Magic is Only Skin Deep: Paranormal Women's Midlife Fiction (Supernatural Midlife Mystique) (Shrouded Nation Book 6)

MAGIC IS ONLY SKIN DEEP SUPERNATURAL MIDLIFE MYSTIQUE SHROUDED NATION BOOK BOOK SIX BRENDA TRIM TIA DIDMON CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 EXCERPT FROM A Demon is as a Demon Does BOOK #7 About the Author Also by Brenda Trim Also By Tia Didmon CHAPTER 1 Rolling over, I smiled when I looked at the man in my bed. Hunter was beyond anything I ever dreamed I would have in a partner. He’d overcome his hatred for my kind and trusted me to help his pack. That was a major win in my book. And then he’d developed feelings for me. So much had happened in such a short time. My mother thought I was an abomination. The Shrouded Nation no doubt agreed with her, and I had lost everything. Yet, I was ridiculously happy. There had never been a time when I woke up filled with lust for the man lying next to me. I loved Caton at one time, but I had never felt this consuming desire for him. It baffled me because Caton was a good-looking man. Hunter, though, had this animal magnetism that drew me like a moth to a flame. He was utterly perfect. My gaze ate up the way the sun bathed the muscles in his back. I ran a hand down his arm, shivering when my fingers traveled over his biceps. Unable to help myself, I leaned over and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. I needed a shower so I could continue organizing the new shipment of replacement products for the store downstairs. My libido seemed to be in charge lately. It didn’t care that I hated kissing before my teeth were brushed in the morning. A squeal escaped me when Hunter moved so fast. I barely had time to register that he was awake before I found myself pinned to the mattress beneath him. “You wake the wolf, you play with fire, Buttercup.” He lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me so deeply I melted into a puddle of desire. My hands roamed over his naked body, fueling that fire. My nipples pebbled and scraped across his flesh. He swallowed my moan of pleasure. Never before had I understood why people liked sleeping without clothes. I now understood with perfect clarity why many preferred it. Just as I was getting into things, he lifted his head and gave me one of his sexy smirks. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” I squirmed, trying to move so his hard length was pressing into my aching core. The delicious rub of his skin against mine made my back arch. “Are you going to talk all morning, or do something about what you’ve started?” Hunter’s laughter vibrated through my body, igniting my nerves in an erotic way. His mouth lowered to my neck and traveled down the side, then lower. The sound of my favorite Taylor Swift song blared through the room as Hunter’s lips closed around my left nipple. Groaning, I glared daggers at my cell phone. “Ignore it,” he urged, as his mouth sucked the pebbled bud into his mouth. That was easy enough. The song stopped, and I grabbed his head, smashing his face into my breast. He obliged me by licking and teasing my nipple. My hand traveled down his back and latched onto his backside. Mid-yank on his ass cheek, his phone began ringing. Neither of us registered the noise until the song on mine started back up. My arms flopped out to my sides. The groan that left my mouth then was filled with frustration. “Dammit to hell. Whoever is calling is going to get their ass kicked.” Hunter growled as he rolled off of me and grabbed his phone. His pack knew better than to call him unless it was an emergency situation. The fact that both of us were being called told me something serious was going on. Ever since the council chambers were destroyed by Ayesha, life had been complicated. Honestly, my life hadn’t been the same since the virus popped up months ago. A snarl left me when I saw my ex-husband’s name on the screen of my cell. Talk about cock-blocking. Looking at the phone was like having a bucket of ice-cold water poured over my head. My arousal vaporized like smoke in the wind and was replaced with white-hot rage. Coming into my own was fabulous in more ways than one. Allowing my anger at Caton free rein was at the top of that list. I’d spent over twenty years smashing it down and plastering a smile on my face. Letting it go now was like coming up for air. Hunter answered his phone with a gruff hello. I wrapped my robe around my shoulders, not wanting to be naked when talking to my ex. Taking a deep breath to fortify myself, I accepted the call. “What do you want, Caton?” “Is that any way to greet the father of your child? You forget I spent twenty-plus years supporting you completely, Eve.” I ground my teeth together so hard my jaw cracked. “Controlling someone is not the same as supporting them, Caton. What do you want?” A huff crackled through the speaker on the phone. “You’re needed at the council chambers. It’s an emergency.” “My hourly fees start now,” I replied, then hung up. I’d warned them that the patch I’d done on the ley lines supporting the magic of their lofty headquarters wouldn’t last. When Ayesha blew up the ley lines and the building, the dark energy she’d used had caused enough damage that the juncture would never regain the power it once had. I’d checked various locations along the pathways branching off that central meeting place over the last month to make sure the black