Loving
Red
Book
One
Alisha
Costanzo
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Publisher:
Transmundane Press
Date
of Publication: 09/09/15
Number
of pages: 183
Word
Count: ~49,000 words
Cover
Artist: Karri Klawiter
Book
Description:
For
Sergeant Severins Bouvier, silence means tactical planning and a
large death toll, and he can’t shake how danger threatens him on
the beaches of Miami, especially after seeing one of his associates
in a local sandwich shop. Worse, the enemy seems fascinated with the
woman he can’t stop thinking about—a woman determined not to
trust him.
Everything
about Sev crashes through Kaia’s carefully placed boundaries,
traps, and avoidances. Regardless of her lack of interest in the
majority of men, the ones that did catch her off guard left a lot of
collateral damage. Who better than a soldier to understand that?
The
problem is that she trusts him. Just not with her heart.
Excerpt
From Chapter Twenty-Four
“Something
feels different about this place,” she said, voice soft but
spreading across the grounds like an earthquake.
“It’s
protected. That’s what you feel.”
A
short, frail-looking male swung open his front door and appeared on
the square wooden porch. His skin marbled like the bark of an old oak
with tints of green. Long and wide eyes assessed Severins and Kaia
before his gaze slashed to Kaia’s vampire friend, Kalib. The
performance was rather dramatic.
“You
said one—a single, human female. Human. That is not human.” The
dryad’s twig-finger pointed to Severins with further flair.
“We
were lacking in our information. The wolf is no harm to you.”
“No
harm. No harm!” His hair sprouted green and miniature ivy fell
around his ears. “At best, he’ll piss on my plants. At worst.”
The small man’s voice squabbled high and fluttered through the
leaves above. “At worst!”
Kalib
rolled his eyes, and Severins shook his head. Kaia, however, seem
entranced with the dryad’s tirade.
“Eilon.
Fucking wood nymphs. Eilon.”
“Oh
no, sir. You can stay in your pretty little metal box for that.”
Eilon slammed his door again in a giant huff.
Kaia
jerked and came back to the small clearing. Her eyes took on a darker
green in these woods. “He did not like either of you very much.”
“Tree-folk
aren’t group friendly unless there’s a ceremony or an orgy,
although they’re practically the same thing to them.” Kalib
pulled two long swords from behind his seat—long enough they
shouldn’t have fit back there. He strapped them into holsters
hidden beneath his loose cotton shirt. “I’ll take first watch.”
“Dryad’s
don’t like wolves too much—territorial and all that. Piss in the
wrong part of the woods once, and it’s like you killed their
elder.”
“Did
you tinkle on one of his plants?”
Severins
snorted in delight at hearing the word tinkle come out of her mouth.
“No, I’m house-trained, beautiful.”
Her
giggle lightened up the small dark place, dancing along the trees as
though they responded to her presence. She certainly possessed some
tie to the magickal world. It explained why she attracted so much
paranormal attention—his included.
Kalib
hollered through the door at the little man, and Severins leaned Kaia
against the side of the sports car.
“Before
we go in there with that dry, old lump, give me a kiss.” He leaned
into her, moving in at seventy-percent and leaving her the other
thirty to come to him, but her hands dipped across his chest and
stomach as she examined his different tattoos. Her touch stirred his
raw need for her.
After
a few seconds, she lifted and closed the gap between them.
Opening
to him, her responses changed, shifting since their kiss in Wayne’s
truck. He took advantage, pressing her closer and stealing her
breath.
She
drew back with a smile. “I think I’m beginning to like this
lifestyle.”
Her
nails scraped down his flanks, and he fought his own arousal.
Severins pressed into her before backing away, slinging a shirt on to
cover himself before following her inside.
The
dryad jumped into the room from the kitchen, waving at them. “No,
no, no. Shoes off!” Eilon skidded to a stop with his hands out.
“You.
Before you enter here, you will make my pledge.”
The
ends of Eilon’s knobby fingers grew sharp, and Severins
surrendered. “What kind of pledge are we talking about?”
“You
repeat after me. I pledge not to piss on any of Eilon Broaddock’s
indoor plants.” The little man paused and snapped at him. “Repeat
it.”
“I
pledge not to piss on any of Eilon Broaddock’s indoor plants.”
“I
pledge not to scratch, bite, or chew on any of Elion Broaddock’s
precious house items.”
“I
promise not to destroy your home. I may be a wolf, but I am also a
gentleman.”
“Repeat
as I said.” Eilon’s sharp fingers extended further.
Severins
sighed. Threatening a wolf with wood wasn’t the fae’s smartest
move, but he repeated the pledge instead of provoking his host
further. The restraint took enormous effort because the little drama
queen was asking for it.
Eilon
stepped back and nodded, handing him a towel and returning to his
kitchen. “And wolf will not sully Miss Red.”
“You’re
venturing outside your jurisdiction, there, Oak Broad Oak.”
The
vines of his hair tangled and retreated to a brilliant golden brown.
“My stuffed radish. You have your own red, and you’re not to
touch Miss Red if yours turns you down. She’s my bed guest, and I
will not have her sullied.”
Eilon
disappeared into the kitchen, and Severins’ spine whipped straight.
Kaia’s face reddened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “I
like him
About
the Author:
Alisha
Costanzo is from a Syracuse suburb. She earned her MFA in creative
writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she currently
teaches English. She's the author of BLOOD PHOENIX: REBIRTH and BLOOD
PHOENIX: CLAIMED, and co-editor of DISTORTED. LOVING RED, a Broken
World novel, is almost ready for its 2015 release. In the meantime,
she will continue to corrupt young minds, rant about the government,
and daydream about her all around nasty creatures.
Website:
www.alishacostanzo.weebly.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AlishaCostanzo
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/brokenworldauthor
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