Two Great Beach Reads! CROWNING A WARRIOR KING by Diana Castilleja, and WATCHING HER EVERY MOVE by Diana DeRicci

We have a Twofer Today from Diana Castilleja, aka Diana DeRicci!

Life has been calm and quiet for Aran for almost seven years since moving into Banter. She is a prosperous business owner, has friends, and helps those in need without question. Yet a delivery of a mysterious jewel encrusted box changes all of that for her in an instant.

Not only is the mysterious box enchanted, revealing someone knows of her deepest secrets, it imprisons a man unlike any other. Bold, fearsome, strong. A warrior from a place she's never heard of, a land she's never known. And the most glaring fact to his arrival is she is the only one with the knowledge to set him free, with a magic he cannot trust.

Rordan must return to the kingdom of Eglandor to stop the wicked sorceress who has imprisoned him, deliver the throne to King Tah-lel's appointed heir, and fulfill his destiny with the woman from another time, another world. And there's only so much time to do it all with the King's health failing and an uprising from within only waiting for the moment to claim the throne.
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Janel waited, still and silent in the near darkness of the gray predawn hours. Hidden in the depths of the forest's shadows, his sharp gaze swept constantly for any sign of discovery. He wrapped his cloak a little closer, ignoring the chill of the early spring night. His horse stood solid, battle trained and steady under his hand, a mere flick of an ear alerting him to an approaching rider. Unexpectedly, an owl flew overhead to settle into the warped branches of a nearby tree, quieting to settle down for the remainder of the night time hours. Janel dismissed the night raptor with hardly a thought, comforting his horse when he felt the impatient twitch of hardened muscles beneath him. Janel could sympathize. He was not feeling too patient himself.

Out of the darkness beyond the trees where he could see, a faint bird's call reached him, then sounded again. Janel answered in kind and felt a swell of relief to know Quinn had arrived. His presence meant the first stages of their plans had been successful, or so he hoped.

He slid silently from his saddle to the forest floor, a thick carpeting of leaves of past autumns cushioning his booted step. Janel's hand poised naturally yet alert on the hilt of his sword until he could discern Quinn's form in the shadows for himself.

Janel was a warrior, a Captain of his King's favored guard and tonight, he, Quinn and Loden had undertaken a mission that the very Kingdom was dependent on. Janel only had mere hours to complete his task once set into motion. He was proud he had been granted this opportunity to again prove himself worthy. He had the highest honor any guardsman could hope for. The chance to protect the King and the kingdom.

Janel lifted a pensive hand to Quinn's horse's bridle, and asked just one question. "Was Loden successful?"

Quinn, tall and dark, slid from his horse with the grace of his kind. With his answer, Janel felt a flare of hope. "He was. I have the box."
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Title CROWNING A WARRIOR KING
Author name DIANA CASTILLEJA
Publisher TEASE PUBLISHING
Buy link July 15th, ARe books
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Agent Jonas Dreyer has been working night and day to intercept valuable memory chips before they are delivered into the wrong hands. A happily confirmed bachelor with good reason, he never expects for the woman who is struck by his suspect in a wild foot chase to be the one, his mate.

Neither do they expect her to be targeted as the only person who may know where the vanished chips may be.
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Excerpt:

Jonas leapt at the man as his prey tried to scramble over the poor woman he’d crashed into.

“Freeze,” he snarled, shackling the man’s collar in a relentless grip. He yanked at the young man, almost a boy really, practically jerking him to his feet in his rush of anger, forgetting to watch his strength for a brief moment. Jonas would have caught him. No one could outrun him. The poor woman had just made it a shorter chase. The young man lurched off of the woman he’d collided with, flailing and clawing to wrench himself free.

“Stacee.” The woman who had blocked any other avenue of his guy’s getaway dropped to her knees, shopping bags scattered in colorful disarray around the pair. Staring at her unmoving friend in numb shock, her features paled. Jonas couldn’t spare either more than a glance. His attention was on the guy in his fist, but it bothered him that she still lay prone on the ground.

The youth twisted and fought against the steel of Jonas’s grip but there was no way in Hell he’d let him get away now. Not after months of surveillance and tracking. Too much was at stake in this investigation. “Where is the packet?” Yanking uncooperative hands behind his back, Jonas snapped handcuffs on his capture. Deep draughts filled his lungs after his three block chase.

“I don’t have anything!” he shouted.

Jonas shook him and the youth’s light black jacket shimmied and swayed with the force behind Jonas’s tugs. He bucked his shoulders trying to dislodge Jonas. It didn’t work. He shoved him against glass, pressing him into the storefront with no remorse. Jonas was oblivious to the gathering crowd gawking and murmuring amongst themselves. His attention was on one person only. He searched the young man’s pockets and along his waistband for anything. He scowled when he came up empty on all counts.

“Where is it?” Jonas demanded, leaning in close to make sure his growl of anger wasn’t missed. Or misunderstood. Stupidly, the young man showed no fear at the threat right behind him.

All Jonas got in answer was a smug, arrogant smirk over a shoulder.

“That isn’t going to work on the judge,” he warned quietly, leaning in to make sure the point wasn’t lost on his quarry. Sirens wailed. The street cops were arriving along with his department. There was no mistaking the two different types of vehicles. People began to crush in wanting to see more. Damn ‘bloody wreck’ gawkers! Of course, no one had stopped to help the poor woman out cold on the pavement. He had moments when he just hated the human race.

“Step back!” Jonas shouted over the crowd. “Police business.” Most ignored him, stopping like statues rather than dispersing. They were smart enough to create an invisible line and not cross it. Good to know his snarl still worked. No sense in escalating the free drama into a full blown riot.

“Stacee,” the other woman whimpered, brushing away a tangle of auburn red hair from her friend’s face. Only about two minutes had passed since she’d been hit, but she still wasn’t moving.

He couldn’t let go of the blonde guy in his grip, but spared the unconscious woman a quick studying look. Shoulder length hair spilled across her back, where he did a quick inventory down to a tapered waist and a very nice rear, showcased by designer’s intuition in form-fitting jeans. “Is she breathing?”

Her friend snapped up at his question, her eyes full of worry, then nodded from her side on the ground.

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WATCHING HER EVERY MOVE

by DIANA DERICCI

From Purple Sword Publishing
To Buy, click here.
To read racier chapter, go here.

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