Update:  Thank you all so much for the release day wishes and the great comments!  I think a lot of you are like me–you like reading about the FBI agents, but you aren’t sure you’d actually like the danger involved with being a real agent. But…there were some brave folks who were up to the challenge!

I randomly selected a winner, and the Amazon.com gift certificate goes to…Jennifer Mathis. Congrats, Jennifer!

***

Hi, everyone! It’s book release day!  DEADLY HEAT should be in a bookstore near you–or shipping from your favorite online retailer. (The e-book version of the book will be available on 2/1.)

DEADLY HEAT received a rating of 4 1/2 Top Pick from RT BookReviews, and the reviewer noted, “Deadly Heat is seriously hot! Taut conflict mixes with fiery romance to create a winner. Readers will enjoy a rapid-paced induction into the world of firefighters, arsonists and the FBI’s newest division. Deadly Heat offers the perfect amount of tension, character development and action-packed plot!” I sure hope readers enjoy the book as much as she did!

In DEADLY HEAT, fire fighter Lora Spade teams up with FBI Agent Kenton Lake in order to catch a serial arsonist. The attraction between Lora and Kenton is immediate–and it’s almost as explosive as the fires that they must face.

Here’s the blurb:

She wants revenge . . .

Six months after her lover died in an arsonist’s blaze, firefighter Lora Spade calls in the FBI’s elite Serial Services Division to track the elusive killer. When Special Agent Kenton Lake is lured into a violent inferno, Lora pulls him to safety and is stunned – not by the fire, but by her own searing attraction to Kent. For the first time in months, she longs for something other than vengeance.

He wants her . . .

Kenton’s interest in Lora should be purely professional. But one fleeting kiss and he can’t get her out of his mind. Her combination of strength and vulnerability makes him want to protect her, and that means solving this case – and fast. For even the passion igniting between them can’t hide a terrifying truth: Lora is the next target in a murderer’s sadistic, fiery game.

A vicious killer wants only . . .

DEADLY HEAT

******

Since I’m celebrating the release, I think that means we need a giveaway.  Want to win a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate? Then tell me why you would or wouldn’t make a good FBI Agent.  Maybe you should join the SSD!

Hi, Everyone!

I’m Sylvia Day. Tomorrow (January 25), is the release date of my latest book, Pride and Pleasure. It’s a story about a great many things, but at its core it’s a tale of two people who value privacy and solitude above everything… until they meet each other. Then they learn that life is more vibrant and wondrous when shared with someone you love.

This got me thinking about things I value, which led to me thinking about guilty pleasures. I’ll be hopping around the web this week (if you “like” me on Facebook, you can see where I’ll be), blogging and sharing about Pride and Pleasure, so I’ll spread pieces of my list around (and a few different excerpts). Each chunk will have a different prize, so you hope you’ll join me and share your guilty pleasures.

One commenter on this post will be selected (via random.org) to receive the first three books in my Marked series: Eve of Darkness, Eve of Destruction, and Eve of Chaos, along with some other goodies.

Guilty Pleasures (that I don’t feel all that guilty about…):

1) Good coffee. I’m addicted. Can’t go without it. Unless it’s swill, then I’ll pass. I confess I’m a bit of a coffee snob. In our house, we take coffee very seriously. From selecting the best beans to using the right coffeemaker for the job (we have a few). It’s all worth it when I lift a steaming cup to my lips and taste the exquisiteness.

2) Cynthia Eden books. Oh man… Love ‘em. I’m *rubbing my hands together* in expectation of the midnight download of my pre-ordered copy of Deadly Heat to my Kindle. Bring. It. On. So happy Deadly Lies releases right on its heels. Makes me one very happy C.E. reader!

3) Big, elaborate, blow ‘em action movies. I’m a romance novelist, yes. But I’m not a fan of romantic comedies. Actually, I don’t much like comedies, period. I prefer over-the-top action flicks with romantic elements. Actually, I can even forgo the romantic elements, but lots of explosions and crazy “whoa!” moments are a necessity for my viewing enjoyment.

