BUCK NAKED by Evangeline Anderson
E-Original published by Swerve
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
An alpha shifter, Mathis lost the love of his life, and he knows he’ll never find another mate. But his innocent new neighbor clearly doesn’t know the danger she’s in, and he's the only one who can save her.
But when the attraction pulls too strong, will Mathis’ animal nature be unleashed and claim Sadie for his own? Buck Naked is a sexy, emotional thrill-ride that will hook readers on this fantastic new series.
EXCERPT
Sadie looked at him critically from his huge size to his shaggy black hair and neatly trimmed black beard. He had olive skin and large well-made hands with very clean nails. Sadie liked that—she always noticed a man’s hands. For a moment she had a flash of what it would be like to have those hands caressing her body, roaming all over her naked flesh until she moaned for more.
Wait a minute—where did that thought come from?
She had no idea but suddenly there were more like it crowding her brain. It was as though one appetite had been satiated, and now another was growing. But that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Stop it, Sadie, she scolded herself. He’s too young for you—way too young.
“Well?” Mathis asked and she realized she’d been studying him too long while thinking forbidden, lascivious thoughts.
“Oh, um...” She cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks get hot. “If it wasn’t for your green eyes, I’d say you look Italian. Or maybe half Italian and half giant.” She smiled at him to let him know she was joking and was surprised when he grinned back.
“Yeah, well, I can’t help that I’m not as itty-bitty as you.”
“What?” She gave him an incredulous look. “I am not itty-bitty, I assure you.”
“You are as far as I’m concerned.” His voice dropped to a soft growl and he leaned forward, looking at her across the table. “When I was holding you on the couch I was thinking you felt as light as a feather. Especially when you held on to my shirt and didn’t want me to let you go.”
“I... I don’t remember that. I just remember thinking that something smelled really good and I wanted ... wanted to be close to it. To you, I guess.”
Sadie felt herself blushing again as she met his eyes. Why hadn’t she noticed how attractive he was earlier? Maybe because he was always scowling. And now the way he was looking at her, so intently ...
She dropped her gaze, feeling unaccountably nervous. This was ridiculous—she was ten years older than him. They had a name for women who went after younger men, didn’t they? Right—cougar. She hadn’t moved to Cougarville to turn into some kind of a cougar.
Mathis seemed to sense her nervous confusion because he cleared his throat and got up to clear their plates.
“How about dessert?” His deep voice was slightly hoarse and there was a definite bulge in the denim of his jeans, but at least he was trying to act normal, which was more than Sadie could say for herself.
“Dessert sounds wonderful,” she made herself say, trying to get back to the cordial tone they’d had before things had suddenly turned weird.
“Great.” He got a glass casserole pan out of the refrigerator and scooped the contents out into two blue bowls, which he brought to the table.
Sadie looked at the dessert, which seemed to have three layers—blueberries in sauce at the bottom, a white middle layer, and crumbled cookies on the top. She took a bite and her eyes rolled up in delight.
“Oh my God, this is sinfully good! Is that middle layer cream cheese?” she asked, going in for another bite.
Mathis smiled. “Yeah, mixed with powdered sugar and whipped topping. The bottom is just homemade blueberry pie filling. We had a bumper crop this year so I picked extra.”
“You’re amazing.” Sadie looked at him in wonder. “I mean, you look like a lumberjack but you cook like freaking Gordon Ramsay.”
He grinned. “Nah—that guy’s an asshole all the time. I’m just an asshole until you get to know me.”
“Well, I’m glad I did—get to know you I mean.” Sadie smiled at him. “I thought after the way you looked at me this morning when I saw you through my window you’d hate me forever. I mean...” She trailed off, feeling mortified. Why had she brought up that morning and the fact that he’d seen her naked? They’d been doing so well and she had to go and ruin it.
“About that...” Mathis cleared his throat. “I thought... I mean, I had a wrong idea about you. And I want you to know I wasn’t, uh, spying on you. I was just getting firewood at the wrong time, I guess.”
“Oh...” Sadie felt a rush of relief. “I know that—I could tell by the look on your face you were surprised. And I want you to know I didn’t mean to, uh, flash you.”
“I believe you,” he said simply. “Not that I minded being flashed.”
“Um ...” Sadie felt like her face was on fire. “Thank you but I’m not… I mean...”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his deep voice hoarse. When she looked up, she saw his eyes were half lidded with desire and he was giving her that same intense look he had been when she’d woken up in his lap.
What can I say? This is a fantasy story of a forty-year-old woman's body life being magically transformed by a dormant gene she knew nothing about.
With that change comes some good and bad different challenges in her life as she tries to start over after a divorce.
Good = Mathis, her hunky, sexy, gruffly, next-door neighbor.
Different = He's a Shifter.
It's an okay read with a decent storyline that includes some steamy sex scenes. Cougar Bait, book 2 of the series is about her twin sister and Liam, the other alpha that was vying for Sadie's attention. In it, we get to find out if she has the gene and if she has what it takes to live in the Shifter's world.
Evangeline Anderson is the author of the Brides of the Kindred, Alien Mate Index, and Born to Darkness series. She lives in Florida, and to her delight, she gets paid for having a dirty mind.
Website: evangelineanderson.com
Twitter: twitter.com/EvangelineA
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