Friday, December 21, 2012

Pecs and Presents Blog Hop

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

To celebrate the ending on an epic year, we are bringing you a contest and potential presents. Oh, and some very hot pecs... because what is better than pecs and presents?!

All you have to do is visit the authors participating and chose what Caveman each set of pecs belong to. Each of the authors below have offered something for the prize box.

There will be ONE winner of the prize box across the blog hop: Amazon Gift Cards totaling $25, Ellora's Cave GC worth $10, ebook copies of Alpha in Hiding, Valentine Master, Take It Off!, Primal Song, Double Dare How do you enter?

Well, you must do the following: 1. Visit each author's blog:
Lea Barrymire  http://leabarrymire.blogspot.com/ 
Danica Avet http://danicaavet.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/sexy-men-in-review/
AM Griffin   http://amgriffinbooks.blogspot.com/
Sky Robinson http://skyrobinson.blogspot.com/
Erin Simone http://erinsimonebooks.blogspot.com/
Frances Stockton http://francesstockton.blogspot.com

So, you can be entered a maximum of 8 times for this contest.

2. Enter your guess as to who's pecs are featured on THAT blog post

3. Every person that enters answers on ALL six blogs are put in the hat 4. If you have all of the guesses correct you will be entered an additional time for the prize.

So now that you've read the how-to and have an idea of the incredibly talented authors participating in this fun way to celebrate Christmas and the Holidays, wouldn't you like to know which Caveman, I'm featuring. More so, wouldn't you like to know the names of all the Cavemen participating?

First, take a second to head on over to Facebook and check out their pages and their pictures. I'll give the links for each model's FB page, however, you can also visit http://www.ellorascave.com and follow the link for RomantiCon2013 and there are incredible pictures of each. Then, come back here and click the linky Lea Barrymire created to enter. If for some reason, my lack of computer tech-savvy skills cause an error, visit Lea Barrymire's blog and she will absolutely have all the names, Cavemen links, author blog links and anything I might have gotten wrong.


Georgio 

Justin 

Nick 

Christian 

Taylor

David


So now that you know which Cavemen are part of the Pecs and Presents Blog Hop, here's my Caveman! Of course, this is the fun part. Enjoy, you will not be disappointed!  After you check out the picture, and make a guess, enter the name of the Caveman you believe this is in the following link:



Get the code here...


 
 

And, of course, whenever there's a contest, there's some legalities to take care of.

Here's the legal mumbo jumbo:

- Entering this contest means you have read, understood, and agree with all rules and regulations stated.- Entrants must be 18 or older (or age of majority in your country) to enter and to win.- No purchase necessary.- Void where prohibited.- All stated rules are subject to change without notification or reason given.- Chances of winning vary widely based on the number of entries received.- Prize is as stated. No substitutions or exchanges.

- Contest host is not responsible to misrepresented/mistyped email addresses, spam filters, mailer daemons, and other internet wackiness that may crop up at the time of winner notification.

- Winners are final.- Contest Starts 00:01EST December 22nd and Ends 12:59EST December 24th and open to International participants- Winners will be notified via email, twitter, or facebook no later than 12:00EST December 26th -Respond by date to collect prize is 14 days from notification date.



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Ellora's Cave Publishing's NEW Website and Contest

Hello everyone!
I wanted to send a quick thank you to my guest blogger, Cassandra Carr, who visited yesterday and shared about her newest book release, Master Class. I also wanted to apologize for not being as active here on my blog as I know I should be.

With Christmas and the Holiday Season upon us, life as a wife, mom and author gets super busy and I've got some BIG news coming soon regarding the Alexandria Griffins middle linebacker, Trevor Hazard Osbourne, who is referred to by teammates, press and fans by his middle name for a variety of reasons, and his unexpected romance with his agent's sister, Avery Grant. More to follow up on another day.

I'm sure you can tell by the subject heading, and you may have seen numerous posts already, but, Ellora's Cave has a brand-spanking-new website. It's state-of-the-art layout and features are incredible. Here's a note from EC regarding all that the new site can do: It first appeared on EC's Yahoo! Group for readers and authors ellorascavechat@yahoo.com If you're not a follower already, join and get up-to-date information on new releases, interact with authors and readers, and find out about contests and the always-popular RomantiCon!

