His Boss, Her Dom (M/F) ~ Raven McAllen

From the Author...

The idea for this story came about when Evernight Publishing put out a call for a men in uniform antho…

As ever my mind started to race… This was a result. Not for the antho though…

Blurb:

Having a relationship with your boss is never easy, especially when it involves kink. Jamie might need to salute Eva and call her Ma'am at work, but when it's just the two of them, he is Master to his puss.

They are determined to make their unusual situation work, but, first they have to solve the case of the shady next door neighbors.

Be Warned: BDSM, anal sex, public exhibition

Excerpt:

Jamie, she had to assume it was him, and not A. N. Other, kicked her legs apart. Something cold touched each ankle, before her scarred ankle was wrapped in toweling and whatever it was fastened tightly with cord or some such thing to both ankles. Eva wriggled her toes and flexed her legs as best she could and discovered her feet were held about eighteen inches apart. What on earth had he used? Then she thought about the shape of whatever it was on her unbroken ankle. Her overlong fire irons?

"Such handy, everyday items you can find when you look," Jamie said, and stroked each globe of her ass. He pulled the back of her thong hard and up into the crack and did a seesaw movement with it. It really did feel like the proverbial cheese grater. Luckily he stopped before she decided it was sawing her in half.

"What a beautiful sight, seeing you spread out like that. I wonder, puss, if you can lift away from the settee just enough for me to reach your tits? Try for me."

Bloody hell, does he think I'm a contortionist? However, it was amazing what a person would try when their Dom spoke to them in such a way. Eva arched her back and her boobs left the contours of the sofa back. Ross pulled on each one and kneaded them. Then he tugged and pinched each nipple so hard, she gasped.

"Color," he said brusquely.

"Green, Sir." Why did he ask? He knew how hard they'd played on their other occasion together and she'd been green all the way.

"Good girl, now breathe." The pain in first one nipple and then the other as he attached something tightly to each took her breath away. She whimpered. How the hell could she take it?

"Breathe, puss, or cry red. Do it now." He roared out the last word, and Eva let out her breath in a whoosh.

It hurt, oh how it hurt, but the invisible string of sensation from her tits to her clit got ever stronger. The pain morphed into intense pleasure, so much so she shook.

"G... green, oh…."

Jamie removed one of whatever clamped onto her nipple and she moaned her disappointment. He nipped and tugged the nipple until she wondered how it held onto the rest of her boob, before he reattached the instrument of pleasure and pain. "Lean forward again, puss. Press those lovely tits into the sofa and increase the pressure of the clamps." Eva obeyed instantly. His deep velvety voice demanded instant submission and got it.

A hard slap on her ass was her reward. It was followed by several more, each more intense than the last. Jamie continued the assault on her rear with something flat and possibly plastic. In one corner of her mind Eva reckoned she'd never look at her furnishings in the same light again. She began to fly, and enter that special place where everything morphed into pleasure.

The spanking stopped suddenly and she wanted to cry. It was nowhere near enough. She craved her subspace like an addict craved their next fix.

"W…"

"Because I say so, puss." He kissed her neck. "And because when I let you go to your special place, you need time to savor it. Sadly tonight, we haven't got that luxury."

If she hadn’t fallen into the zone so fast and furious she would have realized that.

"So…now then." His voice was soft and soothing. "Let's see what we can do for each other, eh, my puss?"

A ripping noise infiltrated her mind, and her thong left her ass crack. One thong destroyed.

"The next thing you feel in your ass will be my cock," Jamie said as he stroked each globe in soft circles. "But first I'm going to fuck your pussy and make you come."

The noise of his zipper was loud in the room, and then Eva heard shuffling sounds as she presumed he kicked off his denims. She waited with hard suppressed excitement.

One long finger probed inside her pussy hole. "Ah, so ready aren't you, puss." The finger withdrew, and her juices ran down her legs. "Let me protect us. One moment."

She heard a rustle and then Jamie thrust into her hard and deep and began a fast fucking, which rocked her fastened legs and made her breasts bump off the settee. The clamps knocked it and pinched her nipples harder as she moved with Jamie's thrusts. Her arousal filled her like molten lava and her skin tingled as if she'd been stung. The tingles and stabs of pleasure increased faster than she'd ever known before, and Eva knew she teetered on the brink of coming.

