Today we have Caris Roane here to celebrate her Warn Up Your Winter Blog ! Welcome Caris !!!
Caris Roane has published over fifty
Regency romance novels and novellas under the pen name, Valerie King.In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career
Achievement award in Regency Romance.Having had a long-time love affair with vampires, Caris tackled the
paranormal genre and built a unique vampire world based on ascending
dimensional earths.Her series is called
Guardians
of Ascension.
Her most recent self-published
project, The Blood Rose Novella Series, launched in May of 2012 with the
first title:Embrace the Dark.
Currently, Caris is working on a new
vampire series set to launch in the Fall of 2013:WARRIORS IN CHAINS with the first
novel, BORN IN CHAINS.
Caris lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with
her two cats, Sebastien and Gizzy
Hi, everyone!I want to thank PAGE
FLIPPERZ for having me today as part of my WARM UP YOUR WINTER BLOG TOUR.On most of the blogs on this tour, I’ll be
revealing excerpts from the sixth book in my vampire series called, GATES OF RAPTURE (12/24).I created the
tour with the hope that you might get to know my Guardians of Ascension, who
are my most beloved winged vampire warriors.I know the covers have wings on them, but the
books aren’t about angels AT ALL…just vampires…with wings.I also have goodies for
you to win, details to follow!
GATES OF RAPTURE is the sixth
installment of Guardians of Ascension and features Warrior Leto, a famous,
ancient Warrior of the Blood, six-six, long straight black hair, piercing blue
eyes, and built to battle death vampires for centuries and drive the ladies
crazy!Major yummy!Romantic Times Magazine gave GATES OF RAPTURE a 4 ½ Star, TOP PICK review!I couldn’t be happier!
Today, I thought I’d give you a look at an excerpt from the end of
Chapter 5.This is Leto’s speech when he
opens the Warrior Games in the Seattle One Hidden Colony.My world of ascension is a multi-dimensional
world and Second Earth is the world of the vampire.But
for thousands of years, a large number of vampires from Second Earth have been
living secret lives in camouflaged colonies on Mortal Earth.Now the war has invaded the lives of these
sleepy colonies and Warrior Leto has been working hard to prepare the civilians
for battle.Part of that preparation
involves the Warrior Games, a competition among all the Hidden Colonies of
Mortal Earth, in a fair-like atmosphere.
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER FIVE:
Leto approached the microphone.He took a long slow breath.The
entire fairgrounds had fallen silent.Crying babies were soothed by caregivers and children ordered to
hush.Only a breeze set a few flags
flapping here and there.
For a long moment, Leto was overcome by the respect he was being
paid.Not long ago, he’d been a despised
traitor but all that had changed when Grace had brought him almost magically
out of Moscow Two and away from Commander Greaves permanently.
Now he was a resident of the hidden colony and everyone waited to
hear what he had to say.
He had taken great pains to prepare a speech with which to open the
games, focusing on how proud he was of the contestants, of the hidden colony
Militia Warriors, of his gratitude for having a place in their lives.All good stuff.
But as he surveyed the crowd, his heart began to expand.He saw the families he had come to know and
love over the past five months, all those ascenders who had embraced him and
forgiven him, who had helped him build his cabin.He saw, lined up by colony, the hundreds of
warriors, both male and female, who had trained hard under his leadership in
preparation for not only the games over the next three days but for the ongoing
war against Greaves as well.
He felt a strong need to say something different than his practiced
praises.Making use of his most powerful
voice, he began, “We’re on the brink of war, my fellow ascenders.”He heard a rippling murmur pass through the
crowd but most remained silent.“We all
know it and we all know that this is the reason our warriors have trained as
hard as they have, pushed themselves, male and female alike, gotten hurt in the
process then pushed harder still.”
Several small cheers went up and down the narrow valley.
“But at heart, we are all warriors no matter what role we play in
our society.Whether we raise our
children to be well-loved and strong or whether we teach in our schools or
labor in the fields to put food on every table, or build a business to serve
the community.This is the war we make,
to care for those we love day in and day out.This is the true battlefield of life.”
