Britta Adams - An Evening At Starlight

An Evening at the Starlight is a story I wrote for the Noble Romance Timeless Desire Blog Tour. With such a theme, I knew I'd have to tap my sentimentality and so I did.

I've been a non-professional genealogist for many years and in that time, I've uncovered some incredible stories within my own family tree. One involved my great-Uncle Roy, who died in a flood in 1945, leaving behind a young wife and four small children.

Though I never met Roy, I did meet his wife, Dorothy, many years later, in 1997. She was a frail woman of 82 at the time and we enjoyed several afternoons talking about Roy and the hard-scrabble life they'd shared for all too few years.

"I told him not to go," she said, when I asked her about the day of the flood. "It had been raining for hours and the creek had flooded its banks. He went to work anyway and on the way, he and another man stopped to help a family trying to get some of their things out of the house, as the foundation was shaky."

Aunt Dorothy cried when she told me how the whole house shifted and came off its foundation, sending Roy downstream, where he was found several hours later. "I told him not to go," she said over and over, as tears streamed down her face.

The entire time, she held a tiny photograph of her, Roy, and their oldest daughter, the only image she'd ever had of the man she still loved, some fifty-two years after his death. "He was so kind, so loving. He loved to kiss."

That story has stayed with me and became the one I loosely based An Evening at the Starlight on.

Starlight tells the story of Royal and Doe. A young man comes into the Starlight, a 1940's bar, marital troubles on his mind. Bud, the bar keep, hears him out and then relates the story, in the hopes that John can understand the deeper meaning behind the words.

Being a huge fan of noir, I do hope the reader feels that vibe.

When it came time to title the story, I discussed it with my husband and he said, "An Evening at the Starlight." It fit beautifully and lent to the '40s feel of the piece.

One last bit of trivia. The woman in the frame on the cover is actually my mother. Her name was Gladys Isabelle Sweener Martinson and a lovely woman she was. She was Roy's niece and knew him well when she was a child.

She loved to dance, as did Doe. Mom died in 1999 at the age of 70 and she is truly missed. I thought it quite fitting that she be the image of Doe for the story. I think she'd have like that very much.

Here's the blurb for An Evening at the Starlight:

John has a hard time forgiving and forgetting, and his wife Christie’s tired of trying.

Doe and Royal’s love story reaches through the years and gives hope to a young man who’s lost hope in his relationship.  An Evening at the Starlight and a tale of a once in a lifetime love that wouldn’t die might be exactly what John needs to move past the hurt and cherish the love he has.

Click here to read an excerpt and to purchase An Evening at the Starlight.

Find Brita at any of these places:

Email address: britaaddams@gmail.com

Website/Blog

Twitter: @britaaddams

Facebook

Goodreads Page

Jess Anastasi - The Story Behind The Story

To talk about my Timeless Desire novella, Savior, I need to go right back to the start of my Sanctuary Series.

Savior is set in the Sanctuary universe, five hundred years in the future where an apocalyptic war between angels and demons is tearing the universe apart. Humans are dying by the thousands, getting caught in the crossfire when battles destroy entire planets. There is one angel who wants the war to end, who wants humans to survive. Archangel Michael is one powerful being. And he has the will and the way to change things for the better.

Honestly, when I sat down to write Sanctuary, a 30,000 word novella, I didn't have some grand scheme in mind as to where the overall story was heading. All I knew was that I wanted to write about angels and demons. And I wanted to do something totally out-there different with them… so why not set it five hundred years in the future and have them flying around the known universe in spaceships?

It wasn't until I was well into writing Sanctuary that I realized Archangel Michael was the pivotal character, the master behind the scenes, making sure things got done. And as I worked on Sanctuary, other ideas started coming to me for sequels. The notion of Michael's grand plan and the climax that will eventually happen were revealed to me gradually. But now (luckily) I have a very clear picture of where everything is headed, the final battle, I suppose you could say.

Cadmiel, the Angel of Destiny and hero of Savior, appeared briefly in Sanctuary and I knew even back then that he would have to get his own story at some point. There was something dark in his background I couldn't see at the time.

