Caught By Menace, the second book in the scorching hot scifi erotic romance Grabbed series, releases this Friday, June 21! As links go live on Amazon, B&N, All Romance eBooks and Ellora’s Cave, I’ll make them available here, on my website, on Facebook and Twitter. I know what a pain it is to have to hunt down a link for a book you want to read, like, right now so I’ll make it as easy as possible to find them. 🙂
I’ve offered two sneak peeks of this book here and here. This sexy little scene is the follow up to the second sneak peek from last week, just in case you want to, you know, reread it as a refresher…
Excerpt #3
Mouth dry, Naya licked her lips and stared right back at Menace. Was he serious? He looked deadly serious. Emphasis on the deadly. She marveled at his thickly corded arms and ridiculously broad chest. With his gray undershirt stretched across his muscled form, he looked a little less intimidating. She noticed the heavy tattoos running from the edge of his neck to his wrist but only on the right side. The long stretch of tanned skin on his left remained unmarked.
“Naya?” he prompted gently and took the flogger from her hand. “What do you say?”
She considered his dare. Multiple orgasms? Surely that couldn’t be true. She had a hard enough time finding one climax on her own and had never been able to find one with a partner. Of course, she’d never had a partner as dangerously sexy as this man. Menace scared her with his hulking size and fierce features, but he exuded such raw sexuality. If any man in the universe could coax two orgasms out of her, it was probably this one.
To be at his mercy terrified her. Could she really trust a man she’d known less than a day to make love to her? She examined his honest face. He’d promised he would never hurt her and she believed him. The way he’d taken down those canes was proof enough of his desire to be good to her. The cynic in her screamed that it was all for show, but she didn’t believe that. He’d come in here with a white flag of surrender. That had to count for something.
Her gaze jumped to the cold metal table where his hand rested. She shook her head. “Not there.”
His eyes widened slightly. He seemed just as surprised by her acceptance of his offer as she was in giving it. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to let this stranger touch her?
“All right.” Menace gestured around the room. “Pick a spot that seems comfortable.”
Gulping nervously, Naya gripped the tough fabric of the uniform shirt covering her nakedness and scanned the room. She spotted a black couch-like contraption against the other wall. It had a curved shape, the sleek fabric gently sloping and rolling like an S. It looked comfortable enough and as close to a bed as she was going to get. “What about that?”
Menace followed her pointing finger. “I think that’s a perfect choice. Come with me.”
She gazed at his outstretched hand. Asking her to come with him seemed a huge improvement over being Grabbed and tossed over his shoulder. She gathered her courage and placed her hand in his. She gripped his fingers. “Don’t make me regret trusting you.”
His lips twitched in a smile. “Never.”
Naya let him tug her along beside him. When they reached the big curving couch, he dropped her hand and moved to one of the cabinets lining the wall. He dropped the flogger with the wide, soft strands onto the countertop. He opened a bottom door and retrieved a wedge-shaped cushion that he placed in the lowest curve of the couch.
“To support your back,” he explained. “You Calyx women are a lot smaller than our women. So many of our supplies are made with them in mind but the manufacturers are starting to add supplements like these to make them work for your kind.”
Naya anxiously nibbled on her thumb. She’d just noticed the numerous loops adorning the edges of the odd furniture piece. There was only one reason for them and it wasn’t decorative. “Are you going to cuff me again?”
“Why do you sound so worried? You still have that hairpin, right?” Menace glanced at her and smiled as he secured the extra cushion in place. “Do you want me to cuff you?”
She shook her head and pinched the pin between her fingertips. “No.”
“Why not?”
She blinked. “Because it’s weird.”
He frowned at her and gestured for her to hand over the hairpin. She hesitated before giving it to him. He slipped it into his pocket. “Weird? That’s not very helpful. Do you mean uncomfortable? Do you mean frightening?”
“All three,” she replied. “It’s weird that a grown man wants to cuff a woman and restrain her for sex. Where I come from, men restrain women so they can hurt them. It’s as simple as that.”
“But what if I ask for your permission to restrain you and I promise not to hurt you?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you trying to negotiate with me? You realize that I ran one of the most successful shops in Connor’s Run, right? You can’t beat me when it comes to negotiation.”
Menace looked surprised. “I didn’t know that you were a businesswoman.”
“You didn’t ask.”
He had the decency to look chagrined. “You’re right. What did you sell?”
“Everything and anything I could make a profit on, but my main business was pawning.”
“That’s loaning money, right?”
She nodded. “A customer brings in something of value and asks for a loan. I keep the item until they repay the loan plus a small amount of interest. If they don’t come back for the item, I sell it in my shop. Simple. Easy. Uncomplicated.”
“Were you very wealthy?”
Naya laughed. “Hardly.”
“But you said your business was successful.”
“It was, but the only way to get wealthy on Calyx is to deal dirty and do people wrong. That’s not my style. No, I ran a clean shop and treated my customers right. I earned a comfortable living.”
“What happened to your shop?”
“I sold it the morning they announced the lottery results and had the money transferred to a bank in the city. A friend of mine will transfer it to the colonies in a week’s time.”
His eyebrows arched. “You must really trust this friend to give him complete control of your funds.”
“I do.”
“More than me?”
She eyed him carefully. “You’re not my friend.”
“I could be,” Menace countered. “I could be more than your friend.”
