Pussyfooting Around

I've been pussyfooting around in more than one way. Or maybe trying to serve too many masters has caught up with me.

Of course, there's many pussy foots in my house - five cats. Bad joke, sorry. :)

Do women have mid-life crisis? Or mini nervous breakdowns? Or does plain exhaustion mimic either of those things? I've managed to keep my day job duties together pretty well and that's about it lately.

Here I am to stop pussyfooting around by telling you about "Pussyfooting Around".

Huh, you say?

I'm very honored that Ellora's Cave has re-released my short fantasy romance from the "Sex Kittens" anthology - "Pussyfooting Around". It released this week at:

http://www.ellorascave.com/

When Diamond gives her life in a selfless act, she is granted her most fervent wish—to become a human female so that she can win her beloved master’s heart. But becoming a human isn’t as easy as it looks. Pitfalls and traps lie in wait everywhere as she struggles to overcome her inner nature. If she fails this test, she will be turned back into a cat, and worse, lose Eddie’s love forever.


Notice Diamond's/Diana's tatoo on her back. Recently, my hubby asked me why so many women are getting tattoos on their back. How do I know? My guess - because they're pretty and sexy?

I understand that. What I don't understand is how women can stand to wear G-strings. They look like they'd be extremely annoying and uncomfortable. Although I'm all for beauty, I'm not for it at the expense of that much discomfort. In fact, I'm only aware that one of my friends ever wears a G-string. Maybe that's more of a younger crowd fad. Or maybe my other friends don't admit to wearing them.

Feeling my mortality lately, I've been working on my genealogy so my descendants will have it. So this G-string really seems at odds with the long dresses, long sleeves, neck-high collars, and high shoes my ancestors wore. Society has seen so many changes since my grandparents' youth a hundred years ago.

My heroine in Pussyfooting Around sees even more changes than clothing and electronics. You see, she's a cat who becomes a human. Wrap your head around that if you can. Here's an excerpt to help you try. :)

Excerpt - Pussyfooting Around

Copyright © ASHLEY LADD, 2004


All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Diamond rolled in a patch of her favorite grass, the South Florida sunshine warming her belly. Spreading her paw wide over a four-leaf clover, she grabbed it with her extra finger. A polydactyl cat, she enjoyed her special paws.

A child’s strangled screams rent the air, nearly deafening her, chilling her soul. Hideous grunts mortified her, freezing her blood. Then she smelled it. Mildew and death. The neighborhood fiend had returned, mercilessly hunting new prey.

Alarm flooding her, she crept closer to the sound, her heart in her throat. The terrified cries belonged to the child who lived next door, the one who liked to cuddle her until she almost suffocated.

She didn’t know what a cat could do to thwart a ravenous alligator, but she couldn’t stand by and let the ogre hurt the little boy.

Screeching as loudly as she could, she called for reinforcements, hoping it wasn’t already too late. As long as the child screamed, he was still alive. As long as there was life, hope remained, however slim.

Streaking across the lawn, she leaped to the top of the fence, bounded down, and stared at the horrifying scene, her fur standing on end. The lethal creature chased the child at an amazing speed. It was much more agile than a bulky leathery being had any right to be. Huge jaws opened wide, and Diamond knew the young boy had no defense against its filthy, razor-sharp teeth. The gigantic creature would swallow him whole. The child’s only chance was if someone took his place—now. The seconds of his life ticked away.

No one else was in sight, human or animal. Where was that pesty dog Napoleon when she needed him? He never missed an opportunity to make her life miserable, but at least he could help her in a dire emergency. Eddie must have put him inside.

Terror engulfed her. Praying she would be reincarnated and elevated in her next life, Diamond darted between the boy and the monster, her claws sharp and ready to shred his soulless eyes. “Fight someone who can fight back, creepazoid.” Baring her fangs, her back arched, and her ears flattened against her head.

“An appetizer before the main course,” the disgusting creature taunted her, thrashing his long tail.

“Run!” she screamed to the catatonic kid, frustrated that he couldn’t understand her. Why, oh why, couldn’t humans understand her? She understood them.

Mustering her courage, adrenaline surged through her body. She screeched to distract the monster, her reflection in its black, soulless eyes valiant. Her tail pointed skyward stiffly. Her white fur bristled on her arched back. Her normally sunny eyes glittered almost as dark as the gator’s.

Snarling, her claws fully extended, her fangs ready, she swiped the monster’s long snout as she hissed, “Leave him alone!”

Long, deep scars engraved the leathery snout. With a pained grunt, the fiend whirled around on her, its huge maw snapping. Never had she seen such an enormously horrifying mouth. The beast could almost swallow the boy whole. He’d surely ingest her in one gulp.

Gnashing teeth ripped her flesh apart, and excruciating pain flooded her. Relief cut through the agonizing pain when the child’s father ran up and pulled his son to safety and then tried to pry her from the creature’s jaws. Wanting to be brave, she tried not to cry, but to no avail. Never had she dreamed such excruciating pain could exist. Finally, blessedly, darkness descended.

* * * * *

“You did well, my precious Diamond. Your noble sacrifice saved the child.” The most beautiful honeyed voice Diamond had ever heard wrapped her in silk.

She opened one eye and peered in the direction of the intoxicating voice. Her blurry vision slowly cleared. The loveliest human she had ever seen smiled serenely at her. The angelic being seemed to be floating on white fluffy clouds. Spears of sunlight pierced her transparent, sparkling body. Raven locks curled over her shoulders to her slender waist.

Diamond’s memory returned in bits and pieces. Flashes of the young child terrified, trying to escape from a monster, stabbed her. Then she saw a huge throat cavity and rows of horrific teeth. Shuddering, she squeezed her eyes shut against the frightening images that bombarded her.

“Don’t be scared, little one. You’re safe here.”

Here?

Diamond chanced another glance at her airy surroundings and realized she, too, floated on mere wisps of air. Startled, she clawed for purchase, her paws slicing invisible air. Oxygen filled her lungs but she couldn’t exhale. Gasping, she asked the woman, “Where is here?”

“You’re in Heaven, my pet. I’m called Venus, Goddess of Love. I brought you here.” A sunny smile curved the goddess’s beautiful lips and lit her exquisite features.

“Heaven?”

Where were all the golden mice? The golden goblets of fresh milk? The raw meat cut into bite-sized chunks?

Then a much more poignant thought struck her full in the chest, making her heart ache unbearably. “I’ll never see my master Eddie again? But he’ll be distraught! What will he do without me? Who will guard his house? Who will he cuddle up to at night?”

“A truly noble soul.” Venus beamed satisfaction upon her. “Your concern is still with your master.”

Diamond wasn’t sure exactly how noble her feelings were in regards to her master, so she veiled her eyes from Venus’ discerning gaze. She’d wished nightly that she could be in his bed, in his arms in a totally different manner—that she could be a human female…

Venus scooped her up in her silky arms and played with Diamond’s extra finger. She whispered in her ear, her breath warm and ticklish, “I can read your thoughts.”

Impossible!

Diamond’s eyes widened. She curled her paw around the woman’s finger. Her whiskers twitched as her tail wrapped around her body. Never before could a human read her mind. Of course, she had never been able to converse in human before, either. This Heaven was the strangest place she’d ever seen, and that included all the moving pictures she’d watched in that little box in Eddie’s living room that transported her to faraway destinations.

Venus said, “Heaven’s beyond your dearest dreams. We’re in the reception area. But I wonder…it wasn’t your time to die. You were due several more years on Earth.”

Diamond sucked in her breath. Did that mean the goddess might send her back to her master? How wonderful.

Venus rubbed behind her ears, making her purr. “Um…can I send you back?” The beauty stared into space, her gaze cloudy.

Diamond held her breath hoping with all her soul. Please! She wanted to see Eddie so badly she ached.

After several long moments Venus looked down at her. “Would you like to return to Earth as a human?”

Diamond blinked. She’d forever hoped she could be a human female so she could love Eddie, but she hadn’t dared dream her fantasy could ever become reality. She’d have jumped into an alligator’s maw sooner if she’d known. “I would love it and be eternally grateful. But where will I live?”

“Wherever you want to live, of course. As a human, you’ll have the freedom to choose for yourself.” A soft breeze swished Venus’ full skirts about her legs.

“With Eddie?” Diamond’s heart beat a suffocating drumbeat at the idea of living with Eddie as a human female.

The goddess brushed stray wisps of dark hair away from her eyes. “That I cannot guarantee. But I can return you to his neighborhood, and then you must make your own way. Hurry and decide—I have another pressing mission awaiting my attention.”

“Yes!” Diamond leapt for joy. Any chance was better than none. She missed Eddie so very much, she could barely breathe.

“Find a way to make Eddie love you, little one. Be your sweet, gentle spirit, and he’ll see what a treasure you are. Do you still want me to change you into a human? Say the word.”

“Yes, please! I’ll use all my wiles to make Eddie fall in love with me. I’ll rub his head and curl up on his lap. I’ll lick him all over. I’ll hunt for him. My master won’t be able to resist.”

