love triangle – Behind Closed Doors

#OhMY! Monday: Author @DakotaSkye69 Shares Her New #Paranormal #EroticRomance

Welcome to Behind Closed Doors! Today I’ve brought out the Oh My Monday banner to welcome a new author to the world of erotic romance. Dakota Skye just released her very first erotic romance novel. Blurred Lines is a paranormal tale filled with one hot love triangle—with a ghost in the middle of it! Check out the blurb.

Letting go is like a death. Sierra never thought she would be caught in a love triangle between her writing partner, Alex, and the love of her life, Shane—especially because her ex-fiancé is now a ghost. Tormented with both guilt for moving on with someone else and a desire to be free of the past, she’s pulled between both men. Shane struggles with accepting his death and seeing the woman he loves with someone else. Alex is determined to free Sierra from limbo and change their relationship from casual to serious, but the bond she has with Shane transcends death. One of the three needs to let go.

Only the good die young. When Shane Weston is murdered before prosecuting a key member of the Mexican drug cartel, he can’t accept the idea that all of the plans he had had for his life will never come true. More than that, he can’t let go of the love he has for his fiancée.

Love never dies. Sierra Daniels is crushed after Shane’s death. Head writer on a successful television series, she can’t get back into the groove of life. All enthusiasm for work is gone. Ready to quit everything, she travels to her cabin in Lake Tahoe in hopes of escaping everyone’s expectations and disappearing for a while.

The lines between right and wrong often blur. Alexander Blaine has risked his future on a career change from DEA agent to lead consultant and writer on hit television series. Sierra’s grief has shadowed everyone around her, including him, and jeopardizes both of their careers. Unwilling to accept defeat, he follows her to Lake Tahoe determined to break through the barrier enveloping her and make her see that life is still worth living.

EXCERPT

Murder. The word still didn’t roll off her tongue with ease. ‘My fiancé was murdered…” she doubted she would ever get used to saying those words. Ironic, in a twisted way, that she wrote about crime for a living.

Shane had been killed during a high profile trial of alleged members of the Mexican drug cartel. Some teenager had been arrested for the crime, but she knew he’d been a punk hired to do the deed. Of course he wouldn’t talk, was probably a folk hero south of the border.

Sierra and Shane…that’s how she’d come to think over their four-year relationship. Always a duo, their names always said as one entity.

Palms against the door, she pushed herself away and forced herself into the room. She needed to make a fire, unpack, settle in…her gaze landed on the framed photograph above the mantel. Shane and Sierra, arms around each other and laughing, with Lake Tahoe as their backdrop—joy and love captured in a snapshot. Now he would always be forever tan and young.

She had been in a downward spiral ever since…now she clung by her fingernails to a career she’d fought and sacrificed for all these years.

I miss you, Shane, she thought with tears in her eyes.

She shook off the dark thoughts and resumed starting the fire.

“Sierra…” Her name whispered through the house, a memory of Shane saying it so long ago.

A tingle went up her spine, lifting the hairs on the back of her neck, before caressing her skin with a feather-like touch.

Shane’s touch.

If only, so many if-onlys.

She poked at the kindling, wishing they had bothered to install a gas fireplace when they’d originally bought the property.

Her cell phone sounded with the horror movie music indicating it was the dreaded Alexander calling again. How many times did she need to hit ‘decline’ before he got the message? Didn’t the man have a life beyond work?

He thought he was some kind of god simply because he was former DEA turned writer. She snorted again and poked at the sticks in the hearth. Ass. Know-it-all. She had a Masters in Creative Writing from Berkley, not to mention three Emmy’s on her desk, and an Oscar nomination for a documentary she’d produced. She was a writer, not Alexander Blaine who bragged about ‘stumbling into it.’

Ignoring the phone, she started the fire, knelt back on her heels, held her hands up to the warmth, and grinned with satisfaction.

Shane had called her a certifiable city girl. Well, look at her now.

She searched the kitchen for the supplies Mary had stocked before her arrival. Grabbing a bottle of wine, she smiled.

