Bestselling Author Delilah Devlin
HomeMeet Delilah
BookshelfBlogExtrasEditorial ServicesContactDelilah's Collections

Archive for 'excerpt'



Flashback: Cowboy
Monday, January 25th, 2010

Tonight I’ll be chatting live at Writerspace—at 8 PM ET with the Ellora’s Cave Authors, then at 9 PM ET with the After Midnight Authors! Join me if you can!

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

This excerpt is from the first short story I wrote for publication. Something short, sassy and in first person. It was released by the Wild Rose Press in 2007.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Caught in a sudden thunderstorm on a lonely stretch of Texas highway, I pull into a dingy little diner to wait out the rain, never dreaming the cowboy of my dreams would follow me inside. Now I have a couple of choices, play it coy and safe? Or go for the big brass buckle…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lightning clawed the dark like a crow’s foot, illuminating thick thunderheads that glowed yellow-green and ominous. The color of the sky before a tornado twisted its nasty tail.

Glad to be out of the rain and safe from the jagged, streaking light, I shivered against the cool vinyl booth as another flash lashed out like the end of a whip, lighting the horizon so intensely that for a moment the darkened parking lot was bright as high noon.

That was when I saw the large pickup roll in, pulling a horse trailer. It ground to a halt beside the diner’s plateglass window. The driver wasn’t going to bother trying to park it in the flooded lot.

I heard the muffled slam of the truck door, but the end of the lightning strike flickered out, plunging the parking lot back into darkness. The driver would be soaked before he even hit the door. Only twelve feet, but the rain was coming down in sheets. I’d been lucky, arriving before the worst of the storm struck. Mostly dry, I’d peered through the window at the deepening night, waiting for a lull. I’d read the clouds as well as any West Texas native and headed to the nearest shelter. The tiny diner with its 70’s style brick façade, split vinyl bench seats, and peeling, laminated counter tops was a welcome haven. The attached string of motel rooms was part of Plan B if the storm didn’t wane before midnight.

My arrival had been nearly forty minutes ago. Except for a bored waitress smoking a cigarette at a far table, I was the only occupant. Until now.

The door squeaked open, and a cowboy strode inside. He pulled off his cream-colored hat and shook dark brown hair like a dog, sending droplets of water lashing against the glass door. His white T-shirt, soaked almost to transparency, clung to the hills and hollows of sharply defined muscles along his chest and abdomen.

Setting his cowboy hat on the table, he sank into a booth near the door, his expression a study in irritation. Dark brows drawn in a fierce frown, his lips crimped in a thin line.

The man needed a reason to smile.
Read the rest of this entry »

Flashback: Unbridled
Saturday, January 9th, 2010

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of UNBRIDLED!


On Tuesday, the next of my Lone Star Lovers books will be available for download. Just to make sure you remember how much you enjoy my sexy little westerns, I’m giving you another look at the first book in the series, Unbridled.

I love my cowboy, and I sure love writing about them. Hope you enjoy and good luck in the contest! ~DD

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“…This is another fantastically hot and sexy book. But it is also a very deep and sensitive story about their confused emotions regarding gay relationships, and ménages.”

Tough…or tender? If she plays her cards right, she won’t have to choose.

Dani Standifer arrives home at her West Texas family ranch a day early, ready to pick up where she left off with Rowe Ayers, her high school sweetheart. However, when she opens the door to their line-shack trysting place, it’s clear she waited a day too long. Rowe’s with someone else—another man. And not just any other man— Justin Cruz, the bad boy with whom she shared one wild encounter, years ago.

Justin’s waited a long time for this moment. He knows his reputation, but since he seduced Rowe, he’s been a one-man cowboy—waiting for Dani to return and become the delicious fulfillment of his and Rowe’s needs. If she’s up to the challenge.

To her own surprise, Dani finds she’s more than ready to have both men in her life—as soon as she and Rowe teach Justin a lesson or two about love.

