My teaser this week is from Electric Candle (Book Two of The Sleepless City). This series was written with Anne Barwell.

Forge heard Simon grumble, “The next time I say, ‘stay back,’ maybe you will.”
​
Lucas darted around and caught the guy from the back, hustling him out the door. Forge faced the other two, did his best to appear to bulk up, let his eyes turn to solid blue and showed his fangs.

The two remaining men grabbed each other’s arms, trying to back away, but there was nowhere to go when Forge sprinted and blocked their retreat to the back.

“What the hell!” One guy stumbled and would have fallen had Blair not flashed in and snatched him up by the shirt collar.

Forge swallowed a laugh. From Blair’s expression, he was definitely surprised he’d caught the guy. Lucas was guarding the door again, so Forge relieved Blair of his burden and shoved the guy hard enough he crashed into Lucas.

Without missing a beat, Lucas’s eyes glowed gold and he growled. The guy gulped, pulling out of his grip. Lucas pushed the door open and gave the guy a hearty shove out into the parking lot.

“Duck,” Simon yelled and grabbed the last of the men. Lucas dropped to his knees and the last guy skimmed over his back and sailed outside.
A few minutes later, everything had calmed down, chairs had been righted, and Sally was back to getting food out to the customers.
“Thank you,” she said when she made her way to their table.
“I doubt they’ll be back,” Simon told her.

“Have you seen this?” Sally asked Blair, gesturing with another beer, the cap still in place. “It’s the sexiest thing.” She patted Blair’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m not interested in your boyfriend, you’re safe.”

Blair cocked an eyebrow at Forge. “Seen what?” he asked.

Forge took the bottle Sally offered. “Sometimes, she’ll get me to do this all night.” His fangs slipped down, and he hooked one under the bottle cap then pushed it out with his tongue. He caught the cap and tossed it on the table, grinning broadly as the rest of the men laughed.

Later, as they were getting ready to leave, Ben asked, “Why would this cambion want to collect sperm or eggs?”

“I’ve been wondering that myself. I can’t come up with a reason,” Forge said as they left the bar. The dark sky was littered with some clouds and stars.

Lucas stopped a few feet from his Jeep, put his head up, and howled.
“Lucas, there is no moon tonight,” Simon said, sounding unimpressed. He unlocked the passenger door of his car for Ben. “You’re riding with us.”
“But I—” Lucas sounded out the two words carefully.

“You are not driving when you start howling. We’ll get your Jeep on the way to work tomorrow,” Forge said.

“Come on, Lucas. Here’s your big chance with a vampire and a human together in one car.” Ben leaned against the door and waved at the backseat.

Lucas grinned and got into Simon’s car. “Oh, yeah.”

Blair laughed, and after he and Forge were driving home, he said, “I hope Ben doesn’t regret encouraging Lucas.”

Forge smiled and nodded but kept quiet. He had plenty to think about and only a small fraction of those thoughts revolved around their case or what Lucas might do.

Electric Candle is available in eBook, paperback and in Kindle Unlimited. Grab your copy now! The eBook is on sale for only $2.99.

My Tuesday Teaser this week is from Quarry!

“Another glass just vanished,” Forge said. This time he took the tablet and replayed a portion of the video. “Off the tray that man is carrying around. Same thing, whiskey glass with what looks like whiskey in it.”
​
“Let’s try this one. It wasn’t held here but in Germany.” Blair loaded another one and again they finally saw a whiskey glass vanish off a bar.
“Looks like whoever it was got pretty chatty with the bartender,” Lucas said. He sighed and leaned his elbows on the tabletop. “You know, using electronic means to aid in a big heist and one of the only solid clues was the type of whiskey the thief drank sure sounds familiar.” He looked at Forge.

Forge nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. This story is getting old.”
Declan looked between them. “You’ve run into this before?”

Holding up two fingers, Forge mouthed the word, “Twice.” He turned the tablet to face him and played another video, stopping it where another glass vanished from a man’s hand. “In fact, it was the first case Lucas and I ever worked on together in the police department.” He turned to Blair and smiled softly. “Your dad was in on it as well.”

