“Don’t stop there,” he said, his voice husky. “I think I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
Aiden pulled me closer. One of my arms rested on his chest, and the other propped me up next to him.
Our faces were inches apart.
“It wasn’t a fully formed thought or anything. More of just a feeling or a vibe. I guess.”
His gaze took in my face and drifted to my lips. “I’ve had a lot of those myself.”
“About me?”
He nodded yes.
“Good ones?”
“Some of them, but others…” He shook his head in mock horror. “They were bad. Very bad thoughts.”
I leaned closer. “How bad?”
He sat up. “So fucking bad.” In one fell swoop, he swept his arms around me and rolled on top of me.
My breath turned ragged.
His expression became serious. “Lauren,” he started, but then stopped.
“I know. It’s complicated.”
“What I feel isn’t.”
“And what’s that?”
He pushed himself between my legs. I felt his hardness against my inner thigh.
A moan escaped my mouth. Fire burned between my legs. “I see.”
“But I respect you, and I don’t—”
I stopped him. “No.”
He froze.
I knew if we talked it over or thought it over, the moment would pass. I couldn’t risk losing this moment. Returning to living for a future that may never come wasn’t an option.
“Lauren?” Aiden searched my face for a clue about what he should do.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to find the right words. “I don’t want to think things over. Can you help me with that?”
He wrapped his arms around me, and I looked up at him.
“I’m the perfect man for the job,” he said and leaned in for a kiss.
Our lips touched. My worried thoughts evaporated. Nothing existed but Aiden and me. I spread my lips, hungry for more. He responded to my invitation without hesitation.
His chest pressed against mine. The heat and hardness of Aiden’s body made me ache for more.
Do you enjoy funny, contemporary romances with spicy love scenes?
Because if you do …
You’ve landed in the perfect place.
I’m Tina Gabor, and it’s so much fun getting to write the books I love reading. Gorgeous men and fierce, feisty, and funny women are my jam.
And since there’s nothing like a love story with a dash of sun and fun …
I set most of my in Southern California and Florida. I grew up in South Florida, and now I live in Southern California with my fiancee and a stray cat we named Fred.
To get special deals on new releases and updates on what your favorite book couples are doing after the story ends, go to SparksFlyRomance.com/Tina
For generations, the Greek gods have been at war with each other; fighting to sit on the throne of Mt. Olympus. Eros, the god of love and the most powerful of the ancients, has been waging his own secret war. For eons, he has been looking for his lost soul mate, Psyche; her return marks the beginning of the end of the reign of the Olympians, and the restoration to power by the primordial gods. But she has been reborn as a mortal, with no memory of him.
Psyche holds the key to the throne of Mt. Olympus. With her and Eros’ enemies coming out of the shadows to stop them, it is a race against time. If she cannot reunite her soul with Eros, her powers, memories, and the lives of the gods and mortals alike will be forever lost.
The agonizing shout of her name broke her out of the trance she had been caught in. Her eyes snapped open, and at first she was disoriented, the bright light in the room blinding her as her eyes fought to adjust. Blinking, she looked down, and an eternity seemed to pass as she sat frozen, trying to process the scene before her.
Phanes. Her husband. She was finally seeing him. Her eyes feasted hungrily on him. Her heart wept with joy. He finally trusted her enough to reveal himself. He was so achingly handsome. Blond and blue-eyed, he had said. What a typical male answer when describing his coloring. It didn’t even remotely come close to describing his beauty.
She recognized him. Eros. Her husband was the god of love. An immortal. How could she not have guessed? All the clues were there. She should have recognized him, especially when his drakon told her their true name. Then it came to her. Aphrodite and her vendetta against her. Of course. No wonder he kept his identity secret.
His tousled blond hair was threaded with multiple shades of gold, sunlight, and silver. His eyes were so many shades of blue, and they were so vivid, they glowed. Even as the thought crossed her mind, his eyes quickly dimmed, the light flickering like a candle that had reached its end.
Pain. He was in pain.
“Psyche. Why?” he whispered brokenly.
