A taste of Bedeviled!
I’m delighted to welcome back author Madison Michael!! She’s one of the awesome authors in the Sultry Nights Boxed Set.
Hi Linda, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today. I am so excited to be sharing the publication of Sultry Nights with you. For me, a great pleasure in doing this collection has been the opportunity to work with authors whose work I respect and love reading, such as yourself.
Ah, thank you! I love working with you, too. Tell us, if you picked a theme song, what would it be? M: “Don’t Rain on my Parade” from the movie Funny Girl. I get incredible joy out of writing romance novels, sharing my work with my readers and getting their feedback. But every once in while I run into someone who denigrates my work – usually without giving it a chance. Too many people think romances are fluff and not worth reading. These people suggest I give up my writing, or they treat my hard work as if it were a casual hobby. Romance writing is my career and my passion. I want all romance authors to be treated with respect. I want skeptics not to rain on our parade.
Love it! What would be my super power? M: It may sound odd but I think my super power would be patience and understanding. Is that two? I have a fiery temper so learning patience would be a heroic effort for me. I am in awe of the people around me to never lose their cool, who take the time to let people express their opinions. I am the queen of interruption.
But my heroic patience has to be teamed with understanding. We seem to be such a fractured world these days but I am remain curious about other cultures, other societies, other places. I want to explore new cities and learn about new ideas. So patience and understanding. Those would be my choice.
Something we all need. What’s your favourite dessert? M: I thought you asked hard questions before, but for me, this is the hardest to answer. Seriously. I have the worst sweet tooth in the entire world. I could eat enough for an army, but until I have that bite of sugar, I won’t feel satisfied. Chocolate anything is high on my list, although a great fruit pie served warm and a la mode, brings me a lot of pleasure.
If I absolutely have to choose only one, it would be a hot fudge sundae. If you throw a brownie on the bottom and maybe a few slices of banana fall into the whipped cream, all the better. The fudge has to be thick and warm, not hot enough to melt the ice cream, but not cold so it globs together either. Yeah, that would make me happy. I might have to eat one right now!
My most recent work is my Sultry Nights contribution. Bedeviled, the third novel in my Beguiling Bachelor series is a full-length novel included in Sultry Nights. I considered writing a new story for the collection but Bedeviled was such a great fit for an anthology with ‘sultry’ in the title.
In my debut novel, Bedazzled, I created four sexy men, with birth, brains and brawn. They all spoke to me so I elected to tell each of their stories. We meet our Bedeviled hero, Alex, in book one, and his heart’s desire, Charlotte, in book two, Beholden. When we join them in book three, Bedeviled, Alex and Charlotte must unravel the lies they have told for years to make room in their hearts for each other. But their pasts are nipping at their heels, their passion is pulse-pounding and the two are about to collide.
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Here is a taste of Bedeviled, available standalone or as part of a 22 author, 99 cent collection, Sultry Nights, for a limited time only.
“Well, goodnight,” Charlotte finally said shyly
“Good night, Charlotte,” Alex replied. He bent to turn out the bedside lamp, but instead he leaned over her prone body, carefully bracing his hands on either side of her head, and hesitated with his face only inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her skin, warm with the lingering scent of chardonnay.
She locked onto his eyes, marine blue and questioning. He must have gotten the answer he was seeking because his head lowered and she felt the faintest whisper of his lips against hers. It was the softest, swiftest kiss and yet she felt her body respond. He pulled back, again seeking answers, or acquiescence. Her eyes were wide as saucers. He had surprised her with the kiss and her body had surprised her with its swift response. Mesmerized, craving more, she lowered her sooty lashes slowly then opened them again in an age-old sign of invitation. Alex’s eyes blazed.
Lowering his mouth to Charlotte’s, Alex kissed her again but this claiming of her mouth and body was nothing like the previous soft foray. She felt the strong pressure of his lips on hers, the rasp of his tongue demanding her response, probing her to open to him. Heat oozed into her sore muscles turning her body to warm liquid as her heart pounded in her chest. His tongue explored her mouth, capturing hers in a dance suggestive of so much more. She tasted Alex, all dark and mysterious, moist and inviting and gave him what he sought.
“You taste like heaven,” he whispered, moist and intimate in her ear. “I should have done that ages ago. Now, I want to do so much more, Charlotte. So much more.”
“Mm,” she responded, “me too, Alex.”
He dipped his mouth to hers once more and she felt the velvety touch of his lips before he took hers hungrily. Shockwaves of lust rocketed straight to her core. She kissed him back, passionately and completely as his strong lips moved against her softer ones. She felt her body rising up to meet his, felt her mouth insistent for more. She reveled in the taste of him, the feel of his tongue tangling with hers. The more he gave, the more she took and gave in return. Their bodies touched only at their lips but the heat from him was as powerful as if they were naked and glued to each other from head to toe. The man could definitely kiss.
The kiss lasted only a minute, but it changed everything. She could never be the same. Now she knew how he felt, how he tasted. She needed more and he seemed to as well. They had taken the next step and couldn’t take it back. He finally saw her as a woman and Charlotte was heady with power and weak with desire.
A hint of a soft breath moved through her hair. “Sleep now, Charlotte. Get well soon.” He reached and turned off the light, pushed a stray hair away from her face in the dim light from the covered windows and left the room. She watched the shadow of his lean frame backlit from the hall and she wanted him with an overpowering hunger. Then he was gone.
She willed him to come back, lay with her and hold her through the night. She longed for the feel of him beside her, his strength keeping her ghosts at bay. She wanted to wrap herself around him and pull him into her body.
All that from a kiss. Maybe I just should have been injured sooner. If I had known what a good kisser he would be…
Charlotte forgot all about her injuries and focused on the power of that drugging kiss. Snuggling deeper into the soft Egyptian cotton, she drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.
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Thanks so much for dropping by, Maddy!! Can’t wait for the release of the release of Sultry Nights on November 7!!