"Come now, puss." Jamie pinched her clit and she screamed, tumbling into a fast and furious climax as stars danced behind her closed eyelids.

Her legs shook, as Jamie shouted and shuddered his own climax inside her, and then fell forward across her back. She savored his weight and stayed still as his breathing steadied.

The clock chimed the hour. Jamie groaned. "Let me untie you, and make you comfortable in a conformist manner."

Eva flinched as he lifted from her and her nipples moved on the coarse fabric of the settee.

"Aww, does it hurt? I'll kiss them better in a sec."

The blindfold was lifted and she blinked to make her eyes work as Jamie busied himself with her other ties. When she saw the fire iron she grinned. He was correct. There were very useful items around the house.

The sprung wooden clothes pegs attached to her nipples made her swallow as her mouth went dry and her pussy muscles contracted. No wonder they pinched. She had caught her finger in one once and it had been bloody sore.

"One second, puss." The air stirred as presumably he moved to dispose of the condom, and then she was lifted into his arms. Her nipple, plus attachment slid over his chest and she hissed at the non-pleasurable pain that shot from nipple to clit.

“Ssh, not long now." Jamie walked around the settee and sat her down on his naked lap. His quiescent cock stirred slightly and he whistled. "Sheesh, I'm fucked and my cock is saying ‘again soon, please.’ It must want your ass, puss."

Buy Links:

Evernight  ~  Bookstrand  ~  Amazon (UK)  ~  Amazon (US)  ~  All Romance

Author Bio:

Well what can I say?

I'm growing old disgracefully and loving it.

Dh and I live on the edge of a Scottish forest, and rattle around in a house much too big for us.

Our kids have grown up and flown the nest, but roll back up when they want to take a deep breath and smell the daisies so to speak.

I write in my study, which overlooks the garden and the lane. I'm often seen procrastinating, by checking out the wild life, looking—only looking—at the ironing basket and assuring tourists that indeed, I'm not the bed and breakfast. That would mean cooking fried eggs without breaking the yolks, and disturbing the dust bunnies as they procreate under the beds. Not to be thought of.

Being able to do what I love, and knowing people get pleasure from my writing is fantastic. Long may it last.

Author Links:

Website  ~  Blog  ~  Facebook  ~  FB Fanpage  ~  Twitter  ~  Amazon (UK)  ~  Amazon (US)

Fated Love, Massey Texas 8 (M/F) ~ April Zyon

Blurb:

Brandy Carver was living her dream of making clothing for real, every day women. When she gains the wrong kind of attention from a man that doesn’t have “no” in his vocabulary there’s only one action to take—returning home where she’s safest, and where she can finally breathe once more.

Anthony “Crank” Romero, former Marine turned gentleman farmer, is willing to admit he’s a bit of a ladies man. The truth is he’s only looking for the right woman. Finding her when she’s got trouble on her tail wasn’t his plan, but he’s not about to argue when he’s tasked with keeping her safe.

Discovering Brandy’s interests in the bedroom makes Crank realize they are perfect for each other. Knowing he can’t let her go, not when she’s his perfect other half, he’ll do whatever is necessary to ensure that they have a chance at their fated love.

Be Warned:  anal play

Excerpt:

His phone ringing brought him out of the workout zone he’d fallen into. It also nearly caused him to drop the weight on his own foot. Thankfully, he managed to catch it—just.

Grabbing up his phone, Anthony frowned at the caller ID. “Crank here,” he said.

“That’s creepy, dude, stop that,” Rhys Hollister said to him.

He couldn’t have stopped the grin if he’d wanted to. “Crank does whatever Crank wants.” He knew how much the third person speak irritated Rhys. It was half the reason he did it around his former CO.

“I will beat you within an inch of your fucking life, Tony.”

Snickering, he let it drop and eased to sit on the workout bench. “What’s up, boss man?” he asked in all seriousness.

“I need to ask a favor, and yes, this will be on me.”

