Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 352

Barbara White Daille: You Can Choose Your Friends… (Contest)

You may have heard a version of the old saying, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” Depending how we look at it, we can find more than one meaning behind the saying.

More than a dozen years ago, my husband and I moved twenty-five hundred miles away from home to a place where we knew absolutely no one. This was a first for me, because even after we were married and moved from our hometown, we lived within a forty-five minute drive of both our families.

After we relocated across the country, I was grateful for the chance to make new friends and really don’t know what I would have done without them in my life. Over time, some of these friends have become just as close as family to us.

That’s the good part about choosing friends that become like family: family can be where you find it—which is the theme of many of my stories.

In one of my books, A Rancher’s Pride, the hero discovers he’s the daddy of a deaf five-year-old girl he has never known about. With the help of the heroine, he learns to communicate with and love his little girl. In another book, Rancher at Risk, the hero has lost his wife and young child in an accident and is now in danger of losing his job and his self-respect. During his story he has to accept a possibility he has always rejected—that he’s capable of finding a new love and creating another family.

On the other hand, there can be another, less happy angle to the saying above…the part about not being able to choose your family. Some of my books address that, too. They would have to, wouldn’t they? Because if family’s where you find it, that includes the family you were born into. As Dorothy says in The Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.”

This is true for the three granddaughters in my current series, The Hitching Post Hotel. It’s also true…though a little frustrating…for the heroine of Family Matters, Kerry MacBride, who comes from a large and somewhat eccentric Irish family. She often wishes she could give up her family—at least temporarily. Here’s a little clue as to why she feels that way:

Kerry knew better than to risk a run-in with a police officer. But Uncle Bren? And Gran? Much as she loved them both, it wouldn’t surprise her to find either of them in trouble.

She burst through the doorway into the game room, skidded to a halt on the polished tile floor, and confronted chaos.

The room overflowed with people, all yelling at once. The loudest roar came from a dark-haired man tall enough to dwarf Uncle Bren’s near-six-foot frame. The man, slim but muscular in a pearl-gray suit, looked ready to split the jacket’s seams with his wide-armed gestures.

Thank goodness, Gran stood safely out of his reach. But Uncle Bren, hemmed in by the crowd, faced the brunt of the stranger’s anger.

Even without her years of artistic training, Kerry would have seen something wrong with this picture.

“Excuse me,” she said, using her project-to-the-back-of-the-classroom tone. “What do you think you’re doing?”  The question drowned out every voice in the room. The shouting subsided and every head turned her way.

As she moved forward, people parted, allowing her to pass.

The man now faced Kerry, his eyes dark with anger. She caught her breath at the fury in his expression but didn’t break stride until she’d reached him.

Looking up–way up–she met his gaze. “What’s going on here?”

After a long, tense silence, he answered, his tone level. “We’re holding a meeting.”

She widened her eyes. “It sounded to me more like having an argument.”

Behind him, Uncle Bren stood unmoving but nodded in confirmation. Trust him to let her pick up the problem and run with it.

*~*~*

Family is where you find it. That could mean bonding with your brother, a distant cousin, your BFF, or a person who’s nearly a stranger to you at this moment.

I’m giving away an autographed print copy of Family Matters to one reader. (US mailing addresses only, please). To get your name in the hat, tell us about a friend you consider as close as family. If that doesn’t apply to you, tell us a quality you look for in a friend.

Leave your comment by Friday, and a winner’s name will be posted in the comments over the weekend.

About the Author

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.

The latest book in Barbara’s The Hitching Post Hotel series is The Lawman’s Christmas Proposal. The next book, Cowboy in Charge, debuts in July 2016, with other books to follow. Her first book, The Sheriff’s Son, has just been reissued in both larger print and a new e-book version, available exclusively from Harlequin. The original version is also still available at most major e-tailers, including Amazon.

Find Barbara online:

Website  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Newsletter  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter

Twitter  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille

Find Family Matters online:

http://amzn.com/B0041KLD7E

Mia Kay: The Irony of Home (Contest)

Thank you, Delilah, for the guest blog opportunity; and hello, everyone!

I’m Mia Kay and I write … whatever comes to mind, honestly. Romantic suspense, contemporary romance, sci-fi/fantasy. If I have to pick a theme, it’s all about small towns. Small town settings or small-town people.

Which is weird because I grew up in a small town, and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great town. Most of my family still lives there, a lot of my friends still do, and it routinely makes the list of “best” places to live. But I wanted to see things. I couldn’t wait to live somewhere where the tallest building was more than two stories.

And I did that. I still do that.

But when my first story came to me, it was all about a woman returning home to her small town. The second is about a woman who realizes she is “stuck” in her hometown. The third is about a woman who wants nothing more than to call a small town her permanent home. The fifth is about a woman who flees to a small town for safety.

So I obviously have some unresolved issues. More than one, actually. Because the sixth book is about a small-town girl who, despite her success, has trouble seeing herself as anything else. That opinion becomes an issue when she falls for a man she perceives to be out of her league. (Bless his heart, he does not feel the same way.)

There’s a lot to that. How many of us look in the mirror and still see the girl we used to be? How many of us go to huge cities and gawk out the windows thinking, “I can’t believe this is real”? Or how many of us meet our favorite authors and are amazed that they’re really nice people, or that they talk to us like we’re colleagues rather than awkward fans?

Or is that just me?

***Give Away*** Share your experiences below. Live in a large city and yearn for a quiet life, or vice-versa? Funny stories about meeting your favorite authors? I’ll pick one random commenter to receive an e-copy of Soft Target, my debut release. I’ll announce the winner in the comment thread tomorrow morning,

My latest release is one of those “out of my league” moments. I’m in a western romance sampler with nine rock stars of romance. I still can’t believe it. One Night with a Cowboy is from HQN and it’s FREE from your favorite e-book retailer.

