Just a little bit lower. You are almost there :)
The Seven Series
1 month ago
STRIPPED
As a member of the CIA’s elite, Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss...
LIE TO ME
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue...
31 October, 2012
10 October, 2012
03 October, 2012
26 September, 2012
19 September, 2012
12 September, 2012
05 September, 2012
29 August, 2012
22 August, 2012
15 August, 2012
08 August, 2012
03 August, 2012
Lie to Me Blog Tour Winners
Good morning everyone! I'm writing this morning from Glitch Con, in Arkansas!
Just wanted to pop in and let you know that the Blog Tour winner has been drawn, and the other winners from various blogs are also in my inbox.
I don't want to get into doing anything with the credit card while I'm using a hotel's unsecured network, so I'll post all the winners and email everyone privately late Monday night when I'm home.
Just wanted to keep you informed!
Tori
Just wanted to pop in and let you know that the Blog Tour winner has been drawn, and the other winners from various blogs are also in my inbox.
I don't want to get into doing anything with the credit card while I'm using a hotel's unsecured network, so I'll post all the winners and email everyone privately late Monday night when I'm home.
Just wanted to keep you informed!
Tori
01 August, 2012
25 July, 2012
18 July, 2012
11 July, 2012
05 July, 2012
A Closer Look At Sasha Zablosky
Good morning!
One of the things that I found most compelling about writing Lie to Me was Sasha herself. Trying to envision what Alexei's betrayal must have been like; how she could accept and what would be necessary in her life to create that acceptance. And forgiveness... could she harbor such dark things in her own past that could generate forgiveness.
I truly believe that with her work in the FSB, she would understand a lot more than we common people would.
I've had deep conversations with former servicemen. I have friends who are intimately connected to former SEAL members, and I have been lucky enough to get a first-hand peek at the mentality, the conversions in thought that these folks have made in terms of line of duty. There's a broader perspective in the world where an asset is an asset, a target is a target, and an ally is an ally... There's more acceptance within those channels of what we would consider terrible things.
And I cannot imagine that if we're talking the world of covert intelligence and national security, that those conversions in thought wouldn't be even more in depth. For instance, look at Jason Bourne. He had an emotional relationship with Marie, and I speculate Nicky as well. And yet, there's still the matter of duty. Or Salt for that matter, who deeply loved her husband, despite her intended duties. There must be a separation between duty and heart, and I cannot believe in the stories of the other half being clueless to the duty side. Therefore, in my head, there must be some similiar disassociation for the partner as well, and along with that disassociation, a hefty level of acceptance.
Which was where Sasha was grounded. She possessed the background to understand, though she may not have been acting in the same capacity as Alexei. Plus, for reasons of her own, she embraces her fate as a form of punishment that she's willing to accept.
In any case, Sasha was fascinating, and I had an immense amount of fun getting into her head. And hey, it wasn't half-bad letting her fall in love with a strong, sexy hero, who would give up his life to keep her safe.
If you'd like to meet Sasha, the Lie to Me blog tour continues today at Riverina Romantics with an interview with her. Remember, if you follow the tour, the more you comment, the better your chances of winning! And the prize is a 25.00 Amazon Gift Card.
One of the things that I found most compelling about writing Lie to Me was Sasha herself. Trying to envision what Alexei's betrayal must have been like; how she could accept and what would be necessary in her life to create that acceptance. And forgiveness... could she harbor such dark things in her own past that could generate forgiveness.
I truly believe that with her work in the FSB, she would understand a lot more than we common people would.
I've had deep conversations with former servicemen. I have friends who are intimately connected to former SEAL members, and I have been lucky enough to get a first-hand peek at the mentality, the conversions in thought that these folks have made in terms of line of duty. There's a broader perspective in the world where an asset is an asset, a target is a target, and an ally is an ally... There's more acceptance within those channels of what we would consider terrible things.
And I cannot imagine that if we're talking the world of covert intelligence and national security, that those conversions in thought wouldn't be even more in depth. For instance, look at Jason Bourne. He had an emotional relationship with Marie, and I speculate Nicky as well. And yet, there's still the matter of duty. Or Salt for that matter, who deeply loved her husband, despite her intended duties. There must be a separation between duty and heart, and I cannot believe in the stories of the other half being clueless to the duty side. Therefore, in my head, there must be some similiar disassociation for the partner as well, and along with that disassociation, a hefty level of acceptance.
Which was where Sasha was grounded. She possessed the background to understand, though she may not have been acting in the same capacity as Alexei. Plus, for reasons of her own, she embraces her fate as a form of punishment that she's willing to accept.
In any case, Sasha was fascinating, and I had an immense amount of fun getting into her head. And hey, it wasn't half-bad letting her fall in love with a strong, sexy hero, who would give up his life to keep her safe.
If you'd like to meet Sasha, the Lie to Me blog tour continues today at Riverina Romantics with an interview with her. Remember, if you follow the tour, the more you comment, the better your chances of winning! And the prize is a 25.00 Amazon Gift Card.
04 July, 2012
Wicked Wednesday (38)
Today's Blog Tour Stop is at Red Hot Books! I'm sharing my favorite 4th of July Memory, and hope you'll stop in to share yours!
Now for your Wicked Wednesday pleasure...
Smile for the camera
03 July, 2012
New Reviews! Lie To Me Release Day Teaser - Chapter 2 -- and Giveaway!
Well, here it is -- LIE TO ME's Release Day! Yay!
And to celebrate, I'm bringing you the last of our Tuesday Teasers on this book, with the full Chapter Two. Time to meet Alexei, ladies!
PLUS -- Another of my favorite bloggers has interviewed me today, and I have two reviews to share!
Join me at Under the Covers for the Lie to Me Blog Tour and an interview about the series.
Quick reviews:
4 Stars - Musings from an Addicted Reader: "Lie To Me has it all betrayal, suspense, explosive characters, and more."
5 Feathers - Under the Covers: "A blood-pounding, edge of seat, toe curling adventure! Truly a must-read book!"
Onto the excerpt!
For those of you just tuning in and wanting to know what this is all about, check out the previous posts:
Prologue, Part 1
Prologue, Part 2
Chapter One, Part 1
Chapter One, Part 2
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
~~@~~
Chapter Two
And to celebrate, I'm bringing you the last of our Tuesday Teasers on this book, with the full Chapter Two. Time to meet Alexei, ladies!
PLUS -- Another of my favorite bloggers has interviewed me today, and I have two reviews to share!
Join me at Under the Covers for the Lie to Me Blog Tour and an interview about the series.
Quick reviews:
4 Stars - Musings from an Addicted Reader: "Lie To Me has it all betrayal, suspense, explosive characters, and more."
5 Feathers - Under the Covers: "A blood-pounding, edge of seat, toe curling adventure! Truly a must-read book!"
Onto the excerpt!
