A Bandit’s Prequel

  Colorado’s Raccoon Gaze

  Emma Dean

  A BANDIT’S PREQUEL

  COLORADO’S RACCOON GAZE

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright © 2018 by Emma Dean

  ASIN: B07CZ4HWNW

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, locations, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  For Kristen Banet

  The San Francisco Bay Coven’s Samhain Ball was nothing but temptation for a raven shifter.

  Shiny gold and black plates. Wine glasses made from black crystal. Scarlet linens. Nothing but candles to light the dark.

  Emily ran her fingers over the flames set in apples and pumpkins.

  Not to mention the jewelry everyone wore.

  Chandeliers hung from the trees, dead branches had been tied together weeks before to create the walls of their ‘venue’ in the park. A path was lit from the place of celebration to an altar with thousands of candles.

  Witches lit candles for their ancestors on the New Year and invited everyone to participate.

  Maybe she would later.

  What could it hurt?

  So much magic had been used to create the atmosphere. Fog hugged the floor and the tables and chairs from seemingly nowhere. Emily rubbed her fingertip over the velvet of her chair and watched as couples danced in their dark ball gowns and suits.

  For the witches’ New Year they always went all out, and it was Emily’s favorite event though this year was tainted with the tenuous truce they’d re-established with the Bay Coven. Everyone wanted an assassin until they had to deal with the consequences.

  Raven.

  Harbinger of death.

  Trickster.

  Portent of evil.

  Messenger of prophecy.

  Assassin.

  Emily sat with her flock and listened to the voices around her, enjoying the mysterious music coming from the string quartet, amplified with magic of course. It made the notes tremble and strain, vibrating on the air with their own aura, taunting everyone who attended, begging them to move and sway along with the music.

  She resisted, listening and watching instead.

  Waiters whipped through the crowd with their gold trays, full with shots of luck for the year to come. It was exactly what she’d needed at that moment. She needed this time away from the Collective.

  Ravens were shunned by others in the paranormal community normally.

  Well, most of them.

  That they were invited to the Samhain ball at all was a testament to her mother’s diplomatic skill.

  Assassins were usually silent, but each flock had a diplomat and a guardian – her mother and father in her flock.

  They lived apart from other shifters, and very rarely lived away from their own kind. Bad things happened to ravens when they were alone. Too many in the paranormal world were afraid – too many thought perhaps they were there to take their life. And others just wanted an assassin on a leash.

  Emily had learned much in her twenty-nine years, but the most important lesson had been to listen.

  And they’d been seated near the main table, near the Kavanagh clan who she’d heard so much about these past few months. The matriarch’s sister had been mated. Kenzie and her foxes.

  Emily smiled.

  The shifter community in general didn’t particularly like the smaller predators, the ones they liked to refer to as scavengers. Ravens and coyotes had a centuries old alliance she doubted many in the paranormal world even knew existed.

  And as she eyed the Kavanagh table again she realized foxes and ravens weren’t the only tricksters invited to the ball. Witch events were such a strange thing.

  As neutrals, witches were neither good nor bad. They protected the knowledge of the paranormal world for thousands of years and still did. They stepped in to keep the balance, and occasionally assisted others when necessary.

  All were welcome as long as they kept the peace during their celebratory events.

  “I can’t believe you managed to get us invites,” one of the guys at Kenzie’s table said. He was adorable in his glasses, but the telltale sign of muscles could be seen even through the tux.

  “The High Priestess owed Selene a favor,” Kenzie said – the witch who was not a witch. “Not to mention I like making my family as uncomfortable as possible, and inviting raccoons seemed like the way to do it this year. I thought my mother was going to faint when I told her who I sent the invites to.”

  “Too bad she didn’t,” one of the foxes said. His bright red hair was difficult to ignore, but it matched the colors of Samhain perfectly. She recognized him from that little run-in, but he wasn’t the one she’d spoken to.

  The alpha fox had given her a nod when he’d seen her. He still had her token.

  Emily kept her eyes on her wine glass as she eavesdropped. The black crystal was gorgeous. She was definitely taking one home with her.

  But what kept snagging her attention was the Rolex one of the raccoon shifters wore. They liked shiny things almost as much as she and her people did.

  Was he aware of her attention?

  “So you’re just using us?” one of the raccoons asked with a laugh. “I’m down with that.”

  “How long are you staying?” the alpha fox asked.

  Emily looked up as the song changed and she wished for a moment someone would ask her to dance. They were there to mend relationships yes, but couldn’t she have fun at the same time?

  “I’m going to get a drink,” she whispered to her mother.

  Then she stood and wove her way slowly through the tables toward one of the bars. It didn’t seem as though any coyotes had been invited, but if they had they probably would have declined. Emily did see the Alpha of the West Coast Pride, Samuel. He really was as gorgeous as the rumor mill had suggested.

  “You were listening to us.”

