HALLOWEEN Ebook Giveaway!

DRAGONS are Scary!
     DRAGONS are Evil!
          DRAGONS eat people!


The Badger Stoop

Romance, sex, adventure,

and a killing or two can be found

in this collection of Scottish

dragon tales.

 DRAGON Bites is a collection of three similarly themed novellas previously published as separate ebooks by Nancy Lee Badger:

DRAGON’S CURSE, set on the Scottish island of Staffa in the late 16th century, features a young man cursed to transform into dragon at inopportune times and the woman he protects. SOUTHERN FRIED DRAGON pairs a Scottish dragon-turned woman and a federal soldier at Ft. Sumter on the eve of Civil War.

DRAGON IN THE MIST is a contemporary love story on the shores of Loch Ness, which is a short story that won 1st Place in its category in the 2012 Self-Published Stars Contest.

Buy all three stories in this one edition and SAVE $$$. Also, the print version of DRAGON Bites is the only way to read these three in print!   Print ISBN  978-1492270416

Amazon Ebook      Amazon Print         

NOOK Ebook       BarnesNoble Print

  

Smashwords          iTunes 

                     
What is it about DRAGONS that scares YOU? Want to win the ebook of
DRAGON Bites??

 

Drawing takes place
when its dark and scary
just after midnight

on Halloween




Proceeds Benefit RWA Chapter HCRW

...and check out these other recent book releases!


a Military Holiday Romance

Highland Games Through Time


 

AND THE WINNER IS...

 

Gemma J!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Author Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith stopped by to share interesting facts about her and her book, Blood Moon on the Rise. This paranormal romance was released on May 29^th 2013.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.
Blood Moon on the Rise is really a teaser. It’s the first story set in an eventual series set in Present day Detroit. The world is plagued with dangerous supernatural creatures that threaten humans. The Brotherhood of the Blood Moon is a secret organization with the sole purpose of protecting human kind. The Hunters with the aid of their assigned Trackers (those who possess the ability to wield magic) work together to eliminate threats. In Blood Moon on the Rise Tamara, a hunter, and Nicholas, her tracker, have been working together since they were fifteen years old. Now as adults, they face life-threatening dangers which is only made harder by the depth of their feelings for each other. Love between hunters and trackers is forbidden because it puts too much stress on the couple when they are in the heat of battle. But sometimes love is too hard to resist…and it is for Tamara and Nicholas.

When did you start writing toward publication?
I started writing towards publication in my second year of law school about four years ago. That was about the time I met a lady at a local library when I participated in a NANOWRIMO event. She and I became close friends and writing buddies and she was the one who suggested I learn to write romance and that was when I really started pursuing publication.

Do you have any rejection stories to share?
The strength of a writer is only half the time about the quality of the words on the pages. The other part is how the writer handles the trials and tribulations. I found out that numbers play a big part and sheer dumb luck. I’m not a lucky writer. Not at all. I had to learn to play the numbers game. I was rejected 87 times that’s my magic number during my 4 year hunt for an agent. This 4 year period spans from when I finished my first (and completely a mess) first manuscript, to the very first book I got contracted. There were 6 books written between the first every completed book and the first one that got contracted. I queried on 3 different manuscripts and it wasn’t until I figured out to try writing regencies, that I started getting agent interest. I then went on to have 3 agents at one time offer representation. It was very exciting. But as a writer, I’ve learned trouble is never far behind. Due to the hurricane in NY and other situations, the agent I picked retired from the business. I was then on to agent hunting again and found a lovely new agent through a fellow author friend of mine. That was perhaps more luck than I’ve ever been blessed with. She helped me negotiate the first contract I got and is now submitting a new book to editors (fingers crossed).

 

At the end of the day, I have learned that the most valuable thing a writer possesses is the ability to get back on the horse after being thrown (since I’m from Oklahoma this metaphor is accurate). You get tossed like a beanbag, you hit the ground and it hurts like the very devil. You have to get the wind back in your lungs, scrub the dirt and possibly blood from your hands and clothes and march right back over to that horse, grab the reins and swing back up. Those first few minutes after you get back up, you remember the fear of being thrown, the pain still seems to lance through every bone in your body, but eventually your confidence comes back. That’s what it takes to be a writer. And believe it or not, the more times you get thrown, the less scared you become of the fall and the easier it is to get back on. There will still be days when the fall hurts more than it should, maybe the contract you wanted or the agent you wanted doesn’t happen, just keep at it. Statistically, if you have a good book, and you keep submitting, there’s an agent or an editor out there who will take a chance on it. Or, in the alternative, have the courage to self-pub and find the readers who will see the value of your writing. Either way, bravery is a must for all writers who are serious about their careers.

