For today’s Book Hooks blog hop, I’m sharing another exclusive excerpt from my recently released paranormal erotic romance Fangs, Fur and the Single Girl. In this bit, we learn more about the history of the lone wolf shifter Zack Kane.
Enjoy!
Blurb
A tragically attractive vampire, a hunky wolf-man and a skeptical but susceptible career gal. What could possibly go wrong?
Bianca Sorenson understands obsession. Her phenomenally successful Vamp magazine feeds the popular fascination with the undead. The city is full of fanatics who want to believe vampires are real. Bianca knows that’s a fantasy. Then a blond, blue-eyed blood drinker walks into her office looking for a model’s job and turns her universe upside down. Jim Bush hasn’t been a vampire for long, but his terrible history and seductive hunger undermine Bianca’s single-minded ambition and her cherished self-control.
Trying to escape from Jim’s disturbing influence, she collides with a shaggy giant of a man whose mere presence inspires irresistible lust. When Zack Kane reveals that he’s a wolf shifter and claims Bianca as his mate, she finds herself on the horns of a supernatural dilemma. How can she resolve her feelings for her two mutually hostile lovers while defusing a city-wide conflict between the vampire clique and the werewolf pack?
Fans of Twilight: get ready for a wilder ride than you ever imagined!
The Hook
They found a quiet coffee shop around the corner. Bianca ordered a bagel with cream cheese and a double espresso. Zack had biscotti and a glass of milk. At six p.m., the place was mostly empty. They sat at a little corner table, their knees touching. If she focused, Bianca could make herself experience that minimal contact as comforting rather than arousing.
“So—tell me about your childhood, Zack. Where did you grow up? How did you get into the pet business?”
“Why are you asking me questions?” Zack scowled. “I thought you were going to tell me about the silver-haired stranger!”
“It’s relevant to my story. Believe me. Please.”
“Oh, alright.” He took a sip of his milk, then leaned back in his chair. “According to the records, my mother abandoned me on the doorstep of an orphanage in Queens. I grew up surrounded by other children nobody wanted.”
He paused. Bianca nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“It wasn’t such a terrible life. We had decent food and clothing, and went to school with the other kids in the neighborhood. But I always knew I was different. Everyone else felt it, too.
“Even when I was young, I was drawn to the wilderness. The city felt like a prison. I learned how to sneak out of the orphanage, take the subway over to Manhattan and wander around Central Park. Sometimes I’d stay overnight, wishing I could live there instead of being surrounded by walls of brick and stone.”
The server from behind the counter came by with a broom. Zack waited until the skinny young man had retreated before he resumed.
“I was twelve, just entering puberty, when I changed for the first time.”
“Oh, Zack!”
“Fortunately it happened when I was on one of my midnight visits. The moon was full. I raced around the deserted park, delirious with happiness. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere.
“When I shifted back to human form, I was depressed and angry. I wanted to die. I’d never had any real friends, but now the other kids started to actively avoid me. Every time I set my wolf free, it became harder to return to ‘normal’ life. Finally, I ran away for good. I hitched a ride to the Shawangunks and disappeared into the forest to live as the beast I knew I was.”
“Could you—can you control the change?”
“To some extent. The full moon always triggers a shift, but now, if I concentrate, I can make it happen at other times. And strong emotion will sometimes cause me to shift involuntarily.”
“Like you did last night?”
Zack nodded.
“So how did you end up back in the city, running a pet store?”
“When I was sixteen or seventeen, running wild in the Gunks, I stepped into a bear trap. It broke my rear leg. I couldn’t shift back—couldn’t do anything but howl and suffer. Myron found me.”
“Myron?”
“Myron Kane, former owner of the pet shop. Though he lived in the city, he loved the country. He’d go hiking and fishing in the Gunks whenever he could. He rescued me from the trap. As soon as he’d released the jaws from my leg, I shifted back to human form. He didn’t bat an eye.
“He carried me back to his campsite, set my leg, and drove me back to the city in his pickup. When I’d recovered, he gave me a job in the store. Eventually he adopted me. Myron understood who and what I was. It never bothered him. ‘More things in heaven and earth, my boy,’ he’d say with that crooked grin of his. God, I loved that man.”
Zack’s eyes were luminous with unshed tears. Bianca reached across to squeeze his hand, though she understood the limits of compassion.
“He died on one of our jaunts into the mountains. Sudden heart attack.” Zack answered her unasked question. “I carried him back, the way he’d carried me.”
“And he left you the pet store?”
Zack nodded. “He adored animals. Especially dogs. Sometimes I think about getting a place in the country, but keeping the shop alive is my way of saying thanks.”
She still held his hand in hers. He placed his other hand on top.
“Now tell me, Bianca. Who was the man you ate lunch with today? And why does the sight of him make me want to tear him limb from limb?”
Buy Links
Kinky Literature – https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1508-fangs-fur-and-the-single-girl/
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXF755SM
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CXF755SM
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1540924
Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fangs-fur-and-the-single-girl-lisabet-sarai/1145179250?ean=2940167695276
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fangs-fur-and-the-single-girl
Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6480071026
Add on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210320373-fangs-fur-and-the-single-girl
Add on Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/books/fangs-fur-and-the-single-girl-by-lisabet-sarai
Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s Book Hooks!
2 comments:
What a great story! I love the way it unfolds.
The werewolf's early life adds so much to the story.
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