The first book in the "Seducing Them" series is out now.

Unleashing Seduction (MFM)
Seducing Them book 1

Blurb: When Jasmine Picton’s car breaks down in the desert, Hunter Wishram, the middle one of five werewolf shape-shifter brothers, and his best friend mechanic Damien Hall, have no idea why she’s there. But they do know they want her to stay—with them, preferably in handcuffs. Jaz likes what’s she’s seen of the desert, and of the men.
Jaz is traveling though Nevada looking for unregistered graveyards for the Cemetery Trust to list. It’s one way to keep her huge dog, Phideaux, in kibble, and it’s like a never-ending vacation for herself. Well, mostly it is, anyway. Except when Phideaux has an encounter with a rattlesnake.
Hunter and Damien take Jaz out to the old Junctionville cemetery. It’s a chance for them all to spend time together and get to know each other better. Besides, maybe she can even use it for her job. Of course, Phideaux comes with them as well.

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/unleashing-seduction

STORY EXCERPT

Hunter looked up from the engine he was servicing in the garage when a woman screamed out something about Fido. There was no car pulled up at the gas pumps and he hadn’t heard a vehicle, so how did a woman get here?
He grabbed a piece of rag to wipe his greasy fingers and walked to the open door of the garage. A large old car was untidily parked half in the entry to the gas station, the driver’s door wide open. He turned, slowly scanning the area in a full three sixty degree search until he saw her running out into the desert after a huge dog.
Damien came and stood beside him, also wiping his fingers. “Where did she come from?”
Hunter pointed to her car.
“It doesn’t look like an electric car, so why didn’t we hear it?”
Hunter shrugged, and turned to go back inside the garage. Presumably she’d sort out whatever was the problem with her dog and they’d find out after that. Likely she’d move her car across to the gas pumps while she was here, although it was strange she hadn’t done that before letting the dog out of the car.
Just then they heard frenzied barking and the woman started screaming again. Hunter whipped around and saw her holding the dog’s collar, trying to drag him away from something. But the pooch was enormous and she was no match for him.
“Rattler!” he said dropping the rag and starting to run. Damien was right behind him. “Have you still got a couple of doses of antivenin in the house?”
“Probably.” He and his brothers were far too smart to get bitten. A city woman though, and that gigantic dog, were likely to do something stupid. Maybe already had done something stupid. “Fuck.” He ran faster, pounding across the desert toward them and wishing he’d thought to bring a spade with him to cut the head off the snake. If it was a snake. But that was the most likely scenario.
As he got closer he could see the dog was facing off against a rattler, just as he’d guessed. The snake was standing almost as tall as the dog, swaying his head trying to mesmerize the mutt. The woman had her arms around her pet, and was clearly trying to drag him away, but the animal was much bigger than her and had dug his claws into the rocky desert soil, determined to frighten the snake.
Right now it seemed to Hunter that it was a Mexican standoff and none of them were going to win.
Sensing Damien beside him he said, “I’ll snatch the woman. You grab the dog.”
Hunter changed the direction of his approach, curving the line of his arrival slightly so that if he fell over when he grabbed her she’d fall backward, away from the snake, not forward or sideways closer to it. Then he put on a burst of speed and launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her slender body and lifting her off the ground, then rolling so he’d land on the hard rocky soil, not her.
She screeched and kept hold of the dog’s collar, refusing to let go, but his strength was enough to surprise the mutt into movement.
Damien reached for the dog at the same time as he snatched the woman, and they all rolled backward away from the rattler in a tangled mess of limbs and paws.
Out of nowhere, like something from a bad movie, came the command, “Freeze!”
Ignoring it, the woman tried to push him away from her, but Hunter had recognized Nyander’s voice and guessed what was about to happen. He held her tightly against his body, subconsciously aware of her soft curves and hot skin even as a single shot broke the silence.
He jumped to his feet, leaning over her, keeping his hands on her arms and said, “Don’t go near the snake. A rattlesnake has a deadly bite for up to three minutes after it’s dead.”
Paying no attention to his words, she jammed her elbow into his ribs and yelled, “Phideaux!”
The dog barked reassuringly and Hunter straightened up properly looking all around. As he’d expected, Damien had a firm grip on the dog, although he was still sprawled on the ground, partially over the animal. Nyander was standing over the rattlesnake, watching its body twitch. The head was mostly shot off the body but it was still wise to wait a few minutes before touching it.
The woman crouched down next to the dog, holding its head and looking into its eyes. “Buddy, that was a fucking stupid thing to do. Don’t ever scare me like that again, okay?”
“What you did was pretty damn stupid as well,” said Nyander.
Keeping one hand on the dog’s collar—as if that’d stop such a powerful beast—she looked at the three of them.
“Who are you? Where did you all come from?” she asked.
“It’d be kind of cool if you answered that question as well,” replied Damien.
Yeah, that what he thought, too.

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/unleashing-seduction

Dungeon Solution (MFM) The Dom's Dungeon book 5

Blurb: When the crap hit the fan and she was falsely accused of theft, Lacey Veldman had nowhere else to turn but to her sister, Nerida.
Ogden Evans, a Dom and a werewolf shape-shifter, who works as a barman at The Dom’s Dungeon, and Hugh McLennan, also a Dom and a wolf, who’s an attorney with Bailey and Bond Attorneys at Law, have both seen her and they both want her. But how can they get to know her when she’s in hiding, afraid for her life? And can they work together to win her, or are they more likely to fight each other for her? They’re from different packs, different worlds, different backgrounds. Can they even protect Lacey if she lets them date her?
Hugh lives at Carnal Connections, a BDSM and shape-shifter community. Surely Lacey will be safe there.

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-solution

STORY EXCERPT

Hugh groaned. Ever since Lacey had said she was waiting for Ogden to finish his shift, his evening had gotten more complicated. “I live quite a long way out of town, and I have a meeting at work at eight tomorrow.”
Ogden stretched his arms up high. “It’s after one already. Make that eight today. Right, we’ll go to your place then because that way you can change and shower and stuff and come straight in to work instead of having to go home again after we talk. Staff park on the lower level. My car’s a red 2010 Ford Fusion. I’ll flash my headlamps as I come up the exit ramp.”
Hugh watched Ogden run down the ramp and walked across to his white Dodge Ram. He’d known for more than an hour that he needed to talk to Ogden about sharing Lacey, but he still didn’t have the faintest idea of how to broach the subject. Fortunately Ogden seemed to be on the same page as him. That was a start. And they were both wolves. Well, at least he thought they were. That would also be a help, although two wolves and two Doms trying to cooperate over one woman sounded rather like a recipe for disaster to him.
Still, other men managed it, and the Supreme Alpha had sanctioned it, so they’d just have to make it work. Not that he had the faintest idea how they’d do that. Especially since he didn’t know much about Lacey herself. She’d been warm and friendly and chatty about all sorts of things, but not about herself. Maybe Ogden knew more about her personal life.
He saw Ogden’s car on the ramp and led the way out of town to Carnal Connections. The property was on a secondary road and had a high security fence. Luke was on duty at the gate and recognized Hugh’s car. Hugh stopped and rolled down his window.
“The Fusion’s with me. Name’s Ogden. He’s a wolf as well.” Well, he hadn’t actually asked, but Hugh thought he was.
Luke waved them through the gate, and he drove slowly through the property, past the large grassy area, and bumped down the dirt track to his house. He had a barn around back, but there wasn’t room for an extra car in it, so he stopped by his front porch, where there was room for Ogden to park beside his car.
Once they were inside, he walked straight into the huge old kitchen and started the coffee percolating. Ogden dropped into a chair at the family-sized table and waited. Hugh figured since he was the host he ought to go first.
“Hugh McLennan. Age thirty-five. Werewolf shape-shifter from this pack here, Carnal Connections. I’m head of Bankruptcy at Bailey and Bond Attorneys at Law.”
“My turn I guess. I’m Ogden Evans, I’m a wolf, I consider The Dom’s Dungeon to be my pack, and I’m thirty. Also I want Lacey Veldman, but I’m prepared to share her with you as long as we share equally. Completely equally in all things.”
Some of the tension drained out of Hugh with relief at what Ogden had said. Being equal partners was the only way he could see such a relationship working. “I agree to that.” He brought the coffee across to the table and pushed the cream across to Ogden.
“How are we going to win her? I think she’ll agree to having us both, but we need to do this right. We can’t risk alienating her because we aren’t organized or speak about things at cross purposes.”
“Until the court case against that crazy shit Lillington-Hall is sorted out, I don’t think we can get very far with a romance. She needs to be protected quite carefully. I was surprised they’d brought her to the dungeon tonight. She almost never goes outside.”
Hugh felt a flash of fear sear through his body. “Lillington-Hall? Lacey is the one he’s persecuting? Nerida is Lacey’s sister? She’s researching him for her as well as Allegra? Holy fuck! Lacey’s in incredible danger.” All the bits and pieces of the case that Hugh had learned in the course of his various tasks for Allegra came together with a thwack in his head. And the overwhelming feeling he got was fear. Sweet little Lacey was being pursued by an attorney with no morals and no standards. She had no defense against him, and that was without thinking about the fact that he’d been known to work with a goon who emphasized his points in dark alleys with a baseball bat.
Hugh held his head and let the fear race through his body, and then drew a deep breath. “In that case you and I need to work together even more than I’d imagined. We have to protect her from Lillington-Hall and Zylon until Allegra can assemble a full brief against them and bring them to court. What we have to plan is not just a romance and maybe a dungeon scene where we cooperate, but how to save her life.”
Ogden stared at him. “I knew she was being blamed for stealing money she didn’t take, but are you telling me her life is threatened?”
“Yes.” There was no pretty way to say it. Hugh stared at Ogden.
“Well fuck.”
Yeah. That pretty much summed it up.

