HAUNTED BY MAGIC -Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Boxset Sampler

CLAIMING THEIR ROYAL MATE - TIFFANY ALLEE

Chapter 1

Holy crap. How had she accumulated so many clothes that no longer fit?

Barely keeping hold of the bags full of old clothes, Daniella Clark bumped her butt into the door to push it open. Stepping into the hallway, she hit something nearly as hard as the door—something that grunted at the contact. The bags slipped from her fingers to land on the threshold. The hard body she'd run into was attached to a large man blocking her doorway, and her glare didn't seem to ruffle him at all.

The jerk was always in her way lately.

"Jeez. Way to skulk around my door. What do you want, Owen?" Daniella asked, hating the breathiness in her voice.

Her neighbor stared at her for a moment, and his nostrils flared. Something passed behind his gaze. Something that made her breath catch and tension build between her legs. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. And he shrugged, arrogant mask engaged.

"I was just passing by. Not my fault you didn't look where you were going."

The man was seriously aggravating. She could hardly believe they'd been good friends the last year, ever since she'd accidentally locked herself out of her apartment. He'd been kind enough to give her a place to hang out while she'd waited for the building's superintendent to show up with the key. From then on, they'd hung out at least once a week, sometimes more, depending on her schedule. That is, up until a month ago.

"I'm getting sick of you always being in my way, Owen." She picked up the bags, needing something to look at that wasn't her ridiculously hot neighbor. Her attraction to him itself was irritating because he wasn't her type, even if he did make her weak in the knees. His face was hard, chiseled and memorable, but his features were too strong to be considered traditionally handsome—his nose too Roman and his jaw a little too wide. Not to mention he rarely smiled at her anymore, and she liked men who weren't afraid to enjoy life.

Heck, that was why she'd liked his company for so long—his easy laughter and quick wit. Over the last month, it was as if he'd turned into a different man. One who didn't smile much and who was quick to anger.

She tried not to take it personally, but the fact he'd just cut off their friendship, cold as ice, made being the bigger person difficult.

His full head of light brown hair was nice, if always a little too long—as if he were constantly two weeks late to the barber. But he was far bigger than guys she liked to date. Broad and muscled like a man who never left the gym. Although she'd never actually seen him at the gym near their Denver apartment complex, he had to work out somewhere. Men just didn't achieve that level of muscle naturally.

But despite the fact he didn't fit her usual mold, she found herself more than just a little attracted to him.

Of course, that was a hopeless cause if ever there was one. She'd seen his dates—all two of them—since he'd moved into the building. They were both model thin, and while she was usually pretty proud of her voluptuous form, no one would ever accuse her of being waif-like.

Her attraction had started with a tremor. Just the slightest quavering of her voice when she spoke to him. Then, just when she'd started looking at him differently, he'd shut down. Stopped talking to her, started making excuses for why he couldn't hang out with her anymore. But he always seemed to be around. At her door when she walked out. Looking irritated to run into her in the parking lot.

"I was walking through a shared hallway. Would you prefer I jump out the window to get to my truck?" A hint of a smile touched his lips, and her breath caught.