Lily Harlem's Blog, page 269

Blisse Kiss After Dark

Yes, it's that sexy, dark time of year again when we get shivers and goosebumps and a whole range of sinfully wicked things can happen!



Stockholm Surrender


Stockholm Surrender is a particularly naughty novel about an Australian guy desperate to save his English friend from prison in Thailand. He decides the best way to do this is to kidnap the British foreign minister's daughter and hold her ransom in order to get his friend's case noticed. What he doesn't count on is the uncontrollable attraction he and Penny will feel for one another, the lust and desire and the risks he will take for her, and that she will take for him.


I really enjoyed writing Stockholm Surrender. It all started with a free short story Stockholm Seduction. I had several readers email me asking for more of Ty and Penny, so eager to please, I let the characters talk to me again and they took me on a global tale of mystery, high jinx and some seriously sexy scenes.




Here are what reviewers are saying about Stockholm Surrender. (Oysters and Chocolate, Amazon.)

There is something about a bad boy. Especially a bad boy with a cause. Ty Winters is that sort of boy.
The premise is inspired, and one of the most unusual takes on the theme of kidnap within erotica that I’ve come across.
Even when Ty hacks off a clump of Penny’s hair to post to her father, Penny is still determined to see him again- and this is where the skill of Lily’s writing shines through. As a reader I was with Penny- you believe she wants to be with Ty even after he destroys her hair- and you can see why. As a couple- however wildly unconventional- they steam. 
If you like your erotica edgy and kinky, but with the romance kept in, then Stockholm Surrender is a must read.
I absolutely adored this book! It's hot enough to melt your e-reader but it's also got a gripping and intense story. The tension between these two characters and the intense suspense kept me glued to this book. When I had to put it down, it drove me crazy until I could get back to it again. The writing is outstanding, the characters practically leap off the page, and the story is unique and compelling. I loved this one from start to finish, and when I reached the end I still didn't want it to be over.
This isn't for the fainthearted. It's erotic and has what could be a few triggers for some readers - kidnap, extortion etc - but I feel it is well handled, sexily written and unless those triggers themselves can stop you from enjoying the book most readers will find it a fun, intense read and thoroughly enjoy it. I know I did. I'm eagerly awaiting more of Ms. Harlems books!




Blurb
By popular reader request, the full-length story of what happens after Stockholm Seduction. (Stockholm Seduction is included in the novel as a prologue.)
My soul was in turmoil. Ty Winters had not only kidnapped me in Oz, my heartstoppingly gorgeous surfer had also stoked my darkest desires, bringing all my fantasies to the surface. So Oxford wasn’t going well. Until, that is, he creeped from the shadows—desperate, sexy, dangerous and wanting a piece of me, literally!
He teased me with a taste of his carnal skills, leaving me burning with frustration then forced to stand by as he fought for his beliefs using my lust-addled body as his most powerful weapon.Oh, my kidnapper knew just how to get what he wanted, giving me just what I needed, while hiding our relationship from the British foreign minister and police. Because sometimes two people are meant to be, even in the most unconventional circumstances and twisted situations. We could fight the world, but we couldn’t fight our passion.



Snog
I glanced around the reading room. It was practically empty—the long, polished walnut tables unoccupied except for three fellow students buried in paving-slab-sized books, their fingers tapping away on laptops. Their heads low, they didn’t look up. Like me they’d been here for hours, lost in words.Studying my own heap of books, I decided to call it a night. The large skylights revealed a dark November sky heavy with stars. The brass table lamps gave the silent room a shadowy, studious glow. I was hungry and my brain felt fudged.Slipping my netbook into my rucksack, I heaved three thick criminal law books against my chest and went through the small archway leading into the enormous library. My footsteps were loud and echoed around the tall wooden rows of shelving. There was no one else around this late. My new mates were partying tonight. They’d asked me to go with them. “Let’s find some fit guys!” they’d said. But I hadn’t been up for it. I knew they were thinking they’d been dumped with a stick-in-the-mud as the fourth member of the gang in our halls of residence, but I couldn’t help it. My mind and body were stuck on Ty. Thoughts of Ty, images of Ty, memories of Ty. The fact that he was thousands of miles away didn’t seem to make any difference to my lust-addled body or my damn obsessive brain.It was crazy. It wasn’t as though I was in love with him or anything.I shoved the first heavy book into place between volumes one and three of Judicial Sentencing and recalled his last words. “This isn’t over... When you least expect it, Penny, when you are all alone, in the shadows, I’ll come for you and I’ll take you...again.”I wished he would bloody well get on with it.Heading deeper into the library past Juvenile Crime and European Union Law, I was enveloped in the room’s heavy silence. The shelves were tall, easily twice my height, and ladders had to be used to reach the top. The whole place had a timeless quality to it, the acres of pages and billions of words revered by all, including, it seemed, the atmosphere.Reaching aisle twenty-three, I reached to slip in my last two books, side by side.A small piece of paper caught my eye. It sat in the space between editions three and six of Tort Law. In scrawling black writing it read simply, Soon.I spun around, belly clenching. There was no one there.The books on the opposite shelf loomed over me. I glanced left and right. The blank white walls at either end pressed in, amplifying my aloneness.Who had written the note?Ty? Could it be?Hastily I pocketed the scrap of paper, shoved the books away then stepped toward the end of the aisle. Much as I wanted to see him, there was something menacing about the way this note was written and hidden. The silence and stillness of the library suddenly seemed scary.I’d made it three steps back toward the reading room before a gloved hand clamped over my mouth and I was pulled back against a solid chest.“Mmph!” I managed, fear and anticipation reaching dizzying heights. I’d been grabbed like this before. Then, I’d been terrified, certain that death was about to claim me. Now terror was mixed with a perverse excitement I certainly wasn’t proud of.“Keep it quiet,” a familiar Australian voice whispered hotly in my ear. “I’ve got more of that sleepy stuff if you want me to knock you out again.”Instinctively I tried to shove free.It was no good. He had me in a viselike grip.His voice deepened. “Keep the hell still, I need to cut off a piece of you.” Cut off a piece of me! Oh fuck!I squirmed and wriggled, terror overriding excitement and both fight and flight kicking in. Hell, I’d seen what he could do with a knife—that snake hadn’t stood a chance and I suspected neither would I.“Shit, keep still,” he said, his voice tight and strained. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. Penny, it’s not what you think, calm down.”I was pacified a fraction and stopped my writhing. His tight hold didn’t let up. He had one thickly corded forearm wrapped around my waist and the other held my head in the groove of his shoulder. His gloved palm was tight over my mouth and his fingertips pressed into my cheek.The thud of his heart vibrated into my back, its speed matching my own. His chest heaved and his rapid breaths blew like a storm in my ear. Despite myself, a tremble of lust shook up my spine. I’d been thinking of him, of being in his arms, of having him take me for so many weeks and now, finally, it was happening. My traitorous body stopped fighting as desire diluted the adrenaline.“Are you gonna keep quiet if I take my hand off your mouth?” he asked. I nodded.“Promise?”I nodded again and stilled completely.The pressure lifted. I knew I should scream and shout for help. Shit, he wanted to cut off a piece of me. This was the man who’d kidnapped me and here he was again, grabbing me.There were at least three people in the reading room—surely they would hear a panicked yelp. Security would come running, police would be called. He would be hauled off to prison, especially when I confirmed it was he who’d taken me in Australia too.“Penny,” he said, spinning me to face him at the same time backing me up against the opposite bookshelf. “I’m sorry that I have to do this to you.” His big hands pressed on the balls of my shoulders.I stared into his handsome face, his full lips even more kissable than I remembered, his eyes an even denser shade of cobalt blue. He’d shaved off the fuzzy soul patch that had been beneath his bottom lip last time I’d seen him. “Do what, Ty?”He widened his eyes. “You know my name?”“Of course, it wasn’t hard to find you on Facebook.” He lowered his thick blond brows. “Shit!”“I just went through all the James Hills. His profile picture is of you two together on a beach somewhere.” I paused. “And after our last encounter, you were easy to spot even with clothes on.”“Ah, crap.” He shifted his feet and looked left and right, as if deciding which way to take off. “I didn’t even think of Facebook.”I didn’t want him to take off anywhere. Having him pressed against me, having his body heat and divine, fresh-from-the-shower smell cocoon me was what I’d been dreaming of for so long. “It’s okay, it doesn’t matter,” I said quickly. “Only I saw you back in Oz so I gave a different description to the police. I haven’t told anyone that I know who you really are.”“Seriously?” He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. His flopping blond fringe shifted over his brows. “You really did that?”“Yes, I didn’t think you would be much use to James if you were locked up too.”Or much use to me.“Blimey, thanks.” He flicked his head and his hair shifted again.I placed my hands on his chest. He wore a dark-gray t-shirt under a red-checked fleecy shirt. The t-shirt material was thin and I could make out the shape of his pectoral muscles beneath. “I thought you were still in Australia anyway.”He slid a hand up the back of my neck, feathering his fingers through the short hair at my nape. “I had to come to England. Your father’s position as foreign secretary still makes him, and you, my best hope for getting James out.” He lowered his voice. “You are my bargaining tool, Penny, so if you’re in England it’s where I need to be.”I swallowed as a tickle of sensation radiated from his touch, pricking the skin on my scalp and down my spine. He’d followed me to England, to Oxford. He was a serious as ever about getting James out. He was as serious as ever about me being the key.“And I am sorry I have to do this.” He pressed his body into mine and, between one heartbeat and the next, he harnessed both my wrists in just one of his big hands, locking them down at my stomach.A bolt of fear shot through me as he whipped out a lethal-looking knife from his back pocket. The handle appeared to be crocodile skin and the sharp blade was curved like a macabre smile. He held it up between our faces.“Oh god, no, please, Ty,” I squeaked through the tight channel of my throat. “I want to help. You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”His intense gaze captured mine. “I won’t hurt you, Penny, if you keep quiet and still. Really still.”Shit. Why hadn’t I screamed a few minutes ago when I’d had the chance? He was crazy. A madman. I should have known. Oh, why had I been having all these delusional fantasies about him coming back for me? I was a fool, a hopeless, romantic, sex-starved fool and now I was going to die for it.A whimper of fear escaped my lips.“Penny,” he whispered. “I won’t hurt you. I just need a lock of your hair.”My eyes were filling. “My...my hair?”“Yes, if I was a real bad guy I would take a finger or a toe to send to your father, but a lock of hair will do.” He clenched his jaw. “Now keep the hell still.”He released my wrists and fisted a chunk of my fringe.“Ty,” I whispered, my feet nailed to the spot.“Shh, don’t move.” His long, lean legs trapped my thighs and his pelvis knocked into my hipbones. The shelves behind me dug into my back and the crown of my head was squashed against book spines.I gulped as the knife slanted and glinted over my forehead. The roots of my hair complained as he tugged his fistful of fringe and sliced, unnervingly near to the roots, with the sinfully sharp blade.“That should do,” he said, showing me a big clump of my pale-blonde hair. “And he’ll definitely know it’s your hair when he sees that.” He nodded at my head.I raised my hand to my hairline. There was at least a two-inch square patch of soft stubble. “Oh crap,” I said with a frown.He poked the lock of hair into a small, clear plastic bag and shoved it in his front jean pocket, then re-sheathed the knife before tucking it away. All the time his body kept pressed into mine, and as much as I was monumentally pissed about having a bald patch, the feel of him, his closeness, the sound of his breathing and the scent of his skin were like a drug to me—all I could feel was lust.Am I crazy?Probably.“So what now?” I asked.His gaze harnessed mine and he cupped my cheek with his gloved palms, the wool scratchy against my skin. “Now I send that to your father, just to let him know I can still get to his precious little girl even on the other side of the world. He needs to listen to me. He needs to give James’ case attention, soon.”“How is James?”He frowned. “I stopped over on my way here and after a lot of paperwork and hanging around I saw him. He’s thin, thin and scared, but typical James he’s trying to be positive. Although how he’s managing it I don’t know. The place is hell on earth.”“It must be awful.”Ty narrowed his eyes and nibbled at his full bottom lip. “Yeah, it is. I’ve got to get him out, there’s going to be a retrial but it could go against him, there’s talk of the death sentence.”“Shit, really? God, that’s awful. I want to help.”He tipped his head a little nearer to mine and I traced my fingertips over the rise of his collarbones to the hollow of his throat.“Do you really?” he asked.“Yes, of course. I’ve brought it up with my father several times.”“So bring it up again.” His voice was steely.“I will, I have. Trouble is, he’s so pissed that you kidnapped me back in Oz that he flips into a blind rage whenever the subject is raised.”“Well, he’s going to have to get over that. Maybe when he gets the message that you’re going to be taken again he’ll come to his senses.”“Aren’t you taking me now?” He shook his head.I shifted against him.He didn’t budge.“So when are you going to let me go?”He curled his lips into a devilish smile. “In a minute.”I swallowed and wondered what it was about that smile that sent hot fiery fingers of need speeding to every erogenous zone in my body.“Right after I’ve done this,” he murmured.In a sudden rush, he claimed my mouth in a hot, hungry kiss. I opened up and let him in, releasing a small moan of pleasure as his arms circled my body and pulled me close. Damn, the man could kiss. His mouth communicated desire and strength, passion and danger and I lapped it up like the starving, reckless woman I was.He chased for my tongue and we began a wild, slippery tango. As if we couldn’t get enough of each other.I slotted my fingers into his thick hair and urged him closer.“Ah, fuck, Penny,” he gasped, trailing supercharged kisses over my cheek. “If only...”I tipped my neck as he explored behind my ear with his mouth, making me shiver in bliss. “If only what?” I asked breathlessly, barely controlling the delicious shudders rippling up my spine.“If only circumstances were different.” He was exploring with his hands too, the thin material of the gloves sliding beneath my sweater, over the base of my ribs to my breasts.I trembled as he cupped me through my bra and tweaked my nipple. “Different?” I managed. My brain was struggling to work. He did this to me, Ty, made me forget everything and all sense.“Yeah, if only we’d met like two ordinary people.” His voice was low and husky. “Instead of this crazy situation. We could have been so hot together.”“We are hot together.”“Fuck, I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”He was spooning my other breast now, holding it in his palm. The urge to pull off my top and let him have full access was overwhelming. “We did something about it last time.”“I know, and I still feel terrible about it.”I pushed at his shoulders and captured his gaze. “Don’t feel terrible, it was amazing.”He stared down at me. “But it was wrong. I was holding you captive, against your will, and I ended up fucking you.”“Only because I asked. It was hardly rape, was it?” Sweeping my hands over his shoulders, I pulled him closer again. Beneath my sweater he smoothed his hands around my back. Suddenly I was aware of a hardness jabbing into my belly—a long, thick hardness that I remembered only too well.His nostrils flared and he sucked in a breath. He ground his erection forward.“It was sexy and steamy,” I whispered onto his lips. “And bloody hell, I had one incredible orgasm.”His eyes sparkled. “Yeah, I remember the cute little squeal you made when you came.” He poked out his tongue and traced the seam of my lips. “I’d quite like to hear it again sometime.”“Here?” I curled my leg around one of his and trapped him to me, shifted against his cock. “Now?”“Tempting, but no, not here, not now.”“When, where?”He mashed his lips to mine, hard and fretful. Shoved his steely length into my belly even more firmly.I whimpered, a combination of lust and shock. Being pinned in his embrace sent my heart rate to dangerous levels and my head went giddy. I loved the way he kissed me. No man had ever kissed me with such desperation, such urgent intensity.“Soon,” he said, pulling away and forcing me to unfurl my limbs from his body. “Soon, Penny, but I’ve got to get some results from your father first.”He stepped back and I stared up at him. I was panting and my skin prickled with a heated flush that had turned me feverish.He was breathing fast too. His fists were balled at his sides, his lips shiny from our kisses. The package in his jeans was impressive and I was more than a little irritated that I wasn’t about to get up close and personal with it again.“I’ll do my best to persuade my father,” I said breathlessly.“Do more than your best. Make it happen, or I will be forced to take drastic action, baby .”Then, as fast as he’d appeared he was gone, slipping around the end of the aisle so quickly I could almost have believed he’d evaporated.My heart knocked and my pussy buzzed. The feel of his arms around me and his hard cock had reawakened so many emotions and desires. My gut clenched and my body felt weak. I clutched the side of the shelf for support and fought the urge to crumple into a heap on the floor.Ty was the worst man in the world for me to want. He was dangerous, unpredictable and desperate. Skilled in a whole host of things that could get me into very deep trouble, not just with the law but in the broken-heart department too.But one thing was for sure.I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything else in my life.


