Marie Treanor

Queen’s Gambit - Ebook, Available now from Samhain Publishing

The Grand Master of her body—and her fate.

Ever since a jealous wife cursed her, Christi Blythe has lived seven hundreds years of a half life, trapped by day in the black queen of a chess set. She lives only between the hours of dusk and dawn, waiting for the one true love who is willing to sacrifice a vital game of chess to break the curse.

Now, years after she has given up hope, her remote Highland hotel is hosting a chess match between two high-profile Grand Masters of the game. One of them is the brilliant but erratic Russian, Andrei Zuvarin.

Andrei suspects there is something different about the luscious barmaid and her chess set. One hot night with her—and one shocking dawn—confirms it. But he can’t afford to lose this match. Not even to free her.

He’s got more riding on it than money, more than his heart. His next move could cost a life.

This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.

Warning: This story includes adultery, enchantment and hot, sexy Russians, and defies the widely-held belief that chess is for geeks.

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Read Excerpts

Reviews:

"With a short story length, every word has to count and you make them do so beautifully. The book packs a lot of emotion - laughter, joy, grief, longing, sorrow and ultimately a love true enough to be willing to sacrifice all for the one dearest to you... You make me believe in these two, their feelings for each other and their future joy together. And all in a paranormal story!" - B+, Jayne, Dear Author.

"With twists and turns, Marie Treanor leads her readers through an exciting adventure until she reaches the end and sighs in satisfaction. And did I mention the hot sex? Christi and Andrei will certainly get your monitor smoking. This is another winner from a very talented author." - 5 Hearts, Valerie, Love Romances and More

"I like Queen's Gambit for pretty much the same reason I like to read this author's works: Marie Treanor dances to her own tune when it comes to plot and set-up, so her stories are rarely derivative efforts reminiscent of every other story in the paranormal romance market. I also like the way the author sets things up so that love becomes a question of how much the man is willing to give up for the woman and whether the woman is willing to let the man make that sacrifice. The end result is unexpectedly poignant and compelling." - Mrs Giggles, Rating 84.

"a delightful story that proves that a spoiled brat can change…over time... Andrei Zuvarian is a great character. I really wished I was able to spend more time with him. He is sexy, charming, and doesn’t take his status of Grand Master too seriously... Andrei and Christi have great sexual chemistry and the actual sexual contact is fiery." LT Blue, JERR, 3/4 stars, H

"This book is a joy to read and the characters are wonderful and interesting. The plot is going to keep reader's turning the pages and hoping for a happy ending. The love scenes are extremely hot and sure to please erotic readers. This is the first book that I have read by Marie Treanor and she has done such a great job with this book, I will certainly look for more of her work in the future." - 4 hearts, Angel Brewer, The Romance Studio

"A selfish woman/child when in a place of power can destroy lives around her, but there are times she can in turn be destroyed…will someone give up all to save her?

"...Queen's Gambit is a story that revolves around a curse incurred by an immature girl that took a witch’s husband as a lover. After several hundred years it was good to see Christi mature enough to realize that she devastated a woman for the simple reason that she wanted something for her own pleasure. Andrei and Christi make a wonderful couple that I was pulling for to remain together. Marie Treanor has a wonderful way with words that makes it easy to become involved with this story of magic, love and betrayal. I thoroughly enjoyed every page." - 4 unicorns, Lyonene, Enchanted in Romance

"Queen’s Gambit is tightly written, and keeps readers in suspense until the very last as to the way it will all end. Christi is complex and afraid to try to love, but takes the chance in spite of her fear. Chess enthusiasts will enjoy the many references to the game, and lovers of erotic romance will savor this hot tale of passion and redemption. Marie Treanor casts a spell of her own in Queen’s Gambit that will enchant and move readers!" - 4 Angels, Michelle, Fallen Angels Reviews

"Andrei Zuvarin is a bear of a man; a true gentle giant. He is quick to laugh, but underlying this easy laughter, lies a man of deep emotions. This is apparent when he and Christi find themselves alone in the bar. Steamy, emotion-laden sex follows. Given that this is a relatively short book, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail and characterization contained in the book. Christi and Andrei are well-rounded characters, but with enough flaws to make them human. That geeky game, chess, is the catalyst that brings them together. After reading Queen’s Gambit, I will never look at a chess set in quite the same way." - 4 stars, Michelle Naumann, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Excerpts:

(Scroll down for a hotter one...)

