Sam's Snippet Sunday

The Devil You Know - Dancin' With the Devil Book 5

The air in the room changed and my hand throbbed. I slid it behind my back, suddenly remembering the Slayer’s mark.

The last thing I wanted Dialle to see at that moment was that mark. “He’s gone.” I told Dialle.

I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or pissed that the Slayer had left me holding the proverbial bag. What I did know was that I still had a whole passel of problems to solve, and now I had a new one.

Sighing, I turned away and started walking toward the door.

“Astra!”

I shook my head without turning. “I have to save Darma and Myra, then I need to figure out what’s going on. A sudden memory had me stopping dead in my tracks. A red, scaly face with a broken jaw flashed before my eyes and I heard a gravelly voice say, “King Dialle sent me to kill you.” The audio reel in my head switched to another track, and I heard Euryice, the traitorous black dragon, say, “You will die soon, dragon fighter, and your lover will be the cause.”

I turned, my gaze locked onto Dialle’s hostile face. I wasn’t sure how to ask the question that needed asking so I just came right out with it. “Did you send assassins to kill me?”

I watched his impossibly handsome face very carefully for any signs that he was guilty of the charge. I saw a surprised widening of his black eyes before they narrowed in a frown, but the emotion that flashed across his features didn’t look like guilt to me. I wasn’t sure what it was.

“Of course not, Astra. Why would I want to do that?” He walked toward me with long, ground-eating strides, clasping my arms in a hard grip. “Why are you asking me that? Has someone tried to kill you?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Who hadn’t tried to kill me over the last few days?

I said as much to Dialle and his frown deepened to a scowl. After a few beats his expression cleared and I thought I read understanding of some kind there. “You must come with me. I can protect you until we figure out what’s going on.”

I started to shake my head but didn’t quite manage it. I soon found myself locked in space and time, unable to move, my ears ringing with complete silence, as Dialle shifted us away from the castle on the edge of Hell, to a new place in Hades that was probably eminently worse.

Just like that I found myself driving inexorably closer to the culmination of my Settling, surrounded by devils and devilry, deep in the heart of the purest evil in the universe. Skirting the scalding fires of Hell.

Yeah, my life just sucked.

And I was so totally screwed.

Sexy, fun new Science Fiction Story from Two Very Talented Authors!

Today, I'm very pleased to introduce a great new book from a couple of extremely talented authors. Welcome Sloane and Robert! I've definitely added this fun story to my TBB list!

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CLAIRE DE LUNE

Robert Appleton & Sloane Taylor

ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-011-5 (Electronic)
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-995-8 (Electronic)
Amber Quill Press – Amber Heat
Genres: Science Fiction / Futuristic / Action / Adventure / Mystery / Detective / Voyeurism
Heat Level: 2
Length: Novel (70k words)
Buy Link http://amberquill.com/AmberHeat/ClaireDeLune.html

BLURB:

You’re invited to the galaxy’s most prestigious beauty pageant. Clothing optional. Romance and danger…fully provided…

Cocky young detectives Gerry Rappeneau and Sebastian Thorpe-Campbell arrive at the premier lunar resort expecting a week of eye candy and long massages. With a half-billion-credit purse up for grabs, this year’s pageant is the focus of a hundred worlds. And beauty isn’t the only thing in the eye of the beholder.

One contestant, Evelyn Lyons, is attacked and her assailant killed. Surely a simple case of a stalker gone mad, as nothing bad ever happens at the Selene contest. So the brochure says.

The closer Gerry gets to Evelyn, the more he is convinced she’s hiding something. His meticulous character sparks with her wild, sassy nature, and they embark on a torrid affair. Their forbidden romance isn’t the only thing set to ignite in Pont de Reves.

Sebastian’s infatuation with demure Claire Villiers, another contestant, threatens to put all four of them in harm’s way.

A deadly trail of corporate conspiracy, monstrous assassins and hot bikini wax is more than anyone bargained for in this incendiary erotic mystery. Get ready for some serious heat on the dark side of the moon.

EXCERPT:

Gerry raised his hand, then dropped it back to his side. Nervous as a teenager on his first date, he scrubbed his sweaty palms down his pant legs. A few deep breaths proved another fruitless attempt to calm himself. He stood straighter, ignoring the giggles from farther up the corridor, and cleared his throat. A few ahems later, he managed to find the balls to knock on Evelyn’s door.

His pulse quickened at the click of a switch inside the room. A trace of exotic perfume. The jingle of a purse chain. All familiar, but never old: the details preceding a first date.

A double beep signaled the door unlocking. Evelyn flung it open.

“Hey, thanks for being on time.”

Her greeting wasn’t the most romantic he’d experienced, but, Christ alive, her dress more than made up for it. A deep purple Aeon evening number, off-shoulder, the kind all the hottest policewomen wore to the annual ICLA social on Io.

He’d…um…encountered it before on a few occasions, but never on such mouth-watering curves. When she turned to lock the door, her pert ass and shapely hips, accentuated by a waist-hugging belt, roused his dick to Mach 9.

She wheeled around and flashed him a hungry glance. Her red lipstick, dark eyeliner, and blonde hair tied back, exposing her swan-like neck, conspired to steal his breath.

“You look lovely,” he whispered, ashamed it was the best he could manage without panting like a Labrador in heat.

“Thank you. Love that shirt.” She spun too quickly and almost clashed heads with him, before dropping her keycard into her purse and wrapping the chain around her wrist. She offered him her free arm and added, “Shall we?”

The touch of her soft white skin on his bare arm ghosted him for a moment as they walked to the elevator. He noticed her lip quiver—the girl inside the goddess—and it settled him into his old confident self. Charming, some might say. At the very least, a smoother groove from which to guide the evening.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “Not too far, I hope. We’re supposed to adhere to a strict curfew.”

“Farther than you’ve ever dreamed.”

“Goody. Rules are for wimps anyway. And you are my official bodyguard.” She squeezed his arm to her supple body, her soft breast pressing into him. “Is it expensive? Not that you should spend the Earth on me or anything, but—”

“It’s obscenely expensive. You’ve no idea.”

“Really? And a secret, I take it.”

“And a secret.”

At the elevator, he held the door open and gestured for her to go first. He then followed and pressed the button for the tenth floor. They were alone in the small space, which seemed to shrink as they climbed higher. He watched her reflection in the mirrored wall while inhaling the full body of her delicate honey scent. Delicious. He swallowed hard, mustering all his strength not to wrap her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

The doors pinged open and he led her across a beige carpet and into an elegant tunnel. Pastel murals of strange, exotic landscapes, encompassing all colors, morphed and blended into one another in a rolling three-sixty display that dizzied as much as it dazzled. Evelyn appeared fascinated as she brushed her hand in front of the imagery, wanting to touch those wild alien locales.

Gerry grinned to himself. So far, so good. If she liked this swirling intro, she’d flip for the full service.

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LINKS:

Robert Appleton www.robertappleton.co.uk

Sloane Taylor www.sloanetaylor.com