Everybody say ooooohhhhhh… aaaaahhhhhhhh

See my new cover?

It’s by Syneca. I’ve gotten lucky with my covers at my epubs for the most part. Scott @ Samhain tolerates my frequent changes of mind. Syneca gets that I want a sexy cover that doesn’t have nekkid butts or other other body parts only barely concealed.

I like sexy.

But I like romantic sexy better than sexy and romantic sexy is what I prefer. Romantic sexy isn’t as easy as just plain sexy…or beyond sexy. You have to convey the sensuality as well as the emotion.

I love it when the cover artist can do both.

And since I’m sharing the cover, might as well post an excerpt~ this releases 2/13/08 from Ellora’s Cave. It’s sort of paranormal. Sort of fantasy.

~*~

“Upside down,” Rhys ordered. Slowly, the rotation stopped and Holly’s body inverted in the air until her head was pointed at the ground. Her hair fell, the ends brushing the floor. A muscle in his jaw jerked as her shirt fell away, revealing a toned belly. She had on a sport bra under the looser tank top and although Rhys couldn’t see much more than the restrained swell of her breasts, his mouth went dry.

Sweat glistened on her skin and Rhys had to take a moment and practice his own self control. Otherwise, he might have gone to Holly, pulled her out of the air and started licking the sweat away. The image of him doing just that hit him with a force that was almost painful. “Upright,” he said, his voice harsh.

She flinched, startled by his abrupt change of tone and only Rhys’ speed kept her from dropping down on the ground, head first. His arms full of a hot, damp Holly, Rhys swore silently. Her back was pressed to his front, upside down, so that the back of her head was dangerously close to his aching dick and her sweetly rounded butt was pressed against his shoulders. Self preservation had him dumping her body onto the couch and then he strode away, staring out the window.

“Your control is off today,” Rhys said, wincing as he heard how short and irritated his voice sounded.

“Sorry, Rhys,” she said quietly. Her soft little sigh drove a dagger into his belly. Guilt reared its ugly head and he looked back at her. He’d been the one to break her concentration. Her control was decent, considering she’d only spent four years working on it. Rhys had centuries of practice behind him. An angry voice wasn’t going to shake his control, but it had been unexpected and unusual enough that he could understand why Holly had faltered.

But she didn’t place any blame on his shoulders. She just politely said, Sorry, Rhys. And that just made him feel even more of an ass.

Abruptly, he grabbed the bag that held her clothes. “Here. Go wash up. We’re calling it quits early.”

He tossed the bag to her and she caught it, held it in her arms. “Okay,” she murmured and he would have had to be blind not to see the sadness enter her eyes.

It was damned pitiful that the highlight of her day was coming to the workshop so he could push her until she dropped, Rhys thought, more than a little disgusted. He wasn’t an easy instructor and he knew his moods were often mercurial. Yet calling the class off an hour early made her shoulders slump and her mouth turn down in a pout that was most likely unconscious.

Rhys wanted to grab her, pull her against him and suck that full lower lip into his mouth. Bite her, just a little, gently-until he heard her gasp and then he’d pushed his tongue inside and see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled. Instead, he turned back to the window and stared outside.

But when he heard her emerge from the bathroom in less than twenty minutes, he turned around. The sight of her was like getting punched in the throat, breath-stealing. Her hair was still damp and she’d pulled it back from her face in a loose braid. Her workout clothes had been replaced by the jeans and sweater she’d arrived in and her face was still flushed. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Holly said quietly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Her other hand was jammed deep into her pocket.

“We’re going to get something to eat,” Rhys said.

Holly lifted a brow. “Something to eat…right now.”

“You do eat, right?”

~*~

And just in case you didn’t see, I have a contemporary erotic romance out at Samhain.