Title: What the Fang? Author: Stacey Kennedy Genre: Paranormal Romantic Comedy
Willa Farrington’s magic is broken. Shunned by her coven for failing to pass the Summer Solstice Rite, Willa escapes to the one place no witch belongs – Charleston, a city that belongs to vampires. Determined to embrace her new life, Willa opens Cauldron Boil Books, and unexpectedly finds some friends among the vampires…
Until one terrible night Willa ends up on the wrong side of a pair of fangs. Thankfully, her captor’s plan is ruined when Killian Constantine, the drop-dead gorgeous Warden of Charleston, shows up to save her. But just when Willa thinks she’s safe, Killian, rumored to be the most feared vampire in the city, furiously demands to know why she – a witch – telepathically called him for help. Intent on finding answers, the two embark on a journey to unravel the mystery behind Willa’s attack and their unusual connection. As they get closer to the truth, the fiery passion between them ignites. But their forbidden romance isn’t making them many friends, and just as Willa starts to think that her entire existence is a lie, deadlier forces come out of the shadows. She will need to believe in her malfunctioning magic, trust bloodthirsty vampires, and cross her fingers that she and Killian make it out together… and that neither end up dead.
As I set the last dish in the cupboard, Killian said, “Thank you for tonight. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”
“Had lunch with someone?” I asked with a snort, shutting the cupboard door, turning to face him.
Energy pulsed like a heartbeat, causing my nipples to pucker as he took a step closer. “Had a meal with a woman.”
I swallowed against the way his voice lowered at woman and how those two syllables stormed through my blood. I inhaled sharply, his wintery pine aroma overwhelming my senses. “You’re welcome. I enjoyed myself too.”
The silvering of his eyes told me I was failing miserably at hiding the excitement building inside me. He closed the remaining distance between us slowly, letting me watch every powerful step he took. His hand came to my arm, and that intentional touch kicked up my heart rate even more. Suddenly everything between us became charged, damn near electrified. His presence was all around me, his power washing over me, his mouth close to mine.
Aware of my desire, his nostrils flared, as he brushed a soft kiss against my cheek. The world stopped spinning as the air left my lungs in a rush, and my head turned without so much as a thought, only a pure desperation to feel himagainst my flesh.
Except, before my lips met his, he pulled away.
His glowing eyes were dancing. “Thank you again.”
As he strode away, and feeling like he suddenly had one up on me, I shoved all my desire, all my drenched, aching need into the air, letting him scent that.
He stiffened at the doorway, glancing back. His bright, glowing eyes, paired with the ravenous hunger on his face, nearly melted the panties off my body. “Are you prepared to finish what you’re starting?”
“Oh, are we starting something?” I asked, striding up to him. He went ramrod stiff as I molded myself to his body, leaning against the hefty erection at my stomach. “Aren’t we just saying goodbye?”
His chest rumbled.
Having the upper hand again, I grinned and meant to walk out of the door, except that a blast of wind slammed the door shut. Killian pressed me against the wall, his hard muscles a shield I never wanted gone. His hands braced my face, his lips inches from mine. Eyes glowing, he murmured, “You know we’re starting something.”
“Maybe I do.”
The air was on fire between us, electricity pinging as he brought his mouth closer, enough to smell Italian spices on the tongue I craved to taste. “If I kiss you, Willa, there is no walking away for me.” His gaze swept over my lips before meeting my eyes.
My head was spinning at the feel of his hands on me—at the power in the air around us. I could feel him entering every molecule of my body. His icy, woodsy aroma enveloping me. His touch burning me. His passion searing along my skin. It was like I knew all of Killian without knowing him. I didn’t question if I should let this happen, I knew it had to. I threaded my hands into his hair and brought his mouth to mine.
He groaned against my lips, and I echoed the sound, parting my mouth, allowing his tongue entrance. I moaned as I tasted him, and he grunted for all the same reasons, his hands exploring my body like he needed to learn it, to feel my curves. I dragged my hands from his hair to his strong shoulders down to his rippling arm muscles.
Until Killian broke the kiss, leaving me breathless after hearing a soft knock on the door. “Go away,” he growled.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Raphael said from the doorway. “But Ari requests your presence in the library.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, desperately trying to get control of my tingling nerve endings.
Killian waited for Raphael to leave before he set that smoldering stare on me, cupping my face, and cursed. “We need to go.” I saw the question there. All it would take was for me to say: I need you now, and we’d be late to meet Ari …
Stacey Kennedy is a USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary romances full of heat, heart, and happily ever afters. With over 50 titles published, her books have hit Amazon, B&N, and Apple Books bestseller lists. Stacey lives with her husband and two children in southwestern Ontario—in a city that’s just as charming as any of the small towns she creates. Most days, you’ll find her enjoying the outdoors with her family or venturing into the forest with her horse, Priya. Stacey’s just as happy curled up indoors, where she writes surrounded by her lazy dogs. She believes that sexy books about hot cowboys or alpha heroes can fix any bad day. But wine and chocolate help too.
“I remember the moment I realized it was doomed to fail. My plan to save Earth.”
She raises an eyebrow and waits for me to continue.
“I was in a room full of rich and powerful people. I was trying to raise the funds needed for terraforming on Earth. I knew I could not do it alone, that it would take many of us–if not all of us–to make the changes needed.”
“They didn’t listen, did they?” she asks, her lips forming a hard line.
I shake my head. “In the end, Mars was the only option we had left.”
Azalea sits straighter, moving her hand from under her chin to place it gently on my leg. For a brief moment, my body is entirely focused on her touch and every worry I have fades away. She has the power to shift my reality in an instant.
