And the winner is Linda (readingissomuchfun)! Congrats Linda! If you will send me an email to amysmith98@yahoo.com with your snail mail, I will forward the info to Alyssa.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Orchids and Orgasms
**Unedited excerpt; final version may change.**
Her fingers grappled in the crotch of her underwear for the illusive damned ball. Frantic, Alexis crammed her middle finger as high inside her vagina as she could, pushing the remaining ball back into place so she wouldn't lose it, too.
Where was the other one?
She heard a small thud.
"Oh, God," she squeaked.
Why was this happening to her?
"Looking for this?" Nate swept down between her legs and picked up the missing ball. Whipping her hands free, Alexis wiped her fingers and faced the bane of her existence: Nate Tonetti.
Hungry for him, she devoured the vision of sin personified...shoulder-length, black hair, triangular goatee, captivating blue eyes. Tanned and tattooed. Wicked and wonderful. Irresistible. And he'd been hers. For a time.
Where was his ever-present leather jacket, she wondered, catching a faint whiff of the garage that always seemed to cling to him, even fresh from the shower. Leather and motor oil; two things synonymous with Nate. Two things guaranteed to turn her on.
Today he wore tight, tattered jeans, and an even tighter black t-shirt, bulging in all the right places. Her fingers itched to trace his sculpted pecs, to raise the left sleeve of his shirt so she could set her eyes on the cougar adorning his muscular bicep. The sight of the tattoo always made her drool.
The scent of Nate made her pant. God, she was wet. And ready. She wanted to fuck him. Bad.
I'm in a church! Planning my wedding! Down, libido, down!
Nate held the gold, glistening ball at eyelevel and sniffed. His nostrils flared. "Smells like you. Would it taste like you too, I wonder?"
"Give that back!" Alexis shook free of her stupor and reached for it, but he snatched his hand away and she lurched, almost losing her balance. The movement jiggled the second ball between her legs, and she tried to suck it up. Damn Nate. Damn these balls.
"What are you doing here?" She clenched her thighs in an effort to prevent further embarrassment. "Tell me!"
"Tell me what this is first."
"Nothing."
He looked at the ball, then popped it in his mouth, swirling it around. His cheeks inverted as he sucked. "Delicious."
"Oh, disgusting." Alexis looked away. She had enough issues to deal with without…that.
"I used to lick you all the time. You didn't think that was disgusting."
"Yeah, but that fell on the floor!"
"Now that you mention it," he said, shifting the ball to the other side of his mouth, "I see what you mean. That is kinda gross." Putting his hand to her nape, he pulled her to him. Their noses brushed. "Watcha say we get dirty together, Lexi?"
A heartbeat later, he meshed their lips. At the taste of him, Alexis shattered. She forgot where she was, what she was supposed to be doing, even who she was. Instead, she became Nate's sex-starved Lexi. She sucked on his tongue, loving the thick glide of it against hers as he plundered her mouth.
His hands roamed her back and butt, warming her, heating her crotch to boiling. When he grabbed a handful of ass and kissed her harder, Lexi moaned in appreciation.
Something clanked against her teeth—the ball! Nate was trying to thrust the damn ball into her mouth. Dick-whipped for him or not, she drew the line there.
It took all of her willpower, but Lexi broke free, spitting out the hated ball. It fell to the floor with a plop.
"Stop!" She turned her head to the side, unable to believe what she'd just allowed to happen. Just participated in. Encouraged. "A kiss doesn't change anything. I could have just kissed the minister and I'd still be getting married tomorrow."
The minister wouldn't have had a Ben Wa ball in his mouth.
Excerpt
Prologue
Shit. What did Dylan think he was doing?
Sadie paused, her hand in mid-air. The dinner fork shook and the shrimp dangled from the utensil, ready to fall off. Her breath hitched as a bead of sweat threatened to roll from her forehead and ruin her perfect makeup.
She stared at the shrimp. What now?
Did she eat it? Drop it? Throw it across the fancy restaurant?
If her eyes grew any wider, they'd pop right out of her head and fall on her plate. What the hell was Dylan thinking?
He had dropped to one knee and now rested his hand on her thigh, entreating her full attention. How she wanted to play dumb, to focus on her shrimp, anything besides Dylan.
Reaching in the breast pocket of his sport jacket, he revealed a small, black velvet box.
