Coyote Hunger - Passion and Adventure from Rhian Cahill

Welcome to week Five of the Sweet, Sexy, Scorching Blog Hop. This week starts out with another of my favorite authors from Down Under, Rhian Cahill. Rhian writes about shifters, but she also writes fantastic hot abd sexy contemporary stories with nary a shifter in sight. I happen to absolutely love the Hunger series and am happy to bring them to more folks' attention. But, before today's post begins, a word from our sponsors, and the winners from Week Four.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the hop this week! Please make sure you stop back next week too, there will be another week of winners and you can enter the grand prize again.


We hope you all are enjoying this Guess Who hop!

Here are the winners from week four of the Sweet, Sexy, Scorching Giveaway Hop-

Sopelinda (from My Secret Romance) is the winner of Mari Carr's signed Dangerous Curves book



Slinkydennis (from The Smutty Kitty) is the winner of Meg Benjamin's ebook copy of Don't Forget Me


Mary M (from BlackRaven's Erotic Cafe) is the winner of Jess Dee's two books from her backlist


June M (from House of Millar) is the winner of S.L. Carpenter's choice of either Owned or Remember When


Joanne (from My Odd Little World) is the winner  of either a copy of PG Forte's Edge of Heaven or any LA Love Lesson books, winner’s choice, plus a set of Romance Trading Cards


I have not heard back from these winners:

Jayne Rylon winner of Red Light District series- Allie (from Close Encounters with the Night Kind)

RG Alexander winner of $10.00 gift card- Catherine Lee (from My Little Odd World)

Lucy Felthouse winner of $5.00 gift card- Kelly (from Lori's Book Blog)

Winners, please send an email to Taryn@mysecretromancebookreviews.com and she'll get your prize out to you.

Past winners, if you have not received your prize yet, please email me again and I will get it straightened out.

And now, back to our hot and sexy regular programming.



Released June 18, 2010

Available from:

ELLORA’S CAVE

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS

Also available in print - Coyote Hunger

Coyote Wild


Coyote Hunger Book Two

Brogan Wilder knows all about animal urges. As a coyote shifter, he’s lived with them all his life but he’s never experienced the bone-deep hunger Eloise Crawford elicits. Claiming a mate is one thing. Claiming one who’s human and has no idea shifters exist is another matter altogether. In El, he’s found his destiny. Now he just has to convince her they are meant to be together.

A visit to help her best friend with wedding plans seems like just the kind of relaxation El is after. But once she arrives, there’s nothing relaxing about the reaction she has to her friend’s brother. Suddenly her senses are on high alert and she’s drawn to him in a way she finds nothing short of terrifying. But there’s more to this man than his golden eyes and magical touch. There’s something else. Something not exactly human.

Accepting her fate should have been the difficult part, but when El finds herself the target of an outraged pack member, the true struggle begins.

Excerpt~

The first thing El noticed was the pain lancing her side. She was lying on hard ground, sharp jagged edges digging through her clothes into her ribs and hipbone. The second thing she reacted to was the cold. She shivered as her senses came more awake. Moaning, she tried to move her legs and couldn’t. Something held them together.

Her eyes popped open, her vision unfocused at first but as it cleared she took note of her surroundings. She also took note of the fact her ankles and wrists were tied together with rope. The quiet indicated no one was near and remaining perfectly still, she concentrated on listening for any clue she wasn’t alone.

Nothing.

Not even the raspy sound of breathing.

She had no idea where he’d taken her or where he’d gone. The ground around her had been cleared of snow, small mounds of white sat in front of her and it covered the trees and shrubs in sight. A rock or stick dug into her thigh as she twisted to look behind her. The view was the same. He’d left her outside, in the forest somewhere.

Urgency grabbed hold. She needed to get away before whoever had taken her came back. El had no idea who the man was or what he wanted but the thought of him returning sent ice rushing in her veins and fear exploding in her gut. If he’d left her here, he’d meant for her to die alone. If not, he planned to come back. El didn’t like either of those ideas.

Clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun so she couldn’t make out what time it was or which direction he’d taken her. The freezing temperature made her numb, but the rope around her limbs added to the sensation by cutting off her circulation. She wouldn’t be able to get away with her hands and feet tied. How could she get free? The nylon cords were biting into her flesh and she hadn’t tried to loosen them yet.

She needed to think, clear her mind of the panic and fear then work out a way to get untied and back to Rowan. El didn’t know what had happened at the house but she was pretty sure the guy who’d taken her had hurt her friend. Had Brogan and Quinn come back from their meeting and found Rowan hurt and El missing? Were they out here looking for her?

