j. leigh bailey is making her clubhouse debut today to promote her new Dreamspun Beyond novel, Stalking Buffalo Bill! See our 5 heart review HERE!
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Exclusive Excerpt
“Yeah,
these guys—who gave me chills, by the way—stopped by the café and wanted to
know if we’d seen you. They were evil. I mean, to the core. And they definitely
weren’t from around here.”
He
reached out and gripped my shoulder. “What did they look like?”
“Like
a couple of thugs in an amateur production of Oklahoma.”
At
his blank look, I gave him a more specific description of the weirdos. Then I
told him what I’d seen. “So, Mafia Hit Man is out there right now, looking for
you. And you stood there, a hulking target, just begging to be caught.”
Now
that the adrenaline had started to fade, I needed to focus on anything other
than the fact that I was naked. In front of the man of my dreams. Alone. It was
an even split on whether I was feeling more awkward or horny. Given the
situation, horny seemed inappropriate, so I searched the shelves for something
to cover myself with. “So what are we going to do?”
“We?
This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“Excuse
me? I just raced through town to save your ass. Of course it concerns me.” I pulled
out a supersized garbage bag. It might have worked, except the plastic was
clear. I tossed it aside, then continued my search.
“I
appreciate the warning,” he said, “but you need to stay out of this.”
I
squatted to sort through some boxes in the corner.
“What
are you looking for?” He sounded exasperated. Good.
“I
need to cover my junk if we’re going to have this conversation.” I glanced over
my shoulder to see him. “I can’t exactly be caught running around campus naked,
can I? I did that once, and it didn’t turn out well. Too much tequila at a full-moon
party. Never a good idea.”
Grumbling
under his breath, William pulled off the oatmeal-colored sweater I’d fantasized
about earlier. He had a white T-shirt on underneath. He threw the sweater at
me. I caught it, clutching the soft wool to my chest. It was still warm from
his body heat, and I had to forcibly restrain myself from breathing in his
scent from the material.
“Well?”
He stared at me.
“What?”
Despite my intentions, I inhaled and let the aroma of green grass, sagebrush,
and herbs flood me.
“Put
it on. We can’t spend all day in the closet.”
I
snickered. “I never did like closets. I came out of mine years ago.”
He
shook his head, then cracked open the door to peek out. Clearly he wasn’t
amused at my little joke. I shrugged into the sweater, and the hem fell to my
knees. Damn, he was big. Was he a bear shifter, maybe? That could account for
the size. Not that there was always a direct correlation between human size and
shifter size. Take me, for example. I’m pretty average-sized for a man—a couple
of inches under six feet—but I shift into a forty-five-pound coyote. Still, I
couldn’t picture him as a ferret or anything small like that.
“I
think we’re clear.” William pushed the door open, then took two steps out. The
acrid scent of Mafia Hit Man crashed into me, followed by the sound of a door
slamming.
“Shit,
it’s him.” I grabbed William’s arm and tugged him back into the custodian’s
closet. I’m not sure what I would have done if he hadn’t cooperated; no way
could I move him if he didn’t want to be moved. I pulled the door shut behind
us, then shut the light off in the little room, just in case it glowed through
the gap under the door.
“Are
you sure it’s him?”
I
stared at him. “Believe me, there’s no mistaking the stench.”
His
nose wrinkled. “Yeah, it’s distinctive, all right.” He leaned his head against
the door, as though trying to hear through it.
I
didn’t need to press against the door to know that Mafia Hit Man was making his
way down the corridor, opening doors to check rooms. It was only a matter of
time before he reached our end of the hall.
A
door slammed. It couldn’t be more than a few rooms away. Mafia Hit Man was
close.
If
we left, we’d get caught. If we didn’t leave, we’d get caught. Those didn’t
seem like very good options. I scanned the closet, looking for inspiration.
William
crossed his arms over his massive chest, and inspiration struck. I was going to
get a chance to climb him like a mountain after all.
“Take
off your shirt.”
Blurb
Stalking Buffalo Bill—A Shifter U Tale
A smitten coyote isn’t the only one stalking Buffalo Bill.
A buffalo walks into a cafe. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but for coyote shifter Donnie Granger, it’s the beginning of an obsession. Donnie is a little hyperactive and a lot distractible, except when it comes to William. He finally works up the nerve to approach William but is interrupted by a couple of violent humans.
While William—don’t call me Bill—is currently a professor, he once worked undercover against an international weapons-trafficking ring. Before he can settle into obscurity, he must find out who leaked his location and eliminate the thugs. He tries keeping his distance to protect Donnie, but the wily coyote won’t stay away.
It’ll take both Donnie’s skills as a stalker—er, hunter—and William’s super-spy expertise to neutralize the threat so they can discover if an excitable coyote and a placid-until-pissed buffalo have a future together.
About the Shifter U Series
A fun, male/male take on shapeshifter romance, the Shifter U stories include characters who shapeshift into more than the average apex predator. Sure, there are wolves, tigers, and bear shifters, but there are also coyotes, owls, beavers, bison, and more.
All books in the series center around Cody College, located on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, where the occasionally furry have a safe place to further their education. Affectionately known as Shifter U, the school offers shapeshifting students a “special track” which gives them the chance to learn important subjects like mathematics, philosophy, and, most importantly, how to hide their secret identity from local humans.
Maintaining secret identities is tough. Dark secrets, old enemies, mythical heritage, and a mysterious illness challenge the stealth skills of even the sneakiest students and staff. While these shifters struggle to handle their type of “normal,” thorny complications of attraction pop up—always at the worst possible times.
Author Bio
j.
leigh bailey is an office drone by day and the author of Young Adult and New
Adult LGBT Romance by night. She can usually be found with her nose in a book
or pressed up against her computer monitor. A book-a-day reading habit
sometimes gets in the way of... well, everything...but some habits aren't worth
breaking. She's been reading romance novels since she was ten years old. The last
twenty years or so have not changed her voracious appetite for stories of
romance, relationships and achieving that vitally important Happy Ever After.
She's a firm believer that everyone, no matter their gender, age, sexual
orientation or paranormal affiliation deserves a happy ending. For upcoming
releases and appearances information, sign up for her newsletter at https://t.co/FfL9gFVJLQ.
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I’ll be giving away a signed copy of my gay YA action/adventure novel DO-GOODER (US only) or a digital copy of one of the contemporary New Adult m/m romance titles in my Letting Go series (open internationally) to a random commenter who tells me: What’s your favorite kind of paranormal romance? Is there a specific “supernatural” element you just love? Contest ends September 7th Midnight EST.