“Mary, you know me too well,” she muttered as she turned the bottle around in her hands before reaching for the corkscrew.

“You’re so beautiful,” Shane’s voice echoed through her memory. “I’m the luckiest man in the world to be loved by you.”

She squeezed her eyes closed and indulged in remembering him holding her, kissing her, making her believe in fairy tales and love stories.

“I’m here. See me.” The voice startled her from indulging. Clear. Deep.

Dropping the corkscrew, she swiveled around and glanced across the room. No one. Only the empty kitchen with its clean marble countertops and gleaming pans met her vision.

“I really am losing my mind,” she muttered as she skipped the glass and drank straight from the bottle.

Endless days of work on the set of a hit television series took its toll. The stress of having to mesh with a partner had given her anxiety attacks, not that she’d ever admit that to anyone. In show business, writers were only as good as the ratings of the most recent show. Fickle. Not exactly the safe life in academia she’d once envisioned for herself.

She dropped her iPhone into the stereo after making sure to put it on ‘do not disturb’, scrolled down to her favorite playlist, and kicked off her shoes. Music filled the room, drowning out any imagined ghost voices. Settling onto the sofa with the bottle nuzzled against her chest, she watched flames snap and crackle.

She could see Shane without closing her eyes. Often she’d imagine seeing him in a crowd, his tall silhouette a head above the others on the street. Sometimes she would see him at their favorite restaurant sitting at the bar while she picked up her take-out after another late night at the office. She’d always do a double take only to find him gone, a figment of her imagination.

Dreams were the most vivid. She would wake up and swear she’d been touched, her skin tingling where she had imagined his fingers to be.

“I miss you so much,” she whispered, allowing the tears to fall. She suppressed them most of the time by staying busy and immersed in her career. But now—in this place that had once been their hideaway—emotions bubbled to the surface despite the pills designed to keep them buried. “Without you I’m just a stressed out work-a-holic. No one’s ever going to love me like you did.”

“You’re wrong, Sierra.”

She took another swig from the bottle, in a way resenting that she still heard his voice in her head. People nagged at her to snap out of it, let him go, move on; but how was that possible when she saw him in her dreams and heard him in her head? The therapist told her that it was okay to talk to the deceased, that she could still have conversations if that made her feel better. Of course, she’d neglected to tell the doctor that often she heard a response.

Just my imagination.

“I’m here.” Shane’s voice.

“If only…”

A surge of energy rushed through her like an electrical shock. She closed her eyes and sighed.

A caress against her lips. She opened her eyes and saw Shane leaning over her. Despite being a lawyer who could wear a suit like an Armani model, he’d had the surfer dude look down to a tee. She grinned at the lock of blond hair falling across his tanned forehead.

“Always too handsome for your own good,” she whispered to the image. “I miss you so much.”

“I’ve never left you,” he said.

She covered her eyes with her hand and shook her head. “You did, they took you from me, too young, never should have happened…”

“I’m here, Sierra. See me.” He touched her hand. She felt it. Heavy. Warm.

Impossible. Too much work and too little sleep had pushed her over the edge, add pills and wine to the mix and everything felt unreal.

“I’m losing everything, you know. I can’t function. The show has dropped in ratings despite some damn DEA expert slash pain in my ass who was supposed to save us from going in the ditch. I can’t write anymore. Period. I can’t do anything anymore, not like I used to, not without you. Now I’m going crazy.”

“Believe.”

“You’re not here.”

“I’m here, I’ve never left you. Look at me. It’s taking all I’ve got to do this.”

One finger at a time, she lifted her hand from her eyes. She swallowed disbelief despite the warm energy rippling through her body.

Shane leaned over her, contagious grin in place, body heavy on top of hers. She reached up, simultaneously scared and fascinated. When her fingers touched his hair, she froze.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” she whispered.

“I’ve noticed. Do you know how hard I’ve been trying to connect with you?”

Frozen with fear yet driven by curiosity, she forced a whisper from her lips, “Why here? Why now?”

“You’re so sad, I don’t want you to be sad anymore.”