Pain streaked up her arms and pulling them in front of her for a closer look took effort. Biting her lip to stop from crying out, El studied the knots at her wrists. It didn’t look as if she’d be able to undo them. Her abductor hadn’t been kind enough to leave her with a neat bow to loosen them. She pulled the ropes to her mouth and used her teeth to tug at dirt-covered fibers.

They didn’t give and the movement rubbed the raw skin already circling both her arms. She needed something sharp. There was no hope of getting through the thick rope with her teeth. Frustration bubbled and a growl slid up her throat. Muscle and skin stretched and her teeth lengthened.

Her teeth.

With renewed hope, she brought her hands to her mouth and sank her coyote teeth into the knots. El gnawed at the ropes, felt them give a little. She could do this. Wiggling her hands and fingers to bring back the circulation, she bit down harder. One strand snapped, fell from her wrist. It gave her room to move and soon a second and third piece of rope fell away.

El breathed through the pain as blood surged back into her fingers. She shook her hands, clenched and unclenched her fists to try and ease the throb. She gritted her teeth and used her stiff arms to push herself up. The agony in her ribs eased but there would be bruises. The dull ache was manageable and she didn’t appear to have suffered any other injuries. Her legs, numb and weak from lack of blood, hurt but she drew them up to examine her ankle restraints.

She was greeted with bigger and more complicated knots than the ones on her wrists. She growled and bent double, thanking her lucky stars for years of gymnastics and yoga. Flexibility had always been her strong point. Her back and shoulders ached as she stretched to reach the knots with her teeth. Sensing victory within her grasp, El ripped at the ropes with teeth as sharp as any knife.

 

  Released August 26, 2011

Available from:

ELLORA’S CAVE

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS

Coyote Whispers

Coyote Hunger Book Three

“Doc” Gordie has tried to keep Steve McKenna at arm’s length, but the sexy coyote shifter is under her skin, in her blood and in her heart. No matter how much she fears what he makes her feel, she can’t bear to stay away. After he rescues her from a vicious attack, Gordie is helpless to deny the sizzling attraction burning between them.

There hasn’t been a day Steve has not wanted Doc in his bed, but bruised and bloody is not what he had in mind. The need for revenge is riding his coyote—almost as much as his aching desire to finally claim Doc as his own. But that will have to wait. He must first convince Doc the safest place for her is by his side. When a second attack draws them together, suppressed needs explode, leaving no doubt where they both belong.

But danger is never far behind and Gordie is forced to make a fatal decision that could destroy all they’ve worked so hard to discover.

Rhian Cahill is giving away to two lucky winners the choice of any ebook from her backlist, including her two new releases!








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Meg Benjamin's Konigsburg Tales

Don’t Forget Me

Excerpt:

Nando Avrogado was hiding. Granted, the Dew Drop Inn didn’t provide much in the way of cover, although it was dark enough to make identifying anyone pretty challenging unless you were less than six inches away. Granted, Nando himself, at six three and a hundred eighty-eight pounds, was somewhat difficult to hide, even when he wasn’t in uniform (as he wasn’t at the moment). Nonetheless, he was hiding. From Francine Richter, five three and a hundred five.

It was embarrassing. It was nothing a mature adult male of twenty-eight should be doing.

He should just get over it. He knew that. He should just head down the street to the Faro tavern, where he usually hung out, and take his punishment, whatever that punishment turned out to be—tears, curses, possibly violence. It wasn’t exactly his fault that Francine hadn’t understood the meaning of their goodbye date the way she was supposed to. It sure wasn’t his fault that she’d been leaving messages on his voice mail for the past two days.

Except that it was his fault. Sort of. He’d tried to make it clear throughout their handful of dates that nothing more serious was on the horizon for them. That they weren’t going to hook up for the long term. That they were just having some temporary good times.

And in reality, the times hadn’t even been all that good after the first couple of dates. He had to admit that, for the most part, he’d just been going through the motions. Francine was okay. She didn’t natter too much. She looked good. She was…a decent kisser. Not bad exactly, but not good either.

Nando sighed, taking a sip of his lukewarm beer. If he were honest, it wasn’t Francine who’d been the real disappointment. He was the one who wasn’t measuring up to expectations, Francine’s for sure, but his own too. Given his lack of enthusiasm, maybe it was just as well that they’d never progressed beyond a few hot make-out sessions on Francine’s couch.

Of course, if he were honest he wouldn’t be sitting in this dive, drinking beer that tasted like dishwater. He’d be down the street with his friends at the Faro, drinking some honest brew and dealing with Francine when and if she showed up.

