Excerpt of The Order by Nina Croft

Maybe the alcohol would help. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the drink, put the straw in her mouth, was about to suck, when a hand rested on her arm, gently pushing the glass back down onto the table. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The words were like rough velvet, ruffling her skin, sending prickles down her spine and her heartbeat into overdrive. She didn’t think she’d ever heard the voice before, but it resonated somewhere deep inside her. Slowly she raised her head to look at the man who stood to the side of her—and her world stopped, her racing heart stuttered, and her mouth fell open. She might never have heard him before, but she had seen him. Carl, the Order’s Head of Security. Presumably someone had noticed she was gone after all and sent the Order’s policeman to collect her like a piece of mislaid luggage. But why couldn’t they have sent someone else? Anyone else. She’d seen him occasionally when he’d visited Asmodai’s home on business. He was stunningly gorgeous, with a lean, muscular body that moved with a grace that belied his size, short dark hair, and the most beautiful hazel eyes she had ever seen. And every time their paths had crossed, he’d looked right through her, like she was invisible. So what was new? She’d responded by retreating behind her I’m-a-total- bitch facade. She was aware that werewolves looked down on her kind. Well, most of the supernatural races looked down on hers. And who could blame them, when they had been happy to live in servitude for generations. Well, no freaking more. Not if she had any say in it. She tightened her grip on her drink and tried to lift it, but his hand was still firmly on her arm. “Not a good idea,” he murmured. “Why?” she asked, ignoring the way her nipples tightened just from his softly spoken words. She tilted her head to look into his face. This close, she could see the little flecks of gold in his eyes and the thick black lashes fringing them. He shrugged but didn’t answer. “You need to come with me.” “No, I don’t.” “Yes, you do.” His fingers tightened on her arm, and her muscles locked up tight. She glanced around, searching for some way out, some way to distract him. Her gaze caught on the man at the bar. He raised an eyebrow. She turned her attention back to Carl and sniffed. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” “I think you are, sweetheart.” Why did he call her that? She wasn’t his sweetheart. And why did the word start an insistent little pulse between her thighs? She gritted her teeth. “If you try and make me, I’ll scream and cause so much fuss, you’ll wish you’d never met me.” “I think you’ve wreaked enough havoc already.” Havoc? What havoc had she ever caused? She was Little Miss Obedience. Why couldn’t they just let her have a few days? “What do you want?” “To take you back where you belong.” She stared at her pretty orange and red drink for what seemed like an age. The symbol of her freedom. And she hadn’t even had a sip. Her eyes stung. Her adventure was over before it had even started. There had to be a way out of this. “Come on, Shera. Come home.” Home? At his coaxing, her anger rose. She didn’t have a home, just a place where she worked. And she wasn’t going back.