Breathe Me In

Breathe Me In – Tales of the Darkworld Book Six and a Half

Pink Petal Books

M/M, vampire/Magia, erotic paranormal romance

Novella


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Blurb:

Life is good for vampire Wilson North. His family left him well off. His job as an estate attorney is prestigious, well paying, and non-demanding. He’s gay and out and never had any issues being either. In fact, until the day he ended up beneath his car, bleeding out and only a few pints of blood from a sure trip to the Afterworld, life had never been a challenge.

When Will meets his destiny in the form of an enigmatic Magia named Garrick Forrester he finds the challenge of his life. Garrick’s gay but doesn’t live an openly gay life. Instead, he hides his nature behind his ownership of a BDSM club. The two men instantly know they are mates, but that doesn’t smooth the path to their bonding. Garrick wants Will but threats from his past convince him that the only way to protect his lover is to leave him. Shocked by Garrick’s ability to walk away, Will struggles to understand why his mate doesn’t want him. For the first time in Will’s life, something isn’t easy and he must fight for what he needs or give up his chance for happiness.

Drawn together by destiny. Torn apart by self-doubts and fear. Two men on the cusp of a dream must set aside the lives they’ve always lived for a chance at a new and brilliant future.

Warning: This book contains virgin sex between a sexy self-sacrificing wizard who’s never been catcher and an angelic-faced vampire who’s never pitched, a BDSM bad guy with dark magic, a mysterious royal Acerbian, and a host of characters from previous Tales books who do everything from implode buildings to change diapers…all to help two reluctant heroes find true love.

Excerpt:

Dark lashes flicked up and the beauty of Wilson North blazed through Garrick’s very soul when their eyes met this time. The lure of such angelic masculinity proved too much for him and he found himself pushing off from the marble crypt. He glided toward the bench where Will sat, his sole thought to lose himself in the salvation those dark eyes promised.

A visible shiver went through Will as Garrick stopped before him. Holding out his hand, Garrick silently prayed to the gods that Will would just take it and question things later. At the moment, all Garrick wanted was to touch Will, hold him and love him. Problems and logistics and the real world and all its damned obligations could come into play and be solved—or not—later. For just this moment in time, Garrick wanted to hold Will and breathe him in and know that they belonged to one another.

With eyes blazing, Will slipped his hand into Garrick’s, and they both drew in a breath as a metaphysical crackle of electricity arced between them. Then with a slow, fluid motion like that of wings unfurling, Will came to his feet. Garrick noted the slight wince the vampire gave as his weight settled onto both legs. He sensed rather than saw the pain lancing through Will’s body despite the natural grace of his movements. And he wished with every bit of his theurgic strength that he could heal his mate’s injuries despite the sure knowledge that Will had received the best healing possible after his accident. Helplessness never sat well within Garrick and with this man it spurred his natural possessiveness.

“Your name sounds familiar but if I’d met you before, I would have remembered,” Will said in a low voice. “You’re unbelievably hot.”

Garrick smiled at his soon-to-be lover. “You look like a Botticelli angel,” he replied, knowing that his words would give away the depth to which Will already affected him.

“Me?” Will’s brows winged up in surprise.

“Yes, you.” Garrick used the hand he still held to pull Will closer.

The heat of the vampire’s body registered briefly in his mind as he swept the man against his chest. The strange zing he’d experienced when Will took his hand became magnified a hundredfold as their bodies touched from chest to knee. Will sucked in a harsh breath and Garrick used the moment to reach up and cradle his mate’s dark head in his free hand.

They were nearly the same height but Garrick had a slight inch on Will. Still, their mouths were so close together, they already shared breaths. Garrick knew in the marrow of his bones that soon they would share more. That knowledge drove him to take the mouth of his mate with soft urgency, asking for Will’s capitulation rather than demanding as most Alphas would. At first, the firm lips beneath his own held a touch of Alpha resistance at being taken, but the instant he touched the tip of his tongue to that cool flesh, the man in his arms moaned and became his.

