Feel the Heat--Guest Desiree Holt!

Desiree is a fellow Samhain author who was a music rep, which of course piqued my interest :) USA Today says, "Desiree Holt is like the Nora Roberts of erotic romance". She writes several enormously popular series including Samhain's Naked Cowboy series (new release coming August 27). Today she's sharing her latest Phoenix Agency release with us--despite an unexpected surgery. Please join me in wishing her a speedy recovery. Enjoy Feel the Heat!

Lauren Cahill lives as quietly as she can, protecting her ability as a psychic healer. But danger brings Troy Arsenault into her life—along with scorching sex and intense emotions. Resisting him isn’t even a question, in or out of the bedroom. He protects her from the evil stalking her even as he teaches her what erotic sex is all about. When she’s kidnapped, his world is turned upside down and he employs all the resources of The Phoenix Agency to rescue her. He won’t rest until she’s back safely in his life—and in his bed for the rest of their lives.

Enjoy an excerpt from Feel the Heat (Phoenix Agency)

When the doorbell rang, she was gripped by a sudden attack of nerves, her palms sweating for no reason. She wiped them on her jeans and looked through the peephole. What she saw was an identification folder with a photo ID and Troy Arsenault, Phoenix Agency, in black capital letters, along with the Phoenix logo.

“It’s me,” he called through the door. “Maybe you’d better let me in before your friends out here decide to join me.”

Friends? What friends?

She cracked the door a little, and her heart sank when she realized some of the reporters and photographers had wandered back closer to the house, apparently hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Or to get a quick shot at her before the cops chased them away. At least they were staying off of her lawn. A cruiser would be driving by again before too long and they’d get chased away. She swallowed hard against the sudden rise of panic.

I won’t give in to it. Everything’s going to be fine. They’ll go away, and I can have my life back.

Summer slid off the safety chain and opened the door just enough for Troy to slip through. When she closed it, she hooked the chain again and turned the deadbolt. Then she turned to the man in her foyer.

She was prepared to be polite, let him do his thing and send him on his way. But when she looked at the man standing there, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and all her breath was trapped in her lungs. Faith had told her Troy Arsenault was a former SEAL and as far as Summer was concerned, he could have been the poster boy for recruiting. He was as tall as Mark, with a lean runner’s body and deeply tanned skin. His light brown hair was just a tad long, curling at the neck of his shirt, the kind of hair a woman wanted to run her fingers through.

But it was his face that was the most arresting. Ruggedly handsome, like Mark, high cheekbones were slashes on either side of his nose and eyes the color of melted chocolate studied her from beneath unexpectedly dark eyebrows and lashes.

Holy crap!

Her reaction to him was hot and totally unexpected and she made a deliberate effort to tamp it down. For one thing, he was only here to make sure she was safe. For another, her history with men was so unpleasant that she’d decided to swear off them completely. The last thing she needed was to have her ruthlessly controlled hormones decide to take a walk on the wild side. How terribly inconvenient that those hormones chose this particular moment to start galloping through her system again. Maybe she should have insisted harder to Faith that she didn’t need anyone.

“Looks like you’re pretty popular with the folks out there.” His mouth curved in a smile but his tone was dead serious. When she didn’t comment he asked, “You okay?”

Summer gave herself a mental shake. What was going on with her? She had a problem here and this man had kindly agreed to come check it out as a favor to her friends. This was business, not pleasure. She’d hoped for someone at least appealing to look at but Troy Arsenault had danger written all over him.

“Sorry.” She didn’t know if her hands trembled because of the mob outside or the nearness of this man. She shoved them into the pockets of her jeans.  “Thank you for coming over here, although I don’t think it was really necessary.”

“From what I saw outside, this may be a little more serious than you think.” He held out his hand. “Troy Arsenault. But you already know that, right? Nice to meet you, Summer.”

“Same goes. And the idiots outside will probably go away the next time a police car comes by.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah? Doesn’t look like it to me.”

She suddenly found herself tongue-tied. What happened next? “Um, would you like some coffee? I made a fresh pot.”

“Thanks. That would be nice.”