A slight frown tugged at Venus’ lips, marring her flawless face. “Word of warning, my Diamond. Once I transform you, you’ll be human on the outside and you’ll have many human traits, but your heart and soul will always be part feline. If you want to fit in and take your new rightful place, you must guard against your old nature. In time, it will get easier, but you have much to learn. The human world is a complex one.”

Diamond’s hopes crashed. “You don’t think I can adjust? But I’ve lived with humans my entire life. I know humans so well.” She had paid much more attention to humans than her siblings who had thought her obsession with her master and his kind demented.

“Yet you speak of hunting for food and you call him ‘my master’. Humans rarely hunt, especially not today’s females…”

How backwards!
“Females are born to hunt.” It was her duty to catch food for her family.

The raven-haired goddess shook her head. “Not in the human world. Human females open boxes and cans to eat, instead of gathering food. They order in food from restaurants. You have much to learn.” Venus tapped her finger against her lips and paced in front of Diamond. “Perhaps I was too hasty with my reward. Perhaps cats cannot fit into the human world. You won’t even know how to read, or write…or cook.” Venus nibbled her lip and knelt down by Diamond’s side.

No! She couldn’t change her mind now.

Alarm slamming through Diamond, she rose on her haunches to pat Venus’ cheek with a gentle paw. “You can’t promise me the moon and stars and then yank it away from me thus. I know I can learn. Please give me a chance. No one could love my master the way I do.”

“And you won’t blame me if everything isn’t perfect? If Eddie does not fall desperately, irrevocably in love with you? If you don’t find the human world as much to your liking as you dream?” Indecision flickered across Venus’ worried eyes.

Diamond held up her paw somberly. “I shall not hold anything against you, your grace. I will be grateful for a second chance at life, to merely be with my master, whether he chooses me as his true mate or not.”

Indecision flickered across Venus’ darkened eyes. “Your emotions will intensify. Your heart will swell and be capable of holding much more ache than you ever imagined.”

“I’m sure. Please make me a woman. I am anxious to see how I shall look.”

An indulgent smile lit the goddess’s face. “You won’t miss your exquisite fur?”

Diamond shook her head emphatically. “It will be easier to keep myself clean, and I won’t be as warm in the hot time of year.”

“You won’t miss your whiskers?”

“I won’t try to squeeze under beds and into tight places.” She wouldn’t need to.

“You won’t miss your agility? You won’t be able to run as fast or jump as high.”

“But I’ll be able to soar to the heights of love and acquire knowledge beyond that of any other cat since the inception of the universe.”

Venus’ lips curved upward at that, and she nodded approvingly. Then she sobered again. “You won’t have nine lives anymore.”

“Did I have nine lives when the alligator swallowed me? I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, my little Diamond. You have a point.” The goddess tapped her finger against her curving lower lip. “I must make a condition of my own. I will give you six months in which to win the love of a human male. If in that time, you fail, you shall revert to your former self and live out the rest of your days as a cat. Do you agree to my terms?”

Oh, yes!

Pussyfooting Around is available at Ellora's Cave.








 

February Parties

February's shaping up to be a cool month with some fun parties.

First, my ds turns 29 February 8th. Last evening he asked me when his party will be. I was hoping to have it Sunday, until my friend K reminded me that Sunday's the Super Bowl. Oops! I won't be able to drag his dad away from the TV on Super Bowl Sunday. I think we'll have to have the party Friday or Saturday.

Next is the Whipped Cream Valentine's Day party February 12th and 13th. You bet I'll be there. My assigned day is the 12th. Be sure to join us there at: http://wcguest.blogspot.com/

On the 12th, I'm also attending roller derby to cheer on my boss's daughter and her team. Several people from my office will be there, so another party. :)

We all know what the 14th is. It's the big V day. Lately, when my family hears me say that, they know I mean "V" for the Visitors, my favorite show. However, this time, that's not what I mean.

ALSO on February 14th, my erotic paranormal romance story "Pussyfooting Around" releases at Ellora's Cave. What a cool day for a romance release. Am I on a roll or what?

When Diamond gives her life in a selfless act, she is granted her most fervent wish—to become a human female so that she can win her beloved master's heart. But becoming a human isn't as easy as it looks. Pitfalls and traps lie in wait everywhere as she struggles to overcome her inner nature. If she fails this test, she will be turned back into a cat, and worse, lose Eddie's love forever.


Publisher’s Note: Originally available in the Sex Kittens anthology.

An Excerpt From: PUSSYFOOTING AROUND


Copyright © ASHLEY LADD, 2004

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Diamond rolled in a patch of her favorite grass, the South Florida sunshine warming her belly. Spreading her paw wide over a four-leaf clover, she grabbed it with her extra finger. A polydactyl cat, she enjoyed her special paws.

A child’s strangled screams rent the air, nearly deafening her, chilling her soul. Hideous grunts mortified her, freezing her blood. Then she smelled it. Mildew and death. The neighborhood fiend had returned, mercilessly hunting new prey.

Alarm flooding her, she crept closer to the sound, her heart in her throat. The terrified cries belonged to the child who lived next door, the one who liked to cuddle her until she almost suffocated.

She didn’t know what a cat could do to thwart a ravenous alligator, but she couldn’t stand by and let the ogre hurt the little boy.

Screeching as loudly as she could, she called for reinforcements, hoping it wasn’t already too late. As long as the child screamed, he was still alive. As long as there was life, hope remained, however slim.

Streaking across the lawn, she leaped to the top of the fence, bounded down, and stared at the horrifying scene, her fur standing on end. The lethal creature chased the child at an amazing speed. It was much more agile than a bulky leathery being had any right to be. Huge jaws opened wide, and Diamond knew the young boy had no defense against its filthy, razor-sharp teeth. The gigantic creature would swallow him whole. The child’s only chance was if someone took his place—now. The seconds of his life ticked away.

No one else was in sight, human or animal. Where was that pesty dog Napoleon when she needed him? He never missed an opportunity to make her life miserable, but at least he could help her in a dire emergency. Eddie must have put him inside.

Terror engulfed her. Praying she would be reincarnated and elevated in her next life, Diamond darted between the boy and the monster, her claws sharp and ready to shred his soulless eyes. “Fight someone who can fight back, creepazoid.” Baring her fangs, her back arched, and her ears flattened against her head.

“An appetizer before the main course,” the disgusting creature taunted her, thrashing his long tail.

“Run!” she screamed to the catatonic kid, frustrated that he couldn’t understand her. Why, oh why, couldn’t humans understand her? She understood them.

Mustering her courage, adrenaline surged through her body. She screeched to distract the monster, her reflection in its black, soulless eyes valiant. Her tail pointed skyward stiffly. Her white fur bristled on her arched back. Her normally sunny eyes glittered almost as dark as the gator’s.

Snarling, her claws fully extended, her fangs ready, she swiped the monster’s long snout as she hissed, “Leave him alone!”

Long, deep scars engraved the leathery snout. With a pained grunt, the fiend whirled around on her, its huge maw snapping. Never had she seen such an enormously horrifying mouth. The beast could almost swallow the boy whole. He’d surely ingest her in one gulp.

Gnashing teeth ripped her flesh apart, and excruciating pain flooded her. Relief cut through the agonizing pain when the child’s father ran up and pulled his son to safety and then tried to pry her from the creature’s jaws. Wanting to be brave, she tried not to cry, but to no avail. Never had she dreamed such excruciating pain could exist. Finally, blessedly, darkness descended.


* * * * *

“You did well, my precious Diamond. Your noble sacrifice saved the child.” The most beautiful honeyed voice Diamond had ever heard wrapped her in silk.

She opened one eye and peered in the direction of the intoxicating voice. Her blurry vision slowly cleared. The loveliest human she had ever seen smiled serenely at her. The angelic being seemed to be floating on white fluffy clouds. Spears of sunlight pierced her transparent, sparkling body. Raven locks curled over her shoulders to her slender waist.

Diamond’s memory returned in bits and pieces. Flashes of the young child terrified, trying to escape from a monster, stabbed her. Then she saw a huge throat cavity and rows of horrific teeth. Shuddering, she squeezed her eyes shut against the frightening images that bombarded her.

“Don’t be scared, little one. You’re safe here.”

Here?

Diamond chanced another glance at her airy surroundings and realized she, too, floated on mere wisps of air. Startled, she clawed for purchase, her paws slicing invisible air. Oxygen filled her lungs but she couldn’t exhale. Gasping, she asked the woman, “Where is here?”

“You’re in Heaven, my pet. I’m called Venus, Goddess of Love. I brought you here.” A sunny smile curved the goddess’s beautiful lips and lit her exquisite features.

“Heaven?”

Where were all the golden mice? The golden goblets of fresh milk? The raw meat cut into bite-sized chunks?

Then a much more poignant thought struck her full in the chest, making her heart ache unbearably. “I’ll never see my master Eddie again? But he’ll be distraught! What will he do without me? Who will guard his house? Who will he cuddle up to at night?”

“A truly noble soul.” Venus beamed satisfaction upon her. “Your concern is still with your master.”

