Addison Moore's Blog, page 55

The Tuesday Tease plus Logan Oliver's POV

Welcome back to the Tuesday Tease! Guess what? TOXIC Part One is back in my hands! And shockingly, the edits are less than minor. It’s going to be ~quick~. Then all I need to do a series of psychotic read-thru’s. That’s where I lose sleep and forego food so I can marathon read until my eyeballs bleed. And guess what else? My husband came through and finished the covers for both Part One and Part Two~! I should be debuting both those in the next few days. *happy dance* It’s all finally coming together. As soon as I kick Part One out the door I’ll attack Part Two (it’s mostly all edited).  Okay, I have a really BIG surprise and I’m hoping you’ll love it as much as I do. I’ve completed one of my secret projects…ETHEREAL KNIGHTS (The Olivers). It’s ETHEREAL retold from Logan and Gage’s perspective and it’s…well, a bit steamy. I let the boys run wild so turn up the AC ladies, Gage is not shy. I’ll send it to my editor as soon as I can. It’s a full-length novel and ideally I’d like to put it out back to back with TOXIC Part Two.BTW, my contemporary romance is with one of my editors as we speak and hopefully I’ll do a jacket blurb and cover reveal soon. On to the teasers! Here’s one Marshall tease and then an entire scene from ETHEREAL KNIGHTS from Logan’s perspective. It’s the scene where he and Skyla visit the Falls of Virtue. It falls right after this scene: click here.Enjoy~!
(Skyla and Marshall discussing her biological mother )
“She is insane,” I scream, standing in the middle of Marshall’s living room.He jabs a finger in the direction of the fireplace and it roars to life in one giant blaze. “Of course she’s insane. That would be your genealogy by the way.” Marshall points to the ceiling and the lights dim, music filters in through the air. He holds out a hand and I absentmindedly take it.“She just basically declared open season on my vagina,” I say, leaning into Marshall’s chest as we begin to slow dance. “I mean one conjugal visit and we’re as good as married?”“It needs to be consensual.” He insists. “Of course, the bride price still needs to be paid but these days all that amounts to is a clerical fee at the county court house,” Marshall rambles.

ETHEREAL KNIGHTS (An Oliver Novel)
Logan’s POV

The Falls of Virtue are a testament to the Master’s glory like nothing else I’ve ever seen—until I met Skyla.The fog skirts by our feet at this heightened elevation as I lead us down to the waterline where the view is best. There they are—three falls, each perfectly spaced across the back of the hillside. We watch as they rain down with fury and passion into the open mouth of the lake. It’s a heated exchange, pulsating and throbbing, something just this side of erotic. It’s so blatantly beautiful here. It makes you feel as if you’ve accidentally landed in paradise.“Wow.” She looks up at a rainbow just beyond the peak and a laugh gets trapped in her throat. “It’s…” Skyla struggles with words. Her lips part. It takes all of my self-control not to dive down over her mouth and cover it with my own.“You have unicorns here too?” She laughs.“Not at this location. They prefer the higher elevations where it snows.” I bite my lip until it feels like I might draw blood. I’m having serious withdrawals from kissing her, and yet, I don’t want her to think I dragged her all the way up here to maul her. But God, how I would love to maul her. “So that’s where the water comes from?”“Year round.” I knock my head back trying to ignore the fact I’m starting to get the shakes just looking at her.She heads out toward the edge of the lake, the water nearly lapping over her shoes. I step beside her and wrap an arm around her waist, safely from her skin so she doesn’t feel like I’m trying to listen in.“This is where I want to get married someday.” Her face ignites with color. She swallows hard as if realizing what she just let slip. “Gage said I was going to marry him.” She averts her eyes as if the theory were more than laughable.Everything in me goes numb—the expression bleeds from my face.A thousand thoughts assault me all at once.  “So it must be true,” I whisper. Gage—this was his girl—his dream come to life. He knew it and he didn’t tell me. He gave her the knife and she gutted me without even knowing. But this is Skyla, the Celestra that stole my heart with one bat of her lash. The minute she set foot on Paragon, she lit up my universe with her smile. To hell with Gage and his weepy eyed dreams. I’m not letting go. If he wants her—if he wants his unblemished “prognosticating” track record to continue, he’ll have to go through me to get her.  “I’m not marrying Gage.” She spits it out as if it were a fact—as if she had any say in it at all. “I thought it was funny,”—she shakes her head—“Brielle thinks maybe he has a crush on me.”“He does.” I can’t seem to break my deer in the headlights gaze. “Anyway,” she breathes, “I’m not into him.” She pauses, waving her hand over my face to capture my attention. “I’m into you.”And there it is. Just the words I needed to break the spell. A smile curves on the edge of my lips and everything in me aches to kiss her. “I’m into you,” I say, pulling her in close. Skyla with her out of the box wicked beauty. I want to run my tongue over every inch of her, devour her in one quick bite—swallow her down. I sweep my lips over hers and an involuntary groan wrenches from me. We kiss in waves of heated passion. We drink down the wine of new love by the vat full. This is meaningful. This is right, and for damn sure it’s meant to be. Every angel on earth and in heaven can testify to the truth of what’s unfolding between us. I love kissing Logan, Skyla’s mind reels with lust. Kissing Logan at the Falls of Virtue is like stepping into a fairytale. Suddenly I’m transported to a land with dragons and villains. Of course, I’m the princess, which in turn makes Logan the perfect prince. I pull back and dot the tip of her nose with my lips. “You up for a swim, princess?” Her mouth falls open at the realization I read her thoughts. “I don’t have my bathing suit.” She gives a sexy as hell smile and the bulge in my jeans rises to salute her.“Swim in your underwear, or without. Your choice.” Choose without. I relax my grip around her sweater, too bad she didn’t hear my preference. “I don’t have a towel.” It comes out pressured and gives away the fact she’s not so hot on the idea. “I have a few in the truck for emergencies.” No point in letting her off so easy. I try to hide the grin wanting to take over.Skyla licks her lips, slow in one clean sweep, like she’s trying to seduce me. “Does this qualify as an emergency?”“It’s the only one I know of.” My jeans tighten just below the hips and I turn slightly so I don’t stab her in the leg with my newfound protrusion and send her running for the hills. “I’ll stay in my boxers.” I hold up a hand, swearing to my declaration. She takes a heated breath as if a preview of what’s to come just swirled through her mind like some wild porno flick. Not that I plan on doing anything wildly pornographic with her. In fact, I plan on taking it slow—doing things right. This isn’t some dime a dozen girl I’ve latched onto at one of Ellis’s VD Petri dish get-togethers. Skyla is special—a princess, someone to build a life with.   “Sure.” She finally concedes and starts heading toward the truck.I whip out my cell to send a big FU to Gage and my thumb hits “camera” instead of messages, so I go with it. I aim high and snap of picture of Skyla’s arms in the air, her sweater knotted up by her wrists.I’m mesmerized as her golden hair falls against her bare skin. Her pink bra straps set my body on fire, and I groan pushing off my jeans. I’m already testing the resolve of my boxers. I’d better get control, and fast. I land my phone and jeans on the hood of the truck, take off my T-shirt and hook it over the windshield so it doesn’t fly away.Skyla walks over slow and methodical, swiveling her hips like a well-polished vixen. Her pink toenails call to me like candy. Her tans legs rise like skyscrapers that I long to climb. I ride my gaze up her body and trace out her yellow lace underwear, her hot pink bra with a diamond cut jewel shining between her cleavage. If I didn’t know better, I’d think swimming in our underwear was a well thought out plan on her part. Her face turns ten shades of red as she sweeps her eyes over me, she blinks down at my boxers and bounces her gaze right back to my face. I pull her in by the hand, pressing my lips against her and land her stomach over mine. My body seizes with the touch of her hot skin and a strangled sound of pleasure gets trapped in my throat. “You think the water’s cold?” She lands her cool hands over my chest and pushes me back a good twelve inches.“I hope so.” For the sake of my sanity it’d better be. I walk her over to the “diving board”, a granite ledge that hangs over the top of the falls, and smile over at her as we jump in hand in hand. The lake swallows us down, engulfs us with its sharp icy sting—fire and ice all in one. This is what it feels like being with Skyla, a delirium of sensation, the logic of up and down, hot and cold is all erased in her bewitching presence.  Skyla and I cement our feelings for one another under each of the three falls by way of our lips, our arms—her legs riding over my back. These are lust-born kisses, mysterious kisses that stretch back and forth in time, explosive lingual exchanges that just might be illegal in all fifty states. We set the water on fire—turn the entire lake into a boiling cauldron as we drop beneath the surface, our mouths interlocked, exchanging the air from our lungs like currency. Skyla coils her legs around me. Her fingernails dig into my back as she pushes in with great intensity. There’s no way I would ever become Gage’s anything. Logan has me totally and completely. This is something that surpasses the length of years, the ladder of time. We’re building something eternal. I can feel it.We pop to the surface and gasp for air as laughter trembles from our lips.Something catches her attention off in the ebony pines and I follow her gaze. Nevermore.I let go of her for a minute and dive back under. Gage won’t let her out of his sight and I finally know why.I’m about to prove Gage and his gift of knowing wrong. I’ll be damned if I let him get in the way our love. Skyla and I will get our happily ever after, with or without destiny’s approval.

