Excerpt Time!
In one week, DEMONS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN will release. I’m so excited to share Boris’s story with you. So I thought I would tease you with an excerpt of the book to see what you think.
Here goes…
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Chapter 1
Boris Chesnokov was a demon with a clan to run. And as much as he loved his clan and his family, sometimes he wished…well, he didn’t dare truly voice his wish, because he’d already been blessed with a loving mate once.
But that wasn’t his reality anymore. Instead, he would remain vigilant while caring for his clan. Every last one of them.
Take his mother, for instance. She was up to something. And while it was a weekly, and sometimes daily, occurrence, this time Boris was nervous.
Why?
Because she’d agreed with him, which rarely happened. After months of refusing to talk to him about hiring a companion for her, she just did a complete turnaround. She was suddenly willing to talk about it.
Which had the hairs on the back of his neck tingling.
He was the leader of one of the strongest demon clans on earth and he still couldn’t control his own mother.
He didn’t think it was too much to ask to have someone help his mother with all the tasks she took on for the clan. She was over a thousand years old, for Fates’ sake. A spry one thousand and thirteen years old to be sure, but she still could use some help.
When his Anna died, Irina immediately stepped forward to help with raising his sons as well as all the tasks Anna had taken on as the clan leader’s wife. And with the recent birth of his youngest son Sergei and his mate Lela’s baby boy, his mother had been helping them out as well. He could never truly repay her for everything she had done for him, his sons, and their clan, but if he could help relieve some of her burdens, then it would be a small price to pay.
Now he sat at his mother’s kitchen table with his mouth hanging open.
“Boris, dear, close your mouth or you’ll attract flies,” Irina said with a twinkle in her eye. And his mother had a perpetual twinkle, which was normally followed by a witty comment.
“I’m glad you’re finally willing to entertain the idea of a companion, Mother. I’m sure there is someone in the clan who would be a good fit for the job.”
Irina held up a hand. “I have some conditions.”
Of course she did.
“I will be the one to decide who my companion is.”
“I would expect you to be part of the selection process. I have some suggestions.”
She held up her hand again. “I already put together a list of potential companions.”
Of course she had.
He took a deep breath. “And where did you come up with this list?”
“I listed the position on the demon job site.”
This was not good. His mother was posting jobs on the Internet? “We need to interview the candidates.”
Irina waved her hand. “I’ve already interviewed several. I did online sessions.”
He blinked at her. “Online sessions?”
“Yes. You really need to get with the times, dear. Everything is done online now.”
His thousand-year-old mother just told him to get with the times.
“And how did the interviews go?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t find anyone who is a good fit.”
Maybe he could get control of the situation again. “So we look at potential candidates in the clan.”
Irina shrugged. “There is really no need. I had a brilliant idea, and I’ve narrowed it down to one candidate.”
His neck hairs started tingling again, especially at the words brilliant idea. “And who in the clan have you chosen?”
“She isn’t part of the clan.”
Forget tingling, his neck hairs were now standing at attention. “Mother, who is she?”
“Gwen.”
He blinked. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. “Gwen? As in Sam’s mother, Gwen?”
“Yes.”
“She’s agreed to this?”
“Not yet. But she will. She’s returning today from her visit with Sam and Marrick in the realm.”
He had officiated at Sam and Marrick’s wedding last week, where Gwen walked her daughter down the aisle.
“I thought she was traveling the world now the Pavel dropped the murder charges.”
Irina pushed a plate of cookies in his direction. “She has been traveling for months now, but it must be getting old. She needs a place to rest her head for a while.”
“I’m not sure if Gwen would be a good fit for this job.”
The twinkle in Irina’s eyes disappeared and was quickly replaced with determination. He had seen this very same look too many times before.
“Boris Alexander Chesnokov, how long have you known me?”
Was that a trick question?
Thankfully she continued speaking. “Am I not an excellent judge of character?”
When he didn’t respond, she glared at him. Apparently she expected a response to this one.
“Yes.”
“Exactly. If I feel Gwendolyn will be a good companion for me, then you need to trust my judgment.”
He looked at the stubborn tilt of her jaw and knew he might be taking his life in his hands, but he spoke up anyway. “I don’t know if she’d want to do this. To settle down here.”
His mother stared at him for a drawn-out moment before nodding. Wait…was she agreeing with him?
“Which is why I am going to tell her she can do it on a trial basis. I’m going to ask her to stay for a couple of months to help me. Lela is just settling into motherhood, and she can’t do as much on her job with the immigration bureau. Between Gwen and I, we can help.”
Boris really didn’t have any other arguments to counter with.
“I think Gwen needs a clan to call her own.” She gave him a pointed look.
“Of course she’s welcome here.”
Irina patted his hand. She pushed her chair back from the table. “I made sharlotka this morning. The apples I bought were perfect for it. Would you like a piece?”
His favorite dessert too? Before he could respond, she went to the counter and cut a generous piece, humming to herself while she sprinkled on powdered sugar before setting it in front of him. “It’s still warm.”
There went his alarm bells again. His mother was up to something. What, he wasn’t sure, but he would get it out of her.
Eventually.
What he didn’t tell his mother was, his alarm bells also rang whenever he was around Gwen. There was something about her that knocked him off-kilter, and he was rarely off-kilter.
He couldn’t afford to be, because he had a clan to run.
