Lucy Felthouse's Blog, page 242

Stories for When the Sun Goes Down by Lily Harlem

Hi Lucy, thank you so much for inviting me over to play at this festive time of year. It’s great fun to party with friends amongst the tinsel and mistletoe and enjoy a glass of mulled wine and a little festive fayre – Mwahh!

To warm your cockles and spread a little magic I’ve brought with me my new collection of erotic and romantic tales – Stories for When the Sun Goes Down. These stories are perfect for snuggling up in bed with on cold winter nights, or, even better, reading aloud to a lover in front of the fire to get the sultry mood just right for an evening of fun.

This is my first collection and it’s a very special set of stories to me as they are each an enormous part of my journey to becoming an author of erotic romance. Every one holds a piece of my writing history and has built my confidence. I’m grateful to all the editors who gave me a chance and published my first words. I’ll never forget the feeling of seeing my name in print for the first time. An amazing experience that, as all new authors will relate to, I didn’t know if it would ever happen.

So what’s in this collection? Madam President is the first erotic piece I ever wrote and I entered it into an erotic fiction competition sponsored by LoveHoney. To my delight I won first place and that set me off on the road of steamy romance, a road that’s been up and down, twisted and turned and meant I’ve met a whole group of wonderful new friends from around the world. Some I’ve met in person, some only virtually, but still I look back and thank my lucky stars that I choose the path that I did because these friends and colleagues have made writing the most wonderful experience.

Shy Bird and The Actress are both stories that feature in Coming Together Anthologies, a charity publisher that donates all royalties to good causes and authors provide the stories for free. If you enjoy my work in Stories for When the Sun Goes Down to check out the rest of the Coming Together As One anthology and Coming Together Triumphantly , but don’t stop there, Coming Together has many more titles as my lovely host, Lucy will testify to, including Coming Together with Curves which Lucy edited and I feature in alongside many of my authorly friends.

The I Promise… stories were great fun to write and feature a couple who’ve found some very raunchy sexual favour vouchers to gift each other with – a great idea if you’re stuck for something to buy the guy or gal in your life this year, don’t you think? And A Classic Wedding Night continues Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett’s story after the confetti has landed and the sun goes down. Oh, who can resist Darcy when he gets all dominant and determined?

Contents – Stories for When the Sun Goes Down

Madam President
The Champagne Whore
Shy Bird
The Actress
Making Shapes
I Promise to Please
I Promise to Surrender
I Promise to Perform
A Classic Wedding Night
Stable Manners

(All of these stories have been published in a variety of US and UK anthologies over the last five years and you can find out more about this on my website.)

This time of year we all tend to get a bit melancholy as we look back at all that’s happened and then forward to the future. So what’s in my year ahead? Well, to stay happy and healthy and enjoy every moment I can of my life and continue to be thankful for the wonderful man who loves me and whom I love in return. As for my writing, I’m breaking into paranormal for the first time this year. Both Bite Mark and Claw Mark will be hitting the virtual shelves at Ellora’s Cave. I’ve also got more Hot Ice set to release, that’s Misconduct and Russian Heat. I’m continuing with projects with Natalie Dae (we publish under the name Harlem Dae) and Lucy Felthouse. Raw Talent. I’m looking forward to getting to Eroticon in Bristol (March) and spending time with fellow Brit Babes and I’m tentatively planning a trip to the US in October to Romanticon where I’ll be able to put faces to the names of my wonderful colleagues at Ellora’s Cave. Perhaps Lucy will join me on a cross Atlantic journey if I ask her nicely!

I’ll also write a few more short stories that will hopefully end up in Coming Together anthologies (doing good while being bad!) and they’ll all become part of this rich and exciting path I’ve chosen as a writer. If you’d like to pick up a copy of Stories for When the Sun Goes Down here are the buy links.

Buy Links

Stories for When the Sun Goes Down – Amazon

Stories for When the Sun Goes Down – Amazon UK

Thank you so much for letting me natter on, Lucy, it’s been fun and a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2014 to all our readers and blog visitors.

