Category Archives: Excerpt
NEW RELEASE ~ Bound by the Christmastide Moon by Christina McKnight
A man trying to escape from the past, needs a woman who can see the future.
Released September 11th – Holiday Paranormal Regency Romance, Bound by the Christmastide Moon by Christina McKnight.
Title: Bound by the Christmastide Room
Author: Christina McKnight
Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance, Holiday, Regency
Release Date: September 11, 2018
A MAN TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THE PAST…
When Silas Anson inherits the earldom of Lichfield from a father he never knew, he has one goal: protect his siblings. To do so, he’ll need to do two things: replenish the estate’s depleted coffers, and gain the support of his powerful family—even though they betrayed his mother years ago. An arranged marriage with the daughter of the Marquess of Blandford will accomplish both of these objectives, while giving him a chance at a normal, happy life.
NEEDS A WOMAN WHO CAN SEE THE FUTURE.
Except Lady Mallory Hughes isn’t the normal debutante he expects. Along with a large dowry, she’s inherited her family’s gift for predicting the future. For years, her family has kept her hidden away from society, for fear she will bring the family shame. If she is ever to have a chance at an independent existence—and love—she must get through this week without alerting Silas about her visions. But when Mallory touches Silas, she sees his death.
With Silas’s life on the line, how can Mallory save him without revealing her gift, and risking their chance at a future together?
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Excerpt from Bound by the Christmastide Moon:
“Are you certain you do not wish to freshen up before meeting with Lord Lichfield?” Hettie did her utmost to keep up with Mallory as she departed the dining hall. “Mayhap change your gown or have Miss Felicity’s maid re-pin your hair?”
Mallory paused, her aunt colliding with her shoulder at the sudden stop.
She’d dressed that day as she did each morn. The gown she wore had been specifically packed because it highlighted her ample curves and hid her not-so-narrow waist. The ribbon woven through her long, brown curls was of a deep plum that complemented her grey gown. Her shoes were half-boots, sturdy enough for a walk about Tetbery Estate. Except for the ink marring her hand, Mallory appeared as she always did.
Poised. Modest. Genteel.
Everything the daughter of a marquess was raised to be.
That she was anything but poised on the inside was of no consequence, so long as she did her utmost to keep those around her blissfully unaware.
Her talent as an oracle—or a clairvoyant—did not define Mallory. In fact, she was determined to prove her family wrong and live a normal life. That she’d need refrain from touching others—and most objects—did not deter her from believing a normal life could be hers.
“I need not freshen anything. If my simple frock and daily coiffure is not to Lord Lichfield’s liking, then imagine if he learned of my talents.”
“You are not to speak of it,” Hettie hissed. “Your father would—“
“My father would die of apoplexy if I embarrassed him in any way,” Mallory finished. “Think you I am opposed to this match? I assure you, I do.”
Mallory squared her shoulders and marched into the foyer, pausing only to allow the butler to open the parlor door and announce their arrival.
“Lady Henrietta Hughes and Lady Mallory Hughes,” Tolsworth proclaimed, giving Mallory a reassuring nod as she swept past him and into the room.
She was vaguely aware of her aunt entering the parlor behind her and the butler pulling the door closed after stating tea would arrive with all due haste; however, Mallory stood rooted to the spot.
She hadn’t thought about what Lord Lichfield would look like, nor considered his age when she’d been told of the potential match. He could have been plagued with a hunched back or vertically challenged, but she hadn’t questioned that.
The man who stood to greet them was not what she’d envisioned in an arranged marriage.
He was not stout or rounded. He was in possession of all his extremities. And he certainly was not of an age past his prime.
Lord Lichfield did, however, tower over both Mallory and Hettie.
The earl’s shoulders were broad enough to pull a cart or roll a boulder up a hill.
And he was handsome. Not in the tradition English sense with a sharp nose, angular jaw, and rigid stance. No, it was far more—yet far less—what her brethren in muslin considered a dashing man.
He had a sophisticated air about him. As if he had seen things, experienced things, Mallory could only guess at.
His clenched jaw, and his clear blue eyes cascading over her, made Mallory wish she’d donned a gown that didn’t constrict her breathing in such a manner, as she found it exceedingly difficult to gain a proper breath.
Her stomach fluttered—actually fluttered as he gazed upon her.
A single black curl fell over one eye, and he pushed it back before turning his attention to Aunt Hettie.
“Heaven’s above,” Hettie hissed in her ear.
About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Christina McKnight writes emotional and intricate Regency Romance with rebellious women and maverick heroes.
Her books combine romance and mystery, exploring themes of redemption and forgiveness. When not writing she enjoys coffee, wine, traveling the world, and watching television.
You can visit her online at the following places:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
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BOOK TOUR ~ Courted by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Series #3) by Felicity Heaton
New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton is here today for the book tour of her new shifter romance release, Courted by her Cougar, the third book in her brand new Cougar Creek Mates Series. Set in her popular Eternal Mates world, Cougar Creek Mates takes you into the deep Canadian wilderness to a secret place that’s home to a cougar shifter pride led by four sexy brothers, each guaranteed to steal your heart and set it racing! With all four books in the series releasing just weeks apart, this is going to be one hot summer.
