No Magic Moment

Abra cadabra...

My name is Margaux Asher--and I'm in love. Crazy, right? Me, the girl who grew up in the lap of luxury and the shadow of cynicism, is now head-over-heels for an apple farmer's son who rocks my world and steals my breath. He's seen the woman beneath the princess, and loves me--for me. Trouble is...he wants all of me. But how can I commit that to him if I don't know what "me" is? There are pieces missing--and not just mine. Until Michael opens up and shares all of himself, we're a great opening explosion, but not a lasting magic tale. Don't look at the man behind the curtain... My name is Michael Pearson--and I'm in love. Margaux is the fire of my dreams, the fulfillment of my fantasies, and the woman who's asked the impossible. When your past has been hell, how is it possible to walk through it again? But fighting it isn't an option--especially when the ghosts rise up and battle back. Especially when fate issues an ultimatum: battle back, or lose her forever. Can I do it? Is love enough to change a person's soul, or will our magic become a forgotten moment for us both?

*NO MAGIC MOMENT*

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I did take a couple of sharpened pencils—brand new number twos—and lay them end-to-end in the well on the desk’s top. Like any good student, I sat up straight with my hands folded in front of me. The only thing out of place was my exaggerated gum chewing. It lent to the bit but also helped with my nervousness. Keys jangled in the hall. My heartbeat skidded in my chest. Show time. I tried to call the circus in my stomach to rest. Would he play along with me? I was almost certain he would…but how far? In what direction? Uncertainty assaulted me. A simple question had never turned me on more. The door swung open. I looked up, brandishing a cheeky grin. Blew a big pink bubble out of my mouth with a long hiss. Pop. I sucked the gum back in and kept chewing, adding a little wink. Getting deeper into character helped keep the circus under control—especially after I took in my man from head to toe. He’d worn one of his sharpest suits today, nearly-black navy that was perfectly fitted to every lean, muscled inch of him. Finishing the look was a burgundy tie, a color he turned into a power look with the force of his presence alone. I really loved that suit on him. Inside ten seconds, I squirmed in the seat. Wet for him. Wanting him. “Well, what do we have here?” His sensual growl moved through me while he shucked his jacket and slid his briefcase onto the island in the kitchen, right next to the wooden ruler. Though I had a blind spot due to my lower level at the desk, I sensed he stashed the ruler in his back pocket. I’d find out for sure if I pushed him far enough…and earned a punishment. Oh, it was on. “Hi there.” I blew another bubble. Smaller this time. Popped it with my teeth and sucked it back in. Michael watched every movement with darkening eyes—and, I observed as he walked out from the kitchen, a hardening crotch. Oh, yes. I grinned a little wider. “Hello there.” He started unbuttoning his sleeves. Rolled them both to his elbows. Oh hell, yes. “What’s going on?” “I’ve come for detention—just like the slip said, Headmaster.” I chewed loudly but added in a mumble, “Although I didn’t expect the proctor to be late.” He lifted both hands to his waist. “What did you just say, Miss Asher?” His snarl was terrifying—and so fucking hot. He’d taken the bait and jumped right into character—as I’d known he would, deep in my heart. Never letting me down. I loved this man so much. “Nothing.” I snapped it breezily, diving deeper into my own persona. “Nothing at all.” “Perhaps you meant ‘nothing, Sir’?” I gave him an exaggerated blink through my heavily coated lashes. “Of course. Nothing, Sir.” He prowled closer. I smiled bigger. Holy crap, he was good. So damn good. “Miss Asher, I’ve been seeing a lot of you lately. Your behavior is getting out of hand. It’s possible some corrective action is necessary at this point.” I gasped and worried my lips together. “No! Please, Headmaster. I promise, I promise I’ll be good.” “That’s what you said last time, young lady.” “But I mean it this time. I do. Really.” “So tell me, why were you sent to my office? Exactly?” He eyed me carefully. I picked up the vibe instantly. He played along while trying to understand what I wanted out of all this. While we’d talked about the fantasy, we hadn’t exactly discussed a line-by-line. Really, I could never let this man go. He was clever enough and brave enough to go toe-to-toe with me on every level. I blew another bubble for dramatic effect. Michael sighed, giving it equal weight. “Give me the gum, Miss Asher. You know it’s against school policy, and it’s unladylike to be chewing it in front of me.” I slid another glance up at him. “You gonna make me?” He walked back to the counter, grabbed a tissue from the box on it, then paced back over to cup it in front of my mouth. “Spit it out.” “No.” “Do not defy me. It will only make things worse for you. It’s a disgusting habit anyway.” He pressed his other hand against the side of my face. “There are much better uses for that pretty little mouth.”

