First Page Peek – Raising the Stakes (And happy new year)

Raising The Stakes, Book 2 in the Three Of a Kind Series, is the only mfm menage in the series. It’s also smokin’ hot!

First Page of Raising The Stakes

Chapter One

Desmond Reed dumped his cards facedown on the table in front of him. He wished he were anywhere but here, with anyone but them. The five people seated around the table didn’t worry him. It was the empty chair opposite that scraped at his soul, ripping out parts of his already frayed heart.

At the front door Alex Truman pulled Megan Loxley in close and kissed her until her eyelids fluttered shut and a tiny groan escaped her. Alex’s muscled bulk eclipsed Meg’s slim frame, but his size could not hide the heated response of her kiss or the way she leaned into him, molding her body to his, clutching his arms and kissing him right back. The flashes of her pink tongue sliding into Alex’s mouth nearly undid Des.

Damn it, he should turn and stare out the window at the Sydney skyline, but he couldn’t look away.

He swallowed hard against the desire and jealousy that fueled his blood. He refused, point-blank, to give in to his hunger. His dick could turn blue and fall off for all he cared. He was not going to utter one word to Meg on the matter. He wouldn’t comment to Alex either. It had been his choice to stand on the sidelines and feed the unforeseen fire that had flared between the two of them. Too late now to cry like a baby and yank back his approval.

Still, the sight of the two of them together tied him up in knots. It made him wish to God he was the one in Meg’s arms, but he couldn’t—wouldn’t—do a damn thing about it. His envy did not give him the right to act like a complete prick.

Even so, ill-placed resentment stirred in Des’s chest, and common sense didn’t stop his fingers from tightening into fists beneath the table.

It should have been him. His lips should have been touching hers. Not Alex’s. She should be in his arms now, moaning softly into his mouth. Why had he woken up so late? What was his bloody problem? Why’d it have to take Meg’s falling for his poker buddy to make Des see the light?

Megan should have been his. He should have gotten down on one knee and proposed years ago.

—————–

And yep, tomorrow you can read the first page of the final book in the series, Full House

Jess

By the way, since tonight is New Year’s Eve here in Sydney…

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope you have a happy, healthy, prosperous 2012

First Page Peek – Going All In

So in Going All In, Book 1 in the Three Of A Kind Series, I once again tried something a little different. Some man on man action in a mmf menage. I think it worked out quite nicely.

First Page of Going All In

Chapter One

“I call, and I raise you twenty dollars.” Julia Savage placed her bet. The evening was drawing to a close, and she figured she might as well take a bit of a chance before leaving Jay Baxter’s flat.

Jay gave her a look that scorched all the way through to her toes. “Raising the stakes, are we?” He checked his cards and winked, stirring up every dirty fantasy she’d ever had about him—and she’d had her fair share. “Cool. I see your twenty.”

Hunter Miles laid down his hand. Serious as ever, he shook his head, making his blond hair glisten like wheat under the lights. “Too rich for me. I fold.”

Julia resisted the overwhelming urge to run her hand through his silky locks. She nodded at Hunter instead, making sure her expression was blank. “Okay, Jay. Deal the turn.”

Jay burned a card then flipped one. Queen of Hearts.

This time Julia let a smile play on the corner of her mouth. Sometimes a little bluff went a long way in a game of poker. Real life, on the other hand, was a different story. “I bet another ten.” She added more chips to the growing pile in the center of the table.

Jay grinned and matched her bet.

Her heart lurched. “River card?”

“At your command.” Jay looked at her a second too long, then burned another card and showed her the river.

It took a moment to comprehend what the card was. Her brain couldn’t compute much besides the men on either side of her. They left her mind reeling and her heart thumping.

Ten of Spades.

Hunter whistled, his lips pulling into a sexy pout, and Julia made sure her gaze stayed on the cards. No point in examining his delectable mouth now. She had to focus on her game.

Two tens, a queen, a jack and a nine lay on the table.

Julia narrowed her eyes then opened them wide. She held a lousy Three of Hearts and Six of Diamonds. In other words—nothing. “Thirty dollars.”

——————-

Tomorrow, book two in the series, Raising The Stakes.

Jess

First Page Peek – A Question Of Love

How could I not have followed up A Question Of Trust with A Question Of Love? It was crying out for a sequel:

First Page of A Question Of Love

Chapter One

“Regular long black?”

Gabe Carter turned to the counter to accept his take-away coffee. As he did so, movement across the coffee shop caught his eye. A man stood, leaned over and brushed his mouth against that of a woman still sitting at the table. Their lips met, held, held some more and then some more.

She pulled away. The man waved and walked out of the coffee shop. The woman slumped back in her seat.

Gabe stared, stunned all the way down to his toes. His heart beat uneasily against his ribs. Goddamn. It couldn’t be.

Could it?

’Course it could. Made sense too. The coffee shop on the corner. The same one where she and he and Connor Regan, his closest mate, had always hung out, every Sunday morning like clockwork. Wasn’t that the reason he’d come here? Not for the coffee but for the memories? For the hope, the slight hope that maybe, just maybe, she would be here?

She hadn’t been home, and the voice message on her mobile phone had informed him the number had been disconnected. Visiting the café had been a last desperate attempt to find her. Frustration needled his gut. Why had it taken him so long to come to his senses? Why the fuck hadn’t he acted four years ago, when he’d realized just how deep his feelings ran for Tina Jenkins? He wouldn’t have needed to track her down now.

Gabe shook his head to clear it. That didn’t matter anymore. She was here. With a man, no less. Fuck. Was it the same man?

She hadn’t changed, although her blonde hair was short now, cut in pixie-like wisps to frame her delicate face. She wrinkled her nose as she stared at her cup. Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed, and her mouth drooped in a despondent pout. A sexy despondent pout.

Arrows of apprehension struck his spine. Now what? He’d come searching for her, and he’d found her. Kissing someone. Did he do what instinct dictated? Stride towards her, kicking chairs out of his path, and haul her up in his arms? Carry her out of this place like a barbarian intent on claiming his woman? Prove that no other man was good enough for her?

——————-

And tomorrow? The first page of the first book the three book series, Three Of A Kind.

Jess

First Page Peek – A Question Of Trust

This is the story that changed my writing forever, that got me started on menages, and ramped up the heat levels of my books about 1000%. My first menage, A Question Of Trust:

First Page of A Question of Trust:

Chapter One

“Dump him,” Connor Regan told her. “I’ll make you happy in ways you never thought possible.” He grinned as he said it, but his eyes held a gleam of something serious, something that gave Maddie gooseflesh.

She slapped him lightly on the arm. “You have got to be kidding me. There’s more chance of me scaling Everest in a bikini than dumping Gabe.” Maddie was having the best sex she’d had in years, possibly even in her whole life. Hell, just thinking about physical therapist, Gabriel Carter’s touch made her skin prickle with a lust she’d never experienced before.

She might not be crazy head-over-heels in love with Gabe—yet—but they were having a brilliant time together, and who knew where things might lead? No way could she consider calling an end to things now—especially not for Gabe’s best friend.

Connor’s appreciative gaze settled briefly on her breasts—breasts that had tightened with wanton desire at the thought of Gabe’s touch—before returning to her face. “You have to. It’s the only way to save my sanity. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to meet someone like you, the woman of my dreams?”

Maddie smiled, unable to take him seriously. She knew Gabe trusted Connor, he’d told her so. He trusted Connor with his life, so it stood to reason he trusted him with his woman as well. “No. Why not fill me in?”

With his looks and slim, athletic build, she doubted Connor’d waited more than a week at most. No doubt women were flinging themselves at his feet on a daily basis. But cute as he was—with his unshaven whiskers, and longish blond hair—slim and trim didn’t work for her. She liked big and ripped. Like Gabe. She had a thing for bulging biceps and huge, hard chests. She had a thing for men who could make her feel dainty, and with Gabe she felt as petite as a doll.

Connor sighed dramatically. “Longer than I can remember. The only women who seem to like me are too thin and too shallow for my…needs. I like voluptuous, with more to the personality than an empty smile and blank eyes.” He grinned wolfishly.

——————

How can I not follow this up tomorrow with the sequel, A Question Of Love?

Jess

First Page Peek – Steve’s Story

Here you go, the first page of the second book in the Circle of Friends Series: Steve’s Story.

(This is the other one of my two favorite covers…)

The first page of Steve’s Story

Chapter One

“There’s something else I need to tell you.” Steve Sommers’ stomach twisted as he wondered how his brother would respond to his news.

“You mean there’s more?” Sam’s voice echoed over the line. “The accident wasn’t enough?”

“Yeah. There’s more.” He exhaled loudly. “Kate and I broke up.”

His words were met with silence. “Sam?”

“I’m here.”

“Say something.” The connection was bad enough without his brother’s meditative quiet.

“I’m sorry?”

That was the best Sam could do? He’d just announced that his forthcoming marriage was off and all his brother could offer was a questionable condolence? “You know,” Steve sighed, “that might be a little bit more comforting if I thought you actually meant it.” He slumped against the hospital wall, the stress of the past two weeks draining him of his strength and energy.

