Naughty Escapes: Last Chance to Grab this #Romance by @NaughtyLiterati

The Naughty Literati's packager is closing down, which means we have to find some other way to bring our steamy stories to readers! This affects eight of our collections.
After September 30, 2017, the following collections will no longer be available:
Naughty Hearts, Naughty Escapes, Naughty Reunions, Naughty Chances, Naughty Lovers, Naughty Heatwave, Naughty Haunts, Naughty Flames
Each one of these collections will be highlighted in a series of blog posts.

Naughty Escapes: Eleven Naughty Vacation Getaways

Eleven Naughty Vacation Getaways including BBW, BDSM, Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, M/M, Ménage, Paranormal, and Shapeshifter romance from bestselling authors writing as The Naughty Literati! Take a naughty trip around the world, escape with us to a penthouse playroom in San Francisco, the shore of Lake Superior, a deserted island in The Bermuda Triangle, a mob-controlled nightclub in pre-revolutionary Havana, along the River Cam near Cambridge University in England, a sex club in Paris, a nude beach in Barcelona, the ancient Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, a villa overlooking Lake Como in Italy, a honeymoon in Berlin, and a swanky condo in Zurich.

Purchase ebook before September 30, 2017!
ONLY 99¢ at all retailers!!
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Barnes & Noble/Nook Press
Google Play
Kobo

Includes:
Hybrid Mates: Sex Me Up by Nicole Austin
One night at a Paris sex club—no-strings, complications or inhibitions—just lots of fantasy sex. But in the morning I forgot the most important rule. Never run from a feline predator—they live for the chase.

Part 1: The WyndMaster’s Escape by Charlotte Boyett-Compo
A love as old as time can sometimes lead to a future one warrior never wanted.

Fireworks At The Lake by Berengaria Brown
Andrew didn’t want to spend the Fourth of July long weekend with the people from the office so he goes to Lake Superior instead. There he sees Luke, a blond Viking who arouses every craving for love and lust inside him. But can he overcome his low self-esteem from when Rory rejected his love and open his heart to another man?

Punting on the River Cam by Lainey-Jo Charles
Having escaped being roped into wedding party activities, two American strangers turn a day of sightseeing in Cambridge, England into a series of passionate encounters.

One Hot Havana Night by Suz deMello
Havana, 1958… On the eve of the revolution, journalist Ellie Wheeler dreams of the biggest story of her life. Two hot men make all her dreams come true—even ones she didn’t know she had.

Shake it Up! by Francesca Hawley
After a mild quake in San Francisco, Allyson Rayburn gets stuck in the same elevator as Ross Morgan, the Dom who’d been at the other end of a flogger at a private club the night before. Her day just got interesting.

Window Display by Regina Kammer
The apartment in Zurich was supposed to be the perfect disruption-free place to finish my dissertation. Trouble is, my room came with a very distracting view.

The Lake by Moonlight by Katherine Kingston
Julie Forrester returns to Lake Como in Italy to evaluate some paintings for a former professor–and to re-evaluate her relationship with the man.

Moon Dance by Terry Rissen
Christina and Will’s honeymoon in Berlin turns potentially deadly as dark forces seek retribution for Will’s past life actions. Can Christina save her beloved?

The Bermuda Love Triangle by Belle Scarlett
Castaway in the Bermuda Triangle, Trista finds herself torn between two sexy shifters. Neither will share her so she must choose between them. Decisions, decisions...

Get Away by Alexa Silver
A-list actor Bryson runs into a gorgeous—and very naked—man on a Barcelona beach. Kell looks familiar but Bry can’t quite place him. After a sexually-charged meeting, they go their separate ways, or so Bry thinks. Fate comes knocking with an invitation to a party, and a date with destiny.

Links to excerpts for each story are on the Naughty Literati website!

The Surfer and the Bad Boy: A free read for you!

