SNEAK PEEK: Beyond the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

ISBN 9781420102987

Series: Guardians of Eternity, Book 6

Genre: Paranormal Romance

(c) April 2010, Zebra Books, Kensington

Alexandra Ivy's website 

Buy Links (paper): Book Depository, Barnes and Noble 

Excerpt: (Exclusive to The Raving Readers. Thanks, Alex!)

At a glance Harley was the spitting image of a Barbie Doll. 

She stood barely over five feet, her body was slender, her heart-shaped face was delicately carved with large hazel eyes that were thickly lashed and her golden blond hair that tumbled past her shoulders gave the image of a fragile angel.  She also looked far younger than her thirty years.

Anyone, however, stupid enough to dismiss her as harmless usually ended up injured.

Or dead.

She was not only a full-blooded Were, but she took her training in combat skills to a level that Navy SEALS would envy.

 She was working out in the full-scale gym when Caine returned to the vast colonial home.  She continued lifting the weights that would crush most men as she absently listened to his bitter tirade of the ineptitude of his cur pack and the injustice of a world that contained Salvatore Giuliani, the King of Weres.

At last, Harley moved to take a swig of bottled water and wiped the sweat coating her face.  She glanced toward Caine who leaned negligently against the far wall, his jeans and muscle shirt filthy and his short blond hair tousled.  Not that his bedraggled appearance dimmed his surfer good looks.  Even beneath the fluorescent lights that made everyone appear like death warmed over, his tanned skin glowed with a rich bronze and the blue eyes shimmered like the finest sapphires.

He was gorgeous.  And he knew it.

Barf.

Harley’s lips twisted.  Her relationship with Caine was complicated.

The cur had been her guardian since she was a baby, but while he’d protected her and kept her in considerable luxury, she’d never truly trusted him. 

And the feeling was entirely mutual.

Caine allowed her to roam the house and the surrounding lands with seeming freedom, but she knew she was under constant surveillance.  And God knew, she was never allowed to travel away from the estate without two or three of Caine’s pet curs.  Caine claimed he was concerned for her safety, but Harley wasn’t stupid.  She knew his motives were far more selfish.

It might have been tempting to escape her golden cage if the knowledge that a lone wolf, even a pureblood, rarely survived.  Weres were by nature predators and there were any number of demons that would be eager to rid the world of a Were if they could catch them without a pack’s protection.

Besides, there was always the fear that the King of Weres was out there somewhere, anxious to kill her as he had her three sisters.  Caine might be determined to use her for his own purpose, but at least that purpose meant he had to keep her alive.

Tossing aside the towel, Harley sent her companion a mocking smile.

“Let me see if I have this straight.  You went to Hannibal because Sadie created some mysterious mess that you had to clean up and while you were there you brilliantly decided to kidnap the King of Weres, only to drop him like a hot potato when you were nearly caught by a vampire and pack of curs?”

Caine pushed away from the wall and prowled forward, his gaze skimming over her tight spandex shorts and sports bra.  The cur was nothing if not predictable.  He’d been trying to seduce her for years.

“You have it in a perfect little nutshell, sweet Harley.”  He halted directly before her, toying with her pony tail that had fallen over her shoulder.  “Do you want a reward?”

“And your pet jinn?”

“Slipped from her leash.  She’ll be back.” His smile was taunting.  “Like you, she has nowhere else to go.”

Harley jerked from his touch.  Bastard.

“So now you’ve lost half your pack, your demon, and you’ve left behind a trail that will lead the pissed off King of Weres and his angry posse directly to this lair.”

Caine shrugged.  “I’ll call for one of the local witches.  My trail will be long gone by the time the almighty Salvatore manages to get out.”

“Get out of where?”

“I collapsed the tunnel on top of them.”

“God.  Are you even barely sane?”

“Once they manage to heal enough to dig out of the rubble they’ll discover the entrance has been completely blocked.  They will have no choice but to turn back.”

“You’re pretty damned cocky for a cur who has just pissed off your royal master.”

“I don’t have a master,” Caine snarled, revealing a glimpse of his resentment at being a lowly cur instead of a full Were before he was smoothing his expression.  “And besides, the prophecies have spoken.  I’m destined to transform the curs into purebloods.  Nothing can happen to me.”