Fast forward a year after Sanctuary was published (over two years after I’d written it) and Noble Romance Publishing's Timeless Desire blog tour came up. I thought the easiest thing to do would be write a book connected to the Sanctuary Series, and when I thought about the "time" theme, Cadmiel popped into my head and suddenly I could see his whole story. It just fit so perfectly.

So that's the story behind the story of how Cadmiel's book, Savior came about.

Blurb:

Cadmiel, the Angel of Destiny, knows better than anyone does what a bitch fate can be. Five hundred years ago, the only woman he ever loved was killed, shredding his soul and leaving a void in place of his heart.
Now Archangel Michael comes to him with a shocking and forbidden proposal. He wants Cadmiel to travel back in time and save Emilyn. Though Cadmiel wishes beyond all reasoning to do as the archangel asks, messing with time goes against his own beliefs and the very foundations of angel lore. But Michael doesn't give Cadmiel a choice and thrusts him through time and space, back to 2012.

The first time Emilyn saw the gorgeous man, she was affected on a level she couldn't comprehend. Cadmiel isn't like any other guy she's ever met, and he makes her wish love at first sight were true. But there are forces at work she never dreamed real. In the space of a day, she goes from normal, every-day college student, to a pawn in an apocalyptic war between angels and demons.

Emilyn's very life is in Cadmiel's hands. Will he risk the future of the entire universe to save her, or let her die and destroy himself in the process?

www.jessanastasi.com / www.jessanastasi.blogspot.com 
Singularity - available 17th October 2011 from Noble Romance Publishing
Savior - available 3rd of October, a Timeless Desire novella and Sanctuary spin-off Read the first two books in the series! Sanctuary ...and... Severance - available now from Noble Romance Publishing.

Noble Author Sarah Ballance Familiar Light

I'll be blunt: writing a novella scares me to death. Creating characters readers will care about in just 10k words is one thing. Developing a solid plot that can be resolved in such a short space is yet another. Put them together and you've got … well, me in a panic.


The concept of FAMILIAR LIGHT started with the "Timeless Desire" blog tour theme. One angle I use often in writing is former lovers reuniting, so the theme was very much in my comfort zone. In this story, my main characters actually parted on good terms: after a hometown summer romance, Laney leaves for college and promises Bridger she will return the following spring. As it tends to do, life got in the way. Years later—out of college and into the real world—she realizes she misses what they had, so she goes back to him.


Bridger doesn't welcome her with open arms, and as an author, I wanted that bit of rejection there. In a way, it keeps it real. What are the odds he sat there waiting for her all those years? Nil! And in fact, as the blurb says, he "tangled a lot of sheets" in the process of NOT waiting, LOL, so there's definitely some bitterness there. I really enjoyed the dynamics of that particular scene! (You can see what happened when they meet again in the excerpt below).


Then, of course, comes the twist.


The challenge I had with FAMILIAR LIGHT was creating the suspense aspect—not because it was required, but because I love romantic suspense and am apparently a glutton for punishment. (Yeah, seriously. Sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking, LOL.) Putting together a suspense plot that can be resolved for these characters in just 10k words was not the easiest of tasks, but fortunately I have a secret weapon: my husband.


Yep, my guy—who has never read a romance book in his life—happens to be fantastic for plotting, so this was the part I dragged him in. I had a basic idea of what I wanted (not a bit of which I can divulge here, LOL) and he helped me fill in the details. Within a couple of hours, I had a plot. Leaving details aside, I can say this: although they got off to a bad start, my characters didn't have a chance to dance around their emotions. The intensity of what they went through and the very real chance they had of losing one another permanently brought clarity to what they wanted . . . and fast.


As for the title, at one point during the process of writing I had an old song from the 80s in my head. Singing under my breath as I wrote, I got the words wrong and came up with "familiar light" where it should have been "different light." And I thought, wow. Epic book title moment! Between the lighthouse—which is centric to the story—and the theme, I had a winner: FAMILIAR LIGHT.


Thank you so much for reading along. I hope you enjoy the excerpt!


