He’s savage. He’s sinful. He’s everything I told myself I didn’t need.
But for just one night, I’ll give in to temptation. I’ll forget he’s a shapeshifter and that I’m not. I’ll forget the Pack would never approve.
Because after tonight I’m moving. Our paths won’t cross again. Only that one night gives me more than I bargain for and nine months later I deliver a bundle of joy complete with ten tiny fingers and ten perfect toes.
A year and a half later, I’m back. But this wolf is no longer the shifter of my dreams. Now he haunts my nightmares. And what is he going to think when he learns he has a son, one who isn’t a just a wolf?
“You shouldn’t have given me your innocence,” he says, a fierce glint in his eyes. “I’m going to ruin you for any man who comes after me.”
I bite my lower lip. Thank God I’m leaving tomorrow. This boy could easily become an addiction. This moment, these feelings, it’s more than I imagined. More than I ever anticipated. And a hell of a lot more than I’m ready for. But to hell with it.
“Do your worst,” I tell him. His eyes flash with silver, his beast drawn front and center. “Burn for me, mariposa. Burn.
Danielle Annett is a snarky AF Latinx Author. Born and raised in sunny California, she now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their three tiny terrors. She hates cheese—of all kinds—and yes that means she orders cheeseless pizza. She loves to talk (a lot) and is probably as extroverted as they come so feel free to shoot her a message, send a raven, throw up smoke signals. Whatever it may be. She love’s chatting with readers so feel free to stalk her.
After a scarring experience her freshman year of college, she’s decided she’d much rather have something fun than something serious.
Her best friend Miller has seen it all—the tears, the parties, the drunken phone calls at four in the morning when she needed a ride. In fact, there might be several things Miller saw that Jo herself can’t remember.
Things Miller can’t forget.
With the whirlwind of senior year underway, Jo just wants to move on, get her degree, and land her dream job. But her past might not be as easy to outrun as she’d hoped.
The Anti-Relationship Year is a friends to lovers college romance that acts as a companion to The Anti-Virginity Pact. Both books can be read as standalones.
She sucked in a lungful of air as she plunged out the side door. The night was cold, but every inch of her skin felt like it was on fire. She scowled at the line of people waiting on the driveway—it would take forever to get a DD. The music pulsed out onto the lawn, and she covered her ears, trying to block out the words.
When that didn’t work, she started walking.
“Where are you going?” someone yelled after her, but she ignored them and headed across the backyard while simultaneously trying to get her phone out of her bra. She squinted at the screen, trying to force her vision to focus, and jabbed the call button, hoping she’d found the right contact.
“Hello?” Miller’s voice was rough, like she’d just woken him up. She squinted again at the screen, trying to see the time.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—have called. It’s late.”
“Jo?” There was rustling in the background. “Where are you?”
“I’m f-fine. I’m just gonna walk home.”
“Walk home?” Miller’s voice was clearer now, louder. “Jo, it’s like ten degrees outside. Where are you?”
“It’s only like a block from the frat houses. I’ll be finnnne.”
“Jo, that’s like three miles. I’m coming to get you.”
Jo paused on the sidewalk and glanced both ways. The street was utterly empty, and her vision was too blurry to see the signs. “Which way do I go again?”
“Jo,” Miller snapped, his voice suddenly hard. “Stop walking. Go inside somewhere. I’m leaving the dorm now.”
“It’s a little cold out here,” she mumbled.
“You think?”
“Miller.” She sighed, paced back over to the grass, and laid down. The entire world wobbled around her, the ground bobbing up and down like she was on a boat. “I’m a liiiiittle drunk.”
“I can tell.”
She pushed her bottom lip out. “Are you mad?”
“No, Jo, I’m not mad.” She heard a car engine roar to life on the other end of the phone. “Are you inside?”
“I’m in some grass.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. “Okay, I’m using Find My Friends. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Can people freeze to death in five minutes?”
“Not people who go inside. What are you wearing out there anyway?”
“Ooooh, what are you wearing?”
“Jo.”
She sighed, put the phone on speaker, and tossed it aside so she could run her hands through the grass. It was hard and crunchy, like it had frosted over, and she realized her teeth were chattering. Maybe a tube top hadn’t been the right call. But it had been so hot inside the party.
“You have a hot over-the-phone voice, Miller,” Jo murmured. “You should be a phone sex operator.”
He made a choking sound.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed before headlights appeared on her right, and Jo sat up, squinting against them. If it wasn’t Miller, whoever was behind the wheel was probably going to think she was dead lying there. She climbed to her feet, then doubled back for her phone. When she turned around again, the car was stopped in the middle of the street, and the driver’s side door flew open. Miller appeared in pajama pants, bare feet, and a hoodie. He hurried toward the sidewalk, yanking his hoodie off as he went, even though he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Before Jo could react, he tugged the sweatshirt over her head. She blinked at him—or the two versions of him—standing in front of her. He had abs? Since when did Miller have abs?
Katie Wismer is a diehard pig-lover, semi-obsessive gym rat, and longtime sucker for a well-written book. She studied creative writing and sociology at Roanoke College and now lives in Colorado with her cats Max and Dean. She spends most of her free time on her Youtube channel Katesbookdate where she chats about books, life, and veganism. You can find her online at katiewismer.com or @katesbookdate on Instagram and Twitter.
“Then, trust that I know what I’m doing. I’m not as weak as I let everyone believe, even you. There are reasons why I’m doing things the way I am. When I have all the pieces lined up, there’s going to be a lot of truth tea spilled. Tea that Uncle is going to drown in.”
“And Nik is part of the plan?”
“He’s…” I trailed off as my gaze locked on the very man.
He stood in the hallway outside of the ballroom with a phone to his ear. His dark, penetrating gaze studied me in a way I should have been used to by now, but always felt as if it was the first time. Everything inside me clenched in response.
Fuck.
He was gorgeous in the way that gave a woman heart palpitations, and no woman around him was immune.
Those broad shoulders and muscled arms gave truth to the rumors he spent more time than not in the boxing ring and probably meant there wasn’t an ounce of unnecessary fat on his body. Then there were those piercing almost-black eyes that seemed to see too much with a simple look. And finally, his face looked as if it had been created by the discerning eye of a sculptor’s chisel, but was the result of the beautiful union between his Afro-Trinidadian mother and Indian father.
The one thing that kept him from looking too perfect was the dusting of a beard, which only added to the unrefined edge he carried naturally. His whole aura made a woman think of all the wickedly delicious things he could do to her body.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to run my fingers across his jaw just once. Or to kiss those lips I’d dreamed about over too many restless nights.
Nope, dammit, Danika. Don’t go there. Put him back in that box of impossibilities. Well, at least for a little longer.
Maybe one day I could allow myself a taste, or if I was lucky, a night to indulge.
“What are you looking at? Oh.” Jayna nudged me, snapping my attention back to her. “Are you sure you don’t want Nik to be a bigger part of your plan than these games from afar?”
I swallowed, pushing down my thought from moments earlier, and said, “He’s a complication I can’t afford right now.”
Inspired by her years working in corporate America, Sienna loves to serve up stories woven around confident and successful women who know what they want and how to get it, both in – and out – of the bedroom.
Her heroines are fresh, well-educated, and often find love and romance through atypical circumstances. Sienna treats her readers to enticing slices of hot romance infused with empowerment and indulgent satisfaction.
Sienna loves the life of travel and adventure. She plans to visit even the farthest corners of the world and delight in experiencing the variety of cultures along the way. When she isn’t writing or traveling, Sienna is working on her “happily ever after” with her husband and children.
