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Blurb:
Love is perfectly reckless, forbidden outside of their own species. But when Logan, Pierce, and Gavin become smitten with three equally tempting females who will turn their worlds upside down, they soon find themselves balancing love and danger…
Falling in love was the last thing Ambrosia, Jocasta, and Parthenia wanted. But a strong female never backs down from a challenge, even if that includes three dangerous shape shifters with a whole lot of complications.
Will they risk everything for love? Or will fate force their hand and ruin everything?
Excerpt:
Gods, he couldn’t move. Pierce watched a square wicker basket tumble from the female’s hands as she fell. She let out a groan at the sight of the broken bottles now lying on the ground, surrounded by scattered herbs and potions.
Her gaze shifted to him, her amber eyes narrowed, and she slowly got to her feet. “Good gods, don’t you watch where you’re going?”
Pierce narrowed his eyes as he forced the feeling in his gut down, way down. This female had a strange manner of speaking, but her voice, oh gods, her voice. He shook his head to clear it, trying to shake himself out of this stupor. She’d said something to him. She probably thought he was a complete idiot, the way he just stared at her, mute. He took a breath. “Normally, yes. Do you?” Why in Hades’ name had he said that? That was so rude, and it hadn’t been her fault. He hadn’t watched where he was going. He kneeled and picked up the pieces of broken bottles. “Are you keeping these?”
“Oh, yes, because they’re going to do me any good now.”
Gods, her voice, sarcasm and all—maybe even primarily because of that. She crouched down on her haunches and searched through the mess. They reached for a piece. As their hands touched, something sparked between them, and she immediately yanked her hand away.
He let out a growl without meaning to and opened his mouth to say something when every single comeback he could’ve blurted seeped out of his head as if his mind were a bag of-of—Hades. Why wouldn’t his brain work? “Why did you do that? It was a simple accident, and I am helping you clean it up. You did not need to shock me.” He continued to pick up the mess he’d caused and realized she just kneeled there, staring at him. “What?”
Her gaze didn’t waver. All he wanted to do was continue to drown in her amber-colored eyes, which radiated warmth like the sun. She opened her mouth—
“Jo? Everything okay?” a male voice called out. Jo… Her name was Jo. Was that a nickname or her full name?
The female jumped to her feet and spun around to face a nine-foot troll who held two other baskets in his arms. Dropping her hands to her hips, she cracked a smile that made heat curl deep within him. “It’s all good, Bruce. Just a minor accident. Go on ahead and take those to the bar. I’ll be along after I go back to the apothecary.”
Pierce kept his mouth shut. Even talking to someone of another species in anything more than a professional capacity brought punishment, usually a good whipping. And she was a half-breed, which would make the punishment even worse. How Markham didn’t realize that half-breeds ran rampant here, he did not know. Or perhaps he only cared if they were part shape shifter. Who knew? Shape shifter half-breeds were the only ones Markham ordered them to bring back to the village if found. Either way, he wasn’t going to say anything about it, which would probably get him killed. Yup, this was going to get him killed.
He carefully picked up the rest of the mess and all the shards from the basket so the female wouldn’t hurt herself. While he tried to ignore the scent coming off her—the one making his cock twitch. NO, oh NO, definitely NOT. He needed to get the hell away from here. Immediately.
“You sure?” the troll asked.
Pierce saw the male glance over at him out of the corner of his eye, but he simply continued disposing of the glass in a large trash basin nearby. He could practically hear the female—Jo—grinding her teeth together as she crossed her arms. A smirk twitched at the corners of his mouth, but it didn’t surface. Yeah, his mouth muscles hadn’t worked that way in a very long time.
“Positive,” she said.
“Alright.” Without another word, the male left the alleyway.
The female turned around, bent over, and grabbed the edges of the wicker basket. “Thanks for the help, but I’ve got it from here.”
Do not do it. Do not do it. Do not— “Are you sure? I do not mind helping you. And I will, of course, replace everything that I broke.” And when Markham punished him for using pack funds for something that didn’t pertain to the pack—like the king gave a shit about any of them—he was going to remember how stupid he was. Except right now, as her scent filled every synapse of his brain, the last thing he wanted was to move away from her. What in Hades’ name was wrong with him? He did not act like this. Around anyone. Never.
With the basket in hand, she straightened to her full height of five-and-a-half feet. “What’s your name?”
Standing upright in this form, he towered over three feet taller than her. Do not give her your name. She does not need your name. This is going to get you into loads of trouble. You do not give your name out to anyone. Not one creature. Especially some random half-br— “Pierce. What is yours?”
“Jocasta.”
“Jocasta. That is a lovely name. Please, let me help you to where you are going. I will explain what happened and replace what broke.” NO, YOU WILL NOT! WHAT IN HADES’ NAME ARE YOU DOING? THIS IS THE STUPIDEST THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE! “Please. I feel terrible, and you should not have to pay for replacements because I was not watching where I was going.” WHY ARE YOU BEING SO NICE? YOU ARE NOT NICE.
She blinked, then snickered and cleared her throat. As she popped out a hip, that breathtaking smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “You’ve never been to the apothecary, have you? You don’t have to answer that. I’m sure you haven’t. Feel free to explain. I’d pay to see you talk to Kriah.”
He rolled his eyes. “I am just trying to right my wrong. There is no need to goad me.” Was she goading him? Did he care? No. Not really. And that was stupid. Idiotic. “And no, to answer your question, I have never been to the apothecary. It is not in my job description to visit apothecaries.” Not that he ever followed his job description, at least to any degree, outside the village. Nor was he altogether sure what an apothecary was.
Her eyes raked over his body, and he almost couldn’t hold back the growl that rose within him. She smirked. “I’m not the type to goad. I call it as I see it. And no offense, Pierce, in your job description or not, a big, tall male like you talking to a… well, it’s priceless.”
Oh, he did not want to talk at all. Not really. Far from it. He wanted to push Jocasta against the wall, hold her arms above her head, and put his face right between her—OH, HELL NO. What in Hades’ name was wrong with him? Her grip tightened on the basket, and all he could think was that he wanted that grip somewhere else on him. NO.
“While I appreciate you trying to right your wrong, I can handle it myself.”
Oh, he bet she could… Oh, for fuck’s sake. He had to get out of here before he did something genuinely idiotic. “You know what?” He raised his hands for a moment and forced himself to take a step back. “It is just as well. I cannot afford to help you. I was merely trying to give into the nicer instincts I usually cannot exhibit. It will not happen again. I have helped you clean up, which is more than I should have done. You should carry on now, as should I.”
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt of Perfectly Reckless by Brigit Rosé and Nikki Haras! Please make sure to check out the links above for more information and to get your copy! Happy reading!
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