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes despite his words. “How can I not be sad? You were my world.”

“That’s not true.” He kissed her, the touch like a breeze over her lips. “You had it goin’ on when I met you, don’t you remember? You ignored me because I looked like an uptight lawyer in my suit. You were at that restaurant with all of your artist friends and I couldn’t stop staring. You avoided going out with me for a full month, always too busy working. Don’t you remember? You never needed me. You wanted me. There’s a difference.”

She shook her head, unwilling to remember. Hanging onto sorrow had protected her from living without him. She didn’t want to remember life pre-Shane…and she didn’t want to think about life post-Shane. Limbo felt like a safer place to hide from reality.

Now she had conjured him up from memory; that had to be the only explanation. She’d taken talking to the void a step further.

“You’re not real.” She touched her fingers to his face even as she said the words.

“Want me to prove it to you?”

She shook her head ‘no,’ even as her thumb moved along his chin. The energy rippling beneath her fingertips zapped like electrical shocks, rather than a solid form. Maybe she had lost her mind, which was the only explanation she could believe.

“I see you everywhere,” she whispered.

“I am everywhere.” His smile made her heart ache with longing.

She slid her fingers over his lips with fascination and relaxed against the sofa cushions. Eyes narrowed, she stared at the image above her. She wanted to believe, but her imagination had gotten her into trouble in the past.

“You’re not here,” she said. “I just want you to be so badly I’m seeing things.”

“Believe.”

“You ask a lot.”

She closed her eyes and shuddered with the need pulsating through her body. Her hand moved beneath her sweater, fingers tracing over her abdomen before sliding over her bra. Where her hands drifted, ripples of energy followed, creating a trail of sensation over her skin. Desire warmed her blood.

“I miss being loved,” she whispered.

“I love you.” Shane’s voice against her ear. “Let me touch you.”

“I wish you could.” She ached for him, for the love they had shared, for the laughter, and the partnership.

With a sigh, she set the wine bottle onto the floor and pulled her sweater off. Another shudder went through her body, ripple after ripple of intensity. Closing her eyes to submit to fantasy, she moved her hands over the swell of her breasts.

She felt his lips against her neck, breath against her skin. Shane’s blond head bent over her, the familiar scent of his shampoo overwhelming her senses, his voice whispering about how much he loved her.

She missed making love, holding a man against her, tasting him on her tongue, feeling him move between her thighs.

“Believe in this, Sierra. I’m really here,” the whispered command made her squirm against the seat and reach for the zipper of her jeans.

But the zipper slid down without her fingers touching it. Her eyes snapped open.

“Is this really happening?” She choked out the words from a throat swollen with fear while her heartbeat raced with hope.

“Do you want it to be?” He loomed over her, a solid form, yes, but one zapping with an electrical current. “You see me.”

“I see you.”

He kissed her; energy sizzled between their mouths as he shoved her jeans down her legs. Where he touched, her skin reacted with an intensity born from loneliness and need.

About the Author

Dakota Skye is an author fascinated by the paranormal. After having several personal “unexplained experiences” in her life, she started exploring the idea of the “other side.” Ghosts, angels, Spirit Guides…what are they and do we interact with them more than we know? In her stories, she incorporates that fascination with fantasy while always focusing on the love.

Author Contact information:

http://www.facebook.com/DakotaSkye

http://www.twitter.com/DakotaSkye69

http://authordakotaskye.blogspot.com

Where to Find Blurred Lines

All Romance Ebooks: goo.gl/M9PLhF

Amazon (all countries): myBook.to/BlurredLines

Barnes and Noble: http://goo.gl/XHzZME

#TantalizingTuesday: @dochappycamper Revisits the Characters Who Started it All #eroticromance #vegas #ASMSG

Welcome to Tantalizing Tuesday here at Behind Closed Doors. Today I thought I’d go back a bit and visit with the characters that started me on this journey with the Now and Forever series. Before there was a Julia Santos and her search for her HEA with her Mistress Carmen, there was Quinn Lee Hollis (nee Quartermarsh) and her search for love with two men—Vegas Tycoon Stephen Eischer and classic bad boy Jacob Hartley. Their story was told in For the Love of Quinn (Now and Forever 1) and continued in The Island (Now and Forever 2).

