Hello! Shayla was super gracious in allowing me to talk with you all today. My name is Bonnie Hoffmaster and I’m an obsessive reader and HUGE Shayla fan.

So after reading the most recent installment of the Doomsday Brethren, POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT, which is absolutely wonderful by the way, I had some questions and I’ve been given permission to ask away!

What I’m really curious about is: how and where do you find a new-to-you author? Do you have certain websites or blogs you visit, or perhaps an email group? For myself, I came across my first Shayla Black book quite by accident. I’m a member of Rhapsody Book Club, which is for romance lovers. So one day I was just looking around the site when this SEXY cover caught my eye – it was the cover for Wicked Ties. So I read the description, then the excerpt and realized I had to have that book! And the rest is history, as they say, because I am such a Shayla fangirl it’s almost embarrassing LOL.

So tell me – how did you first find out about Shayla’s books? And what kind of promotional stuff catches your eye? Do you look for new-to-you authors on Facebook? MySpace? Are you big on message boards or Yahoogroups? This inquiring mind wants to know!

Keep spreading the word about POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT in your favorite ways! Post the title, Shayla’s name, blurb and/or what you’d like to say about the book. Post that wherever you like to hear about books from other readers, then leave a comment here with the link and/or description of your post. Shayla will register you for a NEW drawing to win a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. Deadline is 11/3. Post as many times as you want. You’ll be entered you for each post.

Happy Friday!

It’s FINALLY here!!! POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT should be available everywhere in both print and eBook format. I’m putting up another of my favorite excerpts below…along with prizes.

Doomsday Brethren Series, Book 3 — Ice’s story
Publisher: Pocket Books
ISBN-10: 1416578463
ISBN-13: 9781416578468
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Scroll down to read the first chapter!
Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders
Books-A-Million | Simon & Schuster | Indie Bound
Overstock | Target
Download eBook: Kindle | Barnes & Noble
Fictionwise | Sony |Simon & Schuster

An apocalypse approaches in the new novel from bestselling author Shayla Black’s electrifying Doomsday Brethren series, as a magical warrior and a spirited witch ignite a smoldering passion that could destroy them both.

As a mysterious dark cloud drains the life of her beloved brother, Doomsday Brethren leader Bram, Sabelle Rion can think of little else. Still, every time she meets Ice Rykard’s intense green gaze, her body aches with need for the sexy warrior. Their attraction is explosive, incredible—and forbidden. As dangerous as he is unpredictable, Ice is her brother’s sworn enemy. But as Bram weakens, a more sinister force is gaining power. Evil Mathias and his ruthless Anarki army are on a bloodthirsty hunt for the Doomsday Diary. Sabelle must guard the potent book with her life—and Ice vows to protect the beautiful witch with his. Duty demands that Sabelle deny her lover’s fiery call of possession and mate with a man who can sway the magical Council against the impending rebellion. With the fate of magickind hanging in the balance, will she forsake the burning desires she can’t ignore or turn her back on her people for the courageous man she can’t resist?

Reviews
Rated HOT! “The volatile emotions in this tale are truly combustible!” ~ RT Bookclub

“Captivating… POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT [is] a book you won’t want to miss.” ~ Romance Reviews Today

Recommended Read! “Page-turning magical suspense… Wring[s] emotion from every pore… leaves readers clamoring for more.” ~ Fallen Angels Reviews

“I could not stop reading. POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT is absolutely perfect.” ParaNormal Romance Reviews

“I love the angst and passion between Sabelle and Ice; it’s tangible and often breathtaking. Possess Me At Midnight is another exciting chapter in the Doomsday Brethren’s fight…” Joyfully Reviewed

“Totally rewarding and particularly satisfying.” Single Titles

“Better?” she asked.

Gingerly, he nodded. He looked white and exhausted and utterly depleted.

“Internal damage?”

“Healing.” He squeezed her hand. “I stopped the burn in time.”

A whole sentence. And now, he was breathing easier. His injuries were healing. “You’re certain?”

Again, he nodded. More a jerk of his stubbled chin than anything, but enough. “The damage stopped when you dragged me from the cellar. If you hadn’t come for me—”

“Of course I would.” Did he just assume she would leave him there to die?

“You could have run straight into danger, Sabelle.” He swallowed and fought for a breath, squeezed her hand again. “When I’m well, I’m putting you over my knee for that.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, her face flamed. “You’ll do no such thing.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t take away all my fun.”

A joke? He’d nearly died ten minutes ago, and now he was telling a joke. He didn’t wish her to know the extent of his injuries, clearly.

“Amusing, indeed.”

“Infuriating,” he corrected. “No more chances with your safety. On this point, Bram and I agree. You’re into magickind’s troubles too deeply.”

“I’ll tell you what I told Bram: I won’t sit about like some helpless princess while the rest of magickind fights. It’s my cause too.”

“Your funeral as well, if you’re not careful.”

“It could be anyone’s,” she argued. “Everyone’s. That’s Mathias’s doing. Not mine. Now, stop arguing and tell me how you feel. The internal damage has stopped?”

“Yes. I fought it off in the cellar, then you took me away. Between distance and your touch, I’ve improved.”

“Anything else?”

He hesitated. “My head. When the mine hit me, the force of it thrust me back. My head hit the wall. I heard a loud thump.”

Judiciously avoiding looking at the lower half of his very naked body, she gripped his large calloused hand in hers. Closing her eyes, she gathered up her power and summoned the siren in her. To Ice, she sent waves of healing, peace, sleep.

He growled. Suddenly, a wall shot up between them, blocking her well-meaning sentiments. Sabelle gasped. Where had that come from? Ice? Did he have the energy for that? Or was the mine still working its dark magic?

Then the barricade crumbled, and she felt Ice again. But this time, he sent her a blast of something else—desire that was thick, hot, screaming with lust and sex and need.

With a gasp, she pulled back.

A tired smile creased his face, and despite his exhaustion, his arrogance shone through. “Felt that, did you? I told you, I’ve no need for your happy sunshine and rainbows.”

“I sent you peaceful healing,” she argued. “You do need it.”

“Rubbish. I let you feel what I truly need.”

That overwhelming battering ram of desires and yearning? She placed a hand to her chest and forced herself to breathe evenly. Knowing he wanted her that badly staggered her. She blinked, looked at Ice, focusing on those green eyes of his that glowed with unquestionable want. Exhaustion still etched his face, and she knew that sending her any emotion had cost precious energy he didn’t have. Why bother?

“No one has ever bombarded me with their emotions like that.”

“You tell others what to feel and they abide?”

She frowned. “I try to be helpful and soothe the troubles or worries others have. I’m hardly forcing unwanted feelings upon them.”

“I didn’t want to sleep, princess.”

Sabelle felt her face flush again. “So I gathered.”

“Glad we’re clear.”

“Ice, you hardly have the energy to be wasting on such things. My touch has given you some, I suppose. But the sleep was to help you. I meant no insult. You must concede, your energy is dangerously low. Your magical signature is nearly transparent.”

He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

“Is—is that why you sent me the sexual vibrations?” She bit her lip and felt her cheeks flame up again. What was it about Ice that made her feel so feminine? “You need…energy?”

