Title: THE PUREST OF THE BREED
Author: Tracy Tappan
Genre: Paranormal romance
Book Blurb:
★ 2014 USA Best Books Award Finalist ★
Hidden deep beneath the city of San Diego is the mysterious town of Ţărână.
Nothing here is as it seems.
Because everything they tell her is a lie.
Debilitated by scoliosis as a child, Marissa Bonaventure seems the unlikeliest woman in the world to carry a rare, powerful gene. But it is exactly for her unique genetics that she’s snatched from her bed one dark night, a coveted prize in a battle between demons. Her world rapidly unravels in unspeakable terror…until a shadowed, black-haired stranger rescues her.
Spirited off to the safety of a subterranean town, Marissa agrees to stay there and work her dream job for one year. But secrets hide around every corner, none more confusing than those shrouding her hunky hero.
Special operative Dev Nichita has found her at last - his true mate. But the lies he’s been forced to tell her put their fledgling relationship at risk when it finally comes out that he’s a vampire.
More than that, Dev is a Pure-bred male, steeped from birth in his family’s arrogance and pride, so when Marissa pulls away from him, he can’t handle her rejection. Bitterly, he drives her further away…until a devastating tragedy calls him back to her. Now he has the chance to right his wrongs. But just when he’s on the verge of triumph, a treacherous move by his spiteful mother banishes Marissa from his life forever…unless he’s willing to kill an innocent.
Excerpt:
Inhaling a deep sigh, she leaned over him, reaching for his wine glass with a languorous movement that brushed her breast against his arm.
He stiffened as if she’d just shoved an icy thermometer up his ass.
She turned her head toward him, her lips next to his ear, caressing him with her breath as she said, “I made Osso Bucco for—”
He crashed to his feet.
She yelped as his hard shoulder knocked the wine bottle out of her hand. It flew and flipped, then hit the floor on its side and spun, spraying red wine around her room sprinkler-style.
“Dammit, Devid!” She balled her hands into fists and glared at him through a sudden sheen of tears. “What’s your problem?!”
“Nothing. I…” He jerked away from the table. “I just think maybe we should go to Garwald’s for a—”
“Oh, I know, you forgot to take your vitamins this morning, didn’t you?” Swallowing back her tears, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and heated her glare to boiling.
He released a fractured breath. “I’m…not sure what…?”
“Or maybe you put on the wrong pair of underwear.”
His eyebrows crashed together. “What are you talking about?”
She flung out an arm. “I’m just trying to figure out what excuse you’re going to use tonight not to sleep with me.”
“E-excuse?” His Adam’s apple moved up and down. “Why would I do that, Marissa? I’ve just been, you know…”
“Oh, gimme a break,” she snapped back. “From that original groin injury, you’ve gone from ‘I feel like I’m catching a cold’ to ‘I’m kind of tired tonight’ and ‘I have to get up early tomorrow,’ onto incredibly drool-brain stuff like ‘I think we should get to know each other better first’—ha!—and ‘I want you to be sure that I respect you.’ Respect!” she spat the word. “Gee, thanks, Dev, but if it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to have my knees pinned back to my ears and my ankles swinging while you pound me into the headboard rather than your non-orgasm-inspiring respect!” Which wasn’t entirely true, but she’d had it.
His mouth fell open with a silent clang.
She marched over to her bed and pointed a rigid finger at it. “You get in this bed right now and have sex with me, Devid, or we’re through with this date. I mean it. The only excuse I’ll accept this time is that you don’t have a penis.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Do you have a penis?”
His face turned the shade of a Red Delicious apple.
“Do you!?”
“Yes, Jesus. Of course, I have a…a…” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I just don’t want to.”
“Don’t want to, what?” Wait. “Have sex?” she qualified in shock.
His face, if possible, stained even redder. “Yeah.”
Humiliation rose up to burn in her throat. Tight-lipped, she asked, “Are my boobs too small, is that it?”
“What?” Dumbfounded, he transferred his gaze to the offending mammaries.
Her voice came out small and hurt, she couldn’t help it. “Why don’t you want me?” God, this was like standing in front of him in her back brace.
His attention shot up to her face, then his shoulders sagged. “Ah, shit,” he moaned, pressing his eyelids with thumb and forefinger. “I do, Riss. So much, you have no idea.”
“You just said you didn’t.”
“No. No. I meant… Hell.” His stared at the floor. “I just can’t.”
The realization hit her, bottoming out her stomach. Why hadn’t she figured this out before? He didn’t have a penis, metaphorically speaking, at least. “Oh, crap,” she said in an undertone. “You’re impotent.”
Anger flared across his expression. “No, dammit,” he growled. “Don’t say that word. I hate that fucking word. I’m not…that, not in the way you think. I can get it up, I just need certain conditions to be met first.”
She paused, blinking. Then she exhaled a chafing breath. Oh, this was so much worse. He was a pervert. “You need me to…to…? Pee on you or something?”
His eyes seemed to bug. “Wh-what?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Tracy_Tappan_The_Purest_of_the_Breed?id=pYRiDwAAQBAJ
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-purest-of-the-breed-tracy-tappan/1121648649?ean=9780991261338
What’s your favorite part about being a romance author?
Spending my days living in worlds of my own creation.
Here’s my tip to add romance to your love life:
Focus on the small things. Saying “thank you” to your partner, holding hands, expressing love in various ways. My husband leaves a Post-it note for me up in the kitchen every morning with a funny hand-drawn cartoon on it. He includes FAAF on every Post-it note—“For Always And Forever.”
I’d rather have those daily Post-its than a new car. :o)
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon US or Canada gift card.
Open internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon CA account to win.
Runs February 1 – 28, 2023.
Drawing will be held on March 1, 2023.
Author Biography:
Tracy’s books in paranormal and military romance have earned both bronze and gold medals in the Readers’ Favorite contests, have finaled for the USA Book News and Kindle Book Awards, and won both the HOLT Medallion and the Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY).
Tracy holds a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, Child Counseling (MFCC), loves to play tennis, enjoys a great glass of wine, and talks to her Labrador like he’s a human (admittedly, the wine drinking and the dog talking probably go together).
A native of San Diego, Tracy is married to a former Navy helicopter pilot, who retired after thirty years of service. He and Tracy spent over ten years living in Rome, Italy, in the diplomatic corps.
Visit her website and join the gang on her monthly newsletter for giveaways, publication updates, and other fun and sexy news. Tracytappan.com
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