Hearts on Fire 7: Claiming Catalina (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Hearts on Fire 7: Claiming Catalina

  Catalina meets four men and it's instant attraction. But they're going through some life changing transitions and she's trying to decide whether to stay or leave Treasure Town. As their worlds collide so do their hearts as they take a chance on love. But one of their professions puts her life at risk leaving her fighting to survive or die because she let her guard down and fell in love.

  It's a race against time as two of her men and the people of Treasure Town try to keep her safe, while her other two men hunt the man wanting to kill them. But it may be too late. There's another person involved and a whole lot of corruption, and time is running out for Catalina. It's do or die and she must fight to live or die trying as there seem to be no other options.

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 39,817 words

  HEARTS ON FIRE 7:

  CLAIMING CATALINA

  Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  HEARTS ON FIRE 7: CLAIMING CATALINA

  Copyright © 2015 by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-836-3

  First E-book Publication: October 2015

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Hearts on Fire 7: Claiming Catalina by Dixie Lynn Dwyer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Dear readers,

  Thank you for purchasing this legal copy of Claiming Catalina.

  Catalina is fighting the attraction she feels even though she wants to believe that meeting Cody, Jeremy, Don, and Cooper was just bad timing. They meet again, and because of her past, and a previous relationship with another man who broke her heart and betrayed her, she isn’t sure if she should give the relationship a chance.

  Have you ever had that first encounter, the one where your belly quivers and your heart races, and every sense in your body is on alert because the man you met is that appealing and perfect for you?

  Despite spending some time together and learning about that person you, question the sincerity of love, the future of such a man’s existence in your life and even question whether it was right, or would last?

  So does Catalina until she focused on the most obvious method of figuring it out. She followed her heart. She remembered from day one meeting them in the ER and feeling her heart warm and her insides react. One look, a few exchanged words, and, indeed, they’d set her heart on fire. It was a flame that would burn forever because true love had the power to make it through everything.

  May you enjoy her story.

  Happy reading,

  Hugs!

  ~Dixie~

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  About the Author

  HEARTS ON FIRE 7:

  CLAIMING CATALINA

  DIXIE LYNN DWYER

  Copyright © 2015

  Prologue

  “You are going to do that 10K race in two weeks, aren’t you?” Shayla asked Catalina Shay as she stopped her bike next to where Catalina stood, her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

  Catalina was up to fifteen miles, but she wasn’t sure it was good enough for the 10K race through and around Treasure Town and Fairway, the town over.

  “I don’t know. I’m still kind of slow, and I would hate to do it and not come in somewhere in the top ten.”

  “I think you will do fantastic. You’ve been training for it. Just sign up already. I’ll even go with you to the Y so you can register today.”

  Catalina stood up and smiled at Shayla. She was a nurse at the Fairway General Hospital, too. She stretched out and Shayla got off her bike.

  “Are you coming out with us tonight or what?” Shayla asked her.

  She shrugged, not really feeling too enthusiastic about hitting the Station again. Although most of her good friends hung out there, she wasn’t quite feeling like going.

  “I don’t know. This is my only night off for the rest of the week.”

  “All you do is work. You even cover other people’s shifts all the time. You’re going to get burned out,” Shayla told her as they strolled down the walkway and through the park.

  “I don’t have anything better to do, and I love working in the ER.”

  “I know, and you’re great at it, too, but you also work the burn unit sometimes and help out other days and even nights. You’re the one who said you had no social life.”

  She exhaled. “I don’t.” She thought about Jeremy Jones and his brothers Cody, Don, and Cooper. She’d met them months ago at the hospital when Sophia had been abducted and seriously hurt. Jeremy and his brothers had helped to save Sophia’s life. She had been surprised when she felt the instant attraction
to the four brothers. It was obvious that they’d liked her, too, but they didn’t live in New Jersey. They were also pretty secretive about their lives, especially Jeremy. He had been whisked off by some federal agents a short time after, and she’d never seen them again. That was just her luck, to finally meet men she was attracted to, but they weren’t attracted to her. It would never work out. Being a workaholic was her life.

