Burdens of a Saint - by Joan Hazel

If you read The Last Guardian and need more, Joan Hazel's new book has arrived. We're featuring an excerpt from Burdens of a Saint today on Fresh Pot of Tea:

 But before we read the excerpt, what is the book about?

Your life will change today...

When Janet Beesinger writes the words in red on her calendar, she has no idea what they mean. But, as a psychic, she knows when the universe gifts you with personal information, you listen.  How was she to know the Universe meant an irritating and sexy shape-shifter who would challenge everything about her life?

Saint Wolfe can feel the gravity of his arrangement with the goddess Hel closing in around him, forcing him to confront his past and the betrayal of the woman he was to marry. Needing to make peace with his past, he returns to New Orleans in search of forgiveness, only to be confronted by his own immortality. His only hope for atonement lies in the hands of a woman claiming to be a psychic. Will she be able to help Saint find salvation before his debt to Hel comes due?

And here is the wonderful excerpt:

Fergus pushed away from the wall. With whirlwind speed, he flipped Ghost sideways, and without losing momentum, Fergus shoved Ghost above his head. Walking toward a window, Fergus paused in contemplation.

"Don't just stand there!" CJ yelled to Saint. "Do something!"

Saint hated to admit it, but he was torn. The storm between Fergus and Ghost had been brewing for quite a while, and frankly, he was tired of playing the peacemaker between the two of them.

His logical side said to stop them. It was the right and proper thing for him to do. Yet his illogical side told him to let the pair fight it out. Whatever troubled them needed to be brought out in the open, even if it meant they tore each other limb from limb. After all, they were shape shifters and would heal. The furniture, on the other hand, had taken enough punishment.

With more calm than he actually felt, Saint crossed the battle-torn room. "Let him go, brother." Saint spoke in even tones.

"Not until this dirty, little fice learns his place," Fergus grunted.

“Are you ever going to come into the twenty-first century? Really, who says fice anymore?” Ghost asked nonchalantly, which seemed rather odd, considering his present predicament.

“I say fice because that is what you are, a small, snappy, contemptuous little mongrel. No other word fits quite as well,” Fergus answered.

"Your words mean nothing to me," Ghost spat. "I’m tired of standing in the shadow of the big badass Fergus Wolfe. Ass being the important word in that sentence."

Fergus lifted Ghost higher above his head. "Bastard!”

"Ora basta!" Saint commanded in Italian. “That’s enough.”

Ghost thinks only Fergus uses antiquated words. He has no idea the words I want to use, Saint thought. Even though the battle between his brothers had pushed Saint beyond his breaking point, he remained the epitome of composure.

He placed a calming hand on Fergus's arm. "You know you don’t want to do this."

"By the gods, I want nothing more," Fergus spat.

Saint noted that neither Fergus's voice nor his body showed the strain of holding a fully grown man above his head. After nearly three hundred years, Saint was still amazed by his brother's strength and control.

"Then do it!" Ghost barked. "Throw me out like the garbage you think I am."

Joan Hazel has written three novels that range from paranormal fantasy to contemporary to historical fiction. An accomplished actress and vocalist, she has performed with companies across the eastern United States. In her spare time, she plays with a colorful cast of characters who live in her head. She currently resides in DeLand, Fla., with her husband, Ricky, and their two fur kids.

The Last Guardian, by Joan Hazel

Joan Hazel's book, The Last Guardian, is on my reading list this summer. I can't wait to read a story about a group of shapeshifters.

But there's more than that - there's Mika, see. Ever since I learned about Joan's book, I've been drooling over her character. He's not just Mika, he's My Mika. Why you ask? I'll show you why:

OK! So now that we understand that whole concept, Joan has been kind enough to allow me to host an excerpt from The Last Guardian. And as a special treat, she has featured a steamy scene with CJ and with My Mika.

cover for The Last Guardian

"Do you not know me?" Mika spoke directly to her, yet continued to stare out into the middle of the lake. There was sadness in his voice, and CJ was unsure if the sadness belonged to her or to something else.

Did she know the man at her side? Her heart said yes, but her mind said no. Without shame or guilt, CJ stared at her companion.

He was taller than she by maybe four inches, no more. The earrings he wore were made from real feathers, wrapped with silver wire. The one closest to her swayed gently from the beating of his heart. Her gaze followed the long length of his braids to where they ended slightly above his belt.

The sleeves of the scarlet shirt he wore were rolled up exposing his forearms. Try as she might, CJ could not stop the woman in her from wondering if the skin beneath his shirt was the same deep sun-kissed color as the part she saw.

A laugh, deep and masculine, echoed across the lake. She would have thought it her imagination, had the sound not been followed by the plopping of frogs as they scattered into the water in surprise.

CJ's lifted her gaze to Mika's face. Still he stared ahead, unwavering. "Are you going to answer me?" she asked.

"The answer is yes," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, my skin is the same color all over."

"I did not mean…How did you…"

"I have been inside your mind since you were a child. It is easy for me to slip in and out of your thoughts without your notice."

The author, Joan Hazel

CJ grunted and crossed her arms over her chest in defiance.

"Forgive me. I did not mean to embarrass you," he whispered.

"You didn't. I, uh…" Okay, she thought. I am embarrassed. Dang it! "You still did not answer my original question," she said trying to change the subject.

"Does that mean you have finished taking inventory?" he asked with a hint of male smugness.

CJ blushed, but felt no true remorse. "You asked if I did not know you. I was only checking to see if I recognized you. Which, I am sorry to say I did not."

"Very well," he said, facing her.

Though there was little emotion in his voice, his eyes held a pain and longing CJ did not understand, yet felt compelled to erase.

Mika took her hand in his and placed it over his heart. Her pulse quickened at his touch.

"What…uh…what are you...?" she stammered.

"Do not speak, Charlie Jean," he said. "Only trust."

CJ peered deep into his caramel eyes. Gold flecks twinkled and danced in a way that was mesmerizing. If he asked her to walk on a bed of hot coals at this moment, she would do it for him.

"Close your eyes," he requested as he brought up his other hand to cover her eyelids with his palm.

If any other man had tried to touch her in such a way, CJ would have pulled away, but she ignored her mind's protests and did as he asked. With eyes closed, CJ allowed Mika to guide her wherever he wished.

"I need to know that you trust me, Wicahpi. Truly trust me."

CJ nodded her obedience. "I do," she whispered. "I don't know why, but I do." Even with her eyes closed, she knew her statement had made him smile, and that made her happy.

"This is real CJ. I am real. I need you to open your mind," he instructed her. "Open you mind and your heart. Allow them to guide you to our Mother. She gives us all the answers. It is our job to know how to receive them."

Time held no influence over the events that were taking place. For CJ it seemed to be both an eternity and mere seconds. The heat of Mika's body radiated though his shirt to penetrate into her hand, and the rhythm of his heart pulsed strong and steady through her fingertips and into her body.

"Listen. Can you hear it? Can you hear my heart beat?

"Yes," she whispered.

"As my heart beats, so does that of every living thing upon the Earth. Every creature. Every plant. Even the water. Can you hear those?"

Timidly, CJ opened her heart and her senses to the world about her. She heard the breeze as it whispered through the pines and recognized the songs of the different birds that sang along its branches.

The world around her buzzed and thrummed. Each sound blended with the next to create a symphony that played in time to the beat of Mika's heart.

"You feel it. Don't you?" Mika asked.

"I feel it, but—but what is it?"

"Connection," he explained. "Connection to the Universe and all she has to offer you.”

*****

Oh, let's just have one more look at Mika, shall we?