Lexxie Couper's Blog, page 14

Full Moon by New York Times Bestseller Mari Carr

I find the notion of getting a second chance at life and happiness wonderful. I think there are lots of people out there that feel life, love and joy has passed them. Mari Carr’s Second Chance series explores this idea with sweetly romantic (and insanely hot) stories.

The next book in the series is out tomorrow and I can’t recommend it enough.

 

Full Moon

Sometimes it’s not just the tide that rises…

Second Chances, Book 2

In the two years since her divorce was finalized, Josie Jacobson’s life has become one long, boring routine. Work, home, repeat. She has her hands full as a single parent, and while she’s not looking for a serious relationship, she sure wouldn’t mind getting laid.

When her friend, Zoey, challenges her to make a New Year’s resolution for a second chance at happiness, Josie goes one better and creates the “Howl List”. Every full moon, she will indulge in a different sexual fantasy. Right at the top? Sex without strings.

Fate leads her to the Blue Moon bar in January. After all, what better place to howl? And when she meets Jake Stewart, the sexy bartender, and engages in some red-hot sex with a stranger, her year seems to be off to a great start.

At least, until Jake declares he wants all her full moons…

Warning: This is NOT the shifter story you are looking for. While the heroine howls during the full moon, she does it in naked, human-form only. Sorry—no wolves, but there is a really sexy bartender and lots of red-hot fantasies.

Excerpt:

“Tonight’s full moon is sex in public.”

Jake choked on the drink and put the glass back down. “In public?”

She nodded.

“What the hell do you mean by full moon?”

Josie considered avoiding the question, but there was no harm in telling him the truth. She explained about her list and her desire to fulfill the fantasies.

“So what’s on the list? Besides the stranger danger and PDA ones.” Jake was exactly as she’d remembered him. Unflappable, fun, funny.

She shook her head. “I’m afraid the contents of the list are privileged information. If I told you, I’d have to fuck you.”

Jake grasped her shoulder, pulling her closer. “I’d have no problem with—”

“Jake?” A waitress stood by their table. She pointed to a couple of loud drunks by the door. “I think we might have trouble. You wanna take care of it?”

Jake sighed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be right over.”

The waitress went back to work.

Jake leaned closer, whispering in her ear. “If you don’t have any luck with number two on the list within the next hour, come find me.”

Josie didn’t have a chance to respond before Jake rose and went to address the problem by the entrance. She took a sip of her drink, hoping it would calm her down. It was suddenly quite warm in the bar.

Josie watched Shelly and Lance dance, then gazed around the room. The place was crowded and there certainly wasn’t a shortage of men hanging around, either drinking alone or standing in large groups.

She spotted one large table across the room. It appeared the men were all out for a bachelor party. She found the groom-to-be instantly. The party must have been going for a while because the man had at least a dozen empty shot glasses in front of him. His friends were sending him out of bachelorhood in style. She slowly studied each of the men at the table, silently trying to decide which were married, which were mama’s boys, which were playboys.

Josie had never paid much attention to the opposite sex. Tony had been her first boyfriend. She’d fallen fast and hard for him toward the end of their junior year in high school and she’d convinced herself she was lucky. She’d honestly believed she’d found her soul mate at sixteen.

She closed her eyes wearily. The silly romantic girl she had been was long gone, leaving Josie struggling to figure out what her beliefs regarding love were now. Since the divorce, Josie had concentrated on setting up a new home for her and her son, working long hours to pay the bills, and avoiding the dating scene as much as possible because she refused to open up a revolving door of men in Tommy’s life.

She remembered too well how painful it was when her mother would bring home a new boyfriend, include him in every aspect of their lives, then yank him out again after the break-up.

Josie wouldn’t—couldn’t—do that to Tommy. The full-moon list had been created to protect him. And her.

So while she was tempted by Jake’s offer, she wasn’t sure she should accept it. She’d thought about the handsome bartender too many times the past few weeks. If she had sex with him again, wasn’t she sort of tempting fate and running the risk of developing feelings for him?

As tough as she tried to pretend she was, Josie knew when it came to matters of the heart, she was way too soft.

A man lingered at the edge of the dance floor by her table and gave her a friendly smile. It wouldn’t take much effort on her part to show interest, to invite him over.

Josie glanced over her shoulder and watched Jake deal with the two drunks by the door. Apparently a fight had been brewing between them, but somehow Jake had calmed the waters. They were laughing at something Jake had said. She smiled. Then she ignored the stranger and stood up, approaching Jake just as the two men shook his hand and said goodbye.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Jake glanced at his watch. “It’s only been fifteen minutes. Are you coming to give me the brush-off?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to wait an hour.”

Jake’s eyes darkened with lust and her body responded instantly. “Come with me.”

Full Moon is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Samhain.

June Declared GLBT Pride Month by US President Obama

Brilliant brilliant brillant, I say.

To celebrate, throughout this month I’m going to share some of my favourite GLBT moments from some of my favourite films, along with a snippet or two from not only Guarded Desires (my very first m/m romance, coming in July) but Blame it on the Bass, my upcoming m/m/f release.

Ready?

Is there a m/m kiss scene more tormented and raw than this one?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Damn, it gets me every time.

 

And now, here’s an excerpt from my July releases, Guarded Desires

His other sexual attraction was far more frustrating.

Because there wasn’t a hope in hell he’d missed the sexual desire in Chris’s eyes earlier that night. Hell, he’d almost acted on it. Had leant forward to capture the man’s lips with his.

And then Chris had fled to the master bedroom and Liev had come close to letting out a growl of contemptuous self-disgust.

Grinding his teeth, Liev pushed himself from the balcony, cast the harbour and its boats one last look and then walked into the living area, closing the glass concertina doors behind him.

Chris Huntley’s heterosexuality was famous. According to the magazines and websites Liev’s niece devoured, the list of women he’d dated and slept with was legendary. In the last month alone, more than one had declared Huntley was to soon be a father. If Liev was to believe everything he read, the actor currently asleep in the master bedroom had sowed his wild oats with just about every young starlet in Hollywood.

But Liev didn’t believe everything he read.

Chris Huntley may be Hollywood’s hottest sex symbol right now, but Liev’s gut was telling him the actor’s heterosexuality wasn’t as indisputable as the world believed.

Liev had spent a lifetime caught between two sexual appetites. Close to thirty-three years of it. From the day he’d accepted the hard-on he was desperately trying to hide at school had nothing to do with the hot girl from History class sitting beside him and everything to do with the hot captain of the boys’ soccer team running around on the field in front of him—at the sage age of thirteen—he’d known he walked a line most boys didn’t.

From the first blowjob given to him by a male’s mouth, a few years later by a fellow senior from a different school during an excursion to the ski-slopes—Liev knew he didn’t care the line he walked was socially…shunned.

The first blowjob he’d received from a girl—six months after that, from the hot girl from History class—had been equally explosive and cemented the fact in his mind he was bi. Sex was sex, and Liev had no issues with the gender of his partner. If they turned him on, he was happy to oblige.

Was that the case with Chris Huntley? Was Chris bi as well?

He knew the sexual preference of actors, especially ones deemed sex symbols like Chris, was treated like a precious commodity. The more virile and desirable women found an actor, the more money his work could pull in. An actor who’d built his career on his potent heterosexuality could see said career destroyed at just the hint of homosexuality. Why else all the defamation lawsuits?

Or was he just grasping at straws? He’d been attracted to Chris from the first episode he’d watched of Twice Too Many. Guarding him from a distance last year had only furthered that desire. Now, being in Chris’s presence, breathing in his subtle scent…fair dinkum, it was pretty damn amazing. Seeing the sharp intelligence in the actor’s eyes his sitcom character didn’t allow out, watching Chris’s body move with latent strength, a body more honed to physical perfection thanks to his role in Dead Even…well, amazing didn’t really come close to describing how Liev felt right now.

He let out a low groan.

He had to stop thinking about the man. Even if Chris Huntley was sexually interested in Liev—and it was a big bloody if, about the size of the country to be honest—nothing could come of it. Bodyguard’s second rule. Never, ever get sexually involved with the client.

Never. It was the second rule Aslin Rhodes had taught him. It was the second rule Liev worked by.

He’d guarded more than one female politician that had suggested activities beyond his job requirement, and he’d declined every one. A bodyguard who fucked around with his client wasn’t just unprofessional. He was stupid.

Liev wasn’t stupid, despite what his older brother wanted to believe.

Whatever the spark he’d felt between him and Chris earlier that night—and Christ, he was one hundred percent certain he wasn’t the only one to feel it—nothing could come of it.

Even if Chris strode out of his bedroom at this very second, took Liev’s hand and wrapped it around Chris’s erect, pre-come dripping cock, Liev would pull away.

It would be fucking hard, but he would do it.

Hard. Like his dick was now.

So damn hard it hurt.

Biting back a muttered curse, he killed the lights in the living area and kitchen, hurried up the stairs to the third floor and strode to his bedroom.

The room was opposite Chris’s. The door to the master bedroom was closed. No light filtered from beneath the thin gap at the bottom.

Liev turned to his door.

Guarded Desires (Heart of Fame Book Three) (Samhain)

Guarded Desires (Heart of Fame Book Three) (Amazon)

Guarded Desires (Heart of Fame Book Three) (Nook)

Brilliant Writers Advice…From Brilliant Writers

Haunting Melody St Clair ~ An Erotic Ghost Story from Dawn Montgomery and Ditter Kellen

Who Said Ghost Can’t Be Sexy? 
To finish off this week of amazing new releases from my amazing writing friends, I give you Haunting Melody St Clair , from Dawn Montgomery and Ditter Kellen. I’ve known Dawn for a long time (she and I cut our teeth at Changeling Press together) and I met Ditter through facebook (holy moley, is she a force of nature!). Together, they are an incredible writing team and I can’t say enough how excited I am to read this book. It’s available any second now. Check it out!!

Melody St. Claire doesn’t believe in ghosts. Until a fire destroys her whole world, forcing her into a beautiful haunted house and the territorial domain of one very real, incredibly mysterious resident spirit.

Sexy Travis Santiago haunts the walls of his family home. Resigned to being alone, he merely exists in a place between the living and the dead until the frustrating little brunette enters his life and his heart. He can give her what she needs, if she would just believe.

The passion he ignites threatens to consume her, heart and soul, but may not be enough to hold back the nightmares. And Melody can’t possibly hope to spend forever with a man who is already dead.

A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

*BUY NOW*

Bianca D’Arc’s Newest Shifter Is SEXY!!

The week of awesome releases continues. This time with Bianca D’Arc’s incredible shifter erotic romance, Tales of the Were: Grif. Look at that cover! Look at it. Don’t you want to just lick those abs over and over again? *sigh*

 

Tales of the Were: Grif

Redstone Clan #1

Griffon Redstone is the eldest of five brothers and the leader of one of the most influential shifter Clans in North America. He seeks solace in the mountains, away from the horrific events of the past months, for both himself and his young sister. The deaths of their older sister and mother have hit them both very hard.

Lindsey Tate is human, but very aware of the werewolf Pack that lives near her grandfather’s old cabin. She’s come to right a wrong her grandfather committed against the Pack and salvage what’s left of her family’s honor – if the wolves will let her. Mostly, they seem intent on running her out of town on a rail.

But the golden haired stranger, Grif, comes to her rescue more than once. He stands up for her against the wolf Pack and then helps her fix the old generator at the cabin, making it habitable for her while she completes her task. He’s friendly and all too attractive, but she has a job to do, regardless of the cost to herself or her budding relationship with the local handyman.

When she performs the ceremony she expects will end in her death, the shifter deity has other ideas and turns the tables on them all. Grif’s dual nature is revealed and Lindsey learns there is much more going on than she thought.

Thrown together by fate, neither of them can deny the deep and true attraction between them. They come together, but in the end will an old enemy rip them apart?

Warning: Cats are frisky and they get up to all sorts of naughtiness, including a frenzy-induced multi-partner situation that might be a little intense for some readers. You have been warned.

Buy Now from: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Smashwords

Come over to The D’Arc Side… www.biancadarc.com

The Fire and the Earth – New from Lila Dubois

Lila Dubois amazes me. She is this young ball of insane energy with the face of a gorgeous angel…who writes erotic romance so hot it leaves me breathless while reading it. She has penned scorching BDSM and molten paranormal erotic romances you can’t put down. And then, out of the blue, she writes the most haunting, beautiful, romantic contemporary and I fall in love with her writing all over again.

The Fire and the Earth is the second book in her Ireland-set Glenncailty Castle series and I can’t wait to read it.

It’s available tomorrow, 28th May. Check it out (isn’t that a gorgeous cover!)

He can protect her from anything living or dead. Except from himself.

 

Glenncailty Castle, Book Two

Sean Donovan knows all too well the horrors of Glenncailty Castle. Ten years ago, after a young woman’s death, he boarded the place up himself—and almost lost his own life doing it.

 

It would be easy to avoid Glenncailty, if it weren’t for the woman who now runs it as a hotel. Something about the angel-faced redhead calls to him—and calls him to protect her from the darkness seething in the castle walls.

 

Sorcha has gotten used to calming rattled guests who claim to have met a spirit from the castle’s tragic past. But two years after Sean’s attempt to convince her to leave melted down into an unforgettable kiss, she realizes she needs his help.

 

The ghosts of the castle are restless, and growing more so. When one of the staff is attacked, Sorcha turns to Sean, not knowing the kind of danger she’s put him in. Working together blows the lid off desire long denied, but laying the ghosts of Glenncailty to rest means facing her own past. If she doesn’t, the ghosts might tear Sean apart from the inside out, and that would mean never knowing what could have been…

Buy it now by clicking on one of the sexy little icon links below.

Screaming Orgasm, Anyone?

My partner in crime, Mari Carr has a release on Wednesday (the 29th in the States, so Thursday the 30th for us on this side of the International timeline) that I had to had to had to tell you about. (Okay, I just wanted to ask anyone if they wanted a screaming orgasm, but who doesn’t? *grin*)

Anyway, this is an amazing book (to go with an amazing cover). If you haven’t read any of Mari’s books, what the hell is wrong with you?? Go read them all. NOW! If you’ve read some or all of them, make sure you get this one. You can pre-oreder now on the links at the end of the excerpt.

Now, back to the question…orgasm, anyone? Of the screaming variety?

Hee hee hee

 

Screaming Orgasm

Cocktales, Book Four

Jayne Kent has watched her best friends and business partners fall in love while romance continues to pass her by. When Books and Brew regular Elias Clark offers her a Screaming Orgasm, she wishes it was the sexual variety rather than a lousy drink. She’s been lusting after Elias forever and suspects he could bring all her naughty, kinky fantasies to life.

Elias has resisted his attraction to Jayne for years, assuming his dominance in the bedroom would send sweet, romantic Jayne running for the hills. Or would it? Alone in a snowstorm, Elias tests the waters and is blown away by Jayne’s innate submissiveness and eagerness to stretch her boundaries. Ice play? Bondage? Flogging? Bring it on.

Soon it’s no longer a question of whether or not Elias should pursue Jayne, even if she’s not sure she’s brave enough to submit to him forever. She’s made for him, and this determined alpha male will stop at nothing until he’s claimed her—completely.

A Romantica® BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Excerpt:

“Come here, Jayne.”

She obeyed without thought. There was something about the tone in his voice that left her weak at the knees. She claimed the comfortable chair next to his.

“I want to ask you a question.”

“Okay,” she said.

“You placed a bid on me at the bachelor auction last summer.”

She flushed. She’d hoped he hadn’t noticed that temporary moment of insanity on her part. She had raised her hand early in the bidding, knowing full well she’d never be able to win. The bids had gone high and raised a great deal of money for the community center Sophie had been hell-bent on saving from closure. She’d told herself she was driving up the price for a good cause, but that wasn’t true. She laughed uneasily. “Just trying to do my part to raise money for charity.”

“You didn’t bid on anyone else.”

She bit her lip. Why did he have to be so observant? And why was he bringing it up now? The auction had taken place last June. It was December. Six months of silence. “I guess I got carried away, caught up in the spirit of the event.”

Elias frowned but didn’t reply right away. Most of the time she found his quiet nature soothing, as it matched her own. Neither of them was overly chatty, and they found true peace and contentment in the still moments. How many nights had she joined him in this chair to discuss a new book they’d both enjoyed or to simply read next to him?

Unfortunately, this silence was unnerving. Anxiety provoked her to fill it. “I meant to ask you about your date with the winner, but it never came up. How did it go?” She hadn’t asked because her previously unrecognized jealous streak didn’t want to know.

“We went to dinner and a movie. Given the less than stimulating conversation over our meal, I’d say it was a good choice. We weren’t forced to make small talk during the movie. Afterward, I took her to her house, said good night at her front door and went home alone.”

She forced her face to remain impassive, tried to hide the smile his words provoked. The date had been a bust. She released a foolish sigh of relief. “Oh. I’m sorry it didn’t go well.”

Her grin gave her away. Laugh lines appeared around Elias’ eyes. “I can see you’re really upset by it.”

She didn’t reply. Instead she looked toward the quiet street. The snow was becoming heavier, muting the sounds from the street. It felt as if she and Elias were the only two people left in the city.

“The date would have been different if you had won the bid.”

Elias’ voice cut through the silence. Her gaze drifted back to his face. “It would have?”

He nodded.

“No dinner and movie for me?” She tried to make her question sound lighthearted, but her curiosity was too strong. She’d wondered for years what a date with Elias would entail. He had fascinated, enthralled and ensnared her since the first night he’d walked through the door of Books and Brew. For nearly three years, she’d waited for his arrival at the store with an impatience that grew stronger with each consecutive visit.

“Would you like to know how our night would have gone?”

Jayne nodded, swallowing heavily. The air around them suddenly seemed thicker, more humid. She found it difficult to capture a deep breath, her lungs seizing before oxygen could penetrate.

Elias leaned back in the chair, his legs crossed at the ankles. He was the picture of relaxation. As he began his description, Jayne felt the strange certainty that he’d considered this date as much as she had. The idea was heady, comforting.

“I would have cooked dinner for you at my home.”

She flipped her hair away from her face, the action a nervous habit she’d tried to break for years. “I’ve never seen your house.”

“I live on the outskirts of town, not far from here. It’s a two-story set in the middle of about an acre of land. It’s fairly private. I like that.”

She didn’t respond. Didn’t need to. Everything about Elias told her he enjoyed a solitary existence.

“You like Chinese food, so I would have made you my world famous stir-fry.”

“World famous?” she teased.

His eyes twinkled. “How are you with chopsticks?”

She shrugged. “I hold my own, I suppose.”

“Doesn’t matter. I would have fed you.”

She didn’t anticipate the response his simple proclamation would have on her. She squeezed her legs together when a tingle grew in her pussy. She tried to ignore it. “I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself.”

His eyes narrowed. “It’s not a question of ability, Jayne. Rather, it’s a matter of desires. I want to feed you.”

The word desire coming from Elias’ lips fired far too many lustful images in her mind. Jayne hoped the darkness of the room hid her blushing. “What about after dinner?”