I hope you enjoyed that snippet taken from the first chapter of Stockholm Surrender. Leave me a comment telling me what sexy hunk you would most like to hold you captive - real or fictional - and I will enter you into a draw to win Stockholm Surrender. Make sure you leave me your email address, winner will be announced on Halloween.
If you can't wait and want to go and grab yourself a copy of Penny and Ty's story, Stockholm Surrender, here are the links - if you win you can choose a different one of my books as a prize :-)
Ellora's Cave
Amazon US
Amazon UK
All Romance eBooks
Barnes and Noble

Thanks for stopping by and joining in on Blisse Kiss After Dark!
Lily x

When One Is Not Enough

If you haven't been over to my favourite menage haunt for a while, why not pop over and see what the authors and readers who like more than two, three or even four in a bed have been up to!

If you want to check out all of my posts they are listed HERE
Have a wonderful day
Lily x

Angel Laird Vampire Wife by Suz deMello

Blurb:
Edgar, Laird MacReiver, had never regretted his decision to wed Isobel, daughter of Clan Kilburn’s laird…until she bit his tongue and drank his blood. Will tying her hands, spanking her rump and making her come tame the wild child of the infamous vampire clan?
Or are some women too dangerous to tame?
Available from:
Amazon (US)
Amazon  (UK)
Amazon (Germany)
Amazon (France)
*****Chapter One
Kilburn Castle, Scotland1766
Some said that Edgar, Laird MacReiver, had made a deal with the devil. And not just an ordinary deal, for he’d agreed to marry the devil’s daughter.Lacking a superstitious cast of mind, he’d never regretted his decision to ally with Clan Kilburn until this moment. Atop the battlements, he disregarded the noontime sun glittering over the sea, the fresh spring breeze off the water and the white clouds scudding through the sky. Instead, he watched the scene below him. Down in the castle courtyard, a young woman struggled with a horse. Not just any young woman. She’d been betrothed to him before her birth. And not just any horse. Isobel, now eighteen, grasped the bridle of Ranger, a buckskin stallion, the pride and joy of Edgar’s heart.She wrestled with a reluctant Ranger before swinging long legs clad in trews over the steed’s back. Clinging to his mane, she somehow kept her seat while the stallion curvetted and spun. Her hat flew off and her braid loosened, the black hair whipping ‘round as Ranger sought to dislodge her.Another neigh and a leap before the horse dashed out of the open gate. His hooves clattered on the drawbridge as he galloped over the moat. Isobel clung to his back like a flea unwilling to give up its perch on a dog.“I ordered her not to ride Ranger,” Edgar said with some disbelief and more resentment. “He’s too big for her. And he’s young, not quite broken. The only rider he tolerates is me.”“Our Isobel is a bold horsewoman.” Kieran Kilburn cocked a dark brow at Edgar. “She doesna like to admit that there’s a steed on this earth that she canna master.”Though nearing his fiftieth year, the Kilburn chieftain hadn’t sprouted even one gray hair. No wrinkles marred his smooth, unusually white skin, save those that were the product of his constant smile. All the Kilburns shared the same traits: tall and strong, with midnight black hair and eyes. In comparison Edgar often had felt like a little white mouse, at least until he grew and the lassies started to take an interest in his fair hair and blue eyes. Then he’d realized that his different looks were an advantage.An advantage, that is, with everyone but Isobel.“She obeys you.” The wind loosened the leather thong tying Edgar’s hair at the nape. He tightened it. “Why not me?”Kier’s eyes twinkled. “She obeys me, laddie, because I punish her when she does not.”“May I borrow your Dash?” Frowning, Edgar turned to descend into the courtyard with Kieran following.“Aye, but don’t count on Dash to catch his son.”“We’ll do our best. Thank you, sir.” He handed his blue jacket to a guard and mounted the buckskin. “I go now to find my bride. I hope she’ll return suitably chastened.”With a shrug, Kier folded his arms over his chest. “Ye ken what ye have to do.” * * * * *Edgar caught up with Isobel and Ranger in the forest. The horse now ambled rather than raced, the trees bordering the meadow surrounding the castle having slowed his flight. Edgar eased Dash into a walk and splashed through a brook while watching Ranger manage Isobel.The stallion apparently decided that he no longer would tolerate even Isobel’s light weight and proceeded to use a low-hanging branch to scrape her off. She landed flat on her back with a grunt. Ranger headed toward the stream and the new green grass beside it, thank the gods, instead of trampling the silly wench under his hooves. Her laughter could be heard even from several yards away. “La! What a ride! I’ll tame that mount yet.” She sat up and rubbed her back. Still on horseback, Edgar towered over her. “The only mount who needs taming is you. No harm done, milady?” He was pleased that he kept a mild tone of voice, because inside he was seething.“None.” She smiled up at him, her black eyes twinkling through the curtain of her lashes.Bewitching, but he hardened his heart, determined that he’d not be led by the nose. He didn’t like managing females, and if he allowed her to rule him now, she’d rule him forever. “Whatever possessed you to steal Ranger?”“I didn’t steal Ranger. I borrowed him.”“Against my express wishes. If your clumsiness has harmed him, Isobel—” “My clumsiness?” She leapt to her feet.He gave her a long, cool stare before turning away. He chirruped to Ranger, who raised his head from the sweet grass by the stream. Still chewing, he walked sedately to Edgar.He dismounted to caress his horse’s forehead before running his hands along the neck and body. Something hot and red billowed in Isobel’s chest. What was it? ‘Twas the same uncomfortable feeling she got when her younger brothers or sisters claimed too much of their parents’ attention. The same horrible emotion that overcame her when other lassies dared to flirt with Edgar…which happened more frequently than she liked.Jealousy.She was jealous of the attention Edgar was giving to a horse. A horse. Bloody hell.Removing his gloves, Edgar slid expert fingers up and down each of Ranger’s legs, paying particular attention to the delicate fetlocks. She wondered how those long, tanned, strong fingers would feel if he touched her. When he finally touched her. So far he’d kept his distance even though they were affianced, a fact which she both liked and resented.He straightened with a sigh. “No harm done. You were lucky this time, my girl.”“Your girl? Since when am I your girl?”He led the horse back to the stream and dropped the reins.  Ranger drank placidly. Standing in the water with tail a’swish, he seemed completely unlike the wild beast she’d sought to tame. Dash joined him.Edgar eyed the horses, then eyed her. “You’ve been mine since before you were born.” “I mislike your manner, sir. I am yet unmarried. I belong to no man.”“You belong to me.” He returned, looming over her, tall and blond and impossibly beautiful. The Angel Laird, the lassies called him. Well, they could have him. “I willna be ordered. I willna be treated as though I’m a possession.”He took her by the shoulders. “But you are.”His mouth descended on hers while one hand seized the back of her head, holding her fast. She couldna resist, and didna want to, for she’d yearned for this moment.
*****


Best-selling, award-winning author Sue Swift, a.k.a Suz deMello, has written over fifteen novels, plus several short stories and non-fiction articles. She writes in numerous genres including romance, mystery, paranormal, historical, contemporary comedy and erotica. She’s a freelance editor who’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Ai Press, Liquid Silver Books and Etopia Press. She also takes on private clients.
Her books have been favorably reviewed in PW, Kirkus and Booklist, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.
A former trial attorney, she resides in northern California. Her passion is world travel, and she’s left the US over a dozen times, including stints working overseas for many months. Right now, she's working on her next manuscript and planning her next trip.
Blog
Websites Suz deMello and Sue Swift
Find her reading picks @ReadThis4fun on Twitter.

