Warning: This excerpt is intended for adults. We’ve got strong language ahead, folks! 😉

For this excerpt, I wanted to switch things up and let you check out the hero’s POV…

 

 

Skye Sullivan. Skye Fucking Sullivan. The girl who’d starred in every teenage fantasy that he’d ever had. The woman who’d made him realize just how dark and wild lust could burn.

She’d come back to him. Walked straight into his building. Into his life.

He’d seen her image on the security screen.  One look, and everything had changed.

She’s back.   

This time, things would end differently for them.  He’d never had his fill of Skye.

This time, she needs me.

They stepped outside of his building.  The sounds of the city instantly filled his ears—horns, voices, the backfire of engines.  Skye eased away from him, heading for the cab at the corner of the street.

He caught her arm and pulled her right back against him. “We’ll take my car.”  He’d already called for his driver. The sleek, black ride was waiting to the right. The driver—who doubled as one of Trace’s guards—held the back door open for them.

“We’ll be heading to Skye’s apartment,” Trace murmured to Reese Stokes.

Skye hesitated, then quickly rattled off the address.

Reese nodded.  Reese had been with Trace for over five years now, and Trace trusted the man implicitly.

Skye slid into the vehicle first, and when she did, her skirt lifted, revealing a silken expanse of leg covered in nylon.

Once upon a time, Skye had enjoyed wearing thigh-highs. He’d bought them for her. Because he’d loved the feel of them against her skin.

She disappeared into the car.

Eyes narrowing, memories swirling through his mind, Trace followed her. The door shut, sealing them inside. The privacy shield was already in place, completely blocking them from Reese’s scrutiny.

The car pulled away from the curb.

“I thought one of your agents would handle this. I mean, you’re the boss.” Her words came a little too quickly. She’d always done that. Spoken fast when she was nervous.

It’s good that I still make her nervous.

“I’m sure you don’t have time to spend on me.”

On the contrary.  He slid back into the seat next to her, making sure that their shoulders brushed.  “You’re not going back to New York.”

Her head jerked toward him. Her eyes—deep, dark green—met his.  There was gold in her eyes, buried in the green. When she was aroused, the gold burned hotter.

And when she was aroused, her cheeks flushed, her fuck-me lips trembled, and a moan would slip from her lips.

Skye Sullivan.  Porcelain perfect.  So delicate that he’d once worried his passion might bruise her.

He still worried because the things he wanted from her…

I’m not a boy any longer.

He’d already held back with her for too long.

Her dark hair fell down her shoulders, long and silken. When she danced, she kept her hair pinned up, making her cheekbones look even sharper.

When she danced…

She made him ache.

“There’s nothing for me in New York any longer.”  Her voice was stilted. Not Skye. Skye spoke with humor and life. But when she’d come into his office, finally come back to him, there had been fear in her voice—and in her eyes.  “I was in an…accident.”

“I know.”  The story had been all over the news.  The prima ballerina who’d been trapped in the wreckage of her car on a storm filled night.  She’d danced for thousands, she’d lit up the stages in New York.

And she’d barely survived that crash.

He forced air into his lungs.  Don’t think about it. She’s here.

“I’ve had physical therapy on my leg.” Said with grim pride as her chin—slightly pointed—came into the air.  “I can dance, just not like…not like before.”  She gave a little shake of her head. “The stage won’t be for me any longer.”

“That’s why you came home?”

Home. The only home he’d ever had—it had been with her.

Two foster kids. Tossed through the system again and again. He’d met her when he was seventeen. She’d been fifteen.

“That’s why I came back to Chicago,” she agreed, voice husky.  “I’m saving money to open a studio. I’ll teach here. I can still do that.”

Her dancing had gotten her out of poverty.  Into the bright lights of studios and stages in New York. Her dancing had given her a new life.

And taken her from his.

“The money is a problem.”  She wasn’t looking at him anymore. He wanted her eyes on his.

He leaned toward her.  Caught her hand.

That made her gaze fly right back to his. “I’ll find a way to pay you,” she told him. “I can do it, just give me some time.”

His going rate—for his newest junior agents, not for his personal services because he didn’t go into the field any longer—was three hundred an hour.  “We’ll work it out.”

He had plenty of plans for her.

His fingers threaded through hers.  His hand swallowed hers. His skin was rough and dark, tanned from the time he spent in the sun. Her hand was pale, almost fragile. So very breakable.

Hadn’t he always thought that about her? From the first moment he’d seen her, when he’d rushed into that room, hearing her scared cries…

Don’t, please don’t!

She’d been his to save then.

His.

“What are you thinking about?” Skye whispered.