She led the way into her kitchen and motioned for him to have a seat at the table. Figuring the first rush of phone calls would have subsided by now, she picked up the receiver from the counter and replaced it in the cradle. Her hand hovered over it a moment as she waited to see if it rang. When it didn’t, she breathed a sigh of relief and turned to occupy herself taking down mugs and filling them. As she poured the coffee, she tried to focus on the situation and not the man. Troy Arsenault had an electric magnetism about him that made the air sizzle and scrambled her brain. And that was the last thing she needed right now.

Available now at Amazon, BN, All Romance Ebooks

Desiree Holt has lived a life of excitement that brings the color to her writing. She was a summer fishing guide, a summer field hand where she was one of only three women working, a member of a beginning ski team that skied in competition (and no, no broken bones!). She spent several years in the music business representing every kind of artist from country singer to heavy metal rock bands. For several years she also ran her own public relations agency handling any client that interested her. She is twice a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award, a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio, and is published by four different houses. Romance Junkies said of her work: “Desiree Holt is the most amazing erotica author of our time and each story is more fulfilling then the last.”

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Guest Author Suz deMello Temptation in Tartan

Today I'm welcoming multi-talented Suz deMello to my blog! Enjoy the following from her new release, Temptation in Tartan!

She had to marry a monster…

Rumors had followed the chieftains of Clan Kilborn for centuries. Said to be descended from the Viking Berserkers, they were ferocious in battle, known for tearing off the heads of their enemies and drinking their blood.

But English noblewoman Lydia Swann Williston would marry Kieran, Laird Kilborn, to bring peace to the Kilborn lands after the horror of Culloden and the brutal pacification. A widow, she also brought needed wealth to Clan Kilborn. For her part, eighteen-year-old Lydia wanted children. With her husband killed at Culloden, she would make a new life in the Highlands.

The old chieftain of Clan Kilborn also died in battle, and she hoped that the new young Laird would lack his ancestors' ferocity.

She was wrong.

Excerpt, Chapter One

 “The Kilborns are great warriors, rumored to be descended from Viking berserkers.” Colonel Swann paced the drawing room, his boots soundless on the thick rugs.

Lydia’s belly clenched and she drew a frightened breath. “Berserkers! The savages who raided our shores, murdering monks and, er…attacking women?”

The colonel stared at her as though a potted plant had decided to speak. Not surprising, since Lydia had always been known in their family as the quiet one.

“The same,” he said. “And the Kilborn clansmen have intermarried for generations. Animals.” He tugged at his tight cravat. Out of uniform, dressed as a town gentleman, Lydia thought her cousin lost some of his edge. Scowling, he continued, “By this marriage we seek to dilute the Kilborn blood and weaken the line.”

“Weaken the line, sir?” Lydia’s mother, Henrietta, raised a brow. “Do you suggest that my daughter’s lineage is flawed? Ours is one of the noblest families in the kingdom.”

“True,” he said. “By adding Lady Lydia’s noble blood to the Kilborn line, we will civilize the wild Highlanders.”

Lydia tried to look civilized and noble, but couldn’t stop twisting the handkerchief in her lap. She rubbed its black edging, a reminder of her status as a widow. “You want me to marry an animal. A barely civilized wild man.”

“The Crown would take your selflessness as a particular favor,” her cousin said.

She lifted her brows. “Indeed.” As a general’s daughter, duty pulled at her blood.

“‘Tis a perfect solution. ‘Tis easier to pacify by marriage than by the sword. All parties will benefit.” His glance strayed to the bodice of Lydia’s gown. In half-mourning, she wore gray muslin trimmed with black piping. “You must desire children. The Highlander is doubtless, uh, lusty.”

She pursed her lips. She’d loved William, but hadn’t grasped why others made such a fuss about marital relations. But she did want children and had planned to have several. “You want me to marry a warrior who may have killed my husband at Culloden Moor,” she said. “I can’t do that.”

Colonel Swann remained silent but looked uneasy as Lydia’s mother crossed the room. “Your late husband,” Henrietta said and sat on an ottoman next to Lydia.

When her mother took Lydia’s hand, she couldn’t control the trembling. At eighteen, she knew she simply wasn’t brave.

Unlike her mother, who now peered into Lydia’s eyes. “Child, what else will you do? Of course, as a widow, you can refuse. But another marriage may make you happy.”