What is your writing routine like?  

I know we as writers are supposed to have routines. I actually don’t, not anything concrete. I’m a lawyer by day. So I tend to write in the spare moments when I’m not working. I probably do about 4-5 hours a night of editing/revisions or writing and if I’m lucky, on my lunch break. I essentially make the most of five minutes here or there to get my notebook out and write. It’s quite funny the places I’ve managed to write (on a train, waiting for dry cleaning, at a restaurant waiting for breakfast- this is a weekly habit). I found the trick is to never let the story get that far from your mind so that the second you have time to put pen to paper, even if it’s just ten minutes, you can hammer out a couple hundred words and feel like you’ve accomplished something. The key I think for any writer is finding the discipline to make it work, no matter what your schedule or how you of a period each day you sit down to do it as long as you make the magic happen!
 

Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

I’m a member of my local OKRWA, Passionate Ink, The Beau Monde, FFP, and Celtic Hearts (all RWA organizations). They have all be incredible in helping me succeed in my goals. But I do have to give a special shout out to Passionate Ink where I currently serve as the Vice President., we offer members monthly pitch sessions via the internet with REAL EDITORS! You get to pitch 300 words to the volunteer editor that month. I got my first contract through one of these very pitch sessions so I owe Passionate Ink so much!

Please share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.

1)  I’m currently learning to speak conversational Russian.

2)  I lived in China for a month and got to be one of the first Americans since Bill Clinton in the 1990s when he visited, to take a tour of the Panda Preserve in Chengdu and I sat down on a bench next to a baby panda and fed it fruit and got to pet it! The fur was surprisingly springy, like an English sheep dog only a little more bristly.

3)  My mother named me after Princess Diana (my middle name is Diana), and my love of England and English set stories apparently stems from my namesake.
 

What’s next for you?

I’m currently in revisions on my first Regency romance called Wicked Designs which is hopefully going to come out from Samhain Publishing in January. It’s the first book in The League of Rogues Series where a band of titled rogues get caught playing a game of cat and mouse with a feisty little debutante who doesn’t want to be used as a pawn in their game of revenge against her uncle who embezzled from one of the rogues (A duke named Godric who happens to be the hero). I already have books 2 and 3 written and am merely waiting to get them submitted and hopefully published soon!
 

Blood Moon on the Rise BOOK BLURB

Tamara wants nothing more than to protect the world from deadly paranormal creatures. Well, maybe she wants a little more than that. But the man she craves—Nicholas Rubin—is strictly off limits.

For years, Nicholas has been her loyal partner, helping to defeat murderous werewolves and take down unruly vampires.  Nicholas has always given Tamara his protection, friendship, and support. The only thing he hasn’t given her is his love. A relationship between Tamara and Nicholas is forbidden by ancient law, and the consequences could be deadly.

But when a powerful Sorceress threatens both their lives, Tamara has a choice to make: Give into her feelings for Nicholas, and risk her life. Or take a chance on Nicholas, and receive his love—at a price. 

EXCERPT

“Tamara!” A low, anxious shout drew her head up.

Relief flooded her when she caught sight of the man emerging from the shadows by the bar’s back door.

“Where the hell were you, Nicholas? We said we’d meet at the bar at seven,” Tamara snapped.

Her partner, Nicholas Rubin, rushed over and knelt at her side. His face sported a small cut across his high cheekbone, and his clothes were spotted with blood.

“Oh, God, are you okay?” She reached for his cheek, and he flinched, jerking away at her attempt to touch him.

“I got waylaid. Apparently, our furry friend had some goons with him who tried to stop me from following. They knew what we came here for. By the time I got inside, you were already gone. You couldn’t have waited? Damnit Tamara…” His eyes assessed her injuries, his brow furrowing as he concentrated on her. “Come on, let’s get you home and patch you up.” Nicholas held out a hand. Tamara winced when he pulled her to her feet.