The Surfer and the Bad Boy

Wade jumped off his surf board and splashed through the shallow water onto the sand. He stood right on the edge of the ocean shaking the water out of his hair, relishing the burning hot sun on his shoulders, and squinting his eyes against the glare to see along the top of the sand dunes.
Yes. He was right. The big, black-haired bad boy was still standing there, and still staring right at him.
Wade shoved a hand through his hair, scraping the last of it off his face, and using the action to focus even more on Bad Boy. Damn, the man was delicious. Built. Oh, how he was built. Broad shoulders, thickly muscled biceps, and washboard abs clearly visible through his unbuttoned leather vest. Everything Wade liked best all packaged together with so much attitude he could almost taste it across fifty feet of sand. Somehow Bad Boy didn’t strike Wade as the usual kind of person who watched surfers. Apart from the beach bunny women who drooled over toned male bodies, most of the rest of the viewers were fascinated by the surfers’ action on the waves. But Bad Boy seemed different. It was almost as if he was looking right inside Wade, measuring his innermost self.
Despite the scorching sun Wade shivered. Huh. He must be imagining it. Obviously he’d used up too many calories out on the water and his blood sugar was too low. A beer and a couple of hot dogs would solve that problem.
Wade strode up the dune to his truck, ripped open the Velcro ankle tie and hefted his surfboard into the truckbed, laying it on the old blanket he always kept there. His board was the best he could afford and he didn’t want it damaged.
“Niiiice,” rumbled a very sexy deep bass voice right behind his ear.
Wade whipped around. Bad Boy was standing an inch away from him. How had he gotten here so silently? Hastily he took a breath and replied. “It’s a Christenson. Chris shaped it for me personally.”
“I meant you, not the board, although it’s okay I guess.”
“Okay? Just okay? It—” Wade snapped his mouth shut and tried to stem his anger. That damn board had cost him a shitload of money and it was damn-near perfect. In fact, not even damn-near. It was perfect. Wade forced himself to take another breath and that’s when he saw the sparkling light in Bad Boy’s black eyes and realized he was being teased. Also, Bad Boy had complemented him. As if his physique was anything like as awesome as Bad Boy’s.
“My name’s Wade.” He stuck out his hand.
“Killian. Good to meet you, blondie.”
Killian’s hand was rough as if from hard physical labor, his grip firm but not bone crushing. And his voice was every bit as sexy as the first time he’d spoken.
“You’re interested in surfing?”
“A little I guess. Mostly I’m interested in you.”
“Me?”
Bad Boy gripped Wade’s hand more firmly and Wade stared at their hands, surprised that the clasp was somehow erotic rather than formal. Killian’s hand was as tanned as his own, but larger, firmer. A vision of that hand spanking his ass shot through Wade’s mind and he almost drooled with lust. Wow. He really needed to get his head on straight before he said or did something stupid.
“It’s too damn hot out here. Let’s go get a beer somewhere air conditioned.”
A beer sounded good to Wade. “I was just about to get some lunch as well. There’s a great hot dog stand just along the bluff. No air conditioning though.”
Killian finally let go of Wade’s hand and slapped him on his shoulder. “As long as I can get out of the sun I’ll survive.”
Wade grabbed a towel and his flip-flops out of the truck, grinning at the horrified look on Killian’s face when he slipped his wet, sandy feet into the plastic footwear. “Normally I go barefoot but sometimes there’re bits of metal or glass up near the road,” he explained.
“Flip-flops? Seriously? Real men don’t wear flip-flops.” The bass rumble was every bit as horrified as the look on Bad Boy’s face.
“Bare feet are my thing. Really.” Wade led the way to the hot dog stand, waving at the owner and holding up two fingers. The kid waved back and handed him two fully loaded hot dogs, then pulled two ice-cold longnecks out from under the counter. Wade carried them across to a table under an umbrella where Killian was sitting in the shade. Wade handed over a hot dog and a beer to Killian, placed his own food on the table, then dropped his towel onto the chair before sitting down.
“It’s plastic. It doesn’t matter if you get it wet.”
“I know, but some of the chairs are metal and I don’t need a burned ass.” Even as he said the words the image of Bad Boy’s big hands spanking him shot into his mind again and he swallowed hard. What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t even know this man.
Rushing to change the subject he asked, “Are you just here for the Fourth of July holiday? The fireworks won’t begin until ten tonight. Sunset is close to nine and it’s not really dark for half an hour after that.”

****

Killian stared into Wade’s eyes. They were the dark blue of the ocean near the horizon. A deep, penetrating color that rocked him all the way to his core. He’d started off by watching the way blondie surfed. His body moved on that board like a dancer over the waves. The sea appeared to part to let him though, offering him a smooth, graceful ride all the way into the shore. But the closer the surfer came to him, the more Killian could see the sheer muscular strength that held Wade’s body in pace. Arms outstretched for balance, legs braced to turn the board as the waves rolled by, all in complete balance and harmony. Fuck yes, blondie made it look so easy but Killian knew that was totally deceiving. If he tried to do it he’d fall off the board in ten seconds and likely break half the bones in his body as well. And that was if he didn’t drown. No. Surfing took skill, balance, precision, toughness of body and mind. All characteristics that turned him on, and blondie here turned him on in spades. It took everything in him not to slam Wade face down on the table and fuck him. Or maybe throw him to the ground and suck his cock until he screamed and begged for more.
Killian swallowed hard. “I’m here to watch the fireworks with you, and then we can make some fireworks of our own. Private ones.” He kept his gaze fixed on Wade as he spoke, watching the gleam in those blue eyes, the smile tilting the edges of his mouth up at the corners, the faint blush spreading across blondie’s tanned face.
“Fireworks huh? That sounds like the kind of plan I could agree to.”
“In that case I’d better get us each another hot dog. We’re going to need the extra calories.”
Wade grinned. “Better pick up a couple of apple pies as well for the sugar hit.”
Killian’s breath hitched. Fuck waiting for tonight. He jumped to his feet and pulled Wade against him, lowering his mouth for a kiss. Wade’s lips were soft and salty, then hard and passionate. Absolutely perfect.

Berengaria has Male/Male romance stories in:
"Naughty Hearts":
Print: http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-Hearts-Twelve-Valentines-Stories/dp/150759433X/
Amazon: http://indi.uno/1BH3Uxu
B&N: http://indi.uno/1uNNYHa
Kobo: http://indi.uno/1LwR8cY
Google: http://indi.uno/1EWHmMP
iTunes: http://indi.uno/18DSyDw

"Naughty Flings": http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-Flings-Twelve-Little-Romps-ebook/dp/B00X8D6E6U/

"Naughty Escapes":
http://www.amazon.com/Naughty-Escapes-Eleven-Vacation-Getaways-ebook/dp/B00ZJJ1QSC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434251533&sr=1-1&keywords=Naughty+Escapes

Berengaria Brown’s links:
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/berengaria-brown
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Berengaria-Brown/e/B00541R3YQ/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berengaria.brown?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerengariaBrown
ARe: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Berengaria+Brown

How did it get to be December?

How did it get to be December? I swear it's only August. I just blinked and boom I hear Chicago singing Jingle Bell Rock on the radio! Hate it when that happens. Not hearing Chicago, but having the end of the year rush toward me so fast I feel like I'm driving Doc Brown's DeLorean.

One thing about December, though, is it's time for me to take stock in what I've accomplished this year. I wrote and published two stories with the Naughty Literati. Blue Plate Special came out in Naughty Flings and then Moon Dance made its first appearance in Naughty Escapes. I'd intended to have a new story in that universe ready for Naughty Reunions but the story just didn't pan out. Nothing wrong with the story itself just that it didn't fit the theme and trying to make it fit nearly broke my brain. I've been ripping out all the seams and rewriting it properly. I've got my fingers crossed that it'll be ready for the first anthology of 2016. So far it's had more names than Liz Taylor. At the moment I'm thinking of it as The School Teacher and the Rock Star. We'll see if that sticks. As for next year's Naughty Literati releases, we've got some great themes in store for 2016.

