Masked Hearts in Serial

Hello!

I can’t continue with The Beautician and the Billionaire until Thankful Hearts is publishing-ready. And since Halloween is only 11 days away, I’d love for you to enjoy my erotic romance Masked Hearts. I’ll post a chapter or three in serial on the blog like I do with The Beautician and the Billionaire. But PLEASE BUY IT! It’s only $0.99! Writing is my job. But it’s not paying my bills yet. If you enjoy my stories, I would truly appreciate your support.

Masked Heart FOR WEB

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1 | Toil and Trouble Extra Cinnamon

Sienna drove into the parking spot and stopped just before her tire hit the sidewalk. Her mind was a tornado of parents, students and other teachers vying for her attention at the end of the week. Even the cute pumpkin lights decorating the awning of the Holiday Cafe with their faint glow battling the dusk failed to calm her. She stepped out of her car and closed the door. The blur in her mind finally paused when her gaze fell on a witch and bubbling cauldron drawn on the door with window paints. The caption read, “Taste our Toil and Trouble Latte.” Ahhh. Despite the name, the thought of the latte yanked her out of the school whirlwind and settled her spirit. She’d been waiting all week for this moment.

She opened the door, expecting the aroma of coffee to wrap her in bliss, but instead desire fired through her.

Mark Townsend stood at the counter—the most sought after single dad at the school. Continue reading

New Cover for Masked Hearts!

Hello! I know I have been MIA for a week now. Sorry about that 😦

The business end of writing has been kicking my butt. Trying to get all the books lined up so they link back to each other on each separate venue is days of work, especially the more stories I get out there. I’ve also been working on Thankful Hearts and LOST the latest compilation when my computer froze, rebooted and updated. I had saved the file, but I can’t find it. I’m going to give the search one more go and then give it up. My editor and I send the chapters back and forth one at a time, so it was several chapters with the changes accepted and comments dealt with that I had put back together for the final file. At least it wasn’t ALL the chapters.

But the light in my difficult week was receiving the new cover for MASKED HEARTS!!!!

Although I liked the old cover very much, I regretted not having a couple on it. So I asked the lovely Hang Le to make me a new cover and I LOVE it!

Masked Heart FOR WEB

Masked Hearts is a Halloween Erotic Romance available for $0.99 until November at these places:

Amazon
All Romance
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble

So download Masked Hearts, head to your favorite coffee-house, buy your favorite drink and have a great day!

World Teachers’ Day

New Readers

October fifth was World Teachers’ Day! If you’ve read Masked Hearts, then you’ve seen my Dedication at the beginning:

To teachers everywhere who work hard for our children and deserve a little romance in their lives.

I was once a teacher and know how hard they work. As many hours as I put in, there were always others who put in even more. Please support teachers!

This is a clip from Masked Hearts that was inspired by something that actually happened to me in class. You just never know what kids will do.

But during story time at the end of the day, Sienna noticed Tyler bouncing pebbles that invariably ended up in the classroom. She hated to draw attention to him. All the other kids were ignoring him, so he wasn’t a distraction. She kept reading and asking the students questions about the story. After a few more pages, Tyler screamed. He yanked his nostril back, pointing at it and yelling more.

Sienna dropped the book and crouched next to him.

He poked his finger up his nose and yelled, “Oooowww!”

“Take your finger out of your nose and take a deep breath. What’s wrong?”

“Ahhhh!” He pulled a bloody finger out. “Ahhhh!”

She whipped her head around and asked Kelly, “Did you see what happened?” but Kelly shook her head.

Blood trickled out of a nostril as Tyler yanked it back with one hand and shoved a finger from the other hand up it.

“Sweetie, take your finger out.”

But Tyler kept it up there and continued screaming.

“I saw him stick a rock up his nose,” said a little girl, sitting next to him.

Sienna’s throat made an “erp” sound—caught between humor and horror. She gently pulled his finger out of his nose and pulled Tyler up by the wrist. She said to Kelly, “Could you finish the story and have them get their backpacks? I’ll take him to the nurse.” She stopped at the door and called back, “Oh, and remember to send home the notes about the new class.”

In her five years of teaching, she had never had a student shove a rock up his own nose. She couldn’t even fathom what the thought process was. Tyler kept screaming in the hallway until she told him, “School’s almost over. Your daddy will be here soon.”

At the nurse’s office, she explained what had happened. He was so squirmy that Sienna had to hold his arms down while the nurse used tweezers to pull the rock out. There wasn’t as much blood as Sienna thought there would be, but the level of disgusting was pretty high.

“Tell his mom to rinse it out with saline.”

Sienna nodded, cleaned him up and took his hand to walk him back to the classroom. Once the whimpering settled down, she said, “Why did you stick a rock up your nose?”

He didn’t answer right away. As they turned the corner to her classroom’s hallway, he said, “I just wanted to know what it felt like.”

She had no response. How would she ever explain this to Mark? Sorry, your son stuck a rock up his nose right in front of me, and I didn’t see.

