Merry Christmas , Happy Holidays to all my readers

 

Then he picked her up in his strong arms and cradled her to his body. “I’ll carry you.” Read #teasers and what the #author says about Candle Magic 5* #paranormalromance #Christmas #romance from @sirenbookstrand

 

 

Kick back with a teaser

Two strong male hands grasped her waist, lifted her, and set her on her feet. A deep, attractive voice asked, “Are you okay?—You’re not. You’re freezing and your shoe is broken. Let me help you. I’m here for you.” He held her shoulders, taking some of her weight as Simi limped to face her rescuer.

She looked up and into the eyes of a gorgeous man. Strands of his thick dark hair glistened in the light, thrown off by the strings of fairy lights threaded through the branches of the trees lining this part of the sidewalk. The sleet lent a sheen to these strands and lit him up as if he, too, was a Christmas decoration. Simi gazed at him. She drank in the perfect features of his face. Her eyes dipped to take in his obviously muscled body under his clothes. His overcoat hung open over a black suit. He wore a gleaming white shirt and a black bow tie. He’s perfect.

“I’m fine, thank you,” her voice scratched out.

He gave her a look just short of amused, but definitely disbelieving.

“I know otherwise. Please, it’s Christmas. Let me be here for you.”

The sincerity in his voice soothed her. Trepidation left her, replaced by hope. Bizarre, considering he could be a murderer. She hopped a step.

The gorgeous man stooped and pulled the heel from the paver crack. He grinned at her mischievously and put it in his pocket.

Simi let her shoulder bag dangle from her arm and tried to walk with one foot five-and-a-half inches higher than the other.

The delicious man held her arm gently. He took her bag and slung it over his shoulder.

“I’ll carry that. Put your arm around my waist and lean on me.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders.

She did as he asked. His hard body under her arm comforted her. Simi tried another step. It was still a limp, but suddenly amused, she laughed. She looked up into his handsome face.

“If I’m going to be hanging onto you, I should know your name.”

“Jason. My name’s Jason, and you’re…?”

Simi was lost in the sound of his voice and the flow of delicious tingles down her body as his arm tightened around her. She whispered, “Simi.”

He smiled, his eyes alight with emotion. “That’s a beautiful name. A lovely, soft name for a beautiful girl.”

A little alarm bell went off for Simi. Isn’t that a little too charming? Maybe he is a murderer trying to lull me into trusting him. “Look buddy, don’t bother trying flattery on me.”

His smile widened. Crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. He laughed and then shook his head. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not here to hurt you, quite the opposite, and you are beautiful.”

The wind whipped strands of her hair across her face and she limped along. “I don’t have far to go now. I can manage. You must have somewhere to be.”

Jason sighed deeply.

The sound traveled over Simi in a wave. It brought a wash of regret that she’d suggested this gorgeous man stop helping her and leave. She looked up into his eyes and saw sadness.

“I have nowhere to be. It’s Christmas. I’m free to be with you if you want me. I’m no threat. I’d love to help you…at least to your door, Simi.”

Her longing to have a man like him with her for comfort, help, and maybe more seeded acceptance and trust in her heart. She gripped his overcoat as she leaned into him again, trying to excuse her outburst about flattery. “I’m not used to knights in shining armor.” She limped off again and he walked with her, his arm around her, almost lifting her from her feet. His pace slowed to give her time to accommodate the lack of a heel on one shoe.

“I’ve not been that for a long time.” His murmured words brought a smile to her lips and she took a deep breath, deciding to talk with him as they made their way to her apartment. “Have you been to a party or something?”

“I’ve been—” He told her, but dipped his head as the sleet became heavier.

Simi didn’t hear the end of his sentence. It was whirled away by the weather’s onslaught. The wind made the icy rain slant into her overcoat collar. She cuddled against him.

Jason stopped walking. He gave her a gentle smile. “We’ll be frozen and saturated by the time we get to your place.” Then he picked her up in his strong arms and cradled her to his body. “I’ll carry you.”

