SERVICED: Taking Command by Zara Stoneley

Following the release of Serviced on March 1st, I am running a daily spotlight for each of the stories featured in this hot new military-themed anthology from Breathless Press...

Taking Command

by Zara Stoneley

Mike Sands knows that loving a soldier can lead to heartache, so when he falls hard for his best mates little sister he knows he has to walk away. 

But can Jade let him, when one taste has left her desperate for more? Or dare she take command of the situation and prove to both of them that maybe what they have is worth taking a risk over?

Sometimes one night of passion is not enough, sometimes you just have to stop thinking about the future and live in the present.

Excerpt...

She ran her tongue over her generous mouth, and smiled, so slow and so deliberate that he felt his mouth dry up like he was tasting dust. 

"Six months ago, you gave me what I wanted, Mike, what we both wanted, just before you ran away." Her lips parted and she dipped one finger deep into the soft warm depths of her mouth, drew it out slowly, her cheeks hollowing. Just the way she'd look as she sucked his aching dick. "I still want you and I think you still want me, don't you?" The husky voice snaked straight down his body to his aching balls. 

"You wouldn't believe how much I want you." He swallowed hard. "But, I should never have touched you." He should never have touched her, and he should never have left her. Shit, if she carried on doing that, he'd be coming. He shouldn't have kissed her; he shouldn't have wrapped his arm around that firm ass and pulled her in tight so that her breasts rubbed against his shoulder. He shouldn't have run his hand up the inside of her creamy thigh. Even though he wanted her so much it hurt, and she knew, they knew each other so well. Too well. Maybe, just maybe nothing would happen to him...and maybe she was strong enough to cope if it did. Jade wasn't his mum, Jade was unique. 

The string of rational thought shattered and his stomach clenched as she stepped closer, leaned down, and ran her tongue over his lips. She teased at his mouth with her teeth, pulling just short of pain, and he groaned. Control had always been hard here, in his safe place, with people he trusted. Here he let down his guard. 

"I think you should. I want you, Mike." 

The sweet musk of her arousal teased at his senses; she was wet, he knew she was sopping wet, if only he could reach out, slip his fingers between her legs. Her tongue dipped into his mouth, slid along his teeth, and then she was sucking on his tongue, gentle persistent sucks that sent a new rush of blood to his groin. Just as the ache in his balls started to mess with his head she stopped. 

"And I'm going to have you."

Buy it now...

Breathless Press (20% discount in March)
Amazon

Amazon UK
All Romance eBooks
Bookstrand

Barnes & Noble (coming soon)
iTunes (coming soon)

ISBN: 978-1-77101-022-1
Heat Rating: 5
Word Count: 65386
Release Date: March 1, 2013

All's fair in love and war, they say. Come find out if it's true in these ten stories where soldiers prove that their skills in the field are only rivaled by their skills in the bedroom.

For One Night Only
by Allie A Burrow

Over A Dead Body
by Leona Bushman

Reds, Whites, and Blues
by Mickey J. Corrigan

Leave Taking
by Angelica Dawson

First Date: The Italian Colonel
by Jesabelle Jones

Major's Minah
by Ravan McAllan

Knock Out
by Natalia Petrovskii

A Chance At Love
by Shelli Rosewarne

Taking Command
by Zara Stoneley

Riding Out the Storm
by Natalia Petrovskii

SERVICED: 500 Likes Giveaway

I'm sure you've probably seen it already, but just in case you haven't, we - as in all of the Serviced authors along with the publisher - have each chipped in with a copy of Serviced: Volume 1 for a giveaway to celebrate its release, and the launch of our dedicated book page on Facebook.

By setting up a dedicated page, you can now engage with us all in one central place, as well as read the reviews that come in, and find out about any special promotions.

Entry couldn't be simpler, and you can even do it from the page itself, by clicking on the blue Giveaway box. All you have to do to enter is 'like' the Serviced page. That's it. No clicking here, there, and everywhere. No tweeting. No commenting. No trick questions.If you want to boost your chances of winning, you could also like our indivdual pages as well, and gain bonus entries, but it is entirely optional. If you already like any of the pages listed, it still counts, just click to say you like the page already and get your free entries. Win Win!

On behalf on myself and the other authors, we would love to see you over there.

If you'd like to enter the giveaway right now, here is the entry form (or if you are on a PC, it is directly above this post)...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will roll on until the page exceeds 500 fans, which will then trigger the 'final call' and the giveaway will close within twenty-four hours. Prize winners will be contacted via Facebook within 48 hours of the giveaway ending, as well as announced on the Giveaway tab and Rafflecopter.

If you want the book in your hands sooner, get sharing. Tell your friends. Tweet about it. The more you share, the earlier the giveaway may close.

GOOD LUCK!

REVIEWS...

