Happy Halloween! I hope you all have your candy ready for the Trick-or-Treeting kids. I live in a rural area—behind a gate. If anyone shows up at our door, we’ll think we’re about to be robbed. So, needless to say, we have to take our own kidlets to Halloween “events” in order for them to have some fun. Hopefully, the strong storms we’re expecting today will be gone by tonight… So, tell me your Halloween plans…

October’s Winner

It’s the 31st, which also means it’s the end of my October contest! I promised one lucky winner a bracelet, one I’d make according to her color preferences. The winner can take a look around my Etsy store to see what I do and then we’ll talk. I’ll make a stretchy bracelet, something she’ll love wearing. But who is our lucky winner?

I chose the blog date and the name of the winner using a random number generator. October’s winner is…Danielle Estes (Oct. 12)! Congratulations, Danielle! I’ll be sending you an email!

New Contest for November

Let’s make this super easy. Since Christmas is just around the corner, I’ll help one reader with her gift budget!

What can you win? An Amazon gift card worth $20!

What do you have to do to win? Simple. Comment on my blog—on any posting, from now thru November 30th! I’ll choose a winner at random from among all the comments. Good luck!

Hi All! Cynthia D’Alba here. Mega thanks to Delilah Devlin for being the Kick-Off blog for my Texas Tango Release Tour.

Today is Halloween Eve. Growing up, Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. I loved the dressing up, the becoming someone totally different from who you are every day. I’ve been everything from Jeanie from I Dream of Jeanie, to the standard hobo to Ms. Arkansas. Now, I have to confess, the year I played Ms. Arkansas I was twenty-five and teaching at a school of nursing! And before you ask…NO! I was never Ms. Arkansas. My singing and piano playing would have cleared the room…talk about scaring the poor children to death. 😀

Even today, I love to dress up in my cowboy hat, boots and denim. Makes this city girl feel just like a real cowgirl.

In TEXAS TANGO, both my hero and heroine are wearing masks to the outside world. Travis, as the long-suffering widower and Caroline, as the happy-go-lucky doctor with nothing to tie her down. Sometimes a costume can be fun, like the one I’m wearing in my picture for a book signing. But other times, the costume and mask are hiding true feelings from the world as well as the wearer, as in TEXAS TANGO. I wanted Travis and Caroline to have to face what they really want out of life and have to confess it to themselves as well as to the world.

TEXAS TANGO releases from Samhain Publishing in one week. It’s the second book in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks Series. Here’s a little more what it’s about.

Their wedding might be fake, but there’s no faking the mutual attraction.

Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 2

Dr. Caroline Graham is happy with her nomadic lifestyle fulfilling short-term medical contracts. No emotional commitments, no disappointments. She’s always the one to walk away, never the one left behind.

But now her great-uncle is gone and her grandmother is on her deathbed, more concerned about Caroline’s lack of a husband than her own demise. What’s the harm in a little white lie? If a wedding will give her grandmother peace, then a wedding she shall have.

Travis Montgomery has one dream left—to build the ranch he and his wife planned before he lost her to cancer. There’s just one thing standing between him and the last bit of acreage he needs—a last living heir who has one traveling foot out the door…and an unusual request that challenges his determination to never again place his heart at risk.

The land he wants in exchange for a faux marriage. Everyone wins. Until things start to snowball…and the hearts they stand to lose are their own.

Warning: This book contains a tortured widower who doesn’t want a wife and an independent doctor who doesn’t want a husband. Hot stuff between the sheets and failed efforts to avoid emotional involvements.

Want more? Click HERE for the opening of Chapter One.

TEXAS TANGO can be pre-order now from any of the stores listed below or check your favorite online store to purchase.

Amazon | Samhain  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo

Thanks again to the Delicious Delilah Devlin for having me here today. I love love love to hear from readers and there are lots of ways to find me. Online, you can find me most days at my website or my group blog.

Follow me at Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Goodreads or Pinterest. Or email me at cynthia@cynthiadalba.com

To send me snail mail, write to:
Cynthia D’Alba   PO Box 2116     Hot Springs, AR71914

Now for the fun stuff! I have an exclusive two-day giveaway running today and tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll be here. You can sign up both days. So what might you win? Check out the Rafflecopter below! Good luck.

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

AND as my Release Tour moves into November, I have incredible jewelry prizes and some personalized prizes. So be sure to check my personal blog every day. It’ll remind you where I am that day so you can earn lots of entries.

