CAT SCRATCH FEVER Release Day!

Cat Scratch Fever

By Myla Jackson

Available today from Ellora’s Cave!

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419919398

Actually, this is the second in my NYC series of otherkind. Witch’s Curse uses the same setting of Hell’s Kitchen NYC. But this is the first time you see the cat shifters there. Hope everyone enjoys it. Tom and Lilly are HOT!

Blurb

Pale and innocent Lilly Wyatt left the security of home in Georgia to follow her dream of a career on Broadway. On a dark night on the streets of New York City, her dream turns into a nightmare when she’s cornered by cougars in the heart of the city.

Black as a moonless night, Tom Black blends into shadows, prowling the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, on alert to stop trouble before humans become aware of the beasts among them. When his new neighbor falls victim to rogue cougars, he leaps to the rescue, colliding with a force capable of overcoming race, color and species. Love.

Excerpt

Tom Black prowled the streets, lurking in the shadows of the alleys, watching over the citizens and patrons of Hell's Kitchen, deep in the heart of Manhattan. Tangy flavors of Chinese, French, Thai and Greek food filled the air around him, mingling with car exhaust and cigarette smoke. Couples strolled hand in hand, laughing and talking, their voices hushed in the late-night air, the sounds of honking horns filling the gaps of silence in their conversations. In this sprawling, eclectic section of New York City, Saturday night appeared to be on its way to being normal and uneventful. But then the clock had only just struck midnight. All the Cinderellas had yet to head home. All the monsters of darkness had yet to show their ugly faces.

Although his pride had won the right to live, work and play in this part of the city, he didn't take anything for granted. Encroachers infiltrated their territory at least once a week, if not more often. Usually on busy nights like tonight. To keep the streets and tourists who ventured out at night safe, he and his people took turns patrolling the avenues, searching for rogues bent on stirring up trouble.

He scented her before he saw her, headed home from her job as a waitress at the Singing Java shop around the corner from where he stood. Her high heels tapped against the pavement, echoing off the brick and concrete buildings. She walked this route every night alone. Her pale blonde hair hung straight down her back like a curtain of silk, her ivory skin appeared almost ethereal in the light from the street lamps.

Her songs haunted his nights as she sat on the fire escape landing a floor below his apartment, plucking the strings of her guitar, her voice sweet and so pure against the grunge of the city. Every time she sang, his heart swelled with yearning for what he couldn't have. A normal life with a beautiful woman by his side. A human like Lilly. As she drew nearer, his groin tightened, the animal filling him, forcing blood to flow in a heaving rush south to fill his cock. He fought the urge to follow and stake his claim on her, to mark her as his. But Lilly was forbidden fruit to be admired for her beauty but not tasted.

Forbidden Fruit. That was Lilly and he'd do best remember that. His oil wouldn't mix with her water, no matter how sweet she was, or how pure her songs and laughter. Forget about how hard he got, or how much he wanted to plunge into her, milking the cream of her womb, making her cry out for him.

As she passed by, her gaze swung toward the shadowy alley where he stood, leaning against the side of a building.

Had he moved to draw her attention? Could she sense his need or smell his desire? His breath caught in his throat as he held steady, willing his heart rate to level, and his cock not to strain so hard against his jeans. If she came toward him, he doubted he could keep from rubbing up against her, or stop his hands from reaching out to hold her.

Her attention shifted to the street corner and she turned, disappearing out of sight.
Tom sucked a harsh breath between his teeth, filling his lungs with enough air to feed his starving brain cells. Fuck. He had it bad for his neighbor and he couldn't-no, shouldn't-do anything about it. She wasn't his type, much more…she wasn't his species.

But that didn't stop him from wanting her and imagining what a life with Lilly would be like. There would be fights over the remote control and what movie they'd watch. There would be nights sitting on the fire escape landing, watching the cars pass, just holding her hand and later, they'd lie in their bed, naked, exploring every inch of each other…
A scream penetrated his fantasy, slicing through the normal sounds of horns honking and people talking, sending adrenaline pumping through Tom's veins. What scared him was the fact the scream came from the direction Lilly had disappeared.

