Untamed Vol. 1 (Untamed #1) Read online

He shook his head then winced.

  “I’m sorry about your head.”

  He reached up and rubbed his scalp. “It will heal.”

  I turned back to the mountains, my emotions still at war. I could feel him looming behind me, could feel the wall of heat his immense body was emanating. I turned around to face him. “I came here to the mountains to run away from my life. I wanted to be someone else for a week, someone spontaneous, adventurous,” I said. “Then I met you.”

  He blinked down at me, waiting.

  “I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing here by yourself. I’m not even entirely sure you’re not the serial killer the police are talking about.”

  His jaw hardened and his eyebrows drew together.

  “To tell you the truth,” I whispered, “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  He slid a hand around behind my neck and pulled me closer, resting his forehead on mine. “You can go if you still think that about me,” he said, his eyes burning into mine. “I won’t keep you here against your will.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed in the same air, focusing on what I knew for sure—the tender way he held me in his arms, the warmth of his eyes when he looked at me, the uninhibited honesty in his words. Despite what everyone else thought, deep down I knew firsthand that inside this wild man was a gentle soul.

  With my heart in my throat, I said, “I’ll stay. For the next five days I’m yours.”

  He was impassive for a few seconds and then, slowly, a smile lit up his face and crinkled the skin around his eyes. He grabbed hold of my face and kissed me, rough and needy, a promise of things to come.

  “Mine,” he said, his breath whispering across my lips.

  He turned me back to face the forest and, with his arms wound around my waist, we watched the sky change colors as the sun began its daily rise. And there, enfolded in the warm circle of Alaric’s arms, I greeted the new day.

  ~

  Uncovered, part two in the series, will be released in November 2014.

  If you’d like to be notified when the next installment goes live, please sign up here.

  NOTE FROM JUNE GRAY

  I love writing novels, taking the time to stretch out and tell a story in an unhurried manner. But, once in a while, I like to change gears and write shorter stories that I can release at a faster rate. Disarm was my first serial (which later became a full novel). From that experience, I learned so much and had an absolute blast. So here I am, trying my hand at another serial!

  I first want to thank you, the reader, for embarking on another journey with me. I love that you care about my characters and worry about what will happen to them.

  Second, I want to thank my beta readers: Lara, Beth, Kerry, Shannon, Gillian, Danielle, and Victoria. You ladies have been there for me since the very beginning and I can’t express enough how much I appreciate you all!

  I owe MJ Heiser a huge debt of gratitude for editing and generally being there for me whenever I was in need. I don’t know what I’d do without your snarky comments!

  And finally, thank you to my family, for your patience and understanding whenever I’m knee-deep in my stories. But also for knowing when to pull me away from my writing cave to enjoy real life. I love you.

  ~

  If you enjoyed Untamed, I hope you’ll consider telling your friends or posting a review. I would really appreciate it!

  I also love hearing back from readers. If you’d like to contact me, you can do so at [email protected] or leave a message on my website at http://www.authorjunegray.com.

  I’m also on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

  ALSO BY JUNE GRAY

  The Disarm Series

  Disarm

  Arrest

  Surrender

  The True North Series

  Finding West

  Heading East

  Taking Heart