And last, but not least, I have freebies for the asking. Texas Tango Cowboy Hat jar openers, Texas Two Step Cowboy boot jar openers, pens, postcards, trading cards. Drop by my contact page and let your request there.

One lucky person who leaves a comment here today will pick up a western-themed Christmas ornament, so be sure to leave an email address so I can find you.

Thanks Delilah for inviting me over today! Hope to see some of you on my upcoming tour stops.

Flashback: First Knight

I’m having a lazy Saturday. No plans other than playing with beads and posting blogs. Maybe I’ll get out of my pajamas. Maybe I won’t. I ran errands all day yesterday and attended an art guild dinner last night. I think I’m ready to return to hermit mode. 🙄

Do you have big plans for the weekend? Or are you like me—enjoying the first really cool weather, cuddling in blankies and sipping hot cocoa? Hope you enjoy the excerpt from First Knight and good luck with the contest! I’ll post the winner Monday morning!

Post a comment and you’ll be entered to win a free download of this book!

“Delilah Devlin has given us another sizzling hot read with FIRST KNIGHT… First Knight is the perfect erotic paranormal romance… I loved First Knight and it rocked my world.” ~5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews

“Delilah Devlin is a wonderful author and First Knight is a good example of her amazing skill with the written word… This is a tale of deep, true love with a little something extra!” ~5 Hearts, The Romance Studio

“This is a truly beautiful love story… This short story has much in it to enjoy and to actually inspire. It is a story about redemption and about finding the “silver lining” in the cloud.” ~4.25. Dr. J’s Book Place

While hiding her true identity, Maddie must seduce the mysterious Lord Garon to cement their marriage contract to ensure she won’t be returned into her lecherous stepfather’s care.

Fresh from Crusade in Palestine, Lord Garon has a secret he must hide, a hunger that must be fed, and a dark and uncertain future. Having shed himself of a fiancée he never met, he’s home to lick his wounds. The only thing he wants is a warm-blooded meal—but the new housekeeper is strangely insistent on giving him much more.

Maddie shivered at the creaks and groans the portcullis made as it slowly rose. The rain-laden wind carried the noises and filled the silences in between with a howling that sounded like the hounds from hell had arrived at the castle gate.

Shouts outside the curtain wall had alerted them only minutes before of Lord Garon d’Albermarle’s arrival. With only a bliaut over her sleeping shift, Maddie stood on the first step of the keep, holding a tray with a goblet of wine, ready to offer a proper greeting to her overlord.

“Are you sure this is the way you wish to go about this, M-Maddie?” Egbert asked, fidgeting at her side.

She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her mouth and nodded.

“It be on your head then,” he said, his always-mournful tone as dire as one of Father Ansel’s Sunday sermons. She sent thanks above that the cranky priest was away or her deception wouldn’t last past the introductions.

The clatter of dozens of hooves on the cobbled bridge beyond the gate filled the castle yard with thunder. From the encroaching darkness, the sounds were as ominous as the dark shapes looming on the gatehouse walls. The torches she’d ordered lit sputtered and flared, distorting and elongating shapes so the men riding through the entrance appeared as tall as giants.

Already tired and on edge because she hadn’t slept since a messenger had arrived, warning the castle of his lordship’s arrival days before, Maddie’s fevered imagination painted them darker and larger still.

“Be they devils?” Egbert asked, his narrow shoulders shaking. “No one travels on a night with nary a speck of light in the sky.”

“Hush!” The storm whipping at her clothing and the fatigue from months of worry over this very moment combined to make her hands shake and blackened an already foul mood.

The horsemen entered the bailey and a large figure separated from the contingent who approached the keep. As he drew closer, her fears weren’t eased one whit. The warrior sat atop a huge black destrier, forcing her to raise her gaze quite high to seek his face.

He wore a helm that left only his square jaw exposed. The darkness cast by the metal nose guard concealed his eyes. Only his mouth gave a hint of his mood—a thin, straight line with the corners crimped downward.

Under his stare, Maddie’s knees trembled but her tray never rattled. She squared her shoulders and shot a glance about her at the castle folk. “Stephen!” she called to the stable master. “See to their horses.”

In moments, boys scrambled to accept reins, and the creak of leather and the clank of iron filled the air.

The stable master himself approached the dark warhorse at the foot of the steps but the mounted warrior’s gaze never left Maddie.

