There's always something good to read on Cover Reveals: Cover Reveal

Cover & Excerpt

Kristar by D. Renee Bagby
Gezane Universe Book Two

Destined lovers don't always have it easier.

Chigaru is captain of the guard and he loves his queen more than he should. He is loyal to the royal family but knows his desire for one he cannot have is an issue. He needs a woman who will distract him before he commits treason.

Kitty is a classically trained dancer turned stripper. Her life is perfect except for the shadows of her past catching up with her. She needs to get away before she becomes a prisoner of her destiny.

Five years ago, Silny enacted a plan to regain her lost memories. The last piece of the puzzle is Kitty, and Chigaru is the only one who can cross dimensions to retrieve her.

Kitty is not right for his world. Chigaru is not what she expected. They are soul mates, but knowing that might not be enough to overlook their pasts for a future together.

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Content/Theme(s): Interracial, Magic, Alternate dimensions
Release Date: December 10, 2013
Publisher: Siren Bookstrand Publishing

Excerpt & More

Purchase links: Bookstrand Amazon Kobo B&N
Excerpt:
A long soak in the bath turned into a short nap. Kitty woke and found Chigaru sitting on the edge of the tub beside her with his feet in the water and her head resting on his knee. The edge of his loincloth trailed in the water.

He said in a soft voice, “I told you to rest earlier.”

“So you did. I wasn’t tired before. It hit me all at once as soon as I sat in the tub. You’re not tired.”

“I am, but I am trained to push past exhaustion in order to perform my duty.”

“Your duty. How long have you guarded Serenity?”

“Since she was three. I was sent to assassinate her.”

Kitty jerked away from him so she could meet his gaze.

He nodded. “Before Serenity’s marriage to Melchior, bhresyas and humans warred. Their marriage meant an end to that. Many didn’t want the bloodshed to end. Her death would have ensured it continued. I was hired to kill her. I took the job only because I knew how the war restarted, how her mother, Dowager Queen Rhiannon, had been betrothed to Melchior but her father reneged and sent assassins to Melchior instead. I didn’t want such to repeat again. If the warring was to continue, then it didn’t need a false ceasefire.”

“What stopped you?”

“Serenity. Though a small child, Serenity knew me on sight. She knew me to be a bhresya and that she was destined to marry Melchior. Her mother raised her to know her future. Dowager Queen Rhiannon had planned to keep the betrothal, unlike her father. The peace had a chance. I couldn’t be the one to ruin that.” He stopped and smiled. “And Serenity’s smile.”

“I noticed she does smile a lot.”

“Always. Very little can make her stop. Human and bhresya assassins have plagued her all her days and yet she smiles.”

“She’s either an ultra-optimist or psychotic. Take your pick.”

Chigaru laughed. “If you ever chance to see the smile she wears when ordering the death of someone who has wronged her, you will opt for the latter.”

“Good to know. In later news, are we married?”

“You’re my bonded true mate.”

“And that’s not what I asked, is it?”

“Mating transcends marriage.”

“So we’re not married.” Kitty rose in the tub and stepped out. “What does that make us? And don’t say mates.”

“Do you wish to marry me, Kristar?”

“Don’t call me that. And are you asking?”

Chigaru pulled his feet out of the tub and rose from the edge so he could go to one knee. He met her gaze and said, “I am asking in the tradition of your world. Will you marry me?”

“You don’t have a ring.”

“A minor detail that can be fixed at a later time. Will you?”

“Do you want to marry me? We had to bond to save my life. This is different.”

“The bond saved your life, but that isn’t why I did it. Though I denied you—”

“Twice.”

“—you are my soul’s mate. I turned my sword against my king to protect a female who more than deserved death so I could save you. I performed the bond to tie you to my side for the rest of my days and knew unmatched happiness when Silny said no magic could ever separate us.”

“No magic maybe, but a woman can. I’m not Serenity.”

“Nor do I want you to be. You are my Kristar, my true bonded mate.” He held his hand out to her. “I’m asking you to be my wife as well.”

Kitty hesitated. This felt more real to her than the bonding ceremony, more solid. If Chigaru had asked her while they were still on Earth, if he had been a normal dragon from Earth instead of a bhresya from Gezane, would she have said yes?

The thundering of her heart in her ears and the growing urge to run answered her question. She placed her hand on Chigaru’s, almost pulling back when her skin touched his. In a small voce, she said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Chigaru smiled as he rose to his feet.

“Now what?”

He released her hand, grabbed a towel, and wrapped her in it before hugging her against his side.

“What are you doing?”

Chigaru tightened his hold when she would have pushed away from him. “After an accepted proposal comes a wedding.”

“After a bath comes dressing.”

“The towel is enough.”
~~~~~~
Purchase links: Bookstrand Amazon Kobo B&N
Other titles by D. Renee Bagby: