But first, let's find out a little about Guarded Heart and then the nosy questions!
Title: Guarded Heart
Series:
N/A
Author: Anya Breton
Genre: Paranormal erotic romance (MF)
Release
Date: April 18th
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Length: 50,000
Heat
Level: Erotic
Blurb:
Someone is trying to
kill high priest Morgan Seaton, but the last person he wants protecting him is
people-hater Brook Calder—a fellow Water witch from his youth. He values the
witches of his coven too much to put them in danger from her shoot-first-ask-questions-later
methods. But the head of Neptune’s Rangers assures Morgan that Brook is the
best of the best, and attempts on his life are a weekly occurrence, so Morgan
has no choice but to accept the help from the one witch he’s never been able to
persuade.
If they can stop
giving into their scorching desire everywhere—including the back of a limo or
the bathroom floor—he might survive long enough to find out who wants him dead.
Excerpt:
Morgan had barely kept his hands to himself when the Ranger had
joined him and his companions minutes ago. He’d wanted to caress her generous
breasts through the silk until her nipples strained for release. He would have
settled for a hand at her waist. Touching her had become integral to the
success of his evening. That meant Mira had to go.
For her own safety, of course.
Morgan nudged her toward the coat check. “I’ll tell anyone who
asks that you came only because I’d asked and your illness sent you home.”
“What illness? I feel fine.” She dug the heels of her designer
pumps into the gaudy-patterned carpet. “Really, Morgan—”
“It’s too dangerous,” he said for the seventh time, ignoring the
satin fabric beneath his fingers as he pressed her shoulder toward the counter
because acknowledging it would invite comparisons to other satin fabrics.
“Whoever it is would be foolish to try anything at a party,” she
said.
Was that why Brook had let him walk out without her? Thank the
god of the ocean the Ranger couldn’t read his silent irritation that she hadn’t
shackled herself to his hip. Or something a little closer to the center.
Morgan scrubbed a hand over his face. “I was nearly shot. In
public. I’m taking no chances with anyone.”
“But yourself.”
“As I told you. It would be suspicious if I hid away.”
“That’s ridiculous—”
“And whoever it was would take it out on those I care for.” He
hadn’t meant to look Mira in the eye when he spoke the words. No doubt she’d
read it as a soulful gaze—one with far more emotion behind it than he meant to
broadcast. For a Water witch, Mira was obtuse regarding the emotions of others.
But then he had been with her as well.
“Please,” he said with a low sigh. “I take my people’s safety
very seriously.”
“But you don’t take your own seriously.”
“I will. In fact, I shouldn’t be away from Brook for long.”
Mira’s eyes narrowed into fine slivers. The drawing sensation
coincided with what he’d felt from her the moment he’d spotted her dark head of
hair. Jealousy still. Morgan might have assured her there was nothing to
concern herself over. He didn’t.
A part of
him, initially small but quickly widening with disturbing speed, wanted Brook
despite their vast differences. Perhaps because of
them.
“Take care, Mira,” he said in distraction when the line opened
for his assistant to fetch her things. “I’ll call…”
He didn’t
finish his thought because he’d forgotten what it was, if he’d known to begin
with. How could he remember a damn thing when his attention was riveted on her?
How had
Irvin persuaded Brook to dance? And why did the formerly gangly female have to
move with grace foreign to a tomboy? How had she learned to move like that?
Who had taught her?
Never
before had Morgan felt inclined to harm his uncle. But the hand inches below
Brook’s flared hips should have been his, not Irvin’s. And never had he experienced the
urge to drag a woman out by her hair.
The image of his fingers slicing through those spiked, cropped
locks flared in his mind’s eye. He’d let the tips of his digits linger at her
nape until she shivered with desire. Only when he’d drawn a reaction with the
heat of his gaze would he slide the straps of her gown over her bare shoulders.
Morgan’s cock roused when Brook’s gaze met his across the dance
floor. And she shivered. Deliberately he stepped to the wall rather than cut
into their dance. He couldn’t be trusted. Laughable that, considering he was
the most principled male he knew. Brook had always gotten him in the worst
trouble.
His uncle sent a glance over his shoulder. Irvin’s lips quivered
in the mere moment Morgan had seen his face. And then he was bent over Brook’s
figure, whispering in her ear. Morgan’s chest tightened at the sight of them in
the intimate embrace.
