Mid Week Tease: Breaker Zone
Happy Hump Day! Let’s celebrate it with the first Mid Week Tease of 2014, courtesy of the lovely and talented Sandra Bunino. This week, I’ll be sharing a teaser from the second book in the Olympic Cove series, Breaker Zone.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
When Dr. Nick Gardiner goes on the run from a psychotic ex and ends up at Olympic Cove, the last thing he expects to find is his friend Ian living with two redheaded demigods and learning how to be a storm god. Adding to the confusion is a wounded merman named Aidan who washes up in the cove, requiring Nick’s professional help. As it turns out, the handsome mer and his partner Liam have other plans for the ER doctor — to claim him as their agapetos, their destined mate, and fulfill his need to submit.
A chance encounter at a local junk shop reveals that Nick has his own role to play in the battle against the insane Nereid Thetis. Under the reluctant mentorship of Chiron, Nick must master the use of the Rod of Asclepius if he wants to rescue his mates from a ghastly fate and help Ian save the planet.
###
Nick woke up to slanting sunlight coming through the window blinds. Rubbing gummy eyes, he rolled over and checked the alarm clock. 8:12 AM.
After a moment, he realized the sunlight wasn’t what had woken him up. A rhythmic creaking noise came from overhead, combined with muffled words and the occasional moan.
Ian, you sex god, you. The creaking picked up a notch, and he distinctly heard the blond beg someone to go deeper. Fuck, he bottoms? Oh, God, that’s so hot.
Smiling sleepily, Nick slid his hand under his boxers and loosely stroked his cock, already half-hard. He felt a flicker of guilt about masturbating to the sound of his friend and two gorgeous redheads fucking their brains out overhead, but the twinge quickly disappeared as the creaking sped up.
He tried to imagine how they were positioned. He could hear Ian’s voice, so the blond wasn’t sucking off the other twin. Maybe he’s fucking one of them while the other one fucks him?
The image popped into his mind; the three of them on their sides, pumping in unison as Aphros fucked Ian from behind, and Ian drove into the other twin. Nick imagined all three bodies lightly sheened in sweat as they flexed and thrust, hard shafts driving deeply into muscled flesh. He stroked his own cock more roughly now, picturing Ian’s hand reaching around and jacking off the twin he was fucking while he rocked on Aphros’s cock, taking the blue-eyed twin deep and loving it.
The fantasy morphed; and now he was in the other twin’s place, Ian’s hand massaging his cock while he plowed Nick’s ass. The other twin moved lower on the bed, warm mouth closing around Nick’s shaft as Ian’s hand dropped away. Nick moaned, imagining a head of auburn curls bobbing greedily at his groin as Ian thrust into him with a jackhammer pace.
Pleasure sizzled down his spine and into his groin, and his climax came to a quick head. For a moment he regretted not pulling his boxers down, then gave in as his balls tightened and warm semen spurted over his hand. Overhead, it sounded as if things were also coming to a head, judging from the hoarse cries and one low, loud roar.
Panting softly, Nick pulled his hand out of his boxers and wiped the translucent stickiness covering his fingers on his t-shirt. The creaking noises stopped, and all he could hear now was muffled voices talking and soft laughter. His afterglow disappeared like a blown-out candle flame. His last few boyfriends hadn’t been big on apre-sex talking or cuddling. Bannon usually sent him straight to the bathroom after they finished scening or fucking, and his idea of aftercare was a pat on the ass and a casually tossed lap blanket. That should have been a big neon stop sign right there.
He remembered what it was like to be with someone who laughed and pulled him back to bed after sex. Someone who would hold him and keep him warm after an intense scene, letting him come down gently from the high of subspace. Someone who just wanted to be with him, full stop.
To get that in duplicate…
Considering your taste in boyfriends, you might as well wish for a couple of hot mermen. That’s about as likely to happen as you finding a pair of perfect Doms. Just be happy for Ian, and leave it at that.
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Cover Reveal: Trickster
Just got the final cover for Trickster from Evernight, and man, I adore working with a publisher who listens to your feedback and works with you on cover art instead of leaving you completely out of the loop. Ain’t it purty? As soon as I get a release date, I’ll be announcing it here, so stay tuned!
