Double Trouble (46 page)

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Authors: Deborah Cooke

Tags: #Contemporary Romance

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Love Potion Number Nine.

A potion it would be.

Lilith danced as she conjured, a reckless glee making her feel decidedly younger than her many years. Her cauldron was on the stove and the strongest love potion of all time was rapidly being assembled.

If Sebastian was anywhere within the galaxy, he’d get this message. When he showed up, Lilith had several hundred years of creative thinking to put to good use.

Lilith felt her desire heat to a fever pitch with every pinch of this and two petals of that cast into the brew. Anticipation hummed beneath her skin and every passing second added to her conviction that this spell would work. The mixture began to boil and its earthy perfume filled the house.

The yearning was enough to make her knees go weak.

Lilith changed softly before the simmering brew.

“Lover true, come to me,

Through the air or across the sea.

Once we loved all night with style

Come back NOW…”

Lilith chuckled under her breath as she thought of the perfect rhyme.

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

She ladled the bubbling green brew into her coffee cup. The last chorus of the song bounced off the kitchen walls. D’Artagnan lashed his tail as he watched from the doorway, his eyes bright. The potion smelled vile.

Lilith held her nose. She closed her eyes. She held her breath.

She took a sip.

* * *

Love Potion #9

Now available in a new edition.

Win A Book!

You could win a book from Deborah or Claire by entering the monthly contest on her blog. There are two contests—and two prizes—each month.

For the
Reviewer Contest
, you need to post a review of one of her books somewhere online—Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, you name it. It just has to appear on a public site.

For the
Reader Contest
, all you have to do is enter for a chance to win.

To learn more—and enter!—use the links above to see this month’s contest posts. You can also visit the
Alive & Knitting blog
, then choose either Reviewer Contest or Reader Contest from the category sidebar.

Good luck!

About the Author

Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance that was published in 1993 under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published more than fifty romance novels and numerous short stories. As Claire Delacroix, she has written historical romance, romance with fantasy elements, fantasy with romantic elements and future-set urban fantasy romance. As Deborah Cooke, she has written paranormal romance and paranormal young adult fiction. She also wrote briefly as Claire Cross—the time travel and paranormal romances originally published under that name have been re-released as Claire Delacroix books, while the contemporary romances have been re-published as Deborah Cooke books. She tends to include fantasy and paranormal elements in her stories and likes to write linked series of books. Her stories include a blend of action, adventure, romance, humor and deep emotion.

The Beauty
by Claire Delacroix
, part of her successful Bride Quest series, was her first book to land on the
New York Times
List of Bestselling Books. She has been nominated for numerous awards (as Claire and as Deborah), including
Publisher’s Weekly
’s Quill Award, and has won some, including the Booksellers’ Best Award. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she won the RWA PRO Mentor of the Year Award for her support of aspiring and new writers. Her blog, Alive & Knitting, includes her weekly column on the changing landscape of publishing called Wild West Thursdays and a post each Friday about her knitting.

She makes her home in Canada with her family, too many books and too much yarn.

Connect Online!

Deborah Cooke’s website

Claire Delacroix’s website

Deborah’s blog Alive & Knitting

Deborah’s Facebook Page

Claire’s Facebook Page

Deborah’s Monthly Newsletter

Book List

Links will take you to the author’s website

for excerpts, copy and buy links.

Claire Delacroix titles:

Historical Romances

The Rose Series
:

THE ROMANCE OF THE ROSE

THE SORCERESS

ROARKE’S FOLLY

The Moorish Series
:

HONEYED LIES

THE MAGICIAN’S QUEST

The Unicorn Series
:

UNICORN BRIDE

PEARL BEYOND PRICE

UNICORN VENGEANCE

The Sayerne Series
:

MY LADY’S CHAMPION

ENCHANTED

MY LADY’S DESIRE

The Bride Quest
:

THE PRINCESS

THE DAMSEL

THE HEIRESS

The Bride Quest II

(also called The Scottish Bride Quest):

THE COUNTESS

THE BEAUTY

THE TEMPTRESS

The Rogues of Ravensmuir
:

THE ROGUE

THE SCOUNDREL

THE WARRIOR

The Jewels of Kinfairlie
:

THE BEAUTY BRIDE

THE ROSE RED BRIDE

THE SNOW WHITE BRIDE

“The Ballad of Rosamunde”– a short story

The True Love Brides
:

THE RENEGADE’S HEART

THE HIGHLANDER’S CURSE (upcoming)

Time Travel Romances

(Originally published under the name Claire Cross):

ONCE UPON A KISS

THE LAST HIGHLANDER

LOVE POTION #9

THE MOONSTONE

Short Stories and Novellas
:

Amor Vincit Omnia

(digital only)

An Elegy for Melusine

(in TO WEAVE A WEB OF MAGIC)

The Kiss of the Snow Queen

(in THE QUEEN IN WINTER)

The Ballad of Rosamunde

Urban Fantasy Romances:

The Prometheus Project
:

FALLEN

GUARDIAN

REBEL

Deborah Cooke Titles

Paranormal Romances:

Dragonfire

KISS OF FIRE

KISS OF FURY

KISS OF FATE

WINTER KISS

HARMONIA’S KISS

WHISPER KISS

DARKFIRE KISS

FLASHFIRE

EMBER’S KISS

The Dragon Legion Novellas (upcoming)

Paranormal Young Adult:

The Dragon Diaries
:

FLYING BLIND

WINGING IT

BLAZING THE TRAIL

Short Stories
:

The Leaves

(digital only)

Coven of Mercy

Contemporary Romances

The Coxwell Series
:

THIRD TIME LUCKY

DOUBLE TROUBLE

ONE MORE TIME

ALL OR NOTHING

 

Double Trouble

Table of Contents

Cover Copy

Reviews

Copyright Page

Reader Letter...

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Excerpt from
One More Time

Excerpt from
Love Potion #9

Contests

About the Author

Connect Online!

More Books by the Author

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