I really wanted a story in Naughty Reunions. That is a kickass anthology, as is Naughty Chances which released this month. I'm constantly blown away by the talented writers who make up the Naughty Literati. Sharing a table of contents with any of these authors is a high honor.

I also wrote and sold two stories to Dreamspinner Press this year. Lodestone is an m/m, science fiction paranormal story. I'm dying to get more of Alchemy and Nicholai's story out there. I love the universe and have another story, with different characters, underway, but it's a long one and may not even see submission until sometime next year. My other Dreamspinner release is The Stonemason in the Bare Studs anthology. That was one of those stories that seemed to write itself…while at the same time I sweated blood getting it out. It's also a rare, for me, standalone.

2015 has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. I launched Yet Another Penname (that would be Terry), moved, started three new universes, got bogged down in a story, broke free, sold to a brand new to me market, started ghostwriting (it's so much fun!) and have edited a few terrific novels that I wish I'd written. There have been many ups and downs, but I think the ups outweigh the downs.

I have plans for 2016, and if even half of them come to fruition, I'll have some terrific stories for you.

Hope you all have a lovely holiday season, no matter what you celebrate, or if you celebrate nothing at all.

Keep calm and read!

Terry Rissen

Welcome to My Worlds

@terryrissen

Inspiration: A Naked Guy in Zurich by Regina Kammer

In my story "Window Display" in Naughty Escapes, the heroine, Laurie, an American Ph.D. student, trots off to Zurich to finish up her dissertation. Instead of the hoped-for peace and quiet, she finds distraction in a totally hot neighbor who doesn’t bother closing the curtains when he’s naked at home.

Many of my Naughty Literati co-authors chose rather exotic locations for their Naughty Vacation Getaway stories. Zurich is generally not considered an "exotic" or even "sexy" location in which to set a romance! Exotic or not, sexy or not, the story is based on a real-life event. Not my life, though. Inspiration came from an unlikely place.

I’ll go back to the beginning.

I became a National Novel Writing Month groupie in 2006 after I did my first NaNoWriMo that November. Writing a novel changed my life. Quite literally, really. I wanted to give back. At the time I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area — NaNoWriMo headquarters — so offered to volunteer for the organization. They probably thought of me as that crazy older lady who is rather awkward around strangers, but whatever. They were (and are) a great bunch and I met a lot of fun, interesting people.

One such person was Lindsey Grant. Lindsey is the sweetest, most gracious young woman I have ever met. She has said this is due to her Southern upbringing, but I think it’s her nature rather than nurture. I would see Lindsey at official NaNoWriMo events, then later at purely social events, and she would blush at the fact I wrote sexy stories.

Lindsey’s husband Pat works for a large tech company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. About three years ago, Pat transferred to the Zurich office of the company. Now Lindsey, like pretty much everyone who worked at NaNoWriMo, is a writer. Once she moved to Switzerland — a country she knew not much about, where they spoke a language she knew even less about — she began to blog about her move and transitioning to life in a foreign country.

I’ve lived abroad before, so I followed Lindsey’s blog about settling in and navigating a foreign country because it was part connecting with a friend and part connecting with my own memories. Lindsey confronted the basics of everyday life including finding housing with the help of a "relocation specialist". The specialist found Lindsey and Pat an apartment with a view. I’ll let Lindsey tell the rest of the story:

There is a window across the street from us, directly opposite our dining table, of all places, that happens to be paned with frosted glass. Alas, this frosted glass is not very frosty. Months ago, when I was getting pleasantly tipsy with our relocation specialist post walk-through, she had her back to this very window while we chatted. At a certain point, I was distracted from what she was saying by a very clear view of a naked man in the apartment opposite. He seemed to be vigorously styling his hair.
"That’s a naked man!" I blurted.
"Where?"
"There!"
"Oh my god, it is! That’s his shower." She turned and walked straight to the window, while I went the opposite direction, toward my own bathroom, blushing furiously.
"You Americans are so prude!" she laughed. "Look, he’s washing his willy. At least he’s clean."
I was dying inside.
Since then, as if by clockwork, Pat and I sit down to eat and the bathroom light comes on, the shower commences, and we get what we now affectionately refer to as, "the show." Poor guy. Poor us! And he’s not the only one on display. Across from our balcony is yet another building with a poorly frosted window through which we saw another neighbor nakedly doing her laundry. I suppose it can’t be helped. They may very well know that their windows, like the emperor's clothing, are doing little to protect their privacy. But I still feel like Rear Window goes Euro. And I just can’t stop blushing.

Anyone who has ever lived in a dense urban setting knows this sort of naked sighting happens all the time. But usually the sighting is not when the naked person is taking a shower. (This makes Zurich sound a lot sexier, doesn't it?)

The second I read that blog post I wrote up some notes for a short story. I even asked Lindsey for permission to use the premise for a sexy story, because Lindsey writes creative non-fiction, not romance (and definitely not erotic stuff).

So all that was two years ago. Then earlier this year, 2015, the Naughty Literati came up with a vacation-themed anthology. I had a great vacation story already written and submitted to another publisher long ago, but had never heard back from the editor. So I contacted the editor and discovered my (really awesome, I have to admit!) story was accepted but publication was delayed until 2016. Which meant I had to write another story.

Luckily, I keep all my notes and snippets of inspiration in a folder on my computer. That’s when the document called "Zurich" jumped out at me, and thus "Window Display" was born!