Confused, she dragged her gaze from his face and looked down. A startled cry burst from her as she stared uncomprehendingly at his chest. Blood. So much blood. His chest was covered in it. A knife wound clearly visible in his upper shoulder. She went to grab the blanket, to press it against the wound and hopefully staunch the flow.
She froze, staring in disbelief at what she was clutching in her hand, the sheet temporarily forgotten. A dagger. Her hand trembled. It couldn’t be. Dear gods, no. A bloody dagger was in her hand. Both were covered in her husband’s blood, marking her with the evidence of her crime.
No! her soul screamed in agony. She couldn’t have done such an evil deed. She couldn’t have stabbed him. Not her beloved husband. The man she loved with all her heart and soul. But the damning evidence was right in front of her. Her guilt undeniable.
He let out a soft moan, snapping her out of her frozen state.
Dropping the dagger, she frantically ripped the sheets and pressed them against his wound. It had to stop bleeding. He would heal, she desperately thought to herself. He could heal himself. He had to be alright. He was powerful. A god. There was no way he could die from an ordinary stab wound. He would be alright. He had to be alright. Even as her jumbled thoughts raced through her mind, the wound continued to bleed. It wasn’t stopping. The sheet quickly became soaked with his blood.
Why wasn’t it stopping? He just lay there, not moving. Not fighting. Silent. He wasn’t raging at her, condemning her for trying to kill him. He just lay there. A soul-shattering expression of defeat in his eyes. Death. He looked like he wished to die from her betrayal. She pressed harder. She had to save him. He groaned weakly in pain.
“Help! Please, somebody help us!” she screamed, frantic.
A sudden animalistic roar rent the air outside their bedroom. The strength of its inhuman rage and agony tore through the palace, shaking it to its very foundation.
Eros curled his fingers around her wrist. For a brief moment, the world came to a standstill as they gazed into each other’s eyes. In that one moment, they shared a lifetime of what could have been. The life they could have shared. A dozen thoughts reflected in their depths. Regret. Love. But the most heartbreaking was the bitter defeat in his eyes before he looked away, pushing her hand off him. She suddenly found herself pushed off to the side of the bed, Eros staggering to his feet. He stumbled, weak. “Pax!” he shouted.
Pax appeared, her normally rosy complexion pale at the sight of a blood-stained Eros. “What happened?”
He shook his head in despair. Psyche wept silently. He could barely bring himself to look at her. When he finally did, she crumbled in shame on the bed. She couldn’t bear the shattered look of betrayal on his face.
“It doesn’t matter. Just protect Psyche. No matter what happens.”Then he turned his back on them and flew out the window, transforming into his drakon form. In the distance, she could make out another drakon winging its way to the palace. It was a mirror image of her husband’s beast, though this one was all black with silver-tipped spikes. They met in midair, a clash of claws and teeth as they grappled with each other, both fighting for supremacy.
E.X. Alexander is a romance author who loves to tell a good romance story: the hotter, the better. A proud Greek American (no My Big Fat Greek Wedding jokes or she’ll be forced to pull out the Windex 😉 who loves to spend time with her family and friends. There is no better way to relax than to curl up with a steamy romance novel with purr babies under a blanket. Okay, a spa day would be a close second. If she is not reading or writing she can usually be found in her car listening to heavy metal and rock music in pursuit of her two favorite fruits: coffee and chocolate. (Yes, they are fruits.)
Russel Adler has one job while Elijah Barrett is away. Keep Holly Barrett and her best friend Gemma Livingston safe from those out to collapse Club Solitaire. There’s just one problem, Gemma is pain in the ass. A gorgeous, irresistible, pain in the ass determined to make his job impossible. She makes the Dom in him twitch but he knows he can’t lose focus or people might die.
Forever is the long-awaited conclusion to the Diamond Doms series.
Gemma’s heart raced as she followed Russell up the stairs. She’d almost lost her sister. That thought wouldn’t stop repeating in her mind. The amount of danger that seemed to follow her these days made her nauseous.
None of it made sense to Gemma, but Kendall was genuinely shaken by the things she saw, and it had set everyone on high alert. Elijah was now on his way to London for a business deal that had been in the works for a long time and couldn’t be put on hold, so Russell was stepping up security and running the entire operation in person. Now he wanted to ask her some questions. After weeks of avoiding her, they were going to be alone in a room together and she didn’t know how to handle it other than to be a smart ass.