Their small town may not be ready for their kind of relationship. And Dani’s brother Cutter’s mile-deep grudge against Justin throws in a complication that could break the foundation the three of them have built…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Jesus Christ.” Rowe bent to grab his blue jeans from the floor, then held them in front of his gleaming cock.

“A little late now,” Justin said. “I think she’s already jumped to the correct conclusion.”

Rowe’s fist clenched around his jeans, then he dropped them to the floor and straightened his shoulders. A look of resignation entered his face; a silent plea for understanding glittered in his pale eyes as he returned her stare.
Read the rest of this entry »

Flashback: Saddled
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of SADDLED!

In one week, the second of my Lone Star Lovers books, Unforgiven, will be released. So I thought maybe I’d remind you why you’re going to be eager to rush to Samhain to buy it.

It’s all about the cowboy. Independent and stubborn. Strong but tender. Smells of horse and sweat. Completely, lickably male.

The first of my Samhain westerns was Saddled. I had so much fun writing it that I quickly followed with Unbridled and Unforgiven. And you can bet I have something in the works right now to follow. So indulge yourself in some cowboy lust.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

From Just Erotic Romance, 5 stars: “…I couldn’t put this story down! It was danger, betrayal, sexy and fun all rolled together into the perfect erotic romance. The plot was brilliant, and the characters unique…The sexual scenes will make you clamp your knees together and dream of a sexy cowboy or two of your own…”

From Vixen Reviews, 5 stars: “…What starts out as an innocent effort to warm Kate up turns into some of the most erotic sex I have ever read along with some of the best dialog I have seen in a book so far this year…The chemistry and interaction between the three of them is well written and keeps you chuckling and turns you on. The characters themselves are so well written you feel for them and you want them to make their alternative relationship work….Saddled is heart-stopping and fascinating!!!!!!!…”

From Romance Junkies, 4.5 stars: “…Delilah Devlin’s storylines never fail to pull readers into the story and SADDLED is no exception…Of course the sex scenes are scorching and adventurous with the perfect blend of emotional turmoil to ensure readers keep Ms. Devlin’s name at the top of their ‘must read’ list.”

When Bobby Blackhawk and Cale Yancey see a car slide off the highway and into an icy creek, they’ve got only minutes to get the beautiful driver out alive. And only one way to save her from hypothermia: take her to their isolated cabin, get naked…and hope like hell that when she wakes up, she doesn’t scream the place down.

Katherine Duvall opens her eyes in a strange bed, and the tingles flooding her body aren’t entirely due to restored circulation. She’s snuggled between two handsome men, one a gruff, gentle giant, the other a sexy, playful Native American. Having just left her fiancé romping with another woman, she’s not quite as shocked as she might have been.

In fact, these two lonesome cowboys could be the perfect bookends to satisfy her hunger for revenge and bolster her dented self esteem. It’s not long before their raging hormones are melting the snow on the cabin roof.

To their surprise, they find something else is melting, too. Their hearts…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Katherine Duvall awoke as sensation flooded her feet and hands—sharp prickling pinches that made her moan.

“Yeah, it’s gonna hurt. But it’s a good sign sweetheart,” a man whispered against her hair. “And there’s no frostbite. I checked.”

He’d checked? One fact penetrated her pain-filled fog. He’d done a lot more than checked. She was naked. And his bare-naked body was pressed up against her back, a penis nudging her bottom.

“Where are my clothes?” she gasped, choking on outrage and fear.

“Had to shuck ‘em. They were soaked.”

She remembered the car sliding into the water. But why wasn’t she in a hospital? “Where am I?”

“In my cabin. Couldn’t chance taking you back to Wellesley. Snow’s comin’ down too hard.”

Her fingers stung, and she pulled her hands from under the covers to peer at them in the inky darkness. “How long have I been here?”

“Maybe an hour. Was worried about you two. You both passed out.”

“Both?”
Read the rest of this entry »

Flashback: Silent Knight
Friday, December 25th, 2009

I’m taking a break today from cruise pictures to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! ~DD

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

Today, I’m giving you an excerpt from my one and only holiday story. Silent Knight was released in December 2005 by Ellora’s Cave and exists in the My Immortal Knight realm.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

From eCataRomance: “…The perfect holiday read! Delilah Devlin took a Christmas tale to a whole new level when she crafted SILENT KNIGHT.”