“Okay, what do you need?” he asked cautiously. While he’d do anything for Rhys, or the other men from his unit, that particular phrasing had him slightly worried and mildly curious.

“You may recall the Carvers took a hit the other day.”

Yeah, he did. “The youngest was killed, wasn’t she?” he asked quietly.

“So we all thought. Turns out it was a decoy she’d hired to keep the psycho who thought he owned her off her tail while she made her way home. Only the guy, a Colton Brody, got to the woman who was using Brandy’s name, cards, and so forth.”

“Son of a bitch,” he breathed out. “Was she dating the guy or something?”

“One date from what Brant and Frank told me. The guy latched onto her and isn’t the sort to let her go. He’s highly possessive from all the pieces of information we’ve gathered. He also is part of the NYPD family. His father’s a cop, his father’s father, and so forth. They have huge history with the force.”

“And cops protect cops,” Anthony said. Yeah, he knew how that went. The mythical Blue Line wasn’t really all that mythical if you went head to head with a cop. All you ended up with was an entire force out to get you. Not good.

“Yeah. She’s filed paperwork with IA up there, but says that anything against the Brodys tends to magically disappear if it isn’t misfiled, or incorrectly filled out. Funny how that shit tends to happen with the most rotten of the bunch.”

Rhys sounded pissed. Perfectly understandable from Anthony’s point of view. “I take it that Brant’s going to do something with his connections?” It was his baby sister, after all. Of course the man would do something.

“Yeah, and Frank as well. Not quite sure what that particular Carver has planned. Quite frankly, I don’t think I want to know. I like the plausible deniability of things when it comes to shit like that.”

Something else Anthony understood fully. Snorting out a laugh, he rubbed a hand over his head. “So what do you need from me?”

“They need someone to help keep a watch on her. While they are busy digging into Brody’s life, his family’s lives, and everything else to do with them on top of the NYPD, they need someone to protect her.”

“Guard dog duty then,” he said.

“More or less, yeah. It’ll be more than that. Oh, and I should mention Theresa’s fully on board with this. It was her suggestion, actually. Mostly I think because she knows her own boys and how overprotective they can get.”

“Smothering is the word you’re looking for, Rhys.”

“Shut up,” he muttered.

He grinned. Rhys was a big brother as well, so he damn well knew the point Anthony was trying to make. Especially since Rhys’s own baby sister was married into the Carver clan. To Brandy’s twin no less.

Buy Links:

Evernight  ~  Bookstrand  ~  Amazon (US)  ~  Amazon (CA)  ~  All Romance

Author Bio:

Having been a lover of the written word all her life April has always wanted to expand her horizons and write something that could be shared with the world. Only one thing held April back, the fact that the letters and numbers mixed and jumbled more often than not. Diagnosed with Dyslexia when she was eight years old April had to work her butt off just to be able to keep up with the other kids in reading and writing, so her love for fictional writing was tossed to the wayside for the moment.

Time marched on, as it always does, and she forgot her childhood dream of becoming an author and instead focused on what she had to - creating a career for herself.

As the endless waves of time passed the shores became less rocky and more sandy, a place where she could find an even foot. That and Microsoft invented Word. Halleluja.

This is where April began her journey into the written world, the world that her imagination had been ceaselessly creating for her entire adult life.
Now she has been given a chance to let her literary wings unfold and fly, thanks to her amazing publishers.

Now its time to let the dream take flight and watch it soar!

Author Links:

Website  ~  Evernight  ~  Secret Cravings  ~  Bookstrand  ~  Amazon

All Romance  ~  TSU  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook

Charmed (M/F/M) ~ Jacey Holbrand

From the Author...

Thank you for having me on your blog! I’m happy to be here today to let your readers know about my newest release, ‘Charmed’, from my series, The Glorious Guild of Lady Windsurfer. I’m sharing a unique look into the story through Charm’s point of view when she’s about to get into a bit of trouble.

Blurb:

The Glorious Guild of Lady Windsurfer, 2

Charm knows how to get what she wants, but when faced with opposition, she tends to make bad choices. After a plan to subdue a Rullix goes wrong, Charm forces her way into two Auraths’ lives. They have a ship after all and can help her escape Earth and the Rullix.

