Feast on this collection of 22 Contemporary and Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Erotic stories from bestselling, award-winning and multi-published authors, in this limited-time anthology. All stories are exclusive new content and can be read without reading the series, but will be icing on the cake for readers loyal to each saga.

JUST DESSERTS – A Collection of Bite-Sized Delights

22 Bestselling, award-winning and multi-published authors bring you the naughtiest delights.

Michele Bardsley ~ Honey Bear ~ The Pearson’s Security Series

Renee George ~ Alpha-Bites ~ The Cull: Claimed by the Alpha

Jodi Redford ~ Perfect Passion ~ Perfect Chemistry

Zara Cox ~ Indigo Velvet ~ Indigo Lounge Series

Renea Mason ~ Tasting Paris ~The Good Doctor Trilogy

Piper Denna ~ Confidential Craving ~ Fantasies Inc. Series

Erzabet Bishop ~ Black Magic Café

Iyana Jenna ~ Strictly Professional

Anne Lange ~ Blind Taste Test

S.J. Maylee ~ Common Grounds

Terri George ~ Feast on Me

Lee Rene ~ The Sweetness in the Pudding

Mindy Larson ~ Sweet Tooth

Felicity Kates ~ Super-Sex Me ~ The Little Miss Kick-Ass Series

Emma Nichols ~ Sinfully Sweet ~ The Sweet Series

Libby Sinclair ~ Cake Topper ~ The Incarnation Chronicles

Rissa Blakeley ~ A Little Taste of Naughty ~ The Shattered Lives Series

Mariah Kingsley ~ Sugar and Spice

Rosemary Rey ~ Always the Last One

Persephone Jones ~ Cherry Tart

Christine Severin ~ Cherry Lips

J.S Snow ~ Claiming

Let’s talk about sex

… All about writing erotic… A mini multi-author interview guest post.

Why did you choose to write erotic works?

Erzabet Bishop: I started writing erotica after 50 Shades. When I read it, I thought ‘I could write this. How much fun would that be?’ And so I looked for a book on how to write erotic romance and it led me to the ERWA site. From there I found my first submission call and wrote a holiday fetish story and a zombie story. I’ll never forget that first payment for a story I’d written. It was an amazing moment. I haven’t stopped since.

Iyana Jenna: Because that’s what thrills me. It gives me ‘feel.’ J Though maybe my work is more leaning toward sweet romance.

Kate Reedwood: I fell into it by accident. Or maybe it fell into me? Either way it makes a fun, ah…diversion from writing traditional romance 😉

Persephone Jones: I don’t know if I so much chose to write erotic works as what I write happens to be classified for marketing purposes as erotic romance. I just transcribe what pours out of me. I love writing about relationships and how people relate to each other through their sexuality. Plus, it’s fun. I write what makes me happy. 🙂

Libby Sinclair: All my stories have an erotic element that needs to be experienced or the characters don’t feel as real. Humans (and aliens) are sexual creatures and hiding that part of ourselves only leads to problems. Passion drives most of what we do so the reader needs to feel it too.

Mindy Larson Gilbert: Not to copy Renea, Persephone, and Kate, but I don’t feel that I chose to write erotica, but rather, my characters chose me. And just like everyone else in the world, they choose to have sex. Again and again. I’m just lucky enough to give them life. And love. Hopefully I can fulfill all their wishes and make their dreams a reality in the pages I write.

Autumn Piper: I also write mainstream (read: not quite as hot) romance as Autumn Piper. When the characters demand the love scenes are more detailed, it becomes a Piper Denna story.

JS Snow: Erotica is really not my scene, it’s more for my alter ego, and I’m more typical romance genre. I love the naughtiness I can get away with in erotica where it wouldn’t fly in contemporary romance. Take a walk on the wild side baby!

Renea Mason: I don’t know that I chose anything. My stories pick me. Perhaps it’s my affinity for character driven stories that makes the allure of writing sex so appealing. The way we make love reveals so much about who we are. It’s a mystery in itself, and my books are always part mystery. It’s the one time, all that a person hides from the world is revealed. Sex is always more than sex in my stories, it’s a journey. And since sex unearths a character’s secrets, it tends to build curiosity for the reader in addition to the physical erotic response to seductive words on a page.

Rosemary Rey: I’ve been reading them for much longer than I should have. I think it is beautiful to describe a sexual encounter and the emotions and thoughts of the characters. I love books which connect sexual relations with a mysterious plot. I read once to write what you want to read, I love erotic suspense and it was a natural fit. However, Erotic works are an exercise in writing. I plan to write a fiction book that will have romance but no sex. If I can write descriptively in Erotica, I think I can write this fiction book.