My contribution is the first five chapters of my next romantic suspense release, Hard Silence. Abby Quinn lives outside Fiddler, Idaho – in more ways than one. Her isolation is challenged by Jeff Crandall, the FBI profiler who moves in next door.

Here’s an excerpt:

Walking out onto her front porch, Abby let the door slap closed behind her as she stood and enjoyed the brisk Idaho spring morning. Past the security light illuminating the yard, the still-early lavender sky met the dark hills on the horizon.

Stretching her muscles, she winced as pain lanced from her neck down her left side. Most days she could ignore it, but she’d pushed too hard yesterday. She’d felt the muscles cramp as she’d fixed fences and then stayed at the computer, perched in her chair squinting at code until late in the evening.

And then the nightmares, and the news about Beau.

Already halfway to the stables, Toby looked over his shoulder to see if she was following. Abby swore the border collie was smiling. She could always count on her dog.

“Work. Yeah, I know,” she grumbled good-naturedly as she tramped down the steps and toward the paddock. At the outer edge of the light, she faced the darkness beyond and hesitated.

Nineteen years, sixty-nine hundred mornings, and she still gritted her teeth and held her breath when she stepped into the shadows. But she did it.

She did it again when she swung the stable doors open. Reaching around the wall, she turned on the lights before she stepped inside.

On either side of the aisle, her horses poked their heads over the stall doors, blinking under the bright lights, chuffing and huffing hellos.

“Good morning, George,” Abby whispered as she put a calming hand on the palomino’s velvety nose. “I told you I’d be back this morning.” After a year of working to earn the animal’s trust, it was rewarding look into eyes no longer hazy with disappointment. Still, the minute the gate opened, George trotted into the misty dawn, as though afraid someone would slam the door and trap her inside.

The other horse remained quiet in his stall. “Good morning, Hemingway,” Abby whispered as she stroked the giant black gelding’s nose and danced her fingers through his forelock. He was becoming such an elegant animal. “How are you, handsome? Ready to work this morning?” He dropped his head to her waiting hand. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

She forced her left arm up, ignoring the persistent pain, slipped the halter over his head and scratched his ears until he quieted. “No saddle today, I promise. Let’s get used to this first.” She opened the door but let the lead rope dangle as she walked away and let him follow. He needed to know she wouldn’t tug and pull. His clopping tread reminded her of Beau and her wobbly bike ride.

Shaking the memory free, she stood in the stable doorway. The pasture was cloaked in fog, and dew silvered the grasses not already trampled. It was like looking through a soft-focus lens. In this moment, right before sunrise, the world was fuzzy, tinted green, blue and gray. The birds chirped quiet, sleepy greetings. Hemingway froze when she picked up the rope.

“I won’t hurt you.” Abby took one step, keeping the lead slack, and waited. When the animal moved forward, she took another step. They inched through the paddock and the gate to the edge of the field.

“Good boy,” she murmured as she offered him a carrot and stroked his graceful neck. “See? No pain.”

Leaving him there, she went back into the stable only to run out when an equine scream ended canine yelps and snarls. All that remained of Hemingway were his thundering hoof beats and the waving grass.

Abby knelt next to Toby and ran her hands over him, checking him for injuries. The dog’s shame gave way to a plea for a belly rub.

“I know you want to herd him,” she scolded as she gave in and scratched his chest, “but he hates to be crowded right now.” She stood and sighed. “Let’s go get him.”

Hem’s trail was marked in the dew, and easy to follow. The tall grass swallowed Toby in a gulp, and Abby followed through the swaying fescue to the river, her bag of carrots and apples bouncing against her hip. Stepping carefully on the slick rocks, she hopped to the Simons’ pasture and continued up the hill.

“Buy” links: Amazon | B&N | Google Books

About the Author

Mia Kay is a small town girl who loves to go back to visit, but is happiest living somewhere else. She can get back quickly if her family needs her, but she’s far enough away that they don’t stop by and catch her in her pajamas until far too late on Saturday morning.

Find her at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Newsletter

Flashback: Unbridled (Contest)

I love writing sexy cowboys, and writing the Lone Star Lovers series was a blast. Who wouldn’t love sinking deep into cowboys who learn that loving sometimes means sharing?

Not that I ever met a cowboy who was anything but super possessive of what was his. But that’s what erotic fantasy is all about. We take that slide into a deep pool of What If and suspend reality for a little carnal pleasure. And if you’ve never tried my Lone Star cowboys, take a peek inside the very first book…

Comment for a chance to win your choice of one of my Lone Star Lovers books! 

“Unbridled is a stand out!” ~ Joyfully Reviewed

“…In [UNBRIDLED]…we are following the sexy machinations of Justin, and he does sexy so well it isn’t difficult to picture him doling out love to his two subs… If you are seeking an intensely erotic short read, UNBRIDLED is the one for you…” ~ 5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews

Tough…or tender? If she plays her cards right, she won’t have to choose.

Dani Standifer arrives home at her West Texas family ranch a day early, ready to pick up where she left off with Rowe Ayers, her high school sweetheart. However, when she opens the door to their line-shack trysting place, it’s clear she waited a day too long. Rowe’s with someone else—another man. And not just any other man— Justin Cruz, the bad boy with whom she shared one wild encounter, years ago.

Justin’s waited a long time for this moment. He knows his reputation, but since he seduced Rowe, he’s been a one-man cowboy—waiting for Dani to return and become the delicious fulfillment of his and Rowe’s needs. If she’s up to the challenge.

To her own surprise, Dani finds she’s more than ready to have both men in her life—as soon as she and Rowe teach Justin a lesson or two about love.

Their small town may not be ready for their kind of relationship. And Dani’s brother Cutter’s mile-deep grudge against Justin throws in a complication that could break the foundation the three of them have built…

Warning: Hold on for the rodeo of your life with rough ridin’ male on male action; blazing hot m/m/f scenes; and melt-your-panties lovin’ as each of these sexy cowboys gives it the way they know best to turn their woman inside out.