More cheers went up, louder this time.He let his gaze ride the scene from the north
where all the colorful tents were laid out, all the way south across the event
obstacles designed to test the mettle of the assembled competitors.
“Hold fast to the job you were designed for.Do that service to your community and to your
world with every ounce of strength the Creator has given you.This is the note you sing in the choir of
humanity.Hold that note so that the
chorus we create together, backed by the angels of heaven, will prevail against
the enemy, wherever evil is found.Tonight, we are all warriors.”
A great cheer rose into the dark night sky and knowing that his
words had hit the mark, he cried out very simply, “Let the games begin!”
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!I’ve had an extraordinary time creating and
writing this series!Let Guardians of
Ascension be a new journey for you.GATES OF RAPTURE releases on December 24th.
To Learn More about Gates of Rapture and to read
the opening chapter:CLICK HERE!!!
Here are the giveaway details (all international
with appropriate compensatory prizes as needed):On each stop of the tour, I’ll be giving away
the same awesome collection of prizes as listed on the Rafflecopter form, so be
sure to stop by each blog on the tour for a chance to win at each blog.Be careful to follow the directions on the
Rafflecopter form at each site.And be very careful of the dates!The contest at each site will last 3 days
only, and those dates will be listed on the Rafflecopter form as well!!!
For links to all
the other blogs on the tour:CLICK
HERE!!!
The Grand Prize Drawing - VERY IMPORTANT:to be eligible
for the Grand Prize drawing of the Nook with Glowlight, you must leave a comment
at the bottom of this blog (as well as at all the sites on the tour if you want
to go to every site and enter that many times—totally up to you!But comments must be left!)The grand prize drawing will be selected by
random.org in the following manner.On
January 18th, three days after the tour ends, I will enter the
number of blogsites into the random number generator, which will deliver up the
winning site.I will then go to the
winning site, count up the comments one by one, and enter that number into
random.org.Random.org will then provide
the Grand Prize winning number matched to the comments on the winning
blogsite.This
means, that if you travel to all the blogs on this tour, you can enter the
GRAND PRIZE contest on every single blog you visit by leaving a comment at each
blogsite!Good luck to
all!
The Goodies as listed on the Rafflecopter form are
:a $10 gift card
to Barnes & Noble (or similar for International),a replica, antique typewriter key bracelet
that spells ‘dream’,a signed copy of
ASCENSION (the first novel in the Guardians of Ascension series), Romance
Trading Cards and bookmarks.
The Grand Prize drawing for a
Nook with Glowlight, will take place on January 18th, three days
after the tour officially ends!Good
luck!
How fantastic is that !!!!!
For links to all
the other blogs on the tour:CLICK
HERE!!!
When an
unfamiliar fellow park ranger walks up moments after he prays for help, Jason
sends his gratitude out into the universe for answering his call. The last
thing Jason ever suspected would happen was for the same man to return to
abduct him. But now Hania and his people are insisting that he make good on his
promises to repay his karmic debt to them.
Jason
is not opposed to helping the Chileaans, or their beautiful Shaman, but it’s
what they want him to do that’s the problem.
HERE IS A LITTLE SNEAK PEAK AT WHAT'S INSTORE !!!
Chapter 1
In the
gateway room of the temple, Aiyana unrolled the meditation blanket in front of
a table that held a bowl of water, a plant that never stopped blooming, and an
assortment of crystals the previous shaman had given her during her training.
Then dropping to her knees, she leaned back on her heels and lifted her hands
out while she bowed her head.
“I am
Aiyana, faithful shaman to her people. I serve Hehewuti who watches over us and
the realms we serve. Will you hear the requests of your servant today, Great
Mother?”
Though
the room was closed, Aiyana felt the gentle warm breeze of Hehewuti’s energy
wrap around her like a hug. As always, she felt greatly comforted by the
presence of such a benevolent force.
I hear you, Aiyana. I also see
the burden of your heart, and yet—I cannot grant you the solace you seek today.
“It is
not comfort for me, Hehewuti. I ask for you to grant solace to the one chosen
as my mate. Jason Cloud’s heart is burdened with grief and can find no peace at
the moment. Let your compassion cross the dimensional realms to find him,”
Aiyana pleaded.