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-solution

Dungeon Research (MFM) The Dom's Dungeon book 4

The moment Taj Barlow, construction worker, and Gavan Byford, werewolf shape-shifter and Dom, see the mystery woman at The Dom’s Dungeon, they’re determined to make her theirs. All they need to do is find out who she is.

Nerida Veldman doesn’t plan on making getting to know her easy. Her job as a researcher means she needs to keep a really low profile, and her sister has been wrongly accused of theft and is in hiding from a threatening attorney. Her life is way too complicated right now to pay attention to two men. Besides, two men? Two? Why would two men be interested in such an ordinary person as herself? Although the idea of spending time in a dungeon with a Dom is rather enticing. In fact, both Gavan, with his beard, and Taj, with his callused work-hardened hands, are more than enticing. But dare she risk opening her life up to them?


Buy ink: http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-research

STORY EXCERPT

Taj Barlow, aged twenty-five, was one of the younger members of the crew at Nelson’s Building and Home Maintenance. Until Raff had joined the team, even though Taj had his trade certificate, as the baby of the crew, it’d been his job to bag the trash, sweep the floors, and go fetch the coffees. Taj didn’t mind. Since he was the youngest of four brothers that had pretty much summed up his entire life until he’d grown big enough to answer back, punch hard, and run fast. Usually in that order.

Right now he was sitting on a bar stool at The Dom’s Dungeon, nibbling on a plate of nachos, sipping dark beer, and looking around the crowd. As he’d grown older, along with developing a useful right hook in a fight, he’d also acquired a taste for BDSM, and The Dom’s Dungeon was the best BDSM club in town.

He watched idly as Adelaide, one of the receptionists at the dungeon, hurried across the Stage Lounge, followed by an attractive woman casually dressed in jeans and a sweater. This late in the evening a lot of the women here were wearing nice frocks and high heels. Earlier in the day plenty of people wore jeans. But right now, it made her look different from most of the crowd.

Adelaide led the woman across to a table where Cam and Hammer, two of the men he worked with, were sitting with Allegra. Allegra was an attorney who occasionally worked for the company and who Cam and Hammer were dating. He’d glanced over at their table a few times in the past half hour, and his own opinion was that the group had moved well past dating and into the hot stuff.

Allegra was an attractive woman, and he was happy for them. But the chick in jeans with Adelaide was more his style. A casual easy-going person. Well, he thought she might be. Not that he’d ever met her or even knew who she was, but he sure as hell wouldn’t mind talking to her. Maybe after she’d spoken to Allegra about whatever it was. It was clear her attention was focused on Allegra, although the men were there as well.

He was watching the fascinating woman so intently he didn’t realize that Gavan, the barman, was speaking to him.

“Huh? Sorry? What?”

“The woman you’re staring at. The one at Hammer’s table. I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better, too.”

Taj whipped his head around to look at Gavan. Gavan was not just the head barman here at The Dom’s Dungeon. He was also a werewolf shape-shifter, and a Dom. There were quite a few shape-shifters here as well as Doms. Well, hell, it was a dungeon. Of course there were going to be Doms. But apparently wolves liked BDSM a lot, so they hung out here as well.

There was no one at their end of the bar, so Taj asked quietly, “You want another ménage?” Once before they’d shared a woman. She was a sub who’d specifically asked to experience two men. Gavan had enlisted Taj’s help, and it’d been a mind-blowing experience. Already his dick was stirring at the memories of that night.

Gavan stroked his beard and then nodded slowly.

“I’m in. But what makes you think this chick would be interested? Do you know her?”

Perhaps she was a sub who came here regularly. Taj had assumed because Adelaide was with her that she didn’t know the dungeon, but maybe he’d gotten the wrong idea.

“I don’t know her, but the look on your face is exactly what I feel like when I look at her.”

Taj nodded. “I hope the fuck she’s not married or something. When they stop talking so intently, I’ll go over and bring her back here so we can both meet her, okay?”

Gavan nodded and moved down the bar to serve other customers. Taj left his food and beverage on the bar top and watched Cam and Hammer’s table. He supposed it was rude to stare, but it wasn’t as though he could hear what they were discussing or anything. They were thirty feet away from him, and the dance music had started up so he’d have been lucky to overhear someone speaking thirty inches away.

His woman stood up. Taj reached for his wallet to drop some money on the bar counter, and in the second he looked down at his pants, she vanished. He stared all around, stepped away from the bar, and saw a faint flash of blue over by the exit, but that was all. Shoving his wallet back into his pocket, he took off across the dance floor, diving between people there and taking as straight and fast a line to the exit as he could. She wasn’t in the hallway, so he ran to the foyer and out the front of the building, but she wasn’t there either.

He’d gone straight past the elevators, so if she’d been waiting for one, he’d have seen her for sure. Taj ran across the parking lot to the exit, but no car was coming up the ramp. She’d completely disappeared into thin air. How the fuck did she do that?


Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-research

Dungeon Law (MFM) The Dom's Dungeon book 3

Construction worker Cam Armstrong wants Allegra Lee. He saw her once and can’t get her out of his mind. Allegra lost one potential career when, aged fifteen, she shattered her ankle and her hopes of becoming an Olympic gymnast. Now she’s working really hard to build another future as an attorney, mentored by the incredible Sierra Bond. Hammer, Harlan Hammersmith III, escaped from high society and his wealthy, autocratic, and controlling grandfather. He refuses to go back to that kind of life ever again.

Hammer, a Dom at The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM club, agrees to a date with Allegra because his best friend Cam wants her so much. Allegra doesn’t seem like any of the women he’s known before, and physically he certainly wants her. But their lives are so totally different. Is there any hope they’ll find common ground? Can they ever be together?

http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-law

STORY EXCERPT

Allegra Lee stood on the balls of her feet, stretched her lithe body as straight as it would go, raised her arms over her head, and curved her hands gracefully into the swan position. The music began, and the crowd in the huge auditorium became silent. As the introduction finished, Allegra took flight, racing diagonally across the huge mat at full speed and leaping into the air in a splits position, holding it for two full beats of the music before landing lightly on her feet again.

She flung her head back, twisted, and leaped sideways, ready to execute her first somersault—and crashed to the floor as a fierce pain burst through her body and her right ankle crumpled under her. The pain was so extreme Allegra almost lost consciousness, but her graying-out mind was aware of the total silence of the large crowd while the music played on.

Allegra sprang up in bed, her body drenched in sweat, and her foot aching like a bitch at the memories of the night she’d shattered her dream of an Olympic gold medal in the same moment as she’d shattered her ankle. That fall had broken so many different tiny bones in her foot that even now, twelve years later, she still had to carry a letter from her doctor everywhere she went because the dozens of metal pins holding her foot together always set off the security alarms at courts and in airports.

Carefully Allegra slid to the side of the bed and stood up, ready to let herself fall back onto the mattress if her foot didn’t support her. But it held, so she turned around and pulled the sweaty, damp sheets off her bed, dumping them and her drenched sleep shirt in the laundry hamper before getting into the shower.

After her dramatic fall in front of thousands of gymnastics fans at the national competition, she’d woken up two days later in the hospital with a foot more metal than bone. The stern-faced doctor had told her to plan a different career path and to be grateful she’d even be able to walk again. She’d cried for a week, her fifteen-year-old self unwilling to give up on a dream that had been almost within reach. A dream of Olympic gold and the world at her feet.

A month later she’d been back in school and her math teacher had told her she was damn smart and to use her brain to make a new plan for her future. She’d taken the words to heart, looked at job opportunities, and decided on law. She’d been incredibly fortunate that Sierra Bond, of Bailey and Bond Attorneys at Law, had agreed to mentor her.

Allegra stepped out of the shower, hardly noticing that her wretched ankle was still aching, and grinned at the tumbled sheets in her laundry hamper. In among the bundle of pale pink linen was a hint of bright purple. She grabbed the purple, pulling her vibrator out of the hamper and putting it on the ledge above the sink.

She shook her head at herself. “Wow. That was almost a disaster. With no man in my bed, the loss of my vibrator would be terrible.” Lester had been gone from her life for a year now, and she’d made no attempt to replace him. She’d thought they would be together forever, but he’d gotten tired of the hours she had to put in at her job. Young attorneys didn’t exactly work nine to five, and he wanted a woman waiting at home for him with a hot meal at the end of his busy day.

Well, that was just too bad. She’d been prepared to rearrange her life a lot for him, but not to put her career completely on hold or only work the hours that suited him. No. She’d survived the destruction of her foot and her gymnastic dreams, and she’d survived the departure of Les from her heart after living with him for almost three years. Now her life was her work. One day she’d be as good at her job as Sierra was. And maybe one day she’d have a man who loved her. Hell, Sierra lived with two men. She ought to dream big. One day she’d have two! She grinned. Two men sharing a woman was permitted under shape-shifter law. The Supreme Alpha of North America himself had said so.

Allegra laughed at herself in the mirror. Two men who were interested in her? That was about as likely to happen as her winning a gold medal with a smashed foot.

http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-law

Dungeon Play (MFM) The Dom's Dungeon book 2

Adelaide Stuart, receptionist at The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM club, longs for two Doms of her own, but she’s terrified of shape-shifters. The only problem is, the men she wants, Doms Wade Sullivan and Mason Barlow, are werewolves. She purposely got the job there because she’s intensely attracted to the lifestyle. But she also thought since several of the men there were shape-shifters, working there would help her overcome her fears.

So far her plan isn’t working. She aches to experience all the delights of the dungeon. She craves all the CosPlay costumes and wants to dress up and play with her Doms. But she can’t let go of her terror at the thought her delicious Doms might be wolves.

Finally she agrees to perform a CosPlay dungeon scene with Wade and Mason, but when she can’t bring herself to sign a contract, they tell her the rules of the club prevent them from taking the relationship any farther.

http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-play

STORY EXCERPT

Dom Mason Barlow had paced out the empty space in the center of the party room so he’d know exactly how many steps he could take while he and Wade gave the party-goers a taste of cosplay. None of the daytime parties were ever hardcore. They were all about introducing people to the concept of an area of kinky play and-or BDSM play.