For those of you just tuning in and wanting to know what this is all about, check out the previous posts:
Prologue, Part 1
Prologue, Part 2
Chapter One, Part 1
Chapter One, Part 2
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable nights spent together in Moscow, two years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
~~@~~
Chapter Two
When he’d become an errand boy, much less a baby sitter, Alexei Nikanova couldn’t say. He thought he’d risen above the menial task of fetching coveted items and entertaining troublesome women when he joined the Black Opals ten years ago. Evidently, he’d been mistaken.
Glancing around Saeed’s opulent marble foyer, Alexei bit back a mutter. He’d also thought he was finally free of this damned desert weather and these power-hungry sheikhs. After Natalya Trubachev, the Opal he’d worked with in Moscow, had blown the Bratva’s human trafficking ring open, and he’d fought like hell to get the enslaved women home to somehow make amends for kidnapping them, Alexei thought he would never set foot in Dubai again.
If he hadn’t accidentally taken the wrong girl two and a half years ago, he might have seen that wish fulfilled. As it was, Sasha Zablosky’s father was raising holy hell about his missing daughter. When HQ realized she was the same Sasha holed up with Saeed, they’d borrowed the identity of Vasily, who they had very recently captured, and sent Alexei back to clean up his mistake so fast he barely had time to formulate a strategy.
He’d protested, to be sure. Between the risk of being recognized and his borrowed alias, no operative wouldn’t. But bitching got him nowhere except on a plane with false papers once again in hand. Halfway across the ocean, he’d kicked himself for refusing to look at the photographs they offered. He couldn’t. He couldn’t bear to look at the innocent face. Now, his guilt-driven reaction forced him to rely on someone else’s analysis and only made the situation more dangerous.
If Amir’s cherished son could actually arrive on time, Alexei might yet get out of this mess before things went from bad to horrible. The only saving grace he could take a modicum of relief in was that Saeed had never met Alexei or Vasily. Just Alexei posing as Vasily.
He shifted his weight, eyeing the doorway at the far hall that led to Saeed’s private wing of the palace. If he stopped to think about what he was about to do, he’d hate himself more. For fuck’s sake, he was entertaining the same sick pleasures that he had fought to stop. Sure, he had been an integral part of condemning women like the very same Sasha he was extracting, and that knowledge ate him up like cancer. But jobs were jobs, and they’d been that way since . . .
Since other things he’d stopped thinking about long ago.
Things that were better left in the dark. Where he couldn’t acknowledge who or what he was. What he’d become.
Where the hell are you, asshole?
Alexei was pissed off , nervous, and antsy. Individually, any of those emotions were enough to land him in an unmarked grave. Combined, they were nothing short of suicidal. If he had a bit of sense he’d get the hell out of here and forget about this little intimate arrangement, find some other way to handle the extraction. But no, he’d orchestrated this. It was the only way to get to Sasha alone. Besides, the more time he spent in-country planning alternate tactics, the higher the risk of being ousted. He couldn’t bail. Failure wasn’t an option.
He took a deep breath and willed the anxiety aside. The weight of his Sig resting against his side offered comfort. Saeed trusted him. Enough to let him enter the palace armed.
The young sheikh’s first mistake—but he’d learn soon enough. The rest of the lessons Saeed would learn tonight . . . Well, with a little luck, things wouldn’t get out of hand. Alexei really didn’t want to up the body count any higher. Too many people had given their lives for this crazy nightmare. Those who died in body, and those who died in spirit.
Hurry the fuck up.
Before other memories surfaced about another woman he’d betrayed. A waif-thin scrap of a girl whose pale blue eyes still gazed up at him in silent acceptance of the hell he’d sent her to.
Footsteps echoed behind the closed door as Alexei’s thoughts took a dangerous slant. He rolled his shoulders and forced Irina down into the depths of his mind. She’d surface again—she always did. But for now, he needed to focus on getting himself, and Sasha, out alive.
Saeed’s strong frame filled the distant doorway, his smile as welcoming as if they were long-lost friends. Alexei’s gut cinched tight. They could never be friends, even though they shared the same sins.
“Vasily.” Saeed greeted him heartily. He clasped Alexei’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “Welcome to my home. I trust my security did not harass you?”
It took all of Alexei’s willpower to keep his voice even and void of the distaste that surfaced to the back of his throat. He took care to make his English stilted in accordance to his Russian cover. Though in truth, after so many years of speaking nothing but Russian, he didn’t have to work hard.
“No. It went as I expected.”
“Come then.” Saeed gestured at an open alcove where stark white modern furniture sat against steel gray walls. “Let us discuss business first. Then we shall indulge in the entertainment.”
Entertainment—Alexei forced himself not to grimace. Saeed might get off tonight, but Alexei wouldn’t. His body would respond, but just like before the Opals, his mind would be elsewhere. Saeed’s presence made it more tolerable. Distance was easier to achieve as the third.
He fell into step behind Saeed and followed him to the smaller room. As they approached a floor-to-ceiling gilt mirror, he cut his gaze to the man in front of him. Saeed’s stride spoke of natural-born confidence. Of Amir’s three sons, he was the middle boy. Rumor held he came into the kingship by chance. That Amir and Mohammad, his eldest, had a falling out at the last formal meeting between Arabic nations. In a fit of temper, Amir denounced Mohammad. He’d killed himself before ever taking the insult back. Alexei knew the truth, despite the rumor that he’d offed Amir when he was exposed as the head of the trafficking ring. Though Alexei wished like hell he had.
All things considered, Alexei thought Amir made the smarter choice. Intel reports labeled Mohammad as a radical loose cannon. At least Saeed didn’t support the terrorist Muslim factions. And from what Alexei had heard, Saeed didn’t subscribe to the practice of permanently marking his women. Something Sasha and her father could be glad about.
“Would you care for a drink?” From behind a stocked bar of moderate size, Saeed indicated a hanging row of empty glasses.
“Water, please.”
“Indeed. A much smarter approach to business, I must agree.” He filled two stemmed glasses with ice, then poured water from a dark green bottle. Rounding the bar, he joined Alexei and gestured at a black leather chair. “Do sit down, Vasily. We shall be intimately acquainted before the night is through.”
As Alexei sat, he couldn’t stop a frown. “Is she willing? Did you ask?” He refused to force himself on a woman.
Saeed chuckled. “I care for her. If she had protested, I would be offering you other choices.”
Another way of saying no, he hadn’t asked. Very well. Alexei would play it by ear. He didn’t need to fuck the woman to accomplish this mission. It had merely been the quickest, easiest option to get a little time alone with her and catch Saeed with his guard down. If she resisted anything tonight, Alexei would find an alternate solution. Even if it meant spending more time in this godforsaken city.
“So, these connections you possess. Tell me of them.” Suddenly serious, Saeed’s smile vanished and his demeanor took on the impassive air of business.
