Good morning, readers!

So.  I didn’t think I had a werewolf story in me, but as I was working on SHADOW OF THE RAVEN this weekend and populating Araven’s universe of muses, gods, and other interesting magical folk, a wolfy story just wouldn’t leave me alone.  Luckily, through the HEARTS OF STONE series, the sky’s the limit, so it all ties in together.  I crashed through an outline for ENSNARED, the story of a Lycan who falls in love with the enemy – a woman from the village that slaughtered his people.  It’s going to be tragic, kind of bloody, and hopefully meltingly HOT – and a solid prequel for a longer book in the HoS series down the line.

Speaking of hot, summer starts Friday so I thought a freebie would be in order – keep an eye out for that.  Also, MAKING THE GRADE (TEACH ME TONIGHT #2) should be up by this weekend as well!  Blurb and cover coming probably Wednesday, and maybe an excerpt.

And of course, things in Bright’s Ferry are heating up – here’s a spicy excerpt from SAFE FROM THE STORM to get your week started right.  I cannot express how in love I am with Tony and Nora – it’s going to be tough to let them go when I’m done!

EXCERPT:

He didn’t speak, just started unbuttoning his shirt, his eyes hot and predatory, his face grim.

“What are you doing?”

Tony shrugged out of his shirt and she sucked in a breath.  If anything, the years had made him bigger, harder, with ropes of tight muscle under all that gorgeous copper skin.  He was almost smooth, just a sprinkling of dark hair under his taut navel, arrowing down to disappear under his belt.

The belt that Tony was currently unbuckling.

“We can’t do this,” she whispered, pleading.

Hopeful.

Tony unhooked his trousers but left the zipper up, the ends of the belt hanging down to frame what was very impressive, very hard proof of his arousal.

Nora stepped back until her knees hit the bed, and Tony followed, crowding into her space until she could feel the heat of his skin an inch away.  She didn’t dare touch him.  Tony didn’t seem to have any similar reservations because he put his hands on her hips and yanked them tightly against his own, letting her feel every inch of his cock right where she needed it the most.

“Tell me you don’t want this, Nora, and it stops.”

He didn’t seduce, he didn’t coax, he simply stated a fact, harsh lust turning his voice to a growl.  For a moment, Nora just stared into his eyes, mourning the romantic, tender man she’d left behind.  The man she’d destroyed.  She wondered if he was still in there somewhere.

I still love you, she thought, realizing that she would take him any way she could get him, even for a few incredibly dangerous stolen moments in time.  Even if he was practically a stranger.  If she had any pride left, she would tell him what he was waiting to hear, but he was rock solid against her, radiating heat and strength and echoes of everything she’d left behind so many years ago.

Nora lifted a hand to touch his cheek and he jerked back, his eyes stormy, and abruptly tipped her back so that she bounced on the mattress.

“Tony, what – ”

She struggled up to her elbows, but he was already on his knees on the floor between her legs, spreading her thighs wide and pulling her hips to the edge of the bed.  Wasting no time, he tossed the skirt of her dress up, his eyes heating at the sight of the garters holding her stockings up.  Nora gasped as Tony grabbed a fistful of her lace panties and yanked, shredding the delicate material.  Her clit throbbed at the sound of ripping fabric, and then she was bare to him and he was spreading her swollen folds with his thumbs, exposing her drenched core.

Nora shuddered as he looked his fill, holding her wide.  This was not the man she left behind.  The Tony she knew had never ripped her panties or taken control with rough, delicious hands.

God, what a turn on.

She was soaked.

“You started waxing,” he muttered, and there was awe in his voice.

Not for you, she thought with a pang.

Stefan had been a bully, abusive and cruel almost from the start.  He enjoyed dressing and undressing her, making sure she was groomed and prepared for him at all times, like a living sex toy.  The waxing had become a habit.

This was different.  For all of Tony’s unsentimental lust, his hands were firm but not harsh, and his eyes were full of heat, not malice.  Steffen had never done this, never knelt with the intention of pleasuring her.  For all of Tony’s coolness toward her, Nora still felt like a person.

Her thoughts fragmented at the feel of his tongue swiping through her wet folds.  Nora arched, stunned as pleasure lashed her.  She was still mostly clothed, and this was shocking and dirty and wonderful.  Tony had always teased her gently, with patient licks and careful suction.  Not anymore.  His mouth devoured her, teeth lightly scraping her overexcited clit as he drew it in to suck, tongue trailing down through her folds to test her slick opening and then, shockingly, further down to flicker against the pucker of her anus.

He demanded her response, and she was helpless to resist.