Sneak Peek Sunday-May 19-Deadly Enchantment #SPeekSunday #MFRWAuthor

An unhappy shape shifter can be a dangerous companion....

For Sneak Peek Sunday authors share six paragraphs from a published work or a WIP (work in progress).

My submission for this week is from my 2nd book, Deadly Enchantment.  A shapeshifting wizard romance set in Victorian England published by New Concepts Publishing, 

In this excerpt, which occurs near the end of the first Chapter and immediately follows my April 28th Sneak Peek Sunday, Dominic Westcroft has returned from London to discover his sister has invited several young women to his home, so he can select a new bride.  Except, Dominic has no intention of ever marrying again.

             “Innocent and not guilty are not at all the same thing, sister dear.  The council concluded there was not enough evidence to convict me of Felicity’s murder, but they did not find me innocent.  In truth, I rather suspected they thought I did commit the crime, but felt it was an uncontrollable act of passion rather than a deliberate killing.”

            “So, which is it?” she inquired with a lift of her chin.  When he didn’t answer, she prompted, “You’ve been trying to convince me for years that our brother possesses a nature so evil that it is beyond my comprehension to accept it, going so far as to suggest he was responsible for the death of my husband.  Do you mean to say now that he is wholly innocent of the crimes which you’ve accused him?”

            Dominic clenched his fingers into a fist, then slowly opened them to lay them flat on the desk again.  “The blackness of Terrence’s soul is not what’s at issue here,” he replied through gritted teeth.

            “Then what, precisely, is at issue here?”

            He regarded her with open astonishment.  “The fact that you invited ten women to my home on the pretext I would choose one for my wife is what’s at issue here.”  Afraid of what he might do, he took a deep breath and leaned back.  “Your memory may not be quite as good as you believe, Mrs. Sinclair, or you’d recall the night I held my torn and bleeding bride in my arms that I made a vow.  And whether or not I was the one who ripped Felicity to pieces, I was definitely the one ultimately responsible.  I don’t know what happened that night, because I-can’t-remember."  He drew in a breath as the physical manifestation of his fury wound its way up the velvet curtains to the ceiling where it seeped through as if no barrier existed.  "However, since they found me naked, Felicity mauled and Terrence bleeding, I fully accept the premise that my beast took control of me that night.  So, I hardly think that bringing ten women to the lair of a potential murderer was a very intelligent thing to do.  Therefore, for the sake of their innocent lives, and your own, I insist you send them back.  Today,” he emphasized through his tightly clenched jaw.

            Undaunted by his growl or his very obvious anger, Regina stood and leaned toward him.  “No,” she replied simply.

Though Dominic loves his sister dearly, at the moment he'd like nothing better than to wring her lovely neck.

M/F, Shape shifting  wizards.in Victorian England.

Read the first three chapters at: Deadly Enchantment

Available at NCP, Amazon, Barnes & Noble or ARe

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt and want more. Please click the link below to continue your hop Sneak Peek Sunday.  Wishing you a wonderful journey.