Review copies

I have ten copies of The Glass Knot to giveaway for review.

Blurb

What’s a girl to do when the guy she falls for is married to another man?
This is exactly what happened to me. Seeing Josh Kendal stroll out of the Mediterranean Sea wearing tight navy swim trunks and looking like a hot new James Bond was a truly delicious moment. Catching sight of his wedding ring was like a kick in the shin and meeting his gorgeous husband, phew, that was enough to make any girl groan at the cruel joke God was playing on her.
But all was not as it seemed, and when Josh needed a woman to sort out a ‘delicate predicament’ I was the one for the job – heck, what did I have to lose? Certainly not as much as him, literally.
Trouble is, emotions always get tangled, loyalties can’t help but be divided and with a night of memories so hot they'd have the devil sweating, there was only one thing for it—it was time to get honest, fight for what I wanted despite society’s constraints and open my heart to the people it needed most.

Reader advisory - The Glass Knot is an erotic romance featuring M/M and M/F love and every combination of two guys and a girl you can think of!

If you can read and review on Amazon and/or Goodreads then leave your email address in a comment box along with your preference for mobi, pdf or epub. First ten will be sent copies :-)
Thanks
Lily x

Sunday Snog - The Glass Knot

Welcome to another Sunday Snog, my favourite smoochy day of the week!

My latest menage novel, The Glass Knot, has just released on Amazon and I am still very excited about it!
Blurb
What’s a girl to do when the guy she falls for is married to another man?

This is exactly what happened to me. Seeing Josh Kendal stroll out of the Mediterranean Sea wearing tight navy swim trunks and looking like a hot new James Bond was a truly delicious moment. Catching sight of his wedding ring was like a kick in the shin and meeting his gorgeous husband, phew, that was enough to make any girl groan at the cruel joke God was playing on her.

But all was not as it seemed, and when Josh needed a woman to sort out a ‘delicate predicament’ I was the one for the job – heck, what did I have to lose? Certainly not as much as him, literally.

Trouble is, emotions always get tangled, loyalties can’t help but be divided and with a night of memories so hot they'd have the devil sweating, there was only one thing for it—it was time to get honest, fight for what I wanted despite society’s constraints and open my heart to the people it needed most.

* * * * *

You can read the prologue and the first chapter here, but below is a snog to whet your appetite...

I rested my hands on my hips and studied the inside of the barn. It was darker than I’d hoped, but perhaps, with my flashlight on a high stand, I could simulate a streak of sunshine slicing through the stacked hay bales.
“Do you really think it will work?” Josh asked.
I glanced upward at the high ceiling dense with cobwebs. Several abandoned bird nests sat in the shadows. “Yes, it could.” I quickly walked over to the barn doors and pushed them apart, just a fraction. “Especially if this is open a foot or so because then a shard of natural light filters in.”
Josh looked unsure.
“It’ll be fine. Just stand there.” I pointed toward the bales. Several had been opened and the hay burst out creating a bed of pale strands. “That’s where the sliver of light coming through the door lands, see, like a torch beam. I think it will be a nice effect on you.”
Josh gave an easy going smile, shrugged, and stepped up to where I’d pointed. “Here?”
“Yep, perfect. Just stand still while I fiddle with the settings.”
My Nikon was an extension of me. It had been a faithful friend and loyal keeper of pictures for over two years now. It only took a moment to adjust.
I looked through the lens.
My breath caught in my throat. I had to pause for a moment.
Josh was even more beautiful today than he had been when I’d met him in Marbella or even when I’d seen him the day before walking through the orchard. I don’t know what it was about him, but every time he smiled afresh or appeared in a room, I fell for him just a little bit more. It was crazy, this be friends plan, whoever’s plan that was, because it would never work. Not when he was so perfect, so sexy and so unattainable.
“Do I need to smile now?” he asked.
You can smile all day, gorgeous.
“Not yet, just checking the light. The background is going to be quite dark, but you’ll have a streak of sunshine on you. It will be very atmospheric.” I stepped forward, reached out and touched his shoulder. “Turn this way a tiny bit, so you’re not in the shade too much.”
Feeling hard, warm muscle beneath the light blue checked shirt he was wearing did bubbly things to my stomach. But I tried my best to ignore it. Well, ignoring it was impossible, especially when his cologne bombarded me with images of us fucking crazily, in every position we could think of, but at least he didn’t know what I was experiencing and remembering. My thoughts were my own.
“It’s quiet in here,” Josh whispered, his eyes sparkling as light spilled across his face.
“Yes.”
“Is it a nice change from the city?”
“Definitely, I love it.”
He grinned. “Good, I like having you here.”
It would have been easy to get carried away with his words. Try and read between the lines and think there was more to them, but I didn’t. Instead, I took a picture and studied the screen.
“Any good?” Josh asked.
“Yes, it’s a start.” Again I stepped up to him and this time cupped his freshly shaven chin, moved it an inch. “You can smile now,” I said, gazing into his eyes.
He did. A lovely full smile that creased the corners of his eyes and showed off his teeth.
I moved away, camera at the ready. Clicked several times, adoring the way the streak of sunlight caressed the angle of his jaw, the straight bridge of his nose and the thickness of his neck. It also shined into his hair, creating a glow that could almost be mistaken for a halo.
Except I knew Josh could be devilishly bad when he wanted to be. Angel he was not.
“Let me see,” Josh said.
“Stay there.” I didn’t want him to move from the magical stream of light we’d harnessed. I stepped up to him, showed him the screen. Our shoulders touched as he stooped slightly. Every erogenous zone in my body bristled at the connection.
“Mmm, that’s a great effect, but...”
He didn’t like it. I sagged in disappointment.
“It just isn’t...” Josh said, rubbing his index finger over his lips. “It’s just isn’t sexy enough.”
“Oh, okay.” Not what I was expecting. As far as I was concerned he couldn’t be sexier.
“I was thinking more of a picture like this.” He gripped the base of his shirt and peeled it over his head. I had to step away to stop his arms knocking me as he tossed it to the floor.
“It is, after all, for Nick’s home office. It’s not like anyone else will see it.”
I have to.
I’d have to see his beautiful chest while I took the picture and then I’d never be able to delete it. It would be on my computer until the end of time.
“Nick would like this better,” Josh said.
“Yes, of course, okay.”
Who could blame Nick?
There was something about Josh’s chest that was sublimely perfect. I’d noticed it that first moment when I’d seen him walking, all wet and tanned, out of the sea. His chest was broad, his pecs square, his little nipples cute, and the way his ribs tapered down to his abs and obliques would make Rodin weep to sculpt him.
My chest tightened. My longing was so much more intense now than on the beach that day. Because now I knew what his chest was like to touch and kiss, cuddle into. How it looked pressed against my breasts and covered in our mingled sex sweat, rising and falling rapidly as he fought for breath after riding into me hard and fast.
I willed myself back to the present. But with his aftershave settling in my nose and mixing with the soft male scent that radiated from his naked skin, it was not an easy task. I started taking more pictures. This time ensuring I had his entire upper torso in the frame.
Once again the sun worshipped him, lovingly touching each perfect muscle and tendon. Highlighting bulging biceps and the sinewy tendons of his neck. It made me want to worship him too, lick every square inch that I could, and then get hold of his cock and...
Oh, fuck. I have to get out of here.
I did six more shots and lowered my camera. “I think that’s plenty.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, maybe you’d like some pictures outside, in the garden?”
So I can get some air.
I fiddled with the zoom. My pussy was thrumming. I should have brought Rocky then I could have disappeared into the bathroom for some alone time. Sorted out the ache between my legs.
“No.” His voice was firm and deep.
I lifted my head.
There was something in his eyes that made me freeze. I’d seen that look before. It was raw and hungry. The soft, caring, relaxed expression of moments ago had gone. Josh was thinking about something dirty, sexy and...carnal.
I know him better than I thought.
“I don’t want to go in the garden. I want to stay in here.”
“Oh, do you want me to get Nick?”
“No.” His lips tightened and he stepped closer.
“But, er, maybe I could do some pictures of the pair of you together.”
“No, that’s not what I want.” He reached out and lifted the thin leather camera strap over my head.
Just the brush of his fingertips on my neck sent more lust raging through me. But this was crazy. There was nothing between Josh and I. There couldn’t be. For Nick’s sake there couldn’t be.
He set my camera on a hay bale then loomed back over me.
I stared up at him. The dim light and the silence seemed to weave a spell around us, a spell that made it only us. The air was thick with dust, palpable with desire. His eyes were locked with mine, and a slow growing realization crept over me.
He’s looking down at me like he wants a repeat performance of our wildest moment in Spain.
“Lord help me,” he mumbled, dropping his head closer still, until his breaths breezed over my face.
The unthinkable, the impossible was about to happen. He was going to kiss me, and I was going to let him, despite my promise to Nick.
No I can’t do that. I’m not a bitch.
“Laura, I can’t stop thinking about you, about us. I just need to...I want...”
I despaired with myself, didn’t think I could stoop to such depths of self-destruction. Drop myself into a pit where I knew guilt would eat me alive. But I was going to. Josh could do whatever he wanted and take whatever he needed. His words, the desire in his eyes, it was like showing a red rag to a bull. “Yes,” I said.
The decision had made itself.
I flung my arms around his neck at the same time as he dragged my body to his. Our mouths connected in a frantic, desperate kiss. Tongues racing and searching, lips starving as we fed off each other.
He let out a low, triumphant sound, like a growl. It made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. All sane thoughts left me. I was in Josh’s arms, he was all I wanted, and judging by the long hard bulge jutting into my stomach, he wanted me too.
I couldn’t help myself. I knew, in the back of my mind, how much this would hurt Nick, but that worry seemed like a million light years away. It was scarily easy to bury it and figure it out later.
“I’ve dreamed of tasting you again,” he admitted hoarsely.
“You have?”
“Yeah, I know I shouldn’t but I can’t seem to stop myself.” He slid his hands down and cupped my ass through my jeans, tugged me harder against him. “You’ve got under my skin and into my brain. I can’t stop thinking of you and our night together.” He groaned and kissed me even harder.
His words and his urgent kiss sent electric pulses of delight through my body. My breasts grew heavy as I leaned into his bare chest. My breaths were hard to catch. I should have replied, or told him to stop or something, but I couldn’t. I was sating a hunger that had been growing to alarming proportions.
An image of Nick, relaxed on holiday, smiling and confident came into my mind.
How can I be doing this?
I pushed at Josh, shook my head. “No.”
“Yes.” He stepped backwards, dragging me with him. Then we were lying down on the soft hay and his luscious weight was settling over me, the word no was lost from my vocabulary and the image of Nick evaporated.
Hurriedly I explored Josh’s naked back, dipping into the valley of his spine and adoring the power harnessed in every muscle. Our legs tangled, he shoved up my t- shirt and dragged my bra to one side.
“Oh, sweet Jesus,” he groaned, taking my nipple into his mouth. He pinched the hard nub between his teeth and sucked, just the way I liked, the way I’d taught him to do it.
I shut my eyes, threaded my fingers into his hair. Just minutes ago I’d been wishing I’d brought my vibrator, now it seemed Josh had solved the problem.
He suddenly sat back on his heels and yanked down the zipper on his jeans. Pulled himself free. There were no boxers to get in the way. His cock just sprung out, thick, rigid and heavy.
My mouth watered at the sight of his shaft and the big, angry red head. I reached for him greedily, wrapped my hands around his cock and squeezed.
He sucked in a breath, and a tremble attacked his body. “Your little hands are so sweet on me.”
“Josh, oh, I’ve missed you so much. I want you.”
“And you’re going to get me,” he said, dropping down and taking my mouth in a kiss that left no doubt in my mind exactly what was going to happen next.