Elias didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he studied her face intently. “Are you sure you want to know? The answer may disturb you a bit.”

Jayne struggled to respond. Disturb her? She doubted there was anything Elias could do or say that would bother her. “Tell me,” she whispered.

Elias sat up slowly. “Come here.”

She was confused. They were already sitting next to each other, no more than a few feet separating them. “I’m here.”

He patted his lap, his meaning becoming clear.

He wanted her to sit on his lap? She blinked rapidly. Had she understood that correctly?

“Come here, Jayne. I don’t like to repeat myself.”

His words, his tone, sealed her fate. Her resistance melted away. Standing, she took the two steps required then paused again, trying to determine how to proceed.

“Open your legs and straddle my thighs. I want to have this conversation face-to-face. The seat of the chair is wide enough to accommodate the position. It’s one of the reasons I always sit here. It fires the imagination.”

He’d chosen his usual spot because of this? This position? This fantasy? She straddled his lap, easing her knees down to rest outside his upper thighs. Her chest was nearly touching his, their faces so close she could smell the scent of Scotch on his breath.

Elias grasped her ass and pulled her closer, until her pussy touched the obvious erection beneath his dress slacks. She gasped for air, finding none.

“Breathe slower.” He imitated the concept, sucking in a deep breath. She mimicked the inhalations, matching her pace to his until it came easier.

He touched her cheek with one finger. “That’s better.”

“What’s going on?” she muttered, more to herself than to Elias.

His finger drifted to her lower lip, his gaze seemingly mesmerized by the spot. “You know.”

It was a simple assertion. And true. She did know. They’d circled around each other, this moment, for years. “Why now?”

His eyes lifted to capture hers. “It’s time. The excuses have run dry.”

Screaming Orgasm is available at Ellora’s Cave, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

Tuesday’s Teasing Snippet – Guarded Desires

My Samhain editor has asked me on numerous times to write a m/m. I’ve always been hesitant, not sure I could capture the raw emotion of the genre. But then, a few months ago, a very good friend of mine experienced something they never thought they would: they found themselves attracted to a member of the same sex. My friend had been happily married for over twenty years, so to say the response was a shock is an understatement. It changed everything.

Everything.

Guarded Desires is my friend’s story. Just with more ravenous paparazzi and screaming fans.

It’s available July 14th and today I’m sharing a little teasing snippet.

I hope you enjoy it.

***

Desire like this wasn’t in the script…

Heart of Fame, Book 3

Small-screen sex symbol Chris Huntley is on the fast track to becoming the next big action-blockbuster movie star. When his latest movie takes him to Australia for a red-carpet premiere, he thinks he’s ready for anything.

But nothing could have prepared him for his raw, carnal response to his Aussie bodyguard. Sexual attraction to a man is a first for Chris. Now he realizes why his relationships with women have never felt quite…complete.

Liev Reynolds is comfortable with his bisexuality, but his attraction to Chris is an inconvenience he must ignore. For starters, there’s his professional ethics. Then there’s the long trail of female broken hearts in Chris’s wake.

Hard as they both try to keep their minds on their jobs, desire and a little matchmaking tip them over the edge. But Hollywood endings aren’t real life. And when the truth leaks out, their careers aren’t the only collateral damage.

Product Warnings

A hunky Hollywood sex symbol. A smoldering, stubborn Australian. A desire so powerful it cannot be denied. A kiss. And a photograph. This isn’t your normal boy-meets-boy story.

***

“You okay, mate?”

With a strangled yelp, Chris snapped open his eyes.

Reynolds stood before him. A curious frown furrowed his forehead.

Oh Christ, help me.

The man radiated confident strength, even with his dark blond hair a tousled mess of damp strands. A black polo shirt covered his torso, emphasizing his muscular frame with a subtle perfection Chris had never noticed on another man before. Black denim jeans hugged his long legs, and if it wasn’t for the fact Chris couldn’t stop his gaze lingering at the rather impressive bulge at Reynolds’s crotch, he would have made some wise-ass comment about the fact the bodyguard wasn’t wearing shoes.

