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Wicked Wednesday Reads: The Power of Peppermint
Whee, it’s Wednesday! And with the holidays closing in on us, it’s time to feature the lovely L.D. Blakeley and her brand spanking new holiday romance The Power of Peppermint, now available for the amazing sale price of 99¢ from Amazon and other online retailers of fine erotic romance. Enjoy!
The most wonderful time of the year?
When Jamison Pritchett is roped into replacing the mall photographer at Santa’s Village a week before Christmas, he’s certain he’ll be spending the holidays recovering from a nervous breakdown. A throng of sugar-frenzied kids might be enough to send this uptight photographer back into the darkroom permanently. Inappropriate thoughts about his far-too-attractive—and far-too-young—assistant aren’t helping fight that urge to hide, either.
For Noah Hawkins, adulting is a snap. Too bad relationships aren’t. With his business temporarily closed for repairs, he’s happy to help his sister out of a jam, even if the costume he’s given to wear borders on obscene. Constantly being mistaken for a teenager is no treat either, especially when he discovers his temporary new co-worker is sexy as hell and 15 years his senior.
Can Noah convince Jamison that age is just a number? Or will Jamison resist the gift Santa seems to be handing him on a platter?
Story Excerpt
“We’re closed,” he called out.
“I know,” a familiar voice answered. Noah.
With the studio’s front shades drawn, he hadn’t noticed the other man’s approach. As he neared the door, however, he could see Noah’s unmistakable silhouette.
He opened the door. “What are you doing here?” He studied Noah’s face, trying desperately to remain impervious to his charm.
“Figured we needed to talk.” Noah brushed past Jamison and closed the door behind him.
“About what?” He fought the urge that rose up and told him to run his fingers across Noah’s chiseled jaw. “Shouldn’t you be packing for your trip?”
“Jamison. You should know better than to eavesdrop.” Noah’s tone was teasing but kind. “Or, at the very least, make sure you eavesdrop on the entire conversation.”
“I’m sorry. I mean he’s your ex. And you and I haven’t…” He trailed off, not quite sure how to finish his sentence.
“You and I might not have.” Noah pursed his lips and grinned around a half-eaten candy cane. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Travis is history. And I would imagine trolling the bars as we speak looking for someone willing to pay for his cruise.”
“Oh.” He would have been lying if he’d said he was sorry to hear it.
“So,” Noah drawled. “Just a kid, eh?” He leaned against Jamison’s desk, his lips wrapped invitingly around the minty candy.
Jamison felt himself flush. “Look, I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean anything by it. But let’s be real—you are significantly younger than me. And in that outfit they have you in, you barely look legal.”
“Good thing I am, then, isn’t it? It’d really suck for this—” Noah grabbed Jamison by the hips and devoured him in an absolutely soul-scorching kiss. “—to be something punishable by law, wouldn’t it?” he whispered against Jamison’s lips.
“I’m not so sure it shouldn’t be,” Jamison panted. The zing of mint from Noah’s kiss was electrifying. His heartbeat sped up as he watched the other man slowly slide the Christmas confection out of his mouth, tucking the dry end into his shirt pocket.
“Well if I’m going to be reprimanded, I’d better make it worth my while then.” Noah pulled him in for another kiss, his hands deftly untucking Jamison’s shirt. His hips rolled in a teasing rhythm against Jamison’s groin while he trailed his fingers southward.
Jamison was on fire. And when Noah reached for his belt, he sucked in a ragged breath.
“Wait—” He pulled back, lust and anxiety battling it out for control. “Someone could … the door.” He gestured toward the front of the studio.
Noah licked once more at his bottom lip, then sauntered over to the door and locked it. He double checked to make sure the blinds were completely shut.
“There. Now nobody will know we’re even here.” He headed back toward Jamison, his eyes full of promise.
“This is a bad idea. You know that, right?” Jamison was trying to convince himself more than anything. From the look on Noah’s face, he’d already made up his mind about what was going to happen.
And when Noah dropped to his knees with a dirty grin, Jamison knew too.
Where to Buy
Amazon | ARe | Smashwords
About the Author
L.D. Blakeley is a pragmatist with a romantic soul & a dirty mind. She loves horror movies, hot sex, and happily ever afters. She’s easily distracted by shiny things, and is a slightly neurotic, highly ambitious dreamer who enjoys dabbling in photography & pretending she can carry a tune.
In another life, L.D. was a newspaper reporter, an entertainment & music writer, travel writer, website content editor, and a marketing shill. Now she prefers to spend her time writing hot, steamy fiction (with a healthy dose of romance) about intriguing, sexy men. Although she dreams of living some place isolated with an endless supply of wine and an infinite number of titles on her eReader, she currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and their rock star cat.
Wicked Wednesday Reads: Dark Redemption
Whee, it’s Wednesday! Never fear, for today I’m here with Sarah Marsh and her new book Dark Redemption, now available from Limitless Publishing. Take it away, Sarah!