I hope you enjoyed that sexy snippet. Here are the buy links.
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Have a great Sunday!
Lily x

New Release - The Glass Knot

Now available for Amazon Kindle, The Glass Knot, a steamy menage novel with hot man love and every combination of two guys and a girl you can think of!


Blurb
What’s a girl to do when the guy she falls for is married to another man?
This is exactly what happened to me. Seeing Josh Kendal stroll out of the Mediterranean Sea wearing tight navy swim trunks and looking like a hot new James Bond was a truly delicious moment. Catching sight of his wedding ring was like a kick in the shin and meeting his gorgeous husband, phew, that was enough to make any girl groan at the cruel joke God was playing on her.
But all was not as it seemed, and when Josh needed a woman to sort out a ‘delicate predicament’ I was the one for the job – heck, what did I have to lose? Certainly not as much as him, literally.
Trouble is, emotions always get tangled, loyalties can’t help but be divided and with a night of memories so hot they'd have the devil sweating, there was only one thing for it—it was time to get honest, fight for what I wanted despite society’s constraints and open my heart to the people it needed most.
Excerpt
After slipping my keycard into room eighty-four, we wandered in. The maid had visited and turned back the covers on the king-size bed. A lone chocolate sat on the pillow and light from a standing lamp, by a bucket armchair, bathed the room in a warm buttery glow.The curtains were shut against the sights and sounds of Marbella. The room was so silent and still, I was sure Josh would be able to hear the pounding in my chest.I set my small clutch purse on the dresser and toed off my sandals.“Nice room,” he said, glancing around and twisting his hands together.“Thanks.”He looked at his feet, then at the lamp, then at the blank TV screen. His face had paled, and he was gnawing at the inside of his cheek. It was then it struck me.Josh is nervous.And, of course, why wouldn’t he be? The guy was a virgin. He’d never been with a woman, and despite the fact he was drop-dead gorgeous and did the deed with Nick, he was nervous—nervous of having sex with me, a woman, for the first time.Suddenly I felt a whole lot better. My abstinence worries were nothing compared to what he was going through. I was the one who had done this before, countless times, and on occasions, with amazing success.“Hey,” I said, moving closer. “I’m not going to bite you.”His gaze captured mine. “I know. Well, I don’t know, actually, but I hope you won’t.”Touching my finger against the top button of his shirt, I breathed in his lovely scent. It was stronger in my room, as if his nervousness and the four walls had intensified it. “I want this to be special for you, for me, for us both,” I whispered.He swallowed and nodded.“Would you like me to take off your clothes?” I asked.“No, not yet, but will you take off yours?” He poked out his tongue and licked his lips.“There’s not much to take off.” I backed away and gave my best seductive smile. “Just this little, hardly worth wearing dress.” As I spoke I undid the side zip and let the linen fall over my hips and down to my ankles.His eyes followed the movement of the material, then, as it bunched on the floor, he trailed his gaze back up my body.I tilted my hips, jauntily, and was pleased to note there was still a notable strain going on in his jeans. “And of course I need to get rid of this silky underwear.”He rubbed his hand over his forehead, his eyes darted between my bra and my panties.“Josh, would you like me to take off my underwear?”He nodded, quickly, three sharp up-and-down twitches of his head.I smiled, pleased that I still had him and he hadn’t decided to back out. Because at this point, no amount of Rocky power would make up for him leaving before the main event.Reaching behind myself, I unfastened the hook on my strapless bra. It was white, like my panties, and had two small cream roses in the center. It was one of my favorite underwear sets.As the material fell away from my breasts his gaze burned into my chest. His eyes were unblinking, his breaths short and shallow.I tossed the bra aside and tweaked my already taut nipples. I liked my nipples, they were pale and small, cute I had been told, and they were really sensitive, incredibly responsive to any kind of stimulation.“I’ve seen plenty of women’s tits on the beach this week,” he said breathily. “But none as beautiful as yours, Laura. None that I could simply stare at all night.”“I hope you’ll do more than stare.” I could hardly keep the lust from my voice. “I’d like to feel your lips, your tongue, the stubble on your chin scratching over them.”He swallowed and shifted from one foot to the other. “Okay.”“But first things first,” I said, hooking my thumbs beneath the elastic of my panties. “You said you wanted me to take off my clothes. I haven’t quite done that yet.” Very slowly I began to roll the scrap of silk and lace down. Inch by inch revealing my thin landing strip of pale brown pubic hair, and praying that the damp gusset wouldn’t be too obvious as it slid down my legs.He stared at the juncture of my thighs as I kicked my pile of clothes away then stood totally naked before him.“Josh,” I whispered.“You’re exquisite,” he said softly. “And so neat.”“You mean compared to a man?”He nodded, still staring at my pussy. “Yes, compared to Nick, compared to me, no dangly bits, just softness and curves in all the right places.”I suppressed a giggle. “I’m glad you think so.”His gaze met mine. The sexual tension fizzing between us straightened my mouth and beat down my mirth.“Oh, I more than think so. Laura, please, I want to touch you.”“And I want to touch you, so take off your clothes too, Josh.”Briskly, he removed his shoes and socks, shucked down his jeans and began to unbutton his shirt. It hung down over his boxers, hiding the outline of his cock. “I don’t normally wear underwear,” he said. “It just gets in the way.”“Lucky Nick,” I said. Impatience trickled through me as Josh fumbled with his shirt buttons, so I walked over, reached out, and with thankfully steady hands, undid his shirt.“There we go,” I said, gently pushing it over his wide, smooth shoulders. It slid down his arms and onto the floor with a quiet whoosh.He blew out a long, low breath that breezed over my breasts, tightening my nipples farther.“Laura,” he murmured. “Are you sure?”“Oh, yes.” I was feasting on the sight of his golden chest. A small collection of blond hairs sat in the center of his sternum, and his nipples, like mine, were small and pale. “I want you to touch me, explore my body, and discover what it’s like to be with a woman. I want you to learn how to make a woman come.”“But—?”“There’s no buts.” I stepped back and looked down at his tight black boxers. His erect cock was tenting the material, and I couldn’t help but admire what must be an impressive girth to be creating such a large bulge. “Josh, your need is obvious, it’s there before us and was stabbing into me when we danced, but with a woman, the signs that she is turned on are more subtle.”“What do you mean?”“Look for the clues.” Once again I tweaked my nipples. “My breasts are desperate for you, they feel heavy and hypersensitive, my nipples so hard and seeking any kind of stimulation they can get.” I lowered my voice. “Just the breeze of your breath is making them tingle.”He stared down at me. “It is?”I swallowed and nodded. “Sometimes I think I could come just with the sensation of a man with a talented tongue sucking and playing with my nipples.”“Nick tells me I have a talented tongue.”“I don’t doubt that for a second, but you may have to hone your talents when it comes to using your tongue on my—”“On your—”“My breasts and...my pussy.”He smoothed his palm over my sleek hair, following the shape of my skull until he cradled my cheek. His gaze was intense and unblinking, and I saw a glimmer of confidence and self-assurance growing. “I want to make you come, Laura. I want to taste you, kiss you. I want to put my dick in you and find out what it feels like to be buried, balls deep, in a beautiful woman.”My breath hitched at his tumble of erotic words, and my mind was held hostage to a series of carnal images.“But mostly I want to make this night memorable,” he said, “because this is my one pass, my one chance, not just to be with you, but to be with someone other than Nick. After tonight it will only ever be him, for the rest of my life.”
Buy Links
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Hot, new menage novel - The Glass Knot

The Glass Knot is my newest novel and is set to hit the virtual shelves at Amazon on the 12th of October.
It's a menage a trois story, one of my favourite sub genres to write, but a bit different to my others, like Shared for example...



Shared is about two guys and a girl, the guys fall in love with Ariane and are more than happy to share her in every sense of the word, though they're not into each other physically, not one tiny bit. It's all about her!
But in The Glass Knot Josh and Nick are a happily married couple, and it's Laura who comes into their already established relationship, causing friction and upset and releasing a whole host of pent up needs and emotions.
I adored writing the male/male scenes in The Glass Knot, as well as delving deep into the heart of a marriage and exploring what makes it possible for another person to exist within those vows. 

The dynamics between the three characters are complex, and individually they all have their own demons to face, but it was quite a ride to write and I did enjoy my time with Josh, Nick and Laura, I hope you will to.

Blurb 

What’s a girl to do when the guy she falls for is married to another man?
This is exactly what happened to me. Seeing Josh Kendal stroll out of the Mediterranean Sea wearing tight navy swim trunks and looking like a hot new James Bond was a truly delicious moment. Catching sight of his wedding ring was like a kick in the shin and meeting his gorgeous husband, phew, that was enough to make any girl groan at the cruel joke God was playing on her.
But all was not as it seemed, and when Josh needed a woman to sort out a ‘delicate predicament’ I was the one for the job – heck, what did I have to lose? Certainly not as much as him, literally.
Trouble is, emotions always get tangled, loyalties can’t help but be divided and with a night of memories so hot they'd have the devil sweating, there was only one thing for it—it was time to get honest, fight for what I wanted despite society’s constraints and open my heart to the people it needed most.

