Tag Archives: Roxanne St. Claire

Birthday Girl Roxanne St. Claire Shares an Exclusive Excerpt of Secrets on the Sand

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Hello hello hello! My loves you see we have Roxanne St. Claire visiting with us today! It’s Rocki’s birthday! You all know how birthday obsessed I am, so I asked if she’d be willing to come and be a guest, and she said yes! Yay! I don’t really think any introduction is necessary – she’s Roxanne freaking St. Claire!!!

Even better, she’s sharing an exclusive excerpt of her upcoming novella that’s the first in a connected/spinoff series to her Barefoot books! Enough babble from me though – I know you want to see what she has to say.

Barefoot by the SeaHappy Birthday to me! I love my birthday, always have, always will.  Since it lands on the last day of the month, November is really “birthday month” culminating in the actual day.  And falling where it does in the calendar, my special day is part of the season we call “the holidays” — making it part of a generally joyful and exciting time for everyone.  Like this year, my birthday is often rolled into a major fun four day weekend, which is cool because Turkey Day is my #1 favorite holiday.  It’s all about food and gratitude!

So, I don’t cringe over birthdays, though I’ve had enough of them to know there are probably fewer in my future than there have been in my past. All the more reason to celebrate the event.  Not with presents, balloons, or cake (though we’ll get to that!) but by taking a chance to slow down and consider exactly what the birthday means.  I like to do a little retrospection and examine the year that’s passed.  Did I meet my goals?  Did I have surprises? What were the big changes? What do I treasure, what would I rather forget?

After that, I look ahead! How different will the next year be? What milestones are ahead? What challenges and roadblocks will I face, what unexpected blessings will pour down?  I usually write a list of goals for the year, and a list of things I’d like to change or improve.

Barefoot in the SunAfter all that naval-gazing, I am ready for some cake! And presents! And champagne! This year is especially exciting because I’m launching an all new career strategy that’s both thrilling and daunting.  Starting in just nine days, the first of six new titles in my Barefoot Bay series will be released.  Three novellas in The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay trilogy, followed by three full-length novels in the Barefoot Brides trilogy! I’m publishing all of them through my own company and hoping the only thing readers notice is that they get a LOT more books (six in a year!) more often.  Also, for my many, many overseas readers, there will be no more geographic restrictions, all ebooks will be available worldwide on the day of release, all digital versions are DRM-free.  YAY! But what’s the same? The sexy heroes, the sassy heroines, the heart-wrenching love stories and the setting — all on the sands of Barefoot Bay!

First up: Secrets on the Sand — a novella released on December 9, the first in The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay series.  So here’s a little birthday present for ALBTALBS readers…a never before published excerpt! And, of course, it’s a little bit…tart!

Thanks for celebrating with me, everyone!

Secrets on the Sand(The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay Novella #1) – December, 2013

Zeke Nicholas has turned his mathematical genius skills into a mountain of money.  But Zeke sits on that mountain all alone, longing for the one thing money cannot buy: the true love of a lifelong partner.  Zeke grew up near Barefoot Bay and is staying at the resort for a week while he’s in town for a family event. Enter Mandy Mitchell…the maid.  Except to Zeke, Mandy is much more than that—she was the object of his every teenage fantasy back in the days when she was known as “Mandy the Magnificent” and he had the unflattering high school nickname of “Ezekiel the Geekiel.”

Zeke is no longer a geek — he’s gorgeous.  And Mandy doesn’t feel so magnificent since her marriage fell apart and left her up to her eyeballs in debt and despair.  One look at Zeke, and she knows he’s exactly the kind of trouble she should avoid.  One look at Mandy, and Zeke turns his relentless ability to get what he wants into a full-on seduction.  But can Mandy face down the secrets of her past to find a fairy-tale future with Zeke?

****

Water sluiced down Zeke’s bare chest, dousing his hair, soaking his skin, and plastering the pants that still hung unbuttoned to his body. Mother Nature’s cold shower was doing its job. Sort of.

Around three, he’d awakened, a curvy, sexy, soft, sweet woman in his arms, her breath against his cheek, her sleepy sighs as intoxicating as the port he’d had in Garrett’s library. With each moment, he’d grown hotter, harder, and more desperate to touch her.

