After a night at home, I’m back at the hospital. Dad’s recovering, and we’re hoping they’ll release him into rehab soon. It’s hard on all of us being this far from home.

In the meantime, I have a book out today! If you’re looking for a very sexy paranormal, you’ll want to give this one a try! It’s available at Amazon and is FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers—for a limited time only!

Lion in the Shadows

When a teen dies inside an unexplored cave, it’s Lani Kimmel’s job to bring him out. Though not a pleasant job, it’s one she’s handled many times as a member of the local fire department and an expert in cave rescues. The trek into the cave awakens a creature that will push this no-nonsense woman’s boundaries of belief and test her newly emerging love for one man.

Rafe Chavez, the new sheriff in this small Texas town, has already staked a claim on Lani. He’s a man with a goal in his sights, and he’s not letting anything get in his way—until he dreams about an Indian brave who died in that unexplored cave, savaged by a mountain lion. When his dreams cross into reality, Rafe realizes he may be possessed by the Indian’s spirit—but the spirit isn’t alone, and it wants Lani.

Just when Lani’s resistance to his sensual persuasion crumbles, Rafe must push her away to protect her from another creature that has also cast its gaze upon her…

Get your copy here!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jackie Wisherd!
*~*~*

Leave a comment for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate!

A Deadly Business

There is nothing quite so deadly as the business of revenge…

Just ask me. I know, because one of the most terrifying men in the world wants me dead for revenge.

My name is Marissa Hayes. I was recruited by the CIA because I had what they wanted—a degree from Wharton School of Finance and experience in complicated money transactions. Under the name of Lauren Chapman I spent three years playing a role in one of London’s top money managers. My target? One of their clients, a man named Stefan Maes whose  money came from providing illegal arms to terrorists, funding cartels and raping Third World countries of their resources.

I was close to sealing the deal for the CIA, giving them enough information to take Maes down and freeze almost all of his money, when my cover was blown. That’s a damn scary thing, because when people like Maes get hold of you, death is the most pleasant thing that can happen to you. Lucky for me, my handler had an escape method already planned. He whisked me out of London through back alleys and down seedy streets until I was safe on a boat and then a plane.

Safe!

What a joke!

I thought I was safe when the relocated me to a sleepy little Southern town on the west coast of Florida—Arrowhead Bay. Nothing much happens there, although it does get a lot of tourists. I changed my hair, my makeup, my style of clothing…My name is now Marissa Hayes and I run an art gallery. A far cry from being a spy for the Central Intelligence Agency.

I was sure I was safe and secure in Arrowhead Bay. After all, it is the home of the international security agency, Vigilance, whose agents are all former Special Ops of one kind or another. And then there is Justin Kelly, one of their top agents, who has been teaching me defensive boxing while we dance around a sizzling sexual attraction. He’d defend me with his life, although of course, who could find me? Right?

But Maes’ right hand man, who hated the fact that I rebuffed all his sexual advances, blew my cover with his boss. Now Maes, who had lost a huge chunk of his empire, was out for blood. He wanted my head on a stick and my other body parts scattered to the winds.

Of course, nothing is for certain, and when two of Maes’ agents find me in Arrowhead Bay, I know it won’t be long before Maes himself arrives. Time to get the hell out of dodge, at least until the danger has passed. Vigilance has sent me off to a private Caribbean island, with a bonus—Justin as my bodyguard.

As I write this I am sitting in a private villa at Rosewood on Princessa Key, a luxury resort on a private island, where Justin and I finally gave in to our feelings for each other. But right now Justin is on the phone with Vigilance, where he has received frightening news. Maes has disappeared.

I keep telling myself he can’t find me here. Right?

Right?

 

A Deadly Business

Her life in beautiful Arrowhead Bay seems like paradise. But for former CIA operative Marissa Hayes, it’s a deep cover she’s forced to live under after daring to take down a powerful enemy with strong terrorist ties. Out of necessity, she keeps her emotions as guarded as her life, even as she finds herself drawn to Justin Kelly, the most arousing man she’s ever met. But when Marissa must find a new place to hide, the able-bodied Vigilance agent is the first man she turns to . . .
Justin can’t get close to Marissa, if he hopes to keep her alive. Which only makes sharing a villa with her at a remote island resort all the more challenging. The passion rising between them is exquisite—and excruciating. Even more so when terrorists infiltrate the island, putting Marissa in the crosshairs. Now Justin will do anything to protect the woman he cares about more deeply than he dares to admit. . . .

Get your copy here:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Business-Vigilance-Desiree-Holt-ebook/dp/B078LQN6C2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1525461092&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Deadly+Business+desiree

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-deadly-business-desiree-holt/1127723099?ean=9781516103690

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-deadly-business-3

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-deadly-business/id1329275830?mt=11

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38534912-a-deadly-business?ac=1&from_search=true

 

 

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Just to update for those of you who’ve been worried, my dad came through his surgery. He’s in pain, of course, but already feeling grumpy and ornery, so that’s good news, too. 🙂 Despite all the dire “news” the nurses gave us about what exactly was going to happen to him in surgery, the doctor (who we met five minutes before dad went back) told us it was going to be an easy, 30-minute procedure to put some screws into his bone to support that broken femoral neck. Easy-peasy. And it was. He’ll have rehab, and we’ll force some adjustments once he comes home to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself again, but all’s good.

