Excerpts for Goddess Revealed Series

[Marisa Chenery]

Excerpt for Goddess Revealed-Bast's Perfume, Book One. You can find Bast's Perfume HERE.

Chapter One

“Let’s see what Frank has sent this time,” Slade Nelson said out loud to himself, alone inside his antique store, which was closed for the day. With a crowbar in hand, he bent down to open the crate that sat on the floor in front of him.

He and his partner Frank Thompson owned the fairly successful store in the middle of downtown Toronto. The partnership worked out well for both. Frank, always the wanderer of the two, traveled all over the world acquiring items for the store while Slade stayed in Canada to take care of the business end of things. Something Slade liked doing a lot.

As Slade worked to open the crate, he felt the familiar excitement and curiosity rise over what could be inside. His business partner had gone to Egypt a couple of weeks before. The crate, which had been sent from that country, had arrived shortly before he’d closed the store.

The lid now removed, Slade pulled out handfuls of packing material until he reached the items inside. He smiled as he lifted the first clay jar out of the crate. There were four in total, all different sizes, from as large as a wine decanter to a small one not much taller than the width of his hand. The first three jars appeared to be the real thing, not from ancient Egyptian times of course, but antiques nonetheless. The fourth one gave Slade pause.

This jar was the smallest of the four. Picking it up, he held it in front of him as he peered at the images painted on the body. His brows drew together as he studied it closer. The colors of the paint seemed too bright, too pristine for this jar to be considered an antique. He shook his head. Slade couldn’t see Frank making such a mistake. Part of the reason why Slade didn’t complain about Frank doing most of the purchasing was the fact that Frank had an eye for antiques. His business partner could practically sniff them out from a mile away.

Slade traced one of the images on the jar. It depicted a woman with the head of a cat, a domestic cat. He knew a little bit about the Egyptian gods so he recognized the image as the goddess Bast. Next to the cat-headed woman stood the image of a woman who didn’t have any animal-like depictions. Slade figured both images had to be Bast, in her human and cat-headed forms, since both women wore the same tight-fitting sheath dress. There was no question in his mind that the jar had to be a copy of a much older original. Everything about it seemed too new.

Curious to see what the jar might have held at one time, Slade lifted off the lid—and the most intoxicating perfume he had ever smelled surrounded him. Slade took a deep breath. Though the jar had nothing inside it, the leftover scent went straight to his head. The perfume smelled so feminine, so alluring, his body started to respond. His cock jerked inside his dress pants as he thought of what it would be like to make love to a woman who wore this perfume.

Slade snorted. He had to get a grip on himself. He wasn’t that hard up. At least he didn’t think he was. That just the smell of a woman’s perfume would give him a hard-on was pretty pathetic. At thirty years old, he should be way past that stage. Unable to help himself, he inhaled more of the perfume’s scent into his lungs.

The sound of a cat’s meow suddenly drew his attention to the store’s front. A black cat stood by the door, watching him.

Wondering how the cat could have gotten into the store without his knowledge, Slade replaced the lid on the jar before carefully putting it on the counter next to the others. He turned back to the cat, intending to send it on its way, but it no longer stood by the front door.

Just what he needed at the end of the day. To have to hunt down a stray cat that had somehow managed to get loose in the store didn’t thrill him, to say the least.

In the end, he searched the entire store twice but couldn’t find the cat anywhere. Too tired after the long day to work his brain around this mystery, Slade decided to head home. Tomorrow he’d have to see if he could find where the cat had managed to slip inside and block it so it wouldn’t be able to return. If he wasn’t careful he would have mice or some other kind of pest inside the store.

On the way out, Slade grabbed the perfume jar. Since it couldn’t be sold in the store, he decided he wanted it for himself. The overall design of the jar appealed to him. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he couldn’t get enough of the smell of the perfume it once held.

Or so he told himself more than once for good measure.

* * * * *

Slade arrived at his brick two-story just as the sun began to set. After he parked his car in the garage, he picked up the perfume jar and headed inside his empty house. When he had first bought his three-bedroom detached, Slade had thought it would be the perfect place to start a family. What he hadn’t counted on was his inability to find a woman he wanted to marry and start that family with. He had dated his fair share of women, but he hadn’t been able to find one who would tolerate his long workdays, or one he actually wanted to spend the rest of his life with. When he finally did marry, it would be to a woman he felt he could be with forever. For him, divorce wouldn’t be an option.