Diamond wasn’t sure exactly how noble her feelings were in regards to her master, so she veiled her eyes from Venus’ discerning gaze. She’d wished nightly that she could be in his bed, in his arms in a totally different manner—that she could be a human female…

Venus scooped her up in her silky arms and played with Diamond’s extra finger. She whispered in her ear, her breath warm and ticklish, “I can read your thoughts.”

Impossible!

Diamond’s eyes widened. She curled her paw around the woman’s finger. Her whiskers twitched as her tail wrapped around her body. Never before could a human read her mind. Of course, she had never been able to converse in human before, either. This Heaven was the strangest place she’d ever seen, and that included all the moving pictures she’d watched in that little box in Eddie’s living room that transported her to faraway destinations.

Venus said, “Heaven’s beyond your dearest dreams. We’re in the reception area. But I wonder…it wasn’t your time to die. You were due several more years on Earth.”

Diamond sucked in her breath. Did that mean the goddess might send her back to her master? How wonderful.

Venus rubbed behind her ears, making her purr. “Um…can I send you back?” The beauty stared into space, her gaze cloudy.

Diamond held her breath hoping with all her soul. Please! She wanted to see Eddie so badly she ached.

After several long moments Venus looked down at her. “Would you like to return to Earth as a human?”

Diamond blinked. She’d forever hoped she could be a human female so she could love Eddie, but she hadn’t dared dream her fantasy could ever become reality. She’d have jumped into an alligator’s maw sooner if she’d known. “I would love it and be eternally grateful. But where will I live?”

“Wherever you want to live, of course. As a human, you’ll have the freedom to choose for yourself.” A soft breeze swished Venus’ full skirts about her legs.

“With Eddie?” Diamond’s heart beat a suffocating drumbeat at the idea of living with Eddie as a human female.

The goddess brushed stray wisps of dark hair away from her eyes. “That I cannot guarantee. But I can return you to his neighborhood, and then you must make your own way. Hurry and decide—I have another pressing mission awaiting my attention.”

“Yes!” Diamond leapt for joy. Any chance was better than none. She missed Eddie so very much, she could barely breathe.

“Find a way to make Eddie love you, little one. Be your sweet, gentle spirit, and he’ll see what a treasure you are. Do you still want me to change you into a human? Say the word.”

“Yes, please! I’ll use all my wiles to make Eddie fall in love with me. I’ll rub his head and curl up on his lap. I’ll lick him all over. I’ll hunt for him. My master won’t be able to resist.”

A slight frown tugged at Venus’ lips, marring her flawless face. “Word of warning, my Diamond. Once I transform you, you’ll be human on the outside and you’ll have many human traits, but your heart and soul will always be part feline. If you want to fit in and take your new rightful place, you must guard against your old nature. In time, it will get easier, but you have much to learn. The human world is a complex one.”

Diamond’s hopes crashed. “You don’t think I can adjust? But I’ve lived with humans my entire life. I know humans so well.” She had paid much more attention to humans than her siblings who had thought her obsession with her master and his kind demented.

“Yet you speak of hunting for food and you call him ‘my master’. Humans rarely hunt, especially not today’s females…”

How backwards!

“Females are born to hunt.” It was her duty to catch food for her family.

The raven-haired goddess shook her head. “Not in the human world. Human females open boxes and cans to eat, instead of gathering food. They order in food from restaurants. You have much to learn.” Venus tapped her finger against her lips and paced in front of Diamond. “Perhaps I was too hasty with my reward. Perhaps cats cannot fit into the human world. You won’t even know how to read, or write…or cook.” Venus nibbled her lip and knelt down by Diamond’s side.

No! She couldn’t change her mind now.

Alarm slamming through Diamond, she rose on her haunches to pat Venus’ cheek with a gentle paw. “You can’t promise me the moon and stars and then yank it away from me thus. I know I can learn. Please give me a chance. No one could love my master the way I do.”

“And you won’t blame me if everything isn’t perfect? If Eddie does not fall desperately, irrevocably in love with you? If you don’t find the human world as much to your liking as you dream?” Indecision flickered across Venus’ worried eyes.

Diamond held up her paw somberly. “I shall not hold anything against you, your grace. I will be grateful for a second chance at life, to merely be with my master, whether he chooses me as his true mate or not.”

Indecision flickered across Venus’ darkened eyes. “Your emotions will intensify. Your heart will swell and be capable of holding much more ache than you ever imagined.”



“I’m sure. Please make me a woman. I am anxious to see how I shall look.”



An indulgent smile lit the goddess’s face. “You won’t miss your exquisite fur?”

Diamond shook her head emphatically. “It will be easier to keep myself clean, and I won’t be as warm in the hot time of year.”

“You won’t miss your whiskers?”

“I won’t try to squeeze under beds and into tight places.” She wouldn’t need to.

“You won’t miss your agility? You won’t be able to run as fast or jump as high.”

“But I’ll be able to soar to the heights of love and acquire knowledge beyond that of any other cat since the inception of the universe.”

Venus’ lips curved upward at that, and she nodded approvingly. Then she sobered again. “You won’t have nine lives anymore.”

“Did I have nine lives when the alligator swallowed me? I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, my little Diamond. You have a point.” The goddess tapped her finger against her curving lower lip. “I must make a condition of my own. I will give you six months in which to win the love of a human male. If in that time, you fail, you shall revert to your former self and live out the rest of your days as a cat. Do you agree to my terms?”

Oh, yes!

Pussyfooting Around will be available at Ellora's Cave February 14, 2011.

Scene of the Crime

"Scene of the Crime", my short story in Cougars & Cubs releases as a single title tomorrow.

I've been overwhelmed lately. With work, illness, and Christmas. And most of all, I've just felt overwhelmed with everything. Do you ever feel that way?

I hate it, but it happened.

November and December are not just busy, but crazy times at my day job. I usually work ten hour days and often longer. By the time I get home, my brain and body are mush. Add Christmas into that, and I'm lucky I don't speak in gibberish. Then I fell and hit my head. Shortly after that my husband had surgery. And then I got bronchitis in the middle of doing employee evaluations at work which is keeping me overtime again. I'm ready for life to get back to normal.

Thus I have to give myself a swift kick in the butt and get myself together. I should feel lucky. I'm far better off than Joan Wilder and Jack Colton in Jewel of the Nile which is on TV as I write this. They're presently hanging over a well of acid, rats eating away at their ropes as a madman tries to take over the Nile. My problems real and imagined, are nothing compared to this. If Joan Wilder can get her act together and defeat an insane dictator, I can surely overcome some overtime and illness.

The heroine in "Scene of the Crime", my newest release, feels rather overwhelmed, too. Not only is she distressed that her ex-boyfriend from many years before wants back in her life, his sexy adult son and ex-wife want her to get out of town and leave them alone. How is she supposed to excel at her new dream job with all this drama?

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1062

Robin didn’t know whether to be relieved or appalled that the sexy man she’d fallen into bed with wasn’t her ex-boyfriend, but his adult son.


When Robin returns to her alma mater as a professor of history, she can’t believe her ex-boyfriend is still on campus much less looking so young and buff after twenty years.

The sexy-as-hell man she’d seen on her first day back, however, isn’t her ex but his adult son. Although she wants nothing to do with either of them, they won’t leave her head or her heart alone.

Reader Advisory: This story has been previously released as part of the Cougars and Cubs anthology by Total-E-Bound

Excerpt:


Chills struck Robyn Cattrall as she stepped onto the grounds of her alma mater. Memories good and bad blindsided her for several moments. She’d done a lot of soul-searching before accepting a post here as history professor.

But the burnished autumn leaves and chill in the air made her feel alive again. They brought the promise of soon-coming winter with its wonderland of glistening snow, something she’d missed living in south Florida for the past couple of decades.

She consoled herself that as a connoisseur of history, she had learned from past mistakes and knew better than to repeat them. Just because she was back at the scene of her first heartbreak didn’t mean she was doomed to repeat it. She’d make sure she didn’t. Forty-four now, she was a lot wiser than she’d been at twenty-two.

Funny, she felt young on a campus surrounded by twenty-year-olds, especially when a horde of students burst into the sunshine and several young studs eyed her appreciatively.

She did her best not to drool over what might be her future students, and tried hard to keep a pleasantly professional smile. But when she came face to face with the ghost of her first love, Phil Williams, her jaw dropped, her eyes widened and her heart stopped. Unabashedly, she stared.

Phil…

What was he doing here?

Phil’s glance slid over her without a hint of recognition, and he passed by without a falter in his step.

She hated herself, but she turned and stared at his retreating back as the sea of people parted around her, then swallowed him. How could he not turn to look at her? How could he forget? How could he look so damned good?

She gulped and licked her lips. When someone bumped her, she jolted awake. Embarrassed, she checked her campus map and hurried to her office.

Available at: Total-E-Bound

Saturday Snippets: Bad Dates

Have you ever been on a bad date?

I set my cousin Vickie up with my boy friend's best friend back in high school and I thought we were having Armageddon. Whoa! What a disaster.

