Current Events and Plots

Many people ask me where I get my ideas. Actually, they come from everywhere. Snippets of conversations, newscasts, newspapers, people watching, dreams and brainstorming. Current events are always a good place to start. I look at the world around me and there are ideas everywhere. Wars, political scandals, drug trafficking, human trafficking, murder, mayhem. It’s a wonder the human race survives! I chose the troubles we’ve been  having on the Texas borders with drug cartels, drug trafficking and human trafficking for the Covert Cowboys, Inc. stories. Then I added characters with real personal issues and gave them something to fight for and voila! Covert Cowboys, Inc! September’s release is the 3rd book in the series. Things are heating up for the team, join them in their fight for truth and justice.

And I hope you enjoy the following blurb and excerpt from:

BODYGUARD UNDER FIRE

Covert Cowboys Book #3

by Elle James aka Myla Jackson

 Amazon | Nook

A Special Forces soldier meets the baby girl he never knew existed in this book in Elle James’s Covert Cowboys, Inc. series. 

In a small town in Texas, everyone has a secret. Especially Chuck Bolton. Formerly a Special Forces soldier, Chuck now poses as a ranch handyman. His real mission? To protect his ex-fiancée, and the baby girl he never knew they’d created, from a malevolent masked man.

Who is behind the attack—and what could they possibly want with Peggy Jane (“PJ”) Franks? While the answer remains unclear, one thing is certain: Chuck never stopped loving PJ after she left him. And PJ, afraid of falling for the same man who broke her heart, doesn’t want to repeat history. But that’s the least of her worries when her enemy’s motive is finally revealed.

After a quick shampoo and rinse, she ducked her head around the curtain and listened to the monitor. A reassuring staticky silence was all she heard. As she closed the shower curtain, a different sound carried over the speaker.

Click.

PJ strained her ears.

Click.

She shut off the water and listened more intently.

Click.

Then a sharp sound, like something falling, echoed through the monitor.

What the hell?

PJ pulled on her pajama bottoms and top, grabbed her key and flung the bathroom door open.

The door to her apartment stood open.

PJ’s heart slammed to a halt and then kicked into high gear. She had been careful to close and lock the door when she’d left. As she stared into her dark apartment, fear rooted her to the floor for only a moment.

Her baby daughter was in that room. Cold dread filled her and she shot forward, ready to take down anyone who threatened to harm…

“Charlie,” she said and launched forward.

When she stepped through the open door, a dark figure wearing a black ski mask grabbed her and flung her inside.

PJ screamed and scurried backward and then turned to run. She made it only one step before a hand latched on to her hair and yanked her backward. PJ screamed again, her cry cut off by a large gloved hand clamping down over her mouth. She bit into it, her teeth barely making a dent in the thick leather glove.

Elle James’s Bio:

Elle James spent twenty years livin’ and lovin’ in South Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, Elle is proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats. She has 39 works with Harlequin, self published works under pen name Elle James, over 40 works with other publishers including Samhain, Elloras’ Cave, Kensington and Avon and 18 works self-published under pen name Myla Jackson. Now living in northwest Arkansas, she isn’t wrangling cattle, she’s wrangling her muses, a malti-poo and yorkie. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, out snow-skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories.

Social Media:

ELLE JAMES  Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Thank you, Delilah, for having me as a guest. I’m very excited about the release of Passion’s Poison. I mean, look at the cover! That’s Zach and he is a former logger turned chainsaw artist. He can pretty much tackle anything, except maybe Beatrice Rappaccini’s 6 fathers, but then again, to be fair, he was out numbered :-}

What Zach finds in Bea is a woman who is all about sex, but knows nothing about relationships. At first, that is fine with him, he doesn’t mind helping her explore new sexual horizons and explaining that she needs to return his calls. But what he doesn’t know is that his newest lover could kill him with her body’s toxins if he enjoys her too much.

Bea has to get creative if she wants to keep Zach and keep him alive. She finds herself willing to go to great lengths, even ignoring the anonymous letters telling her to stay away from him. Until things get ugly. Zach thinks the worst of her thanks to one of those letters, and she can’t go back to the one-night stands that keep her alive. For Bea, love is literally a death sentence.

