Man Candy Monday

Good morning all!!!

I hope this makes your day :)

Stomp vs Romp

Stomp vs Romp 2017 Preview

August is almost upon us, and with it comes the start of #StompvsRomp! This will be the fifth year that Rabid Reads & I have hosted this event with a brief hiatus to welcome a new baby (RR), and for school (me). We’re pumped about the phenomenal line-up of authors who’ll be dueling in the coming weeks, and can’t wait for you to read their guest posts because they have truly outdone themselves.
For those of you not in the know, let me give you a quick rundown of what this showdown entails. The theme is action scenes vs sexy scenes in speculative fiction. Rabid Reads will be representing #TeamStomp (Urban Fantasy) side of the battle, and The Book Nympho will be leading #TeamRomp (Romance). Every Monday, Wednesday & Friday in August two authors will defend their Team, showcase a summer book release, and you the readers get to vote on who you think deserves to win each round. The polls are open all month-long, so if you miss a post, don’t worry you can circle back. There will of course be bribes, friendly trash talking (join-in on Twitter: #StompvsRomp), and the competition will be fierce, but if previous years have taught us anything it’s that you love action & romance equally.

Without further ado, here’s the schedule:

_{**Links below will work on date of post**}

	TEAM STOMP	TEAM ROMP
July 31		Jennifer Snow (Review + Guest Post + Giveaway)
August 2	Deborah Wilde	Jessica Lemmon (Review + Excerpt + Giveaway)
August 4	E.J. Stevens	Tamara Morgan (Review + Excerpt + Giveaway)
August 7	Karen Chance	Terry Spear (Review + Guest Post + Giveaway)
August 9	Jason Ridler	Tara Sue Me (Review + Excerpt)
August 11	Connie Suttle	Shelly Bell (Review + Guest Post + Excerpt)
August 14	Keri Arthur	Adriana Anders (Review + Guest Post  Giveaway)
August 16	Shana Figueroa	Kate Meader
August 18	Kevin Hearne	Ashlyn Chase (Excerpt + Giveaway)
August 21	Michael F. Haspil	Kari Lynn Dell (Review + Excerpt + Giveaway)
August 23	D.D. Miers	Kate Baxter
August 25	Beth Dranoff	Ana Jolene (Review + Excerpt + Giveaway)
August 28	Jess Haines	Cecy Robson (Review + Guest Post  Giveaway)
August 30	Alan Baxter	Jennifer Bernard
September 1		Amanda J. Greene

We here at The Book Nympho love romance of any kind and Team Romp is comprised of a romance authors from different sub genres of romance. Some have fur and fangs while others are just human, but they all bring the heat, romance and in many cases laughs.
Some posts will offer giveaways and will be an over all grand prize draw. The more you tweet/share, leave blog post comments & follow via social media, the higher your chances are of scoring big!

But first, a little something to wet your whistle: Giveaway host by The Book Nympho!

Caressed by the Edge of Darkness

 Caressed by the Edge of Darkness 

Rulers of Darkness #5

~He growled, “Chose your words wisely, mortal.”

Jordan shivered as the temperature instantly dropped ten degrees. Had he done that? It didn’t matter, she had to press, “A warrior as hardened as you would’ve killed his enemies.”

“Is that so?” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed, demonic black bled into the light green. Consuming. “You doubt my purpose and you doubt my word.”

Damn straight, she thought but he hadn’t asked a question.

“If it is bloodshed you seek, my sweet, ask and you shall receive.” Without taking his demonic dark eyes from her, he pressed a button on the key board. “Gannon, will you kindly escort one of our guests to the study? I don’t care which.” He didn’t wait for a response, instead he slid open a desk draw and removed a set of damaged gloves. “Allow me to demonstrate how ruthless I truly am.”

Jordan flinched. Oh, god, what had she done? What was he going to do? “Gabriel, I—”

“Are getting exactly what you wanted,” he coldly finished, fitting the leather over his fingers.

No, this wasn’t what she wanted. She hadn’t meant to shove him over the edge. She’d only wanted an explanation. She only wanted to make sense out of this nightmarish situation.

