by: January Bain
Series: Sin City Kilts
Genre: Billionaire/Paranormal Romance/Werewolf
Release Date: April 4, 2023
Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
Only one wild heart can claim another.
Esme Luceres, poor relation and outsider with the House of Luceres, devotes her free time to exposing fake psychics and charlatans who dupe and exploit a credulous public.
She' ll never be anyone' s fool. And she certainly won' t make one of herself over the kilt-wearing, bare-chested Lachlan of the Highland Heathens Clan, even if he does looks like a plundering Viking right out of the mists of history with his magnificent body on proud display. No, she' ll expose his secrets…
Lachlan Creig certainly has a few of those. An illusionist and mind-defying hypnotist, he' s also a wolf shifter. In Vegas to perform at a prestigious venue on the Strip, he' s not above using his were heritage to his advantage. But the Scot has even darker, deeper secrets than most alpha billionaire weres... one which are about to surface.
When 'ghostly' events kill a tourist at the Haunted Museum where Esme conducts midnight tours, the feisty blonde and proud Scot are forced to put their heated differences aside and forge an unlikely alliance.
Can they find their way past their deep mistrust issues to solve the murder? If they can' t, Esme might lose her freedom, Lachlan all he holds dear... and both of them their fated mate…
The audience burst into huge applause, cheering and whistling. I hadn’t even recovered from the shock of watching all that pumping man flesh exhibiting the kind of strength that makes a woman’s knees weak when he changed direction. This guy really could bear a person away to the ends of the earth if he wanted to.
“I’ve been entranced by the magic of snow falling at midnight on the moors of the Highlands since I was a lad learning magic at the knee of my great-grandfather.” The stage lighting changed, revealing a starry Van Gogh sky with swirling stars and a pregnant moonscape. The mystical backdrop set off a sense of otherworldliness to his skin, anointing it with a bluish glow. The moment of ancient timelessness caused the audience to fall into rapt silence, their faces keen with interest.
“Let winter come.” He lifted his hands to the sky, standing in front of the mystical moon backdrop, as if praying. From his palms, crystals of pure white snow began to flow upward then slowly drift down to the stage, turning into a shower of golden stars around his feet. But instead of stopping in a couple of seconds like I’d seen other illusionists’ work do, it continued to flow from his hands until the air began to almost vibrate with an infinity of snowflakes glowing like diamonds in the haze of the bluish light. It collected around his feet until a flurry of glittery stars anointed the stage.
Ohs and ahs escaped the audience’s rounded mouths as the man directed the weather. How in the hell is he doing that? Before I could figure it out, he started a new trick.
“For my next act I need a volunteer.” He prowled to the side of the stage and looked down at the row I was sitting in, right up front and center. Don’t. You. Dare.
“Would the bonny lass with the lovely blonde hair and wee frown in the enchanting red dress please join me up on stage?” He gave a wicked smile that demonstrated his excellent dentistry and held out one huge hand with the super-bulging biceps toward me, beckoning me with his mesmerizing green eyes. I hesitated. “Or are you afraid of being hypnotized, thasgaidh?”
Hell no. Game on. And touché for the use of another Gaelic endearment term.
I smiled sweetly and rose, taking his hand. He swept me onto the stage in one graceful movement, my feet leaving the ground, his touch coursing through me like an electrical current.
“A chair for the lovely Esme Luceres,” he called out. An assistant scurried to do his bidding, bringing one forward.
“How did you know my name?” I asked with a scowl, tugging my hand free of his.
“Magic, Esme. Magic is in the air tonight. Trust me, and the world will offer up its riches.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Not to be dissuaded, he gestured at the chair and I plunked myself down. This could prove interesting. Like anyone could hypnotize me. Spookier entities than Lachlan had tried and failed in my Ghoststompers, Inc. business. All duly recorded for posterity.