Precious daughter, your future
mate is fulfilling his journey according to his life’s plan. Why do you ask for
me to change the will of the First Souls? This I cannot do. Be patient and let
the future take the course it is meant to take for him.
“Must I
watch Jason grieve and offer him no comfort or hope?” Aiyana asked. It wasn’t
the first time she’d been told no by the Great Mother, but this time it was
especially hard to hear.
The
breeze picked up and wrapped tighter around her. Aiyana shivered in its embrace
as her hair lifted from her breasts to whip over her shoulders. Though she felt
the Great Mother’s love and compassion strongly, she also understood now that
the answer was not going to change.
Have faith in the timing of the
First Souls. Your mate will be with you soon. This is all I can tell you.
Aiyana
fought back her frustration, and the tears that threatened. She bowed to the
floor to hide her face until the emotions passed. There was no hiding the
disappointment in her heart and spirit. She hoped Hehewuti would not be angry
with her for being saddened by the news.
“Thank
you for coming to me, Hehewuti. I serve the Great Mother who serves the First
Souls. Praise to you, Hehewuti, for all your gifts,” Aiyana said.
You are welcome, Shaman Aiyana.
Walk in peace today.
Then
the breeze was suddenly gone.
Staying
on the floor several minutes longer, Aiyana allowed the tears to come while she
wept for what she could not change. When she finally raised her head, the tears
had dried and her spirit had moved into true acceptance. Her ability to accept
Hehewuti’s guidance was why she was the Chileaan shaman. By the time she walked
out of the gateway room, Aiyana was already planning to go back to the portal.
She
might not be able to help Jason directly, but she hoped his spirit would be
aware of her presence watching over him, even if his mind refused to accept
such spiritual possibilities. While she wasn’t as energetically stealthy in
moving around within the human realm as the Annunaki tribe, Aiyana could still
send her future mate all the comfort she could until it was time for him to
join her.
***
Expert
tracker Jason Cloud followed the murderer’s footprints through a thickly
forested area of the Grand Canyon until they ended at a set of trees and a pile
of rocks. Fortunately it hadn’t rained much in several weeks, so the prints he
found were still clear. Unfortunately, it was like the footprints simply
stopped and disappeared into dry dust beyond the one spot.
He’d
been around the entire area many times only to circle back to this point over
and over. The prints ended here. How that had happened, Jason wasn’t sure. Even
now, staring at the only evidence so far, he couldn’t understand how the
escaped men had managed to get away from all twenty-four people tracking them,
including him.
Exhausted,
Jason fell to his knees in the dirt, the frustration of his failure
overwhelming. Was there no justice at all in the world?
His
life’s work as a National Park Ranger was to track down those who got lost in
the canyon, so it was doubly hard to accept his lack of ability to find three
murderous men that needed to be found. He’d been searching for weeks now with
no results other than the one in front of his knees at the moment.
“Emily,
I’m sorry that I’m failing you,” Jason said out loud, letting the painful
reality escape him at last.
His
head ached fiercely from too much walking and not enough sleep. His body was
weak from not eating regularly. At the moment he didn’t feel like doing
anything but sit in the dirt and cry, yet Jason forced himself to pull out his
water bottle and take a few sips. It was a fact that he didn’t feel like he had
much to live for these days, but he was not going to risk dying of heat stroke
or dehydration if there was still any chance at all that he might find Emily’s
killers.
Two
months ago his wife had been shot and killed during a convenience store
robbery. Her murderers had fled but not gone far. With so many looking for
them, they couldn’t have crossed a state line without being recognized because
their faces had been captured on the store’s security cameras. Police believed
the men had to be hiding somewhere in the woods around the canyon.
With so
many vacant cabins and camping areas this time of year that instinct told Jason
the men were just hiding well—which meant they should be able to be found. And
who better to find them than the man who was supposed to be the best canyon
tracker in the history of the park? Apparently anyone else but him, Jason
decided. He certainly wasn’t going to find them by kneeling in the dirt and
swearing at fate. It was just that he didn’t know what else to do.