I write erotic romances inspired by the classics. The inspiration for this story was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” It was actually Hawthorne who created a poisonous Beatrice. I just made her life a bit more complicated. I’ve included an excerpt from my story that may just show exactly how complicated her life is. I hope you enjoy.

Always, Lexi

Leave a comment for a chance to win an ecopy of Passion’s Poison. Feel free to share your complicated life. I will definitely understand.

Beatrice Rappaccini is tired of the one-night stands that keep her alive. Tired of the illness she causes when she releases her sexual poisons into her partners. But when she meets Zach Woodman, everything changes. Desperate for what she can’t have, she puts her heart and life on the line, ignoring the anonymous letters warning her to stay away from Zach.

Zach Woodman, logger turned chainsaw artist, has the perfect life, but no one to share it with after the deaths of the women he loved. Fascinated by the sexually experienced yet naïve Bea, he promises himself he will end their hot relationship before fate takes another beautiful woman from the world.

But he discovers Bea has no idea how to have a relationship, and he is perplexed by her strange behavior, hippie mother, six fathers and her request to give him every man’s sex fantasy. It is only when he might lose her that he realizes he must make a decision that will break his heart either way.

Bea’s brain kicked into gear at Zach’s words. She wanted him too, but not for just a night. Her pleasurable heat turned frosty. How could that be? She didn’t even know him, but her heart already named him hers. She pushed against his chest to break his embrace.

He let her go.

She staggered back, her knees shaky, her breaths coming fast. “I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea,” she rasped.

He stared at her quizzically. “What idea would that be? That you’re as attracted to me as I am to you? That this,” he motioned with his hand pointing between them, “is great?”

She shook her head, trying not to look at the large bulge in his jeans. “I-I don’t know. It’s too fast.”

He stared into her eyes. “You mean too hot, don’t you?”

She gulped as his words sent fire racing through her veins. She nodded.

He took a deep breath and jammed his hands into his front pockets. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But it’s not something we can ignore.”

His gaze changed from polite to possessive. “I want you, Beatrice Rappaccini. I want you naked in my bed. Once you’re there I want to taste you, smell you, feel you and pump into you until I lose myself.”

At his words, Bea’s legs turned to slush and she sank into the nearest chair.

He hunkered down in front of her and took her hands. “Bea, is there any reason why we shouldn’t get together?”

Oh, was there. But none she could tell him. He wouldn’t believe her if she did. Her last long-term relationship back in high school ended with her boyfriend in a coma. Despite his eventual recovery, she still carried a pile of guilt around with her. As much as she wanted Zach, she couldn’t be happy with one night. This wasn’t about her need to cleanse the toxins she produced. This was about the idea of having one special man in her life. The only obstacle standing in her way was her deadly body.

Zach dropped her hands. “What is it? You hesitated for too long.” He stood abruptly. “Are you already seeing someone?”

She jerked her head up, surprised by the anger in his tone. “No, I’m not. It’s complicated.”

He walked away from her and stood behind the other couch. “Why do people always have to make things complicated? This is simple human nature, two adults who are attracted to each other. What’s so complicated about that?”

She straightened her shoulders. “First, I’m supposed to be here on business. I don’t think it appropriate to kiss a vendor on company time. Second, I don’t know anything about you except that you can create amazing statues with a chainsaw and you used to be a logger from Maine. I like to know a lot more about a person before I have sex with him.”

How little she knew about her one-night stands stabbed at her conscience, but she ignored it.

He grinned and came around to sit on the couch perpendicular to her chair. He took her hand again. “If those are your only concerns, I can work with that. You’re being very reasonable and I’m being impatient. Forgive me. You’re so damn beautiful, it’s hard for me to control myself.”

Heat rose in her cheeks and she looked down to see his big calloused hand holding hers. She wished it were so simple.

He raised her chin with his other hand. “Bea, I’ll try to be patient if you’re willing to give it a chance.”

She stared at him, this incredible man that her body and her heart seemed to crave. A man who would suffer if she gave in to her own needs, but she was weak. Her head nodded of its own accord while her mind screamed no.

He leaned forward and brushed a featherlight kiss upon her lips.

She wanted to cry at his tenderness and she silently cursed her deranged ancestor again for the poisonous nature he had inflicted on her, on so many Rappaccinis. “I better go.”

He stood with her hand still in his. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

She let him help her up, wishing she could figure out some way for a relationship to work, but a deep-rooted fruitlessness settled deep in her stomach.