And just because I’m feeling really pumped about this, here’s another little snippet to whet your appetite. Enjoy!
“Kiss me,” Delaney repeated. “Just a plain old kiss, no tongues or anything. If you’re not my mate, then you won’t feel a damned thing. And if that happens, then I’ll leave you alone. You won’t even see me for the rest of your contract with Trickster.”
Mark looked torn. “And if I feel … something?”
Delaney shrugged. “Then you give me a chance. Go on a date with me, get to know me, let me get to know you. I swear to God, I’m actually pretty personable when my dick isn’t trying to drain all the blood from my body.”
That dragged Mark’s attention downward, and his eyes widened. “Jesus. You’re–”
“Hard. Yeah, I know.” Delaney looked down at his throbbing cock and sighed. “If I can ignore it, so can you. Just kiss me once, and we can get this all over with.”
“This is insane.” But he could already hear Mark’s heartbeat speed up. “One kiss. And no tongues.”
“Shifter’s honor.”
Mark muttered something under his breath, then nervously licked his lips before puckering them in a perfect duckface.
Delaney grinned. “Really? That’s how you kiss someone? No wonder you haven’t gotten to first base with Whatsername.”
Nicola’s Sunday Shoutout: Nikka Michaels
Today’s Sunday Shoutout goes to Nikka Michaels, whose hot new shifter story “Waking Up Wolf” is now available in Evernight Publishing’s M/M Shifter anthology Alpha’s Claim: Manlove Edition.
Thanks so much to Nicola for the chance to share my newest release. “Waking Up Wolf” is a short paranormal erotic romance where two men find each other in a post- apocalyptic world. When a radioactive leak in the local water source turns the inhabitants of Adam Baker’s small town into shape shifting wolves, he manages to hold and survive alone–except for the wolves he hears in the distance. When he doesn’t immediately undergo “the change” into a wolf himself, he begins to believe he’s immune. After his dreams begin to include another wolf, he finds himself drawn to the howls outside his window and the pack’s alpha, handsome Grady Conway.
Strength. Power. Domination.
The shifters in our Alpha’s Claim: Manlove Edition anthology have one thing in common—they won’t take “no” for an answer. Whether they lead packs of their own, or whether they walk a solitary path, these alphas won’t let anyone stop them from claiming their men.
Lose yourself in these ten sinfully delicious love stories. After all, who could deny an Alpha’s claim?
Story Excerpt
Adam watched him carefully. “You don’t even know me. Why would you invite me back with your family, your pack?”
Grady looked down. “What if I told you we needed you? That I needed you?”
Adam stared at him like he’d gone crazy.
“Me? Why would you need me?”
“A true alpha needs a mate.” Grady raised his head, meeting Adam’s eyes, and for a moment he couldn’t look away.
“And you think I’m your mate?”
“I don’t think. I know. You’re my mate, always have been.”
Adam backed away, and he felt himself shake and pain shoot through his body as he fell to his knees. Naked and sprawled in the dirt he stared up at Grady, who closed his eyes and shifted, leaving himself bare as well.
Adam swallowed hard as he stared up at Grady in shock. This close he could see every single inch of the tanned and toned body of the man who commanded a pack. Muscled and imposing, he stared down at Adam, his blue eyed gaze heated.
Without another word, Grady took a step closer, sliding his hand over the top of Adam’s head possessively. He slowly wrapped his hand around Adam’s long dark dreads and pulled his head back, exposing his neck. Adam’s eyes slammed shut as he waited for Grady to change and wolf teeth to tear out his throat. Instead, when Grady’s human teeth sank into his shoulder he shuddered and cried out.
Pleasure/pain surged through Adam’s body as he jerked awake, his cock throbbing as he felt hot cum stripe his belly. His legs shook as he panted for breath, his bed sheets and body soaked with sweat.
His dreams had never been that vivid before, and when he shifted his body his muscles screamed in protest and he flopped back with a moan.
When he yanked back the blankets he stared.
His feet were dirty, caked in mud along with his hands. On his neck, he could feel Grady’s teeth marks.