Oh. No.
Not here. Not now. Not in front of her parents.
Good grief! They'd barely been dating six months. It was too soon! Way too soon.
Hell, she'd just told him she loved him last month.
She wasn't ready for marriage!
Her gaze darted to her mother and father. Their tan, sun-wrinkled, ever-so-pleased gazes beamed at her. Of course they were happy. They'd been angling for a grandchild for two years now. Every guy she dated was a potential baby maker.
Sadie chalked it up to post maternal and paternal longing. The past fifteen years, they'd been so busy enjoying their millions from the Kansas state lottery, they hadn't the time for raising her. Now, the money had become boring. Their focus had shifted to wanting a grandkid to spoil. She'd never wished for a sister more.
God, of all the luck. Why did Dylan have to do this in front of them? He should know better. She had dinner with her parents once a week, and for the past two months, he'd escorted her to their restaurant of choice. By now, he was quite aware of the sticky situation she was in. The wily fox.
Dylan gave her a weak, lopsided smile that punctuated his damn adorable dimples. His dark, almost black eyes shone with love. Opening the box, he revealed a dazzling, downright huge, pink diamond. At least two carats.
"Marry me, Sadie?" he asked in a smooth, velvet voice, sounding sure of her answer.
A shiver coursed along her spine. In her mind, she imagined her backbone turning to Jello.
Dylan had never looked sexier. Bent on one knee in front of her, his hopeful eyes and seductive smile turned her into instant lovey-dovey mush. The no she wanted to scream lodged in her throat.
She couldn't do it. She couldn't turn him down.
Her gaze swept his length, wanting him, loving him, needing to say yes. But how could she? It was too soon!
She didn't know what to tell him. To do. Her heart and mind played a fierce game of tug-of-war.
He cleared his throat. His brows furrowed. His forehead creased. Worry etched the lines of his strongly-defined face, demanding some sort of answer.
She had to take some sort of action. Quick.
Bringing the shrimp to her mouth, she bit into the spicy meat. Again, Dylan cleared his throat. She chewed quickly, cursing herself a hundred times. What a dumb move!
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Who would take a bite of food in the middle of a proposal? Only her. Now she had to finish eating the damn piece of seafood, all eyes on her.
Waiting. Hoping. Demanding.
She loved Dylan. She did. After all, she wouldn't have told him so if she hadn't meant it. He was everything she'd ever dreamt of in a husband. She wanted to become his wife.
But one day, in the future. Not now.
She didn't make a lot of plans in her life. Everything was pretty much easy come, easy go. But there was one thing Sadie had promised herself years ago. She would not marry before thirty. While she wanted to settle down and have a family, she wanted to be ready.
Was she ready?
Her parents sure were.
"Sadie?" Dylan questioned, shifting with nervousness. "Will you marry me?"
"He's been waiting five minutes, sugar," her father pushed. "Give the boy a dang answer already."
"Yes." The response sputtered from her before she could stop herself. "But, I want a long engagement."
The moment she blurted the ill-thought words, she wanted to kick herself in the ass. Not the most romantic thing to say the moment after accepting a man's proposal.
Why did she keep sticking things in her mouth? First the shrimp, now her foot. What next?
"Of course." Dylan nodded stiffly, wriggling the band on. "As long as you want."
The diamond ring fit so tightly, Dylan had to work it into place. The whole time he twisted it down her finger, Sadie made reassuring promises to herself.
She loved him.
She needed him.
She loved him.
She could get married and give up her freedom at twenty-seven, instead of waiting until thirty, because she loved him.
Chapter One
"Did you think you could get away with this, Sadie?" The cop's big, exploring hands pressed her down. Forced to lean over the trunk of the police cruiser, her nipples tightened and tingled. Desire dampened her thighs.
Sadie battled the urges pulsating through her body and squinted at the flashing lights. Why was she being arrested?
Everything was a big, nonsensical blur. All she could remember was that she'd been heading to the church to get married. She needed to get married. Dylan was waiting.
Patting her down, the officer moved his hands farther and farther down, over her hips, her rear, towards more intimate regions. His hand slipped under her skirt, his calloused fingers stroking her wet thighs.
Why was she wearing a skirt? She never wore skirts.
She was getting married. What the hell happened to her gown?
