#BlogHop--Big Cocks and Shamrocks

Happy Saint Patty's day to all you blog hoppers! I'm offering a signed copy of the anthology WEDDED AND BEDDED and some bathtime goodies to relax with after a hard day of inspecting all those...ahem **shamrocks**. One lucky commenter will be drawn at random from all US participant who leave a comment. So sorry to my worldwide friends, but international shipping costs can be prohibitive. Sorry! Starving author here :)

Okay, today I have for you a snippet from something special I'm working on...and it's the closest to Irish characters I've written to date. SHELTERING ARMS is actually set in a fictional medieval kingdom called Cherte, but hey, it was inspired by Anglo-Saxon and Celtic lore. Close enough, right?

Here's an unedited excerpt in which my star-crossed lovers are saying their final goodbyes. Enjoy!

SHELTERING ARMS

Copyright Cindy Jacks, 2013

Excerpt:

Pressing her forehead to his chest, she cried silently. A rough hand wiped at the tears streaming down her face.

“You should get back before you are missed.” Jostling her, he moved toward the back of his cell, but she caught his shoulder.

“This cannot happen.”

“It can. And it will, milady.”

A clumsy step forward and Merewyn clutched her arms around his neck. Her mouth pressed to his, she kissed him still weeping. For a moment, he gave himself over to the rush of heat and electricity, letting it warm his loins. Then he remembered that such passions were for the living and he was already a dead man.

He moved away again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

She gasped, sobbing harder.

The weight of his cruelty bore down on his shoulders. His imprisonment was not her fault. The trap in which he found himself had begun with his own meddling—interfering in a situation he had no right to put his hand in.

Even tear-stained she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen. Was it her beauty that had besotted him or was it the cruel hand of fate that she’d been dealt that compelled him to act. He had no regrets. She and Owain and her other children had a chance now. Was it not his duty to protect the monarchy from threats both foreign and domestic? He had carried out his duty and now he would die with honor, if not in historical record at least in his heart. He could die in peace. Why then did the image of Merewyn in Leontes’ bed haunt him, tearing apart his peace, mocking his resolve to die like a man?

“Please go, milady. Before you are discovered here and my sacrifice comes to naught.”

She clutched at him, but he shook her off.

“Go!” he rasped. “Do not kiss me with same lips that he tastes. Just go.”

She spun around as though he’d slapped her, tearing open the door and fleeing from him.

It was better this way, he told himself. In two more dawns, he would be but a memory, a number of dawns after which that memory would fade into oblivion. She would move on…no, not would. She already had.

-------------------------------------------------------

Check out more Cindy Jacks books here: http://cindyjacks.com/books

Don't forget to keep on hopping! There are lots more goodies to be had and more talented folks to visit: http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2013/01/big-cocks-and-shamrocks-st-patricks-day.html
Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/308aa4272/

Take a Little Byte Blog Hop

I'd like to welcome to  my release day mini-blog hop. There are some great prizes up for grabs including a $20 Amazon gift card, signed editions of print books and free ebooks...and that's just from me so be sure to stop by Lily, Denyse, and Milly's blogs for their prizes! All you have to do is leave a comment on our blogs for a chance to win! Good luck to all and happy hopping.

Hop authors:

Cindy Jacks

Denyse Bridger

Lily Harlem

Milly Taiden

*LAST CHANCE* #WickedAfteRDark #Halloween Blog Hop!

Happy Halloween, guys and ghouls! I'm so thrilled to have some wicked fun to share with you this week!




As for my giveaway--one commenter selected at random will received my entire Four Brothers Clan shifter series! Hope that satisfies your lust for paranormal erotic romance!

Here's a little peek at book four of the Four Brothers Clan series--Wolf at the Door


Prologue
Ginger-colored locks spilled over his hand; Rémy gripped her throat. Her throat. One squeeze and he could end the evil plaguing his clan. The evil that had murdered so many of his pack, terrorized thousands more and held his brother Matéo comatose with dark magic. Yes, Rémy had the most powerful loup-garou witch ever born in his grasp. It was up to him to end her…and yet he hesitated.

It wasn’t the fear on her face; he’d seen the same fear from other enemies and still done his duty. 

It wasn’t her formidable powers because his brother, Aimé, held those at bay. She writhed in his grasp, but she would never break free of his clutches. In terms of the Ancient Arts, she was more skilled, but physically no one was stronger than Rémy des Quatre-Frères.

Tears filled her eyes. “Rémy, je te mendie—”

Through clenched teeth, he spat. “Do not speak the language of my people to beg for your life.” “Rémy, please…please.”

He shook with rage, blood roaring in his ears. How could she? How had she deceived everyone?

One squeeze. His grip tightened on her throat. One more squeeze.
“Please.” A teardrop slid down her cheek.

His fingers dug into her skin; she wheezed, struggling for breath Soon, there’d be no more pleas for mercy. A little more pressure and he’d crush her windpipe. Frothy spittle gathered at the corners of her mouth.

Rémy closed his eyes. Just a little tighter.

A stridor replaced her wheezing.

A little tighter. His eyes watered, his own throat constricting. He willed himself to kill her. But his hand refused cooperate.

With a roar, he released her, throwing her to the floor. She gasped for breath, choking and sputtering. Rémy smashed a chair against the wall.
“Why?” he shouted, sinking to his knees. He grasped the collar of her blouse and pulled her face within an inch of his. Still battling for air, she tried to squirm out of his grasp.
“Look at me,” he commanded, but he didn’t wait for her to comply. Shaking her, he forced her to meet his gaze. Her eyes were wide with terror, her breathing rapid and shallow.
“Run,” he said. “I will give you one chance to run and never come back. You will release Matéo. You will leave my clan and my pack alone. If I see you again, I kill you. If you attack my people again, I kill you. If I catch your stink within a hundred miles of my empire, I kill you. 
Understand?”

She nodded, her lips quivering, but he wanted to hear her say it.
“Do you understand me?”
“Y-yes,” she croaked.

He released her and watched her scramble to her feet. Fleeing for the door, she clawed at the handle.
“Rémy…are you sure?” Aimé helped his brother to his feet.
“Yes. Let her go.”

Aimé waved a hand to break the spell he’d cast on her and opened the door. The moment she could, she shifted into a reddish-brown wolf and bounded away.
“What if she comes back?” asked Aimé.
“She won’t. She knows if she does, I’ll keep my promise.”


Hands shaking, Rémy wiped his brow. His gut churned, threatening to bring up his breakfast.
“Did we do the right thing?” he asked.

Aimé shook his head, placing a hand on Rémy’s shoulder. “It was an impossible choice.”

Rémy cleared his throat. “We never speak of this to anyone.”
“But we have to tell Sébastien something.”
“We’ll tell him the threat has been neutralized. That’s all he needs to know.”
“But Rémy—”
“We’re done talking about this.” He spun on his heel and stalked from the room.

No one ever need know the true identity of la bête-au-feu. The Gods help him, she was a monster, and though it made him sick with himself, Rémy loved her nonetheless.


Like what you read? Check out the entire Four Brothers Clan series at Cobblestone Press! Cindy Jacks writing as CJ Elliott
  
http://cobblestone-press.com/catalog/author/cjelliott.htm