Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Wednesday Words: Raising the Bar

A new excerpt from RAISING THE BAR, which releases next week from Samhain!
Warning: Steamy. Read at your own risk...m/m/f romance
Dylan laughed. He’d been laughing a lot tonight. Who would have guessed that Harper Reynolds could be so entertaining? Not a stereotypical building contractor more interested in beer and tits and ass than a good conversation. Harper had a keen intelligence and an eye for detail that intrigued Dylan. Like peeling back the layers of an onion, Dylan kept learning more about the man the longer they talked.
“Like you, I have no preference,” he answered Harper’s question. “It boils down to how I feel about a particular person more than what gender they are. I love the female body. It’s different, filled with curves and softer flesh. Kissing a woman is sexy, warm.” He stared at Freddy, unable to resist looking at her. That woman he wouldn’t have minded getting to know better. Then he turned back to his dining partner. “But a man is harder. Firm, hot, and the sex, if done right, can go from zero to sixty in seconds.”
“Yeah. You have a nice way with words.” Harper seemed closer, and his dark brown eyes looked hungry. “You ever been with two people before? A ménage?”
“N-no.” Dylan cleared his throat, embarrassed to have a rock-hard erection while talking to Harper at the bar, for God’s sake. “Not that I haven’t fantasized about it, but reality and recriminations could be ugly the morning after.”
Harper pulled back and frowned. “Recriminations? For what?”
“I don’t know. Two people have a hard enough time handling emotions and issues in a relationship. Then you throw in a third? Someone’s bound to feel left out at some point.”
Harper’s frown cleared and he laughed. “Man, you are way overthinking it. Imagine shoving into a warm pussy while sucking a guy off. Two sets of hands touching you everywhere. Sex on top of sex. You lying between two people set on making you come, over and over again.” Harper took another drag of beer. “I am so fucking hard right now.”
“You like to share, don’t you?” Dylan was proud of himself for not sounding as if he were strangling on his own desire. Everything Harper had said seemed drawn out of his own psyche. And, right now, he had a difficult time not imagining himself between Harper and Freddy. As if the woman would consent to a threesome with a virtual stranger.
“And that’s another thing,” Dylan added, trying to keep the conversation on an even level. More intellectual, less prurient. “Finding normal people who want to engage in something outside the norm isn’t that easy. Especially since I have to be discreet. My profession kind of dictates I not be so outwardly crazy.”
“You think a threesome is crazy? Interesting. I’d pegged you as much more liberal in your views.”
Dylan frowned. “I am. I don’t judge, and I think anyone who wants to explore himself should, without fear of reprisal.”
“Oh man. You are so sexy when you talk like that.”
Dylan blinked. “Like what?” Every time Harper looked at his mouth, Dylan grew breathless.
Fear of reprisal? You’re better than my twelfth grade English teacher. You’re sexy and you use big words.”
Dylan shook his head. “You’re an idiot.”
“Maybe.”
Dylan lowered his voice. “Have you ever had a threesome?”
“In college. But I was too young to really appreciate it. As I grow older, though, I wonder a lot about all I missed. I’m not getting any younger, you know. A little over a year ago, I ended up joining this place. I thought I’d find like-minded people who might want to play around. And then I was hit with a ton of work.” Harper sighed. “As thankful as I am to sock the money away, work has played hell with my social life.”
“I can relate.”
“I know. That’s why I think this place could work for you.” Harper pushed his plate away and finished his beer. “Come on. Let me show you around.”
Dylan had already finished his food. He went for his wallet, but Harper stopped him by covering his hands.
“I put it on my tab. You can pay me later.”
“Okay.” Dylan looked to where Harper still had a hold on him. “You going to let me go?” It intrigued him to be smaller than someone else. Not that Dylan stood heads above all his peers, but he didn’t date larger men. He’d never wondered why, just took it as his type.
Yet with Harper, he couldn’t decide if he liked the man being larger than him or not. Because he had a feeling Harper was physically stronger as well. Harper showed every sign of being dominant, physically and mentally. What would that mean in the bedroom, where Dylan normally called the shots?
“For now, Doc.” I’ll let you go for now, he was saying. “Come on. There’s something you need to see.”
Curious, Dylan followed him from the bar, through the house—though mansion was a better description. They passed a billiards room, a closed-off smoking lounge that they thankfully avoided, an indoor pool and hot tub area, and then headed for a grand stairway guarded by a large man who nodded at Harper as they passed.
“Second floor is for members only. But don’t worry. You’re with me.” Harper continued up the stairs. They passed a number of rooms.
“How large is this place?”
Harper stopped before a door and withdrew a keycard from his back pocket. “It’s got a good forty rooms. Used to be a hotel back in the day, and they’ve since added to it. We have nearly a hundred members, but membership is by invitation only.”
They entered and Dylan asked, “So who invited you?”
But Harper didn’t answer. Just as the door closed, he slammed Dylan against the wall and kissed the breath out of him.
Dylan gasped, stunned and so turned on by Harper’s force he couldn’t breathe. He kissed Harper back, angling for dominance, and found to his shock he couldn’t manage it. Instead, Harper led. The bigger man threaded his hands through Dylan’s hair to hold him steady while he worked Dylan with his mouth.
“Fuck. You taste so good. I need you, right now. Gotta have you,” Harper muttered as he sucked at Dylan’s neck.
Dylan arched his head, baring more of his throat.
“That jacket is hot. Everything about you turns me on,” Harper admitted. He pulled back to stare into Dylan’s face. “You’re single, I’m single. I’m safe, and just talking to you tells me you’re not the type to take risks.”
“I’m with you, aren’t I?” Dylan breathed. It annoyed him to think he wasn’t a risk taker, and more, that Harper knew that much about him after such a short time together. The man seemed to have the ability to read him much too easily.
“Are you?” Harper ground his hips against Dylan’s, and Dylan moaned at the hardness rubbing against his own.
“Fuck.”
“Oh yeah. You have no idea what I want to do to you right now.”
“I think I might.” Dylan had to look up to meet Harper’s gaze. “So now what?”
“Now I call the shots. I make you come.”