I’m posting this late. Today’s been a bit of a whirlwind.

My dad, whose picture with me I’m sharing above, fell outside and broke his hip—or his femoral neck, to be more specific. He went out to weed-eat, because he likes to putter and do things for himself, but he fell and hurt himself. I found him fifteen minutes later, called my dd, because I couldn’t move him. Why didn’t we call an ambulance? 1–dad didn’t want one; 2–we live in a rural area, and our volunteer fire department would have answered that call (nuff said); and 3–my dd’s had some training, so I wasn’t worried she’d hurt him when she moved him. And in the end, she had him in the car, without a lot of pain, inside five minutes.

The local hospital took pictures and confirmed he’d broken his hip, loaded him into an ambulance and shipped him to Little Rock. Mom and I went home and packed and high-tailed it to the city, where we’re staying now. His surgery is tomorrow, shortly after noon. I’d appreciate your prayers and good thoughts. He’s over 80, has diabetes, is on dialysis, has heart disease. He’s a tough man, an Air Force veteran/retiree, and we just plain don’t want to lose him. And he’s not ready—not by the amount of fuss he gave us about getting our own rest today. 🙂

Oh, and that picture was from my 60th birthday party in June. Dad loved the picture props.

I recently published two linked erotic romances with spanking themes. My original plan had been to go through a publisher I’ve worked with before, but staff felt the setting would be a hard sell and asked me to do a major rewrite. Instead, I self-published His Purchase and another I’ll talk about later.

The heroine of His Purchase is a professional softball player with a load of emotional baggage. I’d given her that career because as the mother of two sports-loving sons, I logged a lot of time at baseball fields. No research necessary. Besides, I love baseball.

After exchanging emails with the above mentioned publisher, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’m in the minority when it comes to loving both erotic romance and baseball or softball. I’m guessing the reaction would be different if my hero was a football player or rodeo rider, part of the macho mystique, but I made my heroine the jock in a male dominated sport.

Is that a no-no? Are romance readers turned off by female jocks especially one involved with a sport traditionally considered male? Although I understand why that publisher needs to keep a close eye on the bottom line and might have made the same decision if I was in her shoes, I’m hoping readers are open to more than traditional roles for the sexes.

As I mentioned, His Purchase is a spanking story. In other words, it falls under the power exchange umbrella. Because of the fictional world I created, my dominant male hero fully believes he has the right and responsibility to physically discipline the submissive heroine. Despite her physical skills, she accepts that she will be disciplined if the man in charge decides she needs correction—which he does more than once.

I was fascinated by how my characters handled her untraditional career while living in a society that condones and encourages spanking females. I think they pulled it off but it’s up to readers to agree or disagree.

Vonna

His Purchase

Alia is an Other, just another woman with few rights living in a world controlled by Society rules. At least her considerable athletic skill will save her from a life of drudgery. She knows her rare physical talent will be exploited but considers it an acceptable tradeoff for being able to do what she most loves in life. In addition, she’ll have a roof over her head, food in her belly, and hopefully an end to feeling like a failure.

Kade is an Elite, a wealthy and powerful man who has never questioned his privileged place within the Society. As the new owner of a professional women’s softball team, he’s determined to get the ultimate performance from his players. Never one to turn down a challenge, he knows how to bring his sexy but strong-headed latest acquisition into line.

Despite the team owner’s domineering presence, Alia has no intention of bowing to the commanding man’s insistence she keep nothing from him. She’ll perform to the best of her ability. What she doesn’t dare do is let him inside her head and heart where vulnerability lies.

Kade refuses to accept her resistance. He purchased, not just her talent but everything about her. She doesn’t yet know how far his control reaches, but he will teach her. Her correction begins the first day with a firm hand repeatedly applied to her backside. He spanks her bare bottom until it turns red then insists she display what he’s done. When she continues to defy him, he takes her in hand again, this time adding a butt plug. Despite her shame, she’s turned on. Changed. Desperate for more than just his finger or toys in her.

Everything changes for Alia. She spends her nights in a locked barn stall with the other players, must wait to use the bathroom, eats what’s put before her. She wants to hate the man who has done this to her, but there’s magic in his firm hand. He knows how to arouse her. Maybe he even cares about her.

It doesn’t matter because she’ll never trust him with her deepest secret. If keeping something so private from him displeases him, she believes she has no choice but to live with the consequences.

His Purchase includes spankings and intense sexual scenes. If you’re uncomfortable with such material, please don’t buy this book.

Get your copy here!

It’s been a sad, sad day. Every time I turned on the TV today, it was to see some amazing video of Aretha. So, tonight I’m sharing my favorite Aretha song. I was torn between this and You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman, but listening to them again, I’m touched more by this one. So, here you go…

Hi. Imagine you’re doing some research for a new book and your friend has arranged for you to see the inside of a fabulous, luxury penthouse to help you envision your setting.