Alexei settled into the role he knew by heart. He’d done it too long. Let it get inside him, where it festered. Now it was ingrained routine. One he hated, but routine all the same. “The women are collected from private nightclubs where their . . . skills . . . are evaluated through their talent with dance.” Careful to adhere to Saeed’s preference to somehow dignify the act of trading women for sex, Alexei did his best to avoid the blunt truth that strippers were chosen by how thoroughly they aroused the crowd.
“And they are all blonde?”
“They were under your father’s direction.”
Saeed frowned. “I suspect there was a reason for such. Did he convey it to you?”
Alexei forced a grim smile. “American businessmen, tired of being away from home, spend money for women who appear to be American. European will work as well. After all, they are not required to talk, are they?”
He couldn’t keep the bitterness down. Worse than the trafficking itself was the fact he had been integral to it. That he had preyed on trust, drugged the unsuspecting like Irina, and transported them to a despicable fate. All the while, he had fed them heroin to keep them subservient, to hook them so they only cared about their next fix, not what the revolving door of strangers wanted from them. Even all the risks he took to restore their lives, to get them treatment for their addictions, couldn’t absolve his actions, even if they were in the name of national security.
His hand tightened on his glass, and he set it aside before he snapped the stem in two. As it always did, the thought of Irina and the likely fate she had met twisted his heart. He’d tried like hell to keep her out of his mind. Even went so far as to try to forget her for several months by living life at the bottom of a glass. Nothing worked. She was a canker that wouldn’t heal.
He’d betrayed the only woman who had ever provoked his dead emotions.
“I suppose not.” Saeed looked like the admission didn’t sit well with him either. Then he shrugged, as if it weren’t something to concern himself with. As if this business of human trafficking and sexual slavery was apart from him. Even when he owned and enjoyed one of those very same women. “And Moscow’s Bratva—they are stable enough to relaunch this venture?”
Not hardly. “Yes. I have spoken with them directly. They are willing to put their trust in you.”
“I find that difficult to believe in light of all the upheaval concerning my father.”
Alexei chuckled. “Why should they care? No one will miss a stripper. Money is power. Power is influence.” And sex goes hand in hand with both. How well he knew that truth.
“You make a good point.” Saeed nodded thoughtfully. “Very well, when this night is concluded, what are our next steps?”
There wouldn’t be any next steps. With Dmitri Gavrikov’s arrest, the Bratva was in chaos trying to decide their next permanent leader. Several key figureheads were in detention, and every last person involved with the human trafficking ring was either dead or behind bars. This was all an elaborate fiction created by Black Opal operatives for one woman whose aggrieved father couldn’t accept the likelihood she was dead. One very lucky woman who’d escaped the fate of whatever the men who paid for her desired, and who had a wealthy sheikh to support her heroin habit.
Alexei took a drink to let the lies percolate, then set his glass back on the mirror-topped table. “When I leave, we shall be agreed on a date of delivery. I will deliver the cargo personally, to a place of your choosing—though I suggest not your palace—and you will make the payment at that time.” He squinted for emphasis. “In United States dollars.”
“They will be . . . subdued?”
“Of course.”
“And once they are here—who shall attend to their care?”
Alexei shrugged one shoulder. “You will have to hire someone. I suggest you find a nurse. Their dosages must be carefully monitored.” As Saeed likely already knew.
“Very well then. I shall make the necessary staffing adjustments. It is April now, can you deliver by August?”
Making a show of putting great thought into his answer, Alexei took his time with a slow nod. “That can be arranged.”
A smile broke across Saeed’s face, hesitant at first, then assuming more emphasis as he reached to shake Alexei’s hand. “Consider it agreed.”
Alexei shook, then clasped the young sheikh’s hand in both of his and added an emphatic squeeze. “It is done.”
“Now, let us talk of more important matters.” All hints of good humor vanished under Saeed’s sudden, piercing stare. “I will tolerate no abuse to Sasha.”
“I understand.”
“If she expresses any displeasure, this ends, immediately. I have promised her she will only enjoy this evening. I will not have that vow compromised.”
Alexei nodded again. Odd how this man protected his possessions. She was a sexual toy, one he’d purchased, and yet, he genuinely seemed concerned about her well-being. Damned odd.
Saeed’s voice returned to its normal amicable warmth. “I will be the third this evening. You will aid in her preparation, but you may not find your release inside what belongs to me.”
Good. No need to push himself to the brink with pretending. He could roll aside and let Saeed take over while Alexei quietly jacked off to alleviate the need for physical release. No fear he might whisper the damnable name of the woman who haunted him each time he tried with another.
Still, the disclosure he would not act as third surprised him. He cocked his head and repeated, “You will be the third?”
Saeed passed a hand over the neatly trimmed line of hair that edged his jaw. “She belongs to me. Her happiness is my responsibility.” He paused to give Alexei a troubled frown. “As it is also my responsibility to remove all her pain.”
In that moment, Alexei witnessed a different man than the young sheikh who sought to patch together his father’s crumbling legacy. He stared into the brittle eyes of a man who genuinely cared for the woman that had come into his possession. Saeed didn’t want to share Sasha any more than Alexei wanted to be here. And yet, Saeed was willing to sacrifice to protect his family from destruction. His decision had been made for him.
Alexei understood that.
He respected it even more. He’d been there once. Knew the anguish of having no choice. Understood how that kind of circumstance shredded a man inside.
Son of a bitch, he didn’t want to be responsible for forcing that on anyone. He could find another way to get Sasha out of here. It would be better for all of them.
Standing, he cleared his throat. “I should leave.”
Saeed’s lips formed a tight, hard line. Jaw set, he shook his head as he rose to his feet. “I honor my promises, Vasily. In all things.” Turning crisply, he beckoned Alexei to follow. “Come. She waits.”
And for a bonus -- I have a signed copy of Lie To Me for one randomly drawn commentor who can tell me why you read erotic romance.
02 July, 2012
News, News, News!
Good morning, everyone!
I have exciting news to share with all of you! Several little bits actually.
First, who is this new face on the blog you'll be seeing here and there? That's Tiffany, my assistant. Be nice to her, she hasn't grown her fangs yet :)
If you look at the reality of my publication schedule -- I've had a book out almost every month so far, and will have a book out every month through the end of the year -- it's getting harder and harder to find time to do anything but meet deadlines. The blog's purpose should be to entertain you, and some of the things that aren't so "personalized" she'll be taking over. Or at least stepping in here and there when I get into a log-jam. She's got a great sense of humor, we share many of the same tastes, and she's really fun. So take some time, say hello, and get to know her.
Speaking of books out -- Lie to Me comes out Wednesday! Whee! And the first official review came in today.
"From the first page you are sucked in, a high octane rollercoaster read. Lie To Me has it all betrayal, suspense, explosive characters, and more." - Musings From an Addicted Reader
SQUEE!
