Saving Grace (10 page)

“Grizzly Cove will never be the same,” Gus
agreed, chuckling.

“Maybe that’s a good thing.” Grace kissed her
bear, knowing her world had definitely changed…for the better.

*

Thanks for reading
Saving Grace
(Grizzly Cove #5)
. If you enjoyed this book, please consider
leaving a review.

The next
Grizzly Cove
story is
called
Bearliest Catch
. Scroll down for a sneak
peek…

A complete list of all of Bianca’s books, separated
by series, follows the excerpt. You can also check out Bianca’s
website at
WWW.BIANCADARC.COM
. Or you
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Drew popped open a beer after setting his
lines and sat back in his favorite deck chair to enjoy the sunrise.
He’d motored out while it was still dark, being careful to keep his
magical shield up and running at all times. He didn’t want to end
up as a snack for the creature that haunted the depths out here,
but he had to be out on the ocean when his internal demons came
home to roost, as they had that night.

Nightmares often drove him out, onto his
boat, in the middle of the night. He was lucky that fishermen often
set sail before dawn. None of his buddies really knew how bad he
was. He’d been able to hide it from them so far. But alone on the
ocean, he could forget his troubles and just…be.

Except…somebody was staring at him. Dammit.
He’d felt this a few times before, but dismissed it. Now, of
course, he thought he knew who it was.

A few days ago, a half-dead mermaid had
washed up on shore and his friend Jack, who had taken on the role
of game warden, had found her. He’d nursed her back to health and
the Goddess must have been at work, because they had discovered a
mutual attraction that turned out to be another true mating.

The mer were some of the most mysterious of
all shifters. Not much was known about them, but Jack’s new
mate—her name was Grace—had been revealing little bits here and
there. One of the things they’d told Drew in particular, was that
Grace’s hunting party might be looking for her, and that one mer in
particular, a gal named Jetty, might have occasion to swim near his
boat from time to time.

Grace had asked him to make contact with her
friend, if at all possible, to let her people know that she was all
right and staying on land for the time being, with her mate. John
had gone one farther and told him to deliver an even greater
message. He’d offered the mer asylum in the cove while the
leviathan prowled off shore.

That was a big step, and Drew knew it.
Inviting another group of shifters into their territory was
monumental, and impressed upon everyone how dire the situation with
the sea monster really was. Not that they didn’t know already.
Everyone had seen the thing attacking Ursula when she’d cast it out
of the cove with her powerful, magical wards.

It was like something out of a horror flick.
Massive. Multi-tentacled. And so evil, it reeked.

Drew was able to sense the creature and its
minions to some degree, and was able to avoid areas where he
believed they were lurking. Part of his magic, in addition to
shielding, was sensing danger—and when he was being observed.

Like right now.

“Hey mermaid, if you’re the one called Jetty,
I have a message for you,” he called out.

He’d never tried to talk to her before. Of
course, he hadn’t really been sure what—or, in this case, who—was
watching him before. He’d thought maybe it was a dolphin or
something. He hadn’t sensed any malevolence from the presence, just
a sort of neutral curiosity that didn’t really set off his spidey
senses for danger.

He figured now that he had some intel on who
was watching him from the water, he’d try the direct approach. If
that didn’t work, maybe he’d dive in and swim around with the
fishes for a bit. See if that got any response.

Though, of course, it was dangerous to go
swimming with something that could breathe underwater when you
couldn’t. He’d be a little nuts to do it, but Drew liked to live
dangerously. If he didn’t, he’d have stayed safe in the cove, away
from the sea monster and it’s evil children, and curious mer
creatures who spied on him for no apparent reason.

He kind of hoped the mer would respond to his
direct approach. He’d never seen Grace in her shifted form, and he
was really curious about what mer looked like. In human form, Grace
was just like any other person, though even Drew had to admit, she
was a lovely woman. Jack had lucked out, finding such a beautiful,
and nice gal washed up on his beach. The Goddess had truly been
smiling on the bastard.

“Your name
is
Jetty, right?” Drew
tried again. “Grace told me you like to spy on my boat now and
again. She’s all right, by the way. She sends her regards. The
leviathan cut her up pretty bad, but my friend Jack found her and
it turns out they’re mates. You missed the ceremony, sorry to
say.”

“Grace is mated?”

The sultry female voice came to Drew from the
port side of his boat. He got up from his chair and approached the
rail, peering over slowly so as not to startle the mer woman.

To read more, get your copy of
Bearliest Catch
by Bianca D’Arc.

Bianca D’Arc has run a laboratory, climbed the
corporate ladder in the shark-infested streets of lower Manhattan,
studied and taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a
whole bunch of letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed
writing more than any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still
lives on Long Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive
garden, several aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing
her favorite genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.

Bianca loves to hear from readers and can be reached
through Twitter (@BiancaDArc), Facebook (BiancaDArcAuthor) or
through the various links on her website.

Welcome to The D’Arc Side…

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Paranormal Romance

Brotherhood of Blood

One & Only

Rare Vintage

Phantom Desires

Sweeter Than Wine

Forever Valentine

Wolf Hills*

Wolf Quest

Tales of the Were

Lords of the Were

Inferno

Tales of the Were ~ The Others

Rocky

Slade

Tales of the Were ~ Redstone Clan

The Purrfect Stranger

Grif

Red

Magnus

Bobcat

Matt

Tales of the Were ~ String of Fate

Cat’s Cradle

King’s Throne

Jacob’s Ladder

Her Warriors

Tales of the Were ~ Grizzly Cove

All About the Bear

Mating Dance

Night Shift

Alpha Bear

Saving Grace

Bearliest Catch

Guardians of the Dark

Half Past Dead

Once Bitten, Twice Dead

A Darker Shade of Dead

The Beast Within

Dead Alert

Gifts of the Ancients:
Warrior’s Heart

Epic Fantasy Erotic Romance

Dragon Knights

Maiden Flight*

The Dragon Healer

Border Lair

Master at Arms

The Ice Dragon**

Prince of Spies***

Wings of Change

FireDrake

Dragon Storm

Keeper of the Flame

Hidden Dragons

Sea Dragon

Science Fiction Romance

StarLords

Hidden Talent

Talent For Trouble

Shy Talent

Jit’Suku Chronicles
~
Arcana

King of Swords

King of Cups

King of Clubs

King of Stars

End of the Line

Jit’Suku Chronicles
~
Sons of Amber

Angel in the Badlands

Futuristic Erotic Romance

Resonance Mates

Hara’s Legacy**

Davin’s Quest

Jaci’s Experiment

Grady’s Awakening

Harry’s Sacrifice

Print Anthologies

Ladies of the Lair

I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1

Brotherhood of Blood

Caught by Cupid

The Beast Within

* RT Book Reviews Awards Nominee

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*** CAPA Award Winner