***I hope you enjoyed it~!***
And I still can't thank you guys for all of your support for EPHEMERAL! 
Here are the links if you need them:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, it's also on iTunes!

Tuesday Teaser with Gage Oliver's POV!

Welcome back to a special POV edition of the Tuesday Tease!First, I really want to thank all of you for your amazing support with EPHEMERAL (The Countenance). Several characters from EPHEMERAL are in both parts of TOXIC, so I’m thrilled that you’ve had a chance to get to know them. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed your feedback and reviews as well. So, a BIG hearty thank you FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!TOXIC is due to land back into my hands from the editor this week! And as soon as I get it I’ll start in on marathon edits until that bad boy is polished.  Here’s a quick Marshall snippet, then I’m offering up a Gage POV. It’s the scene from EXPEL where everyone is shown the infamous DVD. I’ve included Skyla’s POV from the book just after his in the event you’d like it for reference. Logan’s POV is next!Happy reading~!
*(Marshall speaking with Skyla)“I’m amused by your show of prowess—and by the way, do feel free to bring such heated aggression into the bedroom. In fact, I say we establish the first rule of our union—spirited disagreements are only to be conducted sans clothing and held underneath the sheets.” He picks up my hand and gives a kiss as if to sound the gavel on his pornographic solution to martial discord.


GAGE’S Point of View:Chapter 31 (EXPEL)Full Disclosure
Skyla and I pull up in front of Chloe’s house in the middle of a downpour. It seems to rain harder here than any other place on the island. Figures. Probably due to some demonic force field residing above the Bishop house. Wouldn’t surprise me.I look over at Skyla. We set the bowling alley on fire tonight with those hotter than hell kisses she kept delivering. The girl can melt a glacier with just one look.Her hair is still beaded with rain from getting in the car and her eyes glow like street lights. We should be anywhere but here. If Skyla hasn’t learned her lesson about “befriending” Chloe by now—one of these days Chloe is going to lead her into a dumpster and set the damn thing on fire before bolting down the lid. “Are you sure this is how you want to spend Saturday night?” I ask, turning off the engine.“I’m sure. Besides, Ethan begged me to come, so did Brielle. Ethan’s got something up his sleeve,” she whispers. “He’s not as quick to forgive as Chloe believes.”“And why are you?” I lean into her, soaking wet and in the mood to continue the conversation our bodies were having at the bowling alley. The last thing we need to be doing is hanging out with Ethan and Chloe. We should be doing other things, like showering together. “I’m not,”—she exhales—“I just, I think deep down inside I want to believe her. Everyone’s redeemable right? We all make mistakes, huge, horrible mistakes and in the end when we wake up to what we’ve done—most of us are sorry.”“Chloe doesn’t have a heart, Skyla.” I offer a kiss to try and change our plans for the evening. “And the fact yours is too big is the reason I love you most.” She leans in and melts her lips over mine. She flicks her tongue against mine until I catch it gently with my teeth—she chases my tongue until she does the same. I like these little games we play. She moans when we kiss like she wishes it would string out forever. She pulls back slowly and swallows hard. Her eyes widen as she takes me in. She presses her lips to my ear and whispers, “I love you so much. I don’t think I could breathe without you.”
***
No sooner do we step through the door than the smell of chocolate chip cookies light up our senses.I take in a deep lungful and close my eyes a moment wishing away the next hour. The last place on earth I want to be is at Bishop’s house with Skyla by my side. Feels wrong, like running through a thorn bush naked. Makes me feel as if my balls are in jeopardy, they probably are.Logan nods over at me while Michelle wraps herself around him like a serpent. I pump my lips at him without the benefit of a smile. It’s weird watching Miller drill her tongue in his ear—something’s off about him lately. He would have welcomed Michelle on her knees once upon a time, but with Skyla in his sights I’m not buying it. He’s been a dick so I’m leaving it alone for now.    Skyla detours us into the family room where Drake and Brielle treat us to a demonstration of how they made their baby. Everyone’s here, but it still doesn’t make me want to stay. Chloe snags my eye. She glances my way before dipping her hand between Ethan’s leg and I avert my gaze. We both know who she’s really propositioning. Chloe’s goal in life is to give me a hard on. Pierce struts by and Skyla goes rigid. I wrap my arms around her waist and drop a kiss into her neck until she relaxes into me. Her whole body sighs when I touch her. I run my tongue up to her ear and feel her shudder, her neck rolling back with pleasure. We could be doing so many mind-blowing things right now. What the hell are we doing at Bishop’s? She turns her head into me. “Guess what?” Her voice is low and husky, and the bulge in my jeans perks up to attention. “I want to talk to you later about something super important.” Talk? We’re definitely not on the same page. “Does this ‘super important’ topic require a hotel and protection?” My lips curve as I try to hide the fact I’m hopeful. “No.” She lowers her lashes. “But we could talk about that, too.” Skyla crashes into me with a kiss. She dives her tongue deep into my throat, washes in and out of my mouth like a promise, a preview of things to come, and God I want things to come. “All right,” Ethan booms. I bet Chloe wrenched his ball sack until he interrupted the love fest between Skyla and me. It was either him or a bullet. Ethan continues, “Let’s get this movie going before it gets too late.”Chloe twitches a smile in my direction. She thinks I’m in too deep with Skyla and it pisses her off brilliantly. “Brace yourselves girls.” She pops a DVD into the player. “It’s three glorious hours of battleships and tanks—Ethan’s pick. He won the wrestling match.” I’m sure it was more like a cage fight. “Next time, I assure you, the cover will be pink, and there will be hot shirtless man-candy to drool over for two hours straight.” She licks her lips while looking right at me.“I’ll give you some man-candy to drool over.” Ethan knocks into her with his hip before gnawing on her face.  “I think he’s chewing on her,” I whisper to Skyla. “He is. But in his defense, one doesn’t get a whole lot of practice kissing when they’re dead.”She’s got a point. I, for one, am definitely not dead, and I plan on blowing Skyla’s mind later with some smooth moves of my own. I take in the scent from her hair, cinnamon and roses. I press my face into her curls before lacing our fingers together. “Let’s do this.” Pierce lands a hand over Nat’s shoulder before reaching down and tweaking her boob. Nice. Rounding out second base in front of a dozen different people. It’s Kragger’s pornographic fantasy—we’re all just living in it. I would never do that to Skyla. And she would never dive her hand into the front of my jeans like Chloe’s done to Ethan twelve times already. Skyla and I know better. We respect one another. She’s fallen in love with me, so deep and so hard there’s nobody else for her. I can feel it.  The lights dim. The monster television that expands across the wall, flickers on and off like a flare.Skyla pops on the screen, smiling her gorgeous smile while music blares in the background. Knew it. Chloe’s got it locked and loaded to humiliate. I squeeze Skyla’s hand and start lifting us up to get the hell out of here.   Skyla sucks in a sharp breath. “What the—” Dudley explodes on the television and I fall back into my seat. He’s got his mouth over Skyla’s like he’s giving her CPR and her shoulder is turned into him like she’s enjoying it. “This one’s for you, Gage,” Chloe spouts off.   It goes on for what feels like hours. Dudley on Skyla—Logan with his face pressed into hers, his hands locked over her bottom, fingers digging in. Ellis springs on the screen with his jeans twisted down by his ankles and Skyla on her knees in front of him.What the? Harrison? Holy shit. Skyla freezes solid as I let go of her hand. Neither of us moves, we just watch the train wreck unfold at record speed. My body explodes with heat as Skyla wrenches a knife in my gut with her actions. And here I thought she only wanted me—loved me. What a joke.Dudley and Skyla light up the room, going at it in bed. She’s wearing lingerie, and all she ever wore for me was a T–shirt. Then it’s the Logan and Skyla highlight reel, all faces, tongues like leashes, her hands sunk below his waist. No wonder he’s been such a prick. Michelle is a just a ruse, someone to kill time with until I free up Skyla for him. It all makes sense.The music rises in decibel. The grand finale’s coming I can feel it. A part of me says leave now—don’t give anyone the satisfaction. Then I see it. The Mustang gyrating hot and heavy like it was powered by hydraulics. It’s parked in the dark lot just above Devil’s Peak. It looks private, abandoned, perfect place to…The camera zooms in. There they are, Logan’s bare ass is pumping into Skyla with his arms above her shoulders like he’s strangling her with passion. Skyla bites her lip as Logan buries his face in her neck. Her lids tremble. Her lashes blink open—her eyes roll back into her head just the way I imagined they would if she ever gave me the chance to love her like that—the way she looks in my dreams when I do.The television fades to black before a loud pop goes off and smoke blows from the back of the unit.Figures. Logan and Skyla were too hot to handle, literally. I guess not even technology can deny chemistry like that. She probably uses Dudley and Ellis for target practice. And, Ellis? Really? I'm numb. My heart is drained from every emotion I ever let it feel, shredded to pieces in less than a few minutes.A roll of nausea pushes through me as I head for the door. I had a feeling I’d have my balls handed to me on a silver platter if I showed up tonight, I just never imagined it’d be from Skyla.If Chloe’s intent was to teach me a lesson for getting too close to her pet project, she wins. Chloe was right. Skyla was never that into me.  