There’s a whole other plot line in my story, centered around my heroine Laurie and her academic research. Laurie's dissertation is about the Roman empress Sabina who was the wife of Hadrian (emperor 117-138 CE). I chose that subject purposely. During my research for my historical erotic romance novel Hadrian and Sabina: A Love Story, I discovered there was not much known about Sabina. (The reasons for this are spelled out in "Window Display" so I won’t go into it here.) Which meant I had a perfectly good never-before-done dissertation topic for my heroine. Plus, I got to add a touch of history to my contemporary story, which, for a historical romance writer, is always welcome.

My excerpt on the Naughty Literati website is my version of the first glimpse of the neighbor nakedly bathing.

Naughty Escapes is now available in ebook (only 99 cents!) and print. There are 11 wonderful stories from which to choose!

Writing Through Stress

 This seems like the perfect time for this post, as my life is very stressful and I’m trying to write through it.

Stress can be a career killer.

I had this happen in the past. Due to some incredibly stressful situations in my worklife, I didn’t write original fiction for almost seven years. Oh, I tried. At first, daily, and then, when it got to be too hard, I didn’t open up the manuscript for weeks. It was this black cloud hanging over me and I didn’t seem to be able to get beyond that to write anything. The stories were in my head, but my anxiety didn’t allow me to move forward.

Last August, my job situation changed. I was laid off with zero notice, and as I was a contractor, there were no benefits, no unemployment to claim. To make matters worse, several months of pay were in limbo for months.

Stress Number One, achieved.

Since then, I’ve been dealing with a major medical crisis—two actually, I’m an overachiever, have lost three of my cats, have set up a new business, and a couple of weeks ago, my husband lost his job with two days notice, no severance package, nada, not even payment of expenses owed :/

So…stress upon stress central here at Casa Alexa. You’d think that if one situation (above) had blocked my writing, this would have paralyzed my muse and had her rocking in a corner somewhere, right?

You’d be wrong. For some reason—some blessing in my psyche I don’t even dare to understand—I’m writing more than ever. I’m writing so much that I’m astounding myself, my word count spreadsheets are showing wear and tear, and my poor hands are begging for someone to save them.

This time, my muse is far from rocking in a corner, she’s dancing a jig and throwing me plot ideas faster than I can jot them down. And I couldn’t be happier. Writing is a huge stress relief, a way for me to get out of my present worries and into someone else’s issues.

I wrote my Naughty Escapes story—Get Away—in two days. Yes, two days! The story is 13,000 words and even my beta reader couldn’t keep up with my productivity. She finally threw her hands up and said she’d read it at the end rather than a s a work in progress. I chewed my nails down to bloody nubs wondering if Kell and Bry would strike a chord with her. She’s a tough beta, so I expected the worst. What I got back was anything but. She loved the story. And furthermore, she…er…“encouraged” me, with help from my evil little muse, to write a follow up story for them, and maybe even another story featuring Kell’s sexy guitar player, Ace. I’ll be revisiting Kell and Bry in the Naughty Literati fall anthology, coming in September.

It is funny how my workplace stress caused my writing to grind to a halt, while my homelife stress, which is so much larger in scope and impact, is giving me more inspiration to write.

The brain is a funny funny thing!

To check out the story of Kell, a former boyband singer, and Bry, an A-List Hollywood actor, check out Get Away in Naughty Escapes, out now!

Naughty Escapes Contest Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered our contest celebrating the release of our latest boxed-set, Naughty Escapes. The contest was a smashing success with more than 800 entries. Our winner was chosen at random by the contest widget.

And the winner is...
Gloria S. from Chicago. Congratulations, Gloria! You'll be receiving an email. We hope you enjoy the Kindle full of great books!


Happy Reading,
The Naughty Literati

Why I Set My Story at Lake Como

Many years ago, I spent some time in northern Italy, studying the language and culture. I had a wonderful few months exploring Milan and Como, checking out museums and medieval buildings and new shops full of the latest fashions and gorgeous silk accessories.

Photo CreditThis work has been released into the public domain by its author, Joyborg at the German Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide. Joyborg grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

One of most vivid memories is of Lake Como, driving around it and sailing on it. It has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Nestled in the southern edge of the Alps, surrounded by hills and mountains, the lake has some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen.

Small towns and grand villas lines its coasts, often nestled into the sides of the hills. A variety of boats, from small fishing skiffs and motorboats, all the way up to steamers and ferries, ply its waters. During my stay I was fortunate to take an all-day cruise on the lake, stopping at a couple of the towns, where I walked up streets into fabulous, colorful markets.

The place is close to paradise on earth, which is undoubtedly why celebrities like George Clooney have chosen to acquire summer homes (or should I say summer mansions?) there.

And it’s why I gave my hero a villa there. When he asks a former student he’s never forgotten to check out some paintings for him, he meets her there. It was absolutely the most romantic setting I could imagine.

Naughty Escapes - Available Now!

Naughty Escapes is available now! Get your copy

Eleven Naughty Vacation Getaways

including BBW, BDSM, Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, M/M, Ménage, Paranormal & Shape-shifter, from Amazon bestselling authors!

Take a naughty trip around the world with us to a penthouse playroom in San Francisco, the shore of Lake Superior, a deserted island in The Bermuda Triangle, a Mob-controlled nightclub in pre-revolutionary Havana, along the River Cam near Cambridge University in England, a sex club in Paris, a nude beach in Barcelona, the ancient Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, Lake Como Italy, Germany, and a swanky condo in Zurich.

Sex Me Up ~ Nicole Austin
One night at a Paris sex club—no-strings, complications or inhibitions—just lots of fantasy sex. But in the morning I forgot the most important rule. Never run from a feline predator—they live for the chase.

The WyndMaster’s Escape ~ Charlotte Boyett-Compo
A love as old as time can sometimes lead to a future one warrior never wanted.