He let go of her hand to cup her face in his palms. “You look as if you’re going to cry.”

She put her hands on his chest. “No, I—oh no.”

His brows drew together in concern and his hold tightened on her face. “What’s wrong?”

She stared at the scene over his shoulder. “I don’t think I’m going anywhere now.”

He turned toward the great windows, his arm coming around her, but he remained silent. He squeezed her waist.

Outside the snow fell hard, and on his massive deck a foot of the beautiful white flakes announced her imprisonment. The Tamwick roads would be impassable. How could she stay in his house overnight without sleeping with him? “Maybe, it’s not as bad as it appears. You must have gusts up here, right?”

He raised his brow. “Study the snow. It’s falling straight down. There’s no way you’ll make it back to Meriden in your vehicle.”

She stared at her silent jailer, unable to fault the large white flakes defined against the dark grayness outside. He was right. In his home with the snow piling up, it was as if they were the only two people on earth. But if that were the case, he would be dead within the week.

She shook herself and the foreboding that flooded her body. They weren’t the only two people in the world. In fact, she needed to call Craig. “I better make a few calls. Let people know where I am.”

He stepped away, the energy in his body palatable. “Sure, I’ll go downstairs and get wood for the fireplace. I’m thinking it’s going to be a cold one.”

Zach gave her a reassuring smile that did everything but reassure her. Then he headed downstairs, leaving her body in jitters, her heart aching and her mind frantically searching for answers like a chickadee caught inside a house, desperate to find a way out and accomplishing nothing but harm to itself.

Passion’s Poison is available in electronic formats:
Amazon | Ellora’s Cave

For more information about Lexi Post:

website:  https://www.lexipostbooks.com/
Blog:  https://www.happilyeverafterthoughts.com/
twitter:   https://twitter.com/LexiPost
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/lexipostbooks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6915542.Lexi_Post

Labor Day Lament

I’m so excited and honored to have the opportunity to visit at Delilah’s blog. Every time I come here I look around in awe. Isn’t her website great?

I’m all caught up in a new release today and waiting for my bestie and her husband to come hang out with us for a week,  and why is it that just when I get into the fun of summer, it ends? I know we still have time before the Equinox, but everyone knows Labor Day is the effective end of summer. And the time I make my resolutions for the next one.

Next summer…I will go to the beach more often, swim every day! Well, every other day. I will get up extra early to go hike the Ascot Hills so I don’t make the excuse that it’s too hot and end up staying inside with a good book.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I can hike early/read later. Right?

I will grow a lot more veggies so I can eat all the incredible tomatoes and zucchini I want. And force the baseball bat-sized summer squash on my unsuspecting neighbors when I forget to pick them on time.

And watch my nephews do all the summer things while they are little enough not to remember summer has an end and it will get cold soon.

But I am so glad for the books I’ve had the opportunity to read, and the fun I’ve had writing my own. And so, with one weekend left of “official” summer, I have huge plans. I will go swimming tomorrow in a mountain lake. Sunday, the Tri-County Fair with my entire extended family. Hope they are ready for us. And Monday, the hubs is smoking enough meat to feed half the town. We’ll eat and drink and toast this summer and look forward to the fall.

With all its own fun and beauty and charm. The aspen trees with their shivery leaves are already starting to change color way up in the highest Sierras…I won’t want to miss that.

I’d love to hear what you did this summer, and we will select one commenter to win a copy of my brand spanking new release, Switch, and a ten-dollar Amazon gift card to buy some fall snacks to enjoy while reading it. Or summer snacks…any snacks you like. Just enjoy.

Here is a little bit of Switch, to whet your appetite:

“This can’t be the place.” The sun glinted off the block of glass and stone condos, blinding Esme. “Why would someone who specializes in spanking lessons set up shop in the center of town?”

Rick chuckled. “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. A dingy storefront on a side street, maybe a battered warehouse?” She fidgeted in her seat, restless and anxious.

“Somewhere with big rats?” Rick stepped out of the car, and the valet took his place. “I don’t think he’s ashamed of what he does, baby.” He pulled a card from his pocket and glanced at it then came around to her side and opened the door. “The address is correct. 401 E. Burlington Avenue. P3. In such a fancy building, I suspect P3 is a penthouse.”