Lips parted, both his own and Will’s. They both sighed, breaths mingling as their hearts thudded in tandem, and they slowly, with absolute irrevocability, breathed each other in. The slightly muddied thoughts Garrick had gotten from Will only moments before shifted to an ice sharp clarity that stabbed his psyche, piercing it with the revelation that he would never be the same again. He belonged to Will. Will belonged to him. They were one whether they completed their mating or not. Destiny could be ignored, but never denied.

The kiss took on a familiarity that spoke of past lives together—if one believed in the reincarnation of souls—and a rightness that settled into Garrick’s head as firmly as Will’s thoughts did. Fear licked him as his tongue traced the edge of Will’s teeth. He understood that Will heard his thoughts now as clearly as he heard Will’s. Their bond ensured neither of them would ever be alone again and the loss of privacy morphed momentarily into a panic driven by the sense that he’d lost himself. But it dissolved almost as quickly as it had come when his tongue twined with the heated roughness of Will’s.

Tasting Will had all the qualities of sipping the finest Cabernet Sauvignon. Will’s flavor burst onto Garrick’s tongue in the same way that the wine’s tannins did, the tartness providing an edge of danger to the elegance. Firm muscles rippled beneath Garrick’s wandering free hand, reinforcing the notion that for all his sophistication, the man in his arms had more depth than a simple clothes horse. Will’s hands closed on Garrick’s buttocks and the Magia had no idea whose hips moved first, but the seductive brush of cloth covered erections made it obvious that it didn’t matter. They were equally aroused.

Sunstroked

Sunstroked – Tales of the Darkworld Book Six

Pink Petal Books

M/M, wildling (fae)/werewolf, erotic paranormal romance

Novella (41K)

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Blurb:
When wildling Corey Green discovers his mate is Seth Dylan, a tough as nails, dour werewolf from the McCallan clan, he thinks his life is set. However, Seth’s not out and doesn’t know if he wants to be. A pivotal sexual encounter between the men has Seth running scared and leaves Corey broken hearted. The men meet again nearly two years later and this time Seth’s out but Corey’s dark depression is about to send him behind the Veil of the Jewel Box to the fae world. Seth’s determined to make up for running out on Corey, but the wildling’s sunny disposition has gone so dark it may be too late for them to build a life together. With love on his side, Seth sets out return the sunshine to Corey’s soul.

Warning: Contains two hot gay men who love sunshine, sex that makes the plants and trees grow, and a big bad wolf who will do anything to win the man he loves.

Excerpt:

Corey Green had to be the most beautiful man Seth had ever seen. And his looks weren’t even half his appeal. If the man hadn’t been so incredibly nice on top of his sexiness, Seth wouldn’t have even considered losing his virginity to the guy. But he knew, just as he knew his own innate sexuality, that being with Corey was right. His sense of destiny galloped headlong toward Corey’s bedroom, carrying Seth toward something he wanted with a fierceness that made every muscle in his body tremble.

He wanted what was to come, needed it. The darkness he’d lived in his entire life had brightened the moment Corey had spoken to him, and Seth didn’t want to go back to the dark. He wanted to walk in the sun for the first time, maybe the only time, in his life. Corey represented happiness and pleasure and freedom, all things that had been in short supply throughout Seth’s life. Tomorrow he’d think about whether he should continue to deny his sexuality. Tomorrow he’d figure out what to do for the rest of his life. Tonight, all he wanted was pleasure. The pleasure he and his lover would give each other…

“You’re thinking too much,” Corey murmured and wrapped one hand around the back of Seth’s head, drawing him closer. “You just need to feel. Feel and enjoy.”

Seth let Corey pull him close. His heart pounded so hard he wondered if Corey could hear it. As the wildling’s mouth came down on his, Seth had the sense that the sun had emerged from behind a cloud. Searing heat flushed his body as if the sun beat down on his skin. With a sigh, Seth surrendered to the teasing lick of Corey’s tongue, opening his mouth to invite his lover inside. Their tongues twined and joy shot through Seth. A simple kiss had never felt so good.

