I’m very pleased that talented, best-selling author Opal Carew has agreed to join us. Please give her a very warm welcome, especially as I’m traveling today. 🙂 This is really a terrific interview and glimpse at Opal’s beyond sexy books.

Click on cover for excerpt and purchase information

Blurb:

How far would you go to reach the ultimate pleasure?

Max Delaney is a master of bondage and submission… and Summer Anderson’s most decadent dream come true. From the moment she meets him, she yearns for him to dominate her — body and soul. But once she’s lived out her most forbidden fantasy, can she go back to her ordinary life? And will she ever want to?

Review Quotes:

4 1/2 Stars!
“A wealth of varied sex scenes and a daring exploration of multiple loves make this tale a must-read … her descriptions of the physical and mental aspects of BDSM are spot on.”
Romantic Times Book Reviews

5 Stars! (Reviewer Top Pick)
“…the ultimate fantasy… skillfully delves into the world of BDSM… well-plotted and truly realistic… wonderfully erotic and totally hot … I highly recommend Ms. Carew’s latest work, SECRET TIES”
Night Owl Romance

It’s fun to read erotica with a believable and engaging plot. As a feminist, I appreciate the fact that Summer and Max directly approach and then satisfactorily resolve the question of whether it’s politically correct to engage in S & M in an era of gender equality.
Publisher’s Weekly, Ladies’ Book Club Blurbs blog

Opal’s Interview

BK: Thanks so much for joining us here today!
What future projects are you especially excited about?

OC: I’m always most excited about the book I’m currently working on, which is PLEASURE BOUND. I’m only a few weeks into it, so it’s not very fleshed out yet, but I love the characters and what I have planned for them. I describe the story as Bad-Boy turned Mr.-Nice-Guy falls for Girl-Next-Door.

Ty, who is a master of domination, has decided to leave that lifestyle behind. When he falls for lovely Marie, his next door neighbour, he plans to handle her with kid gloves.

Marie finds Ty very attractive, and he’s a great listener, but she wants hot BDSM sex and he’s clearly too nice a guy to be the overpowering Dominant of her dreams. Enter Zeke. An old friend of Ty’s who plans to give Marie exactly what she wants.

I’m really looking forward to exploring the interaction between the characters and their growth.

Ty is afraid of the “bad” inside himself, and believes he must suppress it or it will destroy his life. He is especially afraid that if he lets himself be who he is naturally, Marie will reject him, so he suppresses his desire to dominate her. He must come to realize that what he’s been labeling as “bad” is really his assertiveness, which is his strength; that by denying a part of himself, he can never be truly whole.

Zeke has missed Ty and the closeness they once shared. He must juggle his feelings for Marie with his desire to mend the rift between Ty and himself. As the story unfolds, he must also find the strength and understanding to accept who he is as his feelings for Ty become more confusing.

BK: This sounds not only sexy, but a very character-driven story. Good stuff.
Every writer has moments they cringe when they read past stuff, and moments when they think…yeah, that’s good. Would you please share with us a paragraph or two of a sample of your writing of which you are particularly proud and say why you like it?

OC: Boy, you ask tough questions! Well, I think my best writing is in my sex scenes, which might not be appropriate for your blog, so how about I share an entertaining bit from TWIN FANTASIES? This is one of my favorite scenes. (Note: Sam is the name of the cat.)

A mechanical grinding sound, followed by a cat’s hiss and a thunk snatched Jenna’s attention to the living room. Oh, no, it couldn’t be. A loud whirring sounded from the couch.
“What was that?” Jake asked as he headed to the living room.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said as she tried to scurry ahead of him, but with his long-legged stride he reached the living room doorway before her.
He stared toward the couch, a big smile claiming his lips. She poked her head through and saw Sam sitting with one paw on the base of the purple penis batting with her other paw at the head of the shaft as it moved in circles.
Jenna felt Ryan beside her.
“What in the world is that?”
“I’ll give you one guess,” Jake answered. “Jenna, I see you were enjoying my little gift.”
Ryan waved his hands in front of him as if he could wipe away the image of what he’d just seen.

BK: LOL–oh, too funny. Good choice there, Opal. Okay, now can you tell us about a “˜blush moment,’ an especially humorous or mortifying moment in your writing career?

