Two shamed souls, a mutual enemy and an attraction they can't control...
Randolph Meryon is a
man no woman can resist despite the whip he brandishes. Compelled to return
home after his sister’s death, he struggles to fit new responsibilities into
the hedonistic lifestyle he prefers to live. It’s a task he finds difficult
enough without adding in the tangle of unanswered questions his sister has left
behind and the sugar-cookie sweet nanny caring for his niece. He hasn’t had a
taste of sweet in a very long time.
Jen O'Malley, shunned
by her family, struggles to find work without their backing, meeting barriers
wherever she turns. A position as nanny with the scandal-riddled Meryons seems
like a lifeline. She’s relieved until she arrives and becomes enmeshed in a web
of intrigue, unable to discern the identity of the spider at the center.
Rand: Son of Tallav, Book #3 Sons of Tallav
Cailin Briste
Universal
Buy and Pre-order Link: https://books2read.com/rand
Excerpt:
Briarcliff, Tallav
The slender slice of moon did little to light the edge of the cliff over
which the desperate bleating of a lamb sounded. Rhiannon, Tallav’s second moon,
had yet to rise and brighten the night sky. Why the gardener’s boy sought Penny
out on the patio rather than running to get the overseer, she didn’t question.
He was a child and probably ran for the nearest adult. Peering over, she could
make out a patch of dirty white caught in a bush. At least the lamb had slid
into the branches, it’s fall blocked from the vertical plunge of the cliff to
the river below.
How had it gotten here? The early lambs weren’t old enough to be out of
the lambing shed, which was nowhere near the cliff. She slid carefully down the
slight grade of the rim and tried to calm the animal while she waited for help
to arrive. She’d sent the boy on to the overseer with a request to bring rope.
Careful to stay out of range of the lamb’s thrashing, she spoke to it in
gentle, crooning tones. The animal quieted, no longer flailing but still
bleating plaintively. The creamy tan color of the lamb’s body was more
difficult to see in the dark, but the face, white with black speckles, stood
out. To her horror, she noticed one of those dark marks was in the shape of a
heart. This was the orphan lamb the overseer had allowed Sophie to help feed.
That lamb was bedded down every night by the overseer himself in the enclosure
built next to his office in the main barn. Someone had to have brought this
lamb out here. She’d damn well find out as soon as she rescued it from its
precarious predicament.
Above her, loose rock skittered with the sound of someone descending.
She tipped her head back and shouted, “Don’t come down. Just drop the end of
the rope.”
“We won’t need a rope.”
The low, throaty words confused her. That wasn’t the overseer. She lost
sight of the darkened form above her when she sat up to roll over on the clumps
of rock and grass beneath her to get a better look. A solid thud struck her
back, sending pain lancing along her spine and around her rib cage. The lamb
renewed its thrashing when she slid into it, knocking it backward. Squealing in
terror, it tumbled out of view.
Heart pumping, Penny windmilled in a futile attempt to keep from falling
forward. She straddled the bush with her legs, the sharp ends of broken stems
lacerating her exposed face and hands, snagging in the long-sleeved pajamas she
wore. For an instant, her momentum stopped. In desperation she clamped her
fists onto the bush’s base, ignoring the sting of abrasion.
A second strike from her assailant’s booted foot hit her high to one
side of her backbone.
Something snapped inside.
Pain flooded her shoulder.
Jarred forward, she began a slow-motion tumble headfirst over the bush.
Fingers and palms tore while branches slid through her grasp until the
strain on her good shoulder from the somersault forced her to let go.
Oh God. I’m falling. Sophie. Oh God. I can’t die and leave Sophie.
Her temple struck a jutting rock, and darkness claimed her.
Above, a figure scrambled to the top of the cliff, humming a cheery
tune. The wordless melody stopped at the sound of someone rushing toward the
precipice. By the time the overseer arrived, the spot was empty. No lamb. No
Penny. Just moonlight casting the side of the cliff in shadow in the waning
heat from a late summer day. With an exclamation of frustration and an oath
that he’d see to that boy for pulling pranks, the overseer left.
It wasn’t until the next day, when no one could find Penny, that the
overseer mentioned his fruitless trip to the cliff edge. Her body lay on the
rocks, half in and half out of the river. Officially she was a casualty of
misadventure.
Universal
Buy and Pre-order Link: https://books2read.com/rand
About
Cailin:
Cailin Briste writes
science fiction suspense romance. Her first series is set in the Tallavan
sector of the Federation where the men of Tallav are the marshals that provide
protection and justice to the planets in this far off the beaten path are of
space. While fighting crime, they also must come to terms with matriarchal
system of their home planet, Tallav. Tricky because each is heavily involved in
the BDSM lifestyle. Book one is her Dom and book two is her male submissive.
Her second series, A Thief
in Love Suspense Romance series, began with a cat burglar who puts together a
team to steal priceless art and antiquities from other thieves. Sebastian is a
Robin Hood character whose Maid Marion is his equal on the rooftops of their
futuristic city. The second in the series is the love story of two others on
his team, Cade and Bassinae. Once again the team are breaking into someone’s
home to take back something that rightfully belongs to someone else, but this
time they are also trying to stop a murder.
More books in each series
are coming as is a new series about a pair of dragon shifters hatched from the
same egg and the man they love, bounty hunter Brody Simmons.
Cailin’s
Links:
·
Street Team http://cailinbriste.com/cailins-street-team/
·
Twitter http://twitter.com/CailinBriste
·
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cailinbriste/
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Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/cailinbriste/
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Newsletter http://cailinbriste.com/cailins-newsletter-sign-up/
Thanks for hosting Rand and me on your blog. I love bringing my own universe to your multiverses.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the fabulous company as well!
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