C is for Cat (2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge)

2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge

C is for Cat. Is that a groan I hear? Is that zero stars for originality you’ve given me as part of your review? Cut me some slack. It’s freakin’ Monday, okay?

What does “cat” have to do with writing? Every author needs a familiar. How better to be aware of the world around us than to mimic the cat? Cats know everything around them, even when sleeping. They observe more keenly than we writers. We should watch them and learn.

We could trade stories about our felines every day and you’d be right there with me. And being a cat lover I’ve discovered the Internet is full to overflowing with cute cat/kitten pictures and videos. So for my entry today, I thought I’d share a few of the pictures that made me laugh on this otherwise dull Monday. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Rayne

http://rayneforrest.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/rayneforrest

A Hero's Bargain for this My Sexy Saturday

Welcome to another My Sexy Saturday! My Sexy Saturday is the weekly blog hop that brings you some of the best in romance fiction. 

Science fiction is my first love. When I was about nine or ten, I read Moon of Three Rings by Andre Norton. It was straight sci-fi and it opened the galaxy for me. I started out writing sci-fi only to discover it was difficult to get published, so I switched to contemporary.

Well, those days are over. Indie publishing rules and I'm going back to my roots. All I need is a thirty-hour day!

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from the sci-fi romance, A Hero's Bargain.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She put her hands on her hips. “You are…you are…”

“What? Annoying? I know.” He grinned at her then crooked his finger at her. “Come here.”

She backed away, shaking her head. “No. I have things I must do while it’s daylight. You should rest. Take the bed. I’ll sleep on the pallet.”

“Remember our little deal, angel.” He let the blanket slip just a hair. Her eyes flicked down to his groin. She licked her lips. His cock twitched. He could have howled with glee at the response. She’d take the pallet his ass. Who was she trying to fool? Her curiosity about the stranger in her care consumed her.

Ryder tossed the blanket over the foot of her bed and let her get a good look at him as he worked his way beneath the covers. The bed was longer and softer than the pallet, and he stretched out. It was heavenly to suddenly be comfortable—and free of pain. 

He tucked the covers around his hips before he looked at her. She watched him, stared at him, actually. He met her gaze.

“I’ll rest, angel. I anticipate a long night.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Hero's Bargain is available at Amazon. 

About A Hero's Bargain:

When a poker game turns ugly, erstwhile gambler Ryder Vaughan runs for his life. After crash landing his ship on an unknown world it looks like his life will be a short one - until the lovely healer, Saba Duer, finds him and saves him. Smitten, Saba has no qualms allowing Ryder to seduce her.

In Ryder, Saba sees the coming of a hero to save her people. The deadly errol that has terrorized the Ramalho Clan for so many years has been spotted on a course that will bring it to the village. Ryder has a weapon that could destroy the creature. She strikes a bargain with him to secure his help. Ryder’s not yet well and whole, but there is no choice. Saba has to let him go and face the truth – she’s sent him on a mission to die.   

But Ryder has a plan - and dying isn’t a part of it.

Rayne
http://rayneforrest.blogspot.com
www.rayneforrest.twitter.com

Loving Luke for MSS #110

It's another My Sexy Saturday blog hop day. Big thanks to Lynn Crain for organizing the blog hop and doing a massive amount of promo on it last week. Be sure and check out the My Sexy Saturday blogs by using the list at the bottom of this post.

Today I'm highlighting seven sexy paragraphs from Loving Luke. I'm really pleased to have this story available again. It's been out of print for seven or eight years, so it was time. Thanks to everyone who stops by Twenty-Six Keys!

- - - - - -

He stroked from her knee to her hip, stopping as his hand brushed over her pocket. Very slowly he dipped two fingers into her pocket and withdrew the foil package. His heart pounded under her palm. He looked at her and licked his lips.

“You know, pretty lady, this changes everything.” He slipped the condom into his jeans pocket.

Chere’s heart stuttered then struggled to catch up to his. The dam broke inside her, flooding her, readying her. Her throat went dry. She didn’t seem to have any saliva to swallow and restore the balance. Underneath the swell of wanting him was a humorous thought. No wonder he’d insisted he needed to move slowly and seemed intent on driving her crazy by wanting to wait. She coughed dryly and forced the words out.