Ellora's Cave launched a gorgeous new website, utilizing a state-of-the-art search system and sexy design scheme. The new design allows for more specific searching, giving fans of specific sub-genres and authors an easy way to find their dream books.
EC is hosting a contest on the website for a Lenovo ThinkPad as a thank you to fans and a fun way to kick off a new chapter at EC. To enter the contest, users complete an entertaining scavenger hunt which will leave them with a little more Romantica® knowledge.
The new site is designed for ease of navigation. The most requested feature from customers was the ability to sift through the huge and growing inventory to find books especially suited to their tastes and moods. Ellora's Cave purchased one of the most advanced search engines in the world and adapted it to our readers' very unique needs. You, of course, can find a specific author or title quickly and easily, using the search box. But you can also search and sort our books by subject, length, format, themes and other content in a whole new way. Want an erotic romance suspense ebook that's on sale featuring a male-male interracial couple set in the future with medieval overtones? Now you can find it with just a few keystrokes. It takes a little playing around with this powerful feature to learn how to use it best, but once you get to know it, you are going to fall in love.
Fans can also elect to be notified when a new book in a series or by a specific author is released. Or they can subscribe to an author or series and have future books be automatically charged to their account and a download link sent to them. If readers want to know what other fans are reading, they can use the "customers also bought" feature at the bottom of the page to find the other titles purchased by people who buy each book. For customers who browse before they buy, the "recently viewed" option lets readers view the books they browsed with one simple click.


If you're interested in entering the contest for a Lenovo ThinkPad, do follow the information provided from EC above and you could win!

As with anything new, sometimes links have changed. You might want to update your EC URL in your browser, here's the current one: http://www.ellorascave.com/ Additionally, links to favorite authors books have changed. Fortunately, EC's made it easy for readers to request email notifications about new releases, and so much more. Again, read EC's note in bold/italics above to find out all the features available to you.

Also, as I'm an author with Ellora's Cave, information and links to my books page and my books has changed slightly. Here's a link to all 9 of my current books: http://www.ellorascave.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Frances+Stockton
and my author page: https://www.ellorascave.com/index.php/authors/index/author/slug/frances-stockton

Since the Holidays are such a busy time, and my web mistress is busy, too, it may take a few weeks before I change the links on my website. However, my website has all the buy links you need for Amazon.com. B&N, Kobo, Sony and ARe. If you do click on the EC links, you'll be taken to Ellora's Cave's home page, where you can use the search function for my name, book titles or whatever you may be looking for.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Join up for EC's huge contest to possibly win a Lenovo ThinkPad! Learn more about EC, your favorite authors, RomantiCon, gift cards, new releases, old favorites, hot sexy books and the publisher that originated the Bad Girls of Romance!

 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Welcome Cassandra Carr, Author




Greetings everyone! I hope the Christmas/Holiday Season is treating you all well. Today, I'm welcoming author extraordinaire, Cassandra Carr, a multi-published, award winning author of books with Loose ID, Ellora's Cave and more!

And, whenever I see the word 'Master' in a title, it captures my interest like the sharp crack of a whip. Knowing it's a Cassandra Carr novel assures me that it'll be fabulous on top of being HOT! So, without further ado, please check out Master Class, make comments, ask her questions, anything! This is a brand-spanking-new release. You won't be disappointed.

MASTER CLASS by Cassandra Carr

Publisher: Loose Id

ePublish date: 12/11/2012

ISBN: 978-1-62300-068-4

Word count: 47,250



Genre: BDSM Contemporary



Ryan Tomasi feels like a failure. His marriage is officially over; the ink dried on the divorce decree. His friend Jack introduces him to BDSM and he agrees to attend a Halloween party at a club. A submissive approaches him, offering herself, and how can he refuse the kneeling beauty? They do a whirlwind scene and Ryan is addicted—both to dominance and to her.



Lisette Rinaldo is returning to the BDSM club for the first time since ending a bad relationship with her former master. She spots Ryan and is taken by the combination of self-assurance and nervousness the man displays as he takes in his surroundings. And after he gives her an incredible re-introduction to the lifestyle, she knows she needs to see the man again.



Ryan and Lisette explore each other and the lifestyle, but what started out as playtime quickly evolves into something more. The problem? Ryan isn’t ready to get serious again and Lisette doesn’t want to fall in love with a guy who can’t give all of himself to her. Both of them are going to have to break out of the bonds holding them back from happiness.



EXCERPT:

“What the fuck is an acceptable costume to wear to a Halloween party at a BDSM club?” Ryan Tomasi muttered aloud to himself. He did that a lot these days, since he lived alone after his recent divorce. “Sheesh.”

From his Internet research, he knew people who practiced BDSM—the term “practice” cracked him up every time—already dressed in some pretty outrageous outfits. Between the leather daddies and the pony play, as well as the other strange getups he’d seen online, Ryan wasn’t sure what to think. Full-body latex encasement? He shuddered.

