Excerpts – Page 5

My Sexy Saturday: Putting the ‘stud’ in social studies

September 14, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 5 Comments Excerpts OSNB

Yes, I went there. Again. If you forgave me the first time, you can do it again, right?

It’s time for another My Sexy Saturday blog hop. For those of you playing along for the first time, here are the rules:

This week, I promised a hot scene between Erin and Brad. They’re the heroine and hero of the first manuscript I completed, the one that wouldn’t recognize itself if it bumped into its first draft in a dark alley — or in a brightly lit corridor, for that matter.

Erin is an education reporter for the Willow’s Grove Journal-Times; Brad is a social studies teacher at the school she’s investigating (with sportswriter/male stripper Mike James) for giving athletes inflated grades. Erin prides herself on not being superstitious — she goes so far as to go out of her way to walk under ladders. But she wonders if she’s jinxed herself to be perpetually unlucky in love.

In this scene, toward the end of the book, Brad has just learned about Erin’s investigation and asks to see her notes — a request she denies, citing freedom of the press.

Sometimes, there’s nothing hotter than a good argument …

***

“I’m familiar with freedom of the press.” Brad’s hand waved impatiently. “I teach government, remember?”

Erin spoke through clenched teeth. Why did he insist on being so obtuse? “Then you should understand why I can’t share my findings. I shouldn’t be discussing the story with you at all before it goes to press.”

He buried his face in his hands. Seconds ticked by, and when he looked up, all traces of warmth in his eyes had vanished. “Just tell me one thing: Are you sleeping with anyone else to get access to their grade book, or just me?”

The question hit her like a punch to the stomach, flattening her hard-won self esteem with one blow. As her surroundings dimmed, all the breath whooshed from her body. “You can’t be serious.”

“As a heart attack. You’ve obviously been cozying up to me so you can snoop through my stuff.”

No. He didn’t — couldn’t — mean it. She refused to believe he could even consider such a thing.

But the look in his eyes told her he clearly did. She ran her tongue over her lips as she gathered what was left of her self-respect, pulling it close as if it could keep her heart from splintering. “If that’s how you feel, maybe you should go.”

My Sexy Saturday — Meg & Matt

September 7, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 4 Comments Excerpts Meg & Matt

Good morning, everyone. It’s Saturday, and you know what that means: Time to kick back with another round of My Sexy Saturday reads.

The rules:

To celebrate the sale of my 2011 Golden Heart-finaling manuscript, BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER, to Turquoise Morning Press, here’s an excerpt.

In this scene, the book’s opener, Meg has just realized she’s pregnant and almost lost her job. She and her still-employed co-workers have hit the local watering hole to celebrate the fact that they still have jobs. But she’s feeling weak and needs to sit — and finds herself battling a sexy stranger for the only open table in the bar.

***

As Meg slid into the seat he’d so ungraciously offered, she ordered her unruly hormones to simmer down. A man was the last thing she needed tonight — or maybe ever again. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to stare?”

“Sorry.” The word was an apology, but he didn’t look the least bit contrite. “I can’t help staring at beautiful women. It’s my biggest character flaw.”

Beautiful? After the day she’d had — confirming she was pregnant, fighting off morning sickness … all day long … and dealing with a fresh round of layoffs at the foundering ad agency she worked for — even a blind man would know she looked like hell.

Despite her bad mood and his too-obvious pickup line, Meg found herself smiling at the guy. After all, it took guts to tell such a blatant lie — and it’d be nice to talk to a brave man for a change. Her ex, who’d run off to Vegas last month to try his hand at the professional poker circuit, had certainly been lacking in that department. Besides, with her friends otherwise occupied, she had nothing to do but make conversation.

After enduring his appraisal, she had no qualms about completing one of her own. She slid her gaze from the tuft of thick, chestnut hair poking through the back of his burgundy-and-white cap downward, over his golden-brown eyes, straight nose and smiling mouth. She took in his toned arms, broad chest, tree-trunk thighs and — oh my.

Perhaps he had good reason for his arrogance. Meg jerked her eyes back to his face. After they’d mentally stripped each other, it didn’t feel right to not know the man’s name. She extended her hand. “I’m Meg.”

He eyed her outstretched hand, his lips lifting again. She grinned back as she rescinded her offer. He was right: They already knew each other too well for a mere handshake.

Beauty and the Ballplayer, coming in 2014 from Turquoise Morning Press.

My Sexy Saturday: Blind Date Bride

August 31, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 2 Comments Blind Date Bride Excerpts

You know what day it is, right? Saturday! That means it’s time for another entry in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules are simple:

This week, I thought I’d give you another peek at Kari and Damien from “Blind Date Bride.” I’m breaking the rules by serving up a couple of extra paragraphs — but since some of my lines are one or two words long, I think y’all can roll with it.

Kari and Damien, strangers who were married after becoming the lucky winners of a blind date wedding, have just agreed to allow cameras to film them for a “Newlyweds” type of show over the course of their network-mandated 90-day “cohabitation period.”

Kari agreed because the network offered them extra cash, but only hours later — when it’s time for bed — does she realize what the decision means for their sleeping arrangements. Her new roommate is now also a bedmate. With the camera crews around 24/7, they’d actually have to sleep in the same room — so she can no longer bank on coasting through the next 88 days or so by avoiding her unwanted husband.

***

Kari plumped her newly acquired pillow, stretched out on her back and stared up at the ceiling. The ceiling fan whirred lazily, making only a few slow circles before Kari was convinced that no one would be spending the night on Damien’s floor. The hardwood floor wasn’t just rock-hard; it was also freezing cold. Kari didn’t know how that was possible when it was in the low 80s outside, but if she didn’t climb into Damien’s bed soon, her boxer-clad butt was going to end up with a severe case of frostbite.

Her gaze flitted from the ceiling to the bed, where Damien still sat, watching her intently.

“Stop looking at me like that!” she snapped.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re on a diet and I’m a hot fudge sundae!”

Damien rolled his eyes. “You think you’re that irresistible, huh?”

“Well —” Kari began. More concerned with her own response to the look he was giving her, she hadn’t thought about how conceited the complaint would make her sound.

“Because I have news for you, sweetheart. I can resist — no problem.”

Kari stood up and sat on the edge of Damien’s bed opposite him, but not before scowling at him. “You don’t have to be such a jerk about it.”

He glowered right back. “Why shouldn’t I be? You’re basically saying you don’t trust me to keep my hands to myself, right?”

“Uh —”

“Because I’ve never had to force my attentions on an unwilling woman before, and I don’t intend to start anytime soon. So until you decide you want my hands on you, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Blind Date Bride” coming to e-bookstores everywhere in Spring 2014.

My Sexy Saturday: Meet Mike James (again)

August 24, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 2 Comments Bree & Mike Excerpts

It’s Saturday again — and this week, I don’t feel like I’ve been dragged through a tar pit and then forced to go to prom without changing. My head is only mildly stuffy, not filled with snot, and I’m ready to rejoin the land of the living.

That means I’m back for the My Sexy Saturday blog hop. The rules are simple:

This week, I’m bringing you another booty-licious scene with my favorite hero, Mike James.

Aww, who am I kidding? I love all my heroes. That said, I’ll always have a big, squishy soft spot in my heart for Mike. He’s the first guy character I created, although it was quickly apparent he would NOT be Erin’s hero. Not Mike. He wasn’t right for Erin, no matter how much she wanted him to be. Persisted in thinking of her like the kid sister he never had. I realized he needed his own story, the happy ending he didn’t believe he deserved.

And I proceeded to write him one. In OVEREXPOSED, faux bad-boy Mike gets his happily-ever-after, with the ultimate good girl — a 24-year-old virgin.

In this scene, he’s about to relieve her of that condition. They’re at a bar, across the street from the no-tell motel room they’re being forced to share by a snowstorm. They’ve both had a bit too much to drink, and Bree is putting the moves on him (for what she believes at the time to be an excellent reason). Mike is trying desperately to resist her.

***

If I’m lucky, I’ll get drunk enough to pass out before I can do something we’ll both regret.

But as the minutes ticked by, and Breanne responded to every evasion by trying even harder, it became increasingly clear to Mike that resisting her advances wouldn’t be easy. She obviously wanted him — and had for quite a while, if the hints she’d been dropping were to be believed. He desperately hoped her comments weren’t the ravings of a drunken lunatic, because he wanted her, too. He sure as hell didn’t deserve her, but he wanted her just the same. And if she felt the same way, there was nothing to stop them from fulfilling their mutual desire.

