Monday, December 30, 2013

Restricted Release


Clara is the recovering anorexic who’s nearly become a shut-in after the end of her emotionally abusive marriage. Matt is the new boy next door. Graphic artist, nice guy, funny…accepting of Clara. She wants him, he wants her—but Clara is afraid.
Nadia is the stand-in—Matt’s idea, Clara’s challenge to accept. A longtime friend of Matt’s, she’s a sexual surrogate intended to guide Clara until she’s not afraid of Matt’s desire for her or hers for him. Twosomes become threesomes, watching becomes touching and lust becomes love.


When Matt moved in next door, lust was the last thing Clara expected. Two lovers never crossed her mind. And the need to make a choice was something she thought she’d never encounter. But she’s bolder now, healing, and everything has changed. And a choice must be made, no matter how hard.


Inside scoop: Clara’s healing includes a hot woman who wants to show her how desirable she is, as well as f/m/f menagés.

Amazon

Review:

Restricted Release By: Sommer Marsden
Reviewer: Bre
Kink Factor: 5/5
Story Factor:5/5
Tags: M/F, F/M/F, F/F, Sex toys

                Clara is watching the movers that are moving in her new neighbor. Her new neighbor Matt notices that she is watching goes up to talk to her. She flat out tells Matt that she wants to have sex with him after they both say how long they have been celibate. She finds an envelope that Matt drew a nude picture of her on. Clara is in a tough state she divorced her ex-husband because he was mentally and emotionally abusive to her.  She doesn't want to like anyone, but her attraction to him is an itch she needs to scratch. Matt and Clara have sex the same night they meet in Matt's house and he comes up with a plan that he hopes will help Clara with her self image. It involves Nadia, Matt's friend. Nadia shows up at Clara's house and they have sex with a strap on.

                Clara really connected with me because she is afraid to let anybody in after her failed marriage. Matt stood out to me because he wants to help Clara see that she is a beautiful person no matter what her ex-husband says. Nadia stood out to me because she is there to help Clara get her life back under control and she also strikes me as someone who doesn't care what people think. The dialog in this book was very gripping very hard to put down. The sex scenes were very steamy.


                If you like M/F, F/M/F, F/F, and sex toys this book is for you. Does Nadia help Clara? Do Matt and Clara end up together? You'll have to read this one to find out...

Winter's Sweet Kiss Blog Tour


Winter’s Sweet Kiss

Publisher:  Roane Publishing

Release Date:  December 16, 2013

Key Words:  Adult, Romance, Sweet, Contemporary, Historical, Anthology

BEGINNING OF FOREVER  By Terri Rochenski
Blurb: When Wayne Edwards moves to town, Lillian Douglas experiences stirrings she thought were long dead. Guilt ridden over betraying her deceased husband and the feelings Wayne inspires, Lillian reluctantly lets him in. Secrets of the past – an old promise emerges, but will it threaten their forever?
MELT  By Shaya Roy
Blurb: Newlyweds in an arranged marriage, Naina and Dev go to the mountains of Shimla, India in search of snow. Unfortunately, they find fifteen inches more than they expected.
Being snowed in with her husband is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives Naina an excellent excuse to snuggle up to her deep, quiet man, but every time Dev spurns her, a little more of her heart drips away. Melting the ice around her husband’s heart before the snow outside does might take more pride than Naina’s ready to surrender.
ONE IN A MILLION SNOWFLAKES  By Michelle Ziegler
Blurb: Angela is in love with someone she can never have--her best friend, Rebecca’s older brother.

Stranded in the bitter cold after a disastrous blind date with yet another company Christmas party looming, a standing offer from the boss’ nephew gets a little more appealing. Desperation. Not a good sign. Surely when Rebecca rescues her from the blinding snow, she can also convince Angela to just go to the party alone. She can always count on her best friend.

That is, as long as she never finds out about Angela’s secret crush.

AN UNEXPECTED WREATH  By Annabelle Blume

Blurb: Stella’s got everything she needs in life: a great job, a beautiful house, and her independence. But on last minute trip to the local Christmas tree lot she finds something, or rather someone, she desperately wants - Grayson. An emergency trip to Target, an unexpected wreath, and a little Christmas magic make the season much brighter. 

