(mage archaeologist)
Recipe by Nancy Northcott
Warrior (The Light Mage Wars Book 2)
*Start with a six-one, solid frame
*Layer it with lean, toned muscle from years of martial arts
*Add a kind heart more scarred than even his closest friends suspect
*Mix in fierce loyalty and courage
*Fold in unshakeable determination and keen intelligence
Mix well.
Season with:
*Bone-deep honor
*Enjoyment of sensual pleasure, both his and his partner’s
*Avoidance of serious relationships
*A sense of humor
Garnish with:
*Arctic blue eyes
*Streaky brown-blond hair
*Habitual beard scruff
Yields one sexy mage archaeologist. Serve with caution--proximity to smart, attractive women makes the air around him sizzle.
Taste Test
“What?” Will asked, putting his phone away. “Have I grown an extra head?”
Audra smiled to show she didn’t care about his choices. “It’s not my business. Sorry I couldn’t help overhearing.”
“What’s not your business?” He strolled closer, smiling slightly. “This is honesty hour, babe. If you’ve got a question, ask it.”
Audra hesitated, but his friendly smile encouraged her to go ahead. Maybe she was imagining that hint of danger in the depths of his eyes.
“Well, if we’re being honest, I’d rather you not call me babe.” Or sugar or hon or any other name he called the women he flirted with and probably went to bed with, and, again, so not her business. “It’s not an image I find professional.”
“Fair enough. Okay.”
“Okay? Just like that?”
Will shrugged. “Why not? It isn’t as though I don’t know your name.”
Audra bit her lip. She had no right to criticize anything about his social life.
“If there’s something else,” he added, raising an eyebrow, “spit it out and let’s go.” The glint in his eyes dared her.
That glint jabbed her like a needle. “I apologize for overhearing, but I couldn’t help it.” When he nodded, she continued, “Your business is your business, but I noticed...”
Will said nothing, just watched her with that little smile and that dangerous expression. Audra steeled her spine.
“I just wondered whether you always turn on the charm when you’re trying to divert a woman.”
“Sometimes. It usually works.”
“Based on these two phone calls, it seems to, though Denise Larrabee is smart and tenacious. Whoever you were talking to a minute ago also seemed to back down when you flirted with her.”
“Flirting is an ancient human custom,” Will responded. “Do you have a problem with it?”
“No, of course not.” Audra wheeled in exasperation. “I shouldn’t have brought it up, but it’s just hard to believe they let you get away with it.”
She turned back, only to find Will less than a hand span away, still with that cocky smile.
“So you’d be impervious?” he asked softly.
Yes. Of course. No hot guy would distract her from a goal she cared about. But some primitive instinct warned her not to say so. Audra picked a point over his shoulder and stared at it. Anything was better than looking at him.
“There’s no good answer to that. Just forget I mentioned it and--”
Will used two fingers to tip her chin up. Her eyes met his, and the words died in her throat. His cocky look faded into a searching, intent one. Then he leaned down and kissed her.
A flash of heat blanked Audra’s brain. The world spun, and she reached for the nearest solid anchor--Will. He cupped her cheek as his free arm slid around her waist, steadying her and tugging her gently against him. The full body contact generated another brain-blinding flare.
Will’s mouth was warm and soft on hers. Tantalizing. Demanding.
Audra made a small sound in her throat, or maybe Will did. It seemed to restore a measure of sanity. She pulled back, breaking the kiss.
He lifted his head, and his eyes were dazed for an instant before they darkened with consternation. Releasing her, he took a step back.
Audra fought to level her breathing. As kisses went, that had been a mild one, yet her blood raced and her heart pounded. What would a serious kiss with him be like?
Not that they had any business kissing at all.
“Damn.” Will sounded slightly breathless, something she wasn’t too big a person to relish just a bit.
He ran a hand over his face. “That should not have happened. It was my fault.”
“To be fair, I didn’t exactly push you away. But you’re right that it was inappropriate.”
Mind-bending, body-flaming, and marvelous but totally inappropriate.
Audra summoned the most casual voice she could. “It was also a sneaky way to win an argument. Anyway, like I said, I can’t believe they let you get away with it.”
Will gaped at her for a second before he grinned. “Well, that shows me. You win, Dr. Grayson.”
Archaeologist Audra Grayson is finding out-of-place relics that could torpedo her already shaky career. Now brilliant, sexy consultant Will Davis is sent to take over. Worse, working on the site strengthens the evil shadow that nearly ruined her before, and she fears he not only suspects her of fraud but thinks she’s crazy--unfit for the job.
A Mage Who Must Oppose it At All Costs
Will magically senses the darkness in Audra when they meet, and he vows to ignore their growing attraction. When deadly ghouls target her project, Will realizes they want the odd relics to open a portal for demons from the Void between worlds, making everything on Earth an endangered species.
The Fate of the World at Stake
With ghoul attacks escalating and mage traitors in league with the enemy, time is running out for Will to stop the portal from opening. The chemistry between him and Audra threatens to combust, but the darkness within her may give the enemy its chance. If she’s its victim, he must free her. If she’s its ally, he must destroy the love of his life.
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Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in the books she writes.
Her debut novel, Renegade, received a starred review from Library Journal. The reviewer called it “genre writing at its best.” Nancy is a three-time RWA Golden Heart finalist and has won the Maggie, the Molly, the Emerald City Opener, and Put Your Heart in a Book.
Married since 1987, Nancy and her husband have one son, a bossy dog, and a house full of books.
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