Parents had gathered outside the classrooms to wait for their children. She glimpsed Mark staring through the window in her door. She dropped Tyler’s hand, the rock issue vanishing from her mind.

Oh, God, what had she done? She was insane to think she could separate everything out. She’d fucked a parent over the weekend, and all the other parents here were going to find out. She’d be the next headline: Teacher uses Parent as Sex Toy.

Be sure to buy Masked Hearts and find out if Sienna can handle sex with a hot millionaire parent and remaining professional at school. It’s on Sale for $1.00 at All Romance for the rest of October!

And for more information about World Teachers’ Day, check out this awesome graph at Grammarly!

Welcome to October!

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My air conditioner is still coming on here in New Mexico, but I’m looking forward to the leaves falling eventually and the cold afternoon when I can relish my hot cinnamon latte. 

Afternoons in the coffee shop were the inspiration for my Holiday Cafe series. Here’s a glimpse of Masked Hearts:

“Hey,” said Mark, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this again. I can’t have you romance me and fall in love with you and end with a terrible break-up. I’d rather we fuck and be done with it.” She bit her lip and cursed herself. She couldn’t believe she’d just said that to a parent. From the look on his face, she could tell he couldn’t believe it either.

The phone finally quit ringing as she gathered up her folders and left. She expected him to call out to her, but then remembered men were bastards. Of course he wouldn’t.

Outside, embarrassment hit as if the heat of a summer sun shone on her instead of the chillier fall rays. She ran to her car, not hearing the footsteps pounding behind her because her ears were filled with the beating of her own heart.

She set the folders on top of her car. Before she clicked the lock with her remote, hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. Mark stared into her eyes for one moment then pushed her back against the car with his body against hers. He kissed her with a passion she’d never felt, even from Glen, and it made her body tremble. His hands roamed down her arms and to her hips, and she felt his erection against the crevice between her thigh and her abdomen. Her insides pulsed with desire that only strengthened when he ended the kiss and spoke, his lips brushing her ear.

*

Mark felt her body yield against him and begin to shiver. God, it’d been too long since he’d fucked. So long that restraint was near impossible, and he pressed himself fully against her with his cock showing his craving.

He broke off the kiss and whispered words that he hoped made sense through his haze of desire. “I would love to take you out on dates and slowly fall in love with you over coffee and bouquets of roses. But it’s been two years since I’ve had sex, and if all you want is a physical relationship, I’ll take it.”

He kissed her neck while he waited for her answer. When his lips nuzzled her below her ear she quivered again, and her hands slid up his back, drawing him even closer. Unfortunately, her words were contrary to her actions. “I can’t do that with a parent of one of my students. It’s unprofessional.”

His lips had strayed down to the base of her neck. He wanted to tug her shirt off her shoulder so he could kiss more of her, but he managed a modicum of restraint. He lifted his lips back to her ear and murmured, “I’ll pretend there’s nothing between us when I pick up Tyler. I’ll be like every other parent.” Even though the thought of unattached sex fired his drive, he didn’t want to give up on being her boyfriend. “And if we dated, I’d pretend nothing was going on until you were ready. I’m alone Friday to Sunday. We could date on those nights far away from school.”

Her body stiffened. “I don’t want to date.”

He drew back a little and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “I think you’re making that decision because you just saw someone who hurt you badly. I’ll text you my address. If you want to watch a movie and eat popcorn like a normal date, come over dressed like this. If you just want sex, wear a coat with nothing underneath.”

He must be out of his mind—what a stupid thing to say. He waited for the slap, but instead, she wrapped one of her legs around his and drew him in for another kiss. He wished they weren’t in a parking lot in the middle of the day.

She broke off the kiss and gently pushed him away.

Without a word, she turned, grabbed her folders, got into her car and waited for him to step back before she drove off.

He watched her going, wondering if she’d take him up on the movie date. He told himself that’s what he wanted. But two years was a long, long time to go without sex.

Buy Masked Hearts at one of these stores and find out if Sienna goes for a date or for sex!

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
All Romance
Smashwords

The Beautician and the Billionaire Episode 1, Scene 6

Thanks for reading The Beautician and the Billionaire. If this is your first time, please start at the Beginning!

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When they walked out from behind the partition, Charisse guessed that Conor was still scowling because Marie gave her a look that said, “What did you do to him?”

Charisse shrugged and tried to say, “I’m sorry,” with her eyes.

Tanya sat in one of the waiting chairs with a magazine in her lap, but it wasn’t even open. Her eyes practically glowed with delight as the drama continued to unfold. She had to be chilly by now with the air conditioner blowing on her wet head. At least the rest of the salon didn’t stare so openly at them.

Marie stood by the salon chair and spun it around for Conor to sit in. “What happened? Did Charisse burn you? I’m always telling her she keeps the water heater too high.”

Charisse bit her lip. Conor was already mad—maybe because he fell asleep or maybe because she called him a rat bastard—but whatever it was, Charisse didn’t want to exacerbate it by arguing with Marie.