Lily x

PS – Some special offers going on this week and freebies, details on my blog.

Lily Harlem Links

Website http://www.lilyharlem.com/

Blog http://www.lilyharlem.blogspot.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/lily_harlem

Facebook http://en-gb.facebook.com/people/Lily-Harlem/100003519563064

Facebook author page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lily-Harlem-author-page/200182030094568

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/lilyharlem/

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4070110.Lily_Harlem

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/106837751333678531161/posts

Harlem Dae http://www.harlemdae.com

Raw Talent http://rawtalentseries.co.uk

BritBabes http://thebritbabes.blogspot.co.uk

Newsletter Subscription http://www.lilyharlem.com/newsletter-subscription.html

An Exclusive Christmas Reveal!

Hi everyone,

Myself and eleven other authors have been dropping hints for months about a secret project we’ve been working on. We’ve been sworn to secrecy for so long, but now, it’s a secret no more, woohoo!

Rather than spilling the delicious secret here, though, I’m going to direct you to the fabulous ARe Cafe, which has all the juicy gossip, as well as another special surprise for visitors. So go on, head over there now and see what it’s all about…

http://www.arecafe.com/category/cafe-news/

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Lucy x

Sunday Snog – Illicit Relations

It’s time for another Sunday Snog. And this time it’s tantalising lip action from my brand new release, Illicit Relations, a m/m erotic romance novella. It was just published by Ellora’s Cave as part of their Boys Will Do Boys series. Enjoy!

He didn’t need to make the first move. He was still thinking dirty thoughts when rough hands gripped his head and held it still while an equally rough mouth captured his.



His first thought—finally. His second—fuuuck! Shortly afterward, his mind went blank of anything but arousal—of anything but want, need, desire. It grew rapidly as their lips melded, their tongues battled and explored and their hands wandered. Before long, Terry had a firm bum cheek in each hand and wanted nothing more than to render them naked and push his tongue between them, to taste, tease and lubricate the tight hole before pressing his cock past its resistance and deep inside Justin. He couldn’t of course—not here, not now. Their entire family was out there, including lots of impressionable young minds. They’d have to stick to slightly more innocent pursuits.



There was nothing innocent about their passion, however—their eager lips, the way they fit together so well, so perfectly. He was consumed—the fact he was kissing a man at all was new, never mind the one he’d been in love with since he was old enough to know what love really meant. He had to fight incredibly hard to hold on to his rational thoughts, to hold back, prevent himself from going too far.



Eventually the fire between them grew so hot, so powerful, that they had to pull away before they got burned. Gasps and murmured expletives filled the air.



“So,” Terry panted, “does this mean you’re willing to give it a go? You’re not bothered if it doesn’t work out and we end up splitting up?”



Justin said nothing. His eyelids were hooded, the orbs beneath still full of intensity, of lust. Of want. In lieu of a reply, he grabbed Terry’s hand and pressed it over his hard cock. After a beat he said, “What do you think?”



Terry yanked his hand away, surprising even himself. “That’s not enough, Justin. I don’t just want a fuck. I can get a fuck anywhere. I want us to be together, to make a go of a proper relationship. I know it’s not going to be easy, but…I love you.”



There, he’d done it now. Bared his soul, put his heart on his sleeve.

You can get your hands on Illicit Relations here.

Also, don’t forget to head back to Blissekiss and see what other luscious lip to lip action other authors have posted. Yum!

My Sexy Saturday #12 – #MySexySaturday

Welcome back to My Sexy Saturday. This is where writers post either 7 words, 7 sentences or 7 paragraphs from their published work or work in progress, sticking to the week’s theme. This week’s theme is sexy settings. So I’ve selected a snippet from A French Affair – come on, much of it is set in Paris, I had lots to choose from!

‘OK. We’ll see if there are any seats available at the pond.’



She didn’t know what he meant, but didn’t ask either. She figured she’d find out soon enough.



