Bane's Heart Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Cover Credit

  Dedication

  Copyright

  About This Book

  Title Page

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Goldy's Girl

  From the Author

  About the Author

  Bane’s Heart

  Avaleigh’s Boys, Book 2

  By: Sandra R Neeley

  Cover designed by: Cindy Falk

  Southern Graphics and Print

  [email protected]

  For my husband, Nile, who has cheered me on, even when I thought I was ready to quit. Thank you for believing in me.

  All rights reserved.

  Bane’s Heart

  (Avaleigh’s Boys, Book 2)

  Copyright © 2017 Sandra R Neeley

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement (including infringement without monetary gain) is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.00.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persona's, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Bane’s Heart

  Avaleigh’s Boys, Book Two

  --

  Bane is solid, dependable, jaded, and painfully lonely. He is also a bear shifter, hot, sexy, dominant and panty-dropping gorgeous. He’s spent his entire life protecting his older brother from the cruelty of others, including their own parents. He’s never thought he was worthy of anything, much less a Mate. Then he sees her working in the only grocery in their small backwoods town, and he’s stunned. She calms him, gives him joy, makes him hope. His heart comes alive. But she’s young, and she’s quiet; he fears she’ll run from his obvious dominance. He decides to move slowly, earning her trust one day at a time. Then, just as he thinks things are falling into place, she crushes his soul, and disappears.

  Janie has spent her entire life protecting herself and her mother from the terror that is her father. She’s always been made to believe that she was less than. She has accepted that her life will be spent alone, plain ole’ Janie, working her young life away in the local grocery. Then one day a beautiful, sexy, confident man comes into her store. She knows she’ll never be able to do more than admire him from a distance, until he smiles at her and makes her feel like the sun. But her father notices her interest in Bane, and demands that she cut him out of her life. He has other plans, and they don’t include a man in Janie’s life. He needs her submissive, and untouched.

  Ricky is a small town hood and drug dealer. He’s surrounded himself with what he thinks is a powerful and imposing gang. But they made one mistake; the woman they agreed to take as settlement on a debt is Mate to a shifter. Never take a shifters Mate and expect to live! When Janie is traded to the drug dealer as payment for her father’s debt, it brings the wrath of an entire clan of shifters down upon the heads of Ricky and his gang. Will Bane be able to save his Janie? Will Janie be able to accept Bane’s true nature? Can they forgive each other and find the happiness that every shifter prays for?

  This book is the second in a new series, Avaleigh’s Boys, about a group of shifters who make their home in the backwoods and bayous of South Louisiana. Their clan consists of a mix-matched group of five shifters who depend on one another and are loyal to no end. These are their stories.

  Warning: Intended for mature audiences. These stories contain hot bear, dragon, wolf and lion shifters. They like to cuss, fight and love their women. This book contains explicit love scenes, lots of use of the “F” word (among others), and some explicit domestic abuse. If you are offended by these subjects, please do not buy this book.

  Bane’s Heart

  Avaleigh’s Boys, Book 2

  By: Sandra R Neeley

  Preface

  Excerpt from “I’m Not A Dragon’s Mate!”

  After the grand reveal this morning, the guys had all gone about their business leaving her to get to know her little cabin. They were working around the property. Bam was at his shop tinkering with his gadgets. She could hear the grinder that Goldy was using as he worked on an old motorcycle from his stash. Mav and Kaid were filling pot holes in the dirt drive that led through their property. Bane had headed off to hit the grocery, armed with a list of ingredients to make all the things she wanted to make them for dinner, their first dinner in her new home. And here she stood, looking around her little living room. Bane had almost been aggressive in the way he had volunteered, then insisted that he be the one to go to the grocery. He’d practically snarled when Mav had offered to ride along. “Fuck, can’t a guy get two fucking minutes alone?” he’d snapped at Mav as he was already walking to Bam’s truck. Bam had just smiled at him indulgently and leaned down to quietly tell her, “He really likes the grocery. A lot.” She met his eyes a bit confused over that last comment. “Umm, OK.” Bam just grinned really big like he had just shared an awesome secret. She’d have to figure that one out later. She was beginning to realize that Bam had insight to just about everybody and everything. You just had to pay attention to his little comments, and you’d know everybody’s secrets before too long.

