Monday, October 06, 2014

Decadent Decade Monday with J. Hali Steele


Extra Cream is a good thing!

Zader’s Menagerie (Book 4) in the Extra Cream series was hard for me to write. I love manlove stories, but it didn’t feel right to force a male cat into bed with a male wolf even though both carry vampyre blood, shift, and walk as men in the daylight. If you read the story, you’ll learn the wolf was all for manlove, the cat—never. In nature, a cat and a dog wouldn’t mate and I use the belief that, even as men, a cat would not love another male, will even keep all males from his (pride) females. Yet somehow, the way most dogs act and run in packs, I felt they would welcome a man’s love.

*Sigh* Therefore, the female wolf who finds herself mated with a cat and an alpha wolf can only imagine the wonderful things that can happen when two men come together. *Grin* I did, however, manage to have the wolf talk the cat into letting him participate and both men enjoy her in a hot, sexy, and very satisfying love scene.

Will I write other books about the Sovereign Kind? Leaf, the alpha wolf from Zader’s Menagerie will find happiness and, no, I’ll never put the cats to rest!

Visit their world, feel the erotic bite of a big cat.
He may give you the gift of long life!

Zader’s Menagerie (Book 4) available at: http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1606  Other books in the Extra Cream series: With Extra Cream (Book 1), Hot Tin Roof (Book 2), and Cougar by the Tail (Book 3), also available from Changeling Press and you can find them here: http://www.changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=127 and most all ebook outlets. Here’s the blurb and an excerpt:

The right wolf will make this cat howl at the moon!

Zader Montana is Sovereign Kind, a mountain lion infected with vampyre blood. He refuses to embrace his undead half, the part of him that prowls the night looking for the she-wolf he desires. His problem -- she's mated to the alpha of the wolf pack sharing his mountaintop.

Skye wants a taste of the cat who trails her every night. Convincing her mate to let her have a bite won't be a big deal. The wolves are infected with the blood curse too, and they're not finicky. Skye's willing to be shared by both leaders as long as she gets what she wants.



Excerpt:
Skye had stayed in her wolf, enjoyed walking through the quiet forest. Where was Leaf, and why hadn’t he come to her? A slow throb started at the top of her head, made her eyes water, her nose run. What now?
A sound to her left caught her attention, but too late. A wiry cheetah came into view, spittle dripping from its fangs. Damn it to hell, she should have paid attention to her surroundings. Then she heard it -- a howl that sounded like it came from the bowels of the earth. Leaf.
The big wolf flashed in front of her, tail high and swishing in agitation. Cat got your tongue, baby?
Leaf… She watched as the thick fur receded and he stood naked and tall in the form of his vampyre. His eyes glared red, his fangs were long and deadly. “I’ve been with you the whole time.”
Pulling her wolf back, she stood beside him, her eyes pinned on the deadly transgressor in front of them. “I didn’t feel you.” But she felt Zader.
“Skye, I need to tell you something.” Before he could finish the animal lunged, taking a swipe across Leaf’s chest. Blood bubbled from the wound which could kill even the strongest Kind. It was one reason she and Leaf should have remained in their animals.
“And the other reason is why we don’t use our Balkan cousins’ power to kill them. They deserve to die with respect because many of them were Reign warriors, and they are what we all should have remained. Animals, beasts, that should have lived and died in the wild.” Zader’s eyes glared red from across the clearing before he released his cat. The tan fur barely covered his torso before his paws slapped the ground. He growled, circling the spotted cat.
Skye quickly changed into her wolf, prepared to fight alongside the cat that belonged to her, just as she had planned to do with Leaf. Before she reached Zader, he’d pounced on the wiry animal. Cries split the night as his cougar latched onto the thinner cat’s neck, delivering a vicious bite to the jugular. The cheetah fell to its side, gasping for air. With quickness unknown to normal animals, Zader’s beast ripped into the belly, disemboweling the transgressor and putting it out of its misery.
Leaf had slumped down against a tree trunk, blood flowing freely from the gouges. Skye’s wolf rushed to his side and licked at the wounds to heal them. He’d need strong blood, and she hadn’t taken any. Turning, she saw that Zader had regained his man form, and watched them from across the clearing. Taking her animal inside her body, she sat next to Leaf. “Zader?” He wouldn’t deny her, but would Leaf want a cat’s blood?
“Does he want to live?” He’d do anything to make Skye happy, even share his blood.
Leaf raised his head and stared at Zader. “Yes.” A small smile curved his lips, “Just don’t give me too much or I’ll kill you.”
She watched Zader move closer with a gleam in his eyes. “You’d die trying, bastard.” He stooped down and bared his wrist to Leaf. “Take too much and there might be a definite improvement in your scraggly ass.” His head tilted. “Who the hell holds a conversation while there’s a transgressor not ten feet away?”
Finished taking sustenance, Leaf sighed. “Was pretty damn stupid, huh?”
“We’ve both got something to live for now.”
“Guess you’re right.”
There was a new respect for each other in their words, but Skye sensed sadness in Leaf that she didn’t understand. And there was a definite difference in the way Zader acted. His eyes were filled with wildness, a certain abandonment. The scent of anger mixed with fear of the wolves was totally absent from the cat.
Zader did something she wouldn’t have thought him capable of -- they were all clothed by him and transported to his house. Only a very strong vamp could perform that feat. How long had he been taking the blood again to have such strength?
Settling Leaf into a guest room, she and Zader went to rest by the fire. “You respect him now?”
“Always did. I respect, even more, that he would have done anything to save you.”
“He’s not as uncaring or mean as he sometimes appears.”
“I know that. As a leader, I understand we have to do things others don’t like.”
“There’s something… different about you.” She moved to his side, ran her fingers over his chest. “Something that makes me want you even more.” Zader removed their clothing with a thought.
“Something that makes you want me with your alpha under the same roof?”
“Maybe it’s because he’s here.” Continuing to stroke his face, play in his hair, she moved one hand to his crotch. His cock was swollen, the tip wet with pre-cum. “You seem stronger, more settled into the idea of being with us.”
“Skye, part of you is mine, and taking that doesn’t trample what belongs to Leaf.” His head bent, cool lips brushed her brow. “I’d never stop you from having anything you love.”
He nudged his tongue between her lips, delved deep into her mouth, proving how much he wanted her. She felt his hands cup her breasts, squeeze her taut, painfully engorged nipples. Skye arched into him, her body asking for more. Before she could say it, they were in his bed, Zader beneath her. Pulling her head away, she said, “Take me, take what’s yours.”



BIO
J. Hali Steele wishes she could grow fur, wings, or fangs, so she can stay warm, fly, or just plain bite the crap out of... Well, since she can't, she would much rather roam where her fictional big cats live -- in the high desert of California. She enjoys spending time with her sisters and friends who willingly listen to her ramblings about the paranormal world and anything else that goes bump in the night. They're a captive audience, but she promises to untie them soon!

A multi-published author, and a member of RWA (PAN), when J. Hali's not writing, she can be found snuggled in front of the TV with a good book, a cat in her lap, and a cup of coffee.

My favorite saying: Growl and roar--it's okay to let the beast out.-J. Hali Steele


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