He rubbed his eyes and fought back the impulse to groan in frustration. God, he was tired. And it wasn’t just the hours from his job as a Konigsburg cop. During the last few months he’d seemed to fall into a rut that just got deeper and deeper. Same people, same problems, same everything. When had this feeling started anyway? And why? He’d gotten all the things he’d once thought he wanted in his life—full-time appointment to the Konigsburg police force, a decent place to live away from his parents (sharing an apartment with his brother Esteban, but doing that wasn’t such a bad deal), an active social life without being tied down to anybody.

Yeah, right. It was that “active” social life that was the problem. Maybe he should try deliberate celibacy rather than the unintentional kind for a while. See what it felt like to not hit the clubs on his night off. The whole excitement-of-the-chase thing was getting very old. And truth be told, the chase hadn’t been that exciting for a long time. Eighteen months, in fact.

Don’t go there. It’s over. No matter how much you wish it weren’t.

“Geez, where’d you hide the body? You look like a man at a wake.” His brother Esteban slid onto the stool next to him, waving a hand toward Ingstrom, the bartender. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you did your drinking at the Faro these days.”

“I could say the same thing about you.” Nando took a disgruntled pull on his beer. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this dive before.”

Esteban cleared his throat. Ingstrom, who owned the Dew Drop Inn as well as being its bartender, was standing across from them behind the bar. He scowled at Nando before turning to his brother. “You want beer or wine?”

“Lonestar,” Esteban said hastily. He was the assistant wine master at Cedar Creek Winery, which meant he routinely avoided the wine-in-a-jug served by the Dew Drop Inn. “You still haven’t explained why you’re here,” he continued as Ingstrom headed back down the bar. “I haven’t seen you in the Dew Drop for a couple of months. Why aren’t you at the Faro watching Deirdre Brandenburg serve beers like every other red-blooded man in town?”

Nando shrugged. “Deirdre’s attached to Tom Ames. If I start ogling Deirdre, he’s likely to put Ipecac in my beer. Besides, the Dew Drop’s closer to home. I didn’t feel like walking.”

Esteban smirked. “Yeah, those three blocks will really do you in. Especially with the temperature hovering in the high seventies.”

“Get stuffed,” Nando muttered, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Esteban turned, resting his elbows on the bar behind him as he surveyed the room. “You trying to avoid your latest fling? I’d say that’s a heavy price to pay for romance gone wrong.”

Nando studied his younger brother with hooded eyes. Esteban looked like a linebacker, which he’d been in high school, or like someone who bench-pressed wine barrels, which he also did frequently. He wore his hair almost as short as Nando’s, even though the management at Cedar Creek wasn’t as stiff about hair length as Chief Toleffson was at the cop shop. But he made up for the hair with the luxuriant moustache that curved around his mouth. His skin was darkened from working in the vineyards—just like their father.

“What would you know about romance gone wrong?” Nando grabbed a handful of peanuts. “I haven’t noticed you tearing up the town with anybody since you broke up with Dawn Benavidez. And that’s been over three months, bro.”

Esteban shook his head. “Nice try, but we’re not switching the subject of this conversation to me. Are you or are you not trying to avoid Francine Richter?”

Nando blew out a breath. “Maybe.”

“Right.” Esteban shook his head. “You don’t think that’s a little pathetic? Hiding out in a joint like the Dew Drop just to avoid a woman you dated for a couple of weeks?”

Nando ran his glass through the circle of condensation on the bar. “I can drink where I want, bro. Who knows? Maybe I’ll check out the talent around here this evening.” There had to be some. Even at the Dew Drop.

Ingstrom set Esteban’s draft on the bar with a clink. “Stay away from my barmaids, Avrogado, they got work to do.” He stomped back to the other end of the bar.

Nando took a quick survey of the Dew Drop’s barmaids, the most prominent one anyway. Ruby looked more like a biker chick than usual. Tonight she had on a leather vest that was zipped partway up her sizeable chest and blue jeans that showed a roll of white flesh at the waist. Her magenta hair was caught in a banana clip that looked perilously close to slipping out. Every man in the bar was trying not to look down her cleavage, knowing the instant retribution that followed. As if she sensed she was being watched, Ruby caught Nando’s eye. Her lip twisted in a world-class sneer.

“Now going after that really would be pathetic,” he muttered.

Esteban nodded. “True that. So why can’t you just tell Francine it’s over? Fun while it lasted, time to move on and so forth.”

Nando grimaced. “Because I’d rather not get into one of those discussions where you end up either making somebody cry or making somebody mad enough to bean you with her purse. If I stay out of her way long enough, she’ll get the message.”

“And that way you just come off as a jerk instead of a sleaze.”

Nando gritted his teeth. “You could put it that way.”

“You know, bro, sooner or later all this bad karma you’re building up with women is going to come back and bite you on the ass.” Esteban took a long swallow of Lonestar.

