The Reluctant Amazon (Alliance of the Amazons) Read online

  The Reluctant Amazon

  By Sandy James

  The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don’t, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.

  An immortal, Artair has trained countless warriors for more than four hundred years. He understands Rebecca’s confusion at the new world she’s been thrust into and worries she is too emotionally vulnerable, but that doesn’t stop his growing feelings for the beautiful and fearless woman.

  When an evil force threatens to destroy the Amazons, Rebecca must claim her full powers—but they come at a cost. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world?

  96,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  I celebrate my wedding anniversary in September, and that’s why I think of it as my month of romance. Even after eight years, the romance is still alive in our relationship, I’m married to my best friend, and I’m living my very own happily ever after.

  That’s why I’m thrilled we’re kicking off Shannon Stacey’s return to the hunky and delicious Kowalski men with the first of three back-to-back Kowalski contemporary romances this September. It feels like my very own celebration of romance! Meet Mitch Kowalski and enjoy the ride as he finds his true love in Paige Sullivan, in All He Ever Needed. Look for Ryan’s and Josh’s stories in October and November 2012.

  September is truly a month of romance at Carina Press, with all but one of our releases falling in this genre. If you find yourself wanting to remain in the here and now, be sure to check out contemporary romance Finally Home by Helen Scott Taylor. Catch up with the Men of Smithfield in L.B. Gregg’s contemporary male/male romance Men of Smithfield: Max and Finn. And take a chance on Rebecca Rogers Maher’s Fault Lines, a moving and emotional contemporary romance that had our team members calling it “amazing” and “gripping” while extolling its virtues at our acquisitions meeting.

  If you’re looking for adventure, intrigue and romance with a fantasy flavor, this month we kick off Sandy James’s fantastic Alliance of the Amazons series. Rebecca Massee discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to

  keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world? Find out more in The Reluctant Amazon by Sandy

  James. Joining Sandy in the realm of otherworldly releases, Annie Nicholas’s Starved for Love is a delightful and thoroughly erotic tale of a succubus who wants nothing more than to be loved, and an incubus who doesn’t believe in anything but lust.

  Look no further than Fae Sutherland’s male/male space opera romance Sky Riders for a galactic adventure that will leave you longing for the days of Nathan Fillion, Serenity and Firefly. And if Sky Riders isn’t enough of an escape from planet Earth for you, then Blue Nebula by Diane Dooley will surely please science-fiction romance fans.

  Fans of comics, superheroes and The Avengers should check out our two newest superhero releases. In How to Date a Henchman by Mari Fee, our hero proves that it’s not always the superheroes who are the most heroic—sometimes it’s the henchmen who save the day—and get the girl. Yesterday’s Heroes by Heather Long poses the question of what might happen when two superheroes have different goals. Drawn together by passion, and on a collision course with fate, can Rory and Michael work together to change the future? And though not a superhero romance, J.K. Coi’s steampunk romance Broken Promises, a follow-up to Far From Broken, brings back super-spy Jasper and his modified wife, Callie, for a continuation of their romance as Callie joins Jasper in the world of spies, danger and intrigue.

  Also this month we’re rereleasing Christine d’Abo’s three erotic contemporary novellas into one bargain-priced bundle. Get all three novellas in the Long Shots Bundle for $6.99. BDSM, ménage, love and hot, sexy, intense encounters—this bundle has it all. Buy it now and find out what makes sex club owner Josh so appealing before he makes his appearance in his own novel, Calling the Shots, in October.

  Last, though the month of September is filled with romance of all designs, it also brings with it one rich, engrossing and compelling historical mystery in Tainted Innocence by Joss Alexander. Fan of authors such as Deanna Raybourn and C.S. Harris won’t want to miss this engaging debut novel.

  Celebrate my month of romance with me this September and try one or two (or five or six) of our new releases. You’ll find new authors to love and stories you can’t wait to share!

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my fantabulous agent, Maureen Walters.

  Thanks for believing in me.

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, I need to thank my editor, Mallory Braus. Her support, encouragement and enthusiasm have been invaluable. She is truly brilliant.

  Jeff, as always, you’re my world. Thanks for everything you do to help me chase this dream.

  My children, Laura and Kevin, have always been my biggest supporters. I couldn’t do any of this without their encouragement.

  Katie Arathoon gave me the first feedback on this series, and her wonderful suggestions made my Amazons all they can be.

  If I didn’t have Leanna Kay, Cheryl Brooks, Nan Reinhardt and Mellanie Szereto watching my back, my words would be gibberish. Thanks for being such wonderful critique partners.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  “I don’t want to do this.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Rebecca cocked her head, staring at Rick through the thin netting of her veil.