He placed the jar on the living room coffee table as he fought the urge to lift the lid and once more smell the scent of the heady perfume. Slade shook his head. How pathetic was he? It had been a while since he’d last had a girlfriend, but it hadn’t been that long since he’d taken a woman to bed. He shouldn’t be getting this turned on just from perfume. Deliberately, he turned his back on the jar and headed upstairs to change out of his dress shirt and pants.

Now wearing a comfy pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Slade made his way downstairs to the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing some leftover spaghetti. As it heated in the microwave, he found his thoughts drawn back to the jar that sat on his coffee table. Maybe he could get one good sniff in before his food finished heating…

No. He was going to stay in the kitchen and eat his meal no matter how much the thought of smelling the perfume appealed to him.

The microwave beeped behind him. Grabbing a fork out of a drawer, Slade took his heated spaghetti to the kitchen table. Before he sat down to eat, he poured himself a glass of red wine. Instead of leisurely taking the time to enjoy his food, however, Slade practically inhaled it as the remembered scent of the perfume made him almost desperate to smell it again. It was as if he’d become addicted and needed his fix. “Gee, can I sink any lower?” he grumbled to himself.

He finally gave up the fight as he put his plate in the dishwasher and picked up his glass of wine before heading for the living room. He set the glass down on the table before sitting on the couch. Not waiting another minute, he pulled the perfume jar closer and lifted the lid, his eyes closing as he dragged in lungful after lungful of the intoxicating scent.

Slade’s eyes snapped open as the sound of a cat’s meow reached his ears. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and sucked in a breath. The same black cat that had been in his store now sat in the middle of his living room.

Slowly, so as not to scare the cat, he put the jar lid down on the coffee table and stood up. The cat didn’t move as he stepped around the table and moved to stand in front of it. Instead of running away, the cat began to purr as it wove in and out of his legs. Slade reached down to grab the cat by the scruff of its neck, but it quickly darted out of reach before sauntering back to once more stand in front of him.

He then had to blink his eyes to make sure they weren’t playing tricks on him as the cat’s form began to waver and change.

[CharmedGirl]

Sounds great Marisa.

[Marisa Chenery]

Thanks, Bec.

[Marisa Chenery]

Here is an excerpt for Goddess Revealed-Love's Fiery Arrow, Book Two. You can find Love's Fiery Arrow HERE.

Chapter One

Aric Driscol groaned as he took in the rush hour traffic on Toronto’s busy Yonge Street. As a bike courier, the heavy traffic didn’t help him do his job any faster. Adjusting the strap of his messenger bag across his chest, Aric slowed his bike. He’d just picked up a delivery, the last one of the day, and wanted to get it over and done with. The package he had to deliver wasn’t heavy, but it was long and narrow. The end of the box stuck out the top of his bag and lay against his back.

Thinking there was nothing for it, he changed direction. He would have to cut through the back alleyways if he wanted to make up some time. While he raced down some smaller side streets, a car pulled up behind his bike and started to follow him.

At first, he thought the car only happened to be going the same way, but as the car’s front bumper edged closer and closer to his bike’s back tire, he started to think otherwise. Picking up speed, Aric decided to try to lose them in the back alleys. He zig-zagged through them, taking short turns, but the car continued following him.

He soon cursed under his breath when he realized he’d taken a wrong turn. Paying more attention to the car than where he should be going had cost him—he had stupidly trapped himself in a dead-end alley. The car quickly pulled in behind him, blocking his way out. Aric turned his bike around and pushed at the brim of the black bicycle helmet he wore as two tough-looking characters stepped out. They slowly walked toward him. Aric let his gaze skip over them. The first guy had dark brown hair, which he wore in a buzz cut. He also looked as if he were built like a brick shithouse with fists the size of hams. His partner appeared equally big and wore his reddish brown hair down to his shoulders. Neither of them looked friendly.

Buzz cut spoke first. “It doesn’t look as if you’re going anywhere. Why don’t you get off your bike so we can get this over?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather stay right where I am.” Aric could fight with the best of them, but he knew he didn’t stand a chance against these two. He was muscular, but not bulky muscular. He spent too many hours a day on a bicycle to have massive muscles.

Long hair shook his head. “We didn’t corner you just to let you go.”

Aric had no idea why these two had singled him out. What made him so special? “If it’s money you want, I only have five bucks. As for what I have in my bag, I doubt it would be worth much to you.”

“Who says we want your money or the package you have in your bag?” Buzz cut asked, cracking his knuckles.

Had he somehow managed to piss these two off? Aric didn’t think he had cut them off with his bike. He knew some taxi cab drivers took exception to cyclists weaving in and out of traffic, but he hadn’t done much of that today. The only thing Aric could come up with was maybe these two got their jollies from beating the crap out of bike messengers. Either way it didn’t look good.