Below is the prologue and the first chapter of The Glass Knot. The prologue is written from Josh's point of view, the main body of the book from Laura's, and the final section, the epilogue, from Nick's. 
Excerpts from The Glass Knot are 18+
Prologue
Josh

“Here’s to us.” Nick clinked his glass against mine and gave a seductive smile, one that promised a night of sex hotter than the Costa Del Sol’s midday sun.
“To us,” I said, tapping the rim of my champagne flute against his, “and surviving against the odds.” I leaned forward over a plate of delicate canapés and kissed him. My stubble scratched his smooth chin, and I berated myself for not finding the time to shave before our romantic moonlit meal. All I’d done today was lounge on the beach listening to the lapping waves and losing myself in my Kindle. I’d had a beer and some watermelon at lunchtime and hadn’t even noticed Nick step away to book the best table at The Pier restaurant; the one right at the very end, set slightly apart and partially screened from other diners by a row of potted pink Acacia plants.
“Ten years since tying the knot,” Nick said, knocking back a slug of champagne. “And man, it’s been pretty up and down.”
I glanced out at the endless stretch of black water. A single strip of silvery light from the moon shone down, creating a magical sparkling path that tapered into the horizon. I popped a spicy battered prawn into my mouth and savored the sweet chili, so different to the rank, prejudiced flavor I’d had constantly in my mouth as we’d battled my father’s revulsion of our gay union.
Nick tipped his head and studied me. “I know I told you already but I’m so enjoying having this time with you here. Marbella has always been somewhere I wanted to bring you.”
I smiled. “It’s great, the perfect anniversary destination.”
Nick pressed back in his chair as a suited waiter set a whole sea bass before him. The crispy skin was blackened and sprinkled with crystals of salt. A vivid green salad tossed with olives and walnuts accompanied it.
“Thanks,” I said as my fillet steak, coated with creamy stilton sauce, arrived. Fat chips over-spilling a white bowl were set alongside yet more salad
The waiter topped up our glasses, and Nick nodded for another bottle of champagne to be brought out. I adored him when he was in this spoiling-me mood. Just occasionally, when he was feeling romantic he really splashed out. Not that he wasn’t always considerate, he was, but away from his office and in this luscious relaxed holiday state, I really got to enjoy him, all of him. Every last bit of him.
We dug into our sumptuous main courses, chatting about our Cotswold cottage and whether or not the new thatch would be complete by the time we arrived home. We also had a decorator in, freshening up the living room and scrubbing out the inglenook which had blackened over several winters of blazing log fires. Log fires that we’d thoroughly enjoyed sprawling in front of naked and sweaty, adoring each other’s bodies, from early evening until the small hours of the morning. The hearth rug had been replaced, twice, each one bigger and more luxurious than the last.
An elegant yacht broke through the shimmering path of moonlight at our side. We paused to admire the sails and speculate which celebrity might be cruising by. What decadent millionaire was holding a lavish party for a select few, and guessing the food and drink that would be served, what music would be played. Perhaps he even had a live performer, someone fabulous and talented, internationally famous entertaining his guests.
By the time my pineapple sorbet and Nick’s chocolate torte arrived I was feeling as mellow as I ever could. My sun-kissed limbs were relaxed and my mood chilled. A holiday with Nick, eating a beautiful meal on our tenth anniversary was about as perfect a moment as I could imagine.
“Mmm, try this,” Nick said, offering forward a dollop of his torte.
I opened my mouth willingly, as I always did for him, no matter what he offered. “Yum,” I said, licking my lips and letting the heavy truffle dissolve on my tongue. “That’s fabulous.”
“Do you still think of Her?” he asked suddenly. His dark gaze captured mine, and his expression fell serious.
“Her?” I knew full well who he was talking about. Her, She, was fictitious, and stemmed from a drunken conversation we’d had several years ago.
“I’m sorry, Josh.” He covered my hand with his. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No, it’s fine.”
He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles and stared, unblinking at his caressing movements. “Seriously, forget it.”
I sucked in a deep breath. I couldn’t ignore the question, not now he’d asked it. Because the truth was I did still think of Her. In quiet moments She was conspicuous by her absence. I’d suspected I was gay in my mid-teens, but it wasn’t until I’d met Nick and fallen for him that I’d handed my body over to another person—Nick was still my one and only lover. “You know you’re the most important thing in the world to me, Nick, the pivotal focus of my every waking moment,” I said and then paused, my tongue stalling with words that might hurt. “But yes, I do sometimes still think of being with a woman.”
Nick pulled his eyebrows low and studied my face.
“It’s different for you,” I went on. “You had Cheryl before we met, Cheryl and others. For me there has only ever been you.”
Gnawing on his bottom lip, Nick shook his head. “The past is the past, but because of circumstances and our age difference, I would hate to stop you experiencing something you feel you should—"
“No, it’s not like that, it’s not because I feel I should, it’s just…” I struggled to put my feelings into words even though these were not new thoughts and emotions. In fact I’d discussed it recently with one of our friends who’d known he was into guys from a very early age. He’d said the idea of sex with a woman repulsed him and he would rather burn in hell.
Trouble was I didn’t feel like that, there had been girls, women over the years who’d caught my eye and I’d found myself physically attracted to them. Not that I’d done anything about it but the thought of sex with a woman appealed to me, even though I loved Nick and loved having sex with him, I often imagined being inside a soft, sweet feminine body. And, like a small crack above a door frame, over the years of that door opening and shutting—each time I fantasized about being with a woman—it just got bigger. Now it was so big, that crack, it was starting to spit little chunks of plaster onto the foundations of our relationship. Nick had been right to bring it up—it was time to face facts. I wasn’t as gay as I thought I was.
“It’s an urge isn’t it?” Nick said, with an understanding frown.
I nodded gratefully. “Yes, an urge, but I can control it. If you hadn’t mentioned it I probably wouldn’t have thought of it for days.”
“Days…?” His lips stayed parted as if about to say more.
“Yes, days.” I knew I’d surprised him with the frequency of my yearning, but it had to be said and it was, after all, him who’d brought Her up. He deserved the truth.
“Josh, I had no idea.”
I shrugged, withdrew my hand from his and scooped in a mouthful of my sorbet. I’d come to the conclusion there must be different levels of gayness. Much as some gay blokes were repulsed by women’s bodies, there was an opposite end to the spectrum, which I guessed was where I sat. And so did Nick. He’d been married to Cheryl, lived a straight life and had a whole pile of hetro sex that, he’d told me, he’d enjoyed—he just hadn’t loved Cheryl enough to spend his life with her.
“Well, that just proves something needs to be done,” Nick said in a steely tone. “If these are thoughts you’re having on a daily basis.”
“Not every day.”
“Just most.” He placed down his spoon, leaving a big chunk of his torte.
I reached over and cupped his cheek, stared at his long face, handsome and strong and strewn with shadows. He usually sported a dark layer of neatly trimmed facial hair but he’d shaved it off saying he didn’t want an uneven tan. “I don’t want to risk anything or anyone coming between us,” I said. Rocking our peaceful existence terrified me considerably more than suppressing an urge—urges I could cope with, urges I had control over.
“But where is the risk?” Nick covered my hand with his palm and tipped his head so his cheek pressed more firmly against me. “What we have is so strong, so solid, how can you experiencing one night with a woman possibly break it?”
I thought for a moment then sighed. “I don’t think it would break it. I’m just scared about throwing a spanner in the works. We’re so happy and we have been for so long as tonight, ten years married, proves.”
“So what better time to do this, Josh, while we’re secure and strong?” He set his jaw in the determined way he did when sure of something. I felt it tense beneath my palm.
“I suppose you’re right.” I paused, my mind flooding with thrilling possibilities as well as hurdles. “But I couldn’t just have sex with anyone. That wouldn’t work for me I would have to…” I hesitated.
“Go on.”
“She would have to have that certain something, make me feel comfortable and excited both mentally and physically. You couldn’t just hire me a prostitute and think that would work.”
He sat back, forcing me to drop my hand from his face. He folded his arms over his chest and tightened his fingers into his biceps creating little dents in his tanned flesh. “Of course I wouldn’t hire you a prostitute, what do you take me for?”
I smiled, scooped up a chunk of my sorbet and offered it forward. “Here, try this, you’ll love it.”
He narrowed his eyes, but a sparkle deep within them told me he’d been quickly placated. Yes, holidays definitely suited Nick’s moods. They were much less fractious.
“That’s fabulous,” he said, after taking the icy sweet treat.
“Yeah, it is.”
There was a long, thought-filled pause.
“But we don’t know anyone who would be suitable,” Nick said eventually with a sigh. “I work from home and you work with a bunch of burly guys. And let’s face it, even if we both worked with hordes of women, finding one who would be willing to go to bed with a gay man, just so he had the experience of fucking a woman, would be pretty slim.”
I shrugged. “I know, in fact, it’s virtually impossible which make this whole conversation hypothetical.” It was time to get back to just being us and take Her out of our special evening. I dropped my gaze downwards, as if undressing him with my eyes and said in a lowered voice, “Besides, you keep me more than satisfied, in every department.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said, draining the last of his champagne and giving me the lopsided grin I adored, the one that dimpled his left cheek, right in the center and made him look so damn sexy. “But just so we’re clear, and I’ve said this before, we may be committed to one another, but if the opportunity arises for you to lose your virginity in the conventional sense, then you have my blessing. It might be tomorrow, it might be years from now, but I’m there for you when it does, one hundred percent.”
“Thank you, but the chance of Her existing are pretty remote.”
“She could be in Marbella right now, you never know, Josh.”
Once again I looked out at the inky expanse of ocean. Beyond the horizon lay Africa, with all of its exotic scents and sights, taste and delights. I’d experienced a small section of the vast continent as a tourist, though Nick, before we’d met, had traveled it extensively with Cheryl. They’d toured all over the West Coast, she’d been a doctor and he was an architect. They’d spent a couple of years helping set up hospitals in the poorest countries. And then he’d met me, one night in a bar in Notting Hill and acknowledged that he was gay. The marriage had come to an abrupt end.
Occasionally I felt bad about it, but I knew it wasn’t my fault. Nick had made his own decisions, and ultimately Cheryl was a happier woman now. We met up occasionally, with Cheryl. Nick stayed in touch and liked to ensure she had everything she needed. Although why he worried I had no idea, being that she was now a professor and married to a world class ophthalmologist. She had everything she wanted and more, including three children. Nick meeting me had saved her from a life that revolved around a lie.
“Anything else, sir?” a waiter asked, appearing at our side and directing the question at Nick.
Nick glanced at me. “No, I think we’re done. Just the bill, please.”
His foot touched my calf, just the tip of his summer shoe, and I knew he was thinking the same as me. After an evening of champagne and fine dining, and with a luxury suite awaiting us at The Peniche Hotel, there was only one thing left on the agenda.
Sex.
Nick paid the bill, and we wandered back down the pier, hand in hand.
“I love walking with you like this,” Nick said, squeezing my fingers. “It’s so nice to be able to do it without wondering what people will be saying in the paper-shop five minutes later.”
“I know.” I brought his hand to my mouth and brushed his knuckles over my lips. “I adore living in Little Mickleton, but it would be nice if people were a bit more open-minded.”
“I think they’re pretty used to us by now.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
The stroll back to the hotel along the promenade was peppered with curiosities demanding our attention. A man dressed as a Roman Emperor and sprayed entirely in gold paint stood like a statue, moving only when children dropped cents into his urn. Another dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, posed for photographs, Nick couldn’t resist. We stood for ten minutes and admired an enormous and incredibly intricate sandcastle before dropping several Euros into the artist’s green plastic bucket.
Keen as we were to get one another naked, the beauty of having been together so long was knowing that it would happen. The anticipation, the togetherness beforehand, was all part of the seduction.
Finally we reached our room. It was spacious and minimal, the bed enormous and covered in a cream and gold eiderdown, the piping on the delicate brocade a vibrant red. A huge expanse of glass opened onto a balcony, and when Nick flung open the doors the distant roar of the waves rolled upwards and filled the room, bringing with it salty air and the shrill call of a gull.
“I’m going to freshen up,” Nick said, toeing off his shoes and catching my eye in the mirror. “Make sure you’re naked when I get back.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” I said giving a mock salute.
He grinned and disappeared into the en-suite.
After quickly checking my mobile for messages—none—I turned off my cell. I shucked off my beige shorts and checked shirt and tossed them onto the chair. I didn’t wear boxers or any other type of underwear. It was a habit I’d adopted years ago, not long after I met Nick and they kept getting ripped from my body; now I just went without.
Sliding between the cool, Egyptian sheets, I sighed in contentment and waited for my lover. My dick was hard just thinking about his hot, granite body against mine, in mine. I locked my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling, resisted the temptation to start without him.
Luckily I didn’t have to wait long. The en-suite door opened and Nick stepped out, gloriously naked and his beautiful cock bouncing upwards from his wiry bush of black pubic hair. My heart rate skipped up a notch as he flicked off the light, allowing the moonlight to filter over the bed in a ghostly glow.
Throwing back the covers, I exposed my body, showing him my engorged need.
“You want the final part of your anniversary present?” he asked in a low, husky voice, his gaze scanning me from my toes to my head.
“Bring it on,” I said, fisting my shaft and sliding my thumb under the rim of my cock-head.
He kneeled on the bed and carefully unpeeled my fingers from my erection. “Allow me.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and willed my hips not to jerk upwards as he tapped his tongue over my slit, scooping up a thick drip of pre-cum.
“My, you are ready for it,” he whispered, working the tip of his tongue over my glans in a zigzag pattern.
“Oh, yes, that’s it,” I moaned. I turned my head on the pillow and ran my fingers over his short hair. “Oh, Nick, you do it so good to me.”
He didn’t answer. In response he sank low, taking me on a perfect deep-throated ride. His mouth was warm and soft and his tongue a deep, strong groove that hugged my shaft. When he bobbed so low my glans touched the back of his throat I groaned, drawn out and luxuriously, loving the way the sound mixed with the crashing of the sea; it was so erotic and at one with nature, a wave of wet sensations and needy emotions.
He sucked back up, and his fingers joined the party, exploring and caressing the base of my shaft. He cupped my balls and squeezed gently, rolling them within their loose, wrinkled skin.
I groaned again and willed control. Nick’s skillful fingers combined with his talented mouth could easily have me reaching the finish line early, and I didn’t want that.
“Do you want me to fuck you?” Nick asked, his warm breath breezing over my belly and cooling my saliva-wet shaft.
“Yes, oh, yes.”
“Good, because I’m going to. I’m going to fuck your ass so hard. So hard to show you how much I love you.” As he spoke he circled a lubed finger around the tight rim of my anus.
I trembled, as I always did, just before he penetrated me. The anticipation of the pleasure I knew he could give was almost unbearable.
He sank back down on my cock, sucking and rippling his tongue. At the same time he delved one long, strong finger into my tightly puckered hole.
I gasped and stretched my legs wider across the mattress. Drew up my knees, and offered myself to him, as completely open as I could be.
One finger turned into two. He tunneled and probed, stroking over my prostate in a teasing, tickling way. I bucked my hips for more, my breaths coming in short, sharp gasps. Behind my tightly shut eyelids fireworks exploded. The need to grab that first step to orgasm raged through me and I struggled to control it.
His mouth was busy, so was his tongue. My cock pulsed against his palate, the veins so engorged they ached. When he added a third finger I feared I might come. My bollocks were retracting, burying themselves up into the base of my shaft, the pressure inside boiling up to a bubbling throb.
“Oh, God, Nick, please, be careful, I’m going to…”
He must have heard the desperation in my voice for he eased the wild fretting of his tongue and slowed his wicked, pumping fingers.
I grabbed a deep breath and sought my control once more. Found it, just, and hung on.
“Come here,” I said, tugging at his shoulders, “Please, come here.”
Keeping his fingers buried in my ass and scissoring gently, he released my cock and began to spread kisses up over my flat belly, dipping into the indentation of my navel then licking up toward my nipples.
“I want you so much,” I said breathlessly. “Nick, please, fuck me, hurry.”
He responded by giving my right nipple a sharp bite.
I fisted the sheet with one hand and gripped his head with the other. The sting of pain when I was so aroused was an extra blissful sensation. I harnessed the endorphins the sore spot produced and added them to the heightened state I was basking in.
He treated my other nipple to the same bite. Sank his fingers knuckle deep in my ass, twisting and turning them industriously as he went.
“Ah, ah,” I panted, arching my back and knocking my hips into his warm, muscular body.
“Oh, I love it when you want me so much,” he said, licking his way along the taut tendons of my neck. “It makes me feel so alive.”
“I want you all right.” I wrapped my hand around his nape and pulled him in for a hot, panting kiss. My tongue searching and needy, slippery and desperate.
He fed me wild kiss for wild kiss. Pumping into me and rubbing my excited prostate with unrelenting fingertips.
I tore my mouth from his. “Please, your cock. I want to come with your cock in me.”
He stared into my eyes. The silvery glow of the moonlight made his sparkle and look so brown they appeared black.
Without a word he pulled his fingers from my tight hole, and sat back on his haunches. He reached for a tube of lube and quickly greased up his dark, jutting cock. Had I not been feeling so desperate, I would have snapped forward and done it for him, but my hunger to have him sinking into my ass was overwhelming and I wanted nothing to get in the way of Nick fucking me.
I clutched my kneecaps, drawing my legs up so my thighs were pressed against my torso.
“That’s it, baby, just relax,” he said in a growling voice and directed the wide, mushroomed head of his cock at my up-tilted anus.
Relax! I was a coiled spring about to unwind—spectacularly.
I held my breath and studied his face as he pushed in past that first barrier. The heat of his cock and the chill of the lube was exquisite, a beautiful contrast. I watched his lips pull back over his teeth and his eyes shut tight. He loved this first bit, the stretch, the entry, he often told me. So did I. We’d made love a million times in a million different ways but it was always special, he always made me feel so adored.
“Ah, yes, that’s it, fuck, Josh, yeah, squeeze me tight, tighter, yes, yes.” He hissed in a breath.
I clamped my anus as he slid in, a smooth glide that filled me to bursting point. He didn’t stop until his bollocks hit my ass cheeks, the sparse hairs tickly and the soft skin cool.
My fingernails dug into my shins, my hips were stretched apart, and as he dropped his weight to kiss me, my knees clamped against the sides of his torso.
Instead of setting up a pulling in-and-out rhythm, Nick began to rock, the hard stalk of his cock massaging my special internal place perfectly, my own shaft trapped between our bodies.
“You like your final present?” he asked into my mouth.
“Yes, yes, oh, God, yes.” I held his cheeks and cupped my palms over his wide, angled jawline. “Yes, Nick, oh God, I love you so much.”
“And I love you, more than anything else in the world. Now come for me, come hard and long, and don’t hold anything back, let me hear how good I, your husband, makes you feel.”
He deepened his entry and dropped his weight farther. I gave myself up to him. Nothing else existed except for Nick and the glorious way he made me come. His big, solid dick up my ass, and the coarse hairs on his abdomen scraping deliciously over my engorged shaft was my own personal heaven.
“Ah, yes, fucking hell, I love you, yes, yes, yes,” I cried out. Deep within me there was an explosion and my ass pulsed into a series of powerful contractions. My bollocks fired out the pressure that had been building, shooting it up my shaft and jettisoning it between our frantic bodies.
“Ah, you sound so fucking awesome when you come,” he groaned.
“Oh, you’re so deep, don’t stop, keep going, take every last bit of me.”
This seemed to tip Nick over the edge, and instead of rocking he lifted up and began to pound in and out of my quivering ass. Slapping up against my butt cheeks and thighs with each devastating thrust.
I stretched my arms up and grabbed hold of the slats in the headboard. Allowed him to own my body. Use it to take himself to an ecstatic high.
“Fucking hell, that’s it, that’s it,” he shouted, forging in fast and hard then freezing at the hilt.
I peeled open my eyes and reveled in the sensation of his cock spurting into me, filling my ass with his need and his hot cum.
“Oh, my God,” he cried, gripping my waist and impaling me farther onto his spasming shaft. “That’s so good, so fucking good.”
Still clutching the headboard, I braced my heels on the bed as he rammed into me twice more, shuddering out his climax. He was so hard and long, sometimes I wondered how the hell he fit inside me when his cock was at its maximum length and girth, just before he orgasmed.
“Oh, yes,” he panted, dropping down and burying his face in my neck.
I allowed my legs to flop to the sides, released the headboard and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I held him close as he trembled and his heart beat wildly.
“Thank you,” I whispered into his razor-short hair.
“For what?”
“For such a wonderful anniversary. It’s been perfect.”
“You’re perfect,” he said, kissing my neck. “I can’t imagine my life without you. I would do anything for you, you know that.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I said, stoking my fingers down his damp back, dipping into the gutter of his spine and feeling the first rise of his buttocks. “We will be together forever, no matter what happens. You must always remember that.”
 
