Book Launch – Saving Grace by Anita Cox

Saving Grace
Shifter Chronicles
Anita Cox

Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Syn Publishing

Date of Publication: January 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-942632-10-8
ASIN: B00RY9ZT60

Number of pages: 273
Word Count: 59,979

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Blurb:

Already struggling with her royal status, Lycan Princess Grace McGovern faces the challenge of accepting a mate. The very sexy Roman LaRossa, is already infatuated with Grace. He’s also her pack’s Beta. As Grace’s was raised in the human world, she is determined to bring Lycan women’s rights up to speed, bringing them equality and protection for the violence they face from the Scottsboro pack’s supernatural puppy mill. Can Grace succeed in her goals or will the Scottsboro pack win by kidnapping her and using her to breed her royal blood into their pack until there’s nothing left of her?

Jagger Merrell, Alpha of the Scottsboro pack, takes great pride in his need to bring an end to the Lycan Clan and will do anything and everything he can to bring it and their too independently minded Princess, Grace McGovern to her knees. Will he finally rule the Kingdom of Lycan and tame this odd Alpha Princess once and for all?

Roman, the Belfast Pack’s Beta, has always loved Grace but will his chauvinist and controlling ways cause her to refuse him as her King?

Can Grace find love with Roman? Can Roman save her from Jagger? Who will win this battle of wills to rule the Kingdom of the Lycan?

Book Trailer

Excerpt:

Roman spotted Grace pulling into the drive and walked to the back of the house. He stood at the tree line gazing at the forest when he heard heavy footprints—too heavy for a Lycan female—crunching toward him. He spun around to see Grace, her jaw set, moving with such determination it made him brace himself.

“Can I have five minutes of your time?” she asked, hands on her hips, her tone filtering in on the spicy side. Something was bothering her.

He smiled in hopes of brightening her mood. “You can have ten.”

“Where can we talk? Privately?” Her brows pulled in and her head was pointed slightly forward.

“Our princess looks determined!”

Roman held in his laugh. “We might be in trouble.”

“We might be breeding.”

He tried not to roll his eyes. “Patio.” He led her over to the veranda and took a seat next to her on the bench. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh you can do a lot for me. First, we’re about to have a very frank discussion. I realize it’s not a very Lycan thing to do, but we’re going to put all of our cards on the table. Right here. Right now.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Roman tried hard not to look at how her arms squeezed her boobs together. “Um…okay?” He was Beta. Why was he taking orders from her?

“So you want to be mated to me?” Her eyes narrowed at him as her soprano voice sank into an accusing tone.

His heart thundered in his chest. “What? I’m sorry.” He shook his head. He couldn’t have heard her right. “What?” She couldn’t possibly believe he had planned out her future without her consent. His lips curved down at the very thought.

“You heard me. You have plans or hopes to be mated to me?” She leaned in and squinted her eyes. The pressure in his chest increased, and his stomach burned in unison. Her look was so stern, so accusatory. How could he make her understand?

“Well,” he started. How do I answer her?

His wolf made a sound that somewhat resembled a laugh. “Start with the truth.”

“Roman?”

He pulled his shoulders back, sitting a little straighter. He had to make her understand, but he didn’t want to make his position seem worse than it apparently had. He wanted her, he wanted all of her, but he wasn’t going to force it on her. “Yes.” One word answer. That can’t get me into trouble. Can it?

“And you think I have no say in the matter?” Her accusing eyes honed in on him. He could hear his heart beat in his ears.

“Of course you do. Mates choose each other unless it’s an arranged marriage and neither one of your parents are around to make such an arrangement.” He gulped. Did she really think he’d force a mating on her? He tried to quash the offensive question now burned in his gut.

“But you’re pulling away from me. Why?”

He took a deep breath, relieved that the thought of being mates wasn’t objectionable to her, but that she was more concerned with his hesitation. Still, he wasn’t sure where she stood, what she wanted. He wanted to tread lightly but she was making it abundantly clear, that was not the path they were going to take. “I’m not pulling away. I’m trying not to rush you. You’ve just become one with your wolf. You just met us. You’re just and only now thinking of us as your pack. Having a mate is serious. I don’t want you to take too much on at once. I don’t want to put you in a position where you’ve bonded with me and regret it. I want my mate to want me back, or it’s just not worth it.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “But you do want me?”

