I'm incredibly excited to announce that Brink of Passion is now available for pre-sale on Amazon. Click HERE to reserve your copy! To celebrate, I thought I'd share the official excerpt of the book.
Enjoy!
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Drinks then?” Although he’d
phrased it as a question, he had no intention of letting her refuse. Now that
he’d found her, there was no way he’d let her go. He couldn’t. The beast inside
him wouldn’t stand for it.
Taking her arm, he steered her
toward the front of the hotel. Sure, he could have taken her to the hotel bar.
It would have been faster, and more convenient. But the bar was no doubt packed
full of shifters, and he wanted more privacy than that. He didn’t need a bunch
of strangers, who would no doubt sense what was happening, staring and
whispering while they were getting to know each other. Earlier, he’d seen a pub
around the corner from the hotel that seemed promising. He pointed toward the
hotel entrance as they walked and she nodded before moving ahead of him to
maneuver through the crowd.
His fingers still tingled from
touching her skin, and every nerve in his body thrummed with awareness. His
gaze strayed downward to the swing of her hips as she walked, and he bit his
lip to hold in a groan. No doubt the two of them together would burn up the
sheets once he got her into his bed.
Soon. They both knew they’d end up
there. Why deny themselves the pleasure?
She hesitated a moment, looking
over her shoulder, as they walked out of the hotel, making him wonder if she
were in fact with a man. If so, he admired her loyalty, even if it was no
longer relevant. The poor shmuck would have to find someone else. He grabbed
her hand, almost groaning at the pleasure merely touching her gave him, and led
her down the street.
She had to feel the connection
between them. The inexplicable pull toward each other. He’d never felt so certain
of anything before in his life. Suddenly he understood the possessiveness other
men displayed toward their mates. A part of him had always sneered at men who
found their mates and ignored everything else. The ones who became so enamored
that they professed undying devotion to someone they barely knew. He’d always
thought those men weak-willed, or somehow kidding themselves. But now he knew
differently.
No, he wasn’t in love with
Laurie—he didn’t even know her—but he was completely and utterly captivated by
everything about her. Love would grow. What they had between them was more
intense and consuming than that.
As they walked down the street,
more men stared at her, some shifters in town for the convention, but plenty of
full humans as well. Annoyance grew at every eye he caught looking at her with
interest. Laurie appeared either oblivious to the attention, or used to it. The
thought of the latter irritated him further. Was she looked at so often that
she’d become immune to it? Even women’s eyes were drawn to her.
When they got to the pub, Max
pulled Laurie away from everyone else and into a secluded circular booth. Away
from prying eyes. He scooted into the booth until they were seated together in
the back.
Her scent drove him wild, and he
couldn’t resist rubbing the tip of her hair between his fingers. Her eyes
tracked his movements, her mouth opening as if she wanted to protest, but after
a moment, she closed it. Pleasure filled him. Before the end of the night,
Laurie would be his.
The smile vanished from his face
as a waiter came to take their orders. The man’s eyes were riveted on his mate. A low growl rumbled in his
throat.
Pure male satisfaction filled him
when the waiter’s eyes widened in fear. He left so fast after taking their
drink orders, Max was surprised he didn’t leave skid marks.
“Are you always this friendly, or
do I bring out the best in you?” Sarcasm dripped from the words. He’d admit it,
watching other men ogle his mate was awakening his beast.
“Doesn’t it bother you?” Because
it sure as hell was bothering him.
“The growling? Nah, I have three
brothers, so your ultra alpha-ness doesn’t scare me.”
Alpha-ness? Was that even a word?
“Not me. You. Doesn’t it bother
you to have so many people making eyes at you?”
“Making eyes? What are you, eighty?”
She laughed and the sound swept through him, punched through his frustration
and brought a steady burn of lust in his gut. Low, with a hint of roughness
that sent chills down his spine.
Desire burned in the back of his
throat and pooled in his belly until thoughts of Laurie took over his entire
being. With another growl, this time one of pure need, Max leaned forward and
nipped the top of Laurie’s ear. Her laughter ceased, breath catching on a
quickly indrawn gasp. Fingers dug into his thigh, right above his knee, until
he released her ear, soothing it with a small lick before pulling back.
“I’m being serious.”
Her eyes stared at him in
confusion, lust still clouding their depths. He’d be lying if he said the sight
of her desire didn’t fill him with pride and no small amount of excitement for
the night ahead.
After a minute, she shook her
head. He could almost see her scattering droplets of bewilderment just as a dog
shakes off water after a bath. The image broke through the tension from
frustration and lust. He could be patient, because tonight would be the start
of forever.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking
about.”
She didn’t know. He could see it
in her face. She wasn’t trying to be cute, or pretend innocence. She really
didn’t see the way everyone stared at her. Somehow, that only made her more
attractive.
Unable to resist, he tangled his
fingers with hers and leaned his other arm along the back of the booth so that
he could play with her hair. Then he began to get to know her in earnest.