“What are you, some kind of wine-making Buddhist now?” Nando shook his head. “This doesn’t qualify as bad karma. So I don’t like talking about ‘relationships’ with women. Name me one man who does.”

Esteban shrugged. “I’m just saying if all the women you’ve screwed around with over the past few months ever got together, you’d be a dead man.”

Nando rubbed his eyes again. The vision of all his recent exes getting together, possibly with automatic weapons, was not altogether comfortable. “Yeah, well, I’m thinking of cutting back. Maybe putting the brakes on the relationships for a while. Take a breather from women.”

“You?” The corners of Esteban’s mouth curved up. “You’re giving up women? Maybe I should spread the word. I could sell tickets.”

A slight prickle of unease slid down Nando’s spine. He wasn’t that much of a womanizer, was he? He never used to think of himself that way. Of course, that was before the major fuck-up of his love life. “Do not spread the word.” He gritted his teeth again. “This was just between the two of us. And I haven’t decided for sure what I’m going to do. Just thinking about it.”

Esteban nodded, still grinning. “Right.”

Nando drained the rest of his beer. Screw it. “I’m going down to the Faro, see what’s going on. You want to come?”

“Maybe later.” His brother peered toward the far corner of the bar where Britney Collins was seated with a couple of her girlfriends.

Nando rolled his eyes. Clearly, he wasn’t the only Avrogado who had females on the brain. “Good luck with that.”

He dropped a handful of bills on the bar, then pushed back, dodging around a couple of protruding rear ends to get to the door. Among other things, the Dew Drop was short on open space, particularly since Ingstrom had added some extra tables in the middle of the room. Nando ran through the bar’s very own obstacle course, then opened the door to the street.

It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the early evening light. People still strolled down Main, ducking into the few open stores. Mid-March wasn’t a great tourist time in Konigsburg, but they got some families who filled up the motels and bed and breakfasts for Spring Break. He settled his Stetson on his forehead and started up the street toward the Faro.

Ahead of him the crowd parted for a moment and he saw a swing of long dark hair reaching down below a woman’s shoulders. Nice. For a moment, he concentrated on her as she walked up the street in front of him, wondering what she’d look like when she turned around. You could never predict exactly how attractive someone’s face would be based on her back side.

Nando grimaced. He really needed to stop ogling women. Particularly if he wanted to take the whole celibacy thing seriously. Besides, if anyone ever heard him talking about faces and back sides like that, he’d be banned from the female sex for life. Which you would richly deserve, and which might not be such a bad thing.

A couple walking in front of him turned in to one of the candy stores and he got a better look at the woman up ahead. Silken dark hair, slender waist, long, long legs that showed off well in her white Capri pants. Nando finally gave in and checked her behind. More than respectable. The whole package was superlative, in fact. Always assuming the face matched.

What the hell are you doing? You’re supposed to be giving this up. You know it won’t go anywhere.

Nando shook his head. Going cold turkey was going to be a lot harder than he’d thought. On the other hand, he couldn’t go on indefinitely moving from woman to woman like some deranged honey bee, could he? Time to start being selective. Time to learn how to pace himself.

Time to grow up. More than time, if he were honest. He grimaced. That one hurt, largely because it was true.

Ahead of him, the woman slowed alongside Docia Toleffson’s bookstore. Slowed and then stopped, staring in the window. After a moment, she waved at someone inside. Nando let his own pace slow down so that he wouldn’t pass her just yet. He really wanted to see her face.

The door to the bookstore flew open, and Docia Toleffson herself stepped out, all six feet of her—maybe seven feet if you counted that pile of red hair on top of her head. She grinned at the stranger and then extended her arms to give her a hug. As she did, Nando got his first look at the woman’s face.

His heart stuttered and then promptly dropped to his shoes. Oh god, of course. I really had this coming.

“Kit,” Docia was saying. “Kit Maldonado. Where have you been keeping yourself? Allie said you were coming back this week. Oh, it’s so good to see you!”

Kit said something back, but Nando didn’t hear it. He was too busy stepping backward into the doorway of another shop where he’d have some cover. The last thing he wanted right then was a conversation with Kit. Hell, he didn’t even want her to see him just yet. Not until he figured out what exactly he was going to say to her. And how he was going to say it. And what it would mean.

Kit Maldonado. Here. Back in Konigsburg.

For a moment he swore he could almost hear Esteban laughing. The force of karma had just sunk its teeth firmly into his ass.

Meg is giving away a copy of Don’t Forget Me to one lucky winner.