“The water was perfect. I can smell the coffee in here. What do I have to do to get a cup?” He dropped down into the chair still looking one full moon away from changing into a wolf.

“Mei, please get Mr. Grishin a cup of coffee. Would you like cream and sugar?”

“Black.”

The receptionist ran back to the coffee maker. Even Marie appeared as if she had second thoughts about trying to flirt with him.

“You should offer it right away,” he snapped.

Maybe he hadn’t had enough caffeine, and that was why he’d fallen asleep. “Mei always offers a coffee or water right away, but I’m afraid Marie interrupted her, and then you were so anxious to get your hair cut.” Charisse mentally patted herself on the back for not pointing out that he’d kicked a customer out of her chair.

She pulled out a fresh comb and scissors from her drawer and began to work. Though he seemed to seethe, he didn’t comment further. At least he wouldn’t be able to complain about the coffee. It was one of the secrets to the success of her salon.

Mei soon appeared with his coffee in a fine china cup. Charisse’s comb paused in midstream as she watched him sip. He had a flash of surprise in his eyes, and his anger ebbed.

“You should offer chocolate too.”

Not even a compliment for the coffee. “Chocolate?”

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Versailles Photo by Julie Schober

“Yes, so your customers feel like they’re part of Louis XIV’s court.”

“That’s a brilliant idea,” gushed Marie, who’d never commented on the Versailles theme. “You could get those little dark chocolate squares. No wonder you’re a billionaire.”

Charisse cringed. Marie was trying way too hard. She couldn’t really blame her though; he hadn’t even looked Marie’s way since he sat down.

Conor drained half the cup and put it on the countertop. How did he do that without burning his mouth?

Conor said, “So how are you improving on my stylist of ten years who’s trained all over the world?”

Please continue on to Scene 7!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments!

Back from Puerto Rico

I’ve been back from Puerto Rico for awhile, but I got home and immediately started working on a new project. The trip was for a much needed recharge, so success!!

But I feel bad not posting pictures of my awesome trip:

The view from our room. I still wish I was waking to the sound of ocean waves.
The view from our room. I still wish I was waking to the sound of ocean waves.

Continue reading

Masked Hearts Free!

canstockphoto3889287Last week several new people followed me on Facebook and Goodreads! To celebrate, I’m giving away Masked Hearts at Smashwords! Use coupon code  BN47G.

Masked Hearts is an erotic romance between a single dad and his son’s kindergarten teacher. The romance begins at the Holiday Cafe where the two meet over their favorite drink: Toil and Trouble with extra cinnamon.

Join them as they tumble through passion and problems and seek out their Happily ever After.

9 | Coffee Break

Sienna jerked around at the squealing tires and saw a black Corvette turning into the Holiday Cafe parking lot. When she recognized Mark as the driver, she wanted to jump into her own car to get away. But she just stared instead. She didn’t want to go over to Carol’s house and eat lunch with her and Glen. Already her heart ached over how many times she and Glen had done that while they were engaged.

Mark pulled his car into a spot right in front of her. The cafe was fairly empty still—Chloe wasn’t even at work yet. Maybe she had Sunday off. Sienna clutched her Toil and Trouble to her chest as Mark hopped out of his car. “Hey,” he said, “I thought you sang in the choir.”

She wanted to laugh at herself for thinking he’d say something like, “That was a great fuck last night.” Of course he’d be more civil than that. And he’d better not mention last night at all. And if he did, he’d better say it was great.

She said, “We sing at the earlier service. The service going on now is contemporary, with a rock band and everything.”

He seemed to be suppressing a laugh. “Naturally, you go to the traditional service.”

She knew it was a reference to how he saw her as a paradox, but she chose to ignore it. It verged on talking about last night. “Did you come by for a Sunday morning coffee?”

“No. I had to go have a fight with my ex-wife. I was on my way home when I saw you pacing here. Is there a reason you’re outside? It’s pretty cold this morning.”

“It seems to be a day for exes. I’m supposed to go have lunch with mine and his mom.”

“That sounds awful. Why don’t you join me inside?”

Sienna held her breath. It shouldn’t be so strange since they’d talked in the cafe for a couple hours yesterday, but that was before they’d screwed like two strangers at a rave. And before he’d given her a rose and a card. “Just for a little bit.”

MaskedHearts

Be sure to use coupon code  BN47G to get it for free!

Back to Work Coffee Frappe

Did you guys get addicted to half price frappuccinos at Starbucks Happy Hours last week? I know I did.

But an even cheaper way to add zest to your day is to make one yourself! They keep well in thermoses too if you want to make it in the morning and save it for later. On days I’m blue, I like to pour them into fancy glass for an extra pick me up:

IMG_1594[1]Recipe:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 packet Starbucks Via Iced Caramel Coffee
1-1 1/2 cups ice

Place water, milk and Via mix in blender. Blend for a few seconds. Add ice. Put blender on ice crusher mode until smooth. Enjoy!

Cheers!

xoxoxoxoxx
Evelyn