Friday, March 29, 2013

Lover Enraptured Reviewer ARCs


I'll soon have a limited number of reviewer ARCs available for Lover Enraptured. If you're interested in getting onto the list, please read and follow the couple of rules I have set up below. 

Due to the limited amount of ARCs I can give out, it's vital that anyone who asks for one fully intends to post a review. Additionally, you must have a review blog, and/or be a contributor at one. If this is your first time contacting me with an ARC request, please include links to the site or blog where your reviews are posted. You can send that information to jodiredford@jodiredford.com


Not sure if Lover Enraptured is for you? Got ya covered. Just read on for the blurb and and a hot excerpt. Warning--explicit! Side note: Although this is book 2 in a series, Lover Enraptured can easily be read as a standalone. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you!
 
                              Looks like someone’s knees are going to get a workout…
                                                    Thieves of Aurion, book 2
                                                           Coming Aug 13


Avily Donahoe has dated way too many losers trying get over Jerrick Hunter, the man who taught her everything about the life of crime she left behind. Now he has the balls to show up and ask her to pose as his sub, complete with skimpy leather outfit, to get inside a no-faes-allowed sex club?
 
Oh, hell no. If anyone’s going to be wearing next to nothing, it’s going to be Jerrick…as her bitch.
 
Five years ago, Jerrick realized the lonely kid he’d taken under his wing had grown into a tempting, desirable woman—and he’d cut her loose. If gaining her help now means hitting his knees with a leash and a collar, so be it.
 
But soon their front escalates into an all-too-real erotic game where the prize is the one thing that tantalizes him beyond reason. Their hearts aren’t the only thing they’ll lose if they fail. It could mean the end of everything—and everyone—they know and love.
 
Warning: This book contains male groveling, the occasional blindfold and feather tickler, wicked sex magic, and a fae thief who isn’t afraid to wear ass-less chaps when the job calls for it.
 
 
Excerpt
 
Jerrick was starting to come to the conclusion that the smaller the package, the more potential for testing his patience. Despite being half his size, Avi possessed the ability to drive him to the limits of his sanity.

After their showdown in the bathroom, she’d calmly ordered him into the kitchen—where he was currently making her a salad while she kicked back on the sofa. She was taking this whole getting-into-character to an exasperating extreme. He knew she was doing it to prove a point, and he even understood why.

What she didn’t understand was the dangerous fire she was meddling with.

There was a reason he desperately needed to be the one holding the reins in this charade, and it had nothing to do with some farfetched notion of refusing to kowtow to a woman’s demands. As long as he remained in control of himself, everything would be okay. He could treat this job like any other and stay cool and professional in the process. But with Avi pushing him and stripping his defenses, what hope did he hold of resisting the potent pull of her?

He had to. Giving in was not an option. Popping a cheese cube into his mouth, he squinted at her profile. “It’s bloody cold in here. Can I put my damn shirt back on?”

“The lower temp is good for your metabolism. We wouldn’t want you developing a spare tire around your gut.”

“I appreciate your concern for my health.” Somehow or other, he’d find a way to get her back for this. “What else do you want in your salad?”

“Maybe a few slices of the Nahimi melon.”

He opened her cooler and inspected the contents of the crisper bin. “Looks like you already polished it off.”

“Well shoot.”

He waited for her to demand he drag his ass down to the grocer. Or perhaps produce some magical seeds and till her a garden so she could have her blasted fruit.

“Guess you’ll have to skip adding it. Chop up the rest of the cooked hen on the second shelf and toss it in instead. I need my protein, you know.”

Undoubtedly so she could keep her lungs nice and strong for bossing him around.

A minute later, meal completed to her exacting standards, he carried it to the sofa. She patted the cushion next to her. Before he even sat down he knew what her next request would be.

“You can feed it to me.”

Biting back a growl, he speared a serving of the greens and crispy poultry with the fork and held it to her mouth. Her lips closed around the metal tines with an mmm of pleasure that wrapped around his cock and refused to let go. Yes, she definitely drove him insane. In more ways than one. He battled the potent desire to suck the remaining few speckles of dressing from her berry-vinaigrette-glossed lips.