As he enveloped her in his arms, her face rested on his chest. A vague fragrance of pine needles and trees drifted around her. His arm under her thighs warmed her. His arm crushing her to his muscled chest reminded her of the dream she’d had. He was every bit as gorgeous and sexy as the man in her dream. Simi’s heart filled up with hope. Whatever he was offering this night she would take. This was the most comforted and cared for she’d felt in a very long time. As Jason walked with her, she snuggled into his aura. He exuded masculinity, strength, protection, sex. It felt good. “Thank you. My place is at the end of this street.”

Copyright Elodie Parkes , Siren Publishing

From Elodie,

My hero, Jason Chandler, doesn’t know what he is. Maybe an angel, or a spirit, he only knows he’s given assignments to fulfill by the enigmatic higher powers of the universe. This assignment is different, and when he finds himself materialize beside Simi, my heroine, he’s instantly hopeful that his lonely existence is about to change.  With an HEA , this story is full of love and magic.

 Read Jason's explanation of what he is to himself (book teaser)

Jason followed as she went to the dining room.

She put the candlestick in the middle with a happy sigh.

He smiled at her. “How can I help?”

Simi opened the door on a low cabinet. She took out rolled, fine wooden-slat, place mats and unfurled each on the table. “Talk to me. Tell me about yourself. Where do you work? Where do you live? I want to know all about you, or at least something.” She laughed then.

The sound took away the fear that spiked up Jason’s spine when she asked the specific questions about him. I’ll tell her what I can without frightening her away. He opted for that.

“I have assignments from a—a group that are designed to help people...solve problems. I live around here.” The ether wasn’t so far above the terrestrial sphere, scientifically, and mystical enough to be almost everywhere, so that was okay to say. I can’t say I only work at Christmas, though. I can’t say I’m some sort of spirit doing penance for dabbling in magic, can I?

Simi placed cut crystal, long-stemmed glasses on each mat. She grinned at him. “Are you a social worker?”

Jason shook his head.

Simi considered for a few moments. “You’re a company troubleshooter. No wonder you’re a little cagey about that. Ours is a shark. He can put a positive light on the trickiest complaint.”

“Oh, no, that’s not how I operate. I really help, even if it’s just for a short time.” That much was true. He’d brought comfort, strokes of good luck, better outlooks, the coincidence of friends meeting lost friends or family, the avoidance of an accident not meant to happen, although never what he’d brought Simi, never sex and … and love.

Copyright Elodie Parkes, Siren Publishing 

Candle Magic is currently on sale @sirenbookstrand

ReadersFavorite 5 stars

Reviewed by Janelle Fila for Readers' Favorite

Candle Magic by Elodie Parkes is a contemporary romance set around Christmas Eve that weaves magic, romance, and sexiness into one juicy story...

...if you like steamy romances with hot men who appear out of thin air like magic and grant your sexiest wishes, this book is for you! Jason was an amazing character! Gorgeous, sexy, in the right place at the right time. But he was also mysterious and kept me guessing.

Candle Magic is currently on sale @sirenbookstrand

When Simi finds a pretty old candlestick among the discarded props in the PR company storeroom, she never imagines it can grant her dearest wish. There’s something mysterious about the carved candlestick that’s almost scary, but Simi is drawn to it. She intends to use the candlestick to hold her last antique candle and make her solitary Christmas lunch more festive.

Simi works late managing the staff Christmas Eve party and misses the subway train that will take her to her usual stop forcing her to walk the last part of the journey home on the deserted street.

A nearby clock strikes midnight. It's Christmas.

Simi slips, but Jason catches her. Who is Jason? Where has he suddenly appeared from in the night?

Simi looks into the eyes of this gorgeous man, and sparks fly…

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/candle-magic

 

I Am Not for Sale by @AdrianaKraft #RomanticSuspense #newrelease #SteamyRomance #Rafflecopter #giveaway

 A desperate espresso café owner, a determined coffee franchise rep, a quiet Midwestern town, anonymous threats out of the blue—where does the true danger lie?