Author Links WEB http://www.sarahballance.com/ BLOG http://sarahballance.wordpress.com/ AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003WKYEJI GOODREADS http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4103362.Sarah_Ballance

Blurb

Seven years of longing comes down to just one night.

Laney Kent returns to Barrier Shoals hoping to reunite with her first love, Bridger. She anticipates his reception might be chilly, but what she doesn't expect is to become the victim of a deadly obsession … or that this night with Bridger could be her last.

Bridger Jansen tangled a lot of sheets trying to forget about Laney, but his heart knew what the rest of him refused to admit: he could love no one else. He's determined not to forgive her for leaving him without explanation, but when he fails to protect her from a viscous attack, the person he can't forgive just might be himself. BUY LINK: https://www.nobleromance.com/Authors/97/Sarah-Ballance


FAMILIAR LIGHT Excerpt


"Can I help you?" The gruff question trickled through the cavernous space like water leaking through pipes. He seemed to materialize from the shadows as he strode toward her, the rise of heat from the concrete floor keeping him just out of focus.

But her heart knew.

She swallowed a hard knob of regret. "Bridger?"

He couldn't have heard her—not with the way she clung to his name, as if saying it out loud would be to lose another piece of him. But his step faltered, and the recognition in that interrupted cadence brought the burn of tears to her eyes.

No regrets.

She stood, trembling, as the fifty feet between them dwindled to ten. When he was close enough for her to make out the stubble lining his jaw, his legs stopped moving, but his gaze tore over her. The impassioned glare was without direction, a harsh reflection of the hard lines edging his face. The warm brown eyes she remembered were now a bitter shade of espresso.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The words, tense with fury, sent her backpedaling against the concrete wall. Too late, she realized she no longer knew this man. They were kids when they'd parted ways, too naïve to realize they'd never keep those breathless promises. At least she'd been that way. His tone suggested otherwise.

They were alone in the deeply shadowed belly of Barrier Shoals Light. And for the first time within those walls, Laney tasted fear.

"Was I supposed to wait for you?" he asked.

Seven years had passed since her weak-kneed promise to return to him. She didn't have an answer for that.
He took another step, boxing her against the curvature of the rock. He stood close—so close, she had to tip her head to meet his eyes.

And she summoned courage to do it.

"Was I?" he asked, his voice softer now. He leaned closer. The stifling heat morphed into sexual innuendo, his skin slick with sweat, daring her to touch.

She was one careless thought away from taking him up on that unspoken suggestion. Her fingers itched to claw through his hair, to draw him closer until the distance between them evaporated. Memories of frantically grasping for purchase against the stone wall besieged her, curling fear into boundless adrenaline.

"Did you?"

Her words coaxed a slow grin from his sensual mouth. "Was I supposed to?"

The Wisdom of Delphi...

Time really flies.  I can't believe it, but I'm back at Judith's spot!  The last time I was here,  I talked about taking a new direction in my writing.  Well, it wasn't a 'new' direction per say, but it was me getting back to my true passion and that was writing fiction. 




I had written a couple of books prior to that post and spent nearly a decade freelancing as an entertainment columnist, but it was my first time publishing fiction.  I was nervous but excited at the same time.  After all, all the writing, I had done up to that, point put the focal point of the article onto someone else and his or her accomplishments.  


Now, even though I'm writing fiction, the focal point is me: my characters, my story, my dream.  I'm back on Judith's blog to give you an update on my book Tempestuous Tales, (http://www.kandiedelley.com/books/ttales/) which is currently out as an eBook.  The feedback I've gotten on it so far, has been delightful and beyond encouraging.  To finally get a chance to put my stories out there and get this type of response from people is really a dream come true.  For those who have already purchased the book, thank you for making that happen for me.  


Anywho, people are 'gripped' by the consequences of these characters' decisions in Tempestuous Tales and one character in particular, Delphi Connors, seems to be getting quite the debate.  In fact, some readers have already asked me about a 'part two' because they feel Delphi's story is not finished, or as some have said, "It can't be finished!”  LOL.  


Keep reading to find out why!  