Check out the book, download it with your Kindle Unlimited subscription if you have one,
and be sure to enter the awesome grand giveaway happening at her website!
Courted by her Cougar
(Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 3)
Felicity Heaton
Madness is sweeping through Cougar Creek, and Flint wants no part of it. The fever has two of his brothers in love already, and Flint is damned if he’s giving up the bachelor life to tie himself to one female, but when a perimeter sweep has him running into an exotic and enthralling beauty who rouses his instincts as a cougar shifter and a male, the hunt is on.
All Yasmin is interested in is making sure her friend, Ivy, is safe, but the alluring black-haired man with a wicked smile she meets on the path to the creek has her thinking about other things. When an incident at Cougar Creek leads to her revealing a secret, and Flint’s persistence pushes her to a rash decision, her entire world is in danger of being turned upside down.
With the gathering in full swing, and males determined to prove their worth to Yasmin, Flint discovers he’s not immune to the madness sweeping through the creek, because he’ll do whatever it takes to claim victory and win Yasmin’s heart… no matter how dangerous it is.
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Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win one of a $75, $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card at the Courted by her Cougar book page.
This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on September 23rd. Enter now:
Yasmin huffed as she pushed her ebony waves out of her face, feeling the dampness at the back of her neck that irritated the hell out of her as her hair stuck to it, clung in a way that made her want to do something. Scream probably.
She stopped near a towering pine that looked like every other damned tree in the forest and turned in a circle, trying to spot the path. There had to be a path. She was sure she had been following one from the trailhead where she had left her car parked next to Ivy’s Jeep, and several other vehicles that had told her she was in the right area.
Maybe it had been an animal track.
A cool breeze blew up the gentle slope to her right, carrying the scent of water. She could hear the river in that direction. Maybe it would be wise to head downhill until she found it and then track it towards the area that her friend had called ‘the creek’ more than once. There had been a river in Ivy’s photographs. It stood to reason that she would find her friend near the one she could hear.
Yasmin shrugged out of her heavy pack, set it down on the rough earth between the tangled roots of the pines and rifled through the side pockets, her mood taking a nosedive as she struggled to find what she was looking for.
“A-ha.” She grinned as she opened the fifth pocket—seriously, why so many pockets on these stupid backpacks—and found her elastics and other beauty items.
She straightened, lifted her hair away from her neck, scrunched it together and tied it in place with the band. Parts of it instantly fell down again, framing her face, but it would do for now. All she cared about was keeping her neck clear. It was bliss as the breeze caressed it, had a soft sigh leaving her lips as she savoured it.
When the wind died down again, she stripped off her black jacket, because a winter coat combined with her royal purple sweater and the long-sleeved cream t-shirt she wore beneath that had probably been a bit much. She had been expecting the weather to be cooler than it was. There had been snow on the mountains in Ivy’s photographs after all.
She peered through the dense trees to catch a sliver of the mountain that loomed closest to her. There was still snow on it. Apparently, snow on the peaks didn’t mean it was cold in the valley. It was rare she learned something new, novel in fact. What else was she going to learn on this adventure?
Yasmin hefted the pack back onto her shoulders. The weight of it pressed down on her and she twisted and grimaced, trying to get comfortable again. Maybe the sunny day wasn’t solely responsible for her working up a sweat. The heaviness of her pack combined with the exertion of the hike probably would have been enough to have her running a little hot even if it had been a chilly day.
She threaded her coat over the bottom of the right strap of her pack, so it pressed against her back and hip and wouldn’t fall into the dirt, and kicked off again, picking her way through the trees as she headed downhill towards the river.
A man with wild black hair and golden eyes stepped into her path, emerging from the trees like some sort of predator to stare her down.
She casually drew to a halt four metres from him.
Raked her gaze over him, taking in a navy shirt that stretched tight over his athletic build, long legs encased in very practical black trousers, and scuffed boots that looked as if he had trekked hundreds of miles in them and needed a new pair. Too cheap to purchase them? Or sentimental and attached to these ones for some reason?
She lifted her head back up to meet his golden eyes.
He didn’t look the sentimental type.
His straight jaw set hard, his lips compressing, causing the scar that streaked across the left side of his mouth to pull on his cheek.
He looked as if he wanted to growl at her.
Yasmin concluded there was a high probability he could help her. “I’m lost, can you tell me the way—”
“Private property. Turn your ass around and march it back the way you came,” he interjected, voice a gravelly snarl that had more bite than the local bears.
That was rude.
She narrowed her dark eyes on him. “No. If you would let me finish.”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen. This is no place for camping. Private property.”
“Yes, you’ve said that twice now, and if you would let me finish.”
He took a hard step towards her, his eyes glowing brighter. Oh, if he wanted to do angry, she could show him angry.
“Listen,” she snapped. “I know my friend is somewhere around here, and I am going to see her. Something tells me you know her. Ivy Wentworth?”
