…here’s an exclusive snippet from Copping A Feel, my rom-com in the vein of Jennifer Crusie (and for all those Crusie fans, yes, Copping a Feel also stars a mutt *grin*)
Enjoy…
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Darci-Rae Whitlam doesn’t know which is more disturbing, receiving scads of obscene phone calls—or getting so turned-on by said phone calls. Then there’s the email from her American friend, Rachel, taunting Darci with something called a Cougar Challenge. Just the thought of seducing a younger man is enough to permanently soak her knickers. No wonder her ever-disapproving sister thinks she’s oversexed!
Cybercrime Detective Jarrod St. James is investigating a case of stolen identity. He quickly learns the fiery redhead claiming to be Darci-Rae Whitlam is the real deal (his shoulder trapped in the jaws of her gargantuan dog might have sped that decision along). He really should go back to Sydney, continue tracking the imposter who’s operating a phone-sex business in Darci’s name…but the woman proves too tempting. Job be damned, he has to have her. The fact she’s got a titillating challenge to complete only helps his case.
Darci just may be the fastest cougar to snag her cub yet. Being the victim of a crime has never been more fun!
****
Jarrod let out a raw groan, hands grabbing at the rug, legs quivering, pulse pounding until, all control deserting him, he gave himself over to the pure pleasure of the blowjob and rode each cresting wave.
“Well,” he muttered when the throbbing tension in his groin subsided somewhat. “That didn’t exactly go to plan.” His hands found their way to Darci’s hair as she laid her head on his belly and he combed his fingers through the cool strands.
“What plan?” She settled herself between his spread legs, her breasts cupping his groin, her own fingers drawing lazy circles over his rib cage. “The one to arrest me?”
He laughed, shaking his head as he did so. “Well, that too, but that’s not what I meant.”
She lifted her head and studied him, eyebrows dipping a little. “You really were going to arrest me? Should I be calling my solicitor now?” She gave him a mischievous smirk. “You do realize what we just did could be considered entrapment, or accepting a bribe or something official sounding I’m sure they mention often on Law & Order.”
Jarrod laughed again, the sound more at ease than any he’d heard himself make in a long time. “No, Ms. Whitlam. I’m not going to arrest you, although I have to admit the idea of putting you in handcuffs has crossed my mind an obscene number of times since I first saw you.”
She cocked an eyebrow.
“I know you are who you say you are,” he went on, his pulse kicking up a notch when her fingers played with his nipple. “What didn’t go to plan was my utter and complete lack of control just now.”
Darci studied him for a still moment, a smile pulling at the edges of her mouth. “I wouldn’t berate yourself too much, Detective.” She straightened to her feet and began to walk away from him, seemingly uncaring of her naked state. Jarrod watched her go, his cock growing heavy. It wasn’t just refreshing to meet a woman so relaxed with her body, but a bloody turn-on. She flipped him a quick look over her shoulder. “A woman my age would consider what just happened the ultimate compliment.”
Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he frowned at her before she disappeared through the doorway leading to the kitchen. “There you go with that ‘my age’ bullshit,” he called, tucking his dick back into his jeans. “I know you’ve only just turned forty and you’re talking as if you’re checking yourself into a nursing home any day.”
She came back into the living room before he could zip up his fly, a bottle of water in her hands. Her eyebrows rose up her forehead. “How do you know I’ve just turned forty?”
He gave her a pointed look. “I’m a cop investigating a crime, remember? I may not have known what Darci-Rae Whitlam looked like until the moment you slammed into me on your front porch, but I know your date of birth. Just out of interest, your driver’s license photo looks nothing like you. When did you stop being a blonde with black horned-rimmed glasses?”
She snorted, the soft sound far sexier than it should have been. “When my sister told me to grow up.”
Jarrod frowned, detecting an edge to her voice. What was that about? “Well,” he said with a slow grin, wanting to see her relaxed and comfortable again, “I like the way you look now. A lot.”
Lifting the bottle to her lips, she took a slow drink, her gaze never leaving his face. She still hadn’t made any move to cover her nakedness and Jarrod’s cock gave a little twitch. If she was standing any closer to him, he’d drag her back down to the floor and fuck her silly.
What are you waiting for then?
“And how old are you, Detective St. James?”
He grinned. “Young enough to qualify.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Qualify?”
“Tempt the Cougar,” he prodded, despite the uncertainty at his bravado. Why was it he could bust up a gang of Hells Angels without breaking a sweat, but the idea of suggesting what he thought he was suggesting, to a woman he’d known for all of seventy-four minutes, made him as nervous as all hell?
She turned and gave her closed laptop a long look, her expression neutral. Studied. “What crime are you investigating?”