SECRETS OF STONE SERIES

*NO PRINCE CHARMING (SECRETS OF STONE, BOOK 1)

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NO MORE MASQUERADE (SECRETS OF STONE, BOOK 2)

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NO PERFECT PRINCESS (SECRETS OF STONE, BOOK 3)

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Angel Payne

Hi there. I'm Angel: book lover, writing addict, hopeless romantic, pop culture geek and avid shoe lover. **I have a monthly newsletter now! Sign up for it right here: http://eepurl.com/LoNkz. It's a cool way to get exclusive info, talk hot heroes, learn about new items in the Angel Payne store, talk hot heroes, further the pie or cake debate...and oh yeah, did I mention talking hot heroes? A bit about me... I've been hooked on books since I was a kid but it got worse in my twenties, when I discovered romances--the hotter, the better. Growing up in Southern California, with lots of surfer manliness surrounded me, was certainly a good boost for reading about delicious alpha guys and the women who adore them. When I learned I had a knack for telling these stories too, I guess you could say I was doomed--though my path toward romance novelist took a few detours via a concert-reviewing gig for my college newspaper (free show tickets...backstage passes...that was a no-brainer), artist interviews for a Beverly Hills dance music mag, personal assistant work for a record producer, dance club disc jockey, and a lot of fun in the hospitality industry. These days, I still live in California, and have found an amazing alpha guy of my own who was brave enough to marry me. We live on a street that looks like Brigadoon, with our beautiful daughter. I have the best life ever, and never forget to thank the Big Guy Upstairs for it, either.

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Victoria Blue

Victoria Blue lives in her own portion of the galaxy known as Southern California. There she finds the love and life sustaining power of one amazing sun, two unique and awe inspiring planets and three indifferent, yet comforting moons. Life is fantastic and challenging and everyday brings new adventures to be discovered. She looks forward to seeing what's next!

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DL McCleary

A Good Day

By D.L. McCleary

Blurb

Lieutenant Colonel David “Deuce” Wilcox’s last mission began the same any as other, until a fierce battle in the badlands of Afghanistan left him badly wounded. Awakening in a hospital in Germany, Deuce realizes his life is about to change in ways he cannot begin to understand. While healing from his wounds, his wife Isabel, the love of his life, joins him in Germany. Now a civilian, he is offered a job running a very successful black ops organization funded by back channels of the U.S. Government. 
  
Isabel is introduced into a sexual explosion of wealth and privilege funded by the new direction her husband is taking. Drawn by sheer stimulation and sexual energy, she begins to visit exclusive BDSM clubs. Eager to move from voyeur to participant, she must find a way to convince Deuce to accept this new and exciting chapter in her life. How can she convince Deuce this is the correct path for them both? 
  
Deuce will have to figure out how to handle an international black ops firm during the upcoming war with the Republic of Iran all while trying to understand his wife’s new and exciting sexual desires. To succeed, he will have to re-invent himself throughout this thrilling and sexually explicit story. 

Buy Links

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Teaser 1

Teaser 2

About the Author

D.L. McCleary is a freshman author who writes erotic and BDSM based military fiction. D.L. lives with his wife in the northern Maryland area. Although he was never in the military the action scenes as part of the military fiction are breathtaking and the BDSM scenes are true to life. D.L. left the busy business world to write full time and is working on several books in multiple genres. He is also attending University Of Maryland pursuing a degree in Cyber Security.

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Dagger

DAGGER

The D.U.S.T. Ops:  Mission 1

Steven Dos Santos

Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Gay, Romance, Sci-Fi

Released Sept. 10^th -  Editor’s Pick

62k words

When Ultimate Evil engulfs the entire world, only Dagger can pierce the Darkness—even if the Apocalypse falls on a school night!

Dagger Beaumont is a High School senior who’s been recruited by D.U.S.T.—a covert governmental organization dedicated to battling supernatural terrorism all over the globe.

However, Dagger’s unresolved conflict over his missing brother could be his undoing, as he races around the world battling the Dark Reich, a diabolical organization on a quest to possess an ancient artifact and unleash a mystical plague to enslave humanity. If that weren't treacherousenough, Dagger must juggle his life as a secret agent with his social life, where he faces romantic rivalry for the guy of his dreams, a mysterious and handsome new student at his haunted boarding school.

But in a high-stakes world where nothing is as it seems, and death lurks in every shadow, love rides shotgun with survival!

Buy Links:    Evernight Teen     Amazon

Excerpt:

I pulled the sheet down Reinaldo’s naked right hip, trying hard not to peek at what lay beyond. Why did he have to be so damn hot? Hey, I was a typical seventeen year-old guy, raging hormones and all that jazz. With one big difference.

I had orders to terminate.

Reinaldo lay sprawled beside me on the king-sized bed in our Parisian hotel suite, looking like the statue of David in a centerfold spread: jet-black curly hair, Roman nose, angular jaw, the chiseled body of a college gymnast. His biceps bulged, as did his pecs, which were lightly coated with hair that tapered into a trail leading down ridges of sculpted abs, past his pelvis, before disappearing into the tent under the sheets. As far as what was hidden, let’s just say all that rigorous exercise hadn’t stunted his growth.

