Book 5 of the Sons of Herne series
May 28, 2016
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She was saved from
drowning by an act of god…a seductive, smoking hot god.
It
is the time of Litha, and Devinmar, god of the sabbat, will rise from the sea
to mate with a human female and unleash the powers of the deep. His visit to
shore comes a day early, however, when he saves a stunning beauty from drowning
under suspicious circumstances.
Hallie
wakes up on a beach after being rescued by the most exotically gorgeous man she
has ever seen. Believing Devinmar is an exceptional hunk of male is no stretch,
but falling for his stories about selkie legends and pagan gods is something
else. Still, she can’t help but give into the temptation of a sea god whose
long hair, exquisite beauty, and intense stare beckons.
When
Devinmar returns to make Hallie his sabbat consort, he discovers she has been
taken by those responsible for her near drowning. Getting her back could mean
failing in his duty to the sabbat, but he goes after her nevertheless. He’ll
use the powers of the deep to make her safe again—even knowing that once their
midsummer’s night has ended, he will be forced to leave her behind and return
to the sea.
Excerpt:
A
weight slammed into the surface of the water, square onto Devinmar’s back. He
spun out of the boat’s path with the dolphin equivalent of a surprised cry, and
the large bulk that had collided with him fell away into the darkness. Stunned
as he was, Devinmar floated for a short time, getting his bearings.
What
the devil was that? He poked his head above water, blowing out his air hole and
watching the white boat disappear in a tumult of churning sea foam. They had
lost something important, judging by the size, but the boat gave no indication
of turning back. The item perhaps had no value.
Or
maybe they had dumped it on purpose.
Curious
and a bit outraged at the thought, he dove back underwater, shooting straight
down after the abandoned item. His dolphin eyes were not acute enough to see
that far, but sounding ahead with sonar turned up a startling fact, one that
sped his heart. He tried sonar again, confirming his theory.
The
bundle was human.
Devinmar
dove faster, his powerful muscles straining to catch up with the sinking human.
It was a female, unconscious, and bound with some sort of wide, flat rope. No.
Tape. He tried twice to get hold of her with his broad mouth, both cursing his
current form and feeling grateful for it. God or not, he would never get her to
the surface as a man, but hands would have been helpful. He caught hold of her
with a firm grip and rose, pulling her against the forces of nature, higher
until he could see the light rippling at the ocean surface. They broke through,
him with a fierce blast from his blow hole. The woman made no gasping sounds.
He had little time, if in fact it wasn’t too late already. Alternating between
using his snout and teeth to keep her head above the whitecaps as much as
possible, he pressed for the shore. His jaw ached from dragging her to the
surface over and over, but he hurried on, intent on saving her.
Waves
soon pointed the way to land, and he followed until the first of the breakers
pushed their bodies to shore. He gripped her in his teeth and rode the wave.
The ocean floor beneath them rose up sharply, threatening to beach the dolphin
if he had no other means to save himself. But he did.
He
didn’t let go of the female until sand scratched his underside, and he closed
his eyes, released her to the momentary trust of the tide, and concentrated on
the change. He had to become the seal first, the form his mother’s kind
preferred close to the shore, a creature adapted to both sea and land. Shiny,
gray skin shifted to brown fur, fins to large flippers. His snout shortened and
sprouted whiskers while his body grew slower, yet more buoyant.
Insistent
waves pushed him to shore, and the female washed up beside him. The sudden
cessation of the ocean’s constant movement brought him awake, as though jarred
from a dream back to reality. She lay limp beside him, so fragile and helpless
that it sent pangs of frustration through him.
Now he
focused on his true self, the man whose form he took but once a year, a human
figure born under the sea with arms and legs and long, black hair. His seal
skin split with a pop along his back, which was not a painful experience, but
rather, a freeing one that ran oddly counter to his personal opinion. He was
released from the marine creature, climbing free from the skin he clutched in
his human hand. He must keep the skin with him in order to return to the sea.
He
tossed the skin higher up the beach, away from the waves that might try to
reclaim it. Then he dragged the bound woman higher up the beach.
He
tried to get on his feet, but wobbly sea legs buckled beneath him. He crawled
along as he got her out of the waves, then pushed wet hair from her pale face
and put his cheek down to her mouth. She wasn’t breathing.
Devinmar’s
throat tightened. He slapped her face, not really expecting a response, then
covered her mouth with his. He breathed, willing life back into her. Nothing.
The
tape around her chest might be constricting her, so he tugged and ripped at it
until it tore free. He put the heel of his hand on her sternum and pushed,
hoping to expel water, then breathed into her again.
“Come
on,” he said, water dripping from his hair onto her face. “You must live.”
