Jenn Burke is here today with an excerpt from her new Dreamspun Beyond Cracky Fluff, The Gryphon King's Consort (see our tag team review HERE) & she's offering up $25 in DSP store credits to TWO lucky people! Good luck!
Excerpt from The Gryphon King’s Consort
Thanks so much to Boy Meets Boy for having me today! I thought I’d share an excerpt from The Gryphon King’s Consort that takes place right after Luca’s coronation and his subsequent marriage to Eirian. It’s just a little spicy. Hope you enjoy!
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“Shh.” Luca leaned in, and his nose brushed Eirian’s cheek as he inhaled deeply. “You smell so good.”
“Do I?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
The subtle vibration of Luca’s hum tickled Eirian’s skin and brought a moan to his lips. He closed his eyes and willingly tumbled into the dark abyss of delicious tension that pinged between their bodies. Beneath the ornate robe, he grew hard with want. He couldn’t tell if Luca was as well—damn their formal clothing—but the way Luca subtly rotated his hips, and then not so subtly, suggested he was.
“You didn’t want me last night,” Eirian reminded him breathlessly.
“You weren’t mine last night.”
“You don’t own me.”
Luca hummed again. “And yet you’re mine nonetheless.”
Oh Hades, whatever. Eirian couldn’t string together a suitable or coherent argument at the moment—but they would revisit it.
“I hadn’t—” Eirian gasped as Luca’s movements rubbed against his erection. So good and yet not enough. “I hadn’t expected—”
“You thought this would be business only,” Luca murmured in his ear and followed the word with a lick that sent electricity shooting through Eirian’s limbs.
“Yes… but after last night, I thought maybe not.”
“I’ve never been interested in a consort in title only,” Luca said, his voice low. He continued to speak, punctuating each sentence with a kiss to Eirian’s neck. “I want a full partner. Someone to stand beside me as I rule—as we rule—but also someone to share my bed, my body, my life.”
Eirian let his head fall back against the door. His thoughts scattered as Luca nipped gently at his neck. With effort he herded them into some sort of order. “We probably should have discussed this last night instead of playing chase.”
“I hinted.”
That surprised a soft chuckle out of Eirian. “Hints are not enough.”
“Shall we make that our third rule?”
“What about rules one and two?”
“First tell me what you want from this. From us.” Luca drew back to look into Eirian’s eyes as though he were ready to judge the truthfulness of Eirian’s response.
“I… had hoped we could be friends.” Eirian had worried that hope would not be fulfilled, particularly after their disastrous first meeting. The quiet time in the solar seemed to have mended some of that unfortunate initial impression—or so Eirian hoped—and then there was the game they’d enjoyed, and the teasing after. So… perhaps?
Luca’s lips curved in an encouraging smile. “I would like that.”
“I don’t expect that it will happen tonight or next week or even next year, but eventually….”
“Eventually,” Luca agreed. “And sharing my bed?”
“Yes,” Eirian answered too quickly. He reached up to fiddle with his glasses as his cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I mean… I would be amenable.”
“Is that what you were last night? Amenable?” Luca smirked.
“No….” Eirian drew out the word. “I think perhaps a better description would be eager. Or overeager. Needy, even.”
Luca threw his head back and laughed. The sound did wonderful things to Eirian’s stomach. “Well, in that case, I think for rule one….” He shifted and turned his attention to the other side of Eirian’s neck. “That’s obvious. We must both sleep naked.”
It was Eirian’s turn to laugh. Something warm spread through his chest, intensifying his physical need for Luca. At the same time, strangely, the sensation calmed his need and made it less panicked. He never dreamed Luca would have such an engaging sense of humor. “An obvious rule for a king and his consort. I agree,” he said, still smiling. “And rule two?”
“You should supply that one.”
Eirian regarded Luca. He wanted to keep the lighthearted tone of their conversation, but he also wanted to illustrate that what Luca had said—what he wanted—truly resonated with Eirian.
“Touches,” Eirian said. “Rule two is that we’re allowed to touch each other whenever we like. A kiss on the cheek, a hug—”
“Groping?”
Eirian snorted. “In private, yes, please.”
“I acquiesce to your rule,” Luca said with a sly smile.
“Then touch me, my king.”
The Gryphon King’s Consort
Love takes flight.
The sudden death of the Gryphon King throws the kingdom of Mythos into uncertainty, and Crown Prince Luca rushes both his coronation and an arranged marriage to a man he’s never met. Eirian is young and idealistic, and while they both want what’s best for their people, their philosophies couldn’t be more different. While Luca believes in honoring tradition, Eirian is determined to infuse modern values into their kingdom of magical creatures. When given the choice between loyalty to his husband and his own crusade, Eirian makes a decision that might doom their marriage.
Still, Luca is committed to making their union work, and that means forgiving his brash consort. But when Eirian becomes the target of a deadly conspiracy, Luca must act fast—or forever lose the chance to explore their burgeoning love.
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Jenn Burke
Jenn Burke has loved out-of-this-world romance since she first read about heroes and heroines kicking butt and falling in love as a preteen. Now that she’s an author, she couldn’t be happier to bring adventure, romance, and sexy times to her readers.
Jenn is the author of The Gryphon King’s Consort from Dreamspinner Press and the co-author of the critically acclaimed Chaos Station science fiction romance series (with Kelly Jensen) from Carina Press. She’s also the author of Her Sexy Sentinel, a paranormal romance from Entangled Publishing.
She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian on social media, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.
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Such a fun excerpt!
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