Marilyn Lee's Love Bytes

Latest News

2011-12-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

There are only a few days left to enter the drawing to win a Kindle. Check here to see rules. The winner will be announced on December 18, 2011.

Check out my latest releases Loving Large 2--Yours, Now And Forever and Holiday Heat--Secret Lover

And have a great holiday.

Marilyn

Looking For More Progressive Female Readers

2011-05-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

After receiving an email from a reader about my latest release (In Blood And Worth Loving 2—Lost Without You), I need to vent. Therefore, I’m blogging again. LOL!

This is 2011. I would have thought that women reading erotic romance (which is mostly what I write) would have a fairly open mind. But not so much. Some of them still seem to expect heroines in erotic romances to behave as heroines used to in books from the 70’s. And it seems to be based on the old double standard where it was okay for the hero to be sexually free while the heroine should be sexually repressed until she gives it up to the hero. All while the hero is still sleeping with other women after he meets her.

WHAT? In 2011. Really? In my personal life, I’m as prudish as they come. But why would anyone reading erotic romance expect the heroine to act like a heroine from the 70’s? If that’s what you want, why read erotic romance? Why not read sweet, formula romance? Why buy erotic romance and then complain when the heroine insists on the same level of sexual freedom as they hero?

The heroine in Lost Without You is a modern, educated, divorced woman in her 30’s. She’s not a 21 or 22-year-old virgin from a 70’s sweet romance. She’s not just sitting around waiting and hoping the hero will come along so she can have a meaningful sex life. She’s has one when she meets the hero. He has one as well. Why is it acceptable to modern women for him to have one but not her?

Why do women progressive enough to read erotic romance insist on old-fashioned behavior from their heroines? On countless occasions, readers have written to complain when one of my heroines slept with another man after she’d met the hero. Now mind you, the hero also slept with other women after he’d met the heroine. Did I ever get any complaints about the hero sleeping around after he met the heroine? Absolutely not. It’s always the heroine they complain about while excusing the hero’s behavior.

When are women going to stop trying to force that sexual double standard on the heroine while continuing to give the hero a free pass for the same behavior? At what point do heroines get sexual equality with such readers?

In one of my books (Skin Deep), the hero has an outrageous sexual encounter with his brother’s wife. Did readers complain? Not about his behavior. He’s one of my most popular heroes. The only complaints I heard were about the heroine (who didn’t behave outrageously with anyone’s husband). The hero got a free pass.

One of these days female readers are going to get progressive enough to allow heroines to be as sexually unrepressed as heroes. I hope.

That’s my take. What’s yours?

Below is the blurb from my latest book—In Blood And Worth Loving 2-Lost Without You—just in case you feel a compelling need to rush over to my site (http://www.marilynlee.org)to buy it. LOL!

With his favorite lover traveling, vampire Jayvyn Redwolfe spends a night clubbing. A “chance” meeting with a human woman intrigues him. When he learns she’s struggling to recapture her ex’s attention, he agrees to pretend to be her new love interest. Things go awry when Jayvyn realizes he’s falling into blood with another man’s woman.

Charmed by Jayvyn’s attentiveness, Cayenne Pepper’s interest in reuniting with her ex wanes as she starts to fall for Jayvyn. She’s unaware that she’s arousing the passion of a vampire whose hunger for her blood and heart is rapidly nearing the point where he’ll do whatever is necessary to possess her—including killing her ex.

2010-07-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to those of you coming from Dominique Eastwick, stop #6 in the Anniversary Blog Tour.

Which Author Promos Do You Prefer?

Last week, I got an email from a fellow author purporting to be interested in the kind of E-reader I had. The promo link in the email was broken. The email annoyed me. Why? I don’t like people soliciting me.

I have two books out now that I’m particularly interested in promoting, Loving Large—Yours, Only And Always and Long Line of Love III—Only One Love. Both books feature BBW heroines with Native American Heroes. I think both book feature some of my best efforts. So naturally, I would love to platter ordering info about them all over the place at every opportunity. I would love to send a promotional email to everyone with an email addy.

I haven’t done that. Why not? Because as an author, I never send email to a reader who hasn’t contacted me first or in some way already expressed an interest in receiving email from me (such as entering a contest with a prize that requires them to give their name and email).

Later, as I surfed the net looking for legitimate opportunities to promote The Grayhawks and the Elkhorns, I came across a board with readers complaining about having received the same email from the same author. Since I’m sure that wasn’t the reaction the author in question was hoping to generate, I found myself wondering what other things we might do as authors that annoy readers.

So please feel free to tell me what author promos you like and prefer. Do you prefer to visit an author’s website? Join a mailing list or Yahoo Group? Or do you prefer word of mouth to discover new books? Which promo efforts annoy you? I’d love to know so I’ll know which to avoid.

