Alisha: Okay, readers! Ready to sink your teeth into some luscious treats from Sky? ME TOO! Enjoy! Mmmmmm....
Sky: Welcome all! I’ll admit it… I’ve been looking forward to this day all week. Why? I get to share some excerpts from my recently re-launched MacLomain Series. In case you’re popping in for the first time, this series consists of one short story and three full length novels. ATTENTION: Prizes being given away tomorrow and Saturday. Stay tuned!
THE KING’S DRUIDESS (THE MACLOMAIN SERIES- PRELUDE)…. An almost super-steamy scene *winks*
At arm’s length, he stopped. "Druidess, you are even lovelier than I remember."
I wish I didn’t have to abide by formalities. I wish I could tell you what I’m feeling. She touched his bare chest. His skin felt hot, as if he burned with tightly restrained energy. "Were we not still in macdacht, children when we last met?"
His muscles rippled and his hand covered hers. "We were as you say, but we are grown now. And we are both led to this place at this time."
Thump. Thump. Erc's heart beat strong beneath her fingertips. His heat scorched her blood. "So we meet with one purpose."
He gently pulled back her hood. "I cannot promise you that."
Erc’s fingers ran though her hair, sifted through the ebony lengths. Chiomara drifted closer and whispered, "Do they not foretell us coming together for one purpose?"
His words turned sensuous and contemplative. "They do. But what do they know of how I will feel once I’ve tasted you?"
FATE’S MONOLITH (THE MACLOMAIN SERIES- BOOK 1)An intense, dramatic scene….
He scooped her up into his arms.
Arianna pushed against his chest as though that would accomplish anything. "Put me down." Don't put me down.
He said nothing while he strode down the hallway. They entered the bedchamber where he paused long enough to throw her onto the mammoth bed.
"I don’t want you." She should have left by now. She knew this would happen.
Iain came down on top of her. "Is that really how you feel, lass.” He ground his urgent erection against her. “Truly?”
She couldn’t move as his muscled body pressed against hers. Too aware of every hard, aroused inch of him, Arianna stilled.
"I am of my own mind." He was too close. Too perfect. "I should always be free to act however I choose. I won't be controlled."
"Aye, luv." He ran his lower lip along her jaw line, sweeping just below her lips. “And I liked the way you acted on the field. Nothing like a Scottish lass with a temper.”
He called me love. He did not say he loved me. She longed for breath as his lips hovered over hers. "You're willing to accept that?"
“What?” He pulled his lips away and pressed them tenderly between her eyes and then her forehead. “Anything, luv.” Iain used his weight to pin her and rained kisses on every inch of her face. Hungry, he traveled down her neck. He wrapped his arms around her lower back and pulled her slightly off the bed, exposing the shear plane of neck he now dominated.
Air came to her in short sporadic wisps. She breathed as though she'd cried for hours. Vulnerable to his aggression, she slid her hands up to push him away. They met bare, muscled flesh.
I have one more chance to stop him. Salvage this beautiful man for the woman to whom he belongs. She had to stop him. What if she became pregnant? Was already pregnant? Under different circumstances, she'd be thrilled. Regrettably, their situation was far too precarious. The woman coming, the 'real' Arianna, did not deserve such a situation. Nor did Iain.
With ferocious resolve, Arianna lashed out. She pushed his chest away and managed to wiggle out from underneath him.
Iain protected himself when she attacked. He shook off the slap she'd dealt him. "What fire burns in your belly?" Anger combined with lust. "I have done you no wrong, lass."
Aye, but you have. You don’t love me. You only wish to lay with me! Heck if she’d ever tell him that though.
"I have told you before and it appears I will have to say it again. I'm not the woman you think I am." Arianna ran to the door and gave it a quick tug. It was locked?
"Bloody hell." This is silly. Why was she doing this? Arianna could admit that she continually yanked him in different directions when it came to intimacy. Right. Wrong. Right. Wrong. It was simply a tug-of-war within her mind. She turned to confront her husband. Thinking he was still on the bed was foolish. Before she knew what hit her he had her backed against the door, his wolfish eyes mere inches from hers.
His voice was low and dark. He clenched his jaw. "You make no sense, lass. You never have, so lose this tired tale and know that you're mine, completely and thoroughly mine."