He’d stroked her arm, let their feet brush, and listened to the music of a moan she’d never know she’d let out. If he’d touched Mandy, she would have responded. Their bodies were meant for each other, ready for the inevitable.

But the pain in her eyes after their kiss had told him the ice-cold reality that some heartless bastard had slashed her heart. No, he couldn’t do anything that would—

He shuddered as arms wrapped around his waist, stunning him with warmth and invitation.

“What are you doing out here, Ezekiel?”

Her voice was musical, gentle against the distant backdrop of thunder.

“Solving a quadratic equation.”

He felt her laugh. “What a geek.”

“It’s that or break the contract.”

She scraped her fingers over his chest. “You already did. This is not your shirt.”

He put his hand on her arm, recognizing the feel of familiar fabric, already wet from the downpour. “No, but this is.”

“I borrowed. Is that okay under our contract?”

Mandy was in his shirt. The thought shot fire into his groin, taking him back to the state he’d tried for the last twenty minutes to drown. “No,” he said, the roughness in his voice surprising him. “Not okay.”

In one easy move, he pulled her around his body, getting her right in front of him against the railing. She was rain-soaked already, the water battering her hair and pouring down her face. But she looked up at him, undaunted by a little smeared makeup and a storm.

“The rules didn’t say whose clothes we had to wear,” she whispered. “And it was the closest thing to you in that empty bed.”

Her words slayed him, punctuated by a flash of lightning in the distance. The light was just enough to highlight his wet dress shirt flattened against her body, molded to her form, the shape of her breasts visible, the points of her nipples like gumdrops he needed to taste.

Instinctively, he leaned her back so more rain poured over her. She dropped her head and let the water cover her face and slide down her neck and into the shirt.

How had this happened? What lottery had he won? What good deed had he done? What karmic retribution put her in his arms? “Mandy Mitchell.”

She smiled, her back still arched, pressing her against him. “I really never thought I’d be called that again in this life,” she said.

Still holding her with one steady arm, he lost the battle not to touch her hardened nipples. He flattened his hand over the shirt, right over her heart, and slowly, easily, gradually dragged his palm until he cupped her breast.

She gasped softly, straightening, her eyes wide. He braced himself for the word “no” or that look that said sex terrified her. But her expression was soft, her jaw slack, her eyes dark with arousal.

A loud shot of thunder made her startle and suck in a breath, coming closer.

“All those nights, Mandy,” he whispered into her dripping wet hair.

“All what nights?”

He thumbed her nipple, gratified by the hard, relentless point under his fingertip. “All those nights I’d sit in my room and solve equations and make graphs and torture my brain with mathematics…” He unbuttoned the top button, easily able to reach into the shirt and caress her breast.

For a minute, he couldn’t talk, his whole brain flatlined by the perfection of her skin and the slope of her woman’s body.

“But then I would think about you.” His cock underscored the sentiment, growing harder against her belly.

She smiled, either because of the words or what she felt. “What did you think about, Ezekiel?”

“These.” He squeezed her breast. “This.” Soft, sweet, tender woman filled every sense as he brushed her lips with his. “And…” He slid his hand down to the bottom of the shirt, sliding easily between her legs, finding sweet, soft, soaked silk, the sexiness of it jolting him. “Of course, this.”

She moaned as he stroked her panties and found a sweet spot.

“And what did you do?” she asked.

He wanted to laugh at the question, but he wasn’t capable of anything but feeling her buckle a little under his touch. “Not calculus.”

*****

No buy links yet (that I could find) but I hope to come back and update them when they’re up! Cross your fingers I remember. 😉 But in the meantime, what’d you think of the excerpt? Do you like the billionaire trend? Have you ever read any of Rocki’s books before? She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and YA!

And everyone remember to wish Rox a very happy birthday! I hope it’s fabulous, with family, friends, lots of food, fun, cake, ice cream, and champagne cocktails! 😀

Guest Review: Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

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*Barbie’s Review

Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire
Young Adult Fiction released by Delacorte Books for Young Readers on July 10, 2012

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad’s whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she’s Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father–and she’s the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire–if usually absent–father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal.