Delphi Connors is featured in the first story, Vanishing at Mountain Creek (see location here: )


In this story, Delphi returns to Dallas with a singing career that's on the rise.  In fact, she's sings background for an international pop star.  YAY!  Delphi is beautiful, smart and very much the thrill-seeker, who had a sexy man on her arm.  However, don't take my word for it; check out a little bit of his description below...


 The corners of her lips curled in soft delight as she thought about one hot and steamy weekend that she had shared with Marcus in Aruba the year before.  She thought of his bare chest and washboard abs springing from the cool, deep blue ocean and how his sculpted thighs glistening in the hot sun, invoked a fluttering in her stomach.  The memory of his twinkling hazel eyes and...


Oooh dreamy huh?  Where's my ticket to Aruba!  Haha.  But remember, the key word here is she 'HAD' a sexy man on her arm.  Yepper, Marcus did the fool and cheated on Delphi.  When you take a dive in heartbreak hotel, you have some decisions to make.  Delphi made hers and, instead of sulking about his no-good behind, she got back on the road to fulfilling her. 


What woman doesn't get to a point in her life where success doesn't overshadow matters of the heart, especially when her family and friends are settled, married, or getting married and have a baby on the way?  She got desperate, started serial dating, and eventually got stuck in a rut.  Actually, she got stuck near Mountain Creek Parkway, a woodsy area in North Texas, and let's just say...the unimaginable has happened--she vanished.   


I'm writing this blog so that we can get back to basics.  I love technology, but we also need to be mindful of staying (organic, real and intimate) with the people in our lives.  If you ever saw that movie 'The Net' starring Sandra Bullock then you know where I'm coming from.  Communicate, not just with social media tweets and likes, but genuine, pick up the phone and call someone moments.  REAL connecting.  I have friends who question me when I ask, "Hey text me or call when you make it home."  Yes, they are adults and I'm not trying to tell them how to live their life.  However, anything can happen on that short trip from the nightclub or restaurant and knowing information like, "the last time you spoke to so -and do" could help save a life!  


Oh and for my friend girls out there...please practice personal safety.  You never know.  YOU may be the one stranded on some deserted road at night with a dead cell battery, flat tire, no money, or a car charger.  Personal safety is so important.  Have an emergency and first aid kit in your car, learn to fix a flat and have a back up cell battery.  


Delphi's story is just a reminder to remember your dreams, the sacrifices you're willing to make to get there and to always practice personal safety.  That's the wisdom of Delphi's story.


To read an excerpt from this story visit:  Vanishing at Mountain Creek (http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/277714-tempestuous-tales)


To read other blog posts about the Tempestuous Tales visit:  Spooktacular Web Tour (http://www.kandiedelley.com/kandie/extras/)


Watch the Tempestuous Tales Video book trailer:  http://youtu.be/fQQYs7APquM
About Tempestuous Tales: 


An urban legend becomes a nightmare when three women face tragic consequences:  an unexplainable vanishing, a sadistic marriage, and a visit from beyond the grave, after an ancient talisman grants their wishes.  Tempestuous Tales adds a modern twist to three classic short stories: The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs, Night Drive by Will F. Jenkins and Bluebeard’s Bride by Sarah Holland, based on the works of Charles Perrault.


Paperback coming November 2011.  Download a free Tempestuous Tales mobile phone or desktop wallpaper here!  (http://www.kandiedelley.com/books/ttales/)

AMAZON KINDLE:  (http://www.amazon.com/Tempestuous-Tales-ebook/dp/B005M785DA)


BARNES & NOBLE NOOK:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempestuous-tales-kandie-delley/1105563551


SMASHWORDS:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87652

GIVEAWAY: 



Comment to win a copy of Tempestuous Tales ebook!


CONTEST: 


Leave a comment and be entered into a drawing to win (list contest award here) Just leave a comment on this guest blog posts! 

Thanks again for allowing me to visit your blog and have a blessed holiday season!

LUST AFTER DEATH By Daisy Harris

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave / ISBN: 9781419935053 / Genre: Erotic Paranormal / Length: Novella

In the Pacific Northwest, where life hurries to keep pace with technology, a re-animated bride named Josie struggles to escape her creator.

