New Excerpt for Sex On Summer Sabbatical

Still on the road (Day 15), and not much new to report, so I thought I'd put up a new excerpt for Sex On Summer Sabbatical. :)

*************

He purposely didn’t tease, letting her calm down again as he typed the information in. “Okay, let’s take your vitals for a baseline.” Adam pulled the blood pressure cuff away from the wall and tried to remain dispassionate as he ran through his normal routine with half his mind on his work and other half enjoying the innocent touches and her breathless reactions to them.

Sternly warning himself to keep it under control in the workplace, he nevertheless was glad he’d worn a restraining jock as he knew what was to come. Just the thought of putting Tori through her paces, thoroughly assessing her body, was severely taxing his restraint—and he had barely started. For the first time, he doubted the wisdom of taking her on as a client.

Oh, come on, you can keep it professional here. She’s just another body.

Yeah, right.

“Okay, lie back. We’re going to do some range of motion so I can get an idea of where you’re at.”

Tori surprised him by lying back immediately, without a protest, giving herself over to his control. Swallowing at the vision she made reclined before him, he tried to get back on task, running through a typical range of motion series involving all her joints. All the while, he was hard pressed to keep his touches clinical rather than caressing. And the little minx had to know what she was doing to him, a knowing glint in her eye as she watched him manipulate her body.

Having her stand, he ran through an informal flexibility test, noticing she winced as she stretched her hamstrings.

“Are you sore from running?”

Tori grimaced slightly. “Is it obvious?”

Adam had to fight a laugh at her pout. “Just to me. It’s what I do. We’ll do some light stretching later, and I’ll keep it in mind while we do our first workout. So what time of day do you feel at your best?”

Regarding him thoughtfully, she leant back against the table, the move thrusting her breasts forward, lovingly accentuated by her sports bra. She was either a huge tease, or she had no idea how alluring she looked. Adam’s throat went dry as she responded, “Hmm, that’s a tough one. I do my best work later in the day and into the evening. But physically? I guess I feel at my peak about now, around mid-morning.”

“Then that’s when we’ll try to meet for workouts. That’s actually works well for me. Most of my clients work during the day, so early morning and late afternoon to evening are my busy times.” Equal parts relieved and disappointed when she straightened, Adam forged ahead to the fun part. Rummaging in the drawer, he came up with a tape measure.
Tori’s eyes widened with alarm. “Oh no. No, no, no. You are not measuring my butt.” She began scooting along the edge of the table as if seeking safety.

Laughing aloud, Adam advanced on her. “Come on. Don’t you want to see how much you’ve improved by the end of the summer?”

She glared at him, arms crossed. “Are you telling me my ass needs improvement?”
 

On The Road Again...

We're on our annual trip to the Midwest, and so far it's been fun and uneventful. I've had a chance to get caught up on a lot of editing, and now I'm concentrating on wrapping up my three works in progress. Before heading out, we spent a long weekend at Sunriver, and I was happy to find Wi-fi at not only our vacation home, but also the pool!

This time last year, I was not yet published, so the trip has brought back all sorts of memories of the hopes I felt with manuscripts submitted and awaiting responses. Little did I know that when I got back from this trip last year, I would have two contracts waiting for me within a week! Remarkable Restraint and A Pint Light--they seem so long ago already!

Only a few weeks away from my first Seasoned Women release, Sex On Summer Sabbatical on August 9th!

Seasonal Question

Got doused in the backyard today, and didn't even bother to change. I'm still damp, but it's warm enough that it feels good. Picked a good day to figure out how to program the sprinkler system.

I'm finding that I'm writing (and reading for that matter) a lot about hot, steamy locales and summery weather. Enough so that when I was proofing a book which had a long "I'm freezing" scene, it really stood out.

Many publishers seems to try to time their themes to the seasons. So my question to you all is, as readers, do you tend to gravitate towards books "themed" to the current season? Or does it matter? Would it be strange to read about a hot, summer setting in the winter? Or would it bring back fond memories of the warmth you're not getting anymore?

A New Cover

Got my cover this week for my next release, Sex On Summer Sabbatical, the first of my Seasoned Women stories. It's coming up quickly, only one month away on August 9th. Here's the blurb: 

Who knew it would so hard to get a twenty-something man to have sex?

Forced by her employer to take a three month sabbatical, workaholic Tori Warren makes a checklist of things to accomplish which will make the time off worthwhile.

Get into the best shape of her life. Have the most fun of her life. Oh, and have the best sex of her life.

Sexy young Adam comes into her life at just the right time. A physical trainer with a loving-life personality, he should work nicely in helping her meet all three goals. He’d be especially perfect for the best sex. Now if he would only just cooperate...

Happy Fourth and A Fun Twist On My DD's Fave Song

Enjoyed the heck out of the fourth. Picked almost 40 pounds of blueberries at a u-pick, visited a state park, went for ice cream at a historic general store, had company for a cookout, set off fireworks, and was able to watch the same great city fireworks display as always...from the new house--an unexpected treat!! Even better view than from the old one. Luck's being a lady to me.

This is making the rounds and made me smile. My daughter loves this song right now, and I enjoyed this take on it. :)

New Contract News and an Excerpt

Happy to finally announce my latest coming soon...The Swap, which will be coming out from Amber Quill Press in September as part of their Working Stiffs series. I'm very happy to join AQP's ranks with some amazing authors--including, of course, our beloved Shawn Lane, who is right next to me on the available soon page. Love it!

Here's a blurb to tide you over until this fall!

When layoffs hit Jim LaRue's company, his first concern isn't for his own job, it's for his friend and co-worker, Tommy Graves. Tommy's coming off a bad year, finally made better by a house he's closing on in two weeks. Losing his job would mean losing the house, and his new-found lease on life. Jim can't let that happen to the man he's come to love, so he proposes a swap: his own job for Tommy's.