    “Christi?” he called, hoping futilely that his voice would make a difference to the silent response. His hand closed over the doorknob while he decided whether or not to leave a note. His hand moved, turning the knob, and, to his surprise, the catch released and the door swung open.
    “Christi?” he asked again, poking his head into the room.
    It was empty. Though he’d known it would be, his disappointment was out of all proportion. She was just a girl, no doubt as lonely as he, who’d joined him for a brief interlude of unexpectedly astounding sex. She’d already made it plain she wasn’t free to give more, and it wasn’t as if he knew her well enough to particularly want her to. It was just…
    He had no time for this self-searching. He was losing his priorities. After all, he was not a teenager, and for the first time in his life he couldn’t even behave like one. He was a grown man with his brother’s life to save. And a chess game to win in—an hour.
    Chess. With that thought, his gaze fell on Christi’s antique chess set. She’d promised to play him tonight. It would be hard with one of the pieces missing, but they could use a bottle top or something more appropriate to a queen’s station…
    Abruptly, he frowned. Then, slowly, he walked across to the chess table, stepping over the red puddle on the floor, the dress she’d worn last night, and gazed down at the black queen. No bottle tops, then.
    I don’t remember ever seeing the black queen.
    Gently he lifted the “missing” piece. Like all of them, she was beautifully carved and weighted, the features of her face strong and exquisite. In fact, they bore more than a passing resemblance to Christi’s own. Andrei smiled at the thought. He was in danger of becoming obsessed. Caressing the queen’s face with one sensitive finger, he laid her back down and left the room.

    “I’m not free,” she said unsteadily, and had the satisfaction of hearing his breath drawn in sharply. As if she could not help it, her head fell back, resting on his chest. Her eyes closed.
    “You are married? My God, I never even thought to ask.”
    “We know nothing of each other, nothing.”
    “I know you,” he insisted, his fingers tightening, gently kneading her shoulders. “I know I want you. I know you want me…”
    “I don’t!” she gasped as those fingers moved down, dragging her whole body against him so she could feel his hard erection nudging her back. Then both his hands moved on until they covered her breasts, holding, caressing, his thumbs rhythmically stroking her tight nipples. She knew he was smiling into her hair as he nuzzled her nape.
    “No?” he teased, his fingers spreading across her breasts to outline her stiff, hard nipples through the fabric. Then one hand moved lower, fingers splayed, palm gently pushing as it slid down her abdomen, making her gasp and gasp again before it reached between her legs with probing fingers. She moaned with sheer pleasure.
    His lips kissed her neck strongly, his tongue, his teeth sending shivers of ecstasy down her spine. Moving down her leg, his right hand caught at the fabric of her dress, drawing it upward with gentle, teasing caresses until his fingers could reach the hot wetness between her thighs.
    Now it was he who gasped, and for some reason his reaction gave her the confidence to laugh, a shaky, breathless sound, as she opened her eyes and twisted her head to see into his face. “Shocked?”
    And Zuvarin, his breath short and quick, gave one of his swift smiles. “Shocked? Because you don’t wear knickers to clean the bar? Oh, no.” His fingers began to move, butterfly-light, slow, explorative, working toward her clitoris with delicious languor. “Rather—delighted.”
    Christi’s head pressed back into his shoulder. She no longer cared that her eyes must be giving away his devastating effect upon her—her whole body betrayed her already. She just wanted to see his heated face clouded with desire for her, and she did. She saw more, too, for his eyes, surely were as vulnerable as hers, revealing not only his own wants, but also his need to please her. She could not hide the intensity of pleasure his fingers induced as they stroked all around the desperately wet petals of her pussy and finally, gently, pressed on her swollen, pulsating clitoris.
    Moaning aloud, she reached blindly up with her mouth, finding his and kissing him wildly with all her passion and gratitude for the orgasm that was already rising with earth-shattering depth. When his hand left her pussy, she cried out in distress. He turned her in his arms to deepen the kiss. His hands held her hips so that his could grind into them. It was delicious, exciting, maddening, but it was not nearly enough.
    “Now,” she whispered urgently, her hands on his jeans, trembling as they stroked the big, hard bulge at the front and fumbled with his zip. “Now, Andrei…”
    Vaguely, she was conscious of his gasps, joyful at his reaction. Then, as her hand closed around his big, thick, rock-hard cock, he groaned, sweeping her up in his arms and off her feet, carrying her swiftly across the room as if she weighed no more than a baby. Her mouth claimed his again. She rejoiced in the feel of his hands holding her bare buttocks.
    He set her on the bar, her legs dangling down the front while he stood between them, his crotch pressing into hers while he kissed her with huge, demanding kisses that drove her wild.
    Arms around his neck, she wriggled, trying to slither forward to enable his entry. “Now, Andrei,” she gasped again, but inexplicably he held her back. His fingers had found the zip of her dress and let it fall around her shoulders, revealing most of her breasts beneath for him to kiss and caress, his tongue flicking fire across her nipples. Christi thought she would die if he didn’t do it to her, if he did not fuck her now, at once…
    She grasped his hair to tell him so, but he eluded her, kneeling on the floor below her to kiss her legs from the ankle up.
    “Andrei!” she got out, half-weeping with frustration as well as laughter. “I’m dying!”
    But he made no response, for his lips were now on the inside of her thigh, just at the top and moving toward the heated wetness of her crotch and at last she began to suspect what he would do.
    “Oh,” she gasped out with wonder. “Oh…!”