Though
he’d gotten used to turning thoughts of her away in the last few weeks, Jason
now thought of Emily’s smiling face the last morning he saw her. He had to put
his head in his hand, fighting not to indulge the tears that threatened. For a
man who rarely cried, he’d spent almost every night since her death doing so,
at least the nights where he hadn’t been able to drown the grief with enough
whiskey to pass out first.
If only
his grandfather had been alive, then maybe he could have told Jason what he was
missing, what he was doing wrong. That old man always found what he looked for
and he’d taught Jason never to give up.
Grief
had to be making him blind. That was the only answer.
Jason
knelt there in the dirt, and for the first time in a long time felt his spirit
sending out a plea for divine help. He wished he was a more spiritual man.
Maybe then the gods would help him.
He
would have prayed if he’d known how to pray, but he didn’t. His father had
frowned on such things, and his mother had not challenged his father’s lack of
spirituality. Emily had never pressed him to share her spiritual beliefs
either, and he hadn’t volunteered to open himself up to her faith. What little
spirituality Jason had ever known had been buried for good the day they put his
grandfather’s dead body into the ground.
It was
only because of that old man that Jason remained native enough to see the
spirits of the land and those in the people he encountered. Perhaps that was
why when his spirit sought guidance now in his darkest moments, it was his
grandfather and his grandfather’s people that came to mind.
But if
they were listening, Jason certainly couldn’t tell. Certainly, no divine help
had been offered yet.
He
climbed wearily to his feet, dusty and frustrated, with no idea what to do
next.
***
From
her astral existence within the dimensional veil separating their worlds,
Aiyana had watched Jason Cloud as he bent to check the tracks that ended where
he knelt. Jason was a protector in his human realm, but today he was not
serving his people in his tasks. Today Jason was searching for the ones who had
killed his Emily.
Though
not materialized fully in the human realm or affected by the emotional
vibrations of it, Aiyana could still sense the depth of Jason’s frustration and
pain just from the way he held his body and the expressions on his face.
And as
always, her heart hurt when his did. It was the way of her people with their
chosen mates, but usually such emotional sharing did not occur without some
physical bonding. Since her situation was not normal, Aiyana could only accept
what was truth for her, despite the fact that her appointed mate was not even
in the same realm yet, much less in her life.
Maybe
in her spirit she still rebelled about some aspects of her ordained
relationship to Jason Cloud, but she had accepted the uniqueness of her tie in
the time she’d observed him. Jason had loved his mate in the human realm very
much. She could respect Jason for having such sincere feelings, even if it had
distressed her that his compassion was being given to someone other than her.
The
Great Mother Hehewuti, with a wisdom Aiyana did not understand, had long ago
declared Jason Cloud would be her mate. She had sadly passed this news along to
her people despite the Chileaan people’s disdain for their descendants who were
still living in the human realm. Few there had respect for their eternal
spirits, which was a grievous truth to witness.
Even
Jason had very little respect for his own spirit, though he was a direct
descendent of native people as well. His lack of understanding only made her
sadder for him. Not that any of his spiritual flaws lessened her compassion
over his grieving. It was not her place to judge Jason’s life choices while he
remained beyond her physical reach.
Nor
could she question the Great Mother’s wisdom in sanctioning the compassionate
bond she felt for Jason. Aiyana had learned that lesson quite painfully. Part
punishment and part service, she had watched Jason for many of his human years,
watched as he wooed and bonded with Emily, watched and tried not to wish too
hard for the time he would be hers.
But her
faith had been strong and remained strong now. In the time she had served as
shaman to her people, Aiyana had seen the Great Mother’s will work out over and
over in many people’s lives. The difficult thing now was not in wondering if
Jason was going to be a proper mate for her eventually. That would happen. It
was how in her limited existence in his realm she could assist him in finding
comfort for the grief that was affecting his entire life.
