Title: Cinderella's Guardian
Author: Khloe Wren
Email: khloe@khloewren.com
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Excerpt Heat Level: 1
Book Heat Level: 4
BLURB:
After watching his older
brother win the heart of his mate, Conner White can’t wait for his turn. When
he finally has his first dream of his mate, he is both relieved that he knows
who she is and worried as he hasn’t been able to get near her since he caught a
glimpse of her at his brother’s wedding weeks earlier.
Tina Anderson is beyond
miserable. Her mother abandoned her after a life altering injury that left the
vibrant gymnast in a wheelchair. Her father has been forced to leave her to go
work off shore. She’s been left in the care of a harsh bitter woman who is only
after her father and will do whatever she deems necessary to take her place in
his life. No matter the cost.
Conner and Tina’s road to
happiness is filled with twists, turns and pot holes, but are they strong
enough to pull each other through it all?
EXCERPT
Conner spun
around in the darkness. He could sense something—someone—but couldn't see
anything in the pitch black. A flash of white caught his eye and he twisted
toward it. It flashed again... Hair. Long, straight, white-blond hair. He
rubbed his eyes hoping to clear his vision. Another flash had him turning
around in the darkness. Green. Emerald green eyes stared at him. So much sorrow
in them, Connor's knees buckled under the intensity. As he hit the ground, he
saw a glimpse of wheel spokes pass him. Then it returned to peaceful darkness,
leaving him alone. The presence that had been was now gone, but Conner couldn't
quite catch up with what had happened.
Conner came
awake with a jolt. Bolting to sit up in bed, he wiped the sweat off his face.
He squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to breathe through the tightness in his
chest. With his eyes closed, Conner saw the vision from his dream again. Tina.
The young woman he'd seen two weeks ago at the hairdressers before Dominic and
Adele's wedding, she was his mate! Little wonder she sent his instincts nuts.
Conner's desire to shield her had scared him. As a snow leopard shifter, he was
by nature programed to defend the innocent but he'd never felt that strong of a
protective instinct about anyone—not even Kelly when they went to rescue her
and Adele from that sadistic bastard, Cole.
Conner swung
his legs over the edge of his bed and scrubbed his face in his hands. What
should he do now? He'd already gone back to the hairdressers a few times trying
to catch her attention, to talk to her and see if he could help her in any way.
He wasn't sure what he could do for her, but he'd felt it vital to try to reach
the young woman. But that bitch at the salon kept her hidden out in the back
room, never allowing Conner anywhere near her. He'd not even managed to see
Tina since that morning. His mind tripped back to when Dominic started dreaming
of Adele. He'd felt pain from Adele as she grieved her mother's death. His Dad
had explained to them about the mating bond...of course! Dream bonding, Conner
could join her in her dreams. His Dad had explained that as mates, you could
pull the other into your dream or push yourself into theirs. It was how Dominic
had first seen his Adele.
Conner eyed
the clock, three in the morning. Great, he could try now. She should be asleep.
He rolled back onto his mattress and did as his father had told him and Dominic
all those months ago. He focused on Tina, remembered everything he could about
her as he drifted back to sleep.
Conner found
himself in the stand of a massive gymnasium. Large signs stating "Olympic
Trials" were hung high on the walls and the floor had every set up
imaginable on it, from rings to beams to areas covered in blue mats. He scanned
the room for Tina. He couldn't see any wheelchairs, but he would guess she'd
dream of being out of it. A loud speaker crackled before calling Tina Anderson
up to the uneven bars. Conner made his way down the stand and onto the floor as
he watched her approach the bars. She was stunning. All smooth muscle as she
gracefully bowed to the judges. Her costume was skin tight, giving Conner a
good look at every curve of her body. She was a petite woman, with small
breasts and a slight flare out from her waist to her hips. To Conner, she was
perfection. The right size for him to wrap up and protect. Her beautiful hair
was pulled back into a tight bun allowing him a good view of her slender sexy
neck.
Mesmerized,
Connor watched her spin around the bars, every movement exact. Flawless. He saw
an expression of panic cross her face as a hand slipped. Out of reflex Conner
raced to her, using his supernatural speed to get there in time. As her second
hand slipped free, Conner used every ounce of his strength to kick out a side
of the lower bar causing it to crash out of the way. Moments later, he held
Tina safely in his arms. Even in a muted dream, his whole body shuddered as it
came into contact with hers. She gasped as she gripped him tightly around the
neck, pressing her hot sweaty body against his.
People
around them were going crazy, he moved off the mat with Tina. He listened as
people ran around with stretchers and gathered near where, had he not caught
her, Tina would have been.
"What
happened? When I wasn't here?"
"I
fall, crash into the lower bar, shattering my femur and cracking my pelvis.
It's why I'm stuck in a chair now. This is my real life nightmare. It never
goes away. I relive it while I sleep, and suffer the aftereffects while I'm
awake."
Unsure what
to say, Conner simply held her closer to him, lowering his head to nuzzle
against the top of hers.
"Funny
that I'm dreaming of you rescuing me."
"Why is
it funny?"
"Because,
I only saw you the once. Well, I've seen glimpses of you since. When Robyn sent
you away those times, I'd peak out around the curtain to watch you. But I only
had that one up close encounter with you two weeks ago today."
She began
stroking his chest through his t-shirt, before the shirt vanished and she began
exploring his naked skin. A grin tugged at his lips, Tina was a little hellcat
in her dreams.
"Now,
here you are. On the night before my birthday, rescuing me. If only you were
there when it really happened."
Burying her
face into his neck she began to cry, hard enough her whole body shook. Conner
had always been a little awkward around emotional women. Normally, he'd do
whatever he could to get away, but with Tina it was different. He wanted to
soothe her, make her feel better.
"I'm
here now, and if I could, I'd turn back time to be there when this happened. So
I could rescue you for real."
"Oh,
how I wish you were real, Conner."
He had to
bite his tongue to stop himself from saying too much. He would love to tell her
exactly how real he was, but that wouldn't help. Probably quite the opposite.
"How
about we get out of here?"
She raised
her head from his chest with a watery grin. "I know just the place."
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