After a few minutes, as she’d expected, she discovered exactly what Harry had been talking about. For there, in front of them, was a large raised pond, surrounded by deckchairs. A pretty fountain sat in the middle, spurting water into the air. As it was such a beautiful day, predictably, many of the deckchairs were taken. But Lady Luck must have been shining down on them because a couple packed their bags up and left, and Sydney and Harry took their places immediately.



‘Phew,’ he said as he sunk into the seat, putting the carrier bag carefully on the ground, ‘that was lucky.’



‘It was. Anyone would think you had used the force to get them to move.’



Harry waggled his eyebrows. ‘Perhaps I did. You’ll never know. And if you try and tell anyone, I’ll use the force to stop you.’



She gave him a playful swipe on his arm, and he stuck his tongue out. Then, their silliness temporarily over, they sat back in their chairs and watched the world go by. The sun continued to beam down on them, people continued to feed the ducks and the pigeons in and around the pond, and the din of the surrounding city was muted, somehow, making it easy to forget it was there. Easy to think she was sitting beside a pond on a grand estate, right out in the countryside, at the end of a long drive and far away from everything.

You can buy A French Affair here.

Please use the list below to head on over to the other blogs participating in My Sexy Saturday, and don’t forget to leave us all comments, we love ‘em!

Happy Reading,

Lucy x

***

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Celebrating Seasonal Romance Books #MistletoeHop

Christmas Trees. Holiday Music. Sugar Cookies. Glitter and Bows. And Best Of All… the Mistletoe. Romance books enhance our holiday traditions. Who doesn’t love to cuddle under a warm blanket near a fire place on a cold day and read? Hop around with us to celebrate the best romance books of the season.



Read excerpts from some good books. Enter each of the author contests. Tell us what you like to read during the holidays. Find some new-to-you authors to ring in the New Year with.

I’m featuring an excerpt from my holiday erotic romance, Reindeer Games: Cupid. The question is: what if Santa’s reindeer were shifters? Check out this book to find out!

*****

The next day, Cassius was still berating himself. After making the decision to ask Carina out, things had gone spectacularly wrong. The kettle had barely boiled when she’d shouted to him. He’d gone back into the living room to find her pulling her socks and boots back on. It seemed she’d made her phone call and discovered that one of her colleagues was in the area, and was going to swing by and pick her up right away. In an extra blow of bad luck—in Cassius’ opinion—the colleague also had a trainee with him, so they’d be picking Carina’s van up at the same time, which meant she had no reason to come back.



Ever since he’d closed the door behind them—having signed for Simon’s parcel—he’d been in a spectacularly bad mood. What made it worse was the fact he had nobody to blame but himself. If he’d just asked her out when he’d first thought about it, then things would have been fine, if she’d said yes, of course. If she’d said no, he’d probably still have been in a bad mood, but at least he’d have known either way. Now he was in the unpleasant situation of having found someone he liked—and it had been a long time since that had happened—and having no way to contact them to ask them out and find out if the feeling was mutual.



He was emptying the dishwasher—and slamming the drawers and cupboard doors much harder than necessary—when a knock came at the door. Sighing, he headed towards the front door, ready to give the door-to-door salesman a piece of his mind before pointing at the sign on the lamppost across the street which declared that he lived in a “No Cold Calling Area.” He wasn’t usually the argumentative or confrontational type, but he relished the opportunity to take his mood out on someone.



Flinging the door open, Cassius froze in his ready-to-rant pose.



Carina stood in front of him, smiling shyly and brandishing a jar of Cadbury’s instant hot chocolate and a bag of mini marshmallows.



“Still up for that hot chocolate?” she said, looking hopeful.



Cassius’ awful mood dissipated as if it had never been there. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks to any deity that might be listening, then stood back and gestured Carina inside.



She removed her shoes and outerwear in the hallway, then moved into the living room at Cassius’ invitation and sat down. Cassius remained standing.



“So,” he said, realising that in his surprise, he hadn’t actually spoken to her yet, “what brings you here? And how’s the ankle?”



