Bah! Cupid thought with a repulsed shiver. He’d been kicked out of Lycaon more than once for not bathing.
“Lord Orrell is afraid she’ll turn away Lady Agrona’s suitors,” the knight continued. The men all looked at the high table where Cupid’s temptress sat. Her thick lips chewed greedily on a hunk of meat. When she pulled the bite away, the lower half of her face was covered in grease. The men grimaced slightly as they watched the lady.
Cupid sighed. It must be a terrible woman indeed to frighten a suitor away from such a lovely vision of womanly perfection. And to make grown soldiers shiver at the very thought of her!
Slowly, a smile formed on his wrinkled face. A woman so hideous that she had to be locked away in a tower? A maiden like that was exactly what Cupid needed to avenge himself against Lord Ilar, Commander of the Lycans! Let his whole wolfen army go mad with lust for an unsightly woman. Let Ilar himself fall so madly in love that he would blindly mate with her!
Aye, Cupid mused with enthusiasm. Let him degrade himself by choosing an ugly mortal for a lifemate! That will teach him to tease a troll!
For a complete, up-to-date booklist, visit www.MichellePillow.com
Dance of Souls (A Ghost Cats Story) by Mandy M. Roth
Some dances are downright deadly.
Mason Blackwolf doesn’t want much out of life. He’s easy going. He’s alpha of his pack of werewolves, best friends with a shape shifting cougar and the great-grandson of a powerful Native American Shaman. A normal day for him consists of dealing with inter-pack politics, seducing beautiful women and then, if he’s lucky, relaxing and not thinking about much beyond that. When it becomes clear his grandfather has sent him on a wild goose chase, Mason stops at a roadside bar for a beer. He gets more than he’s bargained for when a tall, sexy blonde enters the establishment. She catches not only his eye but the wolf’s attention as well. She’s also off limits. In a big way. To Mason, it’s simply another layer that adds to her appeal. She’s a temptation he doesn’t want to resist and if he has his way, she’ll be thoroughly claimed before the night is out.
Dance of Souls Excerpt
Mason stared at Chandra, still unable to believe that he’d not only helped her grandfather get her home but had volunteered to take care of her. He didn’t even trust himself to be alone with her, how the old man had was a mystery to him. Now, as he soaked in the sight of her standing before him, one pink nipple showing from behind the slipping garment in her arms and her tiny panties hiding what he’d already seen, a mound with a thin strip of hair on it, he knew he should have run as fast as he could.
She was a temptress to the tenth degree and as much as he swore to himself that he wouldn’t touch her, wouldn’t risk becoming attached, he found himself reaching out for her. When he’d first heard her enter the bathroom he wasn’t sure what to do. Any other woman, he’d have instantly tried to work his ‘get laid’ magik on them. This one was different. Something about Chandra made his pickup lines, smooth moves and whatever else Lily, his best friend’s wife used to describe as his repertoire, seem pointless. Almost embarrassing.
The moment Chandra expressed concern for him, fearing he might have fallen victim to the prejudiced acting head of the pard, Ferran, his heart had melted. He was left no choice but to touch her. The need was even greater now that he’d seen the hungry way she’d looked at him.
“I thought they....Oh, gods, you’re okay.” Chandra cupped her mouth, leaving the t-shirt that had been at least partially covering her breasts, slipping more.
Mason took hold of her hand and put his against his chest. Heat flared between them instantly as their powers recognized one another. Never before had he dared to dream he’d meet a woman who would understand the call of the dead. It was something that had been passed down through the generations and even though his mother had not been Native American or a shifter, he’d managed to get the gene and the gifts from his father.
To have someone to share them with, to discuss things and who wouldn’t think he was crazy when the spirits came to talk with him was a dream come true. To find out that person was also his mate was something Mason had never expected.
My mate?
He’d spent the entire night guarding Chandra, worried that the dark spirits or the pard would come calling again. Thoughts of her being his mate had plagued him. He wasn’t looking for a wife. He wasn’t looking for anything beyond a one-night stand, a quick ‘pickle tickle’ and a good time. Chandra wasn’t someone he planned on but he now understood the pull to come to the bar. It had been her. She’d unknowingly summoned him, no doubt with the dance she had half-heartedly done. Running Elk, his great-grandfather and Shaman for his pack, was always teaching it to the females. It looked as though some other man had done the same thing for Chandra.
Running Elk would love knowing the dance had worked. He’d most likely never let Mason live it down.
The old ways are sacred and shrouded in mystery for a reason. His great-grandfather’s voice echoed in his head.
Mason smiled. Yeah, the ways were a mystery for the sole purpose of confusing the hell out of his senses and leaving him wanting to not only bed the beauty before him but to pledge his life to her—for her.
Chandra ran her hand down his chest, causing his breathing to grow shallow. He needed her. His cock ached to be in her and his body burned to be allowed to simply sample her skin. But, she’d been through a horrible ordeal and his intent, for the first time in his long life, was to do the right thing. See to it she was safe. Mason had already done that. Chandra was safe now. He knew he should leave.