But one thing was clear. He couldn’t keep fucking random women and feel good about it or himself. The whole mess had started after Ryan’s now ex-wife had blindsided him with divorce papers about a year ago, saying she didn’t love him anymore. The fact he’d loved her and had wanted to work on the marriage apparently wasn’t good enough, and Ryan found himself living in a rented house with nothing but his recliner and a futon to sleep on. Over the past year, he’d done what he could to rebuild his life, and now it was time to take the next step.

Ryan needed to find someone for more than a one-night stand and, it seemed, someone who wanted to submit to him, since he’d found he really liked some of this BDSM stuff, especially the dominating side. He felt like a fool on the bar scene, and he really wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of guy, though that had been his MO lately. He’d never even known there was a whole formal “thing” like BDSM until his friend Jack, a fellow professor at the college where Ryan taught English literature, had asked one day, while Ryan was lamenting his pathetic sex life, if he’d ever engaged in any BDSM activities. Ryan had been taken aback, to say the least. He’d thought that kind of thing was limited to porn. Real people didn’t get kinky like that, did they? Hell, he’d gotten married at twenty-two and had been with his ex-wife for almost fifteen years. It appeared he didn’t know shit about sex—kinky sex scene in particular.

Ryan had been shocked when Jack offered to let Ryan see what his submissive, Callie, and Jack did in some of their “scenes” so that Ryan could get a feel for what domination was all about. Jack didn’t allow any actual intercourse or other sexual contact between him and Callie when they got together, which Ryan totally understood, so there was a little bit missing from what he wanted to experience after reading how great the sex could be.

But just watching the way Jack dealt with Callie, and then having the opportunity to try a bunch of things out himself during subsequent play sessions with the two of them, had given Ryan a light at the end of what had been a very dark tunnel since the ex had walked out on him. He believed he’d finally found what he was looking for; what he’d been missing his entire life. The high from a woman submitting to him was the most natural, yet most powerful thing he’d ever felt, and Callie wasn’t even his submissive. What would that feel like?

Shaking out of his reverie, Ryan decided reinforcements were in order and called Jack. “Hey, man.”

“What’s up?”

“Am I interrupting anything?” He was almost afraid to ask.

Jack laughed. “If you’re asking me if Callie is tied up somewhere waiting for me to fuck her six ways to Sunday, no, you’re not interrupting anything. That’s later.”

“TMI, dude, TMI. Anyway, I need help.”

“You need a lot more than help.”

“Yeah, yeah. Seriously, I need to know what a Dom should wear to this Halloween party.”

“Uh, clothes? Usually only the submissives are naked.”

“Are you going to help or not? You’re the one who said I should go to this.” Ryan knew Jack was just messing with him, but as this Halloween party was his “coming out” of sorts as a Dom, he didn’t want to make a fool of himself.

“All right. I’ll take pity on you. What types of costumes are you looking at? What will make you feel comfortable?”

Ryan snorted. “Not sure anything can do that. I’m nervous as hell.”

“Remember, a Dom needs to portray an air of confidence. If you don’t, no sub is going to trust you enough to play with you.”

“I know. And by the time I get there, I’m sure I’ll be a lot calmer. I’ve been pretty good when I’ve played with Callie, haven’t I?”

Ryan could practically see the smirk on Jack’s face.

“Yeah, but I was there too. She knows better than to disobey me and that I would keep the play safe. Goes back to that trust issue. Plus, you didn’t have any sexual contact or anything that might’ve freaked you out. Speaking of that, you got your medical test results, right?”

“Yeah. Sent them to the club the other day.”

“Good. They won’t let you in unless you can prove you’re clean. Now, back to the costume. How about something easy like a police officer or a soldier? Some take-charge type of thing would be fitting.”

“Oh, I like the idea of a soldier.” Soldiers were powerful, respected—everything Ryan thought a Dom should project. It was the perfect costume to convey the image he wanted during his first public play. Ryan quickly typed that into the search engine of the costume store. “Awesome. They have a pretty cool one.”

“See how simple it is, once you’re not freaking out? I know this is all new and a little scary for you, but remember, kinksters are people too.”

“Yeah, yeah. You guys are going to be there, right?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t let you go into the big, bad world of BDSM all by yourself. Also, I’m your sponsor, so you can’t get in without me anyway this first time.”

“Okay, cool. See you then. And thanks for talking me off the ledge.”

“Anytime.”

Jack hung up, and Ryan looked over the costume specs. It had a camouflage shirt and pants, along with a set of dog tags. He had black boots already for when he did stuff around the house. Though he wasn’t imposing by any means at five-nine and one-eighty, he wasn’t tiny either. Hopefully the costume would make him look like a bit of a badass. He flexed his bicep. Maybe allow him to show off the muscles he was just starting to develop with regular workouts at the gym over the past several months.

