HAUNTED BY MAGIC -Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Boxset Sampler

ASHES OF THE PHOENIX - JESS HAINES

Legend says a phoenix will rise again—but all that remains of the immortal bird are ashes and whispered fairy tales...

Lyra Adams enjoys her job as a rare books dealer, but when an angry wizard barges into her store and demands she fork over a unique tome from the antiquities section, she's not about to let him get away with grand larceny without a fight.

Except it's suddenly very difficult to defend her wares, seeing as the wizard turned her into some kind of weird red bird by flinging a handful of ashes in her face.

Her only hope of returning to her normal, human self lies in the hands of the one man she never wanted to see again: her lying, stealing, sorcerous scumbag ex, James Pierce. The same light-fingered thief who tried to steal that very same tome from her a few days before.

She knows she can't trust James with her heart or her inventory. Can she trust him to turn her back?

CHAPTER ONE

Lyra was dusting the hardcovers in the Crime/Thriller section when the bell to the front door jingled. Absently brushing a few stray auburn wisps back under the bandanna she'd donned, she leaned back to peer around the shelf.

"Can I help... oh, you again? Let me guess."

The man standing just inside the threshold inclined his head, his eyes glittering with an inner fae light that bore an eerie resemblance to the dust motes drifting in the rays of sunlight pouring in through the storefront windows. He was in street clothes instead of initiates robes, but it didn't take a fancy outfit to tell he was some flavor of mage. All three times he'd visited her shop, he'd never said anything about what discipline he followed, or even told her his name, and she hadn't bothered asking. If he was going to be rude enough to flash his aura in her store and—worse—keep coming back without actually buying anything, she was sure he wasn't anywhere near as good of a practitioner as he probably thought he was.

He strolled in, sauntering toward the counter to idly flick through the rotating collection of bookmarks on their spinning wheel. "Just one more look, I promise. If this is really the tome I've been looking for, you'll be paid well for it."

Lyra tucked the duster under her arm and made her way behind the counter. The mage might have been cute if he wasn't trying so hard to pull off the whole master-of-time-and-space shtick. He had the right clothes, the right haircut, and he smelled like some kind of expensive, musky aftershave, but the oppressive force of his aura, cruel twist to his lips, and calculating gleam in his eyes made it easy to see past the façade.

She stuck out the duster to halt the incessant squeaking of the wheel and hooked her rolling chair with a foot to pull it close and settle down. Leaning back, she propped her feet on the counter.

"Now, I'd love to help you with that, but I'm afraid you've used all your frequent flyer miles. No."

He pulled back, frowning. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sure you heard me. Nope, no more free passes. You've already had a shot at it longer than most. It's one thing to skim through the latest Harry Potter or Fifty Shades of whatever while you're browsing. It's quite another to read through one of those spellbooks. This isn't a library, it's a book store. I can't pay the rent with IOUs. If you want to give me a major credit card, cash, or an equivalent exchange in precious metals, jewels, et cetera, I'll give you the book. Gift wrapped and everything. With all the trouble it's been giving me, I might even throw in a thank you card."

The mage straightened, looking down his nose through narrowed eyes. "As I said, I need to be sure it's the right book first. I only need to check a few more things—"