Book Information

Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery

Heat level: Four flames

Print length 287 pages

81,000 words

Published November 5, 2021 at Extasy Books

 

Buy Links

 

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L7WQH12/

Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1140503297

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/i-am-not-for-sale

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1115419

ExtasyBooks https://www.extasybooks.com/I-am-Not-for-Sale

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59582104

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/i-am-not-for-sale-by-adriana-kraft

 

It’s nothing personal…

It all seems simple enough—Ukrainian immigrant Nadja Petrov is determined to hold on to her thriving new coffee shop, Nadja’s Literary Cappuccino, and Java Beans District Rep Kevin Langley is equally determined to move into her North Iowa town with a franchise and run her out of business.

He scopes her out, she keeps a watchful eye on him, and the sparring begins. But there are other players involved, and the web of intrigue soon threatens Nadja, her shop, and her aunt as well as Kevin, his potential franchise, and his son. Within this cauldron simmers a sexual attraction between Nadja and Kevin that catapults them to overcome their fears of intimacy and commitment. Their lovemaking is tender and raw. Their love is nearly lost in tragedy—can it survive doubts, fire, and even a death?

Read an Excerpt

 

Blocking the annoying stranger from her mind, Nadja busied herself by packing the leftover bakery goods she would drop off at the local food bank. She glanced up to see her aunt leaning against the doorjamb separating their two stores.

How long had Ivett been standing there? What had she seen? Her dark eyes sparkled as if she possessed a tantalizing secret. Nadja sighed, girding herself for a grilling.

She hoped when she was forty-three she’d look as attractive as her aunt. Ivett’s clear, heart-shaped face was framed by dark flowing hair and set off by the most expressive eyes. But Nadja knew she’d never bubble like her aunt—that kind of free spirit didn’t lurk anywhere in her body.

“Hmm, who’s the tall dark handsome stranger?” Ivett quipped, stepping into the coffee shop. “I don’t think I remember seeing him around. And if I had, I think I’d have noticed. He seemed quite engrossed in you.”

“Nonsense. He was just a customer.” There was no need to tell Ivett about the man’s outlandish proposition to buy her café. The man had no manners—or maybe he was merely another example of American bluntness.

“Few customers, even male customers, stand at the counter and blatantly undress you in their minds.”

Nadja gasped. “He wasn’t.”

She frowned. Or was he? Her cheeks warmed. She wasn’t blind. She’d noticed his broad chest pulling at his shirt. But she hadn’t considered him any more thoroughly than that. And she didn’t think it wise to do so now.

She shook her head. “You must be wrong. He was only interested in the coffee business.”

“Right! I don’t believe that for a minute, but if you must, go ahead. Your mother has been gone for nearly two years now, Nadja. It’s time for you to get on with your life.”

“I am. Look at this place.” She swept her gaze around the shop. “This was only a dream eighteen months ago. But with the inheritance from my mother and your and Uncle Steve’s help—this is a reality.”

“Your dream is a reality because you worked twenty-six hours a day on it with very little help for the first eight months.”

“I couldn’t hire help until I got the place up and running.”

Ivett blew air through pursed lips, and Nadja prepared herself for what had become an all-too-familiar lecture.

“You could at least show some interest in a man.”

“I don’t even know his name.”

“I don’t only mean him. But he’ll be back.”

About the Authors

 

When it’s Time to Heat Things Up

 

Award winning author Adriana Kraft is a married couple writing Sizzling Romantic Suspense and Erotic Romance for Two, Three, or More. Whether readers open our romantic suspense or our erotic romance, they can expect characters they care about, hot sex scenes, and a compelling story. Our suspense stories deliver one man, one woman, danger and intrigue. Our erotic romance is edgier and nearly always includes ménage or polyamory, sometimes with two women and a man, sometimes with two (or more) couples. We write our Erotic Romance stories to entertain, of course, but most of all we write them because we believe in happy endings for all who fall in love, whatever their gender, sexual orientation or numerical combination.

 

 

Links

 

Website: http://adrianakraft.com

Blog: http://www.adrianakraft.com/blog

Newsletter: free download of our erotic romance novella Cherry Tune-Up for signing up.