Rissa Blakeley: When I started writing, I was going to leave all that behind closed doors. To be honest, I was embarrassed to write such…interesting scenes. I had been reading paranormal books with some erotic scenes for quite some time. Once in a while I would share a scene with The Boss (my husband). He asked me a few times if I was going to write those types of scenes in my books, and I said ‘NO WAY!’. He mentioned he thought I would do well at it. So, with The Boss’ encouragement, I wrote my first scene of naughtiness in Broken Dreams. After I shared it with him, he said, ‘You need to write more of that!’ And here we are…

Anne Lange: When I hit the first sex scene in the first story I wrote, I didn’t even contemplate leaving the bedroom door closed and letting the reader use her own imagination for what was happening. Frankly, I wanted her right there, experiencing the same sights, scents and sounds as my characters. Living and breathing the moment with them. Relationships, sex, love and everything that goes with it is part of our lives, whether we openly admit it or not. And it’s through those moments, real or fantasy, that our strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes and vulnerable spots are exposed. And, honestly, it’s fun. I like to write about things we’re not necessarily comfortable talking about – those sinful things – even if it’s only in our fantasies

What is the hardest thing about writing a love scene? (No snickering)

Rissa Blakeley: Worrying what my mom is going to think! She reads all my stuff and sometimes I cringe at the more aggressive or more detailed passages

Erzabet Bishop: You have to think about where all the moving parts are and after you write several love scenes, it takes some creativity to get things moving in a fresh new way. Sex is sex, but a writer has to give it that spark that makes your toes curl and draws you in.

Rosemary Rey: None! My problem is writing dialogue, knowing what is necessary in a scene, but sex scene is description and feelings and those of us who’ve had sex can visualize the action and know the feeling when he touches the nape of your neck to bring you in for a long lingering kiss, and your breath halts–expectant and needy. It is simple for me. Everything else seems like work.

Libby Sinclair: I have difficulty with mechanics. I’ll get my couples twisted into pretzels then realize if so-and-so is bent over this, legs can’t be over there with arms over there. I might write about sexy aliens with special abilities but I’m sure they can’t detach limbs. 😉

Persephone Jones: I would say the most challenging aspect of writing love scenes is keeping them fresh and interesting every time. As authors of erotic romance, we write a lot of sex. How to make each scene unique and specialized for the characters is hard but fun work. J

Iyana Jenna: Writing a love scene IS the hardest thing. I usually slow down and sometimes stop writing altogether when I come to that part. I really need to learn a lot about it. Hot scenes are the hardest part!

Mindy Larson Gilbert: You guys took all the good ones! I totally agree with all the above. Guess I should’ve answered quicker, but one other aspect that springs to mind, is staying focused on the story as a whole and not get completely sucked into just the sex scenes.

Kate Reedwood: Finding a quiet spot to do so. One cannot write a sex scene on the couch with people looking over one’s shoulder. Unless there is titanium strength duct tape handy to mute the snickers… 😉

Anne Lange: Not making it sound just like the last one I wrote. Repetition in action, narrative, logistics, etc. is, I think, a big hurdle. It can’t become predictable or mundane, or a bunch of flowery prose, but at the same time is has to be believable, realistic and something the reader will (hopefully) really get into.

Renea Mason: Since I write ménage, it’s making sure I have all of the appendages doing the right things.

Is it difficult to write erotica?

Erzabet Bishop: Sometimes when I’ve done several in a row I have to think about what I’m doing with the sexy scenes. You have to be creative and make it sing.

Mariah Kingsley: Yes. I watch a lot of porn to find different things to do.

Anne Lange: I personally don’t consider myself an erotica writer. I prefer the label erotic romance because the focus is on the love story, it just happens to have (sometimes) naughty sex with BDSM or muliple partners.

Kate Reedwood: I close my eyes and imagine I’m a camera in the room, watching what my characters do. The problem is in the language, and finding new ways to keep things fresh sounding without it becoming too technical or flowery.

Rosemary Rey: Not for me. I think the hardest part is feeling like there is never enough time to write innovative stories. The hardest parts are the story surrounding the sex. You still have to grip the reader. If your characters and their relationship don’t develop properly, then you can lose your reader, regardless of how hot the sex.

JS Snow: It is because there is a difference between erotica and romance. You want to write something great, but most of the time it ends up reading like a porno movie complete with the cheesy music.

Rissa Blakeley: Yes. I spend a lot of time visualizing the scene in my head over and over, while putting the words down. Making sure the scene is believable, sexy and not too much or too little can become overwhelming.

Renee George: I think it can be difficult to write erotic scenes well.

Libby Sinclair: Yea and no. Yes in the fact that society has such a stigma against healthy sex and no b/c in the end, writing is writing. You just have to make sure it makes sense and conveys the emotion you want.

Persephone Jones: It’s not difficult to write but it is difficult to love it when you’re done. I’m my own worst critic so I’m never satisfied with the finished product.

Mindy Larson Gilbert: As long as i’m alone, I can do it. It’s difficult to let go and get in that magical place to evoke the sex gods if I have someone reading over my shoulder.

Terri George: I’m not sure that what I write is Erotica. More Erotic Love Stories. If you mean do I find it difficult to write sex scenes, yes. I’ll sometimes move on to the next part and go back to ponder on them. It’s all about the emotions my characters are feeling at the time really (hot intense passion, or emotionally damaged after a major fight etc) once I’ve tapped into that, I go from there.

Renea Mason: Not At All.

Book Trailer:

Buy Links

FACEBOOK Party!

Join the Just Desserts Release Party on June 20^th on Facebook… to meet with the authors and for a chance to win prizes…

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Before the Rain By JoAnne Kenrick

Before the Rain is book five in Fated Desires’ multiple author series of stand-alone stories. In JoAnne’s addition to this series, a sworn-off-love Southerner escapes her failing life in Georgia and flees to the UK for a three month ‘no men allowed’ sabbatical where she unwittingly falls for the rustic charm of Rose Farm and its Welsh owner.