The barest flicker of surprise lit his stormy gold eyes before he schooled his features, hardening them again. “Don’t know her. Off you go now. Try the other direction.”
Liar.
“The other direction is my car.” And his, she was guessing.
It was probably the battered ancient pick-up she had seen that had more rust than paint on it.
“Good.” He folded his arms across his chest and glowered at her.
“So I’m not going back that way. I’m going this way.” She started left, because he had obviously come from nearby and that meant she was close to the creek.
He was in front of her in a flash, blocking her way. “I can’t allow that. Turn your ass around and march it back to your car.”
That was it.
Yasmin mimicked him, crossing her arms over her breasts, and the bastard had the audacity to glance at them as her actions pressed them together and upwards in her purple sweater.
“Try to make me leave,” she growled as she glared at him. “I dare you. We’ll see who comes off worse.”
His golden eyes leaped up to hers, and this time he didn’t hide his surprise.
Not used to strong females?
He was taller than she was, his build slim but clearly powerful. His shirt was tight enough that she could see it was hiding a muscled torso, and he had rolled up the sleeves to reveal tightly corded forearms that flexed as she stared at them.
Yasmin lifted her eyes back to his. “I’m going to see my friend whether you like it or not. You can’t stop me.”
He tried anyway, moving left and right to block her path as she tried to get past him.
Exasperating man!
She was close to hitting him to get him to stop.
He blocked her again when she made another attempt to pass him rather than giving in to the urge to clobber him. “How do you know this friend of yours is at the creek?”
She almost smiled. The creek. So he had come from the place where Ivy was staying with her new man. Which meant he was going to take her there, whether he liked it or not.
She feinted going left, and when he moved to block her, she went right and slipped past him. He growled in frustration and grabbed her wrist, and she turned on a pinhead, slammed her palm against his chest and shoved him back into a tree. He went easily, wasn’t a challenge at all.
Mostly because he was holding back.
Thought her feeble? Thought he might hurt her by accident if he exerted a little strength? She wanted to laugh at that.
Yasmin huffed and splayed her hand out against the centre of his chest, and yes, it was firm beneath her palm, muscles rigid and tensed, and there was that strength he was hiding from her.
“Are you going to take me to Ivy now?” She inched closer to him and pressed her hand harder against his chest to keep his spine pinned to the tree, just in case he thought about moving.
But he didn’t seem inclined to break free of her hold.
He regarded her with gold eyes that held a spark of heat, his silence stretching out for a moment that was so long she began to feel a little uncomfortable as she stood with her hand on his chest, his heart pounding against it, steady and strong.
She also started to wonder whether she had done some sort of permanent damage to him. She was on the verge of asking him whether he needed medical assistance when he finally responded.
He dipped his chin in a nod, his eyes remaining locked with hers as he spoke. “What’s your name?”
Not quite the response she had anticipated, but she would give it to him, because unlike him, she wasn’t rude. “Yasmin.”
He glanced down. “I’ve heard of you.”
She followed his gaze, tensed and removed her hand from his chest as she realised she was still touching him. His eyes lifted to her, banked heat in them, a flicker of interest that had her wanting to look away from him as a fire tried to lick over her cheeks. She resisted the need that raced through her and the blush, quelling both of them.
“I don’t doubt that.” She kept her voice even and emotionless, so he got the message that she didn’t feel the attraction that zinged between them. She really didn’t. “Ivy emailed me telling me she met a guy, fell in love of all things and that she wouldn’t be home for a while. She assured me that she was fine, but I’m here to see that for myself.”
“Commendable.” He knew big words. Trying to impress her?
She nodded. “I like to think so.”
He pushed away from the tree, coming to tower over her, easily eight inches taller than she was, and looked down at her.
His handsome face softened, that heat in his golden gaze lingering. “I’m Flint, Rath’s brother. Ivy is fine. She’s in love with Rath and nothing bad is happening here.”
He could attempt to appease her all he wanted. It wasn’t going to make her leave.
“Good.” She adjusted the bag on her back. “Because I prefer to heal injuries rather than cause them.”
A hint of a smile, enough that she could see that he would be devastating if he cracked a full blown grin. “Came here prepared for war?”
Yasmin nodded again. “If necessary. Ivy is my friend. My only friend.”
That had him turning serious, the dark slashes of his eyebrows knitting hard as the corners of his lips turned downwards. “I get that. You’re protective. I have a protective streak of my own… one I’ll introduce you to if you try to do anything to hurt my brother, including attempting to take Ivy from him.”
She arched an eyebrow at that. Protective of his brother’s happiness? That was commendable, as he would say.
“You think you can take me? Good luck with that.” She strode past him.
His eyes landed on her back and raked down her spine, a hot shiver following in their wake, and he purred, “I know I can take you.”
Read it with your Kindle Unlimited Subscription or buy now from…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au
Book 1: Claimed by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 2: Captured by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 3: Courted by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 4: Craved by her Cougar (coming 29th September 2018)
Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM
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