Brook jerked her head to the right. A shapely shoulder appeared
beyond Irvin’s frame. As soon as Morgan had seen it, it disappeared behind his
uncle’s body.
Frustration. Hers. He could feel it across the room without an empathic link.
Morgan shot forward in time to hear her protesting.
“He’s a sitting duck alone over there and I don’t want to
dance.”
“You were dancing peacefully while he stroked Mira,” Irvin said
before he realized Morgan was within earshot.
Stroked Mira? Was the male trying to make Brook jealous? Morgan’s gaze
switched to hers, eager to know if it had worked. Her eyes were narrow, but the
emotion he noted when his empathic link snapped into place wasn’t jealousy. No,
it was more irritation.
Brook Lochlan was one giant ball of vexation—a sexy ball in a
slinky gown that left little to the imagination.
But she
wasn’t Brook Lochlan any
longer. How could he have forgotten she’d married?
He knew how. Morgan hadn’t wanted to remember. Lust had made him
stupid.
“May I cut in?” he asked of his uncle now that he’d successfully
iced his baser needs.
“If you must,” Irvin said with stiffness he ordinarily reserved
for their opposition. “We were enjoying each other’s company.”
A glance at Brook merited no assistance. Her plump lips were set
together as they often were, neither thinner nor poutier than normal. She’d
been arguing when he’d arrived. But she wasn’t arguing now even though Irvin
had lied.
Or had Morgan misunderstood what he’d overheard? It would have
been easy, especially given how badly he’d wanted to believe she hadn’t been
enjoying herself.
Still Morgan stepped into their space. Irvin released her waist
and her hand and then moved with a mocking flourish to the left.
“Do try
to enjoy the rest of
the dance.” Irvin’s sardonic emphasis pointed out the fleeting moments left in
the ensemble’s current piece. He sauntered into the crowd without a backward glance.
Morgan’s
attention slipped away, settling upon Brook’s face—her glaring face.
“I was
getting somewhere with him when you interrupted,” she said.
“You were trying to stop dancing when I interrupted.”
“What I
was saying and what I was doing were two different things.”
“You?” Morgan brought his head back to give her a once-over. The
motion was meant to be feigned incredulousness—a mocking gesture she’d surely
understand. Instead, Morgan had noted how the silky fabric of the gown skimmed
her inner thighs far too closely. Lust he’d thought he’d conquered melted his
brief, icy resolve.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she ground out before
recognizing the scene they created. Brook stomped forward in her silver
sandals. She grabbed hold of his hands, setting one to her waist and the other
out to the side, exactly as he should have done.
It was an open invitation to touch her. And touch her he did,
forming his fingers over her firm hip. Her breasts thrust between them, barely
avoiding the brush of his chest. Morgan didn’t allow himself the pleasure of
stepping forward to fix that.
“It means that you don’t like pretending,” he said when she
cleared her throat in noisy impatience. “The old Brook Lochlan wouldn’t have
said one thing and done another.”
“The old
Brook Lochlan wasn’t a Ranger,” she said at a volume the vanilla humans
wouldn’t hear. “She still doesn’t like pretending, but sometimes it’s required
for the job. And what the crap am
I doing speaking about myself in the third person? There is no Brook Lochlan
anymore. There’s only me. Brook Calder.” Her profile swung away—an avoidance tactic.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d be a married woman.”
Brook’s
gaze snapped back, fixing on his probing eyes. Confusion. It wasn’t in her expression but he sensed it in her. He sensed everything—the
frustration, the confusion, the resentment and the desire.
The link
wobbled. Uncertainty. And
then she opened her mouth. “I’m not married.”
Morgan experienced brief relief that he hadn’t been drooling
over a married woman for days. Words tumbled from his mouth he’d not meant to
ask her. “Is that against Ranger rules?”
She gave a mirthless laugh. “No.”
“Were you married?”
“Priest Seaton, the surname is my mother’s. I took it after my
father died. You could have asked instead of fishing.”
“Fishing is what Water witches do best.”
“No, Water witches feel emotions best. And yours are all over
the place. Focus on one. It will help you calm the others.”
“You don’t want me to focus on one, Brook.”
Her head tilted to the right, a weary expression that didn’t fit
what he sensed from her. “You’re just going to have to fight it.”
“What if I don’t want to fight it?” He let his hand slip down
her hip to her derrière. It clenched beneath his palm—a taut, wonderful bit of
muscle he imagined gripping while he plunged into her repeatedly.
