Title: Furious Temptation
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
Blurb:
For millennia
Megaera, a Fury, has functioned as Hades right hand by passing judgment on
demons who break the sacred laws. Stalwart in her moral compass, but
harboring a curse triggered by rage, she walks a thin line between perfection
and destruction. But when she digs into a case uncovering a string of
demon rapes, she incites a war with Mount Olympus that could ripple chaos
throughout the ages.
Omen Cole was demon made during the Civil War after repeated torture at the hands of his enemies. Sentenced to an eternity as watchdog over his emotionally frail, once human ex-wife, he’s haunted that he couldn’t save her from a brutal assault.
Now it’s happened again. And Megaera needs his testimony. Omen will sell his body—and anything else—to avenge his fragile ex-wife. If that means an alliance with Megaera, he’ll make it the most memorable of their eternity.
Omen Cole was demon made during the Civil War after repeated torture at the hands of his enemies. Sentenced to an eternity as watchdog over his emotionally frail, once human ex-wife, he’s haunted that he couldn’t save her from a brutal assault.
Now it’s happened again. And Megaera needs his testimony. Omen will sell his body—and anything else—to avenge his fragile ex-wife. If that means an alliance with Megaera, he’ll make it the most memorable of their eternity.
Excerpt 1: “Give me a chance, you won’t regret it. You
want out of this situation as much as we do. It would be more than worth your
trouble, I would guarantee that for you.” His fingers skipped across my
collarbone until my fingers shook at my sides and I shoved them onto the edge
of the bookcase behind me. I held onto the antique wood and pain twisted up my
wrists. But he didn’t move back. His lips remained poised against my ear, our
hair mingled, and his fingers danced on the only expanse of naked flesh on my
body.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you know by now?”
I couldn’t see his eyes, but
judging from his tone they were twinkling and bright with mischief. All the
anger he’d been carrying, every stubborn action had been wiped away and
replaced with misleading flirtation. And as much as I wanted to doubt him—he
was good. Embarrassingly so. Omen’s every attention spanned into a gapping
chasm of sex I’d all but put under lock and key. And then I swallowed that key.
Yet his teasing voice, small bursts of air from his conversation, still licked
across my skin in invisible caresses down my neck.
“Why don’t you tell me.”
If he was truly insinuating
what I thought he was whispering in my ear under lock and key as my prisoner I
wanted him to say the words. Because I couldn’t imagine he was desperate enough
to make the proposition outright. While my fingers scrambled, I navigated the
murkiness of my thoughts. If only he’d draw away. As if he meant to break me
down bodily before making me take leave of my senses. With the knowledge of his
manipulation came the tendrils of my anger that I’d been tamping down all day,
trying to bank the embers. Suppression was a nasty business.
As sexy as he wanted this
little meeting to be, I had a lovely secret weapon tucked in my pocketless
skirt suit. My rage had never been my friend before, but if she would keep me
from making a reckless mistake, right this second she was my BFF. Omen shifted
as if he knew something between us had changed. Surely the atmosphere between
us crackled with a different energy, one far more deadly than the reason I had
wanted my hands wound around his neck.
“I’ll do anything you want, be
anyone you want, if you give me this chance. Taking you into my bed would be
far from a hardship. In fact, I’ll go farther. I can’t stop thinking about you
beneath me. How well I’d love to treat your repressed little body so that my
name echoes in your mind because you’ve been crying it out for so many hours.
I’ll make this risk in the investigation merely a bump to get my attention, for
as long as you’ll have me. And for both our sakes, I hope you keep me for a
while. I don’t get bored easily.”
As his lies slid across my neck
I did the first thing that came to mind. While he was lost in his seductive
ploy, I lunged, wrapped my hand around his throat, and threw us both back onto
the bed so I was straddling him, pinning both his hands above his head. For a
beat I couldn’t recall whether or not my move was intentionally sexual or
not—but here we were—and judging by his obnoxious smirk he had a fine idea.
But I only needed one hand to
pin down his wrists, so I shifted in a blink and clasped my other hand around
his throat, erasing his cocky expression, as if I’d drained the light from the
room. His neutral expression held all the calculation of someone very, very
careful. And though I’m sure he wished to, he didn’t move a muscle beneath me.
