#RomanceSunday #TheRockStar

The Rock Star

Genie Gabriel

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 3

Buy at Amazon

The Rock Star by Genie Gabriel

The Long and The Short of It Reviews called this sensual romance "an excellent tale of love and the power of healing."

BLURB: The Rock Star

Fifteen years and many heart-wrenching experiences after their disastrous first meeting, a reformed rock star and the woman who idolized him as a teenager get a second chance to prove songs of the heart are the sweetest music of all.

EXCERPT: The Rock Star

Spotlights flashed in rainbows across the stage. Red. Green. Blue. Crisscrossing until they merged into one white-hot light on Geoff Chastain’s face, evoking memories of other times. The screams of thousands of teenaged girls washed through his memory as he pulled the microphone from its stand. 

The first notes of his daughter's favorite song filled the auditorium and his breath caught, jagged, in his chest. Pain pulsed through Geoff's heart with each beat of the drum. He nearly dropped to his knees, longing to crawl back into the self-imposed exile where he had existed since his daughter died. 

The faces of the kids in wheelchairs looked up at him with bright expectation. The whispers of the singers waiting in the stage wings curled around him in concern. 

Daddy, promise you won’t let the music die.His daughter’s last request haunted Geoff. He never suspected life would become so desolate he would forget to eat and sleep, let alone lose touch with the music that had always flowed so easily from his soul.

A singer moved from the wings to stand beside him. Her presence drifted around him in silent encouragement. Her sweet contralto coaxed him to sing with her. 

Focus,he ordered his brain, staring at the woman. Waves of auburn hair framed her face, then tumbled halfway down a lush body barely covered in spandex and sequins. A woman designed to stir a man to action. 

Geoff's voice rasped with disuse on the first verse; the woman's harmony covered it. As he started the second verse, an image of his daughter swam before his eyes and Geoff's throat closed. The woman picked up the melody without missing a beat, as if they had planned this duet.

He grasped at her hand and drew a deep breath. Her soft scent filled his nostrils, drawing his attention away from the pain. Giving him the strength to dig deep inside where the music had lain in silent mourning. 

Geoff's voice mingled with hers on the chorus, then soared as he soloed the third verse. Their voices chased each other through the final refrain, then their eyes met and held on the last triumphant note. Awed silence hung for a moment before applause erupted and the crowd was in motion.

A sea of well-wishers swarmed onto the stage. Not the frenzied near-riots of years ago, but the exuberant cheer of celebration. Smiles and congratulations wrapped warmly around Geoff as men pumped his hand and women kissed his cheek. 

But the mysterious auburn-haired woman who saved his musical butt had disappeared.

#Sci/FiFantasySaturday #SweetSexySadie

Title: Sweet Sexy Sadie

Author: Christine Young

Email: achristay@aol.com

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Book Heat Level: 5

Buy at Amazon

BLURB: Sweet Sexy Sadie

From the first time Sadie’s eyes met those of Brody McKenna in the hot Sierra Madre Mountains, theirs was a potent attraction—not gentle, slow, and easy, but hot, hard, and all-consuming.The daughter of a dysfunctional family, Sadie had dreams no man could wrench from her with hot sex and an all-consuming passion. She’d challenge this alpha male with all the strength she possessed. But her red hair, fiery temperament, and indomitable spirit obsessed Brody...and he knew he had to find a way to show her he was more than he appeared and convince her to make a life with him.

REVIEW: Sweet Sexy Sadie

Carin for My Reading Obsession

Sweet Sexy Sadie is a quick read with a fun plot line, Sadie is researching the migration of butterflies for her thesis she meets Brody when her car overheats in the desert pretty soon the car isn't the only thing overheating. Sadie also has a stalker of a paranormal variety. 

The action happens quick and without a lot of back story to have this come out novella length. I enjoyed the chemistry that is immediate between Brody and Sadie. I liked the paranormal element to her stalker and the bond that Sadie and Brody share to overcome the trials in their path to happiness. 

This time of year with the kids in school you have lots of chances to sit and wait this is the perfect length book for those times and you can get in a fun love story while you are at it.

EXCERPT: Sweet Sexy Sadie

Princess... 