Helping her out of the car. One of many courtesies he’d instilled in their routine as part of their new lifestyle. She tried to adjust, but it never quite felt natural. Maybe in time. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner of the Amazon gift card is Melissa Porter!

* * * * *

I’m so excited to be here at Delilah’s blog today. Most of you probably don’t now that when I was just starting my career she was one of the most influential people and a strong guiding force. She taught me so much and pointed me in the right direction so many times. I know I wouldn’t be here today, with Book #3 in my Naked Cowboys series, if not for all the help she gave me. So thanks, D, for everything you’ve done and for hosting me today.

Note: Be sure to leave a comment because one lucky person will be the winner of a $10 GC from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Sometimes when you least expect it you can find a naked cowboy to lick your wounds. Especially of you are Stripped Naked!

Taking over as publisher of The Hill Country Herald was supposed to help Jinx Malone put her personal and professional disasters in New York behind her. Instead, she’s barely settled at her desk when news of a murder hits the police scanner.

Who knew Rowan County could be this exciting? And who knew her first story would bring her into head-butting, hormone-pumping contact with something that’s an even bigger pain in her ass than a cheating ex—a know-it-all cop?

Sheriff Dillon Cross thought retreating to Rowan Country would help him get over a bad case of burnout. But only a few weeks into his job, he’s standing over a dead body in a ditch, arguing with his least favorite thing: a sexy, in-your-face reporter.

Before they’re through buzzing around each other like angry hornets, the last thing either expected happens. They’re in bed, burning up the sheets. But is it a new beginning, or just a bad rerun of past mistakes?

Just like two days ago and just like earlier tonight, he didn’t seem to be able to get anywhere near Jinx Malone let alone touch her without wanting to rip off her clothes and plunge himself inside her very sexy body. As he guided her up the steps to the porch, he wondered if she was having the same reaction.

When they stopped at the front door, Jinx slipped the narrow strap of her purse from her shoulder to fetch her keys. At the same time, she turned toward him and his hands automatically lifted to rest on her shoulders. She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face, and it seemed the most natural thing for him to lean down and brush his lips against hers. She quivered beneath his touch, her breath hitching.

Before he could change his mind or give her a chance to change hers, he deepened the kiss, tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue until she opened and let him in. God, she tasted like everything sweet he’d ever had in his life. He licked every inner surface, wanting to swallow her whole. He tightened his grip on her, not wanting to give her the chance to pull away, but she surprised him by clutching at his arms. He slid his fingers up through the silk of her hair, cupping her head and tilting it one way then another to give the kiss a better angle. And when she opened her mouth, her own small tongue thrust forward to dance erotically with his.

He broke the kiss only when his breath ran out. Lifting his head, he stared at Jinx through lust-fogged eyes. She had a startled expression on her face and her gaze was locked with his. The pulse at the hollow of her throat beat furiously and he was sure the heat radiating from her body singed his skin.

“What…what was that?” Her voice was shaky.

“I don’t know, but I think I’m gonna do it again.”

This time he took her mouth with unrestrained hunger, plundering it with his tongue, sealing his lips to hers as if he’d never let her go. All rational thought left his mind as he pressed her close to him. It took a moment for him to realize that her hands were pushing at his chest and she was trying to twist away from him. Shaking the fog from his brain, he backed away a step.

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

But she was already opening the door and grabbing his hand to drag him inside.

“One of us is crazy,” she said in a husky voice. “I’m hoping it’s me. And that I’ll wake up in the morning and be able to pretend I didn’t make a fool of myself.”

“That’s for tomorrow.” His heart raced as he realized she didn’t mean to send him away after all. He tried to think of what to say, but all the blood in his head seemed to have headed south to his groin. Unwilling to give her a chance to have second thoughts, he swept her up in his arms and headed for the stairs. He halted at the top. “Which way?”

She pointed to a room at the end of the hallway. He nudged the door open with his foot, carried her inside and set her down beside the bed. Weaving his fingers through the strands of her hair again, he touched his mouth to hers and licked the outline. He wanted nothing more than to tear her clothes off and throw her on the bed.

Slow, asshole. Don’t give her a reason to change her mind. This is a woman to savor and worship, so don’t fuck it up.