There was never any complete nakedness or any actual sex at these events either. The erotic parties were held late in the evenings with a very strict admission policy. Besides, he and Wade weren’t looking for quick sex anymore. That kind of entertainment was all very well for a young man at the height of his youth and testosterone production. Once Mason had turned thirty, he’d been ready to find the right woman and settle down. The problem was, two years had passed, and the only woman that he and Wade were both attracted to was Adelaide Stuart, and she was more skittish than a wild brumby on speed.

He leaned against the wall, crossed his legs, and watched her. The very fact that she was here now, when she wasn’t on shift and could have been at home or out with her friends, showed the intensity of her desire for this lifestyle. She was staring at the costumes as if they were cupcakes behind a locked glass case and she was on a diet. Not that he’d ever want her to go on a diet. Her rich, lush curves were exactly what he liked. When two men possessed a woman, they needed to know she was strong enough to take them both. Adelaide’s body was built for two men to worship.

Her shoulder-length brown hair and long bangs fell forward over her face as she admired the costumes, half hiding her enormous brown eyes. But Mason didn’t need to see her face to know her gaze would be poised halfway between adoration and terror, the way it always was when she was near him or any dungeon toys. What made her so wary of this scene? Had she been hurt, personally, by an abusive person? Or did she know of someone who had been? Surely it wasn’t just that she wasn’t ready yet to take the step into the dungeon herself? That should have been more curiosity or wariness than fear. What he discerned in her face was stronger than mere wariness. Something frightened her, yet not enough to keep her away from the scene. After all, she worked here, and no one had forced her to do that. The co-owners of The Dom’s Dungeon were extremely strict about every aspect of the safe, sane, and consensual rule. If she hadn’t signed a contract of her own free will, they wouldn’t have employed her.

No, Little Miss Adelaide was both thrilled and worried, and he was just the man to guide her out of that conflicted place and into a zone where she was filled only with passion and enjoyment. And right after that, he’d invite her into his and Wade’s bed. After they’d fucked her brains out, they could ask her about her problem. Punishment, joy, release. These were the tools of the Dom, and he was ready and willing to use them all on Adelaide. As well as the tool between his legs. He was ready to use that on her as well. By the time he and Wade had warmed her up in the dungeon, she’d climax all over their cocks, their mouths, and their hands. Multiple times. He was certain Little Miss Adelaide was the kind of woman from whom they could coax multiple orgasms.

Mason walked over to where Wade had been setting up one of the tables for their games later on. “Look at Adelaide.”

Wade glanced across at her. She had a hand out and was touching one of the harem costumes with the tip of her finger as if she was frightened it was alive and might bite her.

“She wants to try it on.” Wade spoke confidently.

“Exactly what I was thinking, and Dungeon Eight would be the perfect place for her to do that.”

Wade turned to look at him. “I know we’ve talked about her before. Why do you think she’s ready now, when she clearly hasn’t been ready before?”

Mason shook his head. “I don’t know that she’ll ever be ready. But she definitely wants it. That’s why she’s here. Anyone else whose shift didn’t start for hours yet wouldn’t be here. It’s time for us to make a move on her if that’s what we want.”

“Oh, I definitely want her. But there’s something holding her back.”

“I know. She reminds me of a wild horse, never broken to bridle. I think you and I can deal with that problem between us.”

“It’ll be tricky. It might take a lot of work.”

“But I’m sure she’ll be worth it.”

Wade slapped him on the shoulder. “I agree. Let’s do it.”

Together they walked through the room to where Adelaide was still standing by the rack of women’s costumes. Up close he could see the enormous longing in her face. Hell yes, she was ready to play. All they needed to do was nudge her gently over the line and into their dungeon. She was theirs. She just didn’t know it yet.

“Hi, Adelaide. If you were to play a scene, which costume would you choose?” Wade asked her.

That’s a good question and an excellent way to open the conversation.

Adelaide startled and looked up at them both, flipping the hair off her face as she did so. Her big brown eyes were hot with need, but her body was tense. What the fuck was she afraid of?

http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-play

Dungeon Love

Dungeon Love (MFM) "The Dom's Dungeon" book 1

Juliana Grenville longs to be Dom Beckett Parker’s sub, but he seems to hate her. Jason O’Connor is kind and sweet and treats her beautifully but he isn’t a Dom. It seems wrong to date Jason if she wants to be in the dungeon with Dom Beckett.

Juliana is the receptionist at The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM Club. It’s the best job she’s ever had, but it isn’t helping her to become a sub when the man she desperately wants to be her Dom ignores her or glares at her. Yet she can feel the chemistry between them. There’s plenty of chemistry between her and Jason as well. He’s every woman’s dream of a thoughtful and caring man.

Finally she decides to pretend she’s a Domme and perform a stage show at the club with Dom Beckett. Perhaps that’ll make him pay attention to her.

http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-love

STORY EXCERPT

Beckett spent some time rehearsing in his dungeon after his final client left. He needed to get ready for the show, but he had enough time to grab some food and a coffee before then. What he didn’t have was time to get changed into street clothes and then change back again. Well, too bad. He’d take the food back to the staff break room instead of eating it in the Stage Lounge, and if people stared at him ordering a meal at the bar, it was too bad.

As he got to the doorway into the Stage Lounge, he saw Juliana, still in her uniform, talking to Jason. I didn’t realize they knew each other. But then, since she’s the club’s receptionist, likely she knows everyone.

He was just about to shrug it off when Jason took Juliana into his arms and kissed her. It was a proper kiss. Beckett could tell that even at this distance. When she turned away from him, Jason’s gaze followed her across the room. If Beckett wasn’t mistaken, Juliana’s knees were a little wobbly as she started walking. That must have been a hell of a good kiss. He was certain she’d been kissed often enough to be impervious to an average kiss.

I should be the one kissing her. She’s mine. And she won’t be a fucking Domme either. She’ll submit to me.

Except how could that be? Unless she was a switch. But why would she put on a show as a Domme if she was a switch? Fucking hell. Jason was his friend as well. Or, at least, they were on the way to being friends. The evening they’d spent together had been a great time, and he’d planned to invite Jason out for a meal again someday. But it looked like Jason had another interest. A redheaded interest.

Well fuck. She’s mine dammit. Beckett frowned. He might just change up the end of their stage show tonight and show her who was really in control.

Forgetting all about food, Beckett turned on his heel and marched back down the stairs to Dungeon One again. It was time to plan a few changes to the ending of their scene—an ending that put the redheaded Domme in his arms where she belonged. And under his control as well.


* * * *

The beginning of their stage show went exactly as planned and exactly as it had the previous day. They arrived from different areas of the Stage Lounge, each demonstrated their skills to the audience, and then they battled each other for the audience’s admiration.

Juliana acted exactly as they’d planned and he did the same, the choreography giving him plenty of opportunity to demonstrate his skills with the whip. Every now and then the crowd broke into spontaneous gasps and clapping, which showed they were paying close attention to the display.

But as he and Juliana moved toward the conclusion, Beckett sensed an extra tension in Juliana. She was always very focused, very intent on her steps and her actions. To the audience it might seem as though she teased and paced around him gracefully and nonchalantly. But up here on the stage with her, he could tell that every step she made, every hand and head movement, was precisely choreographed.

She might be smiling prettily, but the tension showed in her eyes, and he was the only person close enough to know. Had she guessed he planned to alter the ending of their scenario? Was that what had her worrying? Was he giving off vibes that she could pick up warning her he was going to depart from the script?

As the assistants stepped back and displayed the sheet showing their neat parallel lines on it, Juliana cracked her whip out and wrapped it neatly around his waist. As if she’d guessed he’d never agree to be reeled in, she moved closer to him winding the whip around his waist as she did, and openly flirting with him.

The audience had been clapping already, but now they clapped harder.

Damn the fucking woman. This was going to make it ten times harder for him to add the new ending he’d planned.

Instead of shaking hands, as per the script, she lifted her lips to kiss him.

Aha. That was her undoing. This was how he’d rearranged the ending. He lifted her up, but instead of kissing her, he threw her over his shoulder in a modified fireman’s carry, holding her knees tightly in one hand and letting her body hang down his back. Then he left the stage to a lot of clapping, foot stomping, and cheering.

He put her down once they reached the private hallway that led to the staff change rooms and break room.

“You stupid moron. You’ve spoiled everything.” Juliana slid off his shoulder and rammed her knee into his balls before running into the female change room.

No one had ever done that to him before. The pain was intense, but the shock was almost as bad. Beckett grabbed his balls, cupping them gently, and only just managed not to drop to his knees in agony.

“I don’t think she appreciated that.”

Beckett looked up, still hissing from pain, to see Jason standing in the hall watching him.

“Ya think?”

http://www.bookstrand.com/dungeon-love

Dungeon Masters: Use Me

Use Me (MFM) Dungeon Masters book 5

Violet Cambrisi has finally achieved her dream of owning a farm where she can have horses. Now all she needs is the cowboy caring for them, Raphael Allsop, and the builder renovating her house, Darcy Nelson, to share her farmhouse and her life with her.

Darcy is a werewolf and a Dom and considers her to be too pushy. He doesn’t want her staying in the old house until it’s repaired. And that’s before the hot water unit explodes and brings down the ceiling. Raff used to have money and a high-powered job in New York and walked away from all that. Now he has nothing and is nobody, not a fit person to hang around such a beautiful woman.