OC: When you say a “blush moment” it reminds me of how my friends in my local writing chapter like to tease me when we go out to dinner. Someone from the other end of the table will say “Hey, Opal, say orgasm”, then they all watch me blush.

As for mortifying, that would be the first time I met my editor, Rose. I’d been working with her for over a year, but we’d never met in person, so when I decided to go to the Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas, we arranged a time to meet. In the meantime, my agent suggested the three of us get together and, silly me, I assumed that meant we were moving the meeting time. (I figured Rose would be so busy meeting with authors and agents she wouldn’t have time to meet with me twice!) Add on to all that the fact I caught the flu and wound up in bed that entire day with a fever. Imagine my mortification when the phone rang and it was Rose, who’d been waiting for me at the bar for over twenty minutes! Luckily, Rose is a wonderful and understanding person who has never held it against me!

BK: Oh, no. The opposite of what you’d want to happen. Oi, it happens to all of us at times.
What are you working on right now, and when can readers look forward to seeing it?

OC: A year ago, my editor asked me if I would like to switch from writing two books a year to three. I jumped at the opportunity and am now working on the third book on that schedule, PLEASURE BOUND, which should be out in fall 2010. This has led to some craziness with scheduling. For instance, I received the cover for BLISS, my spring 2010 release, before I handed the manuscript in. Also, I received revisions from my editor for FORBIDDEN HEAT, my January 2010 release, two weeks before my deadline for BLISS. At the same time, I was working on new book ideas. Thus, the past six weeks have been crazy because, as you can see, I’ve been jumping back and forth between three different books!

So I recently handed in BLISS, which follows one of the main characters from my third book, BLUSH. (You don’t need to have read BLUSH to enjoy BLISS.) I am really excited about the cover for BLISS. It’s really hot! (Take a look: http://www.opalcarew.com/bookshelf/upcoming.php#bliss)
In BLISS, J.M. is a Tantra master who believes in the spiritual and healing qualities of sex. Kara is a sex columnist who believes sex is purely physical and gets ticked off with the superior types who think otherwise. When the two of them come together sparks fly… in bed and out.
Being part of a romantic relationship with three people has left J.M. longing for a woman who loves him first and foremost, so he has been doing affirmations to attract the perfect woman into his life. When he meets Kara, he knows she is the one. The problem is, not only does Kara not believe in Tantra, she doesn’t believe in love.

J.M. helps Kara explore intensely erotic sexual fantasies for her column. To help, he calls on his sexy friend, Quinn, who is an expert in Kama Sutra. Unfortunately, as the fantasies progress, J.M worries that Kara might be falling for Quinn.

BK: Whoa, after all that, you deserve a dream vacation (and I can understand later why you chose some place like Antartica to cool down.) I’m granting you a dream vacation–I did say DREAM, after all. Where would you go? Why? Who would go with you? What book would you bring with you? What would you make SURE you left behind?

OC: A ride on the space shuttle jumps immediately to mind, with a visit to the space station. (Six people have already done this. See www.spaceadventures.com.) Also, I’d love to set foot on the moon. The latter possibility is still many years off, though.

Thinking more down-to-earth, I would love to see Antarctica, but I wouldn’t want to spend a long time there, so I might decide on a trip around the world with a cruise portion that stops there briefly. (I’ve already spent eight months in Fairbanks, Alaska. Loved the northern lights! Much more colourful than here in Ottawa, Canada.) All things considered, though, I’d probably settle on going to Japan. (Of course, once I read your new book, I’ll probably be dying to go to Hawaii!)

I guess I just love going places that are really different. Who would I go with? My husband and two sons. My boys are in their late teens now and rarely do things with Mum and Dad, but they would probably want to tag along for something like this. What book would I bring? I’d bring my ebook reader loaded with about a hundred books! Not that I would really spend much time reading. Too busy exploring and spending time with my family!

What would I make sure I left behind? I’d be lying if I said my laptop, because I couldn’t manage going too long without writing something. Anyway, I’d need it to store all the photos I’d be taking! What I’d really leave behind are all my worries and concerns. No thoughts of deadlines allowed!

BK: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about?

OC: Well, I’ve told you about two of my three future releases, but nothing about my very next release.