More than her friend? Her lover? Her confidant? Her support system? She doubted any man would ever be able to be all of those things to her. “You’re my captor. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Menace grunted in annoyance. “I thought we were past that.”
“How about we go back to your planet and I’ll hunt you down and take you back to Calyx where you’ll be my property. Let’s see how quickly you get beyond that.”
“Fair enough,” he finally conceded. “But we are together now. You’re mine. That collar around your neck makes us mates.”
Naya fingered the offensive circle of white leather. Rather glumly, she said, “Not exactly a silver wedding band, is it?”
Menace instantly perked up. “Would you like one? If it would make things easier between us, I’ll get two in the morning and find someone to perform a ceremony.”
His enthusiastic response shocked her. She hurriedly shot him down. “No, I don’t want to get married.”
His face fell. “I see.”
Seeing the hurt etched on his face made her ache. “No, I don’t think you do. Marriage is forever. It’s a real commitment.”
“I made a real commitment to you the moment I put that collar around your neck.”
“We must have different ideas of what commitment means. Where I come from, it means love and affection and dating and laughter and all that wonderful stuff.” Judging by the look on his face, she was only making things worse by pointing out everything they didn’t share. “Look, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I don’t plan to stick around here.”
“Are we back to that? To threats of escape?” He shook his head. “It’s a foolish dream, Naya. No one ever escapes. Ever.” He reached out and grasped her hand. His fingers brushed the raised bump along her wrist where they’d implanted one of their damn ID chips. “You’re being tracked around the clock. You’re on restrictions until I give word to security. You can’t even get out of this room.”
His words circled round and round in her head. The ominous threat left her sick and cold. She snatched her hand away and turned her back on him. “You’re a real miserable bastard, you know that?”
A long, painful moment of silence stretched between them. When Menace’s hands touched her shoulders, she flinched. Dwarfed by his big, hard frame, she couldn’t run. Maybe she didn’t want to run. It was maddening, really. One moment she wanted to bop him right in the nose for being so infuriating. The next she wanted to fall back against him and enjoy the strength of his arms holding her tight.
Menace gently kneaded her tight shoulders, his powerful hands easily manipulating her sore muscles. His body heat penetrated the fabric of the uniform shirt she wore and soothed her raw nerves. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s the truth.”
“It is, but now you think I’m a controlling jerk.”
“To be fair, I thought that before you told me about the chip implanted in my wrist.”
He snorted with amusement. “Thanks.”
A white-hot frisson pierced her core as his thumb stroked the side of her neck. Trying to ignore the wonderful sensation he caused, she asked, “Why are you so intent on keeping me? Why not let me go and try again at the next Grab?”
“I want you. I’m keeping you.”
Recalling his ugly remark in the forest, she wondered aloud, “Even though I’m just the consolation prize?”
His hands stilled on her shoulders. With one swift step, he moved in front of her. Hands cupping her face, Menace gazed down at her, his expression one of concern. “Naya, do you think I meant that?”
“You said it,” she snapped back. “I learned a long time ago to believe what people tell you, even if it’s said jokingly.”
“Naya, I was joking. I was smiling when I said it.”
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t exactly see your face, could I?” she grumbled unhappily. “You’d thrown me over your shoulder, remember?”
“Yes.” He exhaled roughly and wiped a hand down his face. “I can’t seem to get anything right with you.”
Naya noticed the vulnerability in his expression. The depth of his remorse left her questioning everything she’d believed about this man and his culture. Sure, he’d Grabbed her, gagged and restrained her in flight and cuffed her to a chair in this torture chamber, but he hadn’t shown her any violence, not even when she’d struck him first. She’d been rude and nasty and had verbally abused him so badly his fellow soldiers had been laughing openly—and still he hadn’t raised his voice with her.
It occurred to her that maybe she was the one who had everything wrong. All along she had considered escaping to the colonies was the ultimate goal in her life, that only in Jesco or Safe Harbor could she find happiness. What if she’d been wrong? What if Danny’s tale of the Artist who was Grabbed living a life of luxury and happiness was true? What if this was her chance?
Fingers trembling, she placed a hand on Menace’s chest. His pale eyes flashed with uncertainty. Considering how badly she had behaved, he probably thought she was going to strike him or try to shove him backward to flee. She held his gaze and rose on tiptoes to kiss him. He was still much too tall for her to reach his mouth but he got the message and dipped his head.
Their lips finally touched. The bright burst of bliss filled her chest with such warmth. For the first time since meeting Menace, she relaxed completely. His lips were softer than she’d expected and moved gently across hers. She put her other hand on his chest and gripped the thin fabric of his undershirt. His scent, completely natural and unadorned, filled her nose. He smelled of man and soap and nothing else.
As if he feared spooking her, Menace cautiously placed his hands on her neck and face. He caressed her skin with his callused fingers. The rough sensation of his fingertips gliding over her neck and cheek ignited her desire. She couldn’t remember ever being this aroused by a man. Maybe it was the danger of the unknown or the primal maleness of Menace, but she practically vibrated with lust.
His tongue stabbed between her lips. She welcomed the invasion with a swipe of her own. His heavy breaths fanned her face. Their tongues dueled, but Naya quickly realized this was a battle she wasn’t going to win. She didn’t want to win it. For the first time in her life, she wanted to give up control.
“Menace…” She breathed his name as need gripped her.
“Tell me I can have you,” he instructed, his voice husky. “Give me permission to have you, Naya.”
She didn’t think twice. “Yes.”
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