Smutketeers

Demiry Rivera-Lipford! (What can I say? I’m a sucker for a birthday girl.)

I’ll send you an email tomorrow morning, and thanks to everyone for participating. I’m really excited about this new book!

EMBRACE THE NIGHT by Crystal Jordan

Places to get it: Kensington Books | Amazon | Amazon Canada | Barnes & Noble | B-A-M | Borders | Chapters | IndieBound | Powell’s

They’re the Magickal ones…vampires, werewolves, witches, and fae who dwell among humans, united by extraordinary talents and unbridled sexual powers…

Chloe Standish went looking for a one-night stand to erase the memories of her cheating ex–and found the hottest sex of her life. A witch and biochemist working on a cure for werewolves, Chloe knows all about magic, yet Merek Kingston evoked a spellbinding lust beyond anything she’d ever felt. But now her ex-boyfriend and research partner is dead, his part of the formula in terrorists’ hands…and the detective in charge is Merek, the same man who’s haunted her dreams ever since the frenzied night together.

Chloe is the one person whose future Merek can’t predict…the only woman who could make him break every rule just to posses her again. Nothing will stop him from protecting her, and an explosive passion too primal, too perfect to forget…

EXCERPT

“Mmmph.” Something heavy landed on Chloe’s stomach, jerking her out of the erotic dream, the erotic memory. Her heart thundered, sweat slid down her face, and her lungs heaved in a desperate bid for air. Icy fear and hot lust warred for dominance inside her as the fantasy gave way to reality. She shuddered, her fingers balling in soft cotton sheets. Her familiar’s eyes glowed in the low lighting of the lamp she’d left on, a freakish little alien head peering down at her. Ophelia blinked, her whiskers twitching. Chloe groaned, shoved the Siamese cat off her belly, and flopped over to bury her face in the pillow. “Gods.”

How many times was she going to have that dream? How often did she have to relive that wild night? It had happened two months ago, and hardly a night had passed that she hadn’t had the dream.

Maybe she just needed to get laid. Get that night out of her system. She moaned into her pillow, squeezing her thighs together as a lingering throb of desire went through her. That was how she’d ended up having that night in the first place, by telling herself she needed to get laid, to get her cheating ex out of her system.

That had gone so well for her.

She’d gone out to Sanguine, her favorite Magickals-only private club, scoped out every species of hotty the Magickal community had to offer–elves, Fae, vampires, werewolves, warlocks–mentally debated the sexual gifts each species could bring to the table–bedroom, whatever–and then she’d seen him. After that, there’d been no contest. Chemistry was a bitch like that. She would know–she was a biochemist.

Sighing, she rolled over, kicked the sheet off of her, and forked her hands through her sweaty hair. Her body still burned, her sex aching with a need to be filled with more than just her vibrator. “Damn it.”

Dwelling on her lack of a love life since her one-night stand wouldn’t help her. And thinking about Damien-Raines-the scum-sucking-vampire who’d left her for a she-vamp he’d knocked up, which was where her shame spiral had started, wouldn’t help her disposition at all. However, the fact that his ferret familiar was probably still hexed into an ugly lampshade made her lips quirk. Vampires sucked at casting spells. Damien had just sucked, period. Too bad it had taken her so long to figure that out.

She heaved herself out of bed and played soccer with Ophelia’s sinuous body as she tried to twine herself around Chloe’s legs while she walked. Tripping, she hit the swinging door to the kitchen and almost face-planted into the floor. “Damn it, Ophelia.”

The cat sniffed, leaped up onto the counter, and flicked a delicate paw at her food bowl in an unmistakable feline demand. Chloe rolled her eyes and grumbled all the way to the cabinet that contained the outrageously expensive cat cuisine her familiar liked. Dumping the contents into the food dish, Chloe went about retrieving her own sustenance while the cat dug in.

Thirty seconds later, she had a steaming mug of coffee cradled between her palms. The first sip made her moan. “Ahhh.”