Brody prowled through the boulders and sparse timber. Heat from the sun warmed the earth. He'd just finished his daily run and was about to shift back to his human form when he caught sight of the sexy lady in short shorts. He lifted his head and sniffed, smelling the wind and finding the heady scent of lemon in the air. 

My God! The sight of the girl sent shock waves reverberating through him. Tremors swept through his body, his heart lurching then stopping for a split second. Brody needed to see this lady close up. He'd had dreams about her—he just 

didn't know who she was or what she was going to be to him. And he'd never clearly seen her face. He was about to do just that. He'd never thought he would meet the woman he'd been dreaming about. And there she was, standing beside her overheated 1990's mustang. 

His heart screamed at him. His senses whirled on overload and every nerve ending felt as if it snapped. Currents of electricity jolted through him in a tat-tat-tat machine gun blast. The sensations were even more intense than when he shifted to his jaguar form. He found his clothes then changed into human form, hopping on one foot as he tried to get both feet into his jeans. Then jumping as if that movement would help the zipper close. 

Wiping sweat from his brow then checking to see if he'd fastened his pants, he sauntered toward the girl who had let her car overheat in the desert. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, but he'd figure that out as soon as possible. Nice to meet you seemed boring. 

A good pick up line here would be nice. Every rational and coherent thought vanished from his head. Numb and empty, he stood behind her and rocked back on his heels. Sweat beaded on his forehead then trickled down the side of his face. He couldn't take his eyes off her cute little butt, which was sticking up in the air as she seemed to study the engine of her car. When she shifted feet and her rear swayed from one side to the other, he knew he needed to put his hands there, on her hips and oh so gorgeous curves. 

Princess... 

"Uhh..." he began. 

She jumped. "Oh!" Then turned and her smile melted his once jaded heart. Damn and double damn. This was all good, so good. And she was real good. 

"Need some help?" Brody asked as he pointed to the car and the sizzling engine that appeared to need water. Lord, but he needed some of that H2O stuff. His parched mouth cried out for help and liquid. All his smooth evaporated. 

She kicked the tire with a flip-flop clad foot. "I need this piece of junk to run and it doesn't want to." Flipping her hair to the side, she looked back at the object of her wrath and obvious frustration. 

"Let me see." He walked to the front of the car and peered inside. If anything, he was trying to give himself time to think of something intelligent to say. At the moment, the thoughts forming in his mind would send her running in the opposite direction. 

Excerpt: Sweet Sexy Sadie

Sadie didn't know what to make of Brody. Exceptionally handsome and charismatic, he'd made her smile the first time she saw him sauntering down the road toward her. Good lord, but he looked as if he owned the world. Tall, tanned from the sun, amber-green eyes that sparkled as if he saw some light humor in everything. He was wiry and sleek; a quickness about him surprised her. His blue-black hair was tied back with a leather thong, his chin angular.

Perhaps he did own this part of the Sierra Madres. His family seemed to own most of this town.

Her research had brought her to this place, Cactus Junction. Now the prospect of getting to know an interesting man would be an added perk. In the bathroom she slipped out of her clothes and into a tepid shower. A few minutes later she emerged squeaky clean and ready for the next part of her adventure.

Unpacking her clothes and taking out her laptop, she opened it. What do explosive experts do? Hmmm....

Why, they blow up things. What would he blow up around here? 

Lord but that sounded crazy to her. Before typing in the necessary info to pull something up on Google, she leaned back, relaxing into her chair. The wallpaper was outdated, and the old fan complimented the air conditioning. She realized she liked the atmosphere.

Enough musing. Mining in the Sierra Madres. Let's see, it says here they mined silver as early as 1521.

Sadie scrolled down the paper. Ok… Montezuma, in 1492, was already drinking hot chocolate from goblets made of gold. Maybe she should be studying this instead of her research thesis. The migration of butterflies. Once she'd thought the topic was romantic. Chasing after butterflies…

So what are they doing now? Junior drilling companies…She wondered if that was what the McKenna Clan was, a junior company. How soon was too soon to ask? Probably not on their first dinner together. Knowledge brought power and she firmly believed everything happened for a reason. Then her chance encounter in this place was not a coincidence.

This says the companies are drilling to find the ore. So… Do they still need explosives? If not, he didn't do much for his day job. Perhaps the family had millions stashed away. At first glance this hotel was theirs and Brody had told her the land this town sat on belonged to them. But millions in the Caymans? Probably not.

