Category Archives: Promo
Fabulous Friday Reads: Her Dom’s Secret Past
TGIF! Let’s kick off the weekend with Suzy Shearer’s hot new BDSM romance Her Dom’s Secret Past, now available from Evernight Publishing and other purveyors of fine online fiction. Take it away, Suzy!
When Anabelle Rowley, fifty-five, takes a two-week break at an exclusive beach-front villa, she meets a man—but not just any man. Instead, this one ticks every box on her imaginary boyfriend list.
For fifty-two-year-old John Ethan, going on a short vacation to recover from injury and moving to Australia comes rather fast. Imagine his surprise when he meets a woman who arouses his every desire.
Their holiday romance ignites fires in them both and this is something real, something long-lasting. But when Anabelle has to leave suddenly, neither has a way of finding the other again.
Will they ever be able to locate each other? And if they do, then John must reveal a secret, a secret that he fears Anabelle will never understand.
Story Excerpt
I let my gaze roam all over her body, exciting me more. She was perfect in every way. I loved all her soft curves, or as she called them, “her wiggly bits”. I drank her in and crooked my finger, beckoning her closer. With only a little help from me, I made her climb onto the kitchen bench then set my stool between her legs. Today, I intended to make her wait. I was going to take her to the edge and back as many times as I could.
Placing my hands on each thigh, I moved each leg apart and pulled her until she was right on the edge of the bench, at the perfect height for me. Running a finger up and down, I discovered she wasn’t a little moist, she was extremely wet. I let her rich juices coat my finger and licked it.
“If you’re a good girl, I may let you come.” Her beautiful green eyes widened in shock.
“What?”
“You heard. Right now I’m in charge, so relax and enjoy.”
Cupping my hand, I pushed a finger into her hot wet cunt while I leaned forward and breathed in deep. God, I loved the smell of her arousal. It was sweet. It added to my excitement. She was intoxicating. I licked her. She gave a little sigh. Right, time to tease.
Using my fingers and my mouth, I fucked her until she tensed, and then I stopped. Glancing up into her face, it was a picture. I could tell she was excited, but at the same time a little annoyed. I waited until I knew the urge to climax had subsided. Then I began licking and fucking again. She leaned back on her elbows and began those little mewling sounds that she made.
I loved them!
Taking her to the edge time and time again, I could tell how frustrated she was as she pouted at me. I wondered simply how much longer it would be before she demanded her orgasm. I was enjoying myself a lot. The downside was I had a hard-on that was now painfully pressed against my shorts.
Ah, the things we do for love.
This time, when she was hovering on the edge, she tried to bring her legs together to keep my hand inside her. I laughed and shook my head. She bit her bottom lip and I figured this next time I’d let her come. Once more, I pushed a finger inside her, then another. In and out of that cunt. I loved the squishy noises it made as I began sucking and biting at her clit. She moaned louder and louder as the beginnings of her orgasm started again.
“Don’t stop!”
Her demanding scream echoed across the kitchen as I sucked on that bead. Drawing it in, I bit down hard with my mouth. If we ever got into a real Dom-sub relationship, she’d learn to behave. Still, at the moment, we were only two people enjoying each other’s bodies.
Where to Buy
Evernight | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Author Suzy Shearer writes contemporary and paranormal erotic romances filled with mature and interesting characters. Her book Build A Love was runner-up in the Ménage category in the Easy Chair Bookshop’s Fiction competition 2015 and A Hunter’s Heart was runner-up in the Series Category. Perfect Three reached #20 on Amazon’s Top Paid 100 Bestsellers in the erotic/interracial category while Build A Love was #8 on Amazon’s list in the erotic/ménage category.
In 2017 Suzy was nominated for the Best Established Author in the Australian Romance Today Readers’ Choice Award. She made it through all the rounds to reach the finals. She came 8th in that final round against some extremely talented and well-known Australian Romance Authors.
A Buddhist, Suzy is single and lives in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, Australia with one very spoilt dog and two equally spoilt cats keeping her company.
Her books always feature older heroes and heroines; ranging from mid 40s to 60s. The heroines are usually confident plus-sized women who are proud of their curves. Suzy feels it’s important for readers to connect. When she discovered many romance books seemed to cater for younger readers with their heroines and heroes in the 20s she decided to write about characters who were older but maybe not always wiser. As she is in her 60s Suzy feels she can relate to her characters desires, fears and hopes and hopes her readers can as well.
Suzy also wants her readers to understand just because people are older doesn’t mean they aren’t intriguing, desirable, open to challenges and willing to experiment. Sexy isn’t just for the under 30s.
When Suzy is not writing, she is usually painting. An accomplished watercolour artist, her subjects range from portraits and animals to nudes and landscapes.
Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Evernight Publishing | Bookstrand | Email
Mid Week Tease: To My Muse #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, folks! This week I’m teasing you with another snippet from To My Muse. I’ve backed things up a bit to Tom’s first scene, where we get to see his viewpoint upon finding a gorgeous romance writer in his hotel room about to throw down with his costar. There’s no real sexytimes in this teaser, but you do see the beginning of Tom’s attraction to Lily.
Oh, and to explain the pics, that’s hilarious actress/Youtuber Liza Koshy and Lucifer‘s Tom Ellis, who are playing Lily and Tom in my head. You’re welcome!
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
“Jeez, Tom, will you relax?” Jolene chided me. “You snort up half of Peru or what?”
“Sorry.” I tried to stay still while the GearShifter makeup goddess dabbed some dark powder along my cheekbone, referring to pictures that the continuity girl had taken earlier that day to match up the distribution pattern. We’d already shot a full day and I’d been looking forward to a relaxing evening of memorization over room service followed up with a glass of wine and five fitful hours of sleep as I wondered how the hell I was going to pull At the Right Hand together.