Dillon couldn’t believe how impatient his body was or how ravenous he was for her. But tearing off her clothes in three seconds wasn’t his style, and he didn’t want to start now. Especially with this woman. He tasted her lips then trailed his tongue across the smoothness of her cheek to the tender spot behind her ear. With his teeth, he drew a faint line along the column of her neck, biting very gently where her neck and shoulder met. She shivered at his touch and a soft little moan drifted from her mouth.

Where can you find the book?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Samhain

Where can you find me?

www.desireeholt.com
desiremeonly.com
Twitter:   @desireeholt
Facebook: desireeholtauthor
Pinterest:   desiree02holt

Members Only Swag

I’m going to my first book convention in October. #RCon13 (Romanticon) in Ohio put on by Ellora’s Cave. Complete with cavemen. Woo Hoo!!!!

And it’s not only my first convention, but it’s my first book signing too. Me…little ol’ Jennifer Kacey is going to be signing book flats for Together in Cyn, and maybe even Haleigh’s Ink if we can get it out that fast. I CAN’T WAIT!!!

So, I’ve had to narrow the list down on swag items I’d like to bring and be able to pass out to the readers, and authors, and fans. I just typed fans – HA! That’s a hoot!

Okay, so swag…I’ve got loads of ideas. Like seriously, sticky note upon sticky note of naughty items I’d like to have custom printed. Bottles of lube, Goodhead mints, nipple claps, pens, trading cards, just to name a few. Love the idea of my name on naughty items people will take home and talk about, or Facebook and talk about, or pinterest, or instagram, or tweet. Lots of options here.

I’ve heard some crazy good ideas but it seems they are either really expensive or everyone already offers it and I want to do something unique.

I’m looking for ideas from you the readers so I can narrow down my list some more, by like half.

Ooh…and since we’re talking about swag let’s make a contest out of it. I’ll pick one lucky poster to win a 2013 Ellora’s Cave Bad Girls of Romance Card Deck and a little something extra from me – ‘cause naughty makes the world go ‘round.

Seriously, it does. I read it on the internet somewhere. **GRINS**

Here’s a pic of the card deck with some of the yummy titles you’ll find from some of your favorite naughty authors like Sabrina York, Brynn Paulin and Laurann Dohner. Together in Cyn is the King of Clubs for obvious reasons. YUMMY!

So…if you go to a convention, what swag do you want to go home with, and more importantly what do you leave sitting on the table because you’ve seen it, grabbed it, tossed it in the round file?

Let me know and you just might win!

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

Amazon

Ellora’s Cave

Barnes and Noble

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

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.

When I decided to make the heroine of EDEN’S SIN a prostitute, I found some very interesting facts—and some sad and disgusting facts. Today I wanted to give you a peek into life for a
“working girl” in the 1800’s Old West.

Miss Kitty Lied

Oh, Miss Kitty, how you deceived us all. Remember Gunsmoke and Sheriff Matt Dillon’s main squeeze? Perfect silk dress, perfectly styled red curls – perfect beauty mark. How clean and wonderful the life of a Wild West saloon girl must have been. . .

*insert sound of screeching brakes here*

Um, no. Let’s look at some facts. In descending order there were: Parlor Houses, Brothels, Cribs. Even in a Parlor House *think 5 star hotel* where a night of food, fun and the other “F” word might cost a man $200+, the girl only averaged $10 per week because of the cut the Madam (or the house) took the rest to cover the costs of food, wine and the girl’s room and board.

Brothel girls could make $2.50 – $7.00 per customer, but she had to pay room and board out of this plus any other expenses she had. Oh, and Brothels were significantly less grand than a Parlor House. Parlor houses the girl probably spent the entire night with one man and her sheets were changed afterward. Brothel girls saw more “traffic” and her sheets might be changed once per week.

Cribs were a closet-like space where the girls lived and worked. She would rent this room for $10-$20 per week. She charged a man as little as 25 cents depending on how dirty or run-down she and/or her crib was. Her profit was in volume. In a cattle or mining town, she would little more than stay in bed as the men lined up outside her door. Normally, a crib nymph would see 20 to 30 men per night. During a cattle drive, she could see as many as 75 to 100 men per night. And no clean sheets here. She put a rain slicker over the bottom of her bed to protect the sheets from mud and cow manure since the cowboy might take off his hat, but not his boots or pants. Volume, remember?