My next book is FORBIDDEN HEAT, which follows a woman who has secretly fantasized about being with two men she knew in college. Even if she’d been confident enough to suggest it then, which she hadn’t, it was an impossible dream because… Trey and Jake were a couple! As the book opens at a wedding over ten years later, she meets the men again, only to find they are now just friends… and they both now date women. This is her chance to live out her fantasy, but as things progress between them, she realizes that Trey and Jake should be together and she decides to be the catalyst to bring them back together again.

FORBIDDEN HEAT is wildly sexy, fun and the most emotional of my books so far. The release date is January 5th, 2010.

Thanks for inviting me to participate in the celebration for your new release, PARADISE RULES from Berkley Heat. I’m sure it will be a huge success!

BK: Thanks so much, Opal. It means a lot coming from you.

Opal has been kind enough to donate a copy of Secret Ties to one randomly chosen commenter on her blog. Since there are no guests at the Paradise Rules contest on Sundays, Opal’s winner will be announced Monday morning.

Good morning! Well, the contest has just been going swimmingly, hasn’t it? I’m having a terrific time; hope you are too.
Today…I’m my own guest! I’m showing some quick glimpses of Paradise Rules and I’m giving away some fun prizes to one commenter. I have a Paradise Rules beach tote, a Paradise Rules T-shirt, another lovely silver/ocean ball toe ring, and some fun Hawaiian jewelry–a bead necklace, flower hair clip and cool anklet. You’ll be beach ready! PLUS…some beach reading. Your choice of Wicked Burn, Daring Time or Sweet Restraint!

Read an excerpt.
Pre-order Paradise Rules here.

When I think about my upcoming book Paradise Rules my mind immediately goes to the gently swaying deck of a houseboat moored on a private, azure-blue lagoon. I can almost feel the sun on my skin and hear the wind chimes trill in the gentle ocean breeze.

**********

Jason?” she called out hoarsely.

Again, there was only silence.

She distantly heard the sound of water splashing. She walked over to the window and watched, her breath burning in her lungs, as Jason arose out of the ocean with a flex and bulge of defined muscle. He’d obviously taken an afternoon swim. He used his fingers to wipe water out of his face then casually swiped his hand over a ridged abdomen, making a stream of water splash off taut, sun-bronzed skin. Lana stood rigid, paralyzed by the sight of him glittering and flashing in the bright sunlight like an ancient Polynesian god.

She made a small, trapped sound of dismay—or was it longing?—when he suddenly went still and looked directly at her through the pane of glass.

One of the things I really like about Paradise Rules is the juxtaposition between the taut emotions going on between the hero and heroine and this golden, lazy, idyllic…almost magical setting.

Her backbone stiffened. “You don’t seem to have any problems with the fact that you blatantly mislead me.”

He shrugged. “It’s like I said the other night. I got what I wanted, and so did you. What if I did twist the truth a little?”

“Twist the truth?” she repeated incredulously. “I could have you arrested for what you did!”

“You could try.” He watched her as he used the towel around his neck to dry his hair. “But you’d have to admit you solicited sexual services from Hawaiian Nights. That’s not going to please the police any more than my little misrepresentation. I’ll just say it was a mistake that you thought I was a male prostitute.”
She stalked toward him, looking furious. He thought she was about to ream him out when she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

“Why?” The single word popped out of her mouth, seemingly against her will. “Why the hell did you do that?”

He paused before he let the towel drop to his chest. His cock stiffened to full, leaden readiness, as erect as it might have been after having a woman pamper it with her hands and mouth for long, delicious minutes.

All that from just the sight of Lana’s vulnerability, just the hint of her softness.

“I told you. I wanted you. When the opportunity arose to take what I wanted, I took it.”

She shook her head in amazement. “Just like that.”

“Yeah,” he growled as he came around the granite-topped island that set off his kitchen from the living space. He saw her eyes go wide as he stalked toward her. “Just like that. So why don’t we talk about what’s really important here.” He opened his hand at the back of her neck and pulled her against him. He leaned down until their mouths were just inches apart. The light scent of flowers and sweet woman filtered into his nose. He breathed deeply through his nostrils.

“Tell me why you came, Lana.”

She panted lightly in the taut silence.