But his gaze did linger on Reynolds’s groin. Long enough for the man to clear his throat.

Chris’s gut knotted. Heat flooded his face. Holy fuck. Holy fuck, he’d just been staring at another man’s package.

“Mr. Huntley?”

He jolted to his feet, unable to meet Reynolds’s eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t…geez, I…” Clearing his own throat, he scraped his hands through his hair and forced his stare to Liev’s. “I didn’t mean to, y’know…look…there. It was just at eye level.”

Reynolds’s laugh surprised him. “No worries, mate. I’m used to it.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “You’re used to guys looking at your junk?”

“Well, when you put it like that, no. But I’ve been in the state firefighting charity calendar four years running. When you spend a month on someone’s wall dressed in nothing but a half-unzipped pair of loose work trousers you get used to being checked out. Especially when you make appearances at events to sell those calendars.”

The ball of tension in Chris’s gut didn’t loosen at Liev’s answer. It only made it worse. He’d known the man was a firefighter when he wasn’t working as a bodyguard, but now all Chris could do was picture him half-undressed, glistening with sweat, his hands wrapped around a freaking massive hose jutting out from the region of his groin. Subtlety, it seemed, was not one of Chris’s newly confused brain’s strong points.

Nor was remaining impassive to the thought of Liev. At least, Chris’s cock wasn’t remaining impassive. The stiffening heat in his trousers was enough to make him want to groan.

Damn it, he needed to get laid. By a woman. Fast.

“Want to hit a bar?” The question burst from him before he could stop it.

Liev narrowed his eyes.

Chris puffed out a ragged breath. “I’ve just become an uncle. I need to loosen up.”

A muscle in Liev’s jaw twitched. “Loosen up?”

“Ah, shit,” Chris held out a hand, “no drugs. Honest. My sister would kill me. Hell, Rhodes would kill me. No, I just need to blow off some tension. Do you know a place? Somewhere noisy?”

“I do.” Liev crossed his arms. “But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I took you there. Too accessible to the public. Too easy for you to be swarmed. And then Rhodes would kill me.”

“And I don’t want to lose my new bodyguard before I break him in, right?”

The quip was meant to be just that. A quip. It was what Chris did best—make jokes when things were tense. And things were tense. At least, for Chris they were. But Reynolds didn’t laugh.

He stood motionless, his blue stare holding Chris’s, his jaw clenched. “No. You don’t.”

A lump filled Chris’s throat. His breath choked him. He couldn’t move.

Every fibre in his body strained for the man in front of him. Every nerve-ending sparked with a carnal need he couldn’t understand. His palms itched. His mind told him exactly how smooth and perfect Liev’s muscled arms would feel to touch, how hard his chest would be, how sculpted his abs.

How thick and heavy Liev’s cock would feel in his hand.

Chris stared at him. Into his eyes. Eyes that only a short while ago where unknown to him.

Eyes that revealed nothing.

And yet, the tension hung on the air between them. Chris wasn’t completely naïve. He’d seduced his fair share of women. He knew exactly what sexual tension was. He mastered it on screen. He’d mastered it in the bedroom.

What this was, right now, was sexual tension. Real sexual tension. This was explosive. This was tearing him apart.

This was…this was…fuck, this couldn’t be.

It couldn’t—

Liev’s nostrils flared. He swayed forward, barely. An almost imperceptible movement.

***

Guarded Desires (Heart of Fame Book Three) (Amazon)

Guarded Desires (Heart of Fame Book Three) (Nook)

Sooo, who wants to see what I got up to at the RT Booklover’s Convention?

Cause if you head on over to HERE, that’s exactly what you can do?