Instead, God (or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, take your pick) had smiled down upon me and sent me Lily Nayar, screenwriter of my dreams. And then I had to leave her at the hotel and come back to this thrice-buggered set just as we were ready to discuss what I needed for the script, hence my jittering. She wouldn’t change her mind, would she? I mean, she’s getting gross points, for God’s sake.
I’m not sure what had shocked me more when I’d walked into my hotel room earlier that afternoon—seeing Claudine standing there in nothing but a towel and a scowl, or seeing this tiny, gorgeous woman glaring up at Claud as if she was going to shred her like a honey badger. It took me a beat before I recognized the shorter woman as the romance writer who had tweeted at me last week to tell me that I’d inspired her latest novel. I have an actor’s ego, just about able to fit through your average supernova, so of course I was chuffed that my performance on GearShifter had prompted someone to write a swoony kissing book. I’d asked her to send a copy to my agent’s office, figuring that I’d stick it in a bookcase and look at it fondly when I wanted to be reminded of the days when I was lusted after by American women.
What I hadn’t expected was it to be messengered to my house along with the contracts for the luxury car commercials I was going to be doing voiceovers for (a British accent makes everything sound more luxe to the Americans, bless their colonial hearts). Normally non-business items sit in my agent’s mail room until the pile reaches a certain size limit and then they get shipped to me en masse, but Eric’s minions had apparently decided to be industrious for once. I’d been leaving for the airport when the messenger showed up so I stuck the large envelope in my carryon, figuring I’d read the contracts on the flight to Las Vegas. When I reached in to get them, however, I pulled out Lily’s book instead.
Right off the bat the cover surprised me. It had a Dutch Master feel to the colors and composition, and not a himbo in sight. Instead, a rather intent couple posed back to back in front of a menacing medieval structure. I flipped to the first page, figuring I’d scan it to see what I’d wrought in the mind of a fantasy romance writer.
When we landed in Vegas forty minutes later, I was deep in the middle of Chapter Three. To my surprise Ms. Nayar had woven together a terrific combination of politics, sex, and comic revenge. It was as if someone had taken Game of Thrones, gotten rid of the gore and rapey bits, bumped up the sexytimes and made them consensual, and added a laugh track. I even rather liked “my” character, a rather cold but fundamentally decent baron named Montmorency who had to work with a noblewoman to stop her sister from being married off to an oaf. I was disappointed when I had to put the book away and deplane.
I picked it up again that night after memorizing my lines for the next day and kept reading far later than I should have. I did take a break at one point and went to Lily’s author website to see what else she had on offer. Apparently Feast of Lovers was fifth in a series so I had more reading material to look forward to. Curious, I clicked on her About page. “Lilian DeVries” turned out to be a gorgeous woman with sparkling brown eyes and a mass of lovely dark curls that, if they were anything like my sisters’, probably drove her spare every morning. She looked like she’d been giggling mid-pic, and I wondered what her laugh sounded like.
So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into my hotel room and saw her facing off with a terrycloth-clad Claudine. Actually, Claud’s presence tipped it out of the “surprise” box and into the “what the actual FUCK” box. You see, my costar had made it very clear early last season that I was expected to grace her bed at some point. I, in return, had made it very clear that I wasn’t interested. Or at least I thought I had. Claud was absolutely gorgeous, yes. She was also catty, manipulative, and more than a bit egotistic, and I didn’t feel like putting up with her “all shall love me and despair” attitude just for a shag.
Apparently she’d taken that as a challenge, hence her appearance in my room wearing nothing but a towel. I suspect things would have gotten TMZ-level difficult if Lily hadn’t picked up on my silent pleading and pretended to be my girlfriend. When she delivered her quintessentially American ultimatum, I was torn between sympathetically cringing and wanting to cheer.
Chasing off Claud was enough to make me worship the fierce Ms. Nayar in and of itself. But mirable dictu, she turned out to be a screenwriter as well as a novelist, and she was familiar with Piux XII and Mother Pascalina, and she was willing to write a spec script for me. I can only assume that the room key botch-up was divinely inspired because there was no other explanation for how she wound up in my hotel room at just the right time. Now that I had the script lined up, I could work on wheedling Nathan to commit to the film, at which point the rest of the production would hopefully fall into place.
While the business part of my brain plotted and planned, the part concerned with everything below the belt was reminding me that 1) Lily was even lovelier in person, 2) smelled amazing, and 3) she thought I was at least moderately attractive, if her book was anything to judge by, so 4) I could very possibly be in there. The business part overheard that and icily told the fun part that I needed her for her writing talent, not for her curvy little body and expressive face. I caved to the business side; my unruly penis would just have to stay safely in my trousers until we started production, bugger it all.
But now instead of discussing the plot of my movie with my talented (and gorgeous) screenwriter, I was back at the GearShifter set in my increasingly ripe costume while fake dirt was being applied to my face. So much for the glamour of acting.
“Did you ever find out why we got called back?” the man in the chair next to me asked. Liam Hennessy was an American character actor known for his work in police procedurals and paranormal shows. On our show he played a morally ambiguous fixer with a penchant for sadism, which was hilarious because in real life he was a perfect gentleman with a penchant for landscape photography. If he was grumbling a bit about being called back to set, I felt justified about being pissed off.
I shrugged and Jolene made an annoyed noise at my movement. “Sorry,” I apologized to her, before adding to Liam, “Something about the camera placement being off for the CGI.”