“Come on,” he coaxed, his gaze glued to her mouth. “Just say it.”

For some reason, he wasn’t shocked when a single tear spilled down her cheek. He’d sensed her inner conflict from the beginning. It was what fascinated him about her, what drew him like metal to lodestone, despite the fact that his brain blared a warning to stay away from her.

“I . . . ” Her elegant throat convulsed as she swallowed thickly. “I . . . need you. Again.”

Since I’m just sort of rambling without a major goal in this blog entry, I also wanted to let everyone know I’m off to Lake Tahoe tomorrow for some va–ca–tion. 🙂 So the contest will be broadcast live from beautiful Lake Tahoe next week.

If you leave a comment–about any old thing, really–I’ll enter you to win the Hawaiian gift tote described above! Prize will be given away tomorrow morning.

Happy Friday!

For the choice of a Dakota book from Amazon and a small Hawaiian gift pack: #23 Beverly!

For the 20 dollar Amazon gift certificate: Lauren D

Ladies, write to me at bethkery@aol.com. Beverly, I’ll need your address, Lauren–better send me both your street address and the email you prefer–I’m not sure if Dakota’s gift certificate is physical or the email variety.

Many thanks to Dakota for a fun-filled day!!

Up next, I ramble on, give a couple peeks at Paradise Rules, and put up a fun-filled goodie bag of Hawaiian stuff and your choice of a Beth Kery book.

We’re lucky to have a crowned Princess of Romance Funny Side Up here with us today: Dakota Cassidy. 🙂 Give her a great big welcome! Leave a comment and qualify to win your choice of one Dakota book from Amazon. Plus, to keep you in that Hawaiian mood, a small gift pack filled with lovely smelling Hawaiian bath salts, incense, and a silver toe ring from Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry Factory located in Honolulu, Hawaii –for the beach, you know.
Update: Because Dakota thought she was giving the prize, and I thought I was, there are now going to be TWO winners. One winner will get the prize above, the other will get a $20 dollar Amazon card from Dakota! How sweet is that?

Immortality bites.

Wanda Schwartz is raking in the dough selling Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics—and she’s a pro at recruiting new saleswomen. So, she’s shocked when a man comes to one of her in-home parties—a very hot man. Heath Jefferson is sure to put some extra spin into a lot of women’s color wheels.

When Wanda is diagnosed with a terminal illness, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. With a werewolf and a vampire for best friends, she has options that most ordinary people wouldn’t. As Wanda ponders what to do about her mortality, Heath reveals he has secrets, and one of them is that his former bloodlust has turned into an old-fashioned lust—for Wanda. And he’s already given up too much to lose the love of his lifetimes.

Read an Excerpt here:
Find out more about Dakota and her writing

Dakota’s Mini-view:

BK: Thanks so much for joining us here today!

DC: Thanks for having me… AGAIN. You sick of me yet? LOLLOL

BK: What future projects are you especially excited about?

DC: I’m super excited about Suck It Up, Princess, the beginning of my contemporary series with Berkley Sensation. It’s based on ex-trophy wives who’ve never worked and are left high and dry with no money and no job skills. They have to learn how to survive on coupon clipping and expeditions to Wal-Mart. Not only am I excited about writing this series, but I’m stoked to be in a different genre!

BK: Ooh, the scene when they discover Wal-Mart doesn’t carry Prada. 🙂 Sounds like a hoot, Dakota.
Every writer has moments they cringe when they read past stuff, and moments when they think…yeah, that’s good. Would you please share with us a paragraph or two of a sample of your writing of which you are particularly proud and say why you like it?

DC: Uh… I think I’ll leave this space blank. You know, for people who’re proud. LOLLOL

BK: Oh, you’ve never had a loved that line moment? You should have! Okay, so you’re modest. How about telling us a “˜blush moment,’ an especially humorous or mortifying moment in your writing career?

DC: When I met Nina Bangs for the first time—I behaved like a screaming, crying, whimpering teenager who’d just met like Justin Timberlake. I blush every single time I think about it.

BK: What are you working on right now, and when can readers look forward to seeing it?

DC: Right now it’s Suck It Up, Princess and it’s out December 2010!

BK: You just won the dream vacation of your choice. Where would you go? Why? Who would go with you? What book would you bring with you? What would you make SURE you left behind?