SKYLA’S Point of View: Chapter 31Full Disclosure
***

  Inside, the Bishop home holds the scent of fresh baked cookies. The dim lighting and consistent spasm of cackles give the night that Ellis-esque feel. It feels quasi-safe with Brielle and Drake here. Emily, Lexy, Michelle and faux Logan add a certain air of comfort to the environment. The roll call of bitchiness is complete with Nat as the honorary member, and Pierce, who has become as his namesake suggests, the constant thorn in my side. Michelle is joined at the hip with Logan which weirds me out because despite being Holden, in nature, he’s still staunchly locked in Logan’s congenial framework. I know deep inside that in no way what Holden does with Michelle reflects on Logan, but I can’t help but feel a stab of jealousy at the same time. It looks like Chloe was right. Holden is a lust slave to Michelle. He follows her around like a Golden Retriever, happy to fetch her every need. Pierce glares at me from across the room. I’ve been carrying that stupid cease and desist letter around in my purse to circumvent it from accidently landing in Mom and Tad’s hands. Of course Pierce doesn’t want to go to juvy over the stupid shit I accidentally did while hopped up on Michelle’s rose of terror, but then, really, neither do I. Holden pats him on the back as he makes his way into the kitchen. I’m sure Pierce has been apprised of the fact his brother incarnate is in the vicinity. I think the entire Kragger clan owes me big time, and I don’t mean by way of threatening legal action at every turn. Pierce should cease and desist his presence from my life as a thank you even if Holden’s state of being is temporal.   I pull Gage deeper into the family room, wrap my arms around his waist and swoon into him dreamily. We’re here together at Chloe Bishop’s house of all places. It all worked out on its own. I didn’t have to sleep with Marshall to get Chloe off our backs. Of course, we could have done without the Mustang turning his insides to pulp and killing Logan. I’m still convinced Chloe was behind the scene of that crime. Speaking of which, I haven’t heard Gage cough all night. I bet he’s plenty recuperated for me to fill him in on the bizarre turn of events regarding his dearly departed uncle slash cousin. I hate keeping secrets from Gage. “Guess what?” I whisper into his ear.He moans into me while massaging my back. It feels so good I can melt into a puddle right here at his feet.“I want to talk to you later about something super important,” I breathe it hot in his ear. “Does this super important topic require a hotel and protection?” A devilish smile plays on his lips.“No, but we could talk about that, too.” I tweak my brows. I press a heated kiss into Gage right here in Chloe Bishop’s living room and miracle of all miracles I don’t end up with a knife in my back. “All right,” Ethan begins corralling everyone into the family room. “Let’s get this movie going before it gets too late.”God—he even sounds like Tad. “Brace yourselves girls,” Chloe warns as she makes her way over to the entertainment unit. “It’s three glorious hours of battleships and tanks—Ethan’s pick. He won the wrestling match.” An image of the two of them going at it bounces through my mind. “Next time, I assure you,” she continues, “the cover will be pink, and there will be hot shirtless man-candy to drool over for two hours straight.”“I’ll give you some man-candy to drool over,” Ethan bumps her with his hip. Ethan and Chloe really do look and act like a couple. They shared a soda at dinner, and she ate his pizza crust. Now they’re nauseating us with an awkward display of questionable kissing.“I think he’s chewing on her,” Gage whispers.“He is. But in his defense, one doesn’t get a whole lot of practice kissing when they’re dead.”“Let’s do this,” Pierce barks, wrapping an arm around Nat. I feel Kate’s absence most when Nat’s around. It infuriates me that Marshall used me to do his dirty work. Chloe is right. We’re nothing more than pawns on some giant celestial chessboard. Gage and I sit on the loveseat, squeezing in next to Brielle and Drake while Chloe dims the lights.The television in Chloe’s family room eats up an entire wall. I have to say I’m impressed with this rather odd gathering. It’s sort of a nice break from Ellis’ rambunctious affair with nary a red Solo cup in sight, which most likely implies there won’t be any puking later with the exception of maybe Brielle. The TV blinks, and my smiling face pops up on the screen. A sappy country song aggregates through the speakers and offensively begins twanging in our ears.“What the—” Before I can get the words out, Marshall ignites the screen with his lips secured over mine.Chloe glares in my direction. “This one’s for you, Gage.”  An entire montage of me kissing Marshall—kissing Logan enfolds. Even Ellis is thrown into the mix with his pants down, me kneeling before him. Never mind the fact he was putting out the fire on my hand, it looks entirely lewd from the angle the video was taken.I’m frozen. A stale breath is caught in my lungs that I may never let go. Gage sinks limp into the seat beside me. I’m too afraid to look at him, to look at anyone.It goes on for an eternity. Marshall and me, rolling around on the bed at the Pine Pole Lodge—me in my corset, his hands caressing my bare waist. Logan loving me at the bowling alley, the house, the school—everywhere a lip-lock. The lust written over the two of us could combust the room into flames.The music comes to a roaring crescendo, the Mustang gyrates overlooking Devil’s Peak.Time feels as though it’s picking up speed. My stomach does a hot revolution because I know what’s coming. The camera pans in a tight clear shot of Logan writhing over me, the haunted dress Marshall gave me for the winter formal, bunched in a mess around my hips. The passion on my face is undeniable. My lust for Logan burns a hole through the air, electrifies the atmosphere until the universe sizzles from our searing affection. A stone sinks in my chest, obliterates my heart to nothing. It’s over between Gage and me. What I’ve done is unforgivable. I glance over at Chloe in disbelief. My sins recanted for everyone to see. This was her plan, her pleasure.She hid the blade in her tongue—in her deceit to lure me over. I was the enemy, the feast, the sport—the entertainment.And I never saw it coming.     
Hope you enjoyed it~! Logan’s up next! 

EPHEMERAL has arrived!

Mostly!

Amazon link: click here

Smashwords link: click here

Barnes and Noble : click here


Two years before Skyla set foot on Paragon, there was EPHEMERAL...



Happy reading~!

Ephemeral releases tomorrow!!!

