Zodiac Shifters

ZS – Lion’s Lair by Ann Gimpel

Published on by BethCaudill

Zodiac Shifters

A collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo… discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Zodiac Shifters features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases based upon the twelve astrology signs.

 Leo – Energetic, Optimistic, Loyal

Lion’s Lair by Ann Gimpel

A Wylde Magick Book

A newly-minted cave lion shifter + an eagle shifter who’s lived long enough to know better = irresistible allure

Strong and self-assured, Jeremiah is the closest thing his mage kinfolk have to an alpha. He takes his responsibilities seriously, which hasn’t left time for much of anything, and it’s about to get worse. Mages are in trouble. A few signed on with vampires, causing human deaths. Because of them, all mages are being smeared with the traitor brush.

Renee’s eagle bondmate jerks her awake one night with the terse message a cave lion, one of the most ancient of the animals, has bonded. According to the bird, they have to drop everything and go to Colorado. Reluctant to weave the fabric of lies she’ll need to cover her absence, she finally gives in.

She’s horrified to discover the lion bonded with a man who used to be a mage. A mage. The rogues who joined up with vampires. She wants to hate Jeremiah, but it’s a tough sell. Not only is he gorgeous, he’s smart and kind and funny. None of it matters, though, because he doesn’t like her, either.

Are the hurdles too high? Or is a shifter’s mate truly in the stars?

Release date: Aug. 14th 2018

 
KOBO       iBooks     B&N/Nook       Google

 

Excerpt (Spicy)

She leaned closer, near enough their bodies were almost touching. Heat from him eddied between them, and his scent—the one that had snared her earlier—returned with full force. Vanilla, rosemary, and freshly wet forest surrounded her, thick enough to eat.

“Maybe we don’t need words,” she murmured, suddenly shy but unable to look away from his amazing eyes. Up close like this, silvery flecks floated around the irises, making them shine.

“Perhaps not, but if you don’t leave, I’m going to kiss you. I didn’t come in here for food or drink. I came here for you.”

Excitement shot from the soles of her feet up over the top of her head. He wanted her. Nothing shy of a tsunami could have dragged her from the kitchen, and maybe not even that. She turned her mouth upward, and he covered it with his. His chiseled lips felt just as enticing as she’d imagined they would. The first kiss was gentle. Too gentle.

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body the full length of his. He’d feel her pebbled nipples, but the time to be ashamed of her arousal was past. The length of him, hard, hot, and thick, pressed into her belly, and the evidence of his hunger thrilled her. She wanted to reach between them, wrap her hands around his cock, followed by her mouth. Imagining how his girth would stretch her fed her excitement, not that it needed encouragement.

He upped the ante on their kiss, which had turned more urgent and demanding. She opened her mouth to his questing tongue and sparred with it. He tasted sweet and hot, and she couldn’t get enough of his mouth. They traded bites, kisses, and suckles. She bit and sealed each spot with kisses before biting again. He teased her mouth with his tongue, driving it inside and then withdrawing in a simulation of sex that stoked her lust.

He made a decidedly male sound and thrust his erection into her belly. Heat and need roared through her, and she straddled one of his legs, pressing her engorged nub against the firm muscles of his thigh. He grasped her ass and jammed his leg firmly between hers.

She writhed against him, desperate for contact, for release. If his mouth hadn’t been glued against hers, she would have screamed as a climax shot through her, spun her around, and spat her out.

He ripped his mouth from hers, scooped an arm beneath her knees, and carried her out of the kitchen and down the darkened hallway to a staircase she wasn’t familiar with. Narrow and winding, it led upward. She twined her arms around his neck, hanging on.

“I can walk,” she managed, her breathing still running triple time.

“Not a chance. I’m not letting you get away.”

 

About the Author

Ann Gimpel is a USA Today bestselling author. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction has appeared in several webzines and anthologies. Her longer books run the gamut from urban fantasy to paranormal romance. Once upon a time, she nurtured clients. Now she nurtures dark, gritty fantasy stories that push hard against reality. When she’s not writing, she’s in the backcountry getting down and dirty with her camera. She’s published over fifty books to date, with several more planned for 2018 and beyond. A husband, grown children, grandchildren, and wolf hybrids round out her family.

