Bite Somebody

by Sara Dobie Bauer

  As soon as the shadow man saw her notice him, he put his notepad away and stepped farther into the darkness. Tommy, her wedding conquest, was busy trying to breakdance, so Imogene grabbed Celia. “Hey, did you invite a mysterious, handsome stranger to your wedding?”

  Celia’s perfect up-do was in disarray as she hopped around the dance floor. “I… don’t… know what you’re… talking about.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right back.” She pushed her sunglasses up into her purple hair.

  She approached the area where he’d been standing but didn’t see anything, didn’t even smell anything. How come the guy didn’t give off a scent? She huffed as the song changed—”One for the romantics,” the deejay said. It was “Lovesong” by the Cure, one of the few songs Ian and Imogene had actually agreed on.

  People coupled off—everyone but Imogene and… Dean? Once the initial shock of meeting vampire hunters back in April wore off, Imogene had noticed Dr. Savage’s human was dang handsome in that pretty boy, movie star way. It was no wonder the doc was so fond of the guy, so why wasn’t she dancing with him to the band of eighties angst awesomeness?

  Because Dr. Savage was on the dance floor with the sexy stranger.

  “Who the…?” Imogene muttered. Her right eye twitched, and she felt like something was wrong—Van Halen breaking up wrong.

  Tommy rushed up and grabbed her hand. The guy had as much rhythm as his little brother, but she put up with it because she wanted to get laid that night—but why did the dude dancing with the doc make her nervous?

  Imogene watched the suited stranger over Tommy’s shoulder. He and Dr. Savage seemed familiar, the way they moved. The guy had perfect rhythm, he knew how to lead, and he had big hands. Tommy was in his own eighties bubble, so he barely noticed her walk away, right up to Dr. Savage.

  “Can I cut in?” she asked, not looking once at Celia’s former therapist.

  “Oh. Imogene. This is—”

  She shoved Dr. Savage out of the way with a swish of her hip and stood six inches from suit guy’s nose. Up close, he looked even younger, although the suit aged him a bit. Nearby candlelight flickered in his eyes just as the beginning drumbeat of Cake’s “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps” began to play.

  Imogene’s breath left her chest in an embarrassing “hunh” when he took her hand, pulled her body against his, and started to tango. His eyes never left hers, even when the side of his mouth turned up in a semi-smile. The rest of the floor emptied to watch.

  By the end of the song, Imogene panted. He leaned her back into a dip that almost put her head on the ground, and then flipped her forward into his arms. They shared breath, noses just touching.

  The words were on the tip of her tongue: Why do I know you? Then, she realized why he didn’t have a smell. “You’re one of us,” she said. She let go of him abruptly as people clapped for them in the sand.

  He blinked and looked away. “A friend of Rayna’s.”

  His accent sounded James Bond posh, so she surmised, “You’re the specialist.”

  He inclined his head as the music continued. It was one of Ian’s annoying choices by Dave Matthews.

  “You look like you’re about nineteen,” Imogene said.

  He nodded. “I was when…”

  “Oh. Right.” Then it hit her. “You were at The Drift Inn last week.”

  “Sorry?”

  She curled a fist into the front of his suit. “You were watching Celia.”

  “I only arrived from England today.”

  Dr. Savage and Dean stood next to them. “Imogene, this is my dear old friend, Lord Nicholas Christopher Cuthbert III. Nicholas, this is Imogene, Celia’s best friend and all around psychopath. Imogene, why are you manhandling Nicholas?”

  “Because he’s a dirty, British spy.”

  Dr. Savage’s lips pinched together. “I’m sorry?”

  “Just a misunderstanding.” Nicholas pulled out of her grip. “I can see where they get the ‘psychopath,’ however.”

  Imogene stuck out her tongue.

  “Very mature,” Dr. Savage said.

  “No one ever accused me of that.” She glared at Nicholas.

  His brow furrowed and he turned away from her, toward Dr. Savage. “I didn’t mean to interrupt the wedding. My timing has never been ideal. If you’ll point me in the right direction, I’d appreciate a bit of rest.”

  “Sure, man,” Dean said, reaching out to shake his hand. “We’re just glad you’re here to help Celia and Ian.”

  “Well, I’ll do my best. Rain?”

  “Rain?” Dean asked.

  Dr. Savage made a sound like a seagull being stepped on. “Of course, Nicholas, let me just give you directions to our home.” With a hand on his shoulder, she quickly led Nicholas away from the dance floor and candlelight.