Nothing except your innate sense of decency.

And there it was: the elephant squatting on the barroom table. If he did take up with Bree now, he’d become the bad-boy playboy he was pretending to be to hold her, and every decent woman like her, at bay.

He’d never be able to live with himself then. Hell, he barely tolerated himself now.

Time to end this flirtation before it spiraled even farther out of control. Surely she’d balk if he flat-out propositioned her.

“It’s late, Red,” he said, scraping his knuckles over her denim-clad thigh. He stroked her thigh, getting dangerously close to the part of her that he ached to fill. “What do you say we get out of here and find something better to do with our time?”

Instead of pulling away, she practically purred and arched into his hand. “What’d you have in mind?”

My Sexy Saturday — Meet Beth & Cody

August 10, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 5 Comments Bethany & Cody Excerpts

It’s Saturday, and you know what that means: Time for another sizzling trip down desire lane with the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules are simple:

Today, I’m sharing something a little different. This excerpt is from TROUBLE IN PARADISE, the WIP I’m having trouble finishing at the moment. It’s not the sexiest moment in my manuscript, but it cracks me up every time — and I feel the need to laugh this week.

Bethany and Cody, the heroine and hero in said WIP, might be giving me fits, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them both.

You might remember Beth and Cody as the best friends from BLIND DATE BRIDE — the ones that got more wedding-night action than the bride and groom.TROUBLE IN PARADISE picks up nine months after BRIDE leaves off. Bethany, worried Cody might be losing interest, wants him to apply for another Romance TV show, “Invitation to Sin.” Cody is firmly anti-reality-TV after seeing what his buddy went through, but agrees to apply because he figures they won’t get picked for the show — no way will Romance TV lightning strike their circle twice.

Except it does, and soon Beth and Cody find themselves on Bora Bora with a TV production crew and a pack of other contestants, fighting to not only win the grand prize but hold together their previously solid relationship.

In this scene, Beth and Cody have gathered with the other contestants at Romance TV HQ for a meet-and-greet reception.

***

Cody munched on pineapple and mango chunks and sipped the punch. He hoped there wasn’t any alcohol in it, because it tasted vaguely pina colada-ish. Then again, he didn’t have to drive, so what was he worried about? He took another gulp. Beside him, Bethany sipped her drink, too. Suddenly, she spit it back into her cup and started coughing.

He put his drink down. “You okay, sweetheart?”

Clearly not okay, she shook her head. Her face was redder than the cherry on top of the chocolate and whipped cream cookie he’d picked up for her. When she stopped coughing, she whispered, “Did you get a good look at the ice cubes?”

“No.”

“Why don’t you do that?”

Puzzled, he picked up his glass again and studied the ice — cubes shaped like penises and breasts. Come to think of it, that cherry-topped cookie looked like a boob, too.

He looked back at the table of refreshments, seeing it for the first time for the work of “art” it was undoubtedly intended to be. Things were arranged to resemble … well, hell. The spread looked just like a woman’s spread legs, with the cookies in the center, spilling sweetness into the vast, empty middle.

“Trouble in Paradise,” coming in Fall 2014.

My Sexy Saturday with Mike James

August 3, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with No Comment Bree & Mike Excerpts

It’s my favorite time of the week again: Time to share an excerpt for the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules, in case you’ve forgotten:

This week, I’m giving you seven paragraphs from the beginning of OVEREXPOSED, the third book in my Women of Willow’s Grove collection. This time, Mike James, the object of Erin’s lust at the start of OPERATION SNAG ~~MIKE~~ BRAD (Book 1), finally gets the happy ending he doesn’t believe he deserves.

Before he gets there, though, he has to go through a whole lot more torture and self-flagellation.

I’ve always liked Mike. He’s pure figment of my imagination — but that’s not to say my imagination wasn’t sparked by a coworker. The guy was Greek-god-gorgeous, like Mike. Flirty and funny, too (also like Mike). Anything Mike does (or did … or didn’t do) is all on me, though.

In this scene, heroine Breanne Garvey (photographer for the Willow’s Grove Journal-Times), is at the tiny town’s male strip joint for her roommate’s bachelorette bash. She doesn’t yet know that Mike, her coworker at the paper, moonlights there.