Sofia Boon was ready to make changes in her life, but she didn’t see this coming…Taking a chance, she finds the nerve to ask out her handsome neighbor, but when he doesn’t show up for their date, Sofia knocks on his door and meets a man claiming to be his roommate, and she soon realizes she’s made a horrible mistake.
Eitan Kent is a tortured man, haunted by a death he was unable to prevent…
Eitan believes he is unworthy of being loved. He buries himself in his work and takes a job to track down a wanted criminal, Ben Donovan. He locates Donovan’s apartment, but finds it empty—until Donovan’s “date” shows up.
Eitan doesn’t know what to make of sweet, curvy Sofia, but she’s the only lead he has…
Feeling he has no choice, Eitan decides to take her with him to see if she can somehow lead him to Donovan before it’s too late—or if her innocence is all an act and she’s involved in the bastard’s crimes.
Sofia is terrified and tries to explain to the dark stranger that she barely knows her neighbor and has no idea how to track him down, but Eitan knows exactly how to get the truth from her. Who knew a little torture could be so sweet?
Story Excerpt
That rat bastard! She thought as she watched him stroll out of the room just as though nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t just gotten her so turned on that she thought she’d spontaneously combust and then just…left.
Sofia didn’t think about what she would have done if he’d tried to have sex with her. That would just ruin the fury she was currently riding. She should be relieved he hadn’t tried to force her. She should have been, logically speaking, but she had to admit to herself her overheated body was ready to beg for release and that her traitorous hormones were killing the rational part of her brain. Sofia knew it was crazy, but all she could think about right now was that the most satisfying way to get some relief was under her sexy captor. It was an issue that only got worse as he walked back into the room with a tray of food and all that beautiful, tanned bare skin.
“Here, let me help you sit up so you can eat,” he said, putting the tray down on the nightstand and moving closer, “Or would you rather wash up and use the bathroom first?”
“Bathroom first, please,” she said immediately, thinking she could follow his lead and get some satisfaction while cleaning up.
But clearly her eagerness must have given her away because he raised one eyebrow in challenge.
“Okay, but you have ten minutes to shower, and you are not allowed to touch yourself other than to get clean―am I understood?” he said in a firm tone as he leaned forward and undid her wrists.
“You’re going to watch me?” she asked, not quite certain if she was offended or turned on at the prospect. She wondered for a second why his firm tone seemed to excite her more than it should have.
“Do you want me to watch you?” he whispered low next to her ear, causing awareness to spread through her entire body.
Sofia was a little breathless at the thought of putting on the same show for him as he did for her, but in the end, her pride won out over the wanton need she felt inside.
“No,” she barely answered, and it sounded weak even to her ears.
His deep chuckle at her answer made her nipples peak even more, and she was almost disappointed when he leaned back and pushed the timer on his watch.
“You’ve got ten minutes, Sofia. Then I come in and get you.”
Sofia had never used the washroom and showered so fast in all her life, she got done with barely a minute to spare as she put her bra and underwear back on and then wrapped herself in a big fluffy towel before she walked back out into the room.
“You can keep the towel until you’ve eaten, then it’s off,” he said once he saw her.
She’d take that small win, and she took her sweet ass time eating as well until he finally took the tray away after she’d spent five minutes chewing a single piece of melon.
“Now are you going to make this difficult on both of us or are you going to behave?” he said as he motioned toward the wrist cuffs once again.
She thought about it, but there was nothing she could do against his superior strength, so she begrudgingly laid back against the padded headboard and raised her wrists.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked quietly. “I told you everything I know already.”
“Well, I’ll see about that soon enough, won’t I?” was all he said in reply as he fastened the cuffs and picked up the tray before he left the room.
****
By the time Eitan had gotten the kitchen cleaned up from breakfast and returned to the bedroom, he was already half hard from replaying how she’d looked watching him come in the shower. He thought about putting on a pair of jeans, but why bother? He certainly wasn’t ashamed for her to see how she affected him and she sure as hell didn’t seem to be put off by his body, so he may as well use that to his advantage, right?
“Ready for the ankle cuffs?” he asked as he entered the room.
He saw her swallow hard and move her legs tighter together.
“Why do you have to?” she asked with a worried look. “Are you going to touch me?”
“You don’t want me to touch you?” he challenged, already knowing her body didn’t have any arguments.
“Of course I don’t want you to touch me!” she answered, clearly trying to sound offended that he’d suggest such a thing, “I don’t even know your name!”
“Well, that’s easy enough to remedy,” he said as he placed one knee on the bed and pulled up the first ankle cuff. “My name is Eitan. Now give me your leg, Sofia.”
He could tell she was surprised he’d given her his name, and to be truthful, he was a bit surprised by that himself. But the more he thought about his name on her lips as she moaned her pleasure, the harder his cock got. He was doing all sorts of things with this little captive that seemed to be breaking his rules, and Eitan wasn’t sure he really cared.
