An early Christmas present for me!

I'm absolutely over the moon (pun intended) to announce that Curses, my witch/werewolf book, is a finalist for the 2009 EPPIE awards in the erotic paranormal category. This is the book that was left hanging when Triskelion went under, then found another home at The Wild Rose Press. I had two very excellent editors on this book, who really helped make it stronger, and am very thankful to both Carol Webb and Jade Alexander for all their hard work.

Curses
by Cindy Spencer Pape
available in print or ebook from The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 1-60154-151-1
click on the cover for more information

Blurb:
Some people are really cursed when it comes to love! For innkeeper and witch Melissa MacRae, a family curse means that falling in love is the ultimate bad idea. Author Jonas Pierce is a werewolf, who has seen too much evil to even consider passing on his curse to another generation. So why does a hot summer fling have them both thinking about happily ever after?

Praise:
4 Stars from Romantic Times Magazine: “The characters are appealing, and passionate sex leads to a satisfying romance. Well-developed histories make the couple real and one readers will care about.”

Excerpt: ADULT!

He reached the mossy shoreline, where the memories hit him with the force of a two-ton truck. Unexpectedly, he sensed another presence, immediately becoming alert, poised for danger. Quiet, easy footsteps told him that the other person was as comfortable in the wilderness as he was, and Joe relaxed just a bit. Not too many people in the world could make that claim. Seconds later he caught a whiff of rosemary and lilacs, saw a flash of copper, and he knew.

“Hello, there.”

She froze for a second, then caught her breath and looked over at him, smiling. “Hello yourself. I was just on my way to see you.”

His eyes hungrily absorbed the sight of her as she moved slowly, inexorably toward him. The jeans she wore were ancient and faded; the soft cotton clung lovingly to her flared hips and narrow waist. A ragged gray sweatshirt with Lake State emblazoned across the front only hinted at the curves he knew lay beneath, and he longed to rip it off her. Preferably with his teeth.

“What a coincidence.” He took one long stride to meet her halfway. He reached out o clasp both of her hands in his, then leaned down to drop a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “I was just on my way to visit you.”

Her musky, feminine scent surrounded him, her soft, liquid eyes looked up at him, and he simply couldn’t resist. Using their linked hands, he tugged her closer, then bent down for a kiss.
It was everything he remembered and more. Mel returned the kiss with passionate enthusiasm, and Joe lost track of both place and time. She tugged her hands free to wrap them around his neck, and his went around her waist without any conscious effort on Joe’s part. While her fingers tangled in his hair, his own explored up under the hem of her sweatshirt.

She wasn’t wearing a bra today either. “Oh, God.” He knew his moan had a hungry sound and he wanted, needed to fill his hands with her soft, warm flesh. Instantly, he forgot everything he had intended to tell her. The only thing in his universe was the beautiful, sensual woman he held in his arms.

When Jonas’s hands cupped her breasts, it took all Mel’s concentration just to stand. She couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it. She knew she should call a halt to this; she’d been walking to his cabin to talk to him, to offer a much-deserved explanation about her desertion the night before. She hadn’t intended to make love with him.

Oh, yeah? So why didn’t you wear a bra then? She didn’t bother to justify her actions with a mental reply. She just gave up the fight, losing herself in Jonas’s embrace.

Tension coiled through her even before he unsnapped her jeans and slid his hand inside. When he touched her intimately, she cried out, and her knees buckled completely. Joe’s strong arm caught her as she fell, then he gently lowered them both to the soft, springy moss.

“I asked you last night, but now that it’s daytime, is anyone likely to walk by here?” He punctuated his question with little nibbling kisses along her throat.

“No.” She sighed at the beauty of the sensations he created, and, tilted her head to provide him better access. “Nobody.”

“Good.” The word came out as a fierce, guttural growl as he grabbed the hem of her sweatshirt with both hands and tugged it over her head. “Because I don’t want any interruptions this time. Please tell me you didn’t bring your pager.”

She nodded. Gladys would sleep today after their marathon session last night and so would Karen. Nobody else had the number so she’d left it on her kitchen table.

“I’ve wanted to do this for days.” His glowing golden eyes gazed at her, and Mel could feel her nipples pucker under his heated regard. He seemed to study every line and curve of her bare upper body. “Gorgeous.”

She flushed then, feeling the heat on her face and breasts. Jonas smiled, and busily stripped off his own clothing while Mel watched in rapt fascination. A pelt of curly black hair covered his leanly muscled, rock-hard chest. A narrower band of dark curls trailed down to where... Mel’s eyes bugged out. That was supposed to fit? Inside her?

Joe chuckled at her expression as he methodically peeled her own jeans and panties away. Then he lay down beside her and rested on one elbow. “It will work just fine.”

“Are you reading my mind?” She strained upward for his kiss. “Or am I that transparent?”

He kissed her lightly, then more deeply, and spoke in a whisper. “It’s those eyes. Aside from being gorgeous, they give away all your secrets.”

She sure hoped not! But she refused to worry about that right now. As he kissed her again, thoroughly this time, she gave herself completely in response, all mundane thoughts driven from her mind. Her hands tangled in the length of his thick glossy hair, holding him close as his lips left her mouth, trailing his kisses further south.

“Jonas!” She cried out as he sucked one pebbled nipple into his mouth. She writhed at the pleasure, clutching his head to her breast. She didn’t want him to stop what he was doing, but the ache growing in her lower body had her wishing he could be in two places at once.

And then he was. His big hand gently palmed her mound, and she rubbed against him, begging for his touch. Deft fingers slipped down. They parted her slick, swollen folds, before they finally, slowly, slid inside. Mel couldn’t help it. The pleasure was so intense, she shrieked.

“Like that, do you?” He switched his mouth to her other breast, while his magical fingers stroked and gently stretched her.

She couldn’t answer, lost in the ripples of pleasure that coursed through her body and coiled at her center. This was it! The passion she’d always dreamed of, but never really believed in. This was what started wars, toppled kingdoms, inspired fairy tales.