DC: I’m goin’ to Italy, baby!!! I’m a foodie of sorts, and I’ve always wanted to try gelato. The real stuff—not to mention all that pasta and pastry that fo sho’s gonna end up on my back end. I’d bring my BF, Rob. And I’d leave my two sons and my parents at home in their appropriate cages. OMG—did I say that out loud? LOL

BK: Well, we did hear it but we’re discreet. Yeah, I lived off the sorbet when I was in Roma.
Dakota, you’re a doll for hanging out with us a bit. Best of luck with your writing…and getting to Italy.

#6, Marjana kaly! Congrats! Marjana, you can write me with your address at bethkery@aol.com and I’ll forward your info to Tracy. Thanks to all who participated.

We’re in for another fun day at the Paradise Rules contest. Dakota Cassidy is visiting, and we’ve got some great prizes. Stay tuned…

One of the reasons I love to do these contests is that I get to meet some amazing authors. I just met Tracy at the beginning of the month, and she’s an extremely warm, generous lady. She also knows a thing or two (or three) about writing some very sexy love scenes, as you’ll see below. Please give Tracy Wollf a big welcome to the Paradise Rules contest!

Everybody Loves a Hero by Tracy Wolff

First off, I’m excited to be back here with Beth today. She’s a fabulous writer and I so enjoyed my last visit here.

I’ve been reading romance novels since I was in the fifth grade. My mother handed me a couple after an unsuccessful visit to the bookstore, where I couldn’t find a book because I’d already read everything in the Young Adult and classics sections of the store. From the first page of the first book (Jude Deveraux’s Velvet Angel) I was hooked. Hooked by the fabulous story, incredible clothes, terrible dungeon, plucky heroine, and, of course, the sexy as all get out hero, Miles Montgomery. Seriously, there was nothing about this man not to love. He was tall, sexy, handsome, loyal, intelligent, cunning, adored by women from age 1 to 99 and a hell of a good fighter, to boot. Needless to say, he made my 11 year old heart go pitter patter. And then some.

(Click on cover for purchase information)

Anyway, I’ve been reading romances for 22 years now—and I’m not a one sub-genre kind of girl. I read just about everything—romantic comedy, category, erotic romance, romantic suspense, contemporary, paranormals, historicals, YA—if it’s a romance, I’ll give it a shot. My TBR pile numbers in the high hundreds. Now, the sub-genres of romance are very different—in tone, temperament, style, heroine, and any number of other things. I enjoy the differences, I really do. But for me, the one constant in romance novels is the hero. And let me tell you, I love me a good hero.

Maybe because Miles Montgomery, a truly fabulous hero, was my first example of the romance novel hero, I always strive to create a hero that is as fabulous and yummy and all around amazing as he was. So when I sat down to write this blog post, I thought I’d give you a thumbnail sketch of my newest hero and let you be the judge. But I’ll warn you, I write seriously alpha heroines, so my heroes need to be pretty kick-ass themselves.

Cole Adams, the hero of my brand new erotic suspense, Tie Me Down, is a tall, dark and gorgeous documentary maker on the trail of his sister’s murderer. Desperate to solve the cold case, he turns to Genevieve Deveraux, one of the few honest New Orleans homicide detectives around, to help him. Sparks fly as the two search for his sister’s murderer—and face down a psychotic serial killer—and Cole, who relishes being in control in and out of the bedroom, finds himself seriously turned on by Genevieve’s strength and determination. Though his relationships are always a little dark, even Cole is shocked by the intensity of his need for Genevieve and the lengths he will go to to get inside her body and her head.

Her independence and need for control bring out a side of him that he’s never known existed—one that is dark and dangerous and determined to bend her to his will. And though he is shocked by his need to dominate her– to be everything to her—he is unable to walk away from the wild, often frightening, pleasure he feels when he’s with her. The sexual gratification he brings Genevieve may be her obsession, but every day he’s with her drives him closer to a primal edge he’s never suspected.

And if Cole sounds like your kind of hero, here’s a little excerpt to whet your appetite for the book.

“I’m sorry I jumped down your throat this afternoon.” She said the words quickly, as if they tasted bad.

“I thought that was my line.”