When she tentatively placed her little foot in his hand, he quickly attached the cuff and then slowly ran his fingers over the softness of her skin. Clearly she waxed her legs as the skin was still supple and hair free. That thought made him more aware of the noticeably smooth skin under those pretty purple panties, and his mouth watered as he imagined how soft it would feel under his tongue. As he fastened the second cuff and her legs moved further apart, it was all he could do not to crawl up her body and relieve her of those panties just as he’d fantasized about doing in the shower this morning. It was then that he finally had to admit to himself that this interrogation was probably going to be more difficult for him than it was going to be for her…because his self-control was already bucking to be let loose.
Where to Buy
About Sarah Marsh
Sarah Marsh was born in British Columbia where she still lives, she has only recently began her writing career finding it the perfect outlet for taking the edge off a nine to five office job. She’s been a science fiction and romance junkie for years and when her imagination started to take the characters she’d read about even further in their adventures she decided to try writing something of her own.
Sarah’s also a former pastry chef and spends a lot of time cooking and baking for friends and family as well as painting and knitting. Her biggest weaknesses are animals of any kind…she even loves the ones that wake you up at four in the morning because they can almost see the bottom of their food dish.
When it comes to life in general she’s a big believer that laughter is the best medicine and that there’s no such thing as too much love, which is why she’s such a sucker for a happy ending.
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Mid Week Tease: Do No Harm #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, chumrades, and welcome to Mid Week Tease! This week I’m featuring another snippet from Do No Harm, where Daniel takes his first shower with Simon. Er, is it wrong that I keep hearing Mads Mikkelsen’s voice in my head when I write Simon’s dialogue? 😀
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
All Daniel Graff wanted to do on Christmas evening was finish his surgical rounds at Lakeside Memorial Hospital and go home. When he’s kidnapped from the hospital parking lot, he’s astounded to find out that his captor is also his colleague, world-famous neurosurgeon Simon Falk.
Simon has good reasons for his actions, but Daniel is determined to fight him every step of the way, bringing Simon’s Dom side to the fore. When he learns something very unexpected about his handsome captive, he decides to make Daniel his, no matter what it takes.
After finishing with Daniel’s legs and feet, Simon straightened and quickly shampooed his own hair. Reaching for the body wash, he paused as a marvelous idea occurred to him: why clean myself when I have a pet to do it for me?
“Here,” he said, handing the bottle to the patiently waiting Daniel. “Wash me.”
The surprised look on his pet’s face would have made him laugh in any other circumstance. “What?”
“Obviously I need to clean your ears more often. Wash me.”
Daniel gawked at him for another moment, then fumbled with the bottle, pumping a dollop of gel into his palm. “Do you—I mean, should I use a washcloth?” he asked awkwardly.
“Your hands are fine.” Simon spread his arms, resting one palm on the stall wall and the other on the sliding glass door.
Swallowing hard, Daniel rubbed the body wash between his hands to make it foam, then brought them to Simon’s pecs and rubbed in hesitant circles. It was too light, but the stroking sensation make Simon’s nipples pebble up. “You can use more pressure. I won’t break.”
“Okay.”
Simon raised a critical eyebrow.
“I mean yes, Sir.” The strokes became firmer as Daniel washed his chest and shoulders, focusing on the task at hand. Simon relished the tactile pleasure of being touched and the visual pleasure of watching his pet, lower lip caught between white teeth, serving him. The steam became perfumed with the body wash’s notes of cut grass, sweet wild fig and powdery sandalwood, adding an olfactory treat to the sensory banquet. His pet’s cock was still hard, and bumped against his own quickly rising erection.
He smiled when Daniel noticed it. “You’re, uh….”
“I’m hard, yes. Just as you are,” Simon said evenly. “Keep washing me.”
“Yes, Sir.” Daniel ran his soapy hands over Simon’s hips, but seemed reluctant to go lower. “Are you–I mean, do you want me to wash you everywhere?”
Meaning his groin. “Wash my legs and feet first,” Simon ordered. “It’ll be easier if you kneel.”
Daniel glared at him but obeyed, sinking jerkily to his knees. Simon added posture and movement training to the ever-growing mental list as his pet soaped his calves and feet.
Daniel’s hands rose to his thighs, then paused again. He stared up at Simon, wordlessly asking to be ordered.
“I didn’t tell you to stop,” Simon said, making his voice firm. “You know how to wash an uncut cock properly. So do it.”
Daniel’s shoulders squared and he reached for Simon’s groin. Cautiously skinning back the foreskin, he ran his slick fingers over the sensitive flesh underneath. Simon sucked in a breath at the sensation, balanced so sweetly between pain and pleasure.
Daniel finished cleaning the rest of the shaft, then focused on Simon’s balls, rolling each testicle in his palm as he washed the softly wrinkled sac. He paused, looking up at Simon. “What about your, uh.…”
“Anus?” Said, amused. “Really, pet, for doctor you seem to have a very difficult time naming body parts.”
Already flushed from the hot water, the color in Daniel’s cheeks deepened. “Fine. Do you want me to wash your perineum and anus?”