Step-brothers, Thorne and Wade, are discussing Earth and mates when Charm dives into their presence. Each man believes her to be the partner he’s been waiting for. The men allow her passage in their spaceship, but are shot down by the Rullix and crash in a canyon.

Charm finds them sanctuary, yet even in the middle of nowhere, she still gets into trouble. Thorne and Wade have to figure out how to travel to Aurath before Charm’s bad choices lead to their demise.

Be warned:  menage sex (MFM), anal sex

Excerpt:

Charm recoiled from the canvas and turned her back on it. Capture women? Female slaves? Her stomach rolled. She pressed a hand to her mouth.

I knew he was sketchy but never guessed he’d go so far. I absolutely need a plan B now. There’s no way I’m going to live under the same roof as that man anymore.

The trader’s voice came from the other side of the canvas again. “My azeeztant will help. She haz a wayz of befriending people an’ can lead all da femalz ya want to ya.”

Oh, hell no, Charm thought.

“This assistant of yours. I want her.”

“She’s not fur sale. She’s not goin’ anywhere wit ya. She stayin’ ‘ere wit me.”

“Then just for a couple of nights to satisfy my needs,” the Rullix’s deep voice rumbled.

“I’m sure I can arrange that.”

A bitter tang filled Charm’s mouth. She fought back the nausea threatening to make her throw up. She couldn’t believe her ears. The trader had the gall to barter her? The man was slime. Lower than slime. An urge to flee right there and then consumed her.

No. I have to make the right choice this time. I can’t run away again. I need my money and a few items from my room. She wrung her hands together. What to do? What to do?

All kinds of thoughts ran through her mind. Steal the coins from Mr. Tinns and find a way out of the city. She’d still have to see him and the Rullix, though, if she entered the tent, and even if she were to wait for the alien to leave and wait for Mr. Tinns to go to bed, the trader slept on top of his money.

The Rullix. There’s something about those aliens I’ve heard. What was it?

Charm tapped her forehead as if that would pop the knowledge to the surface. She ran through conversations she’d had and finally landed on what she’d learned.

Buy Links:

Evernight  ~  Bookstrand  ~  Amazon (US)  ~  All Romance

Author Buy Links:

Barnes & Noble  ~  Smashwords

Author Bio:

Jacey Holbrand believes love comes in all forms and should be celebrated. She’s committed to her muse and writing so she can share those kinds of stories with readers.

"Hot days. Sexy nights. Come play in her world."

Jacey loves to hear from readers! eMail her: JaceyHolbrand@gmail.com

Author Links:

Website  ~  Blog  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Pinterest  ~  Goodreads

To buy the first book in the series:

Buy Link (Evernight)

Blurb:

The year is 2112, and the world has changed…

Jake Landry is interested in having some fun. He’s in Las Vegas, newly single and just off his most recent tour of duty. In Vegas he has met up with his old friend Nicola Goodheart, a scientist and inventor who studies portals, other worlds, and strange beings. Jake has also met and become enamored with Alexander, a gorgeous man with violet eyes. Jake goes with Nic on a portal finding mission, and they all end up in Alexander’s alien world. 

Recruiter Alexander Bloodworth is interested in Jake for himself and in Nicola for placement in a pleasure house on his home planet of Aurath. When he hears word one of his people’s enemies are after Nicola and Jake, he goes to save them both, even at the peril of losing his job. 

Will they risk their hopes and dreams—Alexander and Jake for a chance at love and Nicola for her career—or will they falter and lose everything anyway?

Be Warned: m/m sex

How Long Will I Love You (M/M) ~ Iyana Jenna

From the Author...

First of all, I’d like to thank you for having me on your blog. It means a lot to me. I would like to share with you and your readers my main inspirations of this story.

One day, my dear friend Louis Stevens posted a video of a singer Gavin DeGraw on his Facebook account. It was lovely and I loved the singer’s song. Well, one of my favorite singers is Ed Sheeran and I told Louis it would be a dream come true if Ed sings together with Gavin. A moment later, voila! Louis posted a video of them both singing together! Long story short, How Long Will I Love You was born. The title of this story was from a song but it was another story altogether and it wasn’t sung by any of the men.

