de La Vega Cats: REVELATION by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2010, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Samhain Publishing

He wanted to drag out his time with her, but saw the fatigue written into her face. “You’re not getting enough rest,” he said as he stopped at a red light.

“It’ll be better in a few weeks, once I get myself situated here better.” She blew that little lie with a yawn.

“How’s school?”

Kendra had recently started teaching a third/fourth grade combo class at a private magnet school. He knew the school was very prestigious. The judge he was appearing before in just a few hours had two kids who went there.

“I haven’t been there long enough to know a whole lot, but from the experiences I’ve had so far, it’s really good. I’m lucky to have the opportunity to work with the rest of the faculty and the students. It’s a sister school to the one I taught at back in California, so it gave me a bit of weight in the hiring process. The opening was right exactly what I needed and where I’d fit best.” She shrugged. “It was meant to be.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

He pulled up in front of her building. It was a decent enough place, had been Jack’s before so it would be safe, though probably smelled of wolf. Max managed to hold back a sneer. Not that he didn’t like wolves. He just didn’t want his woman smelling like one, a male one who’d mated with his brother and sister-in-law.

He could get past that part because he knew for sure she’d be safe there. The place was also close to Renee, which was important to Kendra. Near the T stop she took to the school since her car had been stolen. Well lit, though he’d been looking for those little fuckers who’d stolen her car. He would find them eventually. Gibson was on it. No one stole from their people and got away with it. He hated the very idea of her being without a car, even in a city as mass transit friendly as Boston. And he really hated that she’d been taken advantage of by thugs.

“Is Renee going to be all right?” He sent her that damned raised brow when she moved to grab the door handle and she sighed heavily. “I’ll get the door.”

“It’s really not necessary,” she said as he opened it for her.

“Of course it isn’t necessary.”

“So you’re doing it why?”

He laughed, brushing her hair from her face. “Because I want to do it. I like doing it.”

“Oh. Why?”

“So full of questions. Because I want to take care of you. It pleases me.”

Her frown was more of confusion than anger or fear. She had the sweetest line between her eyes, most likely from her tendency to wear every single emotion on her face. Not that he’d say so. Females tended to get pissed off when you pointed out any wrinkle, even if it was one he wanted to smooth away with his lips.

“It does? Well then. I…”

Fascinating. He’d flustered her.

He didn’t resist his desire to slide his thumb over that line between her eyes. She relaxed, slightly leaning into his touch, most likely not even knowing it. “No need to say anything. Right now anyway. Time for rest.”

She shook her head with a sigh, apparently letting go of whatever it was she was going to say. “Renee is fine. The wards are holding. She’s growing and her control of her power is also growing. I gave the place a look, there’s nothing inside that’s bad. She’s just remembering things. I’m sure Galen told you.”

“Some.” He frowned, hating that she and Renee had to shovel the emotional shit their piece-of-crap father had left in his wake.

“The memories she’s regaining, well…” Kendra paused, the pain on her face. “I hate to say it, but for a time anyway, it was better she didn’t know all this. Probably kept her safe. What could she do as a child with that anyway? But she’s not that child anymore and she’s fine now. Stronger than most people assume.”

He brushed his thumb over the dark smudges under her eyes. What he really wanted to do was to pick her up and take her to his house. Wanted to get her a mug of tea, a hot bath, a massage and lots of sleep. Oh and sex. But mainly the taking-care part because she needed it.

“You’re both strong. Now, I’m walking you to your door.”

“It’s really fine. My place is safe.”

“I’m sure it is,” he murmured as he hustled her up the steps, waiting for her to unlock the outer door.

“You’re just going to leave your car?”

“We went over this before.”

She snorted. “Some people have all the luck.”

He laughed. “We’ll get you squared away with this car situation.”

“My insurance is getting me a check. No need to square away anything.” She unlocked her door and he went in first, taking a deep breath and instantly going hard.

Christ, her scent drove his cat nearly as insane as the man. Not even a hint of wolf. It was all sexy, fertile witch, and it brought a moan he had to tamp down. The cat had more patience because he knew she was his. But the man knew it would take a lot more than being his to lure the sexy Kendra Kellogg into his life and keep her there.

“All clear. Just you in here.” And now him. He smiled when she couldn’t see his face.

“Really? Golly I’m pretty sure I said that already.”

God he was messed up. Just the sound of her sarcasm made him have to fist his hands rather than haul her to his body and kiss her until she melted.