Liam glanced at the neon green sleeve that covered his right arm and hand and sighed. In post it would be replaced by the grungy biomechanical limb that his character used to terrorize my costars. “Why do I have a feeling that’s gonna involve me?”
I grimaced in sympathy. I didn’t understand all of the fancy special effects tech, but I did know that anyone who wore green neoprene or movement capture suits wound up doing more work than the rest of us. “Maybe it won’t take that long,” I offered. “Are you working the weekend?”
“Nope. As soon as they clear me tomorrow I’m heading back to LA.” He smiled. “Got a camping date with my kid. If they need anything else, they can wait until next week.”
“Good on you, mate.” One of my more treasured daydreams was to find someone who could put up with my mad career, settle down, and have a couple of squalling brats that we’d love to distraction. I couldn’t see that happening in LA, though, and I hadn’t met anyone in London that I’d fancied enough. “Have a s’more for me.”
Jolene declared Liam done and shooed him out of the makeup trailer. “You staying clear of the Queen of Whore Island?” she asked once we were alone.
“Oh, Christ, Jo. You won’t believe what she did.” Makeup people were a combination of artist, technician, miracle worker, and psychologist and always had their fingers on the pulse of a set, so I poured out what had happened in my hotel room. “You should have seen her face when Lily threatened to cunt punt her into Arizona.”
Jolene giggled in conspiratorial delight. “That one sounds like a keeper, babe. You better treat her right.”
Part of me wanted to do just that, ideally in my bed over a long weekend, or even longer if I could manage it. Down, lad. Movie first, seduction later.
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Marvelous Monday Reads: Aspire to Love
Welcome to another edition of Marvelous Monday Reads, poppets! Today I’m featuring Allyson Young and her re-release of her three-book compilation Aspire to Love. Take it away, Allyson!
NEAR PERFECTION
Haley Snider thought Warren Chalmers was the perfect Dom, so she transformed herself into the perfect sub. A woman in love is truly blind, because Warren can be such an ass.
Warren doesn’t really know what he wants, and questions the very perfection he apparently sought. Haley leaves Warren before he can reject her, unveiling a surprising temper and steely determination. He is both intrigued and forced to look at himself. He doesn’t much care for what he finds, and is determined to change, to seek Haley out and really get to know her.
Realizing that her obsession with Warren has kept her from being true to herself and him, Haley decides to embrace life differently. Upon reconnecting with her, Warren discovers his best friend Gordon Sinclair has a different idea in mind for them all, and that life can be filled with both friendship and love. And hot sex.
TRUE PERFECTION
Haley Snider left her selfish Dom and sought solace with her best friend. Gordon Sinclair facilitated Haley and Warren Chalmers’s reunion—with a twist. He proposes a ménage relationship. But Haley isn’t so sure. She’s afraid of getting hurt again and also wants to pursue her career and live her life outside of the bedroom, something Warren hadn’t accepted before. She resists their attempts at building a relationship and then tragedy strikes.
She blames herself, believing she has been selfish and her desperate, guilty feelings cloud her thinking. She won’t walk away this time but will wait for Gordon and Warren to realize she’s brought them too much trouble and tell her to leave. In the meantime, she will try to make amends, reverting back to pretense.
It takes considerable effort on her men’s part to help Haley face reality and accept what she truly needs and deserves.
ABSOLUTE PERFECTION
Georgios Andreas’s wife, Jane, left him and died under mysterious circumstances. Afterward, he avoided relationships outside of club play.
At a ceremonial claiming, he meets the sister of the submissive, there to bear witness to her sister’s claiming. Iris Snider draws him, initially because she looks like Jane, but he quickly realizes she is so much more. He is powerless against the attraction.
Georgios sweeps her off her feet, insisting she too is submissive. Iris, for the first time in her life, leaps before she looks. She falls in love and submits to Georgios, hoping for more than a D/s relationship, and he, too, dares hope for more.
Iris then sees a picture of Jane and is devastated by her resemblance to Georgios’s dead wife. She refuses to take the leavings of a ghost. Georgios gives her space, inadvertently putting her in danger. Jane’s killer is still out there, and he, too, has seen the resemblance. And he hates George.
Where to Buy
Universal | iTunes | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Kobo
About the Author
Allyson Young lives in cottage country in Manitoba, Canada with her husband and numerous pets. She has always enjoyed the written word, and after reading an erotic romance, quite by mistake, decided to try her hand at penning one.
She is a bestselling Amazon author, a hybrid author, and, along with her alter ego and three coauthors, has published four series and several standalones in contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy and suspense genres—50 books in total.
Allyson will write until whatever she has inside her is satisfied- when all the heroes man up and all the heroines get what they deserve. Love isn’t always sweet, and Allyson favours the darker side of romance.
Fabulous Friday Reads: Divulging Secrets
TGIF! Let’s kick off the weekend with Lynn Burke’s hot new romance Divulging Secrets, now available from Evernight Publishing and other purveyors of fine online fiction. Take it away, Lynn!
Candace Lake’s testimony against her father landed her in the Witness Protection program. With a new identity comes a new beginning, one based on lies and loneliness. How can she find someone to share her future with when a relationship without trust at its foundation won’t stand the storms of life?
Tom Berkley didn’t expect his new tenant to make him question his solitary lifestyle in the backwoods of Maine. He also didn’t expect to be caught up in the secrets of her past that bring his own tragic ones to the forefront of his mind.
The sizzling chemistry between them can’t be ignored, but when the threats from Candace’s turbulent past catch up with her, can she trust Tom enough to protect her from the price on her head?
Story Excerpt
She set her wine down on the chair beside mine, and I didn’t breathe as she moved through the water, settling herself on my lap, her pussy mere inches from my throbbing cock. Mind blank, my hands moved on their own beneath the water, settling on her tiny waist and pulling her close. Our mouths collided.
