Julia Palatine is a rare female alpha—smart, sexy, and with a will to match that of ambitious male alpha Roman Aventine. He wants her for his mate, but Julia has no time for entanglements with males of her kind, no matter how seductive. Her mission is to understand wolf shifter genetics so she can keep their existence a secret from the human scientific community. Julia forges an uneasy alliance with Roman, who plans to lure her away under the pretense of business so he can succeed in his ultimate goal of seducing her. They make a great team, but their attraction could prove a costly distraction, putting their lives and fate of their species in jeopardy. The Legatum series continues with a battle of wills, seduction, and danger in Driven.

Excerpt from DRIVEN

Julia began gathering her papers.

Roman placed a hand on top of her growing stack. “Stay for a bit. We have acquisition papers to go over.”

Julia sat back down and gave Roman a side glare. She wasn’t aware of any acquisitions they needed to discuss.

Roman was silent until the door clicked shut behind Cindy.

Julia watched him; as soon as he moved to begin speaking, she cut him off. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Roman asked innocently.

“Don’t say something witty and slightly flirtatious. I don’t have it in me tonight to cross words.” She was exhausted. The conference meetings today had thrown her a steep learning curve, and she felt she was not keeping up as she normally would. Business acquisitions, mergers, personnel management were all easy concepts. Genomics. Alleles. Arrays. Epistasis. Heterosis. All new vocabulary, all new concepts. Julia hadn’t had to deal with this much science since she was in college.

“Then don’t,” he said evenly. “Don’t fight me all the time.”

“I don’t, Roman, I…” She wiped her hand across her brow, smoothing her hair back from her face. “I can’t.”

“You’re right. In business you don’t fight me; that’s true. But you never let your guard down around me.” Roman paced away from her. “I take that back. You have only let your guard down once. I would dearly like to see that Julia again.”

“Seriously, Roman, it was just a kiss,” Julia snapped.

“It was hardly just a kiss. It lasted forty minutes; had your brother not interrupted, I’m sure there would have been more than kissing.” His tone was heated.

Indignation flooded Julia with the reminder that it hadn’t been a simple kiss but rather an aggressive make-out session. “We’re doing it right now, arguing.”

“Foreplay,” Roman countered.

“I’m tired and I don’t want this.”

Roman stood over Julia as she slumped deeper into her chair.

“You are a smart and strong woman. I am drawn to you like a moth to a flame. You were drawn to me once, but now you fight that urge inside you, don’t you? You fight me.” Roman’s tone was low, gravelly. “As long as you continue to play, I will happily flirt with you. Tell me to stop and I will. Tell me to leave you be and I will. But I want you, Julia, and I don’t want to leave you be.”

Julia looked up at Roman. Her body yearned for him; there was no denying it. She fought her body’s reactions to him constantly. She stared into his eyes; and caught the beginning of an intense glow. She shook her head, not wanting to know he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want the complication of dealing with a struggle for dominance. She didn’t want the confrontations that would come when Roman decided he needed to subdue her.

“I’m tired of the fight,” she confessed. “I’m tired of having to put forth a more concerted effort to be taken seriously. I’m tired of my natural dominance being second-guessed.”

“I never question your lead. So why are you fighting?”

“Your father never once acknowledged that I was in the room during the accord meetings, and I was there as Morgan’s second. The board questions every other move I make. I’m tired.”

“I’m not my father, Julia. And your board of directors, with a few exceptions, are all old men trying to stay relevant. Those are different fights; those are not with me. I promise.” His tone was soothing. She wanted to lean toward him. She wanted to believe him.

“I’m tired of empty promises.”

“Are you tired of me?”

Words were out of her mouth before her mental editor kicked in. “I like you, Roman; I like the attention.” Realizing what she said, she froze, and then sighed. “Can we call a truce this week? You back off with the overaggressive flirting, and I’ll back off with the overaggressive bitchiness.”

Roman held out his hand. Julia slipped her fingers into his palm, allowing him to help her stand. His hand felt warm, soft, and like a caress wrapped around hers. She stood so close she could feel warmth radiating from his body. Her gaze followed the movement as Roman slowly raised her hand to his lips and lightly brushed her knuckles with a kiss. His glowing blue eyes gazed back at her through lowered lashes.

“As you command.”

The tone of his voice combined with the flair of glowing passion from his eyes sent a shiver down Julia’s spine.

She stumbled back, noticing the faint shimmering aura surrounding Roman. Her chest tightened, and she struggled for breath. Realization of what she was looking at pierced her chest like a spear. “Oh,” she said out loud. Internally she began cursing. Damn. Julia finally admitted to herself the meaning behind the glow. That’s what Mother meant when she said I’d know; she forgot to mention I needed to accept it for what it was.

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