But Violet wants them both and they both want her. Life is incredibly complicated and they all have different problems to overcome. Once they enter the dungeon together, their bodies explode far more dramatically than the hot water unit did.

http://www.bookstrand.com/use-me

STORY EXCERPT

Despite having promised to stay out in the barn, Violet couldn’t resist sneaking into the house—her house now—and peeking into the rooms. No matter what that big bossy builder said about rotting floorboards and overstressed beams, the realtor had walked her though all the rooms when she’d first considered buying the farm. Well, it was her grandfather who’d bought it really, but she was the one who’d be living here.

Her grandfather was extremely wealthy and his only child, her father, had been killed in Afghanistan by an IED. He wasn’t even a soldier, just a mad-keen photographer who’d wanted to take pictures out in the countryside. Violet couldn’t remember him. She’d only been eighteen months old at the time.

Her mother hadn’t been able to cope with the death of the man she loved, turning first to alcohol, and then to social drugs, and finally to illegal hard drugs. Grandpop had admitted her to a rehabilitation program but it was too late. She’d overdosed and was dead before Violet’s fourth birthday.

Fortunately Grandpop had been one of five children and Violet had been reared in the midst of a plethora of second and third cousins, most of whom seemed to have large families of their own.

Violet tilted her head to the side. She could hear water dripping. That was weird. The workmen weren’t here yet and she hadn’t noticed it last night. She walked into the kitchen and looked at the sink, but the faucets there were turned off properly. Next she stepped into the laundry room but once again the faucets weren’t responsible for the noise. Which seemed a little louder now.

Could the noise be coming from upstairs? Violet tipped her head up to look at the ceiling. She’d kept her word and not been up there at all, but maybe now was the time to go looking. She walked out of the laundry, down the hallway, past the little room she’d planned to stay in, and into the great room. This was the heart of the house, a gigantic space, part dining room, part living room, and part sunroom. Already Violet could picture herself here wrapped in a blanket in front of the huge open fire in winter, or sitting in a rocking chair by the window in summer.

The noise was definitely louder. She hurried now over to the staircase only to stop in surprise. Water was trickling down it, forming a puddle at the base of the lowest step.

“Hot damn. Some idiot must have left water running all night.”

Violet began to run up the stairs, glad the water was only a trickle, and that the workmen would be here soon to clean up the mess.

Just as she reached the top, there was a booming crack, as if a thunderstorm was directly over her head, and Violet was drenched in water. The ceiling dropped down in pieces all around her and water, harder than any rainstorm, pelted over her, soaking her to the skin in a heartbeat. Violet found herself sitting on her ass, the force of the water racing her down the stairs and dumping her at the bottom in the midst of a growing flood.

She picked herself up and staggered through the swimming pool that had been her living room ten seconds ago to open the front door and let the water out. Then she gripped the handrail of the stairs and pushed her way against the tide to find out what faucet needed turning off. Once again, she’d just reached the top when a loud voice said, “Are you crazy, woman? What the fuck are you doing?”

She lost her grip on the handrail in her surprise, and once again splashed down to land on her ass and be swept down the stairs. The water wasn’t pouring out as fast now, and it was just like riding a waterslide at the fun park. She landed at the bottom of the stairs, laughing hard. “Oh, my god, what a ride.”

Two brawny arms hauled her to her feet and held her tight. “Are you injured?”

She looked up into the tanned face and brown eyes of the bossy builder. “I’m fine. That was the most amazing waterslide I’ve ever ridden in my life. There seems to be a problem upstairs.”

“No kidding. What the fuck were you doing? I told you to stay out of the house.”

Violet pulled away from him. “I only came in because I heard a faucet dripping. I didn’t make it upstairs to turn it off before the ceiling fell in.”

“The ceiling fell in?”

“Are you okay?”

Violet turned to look at the doorway. The second voice was her yummy cowboy. He was ankle deep in water but staring at her. Suddenly Violet realized she was soaking wet and fast getting really cold.

http://www.bookstrand.com/use-me

Dungeon Masters 4: Mold Me

Phoenix Moore is fascinated by The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM Club. She’s ready to find out if she’s a sub and to try out some of the amazing toys in the dungeons. One look at Dom Lachlan Campbell tells her she wants him to be her Dom. He’s the hottest man she’s ever seen. And then she sees Lachlan’s best friend, Callum Harris. She wants him, too. But it’s more complicated than that.

They’re both werewolf shape-shifters and she’s an unknown human. It’s much too dangerous to tell her their secrets until they’re quite certain they can trust her. Meanwhile, the farm behind their land is up for sale. What’s going to happen if a developer buys it and lots of families move in behind them? How will they have any peace and freedom to change anymore? And what if they lose Phoenix before they’ve ever really gotten to know her?

http://www.bookstrand.com/mold-me

STORY EXCERPT

Phoenix Moore looked up at the delicious-looking security guard accompanying her, and asked, “Can I touch the floggers and whips, please?”

“Would you like one of our Doms to punish you with them so you could really understand how they feel on your skin?” he asked in reply.

Phoenix’s knees wobbled with lust at the thought. “I wouldn’t mind you spanking me.”

“Unfortunately, ma’am, I’m the security guard here to protect you.”

She was absolutely certain that gleam of light in his black eyes was a lust as strong as her own. “You’re on duty as a security guard now. What about when you’re off duty? Are you a Dom then? You look kind of Domish to me.”

“The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM Club adheres strictly to the safe, sane, and consensual rule. If you wish to make an appointment with a Dom, I can take you back to reception.”

“Let’s finish the guided tour first. Is this the only dungeon I’m allowed to visit? Is each dungeon set up the same?”

“Every dungeon is furnished slightly differently to allow for the different requirements of the Doms, but this one should give you the basic idea of how they operate.”

He kept talking but Phoenix wasn’t listening to his words anymore. She was certain that this guard was a Dom and equally certain that he didn’t dislike her. All she needed to know was what name he worked under as a Dom so she could book an hour or two with him. Of course, the damn strict rules here likely meant no fucking, but at least she’d learn about whips and paddles and floggers and all these other things that aroused her so badly she urgently needed a date with her cotton-candy-pink vibrator right now.

Phoenix had met some men from this club at a recent convention she’d attended for her job. The convention had been called “New Directions in the Adult Industry” and the two men, both Doms, had fallen in love with a really sweet woman she’d also met at the convention, Ryia. Phoenix worked for an erotic romance publisher and had been there looking to gather ideas for the publishing company’s future conventions. The company held a convention every second year and was always interested in finding something new to excite authors, readers, booksellers, and librarians. A visit to a BDSM club would be ideal, especially if they could know in advance what kind of stage shows would be held on the various nights so they could advertise them.

Phoenix liked her sex kinky. Not that she knew much from experience but holy hell, the books she’d read that sent her pulses pounding were the ones with kink, BDSM, and ménages. A Dom to punish her to orgasm and then fuck her to a second orgasm sounded like a free pass to paradise to her right now. And yummy Mr. Security Guard was going to be Number One in her bedtime games tonight for sure. It was a damn shame she’d only have him in her mind, not in her bed for real.

“Are there security cameras in here?” she asked, cutting across his explanation about the St. Andrew’s Cross.

“No, ma’am. The privacy of our guests is important to us.”

“Excellent.” Phoenix stepped right up into his personal space, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to hers, and then kissed him with all the passion that her pent-up hormones demanded. His lips were soft, and he tasted faintly of coffee and more strongly of man. Absolutely as delicious as he looked.

“Now you can take me back to the registration desk, thank you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

His voice was hoarse, and even though he turned his back on her quickly she was sure the front of his uniform was tented by an erection.

Dammit, I knew it. He does like me at least a bit.

http://www.bookstrand.com/mold-me

Fill Me: The new Dungeon Masters book.

Ryia Laurie wants to learn how to make her adult store, “Paddle My Ass,” better and more profitable. Asher Roberts, senior chef, and Elijah Deakin, head of security for The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM Club, want Ryia as their mate. Can they all overcome the legacy of Ryia’s abusive ex husband, Miles, to achieve this? Ryia, Asher, and Elijah attend the “New Directions in the Adult Industry” convention with their separate agendas. But Ryia is so busy looking at the exhibition displays, taking notes at the lectures, and attending all the workshops that Asher and Elijah are hard pressed to catch her attention. When they do, her lack of self-esteem makes letting her know how very interested they are in her even harder, if not impossible. How are they going to catch her interest and get to know her before the convention is over?

http://www.bookstrand.com/fill-me

STORY EXCERPT

Ryia stood in the center of her store, her hands on her ample hips, staring critically at the new stock she’d just arranged on her brand new shelving. She wiggled her nose, screwed up her eyes, and finally nodded. Yeah, it’ll do until I think of a better way to display it.

She’d spent most of her first year in college trying to think of a name for the adult store she planned to own. But no word starting with R fit with Ryia and an adult theme. After that she’d played with words to go with “Adult.” Finally, she’d settled on “Paddle My Ass” as her store name. It screamed adult store, and sex, and yet fun.

All through the second year of her course she’d been researching places to locate her store. It had to be in the type of neighborhood where people would appreciate the genre, yet it had to be a safe enough neighborhood people would visit the store on a cold, dark winter’s day as well as in midsummer. It also needed to be not too close to any existing store.

Finally, only a few weeks before graduation, everything had come together and she’d rented her store in a new warehouse supply neighborhood which was perfect for her as she could now have walk-in-off-the-street clients, as well as appealing to businesses in industries similar to hers.

It took her three months to get her store set up and during that time she also had a website designed and ready to go live the minute the store was officially open. Now she’d been here a little over a year, and the bottom line of her accounts had been black for the previous three months, and she knew it’d continue that way. She was already getting repeat customers and business customers who were wonderful as they bought more than walk-in clients did.

Her first year alone had been both wonderful, but also very strange and difficult to adjust to. She’d gone straight from being a schoolgirl, to marriage, to a control freak, and then to being totally alone, with no one to speak to and nothing to do.