Fireworks at the Lake ~ Berengaria Brown
Andrew didn’t want to spend the Fourth of July long weekend with the people from the office so he goes to Lake Superior instead. There he sees Luke, a blond Viking who arouses every craving for love and lust inside him. But can he overcome his low self-esteem from when Rory rejected his love and open his heart to another man?

Punting on the River Cam ~ Lainey-Jo Charles
Having escaped being roped into wedding party activities, two American strangers turn a day of sightseeing in Cambridge, England into a series of passionate encounters.

One Hot Havana Night ~ Suz deMello
Havana, 1958… On the eve of the revolution, journalist Ellie Wheeler dreams of the biggest story of her life. Two hot men make all her dreams come true—even ones she didn’t know she had.

Shake it Up! ~ Francesca Hawley
After a mild quake in San Francisco, Allyson Rayburn gets stuck in the same elevator as Ross Morgan, the Dom who’d been at the other end of a flogger at a private club the night before. Her day just got interesting.

Window Display ~ Regina Kammer
The apartment in Zurich was supposed to be the perfect disruption-free place to finish my dissertation. Trouble is, my room came with a very distracting view.

The Lake by Moonlight ~ Katherine Kingston
Julie Forrester returns to Lake Como in Italy to evaluate some paintings for a former professor–and to re-evaluate her relationship with the man.

Moon Dance ~ Terry Rissen

The Bermuda Love Triangle ~ Belle Scarlett
Castaway on a deserted island in the Bermuda Triangle, Trista finds herself torn between two sexy shifters who desire her, but refuse to share her.

Get Away ~ Alexa Silver
A-list actor Bryson runs into a gorgeous—and very naked—man on a Barcelona beach. Kell looks familiar but Bry can’t quite place him. After a sexually-charged meeting, they go their separate ways, or so Bry thinks. Fate comes knocking with an invitation to a party, and a date with destiny.

Excerpt from Get Away by Alexa Silver

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1^st

A-list actor Bryson runs into a gorgeous—and very naked—man on a Barcelona beach. Kell looks familiar but Bry can’t quite place him. After a sexually-charged meeting, they go their separate ways, or so Bry thinks. Fate comes knocking with an invitation to a party, and a date with destiny.

M/M

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Alexa Silver, 2015

“Oh my god,” Bryson Ossnick muttered as he looked across the beach—and the miles and miles of flesh on display.

Male flesh.

Naked male flesh.

He was so screwed.

Bry took a deep breath and a long swallow of water, the bottle dangling from his fingertips when he was done. The sun beating down on him had nothing to do with the sweat dampening his t-shirt, and absolutely nothing to do with the immediate and visceral reaction he was fighting.

For some reason, his assistant hadn’t mentioned he was scouting a nude beach.

A gay nude beach. In the middle—okay, not the middle, but near enough—to the city center of Barcelona.

Great!

He was going to have to have a talk with Lauren about this. But not now. Not when…

“God,” he whispered as the most beautiful guy he’d ever seen in his life came to his feet and ambled over. Miles of tanned skin, gleaming in the bright summer sunlight. Piercing, icy, light blue-green eyes set in a face that…

Who was he? Bry had seen this guy before.

Impossible. He’d just flown in yesterday and he hadn’t even wandered around past the hotel yet. Clearly, he’d been missing a lot.

Excerpt from The Bermuda Love Triangle by Belle Scarlett

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1^st

Blurb:Castaway in the Bermuda Triangle, Trista finds herself torn between two sexy shifters. Neither will share her so she must choose between them. Decisions, decisions…

Shape-shifter

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Belle Scarlett, 2015

“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. Miami Tower this is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot 3, a Cessna 152 with total engine failure attempting emergency water landing. Repeat, we are going to ditch. Last known position nine hundred and thirty-two miles northeast of Miami from Bermuda. Latitude 25.48North, 80.18West. Fifteen hundred feet heading two hundred degrees…no, wait. My magnetic compass just went tits up. It’s spinning like a top. Last stated known position is…incorrect. We are off course and broadcasting in the blind. Do you read, Tower? Repeat, do you read? My altimeter is going haywire. I’ve lost all navigational systems. I’m losing airspeed. Tower, please advise…”

 Trista stared in shock at the back of the pilot’s head of thick brown hair. His rugged frame filled the small cockpit directly in front of her. As he barked terse intel into his headset mic, the small aircraft jolted and lurched through the choppy air over the Atlantic. Meanwhile, her heart felt like it was pounding somewhere in the vicinity of her throat.

 Her fingers dug into her passenger seat armrests. She automatically looked for reassurance at the dark-haired, broad-shouldered man folded into the spare passenger seat to her right, also sandwiched behind the cockpit. As if feeling her panicked gaze upon his skin, his sharp, dark-green eyes swerved to hers in silent reply.

This was bad. Shitty bad. And they both knew it.

“Well, I suppose they don’t call it ‘The Devil’s Triangle’ for nothing,” she quipped weakly. Neither man in the small plane laughed.

Up front, the pilot’s deep, resonant voice tenaciously repeated the distress call on his headset, apparently still getting no reply from Miami. “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY. Miami Tower this is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot 3…”

 The small plane’s nose dipped sharply. Then came a giant bang. The passenger-side door popped open followed by turbulent air rushing in with the force of a giant’s warm breath.

Trista’s stomach lurched at the turbulence. Had her seatbelt not been clipped snugly across her lap, she no doubt would have been tossed to the low ceiling of the small plane like a piece of hollow straw and sucked right out of that open door to free fall a couple of thousand feet into the sea.

The pilot struggled expertly with the plane’s yoke to control the craft’s wild descent.

“All things considered, I have to say this has been one hell of a vacation I’ll never forget,” she whispered to no one in particular.

Outside the small circle of glass to her left, the vast, dark-blue Atlantic was getting far too big in her window.

