When the owners of the company Claire works for march her into their office, she knows that trouble has found her. Again. Having Ryan’s hands on her, after dreaming about him for months, isn’t quite as satisfying as she’d imagined when it comes in the form of a pat-down and a lot of suspicion. Not that they don’t have a right to be suspicious – the only thing she answered truthfully on her job application was gender. But she’s not there to steal or spy on the company, and if she doesn’t get away quickly, the crap that’s following her is going to unload on all of them.

Like squeezing blood from a turnip, Ryan and Jacob finally manage to pull some details out of Claire. She’s on the run from her lunatic family, and after five years, is nearing the end of her rope. Good thing she’s stumbled across two Fae warriors who are experts in security. Except, even once they convince her that they’re magical beings, she remains unimpressed and wants to run, to once again become a new person living a half-life, in a desperate attempt to keep those around her safe. Ryan knows she’s scared, but now that he’s gotten a taste for her, he’s not willing to let her race out of his life. Fighting demons is easier than keeping hold of Claire – but not nearly as satisfying.

I’ll keep you updated as I get the cover, official blurb, and release date! Woot!!

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just a writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site or click on the banner above.

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This is another excerpt from my work in progress, Keeping Claire. It’s a bit further along than the previous excerpt. Just a reminder, this is a work in progress, so it hasn’t been edited! I worked on this scene in a great online workshop at Liquid Silver’s forum, and I just love it, so I had to share. Feel free to let me know what you think.

“What’s your name?”

“Claire Fiordalisi.”

“You’ve already admitted you lied about your name on your application.”

“It’s my name right now.”

He was pretty sure he managed to keep the growl from escaping his throat. “Fine. What was your name before that?”

“Sara Lancaster.”

“And what was the name you were born with?” He had to unclench his teeth to get the sentence out, but somehow managed to keep his hands from strangling her.

“None of your business.”

“I think it is.”

“I can’t really help what you think.”

“Maybe not, but you can’t leave until I’m satisfied, either.”

Her breath hitched at that and she glanced at the clock, her face paling. Was she supposed to be somewhere? Meet someone?

She took in a deep breath, which he recognized as a concession on her part. She was letting them see that she was tired and frustrated. Was she going to stop hiding? Stop pretending?

“All right, look. I didn’t mean to be contrary, but the truth is, as I said earlier, I lied about who I was but I did my best for this company. Nothing else matters. I’m going to leave. If someone comes looking for me, tell the truth. I was here one day and gone the next.”

Her move to stand this time was slower, but when she gained her feet without any apparent dizziness she looked at him, then Jacob. “I’m very sorry if my actions bring any trouble down on you, but it’s best for all of us if I leave immediately.”

She stepped around him and walked to the door, slinging her purse up on her shoulder.

He was beginning to wonder how much of the meek and compliant thing was an act. Sure, she’d come quietly when they’d gone to get her. She’d let him search her and been polite even when telling them to shove it. But her instinct when waking up had been to come up swinging and she’d managed to tell them essentially nothing so far, despite that acquiescent attitude.

When she reached the door, he held his breath, strangely eager for her reaction. She didn’t disappoint.

…

No matter how much she pulled, the office door refused to budge. It wasn’t locked, the knob turned freely and there was no deadbolt, but the door remained closed.

“Fuck! What part of I have to leave to keep you two asshats and your fucking company safe are you not understanding?”

Was that a snicker she heard? Whirling around she found both men right where she’d left them, faces solemn. She narrowed her eyes, too furious to keep her expression guarded any longer. For fuck’s sake, how was she supposed to keep them safe if they wouldn’t let her go? Ryan, it had to be Ryan who’d laughed. He was trying too hard to look innocent.

She advanced on him, finger raised.

“I am trying.” She poked her finger into his chest. He raised his eyebrows at her.

“To help you.” Another poke.

“To keep you from becoming the target.” Poke. Poke. “Of some seriously deranged motherfuckers.”

Tiny little crinkles appeared next to his perfect lips. He’d been pissed before, but now he was laughing at her? He’d better keep it inside or she was going to test out her knee-to-testicle coordination.

Ryan’s warm hand gently enfolded hers and brought her still pointed finger to those damnable lips. Her eyes bugged out in shock as he laid a gentle kiss on the tip before bringing it back down and urging her whole hand to lay flat against his chest. His rock hard chest. Wait, that wasn’t the point. He—

“Careful. I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” he said, allowing a tiny smile to form.

Oh no, he didn’t! “Arrrrggghhh.”

Not exactly articulate, granted, but the phrase perfectly expressed her feelings at the moment. She tried to pull her hand free but he held firm.

Fine. On to plan B after all.

Careful not to telegraph her move, she brought her right knee up sharply. Only, she didn’t connect with his gonads as she’d expected. Instead his other hand caught her neatly below the knee which he moved to the side as he stepped in close.

The sound of a throat clearing reminded her that Jacob was also in the room. Ryan didn’t move however, and she was unable to.

“As entertaining as this is,” Jacob drawled with a hint of an accent she hadn’t really noticed before. “Perhaps we could get back to the matter at hand?”