Miles hadn’t let her spend time with her friends except for the occasional lunch or coffee date when he was there as well. Consequently, most of her friends had long ago stopped contacting her, and her father had died very soon after her wedding. It had been his dying wish that she marry Miles, and she’d been happy to accept his choice of man for her because she knew he loved her. Apparently his illness had blinded him to Miles’s true character and she was glad he’d died without finding out what a cruel and devious asshole Miles had turned out to be.

Once she was alone again, Ryia’d had to learn and relearn everything she thought she’d known about life. No longer did laundry have to be done Miles’s way, everything folded exactly into sections. She could eat whatever she wanted to, whenever she wanted to. She slept in a bed every night, instead of on the floor, unless her husband had wanted her for sex. But best of all she could wear clothes whenever she wanted to, and she could choose those clothes for herself.

Miles had destroyed and thrown away almost every item of her so-carefully-chosen wedding trousseau. Lingerie that she’d felt beautiful wearing. Soft, filmy, silky night dresses that had touched and aroused her skin. Pretty dresses that had made her feel mature and grown up, a fit partner for a handsome man like Miles. He’d liked her to wear jeans and baggy sweatshirts “to hide those repulsive rolls of fat” when she left the house. Yet at home, he’d order her to remain naked, in case he wanted to fuck her.

Now alone, Ryia had developed her own style. She wore long, flowing, ankle-length skirts in fall colors, and teamed them with soft, silky shirts in the summer and fleecy warm sweaters in the winter. She wore sturdy boots in winter that kept her feet cozy and dry, cool flip-flops in the summer, and comfortable athletic shoes when she knew she’d be on her feet walking around all day.

At first, she’d suffered from dreadful pangs of guilt each time she bought something for herself, constantly hearing Miles’s accusing voice in her head, railing at how ugly, and useless, and unworthy she was. But she’d forced herself to repeat over and over again that the money she was spending was her own. It had always been her own, not his.

I am not useless. I am not completely stupid. My store is a success now, and it will be an even bigger success as I learn more and more about the industry. I will support myself and I will be happy.

http://www.bookstrand.com/fill-me

Make Me: The Dungeon Masters book 2

Trinidad Meredith is fascinated by the thought of working in a BDSM club. When she’s offered a job there she agrees instantly. Konstantin Williams and Othniel Thomas really do need an admin assistant. But even more than that they want a mate. Trinidad will suit them perfectly. Simon and Leif, co-owners of The Dom’s Dungeon BDSM Club, found their mate, Tamara, in a weekend at a wedding. Niel and Kon are convinced that the Fates have given them Trinidad.

Trinidad loves the idea of working at the club. She likes Niel and Kon, and she’s willing to try out some BDSM herself. But everything has happened incredibly fast and she worries that the men will think she’s either a tart or a nymphomaniac. It’s just that being with them is amazingly good. She needs to slow down the pace of their relationship.

And Niel hasn’t told her that he’s a werewolf.

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/make-me

STORY EXCERPT

Trinidad Meredith stared at her work colleague, Tamara. “You met two hunky men at the wedding? Two? And they’ve offered you a job at their club? And this is it? You’re leaving?” Trinidad thought that was what Tammy had said but none of it sounded like the way her usually sensible, careful friend lived.

“Yes, yes, and yes.” Tammy green eyes sparkled and her face was alight with happiness.

“I’m so happy for you, Tammy. If you’re really sure they’re genuine and won’t take advantage of you, it’s the most amazing thing ever. It just seems hard to believe it all happened so fast.”

“I know. It’s taken my breath away, too. But I have a written promise that if this job doesn’t work out I’ll be offered another one elsewhere in the company. Simon has seriously good networking connections.”

“So are you leaving today or do you have to work out your two weeks’ notice?” Trinidad hoped she didn’t sound envious, although she was envious. She’d love to leave this dead-end job and work in a club, even without two hunky men. But she was also happy for her friend. Tammy was a wonderful, caring person and Trinidad was thrilled that she’d found happiness, even if meant they’d hardly ever see each other anymore.

“I have accrued vacation time so I’m going to finish here today and start work at the club tomorrow. I’ll lose a couple of days’ pay but that’s all. I can’t wait to start my new job. Everything at the club is so exciting.”

Trinidad jumped out of her desk chair and hugged Tammy. “I’m so happy for you. That’s wonderful news. I hope you really love your new job and being with the hunky men as well. Oh my, what a double whammy!”

Tammy blushed a little, but she was the kind of person who blushed all the time anyway. Trinidad wondered if she was sleeping with both men. Or maybe going to sleep with them. Wow! That was another major bonus.

“If your networking friend Simon hears of another admin position somewhere, remember me,” she said.

“Would you like to work in a club?”

“Not waiting tables. I haven’t got the right figure to earn enough tips. But in admin, sure.”

Tammy looked at her seriously. “Would you like me to ask him? Really?”

“For an admin job? Yes, please. I would.”

“All right, I will.”

“Don’t forget I can do basic bookkeeping. I’ve done accounts payable and receivable before.” Trinidad felt a bit stupid bragging about her work skills to a friend, but hey, maybe this Simon would find her a better job as well. Tammy had gotten really lucky. Maybe some of it would rub off on her.


* * * *

When Tammy left her cubicle, Trinidad turned back to her desk and the piles of papers spread out on it. She picked up her pen but she wasn’t reading the papers or even thinking about her job. Trinidad liked being inside in a nice cozy office. Her skin was so fair that in summer she sunburned easily. In spring the pollen made her sneeze all the time, and her eyes watered from the blossoms and tall grass. In winter her fingers and toes ached with cold and she hated having to carry dry footwear to change into after walking even the shortest distance. She would much rather starve to death at her desk than venture out of the office to buy lunch or a cup of decent coffee.

When she went to the store in winter she was wearing so many layers of clothes she could hardly move, and she tended to buy enough food to last her for a month. And she still always had cold feet, and numb, icy fingers. No, an indoor job was the only one that she would ever consider. One where she stayed away from the great outdoors all day.

Working in a club would be amazing. She might even be allowed to stay back in the evenings and watch celebrities rehearse their acts. That would be special. Sighing she looked down at the papers waiting for her to deal with them. The company here wasn’t so bad. The management wasn’t wonderful. They seemed to be a bit behind the times really, not fully aware of the need to have a top-notch website and a presence on the most popular social media sites.

They were also quite rigid about hating staff taking vacation time. She had friends who worked for companies that actually mandated staff using their vacation in the year in which it accrued. Not here. Workers here with elementary school children were usually permitted to take leave in school vacations, but people like her were so far down the pecking order she still hadn’t used last year’s vacation time although she’d asked for it twice already.

Well hey, that might be good if this Simon who Tamara had talked about could find her a job as well. Likely he wouldn’t though. Probably Tammy had just gotten lucky and that was really great for her. But as for Trinidad herself, she’d better stop wasting time and get something done.


http://www.bookstrand.com/make-me

Four twinkling Stars for my baby!

My baby, my very first book, got four twinkling stars:
http://redzworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-dom-unleashes-his-wolf-by-cara-adams.html



When Gaynor Lee and Cameron Wilson discover their Dom is a wolf shape-shifter, their relationship is suddenly turned on its head. Everything has to change. For protection, they consider moving into a BDSM community, Carnal Connections, but then rogue panthers try to steal Gaynor’s friend Ramona. Is nowhere safe to live?

And how will they adjust to life in a BDSM community? They’ve always practiced a moderate form of BDSM, nothing too hard-core. Not to mention that Tor Martin is a wolf and most of the other shape-shifters there are panthers. Can cats and dogs cooperate, especially when some of them are Doms?

Meanwhile, Carnal Connections opens their eyes and minds to all sorts of sexual possibilities. BDSM has always been immensely freeing and fulfilling for all of them, but it gets even better. Until Tor wants Gaynor and Cameron to commit to him.

http://www.bookstrand.com/the-dom-unleashes-his-wolf

STORY EXCERPT



The basketball round-robin was an even bigger event than he’d gathered from the community service broadcast he’d heard on his car radio on his commute from work on Friday. There must have been at least twenty different matches going on simultaneously. Some of them were pretty ordinary, but others were between very evenly matched teams so were excellent fun to watch, and others still had one or more very good players, which also made for exciting viewing.

All the teams were mixed, with a minimum of two people of each gender, and Gaynor had been quick to point out that what some of the women lacked in height or power, they more than made up for in skills. The three of them certainly saw some very tricky teamwork and neat moves.

“Oh, look. There’s Ramona playing over there. Let’s go watch her team.”

“Ramona? Oh, she’s someone you work with. The woman who’s really good with animals?” asked Cameron.

“That’s right. Long black hair. A member of the team wearing the red shirts,” said Gaynor.

Tor took Gaynor’s hand and they weaved their way in and out of the crowds over to the court where a team of basketballers wearing red shirts were competing against a group that wore purple tops. But whereas all the other teams Tor had noticed were wearing matching shorts, and some even had matching socks and shoes, on the purple team some had black shorts and others navy, and there was no unity at all about their footwear. Mentally Tor shrugged. Likely they were a community group who’d simply amalgamated to play in this competition. A group of people from a club who’d wanted to join in today but didn’t usually play together. After all, giving up an entire day to play basketball was a lot bigger commitment than just playing for an hour or so one night a week.

Tor was entranced by the match. The woman, Ramona, was an excellent player, very fast on her feet and almost always able to guess which way the ball would go. One of the other men on her team, a big guy with black hair, seemed to be watching out for her though, almost as if he was worried someone would hurt her. Ha. I bet she’s his submissive. Likely he didn’t really want her to play today but agreed because it was something she genuinely enjoys doing.

The purple team seemed to be playing a very hard game. Playing the person more than the ball, too, Tor thought. He cut a glance over to Cameron and noticed the man frowning. Yes, he saw it, too. It was a very energetic, tactical, well-matched game, but purple were pushing the boundaries a little, although the umpires didn’t seem to have noticed, likely because it was such a fast game. Both sides really were good. But Tor now was certain this was why the big guy was keeping such a close watch on Ramona. He was obviously afraid someone might hurt her.

