Not only is All Romance eBooks running a 25% off sale on Evernight titles, I’m also running a 25% off sale on Empress of Storms because I’m a giver. So if you want to load that new ereader up with some awesome titles, go forth and splurge!

Heidi Cullinan does every romance writer a ginormous favor with this scholarly takedown of the recent article at The Mary Sue in re: Gender Roles in Romance and how we all apparently write sugar-coated sexism.

Yay — Breaker Zone just got a 4.5 star review from MM Good Books Reviews! Also, come on over and enter to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate!

At 4:30 AM CST this morning I finished the first round of edits for Breaker Zone and sent them back to Evernight. This editing round was a particularly challenging one, mainly because 1) the edits arrived while I was on vacation, 2) I was also trying to maintain my NaNoWriMo word count (which I did — 62K on Deep Water, go me!), and 3) I had to write a short story for Evernight’s uniform fetish anthology. Meanwhile, I had three major dangling plot issues to resolve in Breaker Zone, and I probably wound up rewriting about 25% of the book in the process.

Sleep? What means this word, sleep?

But lo, I won NaNoWriMo, wrote the short story and had it accepted, and sent off the edited Breaker Zone MS at Oh Dark Thirty before collapsing into bed. By rights, I should be allowed to spend the day sipping absinthe and painting my nails while my brain decompresses.

Unfortunately, we have a house guest arriving tonight, which means that I’ve spent a large chunk of yesterday and today swamping out from NaNoWriMo-induced housekeeping fail. So far the guest room and guest bath are sparkling, and I should have enough time to clean the living room and kitchen before she gets here. As for the rest of the place, I’ll just have to hope my sparkling personality makes up for the dust rhinos.

My life. You know you want it.

*drumroll please*

And the winner of the Coyote bracelet from Belaurient Arts is — Shadowluvs2read! Congratulations, Shadow — I’ve sent you a email with details about the prize, and thanks for playing!

Hello, lovelies, and welcome to Evernight’s Valentine’s Day Love Scene Blog Hop! And boy oh boy, do we have a fun-fulled blog hop prepared for you this year! Not only do you get the chance to read some absolutely spectacular love scenes penned by the brilliant authors at Evernight (many of these scenes will be specifically written for the blog hop and available nowhere else), but you also get a chance to win glittering prizes!

So what are these glittering prizes, you ask? Well, there are two of them — the Grand Prize, and the Personal Prize awarded by each blog hop participant. The Grand Prize for the blog hop is a $100 Visa gift card, to be randomly chosen from all comments on all posts.

As for my personal prize, I will be awarding one lucky winner *drumroll please* a spectacular underbust corset/waist cincher made by Unoriginal Sam and inspired by BBC’s SHERLOCK (you’ll understand this prize when you read my love scene).

The corset has heavy duty 3/8″ plastic boning and a nine-grommet closure up the back with coordinating ribbon for lacing. Laid flat, the cincher measures 32″ right under the bust and along the bottom hem and 28 1/2″ around the waist, so it will fit a range of sizes. For reference, the dress form is set at 38″ bust, 30″ waist, 42″ hips. It’s designed to be worn over a shirt or dress to accentuate both waist and bust. (Please note: if you are chosen as the winner and prefer not to receive the corset, I’ll substitute a $25 Amazon gift certificate and a copper heart necklace from Belaurient Arts.)

So, how do you enter the contest and get the chance to win these awesome prizes? Simplement — leave me a comment and tell me what you want for Valentine’s Day. It can be as wild, whimsical, or utterly romantic as you like — want to see Tom Hiddleston riding towards you on a dolphin? Breakfast in bed with your sweetie? Or maybe you just want a hot and heavy getaway weekend away from children/parents/work/et al? Whatever it is, let me know in the comments, and please include a valid email address so that we can contact you if you win! (Oh, and after the last blog hop, let me just say that anyone leaving comments insulting my writing skills will be hunted down and locked in a small room with my sister, who can make IRS agents cry. You have been warned.)

And now, on to the meat of this post — my love scene. It takes place in my A Boon by Moonlight universe, and features nursery owner Zach Mayhew and his sidhe lover Jerrek finding ways to keep warm after being snowed in by that darned polar vortex. At the end, click the Linky Tools link to see the other participants in the blog. Good luck, and enjoy!