Just walk away and make it easy on all parties involved.
Put one foot in front of the other.
Do it.
Take a step.
To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com
Winner of the 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award
Maiden and the Monster by Michelle M. Pillow
Medieval Historical Romance
Vladamir of Kessen, Duke of Lakeshire Castle, is feared as a demon in the land of Wessex. The Kings have granted him a title of nobility in exchange for his part as a political prisoner. Discontent, he bides his time in his new home until war will once again rip through the land. But boredom soon turns to devious pleasure as the daughter of his most hated enemy is left for dead at his castle gate. Now the monster bides his time plotting revenge.
Lady Eden of Hawks' Nest doesn't know what to think of the man who saved her life, but she can't wrench her thoughts away. His words are those of a tyrant, true to his vicious reputation, but his touch is that of a man, stirring passion and lust when there should only be fear. It would seem the infamous monster is not as monstrous as he appears.
A Romantic Times Magazine TOP PICK!
“4 1/2 STARS! This is a perfect blend of history, emotion, tension, hot sex and fascinating and sympathetic characters, and the writing is superb. Pillow chooses magical details to set the scene, and they add to both the history and the emotion.”
Page Traynor, RT Bookclub Magazine, April 2006 Issue
Maiden and the Monster Excerpt
“If m’lady wouldn’t mind,” Ulric continued. “I had a few questions of my own. Mayhap then I’d be better able to answer yers.”
Eden again nodded, this time with more severity. What else could she do? She was trapped on the bed by her nakedness. Even if she was to brave an escape, she couldn’t see where to go.
“Who are you?” he asked. “Why were you in the forest alone outside this castle? Fer ‘tis obvious you are a lady by yer dress. Did you separate from yer traveling party?”
Eden’s eyes teared. She felt like a scared child, locked inside a dark room. “Yea.”
“You were separated?” Ulric persisted.
“Yea.”
“You are a lady of gentry?” She felt him move closer as if inspecting her.
“Yea.” Eden focused her eyes forward,
intent on convincing him that she was a lady and above him.
“Who are you? Where were you heading?”
“I’m Lady Eden. I was on my way to a nunnery in East Anglia.” As she spoke her hands shook. She forced herself to swallow the lump that kept rising into her throat to crack her voice. “I’m to live there.”
“Which nunnery?” Ulric asked smoothly.
“The one to the south,” Eden weakly offered her lie. In truth she didn’t know the name of any nunneries in East Anglia. Surely, with the pagan king newly converted there would be something. She only hoped that whichever lord lived in the castle would see fit to send her there. “I don’t believe that they have named it, for ‘tis new.”
“Hmm.” Ulric’s voice pondered her answers. “So you have already taken yer orders? You are a nun?”
“Nay, I’m to take them there.” Eden turned her face away from him. She couldn’t lie about such a thing as already being ordained. It would be too blasphemous. The fact she said she was going to be was bad enough. “I’m sure they expect me. If you would see fit to send—”
“I see,” Ulric broke in, thoughtful.
Eden wondered at the delighted tone in his words. His blurry figure shifted away from her, only to come back. She leaned away the best she could on the uncomfortable bed.
“Please, good sir.” Eden sighed and tried to relax, feeling no immediate threat from the old man. “Where am I?”
“You don’t know?” Ulric laughed lightly in surprise. “You are at Lakeshire Castle. We found you near death in front of the castle gates. Methought you might be able to tell us how you came to be here and most importantly why.”
“Lakeshire?” Eden gasped in horror, looking down as she mumbled in shock, “He left me here? How could he have left me here?”
“Who left you?”
Eden stiffened. The irritated voice wasn’t that of Ulric. It instead came from her left, near the fireplace. Her skin tingled and she noticed that the fire burned hotter than before. The man’s tone sounded wicked, spoken in a strange accent. The word “who” was murmured with a softened “v”.
“Are you…?” she began, but had to take a calming breath. It didn’t help.
She was frazzled. Her heart already beat in fear only to pound in time with her head, resounding in her ears like a battle drum. She shook with fear, her body so hot it was surely on fire. The way the flames spread through her, she wondered if she was in the company of the devil himself. Rubbing her chin on the fur to make sure it still covered her body, she asked weakly, “Are you the Monster of Lakeshire?”
Vladamir eyed the trembling creature before him with unconcealed disdain. The way his nickname came from her lips irritated him to no end, and he was all too aware that she refused to answer his question. By her own admission it was obvious someone planted her in front of his castle, perhaps thinking she was already dead.
It was clear from the first moment that she didn’t know he was in the chamber. The way she kept squinting at Ulric belied the fact that she couldn’t make out the figure before her. Was her impaired eyesight due to her natural vision or a result of her beating? He told himself he didn’t care and didn’t wish to be in her company long enough to find out. In fact, he didn’t want her in his home longer than necessary.
The maiden’s hair was dirtily matted to her head, so much so that he was unable to make out its true color. From what he saw of her frame under the thin fur, she seemed slender in stature, probably more so due to her prolonged illness. Her skin pulled tautly against her cheekbones, bones that were high and proud. Beyond that simple observation he couldn’t make out her features.
