Books & Spoons Excerpt: Witches Be Burned by Stacey Kennedy

15/5/2015

Witches Be Burned
Magic & Mayhem # 2
By: Stacey Kennedy
Releasing May 19th, 2015
Loveswept

In Stacey Kennedy’s steamy paranormal romance novel, a rookie guardian sworn to combat the undead risks life and love in a world of violence, witchcraft, and seduction.

Nexi Jones has lost her family, she’s been stripped of her guardian duties, and she’s still learning the ins and outs of white magic. At least she has Kyden, the smoldering hot elite guardian who’s been there for her every step of the way. But just as Nexi completes her training, tragedy strikes the Otherworld when a fellow guardian is murdered by a group of rogue vampires. Ready or not, she and Kyden trek into the Earthworld to hunt down a killer—and Nexi alone will be put to the ultimate test.

Although Kyden knows that Nexi must fight her own battles, his guardian instincts are raging as he struggles to keep her close. The ruthlessness of these vampires is like nothing he’s ever seen. And at their helm is the Black Witch Astoria, a demon with one burning desire: to shed Nexi’s blood in the name of vengeance. What troubles Kyden even more, though, is the warlock who covets Nexi’s heart. Let the devil do his worst . . . all Kyden can do is love and protect Nexi until his last breath.

His eyes blazed, red-hot. “You could die.”
“You’re right, I could, and so could you.” She softened her voice, hoping to improve his mood. “There’s always the possibility of that, but I can’t live in fear.”
A pause. Then, “You make me live in fear.”
The haunted look crossing his face flooded her with a coldness that neither Kyden nor the warm bathwater could ease. Lazarus had created this—and she wished she would’ve made his death more painful, or at least longer than the few seconds it took her to kill him with her magic.
“I can’t stay in the Otherworld forever and do nothing,” she admitted to him, hoping honesty would help him understand her position. “It feels good to finally get back out there—to be doing something other than mourning everyone I lost. Just as you take pride in working for the Council, so do I.” The line between his brows deepened, the refusal right there on his lips, but she added for good measure, “I need you to support me, not grumble at me.”
More silence. Then, “I dislike these human conversations you subject me to. It’s ridiculous.”
She shrugged, not knowing what else to do. What could she say? She had been raised human. In the Otherworld, she’d noticed that some of the men were still stuck in the middle ages. They liked beating their chests and protecting what was theirs or mine, as they called it. Well, Nexi lived in modern times, and she would make damn sure no one forgot that fact. Her adoptive mortal parents hadn’t raised her to sit down and shut up, they’d raised her to stand up and fight.
Kyden stared at her. Right through her. Right into the depths of her soul. “That’s what you need of me? To support you?”
“Yes, that’s what I want.” Then she threw on the big finale that would push him past his domineering ways. “That’s what would make me happy.”
With his eyes instantly amused, he snorted a laugh. “You are too damn smart for your own good. You know this, right?” At her shameless grin and nod, he added, “Promise me this: If we fight, we fight together as we did tonight. Don’t be a hero. Don’t save someone else to the point that it puts you in grave danger. Promise me that will you think of your life before anyone else’s.”
She rolled her eyes, fully understanding—she often acted to save the ones she loved before she saved herself. But she was a guardian and she loved people, and that included being a brash fool at times in the fight against evil. “I promise I won’t put myself in unnecessary danger.”
His features went all stormy in the way they did when he was in Elite Guardian mode. “That’s not good enough.”
“Okay,” she said, rethinking, and quickly added, “I promise not to think I’m invincible. Plus, I won’t go jumping into a dangerous case on my own and will wait for backup. Better?”
“Yes,” he replied with a nod, shifting himself beneath her and sending the bubbles popping around them. “That will do.”
It took only a split second to realize that the position he was getting himself into would take her to places that didn’t involve talking. All the tension vanished from his expression in a millisecond and his grin turned downright sinful, making her ache between her thighs. The warmth of the water around her embraced her as he trailed his hands along her back and said, “Now, enough talking about how the fact that I want to keep you safe is a bad thing. Come here. I must punish you.”

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Meet the author

Stacey Kennedy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Club Sin series. Growing up, Stacey’s mind wandered the path less traveled, and that path most often led to love. She has always broken rules and she continues to feed off emotion—always staying true to her heart. Those traits are now the bones of her stories. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who puts any of the heroes in her books to shame, and their two young children. If she’s not on Mom duty or plugging away at a new story, you’ll find Stacey camping in the summer, hibernating in the winter, and obsessing over Penny Dreadful, Game of Thrones, and Sons of Anarchy.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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