Connect with Ann:

Website
Blog
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ZS – Prowling for His Mate by Dominique Eastwick

Published on by BethCaudill

Zodiac Shifters

A collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo… discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Zodiac Shifters features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases based upon the twelve astrology signs.

 Leo – Energetic, Optimistic, Loyal

Prowling for His Mate by Dominique Eastwick

Can a Lion be the mate a mousy librarian needs?

Guarding the pride’s queen is an honor Jaison is happy to take on. He spends hours preparing for every contingency. He is ready to lay down his life if the necessity arises. What he isn’t expecting and couldn’t have planned for was when his mate crosses his path in the form of human librarian Paighton Knight.

Paighton Knight believes love is the stuff of fairy tales and has no time for those kinds of stories. Raised to be the perfect librarian, she is unprepared for feelings she doesn’t believe are real to wash over her. The second she comes into contact with Jaison Karatasos her world begins to turn and her eyes see what they weren’t able to before.

With the moon rising into the reign of Leo, Jaison has one month to show Paighton that love does exist, or he must wait until the next Leo cycle. When his responsibilities to his pride clash with his needs for his mate, will he be able to merge the two worlds?

Release date: Aug. 7th 2018

 
KOBO       B&N/Nook
 

Excerpt (Spicy)

Shame and embarrassment washed over Paighton. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, but you won’t touch me. You barely kiss me. I continually throw myself at you, and you reject me.”

“I never rejected you.” Jaison voice boomed off the walls.

“You have at every turn. You might not have meant to, but you did all the same.”

“I won’t be making that mistake again,” he growled, pulling off his shirt.

“What are you saying?” she asked in a voice far huskier than she believed she could have. She stared at his bare chest, itching to touch him but fearful he would push her away yet again.

Next to his shirt landed his pants, socks, and shoes. “I’m saying we aren’t leaving this room until we’ve mated.”

“Oh, thank god.” She threw herself into his arms. “Though I burn for you, and this heat is building, my mind is clear. I want you. All of you.”

“You have all of me.” He worked her blouse over her head and made quick work of her bra. The hair on his chest tickled her nipples, making them hard nubs.

“Not yet, but I will.” She fought with her skirt and other clothes until she was as naked as he. Gripping her ass, he carried her to the bed.

“I’m going to go as slowly as I can. I want to make sure you’re with me every step of the way.” He left a trail of kisses from her jaw down her collarbone to her breast. After laying a kiss just above her belly button he asked. “Do you want me to touch you, kiss you intimately?”

She nodded. When he didn’t do anything, she peeked between her fingers to see him staring back at her. “You want me to say it?”

“Oh, I need you to say it.”

“You know what I want.”

“Yes, but your words are important. They give purpose and permission to your actions.”

“And perhaps there is a little vindication in this because I’m uncomfortable as hell.”

“Never has a penance been so sweet.”

“Please touch me?”

He cupped her intimately between her thighs. “Just touch?”

“No, the other, too.”

He rolled onto his side, rested his head in his palm, and stared at her. “You’ll have to be more specific. There really are a great number of other things I would like to do to you, but I doubt you are prepared for that kind of kink quite yet.”

“Kink what?”

“I’ll get you a book,” he said as his thumb rolled over her sensitive clit. “So we’ll simply touch.”

She raised her hips, needing more but not sure what more was. He responded by placing his other hand on her stomach and forcing her to stay in place, creating an exquisite torture. “Jaison, please.”

“Please what?”

She fought his hand, believing if she could raise her hips, he would take care of her needs. “I don’t know.”

“Didn’t you read about what to expect?” Damn him, he was teasing her.

She lifted her head. “Of course I did, but other than telling me where your penis would go, it didn’t really help me.”

“Perhaps if you’d read the books I gave you, it would’ve helped.”

Dumbfounded, she stared at him as he fought not to laugh. Thinking of a comeback, she collapsed back on the pillow. At the same time, he kissed her intimately. His tongue caressed and circled her clit, and all thoughts left her. The heat built, but this time, it didn’t burn. He stroked it and her until the muscles within tightened. He eased a finger within her, massaging her insides, followed shortly by a second. Before she knew what was happening, her body shook, but instead of stopping, he increased the pressure.

