RELEASE TOUR incl Q and A & Excerpt: Hart’s Betrayal by S. Bolanos
Some secrets are worth dying for.
Length: 432 pages, approximately 118,000 words Series: Lycan Detective Duet, Book 1 Prior Reading: not required Genre: paranormal Tropes: enemies to lovers, fated mates, accidental mating, secret identity, werewolf/werewolf hunter, shifter romance, touch him and die Trigger/Content Warnings: On page violence; references to past child abuse; cliffhanger ending Designer: Rainbow Danger Designs
Lycan Detective Joshua Hart isn’t just good at his job—he’s the best. Despite his skills and the Fae magic that prevents him from lying, he has a terrible secret: he’s the last of the Harkers, an ancient family dedicated to the eradication of werewolves. When he’s summoned to Adler Springs to investigate a brutal murder, his mission couldn’t be simpler—until he makes the catastrophic mistake of sleeping with his Pack Liaison. Now they’re bonded. If Elijah dies, so does Josh. And Josh was sent here to destroy Elijah’s entire pack.
For Elijah Bennet, being assigned as liaison to a Lycan Detective is no honor—it’s a punishment from an Alpha who despises him. He expects to be nothing more than furry wallpaper while the detective picks his pack apart. What he doesn’t expect is the prickly, gorgeous man underneath the reputation. Or the ancient bond that now ties their fates together. Elijah has spent his whole life avoiding leadership and entanglement. Now he’s shackled to the one man who could annihilate everything he loves—and he’s falling for him anyway.
Q: If you could spend the day with one of the main characters in your book, which would it be, and what would you do together?
As much as I love Elijah, it would have to be Josh. We’d sing diva pop karaoke while he taught me how to throw knives/daggers like an ace.
Q: Is there a scene in this book you’re really proud of? Why?
There’s a fight scene with a lot of moving parts. I was really worried I wasn’t doing it justice, so I had someone with a background in military and MMA review it. Feedback: No notes. Reads fluidly and I incorporated the “fast and slow” dynamic of a real fight. I probably grinned for a week.
Q: Do any of your friends or family read your books?
My mother has read a few and listened to the audiobooks for others. Even my grandmother read several of my works (she admittedly skipped all spicey scenes as she has for the last 30 years 😆).
I lifted my gaze from his slightly parted lips to meet his completely unconcerned gaze. The shadows seemed to make his eyes greener. I gave him a crooked half-smile, not fooled by his games. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those guys who’s against kissing.” I’d never understood it personally. Kissing was nearly half the fun.
His lips curled up in what could only be a smirk. “Suppose that depends.”
“On what?” I asked, taking the bait.
His eyes flashed a challenge. “On if you’re any good at it.”
It was all the encouragement I needed. Between one blink and another, I closed the remaining distance between us and mashed my mouth down on his. The force of my momentum carried us back a pace until he pressed into the tree at his back. I curled a hand around the back of his neck to keep his mouth where I wanted it and used my other to grip his hip hard enough to bruise.
Rather than yelp in surprise or try to pull away from the sudden ferocity, he surprised me yet again and instantly opened up. I gladly accepted his invitation, groaning into him as he arched against me. At the feel of his excitement pressing into me, I gave a low growl.
He let out a small gasp, and surprisingly strong fingers dug into my forearms. I’d expected him to try pushing me away, anxious at the sound, but he seemed to urge me closer, encouraging me to delve deeper. I happily obliged. My inner wolf and I were of the same mind and desperate to taste every inch of this man who had lured me into the woods like some Pied Piper. But in order to do that, I’d have to get rid of the several obstacles between us.
My hands greedily ventured lower. He thrust his hips forward to aid in my efforts, and he swallowed my resulting groan. Fuck if I’d ever met a human that had acted like this. I tugged his shirt free and made quick work of his buckle. Suddenly, he pulled away just enough to break apart our mouths.
“Easy, cowboy.”
“Not a cowboy,” I growled, closing my mouth over his in another savage kiss. He was panting by the time I released him.
“Werewolf,” he amended, with a wicked gleam in his eye.
It’d been a long time since I’d heard that particular moniker. Thanks to the Coalition of Supernaturals and their insistence on politically correct labels for everything, the common vernacular had been replaced by the more “accurate” scientific one, whether the rest of us liked it or not. For the record, we didn’t. That he’d casually thrown it out as a tease convinced me further that there was something unique about the man currently pinned between me and the tree. It also meant that he knew exactly what I was, which made his behavior all the more remarkable.
“Human,” I fired back.
“You sure?” he taunted.
Sam Bolanos (she/they) is a genderqueer romance author who mixes heart, sass, and just enough trauma to make the happy ending hit hard. Based in Texas with her three dogs and one perfect husband, Sam writes stories full of queer joy, messy emotions, and kisses worth writing about.
Sam writes queer contemporary and paranormal romance. Their characters are multi-faceted, a touch rebellious, and work hard to earn their HEAs. Sam thrives on subverting expected character archetypes and creating worlds readers want to get lost in. Majority of their stories are MM (gay) romance, but they also have several other pairings.
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