  “Are you even listening to me?”

  She looked at Shayla. “Yes, of course I am. I’m just tired from running fourteen miles. I think I’m going to head home to shower and then do some food shopping and clean up the townhouse.”

  “Oh, that sounds like loads of fun. How about I pick you up at six? We can meet MaryAnn and Destiny at the Boathouse for dinner before we check out the hot, single guys at the Station.”

  Catalina felt that nervous sensation hit her belly. It was as if she was losing her self-confidence when it came to men. There were plenty of guys that hit on her, but no one she felt attracted to.

  She began to decline when Shayla shook her head.

  “No, no, no. I will be at your house at six, and you better have your ass ready.”

  Catalina shook her head and exhaled. “Fine,” she replied, and Shayla smiled wide as they got to the parking lot.

  When Catalina finally got home after hitting the supermarket, she was feeling exhausted. She glanced at the clock and she knew she wouldn’t have time to clean the condo. It wasn’t as though it was dirty, but it gave her something to do on her days off. A glance around the room once she put away all the shopping and she saw that it really didn’t need cleaning at all.

  She headed to her bedroom and then grabbed a towel and her robe. She could lie down for a couple of hours and then fix her hair and makeup. She wasn’t in the mood for this tonight, but it was better than sitting home alone. Lately, anything, even working, was better than sitting home alone. Tonight, like every other night, would be a waste of time. She’d rather focus her energy on the things that made her happy and were fulfilling, like being an ER nurse. That was worth her time and even giving up her days off.

  * * * *

  “Why is it so crowded tonight, and who the hell are all these guys?” MaryAnn asked then took a sip from her sangria.

  “There’s some sort of training going on in town for the next few weeks. Firefighters from across the country are here learning about new types of equipment and things. It’s at the large convention center,” Destiny told them, and then checked out two guys who walked by and winked at the three of them.

  “Jesus, we can so get lucky tonight,” Shayla stated, and they chuckled.

  “You said three weeks? We can be pretty damn happy for a few weeks’ worth of sexy men who aren’t from around here,” MaryAnn said to them, and they laughed.

  Destiny looked at Catalina. “Did you hear about the new position in the hospital for an LPN? I caught wind of it today at work. Fantastic salary and a regular eight-to-four shift, off weekends, and paid vacation time and holidays off.”

  “No, what the hell kind of position is it?” Shayla asked her, and Catalina sat forward to hear, too.

  “The requirements list a series of things from ER experience, the burn unit, critical care, pediatrics, and some certificate most people don’t have. I heard from Mary Lang that the hospital offered the paid certificate classes to everyone, but only one nurse took advantage of it. So whoever that was, if she has the other experience, she would be the perfect candidate.”

  “Shit, well, there goes me applying. I didn’t take that course. It was over a year ago and on Sunday nights. By Sunday, I’m trying to recover enough from Saturday to work Monday and the rest of the week. I sure didn’t want to take some lame, boring class,” Shayla said.

  “It wasn’t boring. It had a lot to do with medical financing and getting grants that could be used for individuals, as well as the hospital as a whole,” Catalina told them and then took a small sip from her glass of wine.

  “You were the one who took the course?” Shayla asked, sounding shocked.

  “Oh my God, Catalina, I thought of you when I saw the requirements listed. You have most of the things and that certification no one else has. You should apply for it,” Destiny told her.

  “You totally have to. Do you realize how much of a normal life you could have working the day shifts and no more weekends or even midnights? Jesus. You should have made me take the course with you. Why didn’t you tell me you were taking it?” Shayla asked.

  “You were seeing Rourke at the time. Need I say more?” Catalina asked as she raised one of her eyebrows at Shayla. Shayla shook her head and then took a sip from her glass.

  “He was ages ago, and I was stupid,” Shayla said.

  MaryAnn touched her arm and gave her a sympathetic expression. “You thought you loved him, and he was a manipulative asshole like most men.”