I was set up on a couple blind dates, too, and one was so boring falling asleep would've been more fun.

Of course, there was the terrible date where my ex-fiance tried to get me to smoke weed and date another woman (he wanted me to go out with her).

Most of us have had bad dates (maybe not my other cousin who married the only woman he ever dated) so most of us can relate to today's theme. I've had more than one bad date, so I can really relate.

In the excerpt I have for you today, the hero's and heroine's time together starts off good but rapidly deteriorates when an uninvited guest shows up.

Abracadabra

By Ashley Ladd

Available at Total-E-Bound.

Blurb:

When Savi finds a beautiful bottle, she wishes for the man she loves to be proven innocent and released from jail.

To Savi’s shock, a genie fulfils her wish. Then all hell breaks loose...

Excerpt:

He clucked his tongue and cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand, sending electric sparks through her. “Not so fast. What if I wish for you to stay with me forever? Would that work?”

She sucked in a ragged breath and gazed into his passion-glazed eyes. “It might. Only I might hate you forever.” Uncomfortable being trapped between Mark’s hard body and the cold refrigerator, she blinked herself across the room. Awesome! She could get used to her powers. Giggling with the first real glee she’d felt in forever, she blinked herself to several other spots about the apartment.

Mark scowled darkly, and grabbed a bottle of his favourite root beer from her fridge, tilted it to his lips and took a swig. “Whenever you’re done flitting around, I’m ready for my first wish.”

Finally, they were getting somewhere! She blinked herself two feet in front of him and stood at parade rest, her arms crossed over her chest, ready to grant his wish. “I am ready…master.” She was compelled to add the title much to her dismay. It must be part and parcel of the genie curse.

He drawled huskily, “Savannah, I wish you to be my sex slave.”

Astounded, simultaneously thrilled and mortified, she stared at him, her jaw slack. Again she was compelled to do her job. Nodding her head, blinking, she said in a choking voice, “Your wish will be granted, master.”

Without warning, he scooped her into his arms, against his hard chest and carried her to the bed. His warm lips caressed her forehead, her cheeks and her lips conducting a symphony in her heart.

She looped her arms around his neck and moulded her breasts to his magnificent chest which was amazingly in shape for being incarcerated for so long. Against his lips, she murmured, “This won’t make me love you.”

“We’ll see. I practice a little magic myself. Now that I’ve got you in my bed, we’ll see if the old enchantment works.”

Tingling all over, she held out her arms to him. Well aware her outfit enhanced her curves that spilled out of it, it made her feel deliciously decadent for the short amount of time he allowed her wear it. Mark made short shrift of it, tugging the bra over her head and burying his face between her aching breasts.

Mark’s hot tongue swept along the side of her breast and he moaned against her. “I’d forgotten how very beautiful you are, how wonderful you taste.”

Coherent thought fleeing, she moaned as delicious sensations coursed through her. Arching her back, she thrust her tight nipple at him. “Suckle me. It’s been so very long.” An eternity. Infinity since she’d been in his embrace, since he’d set her on fire with his mere touch.

“Anything you want, darlin’. You’re never gonna want to leave my bed.”

Technically, it was her bed, but she wasn’t about to correct him. At one time, everything that belonged to her also belonged to him, but that was no longer the case. Bathing his earlobe with her tongue, delighting in her power over him when intense shivers racked his body, she asked, “Just what is a sex slave supposed to do?”

“Anything and everything I say.”

She blinked his shirt off so that she could spread her palms over his muscled chest. This genie stuff wasn’t turning out to be half bad. She could get seriously used to this. “What is your command, master?”

“Relax and enjoy. I’m going to pleasure you, my sweet. I’ve been dreaming of holding you in my arms for so long I can hardly believe this is finally real.”

Was it real? Maybe she was dreaming or delusional to think she was an honest to god genie. But if this was a dream, she never wanted to awaken. It had been too long since she’d been in Mark’s arms, known his kisses and been wrapped in his love. “Maybe we’re both dreaming.”

His throbbing cock felt very real, extremely erotic pressed against the juncture of her legs. Starving to know his possession once more, she blinked the rest of his clothing away so that he was now at her mercy, under her spell.

“Do you still love me?” She hadn’t planned to blurt that out, but she was intoxicated by his kisses.

“I never stopped. I was afraid you’d never kiss me again. If that had happened, I might as well have stayed in jail. Life without you isn’t worth living.”

Blown away by his sweet confession, she gazed deeply into his eyes, wishing she could see into his soul. Her life had been one miserable day after another since this nightmare had erupted. And yet, she knew his life had been the one torn apart, that he had lived a nightmare each and every day while she had walked about free and relatively unscathed.

She stroked his beloved face. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” She had so needed that kind of reassurance when she’d been at her most bereft. Being painfully honest with herself, she knew she would have rejected it.

“I didn’t think you’d want to hear it even if you believed me.” He leaned his forehead against hers and cupped her bottom in his hands, pulling her inexorably closer against him. “Did you?”

Veiling her eyes from him, her warring feelings nearly tore her apart. “I don’t know. Sometimes, no. Others I longed to hear you say what you just said.”

“I’ve lost faith in this system. They were ready to hang me knowing I was innocent just to make them look good. I can’t believe they confessed.” He tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his suspicious gaze. “Give me the real 411. Did you make my accuser confess?”

She licked her parched lips, squirming. “Yes and no. I wished for you to go free but only if you were truly innocent. My genie, Adara I mean, must’ve cast a truth spell on your accuser and the D.A.”

“Thank you. I died a little bit more every day I was in that god awful place, knowing I’d not done anything to deserve it, knowing I’d lost you.”

She reached down and encircled his very much alive cock in her hand. “Funny, you feel very alive to me.”

“Want me to prove it?”

“I’m your sex slave. You tell me.” She nibbled his earlobe, loving his salty taste.

“Oh yeah, I want to prove it very much.” Lifting himself high over her, he made a powerful thrust, filling her to her core, igniting flames in her belly.

On fire for him, she met him thrust for thrust, her hips thrashing in ancient rhythm, her body singing as if it had just been resurrected.

He worshipped her with his eyes, lips, and hands, caressing her as if she was the most cherished woman in the universe.

She felt like she was floating and when she opened her eyes, she was stunned to see that they were hovering high above the bed, close enough to touch the ceiling. And yet their suspended state didn’t lessen in any way the force of their drive. If they could make love floating in her bedroom, why not in the clouds or in space?

Curious, she blinked them onto a fluffy white cloud over the Caribbean.

Bright sunlight showered them as they lay atop a fluffy bed of cotton. “Have you ever seen anything so spectacular?”

Mark’s gaze adored her, making her quiver. A smile played around his lips. “You. You’re even more beautiful now than before I was sent away.”

Glowing inside, her body trembling at his nearness, she tried to remember if he’d been so charismatic before. He’d always been a charmer who made her heart sing, but not this gloriously.

“I wanted to give you the heavens.” A note of pathos rang in Mark’s sultry voice.

His kiss made her soar beyond the heavens, past the moon and the stars.

Blinking, she transported them into space, their only blanket the shimmering stars in the Milky Way. They cast a bluish-purple incandescent haze over them, so that their bare flesh reflected the brilliant colours. “All that matters is that we’re in heaven together.”

He crushed her to him, filling her impossibly deep, taking her to a magical place far beyond heaven. His lips trailed fiery liquid along the hollow of her throat, along her jaw and then he captured her lips from which he drank deeply.

Stroking in and out, his cock enflamed her. Shooting stars blazed through her. Writhing beneath him in ecstasy, she raked her fingernails down his back, clutching him to her, never wanting to let him go.

With one final plunge, Roman candles exploded inside and out. Feverishly, she drank of his kiss, wishing this night would never end.

“Would you like to explore other worlds? Travel into the future or the past?” Ragged breaths punctuated her words but she felt more wonderful than she ever had before. Heady power surged through her. She could do anything—fly, transport anywhere or change herself into anything.

“You mean like see the birth of Christ, watch Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel or find out who really shot Kennedy?” He sucked her lower lip into her mouth as his hands kneaded her waist. “Or meet our great-great grandchildren as adults?”

Furious heat stole into her cheeks. He presumed a lot. Their grandchildren? She was his sex slave, not his concubine or his wife. Yet...
Mark licked her neck, driving her crazy. “I’d like to meet them. To see if they have your stunning beauty.”

Whoa! The brakes skidded on, and she pulled back, confused. He presumed a lot and was trying to take things awfully fast. He hadn’t been out of prison a full twenty-four hours, and he wanted to meet their great-great grandchildren? How could he be so sure they had children much less grandchildren? Although the question burned on her lips, she bit it back, refusing to egg him on further.

Ignoring his question, she blinked them home, hoping he wouldn’t bewitch her with more mind-numbing sex until she got better control of her newly acquired powers. She loved him, at least she loved the old Mark with all her heart and soul, but this required serious breathing space, thinking time and Mark’s touch scattered all coherent thought. She had to make sure he was still the same man, that she was still the same woman before she committed her life to him.

