Thank
you so much for hosting me. I’m thrilled to be here and have the chance to
share my story. Shifter Trials is a
modern day rewrite of the Atalanta myth, the strong Greek woman who would only
marry the man who beat her in a foot race.
In this case, Talia is an alpha shifter, and Hayden is her vampire
trainer. Put them together, turn up the heat and watch what happens.
On the night of the full moon, any male shifter can call the
Trials to race against Talia Orion, alpha of the united wolf-eagle clans. Clan
law requires Talia to marry the winner of the Trials, a grueling twenty-mile
marathon through dangerous, rugged terrain. The product of an unhappy,
political alliance masquerading as a marriage, Talia trains obsessively to
ensure she avoids her parents’ fate. Her newest vampire trainer, Hayden
Mitchell, makes her powerful even as he knocks down her defenses, and finds his
way, first, into her bed then into her heart.
Hayden has loved Talia since the first moment he saw her. As
the destined ruler of the vampire clan, he has another agenda – to politically
unite Talia’s clans with his own—what Talia fears most, and will never forgive
him for.
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Read an excerpt:
“I hate swimming.” Talia plopped on her
back on the hard, packed dirt at the lake’s edge. Droplets of water glistened
on still sun-bronzed skin, even as the world inched toward winter.
“I
know how you feel,” Hayden said as he lay on his side next to her, his head
held up by a bent arm. With his free hand, he pushed her wet locks behind her
ear, letting his fingers glide along the soft silk of her cheek. “You are so
beautiful,” he whispered, his gaze holding on to those mesmerizing eyes he
could not get enough of.
“You
don’t shrink from my eyes, my dominance.” She arched up, as if offering her
firm, cream-puff breasts to him to worship.
He bit his cheek to stop from leaning over and taking the gift he wanted
with every fiber of his being.
“Why?”
she continued.
He wanted to tell her the truth, to show
her who he was and how good they could be together. But too much was riding on
the plan. “I respect strength in any form.”
Her voice lowered, husky, seductive but
also a little sad. “I like it. It makes me want things I thought I could do
without.” She pushed the strap off her left shoulder exposing one creamy
breast, the rose pink nipple bullet hard. “I can’t anymore.” She snaked one
hand through his hair and led his mouth to her exposed peak. “I know you want
this.”
The spicy scent of her arousal was an
aphrodisiac, weaving through his senses, tensing his body until he thought he’d
snap if he didn’t take her. Weakened by desire, he didn’t resist the treat
teasing his lips. He lapped the peak with his tongue, then lashed and suckled
it harder or softer, in response to Talia’s throaty moans. The salty sweet
taste of her skin was a delicacy he’d been dreaming about sampling for so long.
Her hand stroked the skin on his back. Her
thigh rubbed against his thickening erection, until he howled. “Pleasure me.” It was an order.
The authority in her voice hit him like
a bucket of ice water. “Not now, not like this.” He moved away, and pulled the
strap back up her arm. She was so surprised she let him.
“You’re
turning me down?” Anger punctuated her words, but the longing in her eyes told
another story. “It’s been so long since someone touched me,” she murmured, as
if she forgot his hearing picked up every whisper, exposing her vulnerability
to him, a gift he would treasure and protect.
“No,
not at all.” He gripped her chin in his hands. “I intend to make love to you.
Hard and fast. Slow and easy. Over and over again.”
Her eyes widened, and she swallowed
hard. “Why not now?”
The yearning in her voice almost broke
him. Her longing for touch washed over him, called to him, but he wouldn’t
settle for just a physical coupling. Her beasts would never accept a
non-dominant mate.
“I say when,” he
said fiercely against her throat before licking gently at the pulse throbbing
in the carotid artery. “I say how, and for how long.”
His hands stroked gently down her arms,
calming her anger, as he flamed his own passion. Reaching to the steel-hard
discipline that allowed him to survive, he nipped her neck and pulled away.
“Still
no kiss?” Talia arched up again, her face flushed with hunger.
He shook his head, stood up and pulled
her up with him. “We head back.” He was
playing a dangerous game. If he could not win her love by the next full moon, he’d
earn her hatred forever.
About Shari Elder
By day, Shari Elder saves cities. By night, she
builds them—on Saturn’s rings, under a lilac bush, in a coral reef – then packs
them full of shifters, vampires, Olympian gods, extra-terrestrials or whatever
else comes into her head. In all these wondrous worlds, romance and passion
blossom, since she cannot resist writing a happy ending, especially for those
who have given up on ever getting one. Now that's satisfaction.
Raised on science fiction and fantasy, fueled by
coffee and red wine, Shari writes early in the morning, late at night, and in
between crises at home. She lives, contentedly albeit crazily, with her
teen-age daughter, teen-age dog, and the elderly cat who rules the roost.
Shari loves co-creating stories and ideas, so the
blog comment section is always open.
Find Shari
Twitter: @ShariEStories
Thanks, Elodie, for hosting me. I'm so excited to be visiting.
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