He must’ve seen something in her eyes he didn’t like because the next thing she knew he turned, strode to the hearth and flicked his wrist. A fire sprang to life. He leaned his forehead against the stone and stared deep into the flames. "I’m sorry. I didnae mean to scare you. You vex me."
Arianna didn’t move. Scare her? She’d never heard such tormented words when he spoke. Did he really consider her his? Aye, as a possession of course, not as his love. Closing her eyes, she tried to find solace in the burning need she’d heard in his voice, the unabashed need in his gaze when he’d spoken. Opening her eyes, she ignored the tears that fell from her eyes and accepted the truth.
She was lost in time. Lost in him. Misplaced by fate.
DESTINY’S DENIAL (THE MAC’LOMAIN SERIES- BOOK 2)I loved writing this scene. I grabbed a portion from the end of one chapter and the start of another. Let’s label this one a…. “Oh no, run for your life!” scene. *Smirks*
Shane looked at Adlin and pursed his lips. "I'm pretty sure he's getting ready to give the go ahead to every single man here to chase you women down into the woods behind us, pair up and spend the night together."
Caitlin grabbed her brother's arm. "You mean sex?"
"Yep." Shane pointed at the forest behind him with his thumb. "In there, all night, no questions asked."
Caitlin's eyes whipped to Adlin. "Not me?"
Shane nodded. "I'd say you’re part of the package."
She looked to where Arthur and Alan stood. They looked right back. Their bodies were locked and their expressions feral. This was ridiculous.
"Ah, Caitlin?" Shane shoved her to the edge of the log.
She looked at him, panicked. "What?"
"Run!"
Adlin's cane came down and the crowd burst with life. She didn't bother holding her ground or questioning the sanity of this.
She ran.
Chapter Break….
The night had turned moonless.
Black puddles of nothing swallowed Caitlin while she ran through the Highland forest as fast as she could. Please don’t let me run into a tree! The pine needles underfoot muffled the sounds of dozens of feet behind her.
No. No. No. She ran harder, pushing her leg muscles to an impossible pace. All she could focus on was escape. She didn’t want to sleep with either Arthur or Alan and knew with horrible certainty both of them were closing in.
"Slow down, lass." Alan's voice was right behind her. She banked a hard left and sprinted forward. After a three second count she veered right. Evade. Evade. She repeated the words in her head and prayed for sanctity wherever she could find it. Mid-flight a hard arm came around her midsection and pulled her back. She was lifted and flung over his shoulder.
Then he was running.
Caitlin couldn’t breathe. Darkness pickled her vision and bore through coherent thought. Then water poured over her back briefly in icy sheets. She closed her eyes and tried to grab at the granite muscled back. As she worked to clear her muddled mind and find the words to get herself out of this situation, scent flooded her…male and sweet.
This was not Alan.
Flipped down onto a bed of soft grass, she opened her eyes. A single torch burned in a bracket attached to the wall of a wide cave. The air simmered warm and humid. A glass of silky white water crashed over the entrance like a magical door. Wild orchids grew in clusters everywhere, their scent potent.
A man kneeled over her, his features hidden in the shadows.
"You're a foolish lass, Caitlin." His eyes blazed blue as he pulled her forward. "You didnae run fast enough."
Caitlin kneeled. She didn't run fast enough? Did that mean—?
Her thoughts were cut short when he wrapped his hands into her hair and angled her head to look up at him. "Now, you're mine."
Ferchar. But of course it was Ferchar.
His hair and skin were wet. Drops slid onto his neck and whirled down his wide chest. Yellow dandelions and cat's ear bloomed beneath them and verdant moss covered the stone beside them in plush velvet.
Her eyes met his. The nerve of the man! "No, I'm not."
Ferchar's mouth took hers with such vengeance she leaned back. He guided her lips, allowing her no control. One hand kept her head and the other wrapped around her waist. Oh dear God! Her body suddenly felt weak and light and very, very needy.
Cool water dripped from above and mixed with the taste of his hot lips. Pull away. Say no to this! But she couldn’t resist him. He felt too damned good. Caitlin wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on. The man could kiss. When his tongue swooped in and twirled with hers, she moaned and ran her fingers through his thick hair.
The Devil's whip couldn’t be as fiery as the searing burn that filled her veins. Magic. His magic. She didn’t fight it but followed his lead. The grass steamed below and the torch flickered.