She licked dry lips with an even drier tongue. “Lord Garon?” she asked, although there could be no question who led this contingent. All gazes remained on his intimidating figure. “Please come inside, milord. Your people will see to the comfort of your men.”

His mouth twisted. “And who will see to mine?”

Maddie’s heart leapt to the back of her throat. “I will, milord.”

A long pause indicated he looked her up and down. “And who might you be, madam?” he asked, his voice a deep, hollow rumble.

Maddie remembered to curtsy and then straightened, girding herself to speak the lie aloud. “Your housekeeper. I take care of things now.” The latter, at least, was the truth.

Lord Garon grunted. Without a glance at the stable master, he tossed down his reins and dismounted.

When he turned toward her, Maggie’s breath caught. Lord, he’s a tall man. I thought it was just the horse.

Maddie lifted the ornate chalice from the tray to deliver her much-rehearsed welcome.

Instead, his lordship’s lips pressed into a tighter line and he brushed past her.

She was left gasping on the bottom step. “What a rude ogre!” she exclaimed, annoyed he hadn’t fallen in line with the first step of her plan.

“Watch your tongue, madam,” an accompanying knight said tersely as he followed the lord up the steps. “He has exceptional hearing.”

“M-Maddie?” Egbert said, nodding toward the door.

She shoved the tray at his belly and grasped her skirts high to rush up the steps.

The plan had seemed so simple. All she needed was to get him alone and addle his sight with a little wine or ale so he’d not care she wasn’t the comeliest creature in the keep. Then she would seduce him.

And the sooner, the better. The longer she took losing her virginity, the greater the risk he would discover her identity. The truth was, she would rather copulate with the devil himself than be returned home.

However, this business of copulation, which had seemed a simple, messy, perhaps even enjoyable act, according to the cook, now promised to be a daunting trial.

The lord of the keep turned out to be a giant and as dour as a priest at confession. The thought of being naked with him and accepting his manstaff into her body frankly petrified her.

She rushed through the massive doors, hoping her preparations would meet with his approval. Nothing else could be allowed to mar her well-thought-out plan.

His lordship stood in the center of the hall, hands on hips. Unlike his men, he wore no chain mail, only a leather hauberk to protect his body. He’d removed his headgear, revealing hair as black as midnight and a face as hard as carved granite.

He was everything she’d remembered and more—more frightening, more imposing—and more beautiful because of the differences. Thanks be to God, he hadn’t recognized her.

His gaze narrowed on the hall and she looked around to see what might have displeased him already.

Around him servants scurried, delivering warm food to the men-at-arms as boys eagerly divested them of their armor. If she hadn’t been observing him so closely, she might not have detected the change in his posture. He scarce seemed to notice the din of activity. His mouth lost a little firmness, his hands unclenched on his hips and his chest rose and fell deeply.

In that instant, Maddie lost a measure of her fear. Here was a man savoring his first night home after a long absence. He had a heart and cared for something at least. Perhaps he wouldn’t be a complete troll when making her his wife.

Bondage Boot Camp Part 2 & Contest

Oh
MY
GAWD!!!!!!!

Bondage Boot Camp Part 1 was NOTHING compared to Part 2!

My next adventure in Kink Land (I’m picturing #CandyLand for the naughty here) was in Dallas at a convention called Beyond Vanilla. This one was more the leather crowd – boot blacks, knife play, predicaments, blood, puppy play and rope. Mmm…rope. My favorite!!

It was very diverse and there were so many classes I had to pick and choose which ones I wanted to attend. So I spent 3 days learning all about different kinks. Some I’d never been able to see in person, and the experience of it happening live and in color was amazing!

What was the first class I chose to attend you ask? Masterful Mindfucks. Yep, and I tell you this, it kicked off the conference with a bang and a half. By the end of the hour and a half I’d seen leeches, fake blood, had a tarantula flung at me (which I thought was real mind you and I do still scream like a girl), learned what a lifetime gangbang might look like, and was reminded what burnt hair smelled like. Talk about jumping into the deep end. I LOVED IT!!

My favorite two classes were Predicament Bondage and Blood Play, which the latter totally shocked me, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Predicament bondage I’ve seen before, and experienced a tiny bit of, but the class I went to was incredible and unbelievably entertaining. It was put on by a Sir and his three “boys”. Three full grown, beautifully naked men!! And all three of them were gorgeous so it was no hardship watching them be put in “interesting” positions.