There are moments that can change the course of a woman’s life from one heartbeat to the next. For Dani Standifer, this was that moment.

She’d returned to Two Mule, Texas a day earlier than she’d planned, intending to surprise her boyfriend. But the surprise was definitely on her. Rowan Ayers’s body, hardening with arousal, demonstrated more poignantly than any “Dear Jane” letter that she’d been gone far too long. He’d moved on.

Everything she’d ever dreamed of for her future evaporated like the sweat glistening on his naked chest.

As well, it hurt that he’d chosen this place to bring another woman. The isolated, ramshackle line shack had been their favorite place, their secret love nest. The cabin sat nestled in a thicket of scrubby cedar, a tall live oak providing the structure shade from the late afternoon sun. The shack was situated inside the Ayers fence line, equidistant from both of their ranch houses. Perfect for the trysts they’d shared throughout high school and during summer breaks from university. Here, they’d explored their young bodies, talked about their dreams for the future…and made plans.

Just moments ago when she realized he was here, emotions had welled up, threatening to overspill—gratitude for his friendship, uncertainty because he’d been so aloof of late, and certainly lust since this place had been their special sanctuary from the world.

She squared her shoulders, preparing to climb up the steps, but then she heard the soft nicker of another horse.

Peering around the corner, she spied a tall, gelded bay, and a leaden weight settled in her middle. But she didn’t want to jump to conclusions. There could be a simpler, more innocent explanation for why two horses were hitched to the rails outside the cabin.

She had to know the truth.

Dani crept silently onto the wooden porch and edged toward the window to take a glimpse inside. Two cowboy hats lay on the table. The twin mattress from the bed in the corner had been pulled to the center of the floor—just as it always had whenever they’d met for a little afternoon delight.

Rowe stood naked, a hand roaming his taut, flat belly, another gliding up and down his straining cock. But he was alone.

No fire burned in the hearth, but the cabin had to be hot from the amount of sweat gleaming on his long, lean frame. She stood frozen, noting that his light brown hair was longer than it had been at Christmas, and he hadn’t shaved. A couple days’ worth of bristles dusted his rugged, square jaw. He’d always been scrupulous about his appearance, but she liked the slightly scruffy look and wondered grumpily if his new girlfriend did too.

Which reminded her she needed to get moving or she’d really embarrass herself. And him. Although why she worried about his feelings when he hadn’t had the cajones to tell her the truth, she couldn’t say.  With only one room in the cabin, she knew whomever he was meeting had to be outside.

Still, she stayed there for a another long moment, staring, lust and anger curling inside her as she watched his ice blue eyes slide shut while he touched himself.

He was readying himself for another lover. Stoking his arousal. Something she’d often watched him do, sometimes sneaking up on him, like now, to spy on him and let her own desire climb. Sometimes, she’d lain on the mattress in front of him, pleasuring herself, both of them staring as their hands and fingers played while their mouths curved into slow, sultry smiles.

Heartsick, she edged backward, trying to decide if she should storm inside to confront him or slink away. One option might leave her feeling foolish; the other would save her a bit of pride while she regrouped her emotions. But did she even have a right to feel hurt? He hadn’t betrayed her. Not really. She’d been the one reluctant to make any lasting promises, sure she could pick right up where they’d left off when she returned.

Maybe she’d waited too long. The extra year and a half she’d lingered in Austin while she worked on her graduate degree had been something she’d wanted. He hadn’t complained. Not once. The last time they’d been together, he’d still been full of plans for their future. As soon as she said yes, they’d announce their engagement and give her brother the chance to provide the wedding her mother and father would have wanted. They’d do things right.

Liar, liar, liar!

Suppressing the sob threatening to shudder through her, she backed up another step and came up against something solid.

Strong arms wrapped around her, and she froze. The scent of horse and clean male sweat engulfed her.

“Easy there,” came a low, familiar drawl.

Shock rendered her mute and rigid.

“Not what you expected?” he whispered into her ear.

Not what she’d expected? Did Justin Cruz know about Rowan’s new lover? Did he also know that she and Rowan had been seeing each other before she left Two Mule? Couldn’t be. She and Rowe had taken a perverse pleasure in keeping everyone guessing for years.

Still, Justin had a bird’s eye view of everything that happened on the Ayers spread since he’d taken over as the ranch’s foreman. Was he here to gloat?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said tightly. “And you can let me go now.”

“Not a chance. Don’t want you slinking away. Things just got interestin’.”

“How’s that?” she asked breathlessly while squirming inside his tight embrace. “Seems Rowe’s busy.”

Justin’s steamy breath blew against her ear and she remembered the last time he’d been behind her, hot breaths gusting. She closed her eyes and ruthlessly pushed aside the disturbing memories.

“Disappointed?” he drawled.

“Course not. It’s not anything to me.”

“Liar.”

Something wet slid along edge of her ear. “Did you just lick me?” she said, her voice rising, although she really had to work hard at outrage.

The one time she’d stepped out on Rowe had been with this man—just after she’d graduated from high school, when sex with a grown man seemed like the ultimate rite of passage into adulthood. Something she’d never admitted to Rowe, but still felt horribly guilty about. The fact Justin had scared her into monogamy with Rowe had made her feel only slightly less like a complete slut.

But she’d never forgotten her one and only encounter with Two Mule’s resident bad boy. Late at night, just as she slipped into her dreams, Justin would saunter into her mind, tempting her to slip back into the dark, erotic fantasy he’d woven for her that long-ago afternoon.

“And if I did have a little taste, what are you gonna do about it, Dani-girl? Gonna scream the place down and let Rowe know you’ve been spyin’ on him?”

“I didn’t mean to spy.”

“But you didn’t exactly back up the second you realized he was expectin’ company, did you?”

“I shouldn’t have lingered. But I was…surprised.” An extreme understatement of how she really felt. Cold, numbing shock was more like it.

“No, you shouldn’t have stayed. Why are you here, sweetheart?”