“You forgot my buttocks. But no, I’ll wash those myself.” Simon selected an unlabeled jar from the rack holding his toiletries and handed it to Daniel. “While you’re down there, however, you may bring me to orgasm.”
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Mid Week Tease: Do No Harm #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, chumrades, and welcome to Mid Week Tease! This week I have another snippet from Do No Harm, a story that started out as a potential entry for Evernight’s Dark Captive antho and quickly grew into a novel of its own. I love it when that happens.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
All Daniel Graff wanted to do on Christmas evening was finish his surgical rounds at Lakeside Memorial Hospital and go home. When he’s kidnapped from the hospital parking lot, he’s astounded to find out that his captor is also his colleague, world-famous neurosurgeon Simon Falk.
Simon has good reasons for his actions, but Daniel is determined to fight him every step of the way, bringing Simon’s Dom side to the fore. When he learns something very unexpected about his handsome captive, he decides to make Daniel his, no matter what it takes.
The first thing Daniel noticed when he woke up was the pewter light seeping through the windows, casting a moire pattern through the sheers. The intermittent tapping of ice particles on the glass reminded him of the weather forecast for a three-day blizzard.
Shit. I don’t want to go out in that.
The thought made him snuggle deeper into the mass of warmth cradling him from behind. And then he remembered who was providing that body heat. He reached up and touched the collar ringing his neck.
He wasn’t going outside for a week. He’d been kidnapped.
A soft chuckle caused the hair on his nape to rise. “I can tell you’re awake,” Falk murmured in his ear. “Your entire body just went rigid.”
It wasn’t the only part rigid. His trapped dick was making itself known inside the chastity device. “I just remembered where I was,” Daniel said through his teeth.
“Ha. And here I thought you wriggling your bum against me was an invitation.”
Daniel realized what the hot, hard shape pressing into his ass cheek was. Fuck. “I was asleep. It didn’t count.”
“Yes, I know. And you can relax. I don’t intend to fuck you this morning.” Falk uncurled from him. For a second he missed the soothing warmth. “We have a number of other things to do.”
I don’t intend to fuck you this morning. Implying that it would happen on another morning, another day. Daniel tried to drum up a sense of dread. Simon Falk had free reign over his body for the next seven days. He would have to do anything the surgeon wanted; allow himself to be beaten or flogged, crawl and beg, service him sexually.
At that thought the odd sensation of anticipation returned, adding a languorous note. Fantasies were one thing, but he couldn’t actually want any of that. Not in real life.
Could he?
“Up,” Falk ordered. “Shower first, then breakfast.”
A sharp ache from his cock reminded Daniel of the chastity device. “And you’ll take this thing off, right,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.
And almost swallowed his tongue. By day, Simon Falk was the picture of stylish perfection, GQ-ready from his perfect hair to his polished shoes. First thing in the morning, however, that perfect hair was tousled, and his hazel eyes blinked sleepily. Even better, his cheeks and chin featured a silvered stubble, giving him a sexy, roguish look that went straight to Daniel’s cock.
He winced from the pain of the silicone sheath compressing his erection. “Please,” he added. “Sir. Seriously, it’s killing me.”
Falk grinned. “I doubt that. But you asked politely and used Sir. I like obedience in a pet.”
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Mid Week Tease: Do No Harm #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hello, chumrades, and welcome to Mid Week Tease! This week I’m featuring a snippet from Do No Harm, a story that started out as a potential entry for Evernight’s Dark Captive antho and quickly grew into a novel of its own. I love it when that happens.
Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
All Daniel Graff wanted to do on Christmas evening was finish his surgical rounds at Lakeside Memorial Hospital and go home. When he’s kidnapped from the hospital parking lot, he’s astounded to find out that his captor is also his colleague, world-famous neurosurgeon Simon Falk.
Simon has good reasons for his actions, but Daniel is determined to fight him every step of the way, bringing Simon’s Dom side to the fore. When he learns something very unexpected about his handsome captive, he decides to make Daniel his, no matter what it takes.
Daniel noticed the movement first. The soft vibration of the road, broken by the occasional bump. Warm air caressed his face, scented with clean leather and the faint tang of long-chain monomers. The custom air of an expensive car.
He opened his eyes, and blinked. It took a moment to resolve the pointillistic study of grey and white in front of him into a windshield.
Snow. It’s snowing.
“You’re awake. Good.”
Still blinking, Daniel tried to turn his head. A sharp ache along the front of his throat convinced him that wasn’t a good idea. “Where am I?” he croaked.
“Specifically? My car. If you mean location, we’re on McKinley Road, close to my home.”
The voice. He knew that voice.
Daniel’s vision finally cleared, allowing him to see the man behind the wheel. “Simon?”
“Good, you’re back.” Simon Falk gave him a brief smile but kept his eyes on the road. “Forgive my rudeness. The weather is getting worse, and I don’t want to hit anything.”
“Uh.” Daniel tried to work through the cotton still blanketing his mind. The last thing he remembered was heading out to his car, and then—
—choking, a struggle, darkness.
“How—” he paused, dredging up some saliva, “did I get in your car?”