When Corey broke off the kiss, Seth moaned in protest. With a chuckle, Corey threaded his fingers with Seth’s and led the way upstairs. The bedroom stood in shadow, the setting sun slanting only a few faint rays through the open window. Corey flicked on the bedside lamp and the room filled with a golden light.

“Tell me what you want.”

Corey’s voice held a softness and caring that sent a shudder through Seth. So few people in his life had cared about him. For this man whom he’d just met to openly show he cared about Seth’s feelings, wants, and desires, sent a wave of nameless emotion through him. Although they’d not done much yet, Seth already teetered on overload. Yet, he welcomed it. His past would be set aside from this moment onward. He would look to the future and look inside himself for the answers, and not look to his pack or his family to supply the blueprint for his life.

“I want it all.”

His stark words were met with a glorious smile. The curving of Corey’s generous, sexy lips made Seth’s mouth water.

“Well, of course you do,” Corey said, brushing his fingers through Seth’s unruly hair. “And I’m perfectly willing to be a sexual smorgasbord, but where do you want to start? What do you want to do first?”

Seth reached up and locked his fingers around Corey’s wrist, feeling the thrum of the wildling’s blood beneath his fingertips. “Have you ever had a virgin before?” he asked, his heart suddenly aching to know where he stood with Corey.

Two hands cupped his face for a brief moment, a fleeting caress meant to soothe.

“No, I haven’t. But you’re special. I sensed it immediately,” Corey replied honestly, his steel blue eyes serious. “I want to show you how wonderful this can be. I want to show you what you feel is not wrong. How can pleasure be wrong? It is no one’s place to sit in judgment on another especially with regard to acts of pleasure between two consenting adults. You’re not a freak, Seth. You’re just a man with healthy desires. Other men will want to be with you. I want to be with you. And there is nothing wrong with that. Let me show you how good it can be.”

Seth pondered Corey’s words for a moment, recognizing the truth in them. The darkness within him lightened. He stretched out a hand and laid it on Corey’s hip.

“I want to touch and be touched.”

A sigh escaped the wildling. Something brilliant glittered in his steel colored eyes for a moment, then he blinked them shut. When they opened, raw hunger blazed at Seth from the handsome face of the man who would be his first real lover. Then Corey spread his arms wide. The teasing smile that Seth had instantly been drawn to lit Corey’s face. Bathed in the smile’s radiance, it almost seemed to Seth as if a door had closed on his past, locking the darkness away where it could no longer reach him. His mouth went dry, his heart pounded to an uneven rhythm driven by lust and a plethora of emotions he couldn’t begin to define.

With shaking but determined hands, Seth pushed up Corey’s polo shirt exposing a broad golden-skinned chest. Moments later, the shirt hit the floor, and Seth’s fingertips found the wildling’s nipples. The flat discs puckered beneath his touch, and Corey groaned. Silently, Seth groaned too. The smooth skin beneath his hands didn’t feel anything like a woman’s. His palms skated over the hard contours of Corey’s torso, and he decided the man’s skin felt like rough silk.

Christmas Catch

Coming this week from Pink Petal Books, a heartwarming Christmas tale about a cowboy and former Air Force pilot.

Blurb: Mitchell Caulfield’s soul is as wounded as his body once was. The former Air Force pilot, forced to retire after being shot down over Afghanistan suffers from PTSD. Working as a bodyguard to supermodel Riley Forbes, Mitch accompanies the model and his wife home to the ranch for Christmas. There he meets Riley's cousin Grayson, a former rodeo star who now runs Forbes Ranch. Can the magic of Christmas bring two men from diverse backgrounds together? And will they open their hearts to the possibility of love?

Excerpt:

Mitch rolled to his back, arms spread wide, his head thrashing on the mattress. “God, noooo!” he moaned.