How much you want to bet she’s about to find out? 😉

***

This “Masked Avenger” reminded her of Mike: Tall, blond and — behind his black Lone Ranger-type mask — chock-full of cuteness potential. The man had well-defined thighs, and when he turned around to shake his rear end in her face, she could see that it, too, was in perfect shape. And every inch of exposed skin was a nice, even golden color — the color of smooth clover honey.

Just like Mike’s tan.

Suddenly the idea of flirting with this guy didn’t seem nearly as far-fetched. She was only a virgin, not dead — and having Mike James dance for her was full of potential. Intriguing possibilities blossomed in her fertile brain … ideas a good girl would never act on.

No harm in looking, her inner rebel assured her.

For once, she listened. After all, it was likely the only chance she’d ever have to see Mike in the flesh. If he hadn’t picked up on the “let’s date” vibes she’d been sending him for the last year and a half, she doubted he ever would — although she’d never understand how a guy who loved women could be so darned oblivious to her hints.

Pretending it was her colleague in front of her, she dropped her hands so she could enjoy the view. She even went so far as to accept the bill Cassie waved under her nose. Why not have some fun? Cassie was right: She wasn’t getting any younger.

But where do I put it?

Another My Sexy Saturday

July 27, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with No Comment Excerpts

Welcome back to another My Sexy Saturday. I’ve really been having fun with this blog hop, and I hope you are, too.

The rules are simple:

Last Saturday, I shared a deleted scene from “Diva in the Dugout,” the book I just sold to Turquoise Morning Press. I signed the contract last Thursday. It’s my first sale. I was — and still am — very excited.

But this week, I’m going back to my holiday novella, “Home for the Holidays.” Here, Cher and Derrick just arrived at an Italian restaurant for dinner. This is the evening of the day they met up again at the accident scene.

I normally go the seven paragraph route, but this week I picked just seven sentences. I think they’re good ones. I hope you agree.

***

When they were seated at DeLuca’s, Cher dove into the basket of garlic bread with the enthusiasm Derrick usually saved for more carnal pursuits. Come to think of it, her moan of pleasure as she licked the butter from her fingers reminded him of a woman enjoying herself in bed. When her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned again, Derrick squirmed in his chair.

He tried cooling himself off with a sip of water. “You really love that bread, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She savored another bite before leaning across the table to whisper, “Sometimes, I dream about it.”

“Home for the Holidays,” coming to e-bookstores near you in November 2013.

My fourth contribution to My Sexy Saturday

July 20, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with One Comment Dave & Melinda Excerpts Stories

To celebrate the sale of DIVA IN THE DUGOUT to Turquoise Morning Press, I’m digging deep for this week’s My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules are simple:

Like I said, I’m going way, way back in my archives for this septuplet — back to DIVA’s roots. That’s right: These seven paragraphs kicked off the now-deleted first chapter of the story.

After my readers/CP insisted the chapter was really a prologue (it happened five years before the main story) and painted neither hero nor heroine likable enough, I dutifully chopped the scene that I loved. I still love that scene, which has some fantastic lines … but I know how to accept criticism. After a little — okay, a lot — of whining, I deleted the whole darn thing — and blogged about it.

I may have cut the scene from the MS, but I saved it with the hope that one day I could release it as an online extra — a “wanna see how it all began?” teaser. (File name: HowItAllBegan.doc.) That day hasn’t come — yet. But I can offer a tantalizing glimpse of what almost was.

The setup (directly from my query letter):

Mel meets Dave Reynolds, shortstop for the semipro Arizona Condors, at her favorite watering hole, which she snuck into with a fake ID. These seven paragraphs were the original first seven.

* * *

When Melinda’s now-ex-fiance admonished her to grow up, she doubted playing tonsil hockey with a man old enough to be her father was what he’d had in mind.

The thought jarred Mel just enough to make her end the kiss. Through lowered lashes, she regarded the man whose lap she currently warmed. Saying he was her father’s age wasn’t fair. Old enough to be her slightly older brother, maybe. But definitely not her father.

She took stock of his lithe torso. Defined biceps. Warm, easy smile. Nope. No signs of middle age marring the perfection that was —

What was his name? Dan? Drew? Del? Dave? Why couldn’t she remember?

Who was she trying to kid? She didn’t want to remember. His name didn’t matter — not one whit. It was far more important that he was here, all too willing to distract her from the spectacle in the corner.