Which leads me to the third newsworthy tidbit:
The Lie To Me Virtual Book Tour is in full swing! Like last time with Stripped, if you follow the tour and comment on the stops, you'll be entered to win a 25.00 Amazon Gift Card. Here and there I'll be giving away other little things, and I hope to see you on the road with my new release!
I am at one of my all-time favorite blog sites, Reading Between the Wines today. Please stop in!
Here's the complete tour schedule. And if you don't want to remember which post it's listed in, just click the CONTESTS link above.
July 1 - Musings From An Addicted Reader
Secondary Stop: Daydreaming
July 2 - Reading Between The Wines
July 3 - Under the Covers
July 4 - Red Hot Books
July 5 - Riverina Romantics
July 6 - The Book Nympho
July 9 - AsianCocoa's Secret Garden
July 10 - Love to Read for Fun
July 11 - Bitten by Paranormal Romance
Secondary Stop: Denise Grover Swank
July 12 - Seductive Musings
July 13 - Cocktails and Books
Secondary Stop: Night Owl Book Reviews
July 16 - Happily Ever After Reads
July 17 - Romantic Crush Junkies
July 18 - Page Flipperz
July 19 - Novel Reflections
July 20 - Immortality and Beyond
July 23 - Ramblings From This Chick
July 24 - Roni Loren
July 25 - The Delighted Reader
Secondary Stop: The Jeep Diva
July 26 - Scorching Book Reviews
I have exciting news to share with all of you! Several little bits actually.
First, who is this new face on the blog you'll be seeing here and there? That's Tiffany, my assistant. Be nice to her, she hasn't grown her fangs yet :)
If you look at the reality of my publication schedule -- I've had a book out almost every month so far, and will have a book out every month through the end of the year -- it's getting harder and harder to find time to do anything but meet deadlines. The blog's purpose should be to entertain you, and some of the things that aren't so "personalized" she'll be taking over. Or at least stepping in here and there when I get into a log-jam. She's got a great sense of humor, we share many of the same tastes, and she's really fun. So take some time, say hello, and get to know her.
Speaking of books out -- Lie to Me comes out Wednesday! Whee! And the first official review came in today.
"From the first page you are sucked in, a high octane rollercoaster read. Lie To Me has it all betrayal, suspense, explosive characters, and more." - Musings From an Addicted Reader
SQUEE!
Which leads me to the third newsworthy tidbit:
The Lie To Me Virtual Book Tour is in full swing! Like last time with Stripped, if you follow the tour and comment on the stops, you'll be entered to win a 25.00 Amazon Gift Card. Here and there I'll be giving away other little things, and I hope to see you on the road with my new release!
I am at one of my all-time favorite blog sites, Reading Between the Wines today. Please stop in!
Here's the complete tour schedule. And if you don't want to remember which post it's listed in, just click the CONTESTS link above.
July 1 - Musings From An Addicted Reader
Secondary Stop: Daydreaming
July 2 - Reading Between The Wines
July 3 - Under the Covers
July 4 - Red Hot Books
July 5 - Riverina Romantics
July 6 - The Book Nympho
July 9 - AsianCocoa's Secret Garden
July 10 - Love to Read for Fun
July 11 - Bitten by Paranormal Romance
Secondary Stop: Denise Grover Swank
July 12 - Seductive Musings
July 13 - Cocktails and Books
Secondary Stop: Night Owl Book Reviews
July 16 - Happily Ever After Reads
July 17 - Romantic Crush Junkies
July 18 - Page Flipperz
July 19 - Novel Reflections
July 20 - Immortality and Beyond
July 23 - Ramblings From This Chick
July 24 - Roni Loren
July 25 - The Delighted Reader
Secondary Stop: The Jeep Diva
July 26 - Scorching Book Reviews
July 27 - Tyra's Book Addiction
July 30 - Bookin' It Reviews
July 31 - Socrates' Book Reviews
01 July, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday, Taken from Lie To Me
Well here we are, the 1st part of July, and it's six-sentence Sunday again!
Here's the last peek at LIE TO ME. It releases July 3rd. If you've been following the six-sentence quips, and the excerpts I've posted, and you can't wait to read -- you can pre-order now! Just follow the link there on the right.
Her hand stilled at the base of his spine. Hate him.
Here's the last peek at LIE TO ME. It releases July 3rd. If you've been following the six-sentence quips, and the excerpts I've posted, and you can't wait to read -- you can pre-order now! Just follow the link there on the right.
The pleasant friction sent another bout of delightful shivers surging through Sasha’s body. She dropped one hand to his waist, plucked his shirt free, and slipped her fingers beneath to explore his warm flesh.
“Ah, Sasha,” he murmured against her temple. “Tell me you don’t hate me.”
27 June, 2012
26 June, 2012
Lie To Me Sneak Peek - Chapter 1 Continued!
It's Tuesday again--which means it's teaser day on my Claire Ashgrove Blog, and therefore time for more LIE TO ME. If you're just joining us here this week, you're viewing an excerpt from my July 3rd release.
You can read the previous installments here:
Prologue, Part 1
Prologue, Part 2
Chapter One, Part 1
Let's get started!
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable nights spent together in Moscow, two years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
~~@~~
Chapter One (Continued)
Saeed stopped in the hall and leaned his forehead against the cool white wall. He felt as if every portion of his being were locked in conflict. The secrets surrounding his father’s death, the weight and undesired responsibility of stepping into leading the family, the deep affection he felt for Sasha—none of this he had wanted. He’d been perfectly content traveling the world, reveling in the Western traditions he enjoyed—along with the freedom of taking the women he desired—until he’d been asked to protect one of his father’s slaves. Saeed had taken one look at her malnourished figure, the emptiness in her blue eyes, and instantly known he’d devote his life to fulfilling his promise.
Now he put her safety in danger to protect the other half of his responsibilities. And he knew that though Sasha had said she understood, in time, when enough women had been trafficked through his hands, this would become a wedge between them.
He took a deep breath as voices drifted from his front hall where his staff was handling Vasily’s arrival. If it weren’t for the man’s years of service in China and his contacts, which Saeed had verified, he would never risk something like this. But even Saeed, who had done all he could to stay away from the corruption of wealth, had recognized Vasily’s name. Men like Vasily had a reputation that rumbled through the quieter circles of the elite who didn’t share Saeed’s moral convictions.
“He will join you in a few moments. Please make yourself comfortable,” Saeed’s man directed.
Footsteps echoed across the marble flooring beyond the door that separated off Saeed’s personal quarters, signaling Vasily had entered the front room.