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Good Things Come in Tall Packages Tour

Welcome to Ann Montclair's Virtual Blurb Blitz Tour for her new release, Good Things Come in Tall Packages, a contemporary romance from Musa Publishing. Ann will be awarding one random commenter along the tour a $25 Amazon GC. Be sure to leave an e-mail address with your comment.

I grew up sneak-reading all my mom's steamy romance novels. She kept them high on a shelf in her closet and warned, "You better not read those..." Of course, I read them. And now I write them! I strive to take readers on a fun, emotionally charged, and highly sensual ride to happily ever after. Available now: THE BILLIONAIRE'S BAUBLE (Soul Mate Publishing 2011), ONE WET SUMMER (Musa Publishing 2012), and GOOD THINGS COME IN TALL PACKAGES (Musa Publishing 2012). Next up: LADY IN DEED, my debut novel in historical romance set in Tudor England (Musa Publishing Winter 2012).

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and a community college English professor. I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York with my sexy hero and our teenage son. Our grown daughter lives in Los Angeles, California--my hometown.

Thanks for learning a little about me. You can contact me at ann@annmontclair.com.LINKS

Web site: http://www.annmontclair.com

Blog: http://annmontclair.wordpress.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AnnMontclair

Buy link: http://www.musapublishing.com/

Blurb for Good Things Come in Tall Packages

Dr. Joe Connors and socialite lawyer Lucy Alcott come from two different worlds, two very different cultures. But will those differences keep them apart when their attraction is too strong to be denied?

When socialite Savannah attorney Lucy Alcott entered the Hyatt looking for fun, martinis, and hot sex, the last thing she expected to find was Dr. Joe Connors.

Joe is Lucy's opposite in every way: he’s dark, she’s pale; he’s tall and reserved, she's tiny and vivacious; he wears his compassion and deep spirituality on his sleeve, she wears designer bags and clothes. That night at the Hyatt Lucy found herself not in the arms of a casual encounter but reaching out to a man who challenged the walls she had built around her heart—and when he gave her his number, Lucy knew Joe deserved a woman as warm and tender as he was. So she threw his number away. When an unexpected meeting six months later brings them together again, will Joe overcome Lucy’s fear of losing her heart, or are their two very different worlds destined to keep them apart forever?

Excerpt for Good Things Come in Tall Packages

The man wanted her.

Lucy felt the passion rolling off of Joe like tidal waves, and she was more than ready to let him knock her off her feet.

“Shall we go upstairs, Joe? I could use a quiet moment with you before we say goodbye again. Every time we’ve been together it’s been in a crowd with music pulsing in the background and drinks in our hands. Let’s be real. Let’s go upstairs and spend some alone time. I won’t bite. Unless you want me to.”

His big smile lit up the room like Georgia sunshine. He stood and proffered his hand, looming above her like an awesome Egyptian statue. Lucy was dwarfed by almost everyone, but Joe was enormous by anyone’s standards. When she’d first met him, despite the fact he was at a medical convention, she’d assumed he played for the NFL. The fact that he possessed brains and brawn made him ideal for bed sport. It hadn’t worked out that night, but tonight…Lucy could hardly wait.

 “Should we say goodbye to Ben and Maura?” Lucy cocked her head to scan the crowded room. She spotted them in the center of the ballroom floor, Jessie sandwiched between her parents, standing on her dad’s feet as the happy newlyweds shared a family dance.

 “Let’s not bother them. Come on, sweetness.” Joe effortlessly pulled Lucy to her sore feet and put his strong arm around her waist. She hobbled a bit. “Shall I carry you, my Southern Belle?”

Got to love gentlemen and their manners, right? Remember, Ann will award a $25 Amazon GC to one random commenter, so leave your email address with your comment.

Rhymes with Foreplay - PG Forte

Waiting for the Big One

Book One of the L.A. Love Lessons series

Gabby Brown refuses to consider her best friend Derek for the role of soul mate because she fears sex will ruin their friendship.

When she meets Zach, she’s convinced that he could be The One. But, Derek has ideas of his own, and they don’t include sharing Gabby with anybody.

Love from A to Z

Book Two of the L.A. Love Lessons series

Total amnesia is not what Richie Valenzuela had planned on when he drugged his cousin. A few missing hours, which could easily be blamed on April’s having had too much to drink, was all he was aiming for. And he certainly never expected the reclusive heiress to slip out the club’s back door with the sexy guitarist she’d been making eyes at all night.


Zach Harris is sure the girl he’d picked up the night before had told him her name was Angel. Too bad she didn’t tell him anything more about herself, because, this morning, it’s not just him she can’t remember, she doesn’t even know her own name!

What April views as a problem, however, Zach sees as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; a chance for her to discover who she really is. Not her name or her address, but the important stuff. Her personality. Her likes and dislikes. Her preferences—in and out of bed.