“I just wanted to say hi. I saw his horse…”

“Nothin’ stoppin’ you now,” he said, pushing her toward the door.

“Stop it, Justin,” she whispered harshly, dragging her feet. “Quit playing around—”

He reached around her and pushed open the door.

“I started without you,” Rowe said, without turning around.

“Did I tell you that you could?” Justin said coldly.

Dani blinked, then drew in a deep, sharp breath. “You were expecting him?” She shrugged out of Justin’s embrace and stared from one man to the other.

Rowe’s head swiveled toward her. “Jesus, Dani, what are you doing here?” he said, color flooding his cheeks. His gaze went guiltily from her to Justin.

Justin’s lips curved into a bitter smile.

“I’m back early,” she said, her voice thickening. “I thought…when I saw your horse…” What the fuck? Rowe and Justin! She couldn’t get her head around it. Well, at least not around the fact Rowe was involved with Justin. Justin was another matter altogether. She wouldn’t put any form of perversity past him with his reputation.

“You didn’t think it odd there were two horses here?” Justin casually leaned a shoulder against the door frame. One dark brow arched in a wicked challenge.

Dani stiffened. “I thought he might have another girl. I wondered who she was.”

“Jesus Christ.” Rowe bent to grab his blue jeans from the floor then held them in front of his gleaming cock.

“A little late now,” Justin said. “I think she’s already jumped to the correct conclusion.”

Rowe’s fist clenched around his jeans then he dropped them to the floor and straightened his shoulders. A look of resignation entered his face; a silent plea for understanding glittered in his pale eyes as he returned her stare.

“I didn’t know you were gay,” Dani blurted out, ignoring Justin’s smirk.

Rowe’s crimson face tightened. “I’m…it’s complicated.”

“You’re naked, obviously aroused. What could be simpler?” she asked, trying to gather anger around her, but mostly feeling confused. How could she not have known?

“She’s got it almost right,” Justin murmured.

“Shut up,” Rowe bit out.

“Yeah, what’d I miss?” Dani snarled at Justin, hating him at this moment for rubbing her nose in her own naiveté.

“The fact I knew you were comin’,” he said, his voice dropping to sexy purr. “This is your homecomin’ present, baby.”

“Justin, you bastard!” Rowe said heatedly.

The larger, more rugged man shrugged. “She needed to know. She has choices to make here.”

“I would have broken the news more gently.”

“Doesn’t look like she needs you to sugarcoat it.” Justin’s gaze pinned her. “She’s not exactly looking ready to bolt or puke. Fact is, the thought of it, of watching us, turns her on.”

“Does not,” Dani denied hotly, heat filling her face.

“Your nipples always poke holes in your shirt?”

“You’re a jerk.” And yet, she barely resisted the urge to cross her arms over her breasts. She tilted her chin in defiance while heat crept deeper into her cheeks. She met his narrowed gaze, while images flashed through her mind. Since she knew what both men looked like naked, she couldn’t help the raw, nasty pictures that flashed one after the other.

And yes, they aroused her.

“Prove me wrong,” Justin murmured. “Leave now.”

Dani shot Rowe a hot glare. “You gonna let him talk to me like that?”

Rowe’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t offer any response.

“He doesn’t let me do anything,” Justin said slowly. “He obeys me. In all things—here, at least. Rowan, your cock’s flagging.” Justin’s gaze dropped, drawing all their glances to Rowe’s sex, which pulsed and lifted again.

Rowe groaned.

“Get it ready for me,” Justin growled.

Rowe’s eyes closed briefly, then a look Dani had never seen slid across Rowe’s face—something vulnerable and needy. “Justin, not now.”

“Not now, what?” Justin said, his voice dead even.

“Please,” Rowan whispered, his strong jaw flexing.

“Uhunh.” Justin shook his head. “You’ve carried around this picture of your innocent little sweetheart for years. But I don’t think you really know her at all.”

“And you think you do?” Dani bit out, hoping like hell the bastard wasn’t getting ready to drop the other shoe that she’d succumbed to his bad boy charm herself. Rowe didn’t deserve finding out that the two people he’d taken as lovers had a history of their own.

“The things you asked him to do, Dani,” Justin said, his tone dropping to a raspy rumble. “The sexy little spankings, the special bonds you left underneath the bed… It’s not in him to do that to you, but he did because he cares.”

Dani’s jaw dropped and her embarrassment caused her to tremble. “Rowe, you told him about that?”

Again, a muscle flexed along Rowe’s square jaw. “I wasn’t gossiping. It just slipped out. He found your things and asked. He’s a friend.”

“Friend?” Justin straightened away from the doorframe. “I’m a little more than that, aren’t I? You don’t keep any secrets from me.”

But Rowe had kept one big goddamn secret from her. Dani’s shoulders slumped.

“Don’t take it so hard, Dani,” Justin said, all traces of mockery gone now. “He loves you…almost as much as he loves me. But every time he was with you, every time he spanked that pretty little ass of yours, he was denying his own nature. Rowe’s submissive. Just like you. He’s just finally figured out he’s not finicky about which gender offers him the kind of sex he craves.”

“How the hell did you figure that out?” she bit out. “I’ve known him all my life.”

“Because I watched him…with you. When you dared him into spanking you, he didn’t get off on the act. He only got hard when you told him what it did to you, what it made you feel.”

Her mouth suddenly went dry. The thought of Justin’s dark, hungry glance raking her body as he watched her with Rowe caused another distressing wash of arousal to dampen her panties. She licked her lips. “You watched us?”

“Sometimes,” he said softly. “You weren’t as careful as you thought. Had to run interference a time or two with your big brother.”

“Cutter knows?” she asked, her voice rising. “About Rowe and me?”

“He suspects. But he never got close enough to the cabin to ever know for sure. You have me to thank. And if I happened to catch a glimpse or two of your…sessions…well, I think I earned the right.”

“Pervert!”