The cuffs were tight around wrists. She couldn't resist him. She didn't want to resist him. Her mind cried no! Her body insisted yes!
Three of his thick, long fingers plunged inside of her and a scream escaped her lungs...
Suddenly the cop faded into oblivion. She was running, buck-naked, through the church. Pew after pew of guests stared at her, their glaring red eyes accosting her with accusations.
Her mind echoed the same chant she sensed coming from the attendees. "Did you think you could get away with this?" The reproachful words grew louder and louder. "Did you, Sadie? Did you?"
Sadie woke in a sweat, bolting upright in the king-sized bed, surrounded by dark. A heavy weight smashed her chest, her breathing quick and shallow.
She gasped for air, hardly able to inhale.
Shit. Why couldn't she breathe?
Hers hands shook, her left index finger swelling around her engagement ring. Fire prickled her skin as her back threatened to break out in hives.
Oh, God. Not again. The last time this had happened, only last week while selecting a wedding cake of all things, her mother-in-law had practically gotten her drunk off Benadryl from a nearby pharmacy and the reaction had still taken hours to clear up.
Why hadn't she thought to buy any antihistamine to keep at home?
Because she hadn't wanted to accept that she'd find herself panicking like this again.
She needed to get up, watch some television, whatever it took to calm down.
Next to her, Dylan's gentle snores assured her of his presence. Yet, he hadn't been the man in her disturbing dreams. Again.
Quiet as possible, so not to wake him, Sadie tossed aside the comforter. Swinging her legs off the bed, she stood. Maybe a drink would help. A strong one...
She took a step and dampness gathered in the juncture of her thighs rubbed her upper legs, jolting her with a reminder of the desire heating her intimate regions.
No!
She loved Dylan. She was attracted to Dylan. They had a good sex life.
So what was with this cop in her dreams? For heaven's sake, their wedding was in thirty-nine days.
At the thought, the weight on her chest grew heavier, her breaths shorter. The walls closed in, suffocating her. She tried harder to get oxygen, but the more she thought about their impending marriage, the dizzier she became.
Oh, God...
A sharp pain sliced through her lungs. If she didn't know better, she'd swear she was having a heart attack.
Hard, fast panic belted through her. She clutched her chest, gasping for air as she stumbled away from the bed.
She had to get the hell out of here. She had to breathe.
She couldn't do it.
She couldn't marry Dylan.
Just the simple thought of canceling the wedding allowed a rush of air into her lungs. She gulped several welcome breaths, calming.
So that was it. Deep down, she supposed she'd known the ugly fact all along. Hell, her body definitely did.
Love him she may, but wed him she could not.
Rushing to the walk-in closet, Sadie flipped on the light. She drug out a suitcase and grabbed clothes off the racks. Only last week, Dylan had succeeded in convincing her to give up her loft and finally move into the home they purchased together.
From the first night, the dreams and panic attacks had attacked with full-force. While she certainly hadn't expected them, she'd sensed all along the move wasn't right for her. That it was too much, too soon.
Their long engagement had been drastically cut by their meddling parents, who'd pushed and pushed, until the two years had been sliced down to six months. Everything had happened so fast, like a giant whirlwind sweeping away her life and her choices, while she cowered from the truth. She wasn't sure she could be a good wife to him. But she wanted to...
As a lawyer, he wanted a wife who could support his career, who could look prim and proper and polite. One who would host fancy dinner parties and be on the boards of too many charities to count. Do the things a lawyer's wife did. Hell, scared as she was, she bet she didn't even know half it. She'd seen his mother in action. She couldn't be like that.
Sure, they'd talked about her fears. Briefly. Time and again, when she expressed her concerns, Dylan, sweetie that he was, told her not to worry. According to his promises, everything would be fine. She'd make the perfect wife.
Sadie wasn't as certain. No, scratch that. She knew she'd never be a perfect wife. She had no doubt he'd make a wonderful man to marry. After all, Dylan was solid husband material. But, every time she imagined herself in the role of his adoring, supporting wife--for the rest of her life--it felt weird.
She had no business living in the New York suburbs, with a high-class lawyer at that. No business thinking she could be a wife and mother. Her parents were nuts; her life had always been nuts. She didn't want to drive her husband nuts, or worse, raise nutty kids. She had nothing to go on, no experience, no right to think she could be the person Dylan needed.