“You did. And now I can heartily agree with your assessment. Go to sleep, Kendra. I’ll see you later today at Galen’s.”

He went to the door but paused, changing his course and moving back to her. She looked up at him, her sleepy green eyes wide.

“I forgot something.”

“What?”

“This.” He leaned down—careful not to touch her or he’d have her clothes off in five seconds—and kissed her.

Just a soft, slow brush of lips against hers. She opened her lips to him, the sweetness of her mouth tempting him to do more.

Instead he made himself stop after one last nip of her bottom lip.

“Sweet dreams, beautiful Kendra.”

He left, smiling as he caught sight of her peeking out the window at his car, running, sitting next to the curb.

Inside, she watched him drive away, her lips still tingling from the unexpected and very lovely kiss. She’d wanted more, wanted his hands on her, wanted him to take her to the mattress and be inside her.

Max was the kind of man she’d never imagined would be interested in her. But he was the kind of man she understood without a doubt would know his way around a woman’s body.

Despite his broody, bossy ways, she liked him. She just didn’t know what to do with him or how to handle him. He wasn’t a man to be handled, she understood that, but she also realized he would never stay with a woman who didn’t push him back and keep him in line.

That sort of man took work. She wasn’t opposed to hard work, she just didn’t know if she had it in her to give it to him.

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Meriel Owen, next in line to control the largest organization of witches in the country, is asked to investigate the owner of a notorious club reportedly siphoning magic from the font of the Clan. It’s a direct violation of the Clan Code of Conduct, but one look at Dominic Bright and Meriel’s willing to make a deal. One taste of the sexually feral outlaw witch, and she’s eager to go further: he’s her bond mate, a legal conduit into the world of Clan witches and their magic.

Playing by the rules isn’t Dominic’s style, but bonding with Meriel—night after explosive night—is. However, Meriel has unwittingly invited someone else into her world: Dominic’s mother, a dangerous and poisonously influential magic addict whose lust for death and power corrupts all she touches. Now her shadow is closing in on Meriel, her Clan, and the man Meriel loves, and it’s casting them all into the inescapable heart of darkness.

BOUND BY MAGICK: HEART OF DARKNESS by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing November 1, 2011

Dominic Bright in the flesh was a punch to the gut. A sensory wallop of total and unbelievable hotness.

Sprawled in a booth in a roped- off VIP section, his physical presence was nearly as large as his magickal one. The dark T-shirt he wore stretched over tight muscles and broad shoulders. Black boots peeked from the bottom of his jeans.

Long legs stretched out before him.

Masculine. The man was breathtakingly masculine. Sharp features marked him, heavy- lidded, sexy eyes, a goatee; his shoulder length hair was thick and she wondered what it would feel like between her fingers. His lips promised such carnal delights she had to take a deep breath to steady herself.

His energy was immense. He had reserves she’d lay odds he had no idea how to use. She wondered if he even knew he was a Council witch. So much raw power emanated from him she wanted to lean in and take a long sniff.

Since that would undermine her own position and power, and since most people didn’t smell each other in public, she refrained from the aforementioned sniffing and found her own center.

His gaze caressed up her body and settled upon her face.

“Welcome to the Heart of Darkness, pretty witch.”

His voice was deep and scratchy. He didn’t yell over the music and yet she heard him perfectly.

She continued her approach, steadying legs that may have buckled had she been a lesser woman, stopping finally when her thighs touched the table. The scent of his magick hung about him like a heavy cloak. And fed her like she’d been starving.

“Mr. Bright, you’ve been a very naughty boy.”

“So I’ve been told a time or two. I take it you’re Clan Owen here to spank me.”

“I bet you have.” But she wasn’t there about that. Not until she finished this other business at the very least. She modulated her voice, not yelling, but whispering on the wind. “You tapped into Owen property without asking.”

His eyelids slid down just a little and she nearly moaned when he licked his lips. “Very nice. All that sex and magick . . . potent.”

One of her brows rose as she favored him with a smile.

This one was a charmer.

“But you’re not a hunter.”

He knew enough to understand at least something of the structure of a clan. Ignorance wouldn’t be his excuse for theft then. “If I was, we wouldn’t be talking. We don’t want to kill you. We’re not like that. Most of the time. We just want you to ask nicely when you take our property.”

“Would you like to sit?” Goddess, his mouth was an ode to the creator. The way it quirked up just a bit when he finished a sentence was a sight burned into her retinas.