* * * *

On Halloween night Ryan dressed in his costume and drove to the club. Jack and Callie were waiting just inside the doors, and when Jack saw him approach, he spoke to the bouncer, who waved Ryan through without a word. Jack was clad as Zorro, and Callie’s dress, if you could call it that, was liberally scored with slashes. It looked more like a bunch of black bandages than anything else, and Ryan wondered how long Jack would allow her to remain clothed. If he knew Jack—and he felt he did after playing with him several times and spending hours talking to him about BDSM and a whole host of other topics—not long.

He wasn’t sure what was appropriate to say to Callie, so he forced his gaze away from her and greeted Jack, who grinned.

“You can tell her she looks hot. It’s not like you’ve never seen her naked.”

Ryan smiled, relaxing. He pivoted back to her. “You look hot, Callie.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Shall we?”

Jack gestured toward the door at the end of the short hall, and Ryan could hear a bass beat pounding from the other side. He nodded, swallowing thickly. Ryan needn’t have worried, though. As soon as he stepped into the room and looked around, his nerves settled.

I’m home.

The people around him were engaged in all manner of things, but even a cursory glance at the various scenes playing out before him made him finally feel like he was normal. He wasn’t a freak for wanting sex and control like this, despite what his ex-wife had said when he’d suggested some pretty mild stuff to spice up their sex life.

“What do you think?” his friend shouted over the music.

“It’s fucking perfect.” Ryan couldn’t have kept that note of awe out of his voice even if he’d tried.

Jack laughed. “I figured you’d say that. I’ll give you a tour, but we need to do one thing first.”

“What’s that?”

“Lose the shirt. You’ll look way more Dom-ish without it.”

“Dom-ish?” Callie repeated with a chuckle.

“You behave before I decide to leash you,” Jack threatened. “Or maybe we can give Ryan here some more practice with that paddle you hate so much.”

She looked down. “Whatever would please you, Master.”

“Seeing your beautiful ass bright red and ready to be fucked would please me greatly, but we need to babysit Ryan for a bit longer before we can play.”

Ryan pulled off his shirt and stuffed it into his brand-new toy bag. Who would’ve thought a duffel bag he got at an academic conference would come in handy to hold the instruments of pain and pleasure he’d spent a small fortune on?

He followed Jack through the club as the other man pointed out the public play area, the theme rooms, and the staircase to the private rooms upstairs. Then they all went to the bar, which served no alcohol so as to keep the clubgoers sober for play, as Jack explained in answer to Ryan’s puzzled question. They procured soft drinks—drinks were included in the price of the membership—and found a comfy couch that was close enough to the public play area that Ryan had a good view of several scenes taking place. Jack and Ryan sat, and Callie settled on a cushion in front of her Dom.

“That girl,” Jack said, pointing to a submissive tied to a St. Andrew’s cross as a man whipped her from thighs to shoulders, “is a hard-core masochist. As you can see, she’s not wearing a collar, so she’s not owned, but stay away from her. Until you get more comfortable with impact play, all you’ll do is frustrate both of you.”

Ryan nodded, forcing himself not to wince as the man laid another welt on her ass.

“That one,” his friend continued with a jerk of his head at another submissive, “is a horrible topper-from-the-bottom. She’s definitely not a good fit for you as a beginner. I’m not really sure why any Dom would play with her. It would drive me batty to have a sub questioning my every order.”

Jack dismissed a few more for one reason or another as they sipped their beverages. There weren’t a ton of subs running around without collars, and Ryan was beginning to believe none of them would pass Jack’s muster.

“She’s a pretty one,” Jack remarked, and Ryan followed his gaze. He nearly swallowed his can of soda pop whole. Pretty didn’t begin to describe the woman. She was a few inches shorter than him, from what he could tell in his current position, and had enough meat on her bones to be curvy. If he was going to be tying a woman up and fucking the hell out of her, he wanted to be sure her ribs wouldn’t crack at the slightest provocation.

Her long brown hair was piled on top of her head, leaving the slim column of her neck exposed. Ryan loved to nibble on women’s necks, and if he had this one restrained, he’d happily spend hours torturing her in that spot. She was wearing what looked like a harem girl outfit, with a jeweled bra and flouncy, gauzy pants. From the looks of things, Ryan was pretty sure she was naked underneath them.

Jack had been speaking with Callie but straightened up. “Callie said her name is Lisette, and she’s an experienced submissive who hasn’t been to the club as far as Callie knows since her split with her Dom a while back. She’s not owned, as you can see from the fact she’s not collared. The lack of a collar doesn’t always mean a sub is not owned, but at open parties like this, all owned submissives must be collared. As you know,” he continued with a grin in Callie’s direction, “some of us can be possessive bastards, and it cuts down on potential problems.”