Assassin Bane Connor wants to get the girl to the Zombie Underground and receive his payoff—a mental reset that will erase his memories as well as his guilt. But an attack by a rival faction derails his rescue, and the wide-eyed female ignites desire like he’s never known.

The newborn stein needs touch to live, and wanting her is a complication Bane doesn’t need. The last thing a killer wants is a his lover who can read his thoughts, but if Josie can love him the way he’s programmed, perhaps Bane can find a way to heal his past.

Excerpt:

Josie cocked her head to the side and her brows drew together. His words jiggled something in her memories, but only those hidden behind the clouds. None of the images she’d learned to associate with Adam shed any insight. She stared at his sky-blue eyes crouched deep in their sockets, and his short blond hair and chiseled face, searching for meaning. She flicked through all her interactions with him, looking for patterns, and found one. “You say that word a lot. What does it mean?”

Bane shifted a fraction. His shoulders rolled forward. “I say what a lot?”

For some reason, Josie felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. “Fuck,” she whispered. The word felt too aggressive and masculine to say aloud.

Bane raked a hand through his hair, causing the muscles in his shoulder and arm to ripple. He scowled. “Motherfucker!”

Confusion overtook embarrassment, and Josie pounced. “See. There it is again! You use it in so many ways I can’t tell what you mean.” She paused. When he didn’t answer, instead eyed her like a being he couldn’t understand, she added, “And what’s a mother?”

Bane’s laugh started as a deep rumble. Then his guffaws grew loud enough to scare her. He swiped the back of his hand at one weeping eye, then the other. A slow burn of embarrassment crept up her spine. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

Bane dabbed at his face with a napkin. “Oh babe. That dick who built you really did a half-assed job. And he didn’t try to…?”

She didn’t understand all the words, but could tell his meaning—all except the last part. Tears stung her eyes. Josie stood from the table. “Thank you for the food. I need to use the restroom now.” It was true, but not entirely the reason she wanted to get away.

Bane sobered. “Um, yeah. It’s up the hill.” He pointed out the window to a trail leading up from the dock. At the top of the hill, a brown shack peeked out between the trees. “Do you need help?”

She could tell it humiliated him to ask, and was glad.

“No. My maker made sure I knew that much.” Josie snatched up the blanket she'd used to sleep and wrapped it around herself. She marched out into the cool fall air and positioned her leg to climb onto the dock.

In the still morning, she heard Bane mutter to himself. “Fuck, I’m an idiot.”

Josie knew enough to know she agreed.

DAISY HARRIS

Birkenstock-wearing glamour girl and mother of two by immaculate conception, Daisy Harris still isn’t sure if she writes erotica. Her paranormal romances start out innocently enough. However, her characters behave like complete sluts. Much to Miss Harris’s dismay, the sex tends to get completely out of hand.

If you like science-y subplots, fantastical creatures, and red-hot chemistry, you’ll love Daisy Harris. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook and at www.thedaisyharris.com.

The Iron Admiral - Greta van der Rol

'The Iron Admiral' was the first book I ever wrote. I started it about five years ago and over the years, it has certainly changed. The book has evolved, as it were, from a crude first attempt to a polished piece. At least, I think so. It has been a journey of discovery, for me and for my craft.

I was going to write science fiction, because that's what I like to read. Not the heavy, hard science fiction, though. I liked the action-packed space opera you find in Star Wars, but I wanted a bit more science fact. So the Iron Admiral came into being and with it, first thoughts. I was always going to have an admiral at the centre and a female computer whiz as the other MC. From there my history degree took over as I looked for a plausible setting for my story. My universe would have a vast alien Empire which was starting to crumble at the edges, while the expanding human Confederacy would populate only one spiral arm. We would have known about each other for a long time but tried to avoid getting in each other’s way until both sides couldn’t help it. You could say it was a little like a crumbling Roman Empire encountering the expanding Huns – or maybe the other way around. The theme of the book was always going to be that truth is very much a matter of perspective, a lesson I’ve learnt from studying history.