He stared, heavy, glowing, jaw clenched. “Sabelle…”

“You do.” She swallowed, studying his increasingly sheer magical signature. Normally a bold green laced with a fiery red. Black rimmed it, and she’d always worried that was a commentary on his sanity or his soul. But now, she could see straight through it all. And that frightened her. Without recharging, he would be unable to run, flee, help her evade Mathias. Yes, her touch, because he had Called to her, provided a bit of energy. But without a full dose of power, eventually he would die.

She eased off the bed and rose to her feet. With trembling hands, she pulled off her shirt. Instantly, she felt his gaze on the slopes of her shoulder, the curve of her neck, the lacy cups of her bra. His icy-hot eyes made her shiver. She locked stares with him, unable to look away.

Sabelle reached for the button of her jeans. Instead, he reached up and clamped his hands around her wrists. “Don’t.”

“But you need energy.”

“Yes, but—”

“You Called to me, so you can touch no other. And…I have no anger in me now to try to boost you that way. You want me and—”

“You know it. But I will be damned if I’ll let you make me into your next Lucan: a patient, a duty, a burden. What passes between us will never be an act you endure merely to heal me.” He squeezed on her wrists. “I would rather die.”

“Your pride is misplaced. My opinion is neither here nor there. Your life—”

“Will mean little if I have to swallow the bitter pill of being nothing to you. I hardly expect you to Bind to me, but I won’t have your pity.”

His passionate speech had used up more energy he could ill afford. The stubborn man! Frustration built inside her, a crescendo that trumpeted into fury. Ice could die, and he wanted to debate the meaning of an act intended to save his life? He sought to force her admission that she trembled for his touch before he allowed her into his bed. The energy exchange would be clean, simple, if he would merely accept her help. Did he not understand that crowding it with words and confessions would only make matters more difficult?

She tore her wrists from his grip, stepped away, and stripped off her pants and knickers. Her bra quickly followed. Ice’s eyes clamped onto her. His nostrils flared. His entire body tensed, and though she swore she would not look down, her gaze drifted across the harsh rise and fall of his chest, the undulation of his abdomen…and fixed on the hard stalk of his cock rising between his well-muscled thighs. A sudden gush of dampness slicked her intimately, where she now ached. She swallowed against the riot of sensations, a need unlike anything she’d ever felt.

If she admitted that to Ice, he would use this desire against her mercilessly.

Sabelle wanted to believe, more than anything, that Ice was motivated strictly by his desire to possess the witch he perceived as his mate. But niggling doubt made her wonder if revenge fueled him more.

“You have my help.” Her voice trembled as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. “You need no more than that.”

Ice raised a dark brow. “You have no idea what I need.”

Before she could argue, he grabbed her around the waist and threw her under him, until her back hugged the sheets steeped in his warmth and earthy scent. He loomed over her, his shoulders blocking out most of the room’s light. She felt surrounded, enveloped. Overwhelmed.

“Did you come for him?”

His big, hot hands gripped her hips, and slid up her torso until his palms cradled her breasts. And his touch burned her. She bit her lip to hold in a gasp, but the aftershocks of their contact reverberated, crashing wave after wave of desire through her body. She softened. Her nipples peaked. She grew wetter.

He stopped. Sniffed. Smiled. “You want me.”

“My body is ready.” She dared not admit more.

His smile slipped, and he grunted. “Bloody answer me.”

Damn it all, she’d forgotten the question. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Lucan,” he growled. “Did you want him? Did he give you pleasure? Bring you to peak?”

Very direct questions. That shouldn’t surprise her. But she couldn’t answer him. No answer would satisfy him. In either event, he’d turn this into some sort of chest-beating competition. And the truth would only cause…issues.

“It’s hardly relevant. You need me, and I am offering. Nothing more or less.”

He flicked his thumbs across her nipples. Slowly. Back and forth. Until she gasped.

“I plan to make certain it is much, much more.”

To celebrate release day, I’m giving away a signed copy of TEMPT ME WITH DARKNESS and SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW, plus free reads from some favorite authors including Maya Banks, Gena Showalter, Sabrina Jeffries and others. 10 books in all! To register to win, SPREAD the word about POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT. Mention the book, series and release day (blurb appreciated but optional) on your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blog, message/bulletin boards, etc OR review the book on an online bookstore or personal blog. Comment here with the link and you’re registered to win. The winner will be drawn on 11/3.

Hope everyone enjoys the release!

Happy Friday! I’ve been promising for a while that I’d share some of my favorite POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT excerpts. The first chapter is available here. I received an AMAZING review for this book the other day:

“The story is incredibly heartwarming and sexy. I cheered and I cried. Honestly, I sobbed through more than a couple pages. Very rarely do I feel such a connection with the characters that a book elicits such an emotional response from me. Possess Me at Midnight is absolutely perfect.” ParaNormal Romance

Without further ado, here’s some of my favorite bits of Ice and Sabelle!

POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT
Release date: 10/27/09 (psst, that’s  Tuesday!)

EXCERPT

Frustration eating at her like a disease, Sabelle slammed the door. She hated feeling helpless, but watching her brother die weighed her down with a sense of being powerless.

Taking Bram’s hand in hers, she crouched at the side of his bed and bowed in prayer, her forehead touching his unresponsive hand. This was not her brother. Bram was vital and bossy and amazing—and the only parental figure she’d ever really had. Lord knew her selfish mother had never cared for her, beyond however much having offspring with Merlin’s blood in her veins was worth. Losing Bram… Devastating wouldn’t begin to describe her loss. She’d envisioned him beside her as she took a mate, had younglings, grew older. They’d laughed and fought and helped each other. Their bond, always strong, had become stronger since Mathias’s return. Eradicating magickind of the cancer the evil wizard spread through society was Bram’s most passionate cause. Sabelle didn’t know how she’d finish that work without him.

Hot tears stabbed at her eyes again. Exhaustion and fear overtook her defenses. Two minutes. She’d give in that long, then put on her brave face. Ice would want nothing to do with her tears. They had no time for foolishness.

Suddenly, the door to Bram’s bedroom whooshed open and bounced off the wall beside him. There stood Ice.

Sabelle leapt to her feet with a startled gasp, aware of hot tears burning her cheeks—and her stare glued to his body. Wearing nothing but a towel, he scanned the room for danger with wild eyes. Rivulets of water caressed their way down his corded neck, over his bulging shoulders that ate up the door frame, across a chest no doubt capable of bench-pressing a bus, and along the ridges of his six-pack abs…before being lapped up by the towel riding dangerously low on his lean hips. Dear God.

Finding the room empty of Anarki, Ice turned his fierce green eyes on her. They flared with heat. Her body sizzled as if she kissed a live wire.

“What’s wrong?” he barked.

“I—I…” She couldn’t find her tongue.

“I heard a door slam. Has anyone come? Are you in danger?”

Trembling, she ripped her gaze away from his massive chest rising and falling with each rushed breath.

“No.” She swallowed. “Sorry. Just me. I…was frustrated. Bram’s getting worse.”

Tears threatened again, and she didn’t want to show Ice her weakness. His body might want her, but the way he called her princess, almost a sneer… No. She wouldn’t reveal her vulnerabilities and give him a reason to mock her later.