The world exploded around her in bright starbursts. And as she came back to earth—because she really believed her body had gone airborne—he still didn’t stop. “I need you please,” she begged.

 

About the Author

Award winning author Dominique Eastwick currently calls North Carolina home with her husband, two children, one lazy lab and one lazy Norwegian Elk Hound. Dominique spent much of her early life moving from state to state as a Navy Brat, because of that traveling is one of her favorite past times. When not writing you can find Dominique with her second love…her camera.

Connect with Dominique:

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ZS – Gemstone by Ann Gimpel

Published on by BethCaudill

Zodiac Shifters

A collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo… discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Zodiac Shifters features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases based upon the twelve astrology signs.

Gemini – Curious, Affectionate, Mercurial

Gemstone by Ann Gimpel

A Wylde Magick Book

Niall’s nothing if not charming with his Irish brogue and dashing good looks. Jaguar shifter and player to the core, he’s a love ’em and leave ’em type. His job as a paramedic keeps him busy and offers under-the-table opportunities to splash a wee bit of magic around.

In a world where magic is all but invisible, Sarai and her family fly beneath the radar living on a small ranch outside Denver. She only takes her wolf form on the darkest nights when discovery is unlikely. Captured by a vampire consortium hellbent on world domination, she watches with horror as they siphon her power, diverting it to kill humans for sport.

An unnatural fog causes a ten-car pileup. Niall nearly chokes on the thick, malevolent power hanging around the accident site. Anger running just below boiling point, he takes his jaguar form and follows a scent track, making a discovery that changes everything. For once, he curses his curiosity and wishes he’d left well enough alone. Vampires are rising. Fueled by shifter magic, their evil threatens not just him but magic’s very existence.

Release date: June 11th 2018

AMAZON   AMAZON UK   AMAZON CA   AMAZON AU
KOBO      iBooks       B&N/Nook     Google

Excerpt – PG


Sirens blared, adding discordant notes to the squeal of spinning tires as the Medic One van careened around a corner. Adrenaline surged, and Niall MacLier pushed his right foot hard against the van’s floor. He wasn’t driving, but he wanted the ambulance to move faster. The radio sputtered, humming to life.

“Doc Hansen here. It looks bad. I’m ordering up another team.”

Niall exchanged glances with Meredith West, the driver and a paramedic just like him. Her black hair fell in one long braid down her back, revealing the clean lines of her face and her deep blue eyes. She had a hot little body, but she was also very married and had made it clear she wasn’t interested in his cutesy suggestions they take a shag break in the back of the ambulance. She loved his Irish brogue, but that was where her fascination started—and stopped.

“What do you think?” he asked, without engaging the radio’s push-to-talk switch.

She shrugged, and the van slewed around another corner, tires stuttering on rain-slick pavement. “About the other team?” At Niall’s nod, she added, “Have the doc define bad.”

Niall clicked the two-say. “How many injured?”

“Hard to say. The incident is still unfolding. At least six, though.”

“Yeah.” Meredith angled her head toward the mic. “By all means, send another team. We may be hot shit, but that’s a lot for the two of us.”

Niall dropped the radio back in its cradle. “How much longer till we get there?”

She tapped the navigation screen. “Maybe ten minutes. I swear, you’re really dense when it comes to electronics.”

Maybe because they didn’t exist a few hundred years back.

He offered her a tight nod and undid his seatbelt, so he could crawl into the back and get go bags packed and ready. It removed the temptation to tell her what he really thought.

Or what he really was, which would be worse.

“Get back up here,” Meredith shouted. “It’s not safe.”

“Sure and I’ll be fine.” He added a shot of calming to his words. Last thing he needed was her giving him a hard time. Because her attention was glued to the road, he employed short jolts of magic to bring what he needed within easy reach.

Rain pounded on the van’s roof. If the scene was as chaotic as he suspected it would be, he’d keep right on drawing power to save people. No one would notice the flickers of charged air, not in this downpour. And if they did, they’d chalk it up to a mini electrical storm.

As he stuffed supplies into duffel bags marked with a white cross and a caduceus, he wondered—again—if he’d done the right thing settling in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It was the smallest place he’d ever lived, and people wanted to get up close and personal right away.

Except for Meredith.

