Release Tour & Exclusive Excerpt:
Stone Wings by Jenn Burke
The Gargoyles of Arrington, Book 1
Being the personal assistant to a trio of cursed gargoyle brothers who sleep for a hundred years and wake up for twenty-five wasn’t a career proposed by Josh’s high school guidance counselor, but it’s a job that he’s eminently suited for. Not to mention a job his family has been doing for generations. The brothers are truly excellent bosses, but Josh is surprised when Drew offers to pretend to be his date for his high school reunion. And even more surprised by a supposedly fake kiss that feels as real as a kiss can get.
Drew and his brothers owe Josh and his family for watching over them each time they turn to stone for a hundred years, and for helping them reintegrate into the world when they wake up. The least he can do is pose as Josh’s boyfriend for a night. Even though true love can break his curse, he knows he won’t find it with Josh. Nothing that real can come from a lie. Or can it?
When the fake boyfriend situation stretches into two nights, and then more, Josh and Drew can’t fight the attraction blazing between them. There’s no harm in exploring it, right? No expectations. But when paranormal danger comes to Arrington, Josh and Drew are going to have to battle for every moment of peace…and maybe a real happily ever after too.
STONE WINGS is a 50,000 word male/male paranormal romance featuring a mechanic who happens to have wings and is a literal monster in bed, a personal assistant who’s always had a crush on him, stone skin or not, and a relationship that’s going to take a leap of faith to give the fairytale a happy ending.
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“I heard you’re going with Josh to his…what is it? High school reunion?”
I bit back a hiss as the needle encountered a particularly sensitive spot. “Teague?”
“Of course, Teague.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “He loves his gossip.”
That he did. For a stoic bastard, he certainly enjoyed spreading the juiciest news. “Josh was in a bind, and he clearly wanted to go.”
“But…pretending to be his boyfriend? Really?”
“It’s just for one evening.”
Rian paused again, going through the ritual of wiping down the area he’d been working on, and looked me in the eyes. He was quiet for a few moments as his blue eyes, a few shades darker than mine, filled with worry. If anyone looked closely, they’d see a tinge of red there, another sign of his cursed form. When he was in his stone skin, his eyes glowed a terrifying crimson.
“What?” I finally said.
He shook his head. “You’re right. It’s only for one evening.”
Oh no, he wasn’t getting off that easily. “Rian.”
He pushed the brim of his cap up with his forearm. “Just…be careful, all right?”
I frowned. “Are you worried I’m going to lose my skin? It’ll be after sunset, but I’ve got plenty of practice keeping the stone at bay.” It was always harder to stay human when the sun went down, but it wasn’t impossible.
“No, it’s not that.” He pursed his lips. “You know Josh has a crush on you, right?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Uh, yes. He does.”
“You’re full of shit. There’s no way.”
Rian rolled his eyes. “Aindréas Ó Raghallaigh, I love you, but you’re an oblivious sod.”
Oh, the full Irish name, was it? We’d anglicized our names when we’d emigrated to North America. I’d become Andrew O’Reilly—Drew for short—but every once in a while, my full name appeared on one of my brothers’ lips, if only to make a point.
Apparently, today, the point was that I was something of a dupe.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I insisted. Because, seriously, Josh having a crush on me was ludicrous. I’d watched him grow up. I was a few hundred years his senior. Oh, and let’s not forget that in two years, I would turn into a statue and sleep for a century. Such a catch, I was. Totally worthy of a crush. Not.
Rian shook his head and got back to inking my skin. “Fine. I know nothing. Ignore me.”
“I usually do.”
“But I’m going to help you find the right outfit for the reunion.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I can dress myself perfectly well.”
He pointedly looked me up and down. “You sure about that?”
“I’m dressed for work!” There was no point in wearing good clothes when I’d likely get oil on them or rip them—I’d done both in the past. My ragged jeans and worn T-shirt worked fine, thank you very much.
“Uh-huh.”
“Scut.”
“Gobdaw.”
“Minger.”
I laughed. “I love you, brother.”
He smiled at me fondly. “Same.”
Jenn Burke has loved out-of-this-world romance since she was a preteen reading about heroes and heroines kicking butt and falling in love. Now that she’s an author, she couldn’t be happier to bring adventure, romance, and sexy times to her readers.
Jenn is the author of a number of paranormal and science fiction romance titles, including the critically acclaimed Chaos Station science fiction romance series (authored with Kelly Jensen) and her newest series, Not Dead Yet, both from Carina Press.
She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian on social media, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.
Connect with Jenn:
Website: http://www.jennburke.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeralibu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeralibu
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9869819.Jenn_Burke