“Makes sense,” Ryan murmured. His friend’s eyes suddenly widened a little in anticipation, and Ryan turned in the direction of his gaze.

“Hey, do you mind if we go take advantage of that spanking bench? At these parties, equipment doesn’t stay empty long.”

“No, go ahead.”

Jack helped Callie up and landed a hard swat on her ass. “Go get it for us, pet. I’ll be right over.” He turned to Ryan. “Feel free to watch us or anyone else. We should be back within a half hour or so. Callie’s been naughty lately and needs a good dose of the belt.”

Winking, he walked away, and Ryan laughed. Before Jack had agreed to bring Ryan here for public play, he’d insisted on several private sessions at the house he and Callie shared, so Ryan knew Callie’s favorite implement was the belt. He doubted she would be too upset if Jack used it tonight.

A completely naked woman, save for a collar, came by and took their empty soda cans. Ryan gave her a small smile but kept his attention focused on the scenes unfolding around him. Jack was busy tying Callie to the spanking bench, and the masochistic woman was still being whipped—Ryan couldn’t hold back his wince this time at a particularly hard strike—and a male submissive was going to town on his Mistress’s pussy like he was mining for gold. Turning away from them, he saw a female submissive strapped to what Jack had called a bondage table with cane marks decorating her ass in perfectly spaced lines and her Dom’s dick in her mouth. He’d never tried caning, but it looked interesting, if a little scary. Hell, almost everything looked interesting right now.

Ryan continued to watch as Jack bared Callie’s ass and started out lightly flicking the belt across it. He’d explained to Ryan how important it was to warm the bottom up by bringing the blood to the surface to prevent bruising, and Ryan had spent long hours in the past couple of weeks practicing with a pillow and the strap he’d ordered along with the other stuff Jack had said he’d need to be able to play. The club had a nice selection of implements lined up on the walls of the public play area, but Jack had recommended he get used to his own so he didn’t make a mistake and hurt a submissive.

He was just about to rise and make his way back to the bar when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The submissive Callie had called Lisette knelt directly in front of him, a bottle of water laid on her upturned palms. Ryan raised an eyebrow.



Copyright 2012, Cassandra Carr



Buy link: http://www.loose-id.com/master-class.html (won't be live until Tuesday)

My links:



Friday, December 7, 2012

5 Nymph Review: Cuff Master

Woohoo! Hello everyone,
I'm celebrating some excellent news. Not only is it Friday, the weekend has arrived, football is coming up this weekend, and I'm a quarter finished my current WIP, featuring the youngest Maddox brother, Taran and his elusive switch, Detective Samantha Riley, Cuff Master received an excellent 5 Nymph review from Literary Nymphs Reviews!

Here's the link if you'd like to read what Amazon Nymph had to say: http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2012/11/cuff-master.html?zx=5087bfe9e335236

For more information about Cuff Master, visit my website, http://www.francesstockton.com, my author page at Ellora's Cave, http://www.jasminejade.com/m-527-frances-stockton.aspx, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble or any of the ebook vendors for Kobo or Sony readers! Links to all of the above are on the home page of my website!

So happy to know that Amazon Nymph enjoyed reading Cuff Master and I sure hope you'll give Detective Ethan Maddox and his shy submissive, Morgan Everhart, the chance to win you over, too. For an excerpt: scroll down:
http://www.jasminejade.com/productspecs/9781419941566.htm

“Is there any woman more beautiful than Morgan Everhart?” Ethan Maddox asked his older brother in a hushed voice.

Not that there was a need to whisper. Music playing overhead covered the conversation perfectly and the entire restaurant of Druid Creek Castle Bed and Breakfast had been turned into a ballroom for Phalen and Cassie’s wedding reception.

“Frankly, I think my wife is the most beautiful woman I know,” Phalen answered. “But Morgan’s a knockout. Why not get off your ass and ask her to dance, bro?”

Ethan would rather take Morgan somewhere private and appreciate the way she looked in her dark-green halter-style velvet gown that hugged her tall willowy form perfectly. The narrow side-slit running from her ankle to her upper thigh gave an occasional glimpse of svelte legs that could surely wrap around a man’s waist for hours.

Her bare shoulders and long slender neck made him want to nip and lick all that exposed creamy soft skin, especially the gentle V of her cleavage, which accented perky breasts that weren’t overly large, but perfectly proportioned for her tall slender frame.

At a guess, he’d say she was a B-cup. He was good with that, already imagining all the ways to suckle on her perky nipples.