Claire swallowed hard as Ryan let her leg drop, his hand running along her thigh, pressing it into his own leg as she lowered it. She found herself practically straddling his leg, his hand on her ass.

“Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

While I’m here, I’ll pimp a new release from a fellow Romance Diva. I haven’t had a chance to check this one out, but it looks yummy.

Brush Strokes
Jax Cassidy

For Sage, attending the Parisian sex club, Plaisirs Sombres, was the ultimate fantasy. So when the conservative gallery assistant is cloaked behind the velvet mask, she never expected to be the object of the club owner’s desire. Spurred on by D.S. Gregoire’s erotic and sensual brush strokes of the exclusive club, she gives into a brief liaison that leaves her breathless and wanting.

For Damien, known to the art world as D.S. Gregoire, his art has always been an adrenaline rush. But when an exotic and mysteriously uninhibited ’sex club virgin’ enters his establishment, he is willing to break his club rules for another taste of the dark pleasures she brings him.

Enjoy!

So, I’ve enjoyed doing Excerpt Monday, but so far have only posted excerpts from published books. As in, books that I’m certain at least one person that I trust (my editor) likes. There’s also the fact that she’s, you know, edited it. However, I’m all about pushing my comfort level as a writer (or something like that), so here goes. Please, be gentle.

This is the first scene of one of my works in progress, Keeping Claire.

Movement in the doorway to her office had Claire lifting her head. Her stomach clenched tight with the effort of not reacting to the sight of Ryan and Jacob standing in her doorway. Clearly, the shit had hit the fan. There was no good reason for the two owners of the company to have come looking for her, a hard working but mid-level paper pusher.

Ryan Diel, took a tiny step forward, his hard body stiff with anger. Shit, shit, shit. She’d kept to herself and worked hard for the company, her small way of making up for any trouble she might inadvertently cause them. Their complete collapse, for example. Which meant the only reason for his rigid stance was that they’d found out something about her. And there was nothing good about that possibility.

She rose, slowly pushing her chair back with her legs. Ryan took another step forward when she opened the desk drawer, so she angled her body, allowing him to clearly see the purse she pulled free. He held out his hand and she gave up the bag without question. Oh yeah, this was bad.  Lips that she’d fantasized about tightened as he studied her face. She made certain he saw only the blank expression that she’d honed with years of practice. Which unfortunately seemed to piss him off. He narrowed his bright green eyes for a minute before turning and walking out of the room.

She allowed a tiny hiss of breath to escape before squaring her shoulders and leaving the office. Focusing her attention on the taut ass in front of her helped tune out the sights and sounds of her coworkers as they watched her being led to the large office Ryan and Jacob shared. She needed to get out of the building fast, but it was suddenly occurring to her that the brilliant idea to work for a security company had been about the stupidest move she’d made in five years.

At her previous jobs, if human resources or management had called her into the office for an unexplained reason, she would have just left and been in a new city with a new name in a matter of hours. Only now did she realize that cardboard box manufacturers and small bookstore owners were going to react differently than security specialists. Damn it! What had she been thinking? Clearly she hadn’t been thinking enough. Maybe five years had worn her down and she was more tired than she’d realized. She remembered hitting town and walking past this building three or four times before thinking that maybe if she were at a company whose records couldn’t be hacked she would be safer. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Realizing where she’d gone wrong was not going to help her now and she was an idiot to be wasting time thinking about it rather than how she was going to get out of this building. Regret caused acid to churn in her stomach. Though she’d been careful not to make friends, Teck Security was a good company with friendly, helpful employees and caring owners. She should have left three weeks ago when she’d found herself joking with the receptionist as they walked out to the parking lot. She rarely interacted with her coworkers, leaving them with the impression that she was a bitch. She probably was a bitch, but not the way they thought. It just made it easier for everyone when she had to leave without notice.

Ryan entered their office and she followed, Jacob close on her heels. That the blinds had already been pulled was about all she had time to notice before she was pressed up hard against the now closed door. Her whole body went stiff but she concentrated and relaxed her instinct to fight. Ryan’s hands searched her expertly but she was shocked to feel a tingle in her breasts as he passed over them. There was nothing inappropriate about the way his hand brushed between her legs, but her stomach clenched, and it wasn’t in fear.

The heat of his body left her in a rush as he stepped back. She had to lock her knees to keep from trembling, though from adrenaline or fear, she wasn’t sure. Jacob gestured to the couch and she forced herself to walk to it slowly and sit as if she’d been invited to a meeting, not thrown against the door and searched like a criminal. If there was one thing she knew how to do, and do well, it was pretend that a crazy situation was perfectly normal.
Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

In the meantime, I’ve returned to a piece I’ve been working on for a while, Keeping Claire. I started and restarted this thing four or five times. At one point, when I wasn’t sure quite what I wanted to do with it, I started Bound by Sunlight. Then I went back and forth on both of them for a while before BbS took over. Now I’m excited to get back to Claire and Ryan, and though they keep throwing me curve balls, I’m pretty sure I know what’s going to happen to them. Poor Ryan’s just bungled big time, and I’m looking forward to how he’s going to get back on Claire’s good side. She’s had a tough life and her patience is pretty thin, so he’s going to have to work his butt off. I can’t wait.