  “Damn, it’s always so bright in this damn store. You’d think with the way everything is so old and faded in here, they’d turn down the damn brightness a little.” It always blinded him a little when he first walked in. He snagged a basket and headed down the middle aisle. His eyes scanned everyone and everything as he moved. He was antsy, anxious in his perusal of the place, getting more tense by the second. Hands tightening on the basket, knuckles whitening, breathing quickening, blood rushing in his ears. Then suddenly, all was good, quieting, calm, peaceful as his eyes found her. There she was, in the back aisle, stacking packages on a display. He’d panicked when he couldn’t find her. But it was okay now; she was here and she was safe. He decided to ignore the unreasonable fear he’d felt when he couldn't find her. She was nice to him, and she was sweet, so he liked to make sure that she was okay whenever he happened to have a reason to come into the little local grocery. That was all it was. He also refused to acknowledge the fact that he almost shredded the list that Avaleigh had tried to hand to Mav to send him on this errand. He had made a grab for it before it had even landed in Mav’s hands. He wasn’t going to address the fact that he routinely made up reasons to come back into the store, that he forgot things that were on his list or didn't like to buy more than enough for a day or two at a time. It just meant that he didn't know what he would like on any given day. That was all it was, nothing special. Then she looked up and saw him watching her. She smiled shyly and gave a little wave before she lowered her eyes and went back to stacking boxes. He stood for
a second longer watching her work. She was a little smaller than his usual taste in women. She was delicate and small. Her soft brown hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail. Pulled back like that he could see the golden streaks the sun had painted into it. She had big, beautiful brown eyes whose golden swirls matched those in her hair. There was a slight curve to her hips, and she had smallish breasts. Every move she made was so graceful and feminine. To him she was fucking perfect. But she was young, maybe 20 or 21, way too young for the likes of him. And way too sweet. He couldn't have her, not ever. He was far too dominant, and if she ever even guessed at what he might truly be, she’d be terrified. He knew this, he told himself this, yet he couldn't stay away from her. He’d tried, and almost every day he found himself back in this grocery hoping for just a glimpse of her. She soothed him, calmed his beast, gave him a glimpse of peace he never knew existed, so he sought her out.

  Janie felt like she was being watched. She lifted her eyes and there he was, that beautiful man, still standing there watching her. He came into the store a lot. She’d seen the ladies that both worked here and shopped here try to get his attention, but he seemed to never even notice they were there. She had privately come to call them his groupies in her head because they damn near followed him around the store when he came in. It was always the same almost every day. He came in, picked up a few things, said a few nice words to her and then was on his way. She had thought once or twice that maybe he was coming in for her, but then she stopped those thoughts right away. She knew better than to think anyone would look at her twice. Much less a man like him. She had a mirror; she knew what looked back at her. She was plain and boring. Plain just like her name. She had known all her life that she was nothing to get excited about. But for once she was thankful for it, because she thought that maybe that was why he chose her to talk to. Because the others practically threw themselves all over him and she didn't. She was safe to talk to without having to fend off the women. She just thanked the powers that be that she was in a place that he came into often, so she could have the pleasure of looking at him. Plain, unassuming, Janie had a crush, and Holy Crap that crush was headed right for her!

  Bane approached her display like he had searched the whole store for exactly what she was stacking in little pyramid shapes. “Hi, how’re you?” Bane growled at her, his beast way too close to the surface.

  He almost purred when she looked up at him and briefly met his eyes from beneath her lashes before quickly glancing back down. “I'm good today, yourself?”

  “Doing good, doing good,” He kind of lifted the list in her direction, “Got some stuff I have to pick up.”

  “You need me to help you find anything or you okay?” I cannot believe I just offered to help him shop, Oh, My God, I’m as bad as his damn groupies, Janie thought to herself.

  “Naw, I got it. I just needed this,” as he took the little box off the stack she was making. He looked down at the package in his hand and almost choked at what he was holding, but he was in this now, so he had to power through. “Box of tampons,” he managed to garble out. He met her eyes and swore for a moment he saw disappointment there.

  “Oh, well, now you have them,” she said to him.

  “Yes, I got ‘em. Avaleigh would have sent me back if I came home without them.”

  She couldn't believe that she was standing here with this beautiful man she really didn't know, discussing tampons. For his woman. And she was near tears. Because he had a woman. And she didn't even know him. Damn, she was pathetic. She needed to try to save a little face here. “Avaleigh is a really pretty name. Bet it fits your wife perfectly,” she managed to get out and was quite proud of herself for her quick recovery.

  He inhaled deeply, and she could have sworn that he was smelling her. Bane was confused; she smelled hurt, disappointed. He looked around for what could have upset her, but it was just her and him. He turned back to her at her comment, “Huh?”

  “I said, Avaleigh is a pretty name. Bet it matches your wife.” She smiled at him as she finished repeating her statement, and it looked a little sad to him.