4) Girls’ retreats. I try to go on at least one a year. It’s such a treat to spend uninterrupted time with dear friends, especially in lovely travel destinations. Freed from the pressures of family/cleaning/looking-after-everyone-but-yourself, you find a lightness of spirit that leads to lots of lovely, intimate discussions. Usually there is laughter and tears, wine and chocolate, spa trips and lengthy meals. Food for the soul.

5) Pedicures. These are a must for every woman. Seriously. We deserve them. The massaging, the pretty designs they can paint on the big toes, the foot soak…

Now it’s your turn! What are some (or at least one!) of your guilty pleasures?

Pride and Pleasure
January 25, 2011

Wealth has its dangers…

There are disadvantages to being an heiress, as Eliza Martin knows well. Fortune hunters flock to her, acquaintances lie and pander, and lately, someone is engineering “accidents” to propel her to the altar. But Eliza will not be bullied, and she will get to the bottom of this plot. All she needs is a man to infiltrate her assemblage of suitors and find the culprit. Someone not easily noticed; a proficient dancer, quiet, and even-tempered.

…so do certain men

Thief-taker Jasper Bond is entirely too large, too handsome, and too dangerous. Who would believe that an intellectual like Eliza would be seduced by a man of action? But the combination of her stubbornness and the mystery makes the case one Jasper can’t resist. Client satisfaction is a point of pride and it’s his pleasure to prove he’s just the man she needs after all…

Excerpt:

“Eliza…” Jasper came to sit beside her.

The air around her became charged with his energy.

I never feel so alive as I do when I am the object of a man’s desire, her mother had said, spinning like a giddy girl with her skirts held in each hand. The blood sings, Eliza. The heart races. It is the most glorious feeling in the world.

Why did Jasper have to be the man to awaken such reactions in her? Why did he have to prove, just by breathing, that she wasn’t immune to needing someone after all? She was so disappointed to realize there were indeed some shades of pleasure that could only be colored by another hand.

His dark eyes were warm with concern. “Please understand, I only wish to be thorough. Your safety is of the utmost importance to me.”

She nodded, believing the sincerity in his tone. A lock of her hair was dislodged by the movement, slipping free of her hastily tied ribbon to slide over her shoulder.

He stood. Holding out a hand, he assisted her to her feet. “Turn around.”

As Eliza pivoted, she disturbed the air, allowing the primitive scent that clung to him–horses and leather, tobacco and bergamot–to tease her senses. She jumped slightly at the feel of his fingers against her nape. Awareness of him swept outward, flowing across her skin like warm water. He lifted the curl from her shoulder and rubbed it between his fingers.

“Like fine silk,” he murmured. He loosened the ribbon securing her hair, returned the errant lock to its former place, and retied the whole more securely.

Her gaze darted around the room, hyperaware of her surroundings. Everything was rendered in brilliant clarity, from the crystals hanging from the many ornate candlesticks, to the inlaid mother-of-pearl glimmering from the tops of the end tables.

In the swirling confusion, she grasped the first thought that came to her… “Are you one of those gentlemen who have an unusually strong interest in red hair?”

“I have an unusually strong interest in you.” He pressed his lips to the bare skin between her shoulder and throat.

“Jasper,” she whispered, shocked by the violent quiver that moved through her. “What are you doing? Why did you come now… tonight… when I’ll be seeing you tomorrow?”

His hands fell to his sides. “I saw the way you looked at Montague. What he said made you see him in a way you haven’t before.”

Eliza faced him. He was more than a head taller, but his frame curved toward her in a way that made their proximity searingly intimate. As if he was about to twirl her into a waltz.

Her heart beat a little faster. Her breathing quickened. “I don’t understand.”

He cupped her chin and tilted her face upward. “You looked at him the way you look at me.”

“That’s impossible.” Montague incited none of this turmoil.

“I need you to regard me in the same manner with which I regard you.”

