Please welcome Author Heather Long to Simply Ali!
Tip off the hat to Miss Ali for allowing me to drop in and share my upcoming release
Cassandra’s Dilemma.
This book is a bit of an adventure for me, because when I initially wrote it, I truly believed it would be an MF, but little did I realize that it would become an MFM. The original draft of the book had a different name and it’s actually quite hard for me to remember that sometimes, when I ‘think’ about the book, it’s still with that title. But, be that as it may,
Cassandra’s Dilemma releases from
Siren-Bookstrand in their PolyAmour line on February 15, just in time for you to cuddle up with your Valentine’s day chocolate boxes and enjoy.
So what is
Cassandra’s Dilemma about? It’s about a media consultant handed the chance of a lifetime (after jumping through a lot of hoops) to reveal the Fae to the world. It’s the juiciest job offer, ever. But Cassie is savvy about the world and guards those secrets closely, prepared for a splashy campaign to reintroduce the idea of magic, Elves, and the Fae all at once. Unfortunately, someone doesn’t want this to happen and the press conference site is bombed and Cassie is nearly killed.
Fortunately for Cassie, she has two very strong heroes who are determined to protect her (when they aren’t threatening each other) in Helcyon and Jacob. The men are very different, but they’re sexy, stubborn and serious about their tasks. When I first sat down to write this book, I thought Jacob would be a bit of a romantic foil for the lead, I didn’t expect him to storm the castle, set up housekeeping and stay.
But he did and I love him for it, I think he and Helcyon make a hell of a team when they aren’t furious with each other and the guys are pushed hard, because if they don’t work together, they may not be able to save Cassie from the danger hunting her. Cassie thought she might have taken on too much with her Fae clients, but it’s Helcyon and Jacob that turn her world inside out.
Cassandra’s Dilemma marries together many of my favorite things from paranormal to fantasy to romance and adventure. I hope you enjoy it, too!
Woohoo Heather is giving away one copy of her latest release Cassandra's Dilemma to one lucky commenter! Check out the synopsis and excerpt below.
Cassandra's Dilemma
Book 1
Siren Publishing
Poly-Amour
Media consultant Cassie Belle was thrilled to be making the reveal of the century until a bomb ripped her world apart. The danger puts her on a sensual collision course with Fae Lord Helcyon and Special Agent and Wizard Jacob Book. Her passion for her protectors reveals a forbidden legacy that threatens all of their futures.
Enjoy this excerpt from
Cassandra's Dilemma:
Helcyon produced a sword from thin air, slid forward, and jerked Cassie from the chair. Book let out an oath, but his hand slid into his jacket for the gun tucked in the holster. Cassie barely had time to register either man’s actions when a blow struck along her spine, welts of fire stinging her flesh and robbing her of breath.
She collapsed forward, slamming into Book’s legs, but she barely rocked him as he brought his gun to bear, legs apart, feet braced. She gaped at the fierce expression darkening the agent’s features. The soft, autumn-brown eyes blazed hot. His jaw was clenched, a muscle leaping in his cheek, and the shadows of the room seemed to lengthen, elongating around them and casting first Book and then Helcyon in stark relief.
Cassie shot a look over her shoulder, heart in her throat. What could paint such an ugly expression on two beautiful men? “What the hell?”
“Stay down,” Helcyon and Book barked simultaneously.
The situation might almost have been funny, but malevolence oozed off the man—no, that wasn’t a man. It was a creature, a mass of twisting, sinuous shadows—whatever it was. Eyes the color of pitch bored into her, rooting through her soul, freezing her blood. Her heart thumped in her chest, the rushing sound of water flooded her ears, and the floor fell away from beneath her hands.
“Grab her!” Helcyon snarled something else in another language. The silver of his sword flashed and screaming rent the air.
Cassie tried to blot the sound out with her hands. Book seized her shoulders in strong hands, dragging her upward just as an inky, black tentacle wrapped around her left leg and yanked.
Helcyon’s sword flashed again, and this time Cassie joined the screaming as it severed the tentacle wrapping around her leg. The world exploded in burning cordite as a gun popped close to her face. Book’s arm secured itself around her middle, and he backed up, Cassie pressed hard to him.
Cassie stared, openmouthed, at the scene unfolding in front of her. The quiet, nondescript hospital room was alive with shadows and silver. In front of them, Helcyon danced with the black tentacles that struck out suddenly, looking for a weakness. When one tentacle snaked through an opening, Book shot it. Wetness soaked Cassie’s leg, and she looked down to see a crimson stain pooling at her feet.
The world tipped on its axis. Cassie couldn’t stop staring at the bloody pool. She leaned forward, a hand outstretched, only to have Book slap it sharply. She jerked her wounded hand back with a muttered oath.
“Hands to yourself, girly,” Book snapped, hauling her across the room toward the door. Another black tentacle reached for her, drawing her attention. It arched toward her and she ducked away as Helcyon slid between her and the tentacle, sword cutting.
“We need to get out of here.” Book spoke to the Elven warrior, who continued to move with inhuman grace, pivoting, spinning, and sword blocking, dancing, slicing, and deflecting.
“The doorway,” Helcyon replied smoothly, evading another piercing tentacle.
“Gate?” Book threw the question out there with another shot as tentacles tried to slip past Helcyon’s guard.
“Yes.”
Cassie blinked at the rapid exchange, swallowing another yelp as she was yanked back into the doorway. Suddenly Helcyon was there, his back pressed against her, sandwiching her effectively between the two men.