Her gaze flicked over the women splayed on either side of him before moving back to his face. She wouldn’t spill Owen business in public. Nor did she want to share his attention with anyone else. “I’d prefer to speak with you in private.”

He stood, stepping over the women carefully, and Meriel tried not to gulp like a sixteen- year- old girl. He moved the few feet to her, his energy barely leashed. It was a good thing she stood nearly six feet tall because Dominic easily topped
six and change.

“Shall we go to my office?” He motioned with his hand and she allowed him to steer her, his hand at the small of her back. That touch nearly undid her.

Dominic had felt the Owen witch the minute she walked through the doors out front. Her power rolled through the building, slid through him, velvet and warm. Her presence coursed through his veins. She’d sent out her spell as he watched her drink with Simon at the bar.

He liked the way she tasted on the air. Bright and spicy. Dusky and earthy too. Her spell was clever and apparently effortless. Something like that might take him a few hours to create. He admired it, even as he kept out of range.

Unreasonable anger sparked when Simon did what Simon did best. Dominic had stewed as the Were put his hand on her waist and she responded, standing close and flirting.

The closer she moved to Simon the more agitated Dominic had become until finally grabbing her spell and tugging hard to snag her attention. When she’d turned and he saw her face, really saw her face, he’d hesitated a moment, fascinated. Beauty and power, a very potent combination in any woman.

Watching her approach had been worth giving her his location earlier than he’d planned. She moved like sex, rhythmic, smooth like honey. Generous curves filled out the snug shirt and he liked the look of her legs with the short skirt and mid- calf Frye boots she wore.

Shit kickers, those boots. They sealed the deal as far as he was concerned. Another woman would be teetering in sky- high stilettos, but this one looked just as hot and she’d have been able to run his ass down if he gave her trouble.

He didn’t know a whole lot about the universe of clan witches, but he’d done some digging on Owen when he’d decided to use the back rooms there as a club for Others.

This one was the daughter of the leader Edwina Owen. Next in line.

In a world of beautiful women, this one lodged herself in his attentions. He wanted more of her, which was interesting in and of itself. Powerful, so powerful he fought the urge to drag his tongue up her throat to get a taste. She held it to herself, snug. Tightly controlled just like the rest of her. He wanted to muss her up.

Repeatedly.

Unbelievably, after less than ten minutes of seeing her, he had a mighty big want on for the delicious Ms. Owen.

He usually avoided sexual interludes with other witches. He was outclan and his unaffiliated status tended to make clan witches territorial. Before he’d been with them a few months they started talking about clan affiliation.

And he wasn’t a joiner.

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Anyway, the talking down from the ledge is a fun scene to write because most of us have been there on one side or the other…

There’s a scene in Never Enough where Brody has to step in and talk Adrian down from something foolhardy – but I’m gonna be mean and make you wait a while for that one. Abbie has to talk her father down a few times in Relentless. There is much talking down from Chases and their assorted friends and family. But in the end, how about a sneak peek at GODDESS WITH A BLADE where Rowan has to talk herself down after she’s done something risky…

GODDESS WITH A BLADE by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Carina Press
Releasing June 6

“I know your history.” His voice was a growl.

“And I know yours.” Her reply was a whisper and suddenly he was right behind her. “You know what this is. The body was dropped some miles out of town in the middle of an abandoned field. No tracks of any kind around the body. No tire marks. Nothing.”

He was silent for a moment. “It could have been an animal.”

She spun then, eyes narrowed, mouth set in a frustrated slash. “You know what this is. Stop it! What is it with you people anyway? You just don’t fucking care that one of your own has murdered this girl and left her body in the middle of nowhere. Animals wouldn’t go near it. All the time it sat out there in the open and nothing touched it. I’m here to tell you that the cops are investigating and this will bring down a whole load of shit on your heads. I will hunt this lawbreaker, Scion. So wise up and get out of my way. I only came as a courtesy.”

“Courtesy?” His face was close to hers, anger radiating from him. “You have no courtesy. Damn you,” he murmured right before his lips found hers, taking her in a rough kiss.

Before the surprise set in and enabled her to pull away, desire, hot and forbidden rushed through her body as her hands fisted in the front of his expensive shirt.

The cool of the window at her back didn’t matter as his lips owned hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth, shocking in the contrast of temperature even though it was only a few degrees different. It’d been a very long time since she’d kissed a Vampire. She’d been young then, a totally different person.

Wantonly, she writhed against his body, the hardness of him sliding against her breasts, her thighs. She kept her grip on his shirt, knowing if she let go, her fingers might wander to places best left untouched.