Bless the Normal human who’d invented the automatic coffeemaker. Magic did some awesome things, but sometimes Normal technology trumped all. She leaned against her counter and gazed out her kitchen window at the morning mist shrouding her Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, drifting out into downtown Seattle. The city lights were a pretty haze that streaked the skyline. Sunbeams began to pierce the fog, so she knew it would be a rare sunny day in the Emerald City. Yesterday had been wicked hot, too, but Chloe loved the brightness. She’d have to remember to go for a walk during lunch today.

Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” blared from her cell phone, jolting her from her reverie, and she jogged into her living room to grab it from the charger. Her best friend, Tess’s, name popped up on the caller ID. Grinning, Chloe punched the button to answer. “Dr. Jones, I presume. What are you doing up at the ass crack of dawn this morning?”

“Still haven’t slept from last night.” A huge yawn fuzzed the phone line. “We’re short-staffed so I pulled a double. Budget cuts.”

“Ouch.”

“Tell me about it.” Tess worked as a pathologist for the FBI. The Normal side of the FBI. She was one of the most Normal humans Chloe had ever met. “I haven’t put in hours this awful since my residency.”

Along with werewolf Jaya Nemov, they’d become friends in med school, which was the only reason Chloe and Jaya had gotten close to anyone outside the Magickal community. Most Magickals didn’t bother because it was just too hard to keep people in their lives they had to constantly lie to about who and what they were.

Chloe knew she should probably ease out of her relationship with Tess, but when Jaya died during a full moon Change, it emphasized to Chloe that a good friend was hard to come by, magic or no magic. Tess might never know the truth behind Jaya’s death, but she’d still shared the loss of someone they all loved. So, Chloe kept her friend and did what she had to do to keep her secrets.

Then again, a part of her had always wondered if the reason she held on to Tess was because her long-dead mother had been a Normal. She grinned, and it wasn’t nice. Her family was almost as horrified that she had befriended a Normal as they had been when her father had married one and bred a halfling.

Another yawn sounded through the phone, recapturing Chloe’s attention. Her grin softened and she cradled the phone closer to her ear. “So, you’re calling because . . . you want to get together for dinner tonight and tell me more about the suckfest of budget cuts?”

Tess chuckled. “You’re a mind reader.”

“Sure. That’s totally a plausible explanation, Doctor.” Chloe inserted as much drawling derision into her voice as possible, and Tess laughed. Telepathy wasn’t one of Chloe’s magical skills, so it wasn’t an outright lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth. This time. A familiar twist of guilt knotted her insides, but she pushed it aside. Tess was Normal, Chloe was Magickal; there was nothing she could do about the need to prevaricate. “How about you meet me here around seven?”

“Perfect. See ya. I’m hitting the hay now.” The call was punctuated with one final yawn from Tess before both women disconnected.

Chloe went to drop the phone in her purse and saw she’d missed a call about an hour before. There was a voicemail message waiting for her. She hadn’t heard the phone ring, but then, why would her subconscious want her to wake up from a steamy episode of her regularly scheduled Merek-dream?

She shoved a hand through her disheveled hair and pushed the reminder of her one-night warlock out of her mind. Flipping her cell over to speakerphone, she accessed her voicemail while she wandered into her bedroom to dress for work.

A deep, silken male voice emerged from her phone. “Chloe, it’s Damien.”

Chills crept down Chloe’s spine and a hollow feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. The last person she expected to get a call from was Damien. Hell, the last person she wanted a phone call from was Damien. Shaking off that inane thought, Chloe zipped up her skirt and shoved her feet into a pair of ballet flats. While she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair, she hit the buttons to replay the message she hadn’t really listened to.

“Chloe, it’s Damien.” A muffled thump sounded in the background of the call, but Damien hurried on. “I’m sorry to bother you at home. Don’t erase this . . . I need to talk to you about work. It’s . . . It’s important to the project. Call me back. Please.” The call ended abruptly, as if someone had stabbed the End button with more force than necessary.

The please gave her pause. Damien never said please. Then again, he also never said I’m sorry. He was a vampire. They were, by definition, coldblooded. They also tended to have superiority complexes and thought everyone, from other Magickal species to Normals, were so far beneath them they didn’t even register on their radar. Sure, most of them would stoop to having a fling with a non-vampire, maybe one or two non-vampire friends, just for variety, but anything else was out of the question. They didn’t mix.