She jumped at the sound of a fist pounding on the door. Gabriel didn’t say a word when the threshold flung open. A tall, tanned man with midnight black hair and hard hazel eyes entered the room. He didn’t look her way, nor did the two soldiers that hauled a struggling vampire with them.~

Description:

Hardened by centuries of torture, former blood slave, Gabriel Erhard, is driven by an insatiable need to destroy his enemies. Violence darkens his battered soul, leaving no place for mercy in his world. Gabriel’s only desire is vengeance—until he finds her.
Seized by vampires, bound as a slave, and placed on the auction block, Jordan Culver is instantly entranced by the dangerous male who claims her. Jordan’s new captor vows to set her free, but his haunted gaze burns with savage desire and his wicked kiss makes her crave his touch and...complete surrender.
While Gabriel battles his enemies, he will break every sacred law to achieve his ultimate goal—uniting the Outcast Society and creating a new vampire Clan. But the distracting human with mesmerizing violet eyes jeopardizes his plans. With every soft whisper she evokes his tormented memories, testing his sanity and challenging his every boundary. Can Jordan help him overcome the miseries of his past and find a future with her?

Pre-Order On Amazon

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday: Caressed by the Edge of Darkness 

Rulers of Darkness #5

~His cold gaze sharped, but his indifferent expression remained firmly in place as he replied with a bored drawl, “We’ve nothing more to discuss.”

“The hell you say!” she snapped and his crystal green eyes flickered with obsidian shadows.

He held his demon at bay, but she could tell underneath his controlled façade the beast lurked. She’d dared to challenge him and as she held his stare she saw the vampire within him, ready to attach, top rend flesh and muscle with took and claw.

Her instinct demanded she be cautious. He wouldn’t be easily dispatched like the lowly, loathsome outcastes she’d fought in the past. Gabriel was dangerous.

Focusing on her breathing, she forced herself to calm down, but she didn’t relax her guard.

“What are your plans for Klein?”

“As previously stated, questioning.”

“I’m sorry, vampire, but repeating answers isn’t allowed,” she said, mimicking a game show host’s chime. “Would you like to try again to earn points?”

“No.” Gabriel moved to step around her, but she slid to the side blocking his exit again. She knew he could escape her with little effort, but he remained.

“After you question him, what then?”

Anger flared in the depths of his gaze but was instantly extinguished. “He is a prisoner. You needn’t concern yourself with him.”

“He can’t be trusted. Ross is dangerous—”

“No.” Gabriel closed the space between them. Jordan craned her neck back to meet his gaze. His size was overwhelming, his stare intimidating and the heat of his solid body…Jordan clenched her fists even tighter, her nails biting into her palms. She refused to lean into him and she wouldn’t run her hands over his hard chest or tunnel her fingers through the hair at his nape. She didn’t want to rise on her tip toes and lay claim to his mouth.

Gabriel tilted his head down, his breath caressed the side of her face. “I am dangerous, sweetheart. You’d be wise to remember that.”~

Description:

Hardened by centuries of torture, former blood slave, Gabriel Erhard, is driven by an insatiable need to destroy his enemies. Violence darkens his battered soul, leaving no place for mercy in his world. Gabriel’s only desire is vengeance—until he finds her.
Seized by vampires, bound as a slave, and placed on the auction block, Jordan Culver is instantly entranced by the dangerous male who claims her. Jordan’s new captor vows to set her free, but his haunted gaze burns with savage desire and his wicked kiss makes her crave his touch and...complete surrender.
While Gabriel battles his enemies, he will break every sacred law to achieve his ultimate goal—uniting the Outcast Society and creating a new vampire Clan. But the distracting human with mesmerizing violet eyes jeopardizes his plans. With every soft whisper she evokes his tormented memories, testing his sanity and challenging his every boundary. Can Jordan help him overcome the miseries of his past and find a future with her?

Pre-Order On Amazon

Man Candy Monday!