Gray realized his words weren’t reaching the former pilot. Tentatively, he reached out and stroked his fingers lightly, in what he hoped was a soothing manner, over the side of Mitch’s damp face. Moving with the speed of a striking snake, Mitch grabbed Gray’s wrist in a vise-like grip as he rubbed his face against the palm.

“Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me here to die.”

Naked fear dripped from every word sending a wave of sympathy over Gray. He was locked into an uncomfortable position, one knee and one hand on the mattress for balance, the other hand held between Mitch’s.

Before he could figure out how to get out of the awkward pose, Mitch yanked his hand, tumbling him down onto the bodyguard’s hard frame. To Gray’s immense horror, his cock stirred as his hips involuntarily ground into Mitch’s.

“I’m so glad you’re here.”

Mitch’s sibilant whisper came right before his mouth took Gray’s in a searing kiss. Shocked to the core, Gray could do nothing but acquiesce when Mitch’s tongue sought entrance to his mouth. With heated strokes, the pilot’s hands roamed over Gray’s naked back while his hips thrust upward, pressing his erection firmly against Gray’s.

Lust swept through Gray as he let his tongue tangle with Mitch’s. Until this moment, he hadn’t admitted how attracted he’d been to the ex-Air Force officer. He knew the military had a don’t ask, don’t tell policy and because of it, many gays steered clear of that career path. Mitch looked straighter than a het man and hadn’t set off Gray’s gaydar at all, so he hadn’t questioned the
possibility that the man was more than he appeared. This, despite the fact that Gray himself was a walking advertisement for not broadcasting his sexual preferences via his appearance.

“Oh, hell. You’re so hot,” Mitch murmured, his hands slipping between their bodies to unzip Gray’s jeans, before rolling him to his back.

Head spinning, Gray found himself naked and spread beneath Mitch’s body in a matter of moments. He stared up at the man’s brilliant midnight blue eyes.

Shit. The other man was 100% wide awake.

“Mitch, I-I can…” His mouth stammered the beginnings of an explanation for being in Mitch’s room, but the pilot cut him off with a quick, hard kiss.

"Shut up, Gray. Unless you’re going to tell me to stop.” He rubbed his cock against Gray’s and his eyes darkened. “You’re not, are you?”

"I-I…” Gray tried to order his scattered thoughts. “You’re gay?”

Mitch smiled, his handsome face lighting with amusement. “As gay as you. Now, do you wanna talk or do you wanna fuck, cowboy?” The pilot’s hand stroked over Gray’s bare abdomen and settled around the thick erection that curved along his belly.

Eyes narrowed suspiciously, Gray said, “You seem to have gotten over your nightmare.”

Pain flashed in Mitch’s dark blue irises. “They’re bad when I’m in them, but I usually wake quickly. Sometimes I don’t even remember the details of the dreams. I fell asleep thinking about you, wondering how I could get you to notice me.”

He shrugged. “Bad as the dreams can be, I’m sorta grateful to them tonight.”

Gray accepted his explanation of the nightmares. Then his brain registered the rest of Mitch’s words. “Notice you?” His brows rose. “I’ve been driving myself nuts ever since you got here wondering how to get my cousin’s straight bodyguard out of my head.”

A rich chuckle escaped Mitch and he stroked Gray’s cock slowly. “You thought I was straight? Didn’t Riley tell you I’m as queer as a three dollar bill?” he said with amusement.

Gray’s hips began thrusting toward Mitch as pleasure spiraled through his body. “I can see I’m gonna have to have a little chat with my cousin. Riley didn’t tell me jack,” he grumbled.

“Well, I’m gay and you’re gay. I think you’re pretty damn hot and I can tell…” Mitch broke off and rubbed his thumb over the head of Gray’s cock, spreading the pre-cum over it. “… you seem to like me too. So how about it, Gray? Tell me I can save a horse and ride a cowboy.”

A groan broke from Gray, half pleasure from the feel of Mitch’s hand pumping his cock and half disgust at the trite old cowboy joke. “Condoms? Lube?” he panted, suddenly uncaring that he appeared a total slut. Sometimes being a manwhore could be an advantageous thing.