Chuckling, Mark said, “This doesn’t look very futuristic.” Naughtiness quirked in his eyes and he crooked his finger at her. “Come here. I’ve not had my fill of you.”

Her pulses racing, eager for more of his kisses she went into his inviting arms and lifted her swollen lips to his. “Ordinary sex might prove boring now.”

The devil trailed hot kisses down her throat, a move guaranteed to make
her swoon, and make her knees go weak. How very well he knew her.

Melting in his arms, she arched her neck to give him better access. Nothing felt better than Mark’s lips on the back of her neck. Almost nothing. Even without the spell, her heart flipped when he touched her. He must have bewitched her.

“The genie is so submissive and loving to her new master,” a very deep, unfamiliar voice boomed behind her, yanking her out of her euphoria.

Bristling Mark pulled back, and pushed her behind him. “Did you forget to tell me something? Who is he?
Your new boyfriend?”

Available at Total-E-Bound.

Would you like to win a pdf copy of Abracadabra? To win, simply email me at chinara@aol.com before midnight EST and tell me you'd like to be entered in the contest. I'll need your email address so I can contact you if you win and to verify I received your entry. However, I will not add you to a mailing list unless you ask.

Also today for your reading pleasure are several more excerpts featuring bad dates by my fellow Saturday Snippet authors. Please visit them, too.



Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lissa Matthews
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels
Shelli Stevens
Jody Wallace

Saturday Snippets: Make Me Laugh

Make me laugh!

Today's Saturday Snippets will make you smile, maybe even laugh out loud.

Blurb:


Former actor come private dick Rafael may be in his element dressing up as a babe in Ft. Lauderdale's transvestite beauty contest in order to catch the sleaze ball murdering gays, but his ex-lover macho ex-New York cop Marco doesn't.


In fact, Marco isn't sure which is worse - having to dress up as a babe and talking into the microphone hidden in his boobs, or being forced to shack up in a hotel room with his ex-lover and too-tempting fellow detective Rafael.





Excerpt: Simon Says


“Simon says I have a dangerously fun assignment for my three favourite men, today.” The loud speaker crackled and echoed through the luxurious white-on-white offices of Simon’s Detective Agency.

Private detectives Marco D’Angelo, Raphael Chico, and Cary Lombard stared at one another in turns.

Cary, the computer nerd, shifted in his comfy armchair, leaned against the side, and sat Indian style. He tied his long golden blond hair into a silky ponytail and squinted in the direction of Simon’s voice. “How much fun is ‘fun’?”

Marco, the ex-New York cop, scowled. “What do you mean ‘dangerously’?”

Rafe, the ex-actor-makeup artist, ran his fingers through his dark curls and made a moue of his lips. “Do we get to dress up?”

“Yes, indeedy, my pretty one. You’ll get to play with your makeup and costumes to your heart’s content. In fact, that’s an integral part of this assignment.”

Glee glowed in Rafe’s heart and he rubbed his hands together. “I can’t wait. Do tell.”

Cary cast an indulgent look at Rafe as he scratched his chin. “You made the diva very happy, but is there a part for me?”

“Patience. I’m getting there. There’ll be plenty for all of you to make your little hearts happy. You get to bug lots of rooms, run videos, and fool with sound equipment. Will that keep your nerd heart happy?”

Cary keyed notes into his laptop as he balanced it on his knees. He cracked a lopsided grin. “I’m good.”

Marco linked his fingers behind his head and leaned back. Raphael wasn’t surprised when he kicked his booted feet up on the desk. “Cut to the chase, boss. Give us the nitty gritty.”

“I’m trying to.” Simon’s fingers drummed loudly through the speaker. Glasses chinked. “You, my sweets, are going to be in a transvestite beauty pageant in Ft. Lauderdale. Have I caught your attention yet?”

Salivating, Rafe scooted to the edge of his chair. He hadn’t been in a pageant for ages, not since long before joining Simon’s agency. “We all have to have a talent. I sing, act, dance, play wicked piano—”

“Sprout wings.” Marco added, glaring at him.

Rafe was sick of Marco’s derision. The tough guy ex-cop thought he was such hot shit, so big and bad. Rafe longed to wipe the smirk off his mug. “What’s your talent? Scratching your balls?”

Cary snickered and gave an air high five. “Good one.”

Marco gave them both the finger. To Cary he said, “At least, my idea of a hot Saturday night isn’t breaking and entering into private individual’s internet networks.”

Simon clucked his tongue. “Now, now boys. Let’s stop the bickering. We all know one of Cary’s most invaluable talents is hacking.”

Cary gave a toothy grin, stood and bowed. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Marco’s brow furrowed. “If I were still on the force, I’d have hauled your scrawny ass into the pokey a long time ago.”

“Bite me, pig. You wouldn’t have a halfway decent firewall or free satellite if not for me.”

Rafe couldn’t wait to get started. He would be “Raquel Chico” for this tasty little job, with long, flowing curls, and rhinestone-studded lashes. He debated whether to be an average, sedate C-cup or a vivacious DD. Of course he’d have to get a manicure and pedicure straight away. The tough part would be dragging the butch cop and computer nerd with him.

He went over his wardrobe and knew he couldn’t wear any of his old gowns. They’d be so 1999 he’d die of humiliation. “Will we have time for a shopping spree? Oh! And a bikini wax?”

Marco groaned and rubbed his temples. “Do we all have to play dress up and prance around on stage like Diana Ross? Please say no.”

“No, not all. Only two of you,” Simon said.

Simon Says is available at Total-E-Bound.
Don't miss the other great excerpts on today's menu. Please visit my fellow authors.

Leah Braemel
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Sasha White
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels
Shelli Stevens
Jody Wallace

Saturday Snippets - Bring me a tissue (waaah!)

Get out your tissues for today's excerpts. The Saturday Snippets authors plan to bring a tear to your eye.

Today I feature my novella "Undiplomatic Relations" which was recently re-released by Ellora's Cave as a single story. Originally, it was released as part of the "Chances Are" anthology in 2006.

Blurb:

In the 26th century, Major Kady Elliott witnesses a heartless massacre of innocent children. Deeply disillusioned and troubled, she escapes the evil murderer, Emperor Lukas. She vows to stop him, so she defects from the Federation and goes in search of the rebel forces hoping to join their ranks.


But that’s not so easily done. Not only was she a high-ranking officer in the Federation, she’s the ex-lover of the rebel commander, Admiral Shane Trigilio. And Shane’s more than a little bitter about her supposed betrayal of him. To rebuild his trust, he demands she follow his every command…

Publisher’s Note: Originally available in the Chances Are anthology.





Excerpt: UNDIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Copyright © ASHLEY LADD, 2006

A grubby-faced little girl cloaked in tattered rags scampered over marshy ground to Kady Elliott and hugged her. “Will you be my new mommy?”

Kady choked back sudden hot tears and smiled down at the child she’d become so very fond of during her several visits to monitor this world. “You don’t know how very much I’d love to be your new mommy. But I’m a soldier, sweetie. My kind of life wouldn’t be good for a sweet little girl like you.”

“But I wuv you and I need a new mommy.” Pathos rang in the precious five-year-old’s voice.

Kady hugged her in return, cursing the horrors of war that had left the children of the Paldera Nation orphaned, that allowed her to feel this child’s ribs painfully protruding from her malnourished form. No one older than ten had survived the massacre of this outer rim community, and she was amazed they had lived this long on their own. Her unlucky companions who had accompanied her in the shuttle on this quick mission, Yamin and Daughtry, had perished when they’d tripped over old-style land mines undetectable by their scanners.

This should not be happening in the civilized twenty-sixth century! “I love you, too. I’ll be your auntie and I’ll help find you and all your friends new mommies and daddies.”

“Pwomise?” The tot swiped at tears, making twin runways down her dirty cheeks.

Kady ran her fingertip over her chest and forced a sunny smile. “Cross my heart and hope to die. On my honor as an officer and a gentleman.”

The girl’s face radiated with light and she giggled. “But you’re a girl.”

Kady tousled the silky mahogany hair that hung in clumps down the child’s back. She’d been without sex so long, had been nothing but an asexual soldier for four long years, that she’d almost forgotten she was a female. “So I am. Stay here while I round up the other children and then I’ll take you to my ship and on to your new mommy. Okay?”

The tyke’s little head insistently bounced up and down as new hope gleamed in her dark eyes.

Kady’s heart lifted a little. She vowed to do everything in her power to help these kids. Pivoting on her worn boot heel, she went in search of the other children. She checked in the caverns where they liked to hide. When she didn’t find them, she climbed the rocky hill to the other side.

High-pitched, childish screams rent the air from the valley across the creek and then plasma blaster fire erupted nearby. A most eerie, ominous silence followed.

Kady’s heart froze. What the—

Adrenaline surged through her, restarting her heart. She drew her weapon, threw herself to the rocky terrain and crawled through low ground cover to the source of the sound. Cautiously, she peeked around the bend of an old, overgrown bush trail. What she saw stole her breath.

No!

