Saturday Snippet – Author’s Choice

It’s time for another saturday snippet and this week’s theme is author’s choice.  Since Vampire Awakening just released this week, I thought I’d share an excerpt from that.

From Vampire Awakening:

Hours later, Caleb still sat at the table waiting for her. She’d delivered them drinks all night without so much as another word. She seemed afraid of him as she ran around the room avoiding eye contact at all costs. Caleb frowned. He’d barely put a thread of power into the few words they’d exchanged so her reaction shouldn’t have been that strong to him. Not that he’d been unaffected. There was something about her that had caught his eye. A familiarity he couldn’t explain. It was definitely beyond finding her simply attractive.

He watched the band setting up on stage, and wondered if he should head home. If he pushed too hard in one night he risked the chance she’d run and then where would he be? He’d give her some space and come back tomorrow.

Then he saw her walk on stage.

She’d let her hair down, and the fall of straight black silk fell nearly to her waist. She still wore the same skintight jeans that molded long, lean legs and very feminine curves, the jeans he imagined peeling from her body as she writhed and begged for him to hurry up.

He took a sip of beer. A man couldn’t help but wonder how she’d respond to the dark nature of his thoughts. He imagined his hands

curled around her narrow waist before working his way beyond the gentle flare that led to her lushly rounded ass.

His cock lengthened, pressing tight against his zipper as images of her naked body spread out before him overtook his brain. Thoughts of soft, pale skin had his fangs descending with a surge of desire while imagining his first pierce into a creamy thigh. The flood of her essence would be like a burst of sunshine on a cold, dark night.

“Hey, Caleb buddy, you’re about to see what really brings us out to this dive night after night.” Caleb fought the urges rushing through him as he focused on his friends again. “Abby is one hell of a singer.”

Caleb looked back to the stage as Abby stepped up to the microphone. When the band started a slow melody, the crowd fell silent, waiting, every eye on the enchanting woman about to sing to them.

She swept her eyes around the room, briefly connecting with him before her lids slid shut and the first line of lyrics slipped from her ruby lips. “I’m not sure about this. I’m not sure about anything anymore. I fight to look inside.”

The dark voice from the small, beautiful woman whipped through him, heating his blood and flooding his mind with more lustful images. Images of their two bodies intertwined across blood red silk sheets. His fingers wrapped in her long hair, pulling her head back, exposing her pulse at the base of her pale throat. Her arms wrapped around his back, urging him forward. Those haunting amethyst eyes imploring him to take her as his hips surged forward, burying his cock to the hilt.

Shaking his head, he forced the all-too-real images from his mind.

“Who are you and who am I?” Her velvety voice reached for him as her eyes opened, releasing a small tear. Caleb watched the tiny drop track down her cheek. He fought the urge to run to the stage and drag her away. The compelling need to claim her came from deep within his soul.

Mine. All mine. The thought shocked him with a certainty he didn’t understand.

Caleb managed to force his gaze away from the stage to look around the room at all the people sitting enraptured as Abby crooned to them.

“If I awaken it’ll be to my sin.” Her voice called to every person in the room. Luring them to her. She had a rare gift indeed. As a vampire, he should be able to resist a mortal call. Why her? What made her different from all the many others? Why now? He tried to hold onto those questions like a lifeline but found it impossible to resist her. He turned back to face the woman of his desires, only to find her staring straight at him, focused and sure.

“Always safe in your eyes of blue. For an eternity I’d gladly face my death….”

With a start, he realized her song belonged to him. But how could that be? They’d just met. She couldn’t know what he was. As the song faded into the final chorus, he wondered about the images he’d seen. He’d felt the smooth, satiny skin of her leg wrapped around his naked hip. Her spicewood scent filled his mind with reality. Fiction? The past? Or the future….

 

For more snippetty goodness be sure to follow the trail:

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M Roth
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
Shiloh Walker
Shelli Stevens

Saturday Snippet – Club Scene

Hmm another hard choice as there are plenty to choose from. But since it is St. Patrick’s Day and I was talking about Power Play yesterday, I might as well choose a scene from there.

This scene comes later in the book. Jennifer’s gone missing and Daegan is anxiously searching for her. It’s a really long scene so this will be just a tease. Thought I’d warn you this time. Smile

Excerpt:

Ten minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of Purgatory and killed the engine of his car. He didn’t have to search for her car; it stood out like a fucking beacon in a sea of dark SUVs. He was going to kill her.