But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she’s offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn’t as simple as you think.

I don’t read much YA at all, especially nowadays, because they all seem to have the exact same premise. I only picked up this one up because it was by Roxanne St. Claire, who’s been one of my favorite authors in her other genres, and it wanted to give it a shot. Don’t You Wish really surprised me in a great way, because it seems to be different from the current YA books being published. This books has such a fun, innovative story, with a creative, fast-paced, plot and lovable characters. I devoured it like a beloved desert. I’ve loved every page of this book. It’s been one of my favorite reads this year!

Annie Nutter is supposedly your average girl, as she doesn’t get noticed at school and doesn’t get to hang out with the popular crowd at school. She’s just a band dork who gets made fun of. Annie is really nice and fun, but she’s shy and doesn’t show that much of her lovable personality to the world. At the point where she becomes Ayla Monroe on the outside, yet continues to be Annie on the inside, is where the true beauty of the character lies. Because of this – Annie gets this huge initiative and changes Ayla’s life. A life that would seem to perfect for everyone that wasn’t really living it. It’s like Annie gets the spark to light the fire within [Ayla] and starts to proactively make things better.  And Annie finally stands up for herself. I love that about her.

Then, there’s Charlie, a geeky guy, within a picture perfect world who gets bullied for not being rich enough for the Crop Academy. He befriends Annie as Ayla. Of course, the real Ayla would never have befriended him. Charlie is a key character as it’s his genius that eventually helps Annie figure out her final solution. Charlie is a very authentic, multi-layered character. He’s so real to me, I have a physical image that I associate with him. Charlie is brilliant, and he’s not very trusting of other people. He’s more vulnerable than he appears to be, and it’s very hard for the reader not to wish you had a guy like him when you were in high school. Think *insta-crush*. He’s a really great character, and you can’t help but keep rooting for him and Annie to end up together..

I have to admit, even though Annie has a very nice and sweet best friend in real world, it was the character of Ayla’s “Dumb-Blonde-Friend” Bliss that made me laugh out loud. Bliss was my favorite secondary character. She brought a lot of fantastic humor to the book. I would have liked to see what happened to Ayla’s life after Annie left and Ayla’s real soul returned, as Annie changed so many things, from minute details to relationships with friends, classmates and parents. Perhaps this was the only thing that was lacking in the book for me. The “after” scenes.

One of the best things about Don’t You Wish is that it’s not a depressing, angsty book. This is what separates it from the paranormal YA books nowadays – because as it’s about parallel words, the book does have some paranormal elements. This story is a fun, light-hearted book, that is above all, a very pleasurable read. I recommend it to everyone that loves a really unique story, a good laugh and really interesting characters.

Grade: A+ 

You can read an excerpt here, or buy a copy here.

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Roxanne St. Claire

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You guys! June is over! (Thank goodness) I can’t believe July is here, and yet it is. The year is more than half over! As you know, the first Tuesday of the month is a Guest Author & A Giveaway post, and we’ve got Roxanne St. Claire with us today! She has been around the romance community for many years, and writes in various genres too, so I expect she’s quite familiar to most of you. 😀 (And she’s shared an exclusive excerpt with us before…)

1. Do you have any writing rituals or superstitions? Either for before you begin a book, while you’re writing it, or around the time the book is released?
Before I write “Chapter One” I have to have a picture that captures the looks and attitude of my hero. So, I have to spend days and days (sometimes more, if you can believe that) surfing the internet for pictures of hot guys. I also like to have a title I love, even if I know it might not make the final cut. Those two things are worthy procrastination techniques, er, I mean pre-writing goals.

2. What is the super power you would most like to have? and least like to have?
I would like to be bullet proof and nothing — no words, no weapons, no mean looks, no gossip, no lies, no pile of hungry red ants, no monsters, no nothin’ — could hurt me. Least? I would never want to be able to read people’s minds. Why? Because I’m not bullet proof.

3. What do you think is the best commercial of all time? (Is it online?)
It was a pro-bono ad written and produced by my stepson for a homeless shelter, and he won an Emmy for it! Here it is!