Her ex of just two weeks had the gall to be at her favorite bar, canoodling with a blonde who looked — well, old enough to be his mother. No wonder Bud told her to “grow up” if that was his type.

She cast a mutinous glance toward Bud’s corner. He wanted someone older than 19? She’d show him just how grown up she could be.

* * *

Hmm. Reading that now, I can see my readers’ point: Mel isn’t terribly likable here. Dave fares no better as the scene goes on. Perhaps I need to rethink releasing the deleted scene, one-liners or no.

Diva in the Dugout, coming soon from Turquoise Morning Press.

My Sexy Saturday #3

July 13, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 2 Comments Blind Date Bride Excerpts

It’s Saturday again. You know what that means — My Sexy Saturday time. I totally forgot to take part last week … but I hope that’s the exception rather than the rule.

The idea is simple:

In honor of receiving the cover for “Blind Date Bride,” this week’s My Sexy Saturday entry is from that story.

A little about “Blind Date Bride”:

The last thing Kari Parker wants in her life is another man — especially one as tall as a Windy City high rise. Yet when her best friend enters her in Romance TV’s “Get a Love Life” contest, that’s what she gets. Sparks fly between Kari andher bogus groom, and as she and Damien share close quarters, intimate meals and — gulp — his bed, Kari doesn’t stand a chance of resisting his considerable charms. But building a real future out of their sham marriage will be tougher than baking a wedding cake from scratch … with no flour … in a broken oven.

The setup for these seven paragraphs: Their blind-date wedding now a bad memory, Kari and Damien have ditched the reception in favor of getting to know one another over coffee (at the nearest Starbucks, of course!). Kari’s having trouble concentrating on Damien’s words over the attraction she doesn’t want to feel for her bogus husband.

* * *

Damien’s eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t seem all that shy when you were kissing me.”

Oh, god. There was that directness again. Kari bit her lip. How could she handle a man who said exactly what he meant? “Call that an aberration.”

Damien shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me. I don’t normally act like that.”

He leaned across the table, and for a second she thought he’d kiss her again. Her lips parted in anticipation. But he merely turned her hand over, palm up, and ran his thumb over the skin at the base of her fingers. She watched it move back and forth, fast then slow, fascinated by the friction-generated heat.

His eyes never left hers, so she saw the instant his desire flickered back to life. Her thighs grew damp as her body answered Damien’s call.

The dampness provided a rude wake-up call. Kari clamped her knees together as she jerked her hand out of his grasp, ruthlessly reminding herself how badly her last run-in with lust at first sight had ended.

“Blind Date Bride” coming to e-bookstores everywhere in late 2014.

Check out the other entries in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop here.

My Sexy Saturday, Part Deux

June 29, 2013

by Arlene Hittle with 2 Comments Excerpts

It’s Saturday — and you know what that means. That’s right. Time for another visit to Sizzletown in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

My entry this week is again from “Home for the Holidays,” the novella I’ll be releasing this fall. The setup: Cher and Derrick have recently escaped the crowd that gathered when someone recognized Cher in Chicago. They’ve stopped for Chicago dogs at a dive in Jeffriesburg, Ind., on the way back to Langley.

“I hate to tell you this, your diva-ness, but that hat-and-sunglasses disguise doesn’t render you invisible.”

Her giggle filled the space in the car with warmth and bright light. “Just incognito.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” With that, Cher pushed open the car door and exited the vehicle.

Enjoying how her jeans hugged her curves, Derrick remained seated. He watched her sweet backside until she turned and stuck her head back in the car.

“What are you waiting for?” She raised her sunglasses to look at him, no doubt so he couldn’t miss her narrowed eyes.

“Nothing.” Oh, how he loved Cher’s quick temper. Smiling to himself, Derrick shook off the reverie and followed her into the restaurant.

Coming to ebookstores near you in November 2013.

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Posts in category: Excerpts

My Sexy Saturday: Putting the ‘stud’ in social studies

My Sexy Saturday — Meg & Matt

My Sexy Saturday: Blind Date Bride

My Sexy Saturday: Meet Mike James (again)

My Sexy Saturday — Meet Beth & Cody

My Sexy Saturday with Mike James

Another My Sexy Saturday

My fourth contribution to My Sexy Saturday

My Sexy Saturday #3

My Sexy Saturday, Part Deux

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