Easter Blog Hop

Welcome to the Easter Egg Blog Hop. If you just stumbled on this post, head over to Christa Page's blog, where the fun began. You'll find a lot of eye candy on the tour, as well as a basket full of ebooks. Enjoy browsing my site, where I'm featuring my PRINT release of Bait.  You should have come from Paige Tyler's blog, and once you find the Easter egg on my site, it will take you to the next one in line. The entry form to win the Easter Basket of goodies is at the end of the tour.

Hot Excerpt:
He leaned back in his own tub across from mine. “See? A few questions and already we begin to know each other. Nothing to worry about--I don't bite--not unless you want me to.”



Thick lashes made dark half moons under his closed eyes. He feigned disinterest. The steam beaded on his pale smooth skin. Some of those beads slipped down his face, tracing a line from his jaw, to his neck, then along his well defined chest.


I wanted to do bad things with him. I wanted to reach over and lick the beads off his chin then work my way down. I wanted to stroke my hands along...


“Rabbit?”


“Yeah?” My gaze rose from tracing the streams into his blazing stare.


He enjoyed my admiration. “Would you like me to ... bite you?”


“Not yet. What? I mean, no. Thank you.” Thinking was hard enough with Rurik fully clothed. Now it was impossible. I could tell I entertained him to no end. “Are you hungry?”


“Yes, but not for your blood.” The edges of his eyes crinkled with his grin as he showed fang.


I was tired of him taking the lead in our rapport. My job dealt in seduction, yet since I’d met him, I’d lost control. He teased me with his flirtation and his body but two could play this game.


Self-confidence stirred back up, I turned away from Rurik and reached to get a sponge from the table. My movements exposed the length of my spine and a little more, just enough to make him think he got a peek.


His eyes burned along the curves of my hips and shoulders. They left my skin scalded with his desires. It’s been a long time since I dared play this game with such stakes on the table. Did I dare collect the pot if I won?


I knelt in the water, still facing away from him, and shook my hair free of its ponytail. The sponge spilled water as I squeezed it over my head. Warm and delicious it ran down my heated skin. I repeated this over and over until my hair was soaked. The tangle of my frizzed out poof tamed to soft curls once more.


“Why do you insist on calling me Rabbit?” My question floated on the steam in the room across to him.


“Rabbits are soft, quick, sweet creatures. You bring to mind a favorite poem.” The hunger in his voice made it deeper, almost sensual.


“Run, rabbit, run


Try to get away.


Run, rabbit, run


I've come out to play.


Run, rabbit, run


For it's the end of the day.”

The poem sent shivers down my spine. 'Run, rabbit, run' was what he shouted as he shoved me out the window. Another shiver followed. Soft, quick, and sweet. He described me as prey. This was not a man but a vampire. If he liked me, did that make me safer or more tempting?

The splash of water landing on the floor caused me to look over my bare shoulder. Rurik retrieved a bottle of shampoo and paced back towards me. Bodies like Rurik's were made for fantasies. Lean, long muscles moved under his skin, his actions graceful and strong. His heavy lidded glare made me feel like his thoughts could travel places his hands hadn't touched.

“Let me wash your hair.”


I looked at him, cynical of his offer.


“So wary.”

“Can you blame me?” I didn't know if I was ready for this, I wanted to be. It had been a long time since I was intimate with anyone. The need in my body encouraged me along this path of seduction. Rurik represented most women's wet dream but a heaviness in my heart held me back, twisting me up inside like a knot. Sex could never be just a physical thing, my heart always got dragged into it, and in the end, it was broken.

“It's good to be wary. I am a predator after all.” He knelt by my tub. “Indulge me. I like to do this.” For a fleeting moment, a touch of vulnerability peaked through the veil of intense, blue eyes. A yearning for my acceptance. It flashed so quickly, I doubted if it was real.


“Lean your head back and put your hair over the edge.”

“The water will spill onto the floor.”


“That's what the drain is for. Take it easy, I won't mislead you ... again.” A soft smile touched those full kissable lips.

My hair did need a wash. Who was I kidding? I wanted to feel his touch. It had ignited an inferno when he held me last night. I gave in to my dark side and did as he asked.

He took the sponge and squeezed more hot water over my hair, making sure it was saturated. He then worked the shampoo through the tangles of curls. His strong fingers massaged my scalp, my forehead, and down behind my ears. They made firm, confident circular motions.

The tension in my neck melted away where he applied pressure, kneading those sore tight knots. Tingles ran along my nerves wherever our skin pressed together. The spark of desire grew more intense.

The strength of his hands caressed the tender muscles of my shoulders. My moan echoed in the room as the pleasure bordering pain pulled from my injuries.

The floor ran slick with steaming water and soap as he began to rinse my head. He abandoned the sponge to use his hands to scoop water from my tub over my hair. His fingers ran through the curls, gently tugging them. It felt wonderful. This was the first time I allowed a man to do this. The pull on the strands increased with each pass of his hand, pulling me up out of the water, arching my back in response to the delicate pain.

He gathered a handful of my hair and pulled forcefully trapping me with my back arched against the edge.

He whispered in my ear. “Run, rabbit, run, try to get away.” He slowly moved to the other ear. “Run, rabbit, run, I've come out to play.” He pulled harder on my hair making the pain a little sharper. I cried out in surprise. “Run, rabbit, run, for it's the end of the day.”

He sipped at the water running down my neck making his way to my shoulder. The pulling eased but he didn't release me. “Sweet, sweet, Connie.” His cool breath flowed down my skin raising goose flesh, making my exposed nipples harden. Only then did I realize how shockingly far out of the water I'd raised myself. I tried to cover up with my hands but the tension on my hair increased.

He released it but I felt his hands run under mine to cup my breasts as he continued to rain kisses down to the hollow of my neck. His teeth dragged along my skin as if to test my skin for tenderness. I had almost forgotten how it felt to have someone touch me. A fire built inside of my chest where his hands kneaded me. I took all my loneliness and grief then shoved them into this inferno. It burned.

Lifting me from the tub, he pressed my back to his solid chest. He was hard against me. His hands explored my skin and his mouth consumed mine.

My body screamed 'yes' but my soul wasn't ready. The passion dissolved into guilt, as similar memories were dragged from the corners of my mind. An old familiar hurt twisted my heart as a vision of my dead husband returned.

Oh and... something for you Joann.

We'll be running the hop all weekend, so if you have to take a break from all of these hotties, just bookmark the page, and return to the tour at your convenience.  Happy hunting, and good luck! Click HERE for the next link.