Today's review is on Miranda's Mate by Ann GimpelI've said it before and I'll say it again. Ann Gimpel is a fantastic author. Most, if not all, of her books have me either staying up all night or on the edge of my seat. Her ability to make her characters real never stops astounding me. It's as if I can actually see them in front of me, and let me tell you, I love it when it's the amazing men she writes about.
Miranda works for The Company, an International Security firm and she loves it. She can't wait to become a fully vetted agent. That is if she can keep her attraction to Garen, her boss, under control. She's written off having relationships with all men, both human and otherwise, but Garen is nearly impossible to resist.
Unknown to Miranda, Garen has been coveting her for just as ling as she has him. Now he's kicking himself in the pants for making rules against fraternization. He also has a secret that he wants, no needs, to keep hidden. Not only is he a shifter, he's the Alpha of all the Lycans.
Miranda's last assignment to take out Derek Roulan has put her in more danger than she has ever been in. The rest of Roulan's "associates", members in the largest human trafficking ring, want retribution and Garen will do anything to keep Miranda safe.
Sparks definitely fly between Miranda and Garen, and the flames are strong enough set the even reader on fire. I may not have loved the last book by Gimpel, but I most certainly loved this one. I only wish it was just a tiny bit hotter and a little bit longer.
A must read!
4 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon on August 5th, 2013
Miranda’s Mate
By
Ann Gimpel
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
ISBN: 978-1-62210-021-7
Release Date: 8/5/13
50,000 words
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Work
for The Company is nothing if not covert. Miranda’s life is on the line. Will
Garen risk exposure to save her?
Book Description:
As an agent for an international security
firm, Miranda has her hands full. Between secretly lusting after her boss,
Garen, and making sure the dirty little secret about her double life as a wolf
shifter remains hidden, she’s still a virgin at nearly thirty.
Sent to eliminate the head of a human
trafficking organization in Amsterdam, she barely escapes with her life.
Injured, frightened, and under attack the second her private jet lands in the
U.S., she doesn’t know where to turn.
Garen’s been watching Miranda just as
surreptitiously as she’s been eying him. Unfortunately, the fact that she works
for him is a showstopper. Plus, Garen has a few secrets of his own that have
kept him single. He’s frantic once he discovers his oldest friend is besotted
with Miranda, too. When she insists on heading up a covert operation, he’s
worried sick, but can’t come up with a plausible reason to stop her.
Miranda’s life is on the line. Will Garen
risk exposure to save her?
Excerpt:
…Garen threw caution to the winds.
He clicked off his headset and tossed it into the next seat. His cock pressed
mercilessly against the front of his pants; he could barely breathe he wanted
Miranda so much. His wolf was nigh onto uncontrollable. It howled and snarled
deep inside him. Garen forced it back. The last thing he needed was for fur or
claws to sprout and ruin everything.
He could smell Miranda’s lust with
his enhanced senses. She was so aroused, she was on the verge of coming.
Strands of dark hair curled around her face. Her face was splotchy with
excitement. Her blue eyes glowed warmly. Years of repressed desire slashed
through him. He moved to the seat next to her and slid a hand between her legs.
She moaned and pressed into him.
Possessiveness sounded an exultant
note behind his breastbone. She wasn’t going to fight him. She wanted him just
as much as he wanted her. He lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.
She opened hers and sucked hungrily on his tongue. His cock throbbed. She
wasn’t the only one on the edge of coming.
He felt her fingers on the
fastenings of his pants, and then her hands closed around his shaft. He wanted
to do everything to her. Kiss her, lick her, suckle her incredible breasts, and
run his mouth down her body to settle on her clit. All those things would have
to wait. What mattered now was getting inside her. He yanked her headset off
and reached for her pants, delighted to find they had an elastic waistband.
The logical part of his brain was
nearly obliterated with passion, but it reminded him she needed at least one
leg free of her pants, which meant one shoe off. Reluctantly, he broke away
from their embrace and pried her fingers off his cock.
“What?” Her voice was muzzy with
need. “You started this. Come back here, goddammit.”
He laughed. God, but it felt good
to laugh and hold Miranda in his arms. “Patience, darling. I just need to get
one of your pant legs out of the way. Then you can straddle me.”
Between the two of them, they
managed to unlace a boot and jimmy one of her legs out of her pants. He folded
the chairs’ armrests out of the way, settled his hands on her hips, and helped
her kneel above him. When she lowered herself so the heat of her surrounded
him, he gasped. Sensation so intense it set every nerve on fire lanced through
him. Her muscles clenched around his cock and held on. Hard nipples pressed
against his chest. He thrust upward and his balls tightened.
