SPELL BOUND...Darkly Enchanted #1

Magic lives among us,
if you know where to look...

SPELL BOUND is the first book in the Darkly Enchanted series.

I actually wrote this book before I started the Magical Seduction series. I had this idea about curses and witches and magical protectors but I knew I didn't want to do Celtic witches. I wanted something that came from my heritage, which is Italian on my dad's side.

When I started researching Italian witchcraft, I had no idea of the rich history I'd find, in particular the work of Raven Grimassi. I devoured ITALIAN WITCHCRAFT and HEREDITARY WITCHCRAFT, which in turn led me to ETRUSCAN ROMAN REMAINS by Charles Godfrey Leland and finally led to my obsession with the Etruscans and books written by Etruscan scholars like Larissa Bonfante and Sybille Haynes.

Make no mistake, SPELL BOUND is first and foremost a romance. There's sexual tension building to steamy sex and a happily-ever-after. There's magic and bad guys and a curse and a young boy named Leo who, along with Cat, is one of my all-time favorite characters.

Shea is a strong heroine who's committed to keeping her brother Leo safe, even if that means asking the forbidding Gabriel for help. Gabriel is a magical protector with revenge on his mind. But Shea and Leo worm their way into his heart until he has to make the decision to give up his quest or give up the woman who steals his heart and condemn the boy to a fate worse than death.

Interested? You can find SPELL BOUND at Amazon and B&N, soon be available through Smashwords and in print.

How about an excerpt? A little about Gabriel, a little about Shea.

Excerpt:Another dead end.Gabriel Borelli slammed thefront door behind him and threw his coat at the nearest chair. It missed andfell to the floor with a heavy thud.Fuck it. He'd check theweapons later.Right now, he needed adrink. That bottle of Mezzaluna vodka in the cabinet didn't stand a chance. Notafter the month he'd had.Four fucking-endless weekschasing a rumor that turned into a dead end. The versipellis Harry had put him in touch with had been positive she'dseen a man who fit Dario Paganelli's description in a restaurant in the OuterBanks. It'd been his first lead in more than a year, but it'd been a damn bust.And now it was time to facethe music for his absence.Bottle in hand, he took ahealthy swallow before he picked up the black handset from the 1940s-era phoneand dialed the eight-number code to get Phil."May I help you?"As always, that high-pitchedfemale voice made him think of the old Lily Tomlin phone-operator skit on"Laugh In." His dad had loved that show."It's Brown. Messages?"Phil's purely feminine sighmade his temples throb.Damn, this is gonna suck."There are several, as youwould know if you'd checked in every week, as you're supposed to. Not once amonth, Gabriel."Gods be damned. He was a grigorio, a lean, mean, Etruscan bad-asswhose enhanced senses made it damn-near impossible for anyone to get the dropon him. His affinity for all metals but iron gave him the power to slap bulletsout of the air with a simple spell. And his unusual strength made him hard tokill and nearly impossible to beat in a fight.And Phil was not his motherso why the hell did he, a twenty-eight-year-old man, feel like he had toapologize?No way. He wasn't gonna doit. He didn't need to—"Look, I'm sorry." Shit,you're an idiot. "I've been out of touch—""And where exactly have youbeen?"Not in this lifetime, babe. "Personal business. What messages?"Phil huffed and, for a fewseconds, he was sure he was going to have to apologize again and that mightjust make him chug the rest of the bottle."Crimson Moon called threetimes."Yeah, he'd figured his momwould call at least once while he was gone, even though she had his cellnumber."Lupe's Low End calledtwice."Goddamn Quinn. His bestfriend needed to get over his distrust of cell phones, too."And one attempt was made toprocure your services."Fuck. For Phil to forward anoutside call to him meant someone had asked for him by name. That usually onlyhappened when another grigorio wantedhis help."Who was it?""Unknown."Huh? "What the hell doesthat mean?""That means," Phil huffed, "shedidn't leave her name.""And this female asked forme by name?""Yes, she asked for Mr.Brown. When I told her you were unavailable, she hung up."Well, shit. The existence ofthe grigori and the cursed streghe they protected was a carefullymaintained secret, even among the Etruscans. The story of how the women hadbeen cursed by Fabrizio Paganelli to unending life had become myth. How theirsons were born grigori, the greatwarrior protectors thought to be extinct, a legend.For someone to ask for himby his call name…"Christ, Phil. Did you findout where she was calling from? Did you—""Do you think I don't knowmy job, Gabriel Borelli?"Fuck. Second rule of being agrigorio—Don't piss off Phil."Of course you know yourjob. I'm sor—""Don't bother," she snapped."I don't appreciate your language or your insinuations, Gabriel. You areexpected at ritual in four nights. I suggest you get some sleep before you getyour ass over there. And the next time this phone rings, I expect you to answerit."Gabriel took another slugfrom the bottle as Phil hung up on him. Loudly. And not before shoving a tinyspell through the line to make his head ache. Damn, that woman was vindictive.Still, he should havechecked in. It was part of the deal. Grigoriwere to be available at all times, any time. His father, the former Mr. Brown,never would've missed a check-in.No, Davis Borelli had beenone of the best grigori ever.Before he'd been murdered byDario Paganelli.No, Dario hadn't pulled thetrigger. But the bastard was responsible for his dad's death. Just as Dario'sfather Fabrizio had been responsible for the curse that had arrested the livesof the streghe.Maybe Fabrizio would havebeen more careful if he'd known the curse would screw his son, too. The deitiescould be spiteful when they granted your wishes. Fabrizio had cursed thethirteen streghe but that curse had trappedhis son Dario in eternal life, as well.And now Dario hunted the streghe with a bloody vengeance. Thebastard had a lot to answer for. And Gabriel would make sure he answered inblood.Another few slugs and thebottle surrendered its last drop.Gabriel's gaze slid to thecabinet. No more Mezzaluna. He had a bottle of Grey Goose, but on top of the Messaluna,it might be lethal.He sat there for a fewseconds, wondering just how drunk he needed to be to take his mind off the factthat he wasn't any closer to finding Dario and murdering him.Pretty damn drunk.He definitely needed achange of scenery.***