I've loved the Star Wars universe for years – but always with belief suspended. My aliens would not be humanoid and I would try to ensure my scenarios were supported by science. No flying through space into a massive hangar on a battlecruiser without going through an airlock, for instance.

One thing I wanted to do with my admiral protagonist was to show that these very senior men are sometimes faced with very difficult decisions. It's easy enough for Lieutenant Smith to indulge in devil-may-care heroics – but admirals can't do that. There's too much at stake.

I have to admit it was something of a surprise to me when I ended up writing a romance. I can honestly say I've never read an entire Mills & Boon book, although I did enjoy the 'Angelique' historical series back in the day. Both Elizabeth Moon and Anne McCaffrey (two of my favourites) included some very mild sex scenes in their books – it worked for me, but I wanted to take it one step further – without going as far as erotica.

The Iron Admiral books are fast-paced adventures with a romance arc. Here's the blurb for book one, 'The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy'.

Politics. Hatred. Star systems on the brink of war. A species under threat of extinction from a deadly virus.

Ex-Admiral Chaka Saahren goes undercover to discover the truth. Systems Engineer, Allysha Marten, takes one last job to rid her of debts and her cheating husband. On Tisyphor, deadly secrets about the past explode, as Allysha and the undercover agent scramble to prevent the coming holocaust and xenocide.

When the ex-Admiral’s identity is revealed, she must come to terms with her feelings for a man she thinks caused the death of innocent civilians, including her father.

In a race against time, Allysha must set aside her conflicted emotions and trust a man she barely knows. Saahren must convince the woman he loves to find the truth as he once more assumes his position as … The Iron Admiral.

It isn't the end of the adventure, though. By the end of the book Allysha might be reconciled with Saahren to a limited extent, but she sure isn't ready to marry him. What's more, Allysha's estranged husband has been tasked by the shadowy Galactic People's Republic to deliver Allysha by whatever means he wishes. If he doesn't – he dies. And so begins 'The Iron Admiral: Deception', as fast paced and action packed as the first book.

Grand Admiral Chaka Saahren has the rewards of rank…
…but he doesn't have Systems Engineer Allysha Marten. Determined to keep her safe, Saahren will go to any lengths to win back the woman he loves. Allysha agrees to temporary employment by the Fleet, hoping to avoid at all costs the man she believes responsible for the death of innocent civilians, including her estranged father.

Sean O'Reilly has a plan…
…and it involves hijacking Allysha and convincing her, one way or another, to do just one more job—a job that would clear his debts and save his hide.

Allysha Marten must come to terms with her feelings…
…in the face of a reality that suggests she is a pawn in a growing power struggle, one where she will need all her skills and cunning to outwit a heinous plot that could result in the loss of billions of human lives.

When Allysha decides to tackle the conspirators on her own, she forces an impossible choice on… The Iron Admiral.

I had lots of fun writing them and I'm hoping that others will enjoy reading them. Although Saahren's and Allysha's stories are complete, I've set one more book in the same universe. That will be published next year. And yes, there may be others.

BIO

Greta van der Rol loves writing science fiction with a large dollop of good old, healthy romance. She lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn't bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours.

   - http://gretavanderrol.com/
   - http://twitter.com/GretavdR
   - http://www.facebook.com/Author.Greta.vanderRol?ref=ts

Buy the book from Smashwords  printhttp://www.smashwords.com/books/view/45072

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+iron+admiral+%3A+conspiracy&x=0&y=0

Omnilit http://bit.ly/fkt0us

You'll find “The Iron Admiral: Deception” on

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/93056

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Iron-Admiral-Deception-ebook/dp/B005QPAO3M/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317441791&sr=1-3

Omnilit

Lillian Grant's Male Order – Reigning Men book One

Male Order – Reigning Men book One

Sleeping with her flatmate, Sam had been a mistake—becoming a strip club manager's pimp was a disaster

Blurb: Meg’s mother can't even say the word sex. Her great aunt is a nymphomaniac. The few men she’s slept with left her frustrated.  The closest she’s come to sex was as the unwitting visual aid for hot flatmate, Sam’s, cowboy style, wanking session. No wonder her libido went on permanent vacation and she substitutes ice-cream and chocolate for sex.

