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Tag: pnr
Character Profile: Hayley Jaynes
It’s easy to fall in love with characters, whether they’re my own creations, or characters I’ve read about in other books. Hayley Jaynes, from Wild Atonement, is one of my favorites. Her potty mouth and DGAF attitude hide her vulnerability over proving herself to her brothers.
Name: Hayley Ann Jaynes
Date of birth: February 21, 1996
Age: 21
Occupation: General Contractor
Hair: golden brown
Eyes: blue
Fun quirk: her creative swears (click here to get a pdf of Hayley’s Swears)
Excerpt:
Hayley rushed toward Summer and Jackson. She liked seeing her brother so happy, with his arm casually wrapped around Summer’s waist, his attention on her. And Summer looked back at him, a gooey expression on her face. Hayley squashed a feeling of envy. She wanted that. She wanted to be the focus of one man’s world, and she wanted to be accepted for who she was—bold, strong, and dirty-mouthed.
She had the insult “rubbercock” on the tip of her tongue, ready to unleash it cheerfully on her brother. But someone stepped right in her path.
“Hayley,” he said.
She looked up. She didn’t know this guy, but immediately she could smell that he was a shifter. A fellow mountain lion. She should’ve sniffed him out when she’d first walked into the bar, but envy over Jackson and Summer’s lovey bliss had distracted her.
The dude’s dark eyes were fathomless, and he wore a fake, disarming smile. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. She sniffed again. He smelled like sawdust and raisins, and her nose itched.
If she’d been in lion form, her hair would have lifted and her back would’ve arched defensively. “Who the hell are you?” she asked.
“I’m Alec,” he said smoothly. “We met briefly, long ago. You probably don’t remember me. You hung up on me earlier, but we need to talk.”
Now she remembered him. Her parents had made that awful deal with the Spokane Pride, just before the war with the Clausen Pride. Alec had been there with his father, the Spokane alpha. Hayley had been bartered like a piece of meat in order to ensure the Spokane Pride’s help.
Hayley had fought it, until her dad took her aside and said, “There is no way you’ll ever have to go through with something you’re not comfortable with, okay? This is a formality only.”
It hadn’t mattered, because the Clausens won the war, and the last of the Jaynes family had been chased out of the Dark Pines territory.
But maybe it had mattered, at least a little bit. Because this nasty fuckbasket was here, claiming to be her fiancé.
“I don’t want to speak to you,” Hayley said.
He chuckled. “You made that pretty clear when you hung up on me a few hours ago. But we need to talk.”
“I’m already with someone,” she said, trying to shove past him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t sense the lie.
His hand closed around her upper arm, and she spun, ready to stomp on his instep. Before that could happen, a giant, burly biker dude stood up from the table nearest them. “This guy bothering you?” he asked.
Hayley looked from the biker to Alec. “I don’t know, Alec. Are you bothering me?”
He sized up the biker and shook his head. He dropped Hayley’s arm, glowering. “We’ll talk later.”
Hayley watched as Alec retreated to a corner of the bar. Shit, that had been close. There was nothing to say to him, but now she’d told him she was seeing someone. That would be the best possible solution to this shitstorm. He couldn’t marry her if she already had a mate.
She turned back to the bar, where she’d seen Jackson and Summer a second ago. But neither of them could help her out of her predicament. She needed…a boyfriend. And fast.
The guy standing next to Jackson—dark-haired, brown-eyed, with a set of monster muscles—would do the trick. He must be Jackson’s friend, Marius. She’d heard a little about him already, how he’d helped Dan Clausen scare Summer.
Striding up to him, she pretended that the butterflies in her stomach hadn’t grown talons and weren’t clawing their way up her throat. Instead, she shook her hair back and made eye contact with those chocolate brown eyes of his.
“Hello, Marius,” she said, turning her voice into a purr.
He gaped at her until she closed the distance between them and pressed the full length of her body against his. Wrapping her arms around his massive shoulders, she whispered, “Are you single?”
“What?” His voice was so quiet, she could barely hear him.
Somewhere behind her, Alec was watching this show. She had to be convincing, but she didn’t want to mess anything up if Marius already had a mate. “Are you single?”
“Uh…yeah. Yes.”
“Good.” She tilted her face up toward his and kissed him like she meant it. Her lips pressed against his in a spark of heat that surprised her, but she went with it, afraid to break contact. If Alec thought for a second that she was lying—and he probably did because shifters were so good at sensing dishonesty—then she’d have to convince him right now, with her actions. If she convinced him well enough, hopefully he’d go back to whatever rock he’d come from and leave Hayley alone.
Thoughts of Alec flew right out of her head as Marius took control of the kiss. His arms came around her waist, tightening her to him. He parted his lips and pressed harder, so she had no choice but to open to him. Not what she’d intended, but his tongue tentatively brushed the edge of her mouth and she couldn’t hold back a moan of need.
This was not at all what she’d expected.
Interested in getting your very own PDF of Hayley’s swears, for handy reference? Here you go–Hayley’s Swears!
7 Shifter Heroes I Have Known and Loved
*This post first appeared on McKenna Dean’s blog on 9/19/17.
