OMGah!—yes, I’m channeling Jessica Simpson—I have Internet! And it’s fast! It’s only because EVERYONE’s downstairs dancing with the Cavemen. Yeah, it’s actually Friday night right now, but since I had connection, for once, I’m not wasting it.
I’m having a wonderful time. My daughter’s downstairs, pretty, and you know the guys are enjoying that—I don’t expect to see her until much later. My sister’s probably right up there on the dance floor with her, grinding on a Caveman. However, I shall remain virtuous. I have work to do. š Copyedits are due for Five Ways to Sunday.
I’m here with another excerpt, trying to whet your appetite for the book coming October 4th. One click on the cover will take you to Amazon.com where you can purchase your copy while it’s still being offered at a reduced price. And yes, it’s print and full length, and the sexiest thing you’re gonna read this Fall.
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It was a long-standing joke among Ulfhednar warriors that when they perished on a battlefield, they would tell the Valkyries who came to deliver them to Odinās hall that theyād prefer the fiery underworld of Muspellheim. For Icelanders had lived so long on their frozen world that searing heat seemed a more fitting paradise.
However, Eirik Ulfhednar knew the truth. The realm of fire wasnāt a mythical land. Due to one fateful error, heād landed there, and the sultry heat of this godless place wasnāt anything to be envied.
Despite the fans circling high above the garishly appointed salon, the temperature of the room where he stood was sweltering, the air stifling and thick in his lungs. Sweat gathered on his forehead and glazed his bare chest.
For the first time, he was thankful for the inadequate and embarrassing clothing heād been given. The linen garment draping his hips allowed air to cool his nether regions.
However, the fabric was so thin he might as well have stood naked before those gathered to examine the new arrivalsāor āofferings,ā as the whore-mistress called them. A term that somehow made him and the men standing in a straight rank behind him seem less human, more like a feast spread out on a banquet table to be devoured. A feast of twenty rugged Icelandersāall with their long hair slicked back in queues behind their heads, their muscular bodies oiled and perfumed like women, and wearing the same transparent swath of fabric about their hips and silver cuffs around their wrists that proclaimed them the lowest order of slavesāsex-thralls.
Every trace of their proud heritage had been erased except for their large, rugged buildsāthe very qualities that had precipitated their capture and enslavement.
āI count only two guards inside this room,ā Hakon murmured beside him, lifting his chin to point toward the tall wooden doors at the entrance of to the salon.
Called Hakon the Bold on their former world, Eirikās new comrade was just another of the captives being paraded to satisfy the lusty appetites of the Heliopolite elite. All female, thank the stars.
Eirik gave an equally subtle nod toward the windows overlooking the landscaped grounds. Lush green grass, oases of tall flowers and leafy trees, couldnāt hide the armed guards patrolling openly around the facilityās perimeter. āIāve counted six soldiers so far. Armed with stunners. We havenāt shields to protect us should we try to make a break. They could take us all.ā
Hakon grunted. āBut we have hostages. Or are you too squeamish to harm women?ā
Eirik gave him a narrowed glare. āI wouldnāt hesitate, not for a second, to do what I must to secure our freedom.ā
His companionās casual shrug belied his sharp scrutiny. āI thought I should ask, given how eagerly your body reacts to the vicious bitch that brought us here.ā
Not accustomed to having his motives questioned, Eirik bristled. āIf I grow hard in Fatinās presence,ā he bit out, āitās because I envision all the ways I will make her suffer.ā
Hakon chuckled. Suspicion cleared from his face. āGood to know you will not shed a tear over her death.ā
However, as furious as Eirik was with the woman they discussed, the thought of standing over her lifeless body gave him a momentās pause. His chest tightened uncomfortably.
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