Static interference whispered through the phone.

“I honestly am sorry.” Sam hesitated. “I can’t say I’m too surprised. That’s all.”

Steve groaned in disbelief. “Is there not one single person in my whole family who believed Kate and I would get married?”

“Truthfully?”

Steve stared listlessly down the passage leading to ICU. Nurses at their station bustled about their business. “No, don’t bother. That’s answer enough.” He raked his hands through his hair. Damn, Kate’s decision to call of the wedding still stung. It shouldn’t, but it did, and his family’s intuitive knowledge that the relationship wouldn’t last only increased the burn.

“Look, you know we’re all crazy about Kate, and you know we’d all have welcomed her into the family, but you don’t love her.” A couple of seconds passed before Sam added, “And she doesn’t love you either.”

Nope, she didn’t. Not like a woman should love her fiancé, anyway. “How do you figure that?”

“You know I always said the woman was in love with Tyler, mate. It was obvious to all of us. You included.”

His brother had a point. Not only was Kate in love with Tyler, she had been for a very long time. “Yeah, maybe I should have given that a bit more credence before I proposed.” But there’d been no reason.

—————-

Tomorrow I post the first page of the book that sent my writing career on a whole new path…

Jess

First Page Peek – Only Tyler

Here it is. The first page of the first book in the Circle of Friends series: Only Tyler.

(This is also one of my two favorite covers.)

The first page of Only Tyler:

Chapter One

“Sir, I’ll ask you again. Are you carrying any arms or weapons?”

Tyler Bonnard pulled his gaze away from the sliding doors. He couldn’t see through them anyway, and he needed to give the man in front of him his full attention, especially if he wanted to walk through those doors any time soon. “No, I am not.”

“Do you have any banned or illegal substances?”

“None.” Damn, how could he concentrate when he knew Steve and Katie waited for him just meters away?

“Would you mind if we checked your luggage, sir?”

“Not at all.” The interrogation didn’t bother him. The couple waiting outside did. He’d spent the last twenty-odd hours in transit sweating over them. The Sydney customs’ officer must have picked up on this apprehension—and misread it.

“Can you open your cases, please.”

Tyler did as he was asked. The guard looked at him a moment too long, suspicion plastered all over his face.

“You won’t find anything out of order,” Tyler assured him.

The man nodded easily. “Maybe not, but you seem a little tense for someone who isn’t hiding something.”

“You’d be tense too,” Tyler said without thinking, his eyes fixed once again on the doors, “if the woman you loved waited out there—with her fiancé.”

“Ah.” The man gave him a sympathetic nod. “Bugger, mate. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” Tyler grimaced. “Me too.”

The officer rifled through his clothes. “Bet you’re wishing you never came back, eh?”

Wrong. “I’m wishing I never left in the first place.”

He opened a toiletry bag and inspected the contents. “You know the bloke?”

————————

Stay tuned. Tomorrow is Steve’s Story, the sequel to Only Tyler.

Jess

First Page Peek – Ask Adam (And Merry Christmas)

As promised, here is the first page of Ask Adam, the sequel to Photo Opportunity and my first ever Samhain release..

First Page of Ask Adam

Chapter One

Lexi Tanner made her way resolutely through the lobby. The only thing standing between her and fifty thousand dollars was a polite-looking receptionist.

She flashed the man her most dazzling smile. “Hello there. I’m looking for a guest here at the hotel. Could you tell me what room Mr. AJ Riley is in?”

The young man flashed a dazzling smile straight back. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m not at liberty to give you that information.”

Bugger. She’d figured that would probably happen but she’d had to give it a try anyway. “Perhaps you could ring his room and let him know he has a visitor?”

“To be honest, ma’am, I’m not sure he’s there. I saw him leave a couple of hours ago.”

“Well, I guess it’s still worth a try.” She had to see Riley today. She was too excited not to.

The man lifted a receiver and dialed. Surreptitiously, Lexi tried to see which buttons he’d pushed, but the counter hid the phone.

He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “And whom may I say is calling?”

Lexi floundered for a second. She didn’t particularly want a hotel clerk introducing her over the phone. “I’m a representative from the conference. I want to thank him for his generous sponsorship.”

He shook his head. “Mr. Riley’s not answering. Would you like to leave a message?”

Biting her lip, Lexi considered this possibility. Unless Riley’s secretary had given him a rundown of all his upcoming appointments, he wouldn’t have a clue who she was. She didn’t feel like explaining it on an answering machine, or worse, in a memo scrawled on hotel notepaper. Nope. She’d prefer to introduce herself in person.