“Sorry, darling. I’m not going to
last long.” He moved a hand between them and rubbed her swollen clit.
Her muscles milked him. Her teeth
sank into his shoulder. He could tell from her rhythmic movements and the
tension in her nub she was coming. Garen let himself go. He’d imagined coming
inside Miranda forever, and now it was finally happening. He growled low in the
back of his throat as his semen arced into her.
He moved his hands to the sides of
her face and kissed her long and deep. She turned her head, captured the
fingers that had just been rubbing her, and licked them clean. It was so
erotic, his cock throbbed where it was still buried deep in her pussy.
She wriggled out of his grasp,
reached for the napkin wrapped around the beer bottle, and stuffed it between
her legs before she pulled her underwear and pants back into place. Her face
was a gorgeous, rosy hue. He started to tell her how lovely she was when she
said, “Sorry. I’m sorry about that. Didn’t mean to. You’re my boss. I
understand what we did was wrong. Don’t worry, I won’t let my, uh, my, well,
whatever it was, get out of control again. I’m going into the head to clean up.
We should probably have used a condom. I have an IUD, but still—”
“Whoa.” He held up a hand. Garen
was having a hard time with the transition from a sexual high to a
we-shouldn’t-have-done-this conversation. “I enjoyed making love with you,
Miranda. You’re an amazing—”
She shook her head. “No. It was a
mistake. It won’t happen again. I promise. You caught me at a weak moment.” She
pushed past him and headed for the rear of the aircraft.
Garen shoved his still half-hard
cock back into his pants and zipped up. A leaden deadness settled around his
heart. She may have had sex with him, but Miranda didn’t care about him. The
post-coital conversation he’d thought they’d have was considerably different.
He bit down hard on his disappointment. Better if he went back to the cockpit.
That way she wouldn’t have to look at him when she came back from the john.
What could they possibly have to
say to one another beyond him apologizing for being swept off his feet by her
lithe body and firm curves? No way could he tell her he truly cared about her.
Not in light of the revulsion he’d seen mirrored in her face as she stammered
through her regrets. She was obviously appalled by what she considered a
weakness.
Garen picked up his headset and settled
it into place before walking into the cockpit. He wasn’t certain just what he’d
say to Lars. No way he’d be able to hide the lingering scent of sex. He latched
the door and sat heavily. For a time neither of them said anything. Garen
almost started to believe he could escape a conversation he’d assumed would be
inevitable.
“I do not like to pry, but I could
smell sex even through door.” Lars glanced at Garen with a knowing grin on his
face. “How was she?”
Garen gritted his teeth. “Hot,
passionate, delectable.” He inhaled, the air almost painful in his lungs. “But
she doesn’t care about me. Said I caught her at a weak moment. Apologized all
over the place and said it would never happen again.”
“Hmph. Well, it would be untrue if
I said I were sorry.” Lars flicked the front of his pants. “Imagining the two
of you fucking got me going. I will need to take care of myself before I escort
the fair fraulein anywhere.” A hesitation. “I do not suppose there is any
possibility the three of us could—”
“No.” Something about the vehemence
in Garen’s tone earned him a penetrating look from Lars.
“Your airplane, my friend. I will
be back.”
“Miranda couldn’t wait to get away
from me. She might not be done in the head.”
“If she is not, I will wait. Unless
you wish to watch me.”
“In a pig’s eye. Go.” Garen waved
both hands at Lars. “It’s a good thing we’re friends. My tolerance for perverts
is pretty limited.”
“You know you love me.” Lars blew a
kiss and exited the cockpit.
About the Author
Ann
Gimpel is a clinical psychologist, with a Jungian bent. Avocations
include mountaineering, skiing, wilderness photography and, of course,
writing. A lifelong aficionado of the unusual, she began writing
speculative fiction a few years ago. Since then her short fiction has
appeared in a number of webzines and anthologies. Several paranormal
romance novellas are available in e-format. Three novels, Psyche’s
Prophecy, Psyche’s Search, and Psyche's Promise are small press
publications available in e-format and paperback. Look for two more
urban fantasy novels coming this summer and fall: Fortune’s Scion and
Earth’s Requiem.
A husband, grown children, grandchildren and three wolf hybrids round out her family.
Hi Annette,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your unstinting support of my books and for hosting me on your blog! Miranda, Garen, and I are stoked to be here. I'm so glad you liked Miranda's Mate. Look for Lars' story sometime soon.