Blurb

Three fiancés in three years makes Zoe Chantilly’s relationship column for the Georgia Times her only semblance of commitment…that is until her dating advice takes a dive down the Suwannee and she’s fired.

Unemployed and single, she leaves the sweltering heat of the south and heads to the UKfor a man-free break from life. The plan? Get with nature, write a novel, and be alone. Be very much alone. But nature has other plans for Zoe.

Navigating the backcountry roads of Wales seems just as complicated as her love life. A near-collision hones her desires in on Dylan Mostyn, a Leo seething with a raw prowess and macho magnetism the Aquarius in her can’t resist.

This Welshman is as arrogant as he is gorgeous. He’s also her landlord. The undeniable and thunderous attraction between them pinnacles during a karaoke duet at the village fete, but what starts as a no-strings fling quickly spirals toward dangerous ground.

Publisher: Fated Desires.
Flame Rating: Three
Setting: North Wales, UK
Genre: Small Town Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Vacation romance, Opposites Attract
Release date: July 21^st 2015

Pre Order available for 1-click now!

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Available to add to your Goodreads TBR list

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24013474-before-the-rain

More on the multi-author Tempting Signs Series with Fated Desires: http://fateddesires.com/2015/01/01/coming-soon-tempting-signs-series/

About JoAnne Kenrick

JoAnne Kenrick is a multi-published author who writes both contemporaries and paranormals. She was born and raised in a wee seaside town in North Wales, and has traveled far and wide. In true Brit form, she is a teaholic.

She now lives in North Carolina with her very own British hero, where she creates ever afters with a backdrop of those wonderful places she’s visited. Come across the pond and faraway…with JoAnne Kenrick.

For more about JoAnne and her books, please visit her website: http://www.joannekenrick.com

Stay update with JoAnne’s new and upcoming releases with her quarterly newsletter. Easy sign up here: http://bit.ly/1Ox0Mga

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Excerpt

Present Day, August 1, 2015

“Dwi’n caru ti,” he rasped in Welsh, rounding out his vowels and sharpening his Rs.

Uh-oh. Dylan Mostyn only slipped into his native language around Zoe when he was horny.

He entwined his fingers with hers, his gray stare fierce yet his touch gentle.

“Did you hear me, Chantilly?” he prodded, his voice low and gruff with his own brand of rustic charm and raw macho energy. “Dwi’n caru ti…I love you.”

Ah, heck, how was she supposed to resist him now?

Like a teenager about to get her first-ever kiss, she quivered, her knees knocking together.

Damn him for being so…so…so British. With his sexy accent and his Hugh Grant hair flop and Gerald Butler’s down and dirty swoon factor. And his dimples. Gah. If she wasn’t so weak-willed, she’d squeeze in one last wham-bam before heading back to the States.

Who was she kidding? A quickie wouldn’t sate her needs. Not anymore. What had Wales—what had Dylan—done to her? Love, a four-letter word she dreaded. In all her thirty-one years, she hadn’t truly loved anyone. Had she inadvertently fallen for him? Truly fallen for him? Like head-over-ass and giddy-in-love fallen for him?

Impossible.

“You can’t leave.” He edged her against the wall of the farm-style kitchen in the stone cottage, his chest pressing against hers. “Not yet.”

“Umm.” Between his hard body and a stone wall, Zoe dodged his lips by leaning to the left and pointing to the whistling kettle atop the gas stovetop. His masculine scent with subtle hints of amber and musk enveloped her and melted her a little more.

“Do you love me?”

The Incomparables: 6 Heroes of Waterloo and the 6 Ladies They Adore

This limited edition box set includes 6 scorching romances that commemorate the 200th anniversary of the June 18, 1815 Battle of Waterloo.

From the Duchess of Richmond’s ball in Brussels to the Battle of Waterloo and beyond, join these six unforgettable heroes as they journey back from the physical and emotional trials of war and discover the passion that thrills the body can also heal the heart.

Coming June 18th from bestselling and award winning historical romance authors Cerise DeLand, Sabrina York, Suzi Love, Lynne Connolly, Suzanna Medeiros and Dominique Eastwick.

Preorder now: Amazon ARe KOBO

Our Blog: http://incomparablesclub.blogspot.com/

Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/736061146513329/

Read more about this steamy collection!

Interlude with a Baron by Cerise DeLand

Emma wants only an interlude with the man she’s adored for years. But Drayton Worth has spent five years riddled with guilt for hurting her—and he’s determined to have more than a few nights in her bed.

Tarnished Honor by Sabrina York

Daniel Sinclair is a broken man with war wounds that are physical and spiritual. He’s weighed down by grief and guilt and tormented by his tarnished honor. When he meets Fia Lennox, a beautiful and brave Highland lass in dire need of his protection, he sees in her his chance for redemption…or utter damnation. Because despite his valiant attempts to resist her, he cannot.

Love After Waterloo by Suzi Love
When Lady Melton and her son join Captain Belling and the last wounded soldiers evacuating from Waterloo to London, she expects clashes with army deserters but doesn’t anticipate how falling in love with the antagonistic captain will change her life.

Dreaming of Waterloo by Lynne Connolly

Paul “Lucky” Sherstone daren’t even let his wife too close because of his headaches and the living nightmares he can’t dispel. Hetty hardly knows the man who comes back from war, but one thing she does know—she still wants him.