"Each and every story was hot, sexy, fun and flirty! For those ladies out there looking for a hotter than hot read this one is it, the sex scenes of all books were remarkable and guaranteed to get your heart racing and palms sweating, not to mention the drop-your-pants and give me some soldiers! I highly recommend this read for lovers of short but powerful romances reads with hot, racy and sexy love scenes. After reading this one you will want to go out and get serviced by your very own uniformed hero!" 5/5 STARS - Romance Book Haven

"For One Night Only is simply perfect. A sassy novella with a high heat level, and characters we love... [it] is truly lovely; an erotica romance with a lot of depth. I strongly recommend it!" 5 STARS, Carmen Falcone, author of A Vengeful Affair and soon to be released Heating Up Hawaii

Countdown to Christmas: 7 more sleeps...

Good Enough to Share
by Zara Stoneley

Buy it now!
($3.00 / £1.93)Amazon US and Amazon UK

One Christmas, four friends – but will they still be together by New Year?

Divorce wasn’t part of the plan for Holly, but then again nor was spending the festive period with two sexy men and Santa’s little helper! With a disastrous marriage behind her, and three good friends who are willing to share, moving on could be fun – if only she can accept that sometimes her heart is wiser than her head.

Dane doesn’t do commitment, which suits Holly just fine. But when things heat up between the four friends, he’s forced to face up to his past. Will realising he’s good enough mean he no longer wants to share…?

Laid back Charlie knows that if his best friend becomes his lover he could end up losing big time. But can he resist? And when the girl he once loved comes back, who will he decide to spend the New Year with?

…And Sophie just wants to have fun. She’s got the answers to everyone's problems, except her own …. is she the one who needs good friends most of all?

Will a caring, sharing, lust and love filled Christmas lead to the happy ever after they all desire?

WARNING - Christmas may never seem the same again!

Scroll down for excerpt

Available now on Kindle
Amazon US and Amazon UK

Enter giveaway!

About the author...

Hi Allie, thanks for having me!

Here’s a brief introduction, so that you know who you’re talking to … 

I've always wanted to be a writer, I submitted my first novel, a thriller, when I was twelve years old. I sent it direct to a publisher, with a handwritten note and no return postage! I had a lovely letter in response encouraging me to try again and so eventually I did. 

As I hit my mid teens my writing tastes shifted from action to romance, and I was soon addicted to alpha heroes, and what could be better than writing about them? I started off writing contemporary romance with a bit sizzle, and it didn't take me long to discover that I also loved writing the very sexy stuff. So, if you like your romance simmering and sensual please check out my first Susie Medwell story which is due out next spring with Lyrical Press, and if you like them hot and erotic then Zara is your girl! 

My days are now spent daydreaming, and writing, about good looking, well built men who know what they want and know how to get it, men who know the meaning of sensual and put a girl's needs before their own... men who have a sensitive side (for your eyes only) as well as a rough edge...men who love women for what they are... men who aren't afraid to take on an intelligent, sassy woman....

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Excerpt...

A man in a pinny isn’t necessarily a turn on. A naked man, with his back turned to you and a perfectly toned ass is. Just saying. It was the smell of coffee and bacon that had got me out of bed. Coffee is one of the few things I count as essential in life, and the smell of bacon crisping first thing in the morning, well, I wouldn’t say no.

“Sleep well?” He turned just enough to flash a smile at me, but it wasn’t the white teeth that grabbed my attention, it was his chin darkened with stubble. I was staring, I must stop staring.

“Yeah.” The last time I’d got up to find a man in the kitchen was a long time ago. James understood a loaf of bread and a lump of cheese, which he’d cut into precision slices, but that was about the limit of his interest. And no way would he venture out of the bedroom dressed in, well nothing. What was I supposed to do now?

“Grab a stool, it’s nearly ready.”

He’d read my mind. Stated the obvious, but the obvious was good. Normal.

“Did you sleep?” I had told myself I wasn’t going to ask, in case I didn’t like the answer, but I couldn’t help it. I never was very good at hiding what was on my mind.

“Not really, that sofa is about a foot too short.” Ah, so that answered that. He pushed a mug of coffee across the breakfast bar. “Is sleepyhead Sophie awake yet?”

“Not heard any noises from the spare room yet.” I could have been mistaken but I could swear his face relaxed a bit. So he’d got questions too. But was he worried that he’d been missing out on a girlie fest, or was this sharing thing strange for him too? “She doesn’t really like mornings.”

“Nope, bit of a night owl.” He touched the back of my hand with the tip of his finger and I glanced up straight into serious eyes. “From what I remember.”

“We’re—” the coffee was good, hot but nice and strong so that I got a hit of caffeine almost before the liquid reached my throat. “—skating round things a bit aren’t we?” There, I just can’t leave something alone until I know. He leaned in a bit closer so that I could smell that fresh morning shower smell and kissed me so gently on the lips that my heart gave a funny flip.

“Eat breakfast then we’ll stop skating.” I half wanted to say stop, talk, I need to know what we’re doing before the moment went, but he was putting eggs and bacon on plates and it smelled so good my stomach started to do a jungle rumble. He put a plate in front of me, soft bread bap topped with crispy bacon and a perfect fried egg.

“Salt?”