Despite her resolution, a fat tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the inn’s black silk robe she’d wrapped around her. She swiped at her wet cheek.

Ice charged across the room. He reached out to take her hand, then stopped before touching her, his tattooed biceps flexing with restraint. Quickly, he glanced at Bram. His mouth took a grim turn down.

“Have you any other ideas that might heal him?”

Another painful weight settled on her heart. “None. Were you able to reach Duke and the others while I showered?”

“I don’t dare. If they’re being followed as well, any magical summons before we’re truly safe could be dangerous for all of us. And I didn’t have my damn mobile with me when the Anarki attacked.”

“Me, either. The phone in this cottage only rings the front desk; I checked. We’ll find a phone tomorrow.”

Ice nodded, then edged back. “I ordered food earlier. It should be here shortly.”

A lovely gesture, but Bram’s condition ruined her appetite. What if her brother never opened his eyes again?

Fear welled up inside her, and to her horror, fresh tears rushed. She couldn’t contain the flood. Her breath caught, and her vision blurred. Scalding tears rolled out of the corners of her eyes. She swiped at them, but couldn’t catch them fast enough.

Oh, God. She was again crying in front of Isdernus Rykard, for whom sympathy was likely as welcome as syphilis. His personality often matched his name, and magickind regarded him as both ruthless and crazed. A man like him doubtless had no patience for weepy women, particularly not when times called for strong ones.

Sabelle slapped a hand over her mouth and raced past Ice toward the bedroom door. His hot hand clamped around her upper arm and hauled her back, dangerously close to his large, warm body, still beaded with water.

With his free hand, he pulled hers from her mouth, staring at her with an expression somewhere between probing and puzzled. “Don’t fret. We will see him well.”

The gentle note in his voice shocked her, brought forth a fresh well of tears. “How? Th—that smoke is a mystery. No one has b—been able to figure—”

“Shh.” He laid a soft finger across her lips.

Ice’s touch on her sensitive mouth jolted her, as if her entire body was connected to her lips. “Don’t think him into the grave.”

She sent him a shaky nod. Positive thoughts would help her brother more than fear. “You’re right.” Drawing in a trembling breath, she felt the onslaught of more tears. Angrily, she wiped them away. “I’m sorry to be a weepy mess.”

He drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding. She winced, waiting for him to scold or bellow at her. Instead, he pulled her against him, pressing her body to his with an arm around her waist. He buried his fingers in her hair. A million starbursts erupted, scattered over her scalp, her very skin. The sensation sank bone deep, fracturing her thoughts, her composure, her heartbeat. His heat seeped into her, cementing his impact on her, searing it inside her. He was hard. Again. Sabelle sucked in a breath.

“No apologies for tears. Bonds between siblings can be strong.”

He had siblings? Apparently. His statement proved how little she knew of him, and for once, it was frustrating not to be able to read someone’s mind.

“Tears won’t help now. I know that,” she offered. “I should be planning what else I can do to help Bram, how I can get him to safety, where I go from here, what—”

“We,” Ice murmured in her ear as gently as his rough voice allowed. “My shoulders are strong. Let me take some of the weight of that responsibility. Now, we must rely on each other.”

I’m also showing you my inspiration for Ice here. Everyone at the Pocket art department asked who he was, apparently. He name died with my last hard drive…but enjoy!

I’m going to ALL over the web in the next week or so. Pop in and join the fun!

10/22 – Fresh Fiction blog
10/26 – RomCom Paranormal blog
10/27 – Blackraven’s Erotic Cafe chat, 9pm Eastern
11/1 – Writerspace online chat about the Doomaday Brethren, 9pm Eastern

I love seeing friendly faces!

Stay turned for tomorrow. I’ll post some of my FAVORITE excerpts from POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT!

Happy hump day!

Gang, sorry for the delay in posting. I’ve been dealing with tendinitis in my elbow, and it’s really slowing me down. In the battle between blogging and writing Doombsday Brethren 4, guess which is winning… Anyway, TOMORROW is the deadline for you all to post reviews of SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW online (Amazon, B&N.com, your blog or other book-related blog) and send me the link via the contact form on my site. You’ll be registered to win one of 3 early copies of POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT. They will go in the mail Thursday morning!!! You all have left wonderful comments here. Share with the cyber world!

As one last enticement, I’m continuing the excerpt for SMIS. After our last installment on 10/14, Caden left Sydney’s flat and tried to follow her to her meeting with the source. Sydney, wise to him, ditched him in a pub. Frustrated and out of sorts, Caden gets a call from Bram that starts a whole new chapter of horror in his life. I wanted to share the “controversial” scene with you. I fought hard to keep it (editor wasn’t fond of it…). I think it’s critical to understanding Caden and his perspective on the matter of mating. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The mobile at his side rang. A glance at the display had him cursing not so softly.

“What?” he snapped.

“Your delightful mood means things aren’t going well, I take it?” Bram drawled.

“Not exactly. The woman is too smart by half and knows everything I say is shit.”

“You’re not being charming enough.”

Caden gritted his teeth. “Deception isn’t my style.”

“It’s charm. Do you need me to demonstrate?”

Though Bram was mated, the thought of him anywhere near Sydney made Caden feel uncomfortably homicidal. “The same charm you showed your now-missing mate?”

“Leave my mate out of this,” Bram snarled.

If you return the favor.

As soon as the words blazed across Caden’s mind, he sucked in a breath. Damn, he had to stop thinking about Sydney like that. He didn’t want a magical mate. And now he had to distract Bram. “Likewise, leave Sydney alone.”

“Are you having the urge to Call to this reporter?”

Every time he neared her, his temperature spiked. She was a fever, and if he kissed her, he feared he’d blurt the words that could bind them together. Not good signs.

Her proposition at lunch had boiled his blood. A hearty “yes” had hovered on the tip of his tongue. Yes, he wanted her naked. Yes, he wanted to taste every inch of her fair skin, possess that sweet body. Yes, he wanted all that intelligence and sass. Yes, he wanted to be the one to protect her. But giving into his urges would spell disaster. Too bad no one had given his instincts the memo.

“Can we focus on the mission?” Caden unleashed his annoyance. “She knows I’ve scarcely said a true word to her since we met. She’s seeing her contact this afternoon, knew I was following her, and intentionally lost me. Now, she’s thinking of writing an article about the Doomsday Diary. What do you think will happen if she does?”

Bram cursed. “She’ll get a very unpleasant, first-hand look at magic, Mathias style.”

“Exactly.” Caden gripped the phone, the thought too terrible to contemplate. He would protect Sydney at any cost, do anything to silence that story. Keep her safe. As much as it chafed him to ask for Bram’s help, he must.

“You need to step in,” he went on. “I’m compromised. Sydney knows I’m interested in the magical war story and that my seduction wasn’t real.”