“Does it meet your approval, my precious?” His voice sounded strained and gruff to his own ears.

Her smile was as sweetly delivered as his endearment. “Color me impressed. Didn’t know you had it in you to cook. You’ve always avoided any domestic activity like it’s a fate worse than death.”

Damn sassy woman. Even if she was right. “It’s a salad. Not much cooking involved.”

She surprised him by snatching the fork from his grip. At bloody last, she was putting this ridiculous dominatrix stuff to bed for the night.

Truthfully, her roleplaying wasn’t the only thing wreaking havoc on his tightly strung patience. Sitting next to her and not running his hands all over her silky skin was killing him. Their brief contact in the bathroom only added kindling to the fire crackling between them. If he wasn’t careful, he stood a good chance of getting burned.

He needed to remove himself from temptation. Now. Desperately clutching the frayed strands of his willpower, he started to shove up from the cushion.

Avi stalled him with her hand on his thigh. His entire world narrowed to the distracting pressure of her splayed fingers. He didn’t immediately notice the fork waving inches from his face. “Wha—?”

She shoved the greens into his mouth, effectively shutting him up. He chewed the offering, his wary focus never leaving her face. She scooted closer and tucked her legs over his lap. A rush of familiarity swept over him. How many times had she curled into him like this? Too many to count. And just like those other occasions when he’d sweated through her need to cuddle, he questioned his ability to keep his hands safely out of the danger zone.

Popping another savory morsel of poultry into his mouth, she looked him square in the eye, her own twinkling with a devilment that put him on high alert. “Put your hand on my leg.”

He returned her stare for a long moment, attempting to decipher if this was part of her cover or something else. Something that’d ultimately prove a far tougher test to his control.

“Don’t make me punish you for your disobedience, Jer.”

The mock sternness in her tone did funny things to his gut. Or maybe the sudden stiffening of his cock had something to do with the lazy swirl of her fingertip along his abdomen. Hard to tell.

Extra emphasis on hard.

If he was smart, he would have called an end to their training right there and packed it in for the night, but apparently his intelligence had migrated south for the winter. “What punishment are you intending to dish out?”

“Well…” She set aside the forgotten plate of salad and straddled his lap. Her fingers drifted along the delicate swells of her hips, the soft scritch of her nails raking the supple leather providing an erotic soundtrack. “If you won’t touch me, maybe I should make you watch me do it.”

Surely she didn’t mean that the way it sounded. “Avi—”

She pressed a fingertip to his mouth. “No, you had your chance. Now you’re going to pay the price.”

Oh, he held no doubt of that. Particularly when her hands ghosted upward, tracing her rib cage and higher still to the fullness of her breasts. She rolled the pads of her fingers over her nipples, mimicking the motions he’d used earlier in the bathroom. His lungs suddenly felt equally as constricted as his damn briefs.

She licked her lips, the sultry haze of desire in her eyes nearly doing him in. “Did you like touching me? Do you wish you could do it right now? Would you caress my breasts, or maybe slide your hand up under my skirt and find out how wet I am?”

Sweet goddess. He hissed a breath between his teeth. “Don’t play this dangerous game with me.”

“Why? Worried I’ll crack through that legendary control of yours?” One palm swept lower and hovered temptingly near her mound.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. He’d never been more grateful for the hindrance of a skirt. Ironic, considering he usually cursed them to hell and back for slowing his seduction progress.

The heated glimmer in her eyes making him infinitely nervous and aroused, Avi lifted onto her knees and tiptoed her fingers along the creamy-smooth expanse of her thighs. Hypnotized, he watched the slow crawl of her hemline ascending toward her hips. The black lace triangle of her panties popped into view, and his shaky exhalation snuck loose before he could rope it into submission. Damn. He was a fucking sucker for sexy underthings.

Then again, he was a fucking sucker when it came to Avi. Period.

