#8Sunday #SexySnippets #WeekendWritingWarriors: Beauty in the Beast #fantasy #power

Happy Sunday, guys!

I just got my second round of edits for Beauty in the Beast. Release day shall be coming soon! Yay!
  
In last week's snippet Morgana and Christopher were discussing the meaning of power and you all seemed to agree that he's a baddie that was going to create some trouble for her. *grin* I'll just say, that she's not that easy either. 
Anyhow, their conversation on power and humanity continues, but I don't want to reveal it all, so instead I'm jumping further ahead so you can see that Christopher doesn't only talk, he also acts.
Edits have taken place to keep to WeWriWa guidelines. 

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“We should be close to the first stop of our little trip soon.”

“First stop?”

Christopher smiled as he noticed the tiny wrinkle of worry over her brow.

“It’s a two day ride to Belmont, my lady. You didn’t expect us to travel through the night, did you?”

“Why yes, as a matter a fact, I did, Mr. Bexley for I am in great haste to reach my destination.”

Christopher shrugged. This was what he lived for. Morgana’s eyes darted from him to the side as she rapidly spoke about  the Gods sense of humor, having to ride with him, and other stuff he didn’t quite understand or care for. The important thing was  he had disrupted her voyage for as much as he wanted to find the Gem, there was always time for a bit of trouble.

 

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Beauty in the Beast

 

Light will become shadow. Love will become hate. Good will become evil. The Darkness is here. There will be no escape.

 

Morgana Wiles has spent her life, alongside her mother, fighting against the arrival of the creature known as The Darkness. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to stop him and now he's here, ready to destroy all that is good in the world. Morgana must face him, but now that the time has come, she finds that things are not as simple. Her mother is gone, self-doubt is creeping in, and her visions are unclear. To make matters worse, a man with evil intent has entered her life and is bent on complicating her mission. Will she be able to resist him in time to fight The Darkness or will she succumb and become that which she despises?

 

Christopher Bexley is no gentleman. He enjoys trickery, deceit, mischief and above all seduction. Sexual intercourse is the greatest source of power there is or at least there was, until he heard about the Gem. Now that he has discovered there's a stone that can make him the most powerful magic user of all time, he must have it. The only problem is that the only other person that might know where it is, is a stickler for rules and being good. Morgana is too innocent for his liking, and there's only one thing he can do to change that: corrupt her.

Wednesday Brief: Death Dance #wednesdaybrief #writingprompt

Hi Guys!

Welcome back to another Wednesday Brief. This might be the beginning of a dark little story... I shall see.The prompts are in bold.

Enjoy and don't forget to visit the other briefers!

Death Dance

They danced beautifully. Their legs arching into the air, their bodies curving into unthinkable shapes, creating a sparkle of color and magic with their outfits. 

He held his breath. The lighting on the stage changed. The music became soulful, a sad melody that brought tears to the eyes. He gripped the arm of his chair. His breath sounded loud in his ears even if he knew that it wasn't and that nobody cared. His heart thrummed in his chest. His cock twitched as she appeared. Yes. She ran, no, glided onto the stage. Her movements were perfect, precise, rehearsed a thousand times over the course of months. They had been drilled into her.

Nothing could go wrong. He legs bent on a perfect plié. Then she was up, spinning, running, escaping. His mouth watered. A perfect grand jete, her legs splitting in mid air, then before he could blink twice, she was landing on one feet. Perfect. He couldn't wait to have her. To see her up close, running, attempting to escape, tears running down her cheeks, the perfect makeup she wore now, destroyed. Her mouth wouldn't be set in a firm line, no, she'd be crying, sobbing, dancing as her tears streamed down her face. Fuck. His cock was swelling, he could feel it pushing against his trousers. 

He swallowed. And he hadn't even seen her eyes up close.