When you get inside, you find the sexiest man you’ve ever seen sitting in a chair. Blindfolded. Tied up with rope. And totally naked!

Hmm. Yeah. Could happen! 😉

The idea was inspired by a photograph my friend Evangeline Anderson posted on FaceBook quite a while ago. (Check out her FB page. She has some really fun and sexy stuff there!)

When I saw the picture, I immediately sat down and wrote a scene! I was so excited about it, I shared the idea with Jayne Rylon and Avery Aster and that’s how we came up with Mentor, the fourth book in our Penthouse Pleasures series.

The image above is a cropped version, but you can see the whole thing by clicking here!

And you really should go look because he is sooo sexy! 😉

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of Mentor!

Excerpt

Elle slid the key card into the slot and pulled it out, but the door didn’t unlock. She tried again but was still greeted with a red light.

Red. Stop. Walk away. That’s what the universe was telling her.

This wasn’t meant to be.

Or… was it telling her to try harder?

She wouldn’t give up on writing this book. That’s why she’d come up here in the first place. She’d decided it was long past time to finish the story she’d started and this was the first step. Everley had arranged for her to see the inside of one of the infamous penthouses in Beekman Place—the setting for her erotic romance story.

She pulled her shoulders back, deciding she would find a way to get into this place and look around. Everley had told her the new owners would be moving in this coming weekend, so this might be her last chance. She tried the key card a third time, and when it still didn’t work, she dug through her purse and pulled out her cell, then started to dial Everley, determined to show her friend she was committed to succeeding.

Before she could dial, she heard the door unlock. She stared at it, the green light blinking at her.

“Come in,” a deep voice said, and she realized it was coming from a speaker in the wall.

She grasped the handle and pressed it down, then pushed the door open tentatively and peered inside. Dazzling sunshine filled the large room beyond the foyer. Large windows spanned the wall facing the door, and continued around the corner to the left. A fabulous view of the water glittering in the sunlight took her breath away.

She saw that the place was furnished with high-end contemporary furniture—glossy walnut cabinets and tables, and leather couches and armchairs—which was odd because Everley had told her the place was empty until the new tenants moved in next week.

She stepped inside and let the door close behind her. She slipped off her shoes and walked past the marble-floored foyer, her stocking feet sinking into the plush carpet of the large room beyond. Now she could see the whole first floor of the two story open concept penthouse.

Her eyes widened as her gaze caught on a plain wooden chair facing the windows. In the chair was a man, his arms bound behind him.

Her heart stuttered as she darted forward to help him. But then she stopped cold as she realized he was stark naked.

And blindfolded.

His muscular arms were pulled tight behind him, the rope around his wrists threaded through the back of the very simple chair. A chair that didn’t fit the sumptuous luxury of the penthouse she’d barely had a chance to appreciate.

But now her focus was totally on him.

He was leaning back in the chair and seemed totally comfortable being naked and tied up, even with a stranger in the room. His head was turned toward her.

His face, what she could see of it, was exceptionally handsome. His chin rough with dark whiskers, neatly trimmed. His thick hair combed back from his face. His lips full, his nose perfect.

And his body was… breathtaking.

At this angle, his thick, muscular thigh blocked her view of his more intimate parts, but she got an eyeful of his tight, hard ass.

His body could have been sculpted by a master artist. It was perfect.

Utterly and intensely sexy.

And, God help her, she wanted to touch it.

“I’ve been waiting for you, baby. Come over here.”

His deep sexy voice took her breath away.

“You wanted to try something different. So here I am.”

His words startled her. Had Everley set this up?

Everley had been worried about Elle ever since she’d broken up with the jerk. Everley didn’t know the whole story, but she’d noticed how withdrawn Elle had become and had made it her mission to get Elle back in the saddle again. She’d even offered to set Elle up with one of the two sexy guys from the seventh floor that Elle couldn’t help drooling over every time she saw them. But Elle wasn’t ready to put herself in a vulnerable position again.

When that hadn’t worked, Everley, who knew Elle was the adventurous sort, had urged her to try something totally different. Something spontaneous and wicked.

Like fuck a complete stranger.

Oh, God, had this been a ruse to get her up here? Not to see the penthouse, but to do something wild and crazy?

Here she was being handed a chance to have sex with a stranger—a perfect sex God from the look of him—in a way where she felt safe. The guy was tied up. That meant she would be in total control.

How much safer could she be?

“I’m waiting, baby.”

Buy Link:
books2read.com/u/4AYvvN

Again, here’s the buy link:
books2read.com/u/4AYvvN

About Opal

As a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of erotic contemporary and sci-fi romance, Opal Carew writes about passion, love, and taking risks. Her heroines follow their hearts and push past the fear that stops them from realizing their dreams… to the excitement and love of happily-ever-after. Her books have won several awards, including The National Readers’ Choice Award (twice), The Golden Leaf Award (twice), The Golden Quill (4 times), CRA Award of Excellence, JABBIC (multiple time) and Silken Sands.