I really caught a lot of flack from readers for the love triangle between those three. Many people wanted to shake the hell out of Quinn for first being in Vegas to get “laid” while she was still married to another. Yes, Jackson Hollis was a real lowlife piece of shit, but some found that objectionable. You see, the old “rules” of romance frowned on adultery. Whatever. Quinn was stuck in a loveless and sexless marriage. The hardworking veterinary surgeon was about to pop! She’d recently dropped a hell of a lot of weight and was smokin’ HAWT when she returned to Vegas for an annual veterinary conference and to visit with her sister and adopted brother. Little did she know when she arrived that her encounter with both Steve and Jake on the same night would change her life forever.

When I wrote this story, I printed off the photos of the actors who I pictured in my head when I wrote the story. Some family and friends tried to say Quinn was me—well, she is but I didn’t picture myself as her. It was the gorgeous Alyssa Milano who got that role in my head. Of course when it came to the sex scenes…hehehe. You do the math! 😉 Anywhoooo….Alyssa had all the physical attributes and characteristics I saw in Quinn so she won the part.

Steve Eischer was easy for me as well. I had his voice in my head first and his deep rumbling laughter. The actor who fit that bill to a T was Jeffrey Dean Morgan. You may all remember him best as Denny from Grey’s Anatomy or John Winchester from Supernatural. The role that clinched it for me was in The Losers. He oozed sex appeal in that film and the scenes with him and Zoe Saldana…oooooo! He had the perfect mix of stubble on his chin and slightly graying temples that made him the perfect one to play the man with “more money than God.”

I’ve had fun interviewing “Steve” a few times here on the blog. He’s hinted at a relationship between us. I’m not one to kiss and tell but if you listen to him, I’m the one who got away. That’s why he fell so hard for Quinn. LOL!

I will admit this—the sex scenes in the books are all real life experiences. Whose they are I’ll leave up to your imaginations. 😉

For the bad boy, there couldn’t just be any old actor. No, he had to be a certain type. Strong and imposing on the outside, but a hot mess on the inside. This many has been damaged both mentally and physically by a lover from his past. He is the tough biker with the heart of gold who’ll do anything for the ones he loves, including give them up if he thinks they’ll be better off without him in their lives. No other than Christian Kane could portray him in my head. Plus can’t you just picture him covered in tats? I did and that’s why he is my Jacob Hartley.

The three of them go on an epic roller coaster ride in that first book. Quinn has not one but two breakdowns because of Jake. As always, Steve’s there to pick up the pieces but he’s also the only one to see the love of soul mates can’t be denied. He’s the perfect selfless hero because he moves heaven and earth to bring the two meant to be together through each and every lifetime together in this one—even when the odds are against them.

Here’s a couple excerpts for you to enjoy. If you haven’t read For the Love of Quinn yet, it’s available from all major outlets including Bookstrand, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. It’s a long book at over 219,000 words—and epic tome by many standards but well worth the time. You will get lost in their story. Trust me.~Tammy

BLURB

Quinn Lee Hollis is a 43-year-old veterinary surgeon who has reached a crossroads in her life. Stuck in a loveless and emotionally abusive marriage, she decides that she has had enough and vows to cut loose and enjoy herself in Las Vegas with her sister. There she meets and falls in love with two men.

Both bring out the fire and passion in her that she has longed for her whole life. Steve Eischer is a Vegas tycoon who wants to fulfill her every fantasy, and Jake Hartley is a classic bad boy who awakens desire in her so strong that it nearly destroys her.

Both Steve and Jake have claims on her heart, but only one can share a connection so strong that nothing can keep them apart.

STORY EXCERPT

“Chicks love bad boys.” Jacob winked, and they both laughed. He was right. She looked too classy, even if those curves were calling out to him. Jacob only hesitated for a half a second longer and thought what the hell. Might as well give it a shot. He downed one of the whiskey shooters, and just as he was about to get up and go over to her, Steve returned and took them to a private table to store their things before heading out to the dance floor.