She performed a perfect circle and threw back her head. Perfect. Precise. Even though the music and the story unfolding on the stage was tragic there was beauty in her movements. She loved dancing and it showed in the care she took to perform every moment with precision. It showed in how capable she was of transmitting emotion without words, only with her body. He despised actors. They thought of themselves grand, winning Oscars, golden globes, fame and money, they knew nothing. Before him, on this modest stage was true beauty. On this stage a company of ballerinas showed the audience what it was to love and hate, to lose and win without a single audible word. They created awe and wonder in all that were present just their bodies, their movements and the music. This, this was true art.

And she, she was -- he gripped the arms of the chair. She was perfection. He hadn't felt this intensity towards a dancer since Marie.

Beautiful, charming, Marie. She had been good, splendid on that tiny stage in the suburbs. She had been nobody and yet she had been everything to him. Everything. He closed his eyes for a brief second as the pang of the memory hit him against the chest. Her last breath. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw it, heard it. The light in her brown eyes had died, evaporated into nothingness as he pressed his fingers harder against her windpipe. Her death had been as beautiful as her life. Even without life animating her limbs, her body broken, her neck twisted, she had looked graceful. Yet, he focused his gaze on the stage once more. Yet, Chiara Hunter, was more than Marie had ever been. 

Chiara was not insignificant. She was a fighter. Dancing her way up the ballet ranks. She had started in a little school in Maryland, then moved to New York and danced for a small company and finally, she was here, still not at the top, but getting there. It wasn't surprising. The woman beside him was sniffling. Emotions. She was capable of transmitting such emotion with her movements. He had to act before it was too late.

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Don't forget to visit the rest of the briefers!

Johayan

Mann Ramblings

Nephy Hart

Jon Keys

Louise Lyons

Elyzabeth VaLey

Cia Nordwell

Carol Pedroso

Julie Lynn Hayes

Goddess Fish Promotions: The Tremayne Family Romances #Giveaway

The Tremayne Family Romances:

Asking for Trouble

Here Comes Trouble

The Trouble with Nathan

by Anna J. Stewart

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

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BLURBS:

Asking for Trouble: Morgan Tremayne has a heart of gold, but to keep her children's charity afloat she's had to resort to some less than legal means: donations from a notorious cat burglar who targets the wealthy. It's only a matter of time before Morgan's criminal connection blows up in her face--especially since her undeniable attraction to the man heading the investigation keeps putting her in tricky situations.

Former police detective-turned-investigator for the D.A. Gage Juliano has two goals: salvaging his career and nabbing Lantano Valley's present-day Robin Hood. But when he meets a beautiful, curvaceous woman who's more interested in helping others than amassing a fortune like the rest of the town's residents, Gage finds his desires pulled in an unexpected direction...

Here Comes Trouble: Former beauty queen Sheila Tremayne looks dainty, but she's tougher than she seems. The hard-as-nails business woman is determined to bring down corruption among Lantano Valley's rich and powerful. Her latest scheme to get technology tycoon Chadwick Oliver is going perfectly until a distraction arrives in the form of Malcolm--the man who broke her heart and who happens to be Chadwick's son...

Malcolm spent five long years away after his father publicly blamed him for some shady business dealings. Now he's back to exact some revenge. Reconnecting with Sheila was never part of the plan, but the second he sees her, there's no way he can resist...

Sheila and Malcolm quickly fall into the sizzling passion between them, but Malcolm has no intention of staying once he's finished with his father--even if leaving Sheila again might be more than he can bear.

The Trouble with Nathan: Nathan Tremayne shares a dangerous secret with his father, Jackson, and sister Sheila. Together they are Nemesis, the infamous cat burglar who targets the wealthy. But when Jackson is framed for stealing the priceless Crown of Serpia, the whole family is at risk.

Nathan isn’t about to let his father go down for a crime he didn’t commit, but finding the real culprit won’t be easy with Laurel Scott, the nosy, pushy, drop-dead gorgeous insurance investigator following his every move.

But Laurel has secrets of her own. Posing as an insurance investigator was part of her own plan for the Tremaynes. As their attraction heats up, and the truth comes out, will this pair of thieves steal each other’s hearts?

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EXCERPTS

ASKING FOR TROUBLE

Evening gowns and battle armor weren’t sold in the same department, but as far as Morgan was concerned, they provided the same protection.

