But instead of throwing a party, I’m going to give you a little something: A new DELICIOUS excerpt!

Very sorry it’s been a long while since my last blog. I’m under a killer deadline, and I’ve been sick, BUT I’m headed for the home stretch. I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you… Enjoy!

Wicked Lovers, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley HEAT
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: March 2, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-23242-2
Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders |
Books-A-Million | Indie Bound | Overstock
Pre-order Download: Kindle | Nook

Excerpt

Alyssa was a stripper, for fuck’s sake. Not the sort of woman who went without sex for two years. He’d been an idiot to believe that when she’d whispered the trembling lie as he’d tumbled her into bed three months ago. She was in the business of leading men around by their dicks. And she was good at it. He couldn’t be angry with her for being herself; she’d never pretended to be anything different. But he could—and should—be furious with himself for caring.

Despite the lot being completely empty, he’d parked three spots from her. As he pressed his key fob to unlock the driver’s door, he watched her do the same with her black sports car. Luc fisted his hands. She’d go home now, lose that little black skirt, white tank, red bra, and fuck-me shoes. Even though she played no part in the future he craved, he itched to follow her home . . . help her out of every garment, sink down into that perfect, tight body.

He swallowed. Keep your dick in your pants. Cook, shut up, and get the hell out of Lafayette. Seven days. Think you can find some self-control?

A feminine shriek zipped across the lot, shattering his thoughts. Alyssa.

Luc’s heart stuttered, and he nearly leapt over his car as he rushed across the asphalt. She backed away—right into his chest. He steadied her, palms cupping her bare shoulders.

“What is it?” he demanded.

Alyssa drew in a shuddering breath. “Bastards!”

Before he could ask her who or what she meant, she reached into the interior and yanked on something. A moment later, she produced a long, serrated knife with a piece of paper attached. Under the streetlamps, it gleamed the word WHORE in bright red lipstick.

Shock crested, then quickly morphed into molten fury. It was ironic; he’d been thinking something similar only moments ago. But he would never have said it aloud, much less stabbed it to the front seat of her convertible.

“Who would do this to you?” His voice vibrated with rage.

She tossed the knife into her front seat and cast him a wary stare over her shoulder. “Who knows?”

Luc turned her to face him and clenched his jaw. “Who. Did. This. To. You?”

His tone took her aback. “Look, it’s not new. Shit happens all the time.”

All the time? That only infuriated him more. Luc drew her closer as a thunderous frown stole across his face. She wasn’t afraid, and he was scared as hell for her. “What have the police said in the past?”

“Police?” She shook her head. “This is just . . . a prank or a pissed-off customer who thought I didn’t pay enough attention to him, most likely.”

And whoever did this could also be dead serious. That blade was no laughing matter. “What if someone really sick wants to hurt you? How long has it been going on?”

“Like I said, it happens. It’s been a while but—”

“Get in my car.” He was done allowing her to stand like a convenient target in a shadowy parking lot. He didn’t provide personal security detail like his cousin Deke, but he’d spent enough time with the man and his business partner, Jack Cole, to know that remaining out in the open could be deadly.

“What?” She looked incredulous. “I’m not leaving my car here.”

“I’m driving you home. You’re calling the police and reporting the crime so they can investigate.”

Alyssa hesitated, then softened. “Luc. Your concern is really sweet, but—”

“Get in the fucking car.”

She blanched, and he cursed under his breath. He needed to get control of his temper. But the soaring sexual frustration, coupled with his alarm, had him on edge. Who thought they had the right to malign and scare her? Fists curled, Luc craved a chance to pound the asshole.

Alyssa sighed, and Luc readied his next argument, but she strolled toward his SUV. “Fine.”

He opened the door for her and watched her slide inside, the strands of her platinum hair settling over her shoulders. She looked somewhere between placid and reserved, despite the fact she’d just been threatened. Was she out of her mind?

Shaking his head, he dashed around to the driver’s seat. When he slid inside, she was already on the phone.