“I can’t.” Suddenly, Bram sighed, sounding frustrated. “Another attack last night. Nearly everyone dead, two women missing. One transitioned just last week. Gossip and panic is beginning to spread around magickind about Mathias’s return. The Council elders have their thumbs up their arses, as usual. They want me to quell the rumors. I’m trying to be the voice of reason, but they don’t wish to hear logic. Duke and I are visiting Privileged households likely to be attacked and preaching caution, but…it’s frustrating to be forced to lie. I dare not leave the Council to their own devices for long. I’d insist on transcasting the truth to magickind, but I don’t have enough of the other Councilmen’s votes behind me. In the meantime, Marrok is ferociously training us for the war we all know is coming. If I sent Ice to help you, he would simply flatten Out Of This Realm. Besides, magic isn’t a cure-all. I can’t just wave my wand and have Sydney forget about the book and her story ideas.”

Bram painted a bleak picture, and Caden nearly felt sorry for the bastard. What the hell good was magic? Oh, that’s right, none. He’d had proof enough of that early in life. Caden gripped the back of his neck and massaged at the tension gripping him. The damn tingles had returned. He was exhausted, yet his body craved sex. Lots of lovelies in the pub, several looking in his direction. But a glance south proved his cock was having none of them. It was fixated on Sydney. He sighed.

“You’re going to have to fix this,” Bram said. “Get closer to Sydney, however you must. Convince her with whatever necessary. Get that bloody diary out of her hands. Stop those stories. Nothing about the Doomsday Diary can appear in print.”

Caden sighed. How the devil was he to do all that?

“I’ll talk to her tonight,” he told Bram. “I’ll be waiting for her when she gets home. Until then, I should visit my brother for a bit.”

“I can’t spare any of the warriors to transport you, but I can send my sister.”

“Sabelle’s company is always a delight.”

Bram snorted. “Spoken like someone who does not have to live with the minx.”

They rang off, and Caden waited. Sure enough, within moments Sabelle walked into the pub. Every male head turned. Jaws dropped. One man even rose to his feet, looking as if he was in a trance. She held up a hand, and he wandered back to his stool instantly, looking a bit confused.

“Do you get that reaction from men everywhere you go?”

She shrugged. “It’s my grandmother’s siren blood, not me. I could be the ugliest hag in creation and they’d still respond that way.”

But she wasn’t. Far from it. Sabelle was truly stunning. Wars had been started over faces half so lovely. Centerfolds would kill for her body. The first time he’d seen her standing in the middle of his living room in Texas, explaining that his brother was suffering, he’d had to truly focus on her words, not his shock at her utter beauty.

But he’d quickly learned that she wasn’t just beautiful on the outside. Caden genuinely liked her. But he didn’t want her.

“If Bram hasn’t passed the message to you, thank you for helping Lucan.”

“I’ve known him all my life, Caden. He’s a dear friend. I’m not about to let him die senselessly.”

A brave soul. “Every other surrogate we’ve sent has been terrified.”

She shrugged. “I believe, deep down, he would recognize me before he did any serious harm.”

“Sabelle, he doesn’t know himself.”

With a nod, she conceded. “Yes, well… It hasn’t been going as well as I would like. The energy he’s derived from my fear simply isn’t enough. He expends it all thrashing and calling Anka’s name. Lucan needs more.”

“Meaning?”

“With the previous surrogates, he growled that he scented another man, then tried to attack them. I think I might have a solution. You’re welcome to observe.”

Something in the witch’s tone made him pause. “Perhaps we should discuss this.”

Sabelle shook her head, golden curls brushing her slender arms. “I need to do this my way.”

“I don’t want you risking your safety.”

She patted his arm. “I’m fine. Why don’t we meander outside and round the back? We’ll attract less attention when we teleport.”

Caden knew a firm change of subject when he heard one and gave up, for now. He nodded, and they made their way into the windy evening chill.

Once out of sight, Sabelle positioned them away from people, out of the light, wrapped her hand in his and poof! One minute he was standing in a dark alley, the next he fought a black, stomach-turning void. Bloody magic! Then he stood in Bram’s foyer. And the man himself was there waiting.

“Glad to see you’re here. I was getting worried,” he visually inspected his sister, clearly reassuring himself that no harm had come to her.

She sighed. “I’m eighty-four, not four. I’m perfectly capable of finding someone and bringing them here.”

“But not necessarily without avoiding trouble.”

Sabelle rolled her eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, I have important things to do.” She clapped Caden on the shoulder. “Entertain him for a bit, will you? I’m worn out.”

With that parting shot, she disappeared.

Bram cast him a rueful glance. “I’ll trade you a brother in mate mourning for a mischievous sister.”

Caden almost laughed. “Thanks, but no. Honestly, I don’t want either problem.”

“I know.”

“You look exhausted.” Caden knew he shouldn’t ask, lest he find himself deeper in magical muck. But as much as he disliked some of Bram’s tactics, the wizard had taken his brother in, offered his home, his assistance, and now, his sister. “Any luck finding your mate?”

Bram winced, and the strain showed on the tired lines around his eyes and mouth. “No, it’s as if she’s vanished. I feel…nothing except her absence.”

“But she has not broken your bond?” The last thing he needed was for Bram to be in Lucan’s condition. Making his brother whole would be impossible.

“No, thank God. She is still mine, yet all my attempts to trace her lead nowhere.”

Odd, but then that was magic, difficult, baffling, and frustratingly cryptic. “Do you know anything about her? Where she lives, her phone number, relatives’ names?”

“As far as I can tell, everything she told me is a lie.” He scrubbed a hand over his tense expression. “I’m going to have to call one of those damn surrogates for energy. Mating is effective; I don’t want any woman but her. Somehow…” Bram broke off with a shake of his head. “Never mind. I’ll work it out. Go see your brother.”

“If I haven’t said thanks already—” Caden choked out. He disliked being beholden to Bram, but the words needed saying.

“Don’t. Lucan is like family to me, as is Anka. I only hope we can bring them back together.”

Beginning to fear that was impossible, Caden turned to the giant staircase on his left. One step at a time, he trudged up, dread pulsing through him as he climbed to the top, then marched to the end of the hall where Lucan lay.

God, he’d rather be anywhere but here.

Taking a deep breath, he lifted his hand to the knob of the closed door, wondering how his life had become hellish so quickly. What must Lucan’s be like?

Caden opened the door. Inside, the drapes were drawn, shutting out the weak twilight sun. The shadowed room smelled of sweat and rage and desperation. Lucan reeked of all three. He was a terrible, panting example of magic’s illogic and cruelty.

Bracing his forearm against the doorjamb, Caden hesitated. Though their sibling bond dictated that he care for Lucan, he didn’t want to walk in. When he’d been a boy himself, he’d helplessly watched Westin die. Laughing toddler one moment, corpse the next. A stab in the heart. The possibility of reliving the trauma of a sibling’s death terrified him.

A growl sounded from the bed, and Caden took a cautious step into the dark bedroom. There Lucan lay still and chained, naked except for a pair of white briefs. He stared in horror at his brother’s gaunt cheeks and pallid complexion. In the past days, his brother had deteriorated.

Swallowing his horror, Caden vowed that when he saw Sydney again, he’d focus on nothing but his mission. He must find Anka and make Lucan whole again.

An adjoining door opened to his right, and Sabelle exited the bathroom in a cloud of humid, perfumed air. She wore a simple white dressing gown, damp hair pinned to the top of her head, water droplets still clinging to her golden skin. Determination stamped her regal features and movements as she strode to a chair beside the bed.

When she glanced Caden’s way and saw him staring at Lucan, regret softened her face.

“It’s not always this way.”

Her whisper was like a blade to his chest. She meant to be comforting, reassuring. Instead, her words only angered him more.

“Caden,” Sabelle tried again. “I believe his bond with Anka was true and deep. He’s hurting now, but he had over a century of joy with a woman he loved. Any of us should be half so lucky.”

“To be reduced to an animal? You would feel lucky to endure this?”

“Mate mourning for a woman works differently, so I can’t say for certain. Males undergo a period of intense…adjustment. A witch suddenly alone is often compelled to seek out another wizard for comfort, protection, and energy. She doesn’t remember her former mate, but there’s a sense of loss, and she pines. Just not in this way.” Sabelle gestured to his brother.

Meaning that Anka could be anywhere, her memory of Lucan completely gone, and shagging someone else. If the mate mourning didn’t finish Lucan off, that knowledge might.

Sabelle placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I know this is unpleasant to you—”

“Horrific,” Caden corrected. “He—he’s a lunatic and he’s a burden to you. Will he ever again be himself?”

Regret tightened her mouth, shadowed her eyes. “His mate mourning is severe. We’re trying. Honestly. I’m—”

“Please don’t think I’m faulting you,” he said gently. “I don’t blame you or your brother in the least. I’m…frustrated. He’s gotten worse.”

“Until he takes energy, he cannot stabilize.”

Caden paced. “I feel helpless. I know I can’t do anything to help except find Anka. Without her, is there any end in sight other than his death?”

“One day at a time. You’re trying. We all are. Don’t discount Lucan. He’s strong. It’s not uncommon for a wizard’s mate mourning to end abruptly. Tomorrow, he could awaken perfectly fine.”

Or this condition could kill him. Caden snorted. “Magic could never be so kind.”

“Then give up on him.” She tossed her hands in the air. “But I won’t. Lucan is our friend. His death would kill my brother.”

She didn’t wait for a reply before she approached the bed and raised her hands to Lucan, lingering at one ankle, then the other. Then she made her way to the top corners of the bed, murmured a few words, and passed her fingers over each of Lucan’s hands.

Suddenly, the chains binding him loosened a bit, allowing him limited movement.

With a roar, Lucan thrashed about, eyes wild. The whites were gone, his pupils mere dots in a sea of tumultuous blue.

“Dear God, what are you doing?” He rushed forward to tighten Lucan’s restraints again.

Sabelle stayed him with a raised hand. “I’m serving him.”

Caden wished that didn’t mean what he feared. “Lucan could kill you. He nearly did the others because they weren’t Anka.”

“With the surrogates, he smelled other men on them. He assumed they were enemies, come to kill him. So he attacked. I’m attempting a new tactic. I’m completely clean and washed with Anka’s soap and shampoo, for good measure.”

“But allowing him so much slack in the chains… isn’t that dangerous?”

“When others have been feral, they’ve had a need to dominate, according to my Aunt Millie. In this state, Lucan will require any woman he beds to be beneath him. Besides, I hope that having some freedom of movement will signal to him that he’s not under attack and enable him to take me. He’ll derive more energy if he does.”

Caden swallowed. “And you’ll just let him…”

She stared back at Caden over her shoulder. “My body is a small thing to give to keep a dear friend alive. If embracing another eases him past his mourning, why would I not help him?”

Her selfless words hit Caden in the gut. This wonderful woman was risking herself. He adored her, yet was scared for her, all at once.

“Does Bram know what you’re about?”

She shook her head. “He’d only be a hindrance.”

Caden shook his head. Foolish, brave, amazing woman. “What if Lucan attacks you?”

She smiled sadly. “You’re here.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I hope you’ve enjoyed these excerpts of SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW! The first chapter of POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT is up now. But it contains spoilers, so if you haven’t read SMIS yet and don’t want to know events in advance, don’t click.

Looking forward to your comments and reviews!

Adding a bit more of the excerpt today. Tomorrow…we might hit the “controversial” scene! My editor mailed me a few EXTRA copies of POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT…so I’ve got a few more to give away. The first winner from the blog comments will be drawn after tomorrow’s post.

BUT I’ll be giving away three (3!) copies next Wednesday (10/21) for people who post reviews of SMIS on one of the following: Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, Borders.com, their personal blog or other book-related blog. All you have to do is post your review, then send me the link via the contact form on my website. That’s it. Next Thrusday morning, I’ll be mailing prizes to the winners, and they’ll be among the first to have the book. For all of you who have written me and left blog comments about the book…share those with the cyber world. You might be a winner!

And now onto the fun stuff…

Excerpt (continued from 10/12 post)
SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW
by Shayla Black

Well, damn. Caden clenched his fists as his brain went into overdrive. Now that she’d seen through his ruse, how did he repair the damage and salvage his mission—without risking their working relationship and his future?

“What I’d like to do and what’s prudent are two different things.”

“Often, yes. But let me tell you what I think is happening here: You insulted Jamie because he’s a slacker, and you object to them as a rule. Very against your military background. You want to be a part of the magickind war story for some reason, and are fixated on my source, of information, and when I refused to let you tag along, you decided to resort to a half-hearted seduction in an attempt to hoodwink me into changing my mind. Is that closer to the truth?”

Dear God. He’d had undercover missions easier than this. Too smart, she was. “No. What’s happening is that I’m far more attracted to a colleague than I’m proud of, and the things I want to do with you would make even your pert little freckles blush. I tried to keep quiet because I need this job, but when I saw it was mutual, I couldn’t hold my desire in. I didn’t mention it at the office because it’s inappropriate there. And as much as I’d like to get you naked in the next three minutes, I don’t want to simply shag you. That wouldn’t help me to know you better. Yes, I’m interested in your source about the magical war story because I understand war, and let’s face it, a woman claiming such things is intriguing. But I’m also not trying to rush you to bed because I don’t want to build artificial intimacy simply to get my way. I want you to choose to make me your partner at the office, regardless of our personal relationship.”

That sounded logical. And a bit too close to the truth.

Sydney sent him a considering stare. “What do you recommend next?”

Caden released the breath he’d been holding. Maybe she believed him. Perhaps. He had to keep to his role. “Lunch?”

“Actually, I was about to toss together a sandwich. You’re welcome to join me.”

“I meant to take you out.”

“Wouldn’t staying here allow for more privacy? If we’re going to get to know one another, that’s much harder in public.”

And much easier for him to put his hands all over her, as he was dying to now. “Whatever you like.”

“Perfect.” She rose to her feet and headed for the kitchen, grabbing ingredients as she dashed about. “Tell me about your parents. Are they still alive?”

He was supposed to be getting to know her, finding ways to make her trust him, not the other way around. “They are, but I was a late-in-life baby. They’re quite elderly. Yours? I want to hear about you.”

“Later.” She waved off his question. “So you’re caring for your brother because your parents can’t?”

“Precisely.”

“Other siblings?”

Not anymore, and not for anything would he drag up that terrible story. “None. You? Any siblings?”

“Only child. Stop changing the subject,” she admonished, opening a jar. “Mustard?”