“Huh, some tracker you are,” she muttered.

She fingered the crystal on the leather band around her wrist, the one he’d made for her. Even though it had a purpose for her job, she wore it the way a woman would a piece of jewelry from her boyfriend. Here was the man she wanted, the chocolate haired, cinnamon-brown eyed god she craved. He was her closest friend, her partner, and completely off-limits. The ache to touch him, to reassure herself he was okay, was ever present.

Every single minute she was with him, she covered her feelings for him with sarcasm or offhanded remarks. Anything to keep distance between them. But not tonight. She had to feel him, comfort him, even if he wasn’t hurt.

Nicholas’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she reached up to stroke his face. He didn’t pull away, and her heart jumped wildly in her chest. Her hand lingered against his warm skin for a moment longer than it should have. A tiny thrill rushed through her body when he didn’t step away to avoid her.

“You’re the hunter. It’s my job to lead you to the beasts. You have to kill them, remember?” He flashed a wise-ass grin and retrieved her purse and jacket from the ground.

He helped her slide it over her arms, his hands tightening on her shoulders ever so slightly before he let go. The heat of his touch sent her pulse skittering. She had to diffuse the sudden throbbing of desire for Nicholas. It was a battle she fought every hour of every day. Each time she pushed away that hunger for him, it made it harder to work with him. She couldn’t fight off werewolves when she was busy thinking about jumping Nicholas’s bones.

“You are so buying me a beer later,” Tamara snapped, her bravado masking her trembling hands and the lancing pain in her leg.

“Sure. Oh, you might want to fix your jeans…they’re uh…open.” Even in the moonlight, the ruddy stain of a flush on his cheeks was unmistakable. For a brief instant, Tamara thought she saw anger flicker in his eyes.

“Damn.” She fixed her pants and looked determinedly away.

Did he get jealous thinking of her being with other men, of her luring vamps and weres using her body as the carrot on the stick? Or did he not think about her at all? She thought of him every time; with every kiss, every touch, she envisioned him doing those things to her. What would he think if he knew it was him she fantasized about? About the tender yet heated way they’d come together, and how they’d lie still and quiet, hearts beating in time as they slept afterwards.

“Better call it in,” she reminded him, teeth gritted, her head tilted toward the alley and the dead werewolf.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She's won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. Her first regency novel Wicked Designs will be released early 2014.  

Connect with Lauren Smith at:

Facebook     BLOG     Twitter      

Goodreads     Amazon Author Page

Check out my book trailer HERE     

 

How can my readers buy your book? 

Amazon     NOOK

 

 

 

RED SHOES Deals with a Tricky Subject

by Guest Author Donna Steele

 

I was recently asked where Red Shoes came from and why chose such a dark subject.  As for where it came from, Red Shoes started out as a bit of flash fiction. It was a picture and I had to come up with 100 words about it. I guess that’s what being a pantser is all about.

I immediately saw a sophisticated appearing woman trying to garner the attention of a high powered businessman. It wasn’t the real her, she was pretending to be what she thought he wanted in order to attract him. Now remember, none of this was shown, just feet in shoes. But I did not like the businessman. Sight unseen except for my imagination, he was bad news. My heroine had heard the rumors but dismissed them. No one that handsome, smart, powerful . . . you fill in the blanks, could be related to those rumors.

Then she finds out the truth.

I do seem to come up with creative villains. And so far at least, in my books, my heroines have had to pull the hero’s bacon out of the fire. I write strong women (probably because I never realized I was one until I found my own real-life hero)

I realize this is a touchy subject – an abusive relationship, but these relationships do happen. Since I concentrate on strong women, or women coming into the strength they didn’t realize they had, I wanted to show that they can escape even when the woman has been “successfully” cowed. Even if a woman doesn’t think she can stand up for herself, she might rise up on her hind legs to defend a child or a friend and there it is – strength she never saw coming.

I do recommend if you’re stuck (not that that ever happens to writers) that you give this technique a try. It’s incredible when the juices flow, especially when you can take those 100 words and write the whole story as well.

 

bio -

Women strong enough for love.

I write science fiction , paranormal and women’s fiction romance eBooks about women coming into their strength and having the courage to find and accept love.