Inside the club, he stood to the side of the entrance and allowed his eyes to adjust to the dark interior. Music thumped from speakers surrounding the main floor of the big room. He didn’t even bother checking the dance floor. His wayward sub would be on the second floor where the play stations were located. When he reached the stairs, the club manager, Gabe, blocked his path.

“You’re looking a little pissed tonight, Daegan. What’s going on?”

“Let me pass. I’m looking for someone.”

Gabe shook his head. “Now that definitely doesn’t sound like a good idea until you calm down, my friend.”

“I’ll be perfectly fine just as soon as I find my sub.” He started to push his way up the stairs.

“Ahh. I’d heard you and Jennifer had come to an agreement. Although I have to admit it came as a total surprise. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more reluctant sub in my life.”

Daegan stopped and eyed Gabe warily. In the short time he’d known the man, he’d learned he had an uncanny ability to read people. “I don’t think you understand her. Sure she’s complicated, but underneath all her bluster she’s soft and far more fragile than anyone realizes.”

Gabe snorted. “I can’t say fragile is a word anyone’s used to describe her before.”

The implication that he’d discussed his sub with other Doms annoyed the hell out of him. Despite the anger, all of his protective instincts rode close to the surface, and it wouldn’t take much to provoke him. “Trust me, I know.”

The other man narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure about that? You seem like a good guy, but Jennifer has been a member here a lot longer than you have. If you aren’t willing to finish what you’ve started, then I think you should walk away now before it’s too late.”

The warning burned in Daegan’s mind. “I appreciate that your job is to protect the members here, but this time you’re wrong. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Gabe studied him for a minute more before letting his guard down. He stepped to the side and swept his arm in the direction of the play area. “Then I suggest you check out the flogging station first.” With that, Gabe disappeared into the crowd and left him to stand and gape. With a last glance into the sea of people, Daegan pushed his way upstairs and into the overflowing play area. People were crammed into every available inch, making it difficult to see the flogging station. The sound of a whip cracking screamed through the air, accompanied by a few gasps and a delicious cry of agony when the leather tip hit flesh.

A few people glanced his way and immediately moved out of his path. When he got through enough of the crowd, what he found boiled his blood. Jennifer was being strapped to the St. Andrew’s cross by a dark-haired sub. The attendant at the station plucked a flogger from the wall and made his way toward his sub.

Mine.

“Touch that flogger to my sub’s skin and you’ll not be able to wield it again for a week,” Daegan growled in a low voice.

Several people behind him sucked in sharp breaths, and the area around him turned quiet and still except for the music coming from downstairs. Even with clothes covering her body, Daegan saw Jennifer’s back go ramrod stiff when she heard his voice. ‘That’s right, love. Busted.”

The man glared at him for a few seconds before he took a step back. He twisted the implement in his hand and offered Daegan the flogger. A dungeon master pushed through the crowd. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“I need some scissors,” Daegan said.

The DM ignored him and repeated his question to the attendant.

“He claims this is his sub, and I’m guessing by the look on his face she didn’t get his permission to do this.”

The man walked to Jennifer’s side “Is this true?”

A few seconds ticked by before she nodded her head. The tension among the crowd grew palpable. She’d just damned herself to a very painful or public punishment.

The DM approached him. “Do you want me to bring the punishment box?”

“Not yet. I need a pair of scissors or a knife,” he repeated. “After, you can bring the box.”

The DM’s eyes grew wide. “As you wish, Sir.”

Everyone stayed rooted in place until one of the young women from up front arrived with a pair of scissors. The DM placed them in his hand. “You do remember the rules of the club, right? No blood.”

Daegan nodded and took the offering. He stalked toward Jennifer until he was close enough to touch. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and bent toward her ear. “Have you ever heard the saying be careful what you wish for?”

She nodded.

He opened the scissors and sliced one side of her top open. The crowd behind him gasped. Oh they had no idea. She’d triggered the sadist inside, and he had every intention of making her beg for everything tonight. He continued to cut away her clothes until she lay against the cross—naked and exposed. She’d uttered not a single word of protest, and he’d lay money on how aroused she’d become.

“Do you remember your safe word, Jennifer?”

“Yes, Sir,” she whispered on a shaky breath.

