Aliyah Burke ~ Sensuality in Romance

Been a while since this one has come out. The first in a six-book series. There is also a prequel that’s done as a serial.

I had a lot of fun writing this one.

Sometimes all you get is a tiny flash…

Cale Mattox is the first of the Astral Guardians to find his artefact. The woman who wears it has her own past she’s running from.

Taylor Kenyon is tired—the family who wants her dead is beginning to gain on her. This man, Cale, gives her a sense of comfort she’s never had before and creates feelings no one else has. Together they will fight the approaching darkness.

Can he protect her as well as convince her that he needs more than just the artefact?

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Word Slinger Café is a relaxed facebook group where Taige Crenshaw/McKenna Jeffries and myself have come together to talk books, life, and anything else that may come to mind. News, exclusive sneak peeks, occasional exclusive free reads, and more will happen. We are totally informal here, so settle in, grab your favorite drink, and prepare to do shenanigans…er, we mean have fun.

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Devoted high school teacher, Chantoya “CJ” Jackson, tries hard to ignore the man who arrives at her school to try and convince people to join the US Navy. His thick black hair, dark brown eyes, tanned skin, and muscular body makes her think of things she shouldn’t, especially on school grounds.

Osten “Baby Boy” Scoleri is pleasantly surprised to be reunited with a woman he’d met a few times before when he agrees to do a public relations stint at a high school. Her toffee skin, runner’s body, light brown eyes, and black hair still grabs his attention. Top that off with her quick wit and he wants to find out more of what makes her tick and won’t even let her large, overly protective brothers dissuade him.

Her family isn’t the only hurdle. For surrounding CJ is something much more sinister and deadly. The closer they become the more danger she is in. Osten will need more than luck to keep the woman he’s fallen for safe. From Virginia to Vietnam, CJ grows and learns about herself and her relationship with Osten. No matter what the odds, Osten is determined to show CJ he needs her in his life for she is…

Vittano’s Willow

****

When she pulled into the lot the next morning, she watched as the sailor climbed out of his own vehicle. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and he walked toward her as she got out. CJ swallowed to get her emotions under control.

“Morning,” his sexy voice said as he stopped before her.

“Morning, yourself. Aren’t you here a bit early?” she asked with a smile as she locked the SUV.

“I have some students coming in to talk to me and I wanted a chance to see you.” He fell into step beside her.

CJ fought to stop the trembling. “Really? And what did you need to see me about?”

“I wanted to ask you out.” He raked his gaze over her body. “If you aren’t seeing anyone right now.”

CJ stopped and faced him. One hand settled on her jean-clad hip as she tried to see what his game was. “You wanted to ask me out?”

Nervous, Osten nodded. “I did.”

Walking again, CJ waited for him to open the door to the school and they headed to her classroom. The halls were basically empty at this time; a few students were here but for the most part, their steps echoed in the big building. Stopping at her classroom, she unlocked it and swung the door open, hitting the lights.

Osten followed her in, closing the door almost totally behind him. He watched as she hung up her coat and put her purse in a drawer of her desk. “Well?” he asked, resting a lean hip against her desk.

Sitting up in her chair, CJ put her light eyes on his face. “I don’t normally go out with guys from school, but I guess that wouldn’t really apply to you. So, sure, I’ll go out with you.”

A sexy grin turned up one corner of his mouth, showing her that he definitely had a rakish side. “Wonderful. Tonight work for you?”

Mentally, CJ ran over her schedule. “Later on in the evening, I won’t be leaving the school right away today. Where did you want to meet?”

“I can pick you up,” he insisted.

Hesitating, CJ almost said no when something prompted her to agree. “Okay, let me give you my address.” Opening a drawer in her desk, she pulled out a pen and paper. She scrawled the information down and handed him the sheet.

“Beautiful,” he said with a wink. “What time?”

Thinking quickly, since her students were beginning to file in the room, CJ answered, “Seven?”

“Great.” He stood up straight and set his coffee on her desk, perfectly aware of the students watching him. Lifting his box in one arm, he spoke, “Thank you for allowing me to keep my stuff here, Ms. Jackson.”

“No problem,” she responded.

Making sure none of the students could see him; Osten boldly raked his gaze over her body again and sent her a candid wink along with a lick of his firm lips. Then he grabbed his coffee and walked out the door.

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. ~Jim Bishop

I love fantasy books, love delving into the worlds these wonderful authors have created for me to wrap myself in.

An unlikely pair come together and realise that their expectations of each other lead to an intense passion that will enhance them both.

Dimitri Wright doesn’t plan to become part of the epidemic of marriage that has befallen his siblings. He knows meeting a woman who is blunt and straightforward and could possibly change his mind is unlikely…at least until the most fascinating woman crosses his path. She is everything he thought he wanted but he realises he is on edge, not knowing what Shannon is thinking or feeling. The contained woman has got under his skin and he doesn’t know what to do about it. She keeps her thoughts to herself and each move seems to be hers but he can’t walk away. He wants Shannon and will use whatever he can to have her.