Let Me Count the Ways


Book Three of the L.A. Love Lessons series

As the owner of The Body Electric, LA’s hottest new exercise studio, sexy, former film star Claire Calhoun has her pick of studly young men eager to do her bidding. Small wonder she’s used to calling the shots, both in and out of bed. But everything changes the night the actress-turned-entrepreneur has one mojito too many at a party and decides it would be fun to pick up her accountant, Mike Sherman. She's thinking fling. He's thinking forever.

Claire has been Mike's fantasy since the first time he saw her bare it all for the camera. Now, she's in his bed and he'll do whatever’s necessary to keep her there. But he's not a stalker, right? He's just a devoted fan.

PG will be giving away either a copy of Edge of Heaven or any LA Love Lesson books, winner’s choice, plus a set of Romance Trading Cards.









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Cocktales - The Drinks are on The Mari Carr

Party Naked
Cocktales, Book One

Stephanie Harper is perfectly happy co-owning Books and Brew, where she slings drinks and entertains her friends with cutting wit and a cynical take on love. She’s convinced she has no time for anything deeper than sex; she has a business to run, after all. And her thrice-married mother has proven happy ever after doesn’t exist.

Jarod Nolan begs to differ. Chance has him running into Steph—and giving her a ticket—one morning, but it’s fate that finds him in her place of business that same evening. A sizzling one-night stand ensues, and although Stephanie escapes before he wakes the next morning, Jarod is already sure she’s worth the chase.

Steph’s more than willing to party naked with the hot cop, but she’s adamant they’re driven by lust, not love. Jarod is prepared to prove otherwise, even if it means giving up one of the things he and Stephanie do best…

What’s that old saying? Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder?

Screwdriver
Cocktales, Book Two

When Jordan Lance isn’t poring over spreadsheets for Books and Brew, she’s fantasizing about the store’s landlord. Too bad she’s squarely in Gabriel’s “just friends” column. Jordan’s prepared to pine forever—until she meets Casey. The handyman is hot, handsome, charming…and Gabriel’s best friend. Suddenly her wicked fantasies are porntastic times two.

Casey has suspected his friend’s interest in Jordan. If he can push them together, he might get Gabriel off the bimbo train he’s been riding. The plan? Jealousy. And it’s working. It’s not long before Gabriel’s deeper feelings for Jordan emerge. Problem is…so do Casey’s. What happens when two friends want the same woman? Red-hot ménage, baby.

Two gorgeous men exploring every inch of her body? Um, yes please! Jordan doesn’t know if threesomes are considered acceptable, but she’s sure of one thing—being this bad feels far too good.

Mari is giving away one signed copy of Dangerous Curves.







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Find the Fire with Jess Dee

Today is a visit Down Under with one of my favorite Aussie writers - Jess Dee writes hot like you could cook on it!!! And I've read both of the Fire books, and they are really great!!

Jess Dee lives in beautiful Sydney, Australia, with her husband, their two sons and their insane dog - a ridiculously overweight puggle named Luigi.

An avid romance reader since her early teens, Jess knew one day, when she grew up, she’d have to write her own love stories. It might have taken a while, but in December of 2005, she finally got “the call.” Her first book, Photo Opportunity had been contracted. Now you can’t hold her down. She’s completed a whole host of books, and is finally doing the work she loves most— writing romance.

Jess likes to set her stories in Australia. Have a look at the gorgeous images on the page, and you’ll understand why it’s so easy to find romance in this beautiful country.

My Website

International Heat

Down Under Divas

Bandicoot Cove

Heat Wave Yahoo Group

Follow Jess on Twitter

Friend Jess on Face Book

Jess’s books are available at:


Amazon, B&N, Samhain

Dirty desires, dark secrets…deepest love

Hidden FireFire, Book 2



Well, this is an unexpected twist. Jenna Brooks is all set to spend the weekend wallowing in misery, repairing the cracks in the façade she’s maintained for twelve years. Instead she’s…tied to a chair. Kidnapped by her own twin brother and her so-called best friend.

It’s for her own good, they say. She’ll thank them later, they say. But when they reveal her partner in captivity, she shores up her emotional barriers. It’s Garreth Halt. The one man for whom she let her guard down. What a fool she was.

For one electrifying moment, Garreth had Jenna naked in his arms, on the edge of losing her legendary control. Could have kept her there forever, too, if he hadn’t felt honor-bound to tell her the truth. Before she’d heard the whole truth, though, she’d retreated behind the fortress around her heart.