He’d been marked by the alpha.
Where To Buy
Evernight Publishing
Amazon US
Amazon UK
All Romance eBooks
Bookstrand
About Nikka Michaels
Nikka Michaels lives in the often rainy Pacific Northwest where she spends her time cooking, laughing and crafting romantic tales to satisfy her craving for HEAs with heat. A voracious reader, novice knitter and music lover she’s been known to multitask without breaking a sweat. She loves to read and write M/M romance but believes everyone deserves a love story. She currently has three releases out, Chasing Matt, a M/M novella co-authored with Eileen Griffin, Christmas with Caden, a M/F romance novella from Cobblestone Press, and “Waking up Wolf”, a M/M shifter romance in Evernight Publishing’s Alpha’s Claim: Manlove Edition anthology. Her short erotic M/M BDSM story, Room Service is forthcoming from Cobblestone Press in February 2014. Nikka is currently at work with her co-author on two M/M foodie romance novels, set to be released summer and fall 2014 from Carina Press.
Where to find Nikka Michaels
Blog
Twitter
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Facebook Author Page
Goodreads
Evernight Publishing
Amazon US
Why you do this to me, Brain?
A week ago, I decided to take a nap, as you do. My brain, being the assbutt that it is, decided to entertain itself while I was snoozing. As a result, I woke up with an image in my head of a dragon swooping down and plucking a man off a road. But the dragon doesn’t eat him, oh no. It’s mating season, don’t you know, and the dragon has other things in mind.
Problem is, the guy is a priest. And dragons, after they shift to human form for the mating bop, traditionally kill their partners so that their souls will pass into their offspring, otherwise said offspring will not be able to shift to dragon form. My subconscious is a dank and weird place, I swear.
An hour later I had the first book in a trilogy worked out. Problem? It’s dark. Dark de dark dark dark. As in incest, patricide, quasi bestiality, rape, all in a high fantasy package. We’re talking Game of Thrones meets Kushiel’s Dart. Oh, and did I mention I don’t DO high fantasy. Why you do this to me, brain?
Mid Week Tease: Two to Tango #MWTease
Happy Hump Day! Let’s celebrate it with another wonderful Mid Week Tease, courtesy of the lovely and talented Sandra Bunino. This week, I’ll be sharing a teaser from my current WIP, a M/M SF erotic caper story titled Two to Tango.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Rory Maclellan, aka the Highlander, is one of the most successful interstellar art thieves out there. He’s careful, professional, and plans his heists down to the microsecond. Surprisingly, he also has a conscience. So when he runs into a suicidal museum worker during his latest job, he has no choice but to stun the man and rescue him from certain death.
Dmitri Grigoryev was an up-and-coming exoarchaeologist until a disastrous dig left his career in tatters. Hungry, broke, and about to be laid off from the only job he’s been able to find in the last three years, he never expected a dashing thief to come along and ruin his suicide by saving his life.
With interstellar police on their tail, Rory and Dmitri reluctantly join forces for a major heist. But will their simmering attraction get in the way, or pull them even closer?
###
Dmitri turned over, glancing down the line of their bodies. Rory’s erection was very obvious in his kilt, almost comically so. He must have been contorting himself to keep it off my ass.
Of course, now that he was face up, his own erection started filling out nicely.
Leaning over him, Rory started massaging his shoulders and arms, going nowhere near his nipples or other erogenous zones. Finally, Dmitri couldn’t stand it any more. “Um, you’re hard.”
“I know,” Rory said evenly. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Kind of difficult to do that when it’s right over my stomach. Besides, so am I.”
Rory gave a half shrug. “Totally normal. Most guys get a boner during a massage. Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m going to make a move on you or anything.”
Dmitri didn’t understand why that admission annoyed him, but it did. “Of course not,” he muttered. “Why would you?”
Rory stopped at that, frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Dmitri turned his head. “I don’t know. Never mind.”