She was arrested by the way he looked her over. So intent. With a gaze that was fierce. Fervent. His fingertips followed the path of his perusal. Touching her forehead. Tracing her brows. Following the bridge of her nose.

Eliza, in turn, studied him unabashedly. His features were so perfectly formed, beautiful in their symmetry but masculine in their lines. It was such a pleasure to look upon him; he made her want to stare.

“How do I regard you now?” she queried breathlessly.

“Too aware. Trying to reason your way out of this attraction. Stop thinking,” he murmured. Tilting his head, he lowered his mouth toward hers. The approach was slow and deliberate. His grip was loose and without force. “Let yourself feel it.”

She stumbled back, panting because she couldn’t breathe when he was so close.

Jasper watched her retreat with hooded eyes. She was nearly beyond arm’s reach when he growled and caught her back. His lips sealed over hers with a boldness that stole what was left of her air. With one hand at her nape and an arm around her waist, Jasper took her mouth as if he owned it. Undeniably skilled and… hungry. A slanting, suckling, ferocious possession that stunned her completely.

Eliza sagged into him, unable to comprehend the ardor with which he kissed her. His body was astonishingly hard, like warm marble. From shoulder to thigh, he pressed unyieldingly against her. Without the barrier of her stays the sensation was… Dear God, she couldn’t describe the need she had to touch more of him. Her hands clenched and released at her sides, reaching for him, then falling away.

Where should–could–she touch him?

As if he understood, Jasper’s hand at her nape followed the length of her arm down to her wrist. His fingers circled it, then lifted her hand to his chest. Between his coat and waistcoat he urged her palm to splay over his heart. His skin burned through the layers of clothing between them. His heartbeat raced with the same recklessness as hers.

Her other hand clenched the hem of his coat and she whimpered, overwhelmed.

Her capitulation gentled him. The press of his lips softened and his grip slackened enough to allow her lungs to expand. Teasing rather than taking, Jasper licked the lower curve of her lip, goading her to taste him back. She did, trembling, uncertain.

At the first flick of her tongue, he captured it with soft suction. Startled, Eliza jerked in his arms, her breasts flattening against his chest. His groan vibrated against her, tumbling across sensitized nerve endings.

“Eliza.”

The clock on the mantel began to chime on the half hour, but Eliza was lost to time, focused instead on the luxuriant licks stroking deep into her mouth. Her hand moved across Jasper’s torso, feeling the muscles tense beneath her touch. A sound escaped her, a soft plea.

Jasper lifted his head, breathing hard. With heavy-lidded eyes, he studied her face.

“This,” he said gruffly, “is how you should look at me, the way you look at no one else. As if you long for me to finish what I’ve started. As if you ache to feel my mouth on you, my hands on you.”

She did ache. And felt unappeased, as if she had an unquenched thirst. Her skin was too sensitive. Her fingers trembled. She was far too hot.

He stepped back and turned away in a motion as elegant as it was powerful. She couldn’t help but follow him with her gaze. He was such a large and finely built man, yet he moved with such grace.

“Jasper.” Her pulse leaped at the look he shot her.

Happy Monday!

Today, I’m excited to have my Brava mentee, Dale Mayer, as my guest.  I was thrilled to be paired with Dale in the Brava Writing With The Stars Contest. She’s advanced to the final four now (go Dale!).  You can read the round four entries on the RT Site–voting is going on now.  Congrats, Dale, and thanks for blogging today!

***

Hi everyone! Dale Mayer here and I’m so happy to be back visiting with you all today. thanks so much Cynthia for the invitation. She’s been the best mentor (I’ve been lucky enough to have her as my mentor in the Brava Writing with the stars contest) I could possibly have!  I’m still in the contest and we’re down to just four finalists with one round left to go and I know it’s because of the help she gave me.  Now on to my blog about kick-ass heroines – a character I love to write!

The progression of sexualized and helpless female roles to the kickass curvy females of today is nothing short of miraculous.  It seems that since the last forty years women have slowly infiltrated the role to today’s continuous slew of kickass female roles.  I love it, don’t get me wrong.