“Much better, thank you. I took your advice and rested up yesterday. I woke up this morning fully intending to call in sick if I was still in pain, but I’m absolutely fine. And to answer your other question, I’m here to say thank you. Things went so fast yesterday that I didn’t get chance to thank you properly, or to have a hot chocolate with you. So I’m here to do both, if that’s okay with you. I’m not keeping you from anything, am I?” She looked around, as if looking for evidence of what he’d been doing before she knocked on the door.

If you like the sound of this holiday romance, you can find out more and see the buy links here.

Now onto the giveaway! Use the Rafflecopter to enter, then scroll down to check out the rest of the blogs on the hop.

Happy Holidays!

Lucy x

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m Speaking at Eroticon 2014!

I’m delighted to announce that I’m part of the speaker line up Eroticon 2014 and will be running a session/workshop on making the move from short stories to novels, along with good friend and fellow writer, Kay Jaybee.

With erotic writing workshops, editorial panels, blogging and social media workshops as well as tips on getting published, working as a freelance sex writer and making money from sex toy reviews, there is something for anyone wanting to write sex right and get involved in the erotica industry.

The conference is the brain child of erotica author Ruby Kiddell, who explains;

“Eroticon 2014 is going to be bigger and better than ever; we’ve writing workshops that everyone can attend and erotic reading events as well as the core conference days.  I’m delighted to be back in Bristol for 2014 and so glad that we’re keeping the South West Sexy!”

With social events on the Friday and Saturday night as well as an afternoon of erotica reading and high tea, Eroticon 2014 is a must attend event for aspiring erotica writers as well as experienced writers and bloggers.

To find out more about Eroticon 2014 or to book tickets please visit http://www.writesexright.com/eroticon-2014/

New Release: Illicit Relations

It’s out, it’s out! *happy dances*

In case you hadn’t noticed I have a new release out. Illicit Relations is my latest from Ellora’s Cave, and is a m/m erotic romance novella, which is part of their Boys Will Do Boys series. I’m very excited about my first m/m book with Ellora’s Cave. It’s also my first m/m novella – and I have another coming in the spring.

Here’s the skinny:

Terry’s had a crush on his second cousin Justin for what seems like forever. He’s hidden it as well as possible, knowing that the other man is out of bounds, forbidden fruit. Second cousins getting together isn’t actually illegal, but for Justin the relationship is too close—he just can’t contemplate them being together.

But when some new information comes to light about Terry’s birth and his place in the family, the whole game changes. Suddenly the relationship isn’t so impossible, and things soon begin to get hot and heavy.

It’s been available for pre-order for a week or so, so I already have Ellora’s Cave, Amazon UK, Amazon US and Kobo links, and will update this page when other purchase links become available.

You can also read an excerpt here, and add the book to your Goodreads shelves here. I’m celebrating with a blog tour in January, and there will be a lovely giveaway, too, so watch this space!

Happy Reading,

Lucy x

A Little Slap and Tickle with Elise Hepner

How to Make the Renaissance Faire Sexy

Anyone who’s ever been a Faire, where guys and gals dress up in whatever era garb they’d like and see shows, comedy, and jousting, knows that the food is out of this world in it’s creative, greasy deliciousness. But, how does someone make scotch eggs, mead, steak on a steak, and fried macaroni and cheese balls on a pike…sexy? Well…maybe the two balls part…but I digress…Though I loved my Renaissance Faire idea from the second it popped into my head, I had no idea how to translate it out on the page so it didn’t read like some hokie porno with roleplaying gone horribly wrong. I wanted to embody the spirit of the event—which is tradition for my family—without taking away from the fantasy undertones or the innate sexuality that runs rampant through the faire due to boobs and booze.

It was one of the hardest novellas I’ve ever written, trying to straddle the line of somewhat realistic and over the top sexy. A leather worker whose cashier booth holds restraints in hidden compartments? A first time Ren Faire novice who’s willing to have a one night stand with a guy she’s never met out in the open with BDSM bent? These little adventures had to be fun, but believable. I wasn’t willing to bank my fantasy story on, well, pure fantasy. But a lot of my motivation made sense when Eliza let me know she was in a rut, hell bent on getting out of it, but without an outlet. Good thing I had the perfect thing to help—an Irish, eye patch wearing, leather pants strutting hottie with a good head on his shoulders and enough wisdom to make the Buddha jealous.