Luckily, Chloe hadn’t wanted more than that from Damien, but she had expected fidelity while they were together. Apparently, that had been beneath him, too. She sighed, disconnected the call, and slid her cell into her pocket.

The worst part about dating someone you worked with was when it ended badly. She’d learned that lesson the hard way. They were both team leads in pharmaceutical R&D for Desmodus Industries, but since those teams were working on the same project, they did see each other, but not that often. Thank the Gods.

Shoving her arms into a jacket, she picked up her handbag and headed for the side door that lead to her detached garage. If the bloodsucker wanted to talk to her about work, he could do it when she got there.

She wasn’t calling him back.

———————————

CONTEST! Want to win a copy of EMBRACE THE NIGHT? Comment on this post and tell me what your favorite magical beastie is. Vampires, shifters, witches, fae, mermaids, gargoyles…pick your poison! I’ll select a winner on Friday.

**Contest limited to continental US residence only–sorry!**

As some of you may know, the Smutketeers get together every year and do a steampunk photo shoot. This year was no exception, and we gathered the day after the Romantic Times conference to get it on like Donkey Kong.

So, right now, we’re working on sorting through all the photos, picking the best ones, cleaning them up, resizing them, making them sepia toned, and getting them ready to put in our gallery. And don’t forget how we always like to have a few behind the scenes shots (and funny bloopers). We’re picking some of those for you too, never fear.

For a teeny tiny sneak peek, you can check out my avatar on this post. This is one of the new shots.

Yes, this is a called a tease. Take it and like it. *evil grin*

And the winner is… Wynter Daniels!

You should be receiving an email from Shelli about your prize.

Thanks to all who stopped by and commented. You guys are the best!

Crystal: Woohoo, the Smutketeers good friend Shelli Stevens just busted into the New York Times bestseller list for her Samhain ebook! In fact the whole series has sold like hotcakes for her, so we dragged her over to tell us all about it. And, of course, there’s some goodies in it for you!

Shelli: Thanks to the Smutketeers for letting me hang out today!

Well, I’m still doing backstrokes through cloud nine, because my book Flash Point hit #32 on the New York Times extended ebook list! It’s doubly exciting because I’m the 2nd author to hit the NYT with an ebook from Samhain Publishing!

I couldn’t be more thrilled, because I absolutely love this series. Flash Point in the third novella in the Holding out for a Hero series. It follows three brothers—all who live in a small town named after their namesake—their heroic careers, and their journey in finding love. And I named each book to have a double entendre with the hero’s career and a saucy/sexy term. Book 1: Going Down, the hero is a Sheriff. Book 2: Command and Control, the hero is an army guy. Book 3: Flash Point, the hero is a
firefighter.

So all three books are out, and the series just seemed to just take off! The print book with all three stories will come out in about a year (in case you’re not an ebook fan!). And, because I had so many requests, I’m going to write Ryan a short story (a cousin you meet in the series) and put it up on Amazon and other ebook retailers for .99 (look for that in the next month!) Hint: he’s a bad boy in the Coast Guard.

I’m in the mood to give away a book, so if you’d like a chance to win an ebook from my list, leave a comment and we’ll draw a name.

Thanks!

Shelli

The winner for Loribelle Hunt’s contest is savonna!

You should get an email later today to see what format you want Passions Recalled in.

Thanks to everyone who entered and congrats to our winner!

I read all kinds of books, but nothing quite catches my fascination like a good, sexy shifter. What is it about a man who can become an animal that hooks us so much? The wildness, innate sensuality, dominance, and sometimes fury these characters are often infused with are just impossible to refuse. So it should come as no surprise that I love to write them.

My latest release, Renegade Passions, features exactly the kind of hero I love. Nico Leonidas is sexy, commanding, and oh so controlled. Until it comes to the woman that challenges him in ways he never expected. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a strong man bend.