“You didn’t have any with you, did you?”

His arms tightened around her. He laughed softly. “I really didn’t think I’d need one tonight.”

He sounded so sheepish she struggled not to laugh. “Luke. Let’s go to bed."

“Be gentle with me, Chere. It’s been a long time.”

_ _ _ _ _

LOVING LUKE

Available now at All Romance eBooks

About Loving Luke:

Chere Palmer has had enough of boys who only think they’re men, of blind dates and being polite to everyone’s cousins. She’s certainly had enough of the cell phone company that gave her an infamous phone number. She’s ready for a life of celibacy or an honest-to-goodness mature man, whichever way it works out. Right now, it’s late and she wants to go home – alone.

Luke Fisher has had a bad day.  The electric was off, he overslept, the computer network bombed and he had to stay at the office until midnight to restore it, and on a Friday, no less. Now, to top it all off, he’s got a flat tire. Luke calls the number on his roadside assistance card and instead of help, he gets an angry female. He tries to convince her he really needs a tow truck, but she’s convinced he’s out for some fun calling a phone number made famous in a rock song.

It doesn’t take long for Chere to realize Luke’s telling the truth. Taken with his sincerity, she agrees to go out with him and a romance quickly blooms. But Luke’s past is never far behind, and when it catches up to him Chere has to decide to walk away or spend her life Loving Luke.

It's Money Back Guarantee for My Sexy Saturday #107

Welcome to my corner of the My Sexy Saturday blog hop! Thanks for stopping by. This morning I'm highlighting seven sexy paragraphs from the new release Money Back Guarantee. Enjoy!

* * *

“Ah. So you were Slade the Slayer and your brother was Keiko?”

“Close. A friend was my sidekick. Beckett never got into graphic novels, but he was the one who started calling me Slade. Soon, even my parents called me Slade. I’ve been Slade ever since.”

Iris batted her eyelashes at him. “Do you have a cape?” She laughed as strong arms lifted her out of the water.

“That does it, wench!” Slade perched on the edge of the tub with Iris sprawled across his lap. She yelped as his hand descended on her wet, bare buttocks, twisting to sink her teeth in his side. He grunted.

“Slade, this is not a good course of action!”

He spanked her again.

“I’m warning you, Martin! You’ve got dangling body parts that are in danger!”

* * *

About Money Back Guarantee:

Slade Martin is under attack. An electronic thief absconded with all his liquid personal wealth and someone on his board of directors is plotting a hostile takeover. The obvious culprit isn’t the guilty party, and Slade gets help to find the real perpetrator from a surprise source – the lovely and capable Iris D’Vance.  

Iris D’Vance is determined to not repeat her mistakes with men – until she meets Slade Martin, and decides all bets are off. Accepting the invitation to sit on the board of Slade’s charitable foundation lands her in the middle corporate intrigue. Slade needs her help and makes her an offer she can’t turn down.

Slade and Iris join forces to unravel the plot to ruin Slade and discover their interest in each other runs deeper than sharing altruistic works. When the person behind Slade’s woes is found, it’s Iris who’s in danger. Slade has to act fast to bring her home safe and make good on his money back guarantee.

* * *

Money Back Guarantee is available now at All Romance eBooks 
www.allromanceebooks.com/product-moneybackguarantee-1874114-148.html

Rayne Forrest
www.rayneforrest.com
www.twitter.com/rayneforrest

Be sure and check out all the My Sexy Saturday blog on the list below.

Mischief at Midnight by Rayne Forrest

Welcome to Twenty-six Keys and the My Sexy Saturday blog hop for February 28, 2015. Like a lot of us, I'm wondering where the month went.

Today I'm celebrating a "new" release - Mischief at Midnight. Actually, this book is a re-release having been published as part of a two-author anthology at the old Whiskey Creek Publishing. Well, WCP sold out to Start Publishing (which kept the Whiskey Creek name) and a lot of rights reverted back to a lot of authors. Since my titles have had the benefit of being edited, I'm slowly self-publishing them. 

Mischief at Midnight is set in the near future when service drones are available to do housework and cooking. Put me on the waiting list!

