Damaged Beauties

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO UNCOVER A SECRET?

Pretty and hard-nosed investigative journalist, Virginia Tremont, has talked her editor into giving her an assignment - to find out what happened to her former teenage celebrity crush, who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from the public eye ten years ago.

Virginia discovers that he now goes by the name of Ethan Greene. He is holed up in a mansion on a hill where strange things have been rumored to happen. Curiosity-seeking teenagers have been spooked. Young women have disappeared. Ethan himself is a recluse and is almost never seen.

Virginia engineers herself to be swept up in the strikingly handsome Ethan's world, where nothing is as it seems. Then there are the troubling entries in Ethan's diary: "He was here again. He wants to kill me. Take over this house completely."

Too late, Virginia finds herself falling for him, and he for her. But has Virginia put herself in the path of a danger she has totally unforeseen?

At 20,000 words, DAMAGED BEAUTIES is the first volume in the 'ROMANCED BY THE DAMAGED MILLIONAIRE' BDSM erotic romance series.

Excerpt:

We are both seemingly mesmerized by each other. Until I hear the clearing of someone's throat.

"Sir, please allow me to introduce Ms. Tremont to you."

I glance at Jeffrey, who is carrying yet another one of his endless trays, in the doorway leading to the kitchen, presumably. I stand up. My chair is pushed back by my knees.

David Kinney's spell is broken.

"I'm sorry," he says. His voice is the one I heard earlier downstairs. He walks to me, holding out his hand. "I'm Ethan Greene. I'm not used to having visitors."

"So I heard." I shake it. Our palms touch, and a delicious shiver travels down my spine. "I'm Virginia Tremont."

I will my hand not to tremble. I can't help but gaze into his large green eyes, which have captivated millions on the screen. Those very eyes which have rendered so many teenagers weak-kneed and trembling when he played the tortured vampire in Paradise Revisited.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Tremont?"

Feeling? Gad, does he know that my blood is running warm and cold all over my body? Can he tell from the temperature of my skin?

But of course, he's asking about the accident.

I laugh. It sounds a little too shrill for my liking. "Much better, thanks to Jeffrey."

"So I heard," he says, not taking his eyes off me. Do I dare say it, but there's a hunger in his gaze. A rapaciousness, as if the sight of me is an oasis after his long trek through the desert.

He goes to the back of my chair and pulls it out for me. "Please, sit. I'm glad you're able to join me for dinner tonight."

I'm amazed that his manners are impeccable. I sit, warmth suffusing my cheeks. I wonder if I'm blushing.

He has even dressed up for dinner, as though he's trying to impress me. He wears a cashmere jacket over a grey silk shirt. His clothes are tailor-made and expensive. They fit him like a glove.

Jeffrey serves whatever it is on his tray. I barely register what I'm eating. Oh, did I mention Jeffrey's cooking is excellent? I'm certainly not doing it justice tonight. My head is too busy whirling in the kaleidoscope of current events. And I believe I've completely forgotten to play damsel in post-traumatic head wound distress.

I have to be very careful not to let Ethan Greene know I'm a reporter . . . or that I know who he used to be. There's a time and place for everything, and if I play my cards too soon, he will recede. But I must say that I'm having trouble reconciling this polite, sophisticated man with the tortured scribblings I found in his journal.

Then again, the night is still young.

A Xmas Gift: The Sperm Donor

Here's one for the holidays, and it's set in London! I was in London a couple of weeks ago, so I was inspired to write this.

Now at a special holiday price of 99 cents!

Elise Ratner knows what she wants for Christmas (a sperm donor) and what she doesn't want (a husband). And who better to cater to her needs than her former high school boyfriend, the gorgeous and genetically superior Justin Morgan?

Such a pity he doesn't know it yet.

There are several catches though: Justin is in London, his career is at a peak, and he's dating his boss's daughter - a highly-strung, emotionally needy individual who commands Justin's full attention.

But Elise and Justin are not prepared for the sparks that fly when they meet again after twelve years. Will Justin be up to the task of donating his sperm to Elise at the fertility clinic, or would they both prefer him to do a direct deposit?

This is a 26,000 word erotic romance short novel.

EXCERPT:

The sandwich café is crowded with the lunchtime throng, but they have managed to secure a half-cleaned table at the back. Not exactly the best place for conversation, but she senses that he takes comfort from the familiar surroundings. After all, she did drop quite a bomb.

"So why didn't you get married?" he asks.

He's ready to talk, she senses it.

"I did get married."

He puts down his half-eaten sandwich. She is aware of several women at the other tables giving them surreptitious glances. They're checking him out, she thinks with a smile. Same old, same old. Some things never changed from high school. She was checking him out plenty too before they got it on.

"You never invited me to the wedding," he says, keeping his tone light.

She sighs inwardly. He's hurt, and she knows him all too well. He did always have a predilection for masking how he felt. Justin grew up in a strict home. His father was in the military, and he always gave precise instructions to his boys to 'handle it like a man'.

"It was a shotgun affair. Reno."

"He knocked you up?" he says, surprised.

"Not exactly." She shudders when she thinks of her marriage, but now is not the time to let Justin in on what happened. "It lasted for exactly a year and a half. Let's keep it at that."

He nods. He has always been one who respects other people's privacy. She has always admired this trait of his.

"No kids?"

"Obviously."

"Thought I'd ask, just in case."

"What about you? Married?" She knows he's not, and that's why she's here.

"No."

'Girlfriend?"

He hesitates before saying, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" She laughs. "Either you have a girlfriend or you don't."

"It's complicated. Let's leave it at that." He smiles without really smiling.

She ponders this. "So . . . would she mind if you . . . contributed your DNA?"

"I didn't say I was going to do it. It is a huge responsibility."

"Oh no, it isn't. Not for you." She delves into her bag and brings out a bound document. "Read through this and put your mind at ease."

He scrutinizes the document carefully as she finishes the rest of her sandwich. He finally puts it down and looks up at her. She finds herself admiring his large hazel eyes again - so penetrating and beautiful.

"So why me?" he says. "Why not some anonymous donor from a sperm bank?"