Snow Day

Zach Mayhew stomped through the doorway, scraping his snowy boots on the rattan mat as he slammed the heavy oak door shut. The warm air in the hallway hit the exposed skin not covered by his scarf, making it sting.

“Is the coffee on?” he yelled.

Another man strolled into the hallway, carrying a steaming mug. He handed it to Zach, who took a healthy slurp of the hot liquid. “Oh, God, that’s good,” he groaned after he swallowed. “It’s frigging cold out there.”

“That’s something of an understatement, love,” Lord Jerrek Carwin said, raising one eyebrow as he glanced past Zach’s shoulder at the front door. They could both feel the icy chill radiating through the wood. “Even to the Sidhe, 5°F is damned cold. You should have let me help.”

“Eh.” Zach shrugged one-sidedly, using his free hand to unzip his parka while he drank more of the blessedly hot coffee. “No reason for both of us to freeze our asses off,” he said after swallowing, dumping the parka on the coat hooks next to the door. “It only takes one guy to run the snow blower and scatter salt.”

“I still could have helped.”

Zach stopped short. At first glance, his tall, slender lover didn’t seem suited for any sort of strenuous work. That first glance was totally incorrect. Considering that Jerrek was a Seelie sidhe lord who had led armies into battle and could break a fence post over his knee without raising a sweat, treating him like something fragile did seem more than a little stupid. “Sorry. I just got used to taking care of everything myself. Next snowstorm, you can clear the sidewalk and driveway, and I’ll stay inside, how’s that?”

The sidhe noble grimaced. “Well, perhaps you should run the snow blower. You know my issues with machines.”

Zach did. The power of the Sidhe, stemming as it did from nature, didn’t mix well with modern technology. He’d had to replace a laptop, a DVR and two microwaves before he finally admitted that Jerrek shouldn’t handle anything that contained circuit boards. “I’ll blow snow, you shovel the tight places and scatter salt. Sound fair?”

“Fine.” Jerrek took the now-empty mug from him. “Dinner should be ready, if you’re hungry.”

“You cooked?” The heavenly scent of pork and garlic hung in the air, and Zach’s midsection rumbled on cue. “Oh, man. Polish sausage and sauerkraut?”

“Yes.” A wrinkle formed between Jerrek’s brows. “I still don’t understand why you relish that particular dish so much. It’s so…plebian.”

“You have to grow up on the South side to understand.” He leaned over and kissed the sidhe’s cheek. Even in the depths of winter, Jerrek somehow smelled like spring — green, growing things, and the earth after rain. “But thanks for indulging my plebian tastes.”

Jerrek chuckled. “You’re welcome. Go eat.”

“What about you?”

“I ate earlier — bouillabaisse. I know how you feel about it.”

Zach shuddered at the mention of the fish stew. “That’s the one that has those little vaginas in it, right?”

Jerrek let out a rolling laugh. “If you’re referring to mussels, yes. And they’re delicious. You really should try them someday.”

“No thank you. I’ll stick to sausage.” He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.

“And I thank Danu for that daily,” Jerrek intoned. “Go eat, you ridiculous human.”

Grinning, Zach did.

#

After dinner, Zach indulged in a long shower, turning the temperature up as far as the cranky hot water heater would allow. At least the water pressure was enough to pound out the aches and pains of clearing the day’s snow from the sidewalks and driveway outside the house. The weatherman called the weather phenomenon that had dumped Arctic temperatures and almost eighteen inches of snow on the region a polar vortex. Zach thought of it more as Mother Nature giving humans a big, frigid finger.

But they’d be able to get to the nursery in the morning, which was all that really mattered. Tossing the damp towel over a rod to dry, he donned a set of old but warm flannel pajamas and headed into the bedroom. To his relief, Jerrek was already in the big bed, long form burrowed under the heavy quilts as he read one of the novels from Gram’s huge library.

He glanced up at Zach’s entrance. “Warm now?”

