Enchanting WIILDER Release

Title: Enchanting Wilder

Series: The Wild Series #1

Author: Cassie Graham

Release Date: July 28, 2016

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Declan Wilder has never met a witch he didn’t hate. He is in the business of protecting the world from all things paranormal, after all. But what happens when one glimpse at an enchanting McKenna Sawyer sends him spinning? Suddenly, Declan can’t help but question everything he thought he knew about the world he’s been sworn to protect for so long.

Plagued by her parents’ death, McKenna Sawyer has no interest in anything outside of her family’s business and her sister’s happiness. So when she’s assigned to warn a Pursuer about his impending death, she’s less than prepared for the way he shifts her world on its axis. And when more time spent with him leads to more secrets about their world revealed, they must decide how their universes fit together — if at all.

The paranormal world is gearing up for a fight, and both Declan and McKenna have been called to battle. But the question remains — will they be fighting for or against each other?

“Why aren’t you out there?” I point to the pit where everyone else is on the dance floor.

She shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t know.”

“Not crazy enough for you?”

She laughs. “No. Too crazy. That’s probably why I’m sitting here.”

“Are you not spontaneous, McKenna?”

“Hardly.”

“That’s a shame.” I adjust in my seat, setting my bottle of beer down. “There’s a lot of life in spontaneity.”

She looks down, seeming embarrassed.

I tilt my head. “You can’t do crazy, can you?” I challenge her.

She sits up straight. “I can. I just don’t.”

“Why?”

Her eyes narrow. “Because.”

“God, you’re just full of surprises.”

“What?”

“McKenna, you have an entire world in front of you.” I lower my voice. “You’re an all-knowing badass witch. Embrace that shit. Live a little.”

“Well…” is all she says. She looks to the side and crosses her arms.

I chuckle. “You’re stuck.”

“I’m not stuck.” She says the word like it’s dirty. “I’m content.”

Another song starts, this one louder than the others. The tempo is fast enough to dance to but slow enough that, if I want to, I can pull her to me. I move myself from behind my side of the table and stand. Offering her my hand, I say, “Come dance with me.”

She stares at my hand with apprehension, her jaw set. She thinks for a couple of seconds and sets her hand in mine.

Pulling her close to my body, I lock my hands behind her back, sure to keep her close. I silently groan and chew on the inside of my cheek, the close proximity to her already overwhelming all of my senses. 

I wasn’t supposed to talk to her, let alone bring her out on the dance floor. I’m setting us both up for disappointment, yet I can’t stop myself.

She sighs contently and clasps her hands loosely around my neck, laying her head just below my shoulder. Her body shudders under mine, and I can feel her erratic heartbeat thumping against my chest. 

“You’ve never done anything like this,” I whisper loud enough for her to hear and she shakes her head, agreeing with me. “You’ve never danced with someone you’ve just met. It makes you nervous and you’re wondering if you’re going to get caught up in it—in me.” I’m tilling the line now. I know we don’t have a future—hell, or even a tomorrow. The moment I’m done with this case, Wood and I are out of here and it’s not likely for us to come back. But I want to show her what it’s like to let go, even for a night. 

“I want to let go,” she utters and I wonder if she intended for me to hear it. 

I keep silent as we dance and move to the song, the melodic melody lulling us farther into each other. Her scent engulfs me, her presence surrounds me, and her being holds mine. I’ve never felt such a thing. We cling to one another. Stuck—the good kind of stuck. The kind of stuck I never want to leave.

When the song ends and the band exits the stage, the crowd disperses. But instead of going back to our booth, McKenna and I stay in our spot, listening to the music on the jukebox that now fills the air. I fight the urge to let her go. I should. I should tell her goodnight and go back to the hotel. But instead, I do something stupid. “We should do something.”

She lifts her head, looking into my eyes with a glint of mischievous. “Do what?”

I grip my hands harder around her and shrug both of my shoulders. “Something fun—something crazy.”

She groans. “You’re using that word again—crazy. We’re in Summerson, Declan. This is the craziest it gets around here.” She pulls back to look at me.

“Well, then let’s go somewhere else.”

“It’s almost four in the morning. Where are we going to go?” 

I unlatch myself from her and pull out my phone, Googling a map of the world.

“Close your eyes and point.”

Cassie Graham is a native of Arizona and hates the heat. Go figure. She went to school to be a teacher but shelved that when she decided to become a mom and a wife. She had no idea at the time, but deciding to not work opened up amazing doors to become the writer she always wanted to be.

She has a daughter and a badass husband who she loves more than life. She’s a sassy, hardass redhead who’s loud and loves to hug. Seriously, ask her for a hug. She’ll cuddle the shit out of you.

While she grew up loving all things related to fairy tales, she knew life usually hit when you least expected it. That’s why she writes stories that inspire you to believe in magic.

A lover of country music, Justin Timberlake and amazing melodies, she is a choir girl through and through.

If she isn’t sitting behind her laptop writing crazy love stories, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen singing songs at the top of her lungs, baking, and cooking food for her family.

If she had to choose her favorite place in the world, it would be on the big couch in her living room with her husband on one side and daughter in the other. Nothing seems complete without them.