4. What’s the first type of alcohol you ever tried to drink? Where did you have it, and how old were you? What’s your favorite drink now?
Southern Comfort and orange juice, freshman year in college. Blech. My drink depends on my mood and surroundings, but I find that most situations call for wine. Perhaps all situations. In fact, this interview just called for some. Hold on…I’m pouring. Things might get more interesting now.

5. Would you shave your head for $50,000.00? If yes, would you do it for a lesser amount/what’s your minimum? If no, how much would it take for you to go bald? And then… would you do anything with your hair?
For $50,000? That’s a good question. There’s a book idea in that question, I tell you. Since I have so many friends who’ve lost their hair to chemo, I might be convinced to shave but only to give the money to cancer research. Otherwise, it would seem pretty smarmy to me. And, trust me, no one would want my paltry, bleached strands that don’t hold a curl and can be blow dried in less time than it takes most people to apply their product.

6. What’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you at school? What about at a conference?
I got yelled at by Sister Tarsisius for claiming I had a headache, and stood in the hall of St. Gabriel’s in front of her and peed my pants. (Second grade, true story.) At a conference? Same thing. Only it was Kresley Cole and I was laughing.

7. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever eaten? What about the best thing? What’s your favorite dish? Your favorite fruit? Your favorite vegetable? Is it “just because” or is there any reason for each?
Honestly, I don’t think of food as “interesting” or not. I am married to a foodie of the enth degree. I think of food in terms of delicious, more delicious, and “oh my God, I will never divorce the man who made this meal.” Fave fruit is a dessert he makes based on a recipe by Adriana Giramonti called “Strawberries Italian Style” that is TO DIE FOR. Here’s recipe.  We serve those over puff pastries and they’ll give you a buzz, so don’t serve to the little ones. Vegetable? What is this vegetable you speak of? Do French fries count?

8. Do you prefer Winter Olympics, or Summer? And which sport/event?
My favorite part is the opening ceremonies! Seriously, it’s all downhill (especially skiing, ha ha) from there for me.

9. Which ancient culture/civilization would you most like to visit? Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, Africa, or South America? Why?
Oh, somewhere around Jerusalem in 33 AD. I would love to have been there and met Him.

10. What is a question you always wish people would ask you [as an author or otherwise]?
Tell me about your next book! Why,thank you, Limecello, I will! My first Young Adult book, Don’t You Wish, releases in TEN DAYS (a week from today, now,) from Random House/Delacorte. This is a parallel universe story full of hilarity, emotion, romance, and a little (very little) quantum physics. I love this book and think everyone in this universe and the one parallel to us should read it. Also, it has been optioned for film!! You can ask me about that, too!

11. Which fairy tale would you most like to be in? Least?
Aladdin! Sinbad! Ali Baba! My favorite fairy tales are from a book I still have, called Tales from the Arabian Nights: A “tween-age” book. My mother ordered it from her monthly book club when I was ten, and I think I’ve read the Aladdin fairy tales a thousand times. I still have the book, all yellowed and dog-earred, with some of my favorite lines highlighted and notes in my little girl handwriting. Here’s an example of something I underlined.

On his fourth voyage, Sinbad was almost eaten by cannibals, who did not mind his being skinny.

12. What did you do with the money from your first royalty check?
That sound you hear? That’s me guffawing in laughter. My first royalty check was worth less than the postage on the package the statement came in.

13. What TV show do you wish was still on the air?
Dallas. Wait! They brought it back. And, honestly, they should have left it off the air. The lesson is: you can never go home, even to South Fork. Especially to South Fork. JR’s eyebrows were epic, though.

14. Which do you prefer? 15 degree weather, or 105 degree weather? Along those lines – would you rather go to Nebraska, or Vermont?
I’m a hot weather girl, which is why I live in Florida. I can take anything but being cold. I have been to Vermont many times (gorgeous!) so I would choose Nebraska…with someone to keep me warm.