  If she hadn’t been paying attention he might have scared her, but Emily had known he’d follow her. Some instinct she had – a knack for trouble as her mother called it.

  Emily turned and smiled at the tallest of the four raccoons she’d been listening to. She was only five foot two so this guy towered over her. His black hair was shiny, curly, and luscious. It was long enough to curl around his ears and neck and she just wanted to run her fingers through the silky locks.

  “I was listening to you,” she admitted. She’d never been one for unnecessary words. Silence also made people uncomfortable. Too many felt the need to fill the quiet and that’s when she learned the most.

  Why were his brown eyes so warm even when he narrowed them at her? “What are you? You have no scent.”

  She waved down one of the bartenders and then gave the gorgeous male specimen at her side a wink. He was so tall. Definitely a few inches over six feet if her guess was right. Then she leaned forward on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “I’m an assassin. We wear charms to hide our scent like your witch friend does.”

  Then she turned to the bartender and ordered something fun to celebrate the holiday.

  Were his cheeks slightly flushed?

  “Where did you find this gorgeous thing, Ben?” one of the other raccoons asked, appearing out of nowhere as he eyed her from head to toe.

  This one was gorgeous as well but in the standard way. His close-cut blond hair and green eyes were breath-taking, but he was still a bit shorter than the dark one he’d called Ben.

  “And you are?” she asked.

  Emily hid her smile when she noticed her flock glaring in her direction. It wasn’t against the rules to date outside the flock, but it was frowned upon. And she used every job as an opportunity to see what else was out there.

  This ball would be no different.

  “Chance,” the blond one said, still eyeing her like he was trying to figure her out, but a smile played seductively on his lips.

  “She’s a raven,” Ben stated. There was no emotion or judgement connected to those words, but Emily’s keen ears picked up a hint of curiosity.

  It was understandable. Her people were extremely private.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” she said with a small smile. They were very handsome and she wanted them both very much – just for the night. Two at once was always exactly what she needed.

  “Would you like to dance?”

  She turned to face the third raccoon and was immediately mesmerized. She’d pegged him as the most dominant, perhaps even the alpha of their small group, but he was a thousand times more magnetic up close. Emily couldn’t have said no even if she’d wanted to.

  How did he manage to look like a bad boy even in a tux and with glasses?

  Without a word she placed her hand in his and let him lead her onto the dance floor – drink forgotten.

  If she had her way she’d take all three of them. Emily had never been with three men at once before and these three…they were perfect even if they were raccoons. Emily was small and she liked that they were small too – well small compared to the larger shifters like Samuel. The white tiger had to be six foot four, maybe even taller.

  This was the one with the Rolex. Emily smiled and trailed her fingers over it and up his arm to settle on

his shoulder as he smiled down at her. His hand pressed against her lower back, forcing her closer, and she clenched her teeth to keep from gasping.

  Ravens usually didn’t like contact. Another reason her parents deemed her troublesome. Emily was starved for touch.

  “I’m Jace,” he murmured into her ear. “And you are?”

  Jesus, he was almost as tall as the other one with hair that reminded her of a raven. “Emily.” Thank goodness for her Louboutin heels to even the difference just a bit.

  “Why were you spying on us?” he asked.

  “Why do you and the other one wear glasses?” Emily smiled sweetly at him.

  Jace chuckled and led her expertly across the dance floor, a slow sensual waltz that electrified her. “Raccoons have terrible long distance vision.” He shrugged. “Not every shifter has the same super powers.”

  “What are yours?” she asked.

  The chemistry between them was unreal. And every time they rotated she caught the other two watching them from the bar.

  “Oh, plenty of interesting things.” His light brown eyes twinkled as he looked down at her.

  Emily felt her heart rate pick up and she wondered what they thought of ravens. Despite being lumped into the same category as the other smaller shifters, they didn’t all interact very often. But these boys…they were lovely.

  “You forgot your drink.”

  Jace stopped and smiled slightly at the guy holding her old fashioned plus three others against his chest. He was short compared to the other three raccoons, but still six inches taller than her without her heels, and a bit goofy if her instincts were right.

  The short, adorable one gave her a grin. “Hi, I’m Aiden. Would you like to sit and drink with us?” He jerked his chin toward Chance and Ben.

  Emily grinned. This one had green eyes too, but his hair was brown, almost the same color as hers. She took the old fashioned from him and downed it in one go. “I could think of far more interesting things to do.”

  She winked at Jace and that slight smile of his widened as he slipped his hands into his pockets. “Whatever you like, assassin.”

  “Thief,” she teased, sliding her hand into his pocket as well. “I saw you take that woman’s bracelet.”

  Some witch who had a perpetual sneer on her face.

  “Kenzie’s cousin. She deserved it,” Jace told her. “What did you have in mind that could possibly be more interesting than drinking with four raccoons?”

  She slid her gaze to Aiden. Would they be game? “Do you trust me?”