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from Mischief at Midnight.

~~~~

Dallas stepped closer to her, breathing in her exotic scent. He gently plucked the diamond collar from her fingers and draped it around the graceful column of her neck. The stones were real, but they couldn’t match Madelyn’s inner beauty. Everything he’d ever learned about women told him she was a rare gem.And he was a drone, in her home for one purpose only—to serve dinner.

Like hell.

He fastened the clasp of the necklace and bent to her. His eyes closed as his lips caressed the soft skin of her shoulder, once, then again. Gentle kisses to lure her to a moment when he could confess his transgression and beg for her forgiveness. Madelyn inhaled sharply. To his utter amazement she tilted her head, inviting him to continue. Being ten kinds of a fool, he did, worshipping her with kisses.

She thought he was a personal pleasure drone and she clearly needed a moment of what those drones’ programming offered. How much more trouble could he be in if he gave it to her?

Dallas slipped his arms around her waist, splaying his hands across the gentle swell of her belly to pull her back against him. His manhood responded, surging strongly, swelling in quick wonderful jolts that echoed his racing pulse. His lips teased at her earlobe on their way to shower small kisses along her jaw.

She moaned, a low, dark sound of a woman caught unsuspecting by her own desire. Dallas bent her forward, his erection nestling between her buttocks. She boldly pressed her rump firmly to him, wiggling her hips. Her hand snaked between them, her questing fingers gauging his length and girth. Gooseflesh shivered across his belly and chest. His balls drew up close to his body. His penis throbbed with unwarranted anticipation and he reminded himself firmly that this momentary indulgence would not continue after the dinner.

“Oh, my,” she whispered breathlessly. “You really do have a few upgrades.”

~~~~~

More about Mischief at Midnight, available now at Amazon:

Madelyn Murphy isn’t your typical spoiled rich girl. She only has one household drone, after all. Why? Because she’s so liberal, she does her own cooking.

Triple D Drones’ owner, Dallas Dyson, has made a fortune in the service drone industry. He’ll even lend a helping hand himself if someone’s in a pinch.

When Madelyn’s service drone breaks just before a dinner party, she calls Triple D Drones for help. When the new “Dallas” prototype shows up to lend a hand, Madelyn finds she needs help with more than serving dinner. Isn’t service what a Triple D drone does best?

Rayne Forrest
http://www.rayneforrest.com

Skipping Heaven for My Sexy Saturday #MSS59

Welcome to my blog and today's My Sexy Saturday post from Skipping Heaven.

What if you were a ghost and you didn't know it yet? Would there be someone to guide you?
Would you skip heaven if you found your love along the way?

EXCERPT

What would he do if she went to the barn? What would he think of her? She must have lost her mind to be entertaining thoughts of sharing a bed with a stranger. Justine leaned against the doorframe, a small sob escaping her.

Her loneliness plucked at her, as did her uncertainty. If Daniel was not the one for her, why had he been sent here?

She straightened and squared her shoulders as she walked inside, her bare feet making no sound to disturb the softly chirping cricket that resided with her.

His horse was almost healed. Daniel would be leaving, maybe as soon as the morning. She couldn’t let him go, not without knowing him. She brushed out her hair and cast about for her old, worn slippers.

The sound of boot heels on the steps brought her up short. A soft tapping sounded on the door.

Daniel had come to her.

She opened the door.

SKIPPING HEAVEN is now available at Amazon. 

More about Skipping Heaven:

What if you were a ghost and didn’t know it?

Daniel Woods is passing through the timeless and mysterious Appalachian Mountains on his way to Kentucky and his inheritance. A misstep tumbles him and his horse down the side of a mountain. Battered and bruised, they come upon a small homestead and help in the form of the lovely Justine Noakes. Daniel finds himself inexplicably attracted to Justine - and determined not to embarrass himself by acting on impulse.

Justine recognizes the blue-eyed trouble that just led his horse into her settled world is something she never bargained for. Irresistibly drawn to him, Justine has a problem. She needs to come up with a way to get Daniel to stay in her mountain aerie. The only way that can happen is if Daniel accepts his new reality.

What Justine knows, and Daniel must discover, is that sometimes heaven is found in unexpected places.

= = = 

Be sure to visit all the My Sexy Saturday blogs for more great romance!