Chapter One
Laura
Okay, so Marbella had been a long way to go for a weekend and had maxed out the credit card, but I just had to escape the gray June London was offering. Where were the ice-cream-coated kids, the heavy, week-old smog, and the sun-screened bodies lounging in the parks?
Looking around the endless beach, it seemed all the sticky kids and the suntanned torsos had made the same decision as me—to get the hell out of the city and closer to the Equator.
I stretched back on my lounger and stared at the horizon. The sea was the color of a Ceylon sapphire, a pale crystal blue with just a few frothy waves breaking on the surface. The fine sand, a vivid gold, was interrupted only by bright bikinis, colorful swim trunks and the odd striped windbreak. It was a like a scene from a travel brochure, which was just as well since my latest photographic assignment was about the masses escaping the dismal British weather.
I clicked away on my Nikon digital. Took a shot of two children building a sandcastle, then turned and zoomed in on a waiter delivering an umbrella-and-cherry-strewn cocktail to a woman in a white bikini on a white sun bed beneath a white parasol. I studied the image, slurped up the last of my own fruity, rum-laced cocktail, then turned my lens to sea. A beautiful yacht broke the surface and I snapped its graceful profile; it was almost silhouetted because of the dense sunshine. I reduced my zoom and scanned the ebbing waves. Several kids splashed noisily, an elderly couple walked past hand in hand, and then, then a buff beach God strolled out of the water.
It was as if every cell in my body magnetically tuned in to him. A fizzing sensation of awareness buzzed over my skin. I caught my breath and skimmed my gaze over him. It was a Daniel Craig moment, but this was a million times better, because this perfect specimen of manhood was here, breathing the same air as me, walking on the same sand as my lounger rested on.
I clicked away, keen to immortalize that broad, angular chest the color of a perfect apple-pie crust. I needed to record that slim waist, wall of bricked abs and tight navy swim trunks. His thighs were wide with muscles, tensing with each step he took out of the waves.
My index finger went on overdrive as he scraped back his wet hair, the action causing his torso to stretch and amplify his sumptuous oblique muscles angling down to his shorts. I licked my lips, straightened my back and thought what perfect shots I’d have.
He was getting closer. He’d left the gentle push-pull of the ebbing waves and was now on dry powdery sand. Kicking up little clouds behind himself with each step.
Suddenly my mouth dried and I swallowed. He was staring straight at me. I took one last indulgent shot then lowered my lens. In an instant my heart rate shot to dangerous levels. By reducing my zoom the lens had fooled me into thinking he was farther away than he was. The glaring truth was his broad shadow was just about to engulf me. Swallow me whole.
I stared up into the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. They were the exact shade of the cloudless sky above me. He pushed his hair back again; it was dark blond and several long tendrils flopped straight back over his forehead. His parted his lips, as if to speak, then closed it and tipped his mouth into a smile instead.
If I’d been hot before, now I was on fire. His smile was enough to cause my bikini briefs to spontaneously combust. Wide sensuous lips, the lower one a little plump, screamed sin. Good, hot, dirty sin. Oh, it had been so long since I’d enjoyed the benefit of a sexy man’s mouth on my body.
I matched his smile, lifted my shades to the top of my head and rested back on my lounger. Enjoyed his gaze roaming down my body and was glad I’d opted for my favorite red bikini that morning. It had tiny white polka dots and the halter-neck top was especially flattering on my small breasts.
But despite his appreciative expression he didn’t slow down. He kept on walking, stepped right past me, so close that tiny grains of sand from his passing feet sprinkled onto my magazine and beach bag. I stared at his long limbs, wishing I wasn’t such a sucker for a handsome face and mouthwatering body.
It was then I spotted his wedding ring.
Damn.
Just my bloody luck.
I sighed and dropped my shades over my eyes. How typical was that? Though of course I should have known. The good ones were always taken. It seemed to be one of life’s irritating nuances, the older you got and the more keen you were to settle down, the less men there were to choose from.
I shut my eyes and tried not to feel jealous of the lucky woman who would be getting a drippy, salt-laden kiss from that beautiful mouth right now. Running her hands over sun-warmed, smooth skin and giggling as he whispered what dirty things he would do to her later, in bed. I squeezed my legs together and my clit gave a little tug behind my bikini briefs. There would be no man in my bed tonight, just my trusty Rampant Rocker vibrator. Rocky, as I affectionately called him, had been my only release for nearly a year now. A string of disastrous relationships with men who said one thing but meant another had led to a decision to take a year off from dating. But that year was nearly up, and I wouldn’t say no to a man again. Even if it was just for one night.
I drifted into an explicit daydream about what I’d do with a hot male body tied up before me. I’d start with long, slow kisses, move on to oral sex; perhaps I would sit on his face. Then I would ride him, hard and fast. Get myself off over and over, my pussy gorging on rock hard cock. Next I would let him strap me down, lay spread-eagled and surrendered, allow him to do what he wanted to my poor neglected body. In the end I would be crying for a rest he’d made me come so many times.
“I brought you a fresh drink.”
The deep voice at my side startled me from the erotic picture my mind had created. I opened my eyes, sat up and propped my glasses on my head. Hoped I hadn’t mumbled anything incriminating during my daydream.
Sitting on the empty lounger next to mine was Beach God. The very man, I now realized, who’d been the star of my recently concocted fantasy. Warm anticipation poured through me. He was truly beautiful and his smile devastatingly infectious.
But why is he sitting next to me?
“Oh, er thanks,” I managed, reaching for the large Pina Colada he offered forward. It had three straws emerging from white froth and two slices of pineapple balanced on the rim. “But how did you know—?”
“That you were drinking Pina Colada? I asked the waiter at the beach bar.” He nodded in the direction of a circular wooden hut with a reed-stick roof.
“Oh, well, thank you very much. I’d just finished mine.”
“I know.” He grinned and took a sip from a bottle of beer. When he lowered the bottle it made a soft sploshing sound. He held out his hand. “Josh Kendal.”
He wrapped his long, strong fingers around mine and squeezed gently. His skin was as smooth and warm as I’d imagined, though I noticed callouses on his palm.
“Laura Makay. It’s nice to meet you, Josh. Thanks for the drink.”
“Are you here alone, Laura?”
“Yes, just for a long weekend. I need pictures for an assignment so decided to take a working holiday.”
“Great place you’ve chosen to work. Marbella’s amazing.”
“Yes, it is.” I took a sip of my scrumptious cocktail, appreciating its coolness after the dregs of my last one that had warmed in the sunshine. “What about you. Are you here alone or are you with your wife?” I directed my gaze at his left hand, staring studiously at his silver wedding ring for a few seconds before re-settling my gaze on his.
He grinned. “No, not at all, I don’t have a wife.”
I raised my eyebrows a fraction and took another sip of drink. No wife but wearing a wedding ring? I would wait for him to explain that one.
His grin was still in place when he nodded in the direction of the beach bar. “I’m here with my partner, Nick.”
I followed his gaze.
“That’s him, sitting in the shade, catching up on emails,” Josh said.
I spotted a tall, dark-haired guy hunched over a laptop. He wore flowery swim shorts and had a broad, hairy chest. “Your partner. As in business.”
Josh laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “God no, I couldn’t work with him, he’s fanatical about detail, it would drive me crazy. No, Nick is my husband” He smoothed his index finger over the ring. “We’ve been together for ten years. That’s why we’re in Marbella. He’s treating me to a holiday as an anniversary present.”
I felt as though a ton of rubble had just been dropped inside my chest. Of all the luck. Not only was the delectable man at my side married, he was also gay. He couldn’t be more out of reach if he was living on the damn moon. “Well, er, congratulations,” I said, swallowing tightly. “On, your, you know, anniversary.” I gulped down several big mouthfuls of cocktail, ensuring the straw was right at the base of the glass to maximize the rum hit.
“Thanks,” he said, pushing his hair from his face again.
I rested back and slotted my sunglasses down over the bridge of my nose. I didn’t want him to spot the disappointment in my eyes. Josh was by far the most lovely looking man I’d spoken to in years and suddenly finding out nothing would ever happen between us, not even for one night, created a twisting frustration in my gut.
“So where are you staying?” he asked.
“Just here.” I tipped my head to the towering hotel behind the beach bar. “At The Peniche.”
“Yes, so are we. It’s pretty special, isn’t it?”
“It’s lovely, but I really should have been kinder to my bank balance and gone for something a little cheaper.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Well, since I’m traveling alone I wanted to know my hotel wasn’t going to be on some dingy back street. Plus, this one has free airport transfers so I didn’t need to hire a car.” I shrugged. “And it’s just for four nights anyway.”
He smiled. “I think it does everyone good to be spoiled sometimes.”
“Definitely. Has Nick been spoiling you?”
“God yes. He acts like a hard nut but he’s a complete softy really, very romantic when the mood takes him and he’s not swamped by work.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s an architect. He’s got his own business which he runs from home, but it means he needs to keep on top of current projects when we’re away. He can’t completely forget about his clients.”
“No absolutely.”
“It only takes him a couple of hours a day, though, and it suits me to go for a swim and laze in the sun reading. If he doesn’t do it he only worries and gets crabby.”
“I understand what that’s like. When I have an assignment I like to just get on with it.”
“What is it you do exactly?”
“I’m a freelance photographer.” I nodded at the camera by my side. “Sometimes I work to a specific request my agent has negotiated, other times I just snap away and sell what looks good.”
“Wow, that’s a pretty impressive way to earn a living.”
“Yes, it’s fun, but to be honest I could do with selling a few more pictures. Though if I don’t, it wouldn’t stop me being a photographer. I love what I do. Capturing an image, a moment in time, it makes me feel like I’m a documenter of history.”
He grinned, flashing neat white teeth and sending small lines darting from the sides of his eyes. “So what are your favorite types of shots?”
I thought for a second. “Hard to say. I like taking ones like I have been today. On a beach, everyone having fun, great light to play with, not much to tell you what decade it is except for the style of beachwear. Then other times I like to really concentrate on the detail, close ups, nature particularly, flowers, bugs, cobwebs on a frosty morning, that sort of thing.”
“Nice.” He took a sip of his beer. When he took the rim of the bottle from his lips they were coated with moisture. A small dot of white froth sat in the central bow of his top lip.
“You ever do portraits?” he asked, apparently oblivious of my intense scrutiny of his mouth, and luckily none the wiser to the fact that I was imagining what it would be like to be that speck of beer froth.
“Er, yes, I have in the past. It usually pays well, and if the subject is…” I paused, searching for the right words as I kicked my brain into gear again. On the tip of my tongue was a comment about being physically perfect and how that made portrait work so much easier, but I couldn’t say that without blushing, for surely Josh knew how physically perfect he was. Surely he was aware he was having an effect on me despite the fact he’d been honest in telling me not only was he gay but also married.
He licked his top lip and tipped his head, as if urging me to go on.
I sighed, and once again quashed that sludgy feeling of regret. “If the portrait subject is relaxed it makes it so much easier,” I said. “Plus if they have an idea what kind of mood they’re going for in the final shot it helps to get us both on the same wavelength.”
Josh smiled, nodded, then glanced over at Nick. “Looks like he’s finished. I’d best go and get him a drink.”
He stood and once again, I let my gaze travel down his body. He was honed and toned in all the right places. His swim shorts were fitted and I could make out an impressive bulge behind them; long and thick and dressed to the left.
Taking another sip of my drink, I willed myself not to stare.
It was impossible not to.
What a waste.
“Would you like to join us for dinner tonight, Laura? I guess you’re eating alone.”
A wave of surprise washed through me, and I looked back up at his face. “Dinner?”
He grinned. “Yeah. I’d love to hear more about your work and I’m sure Nick would too.”
“Well…er…”
“We have a reservation at the top floor restaurant at eight. I could easily call and change it to a table for three.”
“Well, if you’re sure. I don’t want to intrude or anything.”
“You won’t be intruding. We’d love your company.”
 