Falk’s lips pursed. “I’ll explain when we get home. How’s your throat?”
Home? “My—” Daniel tried to lift a hand to rub his throat, and couldn’t. Looking down, he saw that someone had taken off his parka and put both his hands in a sort of leather mitt. Each mitt was mated to a belted cuff with D rings; those were clipped to a belt that now ran around his waist. He tugged experimentally, then harder. His arms were immobilized. “What the hell?”
“I didn’t want you to panic and try to get out of the car when you woke up,” Falk explained. “Your feet are secured with cuffs, as well.”
With a dim sort of horror, Daniel leaned as far as his seat belt would allow and spotted more leather wrapped securely around his ankles. “What the fuck are you doing?”
The other man’s expression was calm, even serene. “One. Now, tell me what you remember.”
Daniel opened his mouth, then hesitated. Someone had grabbed him, choked him into unconsciousness. Now that he thought about it, it had been done with what could be called surgical precision.
Falk’s hands rested easily on the steering wheel. Large hands, exquisitely talented with a scalpel, they were connected to arms that were long and strong enough to wrap around his neck.
He swallowed again, more easily this time. “Did you—” It was crazy, totally unbelievable. But he had to ask. “Did you mug me?”
Falk’s expression remained serene. “I wouldn’t call it mugging. Your wallet is still in your pocket and your computer bag is in the back seat. But if you’re asking whether I choked you until you passed out, then yes, I did.” A corner of his mouth lifted, the briefest of smiles. “I apologize for the method, but I didn’t have time to acquire a tranquilizer and syringe. I was very careful, I promise. You should be fine by morning.”
Daniel stared at the other surgeon, trying to understand what he’d just heard. Falk seemed calm, perfectly normal. And yet he’d just admitted to assault, as if it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. “Why in God’s name did you choke me out?”
Falk sighed. “I didn’t think you’d get in my car otherwise. I’ve done it before with others so I knew what I was doing, although I apologize for any residual pain I may have caused.”
Residual pain. That was the last thing Daniel was worried about. “Pull over and take off these cuffs.”
Now Falk spared him a brief look. “No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“You speak English, yes? No, I will not take them off. Not until we get to the house.”
A spike of fear punched through Daniel’s anger. “This is kidnapping. Goddamn it, Falk, you’re kidnapping me!”
“Two. And I prefer to think of it as protective custody, but call it whatever you like.” The neurosurgeon’s expression changed now, turning sober. “I have reasons for my actions, Daniel, very good ones. I know you have no reason to do it, but for now you’re simply going to have to trust me.”
Daniel could feel his mouth drop open, and shut it with a snap. “Trust you? You choked me into unconsciousness, kidnapped me, and now I’m supposed to trust you? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“Three. And no, I’m not. Now please settle down. We’ll be home soon.”
Fists clenched in their leather mitts, Daniel sat back in his seat and fumed. Falk had a good two inches on him and at least thirty pounds, all of it muscle. With his hands and feet immobilized and a seat belt holding him down, the most he could do was lunge sideways and hit Falk in the shoulder with his head. I might be able to bite him, distract him.
A strong gust of wind drove snow against the windshield, reminding him of the weather outside the car. If he distracted Falk now, they’d probably go off the road. Even if they didn’t hit anything and just landed in a ditch, Falk could simply get out of the car and walk away, leaving Daniel behind to freeze. He said he had good reasons for doing this. It’s not like he’s a serial killer, for God’s sake. He’s a world-famous doctor.
Daniel shuddered. Yeah. So was Hannibal Lecter.
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Marvelous Monday Reads: Insurmountable
Happy Monday, folks! Today I have Allyson Young on to talk about her new book Insurmountable, now available from Evernight Publishing and other online retailers of erotic romance. Take it away, Allyson!
Thank you for having me today and sharing my new release with your readers! Insurmountable, an erotic suspense, releases November 23, 2015 from Evernight Publishing.
Kidnapped because of her father’s wrongdoings, Bianca Fontaine is interrogated for any hint of his whereabouts by a man she has no reason to be drawn to. Who falls for their kidnapper? Especially an arrogant, hard man who is bound by duty—with those intriguing soft and caring qualities he hates to show. She’s learned the truth about her mother’s disappearance and her reality is suspect, except for the one constant—Ellis Valiant.
Ellis Valiant is indeed a hard man, but he’s already destroyed Bianca’s world and could make it worse if he doesn’t send her away. But when he finds her exploring her submissive side in the sex club fronting for his organization, his noble efforts fall by the wayside and he steps up as her Dom. Except Ellis harbors a secret, an insurmountable one, and Bianca will surely hate him when it comes to light.
Story Excerpt
Her head felt packed with puffed cotton and there was a definite thump in her temples. Bianca tried to swallow and the dryness made her grimace. She managed to get her right hand to obey her and cautiously reached to touch her head. It was present and accounted for, and the headache ratcheted up to a drumroll. Lord, she felt horrible and thought she might be sick. As she struggled to rise up on one elbow, the pinch of soreness made her wince, and a few things came back in one breath stealing surge.