Harley snorted.  Caine wasn’t a complete loon.  He managed to control his large pack that he had spread throughout the Midwest with an iron hand.  He was a Harvard trained scientist who made a fortune with his black-market drugs.  He regularly kicked her ass at Scrabble.

But at some point in his very long life he claimed he’d been visited by an ancient pureblood who had given him a vision.  Harley didn’t pretend to understand it.  Something about seeing his blood run pure. 

Being a scientist, he naturally assumed this miracle would be performed in a lab, which was why he kept Harley as his permanent houseguest.  He thought by studying her blood he could find the answers he sought.  Moronic, of course.  Visions were the stuff of mist and magic, not glass beakers and microscopes.

“Look, if you want to get yourself killed because of your delusions of grandeur I don’t give a shit.”  She narrowed her eyes.  “But I’m not going to be happy if you put me in the firing line.”

Caine stepped forward, reaching to trail his fingers over her shoulder.  His touch was warm, experienced.  She shook him off.

A woman would have to be dead not to find Caine attractive, but Harley needed more than simple lust.  She needed…hell, she didn’t know what she needed, only that she hadn’t yet found it.

Besides, her skin was suddenly feeling hyper-sensitive.  As if it had been rubbed raw by sandpaper.

“Would I ever put you in danger, sweet Harley?” Caine goaded.

“In a heartbeat if it meant saving your own hide.”

“Harsh.”

“But true.”

“Perhaps.”  His gaze dipped downward, studying her sports bra.  “I need a shower.  Why don’t you join me?”

“In your dreams.”

“Every night.  Do you want to know what we’re doing?”

“I’d rather yank out your tongue and eat it for dinner.”

With a laugh, he snapped his teeth near her nose.  “Naughty Were.  You know how it makes me hard when you threaten violence.”

Spinning on her heel, Harley headed for the door.  “You’d better make that a cold shower or you won’t have to worry about Salvatore Giuliani slicing off your balls.  I’ll already have them dangling from my rearview mirror.”

She ignored Caine’s low laugh as she headed toward the front of the house. 

It was late and she was tired, but she ignored the carved wooden staircase that led to the bedrooms as she entered the paneled foyer.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She felt restless and on edge.  As if there was a looming thunderstorm and she was about to be struck by lightning.

Telling herself it was nothing more than frustration with Caine and the mysterious games that were being played around her, she yanked open the door and stepped outside. 

What she needed was a walk.

And if that didn’t work, then there was always cheesecake in the fridge.

There was nothing in the world that couldn’t be cured by cheesecake.

~ o ~

Review of Beyond the Darkness

Review of Darkness Unleashed

Interview with Alexandra Ivy

We have two giveaways--any book from the author's backlist, which includes the one to be released in April (Beyond the Darkness)! One international and one US residents only. In fairness to everyone, this means there'll be two pools of entrants--one US resident pool and the other non-US resident. Please indicate your country of residence when you comment.

We'll also have Alexandra Ivy popping in and out of the blog, so if you've any questions, feel free to ask! She'll be around to answer and comment.

How to enter the contest?

Answer this question: Go to Alexandra's website and tell us which of her Guardians of Eternity books you'd like to read the most and why.

Extra chances to win:

+ 3 if you're an old follower of this blog
+ 2  if you're a new follower of this blog (start following from this contest/post)
+ 2 if you follow us on Facebook or Twitter
+ 2 if you take our poster (located on the right sidebar) about this contest and post it
              on your blog/website with a link back to us
+ 1 for every time you spread the word about this contest via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
              your blog, website or other form of social media. For example, you tweeted about
              this contest twice and also announced it on your Facebook. You also wrote a blog
              post. That's 4 additional chances! However, for these to qualify, be sure to come
              back here and post the links. Like, if you tweeted twice, give me both links.

If you do all of the above, at a minimum, that's 9 chances to win (8 if you're a new follower)! Remember, the more things you do to help us spread the word, the better your chances.

Contest ends on March 24 (Wednesday), 1159pm EST.

Winner will be picked via Randomizer.org and announced on March 25 (Thursday). Instructions will be given then on how to claim your prize. Be sure to come back and check because we won't hunt you down. If prizes are unclaimed after 1 week, new winners will be chosen.

Good luck!