She shrugged. “Maybe both of ours?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“So go ahead and say it.” She watched him expectantly.

“I’m sorry I was an ass this afternoon?”

“You’re not supposed to say it like it’s a question.”

He grinned because he couldn’t help himself. Then reached for her hand and tugged. “Come on in.” He dragged her through the living room and down the hallway to the kitchen. “You want a drink?” He nodded to the bottle of tequila on the counter.

She glanced at the discarded lime peels. “It looks like you’ve been drinking enough of that for both of us.”

“Not even close.” Then, because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself for one second longer, he pulled her into his arms. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

He rested his chin on the top of her head for a minute and just breathed in the sweet honey scent of her.

She shoved against his chest, pushed him away. And for a brief moment he felt bereft, though for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why.

Striving for control, needing to keep his hands busy with something other than her, he reached into the bar cabinet and pulled out a shot glass. “You ever tried Patrón?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a big tequila drinker.”

“This isn’t any ordinary tequila.” He poured a shot, handed it to her. But stopped her when she started to sip.

“If you’re going to do a shot, you’ve got to do it right.”

Genevieve lifted one cool brow, licked her full lower lip and nearly had him coming in his fucking jeans. “I didn’t realize there was a wrong way to do this.”

“Sweetheart, there’s a wrong way to do everything.” And then he was putting his hands on her waist and lifting her up so that her sweet ass was on the center island, her legs just a little bit open.

Stepping between them before she could change her mind, he slipped yet another god-awful suit jacket off her shoulders—he was seriously going to have to do something about her wardrobe. Maybe if he ripped it all off her . . .

Licking a trail from the hollow of her throat to her breastbone, he savored the taste of her.

“Mmm, salty.”

She blushed, then leaned back on her hands so that her breasts were thrust forward. “It’s a hundred degrees in the shade. Hard not to sweat.”

It took all his self-control to take things slowly when all he really wanted to do was to eat her alive.

“I wasn’t complaining,” he murmured as he trailed his tongue over the curve of first one breast and then the other. Then he slammed back the shot of tequila and finished it off by biting into a lime slice.

Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide as she stared at his lips. “That’s the right way to do a tequila shot?”

He loved her voice, the syrupy sweetness was a turn-on even without the hard-ass tone she deliberately injected into it. With the hard-ass tone, it was irresistible. “It’s the best way.”

“I bet.”

He poured another shot. Handed it to her. “Here. You try.”

He shrugged out of his T-shirt and nearly smiled as she did the same. Would have, if his first look at her body hadn’t brought him all the way to the edge. She was still covered in little bruises, the love bites he’d given her the last time they’d been together. It was hard to imagine that he’d done that to her, had marked her as he’d marked no other woman. Had claimed her as he’d never had the desire to do before.

Maybe he was a Neanderthal, because looking at her covered in his marks— seeing her proudly wearing the evidence of his desire for her—turned him so hard and fast his vision blurred.

Shit, how he wanted this woman. Was dangerously close to becoming obsessed with her.

Her sexy pink tongue darted out, swiped across her top lip and then her bottom one, as if she couldn’t quite decide where to lick. And every thought he had or might have had got lost in the wild need pumping through him.

Groaning, he tangled a hand in her hair and urged her closer. “Come on, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Taste me.”

So tell me, what kind of hero do you like to read about? Leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of the erotic anthology, Naughty Bits.

#15–Tracy! Woo Hoo, Tracy! Write me at bethkery@aol.com with your mail address, and I’ll get off your card!
Thanks to all for ‘playing.’ If you haven’t won yet, never fear, there will be many more chances before Paradise Rules releases on October 6. Up next, chat with author Tracy Wolff about her hot new romance in stories now, Tie me Down. Comment to win a copy of the yummy anthology Naughty Bits!!

Purchase Paradise Rules here
Read another Excerpt

PARADISE RULES from Berkley Heat October 6

She didn’t believe in paradise…

To most people Hawaii’s crystal blue shores are an inviting opportunity to escape reality. But for Lana Rodriguez who grew up there, the picture-perfect vacation getaway disguises the bitter truths she escaped years ago, and not without some emotional scars. Now a successful blues singer, Lana’s returning to Waikiki with a different outlook on the past, and a bold defiance when it comes to men, romance, and sex. This time, it’s on her terms.