“Do I have to marry a wild Scotsman? Leave my country and everything I know?”

“Of course not. But you are already acquainted with all the other eligible males of our class, and chose William over all.”

“That’s so.” Lydia remembered her days of attending parties and balls in London a scant three years ago. She sighed.

“You’ll bring great wealth,” the colonel said. “And by your marriage, Kilborn will be spared the pacification efforts that other clans and chieftains suffer. You’ll be valued and honored.”

“I have my portion and William’s, but I am not particularly wealthy,” Lydia said.

“Not by London standards, but for an impoverished Highland chieftain, you are a rich prize.”

“Lovely.” Lydia stood and walked to the window, her voluminous skirts rustling.

Below in the garden, she could see her brother playing with one of his sons. She watched George pick up Andrew, toss the giggling child into the air and catch him before they collapsed in a laughing heap together on the sunlit lawn.

Her heart tripped. She might never see George and Andrew again. But she might become that happy parent, could have babies of her own to enjoy.

She turned to face her mother. “I’ll do it.”

Kieran, Laird Kilborn, strode along the upper wall-walk of his castle, his mood as dark as the midnight sky above. Below him, the sea crashed with the threat of a storm. His retainers scattered at the sight of their new laird’s frown, for Kieran was known to show his temper. His own father had borne a scar on his forehead from a tankard a young Kieran had thrown when the princeling had been but four.

Kieran pinched the bridge of his nose, staring out over Clan Kilborn’s crofts and lands, lit only by moonlight. His lands, now, following the deaths of his father and older brother at Culloden. An unexpected burden—his lands and his responsibility.

“Ye could look forever, but nothing will change.” Euan’s soft voice intruded upon Kieran’s dangerous mood. “That is, nothing will change unless ye marry the Sassenach lassie.”

Kieran turned, remembering to soften his frown. No one else would dare to disturb his thoughts, but Euan was different. The castle’s steward, he’d been old when Kier was born.

“Aye, the reprisals are cruel.” Kieran rubbed his hand over the sturdy stone battlement.

“They will only get worse. The Sassenachs are determined to break all of the Highlands and to destroy the clans who supported the bonny prince. ‘Tis a stroke of luck that the Swan wants you to wed the lassie.”

“Why, though? What’s the benefit to the Sassenach colonel?”

The smaller man shrugged. “We are a remote holding. ‘Tis easier to pacify us by marriage than by war, and far less costly.”

“I’ll never give up tartan or sword.” A thin, chilly breeze lifted Kieran’s dark hair off his shoulders. He drew his plaid, vividly patterned in red, yellow and two shades of blue, more tightly around him.

“Wed the Swan’s cousin and ye willnae have to.”

“I had not thought to wed yet, with everything so…unsettled.”

“Truly? There’s a certain lassie who’s set her cap for ye.”

“Grizel?”

“Er, I was thinking of Moira.”

“Oh, that one.” Kieran dismissed Moira with a wave of his hand. “She must know that Culloden changed everything, including her expectations.”

“Ye must secure the succession.” Euan’s dark, haunted eyes searched Kieran’s face. “I promised your father that I would see to it.”

“And would he have wanted me to marry outside our blood?” Kieran asked. His grand-uncle Euan knew more of the secrets of his family than did Kieran himself.

“Possibly not.” Euan looked troubled. “But marriage to the Sassenach lady will provide money, safety and heirs.”

“And what shall I do when the dark thirst takes me? Succor myself at my lady’s throat?”

“There are other ways.” Euan’s eyes were hooded and unreadable in the moonlight. “Other women—”

“No! ‘Tis like unfaithfulness. What of my honor?”

“There is no honor when the dark curse seizes us.”

“I must find a way, for the clan.”

“Then ye’ll marry the Sassenach wench?”

“‘Tisn’t so simple. The laird’s consort isnae merely a juicy quim or a fertile ewe. She must be more.”

Euan shrugged. “She’s a widow, managed her own household.”

“Hmm.” Kieran took a deep breath of the midnight air, scented with the tang of the nearby sea and the crofters’ hay. “Aye then, I’ll do it.”