So much for restraint.
She ground herself against my cock and tangled her fingers in my hair, moaning. “I want you so bad it hurts, Tom.” Breasts pressed against my chest, she attacked my lips again.
I couldn’t form the words to tell her I felt the same, my mind was so damn focused on the feel of her curves against me. The taste of her mouth. My hands slid down her ass, squeezing and holding her still as my hips moved, thrusting my cock against her softness.
Candace reached between us and grasped me through my swim trunks. I grunted as she squeezed. “I want you inside of me,” she murmured against my lips and slid her hand beneath my waist band.
“Fuck.” My head fell back as her hand closed around me, skin on skin. Talk about seeing fucking stars. I thrust into her grasp, gone.
She wiggled and tugged, yanking my shorts down enough to free my hard length.
“I-I can’t do this,” I heard myself whisper.
“Yes, you can,” she whispered against my ear, moving her hips forward. She’d untied her fucking bathing suit bottoms.
I groaned a few curses as she rubbed her bare pussy against me, her blue eyes overcome by the black of her pupils.
She lifted and lined up my cock, sinking down an inch before I could breathe.
Where to Buy
Evernight Publishing | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
About the Author
Lynn Burke is a full time mother, voracious gardener, and scribbler of spicy romance stories. A country bumpkin turned Bay Stater, she enjoys her chowdah and Dunkin Donuts when not trying to escape the reality of city life.
Mid Week Tease: Shifter Woods: Snarl #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, lovelies! This week is another teaser from the third book in my Esposito County Shifters series, Shifter Woods: Snarl. Kate’s becoming more and more attracted to this lone wolf shifter her dad invited to live with them — but will she ever figure out why? Hmm…
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Over the next week the Chandler household slowly shifted to absorb its newest member into the daily routine. Kate learned that Jack woke up earlier than she did, which made sharing the hallway bathroom easier. He even cleaned up after himself, wiping down the shower and sink and depositing the damp towels in the bathroom hamper, which constituted a genuine miracle in her opinion. And while they had an automatic coffee maker, Jack had unilaterally taken on the role of breakfast chef and made sure that they started the day off with omelets, bacon and eggs, or other protein-dense meals.
Judging by what she’d heard from Wayne and Patty, the wolf shifter was fitting in well with the maintenance crew at the lodge, too. He willingly took on the messier jobs, picking up garbage along the runs and unblocking clogged sinks and toilets without a complaint. He also handled cleanup tasks on the public side of things, and she’d had to push her cougar down firmly a few times when she caught some of the female guests flirting with him. He’s a free agent. He can do what he likes.
But he never took a single human female up on an offer. Instead, he showed up for dinner every night and handled the dishwashing and kitchen cleaning afterwards. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he’d left someone back in North Carolina. She couldn’t have been a heart’s mate, otherwise she would have followed him. A bitter memory bubbled up at that, and she squelched it. Or he—maybe Jack’s gay? But I haven’t seen him checking out any of the guys, either.
All she knew was that he wasn’t interested in her. After that first dinner she hadn’t tried to flirt with him again. Being shot down was never fun, and having it happen in her own kitchen sucked donkey balls. Which made it all the more frustrating that Jack still managed to carbonate her hormones, a fact she took pains to hide from her father. Worse, her REM sleep had taken on an erotic life of its own. That morning she’d woken up from a sweetly hot dream of making out with Jack during a spring thunderstorm. The sky flashed and growled through her bedroom window and rain pounded against the glass as they’d sprawled together on her bed, kissing enthusiastically. For some reason her sadistic subconscious had kept both of them fully clothed, but Jack was lying between her legs in the dream and she could feel his thick erection brushing directly over her clit, driving her crazy with need. When the alarm went off and woke her up, she’d been left with no choice but to rub out a mercifully quick orgasm, gasping his name softly as she stroked herself.
After showering and getting dressed, she was sure that all traces of her sexfest had been rinsed down the drain. But Jack’s head came up the moment she sauntered into the kitchen. His nostrils flared as he sniffed, and his pupils dilated before he lowered his head again and focused on his omelet.
She didn’t have a sense of smell, but she damn well knew the signs of desire when she saw them. Well, I’ll be damned. “Hey,” she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee before sitting in front of her own omelet. “Where’s Dad?”
“He went over to the lodge early, said there was some equipment he had to deal with.”
That made sense. It also meant she had Jack all to herself for a few minutes. Might as well make the most of it. “Sleep well?”
Jack coughed a little, clearing his throat. “Um, yeah. You?”
“Oh, yeah.” She decided to poke the wolf a bit. “You ever wake up from a really great dream and you just know it’s going to be a good day?”
Blue eyes came up to meet her gaze, sending a little thrill through her. “Yeah,” he said softly. “As a matter of face, I have.”
Holding his gaze, she sliced off a fragment of omelet and forked it into her mouth. “Well, it’s going to be a really good day,” she said after chewing and swallowing. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, wolf man.
He licked his lips, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because of the omelet. “Kate?” he said softly.
She leaned a fraction closer. “Yes?”
“You should clean up some more before going outside. Every shifter who comes near you will know you just came.”
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Mid Week Tease: Shifter Woods: Snarl #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, lovelies! This week I’m doing another sneak peek at the third book in my Esposito Country Shifters series, Shifter Woods: Snarl. I am not making things easy for Jack, but hey, the only easy day for a SEAL is yesterday.