This game was being played on one of the more distant courts. It, and the court next to it, backed onto parkland, which was wild, bushy, and didn’t seem to be very well maintained. The fence was just a few strands of wire, not very high, and sagging wire at that. Tor had taken his eyes off the game and was scanning the tall grass and straggly trees when Gaynor gasped. He quickly looked back at the match to see the big guy punch a man who had grabbed Ramona’s ponytail.

“That may not actually be illegal, but that was,” said Cameron rather cryptically.

“Huh?” asked Gaynor.

“You aren’t supposed to pull people’s hair in football either, but basically no one who does it is ever punished. However, punching someone is definitely a no-no.”

The court went wild. Three or four men in purple shirts jumped on the big guy and started punching him. The purple-shirted woman with the ball swiveled and just stood there holding it. A man in a red shirt snatched the ball from her and started up the court with it, while several other red-shirted people had joined the fight.

One of the umpires blew his whistle, but no one was paying him any mind.

The crowd started pushing and shoving, some of them running onto the court to join the fight.

http://www.bookstrand.com/the-dom-unleashes-his-wolf

Dungeon Masters book 1. "Take Me".

Tammy Wiltshire meets Leif Sneddon and Simon Jeffries at her cousin’s wedding. When she finds out they work at a BDSM club she eagerly agrees to visit it with them even though she’s sure this will only ever be a weekend fling. She is so ordinary and they are so delicious. Then she learns that Leif’s a Dom. What she doesn’t know is that Simon’s a werewolf shape-shifter.

The men are entranced with Tamara. She’s everything they’ve been looking for in a ménage partner and as a sub for Leif. When he introduces her to shibari she really enjoys the experience.

But then some idiots set off the fire alarm, the wedding is an enormous party taking over most of the hotel, and how are they going to mention to her Simon’s a werewolf? This is getting very complicated very fast. But the sex is good and they want her too much to give up just yet.

http://www.bookstrand.com/take-me-adams

STORY EXCERPT

Tamara Wiltshire stood with her back to the wall, half-hidden behind a fake-Corinthian pillar, and gently stroked her hand up and down what was almost certainly an imitation Aladdin’s lamp. I wish I was ten years old again and believed in magic. If I was, I’d ask your genie to get me the hell away from this pre-wedding party right now.

Her mother’s cousin’s only child, Sophia, was marrying the love of her life tomorrow, and it seemed the family had invited every person they’d ever met in their entire lives to the festivities. Tammy wasn’t even sure what kind of a cousin she was to Sophia. Fourth cousins maybe? Second cousins twice removed? But she sure as hell knew she’d be dead from either boredom or embarrassment long before Sophia and Peter tied the knot officially at three tomorrow.

Genie, please get me out of here before I do something really stupid, like tell all my aunts to stop asking me when I’m going to get married. I’m not wearing any rings. There’s no man hanging on my arm. It’s obviously not going to happen soon. Or ever. I’d much rather wear a man’s collar. Oh yes. A Dom of my own. That would be nice. Someone like Tall, Dark, and Devastating over there. Or him. Mr. Can’t Stand Still with the rich chocolate eyes.

Tammy quickly looked down, snatching her hand away from the fake lamp. The two delicious pieces of eye candy who she’d been admiring were crossing the ballroom in her general direction. Not that they’d be coming anywhere near her. She was wearing a simple black dress, having saved her “best” outfit for the wedding tomorrow. It seemed most of the other women here had spent more on their clothes for tonight than she earned in a quarter. She hated to think how dowdy she was going to look tomorrow compared to them all, when they brought out their wedding finery.

She’d bought the long-sleeved burgundy dress for her company’s annual ball last year, and she’d thought it would be appropriate for tomorrow. But having seen the way everyone dressed tonight she knew she was going to look like the country cousin. Well, it was too bad. Clearly, she didn’t make the kind of money many of these people evidently did.

Keeping her gaze on the floor, Tammy tried to calculate how soon she could leave the ballroom and return to her hotel room. It was in this hotel, of course. Sophia’s family had likely booked the entire place out for the weekend. The good news was that her room was on the fifth floor and the ballroom was on the second, so she could take the stairs and avoid being crammed into an elevator and interrogated all the time.

Tammy flicked a glance to the ballroom doors and sighed. Her mother’s cousin and his wife were circulating through the room speaking to everyone. The good news was that it was Adam coming in her direction, not Stephanie. The bad news was that her parents were also heading toward her.

Ah fuck.

Tammy inched back another step toward the wall behind her, but then her heel was against the baseboard. She couldn’t retreat any farther unfortunately. Sighing internally she pasted a smile on her face ready to greet her mother’s cousin. What the fuck do I call him? Adam? Cousin Adam? What’s the etiquette here?

Fortunately she didn’t have to say anything.

“Rae’s little girl. I’m so glad you could join us on this auspicious occasion,” he gushed, kissing her on both cheeks, and moving immediately to shake the hand of the man standing next to her. A man she hadn’t even notice arriving. It was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Devastating himself.

“Ah, Leif, nice to see you again. You too, Simon.”

Well damn. No wonder they were standing together. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Devastating is obviously partnered to Mr. Can’t Stand Still for Two Minutes. Just my fucking luck the best-looking men in the room are gay. Not that they would even notice me in this crowd anyway.

But as soon as Sophia’s father had moved on to the next person, Leif touched her arm. “Can I take you to the bar? I’m sure you must be thirsty talking to all these people.”

Tammy didn’t think saying she hadn’t actually had a conversation with anyone would be helpful. Besides, so what if they were gay. They were both incredibly good looking and a drink sounded marvelous to her right now. Especially as her parents were still heading in her direction.

“Thank you. I’d like that.” She smiled at both of them, admiring the way Simon’s rich chocolate eyes sparkled and Leif’s eyebrows quirked up as he asked the question.

In a matter of seconds the men had tucked her between them and were gently steering her through the crowd to the bar at the back of the ballroom.

Maybe there was a genie in that lamp after all.

http://www.bookstrand.com/take-me-adams

Five Reasons to Love Her

Five Reasons to Love Her (MFM) Werewolves Wanting Love book 5

This title is offered at a 10% discount. Offer ends midnight CST, August 1st.

Sam Keegan, the owner of the Hanson Mall Steakhouse, and Taliesin Radley, who manages the cinema there, are determined to win Heather Wilton, the mall florist. They love her very much, but why does she insist on doing such dangerous activities? She runs down the stairs, leaping an entire flight on landing. She jumps on trampolines and bounces up to the top of a wall. Why can’t she just let them provide her with all the excitement and drama a person needs in the dungeon or in bed, and act like a mature, staid adult the rest of the time?

Heather loves running and jumping and can’t bear the thought of being wrapped in bubble wrap, left on a shelf, and only being allowed out when the men want to play. She needs to enjoy life in all its richness. It might break her heart, but she won’t stay with them if they won’t let her be herself.

http://www.bookstrand.com/five-reasons-to-love-her

STORY EXCERPT

Heather Wilton, the florist at Hanson Mall, placed both hands lightly on top of the handrails to the stairs in the professional suites, and giggled as she started running down the steps. Her hands slid along the rails as she ran faster, jumping two or even three steps as she went, and leaping around the corners. Her brown curls flew around her face, blocking her vision at times, but it didn’t matter because she would hear anyone else coming up the stairs and they couldn’t help but notice her feet pounding as she ran as fast as she could and still maintain her balance. Falling would spoil the fun.

Heather hurtled around the corners, having to grab the handrail at one point as she was moving so fast she almost couldn’t straighten up in time. Laughing louder, she whirled past the last bend and leaped down the entire flight of stairs, landing lightly, her weight evenly on both feet and her arms in the air in a victory sign at having accomplished the game.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, his arms spread wide to catch her, was Sam from The Steakhouse, a look of stunned disbelief on his face.

Oops.

“You were doing that on purpose?”

The stupefied look on his face made her giggle again.

“Of course. It’s awesome fun.” She nodded vigorously and brushed some curls off her face. She seemed to have lost the clips from her hair somewhere on the way down. Too bad.

He looked almost angry and she took a step back. She wasn’t used to being toe-to-toe with such a big man, and she’d never seen Sam angry before either.

“I suppose you think it would have been awesome fun if you’d gone ass over tea kettle and landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs as well.”

“But I didn’t. I landed perfectly safely. And if I had fallen, that would have been my own doing and I’d have dealt with it. Gotta go. I was just delivering some flowers upstairs.”

Heather ducked around him and hurried out of the professional suites and down the stairs to the first floor where her florist store sat, facing the main entry from the parking lot. It was an excellent situation as a lot of guilty husbands and boyfriends bought flowers on their way home as penance for the other stuff they’d bought in the mall.

She was still smiling at her success in the stairway and at the look on Sam’s face. He was such a handsome man and always so helpful to everyone in the mall. Unfortunately, he was wedded to his steak house and seldom seemed to leave it, working even longer hours than she did. That was a damn shame. He was a mighty fine piece of eye candy.

Barry, the middle-aged werewolf who worked for her, was patiently sorting through greenery laying the pieces into a neat row by size.

“Thanks, Barry. I’ll get right onto making the wreath now.”

“It’s okay. I like working with the plants. I don’t miss the backbreaking weeding from the days when this mall was a farm, but sometimes I miss the plants.”

She smiled at him sympathetically. “I can understand that. You have exactly the right touch with the flowers. I couldn’t run this store without you.”

“Except when I can’t tell the difference between the aqua and the turquoise ribbons?”

Heather giggled. “But, Barry, it’s easy. Aqua is in the middle of the blue-green spectrum. It’s cyan. But turquoise is right over at the blue end of the blue-green scale.”

