Breathe Me In is the first in a new series from Lily Vega, Crescent City. Tired of facing immortality without love, John Rabbitt refuses to consume life energy -- until his protege hires a stripper to dance for him. Veronika Mason never would have agreed to fulfill her strange client's every desire, but if she doesn't pay off her ex-boyfriend's gambling debts, the thug sent to collect the money may well follow through on his violent threats. Vampires naturally lead to life or death decisions.
Also from Lily Vega is Devil Inside, the start of another series, The Devil May Care. Blake Owens, a fourth generation demon from the second circle of hell, is used to masquerading as human. Arianna Prince, dressed in a sexy angel costume, seduces him at a party and proves to be a genuine damsel in distress. Until she meets Blake, Arianna believes her immediate future involves sex with a creepy shifter and death while giving birth to its offspring. Blake may be just the guy to give Arianna pleasure beyond her wildest dreams and save her from her stepmother's deadly plans.
How Not To Date a Bear is the enigmatic title of the latest release from Stephanie Burke, the fifth in her How Not To series. Declan Batalova is a bear unlike any other. The Russian shifter goes for relaxation in a new club that caters to bears. Cosmetologist Gillian Leekey is a woman on a mission. She loves big, muscular, hairy men, and Declan is perfect in every way. But after one night of passion, the Bear Shifter Mafia is declaring war at her front door! When did life get so complicated? But that's what happens when you decide to date a bear.
Black as Night is the first in a multi-author series, S.O.S. This one comes from Shelby Morgen. Feral cats are disappearing all over Chinatown, and Special Agent Tom Katowski, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been assigned to investigate the case. Who better than an old tom cat? Officer Evaline O’Donnell thinks the Special Agent’s story is more than a little fishy, so she’s up to doing some investigating of her own. But will that Tom Cat strut get her so distracted she forgets who’s supposed to be wearing the handcuffs? The S.O.S. series mixes shifters with uniforms in hot little reads.Anne Kane has released ,the second book in the S.O.S. series. There’s coyote trouble in the canyon. One coyote, to be specific. A male. He’s been creating havoc in the small rural community of Pine Valley -- enough havoc it’s time to call in the Feds. The S.O.S, U.S. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Special Outreach Services Division, investigates crimes involving shifters. Special Agent Kinsey is the absolute expert on coyote shifters. Because she is one. And Greg expects nothing less than the very best.
Coyote Games
Anne Kane also has a boxed set of the five novellas from her Stargazers series. Descended from the witches of old Earth, Stargazers have the ability to control the lines of psychic energy that join the planets and other heavenly bodies. They use their talents to bend the energy to their own use, much the same as the druids of Earth used to harness the ley lines. They can power space ships, run machinery on far away planets and detect people's presences from great distances. Highly sought after, both by legitimate sources who want to hire them and by pirates who enslave and sell them, they are constantly on guard.Here is an excerpt from Wanton in the Stargazer series.
Tarik watched the young woman pacing the cargo bay of his ship. Tall and willowy, she stalked the width of the cell with angry strides of long, slim legs. A short, fitted tunic did little to hide her shapely figure, and he felt a spark of heat ignite in his gut despite his mistrust of her kind. Wisps of wavy, chestnut hair escaped from the single braid that hung to her waist, and her green eyes sparkled with rage.
He felt the corner of his mouth tilt upward as she aimed a kick at the wall. He'd bet if he could hear what she was muttering, it wouldn't be very ladylike. Of course, she wasn't really a lady. Krystal de Mylar was a Stargazer, one of the few who hadn't yet sold her talents to the Intergalactic Council. Probably holding out for a better deal, he thought cynically.
The lack of military security surrounding her had made her an ideal target when he realized he needed to acquire one of the accursed witches in order to rescue his brother. Tarik's renegade status made it impossible to post a job proposal with the Stargazers' Guild, so he'd simply used his resources to plan and execute the perfect kidnapping. Unfortunately, none of his cybernetic enhancements would help him explain to the infuriated redhead why he'd spirited her away from her home without her consent.
The woman stopped pacing and pivoted to face the hovering droid, her eyes narrowed so that the green irises sparkled like gems. She'd obviously realized someone was monitoring her. A flicker of heat ran up his spine as she stood still, legs spread and hands on hips. Her mouth moved, and his attention dropped to her full, luscious lips as they moved slowly in exaggerated speech.
You are going to regret this.
It wasn't hard to read her lips. Or the threat in her eyes. He sure hoped she didn't know how to wrap the interplanetary energy lines around his neck.
"Not exactly what I'd expected." He turned to address his second-in-command. "I pictured someone older, and tougher."
Ryan grinned. "And a little less mouthwateringly attractive? Might have made it easier to deal with her. Do you want me to go in first and soften her up a bit? Your reputation with the ladies doesn't bode well for gaining her co-operation."
Tarik sighed. They'd managed to spirit Krystal out from under the noses of her parents and her bodyguards without a problem, but they needed her to co-operate if they hoped to accomplish their mission.
Stargazers could sense the energy lines that connected the stars and planets. They had the ability to grasp those lines and harness the energy for their own use. If she agreed to help them rescue his brother Cynn, all they'd need to do was narrow down his location and the witch could use the energy lines to get them in and out of Intergalactic space undetected by the patrolling warships. He didn't understand how the Stargazers accomplished it, but the results were irrefutable, which explained why the unscrupulous bastards running the Intergalactic Council made a point of hiring as many of the witches as possible.
Before his parents were murdered by the Council, they'd likened the Stargazers' abilities to the witches of Old Earth, who used the planet's ley lines to feed their magic. They'd been baffled though, by the Stargazers' tendency to accept employment with the restrictive Intergalactic Council. He sighed, running his fingers through his short hair. The longer he put this off, the angrier the witch would get.
"Get her into a set of restraints and bring her up to the interrogation chamber." He turned to leave, pausing when Ryan grabbed his arm. He looked pointedly at the offending hand, raising one eyebrow questioningly.
Ryan let go of his arm. "Restraints? Are you serious? She's already pissed. You need to convince her to help us, and treating her like a criminal isn't going to win you any brownie points."
That might be true, but he wanted her under control until she agreed to help. "Just the wrist restraints, then." He ignored Ryan's glare of disapproval. "If I understand the theory, she can't hook into the power of the energy lines without lifting her arms, so we should be safe enough."
Ryan's disbelieving snort told him what his second-in-command thought about that.
"Get her up there. Now." He issued the command in what he hoped was a stern tone, pivoting to stalk out of the room. The damn witch hadn't been on his ship for a full solar cycle and already she was causing trouble.