  Having walked down the long aisle by herself, she now waited for him to take the last step to stand by her side in front of the minister.

  He didn’t budge. “I—I—don’t want to do this.” His gaze drifted to the front pew where his mother sat.

  “I don’t understand.” She kept her voice as quiet as she could manage. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  Rick stood a few steps away in his
designer tuxedo and fidgeted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other like a naughty child caught coloring on a freshly painted wall. “I changed my mind.”

  The weight of his words sank in. “Changed your mind? What do you mean ‘changed your mind’?” Rebecca tried to ignore the echo of her cry through the cavernous sanctuary.

  She was drowning in all of the ruffles and ribbons and crinoline she’d starved herself for almost a year to fit into. The heavy satin dress and layer after layer of petticoats suddenly seemed to swallow her whole.

  She was an utter fool.

  Aunt Kay sat in place of the parents Rebecca had never known. When Rebecca locked eyes with her, her aunt stared back, sending an expression full of sympathy. She’d tried several times to talk Rebecca out of marrying Rick, claiming he wasn’t the right man for her. Aunt Kay had been right. As usual.

  The musky smell of the flowers strewn around the church swept over Rebecca. It reminded her of a funeral, mourning the death of what should have been her perfect wedding. The wedding that would see her married and able to start a family. God, how she yearned for her own family. A mom. A dad. A whole passel of kids. Rick always told her he wanted the same things, so she’d ignored the warning bells that constantly nibbled at her. Especially his strange attachment to his puffed-up, self-important, opinionated mommy. Now it had all come home to roost.

  The stunned crowd grew so quiet she could hear the nervous breaths whistling through her fiancé’s flaring nostrils. A few heartbeats later, the twittering sounds of the guests floated toward the altar.

  She should have expected Rick’s cold feet. This last week, he’d been withdrawn, not wanting to discuss the wedding plans or hear about the annoying last-minute details she’d had to tackle alone. He’d spent more time talking to his mother than with Rebecca.

  She shifted her spray of red roses to her left hand, grabbed her veil with her right and flipped it away from her face. Staring at him, she slowly shook her head. “You don’t mean it, honey. You don’t really want to…” She took a steadying breath. “You’re just—just—nervous, that’s all.”

  A buzz of voices rose louder from the pews. She glanced up to the minister, pleading with her gaze, hoping for some support and guidance. The dark-robed man shifted his wide eyes from Rebecca to Rick and back again.

  No help there.

  Rebecca focused instead on her reticent fiancé. “Rick, calm down. Look at me.” His gaze settled on her, his brown eyes as dull as they usually were when he—

  She sniffed the air.

  He’d been drinking. Working up his false courage. He’d gotten plastered to go through with this marriage. Her anger rose, but she focused on consoling him. “It’s going to be fine.”

  Rick shook his head and backed away from the altar, moving down one of the four steps that led to the dais.

  Feeling a sickening mix of humiliation and anger, she fervently hoped she wouldn’t throw up in front of everyone and add to her shame.

  “I don’t want to do this,” he insisted in a louder voice as he backed down another step.

  “Perhaps we can go into the anteroom and talk about this,” the minister said, clutching his black Bible to his chest.

  So now he was offering to help. She narrowed her eyes at him.

  Faced with utter humiliation at Rick’s hands, she had trouble recalling a single reason she wanted to marry the man. Leveling a grim frown at him, she let her growing rage displace her mortification. He was really going to do this—he was really going to walk away from her in front of everyone. His haughty mother would no doubt be thrilled.

  Anger swelled in Rebecca’s chest. “You’re leaving me at the altar? You’re really leaving me at the altar?”

  He nodded, standing there wide-eyed and appearing as frightened as a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi. As if he deserved such a swift, merciful end.

  Each heartbeat echoed in her ears. She handed her bouquet to her maid of honor. Oddly, all of the red roses had suddenly shriveled and died. She lifted her skirts and stepped down two steps to stand toe to toe with Rick. “Fine. You’re off the hook.”

  “Re—really?” His look of relief hit her like a slap across the face.

  “Really,” she said with a decisive nod. Dropping her heavy skirts, she took a deep breath. “One more thing, though. I’ve got something for you.”

  He looked suspicious. She couldn’t blame him. If he had the brains God gave a goat, he’d run.

  “Do you want it now?”

  “No. I—I—” Rick glanced to his mother again.

  If only he hadn’t done that, she might have been able to stop herself.

  Fisting her right hand, she pulled it back and punched him in the nose with every ounce of anger she could channel. She felt bone driving into her knuckles, his nose fractured in her hand’s wake.

  He jerked away, his hands covering his injured face, blood pouring from his nostrils.