The first predicament was intense. The Master had his husband, yes I said husband, strip and do 25 pushups. Not too tough right? WRONG! We’re all counting for him, and he’s butt naked in a room of 40 of us or so watching his every move. At the end of the last one his Sir made him hold the push up position. He taped his legs together, very effectively gagged him with a chili pepper duct taped in his mouth and then to give him incentive to hold the position he pulled a sheet of mouse traps out from under one of the conference tables and laid it beneath his stomach on the floor. It was intense! He did great and was able to hold it until the traps were removed. His Sir set off the traps at the end just to prove they were live. Then he showed predicaments with two people and three people. What one does affects the rest, normally is some deliciously depraved way that made my jaw hit the floor. Crazy naughty! Seriously had to hit the reset button on my brain after that class!

Okay, blood play. I had some idea what to expect on this one, cause…HELLO…it’s blood, but I’d never been in the same room with it and I didn’t know how I’d react. I’m not squeamish of blood by any means, but would it be sexy or gross or just ho hum whatever, I could take it or leave it.

I REALLY liked it and that surprised me. The class was put on by a guy and he had two women and one guy bottom for him during the class. He did a cutting with blood cupping **FASCINATING**, needles on this gorgeous girl who really REALLY likes needles, and a venous pull on a guy from the audience for reasons that are too convoluted to go into here. It was beautiful and organic. The chemistry and tension between the Dom and his subs truly touched me. He kept having to remind himself not to get lost in the moment since he was teaching a class. That spoke to me more than anything else, the connection in their play.

That seemed to be the common theme throughout the weekend. The presenters and participants sharing what they love and their enthusiasm was contagious.

That is what I took away from my bondage weekend. Oh, well, and quite a bit of rope burn from three suspensions back to back to back Saturday night. (**GRINS**)

It was a great weekend and one I would recommend for anyone new to kink or curious about kink, or just freaky deaky and you want to get your kink on.

GO FOR IT!! Find the you you’ve always wanted to be, and let her out to play!

CONTEST – Bad Girls of Romance Trading Cards plus Swag and Trading cards from yours truly. Plus, maybe a little bit of something extra from Romanticon since I just got back!

Tell me a kink you’d love to try, but haven’t gotten to…YET!!!

Members Only, Book One

She knows it’s wrong. Cyn shouldn’t have feelings for fraternal twins Jared and Chris, her best friends. She shouldn’t want them to tie her up or strap her down, to take her one at a time—or together. The only way to control her taboo desires is to write them down and lock them away in her diary. Guys like Jared and Chris could never be interested in someone like her, or in the kind of sex she craves.

But Jared and Chris have read her diary, and sweet little Cyn is in for the shock of her life. The brothers not only own a members-only BDSM club, they want her. Need her. And now, with their unlimited funds and an entire establishment devoted to fulfilling her darkest pleasures, they’re going to claim Cyn for their own.

Inside Scoop: If you have a kink, this book probably has it too. If you like your ménage romances extra hot with a side of male-male romance, spanking, voyeurism and girl-on-girl action, come and get it.

A Romantica® BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links below and others on the TIC webpage along with an Excerpt and Video

Amazon | Ellora’s Cave | Barnes and Noble

Website – http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

A Very Menage Christmas is available for Pre-Order Here!!!

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

1NS 200 Birthday Celebration and Giveaway

Good Morning! I am super stoked to be one of Decadent Publishing’s 1NS Authors. I remember two years ago when this line went live. I had friends telling me to jump on board.  When I had time, I checked it out. I’d never seen a calling that had a deets sheet with some background. Once I read the set up I was hooked. When I originally began writing for the line, there was only a contemporary kind of feel. Down the line, that opened up to paranormal, GBLT, ScFi and a mixture of genres.

Check out the blog!

I began with:

Burn Me if You Can– A fun interracial short novella with two diverse characters. Madame Eve knows how to deliver future mates, that’s for sure.

Working for the Wichita Tribune is the best thing that’s ever happened to Rebekah Shayne, until she takes an assignment aimed to take down a prestigious matchmaking firm. She’s determined to ferret out the falsities, schemes, and swindling companies manipulating lonely souls.