“Could be warmer.” Zach padded across the cold wood floor and slid into bed, curling up against the sidhe’s side. To his surprise, Jerrek was wearing what felt like one of his old t-shirts. Well, he’s not going to be sleeping naked tonight, is he — it’s frigging cold out there. “Yeah, that’s better.”

“Hm.” Jerrek draped an arm around his shoulders, carding his still damp hair. “Are we really going in to work tomorrow? I admire your dedication to the business, but I doubt anyone will be heading out in this weather to buy hanging baskets.”

Zach glanced at the window, where more fat flakes were drifting down from the evening sky. He sighed. “It’s part of being the boss, babe. Someone needs to check on the plants and make sure the heaters are running. If we get a burst pipe, we’re screwed. And I can’t ask Lydia to come in. She lives even farther away than we do, and she doesn’t have four wheel drive.”

“I know.” Jerrek curled closer to him, running a finger along the worn nap of his sleeve as if tracing the plaid there. “Oh, well. I’ll just have to make sure we stay warm and safe on the way in.”

If there was one person on the planet who could dry the asphalt ahead of them, it was Jerrek. “Huh. I keep forgetting you can do things like that. Control stuff, I mean.”

“Well, I can’t control everything,” Jerrek allowed. “After all, I’m Sidhe, not Mycroft Holmes.”

Zach groaned. Since leaving Faerie and moving into his home, the sidhe lord had turned out to be an enormous fan of all things BBC, and the latest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes was at the top of his “must see” list. “You know, I’d feel better if you just had a crush on Mark Whatsisname instead of using his character as a ‘how to act human’ template.”

“His last name is Gatiss, and I’m not patterning myself on Mycroft,” Jerrek said with dignity. “Although he would have done rather well in Faerie, all things considered.” The sidhe ran a fingertip around the shell of his ear, and Zach shivered from the soft pleasure of it.  “As for crushes, I’m afraid it’s a lost cause. Handsome as Mr. Gatiss is, you’ve quite usurped all of my attention.”

“Really?” Zach slid lower, running his hand under the covers and along Jerrek’s stomach. The cotton was warm from the sidhe’s body, and he could feel the raised muscles that lined Jerrek’s abs. He pretended to sigh mournfully. “Guess I’m just not feeling it.”

Jerrek leaned over, a decidedly naughty smile curving his mouth. “That’s because your hand is about six inches too high.”

Zach took it as invitation and smoothed his palm down the soft cotton of the t-shirt, across what felt like the knotted waistband of his old jogging shorts, then lower still. And yes, there it was, still somewhat soft but filling out nicely under his hand. Zach curled his fingers around the shaft in a loose fist, enough to exert pressure but not nearly enough to satisfy the sidhe lord.

He glanced up and saw Jerrek’s head tipped back on the pillow, eyelids at half-mast and masking the grey-green irises. “What do you want, babe?” he asked softly.

Jerrek looked down at him, eyes dilated and almost black now with desire. “You’re still cold. Let me warm you.”

Warm sounded damned good. Zach nodded, letting himself be tugged deeper under the covers and rolled onto his back. Jerrek swung a leg over, kneeling across his groin, before pulling his own t-shirt off in a maneuver that professional strippers would have envied. Zach stared greedily at the pale, smooth flesh on display, enjoying the slow surge of need sparking across his nerve endings and grounding out between his hips.

With sure fingers, Jerrek unbuttoned Zach’s pajama top, spreading the sides open. The cool air of the room brushed across Zach’s nipples, making them pebble up, Jerrek saw this and clucked. “Oh, that won’t do at all, love. I should be the only one to do that to you.”

“Wha — oh.” Zach let out a half-whine when the sidhe leaned over and took one nipple in his mouth. The sudden burst of wet warmth intensified when Jerrek’s tongue rubbed over the tiny peak in slow circles, before sucking it hard. The flash of pain/pleasure zinged through Zach, and he moaned as Jerrek’s mouth switched to the other nipple.

The sidhe lord’s hands were busy stroking and kneading the muscles on Zach’s chest and shoulders, tracing each ridge and hollow. Zach closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxing into the touch. Normally he took the lead in bed, but even after the shower he was still tired and achy from being out in the cold. If Jerrek wanted to take over for a change, that sounded absolutely fine.