Just for a moment, Saeed wished the fabricated argument between Alexei and his father had occurred, and that his father had killed the agent. If Amir had, Saeed would be free of the despicable compromises he had been forced to make. But he hadn’t, and though the agent had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth—as would be expected— that man still possessed the ability to destroy Saeed’s family no matter what Saeed agreed to tonight. Alexei Nikanova knew, more than anyone, that he had not assassinated Amir. If he chose to speak of it, if he still monitored the activities here, the resulting nightmare would never end.
Saeed pulled in a deep, fortifying breath and pushed away from the wall. He could not worry about Alexei now, nor the concessions he’d made both to his own beliefs and to Sasha. He must see this through. He knew no other way to protect the ones he loved. Including Sasha, who had entrusted him with her dark past, and who he had sworn to protect with his life.
(Continued Next Week with Chapter 2 in full)
24 June, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday
Hi all, it's that time of week again!
I have another quip from my July 3rd release, Lie To Me:
I have another quip from my July 3rd release, Lie To Me:
20 June, 2012
19 June, 2012
Sneak Peek - Lie To Me, Chapter 1
Hi all! We're back this week with more LIE TO ME -- my July 3rd release as Tori St. Claire, from Berkley Heat. I had to take a brief hiatus there with a guest appearance on the Claire blog, and since I'm posting to both, I didn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone, so to speak.
You can read the previous installments here:
Lie To Me Prologue, Part 1
Lie To Me Prologue, Part 2
Let's jump in!
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable nights spent together in Moscow, two years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
(Continued Next Week)
You can read the previous installments here:
Lie To Me Prologue, Part 1
Lie To Me Prologue, Part 2
Let's jump in!
A man of action… After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable nights spent together in Moscow, two years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
~~@~~
Chapter One
Present Day
Onyx eyes sparkled, silently laughing at Sasha from the plush beige chair beside hers. She stopped, mid-sentence, and pursed her lips, though her own humor threatened to spoil her attempt at annoyance. It occurred to her, even as Saeed’s amusement escaped with a warm smile, she was being ridiculous. Not once in two years had she felt the need to deliver a formal report on the staff she oversaw as his housekeeping manager.
She tossed the papers onto the table in front of her knees with a chuckle. “I’m no good at this.”
His broad shoulders shook with mirth as he reached across and straightened the disheveled report. “No, you are not.” Leaning sideways, closer to her, he brought the back of his hand to her face. Knuckles whispered across her cheek, then slid lower to push a thick lock of her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “You try too hard when your work already pleases me.”
“I just want everything to go well when you meet with the tribal leaders this week. They’ll expect the same meticulous service they received at your father’s home.” Sighing, she flopped into the soft cushions and played with the buttons on the blouse Saeed had given her on her birthday, two months prior. With Sheikh Amir’s suicide six months ago—a death Saeed diligently covered up—and the crimes Amir had been charged with, it was imperative his son make strong impressions to prevent the disgraceful secret from being discovered and his family from falling into shame. Particularly when Sasha was living proof of Sheikh Amir’s dark practices. Saeed and she rarely spoke about his ownership of her, or how she’d been presented as a gift two years previous, but they both understood her driving need to make sure she didn’t jeopardize him, or her own safety.
“Come here, Sasha.” He patted a muscular thigh.
Feeling like she bore the weight of the world on her shoulders, she moved catty-corner to sit in his lap. One arm wound around her waist, holding her protectively—comfortably—close. Sasha tucked her cheek onto his shoulder and breathed in the scent of frankincense that clung to his skin. Another sigh slipped free.
Saeed ran his hand up and down her spine. “You worry overmuch. We have discussed this, habibti, they will not ask questions. You are safe here. They assume I enjoy the pleasures of your body, no more. They will not find it worth their time to consider you, your work, or your origins further.”
A faint smile drifted to her lips despite the thick worry that had plagued her since Saeed had inherited his father’s kingdom. His preference for Western culture and his deviations from Muslim traditions were complication enough. If anyone discovered she was part of the ring of human trafficking his father had begun, one loose end as yet unresolved and one of the few women who hadn’t been returned to their original countries, Saeed’s family would suffer. Talk would begin again about Amir’s supposed meeting with the man who transported the women, and the questionable events that Saeed had managed to spin into a story of assassination, despite knowing his father had taken his own life. Saeed didn’t need her origins threatening him further.
She let out another heavy sigh. “Mellilah knows I was with you when you found Amir, Saeed. She also knows you never visit my bed. She hates me.” Saeed’s first wife despised the close relationship Sasha and Saeed shared. That she couldn’t dismiss Sasha with the simple tag of whore made her somehow feel threatened, and added yet another stressor to the circumstances.
Not that Sasha complained about her unique status and lack of sexual involvement. While Saeed was young and nice-looking, they had their own arrangement. She took care of his household, they’d become close friends, and for his own reasons, he hadn’t used her for the purpose she’d been gifted. Whatever those reasons were, she’d been blessed to be placed in such a position of trust. Blessed by the deep camaraderie they shared.
Though admittedly, it was a bit odd that while he obviously found her desirable, he’d never acted on the urge.
“Mellilah does not cause you trouble, does she?” Wariness gave Saeed’s voice an edge.
“No.” Sasha shook her head and sank deeper into his embrace.
“And she will not.” His hand slipped to her waist, the other coming to join it, and he shifted her so she faced him directly. “She has borne me two sons, my rightful heirs. She will bear me more. She would not jeopardize her security, or theirs.” He paused, then looked Sasha straight in the eye. “Or even those which come from your womb.”
Saeed’s sons. She could give him children—Lord knew he had done more than enough for her. And he was an attentive father to his boys. But to get to that point, something would have to change between them. Drastically.
Sasha laughed. “I think you’d have to do more than come to my room to go over your staffing reports.”
The light in his eyes darkened to a deeper hue of black as a faint smile touched his full mouth again. One corner of his narrow mustache twitched the way it always did when he found something she said satisfying. He cupped her chin in one hand, his hold gentle, his voice intimate. “I have waited two years so you would come to trust me and feel as if you truly belonged in my palace. Do I have that trust now?”
“I trust you with my life, Saeed.” Her secrets too. He was the only person in this world who knew the things she had done, the deaths she’d unwittingly caused, and the absolute hatred she felt for her father.
She ran a fingertip over the line of close-cut dark beard that edged his defined jaw. “You know this.”
“It is time for things to change between us, habibti.” For the first time since she’d known him, he leaned forward and touched soft lips to hers. “Tonight. I have planned a surprise for you. It is my hope you will not take offense.”
Startled by the sudden kiss, Sasha struggled to connect his meaning. “Offense?” This was unexpected. She knew it would come eventually, and she couldn’t say the idea of sleeping with Saeed didn’t appeal—he was handsome, kind, and always considerate. But the last thing she’d been prepared to hear after discussing household reports was that he’d decided to exercise his inherent rights to her body.