From Romance Divas: “…[SILENT KNIGHT] is a sizzling hot vampire story tht will take you on a short escape — the perfect read for a busy holiday season. Sexy and fun, make sure Silent Knight is on your holiday “must read” list!”

From A Romance Review: “Erotically decedent and thrillingly carnal, Noelle and Magnus’ story is enough to make a person self-combust with want.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Noelle Moyaux questions her gift of sight until a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger sets her on a path to save his soul.

Magnus Thornton is a millennium-old vampire who has found evidence of an old foe’s evil at work in the demolished city of New Orleans. Weary of the fight, he decides to greet the coming dawn after a night reveling in his favorite things—a bottle of Bordeaux and a willing woman.

Noelle seems the answer, but she quickly creeps into his heart-the vampire, so jaded from life he never speaks, must now persuade Noelle to flee the city before it’s too late.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Noelle Moyaux flicked off the battery-powered Christmas lights that ringed her metal cart, folded her purple tablecloth into a small tidy square and tucked it and the folding table inside the cart before latching the lid closed.

She wheeled the cart across the busy street and waved to her friend Gerard, the owner of a small Cajun restaurant. Continuing around the back of the eatery, she stowed her palmistry kiosk in the storage unit she’d rented from Gerard since before the troubles.

Today’s earnings were slim, despite the unseasonably warm weather that allowed the thin-blooded residents of the city to roam the streets in light jackets. No one believed in a future amid the chaos—and some questioned her ability since she’d received no divination of the coming catastrophe. Indeed, Noelle questioned her gift daily as she sat beneath her umbrella in front of the embroidered cloth advertising “Noelle’s News”.

If not for the little nest egg of money she’d saved from substitute teaching before the flood, she’d be in dire straits.

Clutching her purse close to her side, she headed down the street toward home.

One last night. One last chance to lose myself in The Hunger, a fine glass of wine and the body of a willing woman. Before my last sunrise—the first I will see in nearly a thousand years…

Noelle heard the quiet, fleeting thought as she passed through the crowd ambling along Bourbon Street and spun to find the owner. The inner voice that accompanied the thought was masculine and raspy. Added to the familiar spark of connection when her skin had brushed against his was a wash of the blackest melancholy she’d ever sensed. It nearly drowned her in despair.
Read the rest of this entry »

Flashback: Ride a Cowboy
Saturday, December 5th, 2009

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

Today, I’m giving you an excerpt from my very first cowboy book. Ride a Cowboy was released in February 2006 by Ellora’s Cave and has since appeared in two print compilations.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

From The Romance Studio: “…Ooooh is this hot! So very descriptive in the sheer need to be loved, to be not only desired sexually by the other. Proving to Katelyn that all men aren’t like her ex, Daniel gives of himself without any hesitation. What a man! This is a keeper, fellow readers, and not just for those dedicated “sexy cowboy” fans.”

From Romance Divas: “…This is one book I could not put down from beginning to end!…I have to compliment Ms. Devlin on her writing prowess. She roped this reviewer with her playground of words, expertise of emotional perception, and exceptional writing ability.”

Katelyn Carter came to rural Texas to lick her wounds and start over after her failed marriage, but a sexy young cowboy seems determined to show her that love is still in the cards for this single librarian.

Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Bodine answers a 911 call to remove a rattlesnake from his new neighbor’s bedroom. What he finds is an embarrassed Katelyn, dressed in little more than her pretty pink blushes. One little omission later, and he’s working for the lady as her handyman.

Burned once by a man, Katelyn fights her growing attraction but finds Daniel more temptation than she can resist. When he shows her he knows his way around a woman’s body as well as he does a hammer and a saw, she takes a walk on the nasty side, vainly hoping she can keep her heart free of entanglement

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Daniel’s chest rose and his jaw tightened. His thumb pressed inside her mouth and she sucked it. With a sharply drawn breath, he bored his gaze into hers. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you, Katelyn.”

