Hey y’all! Today Flowers on the Fence country has a
visitor from Massachusetts dropping into its Southern cyber-kitchen. And that visitor has writing in her blood. Please drop in and visit with Margay Leah
Justice and meet –
Sloane Wolf
.jpg)
For
more than a hundred and fifty years, the gray wolf has failed to roam the hills
of Massachusetts, leading to the belief that they are extinct. But with a
spattering of sightings across the Berkshires, the legend of the gray wolf
comes to fruition. The product of that legend, Micah Sloane will go to great
lengths to protect his kind from the threat of outsiders, who seek to exploit
the legend for their own interests. One thing he didn’t count on, however, was
finding his soul mate in the company of such men.
From
the first time she predicted a stranger’s imminent death when she was little
more than a child, Shiloh Beck knew she was different. Wishing to cultivate her
gift, her parents made the fateful decision to enroll her in a private school
for paranormally gifted children. Unbeknownst to them, the school was just a
front for a research facility simply called the Institute, whose secret board
members weaned gifted children from their families to exploit their gifts.
Shiloh has spent the better part of her life trying to escape the Institute and
reunite with the family she was told had abandoned her.
From
their first meeting, Micah and Shiloh share a connection that goes beyond the
normal to bond them in a way that love alone cannot. But before they can build
a life together, they must deal with the fall-out when the legend of the wolves
collides with the men behind the Institute.
Excerpt:
Shiloh nearly leapt off the sill as his hand touched her
knee. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to remain seated and
appear undaunted by the gesture. “I am…much better now…thank you,” she said,
becoming more unnerved by the presence of his hand by the minute. Oh, this was not good, not good at all.
The longer it remained there, the stronger her impulse to bolt became. Oh, no…
What was it
about this man that rattled her so and with so little effort on his part?
Sharing the same air with him was enough to send her pulses to the moon—and her
mind somewhere else, something new for her. Being this attracted to a man was
beyond her realm of experience. She didn’t know what to do with it—or about it.
Should she do anything? Should she pretend indifference? And why wasn’t he so deeply affected? It wasn’t fair.
Still confused, she gave him a weak smile, intent on
backing up her previous claim with the gesture. She feared it failed miserably.
When Micah returned her smile and lifted his hand from her knee, she felt
precisely one second of relief before he shook her world again by caressing her
face in parting. She stumbled back against the frame of the window, her lips parting
on a startled breath as a lightning bolt shot through her at his touch. Something
flickered in his eyes at her reaction—pain, perhaps—and he retracted his hand,
balling it into a fist as he turned away from her, preparing to depart.
In an instant, she realized her mistake. Along with it
came the knowledge she couldn’t let him go away angry or upset. After
everything he and his family had done for her, she owed him that much. She
grabbed him by the shirtfront to stop him, and a shock of awareness shot from
her hand directly into his heart, just beneath it. She could see it in the gaze
he leveled on her then, could hear it in his breath trapped within his lungs, feel it in the missed beat of his heart.
But then, all sense abandoned her, and her
heart skipped a beat as he held her hand firmly to his chest with one of
his own and lifted the other to her head, anchoring it against the window
frame. Slowly, his eyes never straying from hers, he leaned across the space
separating them. His lips brushed hers, like a whisper, before he withdrew,
tilted his head to the side, and advanced again. This time the kiss was fuller,
penetrating her every defense, both physical and emotional, but still not long
enough for her. He retreated once again after a fraction of time and hovered
before her, scarcely an inch away. Watching her. Waiting.
Her heart beating a frantic tempo now, Shiloh abandoned
all of her reservations and her good sense to swoop in for a more vigorous
kiss. So vigorous, in fact, she knocked him off his perch through the open
window. Only quick reflexes honed to perfection at the Institute prevented her
from tumbling after him.
Bracing herself against the sill, she leaned out the
window as far as she was able and watched his descent from the slanted roof to
the ground below. She lost sight of him the moment he slid beyond the reach of the
light from her window. But then she heard him land with a thud —and a howl—on
the ground in front of the back porch when he failed to catch himself on the
roof edge. She clasped a hand over her mouth to silence her reaction and
waited. When he didn’t rouse right away, panic shot through her and she leaned
out another few inches.
“Micah? Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he answered after a few moments, appearing
beyond the overhang of the roof as if to prove it to her. “Nothing hurt but
what’s left of my pride.”
Relief coursed through her at his statement, and she
allowed herself the laugh she’d literally held back before. Her mirth was cut
short, however, by his next words.
“Hey, Shiloh! We’ve got to stop falling for each other
like this.”
His laughter followed her as she ducked back into the
room. She could still hear it even after she closed the window, though not as
well. Oh, Lord. She rested against
the cool pane of glass and touched her still-tingling lips with shaky fingers. Was she? Falling for him? Was that what
this crazy-mad feeling inside of her was?
The question plagued her long into the night.
Links:
Buy Links:
MuseItUpPublishing: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=242&category_id=107&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/116104