“Good. You might need it.”

 

For more snippetty goodness be sure to follow the trail:

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M Roth
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels

St. Patrick’s Day Winners

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

I’ve got the winning results for you from yesterday’s incredible blog hop. Thank you all so much for taking the time to stop by and leave me your wonderful comments. You make these hops a joy to participate in.

The first winner for choice of any title from my current backlist is:

SAVANNAH MILLER

The second winner for a copy of Vampire Awakening as soon as it’s available is:

ElaineSay

The grand prize winners for the entire blog hop were also chosen and posted on our host’s site at http://carrieryan.blogspot.com and are listed below:

For the choice of kindle or nook the winner was:

#136 from Carrie Ann Ryan’s Blog

Melissa L

Winner of the $90 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

#4186 from Wendy Smith’s Blog

Shadow

Congratulations everyone! Winners be sure to check your inboxes.

St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Carrie Ann Ryan.

If you leave a comment here on this post you are not only eligible for the prizes that I am giving away but also you earn additional entries for the grand prizes of:

1) Winner’s Choice of a KINDLE FIRE or NOOK TABLET
2) Winner’s Choice of a $90 Gift Card from Amazon or B&N

Read on to find out more!

I’ve always loved St. Patrick’s Day. Not necessarily because I can very loosely claim some Irish ancestry, but because it’s simply such a fun holiday.

In the past I’ve celebrated by attending parades, drinking green beer, and wearing a bit o green so I don’t get pinched. And sometimes purposely not wearing green so I would get pinched. (naughty me)

But my favorite celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day seemed to occur when I chose to have a little extra fun by convincing my kids that they’d been visited by the always tricky Leprechauns. I once made a magical vanilla pudding that turned green when you stirred it and told my kids that the leprechaun had come in and played magical tricks on our snack. Little did I know one of my daughters would take that to heart and get scared that a real leprechaun had been in the house. lol

After that year, I decided to keep things simple and wear our big green floppy hats and shamrock beads as we visited the local St. Pady’s Day parade. My kids are now teenagers with no real interest in trickster leprechauns or pot of gold treasure hunts so this year, I’ll don my green jacket, play some Irish music and probably make some rainbow cupcakes.

While I don’t have any St. Patrick’s Day stories to boast of, I do have a book with an Irish Dom. I have a thing for an Irish accent and couldn’t resist Daegan in Power Play if I tried. Here’s a bit about Power Play.

She wants the escape. He wants control. They both need love.

Jennifer Croft is at the peak of her career. As a bondage model at Altered Ego she’s become the crème de la crème of the fetish world, ensuring herself a top spot in her profession. The world is her oyster. Her personal life, on the other hand… It’s not pretty. Only her fascination with pain play keeps the ghosts of her past at bay.

After tragedy sends Daegan McKenna to the South for a much needed change of pace, the last thing he expects to find is a closet submissive hiding in plain sight. She’s hot-tempered and in denial — a heady combination that brings out the dominant looking for a challenge. He’s already loved and lost more than one man should, but the haunted look in her eyes prompts him to make her an offer: he’ll indulge her darkest fantasies, if she’ll agree to give up control. Then he’ll let her go.

Unfortunately the past never stays in the past and old insecurities cause complications neither of them wanted. Soon temporary power play is not enough.

 

Power Play is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance, and Sony

For prizes, I am offering one winner their choice of eBook from my entire backlist. You can see all of them at http://www.elizagayle/net/books and a second winner will receive a digital download of my upcoming Vampire Awakening as soon as it’s available. Just leave a comment before March 16th at 11:59 EST US time and you’re entered for both my prizes and the grand prizes!

For more great blog hop fun visit the other participating authors as listed on our host’s website HERE.

Saturday Snippet – Character Sass

Well, sass is one way to say it. *g* As far as I’m concerned sass makes the world go round. Maybe it’s a southern thing but I doubt it. Sassy is a universal trait. And oh so much fun.

I’m very often a smart ass in real life and that certainly comes through in many of my heroines. So today there is no shortage of books to choose from, it’s just a matter of which sassy character do I feature.

For today I’ve chosen an excerpt from Malcolm. There is sarcasm, resentment, physical violence and a whole lot of lust. The perfect combination.

Excerpt:

“Looking for me?”