SANTA BEBE  By Lily Carlyle

Blurb: Disillusioned by men and her belief that they see her only as an object, Bebe is determined to find a man with money. Her geeky, but unfailingly kind, next-door neighbor James tries to convince her of the possibility of real love, even as she reveals to him the troubled childhood that made her so cynical about relationships. When her mother dashes her hopes for a perfect Christmas, Bebe finds herself turning to James once again, and in the process, learning a lot about herself and the promise their relationship holds.



Group Giveaway:  $10 Amazon Gift Card & paperback copy of Winter’s Sweet Kiss


Answers for Erzabet =-Favorite Five Desserts

Michelle Ziegler:

Red velvet cake. Pumpkin pie. Chocolate chip cookies. Ice cream. Apple tort. Don't let my doctor see this list. I'm supposed to be losing baby weight, not dreaming of my next meal, or I mean dessert.

Terri Rochenski:
Monkey bread, pumpkin pie, blueberry custard pie, molten lava cake with ice cream on top, hot fudge sundae. *drool*
Annabelle Blume:
1. Chocolate Mouse
2. Chocolate Cake
3. Chocolate Pie
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies
4. Chocolate Gelato

Lily Carlyle:

Caramel apple pie. I make this pie for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my older daughter’s birthday. We call it “heart attack apple pie,” due to its heavy butter content.

Banana pudding. I could eat it by the bucketful.

Chocolate chip cookies, but why limit them to dessert? I certainly don’t.

Nut rolls. A childhood favorite, made expertly by my Hungarian chef grandmother, now unfortunately removed from my repertoire due to my nut-allergic younger daughter.

Chocolate martini. Dessert and a drink rolled into one!
Shaya Roy:
1) Chocolate mousse. Frankly speaking, anything chocolate and I'll eat it.

2) Good old-fashioned ice-cream. I like fruit flavors the best, my favorite being jamun ice-cream, which is a summer fruit indigenous to India. 
3) Gulab Jamun. An Indian dessert, these are sweet fried dumplings in syrup. The amount of fat they contain is in direct proportion to how amazing they taste. 
4) Thai-style fried bananas with coconut ice cream. The hot and cold combination tastes delicious. 
5) Strawberries and cream. It looks so pretty. It tastes even prettier :) 


Thursday, December 26, 2013

Make Me Yours Virtual Book Tour


MMYEblogtour

Blurb:


Taking what you want may come at a terrifying price.
Chris calls his darkest, nastiest fantasy into the light of day when he has to kidnap Kat to save a friend. For years, he’s wanted to bring her to her knees.
But claiming her draws attention. Andreas wants to save Kat, until he sees her response to raw male dominance.
More dangerous are the human traffickers, who regard the acquisition and selling of women as a very high stakes business. And they’re watching. Everything.
Death. The perversion of love. The loss of freedom.
Sometimes there is no choice.
Warning: Capture fantasy; dubious consent; anal play; strap-on; M/f/M and f/f scenes; BDSM themes including caning, spanking, bondage, and piercing, as well as some upside-down naughtiness.
Also contains one Dom gone bad who believes obsession means never having to say you’re sorry.


 



BDSM and power
A lot of BDSM stories revolve around power exchange – Dominant and submissive, Domme and submissive, Master and slave. I used to believe my Pierced Hearts series was not actually BDSM due to the capture fantasy/ dubious consent theme that runs through the books, but I’ve since had several kinksters, who have been in the lifestyle for years, point out that they are in fact BDSM.
RACK (risk aware consensual kink) is obviously consensual. As is PRICK, which I can never recall what the letters stand for. lol Though consensual is in there too.
Googled it! Personal Responsibility Informed Consensual Kink.
BDSM is a convenient way of referring to any sort of story where power exchange, bondage, and sadomasochism feature heavily even though there may not be consent.
Power exchange is where someone hands power over to someone else. The extent of that handover varies from relationship to relationship but with consensual kink, there will be an out. A safeword is the most recognized way out, but legally, there is no way, in our society, you can hand over yourself to someone else permanently. You’re a slave to Master XYZ? Sure you are. Until the day you decide to leave that relationship. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional.
The fun in writing my Pierced Hearts stories is in playing around with the idea of someone having that sort of power over you where there is no way out. Fantasies of these sorts are role played in BDSM scenes, all the way up to roleplaying rape. This is what’s often called consensual non-con. Rape fantasies are very common with women. Stress the fantasy there, of course. These are not desires for actual rape.
Capture fantasy stories are another way to role play sexual fantasies – hence the appeal of stories featuring women who are captured by the ‘hero.’ I’ve said it before – bodice rippers sold by the millions because many women desire male dominance in the bedroom, at the very least.
The power exchange that we speak of in BDSM is a deep thread that weaves through many human relationships. The gap in thinking, desires, and needs between kinksters into power exchange and the average man or woman is not that wide.