As the two guys stepped closer, the package resting against Aric’s back started to heat up, warming enough for him to feel the heat seeping through the cardboard of the box and into his black t-shirt, straight through to his skin. It grew so hot Aric wondered if he would get singed.

A loud roar of a large cat suddenly filled the alley causing the two thugs and Aric to freeze in place. What the hell was that? Aric thought while searching the alley. At first he couldn’t see anything, then his heart jumped into his throat as a large lioness stepped from the shadows at the back of the alley. The look of real fear that suddenly appeared on the two thugs’ faces would have been comical if he weren’t in the same danger of being attacked as they were.

The lioness slinked closer while she curled her upper lip and growled with menace at the two men. She stopped when she drew up alongside with Aric and let loose another ear-splitting roar before her body started to blur and shift. Unable to look away, Aric’s mouth hung open as the lioness disappeared to be replaced by a woman.

He swallowed audibly as he gazed at her in shock. She had straight black hair that hung past her shoulders. Only able to see her profile, Aric definitely liked what he saw. She had delicate features, a complete contrast to her body, which was slim and muscular. She wore what looked like a kilted skirt that only reached her mid-thigh. Her top, sleeveless and tight, showed a great deal of her midriff. Aric had to wonder if her skin felt as soft as it looked. He then gave himself a mental shake. Was he crazy? Right about now, he should be questioning his sanity not admiring the woman’s good looks. He also should he hightailing it out of there, but obviously his flight or fight instinct had completed deserted him.

The woman reached behind her, drawing Aric’s eyes the quiver of arrows she carried on her back. A bow appeared in her other hand as she selected an arrow and placed it in the bow. The arrowhead burst into flame when she aimed it at the two thugs, who looked as if they were ready to piss their pants.

Aric focused his attention on the two men who had both jerked into motion at the same time. They dashed to their car and drove away as if the hounds of hell were on their heels. Now alone with the woman, he swung his head back in her direction. When he didn’t find her, Aric quickly searched the alley. She didn’t appear to be anywhere. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something, drawing his attention.

In the spot where he had last seen the woman, a single arrow lay on the ground. He pushed his bike over to it and picked it up. Where could she have gone? The alley had a dead end and it wasn’t as if he could have missed seeing her leave. She had simply disappeared. Aric touched the arrow’s head with the tip of his finger and quickly jerked it away. The metal still felt hot. Thinking he had to be seeing things, he swung his bag to his front and shoved the arrow inside. Once he had the bag against his back, he hopped onto his bike and continued on his way. He still had his delivery to make. Later he could come to grips with the fact that he had lost his marbles.

[CharmedGirl]

I really like that excerpt Marisa.

[Marisa Chenery]

Thanks, Bec. I'm glad you liked it .

[Marisa Chenery]

Here's the excerpt for Goddess Revealed-The Goddess' Girdle, Book Three.

Chapter One

Cayden Granger looked at the clock that hung on his office wall, pleased to see it was almost lunch time. He had arranged to meet up with his friend Neil for lunch. Both he and Neil worked at the ROM, the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto. Neil was an Egyptologist, while Cayden worked as a graphic designer.

Cayden made his way down to the basement of the museum. He knew Neil had planned to work all day down there. The museum had received some new Egyptian artifacts the other day and it was Neil’s job to catalogue them and decide which ones would go on display and which would go into storage.

He found Neil working alone at one of the long worktables. Neil looked up when Cayden approached. “Lunch time already? I thought I just got down here.”

Cayden snorted. “It’s after twelve. I figured I would have to get you. Once you get with your artifacts, nothing else seems to exist.”

Neil chuckled. “So true. And there are some really great pieces here to keep me distracted from the outside world.”

“Like that one?” Cayden asked, nodding to the belt that had a bunch of beads hanging from it.

“Exactly.” Neil picked it up, holding it so the beads hung down. “This is believed to be the Shesmet Girdle, which is supposed to be associated with the Egyptian goddess Shesmetet.”

“Okay,” Cayden said. “Like that means anything to me.”

“Ah, come on. You can’t tell me you’re not just a little bit interested.”

Cayden eyed the belt and the beaded like apron attached to it. “What’s it supposed to do?”

Neil shook his head and rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t do anything. I guess its only claim to fame is that it was worn by kings during the early dynastic period and the Old Kingdom.”