The question took him by surprise. He bit back a curse, a sudden stab of professionalism making him start. “Stolen identity,” he answered. “Someone has been using your personal information to establish a new identity.”
Darci turned back to him, unreadable expression still on her face. “Would that identity have anything to do with being a phone-sex worker?”
Jarrod nodded. He was breaking so many rules right at this moment he could barely keep up. If the head of his division found out what he was doing he could face suspension, but he didn’t care. Seriously, he’d just shared the most amazing act of fellatio with his key witness and was ready to do more. Telling her someone was using her name to operate an illegal phone-sex business was the least of his transgressions.
She let out a ragged sigh, crossing to where he still lay stretched out on her rug before dropping to her knees beside him. “That explains a lot then, doesn’t it?” She took another sip of water, gaze fixed on the poster of the copulating teddies.
Jarrod looked at her, something indefinable stirring deep inside him. She looked so beautiful, so confident, and yet at the same time, vulnerable. The contradiction squeezed his chest and it was all he could do to not reach out and pull her down to his body and kiss her senseless.
Then do it!
“Based on the last phone call I heard,” he said, struggling to keep his hands to himself, “I’d say yes.”
She turned her attention from the poster and gave him a level look, her stare direct. A teacher’s look if ever Jarrod had seen one. Don’t lie to me or there will be consequences. “So,” she said, tone calm but serious. “I have to ask—why did you run from the house earlier if you knew who I was?”
He swallowed, suppressing the urge to fidget. Not just because he didn’t know how to answer her question, but because he was growing more and more aroused by the second. Every facet of Darci Whitlam’s personality turned him on, from the quirky woman who talked to her dog as if he were a person to the sensual creature of assertive passion to the no-nonsense educator. Oh man, you’re sinking fast, Jarrod.
“Two reasons,” he answered, forcing his own voice to stay steady. “The phone call reminded me what I was here for. And made me realize what I was just about to do.”
She studied him, teacher gaze unwavering. “So why did you come back?”
Swallowing again, he met her stare, throat—and other parts of his anatomy—thicker still. “I realized what I was just about to do.”
His cryptic answer curled the corners of her mouth. “Hmmm.”
She took another drink, her breasts moving slightly as she raised the water bottle to her lips. Jarrod pulled in a slow breath, enjoying the sight. He’d never known someone to be so at peace with her naked body. Every woman he’d ever fooled around with had so many hang-ups about the way they looked they’d scramble for the sheets or clothes the second he withdrew. Darci-Rae, however…
Fuck, she is sexy. Sexy and confident and gorgeous and…
His cock jerked, his balls growing swollen and hard.
I want her. Again. Now.
Unable to stop himself, he slid his hand up her thigh, skimming her hip before charting a slow path up to her left breast. She felt like sinful perfection and his cock flooded with eager heat.
Darci’s eyes widened. She looked at him, her expression stunned, her body motionless.
A sinking sensation settled in the pit of Jarrod’s gut. He froze, hand still on the heavy swell of her breast. Oh fuck. You’ve read the signs all wrong, Detective. Get your hands off her, say you’re sorry and get out of her house.
“What?” she began, her stare sliding to his rising erection. It jutted from his open jeans like a bloody pole, thick and stiff and already purple with hungry desire.
Before he could grab the offending thing and shove it back into his trousers, however, Darci turned her gaze back to his face. “Already?” she asked, her smile hot enough to make Jarrod’s head swim.
He snaked his arm up around her neck and buried his fingers in her hair, a wave of something very like bliss rolling through him. “One of the benefits of a younger man,” he murmured with a grin, tugging her head down to his. “We’re ready to go almost straight away.” He brushed his mouth over hers, delighted when her tongue touched his bottom lip. An invitation.
With a growl, he yanked her against his body, capturing her laugh with his kiss. Capturing her breasts with his hands.
Fuck, if he was going to break the rules, he may as well do a damn good job of it.
You all know we’ve been having a heatwave down here in Australia, and the hot weather has brought a lot of bushfire activity. It’s times like this we appreciate the brave individuals who fight these fires, protecting lives and property and even cute furry animals. And you know my book, Erica’s Choice, features two super hot firefighters who once featured in the Queensland Firefighters Charity Calendar. Well, I have two 2013 Queensland Firefighters Charity Calendars to giveaway.
To say I’m excited about this book is an understatement. Maybe its because the story is set in the Outback (my first), maybe because I’ve always wanted to write an Aussie cowboy (aka, stockman), maybe because I got to work with Mari Carr who, in case you haven’t figured out by now, is one of the most lovely people I know and so bloody talented I get breathless reading her books. Quite possibly all three. Suffice to say, writing this book was the beginning of something special and I’m so glad to be sharing it with you all now.
And for those interested, Book One of the Seven Deadly Daemons series can be found
International Heat 