He leaped from the shadows and raced to the end of the street. When he turned at the corner, he couldn't see Lilly anywhere among the pedestrians walking along the sidewalks.

Partygoers only briefly looked around for the source of the woman's scream, before they hurried along their way, anxious to get off the street, out of perceived, yet unseen danger.

Where the fuck had she gone? For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and lifted his sensitive nose to the sky. He could smell the soft scent of her skin, the delicate fragrance of her hair. His eyes opened and he headed for the dark alley halfway down the street.

"Please, go away. Leave me alone." Her voice carried in the humid night air, bouncing off the tall sides of the buildings. "Please, someone help me," she cried.
Tom ground to a halt at the end of the alley, keeping to the shadows while shedding first his jeans and then his shirt. A woman gasped and hurried past. He barely noted her affronted comment, "Freak."

"Nice kitties. Please don't hurt me." Lilly stood with her back to him, surrounded by three man-sized cats with viciously long teeth bared at her. "You really don't want me for dinner. Someone at the zoo needs to be fired." These last words she said through gritted teeth.

Up until now, the rogue cougars had only darted in and out of sight. The unwritten law of the shifter kingdom was to leave the humans in ignorant bliss of their existence. These cougars crossed the lines too many times in the past few weeks and all within Hell's Kitchen territory. Now they threatened Lilly.

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419919398

PRIMAL MALE

My very good friend Sasha White has a new book out, I saw it at my local Barnes and Nobles! Check it out!

Surrender to your wildest instincts…

PRIMAL POWER
An empath with the ability to sense others’ emotions, Drake Wheeler has survived by keeping his own feelings shut off from the world. But nothing has prepared him for the sudden smoldering need that overtakes him in the presence of pureblood shape shifter Melissa Montrose. Even more surprising—he can’t sense anything around the sultry bookstore owner…except for his fierce urge to take her here, now, over and over again…

PRIMAL HEAT
Melissa has lived her life in a small town, hiding her family’s mysterious birthright. A fling with the sexy tourist who wanders into her bookstore seems like a delicious, temporary diversion, until Drake touches her in exactly the way she craves, teasing and tempting every inch of her body into explosive ecstasy. Drake’s obviously a man with secrets, but Melissa’s got a few of her own, and she’s going to show him just how wild and raw pure, primitive desire can be…

Chapters.ca ♥ Amazon.com ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Order eBook at Fictionwise.com

Here’s what the reviewers are saying:

OMG reading this book practically set my house on fire! The sex, like the main characters in Primal Male, was urgent, rough, and passionate. I found myself blushing and looking away guiltily when my boyfriend was in the room. All I can say is keep a cold drink and a fan handy! This is a book that not only makes my keeper shelf, but I suggest you beat down the doors of your local bookstore to demand they order it!” ~ T.S. Peters, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

“PRIMAL MALE is the kind of book that plunges you in the story from page one, never slowing the momentum until the final climax has been reached. This is a must-read for lovers of erotic paranormal romance.” ~ WildOnBooks.com

EXCERPT: Wowza!

She was every inch of his adolescent fantasies. From her sleek little body with lush curves in all the right places to her long hair pulled back in a tight bun.

Drake watched the woman stride down the aisle between tall stacks of the bookstore and struggled to regain some of his standard detachment. She was coming his way, but because her eyes were buried in the book in her hands, she hadn’t noticed him yet. This gave him complete freedom to drink in the sight of her.

She had a woman’s body, soft and curvy in all the right places, with a subtle, underlying strength. And at that moment, her delectable form was covered in a simple white button-up blouse that skimmed breasts so full his mouth watered and a short, fitted skirt that clung to rounded hips. Those luscious, rounded hips led to the kind of legs that would wrap around a man and hold him tight while he fucked her raw. Drake swallowed to keep from drooling. He was a grown man, after all.