Twitter http://twitter.com/AdrianaKraft

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kraftadriana/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adriana.kraft.5

FaceBook Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaKraftAuthor

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/adrianakraft

Extasy author page https://www.extasybooks.com/adriana-kraft

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1578571.Adriana_Kraft

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-kraft

 

ENTER the GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Behind the title with Captive Wolf #wolfshifter #shifter #romance #suspense @sirenbookstrand @elodieparkes Read the #teaser that features the title of the story

 

When Ryder Venn sets out to do a favor for his alpha brother, Joshua, he thinks it’s just an ordinary day. Little does he know the horror and adventure that awaits him. Captured and tortured by shifter hunters, Ryder wakes to the gentle care of Evie Thomas.

As Ryder Venn falls in love with the mysterious girl who nurses his wounds and feeds him, Evie discloses her reason for being part of the hunter’s group. She’s infiltrated the club, determined to avenge her brother’s death at one of their leader’s hands. As Evie reveals her identity and plans to Ryder, they fall into a heated and passionate love affair. Meanwhile, the shifter hunters plot to force Ryder into cage fighting. The trouble is just who or what will they make him fight?

Deep in love, Ryder marks Evie as his mate.

Gorgeous Ryder will do anything for her.

Lovely Evie will do anything to free him.

Read the teaser that features the title

Ryder heard the guards in the distance calling to each other. He was about to shift when into his head came a picture of Evie. It startled him into stilling the shake that would turn him into his wolf. Evie filled his head, his senses, and a terrible ache of loneliness and loss clenched his gut. He ran his hands through his hair. All he could think of was Evie and how she’d be left behind with these horrible people if he left. She’d made love to him, tended his wounds, taken care of him. He saw her eyes as she’d looked into his at the end of the fight. I can’t leave her. I just can’t. Maybe I can persuade her to give up her murderous quest and come home with me.

Ryder extricated himself from a tangle of twigs and branches. A delicious smell of leaves and tree bark taunted him. The night air embraced him, and then he set off at speed for the estate and the stable block where he knew his cell stall lay waiting. Even if I end up killing that vicious bent Doug guy, would that be so bad? He’s a murderer, a killer… God only knows how many animals and men have suffered at his hands. All the same, I’m not a killer. I can’t leave Evie, though. His thoughts sped through his mind as he bolted through the open gates and sprinted toward the stable block. He almost smiled as he dragged the wide door open and breathlessly stopped in the entrance.

When the guards had taken him to the arena, they’d left his stall door open.

Resigned, Ryder walked to the stall and entered. He closed the door with a sigh. That’s it then, contained once more, captive wolf. I just hope Evie visits tonight because I’m desperate for the sight of her. What would Liberty and Josh, say about me choosing a woman over freedom? They’d say, Ryder, you’re finally in love, and I am.

 Copyright Elodie Parkes, Siren Publishing 

The Venn Pack in Love former top 30 Siren bestsellers.

The whole series is currently on sale at Siren Bookstrand only for $1.50 each. 

In love with wolf shifters? Erotic, suspenseful, different. Chock full of hot love and cool characters

The Venn Pack in Love from Siren Publishing.

Send to your kindle. Choose your file type.

Mobi, PDF etc.

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/surprising-the-alpha

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/wolf-bond-mf

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/captive-wolf-mf

Behind the Title with #shifter #romance Wolf Bond. Read a #teaser that gives the story its title. @sirenbookstrand @ElodieParkes

 

Liberty Venn longs for love after her alpha brother, Joshua, found it with Dani Cruz. It's a year after the Cruz entrepreneurs have regenerated the town and saved Liberty from closing her cafe.

When a stranger arrives in town, he instantly captures lonely Liberty’s attention. Drawn to him by a deep undeniable instinct, Liberty loses her heart when Eden Farrell flirts with her. Will he be the lover she’s begun to long for?

Eden Farrell, P.I., wolf shifter, gorgeous. He goes after what he wants, and now he wants Liberty. He recognizes the wolf in her long before she knows what he is. He ignites a passion in Liberty and she delights him with her response.

As a deep bond forms between them, danger follows Eden. He’s in love with Liberty, and believes nothing will keep him from her. Trouble is, danger is out to find them both. 

Read the teaser featuring the title:

Liberty nodded. “I’ll pass your order in.” She turned to go.