With so many hang ups, why does she agree to no strings sex with Sam? Why is hunky, strip club manager Michael bent on seducing her? And why the hell does she invest in a male escort business offering extra services?

Sam’s delighted when he convinces Meg to let him go looking for her missing G spot. A ride on his wild stallion shows her how good sex can be...with the right man. One encounter leads to a dozen. Sam is living every man’s dream, sex with no commitment, too bad it’s not his dream.

His new life turns nightmare when Michael enters the scene. Will the Irishman steal her away, or will his involvement in her Male Order business lead to a disaster that gives Sam a chance to prove to Meg their relationship is more than a sexual rodeo?

www.lilliangrant.com
 

http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/maleorder.htm

Excerpt

A dull thud, thud, thud accompanied by yells of, “Yeehaw, ride ‘em cowboy,” made Meg roll her eyes and sigh loudly.

“For fuck sake, can you keep it down in there, literally?”

Laura glanced at her, then back at the bedroom door. “What’s he doing?”

Meg shook her head. “You don’t want to know.” She shuddered with mock horror at the memory.

“Really? Oh, please tell me, or I’ll have to go find out for myself.”

Laura got to her feet, a wicked gleam in her dark brown eyes. Geez, she would, too. Not that the sight of Sam laid back in a reclining chair, wearing only a cowboy hat and white socks, with his hand wrapped around his dick, jacking off like it was an Olympic sport, would freak her friend out. Hell no, she’d probably offer to ride him. She wasn’t about to let that happen. Sam was too good for the likes of Laura. He deserved a girl a little fussier about where she slept.

Meg jumped up and grabbed Laura’s arm, spilling coffee down the front of her own white shirt in the process. Shit, why couldn’t she do anything without making a mess of herself?

“If I tell you, will you sit back down and promise never to mention it to Sam?”

Laura retook her seat, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Oh, this is going to be really good.”

Meg glanced at the bedroom door. Despite her yelling at him to shut up, yips of pleasure still reached the lounge room.

“Go, baby, ride em. You got it.”

She looked back at Laura then stared at a slice of salami on the coffee table. It must be from the pizza Sam had after she went to bed last night. What a slob. An extremely well endowed slob, but a slob nonetheless.

“Well? Are you going to tell me or not?”

Meg sighed. “He’s jacking off.”

Laura snorted coffee all over the place. Choking, she banged her chest, tears streaming down her face. If Laura died from asphyxiation, she sure as hell wasn’t telling the paramedics Sam’s wanking caused her death.

Between gasping breaths Laura squeaked, “And you found this out how?”

Meg shrugged nonchalantly. No big deal really. He liked to jack off, a lot, and she wanted to see what had him yelling. How was she supposed to know what he was doing in there? She could feel the heat rising to her face at the memory.

She had shoved the door open and there he lay in all his glory, reclining chair toward her. The moment they made eye contact, a huge grin spread across his face as he continued to pummel his dick.

The thought of that monster in his hand still made her panties dampen and her insides throb. The head red and engorged, the shaft decorated with bulging veins, heavy balls bunched up tight between his widespread thighs. She’d been unable to move until he groaned and shot his wad all over his stomach. The memory of his warm spunk spilling from his cock made her squirm in her seat.

The spell had finally been broken when he winked at her, asking if she wanted to take a turn on his trusty steed. She had turned tail and run out of the house. Hiding in the mall for hours dressed in her food stained hot pink sweats and matching fluffy slippers.

“I went to check on him one afternoon when he got to yelling and I found him sitting in his chair jacking off. Anyway, I thought you were here to talk about work?”

Laura leaned forward, her face flushed. “So you’re not even going to tell me if he’s hung like a horse?”

Having Laura over was a mistake, she made no secret of the fact she liked Sam. Always going on about his buff body and rippling abs. No way was she going to add anything else to her best friend’s fantasy life, she already had an overactive imagination.