He didn’t answer with words. His lips brushed hers again, then lingered, the tip of his tongue teasing the corner of her mouth. Sasha responded naturally, opening to his subtle entreaty and gliding her tongue across his. Confident, yet tender—he kissed the same way he benignly touched her. She closed her eyes and let him take his fill.
The newness of their circumstances held a strange appeal. His previous restraint hadn’t made sense. He was a man. She was a woman. He desired her. He should have acted on it far sooner. Instead, he’d put her on a virtual pedestal, gave her important duties in his household, and treated her like a princess. But the gentle press of his lips didn’t come close to stirring the fire of the last man she had kissed. Alexei still haunted her dreams. Still stoked an ache she couldn’t satisfy.
Saeed eased the kiss to a close, his breathing elevated, his gaze now fathomlessly black. “You must understand it is only your pleasure I wish for, Sasha. Despite how it may sound . . .” His brow furrowed.
“What is it, Saeed?” Smiling, she flattened her palm against his chest.
“I fear you will not like my explanation.” Abruptly, he slid her off his lap into the cushion beside him. “But there are things I must do to protect the secrets of my family. You’re right, in some ways, to worry.”
A spark of apprehension lit, and Sasha’s gaze narrowed. Sheikh Amir had done some terrible things. Buying women for his hotel, trading arms, running drugs—none of those sounded like Saeed. And if he’d suddenly decided black-market bombs were his thing, they were going to have serious problems. He knew how she felt about that.
“I found myself approached by awkward allies,” Saeed began cautiously. “The same tribal leaders you have been so concerned with.”
Sasha nodded.
“Though they have mentioned nothing of you—and they will not— several already question the circumstances of my father’s death. Mahmoud specifically talks of how my father and he were supposed to meet with the agent who arrested him, but my father was coincidentally found dead in the palace garden the morning of. Mahmoud’s sons question the story that my father was killed by the same agent.” Saeed passed a hand through thick, wavy hair. “His sons have insinuated that if I shun the involvement of other tribal leaders, they would make it . . . difficult.”
Sasha cringed. Saeed had worried about Mahmoud, one of the few men who had been captured and taken to America as opposed to being killed in the quiet of night. He hadn’t anticipated Mahmoud would talk, or that the questions Mahmoud posed would travel across an ocean to the homeland that neighbored Saeed’s. The men who were lured by the money to continue in what their fathers began wanted Saeed’s connections with the Western world. Connections they didn’t possess. Evidently now, they sought to press his hand the only way they knew how, by using rumor and suspicion to gain his aid and alliance.
“I had to choose a means of pacifying them, habibti. With the respect I feel for you, I couldn’t agree to the trading of arms. You also know my abhorrence of drugs. Which leaves . . .”
His gaze held hers steadily, speaking what they both knew. What they both despised, but couldn’t escape—the trade of women. Sasha swallowed hard. She’d had it good. Far better than the rest of the women that U.S. Intelligence had taken back, and introduced to rehab programs that would cleanse the heroin from their blood, and hopefully their minds. But they’d never shed the scars.
Still, she had little room to protest. Saeed was caught between two threatening boulders. She couldn’t ask him to endanger his entire family for her peace of mind. Nor would she. He had saved her from that horrific dependence on drugs and an endless stream of sexual degradations. Despite all that, despite all the privileges she knew, she still belonged to him. She was not his equal. Her opinion wouldn’t matter against the current stakes, and while Saeed cared for her, he wouldn’t risk everything to alleviate her disgust.
“What did you plan for tonight?”
“I have met with a man. Vasily. Another of the Bratva who comes highly recommended for duties such as this. He has been trading Russian women to China for several years.”
Like Alexei. Sasha’s heartbeat kicked up a notch, the familiarity uncanny.
“He asked for a token evidencing my trust in him.” His gaze cut to her, sharp and direct. “He heard of your beauty. He heard also, though I am shamed to admit it, that you are my weakness.”
A knot began to form in Sasha’s gut. All the months of being put on a pedestal had come to haunt her in a far larger way than her origins or Mellilah had ever posed. Though she wouldn’t put it past that gloating witch to spread the whispers of Saeed’s supposed weakness. Mellilah would be glad to be free of Sasha.
“You’re not . . . sending me to China . . . are you?” She could hardly get the words out, the thought struck such fear.
Saeed gave her a frown. “Do not be silly. I would never send you from here unless such was your wish.”
Saeed placed two fingertips beneath her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “I offered to share you for one night. We will both come to you tonight. For your sacrifice, habibti, I swear upon my soul, you will know nothing but pleasure.”
Her eyes widened in shock. Not just Saeed, but a stranger? Two men, in her bed. One she trusted. One she didn’t know at all. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew she ought to feel shame. Outrage. Something other than the kernel of excitement that popped inside her soul. That she didn’t made her uncomfortable. She squirmed out of Saeed’s gentle hold.
Saeed clasped her hand, his intense gaze willing her to believe. “I also swear, such will never happen again—unless you request it.” His thumb stroked the back of her knuckles. “As my beloved partner, Sasha, your happiness will know no restrictions.”
Dumbfounded both by what he proposed would happen this evening and the selflessness in his promise of their future, Sasha’s jaw dropped.
Saeed winced. “I have offended you.”
“No . . .” she answered hesitantly, uncertain how to define the emotion skittering through her veins.
Shifting closer, he twisted so one knee touched her thigh. His fingertips grazed up her forearm to her elbow. “You promise I have not?”
“I promise.”
“Good then,” he murmured as he dipped his head. His breath danced against her lips. Warm fingers slid higher to the tank-style sleeve of her sheer baby-blue blouse. Then his caress drifted downward, and he trailed the back of his hand over the curve of her breast.
Featherlight, the unexpected touch combined with the whisper of his lips and the shocking idea of what tonight would involve. Her thoughts rioted between surprise, curiosity, anticipation, and shame.
A shiver rolled through her all the way down to her toes. She arched into the press of his palm with a gasp.
“I promise nothing but your pleasure,” Saeed murmured before he took her mouth again.
As a foreign sense of attraction for this man tumbled through her veins, Sasha yielded to his tempered kiss. His fingers stroked the soft flesh of her breast, tightening it until her nipples hardened into tight buds. Funny how he’d never once elicited this sort of response from her. But under the command of his hands, guided by mental images of his promised evening, and tormented by memories of another kiss, another touch, another beard that scratched her cheeks, she yielded to repressed desire. Two years she’d gone without a man’s touch, known only the satisfaction she could give herself.
Saeed might not turn her insides into jelly or make her willing to beg as she had with Alexei, but it had been so long. And in his own way, Saeed was tied into her heart.
Arousal stirred in the depths of her womb, seeping lower to moisten between her legs. But as she squirmed against the building pressure, Saeed abruptly pulled away. A smile settled on his full mouth.
“I must meet with him. Asiya will see to your preparations.”