Now they’re knee to knee, with no escape. While he’s irritated he let his alleged best friend get the drop on him, a small part of him is thrilled. With one final chance to show her his love is real, Garreth methodically, wickedly, sets out to dismantle her defenses.

One dirty word at a time.

Product Warnings:

Garreth may have charmed you in Winter Fire, but this time around, his blatantly sexy demands, even sexier actions and heartwarming love for his heroine are gonna make you fall head over heels.

Copyright © 2012 Jess Dee

All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

Before he could step out of the doorway, something barreled into him, crashing into his chest, slamming the breath from his body, winding him.

That something threw her arms around his shoulders, grabbed his neck and held tight. So tight she crushed his chest. Stopped his heart. Prevented his blood from flowing through his brain. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

But then that’s how he reacted every time Jenna Brooks came near.

Her scent assailed him, permeated his cells. Apple and mint, fresh and…edible. Instinctively, his arms came around her back, holding her closer, clutching her to him.

Christ, so tiny. So fragile. So exquisite.

Silken hair tickled his chin, the wind whipping silvery-blond strands across his face. He clasped his hand around her neck, holding her tresses in place. Her breath came in deep gulps, as though she’d sprinted a mile to get here.

His heart lurched. Was she okay? Usually she sprinted in the other direction, racing as far away from him as she could get. “Jenn?”

“Garreth!” She climbed up his body, hitching first one knee up to his hip and winding her slim leg around his waist, and then the other, locking her feet together behind his back.

Instinctively, he placed an arm beneath her ass, supporting her tiny frame, holding her closer, pressing her pelvis against his groin. She belonged there. She should always be there.

Ah, damn. Even winded from her attack and worried sick by her sudden appearance, blood emptied into the lower half of his body, making him instantly hard. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”

A soft, seductive whimper escaped her mouth, whispered over his neck and sent tingles down his spine. She shifted, flattening her hips against his, pushing hard against his erection, molding herself to its shape. The groan she emitted was a carnal hum.

It took a second, no more, but Garreth saw stars.

Jesus, this was what he’d always wanted. Jenna, in his arms, snuggled up against him.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He knew though. Knew what had her so distressed. He just hadn’t expected this reaction. Hadn’t expected her to run to him after hearing the news.

Garreth stumbled back into the chalet, kicking the door shut behind him. Her anguish needed no audience.

“He loves her, Garreth. He broke the pact.” The words exploded from her mouth. She looked at him, but her eyes were unfocused, dazed even. “Wants to be with her. He’s moving to Sydney for her. I let you go. Turned you away. Forced you to back off, and now he wants my best friend.” The words were a jumbled mess, the explanation coming out in torrents.

Garreth considered interrupting, slowing her down, but couldn’t. She spoke too fast, faster than he’d heard her speak before. Was she in shock?

“All this time I held back. Wouldn’t give myself to you. Wouldn’t betray Jackson like that. I let you go. But he’s with Rachel now. The pact’s over.” Astonishment echoed through her words. “Gone. It’s in the past.” She gasped, stared blindly at him with her beautiful blue eyes. Was she seeing his face or something else? He couldn’t tell. “I can be with you. We can be together, Garreth. You and me. Together.”

And then her lips were on his, kissing him, her tongue probing entry into his mouth.

He’d seen stars before? Hell, comets were crashing into earth now. Jenna, in his arms, kissing him. Disbelief froze him in place—for all of about three seconds—before he kissed her back, wrestling for control, taking her mouth as he plunged his tongue between her lips.

She tasted like cream and sugar all wrapped up in one succulent treat. Her need—her desire—intoxicated him. He sipped from her mouth, drank from it like a parched man.

She’d come to him. After all this time. He couldn’t kiss her hard enough, couldn’t get enough of her taste, her mouth, her essence. Jenna was in his arms. She’d come willingly. Run to him. Thrown herself at him.

He paused for a maybe a second to breath, to look to the skies and thank God. The sun broke through the clouds, spilling its rays through the massive windows, catching her hair in its glow.

He would have thrown his head back and laughed, or maybe howled—the dominant alpha claiming his female. Would have, but didn’t. Not if it meant foregoing a second kiss. Never. He was never releasing her mouth again. Never letting her go. He ducked in for another kiss.

The shackles of her past had finally been unlocked, releasing her. There was no longer anything keeping them apart.

Uh, yeah, there is.

God damned reality! Garreth didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Real good, Halt. Deny it. Deny the existence of her boyfriend so neither of you need deal with the fact there’s another man in her life. Deny the truth about your actions this weekend because you know if she knows you slept with her best friend—at the same time as her brother did—she’ll walk away.

He couldn’t hide the truth. He had to say something. But how could he explain? How could she ever understand why he’d done what he’d done?