He’d said the words—torn away the flimsy barrier between unspoken yearning and surrender. She shook her head. “I…can’t.”

His hands cupped her face, gentle and reverent, as he leaned closer. His breath was sweet and brushed her lips first, prompting her to open her mouth. When his lips slid over hers, he murmured and closed his eyes.

Now, Katelyn had shared many kisses in her life. But Daniel’s tasted sweeter, made her feel cherished, even beautiful. His fingers threaded through her hair and he pulled her head closer for a deeper joining.
Read the rest of this entry »

A Random Excerpt
Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Quick NaNoWriMo update: I’m at 35971. Not a huge gain, but it could have been nothing, nada, zilch. Gotta see the bright side. Today will be challenging too because I’m heading back to Little Rock for the monthly Diamond State Romance Authors meeting.

Since I’m in a rush to get a shower and get out the door, I hope you enjoy a peek at something I’m working on now. Please forgive any errors—I am not an editor, I just write these kinky little things.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“A girl’s gotta do what girl’s gotta do,” Jolene Ledbetter muttered and cinched the belt of her silk robe tightly around her waist.

She eyed the long, hard body stretched across her soft cotton sheets and just barely suppressed an appreciative sigh. No, she wasn’t going to slip back into bed with the man—no matter how tempting the package his large hand caressed in his sleep.

Even snoring, he oozed sex appeal. His nude, six-feet-four, hard-muscled body sprawled diagonally, taking up most of her queen-sized mattress. The sheets were pooled on the floor at the foot of the bed, because they’d both dozed off, sweating after the last round of mind-blowing sex. A dark, bluish shadow hugged the curve of his jaw and she could well imagine how it would feel scraping against her breasts or between her thighs.

“Mmm-mm-mm,” she breathed, not wanting to wake him, not just yet. She still had to work on suppressing the need curling deeply inside her belly and stiffening her noodle-limp backbone.

Time for Gabriel Devine to piss or get off the pot. Time for him to man up.
Read the rest of this entry »

MIK-7: Knight of My Dreams is here!
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

The winner of the signed copy of TO SERVE AND PROTECT will be announced at the bottom of this posting!

Quick NaNoWriMo update: I hit 21692 words yesterday! Okay, not terrific, but progress!! AND I finished edits on chapter one of the new free book I’m writing that you guys helped me plan, BAD MOON RISING.

Well, Knight of My Dreams is finally here. I hope you enjoy it! The story doesn’t always make you comfortable it’s that intense. My editor told me the writing is almost lyrical, and there is a satisfying end for the couple in jeapordy throughout the book. So hang tight.

And did I mention the sex is off the charts? 😆


For love, a man will do anything, even betray his beloved to save her…

Vampire Quentin Albermarle’s wife Darcy lies in a coma after being savaged by a werewolf. Fearing she might never awaken, or worse, that she will return a maddened beast, Quentin returns to the Cayman Islands seeking help from the one woman who might be able to save her.

A century and a half ago, this powerful vampire and witch seduced Quentin with magic and turned him into a vampire to provide herself a mate, but he freed himself from her spell and fled her influence, knowing he’d left behind a powerful enemy. Returning now, seeking Kamaria’s help, he must resist her attempts to enslave him again. However, the price she demands may cause him to lose the woman he loves.

Reader Advisory: The battle to save a loved one is sometimes sexual. It can be hard, uncompromising and not for the faint of heart.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A sick and twisted passage here, but you know my MIKs always have a heavy dose of humor, action and a happy ever after…

Quentin slammed his forehead against the cool black-and-white tiles, hoping the pain and the scalding-hot water sliding over his skin would relax the hard-on the bitch had left him with. His balls felt impossibly full, his cock rigid to the point of agony.

Nothing seemed to dampen the painful arousal that had made the short walk from his bed to the shower stall seem unendurable.

Kamaria’s revenge was as devious and deviant as any he’d anticipated.
Read the rest of this entry »