The Captain’s Heart by Suzanna Medeiros

A man who is determined to fulfill his duty at the expense of his own happiness, a woman who wants only one taste of true passion, and a case of mistaken identity. Can Captain Edward Hathaway and Grace Kent overcome the guilt that continues to haunt them both and find true love?

For Love or Revenge by Dominique Eastwick

Captain Roarke Wooldridge is about to find out that sometimes love does heal all wounds.But when his need for revenge collides with desires he never believed he would feel again, will he be able to put aside the scars of Waterloo to embrace his future?

READ MORE!

Interlude with a Baron by Cerise DeLand

After Waterloo, Drayton Worth watched the woman he loved suffer because of his failures.

Riddled with guilt he strives to improve Emma Bedlow’s dreadful existence, while cursing his never-ending desire for her. When he finally has the chance to convince her to share his life, she refuses. No man will control her ever again. She desires only an interlude with the charming baron. But Dray is determined to have much more.

Read an Excerpt!

Excerpt: All rights reserved.

“You’re here at last.” Dexter Elgin hailed Dray with a wave of his hand above the crowd. His former colleague in Wellington’s army in Spain wore his artillery uniform, though neither of them still served in ranks. “Spotted you by that mop of hair, Ginger.”

Dray winced at the boyish reference to his red curls. “I’m glad to offer you speed and accuracy. Where’s Wellington?”

“In a meeting with the Dutch. You have news of your quarry?”

“Some.” Dray needed more absolute proof that Montroy was betraying them to the French. “I won’t ask for an audience until I learn more. I would say though that he’s here.”

Dex raised his dark brown brows. “What gall.”

“Indeed.” To spy on the British General Staff at their leisure was dastardly. But then, what else should they expect from a man who had turned coats so many times?

“I should not be shocked.”

“No,” Dray agreed. Dex knew of his mission. He’d been in the meeting with Wellington when the commander had ordered Dray to find proof of Montroy’s treachery or end the chase once and for all. “Where else would he prosper this evening?”

“Precisely. In the meantime, let’s get you a drink. You might even take up a set with a lady on the floor.”

Dray followed his friend through the crowd. He did love to dance. “Not tonight, I’m afraid.”

“What better way to get a full view of those present?”

Dray smirked. “You have a point. But I’ll have that drink first.”

The room was so crowded that working his way through the masses was a challenge. Worse, he covered his mouth as he coughed at the nauseating mix of tobacco and sweat, brandy and bad cologne.

“Lord Lansdowne! Oh, we are honored, sir.” The companion to the elderly countess of Penn appeared at his side, looping her arm through his. In her cups as usual, Janet Berwyn tried to train her eyes in his and failed. “My Lady Penn has anticipated your arrival. So has the Duchess.”

By this she meant the hostess of this ball, the illustrious Duchess of Richmond. But Dray knew this woman’s real purpose was to waylay him and lure him to a corner if she could. She’d tried that before. Often.

Dray gave her a polite smile, the better to get away from her and on to his purpose. “Good evening, Lady Berwyn. You look lovely and so far from home, too.”

“Thank you, good sir. Always a gentleman.” She tightened her fingers around his forearm.

Damn, she was a grasping creature. But then her actions were his fault. She had once been in his bed and wished never to leave it, but to tie him to her with vows and rings and her fortune in the bargain. Truth be told, he liked her enthusiasm in bed, but sadly, nowhere else. He patted her hand, then extricated her fingers from him. “I have business here, my lady. I must see the Duke.”

She sighed, intemperate when she wanted attention from him. “Do you promise to attend me after you’ve done your duty?”

“I cannot promise, but I will try.” She deserved that from him. After all, she had taught him much about the needs and joys of a woman in the throes of passion.

“Very well,” she said with a pretty pout. “Go if you must.”

“Come, my lady,” Dex coaxed her. “You know the value of our worth!”

Long an old joke among his friends in the Royal Artillery, Dray’s last name lent power to his reputation as a man who had been decorated often for his bravery on the field and off. That he was effective in military maneuvers and business, he would have liked to have attributed to his doggedness and his analytical skills. He measured his own worth by his profits in chemicals and spices and by the good health and rising prosperity of the tenants on his estates.

His value in the Royal Artillery, however, was measured by his commanding officer, the newly minted Duke of Wellington. And that man would ask him tonight if he had caught the traitor in their midst. And if not, when would he?

* * *

Cerise DeLand

Find Cerise:

Cerise DeLand’s Website

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Follow her on Twitter: @cerisedeland

Goodreads: Cerise DeLand

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Cerise DeLand’s Delicious Newsletter!

We’re thrilled to welcome Ines Johnson back to our pages, here to tempt you with another passionate story!

The Loyal Steed: a Pleasure Hound Novel

Men of Devotion

If you read my books, you may have noticed a theme. Between the covers of many of my stories you’ll find a man of the cloth, who struggles with his feelings for a woman, and ultimately succumbs to the glories of romantic love.

An Old Testament

My fascination with priests began with the television movie, The Thornbirds. Richard Chamberlain in robes -nuff said. Its not just priests I’m fascinated with. It was an illuminating experience for me watching the Jedi of Star Wars. I even found Yoda hot! And then there was that string of movies about fallen angels where Christopher Walken was a badass angel and Elias Koteas was a former priest. Yummy. But the priest to end all priests? Matthew McConaughey in Contact!