Her dark-auburn hair tended to look brown when it was down and in her face. Tonight it was pulled into some kind of fancy up-do. Pretty ringlets cascaded down to showcase a face that could have graced any high-fashion magazine. A guy could get lost in hair that when left long fell to her ass.

Currently, his new sister-in-law and the maid of honor were drawing people onto the dance floor, including football players and Cassie’s family. As Ethan was Phalen’s best man, it seemed unfair that he had to stand back and watch Morgan make some kind of dance with me gesture to a guy with long black and red-streaked hair.

It didn’t help that Morgan, who was normally shy around strangers, was perfectly at ease with the other man or that he looked vaguely familiar.

“Still with me, Ethan?” Phalen asked, nudging him back to the present. “Go ask Morgan to dance.”

“She’ll just say no. She’s still pissed at me for what happened six fucking months ago.” He had noticed the occasional glance in his direction. Each time he looked back, she’d scowl and turn away.

“You’ll never know if you stand here doing nothing. As it is, she might dance with that black-haired dude. You want that?”

“Who is that guy? If I’m going to punch him in the nose for touching what’s mine, I might as well know.”

“Name’s Remington Sinclair, goes by Remy,” Phalen answered. “He’s a friend of Morgan’s from that ghost hunting reality TV show that’s taken New England by storm recently. They’re all here. Cassie invited them on Morgan’s behalf.”

“Sinclair’s a local celebrity,” Ethan complained.

“Yep, but if you hit him, he’ll hit back, and then there’s going to be a fight that I can’t avoid. Think my wife wants to deal with that on our wedding night?”

“No, I’ll avoid trouble, don’t worry. Except…if I dance with her, I won’t let go. Know what I mean?”

“If you want her, claim her. Just don’t hold too tightly or flip out when she does her psychic thing. You do, she’ll bolt.”

“She’s been doing that since I fucked up that night she passed out in Cassie’s diner. She’s blocked me from texting her and she doesn’t return my calls.”

“Cassie told me that Morgan can’t read you and it’s something she’s never known with another man. That scares her. Maybe there’s a reason for it.”

“What kind of reason? As if I’m her soul mate or something?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“That belongs in one of those vampire novels Morgan likes to read,” Ethan said.

Phalen clapped his big hand on Ethan’s shoulder. At six-five, he was the same height as his older brother. A lot of people thought he was shorter because Phalen was a tad more muscular and slightly broader at the shoulders.

“How do you know what she likes to read?” Phalen asked, squeezing his hand to bring Ethan back to the conversation.

“I don’t know. I just know it as strongly as I know she also reads books on history, antiques and archaeology. She does so to follow up on impressions she gets on objects.”

“Then maybe you do believe in her gift after all?”

“Sam Riley and I listened to a psychic once. It led to a botched case and eight dead girls, including the one we were supposed to save!”

“A lot of psychics are full of shit. Morgan’s the real deal. Go talk to her. She wants you to. She keeps looking over here.”

Phalen gave Ethan a none-too-gentle shove toward the dance floor. With that, he was across the floor, sent off Remy Sinclair with a glare and the music switched to something slow and subtle.

Approaching her seemed as natural as breathing. “May I have this next dance, Morgan?” he asked, offering his hand to her and hoping to God she accepted it. Every dominant male instinct he possessed screamed for him to grab her up off the dance floor and head for the nearest room upstairs

“Your obligation as the best man ended with the toast,” she said, her gorgeous chocolate-brown eyes luminous from the glow of twinkling white lights strewn about the room.

“My obligation as your man began when I kissed you awake months ago,” he countered the moment Morgan placed her hand in his.

Tightening his hold ever so slightly, he drew her to the middle of the dance floor and gently brought her closer. She flowed forward, her gracefulness evident regardless of the fashionable narrow heels she wore on her feet.

Even though she was five-ten and her shoes gave her two inches more height, he was taller, altogether bigger and he felt as powerful as a Celtic god with her slighter, subtle curves pressed up against his hard muscular body.

She was soft. He was hard. She was sweet. He was enthralled.

“For the record, I’m not an obligation, Ethan Maddox,” Morgan stated, even as she settled in closer.

Jesus, she smelled like jasmine, all spicy and exotic and tempting. Her lips, painted with just the right amount of rosy lipstick, were perfectly plump and bow-shaped. It was all he could do not to kiss her right then and there.

“Denial will only work for so long,” he said. “Feel how right it is for us to be this close? Tell me you don’t want to be in my arms and I’ll let you go.”

Morgan stared up at him. His more dominant personality wanted to challenge her to see exactly how long she’d stare back and who’d break first. It wasn’t going to be him.

He recognized a submissive when he saw one. When she wasn’t aware of it, he’d heard Cassie and Morgan confiding in each other as only best friends could. He spied the longing in her eyes whenever Phalen took Cassie to the basement of Ink Masters.