He couldn’t help but look…and look again. It wasn’t just her body or the way her clothes fit that had his dick jumping. It was the neat and pressed look of her while being surrounded by shelves of books, caramel- colored hair pulled back and nose buried in a book. Drake’s balls grew heavy and hot blood rushed through his veins. She looked like the strict and sexy librarian, and he wanted desperately to be the naughty schoolboy called into her office.

As if sensing his gaze on her, she glanced up and stopped dead. Apprehension skittered across her face and was gone so fast Drake wondered if he imagined it.

“Well, hel-lo,” she said, her smile flirtatious. “You’re new in town.”

“Just visiting.”

“Winters tend to isolate us up here in the mountains. We don’t get many visitors this time of year.”

“I like isolation,” he said as he scanned the small store. He ignored the subtle invitation for conversation and fought to get rid of the image of pinning her body against the wall and rucking her skirt up until he reached hot, wet, woman. Jerking his gaze from her, he moved farther inside the store and fingered a chunk of obsidian that was part of a display on the table against the wall.
Hyper aware of her, he knew the moment the female shifted her weight and refocused on him. “You said you were visiting. Do you have family here? Friends you came to spend the holidays with?”

“No.”

She tilted her head, eyes narrowing on him. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

Before he could stop himself, one corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. “Words are often overrated.”

“That’s the wrong thing to say if you’re trying to get on the good side of a bookstore owner.”

Her dark eyes twinkled and the stern tone of her voice went straight to his dick. He had to fight to keep from making his librarian fantasy a reality. She was strong and confident, and so damn sexy he couldn’t resist. “Who said I was trying to get on your good side?”

His blood heated and his mind slowed as she pointedly looked down and then up his body, taking her time. Careful. Slow. Obvious. The deliberate inspection had him fighting the urge to strip down and bare himself to her. Christ! What was going on with him?

“You should be,” she said, tossing the words over her shoulder as she turned and stepped behind the sales counter. “My good side can be a lot of fun.”

Oh, I bet, Drake thought to himself. His system was alive and tingling from the going over she’d given him.

Drake had honed his control to a lethal edge over the years. He wasn’t an adolescent boy whose emotions or hormones controlled him. Which was why his elemental response to her was so shocking.

By the time she was behind the counter, Drake had his desire under control. Or so he thought. She turned and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?” and a ripple of pure yearning went through him.

Fuck, if he was getting this turned on with his shields up, letting them down would be sure to take them both on a wild, wild ride. Her emotions would flood his senses, feeding his own desires, and he’d be bending her over that sales counter within seconds.

Dropping his shields and immersing himself in her passion was something he actually eager to do. It had been a long time since he wanted to bed a woman for pleasure, and not just for release. A long night between her legs would be a great way to relax – and maybe even learn some of the town’s secrets. Sure, why not?

He stepped up to the counter. “Have dinner with me.”

Her brows jumped in surprise and her lips twitched. “Changed your mind?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with silent mirth.

It took him a second, but his brain soon caught up to the conversation.

“Okay,” he said. She was sharp, and he was surprised at how much that pleased him. “What would be the right thing to say to get on your good side?”

A dimple flashed in her cheek. “You can start with telling me your name.”

“Drake Wheeler.” He held out a hand. “And you are?”

Her palm slid against his and he was surprised there wasn’t a visible spark at the skin-on-skin contact. “Melissa Montrose, and I’m sorry, I already have plans for tonight. Another time?”

“Tomorrow,” he said.

Melissa’s full lips twitch turned into a full-blown grin at his abrupt demand and he groaned mentally. His brain had disengaged and the word had popped out his mouth without any guidance from him.
She nodded and replied as if he hadn’t just made an idiot of himself. “Dinner tomorrow night would be nice.”

If the tension snapping between them was any indication, nice would be way too mild a word to describe any time they spent together. Incendiary was more like it.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” he said with a tight smile before turning on his heel and leaving. It wasn’t until he got bitch-slapped by the frigid wind outside that he realized he’d left the store without even taking a look around.