Yes! Yes, with every fiber of my being! He nodded and allowed a smile to spread across his face. “Very much.”

“When did you know?”

“Before I even found you. My wolf was fairly insistent you were, uh, the one.” He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans as he tried to force himself to relax. “But since I first met you, felt your presence, I knew. And our first time was during your heat. I didn’t know if it was me, or the heat, or if you…but then, on our last run. You made that part clear.”

“Have you bonded before?”

His jaw fell slack. “You really don’t understand bonding very well yet. No. I have never bonded. If I had, and no longer had that mate, I’d be withdrawn, like Colin.”

“I still don’t understand that.” Her shoulders slumped forward. “I don’t understand a lot, apparently.” She looked slightly defeated.

He wanted to help her, help her understand him, the pack and Lycan love. He thought for a moment. “You know how they talk about amputees—how they mourn their limb. They feel it itch, when it’s not even there.”

“Yeah?”

“Colin mourns his mate every day. Her thoughts are no longer in his mind. He aches for her. His mind is constantly searching for hers, for the sound of her voice. His wolf cries for hers. It’s like purgatory for the heart.”

Grace leaned over like the wind had been knocked out of her. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” And she gets it.

She lifted her eyes and stared at him. Her blank expression morphed into determination, as if she found the words she’d been searching for. “I want us to date. I enjoyed making love to you and I’d very much like to do it again. But when you pull back, I feel rejected. I don’t like that feeling. Okay?” She bit her lip for a brief second, then gave him one affirmative nod as if to make her point.

He looked at her, open and vulnerable, yet strong. His feelings toward her grew so fast it had him off balance. Remembering how he nearly panicked when he had to wait for her to agree to join the Belfast pack, he quickly answered. “I understand.”

She let out a breath of air as if she had been holding it for an hour.

He released his own, as relief washed over him. She did want him, she just wanted some control over her own life. Knowing he could easily respect those boundaries filled him with joy.

“And when I’m getting serious, when I’m thinking about bonding, we will talk about it, like adults. Like responsible adults. No hiding from each other.” She wagged her finger.

A smile grew on his lips he couldn’t hide. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay, as Beta of my pack, I want you to know the vampires sent my doctor old books they want me to read. Doc says he’s sure they’ll be visiting us soon. Or maybe he said he’s surprised they haven’t visited. Anyway, don’t be shocked by vampires coming to see us.”

“Wait! They gave you the books?” He stood up. “The books?”

“Yes. And I’m not to share them with anyone. The doctor made it clear these were royal secrets that were not to be shared. I promised him, and the vampires through him, not to violate the trust they placed in me. Not you, not Colin, no one can make me break that promise.” She stood and moved so close to him, he could feel the heat off of her body. “Do you understand?”

“But, you don’t understand. No pack has seen those for three or four generations…at least.”

“Roman…”

He held up his hands. “I respect your wishes. But I am going to tell Colin.” The history books contained secrets the Lycans had been coveting for years. His curiosity overwhelmed him. He wanted to see, to peek, to gain some of what was so secret.

She squinted her eyes at him and his heart fluttered. He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her in, planting a kiss firmly on her sweet, full lips. He felt her body relax into him, her shoulders easing down and the pressure of her, leaning against him.

“See. She’s already ours.” His wolf wagged its tail.

Roman released her and gave her a devilish smile. “When you’re ready to finish what you started in the woods, just say the words.”

Her jaw flexed as she stepped back from him. If he didn’t know better, he’s swear she was trying to hide a smile.

About the Author

International best-selling author, Anita Cox has been writing general fiction as Kim Mullican, for nearly a decade. In 2012 she strapped on a new name for a new genre and jumped head first into writing erotic romance.

Anita Cox’s erotic debut series Dirty White Candy was picked up by Liquid Silver Books in 2013. In 2014, she became a Director for the Erotic Author’s Guild. Her altruistic nature found its purpose, assisting other erotic authors with issues specific to the genre.

Genres/subject matter you can expect to see from Anita: Contemporary, Ménage, Erotic Romance, Paranormal Romance, Erotic Suspense and all things naughty.

You can learn more about Anita and her books at www.authoranitacox.com

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