Good morning!
 I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing weekend. We had busy Saturday and a chill Sunday funday at the Tequila, Taco & Music festival. Delicious food, yummy drinks, and awesome friends. Monday came too soon. 
On to my third cup of coffee and back to work. 

Caressed by the Edge of Darkness (Rulers of Darkness #5)

Caressed by the Edge of Darkness 

(Rulers of Darkness #5)

~ He hated feeling.

Period.

Cold. Distant. He was a heartless bastard. And he liked it. He knew no other way to be. Detachment equaled survival. Emotions equaled weakness.

So why did he care what happened to the little mortal? Human slavery among the Outcast Society was common, the tradition that’d been kept for ages. He’d never permitted the practice within his territory, but a number of his allies kept bleeders. The mortals were willing to share their blood in exchange for pleasure, riches, and security. Gabriel intended to allow the custom of free bleeders to continue after he united the Outcasts. Not every vampire preferred to feed from a bag like he did.

In his opinion, blood banks were one of the human’s greatest institutions.

“Fuck,” he snarled when he noticed he’d been stroking her photo through the material of his jacket.

Gabriel’s gaze flickered to the fire in the small hearth, its flames jumped as it rapaciously devoured the wood. He should burn the goddamn picture and forget about the mortal.~ 

Description:

Hardened by centuries of torture, former blood slave, Gabriel Erhard, is driven by an insatiable need to destroy his enemies. Violence darkens his battered soul, leaving no place for mercy in his world. Gabriel’s only desire is vengeance—until he finds her.
Seized by vampires, bound as a slave, and placed on the auction block, Jordan Culver is instantly entranced by the dangerous male who claims her. Jordan’s new captor vows to set her free, but his haunted gaze burns with savage desire and his wicked kiss makes her crave his touch and...complete surrender.
While Gabriel battles his enemies, he will break every sacred law to achieve his ultimate goal—uniting the Outcast Society and creating a new vampire Clan. But the distracting human with mesmerizing violet eyes jeopardizes his plans. With every soft whisper she evokes his tormented memories, testing his sanity and challenging his every boundary. Can Jordan help him overcome the miseries of his past and find a future with her?

Pre-Order On Amazon

Twitter Thursday

~If that hadn’t have worked or been enough, he would’ve struck a deal with devil and battered away what pathetic tatters remained of his soul just to see Jordan  released and happy.~

Description:

Hardened by centuries of torture, former blood slave, Gabriel Erhard, is driven by an insatiable need to destroy his enemies. Violence darkens his battered soul, leaving no place for mercy in his world. Gabriel’s only desire is vengeance—until he finds her.
Seized by vampires, bound as a slave, and placed on the auction block, Jordan Culver is instantly entranced by the dangerous male who claims her. Jordan’s new captor vows to set her free, but his haunted gaze burns with savage desire and his wicked kiss makes her crave his touch and...complete surrender.
While Gabriel battles his enemies, he will break every sacred law to achieve his ultimate goal—uniting the Outcast Society and creating a new vampire Clan. But the distracting human with mesmerizing violet eyes jeopardizes his plans. With every soft whisper she evokes his tormented memories, testing his sanity and challenging his every boundary. Can Jordan help him overcome the miseries of his past and find a future with her?

Pre-Order On Amazon

Teaser Tuesday

 Teaser Tuesday

Caressed by Night (Rulers of Darkness #2)

Amazon

~ Dimitri’s charming smile vanished, replaced by a stern, unrelenting stare. His fingers wrapped around the plastic noisemaker, his thumb brushing over the face of the touchscreen as he answered the call. He said nothing as he placed it against his ear and, for an instant, his eyes flashed a glowing, unholy white. He placed the phone back on the coffee table before taking up his glass.

“What was that about?” Kerstyn asked once Dimitri finished off his water.

 He looked up, his eyes locking on hers. Kerstyn held back a gasp. His gaze was cold, unfeeling, and she knew she was looking into the face of death. She ignored the voice in the back of her mind that told her to run. Instead, she stayed seated on the living room floor and inched closer to him. She could feel the heat and malicious power radiating from his body. She placed a hand on his bicep, the muscle flexed beneath her touch as his hand fisted.