If you’re seeking your daily ‘hit’ of delicious capture fantasy and power exchange, my Pierced Hearts series is waiting for you. If you like bad boys and you love Doms, start reading because inside my latest book, Make me Yours Evermore, are some droolworthy Doms gone bad.


Excerpt - PGish

The water might be cold but she was warm against my skin. I couldn’t help admiring her curves as I smoothed away the grime of all that had happened to her over the last day. A few times she stirred and pushed at my hand but I persisted. Her skin was pale, accentuating the red of her bra and black of her panties – color coded scraps of cloth that screamed sexual territory. All the best bits were underneath those. Her lips were plump with the promise of kisses. Long legs, female contours…

Damn.

At last the tape loosened and I gently pulled the bits away from each strand of her hair, revealing her face. What color were her eyes? I turned her face upward and stroked her cheek until she opened them.

Gray. A pretty and liquid light gray.

“Hi,” I said softly.

She only groaned quietly and blinked.

When she turned her cheek away and nestled back into me, curving her back and drawing up her legs so the water swirled, I had to clamp down on a surge of emotion. Her eyelids drifted down again. She clung to my leg with both arms – determined yet weak. Her hair swept in lazy arcs against the masculine heaviness of my thigh.

Beauty personified.

I ached somewhere deep inside. What did Chris want to do to her?

The draw to protect her was so strong. I didn’t care what she might or might not have done. So cute all snuggled around me. I’d never had a woman do this. Ever. Not in such a vulnerable way.

“Hey, baby girl.” I stroked her cheek again. “I’m going to get you out of this.”

She stirred but her eyes stayed shut. “Not a baby. Fugg off.”

I chuckled and smiled. “Not a hope.”

Daylight was fading by the time we had her out of the bath and dried off. 

When Chris wrist and ankle cuffed her and collared her with black leather, I managed to stay quiet. When he attached a metal leash, I fought not to explode.

Maybe part of this was that I also found her disturbingly sexy all collared and leashed. That scared me.

+

Explicit Excerpt

Embarrassment had reached new depths. It was one thing standing in a room naked and getting whipped by a Dom you’d selected carefully and teed up your limits with. I had control over that. But this? Kneeling on the breakfast counter with my hands behind me and basically chained to the wall while wearing a wet, milk-soaked scrap of a dress?

I wanted to sink into the floor. Even more so since I knew having them do what they’d done – stared and treated me like a pet they had to feed, had turnedme on so much I was afraid to open my legs. I could feel how slippery I was down there.

When Andreas excused himself and wandered off down the hallway to the toilet I relaxed some. One gone. Maybe now, I’d get freed. I braced myself for the evil I had to do, begging from him… Then I raised my eyebrows, in a hopeful fashion, at Chris.

He deadpanned back at me.

Shit. Did I have to whine? I was not whining. But I wasn’t game to speak. Chris’s suggestion of a piñata and the crocs hearing my beating had been ominous.

The stool scraped on the floor as he stood.

I managed a forced smile when he came to the counter and hopped up on it, sitting next to me with his legs dangling over the edge.

“You were very, very good,” he drawled. 

I blinked and tried to stamp down on my awareness of the difference between him, free, a dominant man and inches from me, and me tied up. It was electric. Chris was the epitome of alpha male. In the past, his pale blond man-god good looks had always steamed up my female sex goggles in milliseconds. I couldn’t help holding my breath and giving my lower lip a tug with my teeth. Pure body reaction, I reminded myself, I still hated him. I did, I did.

His slow perusal of my breasts and the trail of milk and cornflakes down my belly made me both melt into a sizzle of goo and want to snap out something like…like, I’m not your breakfast. Noo. God no. Need a spoon? Fuck no, not that either.

Surreptitiously, I twisted one wrist, praying it was loose.

He spotted that movement and his mouth curved. “It’s amusing, Kat. Watching you. Watching you and knowing I can touch you without you doing anything to stop me. Knowing you’re aroused too.”

“I’m not aroused,” I ground out through my teeth. “Andreas will be back soon!” My glare would hopefully turn him to ashes.

“You speak?” Gently he began to roll the dress up my thighs. I tensed and squeezed my thighs together. “Uh-uh. No hiding there. Open.”