“Like that just didn’t go over my head.” Cayden made a face as he looked closer at the girdle. “It looks a bit on the feminine side for a man, if you ask me. And, personally, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that thing.”

“A little insecure in your masculinity? I don’t know, Cayden, it may be just what you need to attract that lucky lady who will one day be yours.” Neil stood up and placed the girdle around Cayden’s waist. Neil held it against Cayden then shook his head. “Nope, I thought wrong. The girdle just isn’t for you. You couldn’t pull it off even if you wanted to.”

Cayden stiffened as a jolt of energy shot through him where the girdle touched his body. He almost gasped out loud as his head suddenly filled with the images of a beautiful woman. Her brown eyes seemed to look right through him. Her long black hair fell around her shoulders and her lush lips parted as she held out her hands. And the dress she wore, some kind of tight, pale yellow linen sheath dress that fell to her shins, hugging her curvy body in all the right places. A surge of need so intense that it made him gasp slammed through his body making his cock grow instantly hard.

“Are you okay, Cayden?” Neil asked with concern. “You look a little funny all of a sudden.”

As if he suddenly realized he still held the girdle against Cayden, Neil pulled it away and the images of the woman disappeared, leaving Cayden with an intense longing to see more of her. Instead of snatching up the girdle to see if the images would return, he forced himself to move so he stood on the opposite side of the table. He cleared his throat. “I’m fine. I’m just hungry. Let’s get out of here and get some food.”

Neil gave him a stare that said he didn’t quite believe Cayden “Okay. Are you sure you aren’t coming down with something?”

Cayden let his gaze run over the girdle one last time before he focused back on his friend. “I’m sure. Come on. You need to get out of this basement for a little while. The sun is shining. You do remember what the sun is?”

“Ha, ha. I’m not that bad.”

“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say you’re about an eight. Now let’s haul ass or lunch will be over before we know it.”

“I’m coming. You would swear you hadn’t eaten in a week.”

Cayden patted his stomach. “You know me, I have a hollow leg.”

“It must be all that weight lifting you do. You’re all muscle and no—”

“Don’t you dare say it, little man, or I’ll have to squash you like a bug.” At six foot four and over two hundred pounds, he dwarfed Neil, who stood at five-eight and had the build of a teenage boy.

“No bug squashing today, please.”

As Neil came around the table, Cayden glanced back at the girdle. The urge to pick it up, to touch it, became hard to ignore. He gave himself a mental shake. He had to pull it together. Leaving the basement with Neil at his side, Cayden tried not to think about the Egyptian relic or the woman he had seen in his head.

[Marisa Chenery]

Here's an excerpt for Goddess Revealed-His Sea Goddess, Book Four.

Chapter One

In her dolphin form, Hatmehyt turned back from the bull shark that she’d chased away to find the mortal she had saved trying to swim back to shore. Out for a swim around the coral reef, one of her favorite things to do, she’d spotted the man. She’d then followed him at a discreet distance. Something about him had drawn her to him. Hatmehyt knew it had nothing to do with his looks, because she had no idea what he really looked like covered up the way he was. He just appealed to her, making her want to be close to him. He intrigued her enough to have her doing what she normally avoided—interacting with a mortal.

She quickly swam after him. Even though his wound didn’t seem to be bleeding too badly, she knew it would be enough to draw every shark in the area. She swam around in front of him and blocked his path. Hatmehyt knew the only way he would survive without being attacked by another shark was for her to take him to her underwater home. It would be a much shorter swim than the one to the shore.

Once he stopped swimming, she swam up beside him and let her dorsal fin brush up against his hand. As soon as he took hold, she towed him through the water in the opposite direction. No surprise, he let go once he realized they weren’t headed for shore. Hatmehyt swam back to him and once again positioned her dorsal fin under his hand. This time he didn’t take it. She debated whether or not to shift into her human form to show him she wasn’t like the wild dolphins that lived in the area, but in the end she decided against it. It would only use up what little time they had left. So instead of offering her fin again she gently took his wrist in her jaws and pulled him through the water.

Putting on a burst of speed, Hatmehyt didn’t give the mortal a chance to resist. Determined to get him to her underwater home before anything else happened to him, she shot through the water. When the underwater tunnel entrance came in sight, she let go of his wrist and used her nose to force him to swim through it.

She gave him another quick shove to keep him moving before she turned back to drive away another shark that had come up behind them. This one seemed more determined than the other as it came back for another pass. After a quick glance at the entrance to reassure herself that the mortal hadn’t decided to come back out, she focused her attention on the shark. It was time to teach this one what happened when you incurred the wrath of an Egyptian fish-goddess.