Emperor Lukas smiled wickedly and tilted his head at his top lieutenant. “No rebel spawn will grow up to infest my universe.”

The tall, skinny female ensign, who wore her pink Mohawk long but stiff, lifted her arm and pointed a deadly plasma blaster on the little girl Kady had just left.

The child sobbed and pleaded. She turned to run, but stumbled on makeshift toys scattered about the ground.

Kady took careful aim at the devil ensign and fired.

But her shot missed as the woman stepped away to fire on her innocent target and bore a large hole in the child’s tiny body.

Her heart breaking and unable to believe her eyes, Kady tried to blink back sudden, unstoppable tears. Not one child, girl or boy, had been spared. Their bodies lay littered on the ground in bloody pools, decaying under the midday sun. Bile rose in her throat and she had to turn away from the horrific scene. Her esteemed commander and his henchmen were hideous monsters, vile, murdering bastards, every last one.

Oh no! Shane had been right. The Federation was a vile serpent suffocating the universe and it had to be stopped at all costs.

“Elliott! I know you’re out there. We need to talk. It’s not what it seems.”

She didn’t believe a word out of the fiend’s mouth. Leaves and gravel crunched behind her, propelling her to her ship. Breathless, perspiring profusely, she scampered aboard and locked the hatch. She dove into the captain’s chair and rammed the alactra controls on full throttle so that the ship trembled when the teractic reaction chamber fired up. Inhaling deeply, she skipped over eco power and pushed the ship straight into molecular stream teractic drive. The lactofield held her in her seat when the ship shook so hard it felt as if it would explode and she felt as if every cell in her body would implode.

Lukas bent to one knee, squinted down the barrel of his plasma blaster and let loose fire on her ship.

Her ship rocked and dove alarmingly and she bit out a curse. She diverted half power from life sustain to the shields and sent deadly ionic splinter blasts at the emperor.

He ducked and rolled at the last second when the ionic blast made a crater but a few feet away. He scuttled around his almost grave into the safety of a nearby cave carved into the mountainside.

“Hasta la vista, baby,” she ground out between gritted teeth and saluted smartly at her former commander’s dust. Then she departed from the planet’s atmosphere, from the hideous massacre.

* * * * *

Days later, Kady still shuddered at the vivid memories that wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace. She squinted at the coordinates through a haze of tears as she plotted her course, letting her fingers skim the control panel. While the ship sailed through calm, friendly space, she hugged herself and cried on and off, not at all officer-like. Even through an asteroid belt, she could hardly stop sniffling and dabbing her eyes.

“Get a grip, soldier!” she ordered herself, angrily swiping away non-regulation tears. “Some warrior you are. Death’s part of the game.”

Shivers raced up and down her spine as the little girl’s ghost tormented her.

When the little girl’s spirit wasn’t haunting her, Shane’s was. What a load of words she had to choke on as she’d have to regurgitate each and every poisonous one.

Images of her final hours with Shane four long years ago haunted her, refusing to be erased. Tormenting visions of loving and fighting and breaking up scorched her heart. Cruising out in deep space, several parsecs from any known Federation colonies and stations, with the ship flying on auto-power, she dwelled on their vivid history.

“I don’t know why you flew into my universe for I surely never did anything to be so blessed,” Shane had murmured, smoothing her hair away from her flushed cheeks. He kissed her eyelids and then trailed his caresses down her cheeks until he captured her lips and drank deeply.

Quivering with a need that threatened to devour her, she wound her arms around him and pulled him so impossibly, incredibly close, their souls surely must become one. Against his lips, she murmured, “It’s me who’s blessed.”

Undiplomatic Relations is available at Ellora's Cave.
For more emotional excerpts visit my fellow authors.


Leah Braemel
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Sasha White
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels

Saturday Snippets: Spooooky

Today's Saturday Snippet theme is a big surprise - Spooooooky!

Of course! You know what weekend this is.

Shortly before her wedding, Chloe questions her choice of future husband. Lately, her sexy dreams about Luke—her beloved fiancé who disappeared seven year earlier—seem so real. Their scorching union cannot be shaken.


Although Luke's investigation of a Ft. Lauderdale vampire clan changed his life forever, he never forgot his feelings for Chloe. His astral projecting into Chloe's dreams has angered Anika, the Alpha vampire set on Luke as a lifemate. Now he must convince Chloe their love deserves one last chance, and protect her—at all costs.




An Excerpt From: BLESSED BE


© Copyright ASHLEY LADD, 2004.

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.

“I see you’ve let that mangy cat inside now. I should call the Health Department. Or maybe I should just take him to animal control.” The sneer on Gerald’s lips leapt to his eyes. He snatched the cat and sprinted for the door.

The tomcat screeched and clawed frantically at Gerald’s face, drawing blood, forcing Gerald to drop him in a heap at his feet. Then it tore off across the room, its eyes glowing oddly silver in the dim light.

A look of utter amazement etched comically across the doctor’s countenance as blood clung to his fingers after he touched his torn cheek. “That does it. He’s going to the pound tonight. Or maybe I’ll just tie an anchor around his neck and sink him to the bottom of the ocean.”

“No! Don’t you dare touch my cat.” Chloe dove for the cat.

The vile Gerald scooped up the struggling, spitting creature first.

The door burst open, and the vampire from Chloe’s dream stamped inside. A legion of wicked-looking dwarfs hobbled closely behind, big ears sticking out, long hair billowing behind them. The raven-haired woman pointed a talon-like finger at Chloe and leered. “Take her back to the manor. Alive.”

Chloe gasped, her heart ready to burst from her chest and her respiration became shallow. She faced off against the trespasser, planting her feet wide apart. “You can’t be real.”

One of the hunch-backed ogres batted Chloe’s feet out from under her, so that she fell to the floor and thumped her head. Intense pain slashed through her, stealing her breath.

The cat let out a horrible screech and before her eyes, transformed into Luke, just as he always looked in her dreams.

Blinking, Chloe couldn’t believe her eyes. She had to be dreaming. Cats didn’t transform into humans. Luke was dead. The vampire was a figment of her dreams. Yet Gerald and Shawanda also stared open-mouthed at the ensemble.

“Who are you?” Chloe finally found her voice and gouged the fiend in his eyes, making him howl as he retreated.

“I know karate!” Shawanda threatened, shrieking and swinging her leg in a high kick.

The vampire merely chuckled and flew into the air, avoiding the blow easily. Hissing, her fangs burst from her gums. She punched the nurse, reeling her backward into Gerald who was cowering in the corner.

Furious, Chloe threw the phone at the cackling vampire who ducked so that the phone smashed through the window. “What do you want from us?”

“I want you to leave Lukas alone. He’ll never be mine as long as you’re alive.” The vampire swooped down on her, scooping Chloe into her strong arms.

Luke delivered a deadly chop to the attacker, making her drop Chloe. Cursing loudly, he caught Chloe just before she hit the floor. “Are you okay, darlin’?”

Confused, dazed, Chloe shook her head. “Yes. No. You were a cat…you flew in the air…”

"Shhhh. I’ll explain everything as soon as I take care of Anika. Will you be okay for a moment?”

“Long as one of those things doesn’t try to devour me.” Chloe couldn’t stop staring at Luke. He couldn’t really be here. Or maybe she was dead. If so, this obviously wasn’t heaven. And yet, what could be more heavenly than to be held in Luke’s arms one more time?

“You’ll be okay for a few moments? You’re not going to faint on me?”

She touched her fingertips to her spinning head, feeling like she was being sucked into a force five tornado. It felt heavy but she wasn’t in danger of passing out. “Yeah. I think so.”

Luke brushed a kiss across her lips shooting volts of electricity through her and laid her back gently. “I’ll return shortly.”

“Promise?” On second thought, she wasn’t at all fine. She was talking to a ghost and envisioning vampires and all manners of monsters. It was probably all a bizarre dream, but it had a very real quality to it that alarmed her.

“Promise.” His eyes glowed silver and he lifted his head and howled, an earsplitting, inhuman sound that sent chills through her.

“Damn you to hell, Anika! I will have your head for this.” The vigor in Luke’s voice made Chloe blink and shrink back from him.

Anika hovered high overhead, her eyes glittering darkly. “As you are so fond of telling me, Lukas, we’re already in hell. Your threats mean little to me.” She dissipated into mist and shimmered away.

Luke swore under his breath and turned to Gerald and Shawanda. He approached them furtively but non-threateningly. He waved a hand over their eyes, which instantly glazed over. “You need to sleep now. When you awaken, you will think this was a dream.”

Chloe absorbed his words, turning them over in her mind. Luke controlled dreams? So, maybe she hadn’t been hallucinating. Maybe all her fantasies had been real, cloaked in the auspices of dreams. Struggling to her feet gingerly, her head still reeled and her heart raced. A jumble of emotions threatened to tear her up. “You promised me an explanation. Am I dreaming? Was I dreaming all those other times? Are you real?”

Luke rejoined her, supporting her to the couch in her private office. “Let me settle those two and I’ll be right back.”