15. Which has been your favorite genre to write? Is there any new one you want to try? Which genre are you focusing on now?
I love ‘em all! I’ve written more romantic suspense than anything, and I guess that’s my wheelhouse. (Free book to anyone who knows where that expression began!) I’m comfortable in that genre, that’s for sure. But, this past year, I’ve written only contemporaries and young adult, and I’ve found them both to be fresh and fun. I’d like to try an epic paranormal YA fantasy next. (Did I say that?)

16. What is one luxury you simply cannot live without?
Pedicures. Cleaning ladies. Finishing salt. Why must it be one?

17. What would you put in your ideal candy bar? What’s your favorite snack food? Are you a sweet, or savory girl?
My ideal treat is both sweet and salty. Hands down, my number one favorite snack is (are?) chocolate covered potato chips made locally, sold here and obviously in invented by a woman in the middle of PMS. Ladies, you will thank me for this link, I promise.

18. If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing? What is one career/profession you could never do? Why? (To both)
If I weren’t a writer, I would have convinced my husband to open a restaurant and I would be the hostess, a job I was born to do! I love strangers, I love food, and I have a bit of a control freak in me (You can’t sit there!!!). His name is Rich and my daughter decided the restaurant would be called “Rich With Flavor” – can you beat that? Barring that, I would have been Christiane Amanpour, traveling to warzones to cover heartwrenching news stories and have drunken, lusty affairs with brooding foreign correspondents.

I could never do anything that requires math, for obvious reasons.

As you can see, Rocki is herself quite the character! 😀 Thank you so much for visiting with all of us today, Ms. St. Claire!

Roxanne is giving away a copy of Barefoot in the Sand and Don’t You Wish – two winners! So what questions do you have for her? Have you ever read her category romances? (That’s how I “discovered” her way back in the day! … Or was it French Twist? Either way, you should read all of them. :D)

Y’all know the drill. Have you read anything by Rocki before? Which genre that she writes is your favorite? And, as always – my challenge to you. What crazy questions do you have for her? *NB you can find how the giveaway is run here.

Guest Review: Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire

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As you can see we’ve got another guest review today! It’s Barbie’s first time reviewing and she’s really nervous, so show her some love please! Also, she’s so cute – she wrote her own back cover copy/book blurb because she felt that fit the book better. So that’s why there are “two” of them.)

Barbie’s Review of
Contemporary Romance released by Forever Romance on April 24, 2012

(Barbie’s Book Blurb)
When a hurricane literally sweeps away the life Lacey Armstrong had always known, she has two choices: keep making excuses and holding herself back, or start anew and finally daring and going forward to realizing her dreams. Having lost everything she held dear, except for the single most important thing in her life – her teenage daughter, Ashley – and realizing none of the material things mattered at all, Lacey starts a journey to make a new life for herself and her daughter, to build her dream of having a bed and breakfast.

That’s when Clay Walker, a young, sexy architect comes into her life and sees in her land a great project opportunity to build a beautiful resort on the beach. The chemistry between Lacey and Clay is real and instant, and, in the process of helping Lacey rebuild her life, Clay ends up doing some life-building of his own.

I have to start by confessing I was surprised by how I just I absolutely loved Barefoot in the Sand, even though Roxanne St. Claire ventures from romantic suspense (which is my preferred genre), to contemporary romance. With a new beach setting! Having been a fan of the author for a long time and devoured all her thrilling books, I was a bit afraid this one was going to have a slower tempo and the lack of crimes, chases, and general action was going to put me off, so, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he tempo isn’t slow at all. The characters are well developed and very real and there’s more action involved at building a resort and getting a happily ever than one would think.

Lacey is a single mother of a teenager, and their relationship is what you would expect: full of love, spats, loving words, secrets and eye rolling. All the decisions she’s made in her life, since she’s become a mother, have been about what’s best for Ashley, and, in this book, she goes through a process of self-discovery, as her daughter is growing, figuring out that it’s just about time she thought of herself, too. It makes her very… human. With the loss of her house, she sees the opportunity of finally making her dreams come true, but she needs to get rid of the excuses she’s always made and stop letting fear paralyze her. I think that makes her very relatable, as she tries to balance the reason and emotion and move forward with her life. The best thing about Lacey is just this, that is very, very real.