Two years before Skyla set foot on Paragon, there was EPHEMERAL.




Can you tell I'm excited? I cannot wait to share Laken's world with you! Here's a snippet from the jacket blurb:



The last thing Laken Stewart remembers is the oncoming car, then bursting through the windshield.
Two months dissolve without her knowledge and she finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers who not only profess to know her but insist she’s someone else entirely.
Laken Stewart knows she died on that hot July afternoon, but now she’s alive—or is she?

Hope you enjoyed!

I'll give the links once they're live.

Happy reading~!

Tuesday Teaser/ EPHEMERAL to release Friday!

Welcome back to the Tuesday Tease!
Yes, I’ve moved the content to my blog for now. Strange right?
There was some talk of content issue and who owned what once I put it on Facebook so until I figure it out I’ll keep the teasers here for a while. Hope you don’t mind!
*** UPDATE: EPHEMERAL will release this Friday September 14! I'm SUPER excited to share this book birthday with you! ****


GREAT news from my editor! TOXIC Part One should be back in my hands by the end of the week, or early next week. In truth, this final stage of edits is my favorite part so I’m super excited!
EPHEMERAL is done. As in laid to rest, finished—forever to be left alone. It’s going through some last minute formatting issues. Anyway I had SO much fun with Laken, Wes, and Cooper. I can’t wait to share them with you!
On to the teasers!
EPHEMERAL (The Countenance Book 1) Fun Facts about the Countenance series:
*Skyla’s original name was Laken but I didn’t think it fit her.
*Skyla was originally going to have an older sister named Jen, but when I moved Laken I moved Jen along with her.
*EPHEMERAL takes place two years before Skyla sets foot on Paragon.
*The Countenance storyline eventually converges with Celestra. Characters from EPHEMERAL are in TOXIC Part One and Part Two.
*The second book in the Countenance series EVENESCENT will most likely be in 3 POV (point of views) Laken, Wesley, Cooper unless of course my editors decide it is totally botched. In that event I will happily blame Wes and Cooper.
*There were a few scenes I refused to edit before bed because I'm a big chicken. (I’m looking at you- end of chapter 39 beginning of chapter 40)
*I’ve been doing Tuesday Teasers for EPHEMERAL longer than most Celestra books combined. True Story.
Anyway, hope to get the book to you SOON!

TOXIC (Celestra Series Book 7)
*Just a tiny fun fact for both parts of TOXIC: On a few occasions Marshall says the most outrageous things that I would never dare put on my blog or facebook. I blush just reading them.

 *(Skyla speaking with Marshall while Gage is present)
“I can’t wait until our honeymoon,” I say with the last bit of energy my body is able to dispense. I have high hopes of Gage having a coronary episode while envisioning my post marital vacay with our math teacher—how apropos for him to succumb to his demise in the morgue of all places. And with no Dr. O around to save him—tsk, tsk.
*(Skyla about to witness an encounter with her two mothers)
Then it happens.“Lizbeth?” My mother, the one who gave birth to me, the one who bears my striking resemblance and has long since passed away, approaches the partially clad woman I now call Mom. Candace wears her signature I’ll cut your throat smile. Honest to God, she might have been better suited as Chloe’s mother than mine.

*(Skyla and Gage)
“Are you a liar, Gage?” It comes out lower than a whisper.He holds my gaze much longer than he ever should have to. His left eye twitches as if he were weighing his options.“No, Skyla.” He takes up my hand and dips my finger into his mouth as if it were a confection. “I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a liar.”It makes me wonder what exactly those things might be.
*(Skyla and Logan at a secret location)
“Skyla,” Logan shouts victoriously. He lands a kiss over my cheek and holds me while tumbling us down the hillside. He kisses my lips, my nose, my eyelids. “We're here. We made it.” He jumps to his feet and pulls me up.
*(Extra tease: Skyla yelling at Gage in front of Chloe, Drake, Brielle)
“Oh, my God. She did see your baseball bat!” I scoot my chair the hell away from him in the event his pants decided to catch on fire because he is so a liar. “Dude.” Drake marvels. “You’ve got a baseball bat down there?”Brielle walks in and breezes over.“Talking about Gage?” She says it so nonchalant and so correctly pegged the phallus in question all eyes redirect themselves to her. “What?”
Hope you enjoyed the teasers!I’ll give you the heads up for EPHEMERAL’s release as soon as I can!
*If you would like, you can leave comments either here or on FB. Either are appreciated!






  

Tuesday Teaser

Welcome back to the Tuesday Tease!
Yes, I’ve moved the content to my blog for now. Strange right?
There was some talk of content issue and who owned what once I put it on Facebook so until I figure it out I’ll keep the teasers here for a while. Hope you don’t mind!
GREAT news from my editor! TOXIC Part One should be back in my hands by the end of the week, or early next week. In truth, this final stage of edits is my favorite part so I’m super excited!
EPHEMERAL is done. As in laid to rest, finished—forever to be left alone. It’s going through some last minute formatting issues. Hopefully I’ll update soon (like tomorrow?) with an official release date. I would love for it to be this weekend but we shall see. Anyway I had SO much fun with Laken, Wes, and Cooper. I can’t wait to share them with you!
On to the teasers!
EPHEMERAL (The Countenance Book 1) Fun Facts about the Countenance series:
*Skyla’s original name was Laken but I didn’t think it fit her.
*Skyla was originally going to have an older sister named Jen, but when I moved Laken I moved Jen along with her.
*EPHEMERAL takes place two years before Skyla sets foot on Paragon.
*The Countenance storyline eventually converges with Celestra. Characters from EPHEMERAL are in TOXIC Part One and Part Two.
*The second book in the Countenance series EVENESCENT will most likely be in 3 POV (point of views) Laken, Wesley, Cooper unless of course my editors decide it is totally botched. In that event I will happily blame Wes and Cooper.
*There were a few scenes I refused to edit before bed because I'm a big chicken. (I’m looking at you- end of chapter 39 beginning of chapter 40)
*I’ve been doing Tuesday Teasers for EPHEMERAL longer than most Celestra books combined. True Story.
Anyway, hope to get the book to you SOON!

TOXIC (Celestra Series Book 7)
*Just a tiny fun fact for both parts of TOXIC: On a few occasions Marshall says the most outrageous things that I would never dare put on my blog or facebook. I blush just reading them.

 *(Skyla speaking with Marshall while Gage is present)
“I can’t wait until our honeymoon,” I say with the last bit of energy my body is able to dispense. I have high hopes of Gage having a coronary episode while envisioning my post marital vacay with our math teacher—how apropos for him to succumb to his demise in the morgue of all places. And with no Dr. O around to save him—tsk, tsk.
*(Skyla about to witness an encounter with her two mothers)
Then it happens.“Lizbeth?” My mother, the one who gave birth to me, the one who bears my striking resemblance and has long since passed away, approaches the partially clad woman I now call Mom. Candace wears her signature I’ll cut your throat smile. Honest to God, she might have been better suited as Chloe’s mother than mine.

*(Skyla and Gage)
“Are you a liar, Gage?” It comes out lower than a whisper.He holds my gaze much longer than he ever should have to. His left eye twitches as if he were weighing his options.“No, Skyla.” He takes up my hand and dips my finger into his mouth as if it were a confection. “I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a liar.”It makes me wonder what exactly those things might be.
*(Skyla and Logan at a secret location)
“Skyla,” Logan shouts victoriously. He lands a kiss over my cheek and holds me while tumbling us down the hillside. He kisses my lips, my nose, my eyelids. “We're here. We made it.” He jumps to his feet and pulls me up.
*(Extra tease: Skyla yelling at Gage in front of Chloe, Drake, Brielle)
“Oh, my God. She did see your baseball bat!” I scoot my chair the hell away from him in the event his pants decided to catch on fire because he is so a liar. “Dude.” Drake marvels. “You’ve got a baseball bat down there?”Brielle walks in and breezes over.“Talking about Gage?” She says it so nonchalant and so correctly pegged the phallus in question all eyes redirect themselves to her. “What?”
Hope you enjoyed the teasers!I’ll give you the heads up for EPHEMERAL’s release as soon as I can!
*If you would like, you can leave comments either here or on FB. Either are appreciated!