Yes, there were Saloon Girls who could just serve drinks, but they could also “go upstairs” for extra money. And Dance Hall Girls, yes, they were there, earning 12 ½ cents per dance. But all in all after researching this topic, I have to say, Miss Kitty lied to us. What do you think?

*All statistics were found in UPSTAIRS GIRLS: Prostitution in the American West by Michael Rutter

THANK YOU for stopping by today!

Jennifer Jakes is the author of sensual erotic romance. Her award-winning debut novel, RAFE’S REDEMPTION, a historical western, is #1 Kindle Best Seller, as did her novella, TWICE IN A LIFETIME.

Her latest release, EDEN’S SIN, is now available at Amazon.
RAFE’S REDEMPTION : Amazon  |  TWICE IN A LIFETIME Amazon
Find out more about Jennifer at www.jenniferjakes.com

What would you do with a SEAL under the covers?

I know Delilah’s fans and readers could imagine quite a lot of things one could do with a SEAL under the covers. My new book makes a play on this fantasy, but is about a Puerto Rican born Navy SEAL, Armando Guzman, and his hot love affair with the attractive Gina Mancuso, who is actually an undercover cop, working the gang unit in San Diego.

I wanted to show a SEAL who had not always been a good boy. In fact, he had a rocky start in life, growing up in a rough environment in East L.A., running with a gang at one time. Through twists of fate, he eventually found his way into the loving arms of the U.S. Navy, where he tried out for and made the Teams. He qualified expert and became a SEAL sniper, one of the best of the very best. With that also comes some baggage: brothers in arms lost, innocent civilians paying a price they should not have to pay. The things that make wars so horrible for everyone, but things these guys have a ringside seat for.

As with all the SEALs in my Brotherhood series, these men are heavily trained to react to anything and improvise when needed. They are trained to make decisions based on calculations of outcome, assessing targets, risks and the environment. They even learn to train their emotions so that they are as little a factor as possible. Who can forget the scene in Act of Valor when the SEAL falls on the live grenade, sacrificing himself to save his buddies?

But coming home, their equipment and training does little to save them from the complexities of the female personality and the SEAL’s excruciating need of their companionship. These are guys who need intense physical sex without commitment. But their innate sense of right and wrong needles them about this on so many levels.

I love writing about these kinds of tugs of war going on inside the Alpha Male psyche. Part of what makes a good military romance is that the hero can be counted on to do the right thing almost all the time. He may make an honest mistake, but he has an internal moral code that will not allow him to go beyond certain lines.

Sometimes these heroes don’t know where that line is until they run smack up to it.

Here’s an excerpt from SEAL Under Covers, which is now available on Amazon:

“Do I have a choice?” she said to him, watching that smirky little smile and sexy eyes making fun of her while her heart did flip-flops. She’d been close to peeing on herself while she sat and watched her ex-boyfriend nearly call out the brother—the SEAL brother of the woman they were working. It had been wrong on so many levels, even the Pope couldn’t dish out enough forgiveness.

“Get in.” It was a command that made her tense, but the smile he flashed afterwards made her panties wet. Suddenly her ankles wobbled and she nearly fell, which would have been totally uncool. And damn, but if he didn’t reach out and put a strong, muscled arm around to steady her. He let her go after he gave her one hurried squeeze, just tight enough for her to learn he was aroused.

Another footnote to a perfectly fucked evening. Her mission was nearly blown. Why did she feel guilty for that? They were supposed to be hanging out with the gang by the stage. Well, she couldn’t help it if Sam and the rest of the crew had decided to pull a game change on her. As she slid onto the torn leather seat of the old truck, she smiled at the recollection. It had been damned satisfying, slapping Sam and tossing the drink into his face. She’d stared right back at him when he showed his anger. And she didn’t flinch or cower this time. She was filled with pride. She’d stood up to him, finally!

But now what? On any other evening, getting into a truck with a SEAL would be a no-brainer. Nothing wrong with a night of sex with a hot guy, if that was where he was headed. She wasn’t completely sure, but she wasn’t that rusty that she couldn’t recognize a good, clean come-on. The fact that he was the brother of their party of interest and it was totally forbidden only heightened her anticipation. But decisions like that were never good ones. She had to put a stop to this somehow. Read the rest of this entry »