“Which is why it’s called green cyan.”

Heather set her hand on her hips and laughed. Barry’s face split into a grin as well.

“I’ve got that problem licked now.”

“How?”

“I just tell them to point to which ribbons they want.”

Heather snorted, bent to the work table, and started assembling what she needed to make the wreath while Barry finished sorting the greenery. Maybe she hadn’t found a wolf to mate at the interspecies mating party a few months ago, but life here was pretty good. Barry was a gem to work with and she loved her store.

http://www.bookstrand.com/five-reasons-to-love-her

For Love of Grace out today and on sale!

"For Love of Grace" (MFM)
"Werewolves Wanting Love" book 4
This title is offered at a 10% discount. Offer ends midnight CST, July 18th.
Grace Patterson needs peace and solitude. Jarin Proctor is too dominant. He’s a Dom and a vulture. And Mark Hamill is too protective. He’s a werewolf. But they both love her. She likes them both a lot, but they drive her crazy with their attention. What is she to do? Grace’s grandfather convinces her to go to the inter-species mating party, which she does. Grace likes the idea of a ménage, but there are no men there who appeal to her as much as Jarin and Mark do. And she knows neither of them could make her happy.
Her grandfather tells the two men to work together to win her and share her. Jarin doesn’t think he could bear to have another man touch his woman, but Mark reminds him that she keeps refusing them. Can a wolf and a vulture cooperate and win her? When the three of them get caught in a flood, can they work together to solve the problem, or are their personalities too incompatible?

http://www.bookstrand.com/for-love-of-grace

STORY EXCERPT

She looked so very beautiful standing there. Jarin couldn’t believe how much he’d missed her since she’d gone to collect her possessions. But now she was back, and this time she was staying permanently. He rushed across the room and opened his arms, wanting to grab her to him and hold her tight.
Instead she put up her hand in a stop sign and said coldly, “I don’t believe I invited either of you people into my home.”
“The door was open.” Jarin couldn’t understand what she was complaining about. He needed to hug her, to welcome her back here. To invite her into his arms forever.
“Next time I’ll remember to lock it.”
Jarin was aware of Mark leaving the room, but the man had always been a weakling. Grace obviously didn’t understand. Maybe she’d been so busy looking around, she hadn’t heard them. “We’ve come to help you unload your things. We’re here to carry your furniture inside for you.”
“Thank you for your concern, but I don’t need help. The truck is equipped with a wheeled luggage trolley.”
“But your bed, your refrigerator, your couch. You can’t possibly move such big, heavy items alone,” argued Jarin. He didn’t understand her attitude at all. He and Mark were here to do the heavy labor for her. All she had to do was tell them where to place each item.
“Very well.”
Grace seemed to deflate before his gaze. Her happy smile and the aura of excitement that had surrounded her when he arrived had gone. She was cold and closed off now. But she’d agreed to let them help, so it was all good.
She turned the U-Haul truck around so the back faced the door of her home and there was not much distance between the two, and then stayed in the apartment directing them where to place her things. She wouldn’t let them move her boxes of possessions, though, insisting they stay in a stack against the wall. Long before Jarin was ready to leave, long before the room was in any semblance of order at all, she shooed them out of the apartment and took them to her grandfather’s house.
She put the coffee pot on for them, and then hugged her grandfather. “Thank you for the apartment. It’s perfect.”
Jarin watched the interaction between the two Pattersons. The old man was cantankerous, but it was clear he loved his granddaughter. Jarin could understand that. He loved her, too. It seemed to him he’d loved her forever. When she’d visited Vulture Valley as a teenager he’d been enchanted by her golden hair and the way she understood the desert. As they’d both grown older his love for her had deepened. Now it was almost a physical pain in his heart that she didn’t seem to understand how perfect she was for him and how much he needed her.
She went out to her father’s kitchen and brought in the coffee and a plate of cookies. “Grandpa, where’s the key to the apartment, please? I want to lock the door.”
The old man frowned. “Oh, yes, it did come with keys. But no one needs such things out here. I put the paperwork in the filing cabinet. Perhaps they’re in there.”
Instead of sitting down to talk to them, Grace disappeared from the room again. About ten minutes later Jarin watched her go over to the apartment and lock the door. Then she went around to the lean-to beside the house and took out her dirt bike. She started the engine and rode it around the backyard a few times then rode it up the luggage ramp and into the U-Haul truck. Next she put the luggage trolley back into the truck, packed up the ramp, and closed the door.
Jarin was confused. Surely she wasn’t going joyriding on the dirt bike right now. He’d planned to follow her to the next town in his truck and bring her home after she returned the U-Haul. That would give him an hour or seventy minutes to convince her to let him date her. But no. Before he could even get his thoughts together, the truck bumped its way out of the backyard and was gone.
“What the fuck?” he exploded.
“There are only three coffee cups. If you’d paid attention, you would have known she wasn’t coming back right now,” said Mark quietly.
“But I wanted to go with her to return the truck.”
“I think we can safely assume that she wanted to go alone.” This time there was a hint of laughter in Mark’s voice.
Jarin jumped to his feet, ready to punch the stupid, smart-ass grin off Mark’s face, but Mr. Patterson said, “Boys!”
“I haven’t been a boy for ten years,” he grumbled, sitting down again and snatching the last cookie off the plate.
“Well, stop acting like one then,” said the old man.
Jarin bit off a chunk of cookie then drew in a deep breath to control his anger. All that happened was a bunch of cookie crumbs went down his throat the wrong way and he ended up coughing and coughing, until his face was red, and his eyes were watering.
Mark left the room and came back with a glass of water and a handful of tissues for him, but he had no breath left to thank him if he’d wanted to. Which he didn’t.
He’d just gotten his breath back and was sipping his water when Glen said, “You two boys aren’t paying attention at all. She went to that mating party thing, remember? Where a lot of the women mated two or even three men. Stop trying to win her over one at a time. Your attempts are a waste of effort. Instead, if you can figure out a way to work together to both mate her, you just might succeed. Now off you go and learn how to do it. Don’t come back until you’ve gotten a proper plan.”
Jarin stared at the old man. “Two men? A ménage? Both of us together?”
“Exactly. Now go away and don’t come back until you know how to succeed.”

http://www.bookstrand.com/for-love-of-grace

Ten Brand New Free Stories on the App!!

Coming on 13 July!

"The Nurse and her Wolves" This story is the Prequel to the "Werewolves Wanting Love" series.
Josiah Miles is concussed on the way to the mating party when he stops to help a broken-down truck. He and Riley Steele meet Nurse Eilidh Brennan and know she’s the woman for them. But Eilidh isn’t looking for a man of her own. She’s only there to work.

http://www.bookstrand.com/apps_2014_promo

Three Make a Ménage

Three Make a Ménage (MFM)
Werewolves Wanting Love book 3

Tybalt Mundy and Zane Saville were thrown out of their pack after the mating party because they didn’t agree to their Alpha’s sons usurping their place there. Dorothea Chisholm takes them to the shape-shifter clinic. Dr. Oscar Thorne suggests the three of them go to Arizona to bring back a difficult old patient. Two of his rehabilitation aides found their mate at the party, and he’s short two staff members. Thea thinks it might be fun to spend more time with the men, so they set off on the road trip.

The men have a lot on their minds. They’re now homeless, unemployed, and friendless, simply for obeying the rules. Thea is furious that they, the victims, have been made to suffer. But soon they find great comfort and friendship with each other.

Until they meet up with their patient and his granddaughter and a whole passel of new problems come at them from every direction at once.

http://www.bookstrand.com/three-make-a-menage

STORY EXCERPT

Dorothea Chisholm stood in the center of the now empty foyer of the Konference Kabins conference center. She grinned at the manager and said, “Wow. I never thought it could all be dismantled and packed away so fast. You have a mighty fine staff team here. I wish every conference I organized the events for was as well managed as this place.”

“It’s been a pleasure holding the DADISP. I hope you’ll consider us for your venue again next year.”

“It’d be hard to find a better place. But it’s not my decision, of course. Who knows who they’ll ask to organize it next year. If there even is one next year.”

Dorothea felt a touch of sadness run through her. It wasn’t just the usual letdown when the adrenaline of being on call twenty-four-seven for a week of events faded. Two hundred werewolf shape-shifter bachelors desperate for a bride had been here, and not one of them made her pulse pound and her panties dampen. In the words of Ebony and Ivory Tainton’s mom, likely she was being too picky and needed to settle for Mr. Good Enough instead of continuing to look for Mr. Right. But somehow Thea wasn’t ready to take that step yet. She always knew she’d be hellishly busy this week, but she’d thought maybe a man or two might interest her enough for her to want to get to know them better.

She shrugged. Well, the week was over. The second Desperate and Dateless Interspecies Week-Long House Party was over, and no man had attracted her attention. Sometimes that was simply the way the cookie crumbled. It was time to pull up her big girl panties and get on with the job. She had a hire truck full of equipment to be returned to a bunch of different companies who’d loaned it to her for the week. It was afternoon already, and if she didn’t get everything returned today, she’d have to pay another day’s hire fee. She needed to get moving.

“Once again, thank you,” she said to the manager, then hurried out into the sunshine, wiggling her shoulders, and turning her face up to the warmth. It was already fall. It’d be winter and snowing far too soon. She might as well enjoy the good weather while it was still here.

The truck she’d hired was right out front of the building, actually on the lawn where the sports courts had been for the duration of the DADISP. Wolves tended to have a lot of energy, and with so much testosterone crammed up together, Thea had done her best to ensure that there was a good range of activities where the wolves could burn off their excess energy in socially acceptable ways. Although as the week had progressed, plenty of them had found a woman of their own and were burning up the sheets instead of the volleyball court. She giggled, remembering how both her friends Ebony and Ivory had found two men each to share her. Then she sighed. Two men sounded wonderful, but even one man would do, if only there was someone who excited her mind, her heart, and her hormones simultaneously. Oh, well, maybe next year.