  

Logan Oliver's POV

Here it is! The world from Logan’s point of view.And….since you guys have been SO kind I’ve decided to throw in a BONUS Logan POV in the near future. I’ll either do it before or after Gage. In fact, I’m having so much fun with these POV’s I’m thinking of rewriting ETHEREAL through Logan and Gage’s perspective. It would be mostly Logan’s POV because of the nature of the storyline but I’ll try my hardest to balance it out with Gage. Just real quick, here’s some TOXIC news: Since the book is twice the size it should be (200K+ words), my editor suggests I chop it in half. I’ve hired a second pair of eyes, so TOXIC Part One goes back to the editor on Friday and then we bounce it back and forth before I put it out in a few weeks. It’s very close. I’m going to work hard on the covers so hopefully I can do a reveal soon. TOXIC Part One and TOXIC Part Two will both be considered book 7 since the story arc is continual. Unless, of course, my editor changes things, and if she does, I’ll let you know. That’s where it’s at for now.
Here is Logan’s POV is from ETHEREAL. This scene takes place the morning of chapter 15 (Virtue). The next POV of Logan’s, that I’ll put up soon, will be chapter 15 through Logan’s eyes. That’s the chapter where Logan takes Skyla to the Falls of Virtue and waterfall kisses ensue. *sighs* However, in this scene, there is definitely some brewing tension between Logan and Gage.Happy reading~!    
“Breakfast with the Olivers”
Logan's POV:
I’m dreaming of Skyla when my eyelids crack open to a burst of violent sunshine. Gage treks out of the room after committing the solar felony, and I throw my pillow at him, nailing him in the back of the head. It’s the same crap he used to pull when we were little—opening my curtains on the rare morning the sun has the balls to show and waking me up out of a dead sleep.   “Stay the hell out,” I groan, trying to bury my head in the crook of my arm. The covers are off and my boxers are pitched like a tent.He doesn’t say anything, just stomps down the hall with those cinder blocks he calls feet. I jump out of bed and hit the shower. By the time I get dressed and head downstairs, a fogbank has seeped over the island and all is right with the world.“Morning!” Aunt Emma sings while Gage and my uncle discuss something at the breakfast nook. “Morning.” I bullet toward the fridge but she herds me in the direction of the table with a plate at the ready.Gage leans back and inspects me as I take a seat. I don’t say a word, just bow my head for a moment of gratitude before digging into my food.“Rough night?” Gage asks with a pissed expression layered beneath his paltry concern. I doubt Gage is too broken up over the fact he interrupted my early morning fantasy. It's like he knew I was in the middle of some serious cardio with Skyla. The scene comes back to me in detail, and my lips twitch with a dirty smile.   “What’s with the tension, boys?” Barron singes the two of us with his salt and pepper brows. “Nothing.” I shrug as if I didn’t suspect that Gage and his perpetual hard-on for Skyla have everything to do with it. I thought he’d get over her by now. I thoughthe loosened up the obsession, until Bree informed me he was giving Skyla a ride home from the mall yesterday. I know what kind of ride Gage would prefer to give her and it has nothing to do with those underinflated tires sitting in the driveway.“There’s definitely something going on.” Emma takes a seat next to my well-aged brother whom I’ve grown accustomed to as my uncle—heck, my father. “Is this about a girl?” Her hand crops up around her neck, and for a second I’m afraid she’ll choke herself. God knows there’s not a girl on the planet that will ever be good enough for sweet baby Gage. I don’t say anything, just sink in my seat and drill a cold look into my nephew—waiting for him to affirm or deny the theory.Barron huffs a laugh. “The silence suggests nothing less. Who is she?”“Skyla Messenger,” I offer. “My girlfriend.”“Gage!” Emma jumps in her seat. “Don’t dream for a minute of letting a girl come between the two of you. Remember what happened with that Bishop girl? Then she disappeared.”I’m not sure what she means by, ‘Then she disappeared’. Unless, of course, she’s implying that she herself offed Chloe and hid the body in order to protect her offspring from potential girl parts. If that’s the case, I could’ve used a little help from Emma myself. Chloe latched onto my balls in front of everyone at West and plucked them off like apples in the fall. I’m sorry about whatever happened to Chloe though—wish I could have stopped it. Gage shifts in his seat. “I don’t think we should bring up Chloe.”“Gage,” Barron’s voice dips into his I’m-about-to-school-you register, “if Logan here is dating a young lady, I think you should be a gentleman and step aside. Give them some space.”“Yes, Gage,” I say, knocking my foot into his shin with a little Celestra missile guidance. “Give us some space.” I try to bury a laugh as he writhes at the other end of the table, probably more from the thought of losing Skyla than the gnarly Charlie horse I’ve just inflicted.“Someone else will come along.” Emma does a poor job of hiding her relief. “When it’s the right girl, nothing—not even Logan will be able to stop it from happening.” She winks over at me. I flex my hands in surrender. “Who am I to stand in the way of destiny?” Funny how Mr. Dimples suddenly forgot about his imaginary girlfriend. He could have had Chloe everyday and twice on Sunday if he weren’t saving himself for that figment of his ex-rated imagination. I tried to warn him not to read too much into those visions of his. I specifically told him that crap has a way of cementing itself into your head—leaves you believing weird stuff, like Mrs. Right is going to stroll into your life one day out of the blue—sort of like Skyla did for me. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Everything about Skyla is pretty amazing. “You’re right, Mom.” Gage hardens his glare at me. “I’m pretty sure when destiny places me in someone’s life, there won’t be a darn thing Logan can do to stop it.”He pounds me with those brooding eyes as if destiny has already laid out the cards for him, shown him a full house with a beauty queen on top. A cold surge rips through me.He doesn’t think its Skyla, does he? I’ll have to squash his misinformed fantasy before he gets his interpretations crossed with my brand new girlfriend. Skyla is going to be my wife one day—I can feel it. Gage has always been better than a brother to me. I’d hate for there to be permanent weirdness between us. I should probably pay Miller a couple grand to lure him away during Harrison’s next unholy gathering—get his mind twisting in other carnal directions. I’ll have him declaring Michelle Miller as the girl of his wet dreams before homecoming. I raise a glass of orange juice to Gage. “I give destiny full permission to intercede.”Gage offers up a fist bump and sharpens his features as we connect. It’s on Bro.A smile slopes up the side of his face and that ditch in his cheek winks at me.It’s on? I give a little laugh.I’d say, ‘bring it’ but something in me knows he’s more than capable. Nope. I don’t like this one fucking bit. 