“The way it used to be.”

Her lashes were long. Her dark green eyes were so sexy.  Her breath slipped out a little too quickly. “I wasn’t sure you’d even remember me.”

Only every damn minute. There were some things a man could never forget.

 

***

MINE TO TAKE will be available on 6/17!  And, remember, it will be on sale for .99 during the first week of release! 

Time to share the first MINE TO TAKE excerpt!

 

 

“H-hello, Trace.”  She hated that stupid break in her voice.  Trace made her nervous. Always had.

He stopped in front of her.  He stood at several inches over six feet, while she barely skimmed five feet three.  Skye tilted her head back so that she could meet his stare.

“It’s been a long time,” Trace said, the words a deep, dark rumble.  His voice went perfectly with the rock hard body and the sexy face—a voice that a woman could imagine in the darkness.

She swallowed because her throat was suddenly dry.  “Yes, it has.” Ten years and three months. Not that she’d counted.

That assessing  gaze of his slid down her body once more.  There was an awareness in his stare that she hadn’t expected. A heat that made her remember too many things.

He was close enough to touch. Close enough for her to smell the crisp, masculine scent that clung to him.

His nostrils flared, as if he were catching her scent, too.

“You look good, Skye.”  Again, that heat was in his stare. A heat that said he knew her intimately.

She wished her heartbeat would slow down.

“But you’re not here for a friendly chat, are you?” And he stepped away from her. He waved to the open chair near his desk and returned to his seat.

“We’ve never really been the friendly chat kind,” she said softly as she eased into the leather chair.

She didn’t take off her coat. She just pulled it closer to her.

A faint furrow appeared between his brows.  “No, we weren’t, were we? More the hot sex type.”

Her lips parted. He had not just said that to her.

His faint smile said that he had.

“I’m not here for that, either.”  She’d been wrecked after her last go round with Trace.

He leaned back in his chair. The leather groaned beneath him. “We’ll get to that…”

Uh, no, they wouldn’t.  She wasn’t ready to feel that burn again.

He tapped his chin. “You’re not here for pleasantries, you’re not here for sex, then why have you come looking for me?”

This was where she’d have to beg. Because there was no way she had enough money in her account to cover his services.  Not with the guy sporting this high rise building and looking like he’d just walked off the cover of GQ.  How things have changed. “Someone is watching me.”

He stilled.  The heat banked in his eyes as his whole expression instantly became guarded. “And what makes you so sure of that?”

“Because I can feel him.” Wait, that sounded crazy, didn’t it? When she’d gone to the cops, they’d sure looked at her as if she were crazy. You couldn’t feel a stalker. So they said.

She disagreed.

***

MINE TO TAKE – Available 6/17 for only .99!

My romantic suspense novella, MINE TO TAKE, will release in a week (6/17)!

 

Sometimes you want someone so much…

Sometimes you need someone so much…

Lust can become love.

And love can turn into a deadly obsession.

***

Skye Sullivan knows that someone is watching her. Not just watching—stalking her. Months ago, Skye was involved in a dangerous car accident. The accident ended her dancing career and sent her fleeing back to Chicago. Skye is convinced that her stalker caused the crash, and she fears that he won’t stop pursuing her, not until she’s dead.

When someone breaks into her apartment in Chicago, Skye turns to the one man she believes can protect her—Trace Weston. Once, Trace was her lover. Two lost souls, they’d come together in a firestorm of need and desire. But then Trace had pushed her away. He’d joined the military, vanishing from her life. She’d put all of her emotion into dancing, and she’d tried to forget him.

Now Trace is one of the most successful men in the United States. Rich, driven, and carrying dark secrets, he agrees to help Skye. He’ll protect her from the danger that lurks in the darkness, but Trace wants more than to just be a guard for Skye.

He wants her. And he’ll take her. The years have changed him, hardened him. He’s not just a poor kid from the streets any longer. Now, he can have anything—or anyone—that he wants. And the one woman he has always wanted has just come back into his life. He won’t let her go again.

But with the threats mounting against Skye, she suspects that her stalker may be intimately close. He’s a man who knows her too well. As his attacks grow ever more dangerous, she realizes that if she trusts the wrong man, she could be making a fatal mistake.

Lust. Love. Obsession.

Just how far would you go in order to possess the one person you want the most?

***

I had so much fun writing MINE TO TAKE.  So much that I didn’t want to stop!  And I sure hope readers enjoy the story.

