What happens when characters play too nice?

By Becca Dale

For me, it meant my first series had to be put on hold. Kya’s King introduced the Sanctuary Series two years ago, and I had every intention of Ryan’s Treasure following in a timely manner. Ryan and Nadi had different plans. Did they hate one another? Nope – that I could have worked with. No, these two had to fall madly in love from the start.

I hear you asking, “So what’s the problem, Becca? Isn’t that what romance characters do?”

Yeah, but these two were so impressed with one another they had no conflict and no story to tell. I could have written the entire thing in a few pages of mutual respect and admiration. I assure you it was sickening.

Kya and Ja had a conflict built in. He expected her to return to her clan and rule it wisely as her father would have wanted. Ja’s own needs were less important to him than his concern for his people and it didn’t cross his mind that Kya wouldn’t feel the same. Kya had no desire to live by antiquated rules or with people she had no emotional connection to. Their love blossomed despite their differences. The story almost wrote itself.

Ryan and Nadi were a different story. I swear every time I sat down to work on the manuscript, the two of them did nothing but gush, batting their eyes and snuggling. I finally had to sit down with each of them and ask, “What scares the hell out of you and what situation would you find difficult to overcome?” Once I had that information under my belt, I cross compared their answers to find a connection. So after two years, Ryan’s Treasure is finally on its way toward release.

Because of the span of time between them though, I want to encourage readers to take a look at or reread Kya’s King. Not that the two can’t stand on their own, but knowing Kya and Ja’s story might help understand Ryan and Nadi’s. As an incentive to do so, I am hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway. Sign up below and join the fun.

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Blurb for Kya’s King

Tender-hearted and lonely, Kya yearns for heritage and home. The staff and animals at the sanctuary where she works have become almost family, but it is not enough. She craves the stability and acceptance she hears in the voice of her dream lover and sees in the eyes of a wounded wildcat.

Chosen to guard the royal heir, Ja claims his lost charge in a desperate attempt to save her from enemies she can not imagine or comprehend. At every turn desire and obligation clash as Kya tests his loyalty to the clan and his will to walk away. Touching her breaks the rules that he has pledged his life to uphold, but fulfilling his duty might destroy everything worth fighting for.

Both must face the roles they were born to play. Hers to lead. His to protect. Can Hannah blindly accept her responsibility as queen or will she turn her back on the extended family she longs for in order to keep the one who destroys her loneliness? Does she even have a choice?

Excerpt

First Encounter

The moon hung a mere sliver in the night sky, barely breaking the darkness as Ja moved beyond the animal enclosures. Kya lay inside a brick building. Strange, she did not sleep in the open air among the other animals, as her true nature dictated. Night creatures greeted him, howled his name, and warned of her vulnerability, but he waved them quiet. He stepped through the garden door into her bedroom. She sprawled naked on her sleeping pallet. Long, tawny hair spread across the white pillowcase like satin embroidery and lean, well-defined muscles confirmed her feline heritage despite her pale, hairless state. If Dar found her like this, she would be easy prey.

Ja eased his weight onto the edge of the mattress. Blond-tipped lashes flickered against her softly rounded cheekbones, though she did not waken. Tiny freckles, he remembered from her childhood, dusted her upturned nose and highlighted her more catlike features, but her resemblance to the little girl in his memories ended with the small dots of pigment. Her full bottom lip pouted, begging him to taste it, and his body tightened in response. Kya exuded an artless sexuality he had not expected from one raised outside the clan. Her skin, velvet smooth beneath the sensitive pads of his fingers, increased his need. She licked her lips in her sleep, drawing his attention to the tip of her pink tongue as it peeked from her slightly open mouth. Lust, hot and heavy, pulsed in his groin at the thought of teasing it with his own.

He covered her sensuous lips with his, claiming her even as she slept. With a satisfied purr, her tongue met and parried his. Cool amber eyes flashed then closed, but her hands clutched at his arms braced on either side of her shoulders. He shifted his legs between her silky thighs and fought the urge to bury himself within her gorgeous body even as she slept.

Will she know me if she wakes or scream in horror at the stranger in her bed? Closing his mind to the later possibility, he nibbled the slender curve of her neck, the tiny shell of her ear, the delicate arch of her brow. Each feathering kiss fed the desire to claim her. The scent of honey and cinnamon radiated from her pale skin. Her natural perfume swamped his senses, drawing him closer, demanding he protect what belonged to him by royal command.

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