She closed her laptop. Then leaning back, she shut her eyes and tried to cleanse her mind of all thought. A little catnap might be in order, but her heartbeat so fast she didn't think sleeping was a plausible scenario. Eager to meet the McKenna Clan and begin her research, her body was wound tight as a rubber band ready to snap.

The bag of chips in her purse seemed to call to her just after her stomach growled its discontent. Trying to ignore the excessive calories and her empty belly, she rose and wandered to the window. Dinner would be that much better if she waited. Outside, the sun still beat down and one could see heat waves decorate the street. 

The air conditioner chose that moment to blow out cold air. Sadie wrapped her arms around herself then turned the monitor down a notch.

Back at the window she looked at the street below. A man walked down the sidewalk, and as he grew closer, he stopped and shielded his eyes then gazed up to her room. Sadie's breath caught in the back of her throat and another chill swept through her. This time it wasn't caused by the air conditioner. The sight of the man sent an eerie feeling to the pit of her stomach. She stepped back in an attempt to remove herself from his line of sight.

The knock startled her away from the window. She jumped, afraid it might be the man she'd just seen but knowing it wasn't.

"Sadie? Sadie, you in there?" Brody called from outside the door. Damn, but she'd recognize his voice anywhere. A smile crossed her face. She meant to forget the stranger.

"Come in." Sadie looked back to the street below. No one was there. Once again she rubbed her arms. She felt as if a ghost had just swept through her, leaving her cold from her core outward.

"You okay?" Brody stepped inside, looking concerned. 

"No, I don't think so. I…" Pausing, she hesitated to tell him what had just happened. What she'd felt. He'd think she was crazy. 

#Friday'sFeaturedTitle #TheLeaderOfTheBand

Title: The Leader of the Band

Author: Genie Gabriel

Email: genene@genenevalleau.com

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 2

Buy at: Amazon, 

BLURB: The Leader of the Band

On stage, band leader Zach Zacata controls the emotions of thousands of fans, but he can't control his middle-aged body. When he has a heart attack, best friend and sometime lover Lauren Westover provides a place where Zach can heal. And Zach realizes he has one more chance to win Lauren's love--if a killer doesn't get to them first.

EXCERPT: The Leader of the Band

Staring at the woman in the mirror, Lauren slowly pushed the gray wig off her head. Her naturally blonde hair lay matted forlornly against one side of her head. As she turned her head, a white bandage became obvious, framed by a semi-circle of close-cropped stubble around her ear where waves of golden hair used to flow.

I could have lost my life instead of my hair,she reassured herself. Still, a spiral of panic threaded through Lauren’s belly. 

Sometimes Lauren disparaged her beauty, especially when lechers with insulting hands expected free access to her body. However, she also knew her physical appearance garnered many opportunities a plain woman never enjoyed. 

Now, hidden out in a retirement center and disguised as an old woman, no one had spared a second glance at her. Hadn't she wanted to be respected for something that didn't depend on good looks? 

A commotion at the door startled Lauren away from her own musings. Zach slipped inside and slammed the door shut behind him. Then he leaned against it, gulping deep breaths of air. His silver-streaked wig hung precariously over one ear; his satin smoking jacket was missing the belt that knotted it jauntily around his middle when she left him less than fifteen minutes ago.

He slid the lock into place and limped toward Lauren. “Whoever said women lose their libido in old age never visited this place.”

He flung the wig on the bed for the cat to play with and sat beside Lauren on the vanity bench. “How are you doing?”

Lauren shrugged. “Have the police found any sign of Matt [my son]?”

Zach’s fingers tiptoed across the bare skin at the back of Lauren’s neck. “Nothing yet. Johnny is spending most of his off-duty time shaking up the homeless hangouts. But they’re a tight-lipped bunch. Don’t talk to cops much.”

Zach’s lips touched the cool skin of Lauren’s nape. “He'll be alright.”

Her shiver this time wasn’t from fear for Matt but the trail of Zach's kisses across the base of her neck. Funny how being in a place with older people had eased Zach’s mind about aging. These men and women hadn’t given up on life when their youth faded. They still indulged their passions and their dreams. They spoke their minds and pursued what they wanted without regard to what others thought.