“Lose the gun!” Helcyon ordered.
“Dammit.”
“Now.”
Book fingered his weapon, emptying the clip, and then flung the gun away from them. The world tipped sideways. Cassie recovered her voice, shrieking as they fell. Her head slammed into cotton-sheathed muscle, cutting off her cries. She felt another body pin hers before Helcyon bounced to his feet.
Helcyon hauled her to her feet and thrust her behind him. Raising his sword, he faced Book with the same cool expression he’d worn dancing with the black tentacle thing.
The agent bounced to a crouch, eyeing Helcyon with wariness. Aggression thickened the air between the two men. Cassie put a hand on Helcyon’s arm, but the steel muscles beneath her fingers locked to push her back another step. He kept his gaze firmly on the agent.
The coppery scent of blood marred the night air flavored with jasmine and orchids. Cassie sucked in a deep breath. Her head was spinning. Looking around, she recognized the garden from her earlier visit, but it seemed darker, more sinister. The stars above shocked the senses as the Milky Way spiraled across the velvety darkness.
“What was that thing?” she asked, trying to get a grip on her equilibrium. Park. Explosion. Hospital. Underhill. Hospital. Special agent. Attack. Underhill again. Her head swam from the possibilities. So many questions.
No answers.
When neither man answered, Cassie focused on their antagonistic stances. Helcyon’s sword reflected the pale light of the crescent moon. Black blood marred the surface. Book stood a few feet away, hands spread, but not in supplication. Instead, his hands were actually glowing.
“Helcyon? Special Agent Book?”
The men ignored her, focused on each other. Cassie sucked in the perfumed air and stumbled forward, only to be pushed back. Helcyon shifted so that he remained between her and Book.
“Why are you two fighting?” Her heart raced, her head spun, and she thought she might throw up at any moment.
“He sees through the glamour, and he has magic,” Helcyon replied, silken steel in his voice.
“He’s a fucking Elf, and he just took us Underhill.” Raw fury lined the special agent’s face.
“So?” Cassie blinked, digesting their nuggets of information and feeling a little belligerent. Her leg was on fire and she wanted desperately to sit down and not worry that the Homeland Security agent and her Elven bodyguard were about to tear each other into pieces.
“That thing we were fighting came from here.” Book said the last between his teeth. Sweat beaded along his forehead as though whatever he was doing took actual effort.
“Okay.” Cassie hated the weakened note in her voice, but the spinning in her head grew too intense to ignore. She sank to her knees. The edges of her vision went fuzzy. She touched a hand to the bloody welt on her leg. The leg felt on fire, but the skin was icy. Odd. “You two go ahead and kill each other. I’m going to pass out. Whoever wins should wake me up.”
“Cassandra?”
“Ms. Belle?”
Cassie faded away from the conversation, divorced from her own body. It was better to not feel the icy burn crawling through her veins. She floated between one moment and the next.
Appropriate, since she was Underhill.
“Truce?” Helcyon’s voice whispered along her consciousness like the gentlest of caresses.
“Peace.” The agent’s voice moved closer. “Did it mark her?”
“I see blood. I thought we moved her away before it could.”
“It was there for her.”
“I agree.”
“Why were you there, Elf?”
“Why were you there, Wizard?”
“My job.”
“Mine as well. Her leg. See the mark—poison in the blood.”
“What the hell was it?”
“It doesn’t matter now. We must get it out. You draw the poison. I will ease the pain.”
Cassie drifted along, listening to their odd conversation. Warm fingers cupped her cheek. The scent of vanilla and soft spices tickled her nose. Opening her eyes took extreme effort, but she managed to drag her eyelids open.
Helcyon’s face was just centimeters from her own. She looked into eyes the color of the deep, green forest. She’d thought his eyes were black, but they were dark, like the woods at night, filled with mystery and promise. The scent of vanilla mingled with pine, loam, and rich earth. She inhaled deeply, sighing at the heady combination. His breath whispered across her face. Her lips parted in anticipation. The soft velvet of his lips rushed across her mouth, capturing the gasp of pain she released as jagged ice and fire ripped through her leg.
The fingers on her cheek caressed away the tears. Her mouth parted under the tentative probing of his tongue. Pain faded away, leaving only the sensations of his lips moving on hers. Languorous heat spread through her body, leaving her limp. She whimpered a soft sound as he pulled away, but his finger stroked across her lips. “Sleep, Cassandra. Sleep.”
Robbed of the effort to fight the compulsion, Cassie slept. Somewhere beyond the thick wraps of satin and silk muffling the world she heard a snort of derision.
Heather Long is a full time writer, mother, friend and student. She can
often be found at 4 a.m. hiding in her garage with a cup of coffee and a new story idea unfolding on her laptop. You can keep up with these and all of Heather's upcoming releases via her
Website,
Facebook, and occasionally
Twitter although she swears she's pretty bad at remembering to Tweet even when she reads them.
2/09:
Melissa Schroeder's Blog
2/10:
Simply Ali
2/13:
Cecile Smutty Hussy's Place: All I Want and More
2/14:
Heather Long's Blog
2/15:
RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk
2/16:
Romance Rakes For the Love of Romance
2/17:
Lisa's World
This giveaway is open internationally! Please leave a comment below to enter and your email address. The winner will be chosen via Random.org Giveaway ends Sunday at Midnight CST.
Thank you Heather for stopping by and giving away a copy of
Cassandra's Dilemma to a
Simply Ali reader!