Now suddenly out of work, Jim reluctantly accepts a job helping Tommy remodel his house. Having the work is great, but it chafes Jim's pride to be employed by his friend and lover. When he gets his first paycheck, Jim can't stand being a charity case any longer and calls it quits, but not before a defensive Tommy tells him he doesn't need him.


On the outs, they still manage to get outted at work, and all at once a huge barrier to their happiness vanishes. Can Tommy and Jim finally make this swap work in their favor?

~*~

Monday is the release day for the second book in my Vampires & Mages & Weres, Oh My! series, Through The Red Door. Eventually, the characters in this book will be tied in with ones from A Pint Light, but for now it's a completely stand-alone read.

Here's an excerpt:

Kyrian watched with keen interest as the high-strung agent practically shoved the potential buyer out the door. He couldn’t stifle a chuckle as a strange wince of discomfort crossed the man’s face.

Oooh, not nice, Kyrian. You’d better watch it. One of these days you’re going to laugh at the wrong person.


It was his worst fault unfortunately, schadenfreude, which had caused him no end of trouble over the years. He just couldn’t help laughing at inappropriate times. An automatic reaction to anything unusual.


His victim whipped around, and for a moment, Kyrian thought his day of reckoning had actually come. But the dangerous, feral glint in those dark eyes changed in quick succession to shock then something like distaste.


A born people-pleaser, Kyrian felt a stab of disappointment at the look of disdain. He glanced down at himself in reflex to check his appearance. Nothing obviously out of place. He was actually dressed fairly nicely for a day at home. Maybe the guy just didn’t like shaggy hair. He was very clean-cut, bordering militaristic in his grooming, severely shaped almost black hair with a hint of wave to it above a smoothly shaven face.


A man’s lips moved, and that’s when Kyrian realised that Michael Franti and Spearhead were still happily ‘Say Hey’ing in his ear. He quickly pulled out the earpieces.


“Hi there. Sorry about laughing. I don’t know why I did that.”


Tall, Dark and Dangerous narrowed his eyes, apparently at the reminder of Kyrian’s faux pas, and said something incomprehensible in a deep, almost gravelly voice. Ah ha, a foreigner.


“No comprende,” he apologised.


His visitor actually rolled his eyes in disgust. At him! Kyrian would’ve jumped to his feet to tell him off if he didn’t have the flipping cast on his ankle.
His visitor angrily spouted off more gibberish in whatever language he was speaking, and Kyrian rolled his own eyes in response, which apparently wasn’t very well received since suddenly the man was looming threateningly over him.


Trapped in the chaise lounge, at his mercy, Kyrian could only freeze and hope the man wouldn’t get violent.


Holding out his hands in what he hoped was the universal symbol for wait a sec, he tried placating the aggressor. “Hey, hey, I’m sorry, okay? I. Don’t. Understand. You,” he enunciated. Using basic body language, he thumped his chest, shook his head, and tapped his temple as he tried Tarzan-esque simplicity. “Me no understand.”


“Oh for fuck’s sake!” The man threw up his hands as if Kyrian was the one acting like an idiot.


“Geez, why didn’t you just speak English in the first place? That would be the logical language to start with considering the country we’re in.” Kyrian snarked as he tried to keep his lips from twitching into another inappropriate smile. The whole thing really was pretty funny in a weird way. “I’m Kyrian.”


“Kyrian…?” the other man prompted.


Kyrian quirked his brow. Liked to get formal, did he? “De Angelo.”


The other man winced and groaned, “Oh, that’s fucking original,” and shook his head with a huff.


What the heck? “Say buddy, where do you get off laughing at my name? And you haven’t told me your name to make fun of.”


“I’m Seth.”


“Seth…?” Kyrian mocked Seth’s earlier tone.


He shrugged with a deliberate smirk. “Just Seth.”


Kyrian gasped with outrage and was about to attempt rising to confront him, cast or no cast, when Seth leaned closer to him and inhaled. No two ways about it—he sniffed him. Okay, this was getting a bit odd, even for him. He needed to nip this visit in the bud.


“Okay, just Seth.” Kyrian watched warily as a contented look crossed the man’s face for the first time, turning it into something serene and beautiful. “Thanks for visiting the house. Hope you liked it. Uh—”
Seth dropped to his knees, heavily lidded eyes locked on Kyrian’s startled ones, and wasted no time in claiming a toe-curling, bone-melting kiss.

~*~

Hope you enjoyed the guys in, and partially out of, their dress attire! Don't forget to vote in this week's poll!

Whew!

Yes, the move is OVER! I'm am living in my shiny new house (well, new to me), and just love it. I'm actually sitting in my very echoey old house right now since the internet won't be up at the new one until Monday. Since we're only 3 miles away, a middle of the night trip to "connect" only made sense. ;)

Now there is still some significant unpacking and arranging to be done, at least one more trip to IKEA, more furniture coming, and of course, the internet install. Plus I have 6 days to get this house ready for the renters. But by this time next week, I imagine my life will be quite a bit more leisurely than it has been of late. Which will translate into more writing time!!

This and That

Have some exciting contract news I hope to be able to share by next week. Stay tuned!

My life is all about boxes and deliveries right now. The official move is on Saturday, but since the new house is only 3 miles away, the small and / or weird stuff is getting shuttled over a Pilot-load at a time. This house is beginning to echo. New house is starting to really take shape with the new living room furniture that came Saturday--which was immediately christened by a sleepover that night by everyone in the family except me...I got the "old" house to myself. Poor me. ;) Get the brand new fridge tomorrow, and hitting IKEA on Wednesday. Pick up the moving van Friday night. Nope, no movers...unless you count hub and his buddies. ;)