  Then he got it. She was disappointed because she thought he was married. His heartbeat sped up; he felt like the sun had just come out. She liked him. He bent his knees a little and stooped down to try to catch her eyes but she kept looking down. Damn, he was going to have to do something about that. She should have all the confidence in the world. It killed him that she didn't. He reached out a hand and placed the tip of one finger under her chin, so he could gently lift her head and her eyes would meet his. When she finally looked at him, he said softly, “I don’t have a wife. I don’t have a woman. Avaleigh is my sister.” The smile she awarded him was worth everything he had ever had or would ever have. “She just moved into her own place and wanted to make us dinner. I volunteered to come get everything she needed. So…, here I am.” The smile she flashed at him almost dropped him to his knees. She practically glowed to find out that he didn't have a woman in his life.

  “You come here a lot,” she commented through her now constant grin.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Why don’t you just get more on each trip; then, you wouldn't have to stop by so often?”

  “If I did that, I wouldn't get to see you as much.”

  Her heart stuttered, and her breath froze in her lungs, “You come to see me?”

  He nodded at her slowly, deliberately, “I come to see you.”

  “Oh, well, okay,” she squeaked out around the breath she was still holding.

  “Janie?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re crushing the box you’re holding.”

  “Huh? Aw hell, I mean, damn, I mean dang, I mean. Oh, never mind.”

  Bane just chuckled at her, she was so fucking sweet. “I have to go now. You working tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I’ll be here all day.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye, Janie.”

  “Bye, uhh?”

  “Bane, I’m Bane.”

  “Bye, Bane.”

  Bane drove home smiling to himself. Janie liked him. He never thought that she would like him. He had believed that she would be afraid of him. That his dominance would frighten her off. But she hadn't even flinched. Except for when he gave her the impression that he had a wife. But then he’d told her she was the reason he came to the store so often, and she had practically glowed. Now he was glowing. His bear was happily rolling around on his back with his feet in the air singing Mate, Mate, Mate over and over again. And he wondered if maybe Bear was onto something. Could Janie possibly be his One?

  Janie finished the day at work wearing a silly grin. Bane, the beautiful man all the ladies at the grocery drooled over, had told her he came into the store so often just for her. To see her. And she had had butterflies in her stomach ever since. She didn't know what he saw in her, or if maybe he was just playing a little game with her, but she had never felt like this before, and she was going to enjoy it for a day or two. Oh, she knew he’d never really want her, but he was being nice to her. And she was going to enjoy it while it lasted. She headed home that night with a smile instead of the usual apprehension she felt. Going home was not a nice thing. She hated it. It was not a sanctuary. It was a mine field. And she was too often a target. But the memory of Bane telling her that he came to see her would get her through a few days, at least.

  Chapter 1

  Janie opened her front door and stepped inside. She had heard the yelling and crashing noises before she even stepped onto the broken-down front steps. Her father was drunk again, or worse. Hopefully, he would pass out soon, and it wouldn't get too bad. She could hear sniffling, and she knew her mother had borne the brunt of his temper without her there to defuse him or to draw his attention away from her. That was why she stayed, never left this minefield of a house, to protect her mother. Her mother, Sadie, had been with him for so many years that she now knew nothing else. She had actually convinced herself that she deserved no be
tter than this. This abuse that her father hurled at both of them on a regular basis. He’d get drunk, and his anger and resentment at never having become anything more than a drunk would overtake him. You never knew what it would be that would set him off. But once he was set off, he’d lash out at whatever and whoever was near. He’d say the most cutting, brutal things. And if those things didn’t reduce you to tears, then he’d use his fists. Those fists would beat you into submission. Beat you into a crying, bruised mound of flesh. And that mound of crying flesh in some twisted way made her father feel like a big man. Because he’d had the power to force a weaker individual into submission, to force someone else weaker than himself to beg for mercy. That was the kind of sonofabitch her father was.

  Lately she had begun to worry that his vices had started to run in darker paths than just alcohol. She didn't know what she’d do if he started using drugs and drinking. She wasn't sure she could handle her father not only drunk, but drug-addled too. Maybe she’d get lucky, and they would kill him before she had to deal with too much of it. “Goddamn it, Woman! Clean up this fucking mess!! It’s your own damn fault for cooking such shit!” her father yelled at her mother. She could hear them in the kitchen now. Her mother still sniffling, “I will. I’m getting it right now. I’m sorry.” Janie walked into the kitchen to see her mother on her hands and knees scooping handfuls of food up off the floor and into the garbage can. “What happened, Mom?” Janie asked her.

  Her mother looked up from where she sat on her knees on the kitchen floor, “It’s nothing, Honey. Your Dad didn't like what I cooked for dinner, so he threw it away. He missed the can. It’s not a big deal; I’ll clean it up.”