“Yeah?” Blair’s interest was definitely piqued. He sometimes forgot Forge had known and worked with Robert Turner, an FBI agent, and knew things about him Blair probably didn’t.

“It was also about the time when things got a little…warm for me in Ohio, and I left for Europe,” Declan said.

“’Cause the big guy here”—Lucas play-punched Forge’s shoulder,—“Was a cop and you’re—”

“Not a cop,” Declan interjected and chuckled. “Yes. Jonas was very entrenched in Boggslake’s police department then, and it was better my face wasn’t seen for a while.”

“First time in about a hundred years that when you left for other parts, I didn’t go with you,” Forge added.

“Most importantly it was the first time a werewolf and a vampire worked together on something, publicly no less. At least in that part of the world—that we were aware of. Not only did we work together, we hung out at his house, almost living in sin.” Lucas snatched an onion ring and ate it. Forge rolled his eyes and Lucas snagged another onion ring and said, “Rocked the bedrock of social conventions and was a huge scandal!”

Blair grabbed an onion ring and stuck it in his mouth, grinning as he chewed. “So, are you going to tell us how you two changed the course of history and all?”

Quarry is available in eBook, paperback and in Kindle Unlimited! 
Get your copy now!

My teaser this week is from Run for the Roses.

“You didn’t call that number I gave you to call if there was a problem. Did you?” Wyatt took the glass of tea Val offered. Val ducked his head to avoid meeting Wyatt’s gaze. Wyatt took Val’s chin and forced him to look directly at him. Val shook his head and Wyatt sighed. “You do realize that was the sort of thing I meant when I said uncomfortable?”
Val nodded, and Wyatt moved his hand to rest on Val’s shoulder for a second before sliding down Val’s arm to his wrist. Wyatt stepped closer and whispered in Val’s ear, “Next time, listen.” Wyatt’s warm breath against Val’s ear and a swat to his rear made him shiver.

Wyatt simultaneously squeezed Val’s wrist and brushed a kiss over his lips. When a shudder ran through Val, Wyatt’s arm snaked around Val’s back and he pulled them close together. “You do enjoy being caught, don’t you?” He held his other arm out with the tea glass still in his hand.

“Y-yeah, I—” Val’s words were cut off by another kiss. This one made Val arch his back and press his body firmly against Wyatt’s as his knees weakened. He swallowed hard when Wyatt leaned away, broke their kiss, and let go of him.

“We’ll explore that a bit later, I think,” Wyatt said. He ran the back of his hand over Val’s cheek. “But right now, let’s eat and I’ll fill you in on more details.”

All Val could do was nod and sit at the kitchen table, wondering how he was supposed to concentrate when the only thing his brain wanted to focus on was being caught by this man.

Wyatt retrieved his briefcase, which he’d left sitting near the kitchen door. He sat back down and opened the case, pulled a thick folder out, and set it on the table between them.

“I was wrong when I said the Nottings were in the wrong place at the wrong time and that they were innocent victims,” Wyatt said.

Run for the Roses is available in eBook, paperback
​and in Kindle Unlimited. Get your copy today!

My Tuesday Teaser this week is from my erotic thriller, For the Long Run!

“Sshh… take it easy. No one got hit or shoved around?” The “’cause I’ll kill the bastard” Eric managed to swallow back down.
​
Jay must have shaken his head—Eric heard the rustle of what was probably Jay’s hair against his pillow before Jay said, “No. We’re both okay. He just yelled and screamed. My mom is really upset. I can’t leave her, and she’d be embarrassed—”

“I know. It’s okay. But, Jay, if he comes back, you call me. These things, when a couple splits up, they can get nasty really fast. Shit happens people think their families will never do, believe me.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Jason, promise me!” Eric barked.

“I promise.”

“Go get a shower and some sleep. I’ll have my phone. Call me if you need anything. I’m here. Tell your mom if he gives her trouble when she goes home to call the cops and then us. I’ve seen it too much, Jay. You mix hurt feelings, divorce, quick tempers, and booze, and trust me when I say tragic things can and often do happen.”

“You don’t think he’d do anything to her, do you?”