 
I hope you enjoyed that first dip into this steamy novel which will be available on Amazon on 12th of October.
Lily x

Oysters and Chocolate

Today over at the wonderful  Oysters and Chocolate   Stockholm Surrender is featured along with a glowing review!! This has made my day :-)

Review snippets


There is something about a bad boy. Especially a bad boy with a cause. Ty Winters is that sort of boy.

The premise is inspired, and one of the most unusual takes on the theme of kidnap within erotica that I’ve come across.


Even when Ty hacks off a clump of Penny’s hair to post to her father, Penny is still determined to see him again- and this is where the skill of Lily’s writing shines through. As a reader I was with Penny- you believe she wants to be with Ty even after he destroys her hair- and you can see why. As a couple- however wildly unconventional- they steam. 

If you like your erotica edgy and kinky, but with the romance kept in, then Stockholm Surrender is a must read.





Buy Links for Stockholm Surrender

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Ellora's Cave

All Romance eBooks

Barnes and Noble

The Boys Next Door by Sommer Marsden

Please welcome the fabulous Sommer Marsden to my blog today!!
Sommer has a new story out, The Boys Next Door, don't miss it, I know I won't!

Blurb

Never in her hottest dreams did Farrell McGee expect a move to Tower Terrace to be such an erotic roller coaster ride. 
"Good luck getting your key. I’m the middle house across the road should you need anything. At all," he said. The tone, the words, the accent on the anything. Oh god, he was one of those men. Men who had tons of self assurance and sexual prowess and total faith in their bedroom abilities. Those men were dangerous.
Starting over at twenty eight, Farrell McGee discovers sleepy Tower Terrace teeming with handsome men. Well, maybe not teeming, but three heart-stopping men do live across the road from her.
Despite feeling she's fallen backwards into a fairytale, complete with a big stone tower, a local legend and missing love letters, it becomes clear that all three of her neighbours have a sensual grip on her. She's powerless to choose just one, and just as powerless to get them out of her head or her bed. Deke, the devilish good boy who's superb at being bad. Coop, so often annoying in his gruffness, but oh so dominant where it counts. And Stephen the pretty, sweet, slightly submissive one. Her sex life has never been so good and her heart never so torn. She needs to choose one man, when she's not ready to give up any of them. But deep down she knows who she wants.
Take it away Sommer...
Thanks Lily!
One of my favorite scenes in Boys Next Door is a voyeur scene. Farrell goes to visit one of the men she’s been seeing and instead sees him with another person. Another guy!