  “Not a bit,” Jace said with that sexy little smile. But despite his words…he pulled her closer so she was pressed against his side. “But I’m interested.”

  Aiden downed one of the drinks and handed another to Jace.

  “I’d like to light a candle and then perhaps…get out of here?” She raised a brow at Chance and Ben still watching her from the bar.

  Jace’s hand tightened on her waist. “Let’s go light a candle then and pay respects to our ancestors.”

  Emily smiled at Ben as the four raccoon shifters entered her hotel room. One of the small luxuries she was allowed as a full-fledged, independent assassin. He looked more unsure than the rest of them, but Chance slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close, whispering something reassuring no doubt.

  She didn’t bother to listen in.

  Jace walked around the room. It was a suite and very nice. Her personal room was off the main one. She really didn’t care if anyone in the flock was scandalized by her habits. She was nearly thirty. Emily could live her own damn life.

  “This is fancy,” Aiden admitted, going behind the bar and looking at the bottles.

  “Help yourselves to anything you want,” Emily told them, trying to keep her smile from growing. It had been so long since the last time she’d had anyone worthy of her attention.

  “So what’s the play?” Jace asked. “Are you going to wait until after to kill us?”

  She shrugged, burying how much that question hurt as deeply as she could before anyone noticed. “No actually, I just want your shiny watch.”

  Jace’s eyes widened at that, but then he chuckled as he set his glasses down on one of the tables.

  “Anyone want a drink?” Aiden asked. “I can make anything.”

  So the short one was the peacekeeper. Emily watched how Chance and Ben stayed near each other. If any of them would be into something a little different…it would be those two.

  “Can’t a girl just want a good time with four guys? I’ve only ever slept with two at a time, but this…this would be a vast improvement.”

  All those hands…

  Aiden cleared his throat and poured five shots. “Whiskey it is.”

  Chance and Ben took their shots and then Aiden brought her and Jace theirs. Emily accepted the small glass with a quiet thanks and then eyed each of them individually. “I would love to spend tonight with all of you, but if anyone isn’t interested, now’s the time to leave.”

  Perhaps it was her quiet frankness – the no-nonsense tone in her words, but Emily didn’t want regret to tarnish their time together. She threw back the shot and set it on the nearest table, and then turned her back on them.

  Emily knew as she started to pull the pins from her hair that it was a very real possibility none of them would accept her offer, but her instincts were almost always right. These four were looking for something, and they thought she might satisfy that craving for just one night.

  Her hair tumbled down her back and she took a moment to pause and set the pins on the hallway table, glancing back only once as she unzipped her gown. When it slipped to the floor, revealing her lacy underwear, sky high heels, and corset…Ben blushed even though the expression on his face didn’t change.

  Oh goodness, she wanted to ruin that one.

  The heels clicked on the tile as she walked to her room, hips swaying. Emily then sat on the edge of her luxurious bed and she wondered if the king-sized mattress would be enough room. If not they would just have to cuddle.

  She ran one hand along the silk comforter and waited to see who would be the first to approach. If any.

  When Aiden walked through the door she didn’t bother to hide her surprise. But if Emily were honest with herself it was always the quiet ones who were freaks. She loved his slightly curly brown hair, his glasses that he pushed up on his nose and that quirky little smile.

  Aiden removed his tux jacket and undid the bowtie. But he didn’t remove his shirt; he rolled up the sleeves to his elbow, maintaining eye contact with her. “You know we’re raccoon shifters, right? You’re not going to regret this? Your flock isn’t going to cast you aside for sleeping with lesser shifters?”

  Lesser shifters. Emily hated the term.

  She shrugged a shoulder and crooked her finger. What would this one taste like? “No one is lesser, just different. But if you want to throw around words like that – consider…are you sure you want to be with an assassin?”

  He smiled and planted his hands on either side of her. “As long as you don’t try to kill me while I’m making you scream my name, I think we’re good.” And before she could respond he took her mouth, nipping her bottom lip.

  Emily melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She tried to press her whole body against his but it was an awkward angle. Pulling him down on top of her, she felt the muscles in his arms bulge to keep the majority of his weight off her.

  Oh goodness, this was exactly what she’d needed. Emily cradled him between her thighs and ran her fingers through his soft hair. Her touch was gentle as she pulled up his shirt so she could press her hand to the small of his back.

  The skin on skin contact eased some of the pain she always felt, but buried. Touch was uncommon in flocks. Assassins didn’t get close to each other – not really. Even wedded couples kept their emotional and physical distance unless reproducing.

  It made her want to scream and scream.

  Aiden must have sensed it to some degree and his warm hands caressed her arms, up her shoulder, and then along the length of her neck as she kissed him for what felt like forever.

  A clink made her pull away and she saw Jace put his Rolex on the nightstand as he watched the two of them with that intensity he had. He too removed his jacket and tie. Emily reached out for him, hoping he would take her offer.

 

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