“I’d like to think he wouldn’t. But I’ve seen cases where the meekest people turn into rabid tigers and get very unpredictable. Tomorrow after he’s sobered up and calmed down, I’m sure he’ll be more reasonable. For now, it’s just best everyone stay away from everyone else. If there is any trouble there tonight, call me. I’ll be there.”

“My white knight in shining armor and all.” Jay sounded more relaxed.

“And don’t you forget it,” Eric said, dropping his voice. “I saw Kellie hold your hand and kiss your cheek, not to mention the fact I’m sleeping alone tonight. Repercussions.”

Jay wuffed out a short laugh. “Oh God, I hope so.”

For the Long Run is available in eBook, paperback
​and is in Kindle Unlimited.

My teaser this week is from A Barlow Lens.
​Get the ebook for $2.99 and the paperback for $6.99!

When Kevin moved around to the driver’s side, Wyatt lunged across the seat, shoved Val’s door open, and pushed him out. Then he twisted around and kicked his door open, hoping it was timed right and that he moved fast and hard enough. The harsh grunt and thud from Kevin told him his move was right on the mark.

Wyatt tumbled out of the car, landing on all fours. He would only have a few seconds before Kevin recovered.

He heard Val scrambling to his feet, boots crunching on the gravel. “What the hell are you doing!”

Wyatt wasn’t exactly sure if Val was yelling at him or Kevin. He didn’t take the time to figure it out either. He got his feet underneath him and charged. Kevin had dropped the tire iron, but it wasn’t so far out of reach that a short roll to the side and he’d have it again. If he got ahold of that damn thing again, Wyatt was in real trouble.

Kevin twisted onto his stomach and kicked his legs at the same time, extending one arm, fingers brushing the tire iron but not grasping it. Wyatt darted in and landed two fast, quick punches to the back of Kevin’s head and neck. He didn’t care if the blows rendered Kevin unconscious or killed him.

Kevin shouted and threw himself onto his back, abandoning the tire iron. He reached under his jacket. Wyatt tried to kick his hand and cause Kevin to drop the weapon he now had.

The move didn’t work.

“Shit,” Wyatt hissed as a flash of light from Kevin’s hands preceded a lightning bolt rampaging through him, and he dropped like a stone to the ground.

My teaser this week is from Electric Candle, book 2 of The Sleepless City. This series is cowritten with Anne Barwell.

This week's Tuesday Teaser is from For the Long Run.
You can get this book in eBook or paperback
and it's available in Kindle Unlimited.

When the door opened Eric turned to greet his new boss.
​
“Hey, I’m sorry, for some reason there is always some disaster in the kitchen when I need to—” The young man stopped short and blinked at Eric. “Oh God… I….” His voice just sort of faded away.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Eric tried for a casual chuckle and produced a nervous laugh instead. “This is—a surprise.”

“I… um… Jason Molloy,” he held out his hand, but before Eric could grasp it, Jay raised it to pinch the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. “Jason… Jay.” Shoulders sagging in defeat, Jay moved his hand up to run through his glossy black hair and managed to look everywhere but at Eric while finally shaking his hand. The poor kid looked like a deer in the headlights with a cannon pointed at it. “But you know that… the Jay part.”

Eric swallowed another laugh and put on a sympathetic face that was real. He felt sorry for the guy. Jay was surprised to see him, that was evident, but the reaction wasn’t quite right. What it wasn’t was a man who’d spent the night with the wrong person, more like a man who’d spent the night with the right person. Eric couldn’t put his finger on what his exact impression was, but it wasn’t rejection. “Eric Keger.” He offered Jay a crooked smile and decided it was time to put Jay out of his misery. “It seems like I’m your new head of security.”

Jay’s mouth dropped open, but he recovered quickly this time and snapped it shut, then moved around to the other side of the desk. Eric turned, following his progress, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and waited.

“Look, this is….” Jay stopped and took a few deep breaths. “Let me try this again. I had no idea, honestly, none. My father hired you and told me a few days ago.” He picked up a file and let it drop back down, opened. “I guess I should have looked at the damn thing.” Jay flicked with one finger at Eric’s picture on the first page, then shut the folder.
“I’m honestly pretty glad you didn’t.” Eric smiled, nodded, and shrugged. “No one is perfect.”