Well, expect for the betrayal of his cock, which hardened between my thighs as
my skirt rode up higher on my outer thighs and I tried my best to act as if I
wasn’t enjoying our little moment together. I’d lose my high ground if I let
the smallest moan slip. No matter how hard it was to ignore his pleasant
pressure between my legs as his hard cock rubbed against my pussy.
I tried to remind myself I held
all the cards when his gaze locked with mine. Neither of us spoke a word,
waiting for my answer to his ludicrous proposition. He couldn’t be serious. Not
when his charm and good looks got him in with my secretary as much as any other
woman he’d seduced in his lifetime. I was one of many, of that I was certain.
Even if he did look at me as if I was something special. And I’m sure he would
have fought my silent accusations—if I’d given him room to speak.
“Even if for a second I didn’t
see past your charade, Omen, I wouldn’t entertain the thought because it very clearly
breaks several codes of ethics. But thanks, for the offer. I really, really appreciate it.”
With a look of smug wickedness
I put emphasis into my words with every slow tilt of my hips against him as I
held him immobile against his bed. His eyes flashed. Whether with anger or
arousal I couldn’t care. Instead I slowly untangled us, tugged my skirt, and
smoothed it with my hands. Omen lay on the bed as if I hadn’t gotten off of
him. When he rubbed his neck with a few low noises in the back of his throat, I
didn’t hold an ounce of guilt for my actions. Even if I still sensed him flush
against my pussy.
“You still haven’t rejected my
prior offer. Does that mean it’s off the table even without the incentive?”
“No. If it means making my job
any easier I’ll allow you to see Claudette and follow your plan, but if it
doesn’t work expect me to be beyond displeased. And you won’t enjoy me when I’m
angry.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think I
can find many different ways to enjoy you.”
He half sat, leaning on his
hands on the bed so I got a peek at his bare chest through the straining
buttons of his button down which was rolled up at the sleeves. I crossed my
arms and raised my eyebrows. I wasn’t so gullible to fall for his act. No man
had wooed me before now and none would unless a group orgy was involved.
Granted, what Omen was offering was very one on one—but he only offered his
body as a substitute for manipulation. By taking him to my bed I’d be belaying
a weakness in my character.
And I had many flaws, but
weakness wasn’t one of them.
I silently reminded myself of
that as Omen straightened up entirely before wincing at the tent of his pants.
I wish I could have felt sorry for him, but my mind was otherwise occupied with
our more pressing problem. His erection would go away eventually and I would
continue dodging his roguish comments so long as the investigation lasted. If
he didn’t get sentenced for Claudette’s crime then the possibility of
entertaining him in a less formal capacity in my bedroom slunk around in the back
of my mind—but the likelihood of that was slim.
As if Omen read my mind he
smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“How do we proceed?”
Excerpt 2: Omen Cole would
get nothing from me. Not when we’d be working together for Goddess knows how
long. His grip on my bicep tightened imperceptibly, as if he wasn’t aware of
his strength. Heat washed up my arm, as bitingly painful as any burn. But I
didn’t flinch, tense, or move a muscle. Let him unleash his rage on me, at
least then we’d be working with a clear-headed demon instead of one clouded by
unbelievable rage.
“What do you want?” I narrowed
my gaze, tongue easing across my bottom lip.
It wasn’t really a question,
not as he backed me against the hard press of marble. Nowhere to go and no one
to see us. Adrenaline pounded at my temples as his other hand took a hold of my
other arm. I was as good as pinned by his body and his stare. I cocked my head,
a subtle dare. The lift of my lips, only at one corner—come and get me.
“A distraction.”
Before I could make another
comment, the small inch of space separating our bodies dwindled to nothing as
he shoved himself on me, his lips bruising against mine as my whole body went
limp with acceptance. Take, take from me for the good of our cause—a cause that
suddenly outweighed all of my common sense once I’d convinced myself on the
walk to the elevator that this form of distraction was exactly what he needed
to keep himself on track. Not as though our plan benefited me in any way at
all. Gave me an excuse. The excuse.
His tongue pushed against my
mouth without invitation and I opened for his perusal knowing that, as his
fingers tightened around me and pain spiked up to my shoulders, he wouldn’t
give me a choice. Part of me—the beast, the anger—coiled inside me. An innate reaction
to a predator as my hands slid up through his button down to have skin on skin.
