When her twin sister dies of a mysterious heart condition,
Riley King is sent to her grandma’s ranch. But instead of the isolation she’s
been aching for, she learns of a family secret that’s been deliberately kept
from her, until now.
As if finding out she’s actually a leopard wasn't enough
shock for one vacation, Riley meets Hunter Logan … the guy she’s promised to.
For life. But Riley has no intention of being told what to do by anyone,
certainly not some stubborn, dominant shifter. Even if he can make her purr,
her claws are slicing out. Until Riley realizes that not fulfilling her destiny
would commit her sister to a life on the other side without her ...
Excerpt:
Hunter inched closer, until he was bent over, a hand resting
on either side of her, his face hovering above hers.
“I want you.”
Her pulse started its frantic pace. “You do?”
Now it was him laughing at her. “Could I make it any more
obvious?”
She looked up hopefully, wishing he’d show her. That he’d do
something to make her believe him. That he wasn’t just saying it because he
felt he had to. Because they were meant to be together, to like one another.
Hunter’s lips fell to her forehead. She tilted her face up
to him, wishing he’d just kiss her properly. She’d dreamt of kissing him again,
of his lips on hers, of them pressing against hers over and over again until he
couldn’t kiss her anymore.
His hands were still planted on the leather seat on either
side of her. She could feel him tense as he moved further forward, thrust his
body so it fit snug against hers.
“Riley.” He whispered her name. She watched the shape of
each syllable play over his mouth.
His lips came swiftly towards her then, met hers firmly yet
softly all at the same time. Riley sighed into his mouth as he kissed her, as
his mouth grazed hers.
“What do we have
here?”
Hunter’s lips left hers as quickly as they’d found them. She
watched him snap up straight, his stance angry.
There were three guys standing near them, two eyeing his
motorcycle, the one who was speaking looking straight at her. They’d both been
so distracted they hadn’t noticed them approach.
It didn’t feel good. Fear touched every inched of her
skin.
“Hunter,” she
whispered, loud enough for only him to hear.
He raised his hand in her direction, the smallest of
movements. She bit the inside of her mouth so hard she tasted blood.
Hunter’s body was angled toward the men. He looked like he
was going to kill them. His back was straight, feet planted evenly apart, eyes
flashing with anger, with a wildness that she hadn’t seen before.
Riley almost swallowed her tongue she gulped so hard. He
could kill them, all three at once, if he changed. Could wipe the smirks off
their faces quicker than they could run. But she didn’t want that.
“We don’t want any
trouble.” Hunter kept his voice even. Steady. Just like his stance.
The guys snickered. “Yeah?” said the one who’d spoken first.
Hunter stood tall, eyes fixed on the guy who appeared to be
the leader. “I think it’s time you moved on.”
That only made them come closer.
“Hunter, let’s just go,” she said.
“Listen to the girl,” one of the guy’s taunted.
“No!” The word hissed from her as Hunter launched at them.
She was scared he was going to change, but his control was
faultless. He grabbed the first guy in a movement so fast he didn’t even see it
coming, then slammed him into the ground. She could see how tight he was
holding him, knew he could snap his neck in an instant if wanted to. If he let
himself go.
Hunter’s foot kept him pressed face down while he stared at
the other two. She watched the animal within him flicker, could almost hear the
growl echoing in his chest.
“I think it’s time
you went home.” His voice was cool.
The other two men disappeared. Hunter let his foot go and
gave the guy on the ground a shove forward. “You too.”
Riley was too shocked to move. Hunter pulled her arms up and
helped her into his jacket.
“Riley, let’s go.”
She took his hand as he pulled her up, let her head fall
back as he planted a rough kiss to her lips, before dropping his helmet gently
on her head.
“They’ll be back
soon, with more guys and tire irons,” he said grimly. “I’d rather not change
and take them all. Not here.”
All she could do was nod, even as he lifted her off the
pavement and put her on his motorcycle.
Hunter stood back then, eyeing her. She watched as he rocked
back on his feet, eyes set softly on hers. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” He
looked guilty. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”
Riley shook her head. The situation had scared her, but
Hunter hadn’t. All she’d know for sure was that Hunter wouldn’t let them hurt
so much as a hair on her head, and he’d been more in control than she’d
expected he could be. Given the threat.
A sad look passed over his face, one she couldn’t read.
“I know I look like
the bad guy, Riley, but I’m not.” He gave her a wry smile, shuffled his boots
before meeting her eyes again. “I’m the good guy here. I would never, ever hurt
you.”
Riley’s face flushed hot. “I know.” Her voice came out as
barely a whisper. “I know.”
About the Author:
RT award winning author Soraya Lane describes being an author as a dream come true. An avid book reader and writer since her childhood, Soraya now divides her time between writing, being a mom and caring for the many animals on her small farm in New Zealand.
In addition to young adult fiction, Soraya also writes contemporary adult romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon. For more information about all her books visit www.sorayalane.com or follow her on twitter @Soraya_Lane.
To Publish or Not to
Publish?
When I decided to self-publish my young adult novel, Change, it ended up being an easy
decision and one I wished I’d made months ago. Before I say anything else,
though, I need to clarify that I really like having a publisher for my adult
romance books. My editor is fantastic and I LOVE holding all the various
editions of my books in my hands and arranging them on my bookshelf.
But the
reality is that the book publishing industry is changing – possibly faster than
most of us can keep up – and I really wanted to dip my toes into the world of
self-publishing. It was an incredibly liberating experience when I uploaded my
latest release, and it feels great to be in complete control of it.
I truly
believe that self-publishing has opened up a wonderful world of opportunities
for authors, but I also think it’s a double-edged sword. Why? Because there’s
the temptation as an author to upload a book before it’s ready, or before the
author is ready.
Let me
explain… when I look back at my years of receiving rejection letters from
editors in my pre-published days, I know that it was a process I had to go
through. I like to think of that time as my apprenticeship – learning the craft
of writing, honing my skills, and writing books that weren’t really ready for
the world to read. In hindsight I’m pleased those stories weren’t published,
but at the time when I wrote them, I thought they were fabulous! If
self-publishing had been so accessible then, I know I would have rushed into
publishing them myself. I also probably wouldn’t have been in a financial
position to engage the services of a professional freelance editor, and I now
know that doing so is crucial.
So what do
you think? Is self-publishing good for the industry or bad? Do you think it’s
the future of publishing? I’d love to know what you think.
For more information
about my books, I’d love you to visit me at my website www.sorayalane.com, or connect with me on Twitter @Soraya_Lane.
I often do giveaways of my latest releases, and Twitter is the best place to
find me!