By the way, here is the video of Gavin and Ed performing together on stage. I totally fell in love with them. I got completely inspired. My story isn’t in any way a real story about them, though. Heh. I wish! :D

Watch Video

Now if you watch the video until the end, it was their hug that completely melted my heart. *sighs* And here are the real life Ed and Gavin.

* * * * * * *

Blurb:

It might look weird for a musician to *fangirl* another musician, but Ed Finley didn’t give a damn. He adored and had a crush on singer and pianist, Gavin O’Malley—to the point of sticking O’Malley’s pin-ups all over the walls of his room. Ed thought his dream had come true when he was scheduled to perform together with his idol on stage.

Gavin O’Malley thought Ed was okay when they ended up being together that night. The night meant everything to Ed, while it was only another one-night stand for Gavin.

Ed decides to stay away while Gavin, after rejecting Ed, couldn’t stop thinking about the other man. Will Gavin get a chance to tell Ed his true feelings?

Be Warned:  m/m sex

Excerpt:

As soon as he got to L.A., Ed realized the mistake he’d made. Everything reminded him of Gavin, especially the invites to small jam sessions and dinners with fellow artists. He’d tried to avoid them all, but Nina, his assistant, kept reminding him not to miss those occasions.

“Don’t you see that I’m a human being, too? I’m tired, okay?”

Instead of answering, Nina squinted at him before she thrust an envelope at him.

“What’s that?” Suspicion crept into his heart.

“A live awards ceremony. Music awards. Next week.”

“Oh.” He took the invitation and looked at the card. It was a national show and it was going to be aired live on a major channel. It was a big deal. He glanced back at Nina. “Am I a nominee or something?” That was impossible. He’d have found out right away if he was nominated in a category. “Or am I going to present an award? How did you get this invitation?” Nina knew very well this wasn’t his type of thing.

She chuckled softly. The traitor.

“Relax. I didn’t have to kiss someone’s ass or get down on my knees for this. You’re an online phenomenon, Ed. They knew they’d get more publicity if they had you at their show.”

Ed wasn’t particularly afraid of what Nina would do if she wanted something, though he did worry about her sometimes. She’d do anything to get the things she wanted. But this was going to be a huge event with hundreds of celebrities. It was harmless. Safe. Even if Ed saw him there, he could easily slip away and hide. He sighed.

“All right. I’ll go.”

“Yay. I’ll RSVP.”

Ed rolled his eyes as he turned his back on a delighted Nina, who was already on the phone.

The invitation ruined the plan he’d made. Without Nina’s knowledge, he’d made a reservation to rent a cabin on a vineyard resort he often went to in Northern California. He needed fresh air and a place to clear his head. He’d thought being in L.A. would help, but the feeling that he could run into Gavin in any corner of the city kept haunting him. The shame—Ed could not get rid of it. He was lucky Gavin hadn’t talked to a tabloid about how Ed Finley literally threw himself at him and thought he had a chance to be Gavin O’Malley’s boyfriend.

A week or so on the vineyard would do him good. Too bad Ed had to postpone it now. He took a shuddering breath and cooked up another plan. The minute he left the award show, he would be on his way to escape to Moonshine Valley.

****

Nina walked ahead of Ed on the red carpet. He smiled inwardly at the sight of her—a diminutive figure, yet looking confident and ready to take any action Ed needed her to. Tonight she was lit up in her small, bright red dress with her golden hair tied up into a small chignon. She was pretty, Ed would give her that. He wouldn’t mind having her as his girlfriend if he liked girls. As it was, Ed didn’t mind taking her as his date tonight, though she might have minded if he’d insisted on going in his shirt and jeans.

“Ed!”

Ed jerked his head up. “Yeah?” He had been unaware of zoning out for a second there.

Nina gestured at him impatiently, so he headed toward her. She was standing near the velvet railing with a man on the other side of it who had a microphone in his hand.

“Hi,” greeted Ed. “How’re you doing?”

“Can you believe it? Louis Montague from the blog Louis’ Notes, himself! He wants to talk to you, Ed.” Nina sounded too chirpy for his liking, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion because the girl knew him well. He turned back to the man and offered his hand. Louis accepted and shook it hard.

“Ed Finley. It’s so great to finally see you.”

“Hi, Louis. Glad to see you too. I hope you like my songs.”

“Like your songs? I love them. They’re brilliant, man.”

“Come on.” Ed felt positively embarrassed. After all this time, he still couldn’t believe people actually listened to his work. He looked around and cursed silently when he found that Nina had disappeared.

“I’m serious. They’re emotional and fans really relate to them. I can’t stop listening to them. What’s coming up next from you?”

“Um.” Ed scratched his head, then promptly removed his wandering fingers. He’d spent more time than was necessary trying to tame his red curls, and he knew Nina would scold him for ruining them. “I write songs every night or between shows. I can’t stop the ideas from coming into my head. They keep bugging me until I write them down.”

“Sounds so easy for you.”

“Oh no, not at all. They’re raw ideas and thoughts. Mostly I still have to find the right tune for them, not to mention the lyrics and the music arrangements. Half of the raw ideas I have had have ended up in the garbage bin. Only half became full songs and just one or two of them get to be produced.” Ed thought he heard Louis mutter something. “Excuse me?”

Louis shook his head. “Nah. Just—if I tried to write songs, they would all get dumped.”

Ed snickered. “You don’t know that. You should try writing someday if you get an interesting idea.”

“I’d rather listen to yours, thanks.” Louis smiled widely. “So are you going to present an award tonight?”

“No. I’ll just sit tight and sweet in the audience. My pretty Nina did a good job finding me a place in there. She—” Ed waved sideways and stopped short. He gaped and his breathing became erratic. He hadn’t expected anyone to be standing next to him, to be so close to him, like…like…

“Hi, Ed.”

Like Gavin.

Buy Links:

Evernight  ~  Amazon (AU)  ~  Amazon (UK)  ~  Amazon (US)  ~  Amazon (CA)  ~  Bookstrand  ~  All Romance

Author Bio:

Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Author Links:

Website  ~  Blog  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Amazon  ~  Pinterest  ~  Goodreads

Desperate (M/F) ~ Athena Daniels

Blurb:

‘He was everything she needs and everything she can never have.’

Meticulous planning sees Ivy half way across the world, with a new identity.  But Blake is no ordinary ex-husband, he is a corrupt private investigator with links to London’s underworld. 

Eric Prescott, a handsome and successful property developer knows Ivy is hiding something, and from someone.  At first Eric only wants to help, but soon finds himself falling for this beautiful woman with the haunted eyes. In one night of explosive passion, Ivy finally gives in.  And discovers love, the way it’s meant to be.

Ivy finally dares to believe she is free, but soon faces losing all that she has come to love the day when her ex-husband is released from jail. She knows it is only a matter of time before he will return to serve the full force of his deadly vengeance.

Be Warned:  bondage


Excerpt:

At precisely seven o’clock, the intercom sounds, and I press the button allowing access to the inner building. I cross the room to unlock the latches on the front door, leaving it slightly ajar.

Dashing back into my bedroom, I grab my clutch, phone and lip gloss. Quickly, I apply a light spray of my favorite perfume. When I return to the lounge, the front door is closed but the room is empty.

The picture on the wall is now hanging straight.

My heart gallops irregularly in my chest as I realize I didn’t check that it was Eric before I pressed the button.

Could Blake be here?

Breathe. In … out … in … out. I order myself to calm. The horror of my marriage with Blake returns in a single, sickening rush. What will he do when he finds me?

“Hello?” I call out, but my voice is raspy, barely a whisper.

I desperately hope for Eric’s easygoing greeting to ring out, but there is nothing but silence. My blood runs cold, and I can’t breathe.

My mobile slips from my shaking fingers. The thud as it hits the floor startles me out of shock, and I bend down to retrieve my phone. My lifeline.

Gripping my bag tightly, I estimate there are ten steps to the door. Silently I take the first few steps. On my fifth step, a shadow moves to my left, and I bolt the last distance and fling the door open with enough force that it bounces off the wall. I run to the elevator instead of the stairs, hoping it will be faster.

I jab frantically at the button. The screen indicates it has just left the ground floor.

“Ivy!”

It’s not going to arrive in time. I bounce up and down on the spot. Do I have time to take the stairs?

I’ll have to run past my front door to get there. Can I even run down the stairs in these shoes? I won’t have time to take them off; they have tiny buckles. Irrational thoughts flood through my mind, and I imagine myself stumbling and falling down the stairwell, only to land in a crumpled heap at the bottom.              

Hurry up, damn it. The elevator has reached the second floor. There are six more to go.

Perhaps I should take the stairs?

“Ivy.” The voice permeates the fog of panic in my mind. It doesn’t sound like a sword being drawn out of a scabbard, sending cold shivers down my spine. It sounds soothing, like a cup of warm chocolate. The voice is calling for Ivy, not Sarah.

My mind blanks, and slowly, I turn towards the voice. The elevator rings, signaling its arrival. I can escape now. I look at Eric’s concerned face and realize there is no need to run. He puts a bottle of wine and a glass down on the ground just inside my apartment door and stands in front of me, grasping my shoulders.

“Ivy, are you okay? What is it?”

I realize how I must appear, like a wild animal that has just been through the throes of a chase from a predator. Eric pulls me to him in a powerful crush.

“Jesus, you are shaking like a leaf.” He runs a hand up and down my back, and I can hear his heartbeat, strong, calm, and reassuring through his chest.

Relief that Eric is here and not Blake, hits me with a powerful rush. Pulling away, I try to stand, but my knees wobble then buckle beneath me. When I hit the cold floor, I start to cry from the reminder that this is still far from over.

I still live with extreme fear that Blake will find me. And of what will happen when he does.

Strong arms lift me and through my sobs, and I hear the door shut. Finally, I begin to quiet enough to hear his soft, soothing words murmuring against my hair.

As my strength begins to return, I wriggle out of his arms. “Did you straighten that picture?” I demand.

Eric shrugs. “It was crooked.”

“Well, don’t … just don’t touch my things, all right?”

“Okay.” His face falls, and I immediately feel bad. He can’t possibly know that every day for years I lived with Blake’s obsessive compulsion to have things absolutely straight, and ordered the way he wanted it, right down to the cutlery in the drawer and the type of food we kept in the fridge.

I glance uneasily over to the vertical strip on the kitchen blind, and a shiver rolls down my spine. I still think I would have noticed it at some point before tonight. I have been living here for months now.

I can’t shake an instinctual feeling that he has been here, and it’s what caused my apparent over-reaction tonight. No matter how hard I try I can’t dislodge the thick and heavy sense of foreboding that has settled over me.

“Can you tell me what put that look of terror on your face and caused you to run for your life just now?”

My eyes take in the bottle of wine and empty glass on the floor. I realize Eric probably went straight to the kitchen when he arrived, casually straightening the picture on his way past. I cringe at how I must appear to him.

“You thought it was him. You thought he found you.” It wasn’t a question, but I nod anyway, not trusting myself to speak past the constriction in my throat.

“And the picture, straightening it is something he would do.”

Once again, I nod yes, and tears roll silently and unchecked down my cheeks.

“Oh Eric, I am so sorry.” A huge sob escapes, resounding loudly in the small room. I look away as embarrassment heats my cheeks.

“Sweet Jesus, what has that bastard done to you?”

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Author Bio:

Athena Daniels is the pseudonym of a wife, mother and business partner who takes any opportunity she can get to disappear into the world of fantasy.  When not reading she writes romantic suspense.  Hot, steamy romance where complicated and damaged characters are thrown together in suspenseful drama.

One day, she hopes to fulfil her dream to write full time.  In the meantime, she hopes you enjoy her debut novel, Desperate.  If you follow the scent of coffee and chocolate, you will find her busy working on the sequel. Desperate: The Price of Freedom.

The first novel of a new series, Sage will be coming in 2015.  It’s a steamy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist.

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