They were free in so many ways from the restraints and criticisms of the world. Free from their own unrealistic expectations, yet at peace with taking risks and trying new experiences.

Why had Zach feared growing old? "Will you make love with me?”

Lauren turned and stared at Zach. Disbelief, humor, interest, and eagerness flickered in her eyes before she placed her hand in Zach’s. 

#Christel'sSunrrise #HistoricalRomance

Title: Christel's Sunrise

Author: Christine Young

Email: achristay@aol.com

Genre: Historical Romance/Paranormal

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 4

Buy at: Amazon; 

BLURB: Christel's Sunrise

He Made Her An Offer...

Life has thrown Christel McClellan some experiences that could have devastated a less determined woman. Beautiful, self-assured and fiercely independent, she is trying to forget the loss of her stillborn child. But is the child alive?

She Couldn’t Deny...

Life is carefree for Ryder MacLaren who loves to see what is on the other side of the sunrise. Laird of Clan MacLaren, he is wealthy, handsome and happily unencumbered...until stunning Christel McClellan enters his life. When he hears her story, he believes the child she thought dead has been sold to a wealthy buyer.

REVIEW: Christel's Sunrise

Highland Sunrise by Christine Young
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (174 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rated: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dandelion

I loved the rapport between the two main characters. Although at times they both struggled to find the right words to explain their feelings for each other, somehow they managed. They both loved the other and so over time it became easier. Both were also very independent and that caused a little friction between them. However, Ryder would typically just shake his head and go with the flow. There were a huge number of sex scenes, and I think this story would have stood alone quite well without so many (there were times they did nothing to forward the plot, but seemed added just to have a sex scene), but they didn’t detract from the plot either.

There were so many other fascinating and fun characters in the story: her sister, her cousins, their husbands, her aunt, the Duchess. Reading about all the things they attempted and succeeded in doing was really fun. They were not the typical regency “tonnish” people of the days. This made this story much more fun.

And of course, although there was a lot of fighting, terror, murder and mayhem, the story has a very satisfying ending.

EXCERPT: Christel's Sunrise

But Christel pushed away from him and pointing, "There, do you see her. She is sitting on the wall."

Ryder strained to see the apparition Christel pointed toward but he saw nothing. "No, but I think I hear her."

"Yes, she is crying, not weeping as usual. Do you know anything about her story?" Christel turned to him, hope shining in her soft blue eyes.

"I've heard her lover died. But that was a long time ago."

"How?"

Ryder pulled her back into his embrace, not ever wanting her to leave. He would hold fast to her for as long as she would allow him. "At war... I don't recall which one. The clans seem to have always been at war with someone, especially the English."

He felt the nod of her head against his chest. "Does anyone know the legend? I would seek them out."

Her breathing was slow and she seemed relaxed. But Ryder feared for her. If she started asking questions, would this ghost come to harm her? He didn't know anything about apparitions. But he also knew he would have to give her a chance to discover the truth. "Only if you let me go with you. I would be honored. There is a woman, older than time. She wanders the castle grounds. Most see her in the late evening and early morning."

"Old as time, no older?"

A shimmering silver light hung over the castle and floated above the turrets. Ryder pointed toward the light. "Is that her?"

"She's a bit reclusive." Christel turned in Ryder's arms. "Yes, that's her."

"One might say that about her." His hands rested at the small of Christel's back. He wanted to kiss her but didn't want to frighten her again. Maybe a lazy gentle kiss would be accepted. The thought made him grin.

He traced her neck with the tip of his finger, hoping she would find his attentions acceptable then bent close to her. "I want to kiss you. Will you let me?" She shivered in his arms but turned her face up to him.

"Yes." She breathed softly. Her words gentle yet hesitant.

Her reticence bothered him. What had happened in her past? His thoughts shot to Lord Rathen and her hasty departure from London. Every part of him tightened with disgust. He would discover the truth and make the despicable rake pay for any injustice committed against Christel.

Watching her eyes for signs of fear, Ryder lowered his mouth to hers. He touched her gently, molded his lips against her, thrilled to hear the sigh of pleasure emanate from her. He ran one hand up her back, pulling her closer, reveling in the feel of her softness against his hard planes. Her breasts pushed against him. The need to feel every inch of her pulsed through him but he didn't dare.