She was faking it, kidding herself. She couldn't settle and have kids and the happily ever after. Her dream had just proved it. She wasn't ready.
Dylan was better off without her.
She had to get out of here. Grabbing the brown, oversized photo albums from the shelf, she tucked them under her arm. While most of her photographs were sold at a gallery in the city, these albums held her most cherished pictures, along with favored mementos of her travels and explorations. She needed to add to them, not shelve them in a closet to get dusty. With a shaky sigh, she headed for the bedroom door.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Alyssa Brooks Guest Blogs
Thanks for guest blogging Alyssa!
An Interview with Alyssa
Alyssa, Would you please tell us more about you?
Hi Amy! It’s nice to be here. So, about me…why does this always seem like the hardest question?
I’m a mother of a beautiful two-year old girl and wife to a bad boy turned good man (took long enough!) :) I’m pretty down-to-earth and easy going. I’m shy and keep to myself, but can be very loud and outspoken when the occasion calls. Love camping and hiking and outdoorsy stuff and I obsess over my health--but I suck at being healthy. Hey, who WANTS to eat vegetables over chocolate?! But I try…
I do grow my own garden and throughout the summer, can and freeze lots of foods. I love to cook, but hate a hot kitchen. I also dabble in this and that craft wise—I make my own tie dye t-shirts and bracelets and etc. My mom says I’m her hippy child, lol.
Gee, busy much?
What has inspired you to become a writer? Does the same thing inspire you when you write a new book?
Reading . As a teenager, young adult, I devoured romances, particularly westerns and regencies. Cassie Edwards was my favorite. I read pretty much all the local library had to offer, was getting bored with my choices I suppose, and then my uncle gave me a computer. I thought, why not write my own? Wasn’t as easy as that, but I’m so glad I decided to try! Now, I get my inspiration from everywhere: books, television, and my overactive, well-developed imagination.
Can you tell us about your current release or soon to be releases?
Come and Get Me, my first single title release from Berkley HEAT, came out in June. I’m soooooooooooooooooo thrilled to have this book out there in the reading world. It couldn’t have made for a better first release. I really feel the story is truly one of my best! Really fun, really erotic. While writing it, I had a goal—I wanted my story to be more than sex, sex, sex. I wanted plot and emotion. So far, comments from readers are telling me I pulled it off…and I’m giddy!
Here’s a blurb
Sexual freedom ... exotic destinations ...
Who ever said you can't have a honeymoon before and after your wedding?
The thought of her impending marriage is giving Sadie panic attacks. Hives. Nightmares. She loves her fiancé, Dylan, but the concept of happily ever after is suffocating her. She isn't ready to face the future, and worse, the sex could be better.
Panicking, she packs her bags in the middle of the night, and dares her sexually repressed lover to come and get her.
Dylan will be damned if he’s going to lose Sadie so easily. Leaving behind his inhibitions, he pursues her, a sexually hungry and desperate man prepared to do anything to seduce his woman, once and for all.
And so the game begins ...
I also recently had a couple of releases from EC—Desperate Seduction and Orchids and Orgasms. And this winter, the next in my “game” series, Hide and Seek, is being released from Berkley . Interested readers can find blurbs on my website.
How long did it take for your first book to be release?
About a year for my print books. E-books have a shorter turn around, usually around 4 months. Waiting always feels like forever!
When it comes to writing a new story do you do any research?
Oh yes, but how much depends on the genre. Contemporary generally doesn’t require a lot, but I do check out things like locations, travel times, jobs, etc. People will notice if you’re off!
One day, I’d love to be able to research the locations of my stories in person…now wouldn’t that be nice?
Does your family read your books?
Only my sister—she has a naughty streak! J The rest of my fam does not and I don’t want them to. My family, by and large, is very catholic. I’m pretty sure my parents have never done anything bad in all life their life. So my books just aren’t for them—and they’re proud of my accomplishments without reading what I write.
When you are not writing what are you doing?
Oh, I think I answered this one above! Woops!:)
Would you like to share your websites where readers can visit you?
Readers can check me out at www.alyssabrooks.com. Also, in conjunction with Larissa Lyons , I host a free ezine for erotic romance lovers at www.wickedescapesezine.com. Free fictions, contests, our author news, and more.:)
Alyssa will be giving away a copy of Come and Get Me. I'll pick the winner on Sunday.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
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