He had no such compulsion though. Slightly rough, as if he couldn’t touch enough of her at once, his hands roved over her body, up her thighs, across her belly, skirting her breasts, through her hair. All the while he kissed and kissed her with a feral intensity that made her lose her mind.

He broke away, pupils dilated, breath heaving from him, his incisors gleaming in the low light, and a thrill skittered through her, even as she knew she should be ashamed.

He groaned and laughed ruefully. “This is so wrong.”

“Yes, it’s wrong.” Was he gonna do something with what he was packing behind his zipper or what? Why was he questioning it now?

“I already want to do it again. What are you doing to me? This is your fault.” He pushed away and began to pace.

It was her turn to laugh and thank the Goddess he’d acted like the prick he was to help her wrest control from her hormones.

“My fault? Who shoved their tongue in whose throat? You started it. You were all Frenching me and grinding your dick on me and stuff. I was just you know, um, stuck between you and the window.”

“Must you be so bloody vulgar?”

“Vulgar? You think that was vulgar? You’re a pussy. And anyway, you said bloody! I know that’s a bad word to you Brits.”

“You make me vulgar. Damn you.”

“Yeah?” She exhaled violently. “I’m already damned. Now, where’s the bathroom?”

He pointed and she snatched up her bag and sealed herself in the palatial powder room, staring at herself in the mirror. She gripped the marble countertop so hard the tendons in her hands protested.

Ruthlessly, she forced herself under control.

What had she done? What would she have done if he hadn’t stopped? He was the enemy and she was a traitor for even letting him touch her. Guilt and shame warred within until anger pushed it all away.

He’d had the audacity to blame her? Oh he was such a piece of work. All Vampires were so damned arrogant. He should be thanking his lucky stars she hadn’t twisted his ‘nads off!

She splashed cold water on her face and reapplied her lipstick. Clive Stewart needed to be kept at a distance. He was a Vampire. Underline, underline, bold and exclamation points. She knew, only too well, what they were. What they were capable of.

Methodically, she smoothed her clothing and fixed her hair.

There was no reason to have anything but a business relationship with him. The more he feared her wrath, the better. Wrath didn’t include kissing and second base.

Looking at herself in the mirror again, she repeated that last bit, just to make it extra clear to herself because she totally was a bad influence, even on her own self.

CHASE BROTHERS: MAKING CHASE by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2007, Lauren Dane
All rights reserved, Samhain Publishing

Tate Murphy sat in the comfy chair at her station, sipping coffee and looking out the window. It was a Saturday in the very beginning of February. Winter had been cold but spring was beginning to imagine itself. The trees carried buds, heavy with leaves and the air wasn’t quite as chilly as it’d been even a week before.

All in all, a lovely day. Soon to be even lovelier. One leg crossed over the other, foot slowly kicking back and forth, she waited for her morning visual donut. Matt Chase.

Ah, there he was. Hot damn, her body lit up when he pulled his truck into the lot adjacent to the salon. Hopping out, he hefted a duffel bag over one shoulder and loped across the street.

“Good Lord the man looks good enough to eat,” Tate murmured as she took a drink of her coffee. Faded jeans showed off long legs and a nice, trim booty. A hoodie sweatshirt fended off the cold but didn’t stop her from seeing the work-hard body beneath. He was in dire need of a haircut and she had no trouble admitting she’d love to get her fingers in it. A bit shaggy, it curled up just around his ears and touched the back of his collar. A color like burnt sugar.

Although he had on cool-looking sunglasses, she knew the eyes beneath were a light green, fringed with chocolate lashes. Mmm. Mmmm. Mmmm.

“Ah, I see his hotness has arrived.” Anne, co-owner and her next youngest sister, stood next to her, leaning into the chair.

“Kinda makes me want to set a fire,” Tate said, one corner of her mouth lifting.

“Um, I smell something burning already. Your panties perhaps?”

Blushing furiously, she spun, laughing at Anne’s outrageous comment. “I’m gonna light a candle for you. Three.”

Anne joined her in laughter. “You just about raised me, I expect I need all the help I can get.”

“Hey, divas, did I miss him?” Beth, the last owner and next youngest sister after Anne approached to refill everyone’s coffee cup.

“Yeah, he just went inside. But there’s always lunchtime.” Sated for the morning, Tate stood and began to get all her tools in order, making sure her station was stocked and ready for the day.