  Small bits of plaster fell from the high ceilings and the gold chalice shimmied across the altar. The sudden roar and the shimmy of the lights were followed by the toppling of several candelabras. The enormous Bible on the pulpit fell to the floor as the gold chalice rolled off the side table.

  People swayed with the unexpected movement of the ground beneath them, crying out in surprise and fear. An earthquake. In New York? The day just kept on giving.

  The crowd panicked, grabbing on to pews and each other as the strong tremor continued to rock the sanctuary.

  Rebecca didn’t care, hardly noticing the shaking of the earth or the vases of flowers that clattered to the terrazzo floor. She snatched the veil from her head, threw it at Rick’s feet, gathered her satin skirt in her hands and left him at the altar.

  Undeterred by the sway of the ground and the frightened squeals of her wedding guests, she strode up the aisle, head down, muttering to herself all the way. “What was I thinking? Damn. Damn. Damn. How could I have settled for him? Son of a—”

  She ran into a solid wall of muscle.

  The earthquake abruptly ended.

  Rebecca caught her balance with the help of the man grasping her upper arms. She rubbed the sore spot on her forehead with her aching right hand and stared up at him.

  He had to be at least half a foot taller than Rick. She’d get a crick in her neck if she continued to look up at him for too awfully long. His hands gave her arms a quick squeeze then fell away as he took a step back.

  “I came for ye, Becca.” His deep, demanding baritone voice told her this was a man who didn’t take no for an answer. His Scottish brogue flowed over her, warming her from the inside like a shot of good tequila. “’Tis time.”

  She had no idea what to say to him, hadn’t honestly comprehended what he was saying to her. She was too busy gawking. “Time?”

  God, he was handsome. He stood with his hands fisted against his hips, his legs spread in a cocky stance.

  No. Not just handsome. Drop-dead gorgeous. His shoulder-length hair was chestnut. Brown with streaks of red, so bright that she had to fight the urge to reach out and touch it. His jaw, strong and chiseled, was covered with a day’s growth of reddish-brown whiskers. Glowing green eyes hypnotized her, commanding her to do his bidding.

  The sleeves of his white cotton shirt were rolled up to his elbows. She sighed just looking at his muscular arms. Lord, she would be nothing but putty in the hands of a man with such strong arms. As her gaze wandered lower, she blinked at the image, not trusting her eyes.

  He wore a kilt—an honest-to-God kilt. Navy blue and forest green intermixed with slices of purple.

  Only real men wear purple.

  A sword was belted at his side. “Aye, lass. ’Tis time.” He lifted a large, calloused hand to her.

  The voices of the guests droned on in the background, and Rebecca turned to look at the people who had gathered for her wedding. Her almost-wedding. They were all scrambling around trying to deal with the damage of the quake. Those who let their ga
zes settle on her made her sick to her stomach. Each and every glance told her the same thing. They pitied her.

  Perhaps this was fate—this juicy hunk of a man was a gift to give her a graceful exit. If only he wasn’t a figment of her overactive imagination. No man so good-looking would be here for her. Hell no, he wasn’t real.

  At least she didn’t think he was real.

  Rebecca brushed aside his hand, reached out and laid her palm against the woolen plaid that was draped from behind his left shoulder over his chest. The warmth of him radiated through the soft cloth.

  He certainly felt real. “Who are you?”

  “Artair MacKay.” He dropped his chin to his chest and glared down at her. “Becca, we must be going.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  “I just do, lass. We must go. Now.”

  She’d lost her mind, was as mad as a hatter to even think about leaving with him. Positively certifiable.

  Rebecca Massee never did anything wild or daring. She’d always been the most predictable and dependable person in the whole world. She taught kindergarten, seldom missing a day with her students. She volunteered to run the community garden that gave food to the elderly and indigent. She paid every single one of her bills on time.

  Heavens above, how she hated her banal and boring life!

  Rebecca Massee would never take the hand of a strange man standing tall and proud in a kilt and let him whisk her away.

  She turned to see Rick embracing his mother and whispering in the woman’s ear. Was he comforting her from the quake or the fact that he’d almost left her for another woman? Rebecca shuddered. What in the hell had she been thinking? Was she really that desperate?

  Screw that.

  She threw a glance at her Aunt Kay and arched an eyebrow. Her aunt smiled and nodded in response.

  “Artair MacKay?”

  “Yes, lass?”

  “Let’s rock and roll.”

  * * *

  Artair could barely believe it when Rebecca took his hand and started leading him out of the church. It was never this easy. With the exception of impetuous Fire Amazons, the women usually resisted when he came for them. Some even went on the attack, which was why, wedding or no wedding, he came prepared to carry her away. Artair had been poised to step in, his mouth already open when her would-be groom brought the ceremony to an abrupt halt.