He whirled at the sultry voice behind him in time for her to deliver a kick to his stomach, catching him off balance and sending him flying backward to sprawl on the floor. Air whooshed from his lungs and his head cracked against the hard floors. Pain exploded in his head, little shards of sharp, burning sensations that took hold for several long seconds before clearing.

Stunned that she’d snuck up on him, he groped for his bearings. The little minx took full advantage of his delay and pounced on top of him, straddling his legs with her own. He didn’t even see the knife until she had it pressed to his throat and dangerously close to his jugular.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?”

Malcolm slowly dragged the air back into his lungs and wondered what kind of crazy bitch she’d turned into. The power emanating from her came soaked in strength without even a whiff of fear. For a second or two, he felt frozen in time. This woman looked nothing like the Chey he remembered. This woman had obviously trained and his instincts screamed she would not be an easy fight. Interesting.

Her white blonde hair was tied up in a braid but a few strands had come loose and curled around her face. His fingers itched to brush them from her cheeks. With the anger in her eyes and the stern shape of her mouth, she reminded him more of the women from his clan than ever. In an act of aggression, she bore resemblance to the cougar more than ever.

“My tongue’s just fine, Chey. Want to find out?”

The look in her blazing eyes flared hot, shining in the moonlight as she speared him with her gaze. Electrifying pools of blue that a man could easily get lost in. All but a few shifters had green eyes and he’d only heard of one kind that had blue. He curled his lip at the memory.

The elusive white cougars.

Half-breeds that no clan wanted except for their dirty work. While he and his brothers carried out death sentences in accordance with the laws and traditions of their councils, her kind had trained for a different kind of mission. They’d become mercenaries available to the highest bidder. They used methods of stealth that he and his brothers rarely bothered with. They didn’t need to.

“In your dreams, Malcolm.”

Over the years he’d allowed his perception of her to soften. Maybe she was different. Obviously not, considering the position he now found himself in. There was nothing soft about the blade cutting into his skin, or the strength in which she pinned him with her free hand. Obviously the only emotion she’d developed outside her family was anger. It probably made her missions easier.

He growled warningly. “Then get the hell off me.”

“Or what?” Her hand tightened its vise tight grip on his arm and pinned him to the ground, a position he wanted her in right now. If he thought her scent had been enticing, that was nothing compared to the body heat infusing him as she sat atop him thinking she had

him under control. From the moment she’d set foot in his house, she’d set their course in motion. It was only a matter of time.

With her hair pinned back, he stared at the pale expanse of her bare skin like a moth to flame. His teeth ached with the need to sink into the sweet curve of her neck and taste.

Goddess, get a grip.

Clearly it had been too long. Mate or not, there was no excuse for the extreme reaction his body had toward her. If she slid back an inch or two she would know too. His raging hard on had not eased in the slightest since he’d first scented her. Not even the subtle smell of the wolf on her deterred him. Oh no, instead he hurt like fucking hell, throbbed actually from wanting her. He needed to get his little half-breed off him and now. Before he did something crazy like start shredding her clothes.

“I don’t want to hurt you… but I will.” Although he imagined his idea of hurting her and her ideas would likely differ drastically. The kind of pain he had in mind could bring the most mind numbing pleasure if given half the chance.

“I wouldn’t lay odds on that if I were you. I’m not the same woman I was all those years ago.”

“So I gather. Doesn’t change the danger. Or the warning.” The last time he’d seen her, he’d been so angry that fate had fucked them hard. He’d had a duty to his family to uphold the laws and traditions of their kind, and mating with a woman who had wolf blood in her veins would have landed them both at the receiving end of a death sentence.

“Yes, Malcolm. I haven’t forgotten a single, disgusting, hate-laden word that came out of your mouth that night. Why do you think I have a knife at your throat?”

His body tightened further at the sound of his name coming from her mouth. And what a mouth it was. Full and pink standing out against the porcelain color of her skin, lush was the word that came to mind. So pale it practically glowed. The anger running underneath meant little to the man or animal anymore.

“So you do know what you’ve started here then?”

She shrugged and scrambled off him. “I’m not here to start anything so don’t go getting crazy ideas in your head. I simply needed to make sure I had your

attention before you did anything stupid. I’m not here because I missed you. There is an actual purpose to this little surprise reunion.”

Megan Hart:Read in bed!
Rhian Cahill
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M Roth
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Zoë Archer