Spell Cat
by Tara Lain
Blurb:
When Killian Barth, history professor, meets Blaine Genneau, quantum physicist, they ignite their own big bang. But Killian can’t pursue a physics professor—or a human. As the most powerful male witch in ten generations, Killian must bolster his dying race by reproducing—despite the fact that he’s gay.
Even a fling with Blaine is out of the question, because Killian has been told sex with humans drains his power. But if that’s true, why can young human Jimmy Janx dissolve spoons with the power of his mind? If Killian can sort through the lies he’s been fed, he’ll still face his biggest obstacle — convincing rational scientist Blaine to believe in magic.
With his ancient and powerful cat familiar, Aloysius, on his shoulder, Killian brings the lightning against deceit and greed to save Blaine from danger and prove love is the greatest power of them all.
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Excerpt
Blaine was standing at the end of the counter a few feet
away, staring at Killian.
How long could a witch live with his heart stopped?
Oh gods. He
understood. Heat. The way he felt this moment dwarfed every emotion he’d had
with Moran by a thousand. A million. The chasm between indifference and…
passion. His heart beat fast, his breath caught in his chest, and his eyes
never wanted to look on another sight, just Blaine.
He ought to run, but whether away or straight to Blaine,
he wasn’t sure.
“Mrwar.”
Blaine seemed to catch the welcome in that meow. He
smiled and took a step closer. “Hi, Al. Good to see you, buddy.”
Aloysius unwrapped himself from Killian’s neck, did one
bound off the tabletop, and launched himself into Blaine’s waiting arms. Oh
Powers, would that Killian could do the same. He actually had to hold himself
still, or he knew he’d follow the cat.
Blaine petted Al as the cat did his imitation of a moving
fur coat, purring so loudly Killian could hear him, even a few feet away. “You
seem happy to see me, anyway.” He looked up. “Are you happy to see me,
Killian?”
Killian nodded. Correction—his head nodded. He had no
power over it.
Blaine walked even closer. “Could I have lunch with you?
Talk to you?”
The head nodded again.
The human slipped into the chair beside Killian. Sweet
Powers, he smelled so wonderful. That sweet and spice together.
“This sure is one great cat. Where did you get him?”
Killian cleared his throat. “Gift, uh, a gift from my
mother.”
Blaine chucked Al under the chin, and the cat let him.
“My mother hates cats.” He looked up, and Killian swam into the pools of deep
green. “Of course, my mother hates me, so she’s not likely to give me the time
of day, much less a pet.”
“Surely not.”
He grinned. “That she hates me? Oh yeah. I keep defying
her by choosing to be gay when her preacher has clearly cleansed me of this
delusion at least ten times, so she washed her hands of me.”
“But you didn’t choose—Oh, you’re joking.”
Blaine’s grin faded. “I wish it were a joke. Then a lot
of beaten-up, confused kids would have parents who loved and understood them.”
There were worse things than having a manipulative witch
for a mother. “I’m so sorry, Blaine. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Blaine smiled. “I never thought you were making fun. I
just have a weird sense of humor sometimes.”
Then he did it. He put his hand on Killian’s arm. Such a
simple gesture. Flash! Heat blazed in
Killian’s head, and hot steel filled his cock. Blaine started and pulled his
hand away. Those green eyes widened, and he stared at Killian like he was
either the answer to a dream or a cobra, and Blaine wasn’t sure which. “Holy
shit!”
Killian tried to make sense of his brain synapses and
grasped at the first thought. “Uh, food—did you want food?”
Blaine leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I want to
eat with you and talk to you and sleep with you and take you home with me. But
right now I want to make love to you so badly I’m having trouble focusing.”
There was that head nod again. Where the fuck did that
come from?
“Does that mean you want to make love to me too?”
Killian stared at Blaine, the human physics professor
whose simplest touch could drain a witch’s power until his own mother didn’t
know him and his people couldn’t benefit from his great sperm and—and all that
dogma. The answer was yes. He did want to make love to Blaine. He wanted it
more than anything. The evil witch voice piped up in his head. Yep, these humans are tempting. That’s how
the witch race got so depleted. He was the strongest male witch in ten
generations. That had to be worth something. He’d never had a really satisfying
relationship with a man, even for a short time. He wanted one. Didn’t he
deserve just a little happiness before he gave his life for his people? He’d
tried it the right way, the witch-stamp-of-approval way, and nearly got his
back broken for his trouble.
Blaine was staring at Killian like he was in suspended
animation; only the fingertips that scratched Al’s head moved. There. That was
it. Blaine had the best possible credentials. Aloysius, who was no dumb cat,
adored the human… and so did Killian. Just that simple. He didn’t care if he
rotted in witch oblivion, or if he lost some of his fabled power. How much
damage could he do in such a little while? “Yes.”
Blaine came to life. “Excuse me?”
“Yes. Please take me home with you.” He swallowed. “And
all those other things.”
Blaine’s smile lit like a midwinter bonfire.
“Mwrarrrrr, mrrrrrwarrrr, mrrrrwarrrr.”
The bloody cat was singing while he slithered around
Blaine’s neck in some happy dance known only to strange and powerful blue-eyed
familiars.
4 out of 5 stars
Spell Cat is a re-release of one of this author's earliest books. It's been graced with a gorgeous new cover but no additional or new content.
Our two main characters are as different as night and day. While he may look like the history professor that he is, Killian Barth is a hereditary High Witch. He's been groomed to be the head of his community, even if he has no desire to be 'normal' or follow their closed-minded guidelines. Blaine, on the other hand, is a physics professor, he deals in hard facts and figures just like any scientist would. From the moment these two meet there are sparks flying but Killian fights the pull. He's bound to marry within the witches community to continue on the blood lines. So dating and possibly marrying another man isn't in his future. However Killian wants one last thing for himself before he's married and casts a love spell to bring him someone that wants him just for himself.
While this isn't my favorite of Tara Lain's stories, I completely enjoyed the story and the characters. However, Aloysius stole the scenes he was in and brought humor and enough Cattitude to bring the house down. Spell Cat gives you the feel of an old Harlequin with the storyline of the marriage to continue the bloodline, but adds in that hot smexiness that is one of Tara Lain's trademarks for her characters.
The only reason this falls into an enjoyable read category vs one of my favorites is that I felt there was almost too much time spent on the set up and the relationship between Killian and Blaine was almost an after-thought. I don't necessarily mind the set up because we all love a good slow burn but when they got together it wasn't a slow burn it was almost an insta-love/lust situation. A little more interaction and time spent on developing the relationship would have made this a favorite read for me. Now that being said, this is still a fantastic read with a solid storyline and engaging characters. I encourage you to read this story for yourself because we all know what works for you may not work for another reader and vice versus.
I look forward to the re-release of the rest of the books in this series.
About the Author
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 32. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog near the sea in California where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
You can find Tara at Lain
Thank you so much for reading Spell Cat! I hope you enjoy the whole series!! : )
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