He moved back and once again looking into her eyes. She lowered her lashes then returned his gaze.

"Don't think, little one, just feel and know that I would never hurt you. I want more but I won't rush you."

She touched his cheek with one slender fingertip. "Kiss me again."

#CatchingMeara #ParanormalRomance

Title: Catching Meara

Author: Christine Young

Email: achristay@aol.com

Genre: PARANORMAL Romance

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 5

Buy at Amazon: 

BLURB: Catching Mera

Meara Thorton was a feisty, world-class computer hacker—cornered by the FBI and shockingly given the chance to be their newly acquired technical analyst.  Brilliant and intuitive, yet aching with the loss of everyone she has cared about, her restless heart led her to discover a love she fought and a world she didn't know could possibly exist.

Jace McKenna was an enigma, a loner, impossibly handsome, sincere and committed. The Apache shapeshifter blood running through his veins burned hotter than the blistering Sierra Madre sun. Jace knew the moment he caught Meara's scent she was his for eternity. 

Review: Catching Meara

Delane of Coffee Time Romance & More says:

"Catching Meara is a superbly written mystery that draws readers in and makes them a part of the team. The characters are vivid and provide a perfect canvas for the life of a unique team that catches some truly nasty villains. Ms. Young provides a perfect blend of paranormal, mystery and romance providing the reader an entertaining adventure."

Rating: 4 cups out of 5

EXCERPT: Catching Meara

Meara had been seconds from revelation, mere seconds. Now quivering with terror, she huddled in the corner of her electrified office while lights flashed and popped all around her, knowing there was no where to run. Monitors flashed and burst, exploding and sending shards of liquid fire into the air. A cop entered the small room, his arms stretched forward, gun in both hands and a flashlight on top of his gun.

Three more cops followed behind. No, they were government agents. The logo printed in white across their chest announced their profession.

Bright lights swept the room in a slow steady arc, searching for her. Finally resting on her face, she shielded her eyes. Smoke from the crucified computers filled the cubicle, making the agents choke. Sweat from fear beaded on her forehead, and her heart lurched to her throat. She closed her hands over her heart as if she could slow the furious beating.

"Hewitt, check this out. There might be more than this one. Barrister go search through the other rooms."

"Right, McKenna."

"My name is Jace McKenna," the man said as he approached cautiously, kicking debris from under foot until he stood above her. "Put your hands in the air." 

His voice held so much authority and sounded so calm. For a moment she thought he meant to reassure then she remembered she was his prisoner. Well, she would be as soon as she complied with his demands. 

Jace appeared dark, dangerous, handsome and tall, she noted at first. Very tall, which was hard to miss, since she was skinny and short. His eyes were an amber color with a hint of green. He towered over her. Beneath the deceiving bulkiness of his bulletproof vest, she observed next, his shoulders were very broad, and though his hips were lean, his thighs, tightly hugged by his jeans, were muscled and powerful.

His hair was blacker than the midnight sky, nearly indigo with its sheen, his amber eyes were cast into a rugged face that appeared naturally tanned. He was probably somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties. He seemed fierce, alive with a striking tension and a volatile energy that seemed to exude from him.

Shaking, sweat dripping down her face, Meara slowly raised her trembling arms. "D-don't shoot--me, please" She heard the pathetic whimper in her voice as she blinked the stinging sweat from her eyes where it melded with her mascara. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest she was sure it would burst through her ribs.

"Stand up, slowly." He swept the flashlight as well as the gun up and down the length of her body, which had been curled into a tight fetal position.

Rising to her feet, she leaned against the wall behind her, trying to keep her hands up and not fall flat on her face. She wiggled her butt against the wall and inched her way to a standing position. Her life flashed in front of her in a series of leaps and bounds until she saw the faces of her parents. 

"Do as he says," they whispered. "Everything will turn out fine. You'll see. We love you." Then, just as they appeared, they vanished.

Their faces faded into the smoke and flashing lights. Her eyes open wide, she gazed at her enemy--her jailor. The man who was here to arrest her. Mind games, or was it mind think that her parents used to play with her, teaching her to communicate through thoughts instead of words. She focused on his brain, sending out feelers, trying to read his thoughts and trying to tell him she was no threat.

