Today I am so pleased to welcome Michele Notaro to Joyfully Jay. Michele has come to talk to us about her latest release, A Date To Impress Him (The Magi Accounts 2.5). She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

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Exclusive Excerpt

My purr got louder, and it made us both laugh. “Apparently, my lion doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I like that you like doing this.” He gave me a squeeze to indicate the cuddling we were doing since words like cuddle and snuggle made him shudder.

“I like snuggling with you, too, cat lover.”

“Ew. I don’t like… snuggles.” He said it like it was the grossest thing he’d ever heard in his life.

I chuckled. “Yes, you do.”

“I do not.”

“Sure you do.”

“Fuck you.”

I laughed. “You’re allowed to like cuddling, Mads. It’s natural for you to like it, and you’ve been cuddling with Jude your entire life. I don’t understand why you pretend with me.” Actually, I did understand. It made him feel vulnerable, and if I’d learned anything about Madeo over the last few months, him and vulnerable did not go together.

At my words, he went taut under me. “It’s different.”

I leaned up so I could stare into his eyes as I spoke. “You don’t need to hide from me, Mads.” He tensed further, and I sighed. “Baby, you’re safe with me. Especially right here in this room. No one else needs to know how much you like cuddling or sitting there quietly to read a book or anything else. You’re safe here. It’s just you and me.”

He blew out a breath and glanced away for a long moment before hesitantly meeting my eyes and saying, “Logically, I know that. But sometimes I just feel…”

“Scared?”

He tensed again. “I don’t…” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Yes.”

I held back my surprise at him actually admitting that, then reached up to brush my knuckles along his cheek. “I’m sorry. I hope one day I’m able to make you feel safe enough with me to take away that fear.”

He stared into my eyes for a moment. “I do feel safe with you, Cos. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. And I trust you, it’s just… not easy for me. I’ve never trusted anyone outside of Jude before, and now I have you and Lo and all these other people here who… I trust. It’s just… taking me a long time to realize it and to let go of some of my, uh, old fears.”

I placed a kiss to his chest. “That’s okay, too—of course it is. But I hope you know this is a safe place for you. This… should feel like home. Like safety.”

He sent me a soft smile. “It’s getting there.”

I leaned up to capture his lips in a sensual kiss for a few minutes, then rested my forehead against his. “If there’s anything you need from me—anything—please tell me.”

He smiled, and I could see it reach his eyes. “Everything’s great here, kitty cat. I don’t need anything else. I promise.”

His magic washed over me, and I closed my eyes as goosebumps broke out over my skin. Every time I felt his magic, it was like my skin became hypersensitive. It felt… like a breath of fresh air, only better. Like I hadn’t had fresh air in years, and then his magic washed over me, and I had the clearest air I’d ever breathed.

“You okay?” he whispered.

My eyes opened, and I smiled down at him, our foreheads still touching. “I like the way your magic feels.”

He grinned. “That’s good.” He reached up and ran his fingers through my hair, sending a different kind of chill through my body. I swear if we hadn’t wasted so much time this morning already, I’d have to ravish him, lick every inch of his skin. As it was, I’d have to wait until tonight. A smirk formed on his face, and I knew he was about to sass me. “I like the way your hair feels. It’s not as fluffy in this form—your mane is glorious—but I still like your floof.” He fanned his fingers through my hair to emphasize his point.

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to preen from the mane compliment or scowl about the floof comment. I settled for giving him a quick kiss, then scowling at him. “My hair isn’t floofy.”

He snorted. “It absolutely is.”

I rolled my eyes. “It isn’t.”

“Are we really going to start this back-and-forth argument again?”

I grunted and finally rolled off him. “Come on. We need to get ready.”

He followed me but had to give the cats a bunch of pets and kisses first, which made me smile. He really loved those cats. When I went to open the door so I could go into the bathroom, he rushed over and grabbed my forearm to stop me. “Are you sure you’re okay, kitty cat?”

I smiled. “That was exactly what I needed.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m good, thank you. We need to hurry so we can eat breakfast. I know how grumpy you get when you’re hungry.”

He scowled. “I’m not that bad.”

That made me snort as I walked into the bathroom, and when Mads followed, I lifted a brow. He usually took a shower alone in the mornings.

He shrugged. “We need to hurry.”

“I’m not sure taking a shower together is going to make it go any faster. You know what happens when I see you naked.”

He rolled his eyes, but a smile played on his lips as he stepped into the shower. “Then we better be extra fast. Bet I can get you off quicker than you can get me.”

A surprised chuckle came out of me as I stepped into the shower behind him. “Game on.”

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Blurb

Who knew taking my little mage on a date would be so difficult?

With so much change happening at the house—three shifter kids are a lot to handle—Mads and I have been too busy to spend much alone time together. So I figured a date night was in order.

Too bad every time we try, we have to put a fire out somewhere. At this rate, I’m not sure I’ll ever get to take my mage on a date.

A Date To Impress Him is a fun MM urban fantasy companion novella and meant to be read AFTER The Shackles That Hold Us (The Magi Accounts 2). It’s from Cosmo’s perspective and takes place between books 2 and 3 of the main series. This is a companion novella, NOT a standalone.


Bio

Michele is married to an awesome guy that puts up with her and all the burnt dinners she makes—hey, sometimes characters are a bit distracting, and who doesn’t plot when they’re supposed to be cooking? They live together in Baltimore, Maryland with two little monsters, a three-legged fiend and four-legged goofball (aka their two kids and their two cats). She hopes to rescue another cat soon, and if her hubby wouldn’t kill her, she’d get more than one… and maybe a few more dogs as well.

She loves creating worlds filled with lots of love, chosen family, and of course, magic, but she also likes making the characters fight for that happy ending. She hopes to one day write all the stories in her head—even if there are too many to count!

MICHELE’S LINKS:

Stop by for exclusives, updates, and lots of fun in Michele’s Facebook Reader Group: Notaro’s Haven.  


Giveaway

Michele has brought a $10 Amazon gift card to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Saturday, August 27th at 11:59 pm ET.


  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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