“Please. I really want—”

“How much older is your brother?”

Three hundred sixty-seven years. He suspected she wouldn’t take that well. “Upwards of a decade.”

“Significant, then. Tell me more about his illness.”

“Lucan is unconscious, they have little idea how to help him, and this isn’t the Inquisition.”

He rose and entered the kitchen. Sydney stood against the counter, spreading mustard on brown bread. He eased up behind her, placed his hands on her hips and whispered against her neck, “I’m here to get to know you.”

With a saucy tilt of her head, she shot him a glance over her shoulder. “As I’ve said, no siblings. My parents are both professors. My mother teaches history at Oxford. My father once taught, but now conducts very important research to help create a purely artificial fuel source.”

Caden winced, and Sydney laughed. “You asked.”

“They sound very serious, indeed.”

“They’re even more so in person, I assure you.”

Something on her face gave Caden pause. “And are they supportive of your career?”

She hesitated. “I’m a bitter disappointment, and I’m reminded of that every time I see them.”

Though Sydney said it laughingly, he could read the pain on her face. She was hurt by their lack of support. It was foolish and stupid and dangerous, but he eased his arms around her. “I think you’re brilliant, and I have no doubt that someday you’re going to be wildly famous for doing exactly what you love.”

“Hmm. Flattery.” She didn’t sound impressed.

But this, he truly meant. She’d wowed him with her very first story. Though she knew nothing about magickind, she’d somehow caught onto the nuances, what was important to the warring factions. “Honesty.”

He longed to kiss her mouth, mere inches from his, taste her, bring her closer to him, ease her pain. Inside, he damned his magical impulses for dangling this temptation in front of him and making her so forbidden. If she was, as he suspected, the mate magic intended for him— no, he couldn’t think about what could be or he’d go mad.

The reality was, he was deep in this magical war. Not only did he want to avoid Lucan’s fate, but he didn’t want to place Sydney in danger. If he kissed her and succumbed to the need to Call to her as his mate… he couldn’t bear the thought that, instead of reporting about a woman who had been repeatedly raped by Mathias, she might actually become one.

“Are you going to stare at my mouth or kiss me?”

Caden backed away. “I’m reminding myself to take it slowly. Perhaps I should help with lunch.”

She sighed. “There’s some clementines and crisps in the cupboard.”

After retrieving them, he turned to find Sydney setting up the little bistro-style table in her kitchen. She turned and grabbed two plates piled high with lettuce and fresh tomato. He held the chair for her. Sydney sent a raised brow at him, but sat.

“So,” he said before she could start interrogating him again. “Your parents don’t love what you’ve chosen to do with your life. My guess is that you work very hard to be the best and hope they will someday recognize your genius.”

“Thank you, Dr. Freud.” She sent him a quelling glance. “Something like that. Though I know I can’t live to please them.”

“No adult does, but you hate to disappoint them, right?”

She swallowed her bite of sandwich and peered across the table at him. “You came to get to know me, yet clearly you already do. Perhaps we skip the rest of this silly ‘getting to know you’ crap and go straight to bed?”

Happy hump day, all!

Today, my pal Nikki Duncan, aka Naughty Nikki, releases her DEBUT novel, a yummy romantic suspense: SOUNDS TO DIE BY from Samhain Publishing.

Sounds to Die By, Sensory Ops book 1
Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-60504-677-8
Order: Samhain | Kindle Version | Books on Board

Rookie FBI Agent Kieralyn Beckett is in a delicate position. Her team refuses to buy into her theory that a string of kidnappings is connected. If she pushes too hard, they’ll discover the latest victim was her college roommate and boot her off the case. A garbled recording is the only evidence, and there’s only one man who can decipher it. The hard part will be convincing him to take the case.

Blinded as a child, NSA “listener” Ian Cabrera spends the majority of his time analyzing data while secretly searching for his father, a missing CIA operative. His plate is full, but Kieralyn’s passion and determination, as well as the erotic beat of her heart, spark his interest. So does the mention of his father’s code name on her recording.

There’s only one way to follow this new crumb-trail of clues without tipping her off about what he’s really after. Convince her she needs him to be her undercover partner, despite his handicap. Between her eyes and his ears, they make one beautifully orchestrated team. Every time they touch, though, the arousal they generate creates one red-hot element of distraction…

“Nikki Duncan has spun a web of intrigue, suspense, and scorching hot love scenes that will entice any reader.” ~ Joyfully Reviewed

“AWESOME READ!! I love Ian and Kieralyn. Ian may have been blind but he saw so much and helped Kieralyn see opening her heart didn’t make her any less then what she was but more.” ~ Maggie, an avid reader. 

Also, check out my month long blog party. I’m giving away some great prizes with an eReader for the grand prize on Halloween.

Now…let’s talk about Ian. Because he’s blind, that became an enormous challenge – not for him – but for me writing this book.

When I was writing Ian’s character, I watched Daredevil several times and I thought back on At First Sight with Val Kilmer. I was watching Ray for the first time a few days ago, and it made me think of Ian in Sounds to Die By. I know one person who lost her vision as she aged, but I don’t know anyone who has been blind for most of their life. I relied on movies and my own imagination to make sure I captured Ian’s character correctly and handled his lack of vision as accurately and believably as possible.

When I watched Daredevil, I paid attention to how things sounded and how he could judge where things were because of sound waves, but I didn’t go so far as to give Ian an actual visual sensation from the sounds. That was one of my favorite things they did in that movie, but I wanted Ian to have to get through life without that sort of advantage. I also needed to get inside Ian’s head, so I blindfolded myself a few times to see what I noticed when I didn’t rely on my vision to get me through the house. I would shower and dress with all the lights off and my eyes closed to consider even the small challenges a blind person would deal with.

I felt that I’d done a pretty good job of writing a blind hero, and after watching Ray, I’m even more confident that I did. Jamie Foxx (Ray) was on a bus at one point and the driver asked him how he got around without a cane or guide dog—something Ian does in the book by choice at times. He explained how everything makes a different sort of sound and that he wore hard-soled shoes because they made sound vibrations off the walls so when he came to a doorway the sound changed. I used the sounds waves vibrating in the air around him as the explanation in the book, but Ray’s sense of hearing was a lot like what I did with Ian’s character. For example, he was in a restaurant on a date and made a comment about the Hummingbird outside the window. His date was surprised that he could hear it, but he sort of shrugged it off with the remark that you just had to listen. Ian does the same kind of things to Kieralyn.

Sounds to Die By has by far been my most challenging story to write, but it has also been extremely rewarding. In doing a few simple exercises of blindness, my writing improved because I had to find new ways to describe things, but I also came to appreciate the things we take for granted a little more. Like a great song.

For example, I love the song Do You Know by Enrique Iglesias. If you listen to it normally, you hear the ping pong ball bouncing at the beginning, but you can easily lose the sound of it when the music and lyrics kick in. By closing your eyes and concentrating on that ping pong ball, the rhythm and feel of it before the song kicks into full swing, you can hear the ball beneath the lyrics and music. You feel its rhythm more viscerally. Try it. I’d love to know if the same is true for you.