The next moment he was beside her, grasping one of her arms, and in one swift move he had turned her, both hands were behind her back and handcuffed. Her breath stopped for a moment. The movement had been so sudden she was thrown against the wall. Her face flattened on the smooth surface. Yet she was glad for that because the impact brought her back to the reality of this moment. Her mind cleared for a brief second. For courage she inhaled a swift deep breath.

Manic Reader Review 

Rating:  4 1/2 stars out of 5

Reviewer: Alberta 

Review: 

Meara is a loner, content to spend time with her computers, without the bother of having too many people around her. When she turns from hacker to government computer specialist, she meets Jace, who knows she is his mate, but all he has to do is tell her he is a panther shape shifter and that she is destined to be his.

There is a lot of dodging bad guys, dodging another shape shifter, and trying to keep secrets from each other. In the end, Catching Meara is pretty entertaining, and I liked both characters, despite Meara’s dysfunctional personality.

#TellTaleTuesday #UnexpectedJourney #Historical #Romance

Title: Unexpected Journey

Author: Christina St. Clair

Email: christina@christinastclair.com

Genre: Historical Fiction

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 1

Buy at,  Amazon

BLURB: UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Unexpected Journey is a historical novel set in England and colonial America in the 1730s.

A wide gulf existed between people from different social strata. Lenape natives in Pennsylvania felt no love for white people who'd forced them from their land. Rich English girls had no interest in brown-skinned natives in the colonies and certainly did not expect to meet any. Street girls eked out an existence any way they could, with no hope of fraternizing with the wealthy. Yet Gishuk, Rachel, and Anna are just such people--thrown together in a tale of adventure, friendship, and danger.

EXCERPT: Unexpected Journey

Book One: Shaman

One

In a dream, Gishuk saw the image of a shewanakw girl with skin as white as the blackberry flowers in spring. Her hair, glowing like the color of autumn leaves, tumbled down her back. Though still asleep, he heard the dogs howling outside, their cries rising balefully into the night. He stared at the floating image in his mind. Upon awakening, the girl's strange face remained etched into his psyche.

For a while he lay on his straw mat, looking at the bark ceiling.  Had this girl somehow disturbed the dogs? But this made no sense. She was merely a phantom in a dream. Still, something was not quite right. The starless night contained not even a sliver of moon to make the dogs howl. A steady rainfall, smelling of leaves and earth, fell from the pitch black sky, pattering onto the thatch roof of his parents' house. It lulled him back to sleep where the shewanakw girl still hovered in his dreams. She seemed so innocent, but even in his sleep, anger and confusion arose in him. What right did any shewanakw have to appear to him when they had caused so much trouble to his people?

At daybreak, he soon forgot the dream, listening for the song of Tàskëmus who always got up first to take his bath alone in the pond in the center of the village. Gishuk loved Tàskëmus who was his great-uncle as well as the village medicine man. He sang like his namesake, the mockingbird, able to imitate many sounds. Often he tapped like a woodpecker seven times because this was a number from the heavens. Usually women were the ones called by the Great Spirit to become healers, but Tàskëmus laughed at such an idea and made Gishuk his apprentice. Yet this did not stop other boys in the village from making fun of Gishuk, especially that weasel Sàngwe. This eldest son of the village sachem acted as if he ought to be the chief. Gishuk also suspected Sàngwe of jealousy because he, Gishuk, was Grandmother's favorite. She'd even given him his secret spirit name.

Gishuk rolled quietly from his mat and crawled past his brother Tëme, who snorted but did not attempt to get up. As Gishuk crept by his parents, Kèkw smiled dreamily, snuggling closer to her husband, Tihtës, and pulling the turkey-feather blanket over their shoulders to keep out the damp. Outside, Gishuk watched his great-uncle swim steadily through the water, his muscular arms rising and falling with hardly a splash. At last he scrambled onto the shore near the Big House, allowing the water to drip from his body. He stretched his hands out palms-up to greet the day and began to chant.

#mysteryMonday #TigerMine

Tiger Mine

Angela Castle

Excerpt Heat Level: 1

Book Heat Level: 5

Buy at Amazon:

BLURB: Tiger Mine

Licking her wounds after ending a six-year marriage to a serial cheating husband, Julia has run away to her grandfather's house high in the Australian Mountains, hoping to fix the old neglected building up while she contemplates her future, only to discover a huge white Siberian tiger on her door step.
 
