Yes, I finally got a new book written. After a few changes in the plot, Bewitching the Bear is now published.
If you’re following along, you know I left a cliffhanger at the end of book 13th, when Ian’s younger brother, Cade, walked into the store down the street from his own and met with a rather unfriendly but very attractive, young woman, who won’t give her name but does reveal she knows all about their shifting community.
I had so much fun writing this one…I even have the story arc for book 15th and yes, ideas for a spin-off series too.
Here’s the synopsis, excerpt and cover for Bewitching the Bear, hope you’ll pick up a copy, snuggle up by the fire with the beverage of your choice and enjoy Cade and Gillian’s story.
Synopsis
Cade’s always dreamed about owning a motorbike store, and with money that he’s been left by old friend, Charlie, that’s about to come true.
He has a neighbor who he’s dying to meet. However, their first introduction doesn’t go quite as he planned. She seems immune to his charm and reveals something he never saw coming.
She knows about their shape shifting community.
Gillian Finnagan has secrets of her own. She’s on a Quest and Cade Mallory is part of test one.
She knows at all costs she has to keep the sexy bear shifter at arm’s lengths but that’s so hard to do when he’s drop dead gorgeous and their paths seem to cross every single day.
Will Gillian ever reveal what she is and why she’s in town?
Excerpt-
Cade knew he was being watched. He’d seen the older woman enter the store and then, she and, oh, if only she’d been polite enough to give Cade her name, stood there watching him. When he’d glanced over, they’d quickly darted out of view.
“Cade, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
His brother’s voice jarred him from his thoughts.
“What, oh, just thinking about the person who owns the store next to mine.”
Trey glanced over his shoulder.
“Pretty is she?”
“How did you know the person is a she?” Cade asked him.
“The glint it your eyes.”
Cade laughed, knowing it was the phoniest one he’d ever produced. He wasn’t great at fooling anyone, but especially one of his brothers. He continued making an adjustment on the ignition, hoping Trey wouldn’t discuss the topic of his next-door neighbor any more.
“She knows all about me,” Cade finally announced, realizing, he did want to talk to someone about his encounter with her.
“What that you snore louder than anyone I’ve ever known. And that without fail, fart like the devil after you’ve eaten the sampler platter at the local Mexican restaurant.”
Cade laughed again, but this time it was real. How could he not find that last remark funny because it was spot on true. One thing all three Mallory brothers had in common was the joy of teasing, especially those they loved.
“I do neither of those two things,” he said, knowing another common trait was not admitting to your weaknesses. “And that’s not what I’m referring to. She knows I’m a bear shifter, also knows about all of us being shifters too.”
Trey dropped the wrench he was holding. “How?”
Cade shrugged. It had been a huge shock to him too.
“Have you told anyone else about her?” asked Trey, now sitting on the bike.
“Nope, only met her about thirty minutes ago.”
He wanted to say and since that time, he’d thought of nothing else and not just because of what she’d revealed. He’d felt the pull of something between them. Yes, sexual but something more, something a lot deeper than that. He’d never experienced it with a woman ever before. Maybe it was what the other guys had felt when they met their human mates. Two magnets meeting for the first time, the pull stronger than you could ever imagine.
While he didn’t hate humans, they weren’t his favorite of beings. Although, all the human wives of bear shifters were great women, and yes, his soon to be sister-in-law, Eve, was downright fun to be around and had made his brother happy again. Something he never thought would happen. But Cade Mallory falling for one, getting in bed with one… marrying one. The world would end before any of that ever happened.
“Earth to Cade, come in please. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you had the same starry-eyed look in your eyes that Ian had when he first met Eve.”
Cade swallowed hard, twice. So, his brother had seen physical evidence of his attraction. It hadn’t been Cade’s imagination.
“But you do know better. One human in our family is going to be enough. There will never be two,” Cade assured him.
Yeah, assure your brother but what about you? Bet your last dollar on it. She was pretty with a capital P.
Trey pulled out his phone from his back-pant pocket and began texting.
“What are you doing?”
He had the weird feeling Trey was going to call her store and reveal that his big brother had a crush on her. Yeah, he’d done that a lot when they’d been younger. Trey had even made a public announcement when Cade had lost his virginity.
“I’m calling an emergency shifter meeting. We need to find out more about her,” Trey told him.
Vanessa Devereaux 