Renegade Passions is the fourth installment in the Forbidden Passions series that I co-wrote with the fantabulous Crystal Jordan. To celebrate its release I’m giving away a copy of my second book in the series, Passions Recalled, to one lucky commenter. Tell us if you love shifters too (and why)!

Well, I told the Prof. Moriarty (my scrumptiously evil partner in crime–and life!) to pick a number from the comments and he came up with Susan R’s number. Yay, congrats to her! But she already has Stolen Passions and wanted another of my books, so I decided to award a second winner and really give away Stolen Passions as promised. Therefore, my second winner is Jordan H! I’ll send you guys an email with details on how to claim your prize!

Congrats, ladies, and thanks to all who entered!

I have a new book out today. Woohoo! It’s called Fleeting Passions and the awesome cover is courtesy of Kanaxa’s genius (she did the Smuketeer’s Wasteland covers too–isn’t she awesome?)

This is the third book in the Forbidden Passions series I wrote with Loribelle Hunt.

Here’s the low down on what it’s about:

Love is the only thing she can’t escape…

Ecstatic that she’s found a place to hide—and a job—at Refuge Resort, Cleo Nemean toasts her escape a few too many times and ends up having a one-night stand with a seriously hot leopard shifter. The catch? It’s Adrian Leonidas, her new boss…and they accidentally mark each other as mates.

Nothing could be worse than losing her hard-won freedom. Until her werebear ex, Trevor, tracks her down. His obsession has already cost one life. Determined to never again be the cause of another death—especially Adrian’s—she flees the safety of the refuge. And her new mate’s protection.

Only Cleo has ever caused Adrian to lose his formidable control. Accidental or not, the lovely lion shifter is now his woman. He’s not about to let anything harm her before they’ve explored the undeniable heat between them. There’s only one way to eliminate the threat to her life: use her as bait to lure Trevor into a trap.

When the trap is sprung too soon, however, there’s no time to wonder if whoever tipped Trevor off is tied to his father’s disappearance. Not when there’s a gun pointed at Cleo’s head…

And here’s where you can get it:
Samhain Publishing
Amazon Kindle
B&N Nook

But, wait, there’s more!

Comment on this post and tell me about your favorite kind of shapeshifter–lions, tigers, leopard, bears, hawks, oh my!–and you’ll be entered to win the first book in the series, Stolen Passions! (And if you already have that one, I love you, and you can tell me which of my other ebooks that you want in your comment).

Crystal: We’re so excited to have Emily Ryan-Davis and Elise Logan here to chat with us today. And give us goodies, of course!

Elise: As I type this blog entry, I’m actually 30,000 feet in the air on my way to visit my parents. My husband and daughter are next to me and the plane is packed. While I have to admit that the enforced closeness of a plane has its own irritation factors, it’s nothing compared to the prototypical cross-country family vacation by car.

But what if – and this is solely the realm of science fiction, you understand, but what if you could custom design your family. What if you could custom design your husband to your exact specifications – hair color, eye color, hobbies, profession, and other…er…attributes? What would you choose? Would you know what to choose?

That is the basic idea behind Manporium. The women of the future have the option of creating their perfect man. The catch is that a Manporium marriage is forever, so you’d better be sure you get it right.

Noelle hasn’t gotten it right yet. Her first two Manporium marriages ended in the death of her created husbands, so she’s determined not to screw up this time around. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for her, things don’t go exactly as planned and Aya comes equipped with several extra features Noelle hadn’t asked for or anticipated. More than a Man is a story of getting it right in spite of our best intentions.

Now, for the lovely and fabulous Smutketeers, Emily and I conceived an extra-special give-away. The Aya gift basket includes the original Manporium story – Tuesday at the Manporium – in it’s original Dreams and Desires anthology, a copy of the Cookie Sutra (you’ll just have to read More than a Man to see why), and several other goodies.

Want it? Easy enough. Leave a comment telling us what is on your wish-list for the perfect man. Remember, he’s made to order, so you can have whatever you like. Even things that don’t seem possible. We’ll randomly select a winner from the comments. Good luck!

Check Emily and Elise out at http://www.scorchedsheets.com