He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing outright when Jay managed to look even more horrified and grumbled, “My father is.” That did it; Eric couldn’t hold back the hearty chuckle waiting impatiently to burst out any longer. Jay’s eyes narrowed for a split second before he blushed. “You think this is funny?”

“Yeah, I sort of do.” Eric shrugged and moved to the desk, hiking one hip onto the edge and twisting to look at Jay, who’d sort of collapsed into his chair. “You didn’t know, and neither did I. We, either of us, didn’t do anything wrong, and we were a county away, so who’d think? I mean seriously, come on, this is like a scene out of a bad date-night movie.”

This week's Tuesday Teaser is from A Barlow Lens.
Two romances. Two stories. Two timelines. Two mysteries solved.

Once they were back at their hotel, Wyatt ushered Val into their room, not bothering with the light. They were high enough up there was no need to close the drapes, and light from the city cast a soft glow over them.

As Val unbuttoned his suit jacket, Wyatt stepped up behind him, placing his palms on Val’s shoulders, then rubbing lightly up and down his arms a few times. “Let me give you a hand.” Wyatt eased the jacket off and kissed the side of Val’s neck, nudging his head to the side as he did so. A low moan rumbled out of Val’s chest. Wyatt dropped the jacket on a chair and slipped his hands under Val’s shirt, caressing Val’s skin with his fingertips.

When he reached Val’s tightening nipples, he rubbed small circles until Val’s hips jerked. Val shuddered and pulled in a quick, shaky breath, making Wyatt smile. Val’s tie and shirt joined his jacket. Wyatt ran his hands over Val’s torso before returning them to Val’s shoulders. He lightly traced the scars on Val’s shoulder with first his finger, then his tongue.

Val’s surgery to repair the damage done in the course of stopping some seriously dangerous people who had been trying to force jockeys to throw races, had left several scars. They weren’t red, raised, and angry anymore. Val never complained about them hurting, but the marks were still puckered and darker than the surrounding skin.

“You know,” Val whispered between dragging in a breath and panting it out again. “That first time we went out to dinner, I was so worried you’d think I was some uncouth, country hick because I don’t know about wine and art. And that I was too young to bother with.”

“Hmm, do you know what I worried about when I was thirty?” Wyatt scraped his teeth across Val’s shoulder blades.

“N-no. What?”                   
                                      
“Getting a sweet piece of hot ass,” Wyatt said in a low voice.

Val laughed. “Well, you’re sort of slow. Took you long enough. Worth the wait?”
​
“Oh, hell, yes.” Wyatt maneuvered Val to the bed.

A Barlow Lens is on sale this week for $2.99 (ebook) and $6.99 (paperback). It's also available in Kindle Unlimited.

This week's teaser is from Shifting Chaos (book 4 of The Sleepless City).

It wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement of friendship, but it was a start, so Declan plowed ahead. “You two are bonded. Sharing such thoughts will strengthen that bond and help you both accept each other. If you feel him so much, then of course he feels you.”

“Don’t you think I know that? As a matter of fact, I know a whole lot more than either one of you think I do.” Blair picked up the tablet and spun on his heel. He held up the tablet. “You write very well.”

“Blair, wait.” Declan was honestly surprised when Blair turned back to him. “Once one of a soulmate pair is marked, the ability to feel the other so powerfully diminishes. What you and Jonas have is incredibly rare and special.” This last part was true, and Declan had to find a way to make Blair see that, for all their sakes.

The front door opened, and Blair looked away from Declan, but not before he saw a hint of understanding cross Blair’s face. In the next instant, Blair’s expression softened to a smile. He’d likely heard, as had Declan, the approach of Simon’s human soulmate, Ben.

Ben joined them, taking his bike helmet off and dropping it on a chair. “There are no jobs anywhere.”

“I could check at the university,” Blair offered.

Simon was a few steps behind Ben. “I just had a call from Marion. Apparently, Lucas and Forge were involved in some fracas at Council.”
That got Declan on his feet. “What?”

“What happened?” Blair asked. He turned his head toward the back door. A second later Moose was running to the back of the house.