"Ferchar," Caitlin whispered as his talented lips trailed the length of her neck. His wet hair brushed her collarbone and ripples of pleasure raked her from head to toe.
"Just this. Us. This eve." His words scorched her skin, branding it.
SYLVAN MIST (THE MAC’LOMAIN SERIES- BOOK 3)There’s nothing quite as powerful as that first moment of pure, unabashed romance. How it always seems to catch you off guard… Lord, I love William! And he only gets better.
Coira yawned and snuggled closer to the fire.
Had she ever been this comfortable? The heavy thud of rain pelted the ceiling overhead. Her mother must be cooking something scrumptious. It smelled wonderful, slightly sweet, apples? No. More like cinnamon and nutmeg melting over a low flame, yet earthy and potent. What was that?
She smiled and opened her eyes. My, it was dark in her room, must be the storm outside. Then the rain became the steady thud of a heart and her pillow became the muscled chest of a man.
Coira froze. Where was she?
"I know you're awake, lass." The brogue was as deep and sensual as smooth whisky.
She jerked up and slammed into the pewter gaze of the man staring down at her. She sat cradled in his lap, both his strong arms and a rough tartan cocooning her. Darn it.
"Release me this instant, you lout!" she hissed.
William did not release her but bared his straight white teeth in a wolfish grin and pulled her closer. "But you seemed so peaceable a moment ago. In fact, if I didnae know better I would have thought you—"
She clamped a hand over his mouth, knowing full well he was about to say something appalling. She narrowed her eyes. "Shush."
"Shush?" He pried her hand from his mouth but did not release it. Instead he turned it over, his eyes falling to the glimmering diamond engagement ring on her finger. "Do you love him?"
She hadn't expected the question and he knew it. "Of course I do."
His silver regard returned to her face. Whatever he saw there pleased him. "As a friend."
She frowned. No. Not as a friend, as a fiancé. "No, as a man."
Were his lips edging closer?
His hand rose to her face and traced her jaw line. "A man who is a friend."
What did he just say? His forefinger and thumb clutched her chin. She would not be distracted and spoke with a level of calm she didn't feel. "A friend who is a fiancé." Lord, that hadn't come out right at all.
"So 'tis to be a marriage of convenience." His throaty declaration brought his lips closer.
Her eyelids became very heavy, and her lips throbbed. "Is it not convenient to marry a friend?" Again, not what she intended to voice.
His lips were within an inch of hers, his burr soft. "Aye, 'tis convenient enough, but what of passion?"
Never impulsive, she was shocked by her own curiosity and closed the distance. When her lips touched his, everything fell away. Searing heat flooded first her face, then neck, until it burned a path to her stomach. Tendrils of pleasure engulfed her torso and magnified sensation when his lips spread hers and dove deeper.
She heard a distant moan and was shocked to realize it came from her. All she could taste was heat and sweetness. When their tongues met, gravity released and her hands wandered without control. She traced the hollows beneath his strong cheekbones, the cords of his muscled neck. Then the threads of tendons that led to the rapid pulse above his collarbone.
His growl filled her mouth and his hands cupped either side of her face. She had no choice but to respond and wrapped her hands into his hair. An eagle overhead tossed a cruel cry into her reverie, and William pulled back.
Then Coira realized what she had been doing. And who she had been doing it in front of.
SKY HERE! Hope you enjoyed all these excerpts. I totally adore all of my characters and hope you’ll take the time to get to know them better. .99 cents a title for years of work and love. Win, win. But they’re worth it! If they’ve already caught your attention zip on over to
Amazon,
Barnes & Nobles Nook or
Smashwords to grab your copy.
I have a super special post planned here tomorrow. It’s quick and to the point. All you have to do is show up and…well, details will be given then. The prize on the table? The King’s Druidess (The MacLomain Series- Prelude) and Fate’s Monolith (The MacLomain Series- Book 1).
Saturday, I’m giving away EVEN more. One lucky commenter that day wins not only the entire MacLomain Series but a box of chocolates! Yum!
AND, in honor of Halloween and all you ghost lovers out there, there’s a bonus prize. Chance to win the first novel in my upcoming romantic Paranormal Ghost Hunters trilogy, The Victorian’s Lure. PRINT version! (Due to be shipped the second week in November)
Until then… be good.
Sky