Why am I attracted to priests, monks, angels, and even cone-headed, Buddha-like aliens? Because these men of devotion have a lot of qualities that women look for in their partners. They’re disciplined, full of grace, devoted, and they understand sacrifice.

A Beautiful Mind

Spiritual men are smart. Monks spend their lives studying ancient texts. Priests have to get a degree from college or seminary school, which can take anywhere from four to eight years. Jedi are taken as children, younglings, into the order. Other than Luke Skywalker, we know they spend all of their formative years training in the mental and physical art of the force.

Hopelessly Devoted

Speaking of Skywalkers, Padme didn’t fall for cute and cuddly Anakin. No, she fell for the grown Jedi who began to tug at the rules of his order as he pursued her affections. We all like a rebel, a bad boy, to some degree. The man of cloth might not be the bad boy, but their situation is definitely a naughty and forbidden one. He’s pledged his loyalty and devotion to another: namely god, a goddess, or some higher power.

The Sexy Priest trope is the perfect love triangle. You have the sexy priest, the first leg of the triangle. The priest is devoted to his vows, the second leg of the triangle. And then in walks another set of legs, the heroine. Admit it: we all want to be the chosen one in a love triangle. And if you can emerge the victor over a god-figure…

I already recognize that I’m going to hell. But that’s okay, because that’s where all of the sexy, fallen priests will be!

BLURB

Jaspir has been in love with Lady Merlyn since they were children, but she has always been out of his reach. Trained as a Pleasure Hound and now surviving by selling his body to rich women, his heart has always remained loyal to his true love.

Liam was promised to Merlyn in their youth, but he’s always known that he’s not the man in her heart. With their betrothal approaching, Liam seeks out Jaspir for help. Eager to ensure the happiness of the woman they both love, Jaspir agrees to train Liam in the pleasure arts.

What starts as rivals in an uneasy truce, soon turns carnal when Merlyn learns of their secret lessons. In a society where men are second class citizens, Merlyn is torn between the attentions of two men who would do anything to rule her heart.

EXCERPT

“Our time is up, Merlyn.”

“Should I buy more?”

Jaspir hesitated. He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers. She had his heart, but he would never be allowed to possess hers. He set her back on her chair.

“No,” he whispered. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “No,” he said more firmly.

Another hour, another day would change nothing. It had taken years to get over her. Who was he kidding? He’d never gotten over her. He never would.

“My time is up because you have another lover coming?” she asked.

Jaspir pulled away from her, staring into her golden brown eyes. “No. There is no one else.”

She cocked her head to the side, the birdlike motion signaling that she was investigating his words. Just as Merlyn only spoke facts, she had a knack for sensing when someone told half-truths.

“I have no other lovers coming today.” Something compelled him to go on, to assure her of her place in his heart. “You own my heart, Merlyn. I have loved you, and only you, every day since the first day I met you. I will continue to love you every day of my life.”

She searched his eyes, her head cocking the opposite way as she considered every angle of his new statement. “Why is it that I believe you? There is no possible way to prove your declaration. Love isn’t a tangible thing that you can point to. It isn’t measurable.”

Jaspir took her hand and placed it on his heart. “Do you feel that? What reason does a heart have for racing?”

“It’s a fight or flight response from the autonomic nervous system.”

“Do you think I’m preparing to flee due to fear of you? Or that I’m preparing to harm you?”

Merlyn shook her head.

“Look at me, Merlyn. What do you see?”

“I see that your pupils are dilated.” Her eyes dipped lower. “Your nostrils are flaring, and you are panting.”

“I can tell you that my stomach aches when I think of you. My palms sweat and I feel light headed. Not to mention what happens in my sex organs. That’s nearly every system of the human body engaged at the very thought of you.”

“These symptoms happen every time you think of me?”

“Without fail.”

“Fascinating,” she breathed, eyes bright.

Jaspir grinned at the curious creature before him. She pressed one hand to his heart. The other she ran over his forehead. Her fingers came away with beads of sweat. Her thumb returned and traced his lower eyelid.

“I’d like to study this phenomenon some more.” She looked into his eyes. Her own pupils were large, her nostrils flared, her breath came in small pants. “May I return to make more observations?”

BUY LINKS

Part One: http://www.amazon.com/Loyal-Steed-Part-Pleasure-Hound-ebook/dp/B00WKAKSP0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429808418&sr=8-1&keywords=loyal+steed

Part Two:

http://www.amazon.com/Loyal-Steed-Part-Pleasure-Hound-ebook/dp/B00WKBZ8N6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1429814624&sr=8-3&keywords=loyal+steed

Part Three:

http://www.amazon.com/Loyal-Steed-Three-Pleasure-Hound-ebook/dp/B00WKDY3KS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1429814624&sr=8-9&keywords=loyal+steed

Complete Serial

http://www.amazon.com/Loyal-Steed-Complete-Serial-Pleasure-ebook/dp/B00WKE2160/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1429814624&sr=8-10&keywords=loyal+steed

About the Author

Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!

Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.

Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.

Facebook

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Twitter

https://twitter.com/ineswrites

Website

https://inesjohnson.wordpress.com/

Publisher

http://heartspell.com/

Today we’re thrilled to welcome Ines Johnson, on tour for her new release, Pumpkin, A Cindermama Story. We know you won’t want to miss this!

