Raunchy, Rude Reader's Blog x5: Blog tour & Giveaway : Dog with a bone, by Hailey Edwards

Title: Dog With A Bone
Series & Number : Black Dog # 1

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Heat Level (sweet to erotic): Sweet

Author: Hailey Edwards

Pages or Word Count: 35K words
Publisher: self-published

Publish Date: 31 October, 2014

BLURB:

Half-bloods with Thierry’s skill set are given two options. They can join the conclave’s marshal program, or they can pack their bags. Turn down the job offer, and you’ve just shredded your residency pass for the mortal realm and booked yourself a one-way ticket to Faerie.

Texas is the only home Thierry has ever known, and she’s not going anywhere. Even if it means following in her notorious father’s footsteps as a peacekeeper. But pinning on the badge opens her eyes to the fact sometimes fae need protection too, and that sometimes humans are the real monsters.

EXCERPT :

“Here.” Mable hefted her bag onto her lap and tugged a package wrapped in festive pink paper from its depths. “This is for you.”

Bracing for a pinksplosion, I gingerly unwrapped a white gift box. So far, so good. “Wow.” I lifted a brown leather messenger bag from its tissue paper bed and traced the delicate swoops and swirls stamped into the flap. “It’s beautiful.”

She shook a finger at me. “A marshal must be prepared for any situation.”

Lifting the bag to my nose, I inhaled the fresh leather scent.

Mable delved into her purse again and presented me with an envelope. “This is also for you.” She took my gift and hooked it on the bathroom doorknob.

“What is it?” The conclave seal was printed on the front. So was my name. Very official-like.

“Open it.” Mai grabbed for it.

I stopped her with a palm to her forehead. “Get back.”

“Girls,” Mable sighed.

“She started it,” we said together.

Smothering a grin, Mable folded her arms. “Open the letter.”

I tore into it, read it once, read it twice and then my jaw dropped. “You’re kidding me.”

Tiny bubbles of excitement fizzled in my chest until I couldn’t breathe.

Mai snatched the paper, leaving me holding the torn corners mashed between my fingertips.

“Marshal Thackeray is to report to Marshal Shaw at the Southwestern Conclave Main Office on Monday at eight a.m. to start on-the-job training.” Mai hummed the opening bars of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” by The Police. “That’s hot. Six weeks just you, him and a set of restraining Words…”

Heat licked up my neck to sizzle in my cheeks. “This is serious, Mai.”

The magistrates would tear a strip off my hide if I got kinky with the spelled Words we used for restraining suspects. Most fae had iron allergies, but their metal sensitivities ran the gamut. Better to detain them with magic now than risk a lawsuit later.

“This is your career,” Mable agreed. “I respect Shaw as a marshal. I respect him as an instructor, and I believe his years of experience in the field can help you to become the marshal you want to be. But there are reasons why you two are paired so often…” she hesitated, “…despite concerns about the appropriateness of your relationship raised last year, and you should keep those reasons in mind.”

Reasons like he was the only marshal in the state of Texas resistant to my brand of magic, which volunteered him for all things Thierry. There had been talk of bringing in a transfer to alleviate some of the concerns over how much time we spent together, but the whispers never amounted to anything.

I’m sure the shortage of willing victims had nothing to do with it.

My father was the Black Dog, a death omen, like me, and like me he was bound into service to both the Seelie and Unseelie houses. Macsen was a devoted servant of Faerie, a true neutral who bowed to neither house and granted neither the light nor the dark fae exception. He was a renowned hunter who never lost his quarry, an executioner whose mercy could not be bought, begged or borrowed.

His were big shoes to fill. If he had bothered to stick around, I might have tried them on for size.

“I’m not going to mess this up. I can’t.” Conclave auspices were conditional, after all. They may have solved my legal problems with mortal authorities, but they expected a return on their investment.

I told myself becoming a marshal was my idea, my dream. Most days I even believed it.

“This job means everything to Tee,” Mai said. “She won’t mess it up, even for a hot piece of—”

“Mai,” Mable snapped.

Mai dissolved into chuckles, flopping backward across the foot of the bed and crushing my toes.

Yowch.

Mable fanned her face as she stood. “On that note, I believe I will leave you girls to it.” Heaving her purse onto her shoulder, she dropped a kiss onto the crown of my head. “See you Monday, dear.”

Mai wiggled her fingers but didn’t sit up again. Sensing her preoccupation, I waited until Mable left then settled against my pillows and waited for her to speak. When she didn’t, I nudged her thigh.

“I’m not cut out for this.” She twisted onto her side to face me. “Marshaling is hardcore.”

Unsure where this conversation was headed, I shrugged. “I guess.”

“Eight cadets were trapped in a scrapyard—can you say tetanus?—with a hulked-out incubus on a white handkerchief killing spree.” She widened her chocolate eyes. “Only one made it out alive.”

I snorted. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Says the girl with the badge on her lap,” Mai quipped.

“Yes, five year olds everywhere envy me.” I flung the broken corner at her. “What will you do if you drop out?”

“Hayashis and the conclave go way back.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’ll think of something.”

A cold knot congealed in my gut. No more academy meant no more roomie. Mai would have to clear out of our quarters, maybe before I was released. “Does this mean you’re moving back home?”

“Are you crazy?” She shoved upright. “I’ve tasted freedom, and it is sweet. Home is out.”

I pushed higher on the bed. “So what are you going to do?”

She leaned forward. “It’s what we’re going to do.”

“Okay.” I drew out the word. “What are we going to do?”

“Get an apartment.” She got on her knees and danced until she dragged the cover down my legs. “We’re eighteen. You’ve got your first job, and I’ve got...parents willing to spot me the rent money.”

“I—” I blinked. “An apartment?”

She stopped her one-woman wave long enough to cast me a serious look. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but you and your mom are in a better place now than you have been since we met.”

She was right. Mom was downright chipper when I called now that I was out from under her roof.

“Absence, heart, fonder,” I said.

“Exactly,” she agreed. “So let’s do this.” She stuck out her hand. “Roomies?”

Feeling lighter than I had in years, I shook on it. “Roomies.”

Link to title on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23211040-dog-with-a-bone

Purchase Links

Amazon http://bit.ly/1qB3vwn

            Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/1tUfh6n
            iBooks http://bit.ly/1pfK4Tw
            Kobo http://bit.ly/1nVITco

Link to follow Tour: http://bippityboppitybook.com/tour-dog/

Author Bio:

Born in the Deep South, Hailey is a lifelong resident of Alabama. Her husband works for the local sheriff’s department and her daughter is counting down the days until she’s old enough to audition for American Idol. Her doxie, Black Ilex, helps Hailey write by snoozing in his recliner in her office.

Her desire to explore without leaving the comforts of home fueled her love of reading and writing. Whenever the itch for adventure strikes, Hailey can be found with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen or squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after.