Ethan knew in his gut that Morgan was meant to be his submissive and that scared her just as much as her inability to read him. If she consented to enter a dungeon, it would be with him as her Master.

“I don’t want you to let me go,” Morgan finally admitted, breaking eye contact to look beyond his shoulder as a submissive flush stole over her high cheekbones. Her exotic chocolate eyes, flawless skin, kissable lips and hairstyle reminded him of a mystical elf straight out of a Tolkien novel.

Ask him later what song was playing, he’d have no idea. All he cared about was having Morgan nestled up nice and close. Her breath was as sweet as spearmint and the green crystal pendant she wore between the swell of her breasts tagged him in the sternum from time to time.

The pendant got warm from their combined body heat. The warmer he felt, the hotter his groin was, the heavier his erection became. If he wasn’t careful, Morgan would unman him without even breaking a sweat.

“Put your arms around me,” Ethan urged, realizing she’d been waiting for his permission to touch him back. She may not have been aware of it, but she’d just passed a test that made him want her even more.

Blushing prettily, Morgan lifted her hands and placed them on his shoulders. “Like this, Detective?”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” Ethan said.

“I’m better at fast dancing than slow dancing,” she admitted quietly.

“Thread your fingers behind my neck.” Her hands left his shoulders and cupped the back of his neck exactly as he’d asked. “That’s it, like that.”

His heart skipped a few beats when she smiled earnestly. She was so damn pretty, he was smitten. No other word seemed right, smitten was it.

“Surely you know how to dance with me, Morgan. You danced with a bunch of football players at Grace and Dallas McKay’s wedding and most of the guests here tonight. You move very well.”

“I didn’t slow dance with any of them,” she murmured shyly, casting her eyes right to the floor.

“What’s that? Look at me and say it so I can hear you properly.”

Obediently, she lifted her chin, her eyes connecting with his. Nervously, she nibbled on her lower lip and he swore she’d just kicked him in the nuts.

“I didn’t slow dance with any of those men. I’ve never slow danced,” Morgan admitted.

Hell, his hard-on was pressing against his zipper just to get closer to the warm nest of soft auburn curls covering her mound. How Ethan knew Morgan’s mound was unshaven, he couldn’t say.

What he knew was that no other man had had the privilege of dancing face-to-face, hip to hip, chest to breasts with her. He wanted to cheer and pound his fists against his chest just to show Remy that not even a celebrity had danced with Morgan.

“Really?” he whispered.

“I’m not very experienced with men like you, Ethan. Most guys think I’m weird. I get it. I know.”

“Whoever you dated before me should be hung, drawn and quartered for making you think that.”

She stiffened and frowned. Ethan wanted to kick his own ass. What had he said?

“Like I said, I’m weird,” she remarked, wrinkling her nose in a way that was undeniably cute.

“You’re beautiful. Kindly don’t put yourself down around me. It’ll piss me off. That’s one thing you really don’t want to do.”

“You’d never hurt me,” she challenged.

“Not in any way that would harm you, no. But if you keep flirting with Remy Sinclair, I’m going to make sure you don’t sit right for a week.”

Morgan shook her head as if she couldn’t believe he’d just promised her a spanking if she flirted with Remy again. And she could be sure he would honor that promise.

“Even though he’s tall, dark and hot, he’s a friend, Ethan, nothing more. He wants my expertise for his show.”

Jealousy lanced through Ethan’s heart and aimed right for his balls, gripping so tight he had to grit his teeth to keep from finding the nearest chair so he could teach Morgan a lesson she’d never forget.

For a virgin to the lifestyle, she instinctively knew how to test her Dom. “Honey, that man wants you in his bed. I don’t need to be psychic to know that.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Detective. He knows my stance on that subject and hasn’t once stepped over the line. He’s a good guy. You should get to know him.”

“Why? So you can get my permission to date him? Not going to happen.”

“You’re being intentionally difficult. I’m done with this dance,” she decided, making an attempt to free herself.

Ethan tightened his arms about her trim waist and kept her nestled right up against him. “Stay with me. I haven’t said you could go anywhere. You want to run away because you’re scared of how you feel around me. Admit it.”

“Anyone tell you that you’re as arrogant as Phalen and as much of a pain in the ass as Taran?” She lifted her chin defiantly. Her shoulders were straight and spine set. If she radiated any more tension, Ethan feared she might snap.

“The three of us are alike in many ways, I’ll grant you that. But I’m my own man. Admit how you feel about me.”

“And feed your ego? Not.” She tossed her head, the intricate topknot of long auburn hair barely even budging. Morgan could be a saucy little thing when she wanted to be and always sexy as hell.