“Here.” Ellis’s voice intruded and he leaned in to where she could see him through barely cracked eyelids. He had a glass of water in his hand and her body cried out for the moisture. Then she wondered what else was in it and held back, closing her mouth tightly.
“It’s only water.” He took a sip and offered it again, but she wasn’t touching anything anyone here offered. Ellis stared impassively.
With a start, she remembered the restraints, and realized she was no longer held in place. With nothing to prevent it, she rolled sluggishly away from him, and slipped off the bed, nearly falling, but somehow braced her weight against the mattress. She watched him warily, and aside from the straight line his mouth drew, he remained impassive.
Setting the glass down, he motioned to it and some towels on the nightstand. “I thought you’d want to wipe your face and quench your thirst when you … woke.”
Ah, more euphemisms. She felt her upper lip lift in a sneer and hoped Ellis marked it. Thoughts whirled through her head and she couldn’t grab onto one of them. She then judged the distance to the bathroom and wondered if her wobbly legs would get her there before Ellis intercepted her.
As if reading her mind, he stood. “You’ll be on your ass and I’m not letting you hurt yourself.”
A burble of incongruous laughter erupted from her belly and she tasted bile as she backed away. “You’re such a joke.”
Ellis was on her, that something unfamiliar now flashing across his face, and he scooped her up, déjà vu, only hustled her straight to the toilet. On her knees, Bianca retched, but miraculously everything settled without humiliating her further, and she dragged herself up with Ellis’s help. The chill of the porcelain bowl helped her focus.
“Stubborn wench.”
Flipping the lid down, he sat her on it with a thump, telling her to lean back. He grabbed a towel and wet one end of it. She accepted it and covered her face, willing him to leave. How had she ever thought to best this man at anything? Or shame him, for that matter, in appealing to his conscience. He was made of granite, now any need for the soft sell was over. It might be the aftereffects of the truth drugs, but she once again felt like a child. She knew he was still standing there. She could feel him and smell him, that scent she was beginning to associate with Ellis, like she was his dog or something. A bizarre vision of her in a collar, panting at his feet,
“You need a shower.”
Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. She longed to say that out loud but it might unlock the tenuous hold she had on all the things yearning to spill out—and peel the flesh from Ellis’s very bones. Like that would ever happen. So she bit her tongue, because she’d already called him a joke. Enough said.
“Save me from pretentious twits.” She heard him murmur it, as though he’d gritted his teeth.
A startled yelp escaped as Ellis took two strides and ripped her shirt open. Buttons popped free and pinged off the sparkling surfaces. One ricocheted off her forehead and she blinked. So not like the romance books. Gah, what was in those drugs?
“Get your jeans off unless you want me to do it.”
Scrabbling to pull the sides of her shirt together over her chest, she watched as he worked the taps, opening them wide and adjusting the spray of the shower until he appeared satisfied. The way his brows drew together when he turned to see her still fully dressed made her shiver. She loosened her grip on her shirt and fumbled with the snap on her jeans. It refused to give and her heart leapt into her throat when Ellis, with an impatient grunt, pushed her hands aside and freed it without any problem, tugging the zipper down.
“Up.”
She giggled this time, unable to contain the sound, and felt her eyes go wide at the incongruous sound. Sit. Stay. Down. Good doggie. She managed to stand, once again with help, and Ellis dragged her jeans to her ankles.
“You’re still impaired.”
Thank you, Mr. Observant. Maybe she said that out loud, because he stiffened. But when she dared a look, he was staring at her … panties. His head almost immediately tilted up and he met her gaze. She heard him mutter something about stupidity, and tried to muster up some indignation, but her head throbbed harder and she felt terrible.
Thinking he was trying to hug her, she put her hands between them to push him back, and felt him snap open her bra. She pressed her hands back against the cups and protested. “Don’t.”
“So you’ll talk if your clothes come off. Well, don’t worry about it, sweetheart. There’s nothing left for you to say.” Smirking, Ellis tugged her toward the shower and pushed her inside. “Do you need help?”
“No.” Killing was too good for him. He needed to suffer, and she hoped she found an opportunity to inflict it on him.
Where to Buy
Evernight Publishing
Amazon
All Romance eBooks
Bookstrand
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords
About Allyson Young
Allyson Young lives in cottage country in Manitoba, Canada with her husband and numerous pets. She worked in the human services all across Canada and has seen the best and worst of what people bring to the table. Allyson has written for years, mostly short stories and poetry, published in small newspapers and the like, although her work appeared in her high school yearbooks too! After reading an erotic romance, quite by accident, she decided to try her hand at penning erotica.
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.
Mid Week Tease: Scarlett Hood and the Hunter #MidWeekTease #MWTease
Hey all! This week I’m teasing you with a nifty post from fellow Evernight writer Pumpkin Spice and her new book Scarlett Hood and the Hunter. Enjoy, and make sure to hit the list after the teaser to see other great Mid Week Teases!