“Business,” he said, his voice deep and thick.

“Bad news?”

“Quite the opposite in fact.”

His voice was even and smooth despite the sharp, hard look on his face. Something pure evil lurked just beneath the surface. Her flight response was going off like a fire alarm in her head, but she did not move. She knew Dimitri would not lash out at her, but what about the vampire? Silvie had warned her to be cautious. Her heart told her he would never intentionally hurt her, her brain was telling her to run until her legs gave out.

Like I would be able to out run him, she thought.

Violence. Brutality. A caged demon existed within him, was part of him, and for the first time Kerstyn was beginning to doubt his ability to control the natural instincts that belonged to a vampire. Cruelty. Bloodlust. She could see the restraints cracking beneath the pressure.

Swallowing her nervousness, she asked, “Then what’s with the homicidal glare?”

Kerstyn watched as the shadows faded and his charming smile returned. He was undeniably handsome when angry, deathly gorgeous when his vampire side paid a visit, but he was deliciously sexy when he smiled. His diamond eyes danced with smoldering crystal flames. The malevolent tension that had filled the room vanished. She knew he had drawn the negative energy into himself and unease pricked her flesh.

“I apologize. Business of this nature tends to bring out―”

“Your dark side,” she finished with a light laugh as she picked a piece of pepperoni off her pizza, then popped it in her mouth.

He nodded and pushed his plate aside, his appetite gone. His stomach knotted and cramped, not from the greasy, yet tasty pizza, but from what was to come.

Everything was working just the way he had planned. The attack had been successful and Gabriel was able to evacuate all the humans from the warehouse. Silvie was currently working on erasing their memories and replacing them with a pleasant past.

Tonight, everything was set into motion and there was no stopping Fate. This would be his last evening of peace.

Dimitri took a deep breath, the air warming his lungs.

After a long debate with himself, he decided to take Silvie’s advice. The Shaw witch had insisted that he tell Kerstyn about Ven. The traitorous vampire would be coming to Las Vegas in a few short weeks and Kerstyn needed to know the dangers that awaited her. She deserved to know what was headed their way. If they were to have a true future together, he needed to be honest and open.

How much should he tell her? What exactly should he say? He closed his eyes and dropped his head. God, how he wished he had someone to whom he could turn, someone he could ask for advice. Dorian was the only king to have found his mate and he surely experienced the same dilemma, but, for the moment, Dorian still believed him dead.

Should he confess all? Should he lay bare his black soul and reveal all his sins? If she knew what he had done, would she turn from him? If she knew that vampires existed because of him, would she flee?

He ran an unsteady hand through his hair. Never had he experienced such emotional turmoil. His heart begged for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, but his instincts screamed at him to keep his mouth shut. He did not want to lose her. He could not lose her.

If only she knew of our true relationship, he thought. If she knew we were destined…maybe she would accept me…maybe she could look past all the evil that surrounds my soul.

Dimitri shook his head and allowed another deep breath to heat his lungs. He needed to hear her say everything was going to work out, that Fate did not hate him as he believed. That she would live through this month and stay with him for all eternity.

 “Earlier, in the kitchen, you had said nothing was wrong, but I’m willing to bet that there is something seriously wrong.”

The sound of her sweet, musical voice dragged him back from his dark thoughts.

“That call had nothing to do with monetary business.”

“Vampire stuff?”

He nodded.

“Bad vampire stuff?”

Dimitri nodded again.

Kerstyn used one of the paper napkins that arrived with the pizza to wipe off her hands. Once she was done, she turned her body sideways so that she could face him.

“Do you recall the way everyone was looking at me when we entered Dark?”

 Kerstyn nodded. She would never be able to forget the way Dimitri had walked through the club. His shoulders squared with defiance, his eyes cold and challenging. Menace had burst from him like a hot wave of air. The vampires in the club had been shocked and terrified of him.

“As if I have come back from the dead,” he said, using her phrase from that night.~