“Hey.” Long fingers cupped his chin, turning it back. “I’m not making a move on you because I don’t believe in hitting on someone when they don’t have a way out of the situation. I’m a thief, not a rapist. I mean, yes, I think you’re incredibly hot, which should be obvious by the fact that my cock can now cut diamond.” Rory glanced down at his crotch and grinned. “But that’s my problem, not yours.”
That’s what you think. Dmitri could feel Rory’s body heat moving through him, lighting up nerve endings that had been dead since Joss and Helene turned him into a scapegoat. He’d been sure that his life would be one long, slow slog through museum workshops, getting older and more bitter with each passing year until he was shunted off to some sterile senior station to die.
Instead, he had been kidnapped during a heist by the Known Worlds’ sexiest antiquities thief, arrested by and then rescued from CAPOD, been given the chance to restore a shattered Saolao ceremonial bowl, and now had said thief kneeling over him with a rock-hard erection after giving him the best massage of his life.
Why does it have to be a problem? He brought his hands to Rory’s exposed knees, watching the other man jump a bit from the unexpected contact. “What if I said yes?”
Rory frowned. “I’m sorry?”
“What.” Dmitri slowly ran his fingertips under the tartan, up Rory’s thighs. “If I.” He pressed the heels of his hands against the lean muscles, continuing his upward slide. “Said yes?” His fingers reached the top of each thigh, dancing over the crease where leg met groin. The skin was smooth there, but he could just feel the beginnings of crisp pubic hair brushing his thumbs, and the heat from what had to be an aching cock.
He wouldn’t let himself touch it. Not until he was sure they both wanted this. “Or do I have to spell it out for you?”
“Nooo, I think I’m catching on.” Rory leaned closer and kissed him, tongue flicking lightly across his upper lip. “You’re sure this all right?”
“Definitely.”
“Good. Because if you don’t touch my cock right now, my head is going to explode.”
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Mid Week Tease: Trickster
Happy Hump Day! Let’s celebrate it with the first Mid Week Tease of 2014, courtesy of the lovely and talented Sandra Bunino. This week, I’ll be sharing a teaser from my newest M/M paranormal romp, Trickster.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Delaney Smith, coyote shifter and Trickster Technologies executive, thinks humans are bland, boring, and undateable. So he gets the shock of his life when he comes back from vacation and scents his mate in the Trickster offices — a mate who is not only male, but quite human.
Mark Fellowes is taken aback when the CTO at his new contract job makes a pass at him, and even more surprised at his temptation to respond. Straight and dating a career-minded businesswoman, he’s never even thought about kissing another man — until now.
When Mark is attacked by thieves bent on stealing company files, Delaney must put aside his preconceptions to protect his mate. But will a criminal bent on destroying Trickster Tech separate them before he can stake his claim?
###
Delaney ended the call and tossed the phone on his bedside table. He understood the importance of finding out who was trying to hack into Trickster’s servers. But God, this was a shitty time to make him play Sherlock, especially with his mate as the target.
Leaving his bedroom, he headed to the guest room and knocked on the door. “Mark? Can I come in?”
There was no answer. He opened the door and peered inside. Mark’s open bag was on the bed, and the bathroom door was shut. Behind it, he could hear the sound of the shower.
His natural curiosity kicked into gear. Quietly, he slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, ignoring the faint flicker of guilt. Well, nosing around is what coyotes do, he reasoned. And Scott pretty much ordered me to check him out, so I’m just following my Alpha’s orders.
Mark’s bag turned out to hold nothing but a clean set of casual clothes, some underwear, and a dress shirt, suit, and tie. Delaney took a deep breath, savoring the warm, woody scent wafting up from the clothes. A powerfully attractive image of shucking off his clothes and joining his mate in the shower came to him. I could scrub him clean all over, yeah, then kneel down and rim him until he’s begging–
His enhanced hearing picked up a soft moan. He stepped to the bathroom door, listening. Another moan, almost muffled by the sound the falling water, and a familiar slicking sound.
Delaney went hot all over, and his cock sprang back to life. Oh, fuck. He’s jacking off. He’s four feet away and he’s jacking off. Fuck, that’s so not fair.
His hand drifted to the front of his slacks, massaging the thick ridge there as he listened to his mate pleasure himself. When Mark grunted hard and came, Delaney was almost right behind him. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his hand away, willing his heartbeat to slow down as the shower stopped.
The bathroom door opened and Mark stepped out, rubbing a towel over his hair. Another one was wrapped around his narrow hips, and Delaney wanted to take it off with his teeth.
He cleared his throat. Mark yelped and spun, bumping into the dresser next to the bed. The towel around his waist started to slip, and Delaney caught a glimpse of pale, muscled hip before Mark yanked the terrycloth back into place.
Panting, he glared at Delaney. “Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you?” he yelled. “Do you even know how to knock?”
“I did,” Delaney said, trying to sound innocent. “You didn’t answer so I got worried. Didn’t know you were in the shower until I came in here.” And you were coming in there.
Without his glasses, Mark’s resemblance to a furious faun was even more striking. “God. I do not need any more of this tonight,” he growled.
“This what?”
“You, sneaking around and following me everywhere.” He scowled at Delaney’s groin. “Especially with another fucking hard on.”
For some obscure reason, that cheered the shifter. “You noticed, huh?”
“Helen Keller would have noticed it, all right? Does it ever go down?”
“Not since this morning. I can’t help it, babe. I smell you and I get wood.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Mark muttered. “Look, I’m tired. I just want to put on some pajamas and crash, all right? We can talk about shapeshifters and–” he waved vaguely between them, “–that other thing in the morning.”
Delaney ignored the slap of disappointment and nodded. “Okay. We’ll talk later when you’re not tired.” Although you weren’t too tired to jerk off in the shower.
Mark’s cheeks blazed to life. “You listened to me?”
Oh, shit, did I say that out loud? “I’m sorry, but coyotes have really good hearing,” Delaney said defensively. “At least you got off. My balls are aching so much I can barely walk straight.”
“So go to your own damn bathroom and rub one out there!”
“It’s not about getting off, dammit!” Delaney yelled back, before catching himself. “Okay, it’s not just about getting off. God, I really wish you were a shifter. Then you’d understand.”
“Well, I’m not a shifter,” Mark snapped, “so you’re just going to have to explain it to the stupid human.”
“I — Jesus.” Delaney sucked in a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and find the right words. “Being drawn to a mate, it isn’t just physical. It’s emotional and spiritual as well.” He gestured at his groin. “Yes, I want to fuck you, that’s pretty damn obvious. I also want to know you. I want to talk to you, find out everything about you — where you grew up, what your family’s like, whether you like sports, what your favorite food is, your opinion on Steven Moffat, what you want to do with the rest of your life, all that. And I want you to get to know me, too.”
Mark wasn’t interrupting him, so he plunged on. “I’m originally from Phoenix, I love movies with big chase scenes, I collect action figures, The Lord of the Rings bored me shitless in book form although the movies rock, and I think the Tea Party needs to be sent to its own little island where they can’t hurt anyone,” he said quickly. “And I really want to make breakfast for you tomorrow morning because I make killer pancakes, then take you back to bed and watch The Avengers while we eat. I always wanted to do that with someone.” He paused. “God, please tell me you like The Avengers.”
“Yeah.” Mark’s scowl had eased during Delaney’s monologue, but he still looked skittish. “Wait — back to bed?”
“I’m trying to be optimistic here.” He ran a hand through his hair. “What I’m trying to say is, this isn’t just about sex. It’s so much more than that. And I know this is way too fast for you, and if it’s any consolation this is scaring the shit out of me, too. But sometimes that’s just the way it happens for us. Shifters, I mean.”
That was all he had. If it wasn’t enough to convince Mark, he didn’t know what else to do. “I’m sorry. I swear to God, this isn’t how I wanted it to happen,” he said, feeling hollow. “I’ll let you get some sleep. We can talk about everything in the morning.”
He turned to go.
“Wait.”
###
Mark clutched at the towel around his waist. He knew he was acting like an abrasive asshole. It was his default mode when he was nervous as hell. The logical part of his brain said that he should be pissed off at being stalked by a freaky coyote shapeshifter who claimed Mark was his mate, then getting talked into staying overnight in the shifter’s guest room. Not to mention the hard-on Delaney kept springing every time they were alone together.
The rest of his brain was screaming at him to drop the towel and walk into Delaney’s arms. During his shower jerkoff session, he couldn’t stop thinking about the handsome executive and his lean, chiseled body. He’d tried fantasizing about Caren, he honestly had. But Delaney, with his sexy hands, broad shoulders and perfect mouth, was the one who kept coming to mind. And the sudden, blazingly hot mental image of Delaney kneeling down on the wet tile and using that perfect mouth to swallow his cock to the root had made Mark come so hard he’d almost blacked out.
It made no sense whatsoever. He didn’t know anything about Delaney Smith, apart from the fact that the man was built like an underwear model and still managed to be smart, funny, and a fellow geek. And dammit, he still wasn’t gay. But no matter what he did, his brain kept spiraling back to thoughts about Delaney, who had risked his own life to save Mark from being kidnapped. And then there was the kiss at the apartment…
Mark shivered. The kiss was when everything changed, if he was honest with himself. When Delaney kissed him, something deep inside his soul clicked, like a key turning in a lock. Like meeting the love of your life. Yes, he was still annoyed at the shifter for behaving like a jerk. But he also enjoyed Delaney’s snarkiness, and found the unexpected aspects of the man’s personality intriguing. And yes, that blatant, balls to the wall statement of desire was hot as hell.
But more importantly, underneath it all was a primal attraction so hot and deep that it scared him, and so utterly alluring that he just wanted to sink into it and bask. Somehow it didn’t matter anymore that Delaney Smith was not only a man, but a coyote shapeshifter as well. Illogical or not, Mark wanted — no, he needed to be in Delaney’s arms.
He just wasn’t sure how to do it.
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The downside of an incomplete writer’s high
So I spent the weekend in full-bore marathon mode in order to get Trickster finished, edited, and out the door to my betas, and then Evernight. Normally when I finish a writing project I get what I can only call a writer’s high. It’s this wonderful sense of extreme well-being and contentment that lasts somewhere between 12 and 24 hours.
But I didn’t get it this time, and I think I shot myself in the foot when I technically reached the end of the story Saturday and typed THE END, even though I knew full well that I had to go back and add some context and two sex scenes. The bugger of it is, that simple action seems to have short-circuited the full monty, which is fucking annoying. One of the things I like best about finishing a project is that I get a writer’s high in the first place — it’s the immediate gratification that makes a numb ass, confusion about what day it is, and the grease in my hair worthwhile.
But now — I dunno. It’s kind of like having a really mediocre orgasm, the sort that gets shut down almost as soon as it starts because the kids are banging on the bedroom door or you just can’t hang onto whatever masturbatory fantasy you’re using. And to add insult to injury, I can’t settle — I have His Last Vow on iPlayer, tons of crafting projects and three book covers to design, and I’m having a hell of a time making myself do any of them. As I told Ramón earlier, I feel like something inside me is just flapping in the wind, frustratingly incomplete. Come to think of it, I’m also craving my special mint and dark chocolate cookies, as well.
Unfortunately, my next writer’s high won’t be until I finish Two to Tango, which is still a good 15K off. So it looks like I’m going to be in for five days or so of delayed literary orgasm until I get Rory and Dmitri to their own happy ending. Bugger.
Maybe I’ll make those cookies after all…
I was serious when I said I can’t color inside the lines
Back in November I came up with a M/M Alpha shifter story idea for an Evernight antho call, but as you know, Bob, that was also the month I came down with the plague. Thanks to the various medications I was on the story idea just wouldn’t gel properly, and after three failed attempts I gave up and stuck all three versions in the “maybe someday” file.
Fast forward to last week. While I was working on Two to Tango, I decided to take a break and flip through my “maybe someday” file as a palate cleanser. I found the most advanced version of the Alpha shifter story at 6K words and thought, “Hmm, this is kind of a cool concept, really. If I expand it I can submit it as an ROTG story. I’ll just add a little more on, then go back to my original project.”
Ho ho ho. The next thing I knew, it was Sunday, my sleep cycle was completely flipped, I was knee deep in corporate espionage and the complications of M/M human/shifter mating when neither of them were gay, and I’d gone straight past ROTG length and was closing in on 20K. Plus my shifter was no longer an Alpha (which actually worked better, considering one of the other characters really needed to be the Alpha), and I came up with a novel way to send Morse code in an office environment
Tl;dr — My newest M/M paranormal erotic romance Trickster has been submitted to Evernight as of this morning, and I’m back to work on Two to Tango .
We all need affirmation
So, thanks to the lovely people at http://hiddlestonhellodarling.tumblr.com, here is my affirmation of the day.
And just for my amusement, since this is a lovely concept and they were kind of the physical inspirations for Bythos and Aphros, after all…
No, don’t thank me. Noblesse oblige, after all.
Nic’s Sneak Peak: Trickster
I don’t do resolutions, but I do have some goals for 2014. One of them is to post more regularly here — book promos, yes, but also “slice of life” posts about what I’m doing, what weird things are going on in my life, and of course sneak peaks at my WIPs. I’m currently finishing up Two to Tango, but last night I found a shifter M/M short story on my desktop that I was trying to write for an anthology and couldn’t finish because, well, it was in November and I was still suffering with The Plague. Upon re-reading the 2K I’d gotten done, I realized it would make a truly tasty Romance On the Go short and got stuck in. it’s now titled Trickster, I’m currently at 4200 words and I’m hoping to have it done and ready for submission by Sunday. And since I can’t wait that long, here’s a sneak peak at the opening to Trickster!
Delaney Smith knew he was screwed the moment that delectable, mouthwatering scent hit his shifter nose and kicked his libido into overdrive. It was bad enough to smell a mate in a human area like his office building. But to smell one while he was in the office and about to start interviews with potential employees? Fate obviously needed a laugh as much as anyone else, but damn, did he have to be the butt of the joke?
Growling softly, he slipped a hand under the table and ground the heel of his hand into his eagerly swelling cock. If he could, he’d slough off the interviews onto his partner Scott Devlin and hunt down the source of that amazing smell, the shifter who would become the other half of his heart. But no, Scott had to pick today to be in Austin for a meeting with a client, and their general manager Nola Moss was somewhere on the Caribbean on a freaking cruise of all things with her new mate. Which meant he was the only hiring manager currently in the Trickster Tech offices, and they desperately needed some temp programmers for their lucrative new contract with Lone Star Credit Union.
Whoever he is, I’ll find him later. I’ve got his scent, he can’t get away from me. While coyote shifters didn’t quite had the olfactory gifts of wolf and other canine shifters, they were still superb trackers, and there was no way he would ever forget that scent; sharp salt, the blood hint of iron, overlaid by the musk of clean, healthy male and some (thank God) mild deodorant and body wash that didn’t shrivel his nose hairs.
And then there was that luscious ribbon of mate pheromone that grabbed him by the dick and made him want to yip with glee. His balls ached, and the urge to shift and hunt down his mate produced a full body shiver. He took a deep breath through his mouth, but even cutting his nose out of the equation didn’t help. Now he could taste his mate.
Shit. Just start the damn interviews. Then I’m going to go find him.
Delaney stood up, grateful that the cut of his suit jacket covered his erection, and headed out to the foyer where Aimee the receptionist told him the first interviewee was waiting. A youngish man with fashionably nerdy glasses and a slightly too large suit perched on one of the upholstered chairs, obviously trying not to fidget with the portfolio in his hands. Plastering on a neutral smile, Delaney walked up to him, hand out for a shake.
And stopped as the mating scent smacked him hard in the nose. His cock didn’t just throb, it pulsed, so rigid that he could have pounded nails with it. Details from the human’s CV flowed through his mind; Mark Fellowes, 29, computer programmer with extensive experience in financial security protocols. Firmly at the top of Scott’s hiring list, to the point where he wanted to hire Fellowes if everything worked out after the contract. Also human as the day was long, according to the background check they ran; not a drop of shifter blood in any of his bloodlines.
And Delaney’s mate, according to his nose. Oh, fuck me with a chain saw.
Nicola Cameron Writes 