Sneak Peek 2 of Baptism by Fire, Book 2 of the Stillwind Series by Mia Smantz
#thestillwindseries #miasmantz #SashaLiPopova #gamma #reverseharem #reverseharemseries #settingfire
Hello all!
Welcome to the sneak peeks countdown. With the second book of the new series, Baptism by Fire, soon to be released on July 1st, I'll be posting some snippets from the story to whet your whistles :)
This book has been a long time in the making, so if you're still here, thanks for sticking through.
Some notes before we get to the good stuff... my first series, The Cardinal Series is all completed and available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for free. It's also available for purchase. If you're interested in purchasing a hardcopy set of the first two books, The Cardinal Bird and Cardinal Caged, you can buy the first volume here. This volume is also available in the Kindle Unlimited store if you want to purchase or add to your ten-book Unlimited list to help free up a slot for another great book. I know I always have a hard time trying to cull my ten-book limit. Get the Kindle version here. Soon, I'll be bundling the second volume of the series to include Cardinal of Hope and The Cardinal Sin as well as Cardinal Rose and The Red Cardinal. I'll make sure to announce it on social media.
One more thing before the preview, I've created the preorder for the next book in the series, Backfire, so be sure to preorder your copy today!
Baptism by Fire, Book 2
SNEAK PEEK
I trotted downstairs, getting a blast of pleasant breakfast aromas in the face as I opened the bottom door. Eli had been here a while. Coffee steam already swirled through the air, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was baking something.
Recent events had me hesitating. “Eli?”
The large man came through the door and gave me a strange look. “Yeah. You expecting someone else?”
My heart settled with relief that I tried not to show on the outside. “I wanted to make sure it was you. Weirder things have happened.”
I had dragged Eli right into the thick of things with me when he flipped his usual script and cracked an iron skillet over one of my attackers’ heads. He mulled that statement over in his mind before nodding in concession. “True,” he agreed, entering the kitchen fully. “We’re all good to go, I just finished the coffee.”
I looked him over. Before meeting the pesky Viking, Eli and my dad had been the biggest men I’d known. They both pushed close to that six-and-a-half-foot mark and were all around massive figures. However, whereas Papa used his stoicism to intimidate the masses because he enjoyed his space, Eli was like one of those impressive-sized carnival teddy bears.
Everything about him was playful and friendly, from his curly brown locks and laughing eyes to his easy, wide smile that dimpled his cheeks. He always had a suntan, and unlike my own golden hue gifted down the line from some unknown ancestor, his darker complexion was because he loved spending time outdoors. He had a Jeep, and the minute the mountain weather permitted it, he stripped the top off to cruise around with the sun on his face.
Apart from the dimples that invariably popped out when he was teasing me—with his crush on deep dimpled Kara, if they ever got together, their babies would be devastating—his most intriguing feature had to be his bright eyes. They were a mint green that seemed to glow, but on closer inspection showed swirls of ocean blue and microscopic flecks of maroon in the mix.
He leaned his tall frame closer, propping his elbows on the counter near me. “So apart from the crazy mob theories, what made you doubt it was me?”
I blinked and cleared my throat as I tried not to pick out those pesky red speckles I’d just been thinking about with his proximity. “It smells like you’re baking.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I am. Cinnamon rolls.”