Eden gazed after her.

All through eating his meal, he rehearsed what he’d say to her. He lingered over coffee and then another cup waiting for closing time. At nine, Liberty’s helper, Craig, left along with the last customer.

Liberty came over to Eden with the coffeepot in her hand. “Would you like more coffee?”

He put his hand over his cup. “No, thank you. I’m good. Unless…unless you’d like to get a cup and join me? If you have time?” He bestowed a charming smile on her, hoping she’d join him.

“Sure, I will do that. I’ll just lock the door.” She flipped the open sign to closed and clicked the lock on the door. She was on her way to the counter with the coffeepot in one hand when Eden caught up with her.

He stood next to the counter and waited for her to pour coffee into one of the café’s signature blue cups. “Could we sit up here in the low light? I feel a little exposed at the window table now you’ve closed.” He desperately wanted a few moments of privacy with her. “People might think you’re still open.”

He brought her coffee cup to a nearby table that had already been cleared and pulled out a chair for her.

Liberty’s eyes lit up with pleasure and she sat. “Thank you.”

Eden brought a chair for himself closer. “Thank you for having coffee with me before I go off to my empty motel room.”

She glanced over at the table where he’d left his coffee cup. “Oh, let me get yours.”

Eden stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. Touching her made him tremble. He looked into her eyes as she turned her face to his. She’s mine. She is mine. Finally—my love, my mate. “No, it’s okay.” He moved his hand from her arm reluctantly.

She faltered and then nodded. “So you haven’t bought a place yet?”

Through the haze of falling in love with her and recognizing his long hoped for mate, he understood her need to know about him. “I have, but it’s not furnished yet. It’s the apartment over the store, not far down the main street on the opposite side to this café. It used to be a shoe shop. I’m opening an office, though, not a store. I hope to move in tomorrow. Things are arriving.” He soaked up the pleasure of being close to her. He longed to touch her again. Doesn’t she know I’m a wolf, too? Doesn’t she feel this urgent need to hold each other close? I’d stopped believing in the wolf bond, but now I know it’s true. He reached for her hand. “Liberty, I’m so very glad I came here. I never expected to meet someone like you, but I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to have met you.” Eden had no reservations about going after Liberty. If the stories he’d been told about the wolf bond were true, she’d know, even subconsciously, that he was meant for her.

She didn’t answer, but she left her hand in his and her eyes betrayed her desire.

Eden’s stomach tightened as she curled her fingers around his. For some reason the satin sheath of her fingers brought to mind another place he’d like to explore. His cock stirred, and he transferred his gaze to her mouth. He leaned toward her, needing to kiss her so much.

She leaned closer to him.

The space between them seemed to grow thick. Eden couldn’t pull away.

Liberty was a whisper away and then as he closed his eyes, her lips touched his.

He fell into the kiss, drifting in the intense pleasure until every muscle in his body felt melted, except for his cock, which was rock hard and straining at his jeans. He couldn’t open his eyes. They were heavy with lust. He didn’t want the kiss to end.

She still held his fingers, but he slipped his other hand around her head, into her hair, grasping a fistful of the silken wealth and kept her face to his so that he could prolong the kiss. As soon as one ended, he took another, lingering, murmuring low sounds of enjoyment. He’d kissed before, received kisses before, but never like this, never felt drugged and melted.

Liberty brought a hand up to his face and trailed her fingertips over his ear. She held his head and moved away to catch her breath.

Eden used the time to capture her. “Liberty, we’re both wolves. I want you. I’m yours if you want me. Say you feel the incredible pull to me that I do to you. Say you recognize the bond.”

Liberty made a little sound, like a sigh and a murmur of assent mixed together. She rested her forehead on his, and her whisper teased at his lips. “I do feel it. I do want you. I wasn’t sure you were a wolf until tonight. I don’t use my heightened senses as an everyday event, but as soon as I saw you I hoped for…for you.”

