#MWTease from Her Bear Protector "You love the man, don't you?" #preorder @sirenbookstrand #bdsm #shifter

Happy Middle of the week to you, folks. It's that time for us to tease you, thanks to our awesome host Sandra Bunino.  I'm going to tease you from my upcoming release Her Bear Protector. I've shared plenty of hot snippets from this story so far, so today I thought I would introduce you to Mrs H. She plays rather a large part in this story, and she was a hoot to write. So much so, that in book two in this series I will be going back in time to the fifties, when Mrs H was young and this particular shifter village was born.

To set the scene, Tina is having a hard time  coming to terms with the reality of living in a world where every nightmare is real, and when she finds out that her kindly old neighbour is in fact a witch....

 “What do you mean encouraged me? I came here of my own free will. How could you have encouraged me? I don’t understand what you mean.”

The unsettled feeling creeping up from the base of her spine told Tina that she understood all too well. Naturally, if shifters existed, why not witches. Well, she knew witches existed, but she always thought it was a harmless religion not associated with someone who could actually influence the surroundings around her.

Oh, God, Mrs. Hastings is a witch!

Said witch smiled, took another sip of her tea, and regarded Tina thoughtfully.

“I can tell you’re jumping to all sorts of conclusions in your head, there, girl. Some of them may well be right. Others less so.”

“You’re a witch, right.” Tina barely managed to get the words out as the room spun and she felt faint. Really how many shocks could one girl take in the course of half a day? This was insane.

“You make that sound as though it’s an insult, girl.” Amusement laced Mrs. Hastings’s words mixed in with faint annoyance. “And breathe, Tina. You’re going to faint otherwise. There is no need to get yourself all worked up. Despite what you heard me say to Ronan, I have no desire to turn anyone into a toad. Apart from anything else that is so cliché.”

She winked at Tina, and there was the most devilish gleam in her blue eyes, as she took another sip of her tea.

“Drink it, Tina. It’s a new blend I’m perfecting, and I must say it’s rather nice.”

Tina looked at her cup as though it might contain poison. So much for her thinking it was ordinary tea. She should have known. There was nothing ordinary about Mrs. Hastings, or this village she’d adopted as home, it seemed.

“What’s in it?” she asked, and Mrs. Hastings smiled.

“So suspicious all of a sudden, child. I’m beginning to see why Ronan was so rattled. It’s most unlike him, I have to say, but then finding one’s mate tends to rattle a man somewhat, yet he hasn’t marked you, I see. At least not with his teeth.”

She chuckled to herself, and Tina brought her hand up to the side of her neck. Tender flesh greeted her. Damn the man. She would have to wear a scarf to the Fete tomorrow to cover up that love bite.

“Keep him out this, and what is in that damn tea?” She did her best to glare at Mrs. Hastings but the disappointment she saw in her kind gaze meant she burst into tears instead. Mrs. Hastings reached across the table and patted her hand.

“There, now, dear. Let it all out. I don’t blame you for being overwhelmed. Knowing what those shifters can be like, I dare say he went about all of this like the proverbial bull in a china shop, right? And for your information, there is nothing in that tea to harm you. It’s simply a blend made to soothe the nerves, and help you sleep. I wasn’t at all surprised that you picked that urn out of all the ones available. Your spirit knows what you need, even if you choose to fight it.”

Tina swiped the useless tears away, and took a sip of the tea. Flavors exploded on her tongue and she took a deep breath in to inhale the fragrance. Instantly she felt calmer, whether because her mind was playing tricks on her, or it was indeed the tea causing the effect, who knew. Tina didn’t much care right now, and she took another sip. The liquid slid down her throat like honey, and soothed her churning stomach.

“There, now, I told you it would help,” Mrs. Hastings said. “Feeling a bit calmer and a tad more rational now, my dear?” she asked.

Tina had to laugh at that. A slightly hysterical laugh for sure, but, really, was there anything rational about this whole fucked up mess.

“Rational? You tell me what about this whole thing is rational. You’re a witch. Ronan is a shifter, who kills vampires. Vampires for pity’s sake. What’s next? The postman is really a unicorn?”

Mrs. Hastings smiled and shook her head.

“No, dear, Paul is a duck.”

Tina choked on her next mouthful of tea, and after much coughing and splattering finally got the words out of her mouth.

“Did you say duck? As in go and feed the ducks on the pond, duck?”

“Don’t be silly, my dear. The ducks on the pond are simply ducks. And besides Paul very rarely shifts these days. The smaller shifters don’t seem to feel the need to shift as much as the larger species.”

Tina just stared at her.

“Smaller shifters? Can anything shift into a man?”

Mrs. Hastings shook her head, and pursed her lips.

“He really didn’t explain this very well, did he? Typical man. Too busy fucking you no doubt.”

Tina’s mouth dropped open in pure shock at hearing Mrs. Hastings cuss like that.

“Don’t look so shocked. I was young once and married to a wolf shifter. Trust me, they are even more territorial and overbearing than bears can be, or at least, my Henry was.” A small smile played around her lips as she seemed lost in her past. “The rows we had. Mind you the make-up sex was the best, as I’m sure you’ll discover soon.”

She winked at her and Tina finally shut her mouth.

“I have no intention of having sex with the man ever again, I can assure you.”

“Ach, poppycock. Of course you will. Tell me you don’t melt when he as much as looks at you, let alone touches you. By all means be mad at him, make him suffer a bit, as he no doubt deserves it, but we both know that you will not be able to stay away from him for long. You love the man, after all, don’t you?”

****

Good old Mrs H!

[Siren Classic: Erotic Paranormal Consensual BDSM Romance, shape-shifters, spanking, sex toys, HEA]

From the minute Ronan Bernhard roars into Tina Snowdon’s sleepy village on his Harley, he inhabits her thoughts and dreams. The inked mountain rescue biker is a sex-on-legs hunk, and her knickers aren’t the only ones that melt in a flash at his wicked smile. Ronan, however, keeps his distance and simply becomes another client of her cleaning firm, until the morning she turns up and finds his cottage trashed, and her life is turned upside down.

Bear Shifter Ronan recognises his mate the minute he scents her. Having her clean for him means he can watch over her from afar, because to claim her as his mate and sub is out of the question. As the village protector he has responsibilities he can’t ignore—duties that will place Tina in grave danger—even if she were able to accept not only his bear, but also his darker desires. The morning she finds him injured, his bear takes over…

Available for pre-order now at a 10% discount at Bookstrand

*****

Stay naughty, folks, and don't forget to check out the other teasers. As ever thanks to the awesome Sandra Bunino for putting us all together every week.

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D xx