We all have book boyfriends, the fictional men who make our hearts beat faster and could probably convince us to step out of our warm reading chairs and join them in a more dangerous, paranormal setting. (Probably. I mean, only if I could still wear my ratty old yoga pants.) Here are seven shapeshifting hotties, in no particular order–
- Clayton Danvers from Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Clay was my first shifter heartthrob, and he will always hold a special place in my heart. Despite the violent acts he does to ensure the safety of his pack and his questionable behavior toward Elena in the early stages of their relationship (which I won’t spoil just in case there are one or two PNR fans who haven’t yet read this book), I fell hard for his southern accent and his absolute devotion to his mate. In my head, he’s even hotter than the guy who plays him in the television series. Is he flawed? Very much so. But since he’s my first, I go easier on him.
- Matt Barns from Gray Back Bad Bear by T.S. Joyce
It’s impossible for me to talk about how much I love Matt without saying how much I love his mate, Willa. These two were absolutely perfect together, at turns vulnerable and hilarious. Willa, especially, brought some geeky levity to their relationship, and while I adore Matt on his own, I love him even more with Willa.
- Arik from When an Alpha Purrs by Eve Langlais
So this guy is completely vain, especially about his hair (that is, his “mane”), but…I sort of loved him for it. Sure, I also wanted to throttle him, but I liked that even though he thought so highly of himself and his mane, he was still vulnerable with his friends. His vanity was great for laughs.
- Alcide Herveaux from Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Alcide…sigh. I really couldn’t care less about Bill or Eric. I wanted Sookie to end up with Alcide. Of course, a whole lot of random complications kept them apart throughout the series, but for a while there, I was Team Alcide.
- Lucas Hunter from Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
Okay, I’ll be honest. I read Slave to Sensation a long time ago and I can’t remember any details about Lucas except that he was totally hot and there was tons of sexual tension. Hmm, might be due for a re-read….
- Derren Hudson from Spiral of Need by Suzanne Wright
If you love a good alphahole, you will love Derren. He starts off the story with all kinds of prejudice against Seers, and of course the heroine just happens to be a Seer. He’s controlling and derisive and super controlling. Something about Ally has him rethinking his prejudices, and you know what happens to a controlling man whose worldview is challenged? He’s cranky. So yes, Derren’s an alphahole. If you don’t like violent sex, this book might not be for you. (Not violent as in non-consensual or rapey, if I’m remembering correctly. Just…violent. Explosive. Demanding.)
- Adam Hauptman from Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Hello, Hot Neighbor! This dude is just solid. Solidly built, and solid at heart. I don’t want to say too much and spoil later events in the series, so I’ll just say that I absolutely adore his love-hate relationship with Mercedes in Moon Called, and the way she teases him by leaving an eyesore junker car in sight of his house. Sa-woon. I love those two.
So those are my guys! Who’s your favorite shifter hero?
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Corona Pride – Shapeshifter Romance Book Sale
If you’re a paranormal romance lover and you haven’t yet snagged my Corona Pride series, this might be your best chance to do so! The first book, Savage Yearning, is free through Sunday 10/22, and the others are marked down to 99 cents as countdown deals! Each book stands alone and features a separate couple with their own HEA, but together the books tell a larger story. Click the titles for each book’s Amazon page.
(Please note: At the moment, Amazon doesn’t enable authors to do countdown deals anywhere except the US and UK. I’m not voluntarily leaving out other countries! Savage Yearning is free everywhere, though!)
Mountain lion shifter Laura has tried to avoid Dristan, the guy in her pride who rocked her world during an amazing one-night stand. But when vampires invade their territory, they’re forced to work together. In order to defend their pride, they must confront the desire that threatens to consume them.
Brigitte Mayfair has worked hard to keep herself cool, professional, and detached after the scandal she left behind in Michigan. But when she’s abducted, then released three days later with no memory of her captivity, she feels anything but cool and professional. Mountain lion shapeshifter Rafe Corona has purposefully kept his distance from all potential mates, believing that he doesn’t deserve happiness. Something about Brigitte calls to him, though. He must overcome the danger that threatens to keep them apart and find the passion hidden within them both, or risk losing her forever.
Famous in the book-blogging world for her honestly hilarious romance reviews, mountain lion shapeshifter Nina Vidal detests the irony of her life—she makes a living off of analyzing happily-ever-afters, but her own HEA is sadly out of reach. Grizzly shifter Jameson Cooper has enough on his mind without worrying about the sexy lion girl who’s taking over his clan. But he finds himself drawn to her again and again. When it turns out that vampire trouble has followed her from the Corona Pride and Jameson’s clan wants to turn Nina away, Jameson must fight to keep her safe and close by his side.
Gracie Jane Moseley, a vampire, has had over a hundred years to thirst after revenge for her lover’s murder by the local sheriff. When she learns one of the sheriff’s descendants is living right here in Belnedge, Montana, she can’t wait to sink her fangs into him and sate her rage…and her thirst. Mountain lion shifter Frasier Rhees has been wishing for a mate for years and Gracie Jane captivates him, body and soul. Determined to overcome his pride’s loathing of the vampires, Frasier’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep Gracie Jane close, even if it puts him in danger.
When mountain lion shifter Viviana Corona’s rebellious streak nearly lands her in the hands of hostile vampires, her mother hires a bodyguard…a human. Seth Hudson’s widowed mother accrues astronomical gambling debts, and now Seth will take any good-paying job he can find to help her get well again. He didn’t count on falling in love with the sexy little shifter he’s hired to protect, but when he faces the prospect of losing her to a crazed vampire, he realizes he’ll risk anything to get her back.
liza street 