Copyright Elodie Parkes , Siren Publishing

 Currently The Venn Pack in Love series is on sale at Siren Bookstrand only

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/wolf-bond-mf  (2)

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/captive-wolf-mf (3)

https://www.bookstrand.com/book/surprising-the-alpha  (1)

Teaser from #Paranormalromance The Old Star for #ThrowbackThursday #magic #romance What's Hidden in this spooky place?

 

 

What’s hidden in this spooky place? A love story that will haunt you.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EPWDDGC

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EPWDDGC

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00EPWDDGC

Available  to read free with Kindle Unlimited

The Old Star

She was looking for new office space...but it found her…what’s hidden in this spooky place?

When Cathy Faraday goes out from her office to buy morning tea, a set of circumstances send her on a different route from the one she would normally take. Waiting on a street unknown to her is a house. Old and left to fade away the house looks shabby against its neighbors. The whole row of houses are now offices and Cathy sees a ‘for let sign’ outside the place. Something draws her to the house. Someone watches from the third floor window.

Cathy applies to rent the building to expand her dating agency business. As she begins to make it ready, the house reveals its secrets.

Erotic paranormal romance, set in contemporary England this story will haunt you.

Read the teaser  excerpt

Cathy was driving back to her office, when halfway there, she decided to go and see the building she had just rented.

She knew the route now and was soon parking in the opulent car park. A sense of anticipation gave her butterflies in her stomach as she walked toward the building with the key in her hand.

The front door was ajar again and Cathy frowned. She inspected the lock. It seemed okay, but she decided it must be faulty. She’d seen locks like this before that appeared to lock, but then somehow the mechanism shifted and even a slight wind would blow the door open.

She didn’t think it likely anyone would have gone into the place because the square spoke of a quiet business environment. Cathy went in there happily. She walked around all the rooms and pulled the coverings off the windows leaving a small stack of newspapers in the corner of each room. The sun streamed in and cheered the place immediately. Cathy set about opening windows and was incredibly pleased to find they opened easily. The locks slid easily and the sash lifted smoothly. Soon the place was filling with fresh air.

Cathy went up to the second floor and did the same in the rooms there. After twenty minutes of activity, she stood still and silently at the bottom of the stairs leading to the top floor. She looked up there and then around her as if someone might see her. Cathy decided to creep up the stairs, and try the door.

She expected the stairs to creek eerily, but they didn’t and were just as solid as the lower staircases. At the top was a landing, only a square of floor space, and one door. The door had a beautiful bone handle. It was an ivory white, and carved with flowers, stars, and leaves. Cathy reached out her hand and took hold of the handle, to her shock, as it turned the hair on the back of her neck prickled up. A shudder of fear went through her as she pushed the door open.

The room she could see through the opening was huge. Sunlight filled it, and as Cathy walked in, she realized the room took up the whole of the top floor. There were big windows on each side and these weren’t covered with newspaper, or the brown paper. Cathy shook her head clearing her thoughts. She felt sure she’d seen paper at these windows when she was standing in the back garden looking up.

Suddenly, she realized someone was there at the far end. It was a man in jeans and a t-shirt, and he was painting the window frame. Cathy froze. She wasn’t supposed to come up here, but surely she ought to be informed if anyone was in the building. When she moved in, her client information would need the strictest privacy and security.

The man turned around and Cathy’s heart flipped. He was quite simply the most attractive man she’d ever seen.

He walked halfway down the room and stopped.

“Who are you?” His voice was low, husky, and as attractive as he was.

Cathy’s mouth went dry with fear and her instant reaction to this man.

“I’ve just rented the place. I’m sorry, I know this floor is off limits, but the front door was open and I thought…” She improvised what was a lie in reality.

The man approached her and her words trailed away as she took in the sight of him.

He was tall and muscular. His t-shirt wasn’t tight but showed his body to be hard, and Cathy had the most astonishing urge to go to him, and run her hands up underneath it to feel his skin. His hair spiked around his ears dark and untidy in a way that was endearing for her. His eyes were a shade of dark blue she hadn’t seen before. Calling him handsome wouldn’t do him justice. He was strikingly attractive. The shape of his face, jaw, nose, all added up to make a sight Cathy registered as dreamy. He was a hunk, gorgeous, sexy, and desirable.