“Do you like what you see?” She leaned forward until her lips grazed his earlobe. “Or should I give you something even better to watch?”

His brain screamed one answer while his cock piped in with an entirely different response. Not trusting the words that might jog loose of his mouth, he swallowed hard. This close, he could smell the sweet heat of her. Beneath the luscious floral essence, he easily detected the feminine musk of her arousal. It was driving him out of his mind. He longed to hike her up into his arms and bury his head between her legs, fill his nose with the heady intoxication of her pussy, right before he filled her with his tongue.

She leaned back, awarding him some room to enjoy the show. He knew he was in some serious trouble the instant she hesitantly stroked over the fabric covering her crotch. She was soaked. The slick, succulent sound taunting him verified it. No need for him to see or feel her wet, velvety flesh firsthand.

But he wanted to.

Dear gods, how he wanted to.
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The official first chapter post for Lover Enraptured!

Woohoo! Lover Enraptured is back from final line edits, which means I can share the opening chapter. Other than a few curse words (this is me we're talking about, after all. Heh.) this excerpt is one of my more work safe ones. Don't worry, I'll be sharing some sexier ones later on.

First up, cover and blurb!

                                      Looks like someone’s knees are going to get a workout…
                                                             Thieves of Aurion, book 2
                                                                Coming Aug 13



Avily Donahoe has dated way too many losers trying get over Jerrick Hunter, the man who taught her everything about the life of crime she left behind. Now he has the balls to show up and ask her to pose as his sub, complete with skimpy leather outfit, to get inside a no-faes-allowed sex club?

Oh, hell no. If anyone’s going to be wearing next to nothing, it’s going to be Jerrick…as her bitch.

Five years ago, Jerrick realized the lonely kid he’d taken under his wing had grown into a tempting, desirable woman—and he’d cut her loose. If gaining her help now means hitting his knees with a leash and a collar, so be it.

But soon their front escalates into an all-too-real erotic game where the prize is the one thing that tantalizes him beyond reason. Their hearts aren’t the only thing they’ll lose if they fail. It could mean the end of everything—and everyone—they know and love.

Warning: This book contains male groveling, the occasional blindfold and feather tickler, wicked sex magic, and a fae thief who isn’t afraid to wear ass-less chaps when the job calls for it.


Excerpt


Every inch of Jerrick’s skin was on fire. Never his favorite sensation to awaken to.

“Welcome back to the living, Mr. Hunter.”

Wooziness blanketing his sluggish brain, Jerrick pried his eyes open and recoiled at the intense light shining in his face. Wincing, he struggled to block the assaulting glare. His arms and legs remained uncooperative, cold metal from the chair beneath him breaching his T-shirt and jeans.

What the bloody hell? He strained against the odd lethargy imprisoning his limbs, and the punishing bite of leather digging into his wrists rewarded his efforts. Disbelief froze him. Why the fuck was he tied to a chair?

Odd fragments of memory skated the edges of his consciousness. Dark parking lot. Metallic jingle of keys hitting pavement. Flash fire of agony igniting his cells. Everything after that remained hazy.

“I apologize for the restraints and the use of the electrolizer gun. Unfortunately, they were my only means of gaining your cooperation.” The same disembodied voice from earlier broke through Jerrick’s puzzle piecing, making him squint against the blinding splash of light.

This man had used a weapon on him? That was the cause of the debilitating pain and his jumbled memory? “You obviously don’t know me worth shit if you think this is going to win my cooperation.” He intended to make that crystal clear in five seconds, once he was free of these bindings.

He tested the strength of the leather restraints and found his captor hadn’t cut corners. Only way out of here would be through his fae magic. Calling up a quick spell to dissolve the bindings, he wrenched his arm. No visible discharge of his magic where there should have been. The restraints remained uncooperative and rigid.

Sonofabitch.

“As you see, the electrolizer has scrambled your conjuring circuits. The effects are completely temporary, I assure you.”