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MESMERIZED by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group

She kept working. “Tell them I’ll be with them shortly. Let Eiriq know as well. I want some backup.”

Her twin hesitated, she knew, wanting to deal with this on his own. He was the one with more military training, he’d always been fond of reminding her. And then she could remind him that the last time she let him handle things it had ended in a seven-person fist fight and two days in lockup.

Instead, he exhaled slowly, wiping his hands. “Watch your step, Piper.”

He stalked off, leaving her to clean up and steady her nerves.

She began to scent ozone and knew a storm would be coming. The sky above darkened, deepened, and she hurried along. The heat rose from the ground in waves that battered her, stole her breath. All the recent storms so close together had left the air unsettled.

Soon, hot, blast-furnace air would send dust hurtling through the sky with so much force that it’d flay the flesh from bone in less than three minutes in some of the worst storms out in the Wastelands.
Visibility would be next to nothing, and the electrical fields would rub against each other, bringing a terrible need to grind teeth along with the stench of an Asphodel windstorm.

Asphodel wasn’t for amateurs; that much was for certain. Just existing here meant a constant dance with the ‘Verse itself.

For some reason, this appealed to Piper. The very act of living there and making a life in the dust and canyons had been one of defiance for as long as she could remember. Though, she could admit it became tiring just treading water year after year.

Certainly the increase in the thugs the Imperialists sent to the Edge over the last year or so disquieted their little family compound. They were not part of her life, nor did she want them to be.!She may exist on the edge of the law, but she wasn’t a traitor.

She paused, looking over the group waiting for her near the front gates. There were four of them. Each looked exactly like an Imperialist spy sent here to smuggle something very bad back and forth across Imperialist/Federation lines. She did not need this. In fact, it offended her sensibilities, a truly rare occurrence.

“What the seven hells do they want anyway? I’ve said no three times now,” she said to Eiriq, who’d just joined her.

In the distance the winds kicked up, sending the seeds of the storm upward, giving birth to the beginnings of it. The static in the air rose, bringing the hair at the back of her neck to stand.

“Don’t know, but if we don’t get rid of them soon, we’ll be stuck with them until after the wind dies.” Eiriq motioned skyward.

She quickened her steps until she came to a halt before them.

Giving them what they expected, a dirt farmer with no formal education, she put her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels. It would also save her the potentially troubling refusal of their hand clasp.

“Storm brewing down in the caldera. Time to get under some cover. What brings you around these parts?”

One of them eyed her, attempting to make her look away first.

And if he’d been a predator instead of a bully it might have worked.

Instead, she was a predator and he was the kind of man who routinely got killed because he stayed too long out in the canyons. A stupid, soft off-worlder who sneered at everyone he saw because he thought he was better than they were.

The scent, that burning, dry stench, began to build as the body of the storm took form in the distance, its fingers digging into the ground and the sky above. This one might be a big one, so she was doubly invested on getting rid of them. “I’m going to have to get my aircraft under cover and our camp locked down, so if we could get to the point, I’d appreciate it.”

“You’re speaking to a high minister on behalf of Supreme Commander Fardelle himself!” The pug-faced off-worlder squealed, offended to his toes.

“Asphodel is a Federation ‘Verse. Fardelle isn’t anyone here.”

Kenner stood with his arms crossed, anger clear on his face. She knew he’d been pushed far enough already. He didn’t wave a flag, but he was patriotic enough to be offended by the mere sight of these people. He’d done his two standard years in the military corps, plus one extension. Piper did her standard two years. He learned how to fix things, and she learned how to fly them. Oh and he learned how to get into fights. At least he’d been strong enough to come out of it harder and more fierce than he’d been before.

Kenner had a wild streak. That’s why he and Andrei had been so close. She sighed inwardly. No time for fantasies in her head that would never come true. At that moment she needed to be sure her brother’s wild streak didn’t activate his big mouth and get himself in up to his neck with the Imperialists.

She stepped forward to get their focus off him.

“Time’s up, Minister. We’re on a timeline, and I have things to do. So what is it you’re here for?”

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PHANTOM CORPS: MESMERIZED by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
RELEASES APRIL 5

He stalked out, Piper at his side.

“I’m not mad, you know.” Piper said this as they moved at a very quick clip to the hangar.

“Good. You won’t always get your way in this job. Sometimes you’ll have to follow orders you’re sure you’d have given better. Anyway, he listened to you. Daniel. He’s very influential with Ellis.