As an empty nester with my beloved best friend and husband (who actually encourages this mad passion of mine) I write all the time – whether or not I have a pen or keyboard handy.

Ever since I learned to read—from Superman Comics, Dick, Jane and Sally held no appeal—I’ve wanted to write. The possibilities of science fiction have always drawn me and I’ve read them all.  There just needed to be a little more romance in them. I finally got up the courage and I’m delighted that I’m able to share these stories with you.

My premiere novel, a science fiction romance – Rth Rising – was released on March 3, 2012 through Rebel Ink Press. My romance eBooks Learning Trust, Homecoming, Welcome Home, Red Shoes and Wraith’s Heart are now available at all eBook sellers. Wraith’s Heart is now also available in paperback through Amazon. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA and the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

Find out more about RED SHOES

and check out the Buy Links

HERE

What's next for author Donna Steele?

Nowhere For Christmas will be released soon.

Please check it out it

HERE

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Alexa Bourne

My guest is author Alexa Bourne. Her book, Fractured Paradise, is a romantic suspense novella and was released on November 3^rd, 2012. It was nominated for Best Mystery/Suspense/Thriller of 2012 by the Love Romances Café.

Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?

I did have several manuscripts finished before I sold. I used to submit them to agents and editors whenever I thought they were ready. I also submitted them to countless contests.

 

Been there & done that. What is your writing routine like?

LOLOL! There is no routine. I’m a teacher in my “real world” so my schedule often changes. I write when I can.

 

What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

I love researching promotional opportunities. I mostly do interviews, comment on other people’s blogs, tweet and keep busy on facebook. I also run contests every once in a while and my best friend makes many of my promotional items such as bookmarks, cards, magnets, etc. I’m always looking for new ways to promote my books and my genres.

 

Promotion is important, even if you would rather just write. Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

I am a member of Romance Writer of America and several of the RWA chapters: Kiss of Death (Suspense chapter), Austin RWA, and Celtic Hearts RW. I absolutely believe they’ve helped. I’ve made some great friends, learned so much about the craft of writing and the business, and I feel I have so much support with every new angle of writing I come across.

 

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?

If you really feel, in your heart, that writing is for you then don’t give up.  Even on my most difficult writing day or when I’m overwhelmed with promotional obligations, being an author is still the best job I could ever have. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.  

 

Please Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.

1) I’ve lived in 5 states: RI, MA, TX, NV, AZ
2) I love to sing and I’m pretty good.
3) I wanted to be a music major until I took my first music class in college and barely passed.

BOOK BLURB

Technical analyst Rachel Grant arrives in Sunderland intent on tidying up her grandmother’s cottage, but the disaster she discovers requires more than a gentle sweep of a dust rag. Determined to please the most important person in her life, she trades her computer keyboard for a hammer and nails to make the repairs. She doesn’t count on the chilly reception from the locals who want to claim Nan’s home as their own.

Tour guide Aidan Camden wants to buy the cottage. He’s determined to acquire the property no matter how attractive he finds the current occupant. However, when tragedy strikes, throwing them both into a tailspin, he discovers he wants more than the house. He longs for the sexy American as well. Can Aidan put his own ghosts to rest in time to save the woman who’s claimed his heart?

EXCERPT

“A bit of a disappointment, I expect.” A rich, deep voice with a twinge of an English accent drifted from behind her.

She whirled around. Her hair whipped against her cheeks and made her wish for the hundredth time today she hadn’t packed all her hair clips.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

The stranger paused beside the edge of the clearing, and her heart stuttered. Although no one would mistake him for a Hollywood leading man, this guy could command attention by stepping into a room. Or onto an island.

“That’s okay. You didn’t.” She permitted her gaze to wander over him.

He kept his hands stuffed into the front pockets of faded jeans. The wind tore at his gray long-sleeved shirt, outlining the contours of a well-defined chest. Unruly light brown hair touched his collar. High cheekbones accented his deep-set eyes. Not friendly eyes, but no threat lay behind them either, at least none she could uncover.

He pulled a hand from his pocket and held it out. “Aidan Camden of Dawson Tours, your neighbor from across the water.” He tipped his head toward the way he’d come.

Camden. His name sounded familiar, but why? She shook his hand with a hint of hesitation. “Rachel Grant.”