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Jack wiped up the last bit of sauce with a scrap of garlic bread and popped it into his mouth, chewing happily. The rich tang of sautéed garlic and onions had combined with the herbal bite of chopped fresh basil, the spice of toasted oregano, and a smooth, meaty tomato sauce into something that was purely amazing. Poured over al dente pasta and with a green salad on the side and a glass of good Merlot in front of him, it was by far the best meal he’d had in some time. “That was absolutely incredible, Kate,” he said after swallowing. “You’re a hell of a good cook.”
Across the table, Chandler was scraping his own plate clean with more garlic bread, having demolished his own pile of pasta and sauce with gusto. “Damn right she is,” he said with obvious pride. “And she makes a mean chicken parmesan, too.”
“Gotta keep you guys fed and functional,” Kate said, giving her father a wink as she twirled up the last of her own spaghetti around her fork. “And since I cooked, you two can clean up.”
Chandler sighed, but nodded. “Fair’s fair.”
Jack sat back, content. The dinnertime conversation had been easy enough, with Chandler sounding him out on how his first day had gone and Kate praising his assessment skills. The older male’s eyes had narrowed when he heard about the asshole guest in the bar. “He didn’t touch you, did he?”
A corner of her mouth curled. “He tried. Nothing I haven’t handled before.” Her smile widened in Jack’s direction. “But Jack definitely made it easier for me.”
Chandler gave him an approving look. “Well, all right. But next time you call security if some jackass tries something.”
“Sir, yes sir.” Her tone was gently mocking, but Jack thought he heard an edge under it. He hoped it was just the natural tension between a father’s protective instincts and a daughter’s urge to be independent. And if it isn’t, who do you side with? Your former commander, or your future mate?
That was a problem for another time. “Everyone done?” he asked.
Both Chandlers nodded. He got up, taking their plates and silverware and stacking them on his own. “I’ll get these in the kitchen.”
The surprised look on Kate’s face suggested that clearing the table wasn’t part of what her father considered “cleaning up.” He flashed a grin at her as he scooped up his former commander’s silverware and added them to the small pile of cutlery on the topmost plate. “Dishwasher, right?”
She grinned back. “I like him, Dad. Can we keep him?”
Chandler’s long-suffering eyeroll required Jack to swallow a chuckle as he carried the plates into the homey kitchen, opening the dishwasher he’d spotted during his reconnoiter after work and slotting things into their respective racks. Another trip brought in the wine glasses and salad bowls. He was studying the leftover sauce in its pot on the stove and wondering where the storage containers were when he smelled her standing behind him.
Turning, he saw her with hands on her hips, another of those feline grins lighting up her face. “You know, you don’t have to do everything yourself,” she chided. “Dad’s perfectly capable of putting stuff in the dishwasher.”
He shrugged, wondering what she would do if he admitted his real reason for being helpful—the hope that he’d get her alone for a few minutes. “Just trying to pull my weight.”
“Yeah, I figured.” She stepped closer, stopping when she was only a few inches away. “Look, I don’t know your back story, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But this isn’t Coronado. You don’t have to prove anything here.”
The mention of the Navy base made his gut contract a little with longing. “That’s not how SEALs work,” he said, trying to keep his tone gentle. “We keep going, no matter what. I’d think you’d know that by now.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” She blew out a soft breath, and he couldn’t stop himself from inhaling. That was a mistake. Even with the overtones of garlic, onion, and wine, her essence was a sweetly golden beacon that reached into his soul and made his wolf howl in primal longing. Our mate. Ours.
And she was. His hands ached with the need to touch her, kiss her, pull her close and let her scent drench his skin. Her sweet round tits would feel amazing against his chest, and his rapidly hardening dick wanted to press against her belly, ride the rising tide of their paired desire—
No. I promised Chandler. She’s off limits.
The thought of the older male learning that he’d broken his vow had the same effect as diving into an ice cold breaker. His wolf growled this time, furious at his refusal. Our mate!
And she can’t smell that, plus I made a damn promise. So back the fuck off, furbag.
His wolf retreated, still growling. He stepped back as well, bumping into the stove. “There’s a lot of sauce left over,” he said, keeping his tone brisk. “Want me to freeze it?”
A flicker of disappointment flashed in her eyes. “Yeah. Use the pint containers in the cabinet left of the sink.”
“Got it.” He turned, aware that she was standing there watching him. You know the drill. It’s all mind over matter — if I don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
Except that he did mind, dammit. And he had no idea how to fix it.
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Mid Week Tease: Shifter Woods: Snarl #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, lovelies! This week we’re cutting away to my shifter romance Shifter Woods: Snarl and picking up where I’d left off. Jack, a former SEAL and Alpha wolf shifter, has discovered that the cougar shifter daughter of his former commander is his mate — but she can’t smell due to an accident and has no idea that they’re meant to be together. He’s just dissuaded a horny customer of the Cougar Ridge Ski Resort from harassing her, and Kate is both appreciative and irritated. Let’s see which emotion wins out.
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
A flicker of pleasure lit Kate’s belly at Jack’s behavior. She wasn’t looking forward to having to put the guest on the floor, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to physically discourage a horny human male.
And then Jack made it unnecessary. The independent side of her bristled at him stepping in, but something very basic and female appreciated both the effort and his verbal support of her. “Let go of the gentleman, Mr. Hawthorne. I have this,” she said crisply.
Jack let go of the guest immediately. “Yes, ma’am.”
As expected, the human straightened up and went directly into aggression mode. “Who the fuck do you think you are,” he yelled at Jack. “I’m gonna sue you for assault.”
“No, you’re not.” Kate stepped between them, giving the guest a flat, feline smile. “Because if you do, I’ll countersue for harassment, which our cameras captured,” she nodded at the unobtrusive camera mount in the ceiling. The man looked up at it and blanched. “And then I’ll make sure you’re barred from every ski resort in New Mexico. And believe me, I can.” She allowed her smile to widen. “So I suggest you go upstairs, get packed, and leave. We’ll reimburse you for the day’s room rental, of course.”