Before she could blink through the chaos of her thoughts, Saeed strode from Sasha’s sitting room, leaving her to dwell on the lingering magic of his hands and the forbidden promises of the night to come.
(Continued Next Week)
17 June, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday
Six Sentence Sunday - Number 2!
For this week, I have another quip from my July 3rd release, LIE TO ME.
Dropping to an almost inaudible whisper, her voice washed over his body. “Have you ever been in love, Alexei?”
Danger. Combustion imminent. Alexei covered the sudden trip of his heart with a harsh chuckle. “Love’s not an option in my line of work, princess.”
LIE TO MEBerkley Heat
July 3, 2012
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable time together in Moscow, two and a half years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her sheikh, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist temptation, and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her, even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit, one that Alexei could never forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. As the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
For this week, I have another quip from my July 3rd release, LIE TO ME.
~~~~~
Dropping to an almost inaudible whisper, her voice washed over his body. “Have you ever been in love, Alexei?”
Danger. Combustion imminent. Alexei covered the sudden trip of his heart with a harsh chuckle. “Love’s not an option in my line of work, princess.”
~~~~~
LIE TO MEBerkley HeatJuly 3, 2012
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable time together in Moscow, two and a half years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her sheikh, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist temptation, and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her, even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit, one that Alexei could never forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. As the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
11 June, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday -
Taken From Lie To Me, Coming July 3rd!
Since Moscow, I’ve only ever wanted you.
Alexei wanted to believe Sasha’s pretty words more than he had ever wanted anything. That fierce desire scared the shit out of him too. Because he knew she was telling him lies, and if he let them take root, she’d steal a part of his soul he couldn’t ever reclaim. A part no woman had ever touched before. He’d made sure they couldn’t.
A woman of deception…
Taken From Lie To Me, Coming July 3rd!
~~~~~~
Since Moscow, I’ve only ever wanted you.
Alexei wanted to believe Sasha’s pretty words more than he had ever wanted anything. That fierce desire scared the shit out of him too. Because he knew she was telling him lies, and if he let them take root, she’d steal a part of his soul he couldn’t ever reclaim. A part no woman had ever touched before. He’d made sure they couldn’t.
~~~~~~
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable nights together in Moscow two years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
06 June, 2012
05 June, 2012
Sneak Peak! Lie To Me, Prologue Pt. 2
Hi everybody!
Last week I mentioned that the next several Tuesdays I'm previewing the opening chapters to Lie To Me, my July 3rd release. My goal is to have the first two chapters posted by release date. Whoo-hoo!
You can last week's installment here:
Prologue, Part 1
Now to pick up where we left off!
(Continued next Tuesday with Chapter 1.)
Last week I mentioned that the next several Tuesdays I'm previewing the opening chapters to Lie To Me, my July 3rd release. My goal is to have the first two chapters posted by release date. Whoo-hoo!
You can last week's installment here:
Prologue, Part 1
Now to pick up where we left off!
A man of action…
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable nights spent together in Moscow, two years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
~~@~~
The nearly inaudible response sent chills skittering across her exposed skin. She crossed her arms over her breasts and rubbed at goose bumps. “I do. Tell me where you’re taking me.”
He didn’t look at her as he murmured, “To Dubai.”
Dubai. Sasha blinked. Last she’d heard, Dubai wasn’t a place to drop off Bratva informants. Dmitri Gavrikov and the rest of the Moscow mafia preferred to dispose of their liabilities in rivers, abandoned plots of lands, snow-covered forests—not metropolises.
“What’s in Dubai?”
“A sheikh.” His gaze slid to hers for the briefest of seconds before it fixed once more on the fl at gray wall. Muscles flexed in his cheek, sharpening the angle of his bristly jaw. “You’ve been . . . traded.”
She squinted at his handsome profile. Apprehension bubbled beneath her skin, chasing away the tremendous chill of the late October night. “Traded for what?”
Alexei glanced down at the syringe in his hands, and his hair fell over his shoulders to curtain his expression. His voice was a strained whisper. “There’s an elite hotel. You’ll join . . . the others. For half a million U.S. dollars you’ll entertain businessmen.” He tapped the covered needle. “This will keep you sane.” He looked up, his unsettling gaze locking with hers. “Somewhat.”
Thoughts collided in Sasha’s head. Traded. Entertain businessmen. Sheikh . . .
No. More. Russia.
For six months, she’d been trying to figure out how to get out of the country. Her father’s political power made it impossible to obtain a visa, to even skirt the borders without getting caught. Unwittingly, Alexei was providing that impossible escape.
She held Alexei’s troubled gaze. “I’m to be a whore. A possession and a slave.”
Swallowing again, Alexei answered with a curt nod. “It was why I came to your cousin’s club. You were chosen”—his green eyes flicked over her exposed body, and desire flashed hot before his gaze filled with remorse once again—“before what happened between us.”
“Chosen by whom?” Indignation colored her voice.
“I can’t say. It’s larger than both of us.”
Not the Bratva then. Sasha frowned. Common sense said she should be outraged. Furious with this man who’d taken her to his bed, fucked her until she was nearly delirious, and then betrayed her. But the part of her that had lived so long with guilt, the part that couldn’t forget the deaths she’d caused, whispered that this was fitting punishment.
She had no right to lead a carefree life. Though she’d never intended to harm a single person, let alone kill thirty, she didn’t deserve freedom. Paying that price with her body was insignificant. She’d still be alive—unlike the fate that awaited her in Russia.
Unlike what would happen if her father ever got his hands on her again.
In a strange, perverse way, Dubai offered a freedom that was wholly acceptable.
She gestured at the syringe in Alexei’s hand. She didn’t know what it was, didn’t want to know. But she sensed it would poison her for life, that if she allowed him to stick that needle into her, she’d lose her hold on reality.
“You can put that away.”
Surprise arched his strong brow.
“Take me wherever it is you’re taking me. But don’t put that in my veins.” As she realized what she was agreeing to, a foreboding weight settled on her shoulders and her throat inched closed. A fine sheen of moisture fuzzed her vision. “I won’t fight you. Just don’t give me that.”
For several, never-ending seconds, Alexei studied her. Protest registered in his expression, only to yield to a resignation that came with a heavy sigh. His broad shoulders bowed. Absently, he nodded, placed the syringe back in the leather case, then turned off the overhead light.
Silence spanned between them. The vehicle bounced on, springs rattling, engine cutting through the thick quiet. Cool night air invaded the tiny space, and Sasha clutched at the coarse canvas covering her lower body.
“Are you cold?” Alexei whispered.
Her voice rasped just as softly. “Yes.”
Strong arms wrapped around her waist and hauled her into a cushioning embrace. Alexei reached beneath her calves to drape her knees over his thighs, tucked the canvas tight around her body, and cradled her close. She snuggled into his arms, taking comfort in the warmth of his body, the crisp scent of soap that lingered on his clothing. Beneath her ear, his heart beat steady and strong.