Jonas strode in, jerked his jacket off, and tossed it down beside Ben’s helmet, muttering as he went. He stopped and faced them. “Those fools have decided I have to be head detective.”

Lucas came to a stop behind Jonas, grinning.

“Wait, you’ve been pissed off all day because you got a promotion?” Blair asked.

Ben lunged forward and threw his arms around Jonas’s neck. “Sweet as! We need to celebrate. It’s about time they recognized you like this. I think it’s crappy you haven’t been promoted until now.”

Jonas pulled in a breath and stepped back from Ben. “Thank you, but it’s a fucking disaster.”

“Another of the Council’s tricks,” Declan added.

“They can’t do this, can they?” Simon said and sat down abruptly on the couch. “That’s against the Council rules.”

“What’s wrong with all of you?” Ben turned in a circle, glaring at each of them in turn.

“I can’t be the head detective.” Jonas took a DVD from the shelf under the television and put it in the player. He grabbed the remote control, aimed, and pointed. “This”—he waved at the scene appearing on the TV—”is why I can’t have this job.”

An image of Stewie in relation to some incident that, by the looks of it, had happened a few years ago appeared on the screen. Underneath were the words “Boggslake, Ohio, Head Detective Stewart Belle,” and Stewie was speaking to a reporter.

“Oh crap,” Blair said. He and Ben stood side by side.

“Yes. Oh crap covers it nicely. The head detective must be a human, has always been a human. You know, someone who can be seen by a camera and is available during the full moon,” Jonas said. “Before Stewie there was some dick by the name of Felton, and before that we had the oh-so-delightful Smyth.”

Ben nudged Blair and waved one hand between Declan and Jonas. “Have you noticed that between the thief and the cop, the cop is the one with the problems with authority?”

“Oh yes, I have,” Blair said and nodded. He rolled his eyes, and Ben grinned.

Jonas glanced back at Blair and cocked an eyebrow. “Those morons on the Council cannot do this and I told them so.”

All the books in The Sleepless City series are available in
​Kindle Unlimited.

My teaser this week is from Strays. It's a scifi mm romance.

Kyle came back to the world of consciousness slowly, eased awake by Daniel’s gentle urging. There was a lot of background noise and movement and it took him a few minutes to orient to the fact the van had stopped. He was being prodded to his feet. Kyle forced his eyes open and stifled a yawn. Looking around he finally focused on Daniel, blinking at him. They were the last ones left in the van.
​
“C’mon, tiger.” Daniel pulled him to his feet. “Time to get you cleaned up and—”

Kyle curled his lips to a lazy smile. “And you have a promise to keep.”

“I have a room here. We’ll spend the night and go back in the morning. Got a few days off coming to us.”

“Hmm,” Kyle hooked his fingers in the belt loops of Daniel’s pants and nuzzled his neck, planting soft kisses until he heard others close to the van again. “Hope you don’t plan on getting rest.”

He followed Daniel through the maze that the barracks was to him, wondering if he’d ever learn his way around this place. By the time Daniel opened a door and stepped back for him to go through, Kyle was completely awake, mind spinning with how Daniel’s mouth had felt against his, how their bodies pressed so perfectly together.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, Daniel was all over him, pushing him back against the wall, hands getting under the blankets and shoving them away. The man’s hands were everywhere and all Kyle could think of was how much he wanted this, how he had wanted it for the entire time he’d known Daniel. However, Daniel was older and so very confident and so much more experienced that Kyle hadn’t known how to ask. He’d felt too foolish and clumsy, simply too young.

Daniel was good to his word and didn’t seem to see those things at all. Holding Kyle close his tongue and lips worked up and down Kyle’s neck. Dropping his head back, Kyle sighed and ground his hips against Daniel, letting the other man take his weight and hold him up.

Fingers pressing into the muscles along Kyle’s back, Daniel turned them and walked them backward until Kyle’s legs hit the bed. Flopping back he pulled Daniel down on top of him. Fisting the material of Daniel’s shirt, Kyle pulled and tugged until Daniel lifted his arms and the clothing slid away. “Maybe you could, you know, be naked too?”

Strays is available on Amazon and is in Kindle Unlimited.