“What did you want to ask me?” She dropped into the chair in front of the desk and waited for Russell to speak.
“I need to hear everything you can tell me about Jonathan Niel and his family.”
Gemma whistled. “Everything? That could take a while. How about you narrow it down for me a bit?”
He scowled, bringing his eyebrows together. “Did Niel know you were about to divorce Matthew?”
Gemma wrinkled her nose. “God, I hope not. But I suppose it’s possible that something leaked. He has an excellent PR team that monitors several issues that are important to him.”
“And what is important to him?”
She laughed. “Money. Power. The ability to snap his fingers and have a woman launch herself at his feet. He’s a total prick. Are you ever going to give in and flirt with me?”
He frowned. “You’re still married and now I’m in charge of your protection detail.”
She shook her head. “You’ve been in charge of it since I arrived in town, and we both know it. That didn’t stop you from kissing me the other night when my safe house was compromised.”
“I’ve already apologized for that. Now focus on my questions, please.”
“I’m so tired of being interrogated by people towering over me assuming I’m some weak little rich girl.”
He rolled his eyes but slid off the desk and sat in the chair beside her. “I’m not interrogating you. I’m asking questions that will aid in getting everyone back to a normal life.”
She folded her arms across her chest to hide the fact that her nipples had hardened under his dominant stare.
“I really don’t know how I can help. I haven’t actually spoken to Jonathan in over a year when he came to my office to talk about a business deal he wanted to push through.”
“Do you have access to a copy of that information?”
“Why is this important? He’s probably part of a murderous cult. Shouldn’t that be what we’re focused on.”
“I told you. Every detail, Gemma. This is an organization that does a lot of expensive work. We have to scrutinize any business deal made or attempted so that we can understand how they tick and see if we can find patterns that lead us to how they’re funding the organization.”
Gemma nodded. “Fair enough. I don’t know if I can access the information. I suppose since we’ve decided I’m not dead or missing anymore, it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to my assistant and get her to send me everything she can.”
Russell nodded. “Please do. And when you get done with that, you me and Holly are going to sit down and discuss safety protocols.”
“Oh, that ought to be fun.”
“Rule number one is no sass from either of you.”
She huffed. “You think because we both identify as submissive you get to pull out the Dom card?”
He chuckled. “No lip, no sass, no bratty behavior. Are we clear, Gemma? Lives are at stake here.”
She waved him away. “Quit with the raised eyebrows and stern tone. I’m going to be good, but I’m a smart ass, and I won’t stop being a smart ass because you say so.”
“Then your smart ass may become a sore ass.”
“You say that like it’s a threat.”
He laughed and leaned closer to her. “Believe me, sweetheart. It is. Now go make your phone calls. We’ll talk again later.” She gave him a salute followed by a middle-fingered wave as she backed out of the room. He tapped the buckle on his belt. Was he threatening to use it on her? The man didn’t have a clue.
Ivy Nelson is an emerging contemporary romance author, hopeful romantic, and passionate advocate who is versed in all things steamy, sultry, and sensual. It all started back when she read her first steamy romance novel at the age of fourteen. From that point forward, it became her favorite genre–one she wanted to write in herself someday. Sylvia Day’s writing style cemented that passion, and gave her just the inspiration she needed to be an author herself. In December of 2018, Ivy published her debut novel, Power Desired at the age of 32.
Most recently, Ivy completed the “D.C. Power Games” series and the prequel to her forthcoming “Diamond Doms series” titled “Hard” (currently available for pre-order). In a not-so-distant past, she was a student affairs professional at a university and earned her political science degree, which explains her politically-driven romance debut.
When she isn’t penning steamy scenes or attending writing conferences, you can find this contest-winning karaoke singer and bookworm passionately supporting human rights or growing her Sims 4 empire. She is also a wine aficionado and certified whiskey taster (no really, she has the certificate to prove it). All that aside, Ivy loves spending quality time with her amazing son and husband of three years at their home in Houston, TX.