She doesn’t go through this process alone, though. As soon as they hear Lacey’s in trouble, her very best friends in the world, Jocelyn, Zoe and Tessa, catch the very first plane to Florida to be by her side during the hard time. And, OhMyGosh, how much FUN they are. Again, the biggest thing about them is how real they are to me. They have their own personalities: be it cracking the sex jokes, being private and collected, not liking secrets… that they could be any of us girls out there. At the same time that they’re brilliant, unique and I want them to jump off the book and become my best friends.

I couldn’t help but fall in love Clay at first sight. He’s not just funny, smart and sexy, he’s also caring, he has a sense of justice, the spirit of a fighter that won’t give up. Neither when it comes to building a big resort in the beach of Mimosa Key, nor when it comes to being with the woman he loves. As he helps Lacey overcome her fears of love and intimacy, he realizes he needs to take down his own emotional walls before he can open up for love himself. The romance is well paced – it doesn’t happen too slow nor too fast – the conflict is well timed with the development of the book and, overall, I think every aspect of it was very well done. Clay grows a lot during the book, he starts out boyish, and grows into a fine man. I think he and Lacey grow together.

Honestly, I don’t have a single thing bad thing to say about the book. Maybe, I wish there were more scenes with the girls – Jocelyn, Zoe and Tessa – I think they’re fun and brilliant and give the book a lot of life. But the book can’t be 800 pages long. Overall, though, it’s a great, great book!

I admit, I was never much of a fan of contemporary romance. I’m a big fan of romantic suspense and I didn’t think books could be much fun without blood and guts and dead bodies in it. But, Barefoot in the Sand showed me a book can be just as great even without the gore. So, I recommend it to everyone.

Grade: A+
Publisher’s Back Cover Copy

When all you hold dear is taken away . . .

When a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong’s home on the coast of Barefoot Bay, she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due for a fresh start. And nothing, especially not a hot, younger architect, is going to distract Lacey from finally making her dreams a reality.

A second chance is the only thing you have left.

Love has already cost Clay Walker everything. And if he’s going to have any chance of picking up the pieces of his life, he needs the job as Lacey Armstrong’s architect. What’s not in the plans is falling for the headstrong beauty. Her vision of the future is more appealing than anything he could have ever drafted for himself. Will Clay’s designs on Lacey’s heart be more than she can handle, or will she trust him to build something that will last forever?

You can read an excerpt here, or buy a copy here.

Teaser Tuesday: Face of Danger by Roxanne St. Claire

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Today we have an exclusive excerpt from rock star author Roxanne St. Claire! Face of Danger is out today so it’s so much perfect all in one little post! Roxanne is an excellent writer who has books out in a number of romance sub-genres – I “discovered” her reading her Silhouette Desire stories. She’s also super nice and accessible – gotta love that in an author, yes? So without further ado… why you’re all here 😀

When investigator Vivi Angelino takes on the job as a body double for a movie star targeted by a possible serial killer, FBI agent Colton Lang will do anything to protect her.. Secluded in the star’s Nantucket mansion, digging deep to unravel a mystery that is much deeper and more threatening than anyone imagined, risk-taking Vivi and rule- loving Lang are polar opposites in every way. But we all know that opposites attract, ignite, and, sometimes, they combust.

Lang let his hands fall, and land on Vivi’s shoulders, plucking at the T-shirt. “Why are you wearing my shirt?”

“I borrowed it.”

“Take it off.”

Her knees actually buckled at the order. “You want it back?”

“I want it off.”

And, dear God, she wanted to take it off. Deep inside, an ache twisted. Lusty and low, superseding everything else.

She stared at him, taking a few steps backwards into the room but he didn’t let go of her shoulders. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

His eyes went smoky. “Good. Keep thinking about me.” He walked her backwards until she reached the bed. No smile on his face, no humor in his eyes. Dead serious, pure Lang. “Think about me while you take off that shirt that belongs to me.”

She sat when her knees hit the bed, fingering the bottom of the T-shirt, as she looked up him. “I have to say something first. I have one…rule.”

He lifted his brow. “You follow rules now?”