He made a contented sound as Jerrek’s mouth worked upward, sucking delicate bites into the thin skin along his collarbone, then his neck. “Feeling warmer already, babe.”

He felt Jerrek smile against the underside of his jaw. “Excellent. But you still need more warmth, I warrant.” The taller man slotted himself over Zach’s lower body, letting their cocks rub against each other. “However shall we generate more heat?”

Zach swallowed, hearing the clicking sound of his own throat. “I hear friction’s good for that.”

“Friction. What an excellent idea.” Jerrek reached out, retrieving a familiar bottle from the nightstand. “But not too much friction, of course. I can’t have you burning up, love.”

“I want to.” Zach licked his lips, tilting his hips so that he could feel Jerrek throbbing against him. “Make me burn, babe.”

The pointed smile on the sidhe’s face was all the answer Zach needed.

Jerrek popped the bottle’s cap, leaning back a bit and squirting the clear gel into his palm. Tossing the bottle onto the bedspread, he rubbed the lube between his palms, warming it. “Wouldn’t want you to catch your death of cold, after all,” he explained.

One hand finally reached down and stroked Zach’s shaft while the other dipped down and cupped his balls, rolling them gently. Zach felt a smile stretching his face as he pushed his head back into the pillow, ignoring everything but the feeling of Jerrek’s long, strong hands slipping over him, slicking him.

The sidhe came back down over him, then, hips rolling against his in a long, sweet slide that set his nerves on fire. “Friction,” he breathed. “Just like this.”

They ground against each other, slipping and rubbing in the lube and the pre-come pearling now from both their cocks. It was delicious, a hot gorgeous tease that dragged Zach closer and closer to the edge without actually tipping him over into orgasm. He gasped, pushing his hips up against Jerrek. “More. I need more.”

Jerrek’s flushed face hung over his, grey-green eyes almost black now with desire. He reached between them and wrapped long fingers around both their shafts, pressing the oh-so-sensitive undersides together and rubbing, rubbing. His lips crashed down onto Zach’s, biting and sucking blindly, tongue sweeping along afterwards as if searching for something sweet.

Zach wrapped his arms around the other man, grabbing his ass and yanking him down. “Close, I’m close,” he panted.

The hand around him sped up, the wet clicking noise loud even over their breath. “Yes,” Jerrek panted back. “Come with me, love. Cover me in it.”

“Mngh.” Zach thrust up, again, into his lover’s heat, and roared as his orgasm burst loose. Semen pulsed out in thick ribbons, splashing up against Jerrek’s belly and chest before dripping back down onto him.

Jerrek looked down at his frantically working hand, dark hair swinging forward and curtaining his face. The sight was enough to set off his own orgasm and he moaned something in his own language as he came, adding to the warm wet mess on their bellies.

The sidhe sagged, coming down to rest over Zach. “Are you warm enough now, love?” he huffed.

Zach choked out a laugh, twitching as an aftershock rolled through him. “I … yeah, I’m warm now,” he managed. “But I think I’m gonna need another shower.”

“Yes.” Jerrek dragged a now-sticky hand through the pearlescent smears on Zach’s skin as if rubbing it in, marking him. “So will I, come to think of it.”

Zach pulled him close, kissing him gently now. “You know, we should probably shower together,” he murmured. “Conserve hot water, yeah?”

Jerrek hummed happily against his mouth. “Or I could just warm the water to a comfortable temperature,” he offered.

“You can do that?”

“Of course. Heating things is a simple enough spell.”

A thought struggled through Zach’s mind, damping out the afterglow. “Wait. So you could have just melted the snow off the sidewalk? I didn’t have to spend an hour out there clearing it?”

“Well, I would have heated the pavement itself so that the melted snow wouldn’t turn back into ice. But yes, I could have done that.” The sidhe gave him an innocent smile. “However, you seemed so determined to go out there and clear it yourself, I didn’t have the heart to stop you.”

Zach groaned. Damned sneaky sidhe. “Fine. From now on, you’ve got snow removal duty.”

“As you wish, love.” Still smiling, Jerrek kissed him. “As you wish.”

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