Book Title: Kraken My Heart (Sucker For Love Mysteries Book 2)
Author: K.L. Hiers
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design
Release Date: May 18, 2021
Genre: Paranormal Gay Romance
Trope/s: Closed Circle Mystery, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, Hemipenes Loving, Finding Love After Heartbreak
Theme: Love Conquers All
Length: 60 000 words/ 191 pages
It is a standalone story, but the author recommends reading the first one.
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It’s just Ted’s luck that he meets the love of his life while covered in the blood of a murder victim.
Blurb
It’s just Ted’s luck that he meets the love of his life while covered in the blood of a murder victim.
Funeral worker Ted Sturm has a foul mouth, a big heart, and a knack for communicating with the dead. Unfortunately, the dead don’t make very good friends, and Ted’s only living pal, his roommate, just rescued a strange cat who’s determined to make his life even more miserable. This cat is more than he seems, and soon Ted finds himself in an alternate dimension… and on top of a dead body.
When Ted is accused of murder, his only ally in a strange world full of powerful magical beings calling for his head is King Grell, a sarcastic, randy, catlike immortal with impressive abilities… and anatomy. The two soon find themselves at the center of a cosmic conspiracy and surrounded by dangerous enemies. But with Ted’s special skills and Grell’s magic, they have a chance to get to the bottom of the mystery and save Ted. There’s just one problem: Ted’s got to resist Grell’s aggressive advances… and he isn’t sure he wants to.
“May I touch you, Ted of Aeon?”
“Yes—wait, no! Why?” Ted steeled himself for anything, hating how his pulse fluttered. He couldn’t quite decipher the way Grell was looking at him. It was hungry and full of danger, and he could feel himself being completely sucked in.
“I promise I’ll be gentle,” Grell said, his hand hovering over Ted’s chest. He reconsidered, adding, “Ish.”
“Uh… sure, I guess?” Ted watched the buttons of his pajama top magically open on their own for Grell.
Grell pressed his hand against Ted’s chest, right over his heart. He seemed to be searching for something, but Ted had no idea what.
Ted didn’t know what to do. Grell’s hand was so warm, and it was really nice to be touched. If Grell was taller, they would have been close enough to kiss. As it was, Ted would need to lean down.
He tried to escape the ridiculous urge, finding that Grell’s expression was becoming worried. He laid his hand over Grell’s, asking urgently, “What’s wrong?”
“What are you, Ted of Aeon?” Grell asked quietly, his long fingers reaching up to cradle his face. “What are you… really?”
“I’m just Ted,” he whispered back, his eyes closing as he leaned into Grell’s soft palm.
“You truly have no idea how amazing you are.” Grell tilted his head up as his thumb stroked Ted’s cheek. “I’ve never met anyone like you. No one has the balls to speak to me, a king, the way that you do. That filthy mouth of yours, your undeniable passion….”
Ted found himself being pulled right in, unable to resist whatever magical force of attraction was burning between them. All he had to do was lean down a little bit more and they’d kiss.
Gulping, he watched Grell’s lips part expectantly. He was about to kiss a king, a king who was really a kitty-cat monster but who made him feel like he was the most beautiful man in the whole world.
He felt small somehow, vulnerable, and the air had become electric. He couldn’t explain the strength of the new energy, nor could he look away from Grell’s bright eyes.
Grell was very handsome, though he appeared quite a bit older than Ted. Not old enough to have been his father, but maybe a teacher or something. Ted really liked the silver sparkling around his temples and the streaks in his beard. The very shape of Grell’s nose was quite attractive, small and round like a cat’s, a fitting centerpiece for his pleasantly round face.
Even his sharp teeth were alluring in their own way, and Ted briefly wondered what they’d feel like on his skin.
Oh, but it was those eyes of his that really made Ted shiver. More so than his pointed teeth, Grell’s eyes reminded Ted that this creature before him wasn’t human. The depth of color was beyond any mortal’s genetics, shimmering and metallic, a spectacular golden hue that Ted found absolutely hypnotic.
“Grell,” Ted said, his voice thick and tense. “Are you….”
“Yes, Theodore?”
Ted smiled at that and shook his head. “My name isn’t Theodore, it’s—”
“Your Highness!” A giant Asra appeared from the nearby wall, baring its teeth as it shouted, “Urgent news!”
Ted jerked in surprise, staring up at the enormous cat creature.
Grell scowled, whirling around to glare at the intruding Asra. “Oh, this had better be good,” he snarled. “I was in the middle of something. No, not even the middle. I was trying to start something, and you’ve ruined it!”
Ted flushed, turning his head away.
He knew he should have been relieved that nothing had happened, but he was truthfully just as annoyed as Grell.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the Asra said hastily. “The court is eager to begin the trial, and Humble Visseract is already done completing his witness statements. He sent me to summon you and the prisoner to court at once!”
Grell grimaced and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Thirteen fuckin’ hours to go and he dares to send me a summons? You tell that fucking tuna-faced cunt that we’re starting when I’m good and fucking ready!”
The Asra cowered, tucking its long tail between its legs.
“And just for being such an overreaching little anal canker sore, you can inform him that the trial will not begin until the moon hangs in the sky at her most splendid apex and the Mostaistlis have taken their last drink of ambrosia!”
“So… midnight?” the Asra squeaked.
“Yes, midnight.” Grell took a deep breath and roared, “Now go! Before I decide to eat you from the inside out!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” the Asra yelped as it retreated.
Grell’s fury didn’t fade until the Asra vanished back through the wall. He took a deep breath, his body slowly returning to its former proportions. “Well, shit.”
Ted had a vague memory of a fish monster with big black eyes and a long body, asking, “This Visser-whatever guy, was he in court yesterday?”
“Yes,” Grell replied, smoothing out his coat. “He’s a Vulgoran. I believe there’s still a large company of them that live in your Mariana Trench.”
“Wait,” Ted scoffed, “you’re telling me that there’s a bunch of fish monsters livin’ in the ocean?”
“Think about how stupid your question sounds, wait a moment, and then ask me something else.”
“You’re a dick,” Ted growled, instantly annoyed. “Fuck, I’m so glad you didn’t kiss me.”
“Pardon?” Grell turned around with a short laugh. “I’m sorry, but it was you who was about to kiss me.”
“Bullshit.”
K.L. “Kat” Hiers is an embalmer, restorative artist, and queer writer. Licensed in both funeral directing and funeral service, she’s been working in the death industry for nearly a decade. Her first love was always telling stories, and she has been writing for over twenty years, penning her very first book at just eight years old. Publishers generally do not accept manuscripts in Hello Kitty notebooks, however, but she never gave up.
Following the success of her first novel, Cold Hard Cash, she now enjoys writing professionally, focusing on spinning tales of sultry passion, exotic worlds, and emotional journeys. She loves attending horror movie conventions and indulging in cosplay of her favorite characters. She lives in Zebulon, NC, with her husband and their children, some of whom have paws and a few that only pretend to because they think it’s cute.
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