The female heroes used to be defined by men.  Then women broke the mould.  Becoming much stronger in and more powerful in the real world, they also wanted to see their counterpart in the movie / book scene.  Who today would want the weak simpering Barbie of yesterday as their role model?

I hadn’t considered the role reversal to this extent until I read this blog.  It made me stop and think. I love strong female characters – in movies and in books.  And once I started researching about the differences between male and female action heroes I couldn’t stop.  There are huge differences! Male action heroes have a tendency to use brute force and heavy handed moves to make their desired end result happen.  According to this article, an investigation that the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation has carried out, only 19% of female characters in films used physical force while the male did in 53% of the times.

The articles and research I studied all agreed that female action heroes use their mind to get what they wanted first – they only resorted to physical violence when everything else has failed.  So women tend to use their brain first.  Gotta love it.  Women action heroes also show their feelings in movies and in books.  Compassion is also another trait shown by women and not just to their friends but also to their enemies.  It’s part of the female psyche and it works in these mediums to show that part of their nature.  Not so much for the males.

Women are allowed to and do cry in movies – even action superwomen.  They don’t cry like a weeping damsel in distress during the main fight scenes, instead they show tears up or cry and rage at injustices.  These actions actually help to round out the character and instead of feeling like the character wimped out on us as we might if a man had been doing the crying, we applaud her for being true to herself, and we pull for her even more.

Women have held high positions in the past but more a reverent type of powerful level than on a physical level.  Let’s be real our DNA is different.  We aren’t as strong or as big as our male counterparts.  But women of today are being trained better and we are seeing more and more women stepping into powerful roles.  In our books and movies, we are almost inundated with them.  The potential list is unbelievable.  I’ve always been a big fan of Ripley in the Alien series, Alice in the Resident Evil series or how about Selene from Underworld and then there’s the Laura Croft movies.

All of these women used their wits, their skills and their fighting skills when in a corner.  They also took care of those that needed them.  Ripley protected the child Newt in the second movie.  Alice cared for Angie. A distinctly female trait.  Have you ever seen an action heroine drag a child around the world saving others?  No.  Not likely because that wouldn’t be true to form for women.  Look at the cartoon move the Incredible.  Before Mrs. Incredible has a family, she gives up on being a superhero.  She doesn’t willingly drag her kids into the action – they hide away and get into all their own.

If you haven’t seen Salt yet – do.  I loved it.  Angelina plays another strong kick-ass female role that offers twists and surprises along the way.  However, Salt is smart, in control, and has no problem getting down and dirty to get what she wants.  Apparently the original character was supposed to be male until Angelina Jolie showed an interest in the role.  The character was also supposed to have a child.  However, that was changed as Jolie couldn’t see a woman having a child in that position.  The audience still has certain expectations that must be met!

In whatever we write, it’s important to have the audience relate.  If we need them to suspend belief in one area then we have to make it easy for them by making the actions believable and true to the character.

What about you?  What female action heroines do you like?  Males? Do you prefer to read (or write) about kick ass characters?  Or kick ass heroes?

Update:

Robin K. is the winner!

Robin, please email me: contact AT carrielofty DOT com. Select one of Ann’s available solo works (here: http://www.annaguirre.com/books/the-list/) and one of mine (here: http://carrielofty.com/Books.html). I’ll send you your selections to the address you provide. Congratulations!

Thanks to Cindy for inviting me here, and to everyone for stopping by!

***

Hi, everyone! Carrie Lofty here. Thanks so much to Cynthia for inviting me to stop by today! Her holiday celebrations are almost as much fun as her books are to read.

I’m also in good company. Like Lisa Renee Jones from yesterday’s post, I also have five books coming out in 2011. Hard to believe! The Regency-era Portrait of Seduction will be released in May from Carina Press, and in November I begin a new Victorian series from Pocket, which kicks off with His Vows to Keep. All very lovely and historical.

But not very deadly. I think only one villain bites in between the two books.