He’d had a relatively simple time keeping to himself in New York and Los Angeles and Seattle and Denver, the four places he’d lived over the past couple hundred years since he crossed the Atlantic with a boatload of shifters just like himself.

They’d decided it was better if they spread out. America was a big place, and if they didn’t settle on top of one another, perhaps they’d be able to conceal what they were. Magic had almost been their undoing in the Old Country with the Church intent on shackling them to mute their magic. Burning or hanging followed on the heels of iron manacles.

He’d picked Glenwood Springs, a small community that butted up against extensive wilderness, because he was sick of not being able to shift. If it was a mistake, it was one he’d jumped into with both eyes open.

Niall shivered. He made it a habit not to look back. Who the hell knew why sitting on the cold, metal floor shook memories loose? The van lurched to a precipitous halt accompanied by screeching brakes.

“Aye, and you’d drive better if you weren’t sexually frustrated,” he yelled in the general direction of the cab.

“Smarty pants,” she retorted. “Look out a window. It’s a fucking mess out there.”

He latched the duffels around his shoulders, crawled to the backdoor, and opened it. Maybe it was opening the door that unlocked his senses, but screams and moans and the hot, coppery stench of blood blasted him. Along with it came foul magic. Lots of it, throbbing in primitive patterns that chilled him to his bones. He wanted to dig deeper, determine where it was coming from, but Meredith planted herself in front of him, arms extended. “Toss me one of those kits.”

He jumped down and handed hers over. “Team or solo?”

She craned her neck. “Other van’s not here yet. I say we split up.” She keyed the mike to her communicator, and it chirped in his ear.

Resisting an impulse to rip the plastic earbud out, he said, “Fine by me, darling. I’m as close as your electronics,” and took off at a run for the first overturned vehicle.
 

About the Author

Ann Gimpel is a USA Today bestselling author. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction has appeared in several webzines and anthologies. Her longer books run the gamut from urban fantasy to paranormal romance. Once upon a time, she nurtured clients. Now she nurtures dark, gritty fantasy stories that push hard against reality. When she’s not writing, she’s in the backcountry getting down and dirty with her camera. She’s published over fifty books to date, with several more planned for 2018 and beyond. A husband, grown children, grandchildren, and wolf hybrids round out her family.

Connect with Ann:

Website
Blog
Newsletter

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ZS – Stone Cursed by Lisa Carlisle

Published on by BethCaudill

Zodiac Shifters

A collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo… discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Zodiac Shifters features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases based upon the twelve astrology signs.

Taurus – Loyal, Stubborn, Sensual

Stone Cursed by Lisa Carlisle

Locked in stone.

On his night off from sentry duty, gargoyle shifter Alec heads out for a night flight. When he spots a strange green light, he soars closer to investigate.

And is caught…

Veda has had doubts about Kai since they left their coven to seek ley lines in the Scottish Highlands. When he curses a gargoyle with dark magic, she’s forced to act. How can she free the gargoyle from his stone prison without invoking Kai’s notorious wrath?

Stone Cursed is a standalone novella in the Highland Gargoyles series.

If you’re a fan of the Zodiac Shifter novels, you’ll love meeting this Taurus shifter who is as sensual as he is stubborn.

Release date: May 8th 2018
AMAZON   AMAZON UK   AMAZON CA   AMAZON AU    iBooks       B&N/Nook      KOBO