Fire Season

Fire Season – Tales of the Darkworld Book Three

M/M Erotic Paranormal Romance
Dragon shifters
Available at Pink Petal Books

BLURB:
Black dragon Holden Antaeus isn’t looking for a mate. His life is filled with family, work, and dating. Women adore him and he’s never short of offers for sex, but a relationship isn’t something he’s interested in. When Holden’s brother Sean hires a new executive for Antaeus International, Holden’s whole world, and everything he’s ever believed about himself, is blown to bits. Garret Renquist is a green dragon, intelligent, witty, bi-sexual, and hot for Holden. Despite the fact that Holden is positive he’s heterosexual, the moment he meets Garret, something happens inside him. What follows is a journey through stereotypes and ingrained beliefs as Holden struggles with the fact that his destined mate is a man.
EXCERPT:
Holden wanted to look over his shoulder to see Garret’s reaction. He didn’t. He returned to the main room of the suite and picked up his water, wandering out to the balcony to watch the sun rise. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes later that he heard a soft sound that told him Garret had joined him.

“Holden, I’m sorry.”

The softly spoken words caused Holden to release his breath on a sigh. “I am too, Garret.” He turned, his gaze caught and held by Garret’s. A wave of emotion, mostly indefinable, rose within him, causing an ache in his chest.

Garret swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Holden sensed Garret’s discomfort, but stayed silent, waiting for him to finish. He gave the man points for holding his gaze when by rights he probably wanted to look anywhere else.

“I was angry and disappointed and confused. When Rob came on to me in the bar…” Garret broke off and swallowed again. “I didn’t think you would care what I did, but that is no excuse. It’s just an explanation of my motivation. I know it was wrong of me to bring him back here on the day I found you. I’m so sorry.”

It had been a long time since Holden had met someone with the level of integrity that Garret had just shown. “I’m sorry too, Garret,” he replied in a low voice. “This whole thing was such a shock. And I know that’s not an excuse for my behavior. It’s just an explanation.”

He smiled as he repeated Garret’s words. The British man’s eyes lightened as a smile curved his lips. Holden caught a glimpse of brilliant white teeth as Garret’s smile flashed out and he suddenly felt sucker punched, his gut twisting with emotion. The urge to reach out and touch Garret overwhelmed him, just like the man’s scent filled his senses, until all he could think about was asking him to repeat yesterday’s kiss.

Garret’s eyes flickered. “You realize that a lot of what you think and feel bleeds out to me now,” he murmured. “Despite your natural shielding.”

Holden sucked in a breath. “If you know what I’m thinking then just do it, Garret, ‘cause the gods know I can’t yet,” he said in a shaky voice, feeling his heart begin to race.

Garret took the three steps needed to bring their bodies within inches of each other. Holden began to shake a little with fear and anticipation. The first kiss had been a surprise and filled with anger on both sides. This would be their first real kiss. They both acknowledged that they were mates, and that they felt some emotion pulling at them along with a steadily growing attraction. Regardless of the previous kiss, Holden didn’t know what to expect and when Garret’s hand came up to wrap around the back of his neck, he stiffened a little at first. Then fire licked through his veins at the feel of Garret’s warm palm on his bare skin. He shook harder.

“Don’t be afraid, Holden. It’s just a kiss.”

Garret’s soft whisper accompanied the press of his thumb against the underside of Holden’s jaw. Reflexively, he tilted his chin up and Garret’s mouth came down on his. Lust swept through his body as Garret expertly parted his lips. Holden gasped a little opening his mouth wider as Garret’s tongue glided easily against his own, the wet heat sending lightning bolts of desire shooting through him. This time when Garret’s hips brushed his, he didn’t move, letting the man press his growing erection against him. His own cock started to respond, twitching inside his shorts.

Just as Holden was about to let go and kiss Garret back, the British man broke off the kiss on a long shuddering sigh. “I think we need to go downstairs before I forget that you’ve never been with a man before, Holden,” he said in a shaken voice.

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