“Who’s the pervert? Me for watching, or you for wanting his hands to leave your ass pink?” He lifted his chin toward Rowe. “Or him for needing the same damn thing from another man?”

“I don’t believe you. Not about Rowe. This…” she said, gazing at the mattress in the middle of the floor, “…is just him experimenting a little. But I’m back now.” Her gaze locked with Rowe’s, pleading with him. “It doesn’t mean anything. Not to us.”

Rowe’s glance fell away from hers, and her stomach dropped. What he had with Justin was important. Special enough that he hadn’t bothered dressing because Justin didn’t want him to.

“Dani, I never wanted to hurt you.” Rowe’s tone was low, aching.

Like the lump filling the back of her throat.

“Tell yourself whatever lies you need to stay in happy land, Dani. But we’re about to get busy.” Justin opened his belt and stripped back one side then locked gazes with her. “Now’s your chance. You can run out the door. You don’t have to see anything that might traumatize you.”

Why was Justin being so cruel? He’d won. He didn’t have to rub her nose in this mess. “I’m not a scared little virgin,” she said, her voice shaking.

“But you’re also not faithful to your boyfriend here either, are you?”

Dani stared at Justin’s hard face through shimmering tears. “Justin…don’t.”

“He can’t fulfill you,” he said softly. “Not those dirty needs that keep you restless even after he’s fucked you.”

“Shut up,” she said tears filling her eyes.

Justin pulled apart the snaps of his shirt, letting it fall open to expose the dark fur of his broad, muscular chest. Then he unsnapped the top button of his pants. “Last warning…”

She stood rooted, unable to move as he scraped his zipper down.

“Rowe, take out my dick,” he said, never looking away from her. “Now.”

“Fuck.” Rowe’s tone was agonized, but his cock bobbed eagerly between his legs. “Dani, get out.”

But she couldn’t. Part of her died a little in that moment. But another part, one only Justin had ever touched, caught fire.

“Rowe, don’t disappoint me,” Justin said, his gaze never leaving Dani’s.

Rowe’s naked feet dragged across the floor. His expression was taut, his cheeks a brighter red than they’d been moments ago.

Justin firmed his jaw. “Can’t turn back now. She knows. Let her see what it’s like. If she hates you afterward, she isn’t worth cryin’ over.”

Dani narrowed her eyes, knowing he expected her to bolt. She braced apart her feet and lifted her chin higher, even while she questioned whether she really could do this—watch the only two men she’d ever known intimately have sex.

Rowe didn’t glance her way, but his chest rose sharply. Then he slipped his hand inside Justin’s pants and slowly drew out his cock. His fingers clasped the shaft gingerly, but his thumb rubbed slowly over the smooth cap. Justin’s cock thickened slowly.

“Push down my pants,” Justin said, his voice tighter than it had been before.

Both of Rowe’s hands slid over Justin’s narrow hips and shoved down the faded jeans.

Dani hated to admit it, even to herself, but watching Rowe do such an intimate thing to another man, knowing how the scrape of his rough palms felt on her own bottom, caused her sex to melt.

“Get on your knees and take me in your mouth,” Justin rasped.

Rowe groaned, and Dani understood the feeling. Shame and arousal roiled together. Her own body was hot, moisture seeping into the crotch of the lacy undies she’d worn just for Rowe.

Rowe knelt, his hand shaking as he gripped Justin’s cock and brought it to his mouth.

Justin cupped the back of Rowe’s head with one hand, his fingers threading through Rowe’s honey brown hair with surprising tenderness. For long moments, he stared as the other man’s lips closed around the tip of his cock and sucked.

Rowe’s cheeks hollowed, his eyes closed tightly, but his hesitation ended there. Surrendering, he groaned and opened wide his jaws, gliding along the thick, veined shaft.

“That’s it,” Justin said softly. “Take me deeper,” he said, stroking his hips forward, his cock disappearing into Rowe’s eager mouth. Then his gaze rose. For a moment, something almost haunted entered his expression. Then that wicked brow rose again. “He does it because he knows the rewards. But so do you, don’t you, sweetheart?”

Dani didn’t answer. She couldn’t have pushed a word through her tightening throat if a rattler had slithered over her boot. Watching both men, engaged in such a carnal act, caused unexpected emotions to rise inside her.

Sadness, because she’d never guessed Rowe wasn’t fully satisfied with her. Jealousy, because Rowe never made those hungry sounds when he went down on her. And shame, because she wished she was brave enough to approach them and sink to her knees beside Rowe.

How she wished Justin would command her to, take the choice away from her. The hard edge of his voice when he’d cut through Rowe’s objections had caused her own body to react with an instant, juicy response.

Justin braced his legs apart, and his face darkened as Rowe’s strokes, forward and back along his shaft, picked up the pace. The slippery suctioning sounds and choked excitement gurgling in Rowe’s throat caused Dani’s whole body to vibrate.

Forgotten for the moment by both men, she wet her lips with her tongue as she imagined how Justin might taste. Moisture flooded her channel as her inner muscles clenched hard.

When Justin flung back his long, black-brown hair, her breath hitched. Starkly masculine elation softened his expression for just a second before his head lowered and his hard gaze met hers, issuing a wordless challenge.

Only Dani wasn’t ready to accept. She lost her nerve, turned and fled through the door of the cabin, stumbling down the steps in her haste, before catching herself on the rail and bolting toward her horse.

Booted heels bit into the wood porch, but she didn’t look back. With the sun sliding below the horizon, she nudged her heels into her mare’s sides, kicking up dust behind her and leaving both men in her wake.

 

A zipper scraped behind Justin.

“I should follow her,” Rowe said coming up behind him.

Justin leaned against the doorframe, holding his cock in his hand and stroking it absently. “She’s not heading toward her ranch.”

“She’s going to the creek. She goes there to think when she’s upset.”

“And she knows you know that. She expects you to follow her.”