So what about you, would you watch? Would you peek through the window? I’ve never been faced with that problem in real life. But in fiction, I’ve been there done that.
I love voyeur scenes because for most of us the instinctual reaction to seeing people together in an intimate way is to leave. And then—if we wait a beat too long— there might come that instant where the knee jerk reaction to leave is overridden by something inside of us telling us to stay.
Or maybe we just want to—like Farrell.
I knew he was bisexual, he’d been very upfront about it, but seeing him like this – with another gorgeous man – it did something to me. It turned me on in a way I’d never really experienced before. And I wanted to watch.
Anyone else have The Clash stuck in their head? Should I stay or should I go now…
Anyway, as you can imagine, this being a hot scene in the book—Farrell lets her internal something override her. And she watches her lover with another lover. It’s one of my top five favorite scenes in the book. Speaking of scenes in the book, I believe there’s one below…
‘What now?’ I sighed.I grabbed my mug and watched him appraise me with that sharp stare. Why did I still feel naked?‘That is your sump pump, Farrell.’‘Oh.’ To be honest, I had no idea I had a sump pump.‘It’s on a battery backup in case of …’ Coop waved his hands around. ‘This.’‘Ah,’ I said.Brilliant. One word answers, dingbat.I listened to the infernal beeping for another moment and tried not to squirm as he studied me, that mysterious twist of a smile on his sensual lips. Coop crossed his arms and there was a Celtic cross, a feather that might or might not be a raven or a crow, a swatch of blue and … he crossed them the other way and there was the hint of a scaled tail. A mermaid?When I took a shuddery breath and simply could not stand the beep-beep-beeeeeeep anymore I blurted, ‘My God, how do I make it stop?’He chuckled, gave me a decisive nod and took my hand. ‘Let’s start by going in your basement where the sump pump lives.’‘Yes, let’s,’ I echoed, rattled by his strong hand on my wrist. When he held my arm, though, I saw more of that tail and yes, it had to be a mermaid. Or a very curvy fish.‘It’s a mermaid,’ he said, following my gaze.‘Oh, I didn’t – I wasn’t –’ I shook my head and we took my very steep, wooden, horror-movie-esque basement steps slowly.‘Have you been down here yet?’‘No,’ I admitted. ‘I have a basement phobia.’‘Spiders?’‘Nope. Just basements.’Another smoky laugh and then he was tugging me into the corner by the washbasin and the laundry area.He squatted down and I tried very hard not to study the firm line of his ass and thighs in his dark blue work pants. Or the way his work boots made my body flash all hot like and needy. Or how the small swatch of skin I could see and the slice of boxer short waistband was visible, or how any of that made my breasts feel tender and my mind sizzle like I’d been electrocuted.I was learning about my sump pump. Sump. Pump. And that was all.‘This red light,’ he said, pointing.I nodded. Thankful, suddenly, for the flood of sunlight from the small window high over the washbasin. I realised without it we’d be down here in the darkness – okay, murky daytime ‘darkness’ but darkness nonetheless.‘Yes?’‘If it goes off on a glitch, you push it for one second. Once it stops beeping you move your finger.’‘Got it. But this isn’t a glitch. This is an actual outage so …’‘So you do this,’ he said. ‘You push the button down and count to five.’ He pushed his finger to the button near the red light and looked up at me. ‘One … Two …’ On two I blanked out because I was watching the plump invitation of his lips and yes, my eyes had darted back to that lovely strip of exposed skin and his ass. Oh, man, the man had an ass.‘Are you counting?’‘Yes,’ I whispered.‘What number are we on?’I blinked, took a step back, right into a clothesline strung from the rafters and I promptly freaked the hell out and started waving my arms, dancing in place, screeching – convinced I’d backed up into the world’s largest spider web.Then I tangled myself in the slack line and screamed in earnest. It wasn’t until Coop, who I could tell was mightily trying not to laugh, grabbed my arms and whispered, ‘Settle down,’ that I stilled.I’d looped one arm up and one under and had effectively twisted myself up. He reached overhead. ‘Let me just find where it’s hooked and I can …’ he stopped talking, feeling around in the rafters.‘Spiders,’ I wheezed, reminding him that they were waiting to eat his hand.‘I think I’ll be fine.’ He looked me in the eye and smiled and that was that. My cunt flexed wetly, my stomach bottomed out and I licked my lips without thinking.I moved my arm and managed to get my wrist unwound. ‘I think I’ve got it –’‘Here.’ He gave up trying to find where it was tied and untwisted my other arm as I worked on the right one. I had caught a flash of tattoo at waist level when he’d raised his arms.‘What is it?’ I asked.‘What is what?’I gave up. I’d gone from scared of him, to panicked lunatic twisted up in ropes, to tentatively bold. ‘This?’I lifted the tail of his shirt and touched the small swatch of colour visible above his waistband. But the blue work pants shielded the rest of the picture from me. When my finger brushed his skin, electricity – real or imagined – hummed along my own skin.‘Be careful doing that, Farrell,’ he said, catching my hand in his. ‘I’m just a man. And you’re just a new, very beautiful, very intriguing neighbour.’
About Sommer
Sommer Marsden’s been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and "Erotica royalty..." (Lucy Felthouse).
Her erotic novels include Boys Next Door, Restless Spirit, Big Bad, Wanderlust and Learning to Drown. Sommer currently writes erotica and erotic romance for Harper Collins (Mischief Books), Xcite Books, eXcessica, Ellora's Cave, Pretty Things Press, and Resplendence Publishing. The wine-swigging, dachshund-owning, wannabe runner author writes work that runs the gamut from bondage to zombies to humor.
Sommer's short works can be found in well over one hundred (and counting) erotic anthologies. Her short stories have also been included numerous adult and romance magazines--both in print and online. Visit sommermarsden.blogspot.com to see what’s up and drop her a line.
WOW! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing THAT Sommer, you can come anytime :-)

Lily x
Buy Links for The Boys Next Door
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The Glass Knot

Coming Soon...




“So it was a lie. You weren’t okay with Josh being with me that night?” I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice. This had been their bloody idea, how come I was suddenly the bad girl?
Nick shook his head and stepped away, walked toward the patio table that held a large vase of pink and lilac sweetpea. He rested his hands on the back of a chair and half bent over, as though he held the weight of the world on his shoulders and the burden had made him weary. “I was never going to be happy about him spending a night with another person, male or female. But it was a case of if you love something let it go and hope it comes back. I did, he did.”
“So, what has changed?”
He stood and turned, leaned his butt against the chair back and folded his arms over his chest. “Ah, now there’s the key word, change. He came back, but I was a fool to think he wouldn’t be changed by the experience. Oh, I’m not saying he is in love with you or anything. Because he’s not, you know.”
“No, of course not, I know that.” Even I wasn’t deluded enough to think that was a possibility.
“How could he be in love after just one night? He hardly knows you.” Nick shook his head and furrowed his brow, as if pondering a conundrum. “But he was so pleased when you said you would come and stay, like, really excited. I can’t understand it. I can’t understand it at all.”
“Maybe he just wants a female friend,” I said, clutching at straws. “He works with guys. If his family is not particularly understanding of you two being married, then maybe he is just lacking some friends in his life. Nothing more than that, plus he…” I hesitated and looked down at the floor.
“What?”
“Plus, I’m also here on a professional basis.” I had to tell Nick. A birthday surprise was not worth his anguish. “Josh wants me to take some photographs, for you, as part of your birthday present next week.”
Nick nodded slowly and he relaxed his shoulders a fraction. “Well, that’s something, I suppose.”
A large ginger striped cat, pale and with a toffee-colored tail, appeared on the patio. It pushed its cheek against Nick’s leg and coiled its body around his shin.
Nick reached down and fussed its head.
Suddenly I realized how wrong it was for me to be here. I didn’t belong. I was intruding on a happy family unit which had no place for me.
“I should go,” I said, dragging in a deep breath and bracing myself for the words I had to say. “I have no wish to come between you two.” I tilted my chin stoically. “Please make up whatever excuse you want to Josh, whatever will make it easier for him.”
Nick straightened. He stared at me again, his glinting eyes heavy with relief and also gratitude.
“Laura, Laura, you’re here.”
We both turned to the orchard. Through the shadowy, winding path, Josh’s tall frame appeared. He had a broad smile on his face.
My heart flipped at the sight of him, but I immediately berated myself. I was causing a major problem by being at Barn View, so I definitely shouldn’t be admiring the man at the center of the issue.
I can’t help it.
Josh looked like every erotic fantasy I’d ever had all wrapped up in one damn sexy fireman. Despite the warm evening he wore clumpy black boots, thick, slightly loose navy blue trousers with silver reflector bands around the lower half, and a matching shirt with the sleeves rolled up; there was an embroidered emblem on his shirt, over his chest, a gold shield with GFS at the center.
I couldn’t help but return his smile, it was infectious. So much for sneaking off and leaving Nick to make my excuses. It was too late now. I didn’t dare glance at Nick. I was sure if looks could kill, I would be getting a lethal one.
“The traffic can be hell on a Friday, I’m glad you made it okay,” Josh said, moving up close and going to kiss my cheek. “I got here as quick as I could, didn’t even bother changing.”
I tipped my head but misjudged which side he was going for. I hesitated, so did he, then we both jerked and his lips skimmed mine.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, giving a nervous giggle and pressing my fingers to my mouth. “Hi.”
I gazed up at the face that had been haunting my dreams. He had a light sooty dusting on one cheek and his hair was flat, probably pressed down by a helmet. He smelled of ash and smoke. He appeared slightly taken aback by our accidental kiss, but only for a brief second, then his smile returned.
He stepped up close to Nick, pressed a palm to his cheek. “How are you?”
Nick gave a small nod before their lips met in a soft, lingering connection.
Once again, seeing them kiss did funny things to my insides. My stomach fluttered, and I was aware of a tensing in the walls of my pussy. They were just so damn sexy together.
Josh’s shoulders relaxed, as if, at the end of a long, hard day, being with Nick, kissing Nick, made it all worth it.
Nick curled his hand over Josh’s biceps and stared at me, even as they kissed. His eyes communicating that what he had with Josh was so much more than what I had.
I glanced away. I didn’t need to be told that. It was clear they were strong. I’d been a blip, that was all. And the sooner I left them to their happy ever after the better.
Josh finally broke the kiss. “How did the Redmond survey go?”
“Great.” Nick touched a lock of Josh’s hair, pushed it back from his eyes and then rubbed the sooty mark on his cheek with the pad of his thumb. “No issues at all.”
Josh smiled. “That’s good news.”
“Yes, it is.” 
Nick gave a sigh, and I was relieved to see some of the strain on his face lift. Josh was as good for him as he was for Josh.
“So,” Josh said, turning to me and rubbing his hands together. “I’m sure everyone is starving, and I apologize for keeping you waiting for dinner. Just let me wash up and I’ll be straight down.”
He took several big strides and disappeared into the cottage.
I looked at Nick.
He looked at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
Nick’s lips tightened.
“I was just about to go, but he—”
“I know.”
“I would have—"
He held up his hands. “I know, okay, but it’s too late now, he’s seen you. You’re here, officially.”
I swallowed tightly. “As soon as I’ve done the portrait, first thing in the morning, I’ll go.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded and fiddled with the strap on my camera.
“Laura, I—”
“I get it,” I said. “You love Josh with all your heart and you don’t want to share his affections. I don’t blame you, you’re married, you have a right to be possessive. Me being here, in your home was never part of the deal, was it?”
He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”

I hope you enjoyed that snippet! THE GLASS KNOT will be available on Amazon later this week! 
Have a great Sunday 
Lily x