50 Shades of a Naughty Sector: Marshall Dudley's POV

Here it is! Marshall Dudley’s point of view. Let me preface this by saying this is a scene from TOXIC (I won’t say whether it’s Part One or Part Two) but Marshall may have embellished slightly as to how it all unfolded. Then again, he might just be telling the truth. ;)
TOXIC
*(Skyla visiting Marshall past midnight. She is markedly late for their dinner date.)
Marshall’s POV:
“Finally,” Skyla says, striding in after a rather noisy pounding session where her fist felt the need to test the resolve of the door.  “Come in,” I say, after the fact. If it were anyone else I’d be less than amused by the infraction, but it’s not anyone else—it’s my future bride. She barrels past me into the kitchen with a slick of mud on the side of her face, a tear or two on her sweater, and a muddied imprint of her bottom on the back of her jeans.“You’re absolutely filthy—and I most definitely approve.” I give a wicked grin, and head in her direction. “I might be moved to bathe you.” I slide my finger down her cheek. “Oh, how I’ll scrub,” I say, losing myself in the exasperation on her face. Her fits of vexation animate me on a primal level. That alone is reason to remain on this spinning rock long after I’m needed. I’ve found a new destiny and it very much involves a one, Skyla Laurel Messenger. “You’re right, I am filthy.” She jams her fingers into her hair and further instigates the tumbleweed effect that’s forming. “I’m disgusting, don’t look at me. And, for sure, no scrubbing.”“You, my love, are far from disgusting. Although, if you prefer, we can continue this conversation somewhere devoid of light—horizontally if you wish.”She pinches her lips with a brief look of disdain.There’s an overall war torn appeal to her this evening but by no means does it distract from her beauty—in fact, it amplifies it immeasurably—makes her all the more alluring with that, ‘I might kill you and eat you for breakfast’ look in her eye. “I’m moved to run a bath for you,” I confess. “You could sit on my lap while I offer you a shoulder massage.” I offer an impromptu preview of the bliss to come, and she rolls her head back in ecstasy. Skyla lets out a moan that raises the temperature in the room by fifty degrees. “I’m sure we could both let out a little pent up frustration in the process.” “No need.” Her eyes spring wide and she jumps out of reach. “I’ve got Logan for that.”An image of her locked in the Pretty One’s arms infuriates me, and I’m reminded why it is she’s late in the first place. “I was expecting you hours ago. This far from pleases me,” I inform. “I’ll be sure to let Logan in on my displeasure as well.” A slow brewing anger stirs in me and I’m well aware of the spark of envy that has lit this inferno. The way those Oliver dolts monopolize her time you’d think the war were being decided by whoever manages to impale her first. “Let the record show, I disapprove of your nocturnal wanderings.” She gags in lieu of a response. “Excuse me—I had a war to fight.”“Which you lost.”“Which my mother lost because she flipped the switch before your frat brother could give me the heads up on how to take the region.”“She’s not one to make things easy.” I withhold a grin. “What are you laughing at?” She snaps.“Dare I say, you.” There’s nothing I relish more than my beloved worked up in a frenzy. It’s almost worth the contention just to watch her writhe in a hotbed of agitation. She’s viral, this one. “You, Skyla, certainly know how to bring the passion to the table with your virulent outbursts of both the emotional and physical variety—and how I look forward to more of the physical.”“We’ll see about that.” She moves past me deeper into the kitchen and lifts the lid off a pot.Was I just privy to a sprig of carnal hope? For a moment I consider abandoning the meal and running her up to the bedroom instead. There is no greater aggression that begs to be unleashed, than after a bout of good old-fashioned warfare. Skyla leans into the pot and indulges in a guttural moan that sends my testosterone rising, among other things. “Smells like heaven!” she says, pressing her hand to her chest as though it were the first aroma she has ever enjoyed—and with her mother’s disastrous kitchen tinkerings it just might be. “What is it?”“Squirrel—caught two in the yard.” I broaden my chest with the proclamation. “A man with good aim is difficult to come by,” I purr. “And, I assure you, that skill is best employed in the bedroom. I’m more than willing to demonstrate later—show, don’t tell, and all those good lascivious adages.” “I’ll pass,” she says, lacking the enthusiasm I was hoping for. “And really? Squirrel? That’s freaking gross.”Good Lord, she’ll never appreciate my culinary skills if I keep confessing what’s on the menu—best leave some mystery in this arena of our relationship. “That’s not freakinggross,” I inform. “That, my love, is dinner.” I flip the dishtowel up over my shoulder, eluding to the fact I’ve far more interesting things to sling but she doesn’t flinch. “And, where were you after the war?” I even my tone. I know very well where she was and with whom. “I was beside myself with worry.”“With Logan and Gage, thank you very much.” She goes over and lands on the sofa before seductively flicking off her heels. She lies back on her elbows and glimpses at me from under those long, dark lashes. Whether or not she realizes it, she’s a vixen of the highest order. “You my dear kitten are impossibly titillating.”She purses her lips. “I don’t know what the hell you just said, but it sounds disastrous.” Her eyes close a moment from sheer exhaust. “Never you mind your pretty little head. What’s important is that you’re no long with the twisted Olivers—you’re here.” I slink my way over. “And might I note that you lose each time you’re in their presence. Accept the fact they’re cursed and move on. I suggest you find someone of noble character, someone who comes from victory, like me.” I hover over the couch and inspect her from this aerial vantage point—her golden hair slightly frazzled, her silver eyes partially closed. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was beckoning me to lie next to her.Dear God up in Heaven—she’s giving me the come hithers. I hurdle the back of the sofa and land next to her with the deftness of a feathered wing. “I want to hear all about your time in the Ethereal Plane. Tell me everything.” Conversation is the height of foreplay to human women. After six thousand years of observation I know this well—it’s almost an unfair advantage.Her ribbon lips curve into a delicious smile as she places her head in my lap and takes up my hand. She looks up at me, pure as the driven snow and my entire being electrifies at her touch.Skyla starts in on a long sordid tale of intrigue and mystery, peppering the lopsided conversation with the occasional stray thought.  I run my gaze over her supple neck, the perfect hourglass that her hips afford. My mouth desires to trace out the landscape of her every curve. I crave to have her, right down to her tiny beautiful feet. How I yearn for the moment she graces my chambers night after luscious night with all of the affection we can afford. We’ll charge the air with our ferocity. I can almost feel her skin burning against mine, the singe of her thighs smoothing over me as I make her my wife with a pronounced finality.“I can hear you,” she flat lines. A smile rides up my cheek. “Though the deep drink of our love tarry—wait for it.” “As I was saying…” Skyla carries on with the stamina of an auctioneer as she details the events of the past several hours. She strings out a single sentence without interruption for five solid minutes regarding Delphinious, the weather, Jock Strap—and Harrison-I-Specialize-In-All-Things-Illegal.   My fingers ache to touch her but I veer from her skin and indulge in her luscious curls instead. Such amazing beauty, such stunning attributes—I would say, they broke the mold when they created her, but in truth, it was her mother’s egotistical need to duplicate that led to Skyla’s beauty. The only difference being, Candace is severely lacking in the gentle soul department—fortunately for me, her offspring is not. Skyla glows from the inside with a radiant beauty. “And, that’s how it ended,” she sighs into me. “You know…” She burrows the back of her head deeper into my lap and rouses more than my curiosity. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m all alone.”“You have me.” I probe her with a heavy gaze. “For the rest of your days I will be here for you—someone to trust, to lean on—to have and to hold from this day on.”She reaches up and presses her fingers to my lips. “Those sound an awful lot like wedding vows.”I snatch her hand and hold it to my mouth. “One day they will be. You will be everything to me, Skyla. A lover.” I press my lips to her ring finger. “A friend.” I kiss another slender digit, dipping it just past my lips. “My spouse.” I plunge her entire forefinger into my mouth and run my tongue along the back as she slips it out. “Where shall we spend our honeymoon?” Tasting her flesh has invigorated me to the prospect. “No honeymoon,” she’s quick to assert. “But, well…” She folds her arms tight across her chest. “Since I’m not seeing Gage—and Logan wants to wait until the end of the faction war before we see where our ‘feelings’ lie—I suppose I’m open.”“Open?” My jaw goes slack. “You know…” She shrugs. “For your wooing—no kissing though. You’ll have to woo without lingual contact.”“No kissing.” I repeat as though I meant it. “Fantastic.” I marvel. “What shall we do to commemorate our first day of coupledom?”“Let’s hop in that mirror of Demetri’s and see what’s cooking on the other side.” She prods me in the ribs as if I were cattle. “You’re a Sector—you can get us out of any number of messes. Come on.” She shakes me by the collar in what can only be described as a partial assault. “I’ll be fun.”“Absolutely not.” I grit my teeth at the idea. “There’s an off chance it might have diminishing effects on my powers. I can’t risk getting caught with my proverbial pants down. I won’t have it. In fact, I should give you a good tongue lashing for entertaining the idea.” A lewd smile begs to glide across my face. “Shall I start now?”“No.” A tiny dimple ignites on her left cheek and it takes all of my celestial reserve not draw her up and cover my mouth over hers. “And,” she continues, “I seriously doubt you’d have anything to be ashamed of with your pants leveraged to the ground. In fact, I’m betting you’d draw an awful lot of attention.” She runs her tongue over the rim of her lips and gently moves her neck over my hips. “Something tells me you’re a real crowd pleaser. You’re a giver, aren’t you, Marshall? And, I can tell you have a lot to give.” I’m stunned into silence. I pluck a twig from her sweater. “Shall we run upstairs and get you into something a little more comfortable?”“Let’s see—” She runs her fingers through my hair as though she were considering far more than relaxing in my briefs. Her breathing grows erratic. I can feel her desire rising for me like an aria. The only thing we’ll be feasting on this evening is ourselves. There could be no better meal. “I bet your bed falls under the category of something more comfortable.”  “If you insist.”A knock erupts at the door before I can seize the moment and steal her away.“Give me a second—I’ll get rid of them.” I rise in haste nearly depositing her to the floor. “It’s probably just Gage,” she says, averting her eyes at the thought. “Like I said, give me a second—I’ll remove them from the planet.”We head to door and I swing it open ready to behead whichever Oliver has the misfortune to darken my doorway, however, there’s no sign of an Oliver for miles—its Shelly. “Expecting company?” Skyla cuts me a sharp look. Clearly she’s reduced to cinders at the thought of Shelly warming my bed at night.  “What’s going on?” Michelle asks, wide-eyed and stunned to see Skyla by my side. “Just hanging out,” Skyla says with a touch of ownership over yours truly. This is panning out better than I could have expected. Shelly showing at this late hour has incited my love to a fit of jealous rage. She’ll want nothing more than to make me hers before I’m snatched away by my former mistress. “You wanna come in?” Skyla offers. “We were just about to play a game.”“What?” I balk.“Sure,” Shelly growls, as the two of them ignore my clear surprise.“Shelly, you can’t stay.” I turn her by the shoulders and begin to usher her right back from where she came. “Ms. Messenger and I are calling it a night. We’ve a game to play in private.” I slide a secret smile over to Skyla. Let the record show the boudoir adventure was her brilliant epiphany.  Shelly’s face rounds out in horror as she struggles to remain inside. I give a generous shove and bid her goodnight before securing the door behind her.“You.” I take Skyla in my arms and press a warm kiss over her lips until she pulls away. I absorb her form, her features as if she were the only sustenance I needed to survive, and truthfully she just may be.“Now where were we?” she whispers, running her lips along the underbelly of my jaw while procuring an involuntary groan from deep within me.“I believe we were headed upstairs.”