“Sorry it’s late, Remy. I thought maybe I should call y’all. Someone messed with my car . . .”

Quickly and unemotionally, she relayed their location and the event. Luc heard murmurs of the Sheriff’s conversation, his tone more good-ol’-boy than concerned, and he frowned. Didn’t anyone take this seriously?

He grabbed the phone from her and spit out an introduction. “Dust for prints. She touched the weapon, but you may find other sets on the handle. Whoever did this broke into her car.”

“Doubt it was much more than a prank. Boys down here get a little rowdy from time to time—”

“And stab the word ‘whore’ into her seat? That’s funny how?”

Remy cleared his throat. “It’s not. But I don’t think no one meant no harm.”

Luc gritted his teeth together. “Do you usually solve all your cases before you visit the crime scene?”

Finally, Remy got serious. “I’ll investigate.”

“Thoroughly.”

Alyssa grabbed the phone. “Thanks, honey. I appreciate it.”

When the ended the call, Luc could barely unclench his jaw as he sped away from the parking lot. “Honey? The man didn’t even want to investigate, and you call him ‘honey’?”

She shrugged. “It’s a Louisiana thing. You’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

“Yeah?” he challenged. “Or is it a ‘he’s-my-customer’ thing. Did he watch you strip tonight?”

She swallowed. “I asked all the local enforcement to come, including the sheriff. Keeps down the possibility of rowdies getting out of control and trashing the club.”

Luc gripped the wheel tighter as he peeled out of the parking lot. “So that’s a yes.”

Fighting the urge to hit something in an unusual show of temper, he took a deep breath. The night he’d spent with her, it had been easy to pretend she had no other lover. They’d been alone, her house quiet. No phone ringing, no customers nearby, no psychos leaving menacing “gifts” in her car. Just the two of them, and hours upon hours of pleasure. God, he’d been so damn gullible.

She nodded. “Why does it matter if Remy and the boys were there?”

The short answer was that it shouldn’t.

Ah, but Luc, we all know it does. LOL! Leave comments here for the chance to win a DELICIOUS ARC. TWO chance to win for spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, blog, Good Reads, message board, Yahoogroups, etc. If you choose to spread the word, leave the links here. Thanks all!

Good bye 2009 and happy 2010! Sorry I’ve been remiss in blogging. Between holidays, deadlines, company, and an avalanche of this & that, I haven’t had the chance to blog. BUT I wanted to start 2010 off right. So I’m sharing a new excerpt for DELICIOUS. There’s also a little contest below… Keep reading!

DELICIOUS
Wicked Lovers, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley HEAT
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: March 2, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-23242
Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders
Books-A-Million | Indie Bound | Overstock
Pre-order Download: Kindle

Excerpt – DELICIOUS

 “Take this threat seriously.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around.

Alyssa raised a brow at him. He looked agitated, his breath coming fast. She blinked slowly, getting a long look at his erection on the visual journey down. Definitely aroused. She repressed a smile.

“I’d like to, but I can’t afford to ignore the pending opening to focus on a few odd events. How did you phrase it earlier? What I want isn’t what I need.” She smiled at him, crossing her arms under her breasts and pushing her cleavage above her tank’s neckline.

Predictably, his gaze followed. He swallowed hard.

“Don’t ignore the danger because you’re angry with me.”

Alyssa wondered why she mattered to him at all. Interesting question . . .

“I’m not. Just stating facts.”

With that, she pulled away from his grip and spun around. She had a suspicion that Luc was used to being in control and getting the last word in. He wouldn’t like it if she turned her back on him now—especially if the view included her skirt clinging very low on her hips and exposing the rose tattoo on her lower back.

With a sway of her hips, she prowled toward the nearest stainless steel counter, stroked its sleek surface . . . and waited. She barely heard him cover the handful of steps separating them before he fisted her hair in his hand and forced her gaze up to his.

“Stop pissing me off,” he growled.

“Stop telling me how to react.”

Luc’s mouth tightened, as did his grip on her hair. Alyssa merely sent him a challenging stare and a matching smile.