 “Don’t look. Hold on to me,” the other passenger by her side commanded over the din of rushing air. She loved his voice—strong as oak and calm as a summer night. She clung to it like a beacon in a maelstrom.

“Whatever happens, don’t let go of me. Do you hear?” His firm, confident tone acted like smooth, aged whiskey to dull her jumpy nerves. She nodded dumbly and found her hand engulfed in the warm grip of the large man seated next to her. Her fingers curled trustingly around his. If he said everything would be okay, it would be.

They were falling into the sea with alarming speed now. Yet his touch had the ability to make her feel as safe as if she were in a peaceful meadow.

The plane rattled uncontrollably as it glided just above the waves. She squeezed her eyes shut. The Cessna skipped off the ocean’s surface. And broke apart.

*****

She sank into the liquid darkness that enveloped her. A sudden reverse current of warm seawater sucked her away from strong, grasping hands that had somehow held her fast during the final moments of the crash. Those capable fingers had managed to unbuckle her seatbelt as the ocean rushed into the open passenger door, filling the small craft’s submerged passenger compartment and cockpit with seawater and a plethora of furious bubbles.

Now she was free of the plane, drifting under the ocean surface. It was like bathwater, really. She was quite content—relaxed even. Except that her head throbbed. And she couldn’t open her eyes. Where was she? What had happened? All of a sudden, answers to those questions were cloudy.

There was a more immediate problem. Her burning lungs were now trying to breathe in saltwater. That wasn’t exactly going well.

She felt a relentless grip on her arm. Someone pulled her upward, toward the surface. The air hit her face. A sharp blow landed between her shoulder blades. She choked and sputtered, the seawater spewing from her lungs and out of her mouth. All at once she could breathe again, but still her eyes did not open.

 She was spent, draped limply against a muscled torso, her nose and lips buried in the curve of his neck. The sensation of bobbing buoyantly in the swells assailed her as he treaded water for them both with powerful sweeps of his legs. By now, she’d know his touch in the dark. But who was he? It seemed important that she remember that detail.

“Do you have her?” he shouted from somewhere over the waves.

“Over here,” the same male voice growled a reply somewhere in the vicinity of her right ear.

Her mind slipped into blankness after that. She didn’t know for how long.

Then the two voices that were one and the same echoed again in her ears from opposite directions mingled with the sloshing of waves. The words were fuzzy and made little impression on her, except that the voice in her ear and the one a short distance away sounded like the same man. How strange that he should be talking to himself. Whoever he was.

“I’ve got it inflated…”

“…her into the raft. Hurry.”

“I’m trying, Thane. Damn it…”

“Hold her steady, this is…”

“…damn the sharks.”

 “…careful with her, Alec!”

 She yearned to open her eyes. She wanted to see the owner of that intoxicating whiskey voice and thank him. But her eyelids felt like lead. If she tried to force them open she just knew the pain in her head would split her skull in two.

She felt a firm but gentle touch all over her body, checking her limbs and the sensitive area at the top of her ribcage, just underneath her breasts. Even in her slumbering state that light, probing touch created a primal sense of warmth and well-being deep within her.

 “No broken bones.”

Her mind tried to focus on his soothing, deep tones as an anchor to keep her floating near the surface of consciousness. It was no use. She drifted down again, in and out of partial consciousness, only overhearing occasional snippets of urgently spoken words here and there like a radio station broadcasting with a weak signal.

 “...do something about that cut on her head…”

“Over there. Do you see it? It’s…”

“…current’s pulling us away from the shoreline.”

“…keep paddling, Alec.”

Her mind eased back into full, blessed unconsciousness. She knew no more for some time.

*****  

She heard a rustling in the foliage behind her and whirled around. The giant wolf emerged from the tree line that ended many yards from the precipice where she stood nude in the moonlight. Her shoulder-length hair stirred against her bare neck in the island breeze sweetly perfumed by the indigenous fauna. The wolf padded silently toward her, head raised proudly to look her in the eye.  

“Stay back!” She took an unconscious step backward toward the cliff’s edge.

 “…you hear me? Trista? Wake up, cowgirl.” The man’s deep voice sounded from somewhere above her. She was glad he was back.

Excerpt from Moon Dance by Terry Rissen

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1st

Blurb: Christina and Will’s honeymoon in Berlin turns potentially deadly as dark forces seek retribution for Will’s past life actions. Can Christina save her beloved?
Paranormal

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Terry Rissen, 2015

Christina woke slowly. It took her a few moments to realize she wasn’t at home and then a few more to remember where she was. That woke her fast. She grinned with excitement and nearly jumped out of bed until she looked at her husband. Husband! That was going to take some getting used to, but she was willing to spend the rest of her life if that’s what it took. Will was still sleeping deeply at her side and her grin softened to a fond smile as she watched him. She debated waking him then decided against it. He’d grown so much since they met. The boy who wanted to make love on the wing over the ocean had given way to the man who watched over her so carefully.

In a way it galled her because she was Protector born and bred. It was her duty to Protect her husband—her Prince, but that was going to be an uphill battle. For now, at least she could do something for him.

Christina eased herself out of bed, then gathered a few items from her suitcase before heading into the bathroom. She was glad they’d been able to get into one of the newer American hotels. She thought she’d heard someone say the hotel was booked solid when they checked in. Odds were, their rooms had been conveniently available when the reservation had been made. She didn’t want to be traipsing down the hall to use a communal bathroom as she’d heard many European hotels forced guests to do. They’d both have spent every moment watching their backs.

She showered, dressed and then checked on Will again. She’d half hoped he’d’ve awakened while she was in the shower, but no such luck. He was still sleeping, though he’d rolled over to her side of the bed, clutching her pillow. For such a strong, powerful man, he could be such a sap. It was, as she told him, part of his charm.

Christina wanted to let him sleep, but he needed to eat, too. She called room service and ordered a meal brought to them in an hour. She had an excellent idea of how to wake her new husband. No matter how much work he had to do while they were in Europe, it was their honeymoon as well.