He stood at arm’s length with the paintbrush in his hand.

Cathy gazed at him and he smiled. It was a lovely smile and disarmed Cathy even further. She began to back away.

The man shook his head.

“It’s okay. You haven’t done anything wrong. I’m surprised to see you, but this is good. I didn’t know the place had been rented out.” His eyes held a curious expression. Cathy instinctively knew something in what he said wasn’t true, but he wasn’t angry, and he smiled again.

Cathy returned the smile.

“Cathy Faraday, and you are?” ‘He’s probably some tradesman the owner has employed and neglected to tell Alfred about.’

“Owen Sheringham.” He gave her a look that said this was all he was telling her. The look had authority, and Cathy suddenly thought he could be the owner of the building.

She nodded and backed away a little. Glancing behind her, she gestured to the door she’d entered and noticed that there were three doors. They were at intervals in the same wall and Cathy stared at them.

Owen followed her gaze and waited.

Cathy became aware of his waiting. It was tangible. She gestured again at the door she felt sure she’d entered by because it was at the end of the room near the big back windows.

“I’ll get going and let you go back to work. I only dropped by, and need to go back to my office.” She heard her voice waver, and it was all she could do to keep herself from turning and running. She reached the door and yanked it open, not realizing it had closed behind her.

Owen called out. “Come and see me tomorrow?”

Cathy only glimpsed his face as she fled through the door. He looked vulnerable and sad.

She let go of the carved bone handle and saw that she’d closed the door. For two minutes she stood there shaking, and searching the wall for any evidence of the doors that were on the other side of it. The landing wasn’t long enough to have the three doors lead out to it. ‘Perhaps they’re decoration.’

Cathy shook herself and quietly went down the stairs. Apart from finding Owen Sheringham devastatingly attractive, to the point where she felt sad that he wasn’t hers, there was something spooky about what had just happened.

She drove back to her office still feeling shaken and once there made herself black tea to shore up her nerves.

 Copyright Elodie Parkes, Hot Ink Press, and imprint of Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

OUT NOW—The Persecution of the Wolves by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985) #paranormal, #wolves, #werewolves, #shifter, #thriller

 

Blurb:

Someone’s got it in for the Adams brothers. But who? And why?

Werewolf brothers Matthew and Isaac have lived in the peaceful village of Eyam, Derbyshire all their lives. The villagers know what they are, and have their reasons for keeping quiet. But this secrecy comes at a cost—the brothers can’t risk romantic entanglements.

Then, at the next full moon, a sheep is slaughtered on Eyam Moor, by what could only be a large animal. Even the brothers’ staunchest supporters begin to have their doubts about who—or what—could have done it.

As the brothers fight to clear their names, things are complicated by unexpected opportunities to indulge their lust. Isaac is intrigued by a handsome newcomer to the village, and a vivacious visitor is happy to offer Matthew her all.

Can the men prove their innocence, or is their centuries-old secret about to be revealed to the outside world, bringing their carefully crafted existence crashing down around their ears?

Please note: This book has been previously published. This version has been re-edited.

Universal Link: http://books2read.com/wolves    

 

*****

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Modern day Eyam

As Matthew and Isaac Adams stepped through the front door to their house, the telephone started ringing. Matthew sighed. “Typical. No rest for the wicked. I’ll answer it—you go and get ready for work.”

Isaac nodded and headed off to do as his brother advised. Matthew, the older of the two, walked up to the ringing phone and snatched it off the hook. Then, remembering the person on the other end of the line would have no idea what a rough night he’d just had, he made the effort to inject some politeness into his tone.

“Hello? Adams residence.” Isaac had told him time and time again the last part about the residence was old fashioned, that people didn’t say that anymore, but Matthew couldn’t seem to shake it.

“Hello, Matthew? It’s Richard.” The village vicar’s voice, even though he’d only spoken four words, sounded strained, almost panicked. “You boys just get back?”

“Yes, a moment ago. Why, what’s up?”

“I, uh… I got a call. A dead sheep has been found up on the moor. Not just dead. Mutilated. Like an animal attack.”