Tiger shifter Mohan has escaped, jumped ship and is in hiding from the hunter who has ripped him from his world and murdered those he loved, when a curvy Aussie woman turns up at the old house he’s managed to shelter in these past weeks. He offers his services as a builder by day, returning to her by night as a tiger. Despite the strong attraction he has trouble fighting, what he discovers in Julia is a new kind of warmth and kindness he is in desperate need of.
 
Julia knows her gorgeous Russian handyman is harboring dark secrets, but can her heart stand falling in love and losing again?
 
Can they help each other mend the deeper issues which plague their lives? And bring hope of a new future. Or will Mohan’s past hunt him down and tear the new fragile bond between them?

EXCERPT: Tiger Mine

Desperation was becoming a prevalent emotion in Mohan's life. With each passing moment, he slipped deeper into the unwanted state.

His food supply was limited, and he grew weaker with each passing week. Soon, he would be forced into the situation of journeying back into the human populace. It was dangerous for a creature in his situation.

As long as he remained in animal form, he had a chance of surviving. Yet, with each necessary shift to his human side, he grew weaker. His body ached with a gnawing hunger. Even in the warm climate of this new land, he was cold.

Mohan had been fortunate to find shelter; an old, abandoned farmhouse. It had several rooms and would have once been a comfortable home. Someone had left it to the ravages of time and was in need of much repair.

He would restore it if he had the resources. For now, it was a roof over his head and kept out the chill of the cold mountain nights. Still, even with a full blaze in the solid stone fireplace, it only partially kept the chill from his bones.

He had nothing with which to trade, nothing to barter, and he had limited English. All he would need to do was open his mouth to speak, and they would know he was not of this land. The clothes on his back he had taken from a pile discarded next to a large bin on a seaside street, near where he had come ashore. By day he had walked over many fertile, abundant fields through strange forests. As darkness fell, he had shifted and used the strength of his animal form. He hunted rabbits to help him continue on. As he moved further away from people and higher into the mountains, the safer he began to feel.

Stumbling across the farmhouse had been an answer to an unspoken prayer. He had collapsed in the old building, staying still until his exhaustion had faded.

His sleep was fitful, filled with nightmare images. The smells and screams in his head plagued him. He would never forget the pain and helplessness of everything he'd been forced to endure.

Why did he fight for survival when he had nothing to live for?

Mohan's natural instincts were more often a curse than a blessing. It was only natural to fight to survive.

The late afternoon sun filtered through the mountain trees. Already the air was beginning to cool.

Counting the days, he knew a few months had passed since he'd come to be here. His clothes were tattered and worn thin. He balanced the heavy load of wood he had collected for the fire. When dusk fell, he would hunt rabbits to feed his hunger then settle for the night.

He was still a distance from his cottage. His feet easily found the track back to his shelter. Deep in thought, he had not heard anyone or anything approach. His hearing was less acute while he was in human form.

He froze at the line of trees surrounding the old house. There was a large dark vehicle parked out front and attached to the back was a covered trailer.

Quietly, he lowered himself into a crouch and set down the wood. His eyes trained on the open door of the house. A figure appeared there. The baggy, pale blue, short-sleeved top and jeans did not hide the fact the wearer was a generously curved woman. A cascade of light auburn hair fell about her shoulders, gleaming in the last of the fading sunlight.

He noticed the old tarp he'd been sleeping on was carelessly tossed out and now lay by the end of the porch, along with a heap of old ruined and unusable furniture.

Mohan's jaw clenched in displeasure. What was he going to sleep on now? He waited and continued his observations.

There was no one else as far as he could tell. The woman proceeded to unpack the trailer, carrying box after box into his current home.

It was clear he had just lost his shelter. There would be no fire to warm his side tonight. He would be forced to move on.

Rising to his feet, Mohan curled his fingers so tightly around the slim tree by his side his whole hand throbbed. He welcomed the pain as he battled to bring his anger under control.

Forced. He was so tired of being forced to do things he did not want to do. He needed to regain some control, take back the little comfort he had managed to claim as his. Mohan faded unseen into the thick of the trees. He would wait until dark. He would not give up his new home so easily, and one lone woman would not stand in his way.