Her kiss grew more urgent, her hands moved, found the hem of his sweater, pushed underneath. Her icy fingers sent shock waves careening over his back. Her bare hands swept over his exposed skin.

Chills raced up his spine, down again. Her touch drove him wild. Made him crazy.

Jess is giving away two books from her backlist to one winner.

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Not Your Children's Fairy Tales - S. L. Carpenter

Today's featured author is S.L. Carpenter, but before we begin, a word (or ten) from our generous sponsors.

Here are the winners for week three of the Sweet, Sexy, Scorching Giveaway Hop-

RG Alexander winner of $10.00 gift card- Catherine Lee (from My Little Odd World)

Lucy Felthouse winner of $5.00 gift card- Kelly (from Lori's Book Blog)

Liz Crowe winner of $30.00 gift card- Shadow (from Day Dreaming)

Jamie Davenport winner of paperback of Forth and Goal- Trix (from Aestas Book Blog)

Crystal Jordan winner of On the Prowl and Prowl the Night- Elaing8 (from BlackRaven Erotic Cafe)

I have not heard back from these winners:

Lisa Renee Jones winner of candle and ebook/paperback- Carol L. (from My Secret Romance)

Jayne Rylon winner of Red Light District series- Allie (from Close Encounters with the Night Kind)

Karen Erickson's $20.00 gift card- Cheryl McInnis

Winner's, please send an email to Taryn@mysecretromancebookreviews.com so she can get your prizes off to you. Thanks!

  And now, on with our irregularly scheduled programming, y'all!!!

My name is S.L. Carpenter and I'm a writer and an artist, a husband and a father, a slave to the wife and an inspiration to other people I don't know. I call California home and have been here my whole life. I know...poor me.


I've been writing my special brand of insane little stories for many years, but it's only been in the last decade that I've managed to persuade folks to publish them. I expanded my backlist to include single titles, anthologies and several books co-written with my writing partner (and webmistress) Sahara Kelly. My most recent books are available at Samhain Publishing.

If you want to keep in touch with what's happening, the best way is to subscribe to my newsletter here or follow me at:

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

Website: http://www.slcarpenter.net/

My Art: My Deviant Art Gallery

Writing Partners:Partners In Passion

Newsletter: S.L. Carpenter's NEWS FLASH!

Books available at:

Amazon, B&N

You will never, EVER look at these fairy tales again the same way. Never!

They're sassy, sexy and sporting tiaras. They're also raucous, ribald, and outrageous when they get together for goblets of mead and an afternoon's bitching. You know their names—they rose to fame as heroines who sought their Happily-Ever-Afters. And found them.



Of course, Happily Ever After is actually anywhere from eternity to three months and an annulment, if you've got a good lawyer and were smart enough to get a pre-nup. These six Princesses are just regular gals beneath the tulle and diamonds and they love to dish the dirt. When Aurora gets a publishing contract, they all decide to reveal the truth behind those beloved fairy tales; the lace gloves come off and the delicate fantasies are ripped away, revealing the shocking facts, the sexy adventures and the erotic passions beneath the surface.



It's down and dirty in a royal sort of way, complete with Princes who aren't so charming, blacksmiths, porn stars and bean stalks. Not to mention seven vertically challenged dudes, a guy with squeaky slippers and a pair of binoculars...well, you'd better read it and find out. But be warned...these words will never have quite the same meaning....

Once upon a time…

~Excerpt~

Odette rolled her eyes. “Okay, so the market’s ripe for erotic stories. How erotic? Like ‘oh, please touch my heart with your tongue’ erotic or…” she paused, “erotic like the truth behind the Ugly Duckling tale?”

“Wait a minute.” Sherry blinked. “The Ugly Duckling?”

“Awww. I loved that one.” Cinderella sighed. “Sweet fluffy ducklings, happy ever afters, beautiful swans….”

Odette snorted. “Where you been, girlie? Ducks shit all over the place, which stinks like hell and turns your glass slippers to mud. And God forbid you piss off a male swan. He’ll smash your kneecaps as soon as he looks at you.” She wriggled her bottom more comfortably on the couch, ignored the resulting cloud of feathers, and grinned at her friends. “Don’t ever be fooled by those swans’ grace and elegance. It’s a front. Underneath, they’re piss and vinegar, baby, and not always in a good way.”

She waved at the goblets on the table. “Pour us all some more mead, Aurora. Cinders, honey, put down that damn cloth. I’m gonna tell you gals a story. The real truth behind our little fuzzy duckling friend. Be warned.” Her smile faded, to be replaced by one of stern warning. “This isn’t a nice little sunset-and-cuddly bedtime story. I hope you’ve got the stones to deal with it.”

   








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