Ashton Foster doesn’t believe in on line dating. When his mother takes charge of his personal life, he knows it’s useless to fight her and would rather go through a few dates with strangers than let her push the unending stream of locals down his throat vying for his pocketbook. In this he finds the perfect opportunity to downplay who he is and become a regular type of guy.

Tell Me No Lies – Taking a walk on the paranormal side, I chose an Angel and a seemingly innocent woman working in a sinful environment.

Trading Up– A sizzling hot interracial romance with sensory deprivation and two likeminded individuals standing in their own way of finding happiness.

Camilla’s deal breakers make finding a man to fit her wants, needs, and desires darn near impossible. For years she’s been primped and primed to be the perfect political daughter, when all she really wants to do is let loose without her world collapsing. When a friend sends her Madam Eve’s way, she grabs the opportunity to explore without being outed to the conservative watchdogs.

Jonah Dawson’s career is heading for a change. His friends have dubbed him married to the military, and he can’t deny that his focus has been off center. While they enjoy the pleasures of life and wives, he has nothing to come home to. When offered the chance for a 1NS, he signs up, unprepared for the exotic woman whose sweet exterior masks enticing sexuality.

Sensory deprivation and the natural freedom of anonymity launch unexpected sexual desires. Madame Eve’s only request–Enjoy the sweetness of life and let the chips fall where they may–leaves this couple eager for an eye-opening experience that breaks all the rules.

My Favorite 1NS Stories – Here’s the list of stories at a glance!

Satin Sheets In Space – Jessica Subject
Always A Marine Series– Heather Long
The Virgin Series– Kate Richards
Bella Ink – L. C. Dean
Cinderella Wore Combat Boots – Dawn Jackson
Take Down– Stacey Kennedy
One Night with A Wolf – Rebecca Royce
Want– Ann Mayburn

Enter the Rafflecopter Contest!

If you haven’t checked out the 1NS line, make sure you do. Here’s to finding great reads 😛

UPDATE: The winner of the free download of Raw Silk is…Rebecca Merz!

* * * * *

Just quick commercial, and then I’ll get back to the regularly scheduled program… 😉

Right now, Shattered Souls is available for just $.99! So if you haven’t bought the story, now’s the time! The book’s chock full of gooey goodness—a sexy, kick ass hero you’ll find just as irresistible as the heroine does…a heroine with a really bad attitude and a past she can’t escape…magic and mayhem… Get the picture?

* * * * *

Flashback: Raw Silk

Post a comment and you’ll be entered to win a free download of this book!

“… This is one hot book. This is my first m/f/m, m/f/m/f, f/f, and m/m all in one book! And whoa nelly, this was a smoking hot story….” 5 Stars and Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews

“…Delilah Devlin has a scorching hot read on her hands with RAW SILK…Ms. Devlin gives her readers a sexually charged romance…Ms. Devlin turned up the heat with her intense love scenes and memorable characters. I loved Raw Silk, and I would recommend this story to every reader.” 5 Angels and Recommended Read, Fallen Angels Reviews

“…The always exhilarating author Delilah Devlin knows exactly what her readers want – daring, erotic and wicked delightful stories filled with amazing characters, exciting story lines, passion and an abundance of emotions that will keep them riveted to the pages and once again she delivers the goods with RAW SILK…” 4 Hearts, The Romance Studio

A wicked, no-strings one-night stand turns unexpectedly complicated when three lonely hearts collide…

Camille sacrificed romance for success long ago. Now that the lingerie company she and her best friend built is hugely successful, she has a few regrets. Wanting to let down her hair and explore the possibilities, she agrees to meet a man at a bar for drinks only to wind up needing help when she rebuffs his sexual overtures.

Jake and Daniel are two firefighters hitting the bar for a quick drink after a long shift when they see a classy beauty fending off an overzealous boyfriend. With a flex of biceps they chase him off then settle in to seduce the lovely woman whose eyes reflect a hunger they understand all too well. What starts as a simple, pleasurable one-night stand, quickly burns up the sheets.

While Jake knows he can’t let Camille crush their relationship because of age differences, Daniel still thinks he can walk—until he gets a whiff of Camille’s best friend Lacey. Suddenly three isn’t enough.

Reader Advisory: Burning up the sheets is putting it mildly! Inhibitions are out the door with scenes of m/f/m, m/f/m/f, f/f and m/m.

Nothing was better than a lip-gloss kiss—sweet, silky, made for savoring.