Girl on Her Own Horse

Have you been paying attention to the evolution of the Cinderella story? If you’ve watched the Disney blockbuster, Frozen, then you have. Young girls and women are no longer waiting around for a man to come by on his horse, sweep them off their feet, and give them shoes.

Okay, I doubt any of us would turn down the shoes!

My point is that women are now taking the reins of their own stories and rejecting the Cinderella trope of changing themselves into someone new. In many, dare I say most, of these stories the prince doesn’t pay attention to the Cinderella character in her ordinary world of working 9-5pm with grime under her nails and threadbare clothes. He doesn’t look her way until she gets magicked into expertly applied makeup, a binding, shape-shifting corset, and brand new shoes.

My first notice of this was in the film Working Girl. This 80’s retelling of the Cinderella story featured a bright secretary who had dreams of entering the boardroom with a briefcase instead of coffee. When her wicked boss steals her idea, the secretary seizes an opportunity to steal into a high profile business meeting by pretending that she’s her boss, while also wearing her boss’s dress and shoes. Melanie Griffith, as the secretary, uses Harrison Ford’s charming character to get her into the board room’s door. When the business deal goes south, Griffith doesn’t wait for the knight in a business suite to rescue her. Instead, she shows off her ‘head for business and bod for sin’ in order to win a business deal, thwart her boss, and get her man.

A decade later Drew Barrymore retold the Cinderella story in Ever After. In a pivotal scene when Barrymore’s character, Danielle, has been taken prisoner by the evil Pierre Le Pieu, the audience holds their breath as the prince leaps onto his horse and heads off to rescue her. But Danielle picks up not one, but two swords, and swashbuckles her way to an escape. As she’s walking out of the castle a free woman, the prince arrives moments too late with her shoe in hand.

Nearly another decade later came another retelling with Penelope. Penelope is an heiress born under a curse that can only be broken in the face of true love. The problem? Penelope’s face doesn’t inspire sonnets and poems as much as it does a hankering for breakfast meats. Penelope’s snout nose has caused her to be rejected her whole life, including rejection from her own mother. When she finally finds a man willing to tolerate her looks and break the curse, she comes to the realization that she likes herself just the way she is. And just like that, the curse is broken and Penelope’s outside matches her glowing inside.

In today’s stories, women don’t wait around for men on horses. They take the reins, defend themselves, and declare love to their own reflections. They’re now even qualified to deliver true love’s kiss to their own sisters as we saw in the blockbuster Frozen.

In my fairytale retelling, Pumpkin: a Cindermama story my heroine has given up on fairytale love. Single mother Malika “Pumpkin” Tavares lost faith in fairytales after she fell for a toad. Town royalty Armand “Manny” Charmayne has been searching for his soulmate all his life, whom he’ll recognize at first sight by a golden aura, that only he can see, surrounding her person. Manny doesn’t see gold when he meets Pumpkin, but the more he gets to know her the more he considers defying fate, if only he can convince her to take a chance on love again.

Blurb

Single mother Malika “Pumpkin” Tavares lost faith in fairytales after she fell for a toad. Now she believes she’s not cut from the storybook, heroine cloth and searches for Mr. Good Enough amongst the sidekicks and supporting men of the town.

Love at first sight isn’t a cliche for town royalty Armand “Manny” Charmayne. For generations the Charmaynes have spotted their soulmates by seeing a golden aura the first time they laid eyes on The One.

When Manny meets Pumpkin he sees…nothing, but sparks fly off the richter scale. The more he gets to know her the more he considers defying fate, if only he can convince her to take a chance on love again.

Buy Link

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Excerpt

Pumpkin turned and stopped in her tracks. Not because of the near collision, but because of the Adonis who stood before her. Tall and lean with dark, thick curls atop his head. But it was his eyes that arrested Pumpkin. They took her back to her teen years, watching Donnie Simpson on Video Soul; or farther back to Smokey Robinson doo-wopping with The Miracles. They were a pale gray. And he smelled… edible. Like fresh baked, butter croissants sprinkled with earthy spices.

“Excuse me,” he repeated, with a slight Southern drawl that was more refined than lazy. He prolonged his vowels just enough to let you know he was Southern, but the consonants he pronounced perfectly. “Are you Heather?”

And of course, he was looking for someone else. “No, my name is Malika.”

He looked at her and squinted. Then his eyes rolled past her up the steps of the Department of Family And Child Services building. “Oh, sorry. I thought you could have been one of my volunteers.” He stepped away, clearing her path to the entrance.

I thought you could have been one of my volunteers.

Pumpkin looked beyond him to see a voter registration table.

I thought you could have been one of my volunteers.

Part of her knew she should simply walk into the DFACS building to find her cousins and her son, because who knew? LaRon and LaTom could’ve let him go to the bathroom by himself and just forgotten about him —again. But another part of Pumpkin smarted. He’d taken one glance at her, paired it with her Eubonic-consonant-rich name, added it to her current location, and come away with an incorrect assumption.

“You know, I could have been yours,” she said.

He turned back. “Mine?”

“I mean, I have done something like this before.”

“Something… with me?”

“No! I’ve never met you before.”

He opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, then started again. “What exactly are we talking about?”