His fingers warmed her skin, his grip strong and confident. Awareness trailed along her arm. Then again, it could be the accent that made her skin tingle. British accents never failed to stir her emotions.

A trace of a smile danced on his lips. “Aye, the American.”

Huh. “You know of me?”

A low rumble of laughter slipped from his mouth, the sound relaxing her from deep within. “Word travels fast here. I saw you paddling your way out.”

Paddling? No, he’d seen her fighting with the oars. Until today, she’d never set foot on a boat, much less held an oar. But she would consider swimming across the Atlantic Ocean if it would make Nan happy.

“Tell me, Mr. Camden, are you in the habit of following foreigners?”

“No, lass, but you’re all the talk of the Roker area. The mighty Grant descendant, come to see about selling the family cottage.”

Selling?

Author Alexa Bourne

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romantic suspense writer by nights, weekends, and all school holidays. She also teaches online classes for writers throughout the year. She is thrilled to have the chance to share her love of Great Britain with readers everywhere.

When she's not concocting sinister plots and steamy love scenes or traveling and exploring new cultures, Alexa spends her time reading, watching brainless TV and thinking about exercising. She loves to interact with readers, so visit her web page, hang out at her blog, follow her on Twitter or drop her a note at Alexa@alexabourne.com!

How can my readers buy your book?  

Readers can go to the publisher’s home page at http://www.decadentpublishing.com

You can find more information about Alexa Bourne and Fractured Paradise at:

WEBSITE   BLOG   TWITTER

FACEBOOK   GOODREADS  

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Felicity Heaton

Felicity Heaton stopped by all the way from the UK to talk about herself and her book, HER WICKED ANGEL is a paranormal romance and was released on September 21^st.
Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  
Her Wicked Angel is the sixth book in my popular Her Angel paranormal romance series. It’s about Asmodeus, the wicked King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man. He’s an angel born for destruction and evil, but beneath his cold and often cruel exterior there is a glimmer of good, a seed that he hides from his master and the three realms (Heaven, Hell and the Mortal realms) because in his world, good is a weakness.

When he is sent to the mortal world to retrieve a female for the Devil and sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, a woman who challenges him at every turn and seems to have a mystical power over him, that sliver of good begins to grow and he realizes that he can’t let his master have her… because he wants her for himself.

Liora is a witch and has always known that angels existed, but she never thought she would meet Asmodeus. The glowering dark angel warrior with his black wings and golden eyes makes her burn hotter than Hell itself and she can’t resist the fierce attraction that blazes between them. He’s dangerous and deadly… and he might just be her only hope for survival.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?
Her Wicked Angel is a paranormal romance. I have written other genres in the past, and still dabble in science-fiction romance, but paranormal romance is my passion. I’ve penned over 35 paranormal romance stories since 2006. I love being able to create expansive and detailed worlds filled with incredible creatures with amazing abilities. It’s a playground that I never tire of and a genre I don’t think I will ever stop writing… I still have ideas for another 30+ stories!

What is your writing routine like?
It always depends on what I have to do at the time. I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic new assistant who is helping me with some aspects of marketing and promoting my stories and new releases, and that has freed up more time that I can use to write. I am a full time author and have been since 2011, when I began selling enough copies of my ebooks to give up my day job and pursue writing as my career.

I work from around 8am until 7pm most days, and try to take a couple of days out of each week for myself, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way, especially when there’s a new release on the horizon or deadlines I have to meet. Some weeks I can spend every day working on marketing and other admin, such as answering emails and scheduling promotion and other things. Because I’m an indie author, I have to do almost everything myself, so it’s a constant juggling act, especially since I design my own covers, create my own graphics for advertising, and format my own books too!

When I am in a normal week, I will generally dedicate a large portion of the day to writing or editing, leaving only a few hours to spend on marketing work or admin. If I’m writing a first draft, I always aim to write around 7000-10000 words in a single session. I can normally manage that in around 4-6 hours of writing. It just depends on what other things I have on my schedule really.

In terms of how I go about writing, I’m a plotter. I just completed an outline plan for my next book I’ll be writing and it has come out at 24000 words. I tend to write scenes down as they come to me and then compile them into an outline, which is why they can get big. Once I have the outline done and all my character profiles written or updated if they’re existing characters in a series, then I’ll begin writing. I always focus on one project at a time, so I’ll never write one book while editing something else, or write two books at the same time. I think that just gets confusing.