Rowe nodded. “I always do. When she gets into a snit about something, she just needs a little time to vent.”

“This isn’t something little. I was rough on her.”

Rowe’s hand swept up Justin’s back and curled around his shoulder. “I wish she hadn’t found out this way. But I can’t say I’m not relieved.”

Wet lips brushed his skin, whiskers scraped deliciously, and Justin shivered. If he actually had planned it, things couldn’t have worked out any better. Rowe was upset, but not wallowing in shame. The clothed cock snuggling close to his backside told him that while Rowe’s feelings might be conflicted, he wasn’t about to end their relationship. Which only left Dani’s response as the missing side of the equation.

Justin turned and hooked a hand behind Rowe’s neck, pulling him forward.

Rowe’s mouth opened eagerly beneath his. Firm lips met firm lips, tongues tangled. Breath intermixed, and both men swayed closer, their cocks grinding.

Something this wickedly good couldn’t be wrong. And Justin never questioned where his instincts took him—not when it came to sex. “Give me some time alone with Dani. I’ll bring her around.”

“Should I be jealous?” Rowe said between suctioning sips against his mouth.

Justin snorted. “Sure you want me and not her?”

Rowe’s steady gaze locked with his. “Can’t I have both?”

Since Justin seconded that sentiment, he simply smiled. He stepped back and unspooled his belt from the waist of his sagging jeans.

Rowe’s expression grew rigid with excitement, but he drew an inward breath between his teeth. “I should follow her. Make sure she’s okay.”

“I said I’d handle her.” Justin wound the belt around his fist, leaving a foot-long strip of leather dangling. “You know what I want.”

Rowe hung his head, pretending shame and resignation, but the eagerness of his steps as he reentered the cabin betrayed his true feelings.

Justin glanced once over his shoulder, listening to the hoof beats that faded in the distance. “Yeah, I’ll handle her,” he promised himself. He’d have everything he’d ever dreamed of if he didn’t let a little thing like the fact he was in love with Dani Standifer get in the way.

Stephanie Queen: BEACHCOMBER TROUBLE

Thanks for having me as a guest, Delilah.

I’d like to introduce my upcoming release, currently on pre-order, Book 5 in the Beachcomber Investigations romantic detective series, BEACHCOMBER TROUBLE.

The series follows volatile partners Dane Blaise and Shana George as they take on cases that always seem to turn into missions. They also take on each other, battling their irrepressible attraction as they try to maintain their puzzling relationship.

Neither Dane nor Shana are sure why they stay together, but they can’t seem to get along, they can’t seem to squelch their desire and they can’t ever seem to tear them selves away from their commitment to have each other’s back.

Beachcomber Trouble

Out of the blue, ex-special ops legend Dane Blaise receives a CIA coded message for Trouble. It’s a call to help an old associate of his—Oscar. Dane had no idea his partner, ex-Scotland Yard detective, Shana George knew Oscar too. Even though Dane suspects Oscar’s CIA handler, Floyd Parker, is not to be trusted, Dane answers the call.

Dane didn’t know that Shana answered the call too–and that the trap was set and the trouble was about to go from bad to the worst possible trouble of all.

Get your copy here!

About USA Today Bestselling Author Stephanie Queen

A romantic at heart and a writer by nature, Stephanie Queen has the enthusiastic soul of a cheerleader. So of course she loves creating stories where the good guys always win. Although she’s lost count of all the jobs she had before she settled on being a Novelist, her favorite was selling cookies as a Keebler Elf. She is a graduate of UConn (go Huskies!) and Harvard U and lives in New Hampshire with her family, her cat, Kitty, and her (real or imagined?) chauffeur, Myren.

Links:

StephanieQueen.com

Sign up for the SQ Newsletter

Stephanie Queen on Facebook

@StephanieQueen on Twitter

Stephanie Queen on Pinterest

Lizzie Ashworth: Tale of Two Lovers (Free Read)

“Make hay while the sun shines” is a saying I often remember when I’m trying to decide what to do next. I’m happy to say it always gives me an opportunity to restart my thinking. Am I doing the task most suited to this moment? This day? This season?

I tend to take the long view. I love history. But what I love most is connecting history to the present, and that’s what old sayings like this do for me. I suspect this one goes back to the earliest days of agriculture when it didn’t matter what else was going on—if the day was sunny, your decision was made for you to get out there and take advantage of the sun. Surviving the winter depended on it.

Nature is a great decider. When the sun is shining, I have a hard time sitting inside slinging words to the page. But when thunder rolls and rain sluices against the window, there’s nothing more delicious than tucking into the world of imagination.

The extremes of nature not only prepare my mood for writing, reading, and other indoor activities but also can provide writing prompts. This month’s short story on my blog started exactly that way, as you’ll see in the following excerpt. From one moment to the next, unraveling a story to see what words appear next on the page is an exercise of creativity and discipline, but also opening to nature’s subtle hints. Or not so subtle, like crashing lightning and howling wind.

I call this making hay while the sun shines. I take what is given and let it run out in front until I see where it’s going. I think it’s good advice no matter what tasks and priorities you may face.

Excerpt from Tale of Two Lovers

Thunder cracked and rolled, shuddering the ground under Inka’s feet. She felt it through the stiff hide of her boots, through the thick fur lining. Peering into the downpour, she tugged her cloak tighter around her shoulders and tried to dismiss a lurking sense of apprehension. Trees bent and tossed in the cold wind, sending rain spray against her face as she stared into the gray deluge.

She saw no one. But she couldn’t make herself close the door.

Someone was out there.

Moments later, the dark figure of a man loomed, walking and leading a horse. As they neared, she could see another man slumped on the horse’s back. Inka briefly considered whether she should seize the heavy dagger she kept by her bed.

She should have felt them coming. How had her vision failed?

They approached her entry and stopped, giving her time to read their energy. It radiated in pale blue waves.

“We need your help,” the walking man said. “Will you provide succor?”