In the merry village of Amāre, love isn’t just the town’s namesake—it’s a way of life. When Scarlett Hood discovers that her grandmother’s retirement fund has been targeted by the wolf of Wall Street, Bernie Wolfe, the photo journalist realizes she will need more than her telephoto lens to take him down. She’ll need help.
Help arrives in the unlikely Jack Hunter, the local bean farmer, who struck it rich only to lose his golden crop to Wolfe. Now working for the Security & Exchange Commission (SEC), Jack is on the hunt to bring down Wolfe and Giant Investment Services. Nothing—not even his unbridled attraction to Scarlett—will keep him from tackling the man who stole his grandmother’s land and put him out of business. Can Scarlett Hood and Jack Hunter team up together to bring down one of Amāre’s worst villains and find their own happily ever after?
I clapped my hands together and practically scared Scarlett into a sitting position. “Okay, so I guess it’s time we get you cleaned up.”
She shook her head, and a mess of crimson spirals moved haphazardly across her fair face. “Oh, ouch.” She reached up and touched the back of her head.
I was instantly at her side. “Liback down.” She gently slid on the couch. “Crap. Maybe you have a concussion.” I looked behind me at the front door, but I knew Granny had already left. I carefully sat beside Scarlett and moved a wayward lock away from her face. I leaned over and started feeling behind the back of her head. I felt her eyes on me as I groped her head like I was checking a watermelon for freshness. I really wasn’t sure what I was doing because suddenly touching Scarlett sent my senses into overload. Her hair was soft and silky between my fingers. I slowed down my rhythm and gently massaged her scalp. A low murmur escaped her lips. I quickly glanced at her, and her eyes were closed. I wanted to lean over and kiss her perfectly plump lips, but I returned my focus to her head where my hands wove through her wild hair that was a wonderland of richness. Even though she was soaked in wine, her head smelled like lavender. Now when I looked again at her, she looked up at me and smiled.
“I don’t feel any bumps?” I asked as more of a question than a statement.
Scarlett’s deep, husky laugh rose to my ears like an aphrodisiac that sent a signal to my brain and straight to my jeans as if she had suddenly cupped my cock. Her laughter was that enticing. It spiked a primal desire to have her beneath me with her mouth wrapped around my cock, which was beginning to grow as fast as my field of bean stocks.
I quickly shook my head and jerked away from her as if from a hot flame. “Yup,” I said brushing my hands together and trying to shake free from the heat that radiated between us. “I think you’re A-okay. Okay-dokay.”
She looked up at me, and her faint green eyes questioned me. “What happened?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. Just taking Granny’s orders to get you cleaned up. So let’s get moving and get you ready.” I hiked my thumb toward where I imagined the bathroom was located. “I’ll start the shower, run a bath, or grab a bucket of water from the well.” I scratched my head. “I’m not sure if there’s running water out here. But no matter.” I snapped. “I’ll do whatever it takes.” I pointed to Scarlett. “To get you freshened up.” Who am I? I sounded like some jingle writer for a feminine hygiene commercial.
Scarlett shook her head. “But Granny won’t be back for at least an hour.”
I nodded. “Yes, but she left me in charge to get you cleaned up.”
Scarlett slightly raised her hips off the couch, and her yellow skirt fell forward to reveal sheer panties that were streaked red. But even stained in wine, it was clear to see that Scarlett was a true redhead.
“I don’t think I should move in my condition,” she said with a coy look on her face. “Could you help me, Jack?”
I swallowed hard and looked at the tiniest, barely-there V-shaped panty that was held together by thin, pink, spaghetti-like straps that hugged Scarlett’s narrow hips. I wanted to gnaw them off with my teeth to get to the strip of hair that was tucked beneath the sexy sheer. Instead, I held Scarlett in my gaze.
“Maybe you hit your head too hard?” I said trying to maintain some semblance of control, trying to be the good guy, trying to remember that we just met. Trying to get a handle on a situation that was suddenly moving too fast, too soon, and yet felt so right, which made no sense at all.
Scarlett rolled her head from side-to-side. Locks of her hair swayed in a truly mesmerizing, hypnotic fashion. “Jack, Jack, Jack. You over-think things way too much. If this Wolfe guy really is so bad and I really was in harm’s way then you just came and rescued me.” She looked up at me, and in that look I could have shot my load.
“Shouldn’t we be living in the moment?” Her voice dripped with sex appeal, and my mind and body stopped working together. “Shouldn’t we forget what’s behind us and start moving forward? I’m not usually this way, but tonight hasn’t gone anywhere like I had planned. I met some Wolfe in the woods. I knew he was bad news, I knew that, but I didn’t listen to my gut.”
For a moment anger flashed across her face. “I should have listened to my first instinct. But I didn’t.” She shook her head. “I did what was expected of me. I shared my dessert. I played nice.”