“It’s the magic of hairspray and a lot of carefully placed bobby pins,” she said after he’d stared at her hair for a minute to see how the style survived that display of attitude. “No magic or supernatural energy was spent on the outcome of this hairstyle.”

“It looks real pretty. I like it. But I prefer when you wear it long. Can’t wait to bury my hands and face in it.”

“Try that tonight and you’ll end up scratching your eyes out or cutting yourself. As it is, it’ll take some heavy-duty shampooing to get it back to normal.”

“Any chance I can help with that? I’ve excellent hands. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to suffer an injury if you attempt to unravel that topknot alone.”

Morgan did something she rarely did with him these days. She smiled. Along with the healthy flush warming her pretty face, her even white teeth were perfect and made him think of places on his body she was more than welcome to nibble at will.

“My goodness, Maddox charm didn’t skip a generation at all with you. Don’t worry, Detective, I’m twenty-eight, I can handle showering all on my own,” she answered, seeming unaware that even as she refused his help in the shower, she’d nodded yes.

“Say my name, Morgan.”

“I’ve said it before.”

“Do it anyway. I like the sound of it coming from your lips.” Unfortunately, his attempt to charm fell flat. Not because he wasn’t making progress, but because the couples on the dance floor started gyrating to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem”.

“Slow song’s ended, Ethan. You can let go now.”

“Song may have ended, but I’m not letting go anytime soon. Come with me.”

Drawing back a few steps, he kept her hand in his and guided her away from the crowd and through a side door meant for the wedding party to use.

“Where are we going?” Morgan demanded, stalling when they were halfway to freedom.

“Outside to decorate Phalen’s SUV,” Ethan answered.

“Shouldn’t we get the rest of the wedding party?”

“They can dance the night away.” Ethan slowed down and their steps evened up.

Letting go of her in order to whip off his tux jacket and place it around her shoulders before they reached the exit, he didn’t expect her to halt in her tracks when he tried to open the door.

“What’s the matter, sweetie?”

Her face froze for a moment, as if she was getting lost in one of her trances, and he feared she was getting a migraine. He hated when she got sick. It was the part of her psychic world he dreaded because he didn’t want her to suffer even the slightest bit of pain.

“No, there’s so much activity in this castle and your jacket is a rental. Usually, I can compartmentalize everything, same as reading chapters in a book. Right now I feel those who’ve worn this coat before you. It even smells like…apples. Can you touch the sleeve of this jacket or me?”

Frowning, he took her hand and her smile returned. “Does this help?”

“Yes.” Morgan looked up at him. The gratitude in her eyes made him feel as if he’d become her champion. “Thank you. Let’s get the decorating stuff.”

Since she benefitted from his touch, he figured he might as well keep it up and tucked his arm around her waist as they walked out into the chilly early fall evening.

A full moon lit up the parking lot as he led Morgan to his Acura TL. Once there, he checked to make sure no one was around and brought her up against his much bigger frame.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re beautiful, Morgan?”

“Ah, no, not really, and you’re being silly.” Playfully tagging him on the shoulder, Morgan tried to shimmy out of reach, but he caught the lapels of his jacket and kept her from escaping.

Ethan wasn’t having it. Tonight he’d decided to lay claim to Morgan. Now was the time to act on it. “When I’m done kissing you, you’ll know I’m not silly at all.”

Touching his free hand to her chin, he kept her still, or she stayed still, he wasn’t sure. The next thing he knew, his head was lowering closer and she’d lifted up on her toes.

“Always wanted to know what it would be to be kissed by Ethan Maddox when I was awake,” she whispered a second before Ethan laid claim to the sweetest, fullest, sexiest mouth he’d ever had the pleasure of kissing.

She tasted like an angel, with hints of mint and innocence. Already half in love with her, the reality of having their mouths fused together threatened to make him fall completely.

Wanting to deepen the kiss, he swiped her lips with his tongue, demanding entrance. Shyly, she complied, as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do. It was both eye-opening and challenging to break through that timid barrier with a swift dart of his tongue.

She made a sexy little mewl and that was all Ethan needed to crush her completely up against him. Turning her about, he leaned into her until her back was flush against his car. The move forced their mouths to separate.

Checking to be sure she wasn’t alarmed by what they were doing, he saw her enticing eyes and sexy smile and swooped down to kiss her again.

“Ethan,” she whispered, the fluttering of her soft lips against his as sexy as fuck.

“Morgan,” he said, countering her movements with some bottom-lip sucking action. The sexy little minx arched back as much as the car allowed, her legs separating as he fitted himself right up between her thighs.

“Feel that?”