Jake Lassiter picked up his beer and drew on the froth, imagining another kind of cream slipping between his lips while he stared at the woman’s shiny pout. She didn’t seem to realize anyone stared as she slicked her lips with a clear lube, tucked a stray blonde curl behind her ear and closed the mirrored compact. Or maybe she did and the performance was just a tease.

“Dayum, bro. Gotta have me some of that,” Daniel Parker murmured.

Jake shot him a glare, just to check, and sure enough, his best buddy was staring at the same honey-haired beauty.

“I call dibs.” Danny scowled, humor gleaming in his dark brown eyes.

“Can’t call dibs. I saw her first. I watched her come in the door while you were paying for the drinks.”

“Oh yeah? What color is her hair?” Jake asked, leaning toward the bar to cut off Danny’s view.

“Who gives a damn? Did you see her ass?”

Jake snorted, annoyed they were talking like two never-been-laid teenagers, but that’s what usually happened after a long week when both of them were too worn out to rub a single brain cell between them. That either had been able to lift bleary eyes past their beers said a lot for the woman’s appeal. She shone like a beacon in the badly lit bar.

“Why not let the lady make her own choice?” Danny drawled.

“Like she’d come near either one of us,” he muttered, his gaze sweeping the expensive cut of her navy suit, the sleek fall of her chin-length hair and understated makeup. She wore “class” like he did a pair of well-washed jeans—comfortably.

Still, it had been her expression that had snagged his attention. Something soft and wistful shone in her large, dark eyes. She wished she was anywhere but here. Read the rest of this entry »

An Intimate Conversation with Sebastian Marriott

Sultry, wounded hero of Fierce, by Sabrina York, A Decadent Press 1NightStand

Read on for 3 giveaway opportunities from Sabrina York!

INTERVIEWER: Welcome back everyone. We’re talking to Sebastian Marriott, CEO of SEM Inc., successful entrepreneur and all around great guy—not to mention, quite a hunk. So Sebastian, we’ve talked about your climb up the business ladder, the booming success of all your companies. But there’s one thing we haven’t discussed.

SEBASTIAN CLEARS HIS THROAT IN A DEEP RUMBLE. Yes?

INTERVIEWER: Your love life.

SEBASTIAN SHIFTS IN HIS SEAT: My love life?

INTERVIEWER: Come on, Mr. Marriott. You know that’s what all the ladies want to hear about. The one question burning in everyone’s mind. Are you single?

CHARMINGLY, SEBASTIAN MARRIOTT, BUSINESS ICON, BILLIONAIRE AND FORBES MAN OF THE YEAR, BLUSHES.

INTERVIEWER: Well? Are you?

SURELY HER QUESTION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS DARK GOOD LOOKS, BROAD SHOULDERS, LONG SINFUL LASHES…

SEBASTIAN: Well, I am seeing someone.

THE INTERVIEWER POUTS. BUT ONLY A LITTLE. Is it serious?

SEBASTIAN BLUSHES AGAIN. Serious? Yes. It is very serious. AFTER A MOMENT, HE CHUCKLES. But it didn’t start out that way. I mean, our first date almost never happened.

THE INTERVIEWER NARROWS HER EYES. A little birdie told me you met through a dating service. But not a…conventional dating service. AN EVIL GRIN. Tell us about that.

SEBASTIAN BLOWS OUT A BREATH. That’s kind of private.

THE INTERVIEWER LEANS FORWARD. This is An Intimate Conversation with Sebastian Marriott. Come now, Mr. Marriott. The world wants to know how you found the woman of your dreams.

SEBASTIAN. All right. The broad strokes. HE RAKES HIS FINGERS THROUGH HIS HAIR.

CURLS TUMBLE. THE INTERVIEWER DROOLS.

SEBASTIAN. As an incredibly busy man I rarely have time to meet women, much less date. So yes, on occasion, I have used a dating service.

INTERVIEWER: But this was no ordinary dating service, was it?

WHEN SEBASTIAN DOESN’T ANSWER THE INTERVIEWER PRESSES ON. It was, in fact Madame Eve’s One Night Stand Service. Where men, and women, can ‘hook up’ for a night of fantasy sex with absolutely no strings attached. IT IS CLEAR, FROM HER EXPRESSION, THE INTERVIEWER WOULD LIKE A NIGHT OF FANTASY SEX WITH SEBASTIAN.

ALTHOUGH SHE MIGHT PREFER THE STRINGS.

