1-900-SURPRISE!
Short, sexy contemporary with edge!
April 30th
from Eirelander Publishing
- in eBook and Audio!
When her lover, Martin
Fowler is called away to Washington and she can't go with him, Daniella LeBeaux
is restless and edgy. Martin's older, worldly, and has a reputation that would
make most women think twice about trusting him. Dani loves him, and trust is not
what's making her anxious and edgy - lust and loneliness are combining with a
little too much to drink. When the phone rings, and it's Martin, delayed again,
he teaches her a new way to make love long-distance style.... but who's watching
Dani? And is Martin really ready for the revenge his actions
incite?
Excerpt:
An hour
after her father had gone home, Martin called. He was, in fact, on his way back
to New York. Despite the fact that she had an early call for rehearsals the next
day, Daniella chose to wait up for him. It was approaching 2 AM now and he still
wasn’t home. She glanced at the clock. Less than ten minutes had passed since
her last check.
She had stopped drinking after her father had
gone, taken a shower, and now she was sitting in the apartment with only
candlelight and soft music for company. She smiled, unable to subdue the flutter
of excitement in her stomach when she thought about seeing him walk into the
apartment. She went to the window, staring at the street as if she could will
the scarlet-colored Corvette to appear.
Her father’s visit, and the revelations he’d
shared played through her mind again. It explained why Andrew had taken Martin
on as a partner in the private investigations firm that was doing extremely well
due to the talented men who ran it. To his credit, Martin had tried to dissuade
Daniella’s interest in him, especially given her age. She’d been seventeen when
they’d met, and her father’s disapproval of her infatuation with Martin had been
vehement. Persuading either of them that her teenage crush was actually
soul-deep love and adoration hadn’t been easy. By the time she was twenty-one,
Martin had been convinced; it had taken more months than she cared to recall to
make her father understand and accept it. But, it had finally happened, and she
was happier than she’d ever been in her life. Most of the
time.
The glitter of soft, dancing light from the
flickering candle-flames sparkled on cut crystal and drew her gaze to the bar.
She decided to have another drink, even knowing it was likely to be a bad idea
come morning. She poured a healthy dose of the scotch Martin preferred, and then
tried to settle into an armchair. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back
against the plush cushion in an attempt to relax.
A single mouthful of the drink reminded her of the
way it tasted on Martin’s lips. She let that image settle in her mind, smiling
at the shiver that rippled through her. Martin was a stunning man, and she never
tired of looking at him, or listening to him, or being in the same room with
him.
He was tall, with dark brown hair, and equally
dark eyes that dominated a strikingly contoured face. At forty, he was scarred
emotionally and physically, but he was beauty incarnate to the woman who loved
him. The image of his lean, muscular limbs, and her frequent cataloging of every
gorgeous inch of him, made her tremble with longing.
She tossed back the remainder of her Scotch and
slouched deeper into the chair erotic memories led her thoughts. The warmth of
the liquor coursed through her, creating a flush on her skin that she knew would
be visible had Martin been there to see it. She let herself be carried along on
the alcohol-edged wave, and felt an undeniable rush of hungry desire when she
thought about having Martin beside her in bed. The nights had been the hardest
part of the separation—she’d been going to bed later and later over the past
week in order to spend as few hours as possible sleeping
alone.
She was still finding it difficult to believe just
how much she missed him. The apartment was eerily quiet in the morning, and
equally so when she came home. The evenings started driving her crazy within a
few days. She was always wound up after the extended rehearsals, but that excess
energy generally found an outlet in Martin’s arms.
Daniella abruptly cut off that train of
thought by getting up to fix another drink, this time making it considerably
larger than the previous one. A slow stroll back to the window revealed only
darkness and an empty street below. It had rained earlier, and the scattered
puddles created sporadic mirrors and reflected back the glare of streetlights
and passing car headlights. An absent glance at her watch didn’t offer her any
reassurance—he was nearly an hour late now. She forced down the threat of panic
that wanted to blossom into a full-fledged fear and told herself that he was all
right. His identity was protected and all precautions had been taken to ensure
his safety. With her father in charge of that, she had no doubts at all about
the quality of the security surrounding Fowler at all times.
Uncomfortable at the window, Daniella spun on her
heel and dropped into the armchair again. About halfway to the bottom of this
drink, memory steered her thoughts inexorably back to the bedroom she shared
with Martin. The tension knotting her muscles was as much sexual as it was
concern for his unexplained lateness, and the sudden ache between her thighs was
more than enough to awaken her entire body with anticipation. Another gulp and
the second Scotch was gone.
Daniella was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed
again now that alcohol was dulling her perception but there was still an edge of
panic lingering within her. She couldn’t help wondering if something had
happened to Martin; he was never hours late without calling—a habit he was
slowly drilling into Daniella as well. She looked at the glass in her hand,
debating whether to refill it a third time. It was now almost three o’clock, and
she decided to have the drink then go to bed—alone. She couldn’t suppress the
flare of anger that shot through her at the prospect of another night in the
huge bed without Martin. In her heart, she knew nothing serious had delayed him,
which meant he simply hadn’t bothered to call.
Twenty minutes and a third drink later; Daniella
was staring at the empty glass again. Her head felt pleasantly fuzzy.
Disappointment and annoyance kept her on an
emotional seesaw...
April 30th from Eirelander Publishing - in eBook and Audio!
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