Oh man. She can move, too. Jacob’s heart skipped a beat or two when she caught him watching her dance. She smiled slowly, and he got lost in her eyes, blue-green like the ocean, those come-fuck-me eyes you read about in Playboy. Holy shit, Jake thought. They really did exist and they were right there, locked with his own.

Eric had stopped watching the dancers and was now staring at Jacob. “Whoa, brotha! I think you just got thunderstruck. We need to get you out of here. You don’t need another broad chasing after you now. You start your new job in Chicago at the end of next week, and you leave Vegas in two days. Don’t you dare let another one mess with your head!”

Jacob had to admit his little brother was right. He had just come out of a messy breakup and really didn’t need to hook up with anyone right now. He didn’t need the complication. But man, what he wouldn’t give to explore those curves for the next two days. Jacob groaned before he downed the last of his beer and the final whiskey chaser. He glanced at his watch and realized his brother’s shift was over and there was no other reason to stay at the club. “Let’s get out of here. I wanna stop by and see if Derek will be able to finish my tat tomorrow.”

“Sweet! Those dragons are really coming to life on your back. Derek is a fucking genius!” As they made their way through the crowd to the exit, Jacob couldn’t help himself and looked back one more time for the hot number in the barely-there red dress. He had a gut feeling that this was one broad he wasn’t going to be able to get out of his head for a hell of a long time.

****

“Quinn?” Miranda snapped her fingers in front of her face and laughed. “What the hell just happened to you?”

“I don’t know. I looked up and saw this guy watching me with the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen, moustache, goatee, shoulder- length brown hair, earrings in both ears. I couldn’t look away.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Stick with the plan, honey. I think Steve wants you for himself tonight. If you don’t jump on that, I just might.”

Quinn’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “What would your children say?”

She shrugged. “What happens in Vegas.”

Before Quinn could answer, Steve returned. He circled her waist with his hands and pulled her close to him. Miranda was dead-on. He wanted her all right. The proof was bumping Quinn’s ass at the moment. She smiled at her sister, who winked back.

“Have fun!” Miranda danced her way off the floor to finish her margarita and to chat up the bartender for his secret to making them so fucking fantastic.

Quinn settled back into Steve’s arms, letting him move her along with him for a little bit. She had to admit, she loved the attention. He nuzzled her ear before turning her to face him, pulling her arms up to circle his neck. Mmm. Dark brown, wavy hair, salt and pepper stubbly chin, earring and dark smoldering green eyes, double check!

“Where did your sister get off to?”

“Hmm? If I know her, she’s picking your bartender’s brain on how to make the perfect margarita, and then she’ll go park it in front of the roulette wheel for a few more hours. Subtle, isn’t she?”

He continued to hold Quinn tight against him, moving slow and easy even though the song was hopping. “I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but you’re drop-dead gorgeous, and I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

Got him! “I don’t recall asking you to keep your hands off of me.”

He leaned down and nibbled on her earlobe. “Stay with me tonight, Quinn. I have a suite here at the casino with a big round bed, Jacuzzi, and private pool. I want to do naughty things with you all night long.”

Quinn flashed her wedding rings at him. He just shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me in the least. If a man can let a woman like you go to Vegas without him, then he is a fool.”

“That he is. Got an extra toothbrush in that suite of yours?”

“I think I can rustle one up for you.” His lips brushed hers, and heat flashed through her. Quinn was more than ready for this. Steve led her off the floor and over to his private table to collect her things. Miranda had left a note. Have fun and see you in the morning. She was a smart-ass, but Quinn loved her!

Steve took her hand and led her over to a private elevator for VIPs. She’d never imagined she’d catch the eye of a sexy club owner on their first night in Vegas! She wondered what it was going to be like to get him alone and away from the loud music. She didn’t have very long to wonder.