Excerpt

Alec soared north past mountainous peaks wreathed by mist, a lone loch, and fog-covered forests to head to the Scottish coastline. An odd green light flickered in the distance. Was it the Northern Lights? He approached it. No. It originated from the earth not the skies, and it glowed with an unnatural hue.
His gargoyle instincts flared. Whatever this was had to be investigated. It hadn’t been long since the gargoyles had battled the sluagh, demons that had massacred almost an entire clan of gargoyle shifters. If this light signaled malevolent activity, he had to warn his clan.
He attempted to open a communication link with his father. Nothing. Alec tried again with others.
Bugger. No luck. He must have flown out of range. He’d have to investigate on his own.
Alec slowed his trajectory as he approached and searched for cover. Nothing would shield him near the source of the light, but the nearby forest would have to do. He dipped low and circled in, taking cover in the boughs of a tree.
A small cabin was situated hundreds of feet from the tree line. A tall, thin man wearing a black hooded robe and holding a staff stood with a petite woman with dark hair and a forest green cape in front of an enormous black cauldron with the strange mist.
They had to be witches.
He scowled at the discovery. Whatever magic they attempted to practice couldn’t be good. Even at his distance, he could smell the distasteful odor, one that reminded him of burning flesh and foul rot. His nostrils curled.
“Kai, are you sure about this?” The woman’s voice had a hint of an Eastern European accent, and spoke with an edge of uncertainty. “Something seems off.”
“Of course, I’m sure. This one isn’t enough. We need to find a stronger crossing.” The man’s accent was thicker, his tone heavy, almost a growl.
She raised her hand and dropped it. “I sense darkness. I feel it draining me.” Her voice wavered.
“You fear the dark end of the spectrum too much.” The man paced before the bubbling cauldron. “It’s the only way we can tap into our full potential.”
“No,” she said. “You can’t. Our coven practices in the light.”
“We’ve left the coven, Veda,” he snapped. “Whatever rules they preached don’t apply to us here. We carve our new path forward, embracing all that the world has to offer.”
“I did not agree to that when I left with you.” Her voice hardened. “This was not what we had planned.” She raised her index finger.
He cocked his head and sneered as he eyed her. “Careful, my sweet. I’d hate to think you’re opposing me like the others.” The warning edge in his voice was as sharp as an icicle.
She took a step back. “I’m not. And nobody in the coven has either. Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t make it an all or nothing relationship. That’s what people do—they disagree and compromise.”
“Veda.” He laughed without mirth. “You’re so young. So naive.” He raised his hand and turned his head. “Wait, what is that?”
Alec’s muscles turned taut. Shite. Could they see through the magic that cloaked him?
The man narrowed his eyes at the woods. He pointed his staff as he strode forward. “Reveal yourself!”
Alec struggled to extract himself from the branches of the tree. He had to get out of here. Nobody in his clan knew where he was, and the man’s tone promised punishment. As soon as Alec found room to extend his wings, he hurled himself into the night, headed far from there.
“A gargoyle shifter,” the man’s voice twinkled with amusement. “Brilliant.”
What was so funny about that? Alec didn’t turn to look. Escape was paramount. He’d return with his clan, armed, to investigate. After only two flaps of his wings, a tingling spread over them. Hot shivers shot through his body, which then cooled and hardened.
And hardened even more.
He couldn’t flap them any longer. They were frozen.
His ribs tightened like a vice, squeezing his lungs. His heartbeat rammed up to rocket speed, slamming his blood through his veins.
But, then the flow slowed like a slow-moving stream, tightened his muscles. He flailed his arms in a desperate attempt to stay aloft, but failed. His limbs hardened.
To rock.

About the Author

Lisa Carlisle is a USA Today Bestselling author of romance and suspense. She loves stories with dark, brooding heroes and independent, caring heroines. Her travels have provided her with inspiration for various settings in her novels. She lived in Japan, backpacked alone through Europe, and worked in Paris before returning to the U.S. Now she lives in New England with her husband, two children, two cat, and too many fish.

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ZS – Tiger Tears by Catherine Banks

Published on by BethCaudill

Zodiac Shifters

A collection of books with an astrological spin on love. From Aries to Virgo… discover all-new tales of paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Zodiac Shifters features New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling authors. Each month expect new releases based upon the twelve astrology signs.

Taurus – Ambitious, Honorable, Devoted

Tiger Tears by Catherine Banks

Humans turned werewolves threaten her happily ever after.

Tara left behind the gang who used her to find a stable shifter for a partner, but her past threatens to destroy everything. To survive, she will have to fight her way out, tooth and claw.

Release date: April 24, 2018

About the Author

Catherine Banks is a USA Today Bestselling fantasy author who writes in several fantasy subgenres under two pseudonyms. She began writing fiction at only four years old and finished her first full-length novel at the age of fifteen. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who she has two amazing children with. After her full time job, she reads books, plays video games, and watches anime shows and movies with her family to relax. Although she has lived in Northern California her entire life, she dreams of traveling around the world. Catherine is also C.E.O. of Turbo Kitten Industries™, a company with many hats including being a book publisher and Etsy store full of nerdy fun.

Connect with Catherine:

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