If he thinks your idea has merit, he’ll find a way to open the door for some investigation. Until he can do that, we need to focus here.”

She nodded, not missing his this job comment and the base assumption that she’d be there permanently. “Don’t be mad at Julian.”

“He acted like an asshole. But he’s hurting, and you’re a newcomer. And you handled yourself just fine without my punching him in the face. It would have discounted your point if I had.”

“I don’t think he meant to act like an asshole.”

Andrei snorted, underlings scurrying out of the way as they strode in, heading straight for the most beautiful aircraft she’d ever seen. She skidded to a halt and gaped. “Wow.”

He turned, the hardness of his features melting away as he reached out to cup her cheek. “I thought you’d like it. It’s got all the best mapping tech in the camera system on the underbelly.”

All that ferocity within him, and he touched her with such exquisite gentleness, awe sometimes. She felt special every time he looked at her. Every time he showed her the Andrei most never saw.

Knowing he believed in her abilities enough to stand back and let her make her own arguments filled her with confidence.

With his predator’s grace, he hopped up into the cockpit and took the nav seat, leaving her to do her own checklist. Knowing that’s how she preferred it. He let her be. She smiled as she went about her ritual.

That he got it and respected that, deferred to it when he needed to, only made her love him more.

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COMING UNDONE by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2010, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group

Even at the close of the day, the sun was enough to make the ride home from work totally perfect. He took the scenic route, settled onto the seat of the Harley he’d splurged on the summer before at Ben’s urging. Best impulse buy ever.

The joy of it was enough to bring him the long way home, down surface streets, a bit south and then back north again. He leaned back, the weight of his body balanced just so. The warmth on his thighs, against his back, eased him away from work and into leisure. The light of the often absent sun after the darkness of winter gave him an easy mood. Happy. Satisfied. The thrum of the engine vibrated, humming into his bones.

Late spring in Seattle and people began to emerge from their squall jackets and endless layers. The city came alive with color as flowers burst from ground that had been barren for months; the trees exploded with leaves and blossoms.

Other than early autumn, this was his favorite time of the year.

He loved the glimpses of feminine skin as women started going bare-legged again when they wore skirts; loved the emergence of
cleavage. He liked winter for all the vibrant, tight sweaters. But in spring and summer, women went softer, showed skin, wore dresses and floated around in his vision. All these things made every day a fine day in his life.

He’d go home, drink a few beers and sit on his back deck to watch the sunset. Maybe he’d even order a pizza if he could be bothered to get up and deal with the front door. Having made his mind up, he stopped in at the grocery store to pick up some hard lemonade for his sister, Erin, in case she showed up. Knowing his siblings, he expected one or both to roll in and demand food, so he liked to have the things they enjoyed on hand.

The slow ride down his street enabled him to catch all the activity on that early evening. People did yard work and washed cars and boats. He hoped they were all using that special soap to do their washing, or Mrs. Cardini, accompanied by her dog, would storm over and yell at them for being irresponsible with the environment.

The woman was in her nineties, and she ruled the entire block—both sides. She and her dog—one of the ugliest things he’d ever seen and always decked out in some special dog outfit—would make their way up one side of the street and down the other, doling out advice and lectures as she saw fit.

He grinned when he pulled into the driveway and keyed the bike off, only to hear her lecturing his immediate neighbor to the right about the shabby state of his trash cans. Grabbing the groceries from his side bag, he waved quickly and headed to his door before she got to him. God knew he had to be responsible for some kind of violation or other.

Once inside, he kicked off his boots, hung his jacket up, put the groceries away and turned the stereo on. It was fully time to get his leisure on, and his deck and the sunset beckoned. He cracked open a beer and shuffled out toward his favorite spot to unwind.

Brody arched his back, stretching himself as he reclined in the big, comfy Adirondack chair. He’d had a lot of clients that day in his tattoo shop, and he was getting old. Old enough and been tattooing long enough that his body reminded him at the end of each day.

The sky burned soft and bright in shades of blue, purple and bright, nearly neon orange as the sun set. He relaxed into his chair and tipped his bottle back, letting the cold beer ease his day and his back strain. His eyes drifted closed as he simply let the twilight settle in.

Be Sure to Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!

Emma Petersen
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Lauren Dane
T.J. Michaels

GODDESS WITH A BLADE by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Carina Publishing
Releasing in June!

Rowan pulled the Porsche into the VIP lot behind the Corsican. The casino was at the far end of the Strip and catered to a younger, edgier clientele. It also housed the Vampyre Theatre.