The human swallowed audibly, attention flickering between her and Jack. She could feel the wolf shifter standing just behind her, menace radiating over her shoulder. “Fine. Didn’t want to stay here, anyway,” he muttered, shuffling around them and through the bar’s double doors.
Kate let out a breath, then turned to Jack. “Thank you for that, but it wasn’t necessary.”
Unexpectedly he smiled at her. The expression lit his eyes, making them sparkle, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. “I know, and I’m sorry if I overstepped,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “But you applying a beat down would’ve hit him on his male bump, and he would have sued just to soothe his ego. This way, he gets to think he was smart to leave, and you don’t have to worry about nuisance lawsuits.”
She felt a moment of surprise at the assessment, then wanted to laugh. Why the hell are you surprised? He’s a SEAL — threat assessment is what they’re good at. “I … see. Well, anything that makes my life easier is always appreciated.”
His smile warmed a few degrees. “I live to serve.”
And the flutter low in her belly was back. She couldn’t help imagining him naked and in her bed, all furry and hard and willing to serve— Jesus Haploid Christ, Chandler, get your mind out of the gutter. “Are you off now?”
“According to Wayne.” He looked abashed. “I came up here to drop off the stuff I found on the trails. I offered to go back and keep working, but—”
She wanted to smack herself. Every SEAL she’d ever met had insane levels of endurance when it came to physical labor, and clearly Hawthorne wanted to work. “That wasn’t a criticism,” she said quickly. “If you were heading back to the house, I was going to ask you to take out the sausage meat out of the freezer and let it thaw. I forgot to do it before I left this morning.”
“Oh. Yeah, I can do that.” He shoved his hands in his parka’s pockets. “Do you want me to do anything else?”
The need beneath the question, the drive to be active and useful, was something she understood perfectly. “We’ve got some wood behind the house that need splitting. Dad keeps meaning to get to it, but he’s been swamped these last few weeks. If you could get those chopped for the fireplace—”
His smile was back. “Be happy to. Where do you keep your ax?”
“In the shed behind the house. There’s a chainsaw there, too, if you want to cut the logs up for easier chopping.”
He snorted. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Kate shook her head. Yeah, he’s a SEAL. “You got your orders, specialist,” she said, allowing a hint of playfulness into her tone.
“Yes, ma’am.” Another arm twitch of a smothered salute and he headed off. She watched him go, wishing that his parka didn’t get in the way of watching what she suspected was a truly magnificent ass.
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Mid Week Tease: To My Muse #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, lovelies! This week I’m going back to To My Muse, where Lily keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop with Tom, but it never does.
Yet, anyway. Hur, hur, hur.
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
That morning slowly turned into an afternoon, and both of them ranked as the most amazing in my life. We strolled through the best shopping Palm Springs had to offer and I couldn’t even be bothered to drool over any of the dresses, shoes, or jewelry. I was having too much fun being with Tom.
There’s one huge difference between fantasy and reality, and it’s not just because one takes place in your head and the other takes place in front of you. When you have a crush on someone and fantasize about being with them, your imagination is supplying everything that’s going on so it’s going to be perfect (at least, unless you’re into self-flagellation. I have a friend who always imagines her crushes cheating on her so that she doesn’t get too sucked into the dream. I ask you). So your fantasy partner is always funny, charming, great in bed, and interested in all the same things you are. And then you wind up hooking up in reality, and you realize he’s an anime fan and you barely know who Sailor Moon is, or he looks at you blankly when you rhapsodize about the MCU, or he turns out to be a Republican and you voted for Hillary.
The point I’m making is, fantasy is always better than reality because it’s exactly what you want it to be. So I kept waiting for the point where I discovered that Tom chewed with his mouth open, or smoked, or thought that Kim Kardashian was the height of sexiness.
And it never came. He wound up being better than my fantasies, the gorgeous English bastard. We kept trading embarrassing childhood stories, favorite movie quotes, and opinions on everything from politics to whether or not Benedict Cumberbatch had green or grey eyes (“Look, I met him, and I tell you they’re green. When he’s not playing Sherlock or Doctor Strange he’s a ginger, right? All those soulless bastards have green eyes”). At one point he made me laugh so hard I had to hang onto a lamp post in order to stop myself from peeing. I returned the favor a block down, causing a couple of perfectly tanned and coiffed matrons to sniff in disapproval as he howled in glee. A few younger women pulled out their phones and took pictures. I was tempted to do my best Xena pose in front of him, but he just giggled and pulled me away, wiping tears from his own beautiful brown eyes.
“Don’t worry,” he chortled. “If the worst they can post to Twitter is a picture of me laughing my arse off, I’m well away.”
I winced. “I didn’t think about that, sorry. Most people don’t bother to take pictures of me unless I’m playing grabass with home goods at Target.”
“Oh, God, we need to do that,” he said, instantly enthusiastic. “Do you go into the Christmas department in December and spell out rude words with the initialed stockings?”
I stared at him. “I have never been so turned on as I am right now. Will you marry me?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Christ yes. Can I add your last name to mine? I always wanted a hyphenated name like the aristos.”
“Morrison-Nayar. I like it,” I decided. “Or do you want to go with Morrison-DeVries?”
“I suppose all three would be a bit much?”
“Lazy-ass Westerners,” I chided. “Morrison-Nayar-DeVries is nothing next to Balasubramaniam.”
