My Sexy Saturday, week #81

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday, week #81.

This week's theme is about my sexy addiction, about the time you knew you were in love. Regardless of the time or place, you just - knew. 

     Below is an excerpt from Shadowed Origins, second in the Anath series.

     

 

  

 Carnal Beginnings was Top Pick at The Romance Reviews.

  “Julien. From now on, just Julien. Okay? Besides, don’t you eat during the week, too?” As Julien unfolded his arms and leaned farther forward, her sudden intake of breath told him he’d scored.

     The rest of her body seemed to freeze in place. His forefinger under her chin brought her gaze up. Nothing could prepare him for the collision of their stares. Her wide fearful gaze blasted a figurative hole in his chest.

     “Breathe, Adara. Breathe.” He tried desperately to do the same. As usual, she flinched when he reached for her. He just couldn’t seem to connect with her on any level, least of all a physical one. A combination of confusion, curiosity, and fear warred for control in her expression, which drew out his instinct to protect and siphoned off some sexual energy. Dilated pupils to the point of nearly obliterating her irises resulted from an adrenalin rush… Fight or flight, Adara? He could almost hear the wheels of her brain struggling to grind.

     “Um…” His green-eyed gaze locked her in place, breath sealed in her lungs. When her jaw dropped, he simply closed it with a finger under her chin. Simple, elegant, heart stopping.

     “I can’t breathe.” Panic took control of her mind, scalded reason into nonexistence. His proximity and touch sent her judgment into a tailspin. He’s just touching my face, for God’s sake. Yeah, something she’d secretly dreamed about since meeting him.

     His six-foot-four inch frame unfolded and towered over her. Jeez. She gulped. Her gaze darted wildly around his office as she blew out a series of short breaths.

     Taking her wrist, he placed her hand on his chest, then covered it with his. Her entire body trembled. The electrical current from his touch nearly dropped her to her knees and zapped him in return, judging by the expression of his widened eyes and quick intake of breath. The hard wall of his chest under her hand felt like slabs of muscle laid out side by side. It rippled under her fingers as she flexed them. The warmth of him pressing her hand tighter to his body lent little courage.

 Carnal Beginnings - Blurb

A split-second decision can alter the course of your life.

  

     Adara’s enigmatic and sexy boss asks her a simple question. “How are you going to celebrate your twenty-first birthday?” Sounds innocent enough, until he suggests she go to Ambrosia, the infamous BDSM club. To volunteer for scars and bruises is not on her to-do list. When Julien invades her personal space, her body goes into panic mode and fails to respond appropriately. Since her adoptive parents died six years ago, she’s endured horrific tortures at the hands of her sadistic and perverted uncle and cousin.

     Her long-awaited birthday, and inheritance, are days away. She longs for and plans to escape.

     Julien Crofton is an ex-Special Forces private investigator. Since he hired Adara six months ago, her subtle signs of ongoing abuse have tied him in knots. And not the good kind. Time and again, he’s encouraged her to open up and talk to him. After disastrous results in a previous case where a client refused his help, he’s determined history won’t repeat itself. Surely he could help her and keep his heart intact. The fact she’s as beautiful as sin should have no bearing on his intent to teach her to not fear men. When he resorts to an underhanded tactic to crack her invisible suit of armor, he’s unprepared for the tidal wave of lust and protectiveness that swamps him.

     Even while evading her family and an unknown psychopathic stalker, passion ignites. In progressive increments, Julien fans her spark of infatuation into a raging inferno. Can Adara learn that perhaps not all men are evil and maybe…whips can be fun?