I’ve published almost 30 books and novellas since I began writing full-time.  I’ve written lots of single title romantic suspenses, and, while I’ve written plenty of paranormal novellas, I had never written a romantic suspense novella–until MINE TO TAKE.  But, like I said, I didn’t exactly want to stop writing the story once I began it, so MINE TO TAKE is on the much longer end of the novella-category length–it has a final word count of 41,000.

Because MINE TO TAKE is my first romantic suspense novella, I thought I should celebrate this 1st event–with a sale. (Aren’t sales a great way to celebrate?)  From 6/17 until 6/23 (the first week of the story’s release), I will be offering MINE TO TAKE at a sale price of .99.  So if you are interested in reading this dark and sexy story of obsession and love, please get your copy early!

This week, as we get closer to the release, I’ll be sharing excerpts from the story with you.  I’ll be back later today to post the first excerpt.

Enjoy your Monday!

AVENGING ANGEL, the 4th book in my Fallen series (published by Kensington Brava) is available now!

EARTHLY DELIGHTS

With a messed up family background and a tendency to grow claws and fangs, Tanner Chance isn’t exactly the boy next door. But he’s a decent cop, and he keeps himself on the side of the good guys. Convenient, because when he rescues a survivor of a horrific shifter attack he finds himself instantly smitten—with an honest-to-goodness angel, as innocent as she is irresistible.

Marna may be angelic, but she’s not stupid or weak. She can take care of herself. Tanner is more temptation than protection anyway. Or so she thinks, until someone wearing her face starts taking out some of New Orleans’ more unsavory paranormals. With police and predators both gunning for her blood, Marna has no choice but to trust Tanner…even though what’s sparking between them is hotter than anything holy.

***

I had a fantastic time writing this book–and I certainly hope readers enjoy Marna & Tanner’s story!  Tanner is a tough alpha with one serious weak spot–Marna.  Marna is my first Fallen angel heroine (go, Marna!), and she’s got a few surprises planned for Tanner.

To celebrate the release of AVENGING ANGEL, I’m hosting a giveaway on my Facebook Fan Page–the prize is a Kindle Paperwhite.  So if you get a chance, come by and enter the giveaway (and check out the AVENGING ANGEL excerpts!).

Thanks so much for checking out my release day post! Have a wonderful afternoon!!

Update: Congratulations to all of the winners!!!

They are…

$50 Gift card – Viki S
$20 Gift card – Roxanne Winn
AVENGING ANGEL copies – Amanda Jones & Haley
DIE FOR ME copies – Kristine & Danielle Estes
Any Cynthia Eden book – Elaing8

Thank you!!! Thank you so much for all of the entries in my Spread the Word contest! I’m going back through right now and getting all the entries organized (trying to make sure that no one got caught in spam. I will be back ASAP to announce our winners!

Ready for a hot read–just in time for those long, hot days of summer ? DARK NIGHTS, DANGEROUS MEN— a collection of 6 best-selling stories–is on sale (this week!) for .99.  The stories in this collection are our “firsts”–our first indie stories and/or our first stories in a new genre or series. (My contribution to the bundle is BOUND BY BLOOD–my first “Bound” novella.) Authors  in this bundle include me, Alexandra Ivy, Katie Reus, Joan Swan, Elisabeth Naughton, and Laura Wright.   The tales range from novella-length to full-length novels.

Since this is a special one-week sale, I thought I’d hold one of my “Spread the Word!” Contests.  I would love to let more folks know about this .99 deal, and if you want to help spread the word about that sale, your help will be most appreciated. (And, of course, there are prizes involved.)

First, let’s talk prizes:

$50 Amazon.com Gift Card (or B&N.com Gift Card)

$20 Amazon.com Gift Card (or B&N.com Gift Card)

2 copies (Print or Digital) of AVENGING ANGEL

2 copes (Print or Digital) of DIE FOR ME

Any Cynthia Eden book of the winner’s choice

How To Enter…

Want to enter the giveaway for some of these prizes? Then just spread the word about the DARK NIGHTS, DANGEROUS MEN sale. You can tweet about the anthology, you can post a pic or note on Facebook, you can blog–any way you want to share will count!  Each “share” counts as one entry, and yes, you can entER on multiple days and in multiple ways.  The contest will stay open until midnight on 5/25/13.  Then winners will be randomly selected from all the entries received. note:  If you tweet to share, will you please use the hashtag of #DarkNights so that I can see your entry? For all other entries, please leave a note for me in the comments section.

Here’s a sample tweet for you, but feel free to use any message you’d like:

Hot deal alert! The DARK NIGHTS, DANGEROUS MEN anthology is on sale for .99!! #Kindle: http://ow.ly/lcyc9  #Nook: http://ow.ly/lcyfP

 

Thank you!!! Have a fabulous week!!!