She tipped her gaze to his face, taking in long, lowered eyelashes that dusted over high cheekbones and cloaked his startlingly light green gaze. His features tightened with unspoken pain and grief. The strength of his embrace echoed the same emotions.
She reached unsteady fingertips to his face and flattened her palm against his bristly cheek. Her thumb brushed across the stubble that edged his full, sensual mouth. His gaze held hers for a suspended heartbeat, before he crushed her close and his mouth fluttered through her hair. “I’m so sorry, Irina.”
Despite whatever drove him, whatever obligation he sought to fulfill, in her heart, Sasha knew he was.
(Continued next Tuesday with Chapter 1.)
30 May, 2012
29 May, 2012
Sneak Peek at Lie To Me! - Pt. 1
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope your holiday weekend was fun -- I thoroughly enjoyed mine.
If you follow my Claire Ashgrove blog, you know that every Tuesday I post teasers of my books. I usually don't post the Tori St. Claire material there, but given that LIE TO ME's release date is rapidly approaching -- July 3! -- I'm featuring excerpts for the next few weeks. This material will be added onto the website within a few days of posting as well.
Since this is where they are supposed to go, I'm also doing the same thing here. And oh is it nice to not have to worry about a content warning!
By the time the release date rolls around, you'll have a preview to the first few chapters. So, on that note -- let's get rolling!
A man of action…
PROLOGUE
Two Years Earlier...
(Continued next Tuesday.)
If you follow my Claire Ashgrove blog, you know that every Tuesday I post teasers of my books. I usually don't post the Tori St. Claire material there, but given that LIE TO ME's release date is rapidly approaching -- July 3! -- I'm featuring excerpts for the next few weeks. This material will be added onto the website within a few days of posting as well.
Since this is where they are supposed to go, I'm also doing the same thing here. And oh is it nice to not have to worry about a content warning!
By the time the release date rolls around, you'll have a preview to the first few chapters. So, on that note -- let's get rolling!
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their one unforgettable night together. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her Sheik, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.
A woman of deception…
With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit or that Alexei could ever forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. Now, as the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.
~~@~~
PROLOGUE
Two Years Earlier...
She was moving.
Her eyelids refused to open, but the back-and-forth rocking and the up-and-down motion invaded Sasha Zablosky’s bleary mind. Moving . . .
The monotonous hum of an engine filtered through a dull buzz in her ears. A loud engine. Diesel, and not one built for economy, if she had to take a guess. More like the buzz of the open-top Gaz’s used to transport her and her team to explosion test sites. Only . . . different.
Why in the hell was she moving? What happened to Alexei’s bed, the warm muscular body she’d fallen asleep beside every night for the last week? For that matter, where was he?
Her entire body lurched as the vehicle hit a pothole. The back of her head smacked into something hard, and dizzying nausea rose, threatening to pull her into a dark chasm of nothingness. Distantly, she heard herself moan.
A strong hand latched onto her elbow, grounding her, warm fingertips soaking through her chilled skin. “Easy, Irina. Not much longer now, and it will all be over.”
It took a moment to place the name she’d assumed six months ago when she fled her home, but her native Russian language caressed her ears the same way those warm fingertips stroked the sensitive skin inside her elbow. Sasha focused on the familiar richness, the voice she knew so well. Alexei was here. Relief poured through her.
Grasping at the sound of his voice, she struggled to surface through the fog that clouded her mind. Awareness grew. She was cold and lying on something made of cloth that did little to soften the harsh metallic floor beneath her back. Canvas . . . a tarp. The roar of the engine sharpened; her nose tickled at the faint musty scent.
Memories flashed through her mind. She’d danced for the leering men in her cousin’s nightclub. Stripped for a handful of rubles that wouldn’t feed her through the week. After she exited the ramshackle stage, Alexei had been waiting outside. Long golden-brown hair blew in the wind as he lounged against the brick exterior wall. Her gaze locked with his light green eyes, and all the desire that had flared between them upon her arrival at her cousin’s club three weeks earlier ignited once again. Barely able to keep their hands off each other long enough to make the short ride to his flat, she’d tumbled into his bed. What he’d done to her there . . .
The feel of Alexei’s hands and mouth on her body, the unending ache he created, the way he’d taken her hard and fast, then later slow and torturously—every vivid image burst forth in full color. On her hands and knees begging for release. Spread out beneath him, a slave to the flick of his tongue against her pussy. Astride his firm hips, his thick cock filling her up. She gave herself like she had with no man before. Body, heart, and soul.
It had always been that way between them. Alexei somehow reached inside and touched parts of her she didn’t realize existed. Last night though something drove him as well. When he’d finally had his fill of her, she’d fallen asleep exhausted beyond her means, well used. Significantly appreciated.
Sasha surged through the layered haze clouding her thoughts, and with a startled blink, opened her eyes. Shadows blanketed the small confines, but the hand on her arm kept panic at bay. Slowly, she turned her head. Her gaze registered on Alexei’s unshaven face and his sharp frown.
“Alexei?” She swallowed to moisten her dry throat.
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to refocus her vision. When she looked again, Alexei’s hand fell away from an overhead lamp. Dim yellow light illuminated the steel gray walls of what had once been a military transport vehicle. He wore the same jeans and loose, long-sleeved black shirt he’d worn earlier. Only he hadn’t fastened his shirt all the way, leaving the first three buttons open to reveal smooth bronzed skin dusted with faint dark hair. The vehicle bounced again as it traveled over uneven terrain.
“Irina, I’m so sorry,” Alexei whispered.
As Sasha settled into her surroundings, she attempted a smile. “Where am I?” She glanced down at her rail-thin body, observing she wore only the bra and panties he’d so easily stripped away earlier. “Where are my clothes?”
The glint of metal caught her attention, and her gaze focused on Alexei. He fiddled with a small leather case in his lap. As his hands paused, a syringe loosely clasped in his fingers, he lifted remorseful green eyes to hers. “You’ll never forgive me, but for what it’s worth, what happened between us wasn’t part of my orders. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I will never forget.”
Orders. Her thoughts skidded to a stop as Alexei reached for her arm once more. Years spent working in the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation made that word stand out more than anything she’d heard in the last six months on the run. Had someone found her? Discovered what she’d done?
Was this Russia’s way of disposing of a loose cannon?
She jerked free of his grasp. “Wait.”
Anguish passed behind those light green eyes as he winced. He looked away. “You shouldn’t be awake, little one.” Shadows cut harsh lines into his already chiseled features and gave his unshaven face a dangerous appeal. His throat worked as he visibly swallowed.
Struggling to sit upright, she eased away from the enticing pull of his strong upper body. A harsh note crept into her voice. “Where are you taking me?”
“You don’t want to know.”
(Continued next Tuesday.)
