Hunter's Moon was listed at #10 on the Fictionwise list of Best Selling e-books
for the previous six months as of January 2006

Read the reviews...

4 ½ Stars! [HUTNER’S MOON]…is a fabulous story. It is about learning to communicate with other beings and what better way to learn than through the universal way, love…fascinating and highly entertaining
- Sheryl, eCataRomance

4 Hearts! [HUNTER’S MOON] is awesome and will totally entrance the reader from beginning to end. Adam … so sexy he literally makes you melt. Lovers of the paranormal will find this book a must have in their collection. Bernadette Gardner has done a wonderful job of blending an alien and shape-shifting theme.
- Angel Brewer, The Romance Studio

HUNTER’S MOON…is the perfect size for reading during a long bubble bath [but] lock the door…the heat between the main characters is enough to boil away the bath water!
– Shaiha, Love Romances

[HUTNER’S MOON is] … a charming, tender tale. I love it when a battered soul is able to find someone who revitalizes them and reminds them to “live” not just exist. The author’s ingenuity in making the alien in this story a rather empathetic individual was actually rather brilliant. It is overall, a good read and well worth the “sticker” price.
– Rachelle, Enchanted in Romance

4 ANGELS The love scenes [in HUNTER’S MOON] are very hot, …– in fact, they are among some of the best love scenes I’ve read this year.
- Jean, Fallen Angel Reviews

4 Ribbons! HUNTER’S MOON is hot, spicy, and entertaining. Ms. Gardner has taken an interesting approach in the way a human communicates to other species in the intergalactic way. As a lover of paranormal and futuristic books, I will be watching for more from Ms. Gardner.
- Connie Spears, Romance Junkies

Read the Excerpt

Chapter One

The midnight breeze had a cool edge to it that heralded the arrival of autumn. Alliana Cambridge stretched like a cat, luxuriating in the chill that spread over her sweat-soaked skin. She had pushed her body to its limits tonight and now it was time to rest and enjoy the sweet September air.

Most people told her she was crazy for running so late at night, but she didn't care. She craved the solitude of the woods during a full moon. The old dirt access road that skirted her property was as familiar to her as the back of her hand. Perhaps she was crazy. She had no fear of the denizens of the Pennsylvania forests. It was the inhabitants of the towns and cities she preferred to avoid.

She stretched again, bending backward and forward at the waist to release the tension in her lower back. Silently, she counted backward from ten to slow her breathing down from a heated pant.

Enough for tonight, she decided. She was already halfway back to the farmhouse. The long walk from here would do her good, allow her to work any remaining kinks out of her muscles. There was no point in exhausting herself.

Alliana's slim shadow preceded her over the ruts that scored the drought-cracked road. It hadn't rained in a month and the tall grass on either side of the road was tinderbox dry. That gave her pause. There was more to fear from a sudden fire than from anything that lived in the woods. On the up side, the wind that stirred the grass created a silvery whisper that was as soft as a lover's caress. The sound soothed her and, for a short time, chased away the insistent worry she lived with.

After a few minutes, Alli found her rhythm and the walk became a lanky sprint. It was hard to slow down sometimes. All that pent up energy had to go somewhere before she could fall asleep. And with no man around...

Well, she was a damn sight better off alone in that department. End of discussion.

Pick another topic to think about, Alli.

The light of September's full moon was so bright it hurt her eyes when she turned to look. The laughing face of the man up there winked at her and she winked back before picking up speed once more.

God, she loved moonlight. It made everything look surreal and metallic, as if it were sculpted of platinum.

When the crack of a gunshot broke the silence, Alli tripped. She cursed as she regained her equilibrium and her heart began to thud.

"Idiots!" She didn't care that her voice would echo over the rise. The hunters that crawled all over the mountainside were so stupid sometimes. Hunting at night was asinine, but nothing stopped them. There were more accidents every year, and most of them were well deserved. The thought made her feel guilty, but it was how she felt.

Ah, well. She'd mention it to the police chief the next time she ran into him. Ben Walters was a nice enough guy. He'd listen to her complaint, admonish her again for wandering around her own property alone in the dark, and walk away feeling like he'd done his civic duty.

Men.

Troublesome as they were, she could certainly use one for a few hours right about now.

Stop it. Move on. Get over it. Smell that air! What a gorgeous night!

Walking wasn't going to cut it and neither was a light jog. She picked up the pace in an effort to pound the fever out of her blood. She'd managed four years without a man. She didn't need one now. There were plenty of other ways to release pent up tension.

Damn! Listening to gunshots in the distance wasn't one of them. Nor was hearing the sound that followed the second shot. The scream of pain echoed across the tree-covered slope that rose behind her. It stopped Alliana like a brick wall.

Some fool went and got shot again. Christ! When will these guys learn that a six-pack and a loaded rifle don't mix?

She catapulted herself through the garden gate and into the mudroom of the farmhouse. She grabbed the flashlight and first aid kit she kept there. Not that a band-aid would do much good if someone was shot, but it was the best she had.

She pivoted back out the door and ran once more along the access road and up the slope toward the dense trees. Instinctively she headed toward the ridge where her property ended. Above it there were several blinds in the woods. That's where the hunters normally hung out, drinking and cussing until some poor creature wandered close enough for them to wound it. She cursed as she ran. This was the last thing she needed tonight.

Alli squeezed the long, hard shaft of the flashlight a little tighter when she heard the sound. The low moan ended in a growl that sounded faintly inhuman. She had never been shot, but she imagined the pain could make a person sound more like an animal.

Nevertheless, she raised the flashlight like a club as she crossed the board bridge that spanned the creek. The grasses were thick here and the wind had picked up, making them rustle. The sound was no longer soothing.

Alli stopped and listened to the night to get her bearings. Something moved to her left. The half groan-half growl came again and rooted her to the spot. Her heart slammed into her ribs and the sweat that trickled between her breasts went ice cold in an instant. Someone was coming through the reeds next to the creek.

Run.

The voice in her head that governed the self-preservation instinct had been silent for a long time. Mute when she needed it most, her subconscious had been nothing more than an impassive bystander while her ex-husband took out his every frustration on her. Four years passed and it hadn't made a sound. When it had finally woken up, it rallied her into such a frenzy that she'd nearly killed him. She'd hit him so hard and so many times that he didn't get up. But as much as he deserved it, she still regretted letting the voice in her head have so much power.

It was that reason that made her ignore it now.

Run.

Of course that might be the wise thing to do. Go back home, call Ben--he was always on duty at midnight--and tell him what was going on in her woods. But someone was hurt. Drunk stupid bastard or no--she couldn't let someone bleed to death while she ran like a wimp and cowered in the bedroom closet.

"Who's there?" She squinted into the dense growth ahead of her. "Are you hurt?"

Alli raised the flashlight higher just as a figure stumbled out of the reeds. She fought the urge to scream.

He was over six feet tall, black as midnight and nearly naked. Blood poured across his well muscled chest and he let out another of those low, inhuman moans as he advanced on Alli, one clawed hand outstretched. His lips were drawn back against sharp white teeth and his feral eyes blazed a luminous green. He hissed at her once then fell at her feet.