I’m so ecstatic to finally be able to reveal to you all the cover for the first book in my Coven of Desire series, Claw. (Seriously, this has been impossible to sit on)
Claw
He’s not your typical werewolf-next-door.
Layla didn’t count on a sex demon appearing in her living room. Nor did she expect to find she’s a witch, tasked with protecting the mortal realm. And now her friend, fellow nursing student and impossible crush could be a potential killer?
She’s silently lusted after Cal for a year, knowing a guy that hot, sweet, and kind wouldn’t look twice at her. All their flirting was innocent and went nowhere, until Ink—the incubus bound to her—ran into her life and bed. Next thing she knows, Cal’s growling at her while Ink flirts, and women are being ripped apart by wild animals. Couldn’t the murder monster mystery wait until after finals?
She wanted to be a nurse, not a paranormal investigator, but Layla has no choice. Apparently only witches can stop these creatures that she didn’t even know existed a month ago. But the deeper she digs, the more it looks like Cal’s deep in the middle of it all. How can she save her friend from the claws of a cult, keep her sex-craved demon happy and find a way to let both into her heart or bed?
Excerpt from Claw
“Which part are we on?” Cal asked. He unwound the scarlet scarf knotted around his neck and unzipped the light coat. A fisherman’s cream sweater clung to his body like it never wanted to leave. Not that I could blame it.
“Tobramycin sulfate is primarily used for…?” Fariah prompted.
“Bowel prep before surgery,” Cal answered with a smile.
“And to prevent absorption of ammonia in hepatic encephalopathy,” I added, my brain kicking out a jolt of knowledge before it fully shut down.
Dana was the one who grunted. “What? Since when?” She furiously flipped back through the pages of the study guide while Cal placed a tall white cup in front of…me?
I stared up at him and he smiled. “The maple latte.”
“Wow, that’s…thank you.” I wrapped my hands around the nectar of Hermes, and a different warmth percolated through me.
“I thought I heard you mention—” Cal began, before he worried his lips to the side and for a second knocked his fingers over mine. “No problem.”
Layla, what are you doing? You have a literal sex demon bound to your soul or something. Oh, and you’re a witch with ungodly powers on top of schoolwork. This is not the time to go boyfriend shopping.
Reality chucked cold water on me, dampening the flush. I buried my face in my work, trying to ignore the sweet guy a foot away.
After she’d highlighted a mass of text, Dana snapped her piercing gaze from me to Cal and back. “Well?” she said out of nowhere. Confused, I stared at her, waiting for an explanation. “Give me a damn question, already.”
“Warfarin is used for—?”
“Blood pressure,” Fariah answered before I could finish. “Give us a harder one, Layla.”
While I scanned down the list of medications, I spotted Cal staring intently. “I’m complaining of a heart arrhythmia,” I prompted. “What would you do?”
“Check your pulse first.” Calvin caught my wrist and slid two of his fingers against it. As he leaned closer, I stared deeper into those eyes bluer than a turquoise pool.
“That’s…” I gulped, the pseudo-arrhythmia threatening to become real. Cal’s warmth washed over my skin. While testing my pulse, his ring and pinkie finger settled in my palm. Slowly, they began to swirl in a circle, casting soothing waves up my arm. “That’s not how you do it,” I said, even while I didn’t want him to stop.
But Cal blushed across his pale forehead and he released his hold. “You’re right,” he said and leaned forward. His two testing fingers pressed to my neck, right over the carotid artery. His knees bounced into mine, and he gripped the back of my chair with his other hand. All I could do was sit and stare in wonder at his sunny face inching closer to mine.
My tongue darted along my lips, preparing for something I hadn’t ever imagined possible. All those long hours with our heads bent together over books, and I’d never once thought Cal would look twice at me. His soft-peach mouth parted as if a sigh was about to release. “Your heart sounds—”
Hands slapped over my eyes. I yanked away from Cal, ready to impale my nails into whoever had attacked me from behind when a thigh-quaking voice whispered in my ear, “Guess who?”
“Ink?” I spun in my chair, smacking my shin into the table, but the pain didn’t register as I stared at my live-in incubus standing behind me. “What are you doing here?” My words snarled venom even with the thundering sexual beat kicking through me.
At least he’d put on clothing, his only outfit of a crimson button-up and black silk pants tailored for his ass. Last thing I needed was getting banned from the one good coffee shop in the city.
“Who’s this?” Calvin’s voice hit a sharp note, whipping me away from the incubus getting looks from all corners of the café.
“He’s…um.” My brain smashed straight into a brick wall. I hadn’t thought of an explanation for my little bondage-demon problem. I didn’t think he’d be foolish enough to leave my apartment. He’d seemed allergic to clothing for the past ten days. Why had he figured out trousers now?
The smile that could blind the sun rose and Ink tipped his head to Calvin. “I am Ink, if a name is requested.”
Cal snorted and folded his arms. “It wasn’t, but that’s not an answer.”
“Oh, my purpose in this world?” Ink picked up my fingers and brushed them across his cheek while a burn burst over my face. “I pleasure her flesh whenever it’s requested.”
Ellen Mint Books 