“This is a special pendulum made from the golden mask of a long dead deity that was purported to live in Atlantis, the fabled isle, before it sank into the sea never to be seen again. It has hidden powers that open a channel into the brain, promising enlightenment and ancient wisdom.” He held the large golden disk up for the audience to observe, the odd marks that were engraved into the surface looking like rune symbols. “Do you like to dance?”
Ah-ha. “No.” I shook my head so hard I nearly gave myself a concussion. “I never dance, no time for it. And I’ve got two left feet,” I admitted.
“Keep your eye on the coin as it flows back and forth, Esme. See the past…let it come forward and bring forth its power. Back and forth, back and forth. Relax, relax…”
I duly tracked the gleaming coin with my eyes, finding it rather soothing. Something to focus on while this charlatan played his silly game.
“That’s right. Back and forth…”
“I’ve been entranced by the magic of snow falling at midnight on the moors of the Highlands since I was a lad learning magic at the knee of my great-grandfather.” The stage lighting changed, revealing a starry Van Gogh sky with swirling stars and a pregnant moonscape. The mystical backdrop set off a sense of otherworldliness to his skin, anointing it with a bluish glow. The moment of ancient timelessness caused the audience to fall into rapt silence, their faces keen with interest.
“Let winter come.” He lifted his hands to the sky, standing in front of the mystical moon backdrop, as if praying. From his palms, crystals of pure white snow began to flow upward then slowly drift down to the stage, turning into a shower of golden stars around his feet. But instead of stopping in a couple of seconds like I’d seen other illusionists’ work do, it continued to flow from his hands until the air began to almost vibrate with an infinity of snowflakes glowing like diamonds in the haze of the bluish light. It collected around his feet until a flurry of glittery stars anointed the stage.
Ohs and ahs escaped the audience’s rounded mouths as the man directed the weather. How in the hell is he doing that? Before I could figure it out, he started a new trick.
“For my next act I need a volunteer.” He prowled to the side of the stage and looked down at the row I was sitting in, right up front and center. Don’t. You. Dare.
“Would the bonny lass with the lovely blonde hair and wee frown in the enchanting red dress please join me up on stage?” He gave a wicked smile that demonstrated his excellent dentistry and held out one huge hand with the super-bulging biceps toward me, beckoning me with his mesmerizing green eyes. I hesitated. “Or are you afraid of being hypnotized, thasgaidh?”
Hell no. Game on. And touché for the use of another Gaelic endearment term.
I smiled sweetly and rose, taking his hand. He swept me onto the stage in one graceful movement, my feet leaving the ground, his touch coursing through me like an electrical current.
“A chair for the lovely Esme Luceres,” he called out. An assistant scurried to do his bidding, bringing one forward.
“How did you know my name?” I asked with a scowl, tugging my hand free of his.
“Magic, Esme. Magic is in the air tonight. Trust me, and the world will offer up its riches.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Not to be dissuaded, he gestured at the chair and I plunked myself down. This could prove interesting. Like anyone could hypnotize me. Spookier entities than Lachlan had tried and failed in my Ghoststompers, Inc. business. All duly recorded for posterity.
“This is a special pendulum made from the golden mask of a long dead deity that was purported to live in Atlantis, the fabled isle, before it sank into the sea never to be seen again. It has hidden powers that open a channel into the brain, promising enlightenment and ancient wisdom.” He held the large golden disk up for the audience to observe, the odd marks that were engraved into the surface looking like rune symbols. “Do you like to dance?”
Ah-ha. “No.” I shook my head so hard I nearly gave myself a concussion. “I never dance, no time for it. And I’ve got two left feet,” I admitted.
“Keep your eye on the coin as it flows back and forth, Esme. See the past…let it come forward and bring forth its power. Back and forth, back and forth. Relax, relax…”
I duly tracked the gleaming coin with my eyes, finding it rather soothing. Something to focus on while this charlatan played his silly game.
“That’s right. Back and forth…”
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If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with her furry baby, Ling Ling. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.
If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook. Oh, and she loves to talk books…
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Love the cover. The blurb and excerpt sounds really good.
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