He
needed someone to come to his aide. She was compelled to offer solace, yet
unable to do so. No that wasn’t the full truth, Aiyana thought, she wasn’t
allowed to help him. She could have easily told Jason which direction the
murderers of his mate had taken into the woods. This made watching him kneel in
the dirt with his spirit calling out for help, a pain greater than any she had
been asked to bear before. Only being a shaman for her people kept Aiyana from
attempting to contact him directly. Though she might have found a way to
penetrate the veil to enter his realm, she wasn’t willing to disobey the Great
Mother again.
Yet at
the same time she longed for Jason to find his mate’s murderers. Perhaps then
his sad spirit could begin to heal, and whatever needed to come to pass before
he joined her, could at last do so.
When
her spirit brother Hania appeared at her side, Aiyana watched as he saw Jason
and sneered. Hania’s disdain was not of Jason personally, but rather for Aiyana
being bound by destiny to the man from the human realm. Hania did not share the
Great Mother’s belief in Jason being her chosen one.
“Greetings
Aiyana. Your distress has brought me to your side. Is it time to retrieve your
mate?” Hania asked.
He did
not really want to know the answer, but did feel it was his duty to ask. It was
no secret that he still refused to believe that the Great Mother of the
Chileaans would see their shaman, his spirit sister, mated to a disrespectful
man from the human realm instead of one of their kind. After his work with
those in the human realm, his opinion was that most living there remained the
spiritual equivalent of emotional children.
The
grieving human male he observed carried some native blood in his physical form
that should have soothed him naturally. Hania did not hold anything against the
man, even though the majority of Jason’s native ancestors had hunted and killed
the original Chileaans. Only the ascended ones who answered the call of the
Great Mother had completely escaped the fate of being massacred like animals.
For those compassionate spirits who chose to remain behind in the human realm
during the Great Mother’s retrieval, life had become even harder.
But
life for their descendents was now even more limited. Jason’s family had all
but set his roots aside. In fact, most spiritual descendents in the human realm
spent their time trying to preserve what culture was left or to recover what
had been lost.
As a
Chileaan protector, Hania had intervened to help in the human realm for too
many years to keep count. He had compassion for them, but still could not
understand making a willing choice to stay in that realm more than he could
understand his sister’s acceptance of her fate to be mated to one of them. He
trusted the Great Mother most of the time, but the decision about the shaman’s
mate had caused him many moments of serious reflection on her wisdom.
“Aiyana,
did you hear my question? Is it time to collect Jason Cloud?” Hania asked
again.
“No,”
Aiyana answered, willing her voice not to be sad as her gaze remained on the
grieving man she cared for. “It is not time yet, Hania. I am here only because
Jason is in great pain. He hunts for the ones who killed his mate.”
Hania
softened a little. “Jason Cloud loved the female called Emily sincerely, and
for that I respect him. Does his loving grief for her cause your spirit great pain?”
he asked.
Hania’s
concern for Aiyana’s feelings outweighed his own sense of disgust over Jason’s
future role in Aiyana’s life. While he did not approve of their alleged destiny
together, he also did not like the idea that his sensitive spirit sister would
feel the pain of longing for someone whose truest devotion still belonged to
someone else. Having caused such pain in his own mate, and then later been on
the receiving end of her rejection because of it, Hania knew full well how much
suffering it could cause.
He
carefully studied Aiyana’s concerned gaze resting on Jason Cloud as he waited
again for her answer. Through their connection as spirit siblings, he could see
her feelings and thoughts were for Jason, not for herself or her longing for him.
Whatever pain she felt personally had been set aside. Aiyana was the most
unselfish person he’d ever known, and the most truly worthy person in their
tribe to be Chileaan Shaman.
Aiyana
turned when she felt Hania’s concerned gaze directing all his compassion to
her. She typically found it impossible to lie even to spare someone feelings,
so she certainly could never bring herself to deceive Hania when he was so full
of worry for her.
“Yes, I
confess it hurts me sometimes, but not always. I accept the Great Mother’s
punishment and her wisdom. I have learned much about Jason from observing his
life in the human realm. Though he is not very spiritual, he is mostly a good
man, Hania. There are many choices for a mate. She could have chosen worse for
me,” Aiyana said logically.