When there’s enough sexual tension between them to light the Ren Faire woods on fire, I could probably get away with making just about anything sexy. It was only a matter of pulling back the camp factor and keeping my writer camera fixed solely on their interactions, rather than their over the top costumes. Think the beating heart of the Faire—while she’s being flogged and crying out for more.

Do you think I managed well enough? You’ll have to let me know.

*****

Excerpt:

“I can’t say I’ve ever…participated…in an event like this one before, Dru.”

“Is that a bad thing? Don’t you think you should expand your boundaries outside of your brother’s fold-out couch and a newspaper full of wanted ads? Come on, have a little fun, Eliza.”

Eliza glanced sideways at her best friend’s elfin, petite face speckled with sunlight from the gorgeous afternoon in the woods. Dru’s light blond eyebrows were raised in question, rose lips pursed. The dare for Eliza to question her hung unsaid in the air. A wisp of wind picked up Dru’s red, cork-screw curls and pushed them across her face. But Eliza only cleared her throat—unfocused on Dru’s warm, whisky colored eyes, and refocused onto the crowd in front of them amidst the trees.

At least she wouldn’t feel out of place in her Indian maiden leather get up straight out of some weird S&M store that she’d borrowed from Dru. The skirt brushed mid-thigh with leather tassels that didn’t exactly cover—anything. While the corseted halter top ended at an abrupt triangle showing the whole world that it’d been awhile since she’d hit a gym. What topped the whole ensemble off were more tassels threaded beneath her breasts in a weird attempt at an Empire waist effect. The outfit was an experience unto itself, even without everything to see and do unraveling before her eyes.

For a second it was hard for Eliza to think of their little adventure into unwashed bodies, crowds, and medieval costumes as fun per se. But damn if the food wasn’t out of this world. And her best friend was right. Her status as Master’s degree holding, library science geek hadn’t earned her points on any of her less than minimum wage job interviews this week. Most people in their small town were snug as a bug in their day jobs and there wasn’t much room for more work with positions being pre-filled by family and friends.

She’d been away too long at college. Long enough to lose favor when it came down to a townie and a girl with too much school experience. No matter where she looked, she was overqualified. Facts were facts—libraries were closing like mad. Not to mention they only had one in the area filled with employees who held onto their positions with their last dying breath.

There was proving to be no room for Eliza here. But there weren’t any options in the outside world with no savings and no one to lean on if she continued on her job losing streak. Until she got lucky, she was beholden to her big brother and a nine-to-five job pursuit. Better to get out of the house for a little while. Besides, she’d worn out her traditional red pen circling the newspaper ads in the back of the paper and couldn’t afford to buy another one until Monday.

Two months of moping was enough to fry anyone’s brain and she needed to leave her problems behind. So this trip back in time better offer up merriment and wonder soon. Or at least some free booze. Just because she was out of college didn’t mean she couldn’t indulge in a pint or two.

“At least it’s free exercise,” Eliza chimed in with an easy smile.

Okay, so all the men in kilts and shiny chainmail were a bit distracting and she hadn’t seen this many boobs since Christmas at her sister Cheri’s divorce celebration. But the atmosphere wasn’t that bad. As they circled all the vendor booths with creative, painted signs and traveled beneath the charming forest of old oaks, Eliza could almost forget about, well, everything. Her complete lack of independent direction and purpose in life. As well as the fact that her dreams of an easy life were more than dashed. But this was nice—a swell of happiness.

A light breeze shifted through her A-line, brunette bob and she took a long, deep breath of carboliciousness. Her mouth watered and she continued following close behind Dru.

“Whoa, did you see that?”

“What? Oh, the woman holding the man on a leash in full bondage gear? They’re here every year. That’s old news, honey. People come to this place to let their freak flag fly high and for the most part no one gives a shit.”