And then
his hand headed up when he realized he’d brushed nothing beneath her gown. He searched for the
band, for the line of elastic that had to
circle her hips.
“What are you doing?” came her sharp voice when his fingers
grazed up her hip to her waist.
Morgan leaned forward, setting his lips to her ear. “You wore
panties, Brook, you had to.”
“In this thing? Are you crazy?” She tried to
pull away but he clamped his arms around her waist, holding her where she was.
“I didn’t have anything that wouldn’t show.”
Using her
to hide the erection straining at his tuxedo slacks probably wasn’t the best of
ideas. But it was her
fault. “Neptune’s net, are you trying to
drive me mad?”
“Of course not—”
He inhaled the brisk scent of her skin near his lips, barely
resisting the urge to kiss the tender patch behind her ear. He believed her. It
wasn’t simply that he experienced her indignation.
Brook wouldn’t intentionally try to seduce him. Morgan doubted
she’d know the first thing about making a male lust after her. And that made
him want her more.
“Next time you force me into formalwear, I’ll be sure to wear
panties,” she said breathlessly.
“See that you do, or I guarantee you won’t be in your formalwear
for long.”
Morgan shoved away from her, unable to stand her sweet heat,
firm body and thrilling scent a moment longer. He didn’t look back no matter
how badly he wanted to know if her nipples strained the fabric. Because if he
did, he knew he’d drag her out by the hair exactly as he’d wanted to minutes
earlier.
Now it's time to get to know Anya better, and that means...nosy question time! And also bio and links!
Author
Bio:
Anya Breton is a web monkey with an obsession for nail
polish and rubber chickens. Her fears include Peeps and people who hate clowns.
She lives in the Midwest with her significant other.
Author web links:
Website: http://www.anyabreton.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AnyaBreton
Facebook: http://facebook.com/anyabreton
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/anyabreton
The Questions:
o Do you have any collections?
§ I collect rubber chickens of all sizes. I have little baby, 1 inch long chickens and some larger ones that hang from my rear view mirror. Looking for my car? Just find the chickens!
o Are there any skills you’d like to learn?
§ I’d love to learn how to play stringed instruments like the cello or violin
o What’s your favorite word?
§ dubious
o What’s your least favorite word?
§ aerobics
o What sound do you love?
§ Stringed instruments
o What sound do you hate?
§ Chalkboard
o What’s your favorite curse word?
§ Christ on a cracker
o Dog or cat person?
o Cat
o Buffy, Angel or Firefly?
o Buffy
o Morning or night person?
o Night
o Introvert or Extrovert?
o Introvert
o What do you like best about writing?
o Creating the characters and endings I want.
o What do you like least?
o Marketing
o Do you have a day job aside from writing?
o Unfortunately, yes. I do web stuff.
Book Related Questions
1. I'm always interested in the world building involved in paranormal stories. What can you tell us about Neptune's Rangers?
a. When building my world, I decided I needed more roles in the magical community than just regular witches and their leaders (priests/priestesses). So I came up with Clerics, Rangers, and Cleaners (borrowing a few D&D terms :D).
Rangers are badass private security. They only appear when called on. They can root out the bad element, provide protection, and even punish those who broke the rules. I envisioned Rangers for each “school” of magic. However, Rangers might work with any flavor of witch.
2. Are there any characters in this book (or any other book) that you strongly identify with, and why?
a. I identify with Brook. I become more cynical every year ;)
3. Are there other books in this series either released or upcoming? Do/Will they deal with the other elements?
a. I have several books that take place in this same world as Guarded Heart. So in that, it’s kind of like a series. The other Ellora’s Cave books feature Air witches. My Sorceress urban fantasy series features the heads of all the covens. And Fire & Flame is a story about Fire witches.
4. What draws you to writing about magic users in general and these characters in particular?
a. It’s not so much the magic that I like writing about. It’s the society built around it. I’ve created several layers of prejudice, obligation, and even class distinction. I like being able to play with these themes outside of the society we actually live in.
5. Bonus question: I see you're a nail polish junkie, and this fellow junkie wants to know what your favorite brands are.
a. I have so many bottles of polish by different brands (Julep, Essie, China Glaze, etc) but the ORLY bottles end up getting used more than any of the others. So I’d say they’re my favorite J For decent, super cheap polish, I’d go with Color Show by Maybelline. You can get those for $3 or less.