Something about this argument was getting to him, revving his blood. The gentlemanly Southern chef had a nasty side, and she was making him feel it.

“Damn you!” His mouth crashed over hers.

He shoved her against the counter as he pushed past her lips, into the hot cavern of her mouth, and inhaled her all at once. His tongue was everywhere, possessing, tasting—branding. In an instant, her body burned, blood tingling. She clutched at his starched white shirt, grabbing the collar to pull him closer.

Luc was everything she remembered—full of finesse, power, steel covered in silk, insistent—and more. Never had a man’s kiss alone made her wet and aching, made her long to be closer to him in every way.

She ran her hands down his body, feeling every bulge of his shoulders, every ripple of his chest. Her palm flitted down his six-pack—and kept descending. Oh, so slowly, she dragged her hand over his erection. He hissed in a shocked breath, breaking the kiss, and hardened beneath her touch.

Smiling, she reached for his fly.

He groaned. “Alyssa, we—”

She palmed him again, squeezing his cock, then flicked the button of his pants open. His zipper went down, a bare rasp in the otherwise quiet. Then she ran her thumb over the sensitive crest.

“Dear God.” He sucked in a breath. “We shouldn’t . . .”

She said nothing, but simply sank to her knees.

Before Luc could stop Alyssa, she’d pushed his pants and briefs to his hips and taken his cock in her hand.

To be fair, he didn’t try very hard to stop her.

The moment her palm wrapped around his erection, he sizzled, jolted as if he’d been pumped full of a thousand volts. God, everything about her was potent, overwhelming. He was drowning—the feel of her tight grip, the silkiness of her golden hair in his hands, the gut-punching sight of her licking her lips.

“Alyssa,” he hissed.

Shit. He had to stop this. But how, when he wanted her so badly?

He’d eschewed sex for weeks. After his night with Alyssa, he’d pinned all his hopes for a child on Kimber and Deke, single-mindedly bedding the girl every bit as often as his cousin. But he’d be lying if he said Alyssa hadn’t lingered in his thoughts. Being with Kimber had been absorbing. He realized later it had been the situation . . . not the woman. After that, he’d pushed aside his sex drive in favor of a future, a wife who would be the sort of devoted mom his own was.

Now the woman he’d ached for since that wild, dark night was on her knees in front of him, and God help him, he didn’t have the willpower to stop himself from urging her mouth closer to his throbbing cock.

“You want this?” she whispered.

“Yes!” he bellowed, struggling for control . . . and failing. “Yes.”

She opened her mouth, started to ease forward. Then she stopped. “You’re sure?”

Now she was taunting him. That teasing allure had been his undoing three months ago, turned what should have been a normal night of sex into an unforgettable marathon in which he’d been determined to . . . He almost didn’t have words for his urge. Put some sort of stamp on her. Leave his mark. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to get the same treatment in her very own kitchen.

“Suck me,” he demanded, his voice low and harsh.

Alyssa sent him another of those playful smiles. “Yes, sir.”

Her words set his blood on fire. God, she was going to destroy him. This wasn’t smart, and he knew it. At the moment, he didn’t fucking care. He had to get her mouth around him, had to feel her tongue lash him, see her submissive at his feet.

Why now? Why this woman?

She moved in, parted her lips. Luc widened his stance, bracing himself for the first electric lick, his whole system jacked up on lust and need to possess. Then Alyssa exhaled on the sensitive head of his dick, and he shivered. Sensation rioted, and he held his breath. Trembled.

Her tongue peeked out. It was the most fucking erotic thing he’d ever seen. Closer, closer…

* * *

Spread the word about the Delicious excerpt and register to win a SJ Day/Shayla Black tote. Post a link to the book’s information page (http://www.shaylablack.com/bookshelf/erotic/delicious/) and/or a link to this blog post to your MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Bulletin Board, or Yahoogroup, etc. Copy the links here in a comment. I’ll register you for a chance to win one of these handy bags.  I’ll announce the winners in 1 week!