Jungle Heat
Amazon Chronicles, Book 1
Sarah Mäkelä
Sarah Mäkelä
Genre: Shifter Romance
Publisher: Kissa Press LLC
Date of Publication: September 17, 2014
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Book
Description:
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An Amazon
Princess and a weretiger must find love enough to heal their peoples’ painful
history.
The Amazon Rainforest still contains a few
secrets. One of these secrets is a hidden village of women whose history is
filled with the horror of conquering men.
Adara Rukan, princess of the Amazons, ventures
away from her village to find something waiting for her. Andrei "Rei"
Makarov is a weretiger and a biologist on assignment. Can Rei and Adara find
love enough to bridge their two separate worlds?
Excerpt:
Adara
raced over the dense forest floor, trying to escape the shadow closing on her
heels. Fear pumped adrenaline through her body as she ran toward her village
through the darkness. Panic tangled with the sheer need to survive. If only I'd
listened. What was I thinking, coming out alone?
She shot
a glance over her shoulder. Her foot smacked against a tree root in the moment
of distraction, pitching her body forward. The fall came in slow motion.
Cursing
under her breath, she rolled onto her back. Dry leaves clung to her blonde
hair. The subtle, musty scent of slow rot rose from the rich soil, mixed with
something coming from behind her. The dark shadow loomed. Her gaze rose to take
in her pursuer, wondering if the beast would be her doom.
The
tall, broad-shouldered creature towered over her. Watching. It wasn't human or
animal. The village wise woman had warned her of beings like this, but they'd
seemed like fables. How could something so fantastical be real?
Even as
she trembled with fear, this creature captivated her. The black and orange
stripes covering his shoulders and arms evoked a distant memory, yet the design
was uncommon in the Amazon.
His hair
hung in straight, black strands like a human's, but his face had the nose,
mouth, and eyes of a feline. His muscular, naked body reflected a splendid
combination of both species. Sweat-shiny skin glistened through the inch-long
fur that covered him. His white chest intrigued her, all the way to the patch
of fur barely covering his groin. Leaves and branches framed his face with a
lush green background. He crouched over her. His piercing golden eyes focused
solely on her. His stare reminded her of a cat from her village staring at a
small rodent before pouncing.
As he
leaned down, she grabbed her kris from the garter on her thigh and pushed it
against his stomach. She didn't want today to be the day she died. Her people
needed her. She wouldn't let this beast deny them their princess.
The
animal cocked his head at her. He brushed his lips over her throat, whiskers
tickling her chin.
Her body
stiffened. What is he doing? Bewilderment spread through her as his feline lips
touched her neck. Instead of biting her, his canines grazed lightly, gently,
from just below her ear down to her shoulder, almost as if exploring her flesh,
instead of seeking to rip open her throat.
She
tensed. Even with her weapon pressed against the beast's stomach, she still
feared for her life. As an Amazon princess, she wasn't easily scared. But this
feline made her heart pound. If only she had brought Rubia with her. She
wouldn't be in this situation and could've stood a better chance against this
feline.
Why does
he persist in toying with me? Adara swallowed as a low burn started in the pit
of her stomach. These feelings confused her.
A soft
sniffing sounded in her ear right before his tongue scraped rough caresses on
her skin. Other jungle cats marked their territory. Did this animal believe she
was his? She didn't want to find out.
Without
waiting for the feline's next move, Adara drove the kris deep into his stomach,
meeting resistance as it plunged through flesh and muscle. She forced it
further as his blood flowed onto her hands, making the hilt of the kris slick,
weakening her grip.
He
roared and leapt back with her kris still embedded in his abdomen.
She
scrambled to her feet. His scream so near the side of her face made her ear
ring. Bringing up a hand to her ear, Adara felt a trail of his wet blood drip
along her cheek.
He
straightened his spine and strode back to her, her kris still buried in him. It
seemed as if it were nothing more than a minor annoyance to him. She clenched
her hands into fists and dropped them to her sides.
The
reality of what she saw struck her. She froze. How could he act so unaffected?
He shouldn't have been able to move around so casually. It wasn't possible. How
can I outrun something like that? This can't be happening. Her mother had
always warned her to be careful when traveling through the forest. Why hadn't
she listened? And how could she feel so drawn to this animal when he
intimidated her?
"Who
are you?" Gritting her teeth, she forced her voice to resonate with the
commanding tones of an Amazon huntress, and fervently hoped it didn't betray
the panic racing through her veins. Her people's beliefs restricted them from
showing fear in front of strangers. Not that they saw many. But her tribeswomen
were survivors in dangerous times. Their history brimmed with reminders.
The
feline bared pointed white teeth. "Call me Rei." His husky voice
reverberated like a deep growl.
He
launched into the air and, before she could react, flattened her to the ground.
Air whooshed out of her lungs. Her eyes widened and locked onto his.
He
pinned her arms next to her head and pressed his feline lips to hers. His
tongue scraped across her lower lip, causing nips of pain to cut through the
alluring sensation.
She
shook her head hard, breaking the kiss. Her breath rushed out short and quick.
Never before had she kissed anyone. His mouth on hers created fiery stirrings
within her body that felt almost too good. Her racing pulse only spread the
warmth throughout her body that much faster.
Twice a
year, her tribeswomen associated with Indian men. The younger girls were forced
to stay in a hut during those visits, although Adara had snuck out once with
Rubia in a fit of rebellion. She'd spotted one of her kin pressing her mouth
against an Indian male's. Could this be what happens?
But men
weren't to be trusted. Her kin had learned that the hard way many, many years
ago.
Her mind
flashed to the tales she'd heard from the wise woman. Horrible reminders
assaulted her, memories of the men from long ago, enslaving her kind, killing
them ruthlessly with diseases and swords.
She
could imagine the cruelty of the conquering, pillaging men as vividly as if she
had been there herself, so strongly had the wise woman spoken. It had taken
weeks for her to sleep soundly after listening to that story.
Sudden panic
swept away the lust that burned inside her. This creature could do the same.
He's chased me, after all.
"What
do you want from me?" Adara asked, trying to sound forceful, but instead
her voice came out husky. She cleared her throat and returned his gaze.
Talking
with an animal! Rubia would be jealous. Her tribeswomen would never believe
this story... if she survived the encounter.
Rei
smiled, warmth emanating from him. "You." His chest rumbled, and he
rolled the word off his tongue like an exotic purr.
About the
Author:
NYT & USA Today bestselling author Sarah
Mäkelä loves her fiction dark, magical, and passionate. She is a paranormal
romance author, but she’s written all over the romance spectrum with cyberpunk,
sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy...even a sweet contemporary romance!
A life-long paranormal fan, she still sleeps with
a night-light. In her spare time, she reads sexy books, watches scary movies
(and Ghost Adventures), and plays computer games with her husband. When she
gets the chance, she loves traveling the world too.
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