Despite all but chasing after him with drool running down her chin, Sam had shown no interest in her. She wondered why. With her heart-shaped face, willowy figure and immaculately styled long blonde hair, most men found her irresistible. Now she thought about it, Sam hadn’t just ignored her not so subtle advances but, as far as Meg remembered, the only dates he had since he moved in were with his right hand. Even if the women he met hadn’t seen him in all his naked glory, his cute smile and pale blue eyes would win him many loyal fans. They had sure as hell worked on her when he turned up in response to the landlord’s advertisement for someone to flat share with her. She glanced at Laura, who was wrapping a fat blonde curl around her finger and staring at her waiting for an answer.

Meg shrugged. “More like My Little Pony.” She was shocked at how easily and convincingly the lie slipped out without guilt or hesitation. “Now, can we please get back to our discussion?”

With a shrug, Laura put her coffee cup on the side table and pulled a pad and pen out of her bag. “Okay, we need a slogan for Wonder Bites.”

“I thought we did that already?”

“I ran them by Bill. His exact words were ‘you girls better get your shit together or you’ll be wearing sandwich boards advertising condoms in a brothel’.”

“Such a lovely turn of phrase, no wonder he’s in marketing. So did he hate both of them? I thought yours truly sucked. ‘Wonder Bites, good all the way from your mouth to the pan’.” She giggled at Laura as she pouted in response to her teasing.

“I was focusing on the health aspects of the cereal. Anyway you can’t talk. You would hardly win the Clio Award for advertising slogans with ‘Wonder Bites smell funky but taste real good’.”

“They do smell funky. I was just being honest. I’m getting sick of all the bullshit.” Meg stretched out the length of the couch and stared at the ceiling. She’d become fed up with peddling crap in New South Wales’ least successful ad agency. How many more lies could she couch in catchy slogans to sell garbage no one wanted? If only she had a product she believed in, or a job she enjoyed. “Laura, have you ever thought about doing something else for a living?”

“Every day, hun, I’ve even researched what else I could do with my skills.”

A kernel of an idea had been growing in Meg’s brain for weeks. Maybe Laura wouldn’t laugh if she told her. “I was thinking of going out on my own. You know, setting up my own business.”

“Doing what?”

Meg sighed. “That’s the big problem.”

Laura leaned forward into Meg’s peripheral vision. “Funny you should mention starting your own business. I’ve been thinking the same thing and I might just have an idea we could both use.”

The door to Sam’s room banged open. Meg glanced over at Laura. She’d lost her attention. Turning her head a little further, she could see why. There he stood. Skin glistening with sweat, his only attire a less than adequate white towel slung low on his hips and a cowboy hat on his head. Every step he took revealed the full length of his thigh, but thankfully not the full length of anything else.

He grinned at them, flashing a perfect set of pearly whites. “Ladies, what are you two plotting now?”

Meg crossed her arms over her chest. “How to kill noisy flat mates.”

She didn’t need to look to know he had moved closer. The scent of fresh sweat and musky cologne tickling her nose announced his arrival. His voice growled in her ear. “I think you enjoy hearing me almost as much as you enjoyed watching me. Maybe if you got out more you wouldn’t find my private life so stimulating. Unless you do really want me, but you’re too sexually repressed to let go.”

His face hovered above hers. Screw him. Why did he have to look so damn good when he had that smug expression on his mug? His blue eyes twinkled with amusement, his full lips quivered with barely contained laughter.

“For someone so ready to hand out dating advice, I can’t say I’ve noticed you being so lucky with the ladies of late.”

“Maybe I’m waiting for the right jockey.”

Meg grinned at him. “Or maybe you can’t find a jockey small enough to enjoy the ride.”

Her jibe missed the mark. He laughed before bending forward and brushing his lips against hers. His breath tickled her neck, making her shiver, as he whispered, “Perhaps you should slide in the saddle one night and take me through my paces. Then you would find out just how big my stallion really is.”

Hands on his shoulders, she shoved him away. It wasn’t the first time he had kissed her, but this time it had felt more intimate. Not the usual friendly peck and definitely part of his teasing. “Fuck off, Sam. We’re trying to work here.”