“Sure.” Fingers too big for the salt bowl picked up a few grains and sprinkled it over. Too big, but oh so dexterous. I ignored the way my throat was drying at the thought. “I’ve not had an egg and bacon butty for years.” A dribble of egg yolk burst out and headed down my chin.

“I can see why.” He was laughing but his eyes were intent.

I stuck my tongue out to lick it off, met his finger as he reached out and for a moment we both froze. Then I couldn’t help it, I sucked his finger very slowly, very deliberately with my eggy sticky lips. Okay, I’d told myself I wasn’t getting involved with anyone, but this was different, wasn’t it? This was casual, no strings, no expectations and we’d already stepped past the friends’ mark.

“That might not be a good thing to do, Holly.” His voice had that rough edge to it that I loved, a sandpaper sound that set my nerves on edge. I let my tongue circle the tip of his digit and kept on looking right into those deep grey eyes and his throat rippled as he swallowed. His other hand came up, cradled my neck, his thumb tracing up from the base all the way up to my chin and the hairs at the back of my neck prickled to full-on alert.

“Strange thing for a half-naked man to say.”

         

(PS This book is doing phenomenally well in the Amazon rankings, just saying ;-) )

Enter giveaway!

The 'Next Big Thing' blog tour

It would appear my writing "friends" - hmm! - are ganging up on me as I have been tagged by both Téa Cooper AND Zara Stoneley to take part in the 'Next Big Thing' blog tour. The idea is to copy the questions and apply them my own Work in Progress, then pass the baton over to three other authors.

Seeing as 'Allie' only ever gets to play when the heat level is too hot for 'Aurelia', there isn't really a lot happening on the new projects front. Especially with me being tied up with NaNoWriMo this month, as well as organising blog guests. At one point, I did consider writing my current work in progress, Bye Bye, Black Sheep, as Allie but I'm now ninety-percent sure it will be one for Aurelia.

I also have a very vague idea for another short story for a specific anthology being pulled together a group of in-house BP authors, but the story isn't far enough along to be able to offer any information. Instead, I shall talk about the story which is right now going through the acquisition process with Breathless Press...

• What is the title of my current work in progress?

The story is called For One Night Only and it will be featured in 'Serviced Anthology: VOL 1' with nine other stories next Spring.

• Where did the idea come from for the book?

I saw an urgent call-out for submissions by my editor, on hehalf of Breathless Press, requesting shorter stories of heat level 3 or above to feature in their Serviced anthology. Basically, it needed to involve either the military or the likes of police/paramedic/fireman etc in some way shape or form. Although the required heat level was well outside my 'comfort zone', I saw it as a good excuse to challenge myself and see if I could get over my writing hang-ups so I decided to give it a go.

• What genre does your book fall under?

Either spicy contemporary romance or I may even go so far as to describe it as erotic romance.

• What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Umm... this is where I confess I'm not really up on my actors.

I watch very little television - unless it's sports or children's TV - and don't tend to get to the cinema ever since the kids came along. So, I'm sorry, but I haven't got a clue. To be honest, I don't even have a mental picture of the characters in my head either, which is most unlike me.

• What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Kate Powell broke her own rules and fell for a soldier about to be posted abroad for a year, but then seven months in, a text arrives and she learns Corporal Mark Butler is back in the country for one night only and she isn't about to let the opportunity pass her by...

• Is your book self-published or represented by an agency?

It is in the process of being contracted by Breathless Press.

• How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I'm not even sure I should admit this... I actually knocked it out in just three evenings - pretty much - and thanks to my inner editor, the first draft was also the final draft bar a couple of minor tweaks.

• What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Umm... I really do need a special clueless icon for these questions. 

Nothing I've read that I can recall but I guess it can be compared to other male/female contemporary military-themed romances, such as those which will appear in the anthology alongside For One Night Only, as well as anthologies available from other publishers, like Secret Cravings.

• Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Another one I maybe shouldn't admit to! What's with these questions, am I not allowed any secrets?

Okay... For One Night Only is very - and I mean VERY! - loosely based on a personal experience. Many years ago, I was dating a soldier who was posted overseas. One Saturday night, I got a call out of the blue inviting me to join him in London to go to an all-night rave (yes, it really was that long ago). I jumped on the next train and met him at Waterloo Station before making our way to a nightclub called Bagleys, which isn't even there anymore, to dance the night away. But that is where the similarity ends! Oh, except for the killer high heels, but I don't remember being offered any piggy-backs. Hmm...

• What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

See my last comment! 

With the story being based on a real-life experience, I can now imagine my friends and followers wondering exactly which bits are real, and which are pure fiction.

Oh, and my Editor told me she loves the vibrator scene. (Can I stop blushing yet?)


And there we have it. It's been fun sharing a little insight into my debut story writing as Allie. If all goes to plan, 'Serviced Anthology: VOL 1' should be available from Breathless Press from March 8th 2013. It will feature nine other stories, ranging from historical to present day, written by some incredible authors.

In order to see what some of my writer friends are doing, I’m going to tag Millie Romano, Ali Hunter and Incy Black. Let's see what you've got ;-)