Gang, this book releases today in e-book format. I know I’ll be getting my hands on it quickly. Hope everyone will do the same!

Happy Monday, all! After a weekend with some intermittent Internet access, all is well again. Whew! Hate being without.

We’re continuing to excerpt SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW for a chance to win an ARC of POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT, which releases 10/27! Before we continue the excerpt from October 4′s blog, I have to address a question. I’ve received some private emails asking me why I haven’t posted any excerpts of POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT anywhere, not even on my site. The answer is…even the first page has spoilers. I wanted to give readers of the series the opportunity to get through SMIS before hitting them with anything that might give away some of the mystery and fun. That said, I will begin such excerpts later in the week. So if you don’t want to be spoiled, read SMIS quickly!

Today’s SMIS excerpt picks up after Caden has prowled through Sydeny’s office, looking for the address or other contact information of her source for the magical war stories. After a thorough but unfruitful search, he realizes that cunning Sydney would keep such information with her. Since it’s Saturday morning, and he knows Sydney will be meeting with her source that afternoon…well, desperate times call for desperate measures. We’re getting closer and closer to the controversial scene, too. Can’t wait!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The next morning, Sydney sipped tea, still fixated on Caden.

She fingered the spine of the little red book Aquarius had given her. Would it really make her sexual fantasies come true? Even if it did, she’d be a pretty sad sack to magically coerce a man into bed who hadn’t shown the slightest interest in her.

With a shrug, she tucked the book away in her nightstand and returned to the kitchen. Halfway there, she heard a knock at her door.

“Who is it?”

“Caden.”

Truly?

She couldn’t run to the door fast enough. After fumbling with the locks, she jerked the door open and stared in surprise.

Caden was there, in the flesh…and what incredible flesh it was. Tight black t-shirt, faded crotch-hugging jeans, and an expression that said he had more on his mind than business.

He swallowed. And stared. “Is now a bad time?”

“N—no,” she stuttered.

After a lingering glance down her body, he swallowed again. “Glad to hear it.”

Sydney frowned at his odd behavior, then looked down at herself—and gasped.

Her one indulgence was lingerie, of which she was wearing her latest…and skimpiest. Pale and silky, the lace-edged straps of the camisole hugged her shoulders. More lace tipped the low-cut V and hugged the swells of her breasts. Silk cupped her beneath their curves, just as she’d like his palms to do. The faint outline of her nipples showed through the flesh-colored fabric. His gaze, his stance, hardened as he stared. She wondered what else did, and fought the urge to look down.

He had no such hesitation, his gaze traveling over the sheer boy shorts that showed off every inch of her legs. Sydney suspected he could see a hint of the fiery hair between, as well.

Blast! The sound of Caden’s voice had made her utterly forget she was more than half naked before she answered the door.

“Wait here.” Sydney jogged away and returned a moment later wearing a matching dressing gown. Frowning, she belted the flowing garment around her waist. It didn’t over everything, but enough to make her decent.

“Do you want to come in or stare at me like a mutant in a circus freak show?”

He swallowed. “You don’t look like a freak. At all.”

That voice of his poured over her like melted chocolate, rich, warm, tempting. Sydney drank it in, though she wondered if he truly meant it. First, a look. Now, a compliment. Uncharacteristic, to say the least.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked. “Too early to talk?”

She stepped aside and let him in. “I’m surprised you’re here at all. Is something wrong?”

“Must something be wrong for me to want to talk to you?”

On a Saturday morning? Yes. “How did you find me?”

Caden merely smiled. What the blazes did that smoldering look mean?

“Why not simply call?” she rephrased.

“You never gave me your number.”

“I never gave you my address, either. How did you get it?”

“I have my ways.”

Very cryptic. But since he was here, maybe she could work his unexpected visit to her advantage, see if he had a bit more interest in her than she’d suspected.

He shut the door and approached, standing close, almost touching…but not quite.

“I want to talk to you,” he murmured. “Say things I couldn’t at the office.”

Her belly fluttered. It sounded sexual. Until five minutes ago, she would have chided herself for wishful thinking. Now…?

She remained close, and his warm breath hit her lips. His eyes locked onto her as if she was the only woman in the world. Forget flutters, her belly plunged to her knees.

Suddenly, he wanted to be cozy? They hadn’t worked together long. It was possible he’d simply been cautious. Maybe it was the reporter in her, but she needed to ask questions, get to the bottom of this.

“Sit down and say whatever you’ve come to say. Tea?”

“No, thanks.” He settled himself on her sofa and stretched his arms clear across the back.

The wide span of his arms, coupled with those amazing shoulders, made her salivate in a way she shouldn’t about a colleague. But he wasn’t helping, drat him, by looking so sexy—and staring as if she was edible.

“Come sit beside me.” He patted the sofa cushion.

Sydney looked between the two empty chairs in the room, then again at the sofa. Gingerly, she settled in next to him. “I’m listening and I like having you here, but if your visit has anything to do with my source for the articles, I’m not taking you with me to our meeting—”

“No, nothing to do with that. But it’s important and better said outside the office.”

Right, then. Well, that made her curious, especially when his gaze skimmed down her body, lingering. Though she wasn’t naked, his gaze made her she felt like it. “Go on.”

Caden hesitated. “Maybe you should change.”

He was suggesting that she put on more clothes after thoroughly looking his fill? Odd… his burning stare said he was two seconds from ravishing her; his behavior was cagey. Sydney prided herself on being able to read people, but Caden had her baffled.

Instinct told her that something was off. That same instinct told her she wasn’t going to solve this mystery unless she played along.

#

Finally, Sydney left the room, sashayed down the hall, and shut her bedroom door. Caden lamented losing the stunning view. The woman revved his body thoroughly into overdrive. But he was here to find clues to Anka’s whereabouts and the book—and to make this magical nightmare go away.

Caden raced into action and began searching. If Sydney had an appointment to see the woman this weekend maybe he could find an address, a phone number, a name that would prove this goose chase worthwhile.

With the clock ticking, he started with a nearby antique secretary propped against the wall between her living area and her kitchen. Immediately he could see she hadn’t stashed the little red diary here. Bills, pictures, a list of things to do, a little calendar with various dates written inside…like Aquarius being on holiday. No mention of where she was headed.

He sighed, righted everything, then dashed to the kitchen. Next to the phone he found a shopping list and a neat row of phone numbers for restaurants that delivered.

Gads, the woman lived by lists.

Meanwhile, the damn clock was ticking, and he didn’t care that she needed milk from the market and had a local pizzeria on speed dial. Ignoring an odd tingle and a cold sweat, he scanned the room and saw her handbag sitting on a little table near the front door. No time to be squeamish about invading her privacy.

He unzipped the flap, pushed aside her coin purse, keys, and lipstick. A notepad with a pen attached. He flipped it open. Eureka! It was littered with notes. Some large, some sideways, some in an odd shorthand he couldn’t decipher. He lifted one page, another, a third… at the seventh, he paused. A whole page dedicated to the story of magickind she was slowly, foolishly revealing.

Saturday @ 4, A’s place, one of her notes said. This Saturday? Who was A? Anka or someone else, like Aquarius? Had Anka been free long enough to have her own place? If she had, why hadn’t she returned home? Where was this place? Was it possible that Mathias knew who she was and where she lived? Nothing else on the little scrap of paper answered any of those questions. Damn!