“Morrison-Nayar-DeVries it is, then.” He threw an arm around my shoulders and hugged me as we went into yet another elegant men’s clothing store. “Come along, Mrs. Morrison-Nayar-DeVries-to be. I believe I was promised kisses in return for trying on more blasted suits.”
“As it is written, so shall it be done.”
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Mid Week Tease: Shifter Woods: Snarl #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, lovelies! This week I’m continuing on with a snippet from my paranormal romance Shifter Woods: Snarl. In this section, former SEAL and packless wolf shifter Jack Hawthorne has just started working at Cougar Ridge Ski Resort and is trying to adjust to life as a maintenance worker — oh, and he also has to figure out how to convince gorgeous cougar shifter Kate Chandler that she’s his mate. No pressure.
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Jack slowed the snowmobile, leaning over to snag a pair of polarized goggles off the disturbed snow. Reaching behind to flip open the small bin attached to the back of the vehicle, he added the goggles to his collection of hats, gloves, sunglasses, and other lost apparel. Actual garbage such as waxed cups, napkins, and other detritus from the outdoor snack bar went into a separate, larger container behind the Lost and Found bin. The level of the crap in the garbage bin was depressingly high.
Jesus, humans are slobs. He revved the throttle and kicked the snowmobile back into gear, continuing his trash patrol along the sides of the ski run. Do they think cleaning fairies pick up after them or something? A sudden image of the burlier members of the maintenance crew in sparkly tutus came to him, each shifter gravely waving wands at dropped paper plates while intoning Potteresque cleaning spells.
Despite his disgust at the slovenly habits of the resort customers, his first day had gone well enough. The parka Kate had washed and dried for him, plus a layer of long johns under his jeans and thick wool socks in his boots kept the worst of the mountain chill off his body. The only part that really ached was his face. He could feel traces of windburn around the edges of his goggles and over the scarf (also provided by Kate) that protected his mouth. Compared to SEAL training, though, a little windburn was a walk in the park.
He completed his ascent to the top of the crest, slowing to a crawl and guiding his machine away from the resort’s public areas to the maintenance garage at the back of the lodge. A tall, shaggy cougar shifter named Wayne who had been introduced as the head of maintenance looked up from tinkering with another snowmobile’s engine, raising a hand in greeting. “Hola, buddy. How goes the trash run?”
Jack shut off the engine. “Got a full bin, plus some lost stuff. The customers need to be schooled on policing their trash.”
Wayne snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that. They figure that’s what we get paid for. And it can get nasty, too. One time I found an adult diaper out there. Used.”
Jack grimaced as he unlatched the garbage bin and hauled it over to the large green trash barrels. “Found some goggles and stuff, too. What do I do with them?”
“Take them up to the lodge’s check-in desk. They have a lost and found box there. Anything that isn’t claimed after a month gets auctioned off to the employees.” Wayne waggled his eyebrows. “I got a sweet iPod Classic that way.”
“Nice.” After reattaching the now-empty garbage bin to the snowmobile, Jack opened the lost and found bin and grabbing the damp items he’d stowed there. “What do you want me to do after I drop these off?”
“A work ethic. I like it.” Wayne shook his head. “No, it’s after five, man. You’re done for the day. Stop off at the canteen and grab something hot to eat, then head on home. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
The statement had been well-intended, but it still made Jack’s soul ache. Home. He had a spare room (a nice one, granted), but that wasn’t really a home, at least not for him. Pushing the lurking depression to the back of his mind, he nodded and headed over to the ski lodge.
As he ducked through the gate in the maintenance shed wall his nose was hit with a olfactory sledgehammer of humanity. Cougar Ridge was a popular skiing getaway in New Mexico, and even this late in the season there was still a steady stream of people getting off the lift and heading down the deep powder trails. The crisp air was at just the right temperature to hold a daunting array of scents—human sweat, musk, pheromones, perfumes and colognes, the long chain monomers of expensive ski gear, diesel from the lift, and the dimmer smells of surrounding evergreens, hard-packed dirt under melting snow, and various small furry creatures in the underbrush.
Keep it under control. Breathing through his mouth, Jack lowered his head and edged through the humans, focusing on the two-story redwood lodge up ahead.
“Excuse me?” A trio of young women, all of them dressed in upscale cold weather gear, stepped in front of him. “Do you work here?” the leader of the trio, a pretty brunette with big doe eyes, asked.
He glanced down at his worn parka and stained jeans. The other workers all wore Cougar Ridge jackets, but there hadn’t been one big enough to fit him in the lodge’s locker area. Yeah, not like any of these folks are wearing decade-old gear. “Um, yes. Can I help you?”
Her smile’s wattage kicked up a notch. “We were just wondering if there’s anything to do around here at night? Like, is there a place to go dancing?”
Jack tried to remember if he’d seen anything when he first hit down. “I can’t think of anything, ma’am. But it’s my first day here and I don’t know the area that well.”
She giggled. “Ma’am—that’s so sweet. My name’s Andrea, and this is Jazmine and Rachelle,” she nodded at her friends. “What’s your name?”
“Um, Jack.”
“Well, Um-Jack, it’s nice to meet you.” She extended a hand coyly, and he juggled the retrieved items in order to shake it. “Maybe you’d like to get to know the area with us? My rental fits four. We can pick you up after you get off work.”
Belatedly, Jack realized the lithe human female was hitting on him. Judging from the pheromones wafting off all three of them, her wingmen were just as enthusiastic about the idea. Man, you’re getting old. In the old days he would have been more than happy to go out dancing with them and spend the rest of the night rocking their worlds if they were up for it.
