I decided to go for something a little steamier this week because of a review RYDER ON THE STORM received that has gotten some attention lately - much to my chagrin. I believe that everybody has a right to their opinion and I certainly have my own, but I also believe that reviews should be fair. So, I am putting this sample forth for people to make their own determinations. The review in question indicated that there are a "number of extremely graphic sex scenes" that "push the boundary of pornography pretty hard" and the word "smut" was used. I have received some emails about this with strong suggestions (I'm being polite here) that I put a label on my books and shift them to the erotica section. I was pretty taken aback by this sudden surge of activity over this one review, especially since I strongly disagree with the review and the subsequent suggestions. These people are of course entitled to their opinions and I am not seeking to have the review removed or even responding to these emails, but I cannot be silent on something that I fear may be affecting my potential readers. I worked very hard on the love scenes in my Emerald Seer series. There are words I refused to use and I kept their number to a minimum (just two love scenes in RYDER ON THE STORM). As for their explicit nature, you be the judge, this is the first love scene in RYDER:
Storm
Dammit. She actually regretted hitting them. Now Storm wished she’d hit them harder and
more than once. How could they betray
her like this? She planted her hands on
the steering wheel and exhaled in the irritated fashion she’d recently
developed. For a fleeting moment, an
image of Trin doing the same exact thing, popped in her head. A calm washed over her and it registered that
Dan and Shane were oblivious to the confrontation she’d had with the Immortal
earlier in the day. They had no clue
that her body reacted so intensely to him.
It really couldn’t be their fault.
Dammit. Still, she didn’t need a
baby-sitter. That they should have
known. Ha. She could be angry with them.
The
driver’s side door swung open. Storm
whipped her head around, face held in a mask of fury and irritation in hopes of
disguising the excited flutter she felt inside.
There he stood, hairs falling loose from the leather throng, the most
beautiful man she’d ever seen. His face
betrayed his confusion for a moment and then he regained that smug expression
she’d seen in the alley.
“I
have been instructed to accompany you home as protection.” That smooth, velvety voice with the tinge of
steel, dammit, he even knows he is suave.
“Just
because you are guarding me like a child does not mean you get to drive my
car. I can absolutely take care of
myself.” Storm fought to keep her hands
on the wheel; she wanted to fold her arms across her chest to drive the point
home but thought better of it. She
wouldn’t put it past him to just remove her from the car or transplant her in
the passenger seat. “If you are coming,
you’d better get in. The trunk works for
me.”
He
shook his head and shut the door. In
seconds, the Immortal climbed in to the passenger side and buckled in. “What have I done to offend you?” His voice seemed sad somehow. Dammit, now she felt guilt. This feeling thing really sucked.
Storm
chose to ignore him. She started the
Hummer and pulled away, grateful that Shane had fought for the pull through
spot. Her maneuverability skills in the
Beetle would not likely translate to the Hummer and it would have been a great
embarrassment in front of Him. She
flipped on the radio and turned it up.
Before she registered the song, her companion began laughing.
Storm
reached over and turned the music down again, “What is so funny?”
“Oh,
now you want to talk. Quid pro quo, Miss
Sullivan, you answer my question first.”
That smug expression again. Gods
he could be the most beautiful man ever created. His eyes twinkled mischievously. Storm looked back to the road, pushing the
butterflies in her stomach aside, wading through the frustration over the
encounter in the alley, and worded her response carefully.
“I
could have handled him myself. I am not
without talent. Not only did you
interrupt what should have been an easy bust, you beat the freak down and
referred to me as your woman. Does any
part of that sound endearing to you?
Hmmm?” She stole a sidelong
glance at him as he rearranged his hair, replacing the loose strands in the
leather throng.
“Point
taken, Miss Sullivan. Please, tell me
what did you plan to do to him?”
Anger
flared again, he was mocking her. She
decided to play it differently, throw him off his suave game. “No, it is your turn. Why did you start laughing at me?” He didn’t respond. She turned to look, ready to berate him some
more when she realized he’d turned the music back up and pointed at the
radio. She tilted her head and
listened. “Riders on the Storm” by the
Doors. “Har. Har. You know Aerosmith too? They did a little song called Dream On.”
“Touché,
Miss Sullivan. I simply found it ironic
and entertaining.” Ryder paused, started
to speak, and then apparently thought better of it. The rest of the ride to Willow Wood passed in
tension-packed silence. Storm nearly
suffocated in her desire, the fluttering in her gut multiplied and spread to
every bit of her body. Her skin thrummed
with excitement. Perhaps this part of
feeling could become pleasant if she could somehow learn to control it.
She
pulled into the garage, turned off the engine, and slipped out of the
Hummer. Certainly Ryder would be
interested in the cars, what man wouldn’t?
She pointed out the various models as they walked by, Ryder nodded
appreciatively but she felt his eyes on her the entire time. It should have been unsettling instead of
exhilarating. Dammit. This could get bad. Dan said it would take at least two hours to
book the freaky waiter and she knew the precinct was at least a forty-five
minute drive from her house. She could
get into a lot of trouble in that time.
Storm
led Ryder into the kitchen. “Would you
like something to drink? They guys stocked
beer and wine in the fridge and I have coffee and tea. What’s your poison?”
“You
are still angry with me.” Ryder did not
word it as a question. She felt her
shoulders drop in response. He would not
be letting this go.
“Yes. Look, don’t take it personal. I am new to this feeling thing.” Nicely done Storm, make the guy think you are
an even bigger freak. Fabulously
endeavored.
