She’ll make sure he survives the night…even if it costs her heart.
Black Opals, Book 1
Frankie Black is a woman in need of a mission. For a Black Opal—a warrior woman who shifts backward or forward through time in order to, well, save the world—the last six months of downtime have left her bored. Restless. And with a feeling that something is about to hit the fan.
Finally, an assignment: save the life of Dekkar James, an infamous rock god living three hundred years in the past. Tattooed, ruggedly handsome and perfectly imperfect, one look at him and it’s as if her sleeping body springs to life.
One minute Dekkar is having the most mind-blowing sex of his life. The next, goons are breaking down his door, and he’s on the run with a woman who turns from lover to warrior in the blink of an eye.
Dealing with the New Order, operatives who manipulate time without regard for the consequences, is nothing new for Frankie. But this time their tactics have a more personal edge—they’ve found a way to seek out the Opals’ predestined mates.
Unless she can save Dekkar’s life, her future will be the first casualty in a battle for the fate of humankind.
Product Warnings
Contains one hot dude with tattoos, a woman who won’t take no for an answer, steamy sex, an ancient Harley and a little bit of time travel.
Copyright © 2010 Juliana Stone
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
Nothing excited Frankie more than a time shift. Live life on the edge—that’s what kept her going. She sobered somewhat as her mother’s words echoed in her brain, but she pushed them away. She’d never failed a mission before, and this one would be just like the rest.
She’d make sure of it.
She slipped her feet into a pair of battered Doc Martens, tucked the chain with her black opal down between her breasts and headed out the door. Serena was waiting for her and she gave her sister a hug before heading to the shift chamber.
The chamber was only used when her sisters weren’t present to fuel a shift. It wasn’t as accurate, but Frankie didn’t care. A shift was exciting no matter how it was done. It was gonna take a lot of juice to send her back three hundred years and the machine was already humming noisily.
Frankie stepped into the chamber, her skin flush with excitement as the mist began to swirl around her flesh. White-hot energy enveloped her limbs and she threw her head back as it assaulted every single cell in her body.
Her mother’s pale blue eyes were the last things she saw as the vortex sucked her away, and her thoughts were scattered. But one stood out in stark relief. She hoped like hell there was enough juice to bring her back.
The air was rank with the smell of rotting food, garbage, urine and a whole host of other scents. It was disgusting and hit Frankie like a ton of bricks. She gagged slightly, wrinkling her nose in distaste. Crap. New York City stank worse than any place she’d ever been.
She’d misted into solid form in some back alley, filled to the brim with refuse. Small rodents scurried about and there were a few ragged people who didn’t seem surprised to see her appear from thin air.
Frankie exhaled softly and checked her time piece. It was eleven o’clock in the evening. She had approximately two to three hours before the assassins would be in this place, in this time. That’s if the intel was correct. There were never any guarantees.
She needed to act quickly.
“Hey!” She yelled through the thickening gloom, “Do you know a person named Dekkar James?”
An older man started to move towards her and it was at that precise moment, Frankie realized maybe it wasn’t the city that stank so much as the man coming towards her.
He obviously hadn’t washed in days, weeks even, and his body odor mixed tragically with the smell of vomit, feces and urine. The concoction was putrid and she wrinkled her nose, pasting a smile to her face as she waited expectantly.
He stopped a few feet away, swaying softly, so thin that a hard wind would have knocked him to the ground. Pity formed deep inside, and Frankie felt it wash over her in waves. In the future most planets had eradicated poverty, addictions and the like. There was no room for ugliness such as this.
But here on earth, in the year 2010 it was still very much a stark reality.
“Do you got change?”
The man’s voice was harsh, and his mouth showed huge gaps where teeth were missing. He came closer still, and Frankie stepped back as the stench became almost unbearable.
She rummaged through her pack, finding the currency she’d tucked away. Grabbing some paper bills she shoved them in front of his face, watching the eyes dilate in surprise. Glancing at the monetary amounts Frankie shrugged. Guess one hundred units was a lot to such a soul, and her fingers held two of them.
He grabbed for the money but she stepped back. “Dekkar James? Do you know where I can find him?”
The man’s bony hand extended but not towards her, he was pointing to something behind her and Frankie spun around quickly, her eyes shifting upwards at a moving billboard.
A man’s visage stared down at her. Blue-black spiky hair shot out and haloed rugged features. The nose looked as if it’d been broken a few times, the chin square and strong, but the mouth…it made hers water. The lips were full and seemed out of place on such a masculine face. He was not so much smiling as smirking down at the masses. Straight, even white teeth tempted her. She wished she could see his eyes, but they were covered by dark glasses.
The picture moved suddenly, and hands drew the glasses away as the man smiled rakishly down at her.
Crystal green eyes pierced the gloom, striking a chord within her that sharpened her senses. Instantly Frankie’s nipples hardened and an ache formed deep inside her pussy.
The man was magnificent. His name flashed in garish red. Dekkar James appearing tonight only, Madison Square Garden.
So…this was Dekkar James. Frankie let the smile that had been tugging at her mouth fall wide, and she licked her lips in anticipation. Her belly did a little flip as she continued to stare up at him.
The man was the total opposite of every single male she’d encountered over the past six months. There was a sensuality that lit his eyes and caressed his mouth that was raw, real, a friction that would never be accepted on a planet like Babylon. She had a feeling Dekkar James lived life on the edge and rode it hard, not caring about consequence or duty.
He was perfectly…imperfect.
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