With Ellen Connor however…that’s where the deadly fun really starts.

Ellen Connor is the pseudonym I share with my friend Ann Aguirre. In late 2008 we decided to give co-writing a try, when Ann had an idea for an apocalyptic romance. Vicious monster dogs. Shapeshifters. End-of-the-world horrors. Oh, and amazingly hot sex between our tough chick, Jenna, and her ex-military partner, Mason. Thus Nightfall was born, the first of our “Dark Age Dawning” trilogy from Berkley.

Writing it was a blast. We wrote for ourselves, just enjoying the freedom of tackling a project without any expectations. We didn’t even know if we could work together long-term! But the deeper we climbed into our apocalyptic world, the more fun we had. And the more bodies piled up.

It was quite the change for me. My medieval romances had a slightly higher body count–you know, all those random guards that have to be fought when escaping a castle–but this was entirely different. We had to figure out how to kill evil monsters using WD-40. We had to decide how people would go about eating while trapped in a bunker with no electricity. And as a bonus, we even managed a way to make having sex in a Home Depot ultra hot. Doubters! Fear not! It is very possible!

What I learned is that there are just as many difficulties in writing a fictional world as there are in recreating an historical setting. (I’d never done this before, so the process was surprising.) When we had a question about what was happening, I couldn’t consult a book or find a primary source. Nope. Just…make it up? Really? The answers to all of our deadly, nasty, drooling, shapeshifting problems were all in our brains. Sometimes two brains gave us a problem-solving edge. Sometimes we had two very different ideas about how the story should proceed.

So needless to say, it was unlike any writing experience either of us had ever had. We successfully recreated the magic formula when we tackled Midnight this past summer, and we’re hip-deep in Daybreak right this moment. The trio hits the shelves in June, September and December. Here’s a little taste of Nightfall:

From out of the enveloping darkness, Jenna caught the faint baying of distant hounds. Only they didn’t sound like any dogs she’d ever heard. Their howls echoed with an unwholesome wetness, as if they keened through blood. Her heart skipped a beat, and the cold cut through her jacket like icy knives.

The second scariest part? Mason was about the most harmless thing in the woods.

“We have to get back to the cabin.” He tugged her hand. “You’re not ready for a fight.”

“Will I be?”

He leveled a steady look on her, his confidence and secrets almost hidden in the near dark. “Yes.”

Jenna had no time to think about that, stumbling as he pulled her back toward the cabin. She hunched into her jacket, feeling naked and undone. They sounded closer now. She smelled them too, a noxious stench that reminded her of graveyards. In her mind’s eye, she could almost see them, hideous skeletal things with flesh barely clinging to bone.

But that was crazy. They were just dogs, some strays that had gone feral.

Shadows flashed in her peripheral vision. She put on more speed, the feeling of life or death hitting her hard. The threat was intuitive, on a soul-deep level, and kicked her flight response into high gear. Dry, brittle branches whipped her face as they ran. They felt like bony fingers clawing at her skin, and she swallowed a scream.

I want to wake up now. Time to wake up. The only reply to her desperation came in the form of Mason’s warm fingers twined with hers.

Are you a fan of apocalyptic romances? Does the idea of a happy ending even at the end of the world work for you as a romance? Leave a comment or question and I’ll give one random winner a book from my backlist and one from Ann’s. Your choice. Good luck!

The winner of the copy of HIGH OCTANE is…Stephanie M! Congrats, Stephanie!

Today’s special guest is none other than the fabulously talented Lisa Renee Jones! I am a huge fan of Lisa’s, and I am eagerly looking forward to the release of her exciting new book, THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL.  Welcome, Lisa!

Hello everyone!

First, thank you to Cynthia for not only inviting me today, but writing the Deadly Series! I don’t know about you guys but I can’t wait for the next two books and I’m thrilled they are coming back to back. Now, if only she would hurry up and get on audible, since I’m an audible fanatic.  Soon, I hope!