This was not going the way she’d planned. But what exactly had she planned when she opened her mouth? Her filter malfunction needed to be repaired soon.

Pumpkin took a deep breath, clearly aware of his smokey eyes watching her with… was that wariness or amusement? Growing up in her family, she had trouble deciphering the two.

“I mean, I have been a volunteer. I’ve done a voter registration drive before.”

Having cleared up that misjudgment, Pumpkin assumed the conversation was over. Only, he looked doubtful at her proclamation.

Pumpkin gave her internal filter a kick. In response it sputtered, “I organized it, actually.” Pumpkin gave it a mental shove to keep quiet. And then, “It was very successful, actually.”

“Where?”

“What?”

“Where did the drive you organized —successfully— take place?”

“Oh,” she said. “At my school. My college —university, actually. Louisiana State University.”

“I know LSU,” he grinned.

Good. Grinning meant amused. He had a nice grin, Smokey Eyes. Straight white teeth. Plump lips that stretched wide. Maybe a little too wide. Almost big bad wolf wide.

“Well,” she said. “There’s a community college with the name Louisiana so…”

“You have a problem with community colleges?”

“No! I just… I just wanted to make sure you knew… which one I meant.” Pumpkin wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his grin stretched even wider.

“My opinion matters to you that much?”

Definitely a wolf.

Then, in confirmation, his eyes slipped from her face and did a quick assessment of her body: the B-cups she no longer bothered to pad, the stubborn muffin top she’d given up on a year ago, the wide hips that looked voluptuous on her cousins but pear-shaped on her.

“I don’t even know you,” Pumpkin said. And she had no intention of getting to know him. Wolves blocked the paths of good girls whether in the forest or on the road of life. Pumpkin had no intention of getting jammed up by a man, ever again.

“Yet, within sixty seconds of meeting me,” he said, “you offered to be mine.”

“No I… That was a misunderstanding, and you know it.”

A chuckle escaped through that predatory grin. The sound rumbled through Pumpkin’s body like a divining rod sensing danger.

“I’m sorry, Malika.”

But then, with the sound of her name on his lips, the humming of the rod ceased. All previous warning signals muted and Pumpkin’s feet took root in the concrete.

“It’s been a long day,” he smiled and a small sigh escaped his lips at the same time.

She’d read the term Cupid’s Bow in romance novels, but the visual didn’t do the term justice. The top of his upper lip, where you’d handle the bow was in the shape of a perfectly symmetrical M. Stretched in a smile, his full bottom lip made her wonder what it would be like to get caught in the crosshairs of his kiss.

“I couldn’t resist having a little fun with you. I hope I haven’t kept you.”

Pumpkin took her eyes off his lips to gaze into his smokey eyes. A smile started to creep over her face, too. “No, you haven’t kept me.”

“You’d better hurry. I’m sure they’re about to close soon.”

“Yeah… wait. What?” Pumpkin followed his gaze to the DFACS entrance. Everything unmuted and red flashed behind her eyes. “I just told you, I went to college.”

“Oh?” His gray eyes furrowed this time. “So, people with degrees don’t fall on hard times?”

“Well… yes. They do. But I’m fine,” she insisted, tapping her new shoes on the pavement for emphasis. “I have a job.” A job that she hated, but it paid all her bills. No government checks came for her and Seth. No child support checks either.

“So, you’re not here to volunteer to help. And you’re not here seeking help. What? Are you here to gloat?”

“No!”

He chuckled again, but Pumpkin was no longer amused.

“I’ve taken advantage of some social programs, like federal grants for the university I attended while on academic scholarship.” Pumpkin conveniently neglected to mention that her childhood kitchen had been stocked from food stamp monies. “But I’m not gloating about my successes because I’m resentful that this society assumes that I can’t succeed without its help.”

He cocked his head, eyes intent on her. “So, you’d rather the rules be unfair and harder for you so that you can save face?”

Pumpkin blinked. “No, that’s not what I mean.”

What did she mean? How did she get into this conversation? All her life, Pumpkin typically kept her opinions to herself. It had been the safest way to navigate her adolescent and teenage years in a household where the family motto read: everyone for themselves.

“You know how they say if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day,” she continued. “But if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat forever?”

Smokey Eyes nodded.

Pumpkin hesitated, realizing he was actually listening to every word she said, and waiting for her to say more.

Why not? Her internal filter had taken the day off. “I think the flaw with social programs is that the poor start to believe they can’t do for themselves without it and the rich believe the poor can’t act without their help. And it winds up being a vicious cycle with each side resenting the other.”

Pumpkin glanced at the DFACS door remembering her son was still inside with two professional “cyclists.” She turned back to Smokey Eyes.

He stared up at the clouds in concentration. She could see him turning her words over in his head. It gave her a thrill. She was used to men leering at her body, because, though her curves weren’t artful like her cousins’, they were round enough to grab attention. Watching Smokey Eyes focus inward and contemplate her words was possibly the most intimate experience of her thirty years.

After a moment, his tongue peeked out, like an arrow, to pull taut his upper lip. Pumpkin’s own lips parted as a quiver went through her long dormant core. Any moment now, he would aim words at her.

Any moment now.

Turning his gray eyes back to her, he said, “I do see your point. But I also feel that with great wealth comes great responsibility. And if you’ve caught a lot of fish, you should share. It’s good manners. It’s how I was raised.”