She shifted her gaze away from the treacherous roots embedded into the earthen floor and watched Dru’s retreating—and fully corseted—back. Where was she going?  What could be so important that they needed to rush through the crowds? Eliza was positive she’d brushed up against her hundredth stranger in only a half hour of being in the gates.

Several people must have gotten an up-close and personal brush of her bra-less breasts in her confining, leather get-up. Dru had lent Eliza her costume from last year and as they struggled through the crush of the food court crowds she wished there was a little more of it. Not only was her outfit tiny and skin tight, but the mid-summer air kept wafting up the skirt until Eliza was positive she was flashing the whole park.

“Um, could you—”

Before Eliza could finish the sentence, she glanced up and Dru had alighted two wooden steps into an open air shop front. She was talking to a man in a long leather duster with delicious abs similar to the covers of the romance novels Eliza was so fond of reading in her spare—alone—time. He wore a wide brimmed leather black cowboy hat that obscured his face and matching black leather pants.

Was Dru seriously waving her over there to talk to him?

No, there had to be some mistake. There was no way she was prepared for any kind of social interaction, let alone a handsome stranger. Christ, they hadn’t even hit the bar yet. Not one drop of liquid courage had passed her chapped lips and her stomach plummeted down to her feet faster than when she’d been stood up by her date right before prom pictures. But Dru frantically waved her over and laughed with her head back so her red curls cascaded down her back in a manner Eliza imagined was seductive.

Well, no turning back now. Where exactly would she go? It wasn’t as though she knew the lay of the land. Besides, the minute the man shed his long leather duster to point to a tattoo on his bicep, smiling down at Dru, there was no longer a choice. She had to see him closer. Her mouth watered at the expanse of all that beautiful, almost naked, man flesh.

There was more to him than an intimidating, tight physique. His every movement exuded thinly veiled grace while his smile lit up his sharply masculine face. A contrast of good cheer mixed with a concentration on whatever subject interested him. Until he became riveted, obsessed, with a possessive awareness of his subject. As she got closer, she sensed his gaze snap to her face, expression unchanged. But in that split second Eliza sensed his acute judgment.

He measured her with his shadowed stare while his small quirk of a smile never wavered.

The friends continued to talk but their voices were drowned out by the heavy pulse at Eliza’s temples. All of her flesh seized with goose bumps. This stranger stood as if all the world was his to explore, with a brightness in his eyes that dared nature to defy his dominant curiosity over what he claimed was his by right. He looked as if the whole world would bow down to him. And he wouldn’t be surprised. But nothing about him screamed arrogance—only a self-certainty and a quiet sense of inner peace.

Weird that she should read someone so quickly, but he was an open book. Both hands on his hips, lean muscles stretched in his arms and back until her knees were weak. Dru spoke and he laughed, head tipped forward while one strong hand rubbed the center of his chest. The dark shadow from his hat brim obscured everything but the clean, model-esque lines of his face so she couldn’t see his joy.

But his bark of gravelly laughter hit her as a punch in the gut while her chest tightened. There were enough trees in this place that she should have never lost oxygen. There wasn’t enough air in the world right at that moment. As Eliza fought for composure she focused only on his tattoo.

Yield to life—there is only threat of tomorrow.

His tattoo was inked in thin filigree with woven rope knots all around the words. One breath. Another. Each one became easier even as she grew closer, knowing she had to hide all her ruffled feathers. There wasn’t a single nuance Dru wouldn’t pick up on and exploit.

One step after another landed her front and center next to Dru as her best friend slung her arm around Eliza’s waist.

“Took you long enough,” Dru whispered in mock chastisement.

Before she could get a good look at the man, he turned and rummaged behind his counter, giving them both an all-access pass to perfect ass land. Eliza knew she should keep her eyes closed, but they were glued to the tight, sculpted muscles on the wicked stranger. The faire didn’t seem that bad anymore.

