JOLENE'S POOKA by Kate Hill Format(s): Ebook/Paper Available in paperback in the anthology A Changeling for All Seasons. Heat Level: Erotic Pairing(s): M/F Genre/Themes: Paranormal Length: Short Story Publisher: Changeling Press Cover Art: Bryan Keller ISBN: 978-1-59596-163-1 Purchase Links:Changeling Press / Barnes and Noble / Amazon Related Books or Books Set in the Same Universe: Blurb: When a handsome, shapeshifting fairy sets his heart on a mortal woman who is tired of her hustle-and-bustle life, it makes for a St. Patrick's Day neither of them will ever forget. Larkin has refused to disappear from his native Ireland, even though his kind are now only considered the stuff of legends. Lonely for companionship and the sensation of a soft, mortal maiden to share his bed, he is intrigued when, for the first time in ages, a woman is actually able to see him. Seeking refuge from her tense corporate lifestyle, Jolene travels to a small Irish town to visit an old school chum. Secretly, she longs for more than just peace and quiet. She wants the love of a real man - one who is not afraid to sweep a woman off her feet and possess her completely. One night she is followed home by a black, fiery-eyed steed who has the shocking ability to speak. In a deep, enchanting voice he summons her to join him. He is the pooka. A mythic creature who somehow seems to know the deepest desires of her very soul - and he wants nothing more than to make her his woman. The following excerpt from JOLENE'S POOKA is for readers 18 and over. Excerpt from JOLENE'S POOKA: "Close your eyes," he ordered. For some reason, she obeyed. She gasped, feeling as if she was floating on air. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer on the stallion's back, but in the arms of an absolutely gorgeous black-haired, green-eyed man. His chiseled face was shadowed with a hint of stubble. The neck she clung to was powerful and the arms cradling her were thickly-muscled. Hesitantly, she slipped a hand across his bare chest, loving its warmth and the sensation of hair against her palm. "Fallon said if I acknowledged you, you'd be bored with me and leave." "Many of my kind once played such games, but that was never my way. Friends and lovers I keep for life." "Lovers?" He nodded, his penetrating eyes fixed on hers. The rise and fall of his chest as he breathed comforted her, yet at the same time incited her passion. Good sense told her she should be absolutely terrified. She was in the presence of a creature that should not exist. He had just changed from beast to man in a blink. Things like that simply didn't happen. "You're trembling," he said. "Are you cold?" "Aren't you?" "We'll soon be warm." He carried her to the castle and into a bedchamber. In spite of the dilapidated state of the rest of the place, the room was clean and beautifully furnished, from the canopied bed to the rug in front of the huge fireplace where flames crackled and leapt. "What is this place?" "It was my home once. Every autumn my brothers and I would haunt this land, feasting on crops and tempting maidens. I can still taste the sweetness of both." He closed his eyes for a moment, an impassioned look sweeping his handsome features. "But that was long ago. The world has changed much since then. Sometimes, if I think hard, I can still catch the scent of the villagers' fires. I can hear their voices and see their lanterns aglow with candlelight. But those are just memories. I can't truly touch them, as I'm touching you now." He placed her on her feet in front of the fire and cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her face up to his. His hand moved to her cheek. Caressing it gently, he leaned forward the slightest bit and brushed a kiss across her forehead. His lips were moist and soft, yet at the same time firm. She could just imagine how good they would feel against hers. "Will you share yourself with me, woman?" he asked close to her ear, his warm breath caressing her neck. "Will you let me pleasure your body and mingle your spirit with mine? Give me a taste of what I once had." "In return for introducing you to the modern world?" "It's long past time for me. What do they say? Out with the old and in with the new."

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