Now that he’d met Kate, however, the idea held absolutely no appeal. “I’m sorry, ladies, but I’m seeing someone and she’s absolutely vicious,” he said. Well, it wasn’t completely untrue. He had seen Kate a handful of times, and was confident she could take on three human women and slash them to ribbons. “Thank you for the offer, though. It’s much appreciated.”
He added a wink and Andrea giggled again. “Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be here until Monday,” she said, winking back before the three of them sauntered towards the slopes, healthy young things on the prowl for some entertainment. Good hunting, ladies. More amused than anything, Jack continued towards the lodge.
Inside, he headed to the checkin desk where a pretty cougar female was doing something behind the high counter. “For the lost and found,” he said, placing the retrieved items on the desk.
“Thanks,” the female said, then blinked. “Oh, wait. You’re the new guy, right?”
“Yeah. Jack Hawthorne.”
The female smiled. “Patty Elgin. Kate said she wanted to talk to you if you stopped by. She’s checking inventory in the bar.” She pointed down a hallway towards a redwood-bordered double door with a carved sign over it that said THE PANTHER’S PROWL.
“Thanks.” Jack headed to the bar, wondering if he was in some kind of trouble. Kate had seemed friendly enough at breakfast, but she was also very upfront about what she expected from the males she shared a home with. Shit, did I leave something in the sink this morning?
The moment he stepped through the doors he picked up a cheerful array of beer, wine, and liquor scents that reminded him of various shore leaves over the years. Over them, however, was Kate’s warm rosemary and sandalwood scent, along with the odor of a human male who had been drinking.
He immediately spotted her standing next to the long bar, arms crossed over her chest as she glared up at a beefy male in an expensive sweater and slacks who was looming over her. “I just want to get to know you, honey,” the human said, giving her a sloppy smile.
Jack’s hackles rose and he had to smother a growl. Get the fuck away from my mate.
“And I already told you, I’m working,” Kate said in a clipped tone. “So if you’ll excuse me—”
The man’s arm shot out, blocking off her escape route. “Come on, honey, don’t be like that,” he wheedled. “We could have a lot of fun in my room.”
Her expression changed, turning icy. “Do you like that arm?”
The man blinked. “What?”
She nodded at the thick limb in her way. “Do you like that arm?”
“Uh, yeah. Why?”
“If you want to keep it attached to your shoulder, get it off my bar now.”
The human’s heartbeat and respiration sped up, and a complicated mix of anger, shame, and arousal bubbled up through the beer scent. Clearly the man was one of those assholes who got off on intimidating women.
“Ooh, you some kind of black belt?” he sneered. “You think you can take me?”
Before Kate could reply, Jack stepped up and grabbed the man’s wrist, yanking it off the bar. The man stumbled in surprise and Jack used the momentum to slam him face first into the polished mahogany, neatly pinning him while yanking his hand up between his shoulder blades. “Hey, boss,” he said, keeping his tone pleasant. “Want me to show this gentleman to the door?”
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Mid Week Tease: Forsaken #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, lovelies! The WIPs are progressing but I don’t have anything tease-worthy yet, so today I’m going to feature my fellow Metroplex author J.R. Gray and his hot new MM romance Forsaken. Read on for some pyroclastic action, and stay tuned — next week I fully intend to set the internet on fire with my teaser.
Many thanks to Angelica Dawson for hosting us, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
Titus had lived and breathed religion his entire life, tucked away from the rest of the world in a compound in northern Wyoming. He’s destined to be the next leader of the church, deemed so by the Prophet.
God spoke and with His word He created. But God made a mistake. Titus isn’t worthy. He was born sick and it’s solidified when he rescues the most beautiful man he’s ever seen.
Torn between fidelity to his faith or his soul, Titus must reconcile the two parts of himself before he’s discovered hiding among the chosen.
Story Excerpt
“Is this okay?” Angel asked.
“Is what okay?” Titus had a hard time getting words out. He had a hard time making his brain function with Angel’s hands on him.
Angel laughed and scooted his body closer so their legs were pressed together. “Me touching you.”
“Yes,” his voice was unsteady.
“What about this?” Angel put his other hand on the side of Titus’ neck.
“Sure.” Titus swallowed past the lump in his throat, and was happy for the way he was sitting, because he was as hard as he’d ever been in his entire life. Harder maybe.
“What about this,” Angel whispered over his lips and then brought them together.
This wasn’t like back at his workshop. Angel parted his lips, and used his tongue. Titus was left trying to keep up. As soon as he got the hang of something Angel would change it. He’d done a little necking with girls, but this was completely different. He hadn’t been turned on while kissing those girls. It was more like something to do just to try it, but this was heat and his entire body reacted. There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t flushed and on fire.
Angel’s fingers slid around to the back of his neck and tightened, keeping Titus close. He grabbed Angel’s bicep, needing something to hold on to so he didn’t spin out of control. Angel seemed to like it, groaning into his mouth. It spurred Titus on. He wrapped his other arm around Angel’s back, desperate to feel more of him.
There was a fire demon inside him demanding more and he wanted nothing but to listen.
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About the Author
When not staying up all night writing, J.R. Gray can be found at the gym where it’s half assumed he is a permanent resident to fulfill his self-inflicted masochism. A dominant and a pilot, Gray finds it hard to be in the passenger seat of any car. He frequently interrupts real life, including normal sleep patterns and conversations, to jot down notes or plot bunnies. Commas are the bane of his existence even though it’s been fully acknowledged they are necessary, they continue to baffle and bewilder. If Gray wasn’t writing…well, that’s not possible. The buildup of untold stories would haunt Gray into an early grave, insanity or both. The idea of haunting has always appealed to him. J.R. Gray is genderqueer and prefers he/him pronouns.
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Nicola Cameron Writes 