A Lunar Sunday Snog

http://victoriablisse.co.uk/blog

Today I’m flogging my holiday story, First and Last, which is in Ellora’s Cave’s White Hot Holidays antho. It’s available in both print and digital formats.

Here’s the blurb:

Setting: Luna, 2114.

Lunarian law requires 24-year-old Shayna Goldstein to marry before she’s 25. She’s dated everyone in New Brooklyn, but Gideon Landers, the first man who kissed her, haunts her memories, preventing her from loving anyone else.

Desperate, she consults a matchmaker, who sends a reluctant Shayna to Farside Colony to meet her mate.

The commander of Farside Colony, Gideon Landers has never forgotten Shayna. That he’s been matched with her is a dream come true, but will Shayna be willing to live in the remote colony?

Reviews:

Rating: 4.5 from RomanceJunkies.com… ”FIRST AND LAST is a stimulating look into the look into the future
where you’ll realize that finding love is just as confusing then as it is now.”

Rating: 4.25 from Night Owl Romance: “paced with intensity and eroticism.”

Rating: 4 stars from eCataromance reviews… Sensuality Rating: sensuous… “I loved this book!”

Rating: 4 from Just Erotic Romance Reviews (JERR)… Heat level: H…“a quick read packed with a lot of meaning… The chemistry…kept this story interesting and flowing. Enjoy!”

Rating: 4 from Coffee Time Romance… “This is a fantastic sizzling romance. From the futuristic setting of New Brooklyn to hot and steamy sex scenes, this story will keep you enthused from the beginning. A definitely fast but fun read.”

Rating: 4 from Fallen Angel Reviews… “frank and graphic erotic descriptions of the sex between the lovers…very emotionally satisfying… many futuristic romance readers will enjoy this story as much as I did!”

“Wonderful futuristic romance!”
ParanormalRomance.org

And here’s the snog:

When she’d turned thirteen and started at yeshiva, the secondary school she attended after graduating from cheder, she hadn’t a clue about what was going on between the boys and girls. The air was constantly charged with a tension she now understood was born of sexual repression. Flirting and gossip about boys had dominated conversation.

And the prime topic had been Gideon Landers, even though boy had been the wrong word for him.

Gideon. Tall and dark, broad-shouldered and handsome, with a deep voice at age eighteen, he’d already matured. A Terran, Gideon and his parents had moved to New Brooklyn when the pogroms had wiped out the Jewish community on most of the Atlantic rim. Who knew what he’d seen and done? The girls whispered about the bulge in his Slicksuit, his burgeoning beard…he already shaved, and everyone wondered if he was still a virgin.

White Hot Holidays

Shayna had tried to ignore the gossip. She’d claimed that he was arrogant, although her day didn’t seem complete without seeing Gideon’s smile, bright against his tanned skin, at least once. So she’d bantered with him, telling him jokes and anecdotes, just so she could see his smile. Years later she’d realized that she’d had a schoolgirl crush on him.

He’d graduated and joined the Officers Corps, but had returned to yeshiva to talk with students about joining the Corps. She’d been sixteen, and for the first time she’d seen him as a man, and a very sexy one at that.

He’d asked her out to coffee. They’d stayed late, closing the place down. When it was deserted, he’d pinned her in a chair with his much larger body and kissed her.

She remembered the strange sensation of someone else’s tongue caressing her lips. Her mouth had opened in surprise, and he’d pushed his insistent tongue all the way in. Because he’d been straddling her and holding her close, she’d felt his heart pound through their Slicksuits. As his pulse speeded up, it seemed to echo her racing heart.

Everything in her body, every cell, every vein, seemed to ignite with a fire she’d never before experienced. Electricity zipped along her nerve endings. She’d become hot, her armpits had dampened, and sweat had slid along her skin. Though she knew her Slicksuit would convert the perspiration to usable water, she was still embarrassed. Was she supposed to react this way? She’d kissed boys before and this had never happened. Would he see how she was sweating and be repulsed?

He stroked her neck and the gentleness of his touch disarmed her completely. She’d grabbed onto his shoulders with shaking hands to anchor herself in the tumult of emotion and pushed her tongue back against his.

He’d taken that as some sort of signal and begun to move his tongue inside her mouth in a mesmerizing dance. She didn’t know the tune, but improvisation seemed to be okay with Gideon. Their tongues played together endlessly, it seemed, and she could have kissed him forever. She reveled in his flavor, his unique scent…was it sandalwood? She didn’t know, but she liked it.

Desire flamed through Shayna’s body, bringing her back to the present. She tugged at her Slicksuit’s collar, opening it. The ziptrain’s recirculated air, a little stale, cooled her but still she squirmed in the seat, driving her wet pussy against the cushions. She was glad that the train’s car was empty except for her; she could have an orgasm right here and now, and no one would know. And it would be easy. Just the memory of Gideon Landers’ kiss turned her on.

