Night of the Tiger (Hades' Carnival) (34 page)

About the Author

N.J. Walters has always been a voracious reader of romance novels and decided one day that she could write one as well. The contemporary story,
Discovering Dani
, was the very first novel she wrote while living in a little town much like the one Dani O’Rourke lives in, though all other similarities to Dani’s life pretty much end there. Then she wrote another one that followed up on Dani’s friends and neighbors. But she didn’t consider herself a “real” writer yet.

Just a few years later N. J. had a mid-life crisis at a fairly young age, gave notice after ten years at her job on a Friday and received a tentative acceptance for her first published novel (an erotic romance) from a publisher on the following Sunday.

Happily married to the love of her life, with his encouragement and support she gave up the job of selling books for the more pleasurable job of writing them. She now spends her days writing novels of her own. Werewolves, vampires, time-travelers, seductive handymen and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to do it. And some days she actually feels like a “real” writer.

N.J. enjoys hearing from readers, and she can be reached at
[email protected]
. You can check out her web site at
www.njwalters.com
.

Look for these titles by N.J. Walters

Now Available:

Jamesville

Discovering Dani

The Way Home

The Return of Patrick O’Rourke

The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke

A Legal Affair

By the Book

Past Promises

Legacy

Alexandra’s Legacy

Isaiah’s Haven

Legacy Found

Quinn’s Quest

Finding Chrissten

Damek’s Redemption

Spells, Secrets and Seduction

A Touch of Magic

Dreams of Seduction

Love in Flames

Coming Soon:

Hades’ Carnival

Mark of the Bear

Pride of the Lion

Howl of the Wolf

When the devil wants a deal, there’s no bowing out gracefully.

Mark of the Bear

© 2013 N.J. Walters

Hades’ Carnival, Book 2

At twenty-nine, Hollywood scream queen Kellsie Morris is acutely aware the clock is ticking on her career. Luckily, the one big role she needs to pad her retirement fund has just come through—the story of an immortal, shape-shifting warrior trapped in a carnival run by the Devil’s minions.

When Kellsie arrives on set, she can’t resist climbing aboard an amazingly realistic carousel bear—and finds herself flung into a world where the horror is real. As real as the heat radiating off the half-naked hunk in her arms.

Marko has waited an eternity for the chance to free his goddess, the Lady of the Beasts, and his fellow warriors from an ancient curse. But once he lays eyes on Kellsie, he knows to the bottom of his soul that his purpose is to protect her life.

But in this hellish game, it’s the Devil’s move. And there’s no predicting when and where the final, brutal stroke will fall—and which lover will pay the ultimate price.

Warning: This book contains a heroine who’s a screamer—in and out of bed—and a warrior who gives a whole new meaning to
method
. After reading, please use caution when standing up. Your knees may be weak.

She doesn’t believe in magic—or love. Until a spirit goes walking on the wild side…

Dreams of Seduction

© 2011 N.J. Walters

Spells, Secrets and Seductions, Book 2

Maggie O’Neill goes along with her two best friends’ candle-magick spell to summon a lover only because, well, they
are
her BFFs. She doesn’t really believe in this stuff. Yet the aftermath of the spell leaves her strangely hot and bothered, and then the dreams of a man start—and not just any man. Jed Bearson. Pity, since she’s sworn off men for the foreseeable future.

Jed, part-time deputy and painter, doesn’t tell many people that he has the ability to let his spirit travel outside his body. One night, despite his self-imposed rule to never invade anyone’s privacy, he follows an irresistible pull to Maggie’s bedside. He’s astounded to find her crying out his name in private pleasure. After months of giving her space, maybe it’s time to approach her.

Maggie and Jed’s first touch is lightning hot—and their passion is a thunderclap of erotic pleasure. But when Jed reveals he’s a spiritwalker, Maggie’s reaction is like a curtain of cold rain descending between them. Leaving him wondering what she’s afraid of. Magic? Him? Or of following her heart?

Warning: This book contains erotic dreams and fantasies, a candle magick spell, spiritwalking, lots of hot, sweaty sex, and a happily ever after that will make you sigh.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Dreams of Seduction:

Jed’s body heated as he drew closer. His balls ached and his cock throbbed. Beautiful, elusive Maggie O’Neill had attracted him from the first time he’d set eyes on her. Her waist-length hair was thick, its red color a beacon, drawing him. Jed wanted to wrap his fist around that hair, anchoring her to him as he pounded into her sweet, soft body.

Maggie had the kind of curves that made men sweat. Lush and lovely, he wanted to trace every arch, every hollow of her body, mapping each one until he knew it by heart. He wanted to run his tongue over her smooth skin. It looked like fresh cream, but would taste sweet and salty. Her breasts were large and Jed had the deepest desire to know what color her nipples would be.

But Maggie was a wounded soul. He’d sensed it the moment they’d met. This was a woman who’d been hurt and needed time to recover. As much as his instincts urged him to get closer to her, to make her see him as a man, he’d refrained. He was patient and knew his time would come.

He’d thought of her, night after night in his empty bed. Imagined having her naked, sprawled across his midnight blue sheets with nothing to cover her but his body. His cock jerked, a bead of pearly white liquid seeping from the tip.

For whatever reason, he was being drawn to Maggie. Now that he knew where he was going, Jed surged forward, eager to be with her, even if it was only in spirit. He slipped through her closed window and stood in the shadows.