His first few buttons burst because I couldn’t get to him quick enough. I let
myself dabble in the freedom of touch. In the longing for unshackled emotion of
any kind—and my beast was sated, even as I yearned for more of him.
Our bodies molded together and
he groaned in my mouth, easing his other hand to my left breast before he
cupped me. His possessive touch was an electric shock to my system and I jerked
against him. His laughter as he tugged my lower lip between his teeth and
brought my nipple hard against his palm. A yearning unlike anything I’d ever
acknowledged, nothing and everything shifted for me all at once as if a part of
myself was merely waiting, dormant for the pleasure that would calm me and
piece together my tormented puzzle.
When my fingers skimmed the
line of his pants, he let out a satisfying hiss that made my panties damp as my
stomach plummeted to my sensible heels. In kind, Omen brushed his thumb across
my nipple, earning my small shift as if to get away from the torment despite
the wall at my back. On the second pass, I did the next best thing. I left the
teasing to amateurs. My hand slid past his pants and found his hard, long
length hot against my palm. I squeezed him, unable to suppress a noise in the
back of my throat that ricocheted inside my bones.
Omen moaned and mumbled
something I couldn’t make out with the sound of my need pounding against my
temples. As his hand moved from my bicep I tried to pinpoint his next move. Oh,
so wrong. His nimble fingers tipped my head back with his tight grip in my hair
so it stung enough to get my attention. He underestimated me. I wasn’t losing
this battle.
Despite my small groan, lips
partway open, eyes slit while I watched his expression flit from one emotion to
the next. Nothing stopped my progress when my palm slid from the base of him to
the tip, one hard, long slide that made him quake against me. He yanked my head
back even further. His grip on my breast was relentlessly hard and he bared his
teeth in a smile that rocked me to my core.
“You haven’t gone for the
obvious point yet.” I struggled to exhale, every bit of me trembled, and my
voice was gravely with lust.
“Unlike you, I don’t need to
cheat.” He drew close to my cocked back head as our lips almost pressed
together, our body heat mingling as he ground himself against my palm. “For
another time.”
His light kiss caught me by
surprise—but the swiftness with which he entangled from me must have hurt, as I
was still very much attached to him. Even from practically across the room he
showed no pain. Though his pants were a bit constricted at the fly and that bit
of discomfort was enough of a hit for me that I was satisfied.
“I wasn’t distraction enough for
you?”
“No, you were perfect. I simply
can’t stand the idea of using you up so quickly. Even if I do want to fuck you
into the wall behind your back until you can’t walk straight for a week. But a
gentleman doesn’t tell his superior that, especially when she’s a lady of good
breeding. So you think on that, and I’ll pretend I didn’t say it out loud.
Wouldn’t want to give you any ideas you couldn’t handle.”
“I can handle far more than you
know, little boy.”
“Oh, now, come on.” He gave me
an incredulous, cocky look. “We both know I’m not little. The warmth tingling on your palm speaks for itself.”
Thankfully before I had the
chance to lick my lips and tip my hand, the elevator’s telltale wind pushed us
both a bit to the side. The car came to a standstill with barely a screech of
effort and the golden, shimmering doors pulled back as I fought to regain some
kind of composure. I was buzzed from the tips of my toes to the top of my
scalp. It took everything in me to wipe the dopey grin off my face that would
have proved it as I moved into the elevator car without another glance or word
to Omen. I only knew he followed me because he greeted Hermes and told him to
take us to the archival room.
Point. Set. Match.
And there would be no rematch.
Bio: Elise Hepner lives with her husband and two
eccentric cats in Maryland. She spends the majority of her free time in her
basement office concocting smutty characters and sinful situations that leaves
readers satisfied. When not writing, she researches everything from automatons
in the 18th century to gladiatorial rules in Ancient Rome. She prides herself
on being an avid information hound as well as a blog reading addict--which is
her favorite way to procrastinate. Her previous publications include books and
stories with Entangled, Excessica, Xcite, Ellora's Cave, Secret Cravings
Publishing and Cleis Press.
Author
Links:
Website:
www.elisehepner.com
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/EHepner
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