Until she found it in him.

Local celebrity, businessman and island god, Jason Koa, may be every woman’s dream. For Lana, it’s not exactly love at first sight. Though their start is rocky, they can’t deny the passions they arouse in each other. Jason refuses to become Lana’s pawn. It’s time to show her who makes the rules on this island—and in the bedroom. But will Jason’s attempt at breaking Lana’s shell reveal secrets that neither are prepared to face, or will they allow themselves to get swept away by a tidal wave of desire?

New Excerpt

He wore a pair of black pants and a white dress shirt, open at the collar. His beige jacket was perfectly tailored and highlighted his broad shoulders. He wore his dark brown hair longer in the front, but in the back it was neatly trimmed just above the collar of his shirt. The style perfectly set off his starkly masculine face. He held a paper sack. Her gaze lingered on his tanned, large hand gripping the package. He had great hands. Granted, everything about his body was amazing, but Lana had caught herself staring at his masculine, capable-looking hands frequently during her surf lesson.

Now she imagined what those hands would look like on her body—what they’d feel like.

“There’s been a mistake,” she said breathlessly. “I was expecting someone else.”

“You weren’t expecting someone from Hawaiian Nights escort service?”

She went still. Her heartbeat began to drum in her ears in the silence that followed. He slowly came toward her.

“What’s the matter, Lana? I assure you that I’m capable of filling the requirements for the job.”

She shivered at the impact of his low, raspy voice. “You work for Hawaiian Nights?”

He gave her a bland look and shrugged at what he must consider a statement of the obvious. “Why’s that so hard to believe?”

Lana couldn’t think of how to respond. He was certainly handsome enough for the job. He was more than sexy enough. In fact, he was too attractive. The effect he had on her made her uneasy.

“Did you know it was me you were meeting?”

“Sure.”

She shook her head incredulously. “And knowing that, you actually agreed to come?” Her gaze lowered to his slow grin. His smile—that flash of white teeth against sun-bronzed skin—really ought to be outlawed for its mind-altering effects. Best not to think of what it did to her body. When he didn’t speak, just continued to stare at her with a small, insolent grin on his firm lips, she prodded, “We took an instant dislike to each other. Maybe you didn’t notice?”

“Bit hard not to notice a blizzard in Waikiki. The way I recall it, you took an instant dislike to me.”
“Didn’t like the experience much, did you? Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

He didn’t appear overly dismayed by her sarcastic remark. As a matter of fact, he seemed so damn comfortable, Lana suddenly felt as if she were the interloper in his space. Like the whole damn island was his, and she’d just had the temerity to place a toe on his sandy beach.

Which there was a tad of truth to, she had to admit. This island paradise would never be her home, whereas Jason Koa embodied it.

Those singular dark gray eyes flecked with gold lowered over her deliberately, lingering on the swells of her breasts in the V of the neckline—checking out the bounty that had just washed up on his sovereign shore. She wasn’t wearing a bra. She gritted her teeth when she felt her nipples tighten against the smooth, cool fabric of the dress. “We may not like talking to each other much, but you didn’t call Hawaiian Nights for a chat buddy, did you?”

Lana stiffened. “I called for a fuck buddy. Is that what you’re thinking, Mr. Koa?”

He surprised her by chuckling softly, the sound reminding her of something between a purr and a soft growl. His big male body looked entirely relaxed, making her hyperaware of her own anxious tension. “Christ, you’re a piece of work. Do you ever let up?”

She considered him with an icy stare. The humor vanished from his face. Because of the flecks in his gray eyes, his gaze usually reminded her of hot smoke, but Lana learned at that moment they could also go hard and cold. Her tension mounted. Okay, so he was much more than just the big, sinuous panther lazing around in the sun that she’d just compared him to in her mind.

“All right. If that’s the way you want to play it, fine. I might think you’re a mean, cold bitch, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to have you under me, in front of me . . . on your knees.”

He closed the distance between them. Lana stared up at him warily when he leaned down over her, close enough for her to inhale his spicy cologne and natural rich male scent. Warm fluid flooded her panties. Just like that—in an instant—her body had readied itself for him. The strength of her response stunned her.

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