Like what you read?

Click here to buy the e-book

Click here to go to Suz’s site

Best-selling, award-winning author Sue Swift, a.k.a Suz deMello, has written over fifteen novels, plus several short stories and non-fiction articles. She writes in numerous genres including romance, mystery, paranormal, historical, contemporary comedy and erotica. She’s a freelance editor who’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Ai Press, Liquid Silver Books and Etopia Press. She also takes on private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in PW, Kirkus and Booklist, attained the finals of the RITA and reached the top ten on a bestseller list.

A former trial attorney, she resides in northern California. Her passion is world travel, and she’s left the US over a dozen times, including stints working overseas for many months. Right now, she's working on her next manuscript and planning her next trip.

Her blog is at http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com. Find her reading picks @ReadThis4fun on Twitter, and befriend her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SueSwift).

A Lady Who Knows What She Wants: Tina Donahue Guest Blog and Contest!

One of the things I like best about writing contemporary erotic romance is a heroine who isn’t shy…a lady who knows exactly what she wants.

My women aren’t aggressive, they’re assertive, not afraid to speak their minds, to claim what they want and need.

In Sensual Stranger, my newest erotic romance that released December 15^th, I envisioned Toni Starr as a young woman without guile. Although she speaks her mind, beneath her candor is a heart aching with need.

To illustrate what I mean, here’s the blurb and an excerpt:

BLURB:

Into his life she came—wanting…willing…wanton

It’s no ordinary morning when Toni Starr arrives at Zach’s garage. Flat broke, with a past she won’t share, Toni’s instantly taken by such a potently virile man. Direct and unashamed, she tells him she’s a motorcycle performance artist who needs work and knows motors.

Zach knows women, and Toni’s unlike any he’s met. Lushly sensuous, exceedingly assured, she’d easily be his match in business and bed. A provocative challenge that stirs him as nothing has since losing his wife. A chance he’s reluctant to take, offering no more than a month’s employment, then she’ll have to be on her way.

The hours tick by. Each word and glance intensifies their denied yet escalating desire, forcing them to surrender to passion and Toni’s need for Zach’s dominance. Driven by carnal hunger, conquered by yearning, they face the unforeseen truth of Toni’s past and a future neither of them expected.

EXCERPT:

(This scene is shortly after Toni and Zach have kissed for the first time with Zach questioning his good sense given that Toni’s a woman he believes he shouldn’t pursue)

Zach stood framed in the doorway, his powerful body straining against his tee and jeans, utterly masculine, sensuous beyond belief. Unable to resist, her gaze roamed over him. He’d finger combed his damp hair. His face was freshly shaved, his eyes veiled.

Behind her, the bacon sizzled and popped.

Zach’s gaze darted to the skillet and the carton of eggs on the counter. His lips parted as though he intended to speak. In the end, he did not. He looked back at her, taking in her naked feet, blue-jean cutoffs and aqua tank top.

Toni’s nipples constricted with his scrutiny.

He took in a shallow breath, and finally spoke on a ragged sigh, “That shouldn’t have happened.”

Expecting him to say as much, Toni faced him. “Why not?”

His eyes jumped to hers. Obviously surprised, he parroted her words, “Why not?”

“Exactly.” She reached over and turned off the bacon so they could talk uninterrupted. Hooking her thumbs in her front pockets, she turned back to him. “I enjoyed what happened upstairs and so did you. We’re both adults. We both know what we want. We’ve known it from the moment I stepped into your garage.”

His gaze shifted to the side, then returned to her.

“We have a month,” she said, her voice throaty with arousal. “Why not have some fun? Why not enjoy it while it lasts?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Toni refused to back down. Even though he could never give her love, she still craved his warmth and strength. “Why?” She took a step toward him. “You have a girlfriend, a fiancée, an ex-wife you still think about?”

Shoving his fingers through his hair, he muttered, “I told you last night, I’m not divorced.”

“You told me you weren’t married.”

His hand dropped to his side. He heaved in a deep breath. “Or involved. With anyone.”

Toni didn’t understand his resistance to her and was reluctant to question. Had he loved someone who’d dumped him? What woman would be crazy enough to do such a thing? Even if some woman had, his actions upstairs hadn’t been feigned or hesitant. He’d wanted her as much as Toni wanted him.