The clothes she’d just put on, ended up draped on a chair and then Christina pried her pillow out of Will’s sleepy grasp. He muttered a protest then rolled onto his back, settling back into sleep. Christina grinned then slipped back into bed next to him. There was one thing that was certain to wake him.

She nuzzled Will’s neck, breathing in his musky scent. He turned toward her in his sleep and settled again. It had taken weeks of sleeping together before Will had been able to sleep with her so close to him. He had always been on high alert, but gradually he seemed to have accepted her into what his unconscious mind sensed as safe. Christina had felt almost as honored by that as she had by his proposal. Some days she felt more honored. Will never talked about his childhood, but his mom had mentioned a few things to her new daughter-in-law and Charles, the Prince’s Moarte had filled her in on things he felt the Prince’s Consort needed to know.

Christina had never been someone’s safe place before. She vowed to never do anything to abuse her beloved’s trust. While that did limit her options on waking her husband, it didn’t eliminate them. She snuggled in against him and began to kiss his neck. As her hand lightly stroked his chest she was rewarded by a sleepy groan. She nibbled on his earlobe as her hand drifted down to his belly. A sharp nip caused him to gasp and then he muttered her name.

“I’m here, Will,” she whispered in his ear.

Excerpt from The Lake by Moonlight by Katherine Kingston

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1st

Blurb: Julie Forrester returns to Lake Como in Italy to evaluate some paintings for a former professor–and to re-evaluate her relationship with the man. Contemporary

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Katherine Kingston, 2015

Julie’s nerves had been winding tighter and tighter since she’d left New York ten hours ago. They’d squeezed into hard knots when she landed in Milan, and now, in the car carrying her toward the lake, her insides churned. She barely noticed the extraordinary smoothness and quiet of the hired vehicle or the buttery softness of leather upholstery in the back seat.

She wished she’d said no to the trip. She wished she could’ve said no. But that wasn’t really an option. Professor Antonio Farnese had asked for her specifically to come and assess the group of paintings he’d recently inherited. If genuine, they were worth a fortune, and it would be her job to convince him to donate or sell them to her museum for a reasonable price. It was a chance of a lifetime for someone so young, an opportunity that could make her career.

But really, that was only a small part of why nerves made her mouth dry and hands shake when she pulled a bottle of Perrier from the cooler.

It was knowing the real reason he’d asked for her specifically. Or maybe not so much knowing, as not knowing, but suspecting. Hoping, perhaps? Outside, twilight faded into darkness so she didn’t even have the gorgeous scenery to distract her.

Too soon, the car turned off the main road, into a side one, and then into the private drive that led to the villa overlooking the lake.

“Signor Farnese will meet you on the terrace,” the driver said as he opened the car door for her. “I’ll take your bag up.”

Julie got out and climbed the stairs to a terrace overlooking the lake. No one waited there, so she took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs surrounding a table. The professor had always had a flair for the dramatic. It didn’t surprise her when the door from the house slid open, though no lights showed, and a deep, masculine voice spoke. “Thank you for coming.”

“You made it hard to refuse.”

“Did you want to?”

“Part of me did.”

“Not the best part.” His voice poured from the darkness like molten chocolate, deep, dark, and dangerously rich.

“Debatable, but anyway, I’m here.”

He emerged onto the patio and approached. In the darkness she made out a tall, slim figure, in trousers and polo shirt. He walked with a noticeable limp, something new, and likely something he hated. She couldn’t make out much of his features. He set two wine glasses on the table, sat opposite her, and slid one glass across to her.

Julie took a long sip of a rich, fragrant Pinot Grigio. They sat in silence for a moment, until she said, “Professor? Why am I really here?”

She could just barely discern his features. “You are no longer a student. Call me Antonio. Or Tony, if you prefer. I asked you here for an opinion on my paintings.”

“That’s the excuse. It’s not the reason.”

“Getting right to the point? Then I will too. I plan to do what I wanted to do seven years ago when you were here. I want to seduce you.”

Breath stuck in her throat and her hands clenched into fists. “I’m not that naïve young woman anymore.”

“And I’m not the man I was either. The eight years difference in our ages hardly matters now, does it? I’m told you’re not married and not even seeing anyone seriously.”

“I was engaged for a few months.” She set the wine glass down. “But we broke it off by mutual consent. He wasn’t what I needed, and I wasn’t what he needed.” Let him read what he would into that. Unfortunately he was sharp enough to guess the implications.

He toyed with his wine glass. A stray gleam of light from the moon fell across his hand where it wrapped the glass and showed him running a finger up and down the stem. He had strong hands with long, graceful fingers and neatly trimmed nails. “You know that Sonia, my wife, died…was killed in a car crash almost two years ago.”

“I heard. I sent a card.”

He drew in a harsh breath. “I was in the car with her and in the hospital for a long time afterward. Her family had to have the funeral without me.”

“Is that why you limp?”

He stayed quiet for a moment. “I’m lucky I didn’t lose the leg entirely.”

Excerpt from Window Display by Regina Kammer

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1^st

Blurb: The apartment in Zurich was supposed to be the perfect disruption-free place to finish my dissertation. Trouble is, my room came with a very distracting view.

Contemporary

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Regina Kammer, 2015

“Date anyone lately?”

She plunked a glass of iced tea in front of me as I ate amazingly good cheese and bread in the dining room. A humid breeze blew through the open sliding-glass door to the east balcony, the smell of freshly mowed lawn wafting up from the low rolling grassy common below.

I laughed darkly while a vision of me eating Little Man Goody Cao all by myself danced in my brain. 

“No.”

“Hmm.” Megan lifted a brow as she sat across from me.

“I’m too busy to fuss with online dating.” That’s what people did these days, wasn’t it?