An unpleasant feeling wormed its way under Matthew’s skin and his stomach flipped. “Oh?” He paused, then figured he had nothing to gain by not saying the next words he wanted to. “You don’t think it was us?”

The vicar’s gasp was instant, one of genuine surprise. “Lord, no! Absolutely not. I just phoned to let you know and I was wondering if you’d come up there with me and take a look? You and Isaac are probably more qualified than anyone else in the village to tell what did this.”

“Isaac has to work. He just went to get ready. But yes, I’ll come up. I’ll let my brother know where I’m going, then I’ll be straight over. Are you at the rectory?”

“Yes. Okay, I’ll see you soon. Thanks, Matthew. Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

Matthew hung up the phone with another sigh. The horrible feeling that had crept under his skin and taken over his gut seemed as if it was there to stay, and it was never a good sign. The vicar’s news was surprising, yes, but he also had an inkling it was going to spell trouble, or at the very least inconvenience for him and his brother.

Pulling in a deep breath in an attempt to calm his jangling nerves, Matthew walked upstairs and towards his brother’s bedroom. The door was closed. He knocked. “You decent?”

“Yeah,” Isaac replied, “close enough.”

Matthew stepped into the room and looked at his brother. He was half-dressed, almost ready for his shift at the doctors’ surgery, where he was a general practitioner. “Sorry to interrupt, mate, but that was Richard on the phone. Someone’s found a mutilated sheep up on the moor, and he’s asked me to go with him to check it out.”

Isaac paused with one arm pushed into his shirtsleeve. “He doesn’t think—”

“No. He was quite adamant about that. He just thought we’d be able to help figure out what did it. I explained you’ve got to go to work, though. I’m going to head across there now and go up with him.”

“I could phone in, let them know I’ll be late.”

Matthew held up his hand. “There’s no need, brother. Relax. Just go to work and help the sick people. I’ll let you know what—if anything—I find out.”

Isaac opened his mouth, then closed it again, apparently having thought better of whatever he was going to say. He continued to dress. “All right, I will. But make sure you let me know what happens. Send me a text or something, and I’ll phone you as soon as I have a gap in between patients.”

Matthew grimaced. He hated texting. Hated mobile phones, actually. Technology was one of the things he disliked most about modern-day life, though it was a necessary evil. It solved as many problems for him and his brother as it created, so he dealt with it as best he could. Fortunately, Isaac had always had an affinity with computers and phones, so he tutored Matthew.

“Yes, all right. I’d better go and find my phone first then, eh?”

Smirking at his brother’s rolled eyes, he left the room and headed for his own bedroom, where he thought he’d left the device the previous night before he and Isaac had headed for the caves. On spotting the mobile phone—which Isaac often made a point of telling him was akin to a brick—he grabbed it, stuffed it into his pocket, and made his way downstairs.

Retrieving his keys from the hook by the front door, he called up to his brother. “I’m going now, Isaac. I’ll see you after my shift at the pub. I’m working until closing time.”

“Okay. Don’t forget to keep me posted.”

“I won’t.” As if he could forget. The dead sheep was going to be a big thing, he just knew it. The vicar might not think he and his brother had anything to do with it, but some of the other villagers might. When there was no proof either way, just his and Isaac’s word, it was understandable, really. Since he and his brother changed into wolves every full moon, it was a natural conclusion to draw. Particularly since wolves had been extinct in England for over five hundred years.

 

*****

Author Bio:

Lucy Felthouse is the award-winning author of erotic romance novels Stately Pleasures (named in the top 5 of Cliterati.co.uk’s 100 Modern Erotic Classics That You’ve Never Heard Of), Eyes Wide Open (winner of the Love Romances Café’s Best Ménage Book 2015 award), The Persecution of the Wolves, Hiding in Plain Sight, and The Heiress’s Harem and The Dreadnoughts series. Including novels, short stories and novellas, she has over 170 publications to her name. Find out more about her writing at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk, or on Twitter or Facebook. Join her Facebook group for exclusive cover reveals, sneak peeks and more! Sign up for automatic updates on Amazon or BookBub. Subscribe to her newsletter here: http://www.subscribepage.com/lfnewsletter

 

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