Anxious to settle this, she spoke quickly, “Are you worried I’ll want something more than just sex? Do you think I’ll hold your garage or this place hostage?” She put up her hand, stopping him from answering. “I told you last night at the shop, I’m not a thief. And I’m certainly not going to call in a team of lawyers to slap you with a sexual harassment suit. I’m the one who just spent a few days in jail, remember? You’re the upstanding citizen. They’d believe you in a heartbeat.”

He sighed. “Good god, I never thought any of that, all right?”

She advanced another step. “Then you’re concerned there’s something wrong with me or I’ll get pregnant?” Before he could answer, she spoke softly, sincerely, “I’m clean, free of disease, Zach, and as far as having a child, it won’t happen. I’m fully protected. I know what it’s like to be alone, to be without a father to protect and love me. I’d never force a baby on a guy who didn’t want it. I’d never do that to any child, especially my own.”

Zach’s face flushed. For a moment, he looked lost, exactly as she’d felt for too many years. “Why are you so alone? What happened to—“

She cut him off. “No. Don’t go there…please” She forced all emotion away, refusing to cry, to let him know how vulnerable she was. “This isn’t about my past. It’s about here and now. You and me. Having some fun. Then I take off. No harm done. You go back to your life. I go back to mine.”

Shoulders slumping, he lifted his face to the ceiling as though he couldn’t bear to hear another word.

Despite it, desire radiated from him, charging and thickening the air.

Desperate to be back in his arms if only for a little while, Toni murmured, “I know you want me, Zach. You’ve had a hard-on since we met. A few minutes ago, up in the hall, you proved it.” Her gaze dropped to the solid ridge of male flesh behind his fly. “You’re hard now.”

His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. He spoke in a choked voice. “So what if I am?”

“So do something about it.” Please.

A pulse in his throat jumped. His chest expanded with his fitful breaths.

Never had Toni seen a man struggle so hard to control the male animal within. With the other men she’d known, especially Joe, there had been little concern over crossing boundaries.

Why Zach was so different, Toni wasn’t certain. Nor did she care.

Passion sang in her blood. Her body buzzed with energy. She advanced another step, determined this moment would play out even if she had to goad him. “What’s the matter, Zach?” Cocking one brow, she reduced her voice to a sultry purr. “What’s the real problem? Don’t you know how to satisfy a woman?”

He went completely still, not even finishing his breath.

Several moments passed. The only sounds were the hush of the air-conditioning and the rapid thumping of her heart.

Lowering his head, Zach met her gaze with hooded eyes, his expression changed. He wore the look of a rutting animal, male, feral. He spoke through his teeth. “Sweetheart, you have no idea what I can do to you.”

Excitement snaked through her. Her cunt felt heavy and achy, needy of his cock. “You’re right.” She held his gaze. Challenge rang in her voice. “So why don’t you show me.”

Zach’s lids slipped down, hiding his eyes. As he opened them, danger continued to flare in his expression and voice. “That’s enough. This conversation is over.”

“We’re not finished.”

“I said, knock it off.”

“Make me.”

Swearing, he crossed the room to her so quickly that Toni’s initial reaction was to step back. She did not. Head lifted, pulse racing, she stood her ground, looking at him looming above her. Formidable. Aroused.

“Make me,” she whispered.

What happens next is beyond hot.

 

Sensual Stranger is available now!

Buy Link:  http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8932-50-sensual-stranger.aspx

Email: tina@tinadonahue.com

Website/blog: www.tinadonahue.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

To celebrate the upcoming release of Sensual Stranger, I’m offering a contest today. One lucky commenter will have her choice of one of my following books**:

1. Lush Velvet Nights – ebook
2. Adored – ebook
3. Deep, Dark, Delicious – ebook
4. Close to Perfect – mass market paperback
5. Bad Boys with Red Roses – trade paperback
6. Take My Breath Away – trade paperback

** Winner chosen at random. Winner in continental US has her choice of one of the six. Winner outside continental US has her choice of one of the ebooks

Contest open through Wednesday evening (December 22, 2010 11:59 p.m. EST)