ADULT EXCERPT

As soon as the doors closed, he pinned her in the corner. “I’ve wanted to do this from the moment I saw you step out of the elevators tonight.” His lips touched hers once again, softly at first, and then after teasing her a little with his tongue, he dove right in, picking Quinn up at the waist and lifting her up so that she was sitting on the railing. His hand trailed up her thigh and under her dress. His fingertips gently teased her clit a bit, making her gasp, breaking their deep kiss. “I knew it. Your dress fits you like a glove. No way in hell you were wearing anything under it.”

“I’m glad you approve.” Quinn wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked her up off of the railing and carried her through the doors into his suite, the penthouse suite, no less! Now their lips and tongues battled each other for control, neither one of them willing to yield just yet. Quinn could feel his cock straining to get out of his pants and into her. Her pussy throbbed and cum already started to coat her inner thighs. She forced herself to come back to earth. “We need to slow down a second.”

Steve smiled again and her mind nearly went to mush. He put her back on her feet, keeping one hand on her waist, while the other pulled a condom out of his pocket. “Like the boy scouts say, always be prepared.”

“I knew there was something I liked about you besides your killer smile.” She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter as his mouth crushed hers once again. She loved the feel of his hands on her body and the heat that zipped through her with every single touch and kiss. She wanted more, so much more.

“Quinn, I don’t know if I can wait much longer. I have to have you, baby.”

“What’s stopping you?” She bit his earlobe a little, and that was all the signal he needed. He lifted her up into his arms again and pinned her against the wall in the entryway. Quinn held on tight to his neck and shoulders while he unbuckled his pants, freeing up his huge cock. He ripped open the condom wrapper with his teeth, and before Quinn could catch her breath he nearly split her in two as he entered her. She was already hot and so wet that he slid in quickly. She was so surprised at his size that she dug her nails into his back a little too hard. Quinn didn’t think he minded one bit. He groaned as his cock filled her cunt completely, stroking every single inch of her. Her body shuddered wildly as the first orgasm hit her. She moaned as Steve broke their kiss, leaving her a bit breathless.

“Good god, your pussy is fucking fantastic. I can feel every single inch of you pulling me in.” He shifted positions so that he had her legs over his arms, and he spread her wider. He kept pounding her against the wall, thrusting deeper still. He felt so good stroking her and hitting every sensitive spot. Wave after wave of ecstasy ran through her. She came over and over again, her cum continuously squirting out of her and over Steve. “You’re so hot and wet. I can’t get enough of you.”

“Jesus Christ, your cock is so fucking big. Harder, baby, harder.” Quinn was lost in her own climax, and then Steve’s arms tightened around her as he groaned against her tits. His thrusts slowed, and he pulled back to look into her eyes. Both of them were panting trying to catch their breath. His cock was still buried deep inside of her and rock-hard. Now he kept eye contact as he moved in and out of her. He changed position again so that he had her wrapped around him and his hands on her ass, moving her up and down his shaft. Quinn straightened her legs and pointed her toes as a very powerful orgasm hit her, and she couldn’t hold back a scream. That did it for him. He came right along with her, their bodies shuddering together.

Steve leaned into her, a smile gradually forming on that gorgeous mouth of his. “Goddamn, woman. If this is any preview of what we will be doing together the rest of the night, I don’t know if I am going to be able to let you leave here in the morning.”

Quinn nibbled on his stubbly chin a bit before pulling his mouth back to hers. “How about you give me a tour of the rest of your place and we will just let things happen as they happen.”

Steve moved both of them away from the wall but still kept his hands firmly on Quinn’s ass, letting her legs slowly slide down his body until her heels hit the floor again. “You better hang on to me for a little longer. I don’t know if I can walk normally just yet.”

He moved his fingers lightly up and down her bare back, sending shivers through her once again. “I don’t think that will be a problem at all, Quinn. You’ve put some kind of spell over me, and I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

“Well, your hands feel awfully good on my body, and so do your lips, your tongue, and that welcoming committee you have stuffed in your pants!” Good lord! Quinn had never fucked anyone with a cock that big, and he sure did know how to use it. Miranda was going to faint when she heard about this!