Fear that he wouldn’t return grasped her and she grabbed at his hand that felt very durable and not the least bit transient. She let her hand slip to his warm wrist and felt for a pulse. To her dismay, she didn’t detect a single beat. “Don’t leave. Explain first. I don’t understand. If you’re real, why have you pretended you were dead? Why did you leave me?”

Blessed Be is available at Ellora's Cave.
Don't miss more spooky excerpts by the other Saturday Snippet authors.

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Shelley Munro
Shelli Stevens
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd

Saturday Snippets - Secondary Characters

TGIS! Thank God it's Saturday and Saturday Snippet time.

Today's theme is "Secondary Characters". I love my secondary characters and Vance in "So You Want To Marry Our Mom" is one of my favorites. He's so irreverant, so fun, and he's a big part of the story.

I could tell you about Vance, but I think you'll enjoy meeting him much more. Enjoy!

Available at: http://www.amberquillpress.com/SoYouWantToMarry.html

Blurb:

Jackie Duarte's deceased husband, Vance, talks to her more now that he's dead than when he was alive. When their daughter signs her up to be the bachelorette on a show where her kids get to help pick their new dad, Jackie doesn't know who drives her nuttier. The kids who act out on national TV, the ghost who won't shut up, or Doug, her best friend who's been ignoring her but declares his love after it may be too late. She doesn't need a second marriage where she's ignored. If Doug really loves her he's going to have to prove himself over the other hot bachelors ready to drown Jackie in affection and attention.



Excerpt:

“Olivia did what?”

Vance, the ghost of her deceased husband who refused to shut up and leave her alone, piped up to her chagrin, ::Simmer down, dear. I’m sure Liv meant well…::

Annoyed that Vance butted in again, she snapped aloud, “Not now. Go away.”

“Ms. Duarte? Is everything okay?” Joey asked.

Mortified, she bit her lip. People would think her crazy if they knew she talked to her ex’s ghost. She wondered, too. She was the only person she knew who talked to ghosts.

“We’d like to meet you. Your application’s extraordinary,” Joey gushed.

::Say yes,:: Vance nagged. ::I won’t be angry if you remarry. I know how lonely you’ve been.::

She covered her phone with her hand, squinted into the vicinity of the disembodied voice’s origin, and aimed her thoughts at Vance, ::That’s so very kind of you. Now please leave me alone!::

“When can we set up an interview?” Joey vied for the top of her list of men who most irked her.

She snorted. A writer, not an actress, she’d rather battle the edits from hell than step foot in front of a camera. “I’m really not that interesting. I’m a widowed mother of four who’s struggling to make ends meet in a really tough economy. I just pushed a cart full of exotic bread, peanut butter, and jelly out of the supermarket, if that tells you anything. End of story.” If Olivia told them she was an astronaut, prime minister, or something else equally outlandish she wouldn’t be shocked. Oh, her little darling could spin a yarn. Her child had inherited her penchant for weaving a story. Usually she was proud of her daughter’s talent, but today she wasn’t so sure.

“Uh, no.” Joey sounded as if he was scratching his head in confusion. “Here it says you’re a published romance writer.”

::And does he know exactly what you write?:: Vance asked with a big smirk in his voice. ::You should have been so lusty in our bed.::

::Enough!:: Her ex had hardly talked to her when he was alive and now he wouldn’t shut up. She massaged the bridge of her nose. Why me? Wasn’t it bad enough to be a widowed, single mom? To have a kid described by a host of psychological letters?

To Joey, she said, “I use a pseudonym because my naughty stories are supposed to be secret.” Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one she knew, like her pastor, one of her kids’ teachers, or the nosy old woman next door overheard, she scrunched her nose.

Whew! Not a familiar face was in sight. Squaring her shoulders, she added, “Did Missy also inform you I have four very misbehaved, loud, and obnoxious kids? That I’m fifty?”

Vance added after a tsk tsk, ::You’re only forty-seven, babe. Don’t rush it. You’ll be here soon enough.::

Available at: http://www.amberquillpress.com/SoYouWantToMarry.html


 
For more excerpts with fab and exciting secondary characters please also visit my fellow authors.

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Lissa Matthews
Shelley Munro
Shelli Stevens
Jody Wallace
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd

Saturday Snippets - In Betweens

Yay! It's Saturday. That means "play day" for this weekday nine-to-fiver.
It also means it's "Saturday Snippet" time.

Today's theme is "In Betweens". I'm not exactly sure what that means - half man/half woman? half human/half animal? the undead? being sandwiched in between two men?

After thinking about it for awhile, I chose another excerpt from "Bon Appetit!" my just released m/f/m menage erotic romance at Total-E-Bound. Demi's caught between her love for her husband Alex and yearning for hotter sex which he hasn't been able to supply. Later she gets in between Alex and another hot man who has no such problems fulfilling her wildest sexual desires.

Blurb: Bon Appetit! By Ashley Ladd

Available at Total-E-Bound


Demi is a lexical gustatory synethesist. In other words, she tastes words. Penises taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream, one of her favourites. Sex toys taste more like dry toast.

Too bad as her husband, Alex, is impotent and she longs for a hot, hard, juicy penis, not that she’d ever crush him with that information.

But Alex isn’t stupid and he’ll do anything to make Demi happy. So he invites his cousin Matt into their bed and wishes them all a bon appétit.




Excerpt:

The next morning, Demi awoke curled up beside Alex, snuggled into his warmth. Her hand lay proprietarily on his bare chest and her head lay in the nook of his arm. She cuddled closer, wishing they didn’t have to get ready for work that they could cuddle all day.

She groaned. But today was her monthly luncheon with her friends from her prior job. Although most of them had left their prior employer for greener pastures, they had remained close. Still, most had gone onto much bigger, better jobs and they all had husbands who were hot studs in the bedroom. They loved to talk about their sex life and expounded on their lovers’ virtues. She had the lengths and girths of their cocks memorized she’d heard them so often.

Demi couldn’t be disloyal to Alex by telling the truth about their love life. As much as she needed a sympathetic ear the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him. Yet she hated to lie. So she stayed mum and listened, completely jealous of her friends’ active, complete sex lives.

Veronica, whose name tasted like strawberries on her tongue, who flipped her long mane of white-blonde hair over her shoulder, gave a broad wink to the young waiter who looked to be no older than a college kid, when he slid her roasted vegetarian plate onto the table in front of her. “Simon can’t get enough of me. I had to beg him to untie me from the bed so I could meet with you.” She gazed pointedly at her watch. “I had to promise to rush back and fuck him the rest of the day.”

Indigestion rose in Demi’s chest and it was all she could do not to gag or twist her lips. Simon not only was a jerk of the first magnitude, but his name tasted like sour lemons on her tongue. Funny as he was handsome enough to be a romance novel cover model and was senior partner of a thriving accounting firm.

Cassandra spit the wine she was sipping into Lisa’s face. “I can’t believe you practically screamed that in a public place.”

Demi could. Veronica loved to shock people and it usually amused her. However, this time she felt sorry for the young waiter whose cheeks flamed cherry red. She mouthed to the young man, “I’m sorry.”

Veronica saw her and scowled. “Don’t apologize for me. I’ve got a hot stud and I’m not afraid to use him.”

Demi almost blurted out, “Get all you can while you can. It won’t last forever,” but she bit hard on her lip and dug her toes into her sandals.

Lisa dabbed at her face with the linen napkin and glared at Veronica.

Demi lifted her wine glass to her friends in toast, hoping to deflate some of the hostility. “Bon Appetit! May our lunch taste as good as it looks. And to us, friends forever.”

As if Demi had stayed silent, Lisa stabbed her fork into her Chef Salad and speared a forkful of lettuce, turkey and cheese as if she really wanted to stick it into Veronica’s heart. “You’re not the only one who has a hot hubby. Reid and I just booked a two-week vacation to a tropical island just off Jamaica and we’re not going to pack any clothes. You don’t have to be so crass in public.”

Cassandra bobbed her head as she cut the broiled fish on her plate into small pieces then pushed it around aimlessly. “Henry and I have been going to a BDSM club. Who would have thought I’d be a dom and a pro with a whip?”

Demi’s jaw dropped. Sweet Cassandra? Cassandra whose name tasted like blueberry pie? Cassandra who’d been a virgin when she’d married Henry? Cassandra who was a Kindergarten teacher?

Not that it surprised her that Henry would be a submissive. Not only did he look like a pretty boy with his slight build and effeminate gestures, but his name tasted like limp lettuce spoiling in the fridge. She could never kiss a Henry much less let one fuck her any more than she’d let a Simon get close to her. She didn’t even like being around them, no matter how handsome, how intriguing. Their taste made her sick to her stomach.

Even Veronica gasped and her eyes bulged. “You’re putting us on. You with a whip?”

Deviltry flashed in Cassandra’s eyes. “Oh, I’m very good with a whip. And chains. And I’m so hot in leather.”

Lisa leaned forward and wiggled her brows. “Reid and I are taking our lover with us to our love nest. His name is Logan.”

