Once upon a time, a writer woke up in the middle of her own book...
Pride
of the Lion
Hades’
Carnival, Book 3
When Araminta
Davidson is invited to participate in a readers’ appreciation weekend, she
feels like she’s arrived as an author. But what starts out as a fun weekend
quickly turns surreal and deadly when she accidentally releases a
shape-shifting immortal warrior from a five-thousand-year-old curse.
Finally freed from
the carousal he’s been trapped on, Leander denies Hades and vows to beat the
second part of the curse and find a way to free his comrades. The woman who
released him calls to his animal nature, and he realizes she’s his mate. But is
she as innocent as she seems, or was she sent by Hades? The clock is ticking,
but not fast enough. If he can stay alive and evade Hades for twenty-four
hours, he might be able to figure it out.
EXCERPT:
A brilliant
spotlight flashed on and she shrank back, covering her eyes as she was
momentarily blinded. She blinked and slowly lowered her hands, needing to see
if there was anyone there with her.
She didn’t see a
person, but she did see a broken-down carousel. The ride had seen better days
and only two animals remained on it—a wolf and a lion. Drawn to it by a force
she couldn’t deny, her feet moved until she was standing beside it. The paint
was chipped and worn, but there was no denying the beauty of the carved
animals. They were so realistic, so incredibly beautiful.
She ran her hand
over the flanks of the wolf. His head was slightly turned toward her, his mouth
opened to reveal several rows of sharp teeth. “You’re a dangerous one, aren’t
you?” She wanted to stroke his head but was almost afraid to, he was so
lifelike.
A dizzy spell
caught her unawares and she thought she heard a wolf howling in the distance.
She shook her head and reached out to catch herself against one of the posts of
the carousel. “Wow, what was that all about?” This whole place was disorienting
and it was making her feel slightly light-headed and nauseous.
She shuffled over
to the lion and sucked in a breath. The creature was magnificent with his thick
blond mane and golden eyes. She wasn’t even certain if lions had eyes the color
of old gold, or if they would be brown. Not that it mattered. This was an
artist’s representation of a lion, not a real one. Still, the animal was
amazing with paws the size of dinner plates and thick muscles rippling beneath
a layer of fur.
She reached out
and touched his side and was startled to feel warmth beneath her hand. She
stumbled back, clutching her hand to her chest. The lion slowly turned its head
toward her, opened his large, powerful jaws and roared.
Araminta’s heart
raced and pure terror enveloped her. The sharp fangs of the lion seemed to
glint in the muted light. She jerked back, slipped and kept falling. She
thought she might have screamed, but wasn’t certain. For a few brief moments,
she couldn’t see or hear anything. It was terrifying to be plunging through a
dark nothingness that wrapped around her and threatened to strangle her.
When she finally
landed, it was with a thud on a soft padding. The breath had been knocked out
of her so she sucked in air in big gulps. It was still poorly lit, but she
could see the outline of furniture. She was in a room of some sort. She frowned
as the objects came into better view. It looked like her bedroom at home.
A large male arm
snaked around her, pulling her back against a massive male chest. Araminta
opened her mouth to scream, but he spoke before she could manage to do more
than squeak. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
She blinked once
and then again. What was going on? Where was the carousel and how had she
gotten home?
Warm lips nuzzled
her nape, sending a blast of heat cascading through her entire body.
“You smell nice.”
A large hand cupped her hip through the thin fabric of her nightgown, giving it
a squeeze. “You feel even better.”
She knew she
should do something, get out of bed, run away or at the very least, scream.
Something. Instead, she lay there beside the strange man and absorbed his heat
and quiet strength. Something about him calmed her fear and silenced her
unease.
She turned onto
her side so she was facing him, wanting to get a better look at him. She
couldn’t see the color of his eyes or hair, but there was no hiding the hard
planes of his face. His nose was broad and flat, his forehead wide. His jaw was
strong and powerful, his neck muscular.
But it was his
hair that made her gasp. It was gloriously thick and fell to just below his
shoulders. She reached out and touched it, shocked when it felt soft and silky.
She wanted to rub her face in it. Heck, she wanted to rub her entire body over
it.
Which was crazy
because she had no idea who this guy was. Still, she wasn’t alarmed or upset by
that fact. She wanted to get closer to him, to snuggle against him.
A loud sound
permeated the room, almost like something was purring. It took her a second to
realize the sound was coming from him. She placed her hand on his chest and the
vibration sank into the flesh of her palm. It radiated down her arm to her
shoulder before moving lower to her breasts and still lower until she was
squirming and her panties felt damp.
She pulled her
hand back. “Who are you?”
“Yours.” The stark
reply made her toes tingle even as her brain formed a dozen questions.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TSMST9/Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/pride-of-the-lion.html
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pride-of-the-lion-nj-walters/1115084884
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/pride-of-the-lion/id1257711136
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pride-of-the-lion-1
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