“Feeling
thing? I am afraid I don’t follow.” Dammit.
She turned to face him. Ryder was
studying her, his expression a mix of want and confusion. Great.
Why couldn’t it just be want? She
could work with him wanting her, confusion over wanting her was a different
matter altogether.
“Come
on, you Immortals have been watching me, you have to know.” Storm didn’t buy it. Dan had warned her that they were watching her
but for some reason they trusted this one not to harm her. Something about him had sold them on her
being safe in his care.
“Enlighten
me, Miss Sullivan, please.” He didn’t
know. Oh, that voice. She wanted to wrap herself in his voice, she
wanted him whispering in her ear, she wanted – stop. Focus.
“My
Aunt Trin bound my emotions when I was a child.
She died. Spell broken. Emotions raging like a teenage girl in the
throes of PMS. I am learning to control
them, but, well, I am new at this.” She
pulled a bottle of pinot grigio from the fridge. “I choose wine. Would you like a glass?”
“I
would, thank you.” He crossed to the
breakfast bar and sat on one of the stools while she uncorked the bottle. “Why did your aunt bind your emotions?”
Storm
focused a little too intently on pouring the wine. She felt his eyes on her. Gods, she didn’t want to go here, she didn’t
want him to know how messed up her life had gotten, or that she could steal his
immortality if the legends were correct.
Storm set the wine bottle down, it made a little clink on the granite
counter top. She took a glass in each
hand and walked around to sit on the stool beside Ryder. Their fingers brushed along the thin stem as
she handed him the glass. That same
electricity flared, she swore they actually glowed for a moment, dammit, that
would be her emotions flaring. Ryder’s
eyes flared at the touch as well. She
certainly did not imagine that.
“I
don’t know why.” Storm looked down, not
sure if she was more saddened by the absence of his touch or the lie she’d just
told him. He moved slightly causing
their knees to brush and this time her knee truly glowed.
“I
seem to have an interesting effect on you, Miss Sullivan.” Again, not a question. She felt a flush rising in her cheeks and
that damnable fluttering in her stomach intensified and spread downward. His fingers were on her chin, gently attempting
to lift her eyes to meet his. “Storm,
look at me.” She did. How could she not? It wasn’t exactly an order but every inch of
her body reacted to the velveteen words.
Several strands of hair fell across his face as Ryder studied, searching
her face for something. She smiled
awkwardly, embarrassed by the glow building around her.
His
lips met hers, softly at first and then more intense as he took away her wine
glass and set it on the counter with a clink.
Then she was in his arms, crushed against him as he kissed along her
jawline, down her neck and back up.
Ryder pulled back and looked into her eyes, his flashed blue to green to
silver and back again, excitement flaring and mixing with a hunger she’d never
seen before. He kissed her again,
tugging at her bottom lip as he withdrew.
Storm rose to her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, pressing
her body against his wherever possible.
Her body raged internally, the emotions rumbling through her like waves
on the beach. She kissed him, pushed her
tongue gently into his mouth. He groaned
in response, a throaty sound that sent a new wave of flutters through her
stomach. Ryder grabbed her legs and
wrapped them about his waist. She
realized what came next, a flicker of concern flashed through her mind and then
his lips were fluttering along her neck and passion hit full on once more.
Ryder
carried her out of the kitchen to the dining room and placed her on the edge of
the massive table. Sliding his hands
down her sides he masterfully unzipped her dress and slipped it off her
shoulders to her waist without altering the rhythm of baby kisses he
simultaneously peppered along her collarbone.
Storm reached down and unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and
used her feet to maneuver them down.
Ryder wore nothing underneath.
She instinctively slid to the edge of the table allowing her hemline to
slide up. Ryder pulled back, looked at
the bunched up dress, frowned and ripped it open along the side seam. He cast it aside and looked down on her, his
eyes two strange silvery pools. She felt
suddenly self-conscious in nothing more than her bikini undies and lacy black
bra. Ryder tore her bra open in the
middle, his hands palming her breasts and then his lips found her left nipple,
a soft suckling sent a fire through her.
He shredded her underwear and switched to her right nipple.
Ryder
pulled back and found her face; he gave her a sexy half smile and pulled his
own shirt off before falling on her again.
He laid a barrage of kisses from her earlobe down her neck, between her
breasts, down her abdomen, to the crook of her leg and hip, along her inner
thigh and back up. Storm moaned in
response and he entered her causing her to cry out. Ryder moaned and drove into her, his hands
holding her hips in place. She grasped
at the edge of the table but couldn’t quite reach, her body moving in rhythm
with his. Storm glowed golden and she
didn’t care, all that mattered in her world stood over her, in her. His silver eyes never broke contact with hers. The flutter inside built as Storm panted and
moaned. Something was coming, growing
with each thrust. The tingling sensation
heightened, more and more intense, until it exploded from her core in a tidal
wave of emotion and power that lit the entire dining room. Storm swore she was floating. Ryder cried out her name and then fell on
her, his body warm and sweaty, smelling of spice and salt and him.
They
lay like that, half on the table, half off for what seemed an eternity. Ryder rose and looked on her again; his eyes
still that gorgeous silvery color. He
smiled. She couldn’t help but smile in
return. The glow had subsided some but
her body still felt electrified.
Ryder
broke the silence, “Well, that was eye-opening.
Miss Sullivan, you are something more than human.”
