The Tempering
Mackenzie Duncan Series #1
Adrianne James
Genre: NA Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Star Bound Books
Date of Publication: 9/13/2013
ISBN: 0615879748
ASIN: B00F52ZXUK
Number of pages: 320
Word Count: 69K
Cover Artist: Gonet Design
Book Description:
The Mythology department at
prestigious Harvard University is tiny—and Mackenzie Duncan has just been
selected as one of the lucky few. Her love for myths and legends is deep, but
she never thought any of it could be real.
After being attacked by a large
wolf while walking home alone, Mackenzie realizes something is not right. She
heals quickly, has suddenly become super strong, and is experiencing mood
swings that can't possibly be normal. The myths she's studying aren't myths at
all. Werewolves are real, and she's one of them. Fear of what she is, and who
she might hurt sends Mackenzie running from the life she’s worked hard to
build–and straight into the arms of a handsome Were named Geoff and into the
home of his pack. Living with her new pack takes the edge off her confusion and
self-loathing, but the arrival of new pack members changes the dynamic, and
tests Geoff and Mackenzie’s growing relationship.
The hardest part of being a
werewolf is to have no control and no memory of her time as a bloodthirsty
beast. When a moon cycle passes, and she is actually able to remember bits and
pieces of the night, she starts to ask questions, and the more questions she
asks, the more she realizes she doesn’t like the answers. Can she set aside her
own sense of morals to belong to a pack that is like a family or will she leave
everything behind yet again in search of a life she can be proud of?
Excerpt:
Geoff’s grin was
too damn cute. Mackenzie hated that it was so damn cute. She couldn’t
understand why he had that affect on her. Most of the time, she welcomed it,
but dammit, she was supposed to be mad at him.
“Uh huh.”
“You want to
talk about what happened earlier?”
“You want to
apologize?”
“Me? I don’t
think I was the one who did anything wrong. I have told you before, if there is
ever going to be you and me, and I really do want there to be, we have to take
things slow. I know that your humanity is so recent that a few weeks time seems
like forever when your hormones are in overdrive, but really, it’s nothing.”
“Oh, right. I’m
the one to blame. I am twenty years old! I’m not a virgin, so why the hell
should I have to go back to celibacy because Margret told you to take things
slow? Is she in charge of your body? No one sure as hell told me that rule. And
it’s not as if I tried to jump your bones right there! I kissed you. I didn’t
even use tongue. All you had to do was not push me away. A peck, that’s all it would
have been. But keeping up your golden boy routine is so much more important
than embarrassing me in front of everyone.”
“Do you really
think it would have been just a peck?” Geoff took a giant step forward, coming
face to face with her. So close, she could feel the heat radiating off his skin
and smell his grassy scent. Every nerve ending was on high alert as his words
washed over her. “If you think I could stop with just a peck, you are
mistaken.”
“Is that right?
All you have ever managed to do was ogle me or hold my hand. Prove me wrong.”
Mackenzie spoke with such confidence. She knew she was pushing him, but if it
got his lips on hers, she was all for it.
“Mackenzie,” he
growled out. His eyes were fierce and the caramel brown color caught the light in
such a way that had her transfixed. If she had been able to look anywhere else,
she would have seen him wet his lips ever so slightly.
She couldn’t
even form words in response, only a growl escaped her. Before she knew what was
happening, Geoff had his hands in her hair, gripping tightly as he pulled their
bodies together and smashed his lips against hers.
With a racing
heart and flaming skin, Mackenzie pressed herself closer to him. Her hands
began to explore the contours of his back and found their way under his shirt.
She needed to feel his skin on hers. Geoff walked them backwards, never
removing his grip on her or his lips from hers, insistent on tasting every inch
of her mouth. When the counter dug into her back, she pulled away slightly,
just long enough to take a breath and hop up, allowing Geoff the room to stand
between her legs and press himself more firmly against her .
Instead of
waiting for Geoff to initiate the kiss again, she pulled him in fiercely. The
moment his tongue touched the tip of her lip, she opened wide to him. Their
tongues tangled together as his hands explored every inch of her body he could
reach. Moaning into his mouth, Mackenzie rocked her hips forward, encouraging
him. He thrust back into her with every movement. She had never felt as alive
as she did in that moment.
Geoff let his
lips wander away from hers, kissing along her jaw, nipping the skin over to her
ear, suckling her earlobe, and then trailing kisses along her neck. Mackenzie
pulled her hands from his back to his chest, running her nails along his skin
the whole way. His skin erupted in goose bumps under her touch.
Mackenzie
gripped the bottom of his shirt and ripped it from his body, letting the
tattered cloth remains drop to the floor. She retreated so she could take in
his beauty and was met with a steely glare. Geoff took a deep breath and two
steps back, leaving her sitting on the counter breathing heavily in a
lust-filled stupor.
“I told you I
wouldn’t be able to stop at just a simple kiss. You didn’t believe me.
Mackenzie, this cannot happen yet. There are reasons we must wait that I cannot
tell you. I’m sorry. You know I want to. God, you know I do. But this cannot
happen again. We have to prove to everyone that we are more than just
lust-filled Weres.”
“Are you
seriously telling me you have never had sex? Not once?” She couldn’t believe
they were having the conversation. He was two hundred and forty years old, for
crying out loud. And a man!