Pumpkin gave a woeful shake of her head at that. “I was raised by people who wouldn’t fish; would take yours; and then demand you go get more.”

“But not you.”

It wasn’t a question. There was something behind those smokey eyes. Not empathy. He was obviously moneyed, in his expensive shirt and tailored pants, where Pumpkin’s teen closet had been sponsored by Goodwill, and her adult closet now sported Target.

“Me? No,” she said holding his gaze.

“And you wouldn’t ask for any food off my table? Even if I’m willing to share?”

It seemed like a trick question. On the one hand, Pumpkin harbored an image of him feeding her bits of food. On the other hand, “Is there something wrong with a woman who is self-sufficient?”

“No. Those are my favorite kind.” He grinned again, the wolf rising to its haunches once more.

Author Bio

Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you’ll love her books!

Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she’s contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.

Ines lives outside Washington, DC with her two little sidekicks who are growing up way too fast.

Links

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24927912-pumpkin
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ineswrites
Twitter
https://twitter.com/ineswrites
Website
https://inesjohnson.wordpress.com/
Publisher
http://heartspell.com/

Dangerous Men

By Renee Rose

Hello! Thank you so much for having me today.

I’ve always loved the intrigue of dangerous men. Something about the relationship not being entirely safe adds to the fire of a Dominant/submissive romance. In Mob Mistress, Lexi Tyler, a hair stylist in a financial crisis, gets involved with mobster Bobby Manghini against her better judgement. He offers her a luxurious place to stay and spending cash in exchange for being available to him and at his beck and call.

It’s a good deal, but she’s still not entirely sure about just how dangerous Bobby might be. In this excerpt, he asks for her landlord’s name and she’s hesitant, in case he plans to kill him:

EXCERPT

He kissed Lexi, cupping the back of her head to hold her in place. She responded, her lips soft and supple. When they pulled apart he settled beside her, stroking his hand up and down the curve of her hip. “So, are you in some kind of trouble?”

She went still. “What do you mean?”

“I get the feeling you wouldn’t normally do something like this. Gina introduced us for a reason. I’m hoping it’s not because you’re an informer.” He grinned when her eyes rounded and she shook her head. “You need something from me. What is it?”

She opened her mouth but no words came out.

“Is it money? Are you running from someone? Do you need protection?”

She drew in a shaky breath. “No, not at all.”

He shook his head. “Don’t ever lie to me, Lexi. It irritates me.”

She blinked with wide eyes, but did not speak.

He prompted, “Try it again.”

Tears formed and he watched her struggle to keep them back. “I got evicted today,” she admitted, not quite meeting his eye.

He nodded, unsurprised. He knew something had to be going on, because she was definitely not your usual bar floozy out to sink her claws into a rich guy. She seemed like a smart, normal girl who had never done anything like this in her life. Which added to her appeal. “Is your stuff still there, at your apartment?”

“Yeah.”

He got up and fished his phone out of his trouser pocket on the floor. “What is the address?” he asked, his thumb poised over the keypad.

She lifted her eyebrows. “Why?”

“Because, I’m going to get it back for you,” he answered impatiently, then raised his eyebrows to prompt her.

“3650 E. Walnut, #254.”

“Landlord’s name and number?”

“Darrell Jones. I’ll get his number,” she said, rolling out of bed and padding back into the living room. When she returned with her phone, she looked nervous. “What are you going to do to him?”

He laughed. “What do you want me to do to him?”

“Nothing…I mean —”

He chuckled again. “I was just thinking along the lines of paying him enough to open up the place and let me move your stuff out.”

“Oh,” she said, looking embarrassed. “Sorry. I just…don’t know how all this works.”

“I’m just an ordinary guy, Lex. I work in real estate and new construction. I use family contacts to make deals, and I’m not above bending the law a bit to avoid paying Uncle Sam more than his fair share, but I’m not a criminal.”

Her face flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Come here,” he said, tugging her hand so she crawled back up on the bed with him. He kissed her. “I’m not offended. I think you’re cute.”

Mob Mistress blurb

When hair stylist Lexi Tyler finds herself evicted from her apartment, her best friend sets her up with the mobster Bobby Manghini, knowing he likes to play sugar daddy. He offers her a luxury apartment overlooking the city and spending cash every time he sees her, but one thing is clear: he is the bossman.

Lexi soon discovers Bobby backs up his rules with firm, over the knee discipline, but he also takes responsibility for all her problems, giving her more support than she ever dreamed of having from a man

Mobster Bobby Manghini likes to be the man in control, particularly with women, which is why he prefers a mistress for sex, even though he’s no longer married. When he strikes a deal with Lexi to be at his beck and call, he finds in her the full package — a hot, intelligent woman who is turned on by his dominance and willing to submit to his punishment. But when she finds out he doesn’t have a wife, she is hurt by the deception and severs all ties.

Can he prove to her their relationship meant more than a business arrangement? Or will he lose the one woman willing to give him everything he ever desired?

Buy Links

Amazon     Amazon UK     ARe     Barnes & Noble

Renee Rose is a naughty author and kinkster who loves writing about hot alpha males, Dominance/submission and power exchanges. Named Eroticon USA’s Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, her books are all centered around kink, namely: spanking. She also writes BDSM under the name Darling Adams.

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