Lisa’s name tasted like cotton candy on Demi’s tongue but she surely didn’t remind her of the childlike sweet anymore. Although Demi knew Lisa had drooled over every man at their last job including their very married, very average boss and was a walking hormone, she was still shocked. She couldn’t bite her tongue fast enough to stop her words, “So Reid is gay! I knew it.”

Lisa’s lashes fluttered and she shook her head. “He’s “bi”, not gay. And I get to be fucked by two men so I get the best end of the deal. Plus it’s so hot watching Henry and Logan get it on. I get so horny I just have to take both of them into me at once. You should try it. Once you’ve been fucked by two big, hot, juicy cocks at once, you’ll never want to go back to ordinary vanilla sex again. Trust me.”

At the sound of “cocks” the flavour of milk chocolate and caramel burst into her mouth and her pussy grew hot. It clenched and she so badly wanted to squirm on her chair and rub her pussy to ease the ache. Jealousy flooded her. Not only were her friends getting wild, hot sex, now Lisa was getting fucked by two men with huge, hot dicks. She couldn’t even get one.

Her thoughts caught fire imagining two virile men fucking her and Demi took a long swig of cool, dousing water. She had to get these visions out of her mind before she said or did something she regretted. But it was becoming a huge burden keeping her feelings from Alex, hiding something this important from her best friends, and she didn’t know how much longer she could live like this. Dry toast toys weren’t doing it for her. Not even Alex’s wonderful tongue and magical fingers.


Bon Appetit! is available at Total-E-Bound.

Don't miss the other great "in between" excerpts today by my fellow authors. Enjoy!

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Lissa Matthews
Shelley Munro
Ashley Ladd

Saturday Snippets: First Loves

The theme of today's Saturday Snippets is first loves.

My snippet today is from Whirlwind Relationship. Colleen gets whisked back 30 years in time to 1978 and gets a second chance with her first love, Gary. With future knowledge on her side, she gets to decide whether or not to do things differently this time around.

Blurb:

When Colleen gets sucked into a hurricane and awakes in 1978 she gets a second chance to be with the only man she’s ever loved.

Colleen’s life didn’t turn out like she planned. At fifty plus she’s divorced, childless and her career’s nowhere. If that isn’t bad enough, a hurricane destroys her home and sucks her into it.

When she awakes she’s either dead or crazy. It can’t be 1978 and she can’t be young again but all indications point to that.

She really can’t have a second chance with the only man she’s ever loved...or can she?

Excerpt:

Colleen stole herself not to flinch. She tried to remember the good times, the time before her friend stole the only man she’d ever loved. But she couldn’t forget the treachery. Agony tormented her as she remembered Gary and Rhonda together.


A knock on the door jarred her back to the present and the fog lifted from her brain. She had to be dreaming.

Rhonda frowned and glanced at her watch. “Are you expecting anyone this early?”

Colleen shrugged. Like she knew anything? “I don’t think so.”

Rhonda pivoted on her heel and returned momentarily. In a hushed whisper she said, “It’s Gary. He wants to see you. Should I tell him you’ll be out after you dress?”

Obviously Gary didn’t belong to Rhonda yet. Her heart raced and she finger combed her hair. Then she remembered she wasn’t only suffering from bed head. She was ancient. She’d die of embarrassment. Cougars were one thing, but thirty years older? “No! He can’t see me this way.”

Rhonda wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes. “You make it sound like you’re a beast.”

Maybe she was…

She glanced in the mirror and froze. She couldn’t breathe. Her eyes widened. That wasn’t herself looking back at her. At least it wasn’t the person she’d known for more than thirty years.

She stared at her glowing skin, her full lips, her slender neck. Her upper arms were firm and sculpted. Her boobs stood erect and perky. She was twenty-something like Rhonda. And gorgeous.

Her first attempt at speech got stuck in her throat. Her second try was more successful. “It’s okay. Let him in.”

Rhonda’s jaw dropped. “Are you sure? You’re not decent. Your nipples show through that gown.”

For thirty years she’d dreamed about Gary’s kisses, longed for his caresses and berated herself for being stupid enough to let Rhonda steal him. Now that he was here, she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. She was happy her nipples showed. She was anxious to let Gary see a whole lot more than just her dusky aureoles.

“Dead sure.” This time, if it was a second chance, she was going to fight for her man.

Rhonda flipped her hair behind her shoulder and drawled, “It’s your life.” Then she bounced out the door.

“Damn straight it’s my life!” Then she looked heavenward and said, “Thank you, God. If this is real, please don’t let me screw this up again.” If it was a dream, she wanted to sleep forever.

Whirlwind Relationship is available at Total-E-Bound.

For more excerpt fun, please visit my fellow authors.


Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Lissa Matthews
Shelley Munro
Shelli Stevens
Ashley Ladd

Saturday Snippets: Foodies

Today's Saturday Snippets features foodies.

My upcoming romance novel "Bon Appetit!" features Demi who is a synethesist. She tastes words, good and bad.

Bon Appetit! will release October 12, 2010 at Total-E-Bound.

Bon Appetit!
By Ashley Ladd

Excerpt
Demi faced the next lunch with the foursome of friends with a light, bouncy step. This time she was a bad girl, too. She’d been sick of being the good one who hadn’t been good and fucked in years, of having to hide the state of her sex life, of watching every word out of her mouth.

Lisa smoothed her skirt beneath her as she took her seat and flashed a wicked smile at her friends. She leaned close to Demi and Cassandra as Veronica was her fashionably late self. “I almost didn’t make it. Reid and Logan didn’t want me out of bed. They had me tied to the bed.”

Cassandra wiggled her brow. “You finally getting into BDSM? Did they spank you?”

Lisa chortled and repositioned her hair in its banana clip. “I whipped them first.”

Demi rested her chin on her hand and gazed at her mentors with glee. She was getting lots of good ideas for the next time Matt joined them in bed. And she enjoyed the luscious flavours of chocolate croissant melting in her mouth.

Lisa turned to Demi and put her hand on her arm. “And what about you? Have you ventured away from plain vanilla sex?”

Demi’s lips spread in a wide, sunny smile and she twisted her hair around her finger. She took a large sip of her wine and swished it around in her mouth before answering. “Not if you call vanilla sex having a ménage with two men fucking me at once.”

Too late she spied the young man who usually waited on them come up behind Cassandra and turn beet red. When he pivoted on his heel and sped away, she spit out the liquid in her mouth.

Cassandra turned her head, then giggled when her gaze followed Demi’s. “I bet we’re the talk of the kitchen.”

Lisa gaped at Demi. “You? You’ve never had eyes for anyone but Alex.”

Feeling flushed, Demi lifted her hair off her nape, but she nodded. “I know. But we needed to spice up our sex life, and when I told him about you having sex with two men, he brought home Matt as a ‘gift’.”

Cassandra’s eyes got wide. “Wow! My husband’s idea of a sexy gift is a new whip.”

Lisa nudged Demi and winked. “Is Alex fucking your new lover, too? Maybe we can have a foursome with you, me and Reid sometime.”

Veronica suddenly towered over them, then slung her purse over the empty chair. “Someone’s having a foursome? Can we come to the orgy, too?”

An elderly couple at the next table shot them dirty looks and got up and moved to another table.

Demi laughed. “We’re incorrigible. I’m surprised they let us into this restaurant.”

Veronica gave a flippant wave of her wrist then lowered herself into her chair. “This is the twenty-first century and we’re in the big city. If they don’t like us, fuck ‘em.”

Lisa raised her glass of wine in toast then clinked it to Cassandra’s, Veronica’s, and finally Demi’s glasses. “Fuck ‘em all!” they chorused.

The waiter who was enroute to their table with their salads, turned and ran back to the kitchen.

“Guys, we’ll never eat at this rate.” Demi’s stomach grumbled as if to punctuate her words. “I think our waiter just hijacked our salads.”

Veronica gulped her wine then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Who needs food? We’re going to have an orgy.”

Cassandra scowled then chewed on a bread stick. She waved it at Veronica. “I don’t know about you, but I need sustenance before I start cracking my whip. If we’re going to have an orgy, I need to build up my energy. Are you all subs or doms?”

Demi’s ears whirred and she shrugged and held her palms up. “I hadn’t thought about it.”

Lisa crooked her finger at their waiter and raised her voice, “Food please!” Then she said to Demi, “Would you rather be spanked or do the spanking? It’s that simple.”

Demi’s mind slipped back to her bedroom and her two lovers. She could definitely see them mastering her, ordering her around, having their wicked way with her. She tried to envision the reverse but didn’t find a cowering, docile man sexy. Tasting rich, gooey chocolate in her mouth again, a taste she had come to associate with great sex, she admitted, “I’m a sub. I long to be spanked and manhandled.”

The crash behind her chair made her jump, shooting her heart into her throat. Her pulse raced and she spun around. When she saw their salads littering the floor with their waiter in the middle of the mess, she had to lift her glass in toast again and say with a lopsided grin, “Bon Appétit!”

Please visit the other authors participating in today's Saturday Snippets for more reading enjoyment:

Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
TJ Michaels
Jody Wallace