  “Yeah, we wouldn’t remind you about how you gave us up for him and how he made you stop talking to us for over a month,” Destiny added.

  “Okay, there’s no need to bring this up now. As I said, that was ages ago. So what’s the salary for this job, and are they looking to hire from within, or are they considering transfers from out of state?”

  “They’re considering anyone that has all the requirements, Catalina. You should check it out and apply,” Destiny told her.

  “I don’t know. I love working the ER. Some of the craziest times are during the night shifts, and the holidays are always nuts. I like to keep really busy and feel like I’m truly helping,” Catalina told them.

  “You work so damn hard. You deserve a great job and the salary starts at ninety thousand. There are bonuses and then raises as well, based on job performance. I bet if you were to get those grants and work out bringing in money to the hospital, you would get paid even more.”

  “You’d be crazy not to do it. If you did meet some guy or guys you liked, you wouldn’t have to worry about your work schedule and trying to make time for them,” Shayla said to her.

  “Well, my luck with men has not been great, and considering that I haven’t dated a man since college, I’d say I don’t need to use having time for a guy as incentive to apply for a job, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “Catalina?”

  * * * *

  They all turned to look up, and Catalina’s mouth dropped, and her heart instantly began to race. Cooper, Jeremy’s brother, was standing there, and a huge smile broke out on his face as she locked gazes with him.

  “Cooper? What are you doing here?” She stood up. He smiled as he gently placed his hands on her upper arms and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. She was stunned at the sensations she felt and couldn’t help but to look around for his brothers.

  He stepped back and placed his hands in his pockets. He looked like some sexy Ralph Lauren Polo model, but with extra-large muscles and a sexy, flirty grin.

  “Don and I are in town for the next few weeks doing this training thing at the convention center.”

  “Oh, great,” Catalina said and then heard Shayla clear her throat. She turned to look at them all smirking and waiting for an introduction.

  “Oh, Cooper, meet my friends Shayla, MaryAnn, and Destiny.”

  Copper smiled and shook their hands, and her friends ate him up with their eyes. He was that damn sexy. She felt the twinge of jealousy, and then her friends stood up.

  “We need some more drinks. Why don’t we head to the bar and you two can talk here at the table and catch up?” Shayla said to them.

  “You don’t have to leave. My brother Don is around here somewhere, and a few other guys we met with the McCallister brothers,” Cooper told them, but then he looked right at Catalina.

  “Here, take my seat. I need to use the lady’s room,” Destiny told him, and her three friends left her standing there all alone with Cooper.

  “I didn’t mean to scare them away,” he said, and she took a seat. He took the seat next to her, and his knee bump
ed her thigh. Their gazes locked.

  “They were looking for excuses to go meet some guys,” she told him and then looked around for her friends, but they were nowhere in sight.

  “Were you planning on doing that, too?” he asked, scooting closer to her. It was pretty loud in the place and very crowded. She held his gaze and absorbed dark brown eyes and that flirty, sexy expression that made her feel all giddy inside.

  “No. I didn’t even want to come here tonight.”

  “Why not?” he asked her, and seemed really interested, as though he wasn’t just trying to force a conversation.

  “I really don’t like to hang out at bars, and I’m so busy working all the time that I kind of like to enjoy my day off.”

  “What do you like to do when you’re not working in the ER and patching up bullet wounds?” He winked.

  “How is your brother’s arm? It healed okay? Didn’t leave too bad of a scar?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” he said to her and then looked away a moment.

  She sensed something was wrong, but she really didn’t know Cooper well enough to ask him. She had helped Jeremy at the hospital that day.

  “I thought you guys lived together,” she said.

  He leaned back slightly and held her gaze. He had one hand on the table and the other over the back of her chair. He was close enough that she could smell his cologne and relish his masculinity.

  “We do now, but with his job and working undercover for the past few years, we kind of drifted apart a little. We’ve been working on getting to know one another again. He was gone for almost three years.”