He’d wanted more, had wanted to go further, and had. He clasped her breast, and she thought she’d go right out of her mind when one of his fingers flicked back and forth across her nipple. Even through her Slicksuit, it was the best thing she’d ever felt.

He’d eased his mouth away from hers to flutter kisses down her neck…oh heavens, was he going to kiss her breast? That would be too much for her. Would the Slicksuit dry out before she went home? How could she explain a big wet spot to her ema?

She’d pulled away, and he’d bitten her neck. With a yelp, she’d convulsed, driving a knee up and into him.

“Shit, Shayna!” Gideon howled.

“You bit my neck!” She’d been outraged.

“It’s called a hickey, little girl.” He massaged his crotch.

Stung, she snapped, “Don’t call me a little girl, and don’t do that in front of me.”

He shot her a resentful look from beneath dark brows. “I’d like to do a lot more.”

“You’ll never get the chance.”

After that awkward interlude, he’d left to continue his career in the Officers Corps. She assumed he’d be stationed very

Sue Swift/Suz deMello

far away.

But now, looking back, she realized that she’d compared every subsequent kiss to that one. No man had come close to lighting her up the way Gideon had, damn him.

Like what you read? Find it here:

http://www.jasminejade.com/m-251-suz-demello.aspx

http://www.amazon.com/White-Hot-Holidays-Vol-II/dp/1419956019/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354470788&sr=1-2&keywords=First+and+LAst+by+Suz+deMello

Enjoy!

Your blog hostess:

Award-winning, best-selling erotic romance novelist Sue Swift/Suz deMello has written sixteen novels, plus several short stories and non-fiction articles. She writes in numerous genres including romance, mystery, paranormal, historical, contemporary comedy and erotica. Her novels have appeared on numerous bestseller lists including Amazon, Waldenbooks and ARE, reached the finals of the RITA and been reviewed in publications such as PW, Kirkus and Booklist.

A former trial attorney who resides in northern California, her hobbies are yoga and world travel. She’s currently planning her next trip overseas and working on her next manuscript.

Happy Release Day!

Not one but TWO books are released today.

Available June 1 from Ellora’s Cave

Here’s the 4-1-1:

Re: Temptation in Tartan:

She had to marry a monster…

Rumors had followed the chieftains of Clan Kilborn for centuries. Said to be descended from the Viking Berserkers, they were ferocious in battle, known for tearing off the heads of their enemies and drinking their blood.

But English noblewoman Lydia Swann Williston would marry Kieran, Laird Kilborn, to bring peace to the Kilborn lands after the horror of Culloden and the brutal pacification. A widow, she also brought needed wealth to Clan Kilborn. For her part, eighteen-year-old Lydia wanted children. With her husband killed at Culloden, she would make a new life in the Highlands.

The old chieftain of Clan Kilborn also died in battle, and she hoped that the new young Laird would lack his ancestors’ ferocity.

She was wrong.

Buy the book at http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10121-temptation-in-tartan.aspx

Walk Like A Man

And there’s also Walk Like A Man:

Macho quarterback Jim Wellman meets his match in bright and sassy physical therapist Marti Solis, who goads him out of his wheelchair, pushing him to walk again. Unlike every other woman Jim has wanted, she refuses to jump into the sack with the celebrity athlete. Though attracted to his bedroom smile and rugged good looks, she’s intimidated by his fame and turned off by his arrogance.

Can Jim become the lover Marti needs? Can he learn to walk like a man?

Set in California’s beautiful Napa Valley, this multicultural romance delivers humor and pathos, sparkling dialogue, layered characters, a heroine to root for and a hero who’s pure fantasy.

 Buy the book at http://tinyurl.com/6mn6hr9

I hope you love my books!

It’s a Chanukah Party!

I’m not religious, so I avoid having to endure religious celebrations. Fortunately, my family has evolved from insanely observant to a more relaxed mode in which I’m allowed to celebrate what customs I prefer and ignore the rest. So far, God, if there is one, hasn’t seemed to take note.

I like Chanukah mostly because of its reliance on fried foods, especially latkes, potato pancakes. I don’t like cooking them, but I do like eating them, they’re sort of like a flat French fry. What could be wrong with that?

For those of you who don’t understand what Chanukah is about or why fried foods could have religious significance, you can find plenty of explanations online. But take it for granted, Chanukah is one of the most fun celebrations in the Jewish calendar.

Everyone always ends up in the kitchen

 

My brother supervises the candle-lighting so my grand-nephews don't burn down the house

 

He tells the story of Chanukah to a rapt audience

 

After most gifts have been opened, the Chanukah bush/Christmas tree stands forlornly amid the detritus of torn paper and bows

And a good time was had by all Happy Chasmukah, everyone!

IT’S A HOLIDAY SNOG: Sunday Snog: Toe Cleavage–a free read

With thanks to Victoria Blisse…http://www.victoriablisse.co.uk/sunday-snog/

This excerpt is more about character than kissing: From Toe Cleavage, a story about Shelbie Nathanson, who resents Rick Saldano’s ascension to C.O.O. of her family’s shoe company, a job she’s wanted all her life. But she can’t resist his red-hot, sexy style of lovemaking… one that focuses on her passion: shoes.