Inka locked eyes with the man, searching within him for evil intent. Sending blue energy could have been a shield. His weathered face streamed with water. Peering from under his soggy hood, his pale eyes reflected the gleam of her fire pit and spoke of his desperation. And his honesty.

“Come in, then,” she said, opening her door wider and stepping back.

He turned to his companion, pulling him off the horse and holding him up with his shoulder as they staggered into the cabin. Inka seized the horse’s reins and led it through the opening as well, walking it past the fire to a bed of straw where her own horse had once bedded. The horse shook itself, rattling the ornate breastplate. She slipped off the bridle and left the weary beast to the hay cradle.

With the door firmly fastened against the howling wind, she turned to study these strangers. The injured man had collapsed at the fireside as his companion peeled off his wet hat. With their hooded cloaks removed, she could see that both men wore a small dotted line along the right jaw, the mark of the distant Eirikr tribe.

“You’re far from your home,” she said, squatting to add more wood to the fire. Coals shifted and sent sparks into the air. Water droplets fell through the smoke hole at the top of her roof and vaporized in the flames with tiny hisses.

“Three days,” the man said. “I’m Darnoc. This is Conrad.”

The injured man lifted his head enough to make eye contact with Inka. His pale blue eyes created a shocking appearance in a face so dark with grime and blood. But it wasn’t the appearance alone that caused her breath to catch in her throat. His gaze conveyed a message so unexpected that her hand dropped to her waist belt to clutch her pouch of talismans.

“He’s a seiðmaðr,” she said in a hushed voice…

*~*~*

Read the rest of this story at:

http://lizzieashworth.com/2016/03/03/a-tale-of-two-lovers/ ‎

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Elle James: Navy SEAL Survival (Contest)

It’s here! Navy SEAL Survival is here! I hope you all run out and get your copy now. This is what you’ll find in the book:

Hot Navy SEAL
Strong heroine/former secret agent/bait for a human trafficking ring
Lush Cancun setting
Romance
Suspense
Escape!
Great start to a new series

Navy SEAL Survival

SEAL OF MY OWN Series Book #1

by Elle James

Available now!

Amazon | Amazon UK | Kobo | Nook | iBooks | GooglePlay

Sign up for my newsletter for your chance to win these two great prizes! I’m drawing for winners March 3rd. Hurry!

Elle James’s Newsletter

After feeling the heat in Honduras cleaning up a terrorist training camp, Duff Callaway is ready for some serious chilling in Cancun. Fun in the sun becomes a perilous rescue mission when the Navy SEAL saves his beautiful diving partner from an underwater attack. Except Natalie Layne wasn’t chosen at random.

Setting herself up as bait is the only way Natalie can find her abducted sister. But all her survival training can’t prepare the former SOS agent for the irresistible stranger she has to trust with her life. Giving up isn’t an option. Neither is giving into the powerful desire smoldering between them…

  About the Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author ELLE JAMES also writing as MYLA JACKSON is an award-winning author of stories including cowboys, intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edges of their seats. With over eighty stories in a variety of sub-genres and lengths she has published with Harlequin, Samhain, Ellora’s Cave, Kensington and Avon. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, snow-skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories.

Elle’s Links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Newsletter | Amazon Author Page

Rainy Day = The Martian

Today, I woke to a thundershower. Which, usually, I don’t mind. Today, however, it’s dragging me down. The sky’s dark. The clouds are heavy. The air feels heavy! I almost didn’t blog. Can you imagine that? And I don’t want to write. Egads!

What I’d really like to do is head into the living room, settle into a deep, soft chair, and watch a sad movie. Then I want to follow it with another viewing of The Martian. Now, there’s a movie that inspires.

Have you seen it? Yes, it’s a space adventure, a fantasy, but the feel of it is the same as the real-life space drama, Apollo 13, and Matt Damon makes it feel just as believable and urgent. You’re rooting all the way! So, maybe, that’s what I’ll do today.

What’s your current pick-me-up movie? 

Another month bites the dust! What’s coming in March? (Contest and a Poll!)

I blinked and February was gone. And just like January, I blew my goals. This time I know why. I let life get in the way. So, to try to help my flagging concentration, I instituted a fresh organizational tool—a bullet journal. I’ll let you know how that works for me after I’ve maintained it for a month.

What did I accomplish in February?

I wrote five chapters of the next Firehouse 69 book, and finished it! Then went through two rounds of edits.
I completed 1/2 of the revisions needed for an older title I’m republishing.
I wrote three chapters of a new cowboy story.
I wrote one brand new short story and published it.
I expanded an already written short story and published it!

Just so you didn’t miss those newly published titles, here’s a reminder…

* * * * *

January Releases

  

[Click on the covers to go to Amazon!]

Stepbrothers Stepping Out: With His Friends—When a college student joins her stepbrother at the family lake house, sparks fly when she realizes he’s invited his best friends as well…

The Weekend— That’s what this weekend was all about. A last chance to renew our connection. Or maybe this was goodbye…

* * * * *

What’s coming in February?

     

* * * * *

Contest

Answer this for a chance to win a small Amazon gift card…

(Then be sure to leave a comment so I know you entered!)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I’ll be sending out a new newsletter later today and announcing this month’s winner of a handmade gift from me. If you aren’t already a subscriber to my newsletter, go here:

Sign up for Delilah’s Newsletter!

Cynthia Sax: Sexy Voices And Cyborgs

For me, the most traumatic scene in Star Wars (the original trilogy) was when Darth Vader took off his helmet and he wasn’t the hot, hunky sex god his voice promised he’d be. I loved Darth Vader’s (James Earl Jones’) voice. I fell in love with it. I dreamed about it. It was deep and low and oh so very dominant.

Forget Luke and his issues. I wanted Darth to be MY daddy. (naughty grin)

In Crash And Burn, the most recent standalone story in my cyborg romance series, Safyre, the human heroine, falls in love with Crash’s, the cyborg hero’s, voice (though she’d never admit to that). They talk for months before they meet face-to-face. She doesn’t know what he looks like but she knows how he thinks and how he sounds.