Part of
Hania was actually happy that Aiyana herself did not seem to really want the
man from the human realm as her mate, and that no great desire for Jason Cloud
was yet upon her. If it had been, she would not have been so calm. He
remembered all the time he had spent rejecting Sihu, followed by the time when
Sihu had rejected him. He could not think of a single moment in those years
without still feeling the pain. He would not wish such a fate on anyone.
So
Hania studied Aiyana as she continued to watch the man closely. Maybe Aiyana
felt mating with Jason Cloud would be a duty. Hania understood duty well and
had great respect for Aiyana’s choice to serve as their tribe’s shaman.
“If the
Great Mother would only allow it, Cheveyo still considers that you would be a
good choice,” Hania told her.
“I am
aware of Cheveyo’s devotion to duty, brother,” she answered.
Aiyana
turned to face Hania, looking at the marks on his neck, proof of his ascension.
Her spirit brother was mated to Sihu, who was next in line to become shaman if
anything happened to her. Sadly though, Sihu’s body remained just as lightly
marked as Hania’s, despite their frequent bonding. It was a source of
consternation for both of them that they had not yet reached full ascension
together. Sihu was the best of the Chileaan healers. She had dedicated every
spare moment she had to studying how to encourage the process of ascending.
“Until
the Great Mother’s punishment, I thought I would never know the need for a mate
at all, Hania. But I must be honest and say that the Great Mother intends
Cheveyo for another. He will not be pleased at first with the match, but will
eventually see that it is best. It is not yet time to reveal it or I would have
sanctified their union already. The council needs to set aside their goal of
mating us. It is not meant to be.”
Hania
sighed to hear Aiyana say the words with no passion in her voice and no regret
at not wanting to be the mate of the strongest, bravest Chileaan protector in their
tribe. Cheveyo had great affection for Aiyana. How could their union not be
right?
“Do not
worry about me, brother. I would be content to serve the Great Mother as I am
without a mate. It is she who deems me not worthy enough in this state. I seek
mating and ascension to please her will for me, not my own. I want Jason Cloud
because she will bless our union with my ascension. I don’t understand why it
has to be him, but I accept that I will see her wisdom in due time.”
Hania
placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “There are many things about the
Great Mother’s will that I do not understand either, but one thing I do. Mating
releases your personal power in ways you cannot begin to imagine yet sister. It
is more than the spirit being lifted from the body during the pleasure. Mating
with the right person frees your spirit from physical longing. It allows the
spirit to focus on other things,” he said.
Aiyana
looked back at Jason and shrugged. “Then I will mate with the male that the
Great Mother has chosen for me. The person matters not, so long as she allows
me to continue to serve our people.”
“Be
careful of that decision, Aiyana. As I learned quite painfully, there is only
one true mate,” Hania reminded her. “If the male from the human realm does not
willingly remain with you after bonding, you will either be alone for the rest
of your physical life or spend it going from person to person seeking temporary
release from the madness of your longing. The thought of you having nothing
more than that is too awful to contemplate. You are Shaman Aiyana. No one is
more worthy to have a proper mate.”
“You
are a fine man, Hania,” she said, her heart full of his caring for her. “One
day full ascension will bring you even greater wisdom. I pray the Great Mother
continues to bless you with happiness in your mate. Sihu has definitely brought
out the best in you.”
Aiyana
chanted softly, blessing Hania in the old tongue, smiling and bowing her head
in respect to the compassion between them.
Hania
felt the ancient blessing slide over him, felt a peace almost as wonderful as a
night spent in Sihu’s arms. As an unmated shaman, Aiyana’s power was amazing.
He could only imagine how she might be once fully ascended.
They
both turned as they heard Jason call out his mate’s name again, then great
silent sobs were shaking his body. Even if they had not been able to
empathically feel Jason’s immense pain, they would have recognized the agony in
his body.
“He
thinks he has failed her,” Aiyana whispered, her voice breaking along with her
heart as she hurt with him.
Hania
reached out a hand and squeezed her shoulder. There was nothing Aiyana could do
to help the man from the human realm, but there was something he could do. He
would hesitate no longer. “May the Great Mother see to your happiness as well,
sister. Since I serve the Great Mother and her shaman, I will see to it that
your chosen mate does not fail in his quest.”