*****

“Your step-mom can sure put on a party,” Rick said.

“Ha. She hired an event planner.” Shelbie sipped champagne.

“A good one.”

‘Twas a week before Christmas. The vast dining room of the Nathansons’ Hampton estate glowed from a hundred beeswax candles. A dozen Christmas trees festooned with fairy lights and golden ribbon lined the room. The long table was magnificently set with gold-rimmed crystal and bone china also glittering with gold. Sterling flatware trimmed with eighteen-carat gold gleamed in the mellow light.

The blinking Christmas lights and flickering candles cast weird light and shadow patterns across her blue wool dress, especially on its large, shiny black buttons. She’d accessorized with black, wearing her highest, strappiest, sexiest heels for Rick.

In a charcoal suit, he looked great despite the odd lighting. He wore a crisp white shirt and a cranberry red tie decorated with holly leaves.

A beautifully dressed crowd of Nathanson’s employees stood nearby. Tuxedoed wait staff distributed champagne and canapés.

Soft laughter reached her ears. Karola, that cunt. Her father’s trophy wife wore a silver satin sheath and a triumphant smile. Completing her outfit were diamonds that had belonged to Shelbie’s mother, stones which should have been Shelbie’s.

She was desperate to leave, but as a veteran of scores of similar events, she knew she couldn’t sneak away until after the inevitable dull dinner speeches. She’d be forced to applaud politely when her father made the dreaded announcement, that Rick Saldano was ascending to the post Shelbie knew was rightly hers. Hers.

She swigged more champagne.

“Why so glum, babe?”

She cut him a glare. “Don’t be obtuse.”

“You’re still not harboring a grudge, are you? I thought we settled all of that at my place.”

“We didn’t talk, and haven’t since. A little good sex doesn’t change anything.”

His smile was slow and seductive. “Then I need to give you a lot of good sex.”

“Sex between us doesn’t change anything at work.”

“True, but you’re smart. You’ll see that the arrangement has its compensations.”

“Huh.” She allowed him to take her arm and escort her to the party. She managed to make small talk with everyone while thinking about what he meant… and ignoring Karola.

* * * * *

A spotlight illuminated the head of the table as Shelbie’s father rose, glass in hand. She by now was thoroughly lubricated. She already knew she wouldn’t be called upon to make any public statements. Rick, the poor wretch, couldn’t get plowed until after the speechifying was over, since he was expected to say a few gracious words.

Come to think of it, maybe he was right. The arrangement did have advantages. If she were the new C.O.O, she’d be sitting next to her father with perspiration rings growing beneath her armpits. Instead Rick was in the hot seat. She leaned back into her chair, finding it a little easier to set aside her gloom.

Her father made the expected statement elevating Rick. Shelbie applauded and smiled, swallowing the lump in her throat. The attention drifted over to her as she was acknowledged as the firm’s creative director.  A slight patter of applause rose, with Rick and her dad clapping a little louder than the rest. Marketing, management and the other working group leaders were introduced. Clap, clap, clap. Yawn, yawn, yawn.

Dad announced that he was leaving on the cruise. The groans of unhappiness were fake, given that everyone present already knew of his plans. Karola was introduced. She stood, capped teeth and diamonds gleaming. More applause.

Shelbie fled.

Rick caught up with her at the top of the stairs. On the second floor, peace reigned. A cozy sitting room was lit by a fire in the marble hearth. Framed family pictures and a Chanukah menorah cluttered the top of a polished cherry wood piano.

He followed a quiet Shelbie toward the piano. “Is this the family quarters?” he asked.

“Yeah, the downstairs is mostly for show, especially in the winter. It’s warmer up here.”

He touched the brass menorah with a reverent finger, smiling at the four lit candles. “Every year, I wondered about all the Christmas trees. Nathanson is a Jewish name—”

“We have the trees for the staff party. And now for Ka-ro-la.”

“You don’t like her.”

She picked up a photo set in a wood frame decorated with seashells and fish. “No, I don’t.”

“Is this you and your mom?”

“Uh-huh.”

He took it from her. The picture showed the two of them when Shelbie had been about five, playing at the beach in the waves.

He put an arm around her. “Babe—”

“It’s just that…seeing Karola wearing my mom’s diamonds. My dad got her those when he made his first million.”

He considered. “That sucks.”

“Sure does.”

He cuddled her closer. “What can I do?”

She managed to grin at him. “How about a kiss to make it better?”

“It’s your heart that hurts, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” She tried not to sniffle.

He unbuttoned her dress halfway down to the waist, and dropped a light kiss on the upper curve of her left breast. “Cute bra,” he said, pleasure in his voice.

“I didn’t know that lingerie was one of your fetishes.”

“Everyone loves black lace…”

***

This story is available FOR FREE at a variety of outlets.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26024

Enjoy!