I glared some more.


Chris moved in and nipped my nose. Shock hummed through me as his other hand wrapped around my breast, squeezing tight. Big hand, hard grip, small pains that did things to me. I squirmed on the spot.

I hated possession like this – the casual owning of a woman bothered me, especially if it was me. But with his hand on me there, and the wrist bondage, with my arms pulled back out of the way, I had nowhere to go. Fuck. Hate you Chris.

Yet what he did fed heat into my groin.

“Open your eyes, Kat.”

I snapped them open. Crap. I’d closed them without meaning to.

“I knew you were turned on because you've dripped on the counter.”

Mild panic to mortified in one second flat. Knowing he’d seen my moisture coming from me… I stared at him. Amusement, lust, and the satisfaction of a Dom who’s hit the humiliation and torture button flickered across his face. 

Bastard.

His thumb swept over my breast teasing my nipple as he added in a matter of fact way, like it was a done deal. “I’m going to make you come now, Kat. If you don’t want Andreas to see, be good. If you’re bad, I can stretch this out forever.”


Tour Schedule


To join Cari Silverwood's MAILING LIST and keep up to date with her upcoming books go to:

Grand Prize
Cari is giving away a Signed print copy of both Take Me, Break Me and Bind and Keep Me and a $20 Amazon Gift Card. Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter. 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Forever Blue by Elodie Parkes


Claudie loves living in the countryside and close to the forests. She’s a film maker and works for the wildlife trust. One night she steps onto her patio and sees a man sheltering there. She confronts him and he runs away.
Jasper has watched Claudie for a year. He fell in love with her, but he has a secret, one that might mean he can never approach her.
Will love and fate find a way?
What secret must Jasper hide?
What’s the strange blue dust that turns up on Claudie’s patio?
18+ erotic paranormal romance

****
Today the main characters from ‘Forever Blue,’ Jasper, and Claudie are visiting the blog to give their take on the story and each other.

So what’s hot about Forever Blue?
Jasper:
The love scenes.
The way Claudie responds to me. Her courage. The love story. It’s unusual and steamy.
Claudie:
The love scenes are hot, but then so is Jasper, I mean just look at him. The story is sumptuous. It’s rich in description so that you feel as if you’re in the places described, although I’d rather you weren’t in the love scenes. (smiles)

Jasper tell us about Claudie:
She’s a professional, and clever. She makes films. I think she’s beautiful and smokin’ hot. She cares about the environment and the creatures in the forest. (Laughs then and takes Claudie’s hand)
What about Jasper, Claudie, tell us about him:
He’s tall. He has these gorgeous muscles, that’s from working in the forest I guess. He’s sexy, sensual, loving. His kisses are to die for.
Jasper leans across to her, “Only my kisses?”
They gaze at each other for a moment.
So in just one word can you describe the story?
Jasper: Sexy
Claudie: Delicious
****


Five things I wanted for the story, ‘Forever Blue’ (from the author)
1.      A heroin who was capable, brave, ready for love, and not afraid to go for it.
2.      A hero who was hot, sexy, but not afraid to admit his love and need for his woman.
3.      A story that had an element of mystery and strangeness to fit the season.
4.      A story that took place in the country where silence and nature can conjure up the ethereal.
5.      A love story that sizzled with sex, but also touches your heart with happiness.

Excerpt:

1.      18+ only rated
She looked up into his gorgeous face.
He was propped on one elbow, and smiled at her again. He traced his fingers down her stomach to rest tantalizingly just above where she wanted them to be.
She lifted her hips to him, hoping his hand would slip down and he’d feel how wet she was, how much she needed him.
He closed his eyes as he leaned toward her face and kissed her tenderly. His fingers slid along her wet pussy and then he pushed them into her.
His thumb was against her clit, pressing deliciously. Claudie purred against his lips as they kissed. She rocked against the palm of his hand to have his fingers deeper inside her pussy. She held his shoulder muscles and moaned into his mouth. Her orgasm was building rapidly and she thrust her hips to his pumping.
Against her mouth, he whispered, “Come for me. I’m crazy about you. You feel so good.”
The words filtered through her lust numbed mind as she dug her fingernails into his back when she came, gasping at the intensity of the orgasm.
Jasper removed his fingers gently and lay between her legs.
Claudie ran her fingertips up and down the sides of his body. “Thrust into me.” Her voice made throaty from his nearness, his cock between her thighs, and the way her clit still pulsed.
“Oh, I will.” Jasper whispered into her ear.
A shiver of pleasure ran down to her breasts as he licked her ear. He trailed his tongue down her neck to suck as he slowly pushed his hard thick cock into her pussy. The feel of him, inch after inch, slowly filling her until he gave a final hard thrust was delicious. She held him tight and reached to suck at his neck the way he sucked at hers.
They both softly moaned as they sucked and in unison brought their mouths together to kiss each other slowly, tenderly and then hungrily.
Jasper thrust his cock in and out of her fast and hard. Then he slowed down and raising himself on his knees, he lifted her hips and looked into her eyes.
Claudie’s eyes were only half-open. They were heavy with lust. She felt drugged with sex, but she saw his eyes, and thought they were full of tenderness.
His thrusts were slow as he held her hips and his cock grazed her swollen clit. His hands possessed her hips and he fucked her until she came again moaning his name. Jasper held her under her bottom and pulled her hard onto his cock.
Claudie heard him groan, and then he pounded his cock into her as he came. She opened her eyes to see him come. His eyes were closed and his head thrown back a little. He looked erotic, beautiful, so sexy, and she sighed with pleasure. He’s so gorgeous. I think I’m falling in love with him, or falling in sex with him. I might love him soon. Her thoughts made her smile.
Jasper opened his eyes and gazed at her. He still held her under the bottom. His cock pulsed in her pussy. He smiled. “I’m falling in love with you.” His voice was soft and low.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2013

Buy the book: links will be sent asap available
****
About Elodie:
Elodie Parkes is a British author writing romance, erotic, contemporary, and often with a twist of mystery, paranormal or suspense. Her books are always steamy, cool stories and hot love scenes.
Elodie lives in Canterbury with her two dogs. She works in an antique shop by day and writes at night, loving the cloak of silent darkness that descends on the rural countryside around her home.
She has also released titles as an individual indie author.


Monday, December 23, 2013

Beauty and the Butch


The last thing up-and-coming TV producer Lindsey Mitchell expects to find at an ultra-girly beauty pageant is true love. After all, she’s unapologetically butch and that’s unlikely to appeal to the primped-and-powdered Southern belles vying for the title of Miss Georgia National.

Ella Northington is the perfectly poised contestant who’s hiding a big secret—she’s a lesbian. But Lindsey’s just too tempting to resist and what’s supposed to be a one-night stand quickly turns into something more. The lovers are determined to touch and taste every inch of each other.

But the stakes are high and competition is fierce. And if Ella is outed, she risks losing everything she holds dear, including her sexy butch lover.
A Romantica® lesbian erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave.

Goodreads

Amazon

Review:

A great read if you love a short bit of spicy f/f fun!

I love a good Paisley Smith novel. They never fail to heat up my nights and light my heart up with a smile.
Beauty and the Butch was exactly what I needed. A short 74 page book, this story grips you with intensity of a satisfying read with characters that are vulnerable and real. The beauty pageant scenario was well played and the I found myself cheering as the two lovers found their way back into each others arms.
The setting of the pageant was unique and the tension between the characters was hot and it had a HEA style ending that was just what I needed on this cold December night.

4/5

Friday, December 20, 2013

Not So Silent Night


1. How did you start writing erotic romance?
I started reading paranormal romances after borrowing a ton from a friend. I became hooked and thought about joining my love of the paranormal (I've always loved things that go bump in the night) with some hot erotic goodness. Some of my first attempts are probably laughable, but I really think that I have found my writing niche, 5 books out and counting!

2. Plotter or pantster? I'm a complete pantser!
I like to say it keeps the story exciting and suspenseful even to me!

3. What are three things you have on your writing desk?
Dare I admit I rarely write at a desk? I tend to write on my laptop in bed at night. But I always have a glass of water by my side, lots of pillows to make me comfy and keep me propped up (hey, I'm writing in bed after all) and my dog so I can pet her when I'm trying to work something out in my head before writing it
.
4. Favorite food?
 Spaghetti! It's my go to food for sure. I eat it once a week at least! Lol

5. Tell us a little about your new release. What character in the book really spoke to you?
 Not So Silent Night starts off with Anna, a lonely woman not happy with her life's direction, who is dreading the holidays. Then the other worldly Russian stud, Alexander, walks into her life. They are immediately drawn to each other, let's just day that there is some magic in the air. Anna quickly learns that just because Russians are from a cold climate, that does not mean they can't heat up the cold Vermont nights! Of course, things don't run as smoothly as they would like. Soon they find themselves battling the good ole boys of the town who are hell bent on keeping Anna and Alexander apart because they feel that Alex is infringing on their territory. Soon secrets are revealed and soon they are in a fight that neither anticipated. If they are going to end up together, it is not going to be with out strife.