“It’s funny, I always thought you had too big an impact,” she says. “With so many people ruining the world, sometimes the environmentalist groups tried to paint everyone with the same brush. Everyone was failing. Everyone had to do more. Especially the rich. The news made it seem like you were ignoring problems instead of trying to fix them.”
I think about the Azalea I never knew, angry with me before we ever met. I would have fallen just as hard for that woman, I think. Would it have changed anything? Had we met earlier? I push the thought from my mind. There is no point obsessing over what might have been.
“The discourse was fraught from the start,” I say. “It was easier to lay blame than take action. In trying to inspire people to work together rather than just fan the flames of their anger, I felt like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the mountain, only to begin again each day. I finally became so disillusioned that I shifted my efforts.”
“To Mars,” Azalea says.
I nod. “Da. To Mars. I had the money to do whatever I wanted, and no government on Mars could senselessly slow my efforts.”
Talking of Mars draws both of our attention to the window, and we sit silently for a moment, taking in the expanse of space. We float together in a silent sky, countless miles away from our home planet. Right now, I exist only in this moment—alongside this woman, my past forgotten, my future a mystery. There is only now.
I hope the same is true for her, but I do not dare assume as much. Whatever her feelings about the process, she has Robert. They spend their days–and nights–in each other’s company. Surely their connection must be growing stronger.
The lucky bastard.
“Well,” Azalea says, turning to face me as she gives my leg a soft squeeze that makes me feel like Cupid has bludgeoned me with his bow. “I’d like to formally apologize for all the terrible things I said about you before we ever met. And, I’d like to thank you for bringing me along on your journey. I’m grateful.”
It means the world for her to say so, and I place my hand on top of hers, finally giving in to the temptation. The touch feels so right, yet just outside of the bounds of appropriateness. The entire purpose of assigned partners and an infallible algorithm was to avoid just this situation.
The jealousy.
The animosity.
The aggression.
Nothing good comes from broken trust and infidelity. No one has exchanged wedding vows, but they have all committed to this common goal. What happens when the man who made the rules is the first to break them?
Distinguishing right from wrong has never been a challenge for me. Helping people. Helping the planet. Ensuring the ends justify the means. It has always been a simple, logical code that has served me well.
Every second spent in the company of Azalea flies in the face of that. My feelings for her will have repercussions. If they are reciprocated, it will be even worse.
And yet, I have never wanted anything more.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
The question slices into me like a heated blade. I cannot begin to tell her my thoughts without annihilating what little line remains between us.
I should not.
I shall not.
“I am thinking…”
About you. About your eyes, and hair, and scent, and body.
“About you.”
The words are out of my mouth before I know what to do with them. Azalea’s eyes grow wide, and I realize I cannot leave those words to stand on their own.
“Oh?”
I sigh. There is no mystery. My secrets are exposed. The moment I took her hand to make sure she knew I had no partner, I made my feelings clear. We can dance around the conversation as long as we like, but I cannot pretend this beautiful, brilliant, intuitive woman does not see right through me.
I lean in. Only an inch. Testing the waters.
She does not move.
I close the distance more.
She blinks.
I am close enough to feel the breeze of her breath. It hitches.
We are each living on scraps of breath, taking in only enough air to survive, lest a single inhale disrupt this moment.
I bring my lips to hers, and she does not retreat.
As our mouths meet, I return to the blissful state of pure existence, my mind nowhere but here, no sense of the universe beyond the exquisite creature in front of me and the soft lips touching my own.
Blood rushes through my tingling body.
I inhale her breath into me as I deepen the kiss, parting her lips a sliver with the tip of my tongue, bringing my hand to cup her cheek, my other reaching around her waist to pull her closer.
She groans, her mouth opening for me, the taste of her like dark chocolate and rich red wine. Her tongue slicks against mine and my pants tighten uncomfortably at the touch. At the instant arousal she produces in me.
This kiss is everything, and yet I want—need—so much more.
I feel a rumble inside me, our contact shifting the tectonic plates of my soul, making every piece of me tremble.
Our lips part, but the quaking remains.
And now there is a sound to it.
My eyes lock with Azalea’s, whose face shows the same mix of ecstasy and concern.
The shaking is not from our kiss. It is coming from the ship.
Karpov Kinrade is the pen name for the husband and wife entertainment duo Lux and Dmytry Karpov-Kinrade, aka The KK Duo.
Together, they write award-winning, internationally and USAT bestselling books, make music, create art, write screenplays and direct — all the things.
Look for more from Karpov Kinrade in the Vampire Girl series, The Nightfall Chronicles and The Forbidden Trilogy. If you’re looking for their suspense and romance titles, you’ll find those under Alex Lux.
Check out their music by clicking on the Music tab.
They live in wine country California with their three offspring who have crazy creative genius oozing out of them in the form of music, art, performance, and all the things, and too many cats who all think they rule the world (spoiler alert: they do).
Title: Stitches Author: Sam Mariano Genre: Contemporary Menage Romance
This is a special edition paperback released for the 4th anniversary of Stitches. Along with Stitches, this print edition includes the post-“The End” short story that was featured in A Valentine’s Day Treat so you can have all the Seb/Moira/Griff words in one place.
*******
I suppose it all started half a lifetime ago when a mean-looking kid named Griff walked into my life.
When we found the stability in one another we couldn’t find in the world.
When two lonely kids became brothers.
As kids, we had no place in the world, so as men, we made our own. We took on everything together, building our own empire—partners in business and in life.
I guess that’s where it got complicated.
When I fell in love with Moira, and Griff had to share me for the first time.
When he liked what belonged to me just a little too much, and he started avoiding both of us until he came up with his own shitty way of coping.
I don’t know exactly when it all started, to be honest, but I know when it all fell apart.
There are exactly two people in the world who have my love, so what the hell am I supposed to do when holding onto one means losing the other?