“Hania—thank
you. May you be blessed for it,” Aiyana whispered, tears flowing at Hania’s
generosity for risking the intervention. The Chileaan protectors only did what
a predictor declared.
When he
disappeared from beside her, Aiyana turned her full attention back to Jason,
waiting now to see if her future mate would open his spirit and accept Hania’s
help.
Jason started across the grounds
realizing that he had no idea how to get to Shaman Aiyana’s house on his own.
Then he started noticing that when he walked in one direction, his hands
hummed. When he turned a different way, the humming stopped. Deciding to follow
the humming, Jason walked quickly and eventually recognized Aiyana’s temple.
Now that he was here, Jason hesitated
before climbing the steps slowly. For the first time he wondered if he was
already too late, if Cheveyo was already with her. This might be embarrassing for all of us, he thought.
Jason looked at the door, compelled to
go inside no matter what he came across. Being with Cheveyo wasn’t going to
work anyway. Jason didn’t know how he knew that about the situation, but he
just did. Even the thought that Aiyana would try with Cheveyo upset him now,
but being upset was not right either. So Jason didn’t bother knocking, but he
did remove his shoes as Aiyana had asked last time.
Once inside, he walked softly through
the house looking and listening at every closed door. Finally, he came to a
large open room at the back of the house that faced a lush courtyard with a
cascading fountain. In the center of the room, Aiyana sat in the middle of a
pile of pillows wearing only a very sheer bra top and equally sheer pajama
pants. On her shoulders and down her arms were intricate designs made of fine
black dots. As Jason walked towards her, he saw the dots on her start to glow.
She stood and turned to him in one
fluid motion.
“Jason. Why are you here? I’m
expecting. . .” Aiyana found she couldn’t say the truth to him while he was
looking at her so fiercely.
Jason walked up and stopped in front
of her, placing his hands on her arms, matching their designs. He winced at the
pleasure-pain sensation it caused both of them.
Aiyana moaned as the power flowed
between them. “Jason…” she began, then caught her breath.
Jason sensed the man at the door
before he actually saw him. He dropped his hands from Aiyana to face the man
who had just entered.
“Who are you?” the man at the door
demanded. “Why are you touching Shaman Aiyana?”
Jason looked at him for a few moments.
There was no doubt who the man was because he fit the description. He studied
the man that Aiyana had told him was more handsome than he was, a man who had
pleasured her more than once.
“This is the final time I ask you the
question before I take further action,” the man said quietly.
Jason heard Cheveyo speaking in the
same dispassionate, but I-really-mean-it manner of speaking that Hania used.
Maybe he should be more worried about the fierce glare he was receiving, but he
just wasn’t feeling anything but relief that he stopped Aiyana from…holy hell.
He was jealous.
“Aiyana won’t need your services after
all, Cheveyo. I am the Shaman’s mate,” Jason growled the words, shocked at how
fiercely he sounded saying them.
Jason watched the man study him for
long moments. He was prepared to fight him if needed, but hoped it would not
come to that. The man was a lot bigger and looked a lot stronger than Hania,
who had managed to take him down easily.
Aiyana’s heart stopped, and then
started beating with a thunderous sound. Jason had told Cheveyo that he was her
mate. How was this possible? He was staring at Cheveyo, his eyes glowing with
the Great Mother’s power. Shocked happiness shook her to her core and she
started to fall.
“Aiyana, are you okay?” Jason asked,
grabbing her arms to hold her upright, accidentally matching their marks again.
“Jason…” she called his name, and then
collapsed in a heap at his feet, her hands sliding down his body. She wrapped
her arms around his legs because she simply had to touch some part of him to
believe it was real.
Aiyana looked across the room, pain in
her heart for yet another misdeed she had done to the man at her door. “I’m
sorry for this situation, Cheveyo. I truly did not expect Jason to return to
me, but I am glad he has.”
Cheveyo looked at him with the most
hateful look Jason had ever received from another person.