“Surely there must be other grad students?”

“We’re all busy. And a lot of them are already married. With children.”

Megan sighed. “Well, it must be difficult to find a man in whatever it is you’re doing. Feminist Studies, is it?”

“Women’s Studies, Meg. And it’s only my emphasis.”

I scowled at her, but her eyes twinkled with joviality.

I shook my head. “There are a couple of great guys in Classics. Maybe when I’m finished―”

Megan threw up her hands. “Stop making excuses, Laur. It’s always after you finish this thing or that. The last time it was translating some Greek.”

I’d finished that well over a year ago.

She started to say something, then thought better of it. I gulped a swallow of tea and stared out the window.

To a perfect view of a naked guy.

A very hot naked guy.

I almost spit out my beverage.

He was in the building across the common. He was tall and blond, lanky but athletic, and framed by the large double window of his living room. He left and was out of sight for only a moment. He then re-appeared in the barely frosted glass of the bathroom shower stall and began to, um, well, bathe…rubbing soap all over…flexing and bending into the spray of water…grabbing and washing his—

Heat rose in my face. “Oh. My. God.”

Megan giggled. “That’s Christoph.”

“Christoph?” I squeaked.

“I used to watch him all the time. But after we became friends, it was sort of weird.” Megan sipped her tea. “He works at Parker’s company.” She eyed me. “He’s single.”

I eyed her right back. “And lives in Switzerland.”

She shrugged. “So you have a summer fling.”

Excerpt from Shake It Up by Francesca Hawley

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1st

Blurb: After a mild quake in San Francisco, Allyson Rayburn gets stuck in the same elevator as Ross Morgan, the Dom who’d been at the other end of a flogger at a private club the night before. Her day just got interesting.
BBW, contemporary, BDSM, erotic romance

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Francesca Hawley, 2015

Chapter One

“Hold that elevator, please!” Allyson Rayburn rushed in as a strong tanned male hand held the doors open for her. “Thanks so much!”

Leaning against the back of the elevator, she smiled at the man who shared the space with her and almost swallowed her tongue. She felt heat rise to her face as she met his discerning green eyes. His gaze slid down to her feet and back up, then his lips curved. Oh, god, she wanted to crawl under a rock.

Last night, she’d had her first flogging at Erotically Bound, a private BDSM club here in San Francisco. The hand at the other end of the flogger had been his. It had been an amazing, sensual experience that had nearly had her crying out with an orgasm. She’d been so close, but she’d been too self-conscious to relax and let it happen.

The club visit was research for her latest book and she’d agreed to participate because Vicki knew the guy and said he was a sensual Dom who wasn’t really into rough S&M play. Ally had fun but she’d never expected to see him again. Not in a million years.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Miss Newbie.”

Her face heated more, but she forced a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Bull.” He laughed. “You couldn’t be more mortified.”

“You’re assuming…”

“Am I wrong?”

He wasn’t, damn it. She was embarrassed. He’d known how close she was to coming when she called a halt. Even now, her nipples pulled into tight little points and her clit throbbed just thinking about it. About him. Her gaze dropped from his.

“I didn’t think I was,” he said.
She prayed this damn elevator would move faster so she could escape. Experiencing a bit of BDSM play was fine because she wanted her story to have some authenticity, but the closeness she’d felt with him last night had jolted her. She’d been in long-term relationships that hadn’t reached that level of intimacy.

“You don’t have to sound so damn smug,” she grumbled.

“Smugness has nothing to do with it.”

“Then what does it have to do with?” She threw back her head, glaring at him.

“Knowing.”

The curve of his lips and the light in his eyes intrigued her, forcing her to remember the stroke of his fingertips on her bare heated back after he’d flogged her.

“Knowing what?”

“That the touch of the leather thongs aroused you. I know it and you’re fearful because I get you.”

“You’re wrong.” She shrugged, pretending unconcern as the elevator made its slow way up inside the building. She looked up at the indicator above the doors. Hurry up. Hurry up!

“No, I’m not,” he argued.

“You’re also arrogant.”

He chuckled. “I’ll own that one, but I wouldn’t call it arrogance. I’d call it confidence.”

“Whatever you may think, no one likes having someone know them too well.”

“Now, you’re wrong.”

She turned to him, ready to confront him when the shaking began. At first gently, but then there was almost a rocking to it. She lost her footing and landed in the corner of the elevator with a shriek. She screamed again when something fell from the ceiling and hit her shoulder before bouncing to the floor. She curled into a ball, covering her head to wait out the quake. The Dom sheltered her body protectively with his own, which made her feel safe. After what seemed like hours but was really less than a minute, the quaking stopped. The abrupt cessation of movement startled her. She remained still, waiting for it to start again.

“Are you all right?” he asked, patting her down.

“Yes.” She nodded, lifting her head to meet his gaze. He was so close they could almost kiss. “Are
you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He sighed, leaning in, but then he shook his head slightly as if telling himself no, before he stood up and pressed the elevator button. Nothing happened. “Shit. I bet the damn elevator is stuck. It doesn’t work very well on a normal day, but after an earthquake it’ll be worse.”

“Do you come to this building often?” Maybe she was worried for nothing. Maybe he and Vicki had a thing.

“Your friend, Mistress Vicki, is my realtor. I just bought some property I plan to develop. I was headed up to sign the paperwork.”

“Oh.”

He glanced at her and she saw a smile return to his mouth, crinkles setting into the skin at the corner of his lips and eyes. He was so incredibly good looking. Not pretty. Masculine. A wild masculine beauty that translated to straight brows, a square jaw, full lips and a hard body. He was her fantasy embodied, right down to the brown hair and green eyes.

What was wrong with her? She’d just experienced her first San Francisco earthquake, but instead of worrying about the elevator car plummeting to the bottom of the shaft, she was focused on this delicious Dom.