While the Lucky Seven had the hottest buffet in Vegas, the groupie line-up backstage at the VT was the best Vampire buffet in the entire state. If you liked to snack on skanks who needed to touch up their roots and should not have gotten tattoos from friends working out of their garages.

Annoyed young women in far too little clothing gave Rowan dirty looks as she cruised past them and through the back door. The bouncers didn’t stop her but she knew they’d called Marv the minute she had her car parked.

She breezed past the ticket booth and took a seat at a table to the left of the stage and declined the drink but accepted the bottled water. They wouldn’t dare attempt to harm her. But she still didn’t plan to lower her reaction time with alcohol either.

The Vampyre Theatre put on a live show complete with fire, bare tits, shaking asses and audience participation. The entire audience thought the Vampires were actors with fake teeth and theatrical makeup. Humans were fascinated with many things they should fear. They went to the show to be fed on as a lark. Oh, and to look at the boobs. One really couldn’t underestimate the draw of naked breasts in any city, especially Las Vegas.

Rowan knew for a fact the fake feedings from audience members were real. Technically, that broke the treaty. All blood exchange with humans had to be consensual and knowing. But she couldn’t stop everything and she didn’t hate Marv enough to stake him over it. In fact, though she’d never admit it out loud, she sort of liked him and the banter they’d honed over the years.

She watched the first part of the show and after half an hour, satisfied they’d all seen she was back at work, got up and left side stage.

The big man waited, arms crossed, blocking her way as she entered the backstage area.

“Hunter. What are you doing here?”

“Did you miss me?” She fluttered her lashes at him.

“Like the fuckin’ clap.”

“I thought you people didn’t get social diseases,” she said, deadpan. “Which, if you don’t mind my saying so, is a good thing given the quality of um, women you’ve got lined up out there. Mere humans would be burning and itching and stuff.” She shuddered.

“Ha. What are you doing here?”

“Just a hello and friendly reminder that taking blood from humans without their knowledge is a violation of the treaty. It’d be a shame if any of those lovely young women got hurt.”

“If we did that—and I’m not saying we do—they consent when they come in the front door. The ticket says they may be called up on stage to be fed to a Vampire.”

She shook her head. “Don’t try to be a lawyer, Marv. Knowing and consensual. Those are the rules. I’d hate to have to come in here every night and watch you juggle fire sticks. Although you know, I was thinking that what this show needed were Vampire poodles jumping through flaming hoops. I’d so totally dig that.”

The glower was back. “Fine. Now go, you’re harshing my buzz. Or are you in charge of that now, too?”

She blew him a kiss as she walked past. “Oh, Marv, how I’ve missed you and your wit! I don’t care about your buzz. But if I’m harshing it, that’s just a wonderful benefit of my job. I’ll be seeing you around. Behave yourself.”

Slipping the valet a five, she slid into her unscathed car and headed out to the other end of the Strip. She had an appointment to meet a contact who supposedly had some hot information for her.

Be Sure to Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!

Jody Wallace
Emma Petersen
Leah Braemel
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Selena Blake
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Lauren Dane
T.J. Michaels

MESMERIZED by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2011, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing April 5!

He’d approached the compound in the same trajectory he had earlier. The light was lower now, having been several hours later, but the memory of that time when he’d had to force himself to patiently wait for the right opportunity to get up into that tower brought a cold sweat.

And then, as shots rang out all around her, he had to force the quiet so he could take out each and every threat to her. Knowing she was down there. Knowing that a movement to the left or right could have gotten her head blown off.

It was over. She was fine, and there was no reason to let his boyhood love for Piper Roundtree get in the way of getting his job done. And if it put him in a position to keep her a little safer, even for a short while, then that was all right, too.

Piper stood in a doorway, leaning casually there as she watched Andrei approach. “I imagine you’d like to clean up.” She handed him a drying cloth and some soap. “Through here.” Pointing, she pushed herself upright and led him back through the cool, dim house.

He nodded his thanks, needing the time to get himself together.

He’d been surprised by the place, he had to admit. The bathing area he used was spacious, the water warm and copious. A lot of houses, including the one he’d grown up in, didn’t have indoor plumbing at all. He hoped he’d helped, even a small amount, to give them a better quality of life, and here he was faced with evidence that he had.

It had been a stupid thing, sending the packets of credits. He should have disappeared totally, though it wasn’t mandatory to do that and be a member of Phantom Corps. He knew they needed the credits. They would have simply because it was Asphodel and want was a common way of life there.

