GRIGORI by Lauren Smith
SMP Swerve
Publication Date: October
3, 2017
ISBN: 9781250142542;
Price: $3.99
Description
"Lauren has created a
new series that will capture you from page one! Grigori is exactly what a
dragon should be. Smoking hot, sexy, and wickedly dangerous. You're going to
love this book!" - New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy
He’s one of the last of a powerful but
vanishing bloodline …
Grigori
Barinov is the eldest in an ancient line of dragon shifters and the guardian of
his family’s lands and fortune. Sworn to protect their history and magic, he
won’t rest until he neutralizes any threat to their existence. When he
discovers an ancient manuscript that exposes his family and their dragon
lineage has fallen into a mortal woman’s hands, he knows he must get the book
back by any means necessary. If that means seducing a nosy American woman with
an intoxicating scent, he is more than willing to carry her off to his palatial
home deep in the heart of Russia.
She’s the one woman who could expose
him to the world…
Madelyn
Haynes has never fit in. As an adopted child she grew up in a loving home but
never felt as though she belonged. Plagued by mysterious dreams she’s had of a
silver scaled beast ever since she was a little girl, she is convinced dragons
are real. While in Russia working on her PhD in mythology in order to escape
the ridicule from fellow professors, she unexpectedly crosses paths with the
sexy and dominating Grigori, and after just one night with the man whose eyes seem
to burn, she starts to change inside. Isolated in the Russian wilderness
Grigori calls home, Madelyn can’t help but fall under his sensual spell, yet
something deep inside her calls out that she can’t trust him. She has to show
the world dragons are real to salvage academic reputation, even if it means
costing her the heart of the dragon she’s falling in love with.
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Excerpt: GRIGORI by
Lauren Smith
Grigori Barinov stood in front of
the floor-to-ceiling windows in his executive office, staring out over the city
of Moscow. Body alert, every muscle rigid, the expensive gray wool suit he wore
felt tight as he shifted. Below him, people were passing on the streets. A
flash of silver caught his attention. It was the wink of a diamond earring
dangling from a well-dressed woman’s ear. With eyes that were ten times as
powerful as a mortal’s, he scanned the streets, absorbing every detail.
Searching . . .
“For the
last few days, his senses had picked up on something in his city. A creature he
didn’t recognize. It made him restless. Moscow was filled with supernatural
beings—werewolves, vampires, shifters of all kinds, and magically gifted humans
were all present—but none of them fired up his instincts. No, he’d never felt
this before in his life, but he knew in his gut what it was. An enemy was in
his city, a creature that posed a threat to him. As a dragonshifter, few creatures
in this world could give him pause and put him on his guard. He only wished he
knew what sort of beast it was so he could hunt it down and remove the threat.
The sapphire dragon tattoo on his forearm itched, but he
didn’t scratch it. He knew the dragon inside of him was trying to warn him to
stay on his guard. The phone on his desk buzzed and his personal assistant,
Alexis spoke.
“Mr. Barinov, you have a call from
the Russian State Library.”
Every muscle in his body tensed.
There was only one reason anyone from the Russian State Library would be
calling him. That damn book by James Barrow. He’d been too softhearted and
Barrow had been so earnest. He’d gone against his better judgment and allowed
the Englishman to spend a year studying him and his brothers. And he’d been
paying for it for the last 200 years. He’d been lucky Barrow’s heirs had sent
him the journal. Thankfully, it had never been sent to a publisher; Barrow had
kept his word about his writings remaining a secret.
I should’ve burned it. But he hadn’t been able to. Barrow had become
a friend and Grigori hadn’t wanted to destroy the memory. There was also
something fascinating about reading an insightful human’s observations about
him and his brothers.
He couldn’t leave it at his office
or his home in the country. His enemies had frequently broken into both places
more than once, searching for anything they could use against him. He’d thought
he’d be clever and tuck it away in a library amid other obscure texts that no
one ever looked at in a guarded collection. It had been safe all these years,
hiding in plain sight. Until now.
“Mr. Barinov?” Alexis queried
again.
“Put the call through.” He turned
away from the window and walked over to his mahogany desk just as the phone
rang.
He answered. “Yes?”
“Mr. Barinov, my name is Yuri. I’m
a guard for antiquarian book room at the Russian State Library.” A man spoke,
his voice hushed and anxious.
“Yes.” Grigori waited, his patience
on a razor’s edge.
“When I first took over security
for this room I was given strict and confidential instructions to call you if
anyone ever came asking about a certain title in the collection. Someone
checked out the Barrow book, Mr.
Barinov.”
Grigori closed his eyes, holding
his breath for a moment. “And?”
“I followed protocol. She did not
leave the library with the book. But . . .” The guard hesitated. “She was
taking pictures. I have no instructions regarding pictures.” The phone cracked
as Grigori’s temper flared.
“Pictures?”
“Yes. She was using her phone.” The
guard’s voice wavered as though he sensed Grigori’s building rage.
Pictures. Fuck, if any evidence of
his existence was discovered and exposed in the world of mortals it would put a
target on his back and that of his two brothers. The magical world knew of his
family, the last three brothers in ancient bloodline of Russian Imperial Dragon
shifters, but the rest of the world didn’t know . . . Couldn’t know.
“Can you detain her until I
arrive?” he asked the guard.
“But she’s leaving now—”
“Stop her!” Grigori barked. The other
end of the phone was full of panting, the flapping of rubber soled shoes on
marble, a muffled shout for someone to stop. Grigori tried to picture the
library in his mind, wondering why the guard couldn’t catch up with this woman.
Finally the footsteps stopped, and Grigori heard the sounds of streets of the
city muted beneath the guard’s gasping for breath.
“She ran—I couldn’t catch her
before she left the library. She’s gone. But I have the book.”
Grigori sighed. “I will come to
collect it. When I do, I want every detail you have about this woman. Her name,
where she’s from, everything.”
Author Bio
Lauren Smith
is an Oklahoma attorney by day, author by night who pens adventurous and edgy
romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She knew she
was destined to be a romance writer when she attempted to re-write the entire
Titanic movie just to save Jack from drowning. Connecting with readers by
writing emotionally moving, realistic and sexy romances no matter what time
period is her passion. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres
including: New England Reader’s Choice Awards, Greater Detroit BookSeller’s
Best Awards, Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a
Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.
Author Links
Website: http://laurensmithbooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSmithAuthor
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