  Imogene crossed her arms. “That is a very fine piece of ass. And I don’t trust him at all.”

  Next to her, Dean cracked a knuckle. “Where’s he get off calling her Rain?”

  Bite Somebody Else will be available on June 20, 2017!

  More Speculative Romance from World Weaver Press

  LUMINOUS DREAMS

  by Alexa Piper

  A collection of eight sensual dreams

  Relax, close your eyes…and dream. Eight tales, eight sensual dreams of enchantment, wanderlust and lovers’ longings, of searching and finding; these dreams tell of birds of fire, curses that lie like bridges between night and day, and hunger for sweet seduction.

  Excerpt From “Fortune’s Song”

  “Of all of them, you are the only one who has ever come to me willingly,” he said, his midnight eyes boring into hers. She could see the darkness draining from the irises, leaving just silver, strange and unnatural. She had known that he was other, but only now did she fully grasp what that meant.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice wouldn’t obey her.

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  “Willingly,” he said between kisses. His hands, until then just holding her, began to explore, sliding down her spine and lower still, cupping her behind.

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  SKYE FALLI
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  Skye, a Fae-shapeshifter halfing, could die if she doesn’t find out how to wake her dormant wolf, so mere rumors of the Wolf King’s return are enough to convince her to sneak through the portal between Faerie and Chicago in search of his aid. But the dizzyingly bright lights and sounds of the human realm are too tempting to ignore. So is the sexy shapeshifter wolf intent on capturing her—the one who stirs her sleeping wolf just long enough to bind the handsome stranger in a mate-bond.

  Lake is willing to do anything to protect the Wolf King, a man he also calls friend. So when he receives word that a Fae princess has slipped into Chicago, he suspects a plot to assassinate the Wolf King. He’s certain capturing her will be as easy as locating her—that was his first mistake. Not only is his wolf a little too interested in Skye, but the wolf accepts her mate-bond without any say-so from him. As he unravels the truth surrounding the smart-mouthed princess and whether she’s hunting his friend or being hunted by someone else, Lake’s mission changes: protect Skye at all costs. And keep her for himself.

  DEMONS, IMPS, AND INCUBI

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  But must a demon's agenda always be demonic? Can he be redeemed? Or does being bad feel too good to bother with redemption? Long ago, imps were more mischievous and playful—naughty, perhaps?—and perceptions of them have only grown more sinister over the centuries. The incubus craves sex, but what makes us crave him?

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  OPAL

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  by Kristina Wojtaszek

  White as snow, stained with blood, her talons black as ebony…

  In this retwisting of the classic Snow White tale, the daughter of an owl is forced into human shape by a wizard who’s come to guide her from her wintry tundra home down to the colorful world of men and Fae, and the father she’s never known. She struggles with her human shape and grieves for her dead mother—a mother whose past she must unravel if men and Fae are to live peacefully together.

  Trapped in a Fae-made spell, Androw waits for the one who can free him. A boy raised to be king, he sought refuge from his abusive father in the Fae tales his mother spun. When it was too much to bear, he ran away, dragging his anger and guilt with him, pursuing shadowy trails deep within the Dark Woods of the Fae, seeking the truth in tales, and salvation in the eyes of a snowy hare. But many years have passed since the snowy hare turned to woman and the woman winged away on the winds of a winter storm leaving Androw prisoner behind walls of his own making—a prison that will hold him forever unless the daughter of an owl can save him.

  CHAR

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  Fire is never tame—least of all the flames of our own kindling.

  Raised in isolation by the secretive Circle of Seven, Luna is one of the few powerful beings left in a world dominated by man. Versed in ancient fairy tales and the language of plants, Luna struggles to control her powers over fire. When her mentor dies in Luna’s arms, she is forced into a centuries-long struggle against the gravest enemy of all Fae-kind—the very enemy that left her orphaned. In order to save her people, Luna must rewrite their history by entering a door in the mountain and passing back through time. But when the lives of those she loves come under threat, her rage destroys a forest, and everything in it. Now called The Char Witch, she is cursed to live alone, her name and the name of her people forgotten.

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  A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.

  Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer. But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire sucking the blood from her fiancé, Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs—not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener. As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning to face them, Elle realizes Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.

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  For more on these and other titles

  visit WorldWeaverPress.com

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  We believe in great storytelling.

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