Gage Oliver's point of view

Wow! I cannot even begin to thank you enough for all of your awesome support for ETHEREAL and for helping me name Celestra Book 7 ~*TOXIC*~! I am forever in your debt. In addition to that, here is the point of view from Gage (our winner). I’ll be posting Marshall, Logan, and yet another Gage very soon as an extra special thank you. I’ve included the scene I’m flipping from EXPEL—in the event you wanted to compare Skyla’s POV with that of our not-so-beloved Gage. ;) I jest. Mostly. All issues that may arise from this POV have been addressed in TOXIC. And, oh, how they shall arise.
Enjoy~!

(Excerpt from EXPEL Chapter 71)
Skyla’s point of view:
Marshall radiates a quiet repose. He bleeds most of the hour with a dry routine, espousing numbers, letters, and formulas as though he were reading a recipe from the back of a box, not his usual engaging demeanor. During the final ten minutes, he stares blank and wide in my direction as though he were looking through me, but the explosion of lust emanating from his being suggests he is rather focused on my person. He hands a couple of students a stack of graded papers to pass out and takes a seat on the corner of his desk, openly pillaging me with a come hither look in his eye. Chloe raises her hand, clears her throat to get his attention.“Hands down.” He doesn’t bother breaking contact with me to reprimand her, doesn’t blink, just takes me in, absorbs every nuance. I can feel something shifting, crackling down on a molecular level. He’s calling me, encoding himself into my genetic design, grafting his soul onto mine. A strange pull takes over and I want to suction to him like a magnet. I seal my fingers over the rim of my desk and hang on, try to stop myself from doing something foolish like falling on my knees before him, begging him to take me in front of the entire class and Gage.Ellis swivels in his seat. “I’m, like, really tripping out right now,” he gives a low guttural laugh. His eyes shine glassy pink. I try to revert my energy to Ellis, his perfectly straight nose, his small bowtie lips, but I snap back to Marshall and gasp. Marshall has become a full glorious breath in an oxygen-deprived world. This spell—this bondage he’s placed me in is far too strong to ignore, and nothing in me wants to ignore anything about Marshall right now. Oddly, it doesn’t feel like I’m being controlled, it feels genuine and right.I can feel Gage shifting from behind—the tension rising like mercury in the desert. “You have five fucking seconds to knock this shit off.” He booms over to Marshall. The entire class takes in a collective gasp and turns towards Gage, but I can’t pry my eyes off Marshall. I’m so close to giving in, going over and drinking down a warm pool of kisses straight from his mouth.Marshall’s lips curl into me. His chin dips into his chest while he molds my body with his eyes.Gage spikes out of his seat, bullets to the front of the class. He picks up the metal stool Marshall usually lounges on and launches it out the back window at superhuman speeds—nearly decapitating the entire third row in the process.A growl of thunder rolls into the classroom, accompanied with a hurricane level wind. Gage clocks Marshall onto the floor and the two of them roll around like tigers, nothing but fists, a tangle of legs moving so fast I can’t tell which is which.Ellis and a couple of other guys struggle to pull them apart. Marshall pats his lip with the back of his hand and examines the crimson stain on his flesh before staggering to his feet.“Your stay here,” Marshall seethes into Gage, “has just been markedly reduced.” The bell rings.“Take him directly to principal Rice. Inform her of the attack and let her know we’ll need the windows boarded up at once.” Marshall waves them off as they speed Gage out the door.“He’s going to kill Gage because he loves you,” Chloe whispers the words in my ear like a necrotic poem. “The only thing better than me never having Gage is you never having him. All’s well that ends well,” she drips like a song. I’m probably going to kill Chloe—and Logan is already dead. Marshall and I will be the last ones standing. Dear God.What if that was the plan all along.


~*Gage Oliver’s point of view:

I press my hand into the small of Skyla’s back as we walk into Dudley’s class. Another hour with the clown who thinks he’s going to marry Skyla Messenger. Right. I’ll go to the grave before that happens. Hell—I’ll come back from the grave to make sure it doesn’t happen. I’d gladly hand her to Logan before that atrocity ever takes place. I slip a kiss beneath her ear before taking a seat behind her.A dull laugh rattles through me at the thought of ever willingly handing her to Logan. That’s about as unlikely as Dudley. Ellis walks in and nods over to me, stoned out of his freaking mind, per usual. Oddly enough, he considers himself a contender, too. Still can’t believe he thinks he’s got some emotional bond with her. The only bond they share is the weed she helps him hijack from his former self. Ellis’ definition of a relationship is a one-night stand. And, a lasting relationship is defined by whether or not he remembers her name in a week.Skyla spins around, sinks those crystal cut eyes into me and smiles before returning to her desk—pretending to take notes. Sometimes I look over her shoulder for the hell of it and catch her drawing our names in a heart—spelling out Mrs. Oliver. I wonder if I’m the Oliver she has in mind. Judging by the way she kisses me, I’m pretty damn sure I am.Chloe catches my attention and I cut her a look—blink a half-smile in her direction. She licks her lips like an afterthought and flashes a wicked grin.  She wants to meet later, talk to me about ‘some things’ as she put it—and I will—but the last thing I want is Skyla seeing us together. Just the thought of me with Chloe sets her off, and I need Skyla to trust me.Skyla’s hair spills over my desk and I gently wrap a strand around my finger. It’s spun gold—nothing but extravagant beauty growing from her scalp. No wonder Chloe can’t stand her, she’s perfect. There’s not a damn thing wrong with an inch of Skyla Messenger’s body—and what I would love to do to that body.I envision us on the beach—Rockaway with its shadowed sand, the navy slick of the ocean rising from behind. Skyla stands before me, wiggles her hips as she shakes off her shorts, tosses her top in the air like confetti.The curve of a smile plays on my lips as I sink down in my seat. I picture Skyla pulling me in, taking off her bathing suit top—pressing her soft skin against mine.Dudley clears his throat and shakes me out of my midday delight.Probably reading my mind again. Bastard. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what he’s thinking. Half the time he doesn’t bother to hide the boner he has for Skyla. The dude is freaking sick.I get back to my happy place there on the beach with a mostly disrobed Skyla at the ready. She slips her hands up my shirt and helps me take it off to even out the playing field. I hook my fingers in her panties and send them sailing to the floor.The sound vacuums out of the room and I snap out of my fantasy. I catch Dudley staring in this direction again, only his efforts aren’t pinpointed at me this time. He’s locked eyes with Skyla and the entire room is fascinated by their nonverbal exchange. What the hell? I sit up and glance over at Chloe.She gives a little smile and darts her hand in the air.There you go. If anyone can break the spell it’s Bishop. She’s an expert at inserting herself between Skyla and just about anyone. I should know.  “Hands down,” Dudley barks. He doesn’t bother breaking his gaze, just keeps digging into Skyla with those fireballs he sees the world through. Ellis spins around and whispers something to her. His eyes are so glossed over I doubt he realizes Dudley is in the middle of a wet daydream. I glare over at the so-called teacher. Who the hell does he think he is? He’s taking her in like she’s a fucking glass of water, drinking her down to the dregs right here in the middle of class. He zeros in on her, you could feel the lust radiating off him like a furnace. His face entertains the slight impression of a dirty smile, and I can only imagine what the hell is going through that mind of his. God knows thousands of years of perversion are hard at work. “You have five fucking seconds to knock this shit off,” I warn.He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t waver from his all out mental molestation, just keeps at it like he’s doing her in real time, right here in front of the student body—namely me.  Five.I spike out of my seat and bolt on over. The silver chair he slouches on day after day stands in my way so I sail it out the window—a clear demonstration of what I’m about to do to his head.A roll of thunder rattles from outside, a gust of wind cools down the room. I don’t need much encouragement to rearrange his face but the rush of fresh air inspires me.I pull back and lock one over on him. His jaw gives a satisfying pop beneath my knuckles so I pummel him again.He knocks me back and we roll onto the floor. I kick and thrash his Sector ass all over the place.Harrison shouts at the two us before plucking us apart like a bouncer.“Your stay here,” Dudley grits the words between his teeth, “has just been markedly reduced.” The bell gives an earsplitting cry overhead.“Take him directly to principal Rice.” Dudley touches his lip and examines my handiwork. “Inform her of the attack and let her know we’ll need the windows boarded up at once.” A couple of guys harness me from behind and navigate me towards the door.I catch Chloe whispering something to Skyla. She’s a rose full of thornes—add a couple horns and a tail, and you’ve got Chloe. She locks eyes with me for a moment and pinches a smile. Chloe prefers me with my hands tied behind my back, much like I am now. That’s exactly what she told me last week when she saw me naked.