2011 is an exciting year for me. I have 5 releases – 3 hot military men for Blaze, and 2 hot military men for Sourcebooks. Monday I received Arcs for High Octane, my March Blaze, and then yesterday I received review Arcs for THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL, my first single title for Sourcebooks. Such appropriate timing to review these two books because both heroes are super alpha! So I thought today I’d share an excerpt for Michael and then give away a copy of High Octane, which won’t be on shelves for another 45 days.  I had to search for a G rated excerpt! Seems Michael and Cassandra from the Legend of Michael have LOTS of PG and higher moments. 🙂

So onward to the excerpt. All you have to do to enter the contest is to tell me what you think is sexy about a military hero and if you feel like it – share one of your favorite military heroes form a book, film/tv, or real life.

Excerpt:

*This isn’t from the final edited version.

Nevada’s AREA 51 was not only the subject of government conspiracy theories; it was now, officially, her new home. A good hour before sunrise, Cassandra Powell pulled into the military parking lot outside the launch pad leading to the top-secret underground facilities where the launch of the Project Zodius GTECH Super Soldier Program was a year under way. The ride from her new on-base housing had been a whopping three minutes, which considering the inhuman hours the military favored, she could deal with. The simplicity of a standard green army skirt and jacket—required despite her contract status—seemed to be working for her as well. The cardboard bed, not so much. It had, however, made a great desk for her laptop and all-night reading.

And considering she was only three days on the job—taking over for the former head of clinical psychology who’d transferred to another department—she had plenty of work to do. The prior department head hadn’t done one fourth of the studies that Cassandra deemed critical to properly evaluate these soldiers. And while the counseling aspect fell outside her clinical role, she wasn’t pleased with what was being offered. She’d certainly be nudging her way into that territory.

Files in hand, she exited her red Volkswagen Beetle, and pushed the door shut with a flick of her hip. She walked all of two steps when the wind whipped into high gear, fluttering her suit jacket at her hips and tearing to pieces the blonde knot tied at her nape.

She shoved at the loose locks of hair and drew to a shocked halt, blinking in disbelief as four men dressed in black fatigues materialized in a rush of hot August wind at the other side of the long parking lot next to the elevator. She drew a breath and forced it out, trying to calm the thunder of her heart pounding her chest. Apparently she wasn’t quite as prepared for the phenomenon of GTECH Super Soldiers as she’d thought she was. Or at least not this thing her piles of paperwork referred to as “wind-walking.” It was one thing to be inhumanly strong and fast, even to be immune to human disease, but to be able to travel with the wind was downright spooky—and suddenly, so was the dark parking lot as the four men disappeared into the elevator.

Eager to get inside, Cassandra started walking, but made it all of two steps before another man appeared beside the elevator, this time with no wind as warning. Good grief, she hadn’t read about that stealthy little trick yet. Special Forces soldiers were already called lethal weapons, but these men, this one in particular, were taking it to a whole new level.

Still a good distance away from the building, Cassandra slowed her pace, hoping to go unnoticed, but she wasn’t so lucky. The soldier punched the elevator button and then turned and waved her forward. Oh no. No. No. Not ready to meet anyone yet. Not until she had a few of her ducks in a row. Cassandra quickly juggled her files and snagged her cell from her purse as an excuse to decline joining him, holding it up, and waving him off. He hesitated a few moments as the doors opened before he finally stepped inside and disappeared.

Cassandra started walking instantly, determined to get to the darned elevator before another soldier appeared. By the time she was inside, she had her file on wind-walking open—a good distraction from the entire underground, bomb-shelter-style workplace that made her more than a little uneasy.

Absorbed in her reading, head down, Cassandra darted out of the elevator the instant it opened, only to run smack into a rock-hard chest. She gasped, paperwork flew everywhere, and strong hands slid around her arms, steadying her from a fall. It was then that she looked up to find herself staring into the most gorgeous pair of crystal blue eyes she’d ever seen in her life.