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

Winner Announced

And the winner is...Allyson Brann! Congrats!



Monday, February 18, 2013

It Takes 2 Is Here! Enter to Win!!!

It's finally here! Killer Thoughts releases today, and Carrie Ann Ryan and I are once again celebrating our releases with a party. Her third Holiday, Montana book, Finding Abigail, is a hit (no surprise there), and we decided to share in the fun.

We're offering the following prizes:
1. From Carrie Ann--an eARC of Her Lucky Love (Holiday, Montana book 4)
2. From me--an electronic copy of RetroCog (in which Ian, one of the heroes of Killer Thoughts, is first introduced.) And a $15 GC from Amazon.

To enter, all you have to do is answer a question on my blog and leave your email address, then head to Carrie Ann's blog and answer her question and leave an email address as well. You have to visit both blogs to be entered to win.

My question: If you could read any one person's thoughts, whose would it be and why?


Tricking the con man into loving him is just the first of Owen’s problems. Keeping them both alive long enough to enjoy that love might be more than he can handle—without his thief by his side.

Owen Stallbridge is a powerful psychic who’s done his share of jobs for the government. He’s a millionaire and secret agent trying to segue out of his assassination assignments. The silent partner in the PowerUp! Gym, he normally lets his buddy Jack command the psychics working there. Owen has his hands full running his multimillion dollar empire and trying to keep an eye on Ian Ryder, a forger, a conman, a criminal too sexy for his own good.

But now Owen's life is on the line. An old enemy has returned, and it's up to Owen to handle him before innocents are harmed. He'll need Ian's help to run the enemy down, that's if he can trust the thief. Ian is smart, sexy, and vulnerable—all Owen wants in a partner and all that he desires in a man. But Ian refuses to trust. He won't make it easy for Owen to claim him. With time running out, they have to take a chance on each other if they want to survive the looming danger. And Owen will have to believe in the man who's stolen his heart.