She ran up to the truck and pressed the beeper to unlock the door. Then she noticed two men sitting on the grass a couple of yards away from the truck. They had several suitcases with them and it seemed to her they were hoping she’d notice them yet not quite confident enough to speak first.

She certainly knew who they were. They were the men who’d been tied up in their cabin by the sons of their pack’s Alpha. Apparently he’d been more interested in marrying off his sons than in abiding by the rules of the DADISP.

What they’d done was a crime in shape-shifter law, although probably only a minor offence under American law. If they had a good lawyer, likely they could pretend it’d all been just a game gone a little wrong and they’d be let off with a fine. The shape-shifters would not forgive them so lightly however. Everyone knew how important it was that the women could trust the men they met at the mating party. There would be no future mating parties because no woman would risk coming if she thought anyone could come and look for a wife without passing the registration tests and proving they were genuinely looking for a mate, and honorable people as well.

She pointed to one with light brown hair. “Tybalt Mundy?” and then to the tall, lean blond. “Zane Saville? Why are you still here?”

“We are no longer welcome in our pack,” said Zane.

“We were hoping you could drop us off at the nearest Greyhound bus terminal, please. We were talking to one of the men here who said there’s very little unemployment in Nebraska so we thought we’d go there,” added Tybalt.

Zane stood up and bowed his head before her. Then he looked into her eyes, his own full of pain. “We wish to make contact with the werewolf packs there, but of course our own Alpha will not give us a reference. We are persona non grata now.”

http://www.bookstrand.com/three-make-a-menage

Two Lone Wolves

Two Lone Wolves (MFM)
Werewolves Wanting Love book 2

Ivory Tainton wants a Dom. Hadrian McNaught’s a Dom but he and Gregory Boland want Ivory to get to know them as people first. They’re both lone wolves who have met up with each other and now want a woman to make them into a family. Ivory isn’t listening. This is her opportunity to find out all about BDSM and she isn’t waiting for all their explanations. Ivory’s one of the dance teachers at the DADISP with very little free time. How can they get to know her when she’s always racing off to do something? How can Hadrian explain BDSM to her when she wants to jump straight in and experience it herself? And how can they get her to understand how very dangerous it is to allow anyone calling himself a Dom to teach her instead of waiting for them?

http://www.bookstrand.com/two-lone-wolves


STORY EXCERPT

Ivory Tainton made her way through the crowds at the barbecue, looking for a group of women to talk to. There were sixty women at the Second Desperate and Dateless Interspecies Week-Long House Party—known as the DADISP—and almost two hundred men, so finding an actual group of ladies wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

Also, there seemed to be an excessive number of security guards standing around. Now, okay, the barbecue was out on the lawns of the Konference Kabins convention center, but even so, it was well inside the fenced property, not on the roadside or being held in a public park or something. Why were there so many beefy security guards surrounding the barbecue pit, the food tables, and the dance floor?

The DADISP was a week-long event and tonight was the third night. Ivory and her sister Ebony were here as dance instructors and already Ebony had found two men who made her very happy. There were two men Ivory liked as well, but what she wanted was some men who’d introduce her to BDSM and neither of the men who wanted to get to know her better would do that. So now she wanted to talk to the other women here and see if any of them had met up with a Dom they’d introduce her to.

How the hell will I ever know if BDSM is what I’m looking for, if no one will teach me? Or at least give me an introduction to a BDSM club with high standards and a rule about only permitting safe, sane, and consensual play.

“Ivory?” Dorothea, the events coordinator for the DADISP, gripped her arm. Ivory turned around, and sighed. Standing one on either side of Dorothea, making her look even smaller than she really was, were Hadrian McNaught and Gregory Boland, the men who had made it quite clear they’d like to get to know her better. She stifled her sigh and looked at them both critically. They really were very easy on the eyes.

Hadrian was maybe five feet eleven tall, with a very stocky and muscular build. He’d told her he’d been born in the mountains of Wyoming and he looked as if he had the sheer mass and power to move a mountain any time he wanted to. He also had thick black hair, and very dark, almost black eyes, that seemed able to look right into her innermost being.

Gregory was a couple of inches taller than Hadrian and it was his eyelashes that she’d noticed first about him. She’d kill for eyelashes like his, they were so long and thick. His hair was light brown, although his brows and lashes were darker, and his eyes were hazel, not that she could tell in the semidarkness right now.

Purposely ignoring the men, she smiled at Dorothea. “Hi, Dorothea. Why is there so much security here tonight?

“Oh, you know what wolves are like. They’re just naturally protective.” Dorothea stepped back and Hadrian and Gregory moved to take one of Ivory’s arms each.

“May we escort you to get some barbecue?” asked Hadrian.

Ivory sighed again. They were really nice, and she was hungry. Just smelling the delicious meat cooking had made her ready to eat. But she wanted a Dom and was running out of time to find one. Gently but firmly she pulled herself free of them both. “Not tonight, but thanks anyway.”

Turning swiftly, she dived between some men and reappeared the other side of them hurrying to the group of women she’d sighted just before Dorothea had stopped her. Maybe one of them could point her to her Dom.

http://www.bookstrand.com/two-lone-wolves

One Very Special Woman

Werewolves Wanting Love book 1

The moment werewolves Merek Hopwood and Benedict Shearer see Ebony Tainton they know she’s the woman for them. Only problem is, she and her sister Ivory are the dance teachers at the conference, with very little time to party and the need to treat all the men perfectly equally.

Merek, a Dom, and Ben set out to spend every available moment with Ebony, which means attending every class she teaches. Merek also takes the time to plan some special things she might agree to do, such as a picnic. They’re very happy when she agrees to have lunch with them, but frustrated by having to share her with the many other wolves who also want to dance with her and talk to her and her sister.

They only have a week. Will they ever get her alone to show her how much they love her and want to make her theirs?

http://www.bookstrand.com/one-very-special-woman

STORY EXCERPT

At the door, women lined up on one side and men the other, and security was checking the women and letting them in first. Only when no women were waiting were the men allowed in. Consequently even though they were early, the men’s line was long.

Once they were finally scanned inside it was no better. There was a bar at one side of the room, with a huge range of beverages and several wait staff, and a stage with a band on it. The band looked pretty normal to Merek, a keyboard player, several guitarists, a drummer, a couple of singers.

The rest of the room had a row of chairs against the wall, interspersed with little tables holding giant potted plants. Now he looked again, there was a line of equally large green plants in front of the stage, and more potted plants in the corners of the rooms, as well as by the doors where he’d entered and not noticed them as he passed. He was focused on looking for Ebony and Ivory, but he couldn’t see them.

Deciding he’d rushed too much, he looked at each woman more carefully but no one had butt-length black hair, or a whole lot of dark hair piled up on her head.

Well, likely that was a good thing. He only needed to watch the door and sooner or later she’d arrive. The band was playing, but it was background sort of music, not dance music.

“Shall we walk?” asked Ben softly.

He nodded. Yes indeed, it was important not to appear as stalkers. Not that they were stalkers precisely. It was just that they’d already chosen their woman. Merek wondered how many other men had found the woman they wanted already. And how many of them wanted Ebony? His major hope was that at least half the men who’d been talking to the women at lunchtime had their hearts set on Ivory, not Ebony. Ivory was very beautiful and seemed a lovely person. Merek would be more than happy to have her as a sister-in-law. But it was Ebony who made his cock stand up and who tugged at his heart strings with every smile and frown she made.

Very slowly they circled the large room, nodding and smiling to some of the people they’d already met, but nowhere did they see Ebony and Ivory. When they reached the bar, they both chose glasses of light ale. Now was not the time to get drunk. They stopped about halfway down the side of the room, where they had a good view of the doors.

He was startled when the music stopped and a woman welcomed them. She was quite a small woman with light brown hair and dressed in a white dress with some sort of ribbons tied up under her breasts.

“Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Second Desperate and Dateless Interspecies Week-Long House Party. My name is Dorothea and I’m your host this evening. I know some of you will be thinking how very formal and structured the week is and how many rules we’re imposing on you. The rules are there to ensure that all the women here are comfortable, and that the men all understand it is always the woman’s choice as to what happens here, including whether or not she dances with you. Just to show you what rules are really like, the first item this evening is going to be a formal dance from the days of Regency Britain. You will notice that everyone is wearing gloves, and that the only place anyone may touch a lady is on her gloved hand.”

Dorothea had been holding something in one hand, which turned out to be long white gloves. When she pulled them on they came up over her elbows. Merek barely had time to assimilate that fact when three men and two women came out from behind the stage and stood in two lines in the center of the dance floor. The women on one side and the men on the other. The three men were wearing tight pants that stopped just under their knees and long socks that vanished inside the knee breeches. They had tight coats with long tails. One of the two women was a blonde wearing a pale pink dress with a ruffled hem and pink ribbons on it and the other woman was dark and wearing pale lilac. Ebony! Ebony and Ivory! So that’s where they were, out back waiting for this dance.

Merek relaxed as he watched the six people dance. It was actually damn complicated and quite energetic. Certainly they never even brushed their bodies against each other in the twists and turns of the dance, as they ducked under joined hands, and twirled around each other. There were a lot of tricky little steps to the sides and backward and forward as well as the weaving in and out things they did. Merek was glad he hadn’t had to learn that and wondered who the three men were. Fitness instructors or personal trainers maybe? Those people in the olden days must have been damn fit to do dances like that all night long.

At the end of the dance the six dancers bowed and walked around back of the stage again, and the band began to play a modern dance.

Instead of joining the people crowding onto the dance floor, Merek moved smoothly up the side of the room, wanting to see Ebony. But the dancers had completely disappeared. Well, fuck!

http://www.bookstrand.com/one-very-special-woman