Dru squeezed Eliza’s torso until she met her best friend’s shining eyes, lit up with nothing but pure mischief. These were moments Dru lived for—any opportunity to tease. But it never bothered Eliza, it was all in good fun and her best friend meant well. She remained oddly silent. Despite the fact that Eliza all but flinched while she waited for whatever whispered barb her best friend would deliver on behalf of her less than subtle reaction to the intriguing man.

How could she not have a reaction when his damn presence practically demanded one?

“Ah, here it is.”

His voice rushed over her tingling down her back and she had to stop herself from taking an automatic step back. Irish, too? Oh, no. No, no, no. He was more than perfect and she hadn’t even said a thing to him yet. Why was she even there? So Dru could lord this man over her head—the perfect romance hero—or so they could be set up together for an awkward date and never see each other again?

Hell, maybe she was taking this whole thing too seriously, but their history of set-ups was long and varied. Even throughout college Dru wasn’t satisfied until they each had at least two dates a week.

This had to be some kind of evil set-up because clearly Dru knew the guy. They must be pulling this to screw with her head because poor little Eliza hadn’t been on a date in forever and who knows if there are cobwebs down there. This guy was some actor from Dru’s troop of players for sure. She’d done theater every summer for as long as Eliza could remember.

He came back up from his crouch behind the counter and turned back to them with something hidden behind his back. One long finger tipped up his hat. Eliza got her first straight on look at the man that she suspiciously regarded with every ounce of her petite frame.

His nose was slightly crooked. An old wound that hadn’t been set, maybe? A five o’clock shadow roughened the strong, square jaw and lips that were better suited on a female than the masculine portrait that acted as if he had nothing to hide. It took every last ounce of her will to gaze up below the brim of his hat.

He wore an eye patch. Whether or not it was for the faire or an actual problem, she couldn’t resist the edge of danger. His good eye—light brown with amber flecks—was bright with unreadable heat fixed solely on her face. She swallowed despite the lump in her throat. Nothing he did betrayed anything of how he was feeling or thinking—only the sharp look that pinned her to the floor.

And whatever he held behind his back.

For a long blink it was hard for Eliza to even remember that Dru’s hand rested around her waist. All she could focus on was the knowing twist of the stranger’s lips. The unwelcome and unexpected blush that seared against her skin when they hadn’t even spoken to each other made her fingers twitch at her side.

How could she resist him when he fit the caricature of an ideal man she’d been reading about in romances all her life? She was only stupidly comparing him to a man that didn’t exist. A string of perfections that couldn’t be real in one man. Left in the dust of her overwhelming horniness, well, she was being an idiot.

There wasn’t any other explanation for the way her hormones were skyrocketing off into different directions. He looked down into her eyes and she couldn’t help it—she giggled. That broke whatever fake connection she nursed in her mind. He plunked an item down onto the counter and shrugged back into his leather duster that had lain on the counter.

Without thinking, she blurted out the first sentence that flew across her scattered brain. An old habit that refused to die. And often led her to want to be buried in the same grave, instead of suffering the mortifying consequences.

“An eye patch, really? Aren’t you mixing genres with a cowboy and a pirate?”

*****

Blurb:

Eliza’s stuck in a lacklustre, dead-end slump after coming home with her graduate degree to a slippery job market and her brother’s fold out couch. Unable to circle newspaper ads for another second and desperately crawling into sexual fantasy to escape her dismal reality—Eliza takes her escapism a step further when she agrees to go to the Renaissance Faire with her best friend, Dru.

Her whole world shifts when Eliza meets Hunter, a quirky, mysterious leather worker who runs a booth at the faire. He’s been a platonic friend of Dru’s for ages and supplies her with homemade BDSM bedroom toys—toys that he’s more than willing to demonstrate with Eliza once the faire closes. But can Eliza give up control in order to trust that one of her biggest fantasies will live up to her expectations?

Hunter’s skills as a dominant force Eliza to trust herself again and Hunter finds himself with a feisty submissive that pushes more of his buttons than he ever thought possible. Together they push themselves farther than any fantasy, until their lives are never the same again.

