Title: Crimson Cove
Author: Eden Butler
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: December 31, 2015
Author: Eden Butler
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: December 31, 2015
Synopsis
Ten years ago Janiver stole a kiss from the meanest boy
in school.
He never forgot.
Senior year.
One minute before the tardy bell rang, Bane Illes would
slip through the door.
He never smiled.
He never spoke.
Each day, that dark, dangerous boy gave Janiver Benoit a
glance. And when she could not take another quiet stare, or the warmth that look sent over her skin,
she took from Bane something he’d never give freely—one lingering, soul knocking kiss.
Ten years later, her family needs her, and Janiver will
have to face the one person she promised herself she’d never see again.
The dangerous wizard that might make leaving Crimson
Cove the last thing she wants to do.
Crimson Cove -
Excerpt
A small breeze picked up against the water and I closed
my eyes, trying to push back the sensation of longing I felt when Bane’s scent lingered in the air. Did the
lines push us together or some other mystical force draw us closer despite the expectations laid at both
our feet? I had no clue where that inclination came from, didn’t much care, if I was being honest. But
out here under the bright moon, with the lines humming behind us and Bane standing close enough that
I could feel the heat of his body, nearly feeling the whisper of his breath on the back of my neck, that
closeness felt like a weight I thought I’d dropped years ago.
It never left you, the lines sang, and in my mind I
imagined that tone was a bit smug.
Still, it wasn’t wrong. But it was pointless. The truth was
useless when reality serves up a generous helping of impossibility. Which made Bane’s closeness and
that gravitational pull of him almost impossible to ignore.
At my side, the wizard kept his attention on the sky and,
possibly, on that quick, steady buzz of magic pulsing from the lines. Bane closed his eyes, tilting back his
head to give his face to the moon as though the beams of light warmed his skin. He was so ruggedly
beautiful, so impossible to resist that I had to remind myself we weren’t alone, the others would likely
notice if I stood there staring at him helplessly for so long. But before I brought my attention away from
those sharp features and the subtle, soft hint of stubble along his jaw, Bane grinned, a slow, amused
twitch of his mouth and then he glanced at me as though he found it the height of funny to catch me
gawking.
͞Your eyes are telling secrets, Jani.͟
͞Hardly,͟ I tried forcing an eye roll I didn’t mean. Bane
wasn’t buying it. He didn’t seem overly concerned that the others stood some distance from us or that
Cari or her bored brother were likely spying on us. Bane, in fact, somehow stood closer, arms crossed so
that his elbow brushed against my bicep.
͞It doesn’t mean anything, you know.͟
͞What doesn’t?͟ My question came out too quickly, the
words too clipped as he inched closer. He liked to torture me, I knew that, but I’d never seen him enjoy
dolling at that torture so openly.
͞The attraction you feel.͟ Bane shot his thumb over his
shoulder. ͞The lines, the raw feel of them—without the Elam they aren’t buffered and we are all feeling
it.͟ He nodded grinning as two witches snuck off into the forest alone. ͞It’s in our nature, Jani. The lines
unhindered, raw, they just bring it from us.͟ He’d drank whiskey from a canteen he edged out of his
pocket. The rich hint of it came off his breath when he stepped closer. It made my fingers shake. Bane
was easily five inches taller than me and as he crowded closer, he used that height to his advantage with
his breath fanning over the top of my head and his chest touching my back. ͞They’ll only get stronger.͟ It
wasn’t anything I hadn’t already guessed, but that claim coming from him, with that air of seduction in
his tone, made me realize, finally, what that might mean. Uninhibited magic influencing every magical
creature; no voice of reason to temper our behavior should we get too close. God help me, I’d cave, and
from how eager Bane was to get close to me, I had a feeling that’s exactly what he
wanted.
͞What is it about you, Jani?͟
He’d said my name like that once, right after he’d
confessed he wasn’t sure what I wanted. But one look, one real, honest examination of my expression
and Bane had guessed. I wanted him, and my name falling from his mouth in that throaty, eager whisper
was all it had taken to unravel my hesitation.
My fingers rubbing against my eyelids, another breath
against the top of my head and the sweet, warm bourbon scent brought my awareness away from the
never-dimming desire to kiss him. He was twisting magic, working me over on purpose. Bane let the
lines take him over, just a bit. His control was waning as he moved his fingers through the ends of my
hair.
͞You’re more open out here, this close to the lines, aren’
t you?͟
͞We all are,͟ I told him, curling my arms around my
waist like I could really protect myself from him.
͞They’ll get stronger,͟ he said, taking one wavy strand of
hair off my shoulder to curl around his finger. ͞They’ll get stronger and you’ll want to lose control.͟
Eyes closed tight, I saw what that loss of control would
look like. Something erotic and inappropriate involving that large wizard behind me and lots and lots of
fallen red maple leaves sticking to our naked skin.
I blinked, stepped out of his reach to block that
imaginary scenario. ͞That is not going to happen.͟
͞Why not?͟ he asked, moving in front of me, keeping me
from retreating further away from him.
I arched an eyebrow and smiled. ͞Why do you think, Mr.
Iles?͟
His shoulders fell and the tension crowded around his
features again when my small words pushed reality right back into his mind. One low grunt and Bane
turned his head, attention back on the crowd in the clearing. ͞You know how to ruin a moment, don’t
you?͟
͞Was that a moment?͟ I teased, trying not to laugh
when Bane started working his jaw.
His gaze flashed back at me and some of that irritation
lessened the severity of his expression. ͞Could have been.͟
Sometimes Bane let a little emotion—real emotion that
has nothing to do with teasing or trying to bate me into a reaction—pass in his eyes. I saw it just then. It
was sincerity, maybe a little longing, but I couldn’t stop and give it much weight. How could I when that
would lead to nothing but disappointment?
I cleared my throat, bringing my eyes down to the
ground where I kicked a rock with the tip of my boot. ͞I don’t think your fiancé would have appreciated
any moments you might have wanted with me.͟
͞Probably not,͟ he said and the humor in his voice was
forced, as though he’d noticed the real emotion had snuck in for a moment and he needed to tamp it
down quickly. Bane put back on that dominant, in-control mask and moved his head, trying to catch my
eye. ͞But that doesn’t mean they won’t happen anyway.͟
͞That’s a little selfish of you, don’t you think?͟ When he
squinted at me as though he were confused, I clarified. ͞You engaging with moments not reserved for
the witch you’re supposed to marry.͟
͞Maybe, but you know, Miss Benoit, I’m not married
yet.͟ He stepped even closer, bringing my hair back between his fingers. ͞And when the right moments
come, I generally don’t care who they’re with.͟
It was a lie, one that I saw clearly through his arrogant
demeanor. But Bane walked away from me then, looking back only once as though he wanted me to see
the promise in his expression with the low glance of his eyes over my body and that thick bottom lips
between his teeth. That expression, that promise he gave, was a challenge he wanted me to take. But as
he climbed back up the hill and greeted several of members of the Birmingham coven, I knew the
challenge would be unmatched. Just like us, it’d be the game I’d refuse to play with him.
About Eden
Butler
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult
Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God
English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult,
Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, ͞Chasing Serenity͟ launched in October 2013 and quickly became an
Amazon bestseller.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden edits, reads
and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.
She is currently imprisoned under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.
Please send help.
Enter the
Giveaway
The following goodies are up for grabs and are open
internationally!
- (3) eBook copy of Crimson Cove
- (1) $20 gift card from Amazon or B&N, winner's choice
