Samhain Publishing

It’s funny how the worst case scenarios (you know the ones where you totally hit the depths of despair and think you’ll never smile again?) often turn into the best. Take Ask Adam for instance. When I first submitted the book to another publisher, they grabbed it. They already had the prequel, Photo Opportunity, and now they were going to release Ask Adam as well. I was in heaven.

Then disaster struck. The publisher changed its contract, and the new one was pretty lousy. I had no choice, I couldn’t sign. Which left me heart broken. I was forced to take Ask Adam elsewhere. This wonderful two-part series, Photo Op and Ask Adam were about to be split.

Miserable beyond words, I took a chance and submitted to Samhain. Weeks went by, with no news. (Have you ever sweated bullets—for four months? Buh-lieve me, it’s not pleasant.) Then came the incredible day when I opened my mail, and there it was: the offer to buy the book. Limp with relief, I peeled myself off the floor, read the contract, and promptly signed on the dotted line!

The result? Ask Adam is available from Samhain Publishing today. (Yes, that obscene noise is me doing the happy dance.) But wait. There’s more…

In a stroke of exceedingly good fortune, the rights for Photo Opportunity were returned to me. And now…it’s due for re-release, in spring ’08, right here at Samhain. See? The worst case scenario became the best possible one. (You know the ones when you totally hit a high, and don’t think you’ll ever come down?) The series is together, the way it should be, at a fabulous publisher.

Thank you, Samhain. You have made this author one very, very happy lady!

You can read more about both books at:

link

ASK ADAM — The Blurb

Can one wild night of passion turn into the romance of a lifetime?

Lexi Tanner’s got a major problem: AJ Riley, the man she’s about to approach for a hefty donation, turns out to be the stranger she shared a night of steamy sex with less than a week past. She’ll do anything to raise money for a children’s charity—anything except sell herself. Now how can she ask AJ for money without it seeming like he’s paying for sexual favors?

If there’s one thing the past has taught Adam “AJ” Riley, it’s that loving someone can only lead to pain. He knows he shouldn’t feel so attracted to Lexi, and he definitely shouldn’t trust a woman who’d sleep with a man one week and approach him for money the next. Yet somehow Lexi breaks through all his barriers. His instincts tell him to run but his heart wants to give Lexi—and love—a second chance. How can he let go of his tragic past and still protect his battered heart?

Ask Adam — An Excerpt

“Lexi, wait.” He reached the elevators in time to see the doors closing. “Damn it, Lexi, wait.” Shoving his hand through the microscopic gap, he prayed to God it didn’t get mashed to a bloody pulp. As the doors touched his skin, he let rip with a steady stream of uninhibited cursing.
Much to his relief, the doors slid open again in the nick of time, leaving his hand very much intact. He marched into the lift and found her eyeing him cautiously. She eased the pressure off the “door open” button and hit “G”.
He hit “door open”. Christ, she was beautiful. Even though loathing radiated from her in waves, she took his breath away. He wanted to touch her again. Needed to touch her. So, he attacked instead.
“Spell it out, Lexi,” he demanded as a nasty pounding began above his right eye. “What kind of game are you playing?”
“I don’t play games, Mr. Riley,” she told him through clenched teeth. “I outgrew that kind of behavior a long time ago.” She hit “G”.
He held down “door open”. “Then what exactly are you doing here?” Shoot, he better not be getting a migraine.
“You know what I’m doing here. I came to approach Riley Corporation for a donation. Now I’ve changed my mind. No matter how determined I am to set up this program, I will not prostitute myself for your money.”
Pain shot up his neck and into his skull. She hadn’t prostituted herself. She hadn’t had the foggiest idea who he was. He knew it. “Look, can we talk, please? Contrary to what I may have implied, I actually am interested in the project. I’d like to put money toward it.”
She smiled grimly and shook her head. “Thank you. Your money is no longer required. Now if you could remove your hand, I need to get down to the ground floor.”
AJ nodded and pressed “G”. “Please,” he said as the lift began to descend, “don’t make any rash decisions. Hear me out first.” He had to sit down before his skull exploded and tiny bits of brain splattered the walls of the lift.
“My decision is not rash. After careful thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that a night of shady sex would not be a solid foundation to base a children’s support group.”
“Shady sex?” he roared, then regretted it instantly as pain whipped down his forehead and over his eye. “You think that’s—”
The lift bumped to a stop and the doors opened. A man stepped inside.
“Lift’s full,” AJ barked. “Take the next one.” He banged on the “door close” button and the startled passenger jumped out backward as the doors shut again. If Lexi thought she’d get away with describing their night together as shady…
“What is with you?” she snapped. “Throwing testosterone around like some kind of an animal. Are you on a mission to insult everyone you speak to today? Or is this some kind of twisted attempt to trap me in a lift alone with you? Again?”
Okay, so she was as aware of the irony of their surroundings as he was. It didn’t help his head any.
“Was once not enough?” she seethed. “Is this how you prove your male domination? By trapping unsuspecting women in elevators?”
“Just one woman,” he corrected her. “And you knew exactly what was coming.” And damned if it wasn’t going to come again. Yeah, she may be all fired up and pissed off. She was also turned on. He’d spent enough intimate time with her to recognize the look in her eyes when she became aroused. Besides, her nipples were hard beads poking through her shirt.
She glowered at him with smoky, hooded eyes.
A fine trickle of perspiration ran down his spine. He had a hard-on and a killer headache, and he wasn’t sure which hurt more.
She bit her lower lip.
“Damn it, woman,” he gasped, and backed her into the wall. Before she had a chance to resist, he kissed her.
There was nothing tender about his kiss. It was brutal, dragging a response from her even as she beat her fists against his arms. He didn’t want to relish the jolt of desire in his stomach, or the now familiar pull in his chest. Her resistance appealed even less. He increased the intensity of the kiss, pushing his tongue past her lips, rediscovering the velvety depth of her mouth.
Although her wild flailing continued, her punches weakened until she no longer hit him at all. Instead, she grabbed at him. First his arms and then his waist, and then his hips.
He didn’t want to respond to her. He didn’t want to feel anything, except maybe her naked body against his. His head throbbed. He should just have stayed the hell away from her.
No, he shouldn’t have.
Her hands found his ass and molded themselves to it as her mouth hungrily responded to his. This was no loving kiss. This was a fierce battle of wills. Neither of them wanted to be there, neither could stay away. Her tongue tortured his mouth with its violent counterattack. Nothing had felt as good in three long days.