“Of course, I
have, but I was mated. She died in one of the pack wars.” Instantly feeling
like a jackass, Mackenzie hopped off the counter and went straight to him.
Placing her hands on his chest and looking up into his eyes, she could tell
that he was telling her the truth. Why would he lie about that?
“Oh, Geoff. I didn’t
know. Why didn’t you tell me? How long has it been?” Mackenzie realized that
everything made sense. His standoffishness, his ridiculous no touching rules,
his fear of commitment.
“It was a long
time ago. Henrietta died over a hundred years ago.”
“That is a long
time. So no sex in a hundred years?” Geoff gave her a little laugh before
removing her hands from him and walking to the refrigerator.
“Not with
another Werewolf. I am a male, Mack. Human or not, we do need something more
often than once a century.” Instantly irritated again, she huffed. So it wasn’t
the act that was out, it was the act with someone he actually had a future
with.
“Uh huh. So
while I am waiting around, if you get horny, you just go out and find some
human girl? What about me, huh? What if I get an itch I need scratched? Do I
get to go out, too?” Mackenzie could see his entire body stiffen. He didn’t
like that one bit, but she honestly didn’t care.
“As much as I
don’t like it, if we are not dating, I have no say in what or who you do, now
do I?” Taking the milk from the fridge and drinking directly from the jug
before putting it back, he turned to her again and said, “You know that I think
we could be good together. It’s up to you if you want to wait for me or not.”
Mackenzie stood
there and watched him walk out the door.
About
the Author:
Growing up, Adrianne couldn't get
her hands on enough books to satisfy her need for the make believe. If she
finished a novel and didn't have a new one ready and waiting for her, she began
to create her own tales of magic and wonder. Now, as an adult, books still make
up majority of her free time, and now her tales get written down to be shared
with the world.
During the day, Adrianne uses her
camera to capture life's stories for clients of all ages and at night, after
her two children are tucked in bed; she devotes herself to her written work.
Adrianne is living the life she always wanted, surrounded by art and beauty,
the written word and a loving family.
As a young adult and new adult
author, Adrianne James has plans to bring stories of growing characters, a
little romance, and perhaps a little magic and mythology down the line for her
readers to enjoy.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888815.Adrianne_James
Interview:
I would like to thank author Adrianne James for stopping by today to tell us a little about herself and her works.
Who is your favorite author and what is it
that really strikes you about their work?
I think this is one of
the hardest questions I get asked. I like different authors and different books
for such varied reasons that picking a favorite is near impossible for me. So
how about I give you a few of the authors I love and reasons why, instead of
just one.
JK Rowling. Just her name brings feelings of awe and inspiration. Not only
did she bring us Harry Potter (arguably one of the best fantasy series of all
time, not just in children’s books, but all books) but she managed to turn her
life completely around with nothing more than her imagination and dedication to
her story.
Orson Scott Card. His Ender series was the first, and probably
only, Sci-fi series I ever read. He has a way of writing that draws you in no
matter if it’s a type of book you would typically read or not. It was so good
that I went searching for other books by him. I found and fell in love with Card’s
Alvin Maker series. That one was MUCH more my typical genre and it is to this
day a series I can read over and over again without being bored or flipping
pages. That is huge for me.
Charlaine Harris. The woman brought us the Sookie Stackhouse
series. The books are a million and one times better than the show created
after them, True Blood, but damn is it nice to see Eric naked on screen. But
besides that, Mrs. Harris wrote a series called the Harper Connelly series that
made me think about paranormal in a completely different way. She was able to
create a whole new type of paranormal, at least one I had never read, and made
it believable. That is true talent.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
This is a hard one for
me. For me, there is always a reason for the block and the only way to overcome
it, is to get to the root of the problem. For a month after my brother passed I
couldn’t write. I would just stare at the screen and the little flashing cursor
would mock me. I had to deal with my grief, deal with my guilt for things I had
no control over, and remember how much my writing was praised by my brother.
Once I dealt with my own issues, I was able to write again. It’s not always
such a deep issue, thank goodness, but writer’s block usually stems from
something besides the actual writing itself.
Can you share a little of your current work
with us?
At this exact moment,
I am working on my Christmas Freebie. Every year I write a Christmas inspired
short story that I give away to my readers. I love Christmas and all the warm
fuzzy feelings that it always brings out in me, that I want to give that same feeling
back to my readers. This year I did a series of polls to let my readers chose
who the heroine, hero, and heat level would be. I felt like that would make it
our short story instead of mine. Once this is done, it will be full steam ahead
on my NaNaWriMo novel, a contemporary romance releasing next year.
What book are you reading now?
Right now I am reading
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU. This time of year I read a lot of holiday
books. Christmas is my favorite time of year and I start in on the stories and
movies early. If I wouldn’t drive my husband crazy I would start the Christmas
music on November 1st.
What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or
ebooks?
This answer has veried
over the years. Right now, I love ebooks. I love being able to read and support
fellow indie authors. I have found a ton of great new authors and until book
stores get off their high horses and start shelving indie titles, I will stick
with ebooks. I do love a good paper back and have a million lying around my
house. I have so many physical books that I have run out of room for them. But
books are like treasure to me and I can’t imagine ever getting rid of them. I
will have a library one day and when I have the room for it, I will already
have the books to fill those shelves :D
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your
readers?
I want to say thank
you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love every ounce of feedback I
get and truly appreciate each and every one of you.
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