The confidence that descended the second she’d draped the formfitting, strapless peacock blue fabric over her ample figure could only be described as exhilarating. This time last year, she might have resented her mother’s extravagant purchase. Morgan could have paid three months’ worth of electricity bills with what the gown had cost.

A shadow cut across the late spring sun and she jumped, pulling her feet in as the shadow transformed into a man who leaned down and scooped up her shoe.

Her lungs emptied as if her dress had transformed into an overeager python. The way this man wore a tux made George Clooney look like a grunge rocker. Oh, and that hair. Jet black strands so dark it seemed almost blue. Morgan swallowed as summer sky blue eyes pinned her in place. Her sandal sparkled in his grasp as if each stone had been imbued with the sunset-emblazoned sea.

Hot embarrassment flooded her cheeks as she tried to reclaim her confidence along with her shoes. Morgan slid her foot into what she considered modern-day torture devices. How did her sister walk in these things every day? Morgan placed her hand in his outstretched one, allowed him to pull her from the car. “Thank you, Mr. . . . ?” She arched a brow in invitation for an introduction, glancing down to straighten the cameo pendant her mother had given her for Christmas over a decade ago.

“Juliano. But please, it’s Gage. Morgan, isn’t it? You’ve recently taken over as CEO of the Tremayne Foundation.”

Morgan forced a smile. “Yes.” The job was both a badge of honor and a source of grief. She shouldn’t have inherited the position for years, and wouldn’t have except for the accident that took her mother’s life. Which made potential failure all the more petrifying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J Stewart can't remember a time she didn't have a book in her hands or a story in her head. A geek at heart, Anna writes romances featuring strong, independent heroines for Berkley (The Tremayne Family Romances), Harlequin Heartwarming (The Butterfly Harbor series) and will soon add romantic suspense to her booklist with the BONDED trilogy from Harlequin Romantic Suspense. RT Book reviews says Anna's romances are "refreshingly unique, quietly humorous, and profoundly moving" and NYTimes bestselling author Brenda Novak says "The talented Anna J Stewart delivers every time!"  Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious SUPERNATURAL, STAR TREK, and SHERLOCK addiction and tolerates an overly affectionate cat named Snickers (or perhaps it's Snickers who tolerates her).

Social Media Links:

Website: www.authorannastewart.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnaJStewart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajstewartwriter

THE LANTANO VALLEY FAMILY COOKBOOK features more than 50 family favorite recipes contributed by The Butterfly Babes, Anna's dedicated street team. This cookbook has a little something for everyone, from simple, quick meals to family pot luck winners, warm, comfy dinners, to lots of sweet treats. 

Inspired by The Tremayne Family romances (ASKING FOR TROUBLE, HERE COMES TROUBLE, and THE TROUBLE WITH NATHAN) as well as the Lantano Valley sweet novella series, this special offering will only be available to those who purchase THE TROUBLE WITH NATHAN before April 30th. This cookbook will not be available for purchase.

To claim your copy, simply email proof of purchase (a copy of your e-receipt is perfect) for THE TROUBLE WITH NATHAN to Anna at authorajstewart@gmail.com and she'll email you the file (PDF, compatible with all e-readers) within 48 hours. It's as easy as that!

Buy Links

ASKING FOR TROUBLE (2/17/15)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1zDXIJX

BN: http://bit.ly/18DrOCV

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1ClFONY

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1LvLhEI

HERE COMES TROUBLE  (8/16/15)

Amazon: http://ow.ly/RdbBL

BN:  http://ow.ly/OoEtx

Kobo: http://ow.ly/OoEKq

iTunes: http://ow.ly/OoFaE

THE TROUBLE WITH NATHAN (on sale April 19, 2016)

Amazon: http://ow.ly/OoIFL

BN: http://ow.ly/QiCOc

Kobo:  http://ow.ly/OoIVR

iTunes: http://ow.ly/OoJ3z

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE Anna will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use this rafflecopter code on your post: a Rafflecopter giveaway If you’re unable to embed, please use this HTML: Enter to win a $15 Amazon/BN GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway