Beast
in Me
- Book 2 of the Divination Falls Trilogy
By
Sommer Marsden
Blurb:
Weather worker Cameron Bale rolls into Divination
Falls after being prompted by Spirit and Brother Lighting. He discovers that
the small, hidden town full of shifters and magical types is suffering a series
of unsettling events. There’s speculation from the town seers that he could be
the answer they’ve been looking for. Cameron’s willing to try and help: he’s
got nowhere to go and nothing to lose. His life is simply about loneliness and
it turns out that Trace, a grumpy wolf with stunning eyes, knows just what that
feels like. Cam finds himself wishing maybe they could be alone … together. Oh
yeah, and battle whatever evil it is that still lurks in Divination Falls.
*****
Excerpt:
A dragonfly zipped past and Cam watched it go. What
next? Bluebirds and butterflies and singing cartoon woodland animals? It was
all too nice, too perfect … Surreal.
‘You OK?’ The voice was deep and dark and full of
secrets. That was his first impression.
Cameron jumped, clutched at his pounding chest.
Inside his heart was going berserk and he felt a little lightheaded with it.
‘I was. Jesus Christ, you scared me.’
Trace grinned with half his mouth. Somehow that
little smirk made Cameron think of the big bad wolf. Made him flash back to
that body sprawled, lean and powerful, over a small, lumpy bed. Made him
remember one of those huge hands on a powerful, hard cock. He licked his lips.
‘Careful, lightning rider. I can smell your
emotions.’ Then the wolf chuckled, bending to tie his work boot.
‘I – I’m sorry I spied on you.’ It was all Cameron
could think to say.
Trace shrugged. Cameron watched his big shoulders
flex with power. He was stunning with his huge body, big, fat attitude, and
purple eyes. Just being so close to him made Cameron feel slow-witted and
thick-tongued.
‘It was the most excitement I’ve had in ages,’ the
wolf said and started to walk.
Cameron watched him go off, his heart sinking. He
wanted the man to take his apology seriously. He also admitted to himself he
wanted to be close to the wolf. There was no hope of anything happening between
them. There was very little hope of anything happening for Cam with anyone.
He’d come to terms with that long ago. But still, he could just be near Trace.
Remembering the sight of his body and the sound of his voice just outside Cam’s
barricaded bedroom door as he brought himself off.
Wolf at the door, he thought, and then shook it off.
Fifty feet away, Trace stopped, and Cameron felt his
spine go rigid, his pulse pick up. The man turned to him and shielded his eyes
from a bright beam of sunlight between the thick tree branches. ‘You gonna
stand there all day admiring my ass, or are you coming?’
Cameron blinked, feeling a wild urge to laugh but
pushing it away. ‘Yes! Right!’ he called, bouncing on his toes like one of
those perky, hyper dogs. He blushed, but refused to let himself feel silly or
embarrassed. He very much wanted to go along.
He hurried along the path until he was almost even
with the wolf. Then Trace turned and continued to walk, Cameron right on his
heels.
‘Why are you here?’ Trace asked.
The question stunned Cameron but he swallowed hard
and tried to focus enough to answer. ‘Good question. I … work with weather.
Lightning to be specific. I guess the best way to put it is I was nudged here.’
‘Like with voltage?’ Trace asked with a gruff laugh.
‘Yeah. Sadly, I do get nudged with voltage.’
The wolf turned those deep purple eyes on Cameron
and said, ‘What for? What’s here?’
How did eyes get that colour? Cam wondered. Had he
been born with them or was it a shifter thing? He had no idea; all he knew was
they were the most amazing eyes he’d ever seen. And they were attached to one
of the most amazing bodies he’d ever seen.
Trace cocked his head, giving a half grin. ‘Hello?’
‘Sorry! I was just looking –’ He flushed, caught in
the act. ‘Your eyes, they’re amazing.’
That closed the bigger man down. He’d had a nice
amused and open expression on his handsome face and that fast, it shut down
like someone turning the lights off in an empty house. ‘Thanks. I guess.
They’re the product of a very bad infection when I was a kid.’ He turned on his
heels and kept walking without further explanation.
Cameron had to force himself to swallow. He had just
complimented the first man he’d lusted after in goodness knew how many years on
some sort of mutation? Something that clearly upset him when discussed. Good
going, dumbass!
Cameron hurried along the patch, ducking reaching
branches and praying there was no poison ivy to be found here in Divination
Falls. ‘I’m sorry! I didn’t know. And I don’t know what’s here. Or why I am,’
he gasped, finally catching up.
The wolf shrugged. He shot Cameron a sideways glance
and said, ‘Why would you know what’s here?’ He stopped fast and Cam found
himself almost crying out from the sudden shift in motion. ‘As for why you’re
here, how could you not know that?’
‘I never really know until it’s revealed,’ Cameron
said. He kept his gaze pinned at Trace’s chin so he wouldn’t get mesmerized by
those stunning eyes that clearly upset the custodian.
‘Was it me, maybe?’ Trace asked, his lips twisting
into a grin. ‘Was it secretly watching me jack off? Was that your big mission?’
He took a step toward Cameron which forced the lightning rider to step back. Or
get crushed against an angry wolf.
‘I’m sorry,’ Cam breathed. ‘It wasn’t my intention
and then I couldn’t …’ He shook his head. His skin was tingling and he wondered
if he was going to get struck. Or worse yet, if Trace would strike him. ‘You
might want to step back,’ he said without thinking.
‘Why is that?’ the wolf asked, taking a step
forward. ‘Am I invading your space?’
‘I get it,’ Cam stammered. ‘I invaded your privacy.
I’m no better than a pervert. I know! But you could get …’
The wind kicked up. It often did when he was
frightened or excited and his blood leapt in his veins and his heart beat fast
with arousal. His last lover had been zinged by energy one too many times and
when some of his hair had actually caught fire, he’d bailed. Calling Cameron a
freak in the process. Cam wasn’t up for either Trace being hurt or thinking him
a freak.
‘I might get what? And it’s OK – you invaded my
privacy, now give me an excuse to invade yours.’ He pushed his face closer and
Cameron caught a flickering of animal shine in the man’s eyes. They turned
golden around the very iris and a fast, steady pulse beat at the base of
Trace’s neck. When he took Cameron’s wrist in his big hand and squeezed, Cam
felt the air rush out of him. His cock pressed eagerly to his jeans and he
tried his best to focus on something – anything! – besides the wolf so maybe
his hard-on would abate. No such luck because Trace took his warm hand and very
briefly cupped the evidence of arousal in Cam’s pants. ‘Looks like you’re still
a bit worked up from last night.’
‘You were watching me in wolf form.’
‘I was.’
‘You heard me.’ It wasn’t a question. Very briefly,
Cam wished for Trace to put his hand back. To touch him.
‘I did. I also smelled you and tasted you on the
wind. Do you know when you come your breath does this shuddery little sigh
thing?’
‘No.’
‘Well, it does.’
*****
Bio:
Sommer Marsden’s been called “…one of the top
storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison
Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and
"Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse).
Her erotic novels include Restless Spirit, Boys
Next Door, Big Bad, Learning to Drown, Wanderlust and the Zombie
Exterminator series. Sommer currently writes erotica and erotic romance for
Xcite Books, eXcessica, Ellora's Cave, Pretty Things Press, Resplendence
Publishing and Mischief Books. The wine-swigging, dachshund-owning, wannabe
runner author writes work that runs the gamut from bondage to zombies to humor.