Jerrick slashed a murderous glare in the direction of the light. “Here’s an assurance for you, motherfucker. No weapon in existence will keep me from snapping every bone in your goddamn body.”

“No, Mr. Hunter, I don’t believe you’ll do anything of the sort. Especially since I’m all too willing to make this personal.” Abruptly, the blazing light vanished.

Eyes stinging from the blinding-white pinpricks floating in his vision, Jerrick attempted to track the source of the nearby voice. The shadowy figure moved to the right, and Jerrick’s gaze fell on the individual roped and gagged in the chair adjacent to him. A bare bulb swung on a linked chain, its lazy pirouette illuminating a pale face gaping at Jerrick beneath the sickly trickle of light.

Lex Tarker—Jerrick’s go-between for his most recent heist. Another disjointed memory clicked into place. He’d met Lex earlier at the Twisted Thorn. They were crossing the parking lot moments before the electrolizer sent Jerrick to his knees on the unforgiving pavement.

He grunted. “If it has anything to do with him, you’re shit out of luck. I barely know the guy.”

“No, but I believe you’re well acquainted with Avily Donahoe.”

The calmly sinister statement managed to tear Jerrick’s attention from Lex. He whipped his head around, searching for his captor, but the son of a bitch stood beyond the periphery of his vision.

“She’s a lovely little thing.” The voice echoed ominously, hinting at the vast dimensions of the room. “Shame if an accident befell her.”

Blood iced in Jerrick’s veins. Another fractured memory slipped through the cracks, this time linked to the precise moment before he’d stalked from the restaurant.

Avi. She’d been there. A tempting beacon shining brighter and more off limits than ever. He’d watched her laughing and flirting with her date, the overwhelming desire to stake his impossible claim on her a pounding refrain inside his brain.

Wait, had this son of a bitch been at the restaurant tonight too? Had he hurt Avi? Was she tucked away in another room, scared and defenseless?

Cold rage swept through Jerrick. If anything happened to her, no force on the planet would keep him from tearing his adversary limb from limb.

“Now I’ve got your attention, here’s how this will play out. My associates and I require your assistance with a small matter. Refuse, and the outcome won’t bode well for Ms. Donahoe.”

Every muscle in Jerrick’s body tensed with the desire to rip the bastard apart. “What do you want?”

Hollow footsteps rang directly behind Jerrick. “There’s a man—a scientist—whose work is of extreme interest to us.” Different voice. Male again, but with a lilting accent that marked him of Frittonian descent. Like the other bastard, impossible to tell if he was fae or human.

“Specifically a formula he was in the stages of developing before he met an untimely death,” the other man elaborated. “We need you to steal his formula for us.”

Untimely death, my ass. More than likely this asshole and his colleague had something to do with it. “You want me to break into his lab,” he said flatly.

“Afraid it won’t be that easy.”

When is it ever? Jerrick leaned his head back, but it continued to spin with disturbing images of Avi huddled in some dark, dank place, frightened and alone. Terrifying as that possibility was, there were others he couldn’t even bring himself to consider.

“According to our inside men at Kiantu Laboratories, Casper Winston’s formula never made it to the lab. Which means he worked on it somewhere else. Some place we need you to find.”

“What is this formula?”

“That information is unimportant to your job.”

Jerrick’s patience resembled a brittle twig. One misstep and it’d snap. He hauled in a deep breath, struggling to maintain a modicum of cool. For Avi’s sake, he had to keep his shit together. “How am I supposed to steal something if I don’t know what the fuck I’m looking for?”

“Locate his research files. We’ll take care of the rest.” A whisper of noise sounded to the left. “Do we have your cooperation, Mr. Hunter?”

“Don’t have much choice, do I?” Jerrick stretched his fingers. The strain didn’t ease.

“Glad we understand each other.”

“Understand this. When my part in your dirty little game is done, I’m going to beat your—” Click. Jerrick flinched. The electrolizer’s voltage ripped through him. White-hot needles of electricity stole his strength. Last thing he heard before darkness reclaimed him was his own anguished roar.