And, woo wee, does he sound sexy!

When I first met my dear wonderful (now) hubby, we lived in different cities. We met in person and then mostly talked on the phone for the next four months. I fell in love with him at first night but man, oh, man, hours of listening to his sexy voice sealed the deal.

For some women, it’s an accent that does it for them. Scottish accents. (bites fist) Slow Southern twangs. That Irish accent I always associate with bad boys.

For some women, it’s how deep the man’s voice is, that low rumble that rolls along our spines and settles inside us, hot chocolate for the eardrums.

According to Smithsonian Magazine ( http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-women-like-deep-voices-and-men-prefer-high-ones-41492244/ ), we subconsciously use voice to determine how large a possible mate is. Women are more attracted to deep voices because deep voices signal that men are physically large. We also like ‘breathiness’, which indicates lower aggression and anger toward us.

My brothers-in-law tell me they always know when my hubby is talking to me, simply by listening to his voice. The caring wrapped around his words is obvious.

Have you ever fallen in love or lust with a person’s voice? What accents do you find sexy? What actors do you think have the sexiest voices?

***

Crash And Burn

Crash was manufactured to be one of the best warriors in the universe. The cyborg has spent many human lifespans fighting the enemy. But, unlike his battle-loving brethren, he doesn’t enjoy killing. When he escapes the Humanoid Alliance, he vows to never end another life.

Then he meets Safyre, an infuriating human female, and he considers breaking his vow.

Safyre will do anything to save her friend, the being she loves like a sister. She’ll ravish a huge hunky cyborg, kiss his best friend, and invoke scorching hot desires the male never realized he could feel. Dark soulful eyes, a quick wit, and a tempestuous passion won’t divert her from her mission.

Love, and a planet-destroying weapon, however, might stop her permanently.

Buy Now: On Amazon US | On Amazon UK | On ARe | On B&N | On Kobo

Excerpt

She paused outside the medical bay and swiped a cleaning cloth under her dripping nose. The fabric sucked up the blood, rearranging the molecules into air, removing all evidence that the device was affecting her.

Tifara would have a solar storm-sized meltdown if she realized the operation had aftereffects. She’d force Safyre to remove the device, and that couldn’t happen. It was Safyre’s only means of contacting Crash.

He wasn’t one of the warriors. Half human, half machine, cyborgs were designed to follow orders. Crash didn’t blindly obey any being.

He was a human conduit, a go-between. His communications device was more modern, having once belonged to an E model cyborg, and he claimed he could access transmission lines she couldn’t reach.

Female, the mysterious male transmitted through the cyborg communications device.

Did you speak with the cyborgs on board the freighter? That intergalactic freighter was her ride to Tau Ceti. It was transporting cyborgs to the planet and had the landing clearance she required.

Yes. The male’s deep voice coiled around her heart and tightened her nipples. A female could come simply from listening to him. If her head wasn’t splitting in two from pain.

Safyre winced. Can you control them? She’d crafted a plan. He’d control the cyborgs, ordering them to subdue the crew. She’d sneak onto the freighter before he arrived and take command of the vessel. That would give her control over Crash.

They’ll follow my direction. The certainty in his transmission reassured her.

Safyre was a pilot, not a warrior. She couldn’t defeat one cyborg on her own. The freighter carried one thousand of the manufactured warriors.

This is a reckless plan, female, Crash told her yet again. Discard it before you cause lasting damage to yourself.

The plan is set. She wasn’t changing it. Worry about yourself, not me. For a male interested in obtaining a cyborg army, he was overly concerned with her well-being. That was a strange experience for Safyre, a war orphan. She didn’t know how to deal with it.

And if I back out of the plan—

I’ll implement plan B. There was no plan B, not yet. She’d been contemplating other options, fearing no being would respond to her communications, when he answered. None of the alternatives were feasible.

You will not implement plan B, Crash barked and her spine straightened. I’ll meet with you on board the freighter in one planet rotation.

The line went silent. He must have severed their connection. Crash had the ability to open and close their transmission line, controlling communications. She hadn’t yet mastered that skill.

Crash would communicate with her again. They’d been conversing several times every planet rotation. She couldn’t sidestep Tifara’s questions and avoid his subtle probing at the same time.

She wiped the cleaning cloth under her nose, stuffed the fabric into the front pocket of her navy-blue flight suit and hurried into the medical bay.

About Cynthia Sax

USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes contemporary, SciFi and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.

Sign up for her dirty-joke-filled release day newsletter and visit her on the web at www.CynthiaSax.com



Website:  http://cynthiasax.com/

Newsletter:   http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/

Facebook:  facebook.com/cynthia.sax

Twitter:  @CynthiaSax

Blog:  http://tasteofcyn.com/

Tell me a story… (Contest)

Today, I’m plugging away at a Texas lawman story, but I have to look forward to the thing I’ll write next, so I’m not staring at a blank screen, drooling while my body slowly petrifies to stone, because I wasn’t prepared to to write the next thing.

*wheeze* Long enough sentence for you?

A while back, you helped me come up with a list of more Stepbrothers Stepping Out titles. I narrowed my list down to: With His Team, With His Ex-Wife, With His Boyfriend, With His Bodyguard, etc.

And then, I was poking around a site where I buy art for covers and came across this picture, and the first thing that popped into my head was with his girlfriend.

I have an idea how I’ll write my story, but I’d love to see what story this picture would inspire for you. Have fun with it. It can be as short as “the sister finds the brother in bed with his girlfriend and the girlfriend pats her side of the mattress…” Be ridiculous, if you like.

Any entry, lame or electric, will be considered to win a small Amazon gift card!

Psst! And while you’re having fun weaving tales of illicit threesomes, why not also do one little thing for me?  Go to this page on Amazon and click “Follow”. XOXO ~DD