Welcome to this week’s Marketing for Romance Writers Book Hooks blog hop. Today I’m sharing a snippet from my paranormal erotic romance The Eyes of Bast. Anyone who’s followed me for a while will know I’m a huge ailurophile (that is, a cat lover). Hence I had great fun writing this feline shape-shifter tale.
Blurb
Trust
your heart.
Follow your
dreams.
Shaina
Williams’
grandmother
bequeathed her
that wisdom,
along with
an old
pendant from
the Islands,
carved from
an ocelot’s
tooth. When
instinct tells
Shaina to
visit the
feral cat
trap she’s
set in
Central Park,
she listens
to that
inner voice.
She discovers
she’s
caged a
magnificent black
tom, but
the cat
inexplicably
vanishes after
she tends
to his
wounds. Seeking
the errant
feline, Shaina
encounters
instead a
handsome stranger
whose slightest
touch sets
her body
on fire.
As the
day dawns
after a
night of
ferocious
passion, her
mysterious lover
is forced
back into
his true
shape—the
tomcat she
rescued.
Born
a cat,
Tom was
transformed into
an unwilling
shape shifter
by a
sorceress who
craved a
human plaything
to satisfy
her perverse
lusts. Centuries
old and
irresistibly
powerful,
Delphine
Montserrat will
stop at
nothing to
find her
runaway familiar.
Shaina vows
to do
whatever is
necessary to
defeat the
vicious but
seductive witch
and save
the man
she believes
is her
soul mate—even
though it
might mean
losing him
forever.
The
Hook
I
drew him
against my
breasts and,
naturally, his
lips sought
mine. Tabasco
and brown
sugar flavors
mingled with
his usual
wild and
earthy taste.
My sex
felt sore
and inflamed
after his
most recent
ravishment, but
that didn’t
stop me
from craving
the sensation
of his
relentless cock
pummeling me
again. However,
with something
like resignation,
he pushed
me away.
Residual arousal
rippled along
my skin.
“Tom?”
“I’ve
got to
go. Every
minute we
are together
increases your
danger. She’s
somewhere in
this city,
seeking me.
She’ll
find me,
before long.
She’ll
find us
and when
she does,
she’ll
punish you
as viciously
as she
will me.”
With a
grace that
almost made
me sob,
he rose
to his
feet and
headed for
the bathroom.
“If you’ll
lend me
some money,
I can
be on
an outbound
bus in
a couple
of hours.”
I
followed him,
standing in
the doorway
as he
splashed water
on his
face and
under his
arms, then
patted himself
dry with
my towel.
Despite his
washing, his
musky odor
filled the
tiny cubicle.
I ached
to hold
him tight,
to never
release him.
Still, I
knew that
he wouldn’t
lie to
me. He
wanted to
stay with
me. I
had no
doubt of
that, could
feel it
in my
very bones.
But he
didn’t
dare.
I
watched, feeling
totally helpless,
as he
dressed himself
in the
jeans and
jersey he’d
worn that
evening we’d
met in
the park.
Had he
left them
here? I
couldn’t
recall. All
that I
remembered was
that incredible
sense of
connection—physical,
emotional,
spiritual. How
could I
let him
go?
I
slipped into
my robe,
somehow not
wanting to
be naked
when he
was clothed.
My mind
whirled as
I sought
some way
to keep
him with
me.
“You
can’t
run forever,
Tom. We’ve
got to
find her,
before she
finds us,
so we
can break
the spell.”
“Find
one woman
in this
hive of
eight million
souls?” His
laugh was
bitter. “You’re
dreaming,
Shaina.”
“Gram
always told
me that
dreams point
the way
to truth.”
I clasped
the pendant
I never
took off,
the one
she’d
given me
as a
girl, an
abstract feminine
shape she’d
told me
was carved
from an
ocelot’s
tooth. The
relic from
her home
island felt
warm under
my fingers.
“You’re
my dream,
Tom—my
heart’s
desire. I
won’t
let you
go.” I
squared my
shoulders and
stepped closer,
blocking his
route to
the door.
“Ah,
woman—I
don’t
want to
go.” He
clasped me
to his
chest and
once again,
the world
cartwheeled
around us.
Reeling with
desire, I
sought his
lips and
felt him
surrender to
me. One
last
time.
I could
almost hear
his thoughts.
Be
sure to visit the other great authors joining today’s Book Hooks Hop!