Shannon Conner values quiet and her time alone and doesn’t want anyone to encroach on her. But Dimitri isn’t like any other man she has met. She doesn’t get emotional or act the way that is considered typical and it usually makes people uncomfortable. Yet Dimitri understands her and makes her feel things she’d never expected. She’s not about to get drawn in by him to be just another woman. Shannon will be herself and if Dimitri wants all that she is then she’ll be willing to take part in a seduction’s dance.

****

Absently, he glanced around the bar. It was frequented by cops, fire fighters and those like him who did business between the two places. He was actually based out of the firehouse but worked closely with the police force. The good thing was his younger brother Leonardo was the sheriff, and the cops knew him through Leo, making it easier for him to do his job. Not that he wouldn’t go around them if he needed to in order to get his job done. But he’d rather not get in a pissing match, instead preferring to just get what he needed taken care of accomplished.

“It was a tough one,” someone with a soft voice spoke beside him.

Dimitri turned his head then blinked, realising that someone was sitting next to him. He noted the two empty beer bottles in front of the woman, which meant she had been there a bit. Probably had been when he came in, since he was still on his first. He hadn’t even noticed her. Dimitri studied the woman. Her features blended in a face that he would call lovely but in an understated way. Wire-rimmed glasses covered dark brown eyes with thick lashes. Her hair was away from her face in a neat braid, the tail end resting over her shoulder. He glanced at her hand, noting she was rolling a bottle between her rich, caramel-coloured hands as he had been. Her nails were short, neatly clipped, with their natural hue. Dimitri lifted his gaze to study her closer since he thought he recognised her. He tried to place where he knew her from. Suddenly it dawned on him.

“Deputy Conner. You were the cop at the fire with me.”

The Sheriff’s department had left a different cop there since they’d wanted to keep the area protected. The officer with him had been silent and efficient, and he had soon forgotten she was there. She hadn’t tried to ask questions or engage him in conversation, for which he had been appreciative. Fire with kids hit him harder than most.

“Yes.”

That was it, no other explanation. Intrigued, Dimitri watched the woman who he hadn’t realised was by him. He remembered what she had said.

“Yes, it was a tough one.”

She nodded and drank her beer. They fell into a comfortable silence. Dimitri noted a booth becoming available and slid off the bar stool, carrying his beer.

“Let’s get the booth before someone takes it.”

The woman blinked behind her wire frames but rose as he bid and followed him with her beer to the booth. Dimitri slid into it just in time. He lifted a shoulder at the fire fighter he worked with. The man inclined his head and went to the bar. Dimitri focused on the woman. She was sipping her beer and glancing around the packed bar. She finally put her gaze on him, her eyebrow rising as if asking what he was looking at. Dimitri lifted his bottle, using it to cover his smile—Deputy Conner seemed a little prickly. A waitress came over and Dimitri ordered some food. Conner ordered too then the waitress left.

No spring nor summer’s beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one Autumnal face….

~John Donne, “Elegy IX: The Autumnal

My heart broke sitting there with you, knowing you were in pain and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. You’d been a constant companion in my life for over 10 years. And now there is a hole in my heart that is growing by the second. I held you as you breathed your last and my tears are still falling.

You were my first foray into this amazing Borzoi breed and you were born around the time I lost Clarke, my heart dog. He knew you were the one to take his place in my life for although you never met him, you had more than one of his traits, so I knew his spirit was in you. You took up residence in the hole he left and filled it well, I know he was in your ear, making suggestions. There were many times when I would see you do something and thought it was him.

You gave me the courage to get back in the ring. Obedience, Rally, and Conformation. While some said you weren’t a good physical representation of the breed, I didn’t give a damn. You were mine and I love you so much. We got into therapy work and you would willingly spend 8 hours dealing with screaming children if that’s what I asked you to do, never once getting cranky with the kids. You raised three other zoi in the house along with helping them learn to be amazing dogs as well.

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We had the honor of beating goldens and dobies in the obedience ring, showing that yes, a Borzoi can do obedience and do it well. And Rally, the mistakes were always mine. You never once messed up.

You never met a stranger and were a wonderful canine ambassador for the breed. I remember the vet staff trying to pass off a stuffed Pug as you with a smile, saying they wanted to keep you.

You loved to run until the accident and then it was still wanting to run, just not on a set course.

Watching you never failed to bring a smile to my face. From the first time I saw your picture you owned a place in my heart. 

I have your niece and your daughter but I still hurt. I will always hurt but I know you are now with Clarke, Isis—who raised you—and of course Dageus and Prize, who was also taken from us to soon. They are waiting for you across the Rainbow Bridge. Tell them I miss them and love them.

Thank you, Nina for all your love and joy you gave me over the years. My life was fuller with you a part of it. There is so much more I could say but right now, I need to grieve.

Tally Ho!

C’Lestial Le Grand Noir CD BN RN JC CGCA

4 May 2008 – 15 Sep 2018