Something TOXIC is brewing

Since TOXIC is officially at the editor’s, I wanted to celebrate and thank all of you for your beyond awesome support. So here’s an entire chapter that I would love to share with you. I thought since the boys get so much attention during the Tuesday Teasers I’d focus on someone a little more, well, toxic—Chloe.Enjoy~!
*(Skyla accepts a ride from Chloe rather than Gage.)
Chapter 26Shut Up and Drive
Chloe glides her hand over the wheel with an erotic display of affection.The night lights up in an electrical blaze as a storm begins to rage overhead. I haven’t seen this kind of climactic action in weeks. I’m not sure if this is a natural phenomenon or perhaps Chloe and Gage have harnessed the power to dictate the weather much like Marshall and Demetri. After all, who knows what cash and prizes they were awarded once they shipped Logan and me off to the fluid factory? This snazzy new sedan Chloe seems to have scored recently might have been just the incentive she was looking for to lure me over to the stone of sacrifice. I’d like to think I was worth more than a mid-sized luxury vehicle that doesn’t even have the modern day boast of hybrid slapped on its rear fender. I’d like to think I was worth more than the sum total of scrap metal on earth to Gage but then I would have never pegged him for a set up to begin with. I would have bet my life on the fact I could trust Gage Oliver, and in a way I did. “Come on Skyla—entertain me.” Chloe stares out the windshield in a daze as the rain surges its aggressive assault over Paragon. “Why don’t you dish about how you can’t believe Gage put a spear through your gut.”I glance out the passenger window as we pass the familiar streets en route to the Landon asylum for lunatics and killers alike—me included since I’m riding in a car with Chloe who I might very much like to kill again. Driving in a car with Chloe.Honestly? I’ve abandoned any morsel of good sense I might have had. But in my defense, I was forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. Besides, I need to get home a.s.a.p. to begin my dream date with Logan.“By the way,” I start, “I’m totally unaffected. You and Gage can live happily ever after for all I care.” The lie jags from my mouth thick and unnatural like talking though a mouthful of peanut butter. “And, technically speaking, it was you who speared me.” Literally. “You’re always so black and white,” she snarks.“I’m being sarcastic Chloe. Maybe you’re the one who can’t see past the analogy in the room.”“I can look past a lot of things thanks to this Noster eyeball your Sector friend was kind enough to gift me. Why do you think he gave me such a spectacular specimen?”“Because he was trying to please me.” Marshall would do anything in the world I asked as long as he were able. “Again, you can’t see past the deeper meaning of things.”“And, again, Skyla—you can’t see past yourself.” She pulls in high on the driveway right behind Tad’s free ride from Althorpe, the establishment at which he is a modern day indentured servant. “But then,” she says, shaking her head, “for some bizarre reason, Dudley, too seems beyond smitten with you.” She mock shoots herself in the temple. “Fill me in on the powers of your persuasion. Do tell—I mean we’re practically sisters now that we’re living together. And one day, I might even become your sister-in-law just to piss you off.”“What about Gage?” I’m stunned to hear she’d choose a Landon over an Oliver, especially the shady Oliver in question.Chloe presses into her seat for a moment. Her face flashes with surprise as though she had just caught herself off guard. Strange. Chloe Bishop is a fully devout follower in the church of all things Gage. How she could possible forget the first commandment—to worship ad nauseam and commit herself to full throttle obsessive behavior is beyond me.“What’s the matter Chloe?” I revel in the taunt. “Gage still locking you out physically? You running a little short on cash to buy his affections? That is how you got Brielle to befriend me, right? A thousand cool crisp bills?” Her dark hair coils around her face, her sharp features gleam with pride under the glimmer of the porch light.“You know…” I tilt my head into the vibrating window as I feel the rain drum through my temples like a cheap replica of Marshall’s special brand of oscillating love. “I thought all I felt for you was hatred, but to be honest, you’re not worth the energy.”“The feeling’s mutual.” She’s quick to add.“In fact, I feel nothing but pity. You spend all of your energy destroying others so you can steal the good things from their lives and claim them as your own. You played so well into Demetri’s plan of killing my father—Ethan, bringing me to Paragon. Why have a well-placed boyfriend at all? Why the big ruse of the diary? Why put him on your shit list in the back of your diary and not Logan? Why have Gage by my side twenty-four seven whispering his profession of love to me, outfitting me with tokens of his affection? Touching me like he meant it. What were you so afraid of? Was it Logan and me you were trying to keep apart all along? The Counts did that without your foolish aid. I really don’t get you Chloe. I don’t get your stupid games or why the hell you’ve invited yourself to live at my house and date my stepbrother. Why are you so richly invested in taking me down? Obviously I missed something because nothing about you makes any sense.”“You killed me.”“Only after a long list of grievances you imparted on me and my family—killing my father toping off the list,” I fire back. “I’m onto you Chloe. I know for a fact there is a bigger picture brewing. I will find out whatever the hell has you so riled up against me. And even though I haven’t a clue what you have planned next on your make-Skyla-miserable to-do list, I can tell you with confidence that you will not prosper. You will never take me down. I will not lie under your feet, not now, not ever. I will win. I’ll have love and happiness and the very last word on any lame-ass decision the Faction Council tries to make after the war. You, and the rest of the Counts, will be beneath Celestra. I will stamp out your wickedness once and for all.”“Are you done?” She flips her hair, bored with the conversation.“Not by a long shot. When I’m done, you will wish you never knew me—that you ran in the opposite direction once you heard the whisper of my name.” I pause and take her in. “All you’re good for is manufacturing drama, and manipulating people. I guess that’s the sort of thing Gage is into. I wish you a very unhappy life together.”   I open the door and Chloe snatches me back by the wrist. “I will have a very happy life, Skyla. For the record, I never once paid Gage for his time or affections.” Her chest heaves into her words. “I paid him for yours.” I kick the door wide open and run like hell inside the house.