She had to feel…safe, or she couldn’t do this. That was her only stipulation. She had to know she had an escape if her brain betrayed her body and freaked out. “If I say stop, you stop.”

“Here’s my rule.” He pressed knees against the bed, holding hers between his as he eased her backwards. “You shouldn’t say go if you’re gonna say stop.”

Her gaze slipping to his sleep pants, the tent even bigger than it was before, the tip of his hard-on already straining the waistband. Her throat went bone dry. “If I did say stop, like if I had to…” she whispered. “I just want you to know it’s not because I’m teasing you. It’s just because…I changed my mind.”

He braced over her, all muscle and man, all hard and ready. Her whole body liquefied with want, falling back on the bed, already fighting the need to writhe against him and release the pressure that was building between her legs.

“If you change your mind, let me know. Until then, take my shirt off.”

With shaky fingers, she lifted the cotton hem, watching his eyes move down to devour the sight. She revealed her stomach, her ribs, her breasts. His jaw loosened, his pupils darkened, his breath slowed to a ragged pull.

“All the way,” he said.

She slipped it over her head, dragging the long, damp hair through, unintentionally making the extensions fan out next to her face. She held the undershirt up in one hand.

“Here’s your shirt, Lang.”

He took it and threw it across the room. “Now the jeans.”

“Oh, God.”

“What’s the matter?” he asked, his eyes narrowing at her tone.

What was the matter? What could she tell him? That she’d never…. No. He’d stop. He’d ask. He wouldn’t believe her unless she told him the whole story. He’d demand to know what she’d refuse to tell.

“What is it, Vivi?”

“Ummm…I forgot to wear underpants.”

That made one side of his mouth hitch up with sexy interest. “Yeah? Let me see.”

She reached for the jeans snap, popped it, and unzipped, never taking her eyes from his.

But he looked down, inhaling slowly as she pushed the jeans down, slowly lifting to get her hips to reveal…everything to him.

Everything.

“Christ, you’re gorgeous.” He barely breathed the words, and they obliterated every argument threatening to make an appearance in her head.

He helped drag the jeans off her completely and tossed them like the shirt.

Then she lay completely naked before him, barely able to take the next breath. Could he see her heart clobbering her chest? Could he hear the blood rushing though her? Could he possibly know what this meant to her?

“So why’d you change your mind?” he asked, kneeling above her, burning every inch with his eyes, splaying his fingers hands like a maestro about to play. “A few hours ago, you said you were morally opposed to friends with benes…now, you’re pretty friendly.”

“The friend saved my life.”

His hands came down and closed over her fists, which, she only realized then, were clenching the comforter. “I don’t need you to reward me.”

“I’m not rewarding you.”

His eyes grew smoky as he took another slow trip over every inch of her. “Then what are you doing?”

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Years. “So please kiss me. Please.”

“I will.” He almost smiled, his eyes tapering. “I’m trying to decide where to start.”

She closed her eyes and tried to breath. “Anywhere you want.”

He lowered his head to her mouth, but skimmed away before they made contact, blowing soft air over her throat, collarbone, her cleavage. His tongue flicked over her breast, and she sucked in a breath, but he moved south, a kiss on her stomach, a brush of lips over her naval, the scrape of his cheek right on her pelvic bone.

She let go of the comforter, moved her hands to his shoulders.

“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “This is where I want to start.”

Yes. Oh, God, yes. This.

About the author:
Roxanne St. Claire is a New York Times bestselling author of The Guardian Angelino series from Grand Central/Forever and The Bullet Catchers from Pocket Books. The author of nearly thirty titles, Rocki (as everyone calls her) is a five time RITA finalist (and one time winner!) and very active on twitter & facebook.

Isn’t that teaser a killer? I told Rocki she was mean for leaving it like that! But she’s not being mean to you, because one lucky person who comments today will win a brand new shiny copy of Face of Danger! So tell me – did that excerpt get you? Have you read the previous two books in the series? (Edge of Sight, and Shiver of Fear – and what great titles, right?!) So if you weren’t paying attention… let me spell it out for you 😉 CONTEST! COMMENT!