SEBASTIAN: That is correct.

INTERVIEWER: So you engaged Madame Eve, she found you your perfect woman, you had this wild night of unbelievable sex…and fell in love?

SEBASTIAN: As I said, this is private.

THE INTERVIEWER, NONPLUSSED, RIFFLES HER NOTES: Okay. So, tell me what you meant when you said the date almost never happened?

SEBASTIAN SNORTS. It had been a really long day. Even though I’d made all the arrangements for a …romantic tryst, I thought about just staying in my suite that night. I was tired. Been traveling all day. But it was more than that. I was tired of…I dunno. Tired of searching, I suppose.

INTERVIEWER: Searching for the perfect woman? Yes. We all know about your first marriage. THE INTERVIEWER MUTTERS IN AN UNDERTONE. If I were your wife, I would never cheat on you with your best friend. And your business partner…

SEBASTIAN: And my gardener.

INTERVIEWER: Yes. Of course. I’d forgotten that one. Suffice to say, you are better off out of a marriage with a woman who is not faithful.

SEBASTIAN, FIERCELY: Fidelity is everything.

THE INTERVIEWER LEANS FORWARD. PATS HIS HAND. You deserve better.

SEBASTIAN: I found better.

INTERVIEWER: But you almost didn’t go on the date Madame Eve set up for you.

SEBASTIAN CHUCKLES. I almost didn’t go. But something about the arrangements intrigued me. So I went down to the bar, where we were supposed to meet. Just to have a drink. Maybe check her out. Hell, I wasn’t even dressed for a date…

INTERVIEWER: And?

SEBASTIAN, SOFTLY: And I saw her. Laughing. Her head thrown back. Eyes sparkling. I was rooted to the spot. Couldn’t leave. Then she and her friend sat down at the table next to me. Chatting, drinking. I listened in on their conversation. Couldn’t help myself. What I heard…well, it poleaxed me.

INTERVIEWER, BREATHILY: What did you hear?

SEBASTIAN’S LIPS CURL, SLOWLY. DIMPLES WINK ON HIS CHEEK. HIS FACE IS TRANSFORMED FROM THAT OF A HARD, INTRANSIGENT BUSINESSMAN TO THAT OF A MAN IN LOVE.

INTERVIEWER, AGAIN: What did you hear?

SEBASTIAN SITS BACK AND CROSSES ONE LONG LEG OVER HIS KNEE. HE FOLDS HIS FINGERS OVER HIS BELLY AND QUIRKS A BROW. That, my dear Delilah, is private. But it was what I wanted. What I needed. What I’d been craving down to the depths of my soul. She is. My. Everything. That one night—which almost didn’t happen—gave me everything I’d been missing in my life. And more.

INTERVIEWER SIGHS. GAZES AT HIM DREAMILY: Oh Mr. Marriott…

AT HER PRODUCER’S NUDGE, SHE COLLECTS HERSELF. Well, we are almost out of time. Two more questions, Mr. Marriott, if you don’t mind.

SEBASTIAN: Sure.

INTERVIEWER: Question number one. When does the world get to meet this perfect mystery woman?

SEBASTIAN, FINGERS A SMALL BOX IN HIS POCKET. BITES BACK A SMILE: Soon.

INTERVIEWER: And if you could describe her, in one word…what would that word be?

SEBASTIAN’S SMILE BROADENS, BLOSSOMS INTO A GRIN. In one word?

INTERVIEWER: Yes.

SEBASTIAN: Without a doubt… Fierce. My Katie is fierce.

About Fierce

The last thing Katie is expecting—when she meets her friend Joy for a girls’ weekend in Vegas to celebrate her divorce—is an ambush. But Joy, determined to get Katie “back on the horse,” has submitted her profile with Madame Eve—who’s found her the perfect man.

Katie doesn’t want another man. She certainly doesn’t want or need confirmation that it’s her fault Mark could never satisfy her in bed.

When Sebastian—scarred by the infidelity of his wife—overhears Katie’s confession, and the fact that she was faithful to her husband for ten years even though he never met her needs, he’s intrigued. More than intrigued. He’s determined to prove to this gorgeous, tempting, fascinating woman that she is not frigid. In fact, she is fierce.

He took her empty glass from her and set it on the table. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her away from him.

She glanced over her shoulder with a frown. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Just a little massage while we talk. Do you like massages?” Read the rest of this entry »