I’ll write the first draft straight through without pausing to read over it or edit anything. After that, I let it sit for a while and then I’ll send it off to my betas while I work on something else. I’ll then come back to it when my betas have read it and edit the book. Normally, I do two edits on my books and several rounds of proofreading before they’re released.

Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing? 
I love being able to speak with readers. It’s great communicating with them and interacting, and I’ve made a lot of friends on my social networks. There are amazing people amongst my readers and I really love being able to speak with them all and hear their opinions on my books, or on movies we’ve seen or books we’ve all read. It’s like a big community and it’s wonderful.

Please share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
This is always difficult. I get asked it a lot and I have to think about things to try to come up with something new. How about…
1)I’m an archery fanatic.
2)I’ve travelled to Japan five times and want to go back for more.
3)I’m British… seriously, readers are often surprised when I mention that.
What’s next for you?
I’m about to begin writing the second book in a new series. The first will come out in December this year. After that, I’ll be working on the next Her Angel book and the next Vampires Realm book, and the first book in another new series. It’s all go and it never stops.
BOOK BLURB
Her Wicked Angel
Felicity Heaton
The King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man, Asmodeus is a dark angel born of evil and created for destruction. When his master orders him to venture into the mortal world and retrieve a female for him, he seizes the chance to leave Hell for the first time, uncaring of what the Devil has planned for her… until he sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen—a female who awakens new feelings within his black heart, unleashing passion so intense that it controls him and desire he cannot resist.

He will not let his wretched master have her. She will belong to him.

Liora is a witch with a bad reputation and an obsession with fighting demons. A mission gone wrong sees her sent to Paris to cool off, but when a dark and deadly warrior with a gaze of golden fire lands in her life, she ends up burning hotter than Hell for the wicked angel. Nothing will stand between her and the immense, forbidding male. Not her cousin. Not Asmodeus’s sworn enemy and twin, Apollyon. And certainly not the Devil.

Caught up in a tempest of danger and soul-searing passion, can they survive against the odds and seize their forever after?
Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

Her Wicked Angel – Excerpt

Liora paid for her purchases and made her way back to the alley. Asmodeus was sitting on the step of one of the buildings lining the narrow street, his wings carefully placed so the longest black feathers curled around his ankles. He looked pale, his skin almost milk-white against his wild black hair and thick dark lashes. He lifted his head and gazed at her as she hobbled towards him, his golden eyes warming and then burning like fire as they took her in. Heat chased in the wake of his eyes, setting her body aflame and stirring a different sort of hunger.

 

She wanted to drop her things beside him, settle herself astride his lithe muscular thighs, and run her fingers through his hair, raking the satiny black strands back from his sculpted face. She would force him to tip it back and look up at her, and the action would cause his lips to part. She would swoop on them then, feeling their firmness beneath hers, waiting for him to hit that point where he found the courage to take the lead and showed her a hint of the passion he held locked beneath his incredible exterior.

 

His gaze dropped to the bag she carried, reminding her that he had to eat before she could do anything with him or he was liable to pass out. She sat on the step below him, took the white box of pastries out of the carrier bag and carefully untied the ribbon. She pushed the lid up to reveal the neat rows of sweet treats and her mouth watered.

 

Asmodeus stared.

“What are those?” He looked curious. That was good. Maybe he would eat some for her.

“Pastries.” She plucked a strawberry mille-feuille out of the box and offered it to him.

He took it from her and peered at it, turning it this way and that and getting cream and icing all over his hand.

“It’s my favourite.” She picked up the other one she had bought and bit into it. The layers of fine crisp puff pastry, custard-cream and strawberries were delicious and she moaned and took another bite, unable to resist the tempting allure of the sweet heavenly confection.

When she risked a glance at Asmodeus, his pastry was gone and he was licking his fingers. She moaned for a different reason, her head filling with thoughts about what he could do with that tongue and some cream, and he looked at her.

There was a spot of cream at the left corner of his mouth and she couldn’t resist. She reached up, swiped it off and sucked her finger clean. His gaze darkened and zeroed in on her lips. Her heart fluttered in response, shivery heat washing through her and making her want to keep sucking her finger and giving him wicked ideas.