Just below that was a list of seemingly random thoughts under the heading POSSIBILITIES. She had written yet another list with items like “decomposition of bodies,” “magickind living among humans,” “magical war/other battles,” and “origin of the magical diary.”

Caden took a moment to absorb those horrific possible stories. Sydney had already written about the battle in the tunnel. Any of these would seem like natural follow-up. And if she wrote a single word of the Doomsday Diary in Out Of This Realm, Mathias and the Anarki would hunt her down within hours. Mathias ate sweet morsels like Sydney for snacks. The thought made his blood freeze.

His reaction made little sense; he barely knew the woman, but Caden’s first instinct was to protect her with his life. He knew he’d die before letting Mathias hurt her. And he didn’t want to question why.

Caden heard fumbling from the end of the hall. With a curse, he shoved the little notepad back into place, then crept to the living room, planting himself on the sofa before Sydney stepped in, wearing a pair of long, flowing pants and a curve-hugging sweater. He liked the lingerie better. But this outfit emphasized how small she was. If he was to lay her down and cover her body with his, he would completely envelop her and mold every lush little curve to him…

Not a smart train of thought. He was losing what little spare room he had in his jeans, and Sydney’s quizzical expression told him that she’d done some thinking while she was changing. That was never good.

“What’s so urgent that you had to hunt me down over the weekend? That you couldn’t say in the office?”

She always got to the point. All the women he had dated who chatted endlessly and never really had a point—they drove him mad. The one woman he wished would prattle and simply let him lead the conversation was having none of it. He sighed.

“Sit beside me.” He patted the sofa cushion beside him once more. Charm her, he reminded himself.

She settled in, studying him as if she could read his thoughts. He tamped down on the urge to squirm.

“The office is always hectic,” he commented.

“We’re in a deadline-driven business.”

“True, but that doesn’t leave us much time to get acquainted.”

“And you think that will improve our working relationship?”

“Perhaps, but that’s not why I’m here, Sydney.” He purposely dropped his voice an octave and leaned closer.

She raised a skeptical brow. “Out with it.”

“I want to get to know you, as a person. As a woman. Not as a reporter.”

She cocked her head and stared at him, the wheels in her mind obviously turning. “For what purpose?”

Bloody hell, was this woman immune to seduction? “Are you always this direct?”

“Are you always this vague?” she countered.

This was becoming a proper mess. He was ill-prepared for pretending interest in a woman while he was actually mad for her—yet hiding his desire. He had to be flirtatious, but no more. But his fierce desire was interfering with his mission. He knew how magical men instinctively found their mates, and he suspected that one kiss would be his doom.

“I’m trying to say that you interest me without you filing a harassment complaint.”

That made her laugh. “I’ll tell you if you cross the line. Interesting how?”

“In just about every way imaginable.” That, he didn’t have to lie about. The lingerie she’d had on earlier told him without a doubt that she’d have a gorgeous body he’d kill to devour. She fascinated him with the wicked sweep of those little auburn brows over sharp brown eyes. The woman brimmed intelligence. The way she asked questions, deduced the truth quickly, but carried herself with undeniable sensuality, all dazzled him, along with her zest. Had he ever attacked each day with such passion? Certainly not since Iraq and being one of the few survivors of his platoon. Perhaps not even since Westin’s death.

“You sound as if you mean more than professionally,” she remarked.

He shrugged, hating the need to be coy. “We work together, so the situation requires caution. I hoped we could…get to know one another first, then see if we wanted to pursue more.”

Her eyes narrowed. “This is the first I’ve heard or seen of any interest beyond the professional.”

“I’ve tried to keep unprofessional thoughts to myself at the office.” That was the truth, and hopefully enough for her curiosity.

“You’ve had them?”

Caden chastised himself for underestimating her tenacity. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

“Thank you.” His flattery only sharpened her gaze. “But this seems…sudden.”

“I could tell you my first thought after meeting you, but it’s definitely not fit for the office, nor terribly polite.”

Sydney turned sideways, tucking one leg under her and anchoring her arm across the back of the sofa, her fingers so close to his shoulder. If he leaned toward her just a bit, she’d be touching him. The thought blasted heat to his cock.

Then she smiled. “That so? All right, I’ll play. I’ve had similar thoughts.”

“I thought so yesterday. In your office. It was in your eyes.”

“So that’s why you decided to say something?”

“Yes.” It sounded reasonable, though he’d sensed her interest a few days ago.

“What do you think should happen next?”

“We should take it slow,” he murmured. “Get to know each other, then decide if we want to proceed, so we don’t jeopardize our working relationship.”

“Hmm. Very wise and gentlemanly.”

Caden exhaled, hoping she believed him. But one look at her, and he resisted the urge to wince. Something was going on in that head of hers.

“But let me make certain I understand. I’m to believe that you’ve had lascivious thoughts since meeting me, but hid them until you…either broke into someone’s filing cabinet to find my address or followed me home, which shows an amazing dedication to seducing me. Then you knocked on my door on a Saturday and looked at me as if you’d like to strip me bare in the foyer. And you did all this so that we could take our relationship slowly? Have I got that right?”
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Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win an ARC of POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT! More soon…

Karin T! Congratulations. She’s been contacted and chose a copy of Paradise Rules as her prize. Beth will be sending her a copy shortly. Thanks to all who played.

I’m running a bit behind today, but will have something new to post tomorrow. All I can say now is that Doomsday Brethren 4 is kicking my butt!

Pausing my excerpts of SEDUCE ME IN SHADOW today to bring you a feature from sizzling author Beth Kery.

PARADISE RULES releases today!

Publisher: Berkley Heat
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback

Read an excerpt

She didn’t believe in paradise…
To most people Hawaii’s crystal blue shores are an inviting opportunity to escape reality. But for Lana Rodriguez who grew up there, the picture-perfect vacation getaway disguises the bitter truths she escaped years ago, and not without some emotional scars. Now a successful blues singer, Lana’s returning to Waikiki with a different outlook on the past, and a bold defiance when it comes to men, romance, and sex. This time, it’s on her terms.

Until she found it in him.
Local celebrity, businessman and island god, Jason Koa, may be every woman’s dream. For Lana, it’s not exactly love at first sight. Though their start is rocky, they can’t deny the passions they arouse in each other. Jason refuses to become Lana’s pawn. It’s time to show her who makes the rules on this island—and in the bedroom. But will Jason’s attempt at breaking Lana’s shell reveal secrets that neither are prepared to face?

What people are saying about PARADISE RULES

–Love scenes that are so hot they set the pages on fire…a must add to your forever bookshelf! ParanormalRomanceReviews

–4 stars from Romantic Times–Kery creates tension by weaving together a mystery and a happily-ever-after love story.

–5 Stars from Genre Go Round Reviews–hot enough to melt the polar cap

–A “Desert Island Keeper” from Lea Closetwriter–these two are volcanic together

Beth will give away any one of her great books, including PARADISE RULES. All you have to do is comment…

Back soon with more goodies, including a little peek at POSSESS ME AT MIDNIGHT.