eleven on Spinal Tap’s amp.
His eyes widened, and the cold professionalism in his gaze was momentarily replaced with heat as his grip tightened.
He feels it.
The moment—along with his touch—was gone as he stepped away and cleared his throat. “Miss…”
“Keres,” I filled in. “But everyone calls me Juno.”
“Ms. Keres,” he said pointedly, backing up two more steps. “I have some questions about the break-in, but based on your current condition, they can wait.”
I swallowed hard, trying to contain my panic. “My current condition?”
Oh shit. He knows I’m high. Shit. Shit. Shit.
That’s it, I’m going to jail.
The clink.
Prison.
The big apple.
Wait, that’s New York City.
Damn, I’m going to jail without ever having been to New York City!
“You passed out,” he said, speaking slowly like he thought I was dumb. “Our medic is going to check you out. I’ll be in touch tomorrow to schedule a time for you to come into the station.”
I opened my mouth to argue I was fine but decided against it.
The detective studied me for a moment before stepping away to talk with the approaching EMT.
Tearing my gaze away so I wasn’t caught gawking, I turned my focus where it belonged.
My stores. My beautiful, nerdtastic stores.
They’d been destroyed by motherfucking Absolve. Fancy ass coffee beans were stomped. Board games were tossed around like a game night gone wrong. Expensive equipment was broken. And if there was a single comic book untorn, I’d be surprised. The whole place was a disaster zone.
They’d been after my lucky charms.
And not the ones in my cereal box.
“Heard you fainted,” the young and attractive EMT said, pulling over a chair. His smile was boyish—crooked and easy. “Sit down and let’s check you over.”
Once I sat, he crouched in front of me. Usually I’d enjoy the cute eye candy, but my eyes immediately went over his shoulder to land on the detective.
He was not cute.
Handsome, sure.
Hot, definitely.
Sinfully sexy and gruffly gorgeous, oh hell yes.
He was tall, and though most people were compared to me, his height was of the towering variety. Muscular, but not the jacked-up meathead kind. Lean, yet still thick. I was willing to bet he was ultra-cut under his pressed and tailored suit. His dark brown hair was clipped short and styled to look as professional as the rest of him. The only thing that looked out of place was the overgrown stubble that covered his strong jaw.
His hazel eyes scanned the room, his lips pressed into a thin line. I wondered if he ever smiled.
I doubted it.
“Keep your eyes where they are,” the EMT said, flashing a light in my face.
Great sacrifice it was, I stared at the detective for a few moments longer before the EMT gave me another task. I followed along, wanting to get it over with.
He, however, was prolonging the exam beyond thorough.
The EMT wanted to flirt with me. Actually, he wanted to do more than that. His thoughts were scrolling across his head like a newsreel.
Not bothering to read any more of them, my gaze drifted to the detective again but all I got was… nothing.
I couldn’t read him.
Not one single thought had come across the entire time I’d been talking to him. It wasn’t as though he’d been trying to blank his mind. Usually the thing people wanted to hide was what their mind screamed the loudest.
There was just nothing to read. No random bits and pieces. No fuzzy static. Just… nothing.
It was confusing, but I also kinda liked it.
“I’m sorry about your store,” the EMT said. “It looks like it was a cool place.”
“It was,” I answered honestly, my heart squeezing. Determination filled my veins. “And it’ll be a nerd’s paradise again soon.”
“I’ll have to check it out then.” He chuckled, but it was nowhere near as good as the detective’s.
My attention shifted without thought, and I looked at the detective to find his gaze was already on me. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were narrowed.
He knows you’re high. Your pupils are the size of dinner plates. He can smell the weed on you.
Wait, I don’t smoke.
Doesn’t matter, he can still smell it.
Irrational or not, my eyes widened and darted away. It would be a disaster if he decided my stores needed to be searched more thoroughly.
Or worse, my apartment.
“You check out okay,” the EMT said, packing his bag, “but you shouldn’t be alone. Do you live with anyone?”
My nod was met with a wave of disappointment emanating from him.
To be fair, there was a lot to be jealous of when it came to Tom. He’d always hold my heart, and I knew he’d take good care of me.
After listing off the symptoms I needed to watch for, the EMT left while internally debating just how unethical it would be to ask for my number.
Inhaling deeply, my body itched to jump up and get to work doing… something. Anything. But I couldn’t. There were no sales to make. No shelves to restock. No coffee to chug or magicks to make. Even though being surrounded by the ruins of my life was like rubbing road salt in a jagged wound, I couldn’t clean until the police gave me the go ahead.
Surprise tears burned in my eyes, and I vowed to make them pay.
I was War, after all.
Pick up Stoned to read the rest of Juno’s hijinks and the detective’s hotness!