Finding AbigailHoliday, Montana Book 3, is here!

Tyler Cooper is the town sheriff and, in the past, had been the only person keeping Holiday steady. Though the community is now finding out that it’s town is magical, Tyler has always known it—it’s in his blood.  He has always known his fate of becoming a cupid, striking love into the hearts others, but an enemy from his past is set on keeping him from finding his own destiny—and love.

Abigail Clarke is leaving Holiday for good. She has to. After years of trying to fit in and make Tyler notice her, she’s giving up. She’s watched her friends fall in love and it’s  heartbreaking. Acknowledging that the one man she’s always loved doesn’t want her,  it’s time to move on and find her own future.

Right when the stars align and Tyler opens his eyes, his enemy is back and has his sights on Abigail. Abigail is in danger and Tyler  may be the only one to stand up to him and save her.

Warning: Contains one sexy sheriff who turns into cupid, complete with bow and arrow, the sweetest teacher you’ll ever meet who needs to find her bad girl side, and a love of candy hearts that’s sure to bring them together.

Find it on:

Find it in Print on:
eStore Amazon | Barnes and Noble

One More Day...

KILLER THOUGHTS, the final book in my PowerUp! series, releases tomorrow. I'm excited and relieved to have made it to Owen and Ian's story. I'm also holding a contest with Carrie Ann Ryan, so stop by tomorrow for details.


KILLER THOUGHTS Tricking the con man into loving him is just the first of Owen’s problems. Keeping them both alive long enough to enjoy that love might be more than he can handle—without his sexy thief by his side. http://tinyurl.com/aajfz7s





Sunday, February 17, 2013

Last Chance for Chocolate


Limited Edition Hayon Gift Box

This is the last day to enter to win  a box of Godivas for you US types, and an Amazon GC for you internationals. Head over to Romance Junkies and comment to be entered to win. That's all there is to it.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Countdown to Killer Thoughts

KILLER THOUGHTS arrives in another four days! The final book in the PowerUp! series. Psychics, sex, romance, and danger. A quadruple threat. 



**And note, the opportunity to win a box of Godiva chocolates isn't over! Head over to Romance Junkies and comment for a chance to win. It's a RED letter post. :)


Friday, February 15, 2013

Effing Friday--Killer Thoughts

Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day. I didn't post Wednesday Words this week so I'm shifting a fun excerpt to today. Happy Effing Friday. Ha!

Here's a steamy m/m excerpt from Killer Thoughts, a psychic romantic suspense with plenty of sexy scenes between the heroes, Ian and Owen. Killer Thoughts releases on Tuesday February 19th! Just five more days and counting. Enjoy.