(And yes, the name on the badge I’m wearing DOES say E.L. James. Hee hee hee)

 

The Foreign Affairs Contest – Week Four

Misplaced Hands releases TODAY! It’s the final book in the Foreign Affairs series and it might just be the hottest of the bunch!

Mari and I have been hosting a red hot dirty excerpts party this month where we shared super spicy snippets from each of our Foreign Affairs books.

And to sweeten the pot, we’ve made a contest of it. The game is simple. Just read the short excerpt from Misplaced Hands below and answer the question. Then boogie over to Mari’s blog to check out another excerpt and find a second question.

Each Wednesday, we’ve featured a different book from the series and asked two questions. TODAY…you can email your 8 answers to carmichm1@yahoo.com to be entered to win.

AND…what’s the prize? It’s an Ellora’s Cave box o’ fun! That’s right–there are all kinds of crazy Ellora’s Cave things (track pants, t-shirt, hats, keychain, post-its, deck of cards, etc) as well as two signed print books–one from Lexxie and another from Mari and a $25 gift card to Amazon. You must email the answers by May 5 to be entered to win!

The first three rounds are live (but it’s not too late to join the fun–just go back to the first blog and hop in now). Today we’re posting snippets from Misplaced Hands.

Foreign Affairs, Book Four

A “life swap” with her Australian friend finds Harper on Farpoint Creek cattle station, resident teacher for the next two weeks. Having rarely left Chicago, she’s unprepared for so many things Down Under—not the least of which is an instant, and instantly intense, attraction to not one, but twoAussie cowboys. She’d promised herself an adventure, so when the handsome pair come calling, Harper dives in. Literally.

Stockmen Keith and Marc are head-over-heels in lust with the American teacher, though the attraction brings about some surprising revelations. Like how right it feels to share a woman. This woman. No jealousy between the lifelong mates, just a burning need to see to Harper’s pleasure. Together. And they happily do so—until an unsettling event unearths Harper’s own tragic revelation.

Between Harper’s inability to confide in the men, and her stay at Farpoint racing to an end, it seems inevitable the three lovers will be driven apart. Doesn’t it?

Inside Scoop: This story has a very brief, non-descriptive recollection of child abuse. Good thing Harper has two strong stockmen to chase away the bad memories.

Excerpt

“It’s Harper I’m here to collect.”

Annie looked at Harper, her expression naughty. “Really now? And what do you plan on doing to Harper once you collect her?”

“Ah, you know us testosterone-filled Aussie blokes when it comes to American women. Take her somewhere private and—”

“Enough, Thomo.” Annie held up a hand, shaking her head. “Just tell me, okay?”

“Swimming,” he answered. “In the eastern billabong.”

Harper’s heart leaped up into her throat. Swimming. She hadn’t packed a bathing suit. Oh God, why hadn’t she packed a bathing suit?

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Annie said. “And it’s my cue to get back to writing. Chapter four isn’t going to revise itself, you know.”
And before Harper could say a word, the other woman rose to her feet and walked past her, out the door. Leaving her alone with Marc.

“So?” His deep voice seemed to envelop her. “You keen for a dip?”

Stealing herself against the inevitable tummy clenching that came at the sight of him, she twisted in her seat.

The tummy clenching came. As she knew it would. How could it not, when he looked so goddamn sexy? His hat was still on his head, its brim throwing a shadow over his brilliant sapphire eyes. His hands were on his hips, accentuating the broad expanse of his chest and the lean tapering of his torso. He was, simply put, sex in denim.

And waiting for her to say something.

“Err…” Her brain went blank. What had he asked?

“Swim?” Marc prompted. “In the billabong? With Blue and I?”

“I don’t have a bathing suit,” she answered, her cheeks heating again. God, since when did she sound so pathetic and lame?

Marc’s white teeth flashed. “And you think Blue and I do?”

Harper’s belly didn’t just flip-flop. It flip-flopped, sank, knotted and fluttered.

***

Misplaced Hands is available at Ellora’s Cave, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Question: Where does Marc plan to take Harper?