He was the first guy to tell me he loved me. And now he’d be the first guy I had to kill. The quintessential love-hate relationship. If there’s one thing I’d learned ever since my brother Phillipe’s supernatural disappearance, it was that love had no business in the world of occult espionage.

Opening your heart was akin to opening your wrists.

I shifted closer, my face inches from his pelvis. Moving in, I smelled the freshly laundered linen, mixed with Reinaldo’s own musky athletic scent. I blinked my eyes three times, activating the infrared contact lenses I’d slipped on earlier, while Reinaldo’d slipped out of his clothes, after drinking the potion I’d slipped in his wine. Talk about a slippery slope.

He didn’t look quite as sexy bathed in a green glow, more like Michelangelo’s boy with a serious case of gangrene. But the only part of Reinaldo’s body that truly mattered was the part no longer hidden by the sheet. The part that throbbed underneath the gaze of my infrared lenses.

It was there, on his inner right thigh. The birthmark. My intel had been correct.

It was so tiny I might not have ever seen it, even if we’d done the deed.

What was it? Right?—no, left to zoom in. I blinked my left eye a few times enlarging the image. It was a symbol. A dragon inside a pyramid, its base parallel to another pyramid base facing the opposite direction and encasing some type of demon. Both of these were housed within a larger triangle.

I squinted, flexing my brows. Snap! Snap! Snap! The photographic evidence of the mark uploaded via the lenses’ transmitter. These shades rocked. I’d have to give props to Felanie—if I made it out of this.

I glanced back up at Reinaldo’s face. He looked so peaceful lying there, completely unaware he’d been duped. For a split second I almost felt sorry for him. Keywords split and almost. He’d more than duped me by pretending to be my boyfriend, until I’d found out he was a member of a sorcerist cell. Even so, the concept of terminating him sounded clinical and abstract when discussed in a cold, sterile briefing room, especially when I’d prepared months in advance, both physically and mentally, convincing myself it was for the greater good. With the target warm and curled up against me like a helpless pup, termination seemed more like murder. Orders be damned. Better to drug him and see if I could find it first before going down that road.

I maneuvered my body across his sleeping form. When our skin touched, I broke out into goose flesh.

Reinaldo stirred slightly.

I held my breath, tensing every muscle.

Then he stretched a sculpted bicep over his head, not a care in the world.

My heart down-shifted.

I reached over the side of the bed, past the ornately carved nightstand, and carefully rummaged through the pile of clothes Prince Charming had deposited on the lush, wine-colored rug. One black V-neck T-shirt with no pockets, the better to show off his massive chest. Skin-tight jeans that hugged his thick thighs and narrow waist contained nothing but empty pockets. A pair of size twelve flip-flops. Not much else.

I’d already performed a sweep of the room. He had to have it on him.

Wait a minute. The big silver belt buckle. Trendy. A good place for hiding a top-secret micro-chip embedded with an encryption key … stylish. I snatched it up, the metal feeling cold, even in my icy hands.

I examined the buckle, a very butch affair, complete with some type of horned steer. At first I’d thought Reinaldo’d been going for a metrosexual country western look. But the horns reminded me of the ones on that birthmark nestled against his loins.

My fingers explored the buckle’s surface, my thumbs pressing against every ridge. Nada. I’d have to improvise. Following my instincts, I pricked my thumb on the prong. A small trickle of blood bubbled forth. Kind of unconventional for espionage, I know, but it’s not like I worked for the CIA. As a matter of fact, I doubted even the CIA knew about us, that’s how high we were on the secret ladder. The Department of Unexplained Supernatural Terrorism. DUST. Saving the unsuspecting world from the criminal forces of the supernatural and the occult, one phenomenon at a time.

I smeared the blood on the buckle’s surface, hoping the “offering” would activate the trigger point. Voila! The surface snapped open, revealing the microchip lying in the buckle’s womb. It amazed me the clout virgin blood carried in the occult world. Yes, technically, I was still a virgin, though hardly the poster boy for innocence at the moment.

I sat up, carefully removed the dime sized-chip, and slipped it into the hidden slot in the waistband of my tighty-whities. Then I replaced the buckle’s face and dropped the pants back into the pile, just as the light came on. Two powerful arms encircled me from behind.

About the Author:

Steven dos Santos is the author of THE TORCH KEEPER novels, THE CULLING & THE SOWING, a Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic series. The first book was named an American Library Association 2014 Rainbow List Top Ten Selection. His new novel, DAGGER, The D.U.S.T. Ops Mission 1, a Young Adult Paranormal Espionage Adventure, has just been released by Evernight Teen on September 10^th, 2015! Steven is a Team Member of We Need Diverse Books and is represented by literary agent, Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Steven studied Motion Picture production at University of Miami and graduated from Florida International University with a B.S. Degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications Television Broadcasting program. He is a passionate advocate of LGBT rights. 

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