Food first. Fun later.

She finished her pastry and offered him the box.

He took a small rectangular slice of chocolate gateaux and devoured it in two bites before taking a pain au chocolat, and then a wedge of tarte au citron. He pulled a face on eating that one, his nose wrinkling up.

“Not into the citrus fruits?” she said and he shook his head. She pulled the bottle of orange juice from her bag and smiled apologetically. “You might not like this then.”

He took it anyway and inspected the plastic bottle. Rather than taking the bottle from him and twisting the cap off, something that would probably make him feel foolish again, she took her own bottle from the bag and opened it intentionally slowly.

Asmodeus mimicked her, acting like a pro and snapping the cap off his bottle. He drank half the contents in one go and then frowned at the bottle.

“It is not as bad as the sweet thing.” He set the bottle down beside him on the stone step and took the other slice of chocolate gateaux, and then paused when her gaze lovingly followed it towards him. “Would you like some?”

She had bought the pastries, so she deserved at least a portion of the gateaux. It was her second favourite item.

Asmodeus held it out to her and rather than taking it, she leaned over and bit into it, her gaze on his the whole time. His golden irises darkened again, his pupils expanding to relay his desire. They only darkened further when she licked her lips.

“Delicious,” she whispered and he growled, his gaze boring into her mouth, robbing her of her breath and making her silently beg him to kiss her.

He hesitated and she cursed him when he sat back, taking the remains of the gateaux slice with him. He devoured it and set the paper case back in the box.

Liora stuffed her face with a piece of tarte tatin. It wasn’t as sweet as kissing Asmodeus would have been and it didn’t satisfy her in the slightest.

“I enjoy these pastries,” Asmodeus said and licked his lips clean, enticing her into kissing him if he wouldn’t kiss her.

He finished his orange juice, leaned back and sighed. He was looking better already, his skin no longer a sickly hue and his strength returning. She could feel his power rising again, coming back to the level it usually rested at when he was around her.

“Are you feeling better?” She screwed up the paper her tarte tatin had been on and tossed it back into the box.

He should be feeling sick after eating that many pastries but, then again, she had seen Apollyon devour an entire chocolate cake in one sitting without it giving him an upset stomach.

He frowned. “My head still hurts.”

“It’ll pass.” Had he never had a headache before either? What else was new to him?

He lowered his eyes to the road and stared at it, his gaze turning distant and cold again. He stayed like it for so long that the worry that had faded on hearing he was feeling better began to return.

“Are you still unwell?” she said.

He blinked and his attention snapped to her, a flicker of surprise in his golden eyes, as if he had lost track of the world and was shocked to see her sitting beside him.

He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “I am being compelled to return.”

The Devil was ordering him to return to Hell. Liora’s worry returned, worse than ever. If he went back to Hell, would the Devil punish him for killing the angel and lying to him about her?

What if he didn’t go back?

“Will the Devil send another bad angel after you if you don’t go to him?” she said and his eyes opened and slid across to her.

“I am a bad angel… the baddest.”

Liora blushed at that, wicked scenarios running through her mind. He quirked his right eyebrow at her reaction and she could understand why it had confused him. He had meant to place distance between them, warning her away from him, and she had the terrible feeling she knew why.

He stood, brushed the crumbs off the strips of armour around his hips and stepped down onto the pavement.

“Return to Serenity and stay with them. You will be safe there. I must go.”

The ground bucked and cracked, a glowing fiery fault line stretching thirty feet across the road in front of her. The jagged line widened and lava dripped down into the dark crevasse, hissing as it disappeared from view.

A gateway to Hell.

“Wait.” Liora shot to her feet and reached out to him.

Asmodeus looked over his shoulder at her and then dropped into the darkness.

His wings caught her arm as he spread them and she tipped forwards, flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to right herself, and shrieked as she fell over the edge and plummeted into the abyss.

Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback. BUY LINKS

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MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Felicity Heaton writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!

If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, Felicity Heaton’s best selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try Felicity Heaton’s new Vampire Erotic Theatre series.

In 2011, five of her six paranormal romance books received Top Pick awards from Night Owl Reviews, Forbidden Blood was nominated as Best PNR Vampire Romance 2011 at The Romance Reviews, and many of her releases received five star reviews from numerous websites.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

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