He squirmed against Owen’s shoulder. “Let go, damn it.”
“Not yet, thief.”
Ian did his best not to shudder with pleasure. He loved when Owen called him that. Like an endearment, but more personal than baby or sweetie. And it fit, because Owen had caught him red-handed right before Linda Cavendish tried to kill him four months ago.
Owen tossed him onto the bed, and Ian scrambled to leave. Before he could move, he found himself cuffed and strung up like a sacrificial virgin. “What the hell?” Ian tugged at the cuffs affixed to chains bolted into the headboard. How had he missed those the last time he’d been by?
“I had them installed a few weeks ago. After your visit, of course.” Owen smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “Now you’re going to tell me how you knew about Harry.”
“I, uh…”
Owen removed his shoes, and Ian watched, frozen, as the bigger man stripped him of his socks and then moved to his shorts. They’d come straight from the gym, so it wasn’t as if Ian wore layers of clothing. Embarrassing, because his dick stood out like a pike under that friggin’ nylon. Typically, Ian handled his lovers. They didn’t handle him. But Owen was different from the rest, in ways that unnerved Ian more than he felt comfortable admitting, even to himself.
Owen gripped him hard, and Ian nearly shot off the bed.
“Okay, now that’s sexual harassment,” he rasped when he settled back on the bed. His voice sounded shrill, and he hated the fact that he was hard and aching beneath Owen’s firm hand.
“Harry?” Owen said again, his eyes mean.
Oh shit. Ian felt Owen’s palm slide against his dampening shorts. “I saw the pattern, okay?” came out in a rush. “I was going to tell you he wasn’t right. I’d gone through some, um, financial documents and e-mails of his the last time I was here.” Ian sucked in a breath when Owen stroked him. “Jesus.”
“And?” Owen didn’t smile, laugh, or change the inflection of his voice.
Damn if that cool control didn’t make Ian want to come all over him. He pushed harder into Owen’s palm, overjoyed when Owen started jerking him off through his clothes.
“And I saw something…wrong. Harry was… Shit, Owen. Rub faster.” So of course the bastard slowed down. To Ian’s satisfaction, though, Owen sported some major wood.
“And?”
“And I went to Avery with what I thought.” Avery, the team’s prognosticator, a man who could see the future. “I asked him to focus for me, and he saw men try to kill you. They didn’t succeed. And then Tim was there, taking a bullet,” he said on a whimper when Owen slid his thumb over Ian’s slit.
Fuck, he was so wet. The thin fabric of his shorts looked damp, and he’d soaked his underwear. Oh God, in Owen’s own hand. Talk about a fantasy of epic proportions. Now if Owen would just take Ian’s shorts down and put his sexy mouth over Ian’s cock, Ian’s life would be complete.
Owen let him go. “So you knew but didn’t help me?”
Ian moaned. “I wanted to, but Avery told me not to interfere. I’d screw things up if I did, and you and Tim had it handled. If I did something, I might have killed you.”
Owen narrowed his gaze, his scrutiny intense.
Hopefully, he saw something good, because Ian was on fire to fuck. “Come on, dude. I did you a favor. I didn’t help, and we’re all good. I don’t suppose you’ll blow me?” Sure, he sounded overly hopeful. But a guy could dream.
To his amazement, the star of his daily fantasies didn’t say no. Instead, Owen stood and removed his clothing. Every last stitch, until he stood naked and hung like a fucking horse in front of Ian.
Ian tugged at his wrists, still constrained to the headboard. He wanted to touch that golden flesh, feel the warmth of skin against his palms. Like Ian, Owen had little chest hair. And what he did have was a golden blond, fine and so pretty around Owen’s hard nipples.
“Come on, sexy. Stop teasing,” Ian rasped.
“You’ve been a good boy,” Owen said. “So you deserve a treat, don’t you?”
“I knew you’d be into kink.” He’d read that one right.
“You need discipline.”
Uh-oh. “Um, wait. I meant kink-y, not like, full-on D/s shit.”
Owen’s grin scared the hell out of him…and nearly made him come.
“Now, now, my little thief. I think we can come to an understanding, don’t you?”
Owen tugged Ian’s shorts and underwear off, then lifted Ian’s shirt to his armpits, exposing his chest, which was much less impressive than Owen’s. Ian had some muscle but not much.
Trying to gain control over the situation, Ian tried again. He cleared his throat and prayed he sounded less hoarse than he thought he did. “So, Owen. You were telling me about the Kerrs. Jacob and Henry left. Carl…he wants to kill you, right?”
“We’ll discuss him later. Right now I need to fill your mouth. You talk too much, thief.”
Then, to Ian’s simultaneous horror and pleasure, Owen knelt on the bed and crawled to Ian’s side. He straddled Ian’s torso and walked on his knees up Ian’s body until his heavy balls rested over Ian’s mouth.
“That’s right, little thief. Time for you to steal from me again. How about this time, you take some pleasure, hmm?” Owen lowered himself over Ian.
“N-no condom?”
“No. I trust you keep yourself clean. Do you trust me?”
“You’re too controlling and careful to take a chance like that. Bastard.” Ian’s mouth watered. He so wanted a piece of this man, especially when Owen gave him a mean smile.
“Well, boy? Get to it.”
Ian was helpless to resist. He opened his mouth and sucked.