Her hands were in her lap, and she opened them like she was releasing a bomb. “And then because of my kindness, I got knocked out by you, and now you tell me that Blue may have lost everything?” Her voice dropped like she was about to cry. “If we can’t save what Blue lost…”
Scarlett placed both of her hands over her chest, and in that moment I could tell that what she needed. What she wanted wasn’t necessarily me, but some retreat, some reprieve, some form of escapism from everything that had just happened. And if I could give her thirty minutes, though I hoped much longer, of total release, what was the harm?
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About Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin Spice is the published author of adult romantic fiction.
Her next Amāre Tale, also offered by Evernight Publishing, “Goldie Locks & The Brothers Bear” will turn another classic and give it a naughty spin just in time to make it a November to remember!
Evernight Publishing will also debut her upcoming Cupid romance, “The Hart Moment” that focuses on two college professors who realize there’s nothing academic about their sexual attraction to each other.
This November, readers will be in for a treat when “My Midnight Cowboy” will be tucked in stockings for Red Moon Romance’s “The Naughty List” anthology.
Pumpkin’s favorite time of year is fall when the leaves are turning, the weather is crisper and the nights are a whole lot longer.
Visit her website: https://pumpkinspicecom.wordpress.com
Write to her at: pumpkinspicecom@yahoo.com
Follow her on Twitter: @PumpkinSpiceU2
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Wicked Wednesday Reads: Stirring Up Dirty (Stirred by Love Book 1)
Oh, look — it’s Wednesday, which means you need a little something extra to help you over Hump Day. Never fear, for today I’m here with Kacey Hammell’s sexy new erotic romance Stirring Up Dirty (Stirred by Love Book 1), now available from Evernight Publishing and other purveyors of erotic romance. Take it away, Kacey!
Thank you so much for sharing my new release with your readers! I hope everyone enjoys the story. It was a lot of fun to write and I loved revisiting a couple who I hadn’t spent time with in a long time.
And to top off the new release!…Get DARE (where readers first met Candy!) for only $0.99 ~ At Evernight Publishing, Amazon stores, and All Romance Ebooks.
Candy Wilson arrives in St. Albert with one mission—to sign the next young, hot model to her modeling agency. She has no time for distractions and isn’t prepared for bartender Eric McKenna—the brother of her young client-to-be, Melissa. Eric challenges her on all counts, irritates her daily, and heats her body to boiling temperatures with just one touch. He’s hard to ignore and impossible to resist.
Eric McKenna will be damned if his baby sister signs any contracts with Candy Wilson. No way in hell will he allow anyone to whisk Melissa off to a foreign country and lead her on a path that’s not right for her. And yet Candy pushes him further than he’s ever been before and drives him crazy. Eric can’t control his need for her or the desire to engage with her … on so many levels.
Story Excerpt
“Hey there. It’s Eric, right?”
He stalled and pivoted. Behind him was the one person he didn’t need to see right now. Melissa had talked about her enough that he knew all he needed to about her. And some shit he hadn’t cared to.
“Ms. Wilson. Hope you’re enjoying our little town here.”
She leaned against the wall of Abe’s Diner. “Little? This place is huge. I did enjoy some shopping this morning. The market a couple blocks over has some of the nicest things. I spent way more than I should.”
He bet she did. From what she’d shown at the bar yesterday, she had more money than she really knew what to do with. In his opinion, she’d earned it all by letting it all hang out in fashion magazines for the world to see. Wearing skimpy outfits and bathing suits, which to him was too much to be taken seriously. She had the looks for sure, but he questioned her morals.
“Well, I have to get back to the bar. Nice seeing you.”
“Oh, you couldn’t spare a few minutes to have coffee with me? There are a few things I’d love to talk to you about.” She sidled closer to him, a smile lighting her face, her eyes twinkling like stars in the evening sky.
He bet she was used to getting her way all the time.
She brushed a hand over his bicep. “Just a quick coffee, and maybe a bite to eat?”
The heat from her palm rushed through him. His fingers tingled and the urge to feel her warmth around him caught him off guard. He took a step back and shook his head. Damn her for getting to him. He needed to steer clear. She would do anything to take his sister away from here, even use her wiles to do it; he’d seen her flirting with Drew yesterday.
“Sorry, I don’t have time to entertain you. You’ll have to find someone else to keep you occupied, Ms. Wilson. Have a good day.”
Eric turned and strode away. He needed to keep a watchful eye on his sister and find a way to dig himself out of the hole he was in.
Neither would be easy, though.
Not with the distraction of Candy Wilson around to battle with.
Where to Buy
Evernight Publishing
Amazon US
Amazon CA
Amazon UK
All Romance eBooks
Bookstrand
About Kacey Hammell
Avid Reader. Romance Author. Redhead…
Canadian-born author Kacey Hammell is definitely a book-a-holic. A romance reader from a young age, she fell in love with happily ever afters. These days, as a multi- published erotic romance author, she enjoys adding a lot of heat, sass, and emotion to the many genres she writes.
Mom of three, Kacey lives her own happily ever after with her perfect hero in Ontario, Canada.
Where to find Kacey Hammell
Website
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Nicola Cameron Writes 