Available from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Barnes & Noble

Xcite Books

*****

Bio: Elise Hepner lives with her husband and two eccentric cats in Maryland. She spends the majority of her free time in her basement office concocting smutty characters and sinful situations that leaves readers satisfied. When not writing, she researches everything from automatons in the 18th century to gladiatorial rules in Ancient Rome. She prides herself on being an avid information hound as well as a blog reading addict–which is her favorite way to procrastinate. Her previous publications include books and stories with Excessica, Xcite, Ellora’s Cave, Secret Cravings Publishing and Cleis Press.

Author Links:

Website: www.elisehepner.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EHepner

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elise-Hepner-Writing/311925106401

Merry Christmas and a Present!

christmas tree ornament: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11250735...

I just wanted to stop by and wish you all a Merry Christmas. This week is going to be pretty hectic getting everything up to date before the holiday hits – the joy of being self-employed! And then there’s the fact I’ve got a new book coming out on Wednesday, so I’ll be busy promoting that baby.

So, before things do get too hectic, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and here’s a present for you:

My paranormal erotic romance tale, Succubus Comes Home, is now free. Well, it’s free wherever I’m allowed to put it free. So basically you can grab it from All Romance eBooks, Smashwords and iBooks for free, and hopefully the other retailers will soon follow suit. It’s already at the lowest price Amazon will allow me to select – but you never know, they may drop it when they see everywhere else has it as a freebie.

So head on over and grab your free download. I’ll be leaving it as a permanent free read, though, so if you’re not getting an eReader until Christmas, you don’t need to panic. It’ll still be available afterwards.

Happy Reading!

Lucy x***

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BlisseKiss Kissmas

It’s time for a very special Sunday Snog! This is the BlisseKiss Kissmas event – woohoo! It’s all about that simple yet unique act of touching lips and sharing souls.

So, without further ado, here’s my snog. It’s from my Christmas book, Reindeer Games: Cupid. It’s actually set in early January, but there’s definitely a holiday vibe about it!

Turning to face her, he felt simultaneous lurches in his chest and groin. She really was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. In all his long years, he didn’t think he’d felt quite this strongly about someone — and, if he was honest with himself, it scared him. Particularly since he knew it was going to kill him—not literally, of course—when they broke up.



“What’s the matter?” she asked.



Cassius shook his head, as though to rid himself of his maudlin thoughts. “Nothing,” he replied, stepping towards her, “I was just thinking about how beautiful you are.”



She lowered her eyes demurely, and a wash of colour crept across her cheeks. It was totally adorable, and Cassius’ rapidly swelling cock leapt in response. She seemed to get a grip on herself, and looked back up at him. “Thank you. You’re pretty damn gorgeous yourself. Now kiss me.”



“It would be my pleasure.” He leaned down to do just that, but then stopped. “Oh, hang on one moment.”



A little crease appeared between her eyebrows as he backed off. Then he walked over to his bedside table, removed his glasses and put them down. “Okay, I’m all yours.”



“Well, thank fuck for that! Come here.” She shuffled back on the bed until she was leaning against the pillows, and patted the space next to her.



Cassius didn’t hesitate. He noticed she’d already taken off her shoes, and he quickly pulled his off before joining her on the mattress and moving instantly into her open arms. Their lips met, and once more Cassius was astounded by the strength of feeling he had for this woman. It was as though she’d cast some kind of spell on him, almost like the mating bond that some of his kind experienced. But he’d never expected to feel that—his reindeer colleagues were all spoken for, and he’d never been attracted to any of the girls, anyway. He’d resigned himself to the fact that any attachments he had would be of the human, not supernatural, variety.



As his tongue slipped sensuously against Carina’s, and their hands wandered across each other’s bodies, he came to the conclusion that was just fine. If this was human love, then he was more than happy with it. Carina was perfect — and for the time being, at least, she was his.

 

You can grab your copy of Reindeer Games: Cupid here.

And don’t forget to head back to Blissekiss to check out all the other Blissemas Kissmas snoggers!