She swallowed hard and noticed his long raven hair tied at the back of his neck, rather than the standard buzz cut—a sure indicator he was Special Ops. He could be one of the two hundred GTECH soldiers stationed at the base. A Wind-walker, she thought, still in awe of what she’d seen above ground.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was…” She lost the final word, her mouth dry as she suddenly realized her legs were pressed intimately to his desert fatigues, and her conservative, military-issue skirt had managed to work its way halfway up her thigh. “Oh!”

She quickly took a step backwards, righting her skirt in a flurry of panicked movement. Three days on the job, and already she was putting on a show. She pressed her hand to her forehead. “I know better than to read while walking. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” He arched a dark brow as her gaze swept all six-foot- plus of incredibly hot man, all lethal muscle and mayhem, and knew that was unlikely. She laughed at the ridiculous statement, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. She was five four in her bare feet—well, on her tip toes—and she bet this man towered over her by nearly a foot. “Okay. I didn’t hurt you. But, well, I’m still sorry.”

He stared down at her, his gaze steady, unblinking, the chiseled lines of high cheekbones and a square jaw, expressionless. Except deep in those strikingly blue eyes, she saw a tiny flicker of what she thought was amusement. “I’m not sorry,” he said, bending down to pick up her files.

She blinked at the odd response, tilting her head and then bending down to face him. “What do you mean?” she asked, a lock of her blonde hair falling haphazardly across her brow, free from the clip that was supposed to be holding it in place. “You’re not sorry?”

He gathered the last of her files, then said, “I’m not sorry you ran into me. Have coffee with me.”

It wasn’t a question. In fact, it almost bordered on an order. And damn, if she didn’t like the way he gave that near order. Her heart fluttered at the unexpected invitation. “I don’t know if that is appropriate,” she said, thinking of her new position. She stalled. “I don’t even know your name.”

The elevator behind them dinged open, and Kelly Peterson, assistant director of science and medicine for Project Zodius, appeared. “You’re early, Cassandra,” she said, amusement lifting her tone. “Morning, Michael.” She continued on her way, as if she found nothing significant, or abnormal, about Cassandra being sprawled across the hallway floor with a hot soldier by her side.

Cassandra popped to her feet, appalled she’d made such a spectacle of herself. Her sexy Special Ops soldier followed. “Now you know my name,” he said, and this time, his firm, way-too-tempting mouth hinted at a lift. Not a smile, a lift. God… it was sexy. “Michael Taylor.”

“Cassandra,” she said, unable to say the last name, dreading it more with this man than with the many others she’d been introduced to in the past few days. What was she supposed to say? Hi. I’m the daughter of the man who changed your life forever by injecting you with alien DNA without telling you first, and then claimed it was to save you from an enemy biological threat? Now you’re a GTECH Super Soldier for what we think is the rest of your life, but who knows what that really means long-term for you. But hey, I promise I’m one of the good guys, here to ensure you aren’t used and abused just because you’re a macho, kickass, secret government weapon? And did I mention I’m nothing like my father?

“Cassandra Powell,” he said, handing her the files, leaning close, the warmth of his body blanketing her in sizzling awareness. “I know who you are. And no, that doesn’t scare me away. I never run away from anything I want.” He leaned back, fixing her in another one of those dreamy blue stares. “So how about that coffee?”

She nearly swallowed her tongue at his directness, but, a true general’s daughter, she managed to recover quickly, remembering her duty in a painfully responsible fashion. “I… don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He studied her a moment before stepping into the now open elevator doors. “I’ll ask again,” he said as he turned to face her. She found herself lost in those addictive crystal blue eyes—eyes that had promised nothing, but somehow, promised everything—until the steel doors shut between them.

Cassandra inhaled, the scent of him still lingering in the air, and she bit her bottom lip. Too bad she’d sworn off soldiers years ago, because he was one heck of a man. Oh yeah, he was. But she’d seen her mother fret and worry over a man who was gone too often and might never return, right up to the day she’d died two years before, and Cassandra already had her father to worry about. So why was she wondering when he would “ask again”?

***