“There is no dishonor here, Aiyana,”
Cheveyo said softly. “I serve Shaman Aiyana, who serves the Great Mother. If
you have need of me, I too will return to you.” He bowed his head to her and
left, not sparing Jason another glance.
Jason looked down at the woman wrapped
around his legs and wondered what had possessed him to stake a claim. What was
it to him if the woman bonded with the whole tribe? But thinking of Cheveyo at
her door, he was pleased he’d sent the man away. God help him—maybe he felt a
sense of duty growing for her. Somehow he instinctively knew that Shaman
Aiyana’s ascension wouldn’t happen with anyone but him. Walking through Aiyana’s
door moments ago, he was following some inner voice that demanded he help her,
regardless of what form that help took.
As he pulled Aiyana up into his arms
again, the voices he’d heard when he kissed her started chanting again. This
time though the chanting perfectly matched the heat in his blood as he studied
Aiyana’s nearly naked body. This time when desire for her moved through him,
Jason accepted it physically, even though he still had to work at setting the
emotional guilt aside. His body was insisting that he be with her. There seemed
to be no other choice.
“So where are we doing the deed?”
Jason asked Aiyana. “Do you have a bedroom?”
“What?” Aiyana asked, not quite
understanding what Jason meant. She was still recovering from what had just
happened, from the joy that Jason had returned, and from her shame at having to
send Cheveyo away. It wasn’t often that she experienced emotional turmoil.
“For this ascension thing to work for
you, you have to have sex with me, right?” Jason demanded. “I don’t know how I
know that, lady, but I just do.”
Aiyana looked hard at Jason, trying to
see into his spirit, trying to see if he would have any regrets. “You told
Cheveyo I was your mate. Did you mean those words?”
Jason tugged her forward by the center
of the bra top she wore, until they were nose to nose because she was so tall.
“God help me for disrespecting my dead
wife, but I do,” Jason admitted, rubbing a thumb across her left nipple and
making her tremble. He watched their dots glow brighter as he touched her
through her clothes. “Kissing you put these glowing dots on my hands. And I see
you have a matching set.”
“Praise to the Great Mother for all
her gifts,” Aiyana said breathlessly, finding it difficult to have conversation
when Jason was touching her so intimately.
“You might want to save that gratitude
for after we’re done,” Jason joked, hoping he would not back out on her once
they started.
Part of him was hard and aching for
her, so he knew he was up for the challenge, so to speak. Still another part of
him was trying to decide if he would be betraying Emily and her memory by what
he planned to do to help a woman he didn’t really even know.
“What you bear are the Great Mother’s
marks. You are also ascending Jason. I did not know that would happen when I kissed
you. Are you okay with receiving the power of it?” Aiyana asked, concern
evident in her face.
“If I turn into some really ugly
creature after having sex with you, there’s going to be hell to pay,” Jason
warned, still toying with her top.
“When ascension is complete, you will
be what you already are, only more so,” Aiyana told him with a smile, trying to
reassure Jason that he would not be harmed.
“Will there be more tattoos?” Jason
asked, thinking he needed to be prepared for what would happen.
“Yes. You’ll get a lot more tattoos,”
Aiyana informed him, laughing painfully, not really finding any humor.
Jason pulled her closer to him,
listening as the chanting grew louder and louder in his ears.
“Next question. Why do I hear people
talking every time I get near you?” he asked her.
“It is the voices of the ancestors.
Can you understand what they are saying?” she asked in return.
“Not the words, but it seems like they
are encouraging me to just…take you hard and fast,” Jason finally admitted,
hoping she did not find it offensive.
Aiyana stepped away from Jason, untied
a string on each side of her hips, letting the pants fall to the floor. “That’s
exactly what they are saying,” she agreed. “And I am ready for you to do so.
Slideshow of all Donna’s Books w/Buy link
Link to all Donna’s Books
http://www.donnamcdonaldauthor.com/books.php
Buy Link from Amazon:
Buy link for B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/the-shaman-s-mate?keyword=the+shaman%27s+mate&store=allproducts
GOODREADS
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16163349-the-shaman-s-mate