Maggie was as he’d pictured her so many times. Naked. Well, almost naked. Her nightgown was pushed over her breasts, leaving her naked from the chest down. Her skin gleamed like a pearl in the light of the moon that seeped through her window.

Her legs were sprawled wide and her mouth was open on a low moan of pleasure. Like a man in a daze, Jed stumbled forward until he was standing beside the bed. He swallowed hard, entranced by the sheer eroticism of the moment. It was an invasion of privacy, but he couldn’t make himself leave. She’d called him here, somehow reaching beyond the physical world. Her soul had called to his and he’d come. There was no way he was going anywhere. Not yet.

Her hands covered her breasts, large pink nipples peeking out from between her fingers. He’d fantasized about her breasts, but the reality was much more than anything he’d imagined. Plump and full, they drew him. Lowering himself to the mattress beside her, he placed his hands over hers.

Her fingers jerked, almost as if she felt his touch, but she sighed and circled her palms over her breasts. The slide of silky skin beneath his palms almost made him come right then and there. Her hands drifted away and he took the opportunity to circle her nipples with his thumbs. The nubs puckered even tighter and Maggie arched her hips upward.

A flash of an image popped in his head and he knew it had come from Maggie. At first he was stunned. Then satisfaction filled him, deep and abiding. She was thinking of him as she pleasured himself.

Jed wanted to tip back his head and howl. He wanted to lower himself onto her body and slip his cock into her heated warmth. Then he wanted to fuck her until she screamed her release.

He did none of those things. Instead, he watched as she let her fingers trail over the curved mound of her stomach and lower still. The reddish curls at the notch of her thighs were damp with cream. Jed let his hands follow Maggie’s, trailing them over her warm, willing flesh. He traced the delicate line of her ribcage and cupped her ample hips. His fingers skated inward until they hovered just above her mound.

She thought she had a life—until being hunted shows her she’s never really lived.

Savage Transformation

© 2010 Lexxie Couper

Savage Australia, Book 2

Jacqueline Huddart has spent her entire adult life on the run. Not from the law, or even a jealous lover. From herself—and what she is. That strategy works for her until a funeral demands she return to home ground, and her best friend disappears. Finding Delainie means Jackie must confront the truth…and accept the help of a mysterious, sexy-as-sin Texan.

Marshall Rourke isn’t the only one flying under the radar. He’s on an off-the-grid quest to track down a rogue ex-partner who hunts paranormal beings for the joy of the kill. Convincing the unexpectedly feisty Jackie to trust him isn’t easy, but there’s no better way to lure the hunter into the open than to dangle as unique a target as Jackie—the last Tasmanian Tiger shifter in existence.

Trouble is, Marshall hadn’t counted on Jackie’s brutal right cross. Or the fact that her simmering sexuality calls to his inner wolf on every imaginable level. And that the killer is about to use their desire to add them both to his trophy case…

Warning: This title contains the following: explicit sex out in the bush, wild shifter sex in an abandoned shack, passionate sex in a hotel shower. Plus a Texan hero with a very big secret, an Australian heroine with an even bigger one, a significant amount of violence and as always, Australian sarcasm.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Savage Transformation:

Her thylacine growled, surging though her being with rapid ease. Snatching back control had been hard. She’d shoved the need to transform down into the pit of her existence and half-walked, half-ran down the hotel’s stairs into the car park, scanning the area for any sign of Delanie.

And now here she was, walking around her best friend’s car, breathing shallow for fear of losing herself to her inner animal when she knew she should be breathing deep to detect any hint of Delanie’s location.

Then stop being a chicken shit and do it.

Coming to a standstill, wishing—again—she had her gun, Jackie closed her eyes and pulled in a long, slow breath.

There! Delanie.

Faint, almost dispersed to nothing, but there. To her right. Delanie’s scent tinged with…

She turned, lifting her head slightly and pulling in another breath.

Her heart clenched. Fear. Delanie’s scent was tinged with fear. The acrid kind of a sudden fright.

God, what is going on?

Following the scent, the thylacine inside her itching for release, she moved through the car park. Clapped-out combi-vans stood beside shiny hybrids. Dented station wagons shared the asphalt with lovingly looked-after sedans. Each waited for their owners to return, the setting sun casting their paintwork in a fiery orange glow.

Jackie pulled in another breath, tasting the air. Del had been here.

She narrowed her eyes, approaching a low red convertible. Heat rolled from it in unpleasant waves, the stench of burning motor oil almost choking her. Reaching out, she placed her right palm on the car’s hood. Hot. Hot enough to tell her the engine had only recently been running.

She took another breath, separating the car’s fumes from the delicate scent of her best friend. Delanie’s scent grew stronger here. More concentrated.

Jackie’s chest squeezed tight. It wasn’t just Del’s scent that was more potent here. Her fear tainted the air like a thick mist.

Damnit, Del. What’s going on?

She took another breath. There was more on the air than Delanie’s fear-laced scent. There was something else, something she couldn’t put her finger on. A scent that wasn’t a scent.

That doesn’t make sense, Huddart.

No, it didn’t, but she didn’t know how else to explain it. There was a void to the air, as if something had erased the particles of which it was comprised. Removed them from existence.

Her pulse quickened. Removing something from a crime scene—and worryingly, this is exactly what this seemed to be—meant Delanie wasn’t just missing. She was…

“Taken,” she whispered.

Her stomach rolled and she ran her stare over the red convertible. She could do one of two things. She could call the local police force and report Delanie as missing, and aid them in finding her by following standard police procedure. Or she could track Del herself. Alone.