Anna is a woman who speaks to my heart. I have felt alone in this world before, so I think I really empathize with her the most.

6. I write because I think that I would spontaneously combust if I did not. Writing is just something that I have to do, it is part of who I am. Even before I was published or even submitting, I was writing. I always say I write because it is cheaper than therapy and I stick to that. Writing is an outlet that keeps me sane.

7. What is your favorite type of character to write about?
I like characters with flaws. All of my characters have flaws, perfection is somewhat boring to write about. Sure, my heroes and heroines all look great, but they are also complex people with all the normal human foibles.

8. What is the sexiest scene you ever wrote?
 I like sex with a little vulnerability to it. In my novella Alone No More, the two characters come together after the heroine has suffered a trauma and the hero is denying himself out of a sense of penance, the result was pretty hot. There is also a scene in Not So Silent Night, after some secrets have been shared, where the characters connect more deeply through their lovemaking. To me that is sexy.

9. What advice would you give new authors in the erotica/romance field?
Read books in the genre, become a fan. Know the subcategories, for instance paranormal is my bread and butter, but there are categories to please and entice everyone. Get to know the publishers that put out books that you like, learn their submission guidelines and see if they are looking for anything in particular. And the obvious, write and keep writing no matter what. Sure, rejection happens, learn from it and go back to writing.

10. What is next on your writerly horizon?
I have a short story coming out in the Bloody Valentine Anthology at Breathless Press. I am waiting to hear back on a few submissions and also have two stories just about ready to be submitted. I am then working on two pirate books and a sequel to my novella, Alone No More. A lot more coming from me!


Social and buy links



Author bio:

Sheri Velarde, who sometimes uses the pen name Kelly Ryan, lives in New Mexico and grew up with a fascination for all things that "go bump in the night", so it is no wonder that she turned to writing paranormal romance. In her spare time, she fancies herself a cyrptozoologist and loves to paranormal related outings, searching for things that might not really exist. She is an avid exerciser and gets some of her best ideas while on runs. She also has a bit of a wild side, which only leads to inspiration for her writing.

Being an avid reader since an early age, she has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. She has been writing all her life, but only recently started to actually try to pursue her dream of writing for a living.

She is constantly putting out new material, so it is best to keep up with her on her website.




Another lonely Christmas approaches for Anna and her life of penance—until the otherworldly Alexander appears.

Anna is a lonely woman, running her dead grandmother's flower shop. She hates Christmas and could not feel more lost when a handsome and mysterious Russian, Alexander, walks into her shop and her life. Each has secrets and magic they are harboring. Just as their passion erupts, the good old boys in town threaten to ruin everything. Getting to know each other is tough for most couples, but with a pack of werewolves out to destroy them, things become intense. They find themselves in a fight for their lives. Can their newfound love give them the strength to win against this threat and trust in the future?




"So you just got the quick sketch of my life, so perhaps I can ask where you are from. I love your accent."

"Russia. I grew up right outside of Moscow."

"Russia? Wow! What brings you to small town Vermont? Other than the snow, I can't imagine we are anything like Moscow," Anna said in true wonderment.

"My family came to visit and we wanted to go somewhere quiet. I live in Washington, D.C. now. Here seemed like a good spot for a vacation. And I must say I am glad we picked this town on a whim." Alexander moved even closer to her, close enough they were almost touching and he could gently stroke her hair, sending a visible shiver down her back. "I am not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

Anna swallowed. "No, uncomfortable is not exactly the word for what you are making me feel." She turned around so she stared up into Alexander's deep blue eyes. They were close enough for her to kiss his full lips and she found herself wanting to very much.

"You are a very beautiful woman, Anna." Alexander stepped even closer so their bodies touched. Anna immediately felt heat rush all through her body from only a little contact. She felt her own blue eyes widen in anticipation.

"Thank you," Anna murmured, feeling a blush spread across her face, so evident on her pale skin. "So are you... I mean, you are very attractive too."

Alexander smiled and leaned down so his lips almost touched hers. "I am going to kiss you now, Anna, unless you tell me not to."

"Umm, okay." Anna's breath grew heavier as Alexander brought his lips to meet hers.