He’d had them, and he’d given them freely. Still would. They had built something here, and he’d support that when he could. And yes, he supposed he could admit to himself it kept a link with her. Even though he shouldn’t. He couldn’t let go all the way.

Piper tried to remain casual about his being there. She shouldn’t be upset. After all, he’d been her friend. Had been a friend to her family. He couldn’t have left the way he had without some measure of pressure. Asphodel had been a dead end for him anyway. She understood that. Her head got the logic of it quite well. Her heart wasn’t as logical.

Kenner tossed himself into a chair at the table, across from where she sat. “Don’t pretend you’re not off balance.”

She shoved a mug of kava at him, regretting how nice she’d been to make it for him to start with.

“Of course I’m off balance. It’s not every day a horde of Imperialist troops breaks into my compound and tries to kill me and my people.”

He looked at her over the rim of the mug. “This is how you’re going to play it? With me?” He shook his head. “I was there. I remember what it was like when he left.”

They’d thought he had been taken to a work camp. Or worse. He’d been arrested, both he and Kenner had been, for a bloody fight at the tavern in the portal city. The man who’d tried to rob them and the man’s two friends had ended up in a medi-clinic.

Kenner had been sent home because Taryn had signed off for him. But Andrei had no one who’d claim him.

She’d railed then. Had cried and screamed at the unfairness of! Andrei being there when Taryn had been willing to sign off for Andrei, too. But they hadn’t let him, and Andrei’s mother had been murdered only two seasons before, so there was no one to help him.

They hadn’t let anyone in to see him, which had made matters even worse.

Then he’d been gone, and no one would say where. The guilt of that, of him being alone when he needed her had lay in her heart every day since.

Be Sure to Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!

Jody Wallace
Emma Petersen
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Eliza Gayle
TJ Michaels
Lauren Dane
Helen Kay Dimon
Leah Braemel

BROWN SIBLINGS: INSIDE OUT by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2010, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group

When she checked her mailbox on Friday afternoon, it was stuffed with a fat manila envelope. Brow furrowed, she worried until she saw the return address and last name in the upper left corner. Cope.

Once inside her apartment, she opened the envelope and treasure after treasure slid from it.

Leaves pressed between wax paper.

An antique postcard from the Seattle World’s Fair. To someone’s Aunt Rose, from Josie. The handwriting was that of a young girl, enamored of the city, of the press and flow of traffic and people.

Three packets of tea, all described in some other language, the furls and pitch of which she was unfamiliar with. One was perfectly square and covered with a sort of parchment. The ink was deep purple. One deep sniff, and smoke met her nose. Spice and smoke. She’d have this one first.

He’d torn a page from a magazine. A feature on best breakfast places to go in Seattle. He’d written in Sharpie at the bottom: “We need to have waffles after a long walk in the morning mist. Then I can take you back to bed.”

Wow.

And then a small square of paper. Turning it over revealed a pen-and-ink drawing of a woman’s neck, collarbone and the upper curve of her breasts. From the freckles so accurately placed, he’d drawn her body.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away for the longest time. It was stunning.

Simple. Elegant and sensual. All things she never considered herself. But there it was. Through his eyes, she was all those things.

The sketch was most likely the !nest compliment she’d ever received.

At last the folded sheaf of paper. She held it, drawing out the unexpected pleasure he’d given her. The weight of the paper was substantial.

It pleased her to think he’d chosen it specially for her. He may have kept a sheaf of writing paper for general reasons, but she preferred to think he’d done it for her.

Unfolding it, she realized what beautiful handwriting he had. Each new thing she discovered about him only made her like him more.

She had no idea he was such a talented artist with pen and ink as well as wood. Who knew he’d have a fountain pen with ink the shade of a bright summer sky? Andrew Copeland was one complicated man.

Something confirmed as she read his words.

The tea is to take you away from your desk, from your dreary day and off, far away. Warm breezes, time to simply drink and enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of the world. When you come to me here at my house, we can share a pot as we laze about on a cold and rainy evening.

Andrew

Whoo.

She fanned herself a moment, trying to keep her bearings, when in reality, he’d shaken her. Her defenses against him crumbled.

No one got to her the way he did.

She sat, the sky outside darkening, and realized her feelings for Andrew Copeland were beyond her ability to control.

Be Sure to Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!
Emma Petersen
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Eliza Gayle
Lauren Dane
HelenKay Dimon