“Are you the monster?” Her breath continued to come out in audible pants and her one good eye searched for him. “Am I to be your sacrifice?”
Vladamir watched her lips tremble at the question. Her mouth was in the best condition of her whole face with a fine arch of the upper lip and the full pout of the lower. If the rest of her face healed to displeasure, he would be contented to look only at her delicate mouth. His body hummed to life, reminding him how long it had been since he’d taken a woman to his bed. The painful mass between his thighs only annoyed him. He didn’t want to feel desire—not for her, not for any woman.
Who could ever willingly accept a monster into their bed?
The duke felt a glimmer of regret at the timid way she searched for him with her troubled, swollen gaze. The faint white of her eye was a bloody red as if she’d been strangled near death. He suddenly frowned as he realized that someone indeed had tried to kill her. Did they think to have succeeded? Who would want her dead? What exactly had she done?
He saw the fear in her and didn’t believe for an instant that the woman planned on joining a nunnery. There was something in the proud way she lifted her chin and the aristocratic tilt of her head. He saw her breeding, even through her marred expression.
“I have been called that,” he answered at last, afraid if he didn’t respond, she would continue to grow pale until she passed out once more on the bed. He needed too many answers from her to let her rest quite yet.
Yea, m’lady, there are those who would think me a monster.
To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com
Master of the Hunt (King of Prey Book III) by Mandy M. Roth
Paranormal Bird Shifter Romance
When the oracle warns Prince Aeson that his future mate is in the human realm and is in great danger, he wastes no time going in search of her. Problem is, he has no idea who he’s looking for. He’s never met her and the oracle couldn’t give him anything more than small clues as to who she is and where she might be.
Sent to one of his favorite hangouts—a sex club—Aeson is stunned when a beauty shows up on the arm of another man, a man void of emotion. He senses trouble surrounding her and something else—something that marks her as his. He doesn’t care if she is or isn’t the woman the oracle told him about, she’s the woman he wants. Anyone who dares to stand in his way will feel his wrath and, before the night is out, she’ll feel exactly what it’s like to be taken by a prince.
WARNING: This book contains hot, explicit sex and violence, dominant alpha bird shifting males who think they’re always right, even when they’re dead wrong and a woman who isn’t about to stand by and let them boss her around.
To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com
The Barbarian Prince (Dragon Lords 1) by Michelle M. Pillow
Futuristic Romance
Breaking up was never so hard...
Going undercover at Galaxy Brides as one of the prospective mates to these Viking-like barbarians, Morrigan has no intention of getting chosen to stay. But when Ualan of the Draig picks her to be his wife with the aid of his mystically glowing crystal, it is all she can do to say no.
Waking up from a drug-induced night of torturous and unfulfilling pleasures, Morrigan discovers her spaceship has left without her and Ualan is claiming she is his wife. It’s not exactly the story this reporter had in mind. And to make matters worse, Ualan refuses to take no for an answer.
Being cursed by the Gods was never so frustrating...
Prince Ualan is like all others of his race on the male dominated planet of Qurilixen. He is raised to trust the mystic powers around him and when it comes time to marry, he is ready to follow those powers to choose his life mate. When the stubborn, yet achingly beautiful, Morrigan refuses to accept their shared fate and his supreme authority over her, it is all he can do not to break her lovely neck.
To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com
Strength in Numbers by Reagan Hawk
Futuristic Erotic Romance
Born into a life of sexual servitude and trained to please men, Sempia believes her fate is sealed—her virginity auctioned off to the highest bidder then life a
s a sex slave. She never dreamed her childhood sweetheart would resurface in her hour of need…or that he would be the winning bidder.
Now a seasoned warrior, Eterin is nothing like the boy she remembers—he’s all man and wants to possess her at all costs. But much has changed in the years they’ve been apart. Eterin has a new man in his life—one who wants to share them both. Sempia finds herself at the mercy of two incredibly hot and horny intergalactic outlaws who are dangerously close to stealing her heart.
To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com
Lilith Enraptured (Divinity Warriors) by Michelle M. Pillow
Alternate Reality Romance
Sorin of Firewall lives in a land forever at war. In fact, the Starian men are so busy fighting, their marriage ceremony has been reduced to a “will of the gods” event where they simply pick a woman out of a lineup and claim her as a wife. With women becoming scarce, it’s necessary to trade the offworld Divinity Corporation for brides. Duty-bound to attend the ceremony, he has no intention of picking a bride, let alone one from another dimension. That is, until he sees Lilith, the bewitching woman sent by the gods to reward—or punish?—him.
Lilith, a data analyst for Divinity, is betrayed by the Corporation and wakes up in a primitive, uncharted dimension filled with warriors who only know war and duty. But her initial fears of becoming a sex slave to a big beefy knight become all too real when a warrior of god-like proportions claims she’s his new woman. As Lilith discovers, there are worse fates than being the focus of Sorin’s skillful and earthy seduction.
Call of the Lycan Trilogy Bundle Page 25