“No, thank you. I’ll try again later.”

The newspaper article had specified that Riley was staying at the same hotel. How could fate be so cruel? Putting her so close to him and then preventing them from meeting. It just seemed mean. She walked away, trying not to feel too peeved.

——————-

Stay tuned. Tomorrow I’ll post the first page of book 1 in the Circle of Friends series, Only Tyler.

Jess

Oh, and…

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

First Page Peek – Photo Opportunity

I thought I’d start the series of First Page Peaks with my very first release: Photo Opportunity

First page of Photo Opportunity

Chapter One

Daniel Tanner was a man who knew what he wanted, and what he wanted most lay naked on his bed, quivering in the aftermath of her second orgasm. The first two he gave freely. The third she would have to work for.

Her taste lingered in his mouth, a mixture of cream, honey and sex. He resisted the urge to lean down and taste her again. Instead his gaze swept over her body, taking in the swollen breasts, their dusky pink nipples puckered into tight beads. Her chest rose and fell in unison with her long, hard puffs, and her toned, shapely thighs were spread in invitation. The damp cleft between her legs glistened and Daniel thought he might well have a heart attack if he didn’t fuck her soon.

He ran a finger over her engorged clit and her hips bucked.

“Daniel…” Her softly voiced gasp was music to his ears.

Her gaze locked with his as he brought his finger to his mouth and licked. Green eyes turned hazy with desire and she moaned out loud.

He raked his fingers lightly over her breasts.

“Daniel, please…” She pushed her chest up, begging for more. He watched as she twisted on the sheets. Color tinged her cheeks and her hair spilled over the pillow in a tangled cloud.

She never looked sexier. Emotion washed through him, so powerful he shook. He fantasized about this moment forever and could hardly believe it was finally happening.

“Yeah, babe?” He knew what she wanted, but still waited for her to beg.

“Oh…” Frustration flashed across her face, and he couldn’t repress his slow, satisfied smile. She was in no state to talk, not after what he’d just done to her. He’d give her another minute. Watching her writhe like that was almost as arousing as watching her come.

“Please,” she said again and moaned.

“What do you want?” he whispered.

“You.”

——————–

Jess

(Check back tomorrow for the first page of the sequel to Photo Op, Ask Adam.)

First page peek

In order to both end the year with a bang and bring in the new year with a smile, I thought I’d do something a little different.

For the next few weeks I’m going to post the first page of each of my books on the blog. (Thanx to Mari Carr for this awesome idea.)

So, stick around. Let’s take this one book at a time, one page at a time…

Jess

Stunning new covers

Look what I received last night: The covers for the Red Hot Weekend Anthology.

Gorgeous huh?

Red Hot Weekend is the sequel to Red Hot Winter Anthology, which contains Winter Fire, by me, Triple Dare by Lexxie Couper and True Heart by Delilah Devlin.

Red Hot Weekend releases at Samhain on the 31st of Jan, but will be available for pre-order from the 31st of December

These covers are so new, they’re not even up at the Samhain site yet. Neither are the blurbs. But if you want more info about Hidden Fire…well, it just so happens, I have some for you:

HIDDEN FIRE: THE BLURB

Dirty desires, dark secrets…deepest love

A Red Hot Weekend story.

Well, this is an unexpected twist. Jenna Brooks is all set to spend the weekend wallowing in misery, repairing the cracks in the façade she’s maintained for twelve years. Instead she’s…tied to a chair. Kidnapped by her own twin brother and her so-called best friend.

It’s for her own good, they say. She’ll thank them later, they say. But when they reveal her partner in captivity, she shores up her emotional barriers. It’s Garreth Halt. The one man for whom she let her guard down. What a fool she was.

For one electrifying moment, Garreth had Jenna naked in his arms, on the edge of losing her legendary control. Could have kept her there forever, too, if he hadn’t felt honor-bound to tell her the truth. Before she’d heard the whole truth, though, she’d retreated behind the fortress around her heart.

Now they’re knee to knee, with no escape. While he’s irritated he let his alleged best friend get the drop on him, a small part of him is thrilled. With one final chance to show her his love is real, Garreth methodically, wickedly, sets out to dismantle her defenses.

One dirty word at a time.

Warning: Garreth may have charmed you in Winter Fire, but this time around, his blatantly sexy demands, even sexier actions and heart warming love for his heroine are gonna make you fall head over heels.

Go on. Admit it. You wanna read the book.

Jess