Please take a few minutes to comment. Doing so (after you’ve registered) will make you eligible to win a paperback copy of Skin Deep and a grand prize of a Sony Ereader.

After you’ve commented, please visit the next site on the Blog Tour. Good luck. Have fun and surf to Chelle Cordero’s site stop #8 in the tour. Good luck and have fun.

Gay Romance—What’s the fascination for heterosexual women?

2008-12-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

Gay Romance—What’s the fascination for heterosexual women?

A conversation with a reader on my Yahoo Group, Love Bytes, got me wondering about the origins of my fascination with man on man sex/romance. As a teenager, I used to spend as much of my free time as possible at my older sister’s house. Why? Because her home was sort of a haven for gay men.

I spent countless hours there after school each day talking to them and gawking at them. Some dressed as traditional males. Others dressed as women. Some called themselves Drag Queens.

Despite my preoccupation with gay men, as a young adult I found it difficult to accept that some of my own family members were gay. I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t be “straight.” It took years for me to realize how narrow minded I’d been for so many years.

So I went from not being able to accept homosexuality in my own relatives back to a total fascination. Once I accepted that other people’s sexual orientation was none of my business, I was back to being total fascination with all thins gay.

Erotic gay romance is hot. Although I’ve only written a few books with manlove themes, I’ve surfed the net for m/m love/sex stories. The editor of my latest m/m romance (Night Heat, published by Red Rose publishing), said that the largest market for such romances is largely heterosexual women.

So here’s my question. For those women who also enjoy reading m/m romances, why do you like it? What is it about two men in love with each other that gives such thrills to a number of us?

For those of you who’d like to see where my fascination as taken me, in addition to Night Heat, there’s a gay male relationship in my vampire books, Bloodlust III—Forbidden Desires and Bloodlust IV—Nocturnal Heat.

Marilyn Lee

Blogging today at Ladies of the Club

2008-03-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Today I'm blogging at Ladies of the Club about erotic romance. If you read it and have an opinion you'd like to share on it, stop by http://ladiesoftheclub.blogspot.com.

Marilyn

Dream Lover Now available

2008-02-10T12:47:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone

A reedited version of Dream Lover is now available from Loose-id (http://www.loose-id.com). It has a Valentine's Day theme so I'm delighted to have it back in circulation is time for Valentine's Day.

Marilyn

New Release and New Vamps

2008-01-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

A newly edited version of Dream Lover will be published by Loose-id on February 05, in time to take advantage of its Valentine's Day theme.

I've also written a new erotic vampire romance, tentaviely entitled, Night of Sin, which I've submitted to one of my publishers. Watch for news of the sale, a blurb, and a short excerpt coming soon.

Marilyn

Free confession on my Yahoo Group

2008-01-19T11:33:00.001-08:00

If you're at least 18 and enjoy reading erotic confessions. Come visit the my Yahoo Group, Love Bytles and visit the files section. To join my adults only group, send an email to marilynlee-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Marilyn

Nights of Desire sequel, Love Out Loud

2008-01-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

When Marilyn asked me to stop by to introduce myself and tell readers a little about my story, Love Out Loud, which will be published by Ellora’s Cave in April, I was reluctant. Not because I’m shy, but because the telling doesn’t exactly cast me in a very favorable light. Looking back, I’m thankful that things somehow worked out with a little extraordinary motherly love. But I’m getting a head of myself.

My name is Randall Grayhawk. I’m one of nine children, eight of whom are male. I have three older brothers and five younger siblings. In our family, the younger siblings accord the older ones a great deal of deference and respect. My brothers and I have always gotten along. I recall very few disputes between us as we grew up. That changed the night of my oldest brother, Layton’s wedding rehearsal dinner.

That’s the night I first saw Benai Peters, my soon to be sister-in-law’s best friend. Of course I’d heard of Benai from one of other older brothers, Bancroft. He’d met her weeks earlier and been so impressed he told us all about her. The moment we knew about her, Grayhawk family tradition decreed she was off-limits to the rest of us. That’s one of the ways we’ve managed to stay so close as brothers—we don’t compete for the same woman.

My older brothers like to talk of the Grayhawks coming from a long line of love. They believe they know the moment they set eyes on their sheena—the one individual who complete them. Layton said he knew the moment he saw Tempest she was his sheena. Of course, his being married at the time meant he couldn’t declare his feelings or act on them. But the time came when he was divorced and she was free and nature took its course. Marilyn told Layton’s and Tempest’s story in Night of Desire.

But my point in talking about a long line of love is that Bancroft led us to believe that Benai was his sheena. Yet he made very little effort to convince her of that and when she and I met weeks later, I was stunned to find myself attracted to her—just as Croft had been. The moment I looked into her dark gaze, I knew trouble lay ahead. I just didn’t realize how much or how lacking in character I was. I like to think that had I known, I should have behaved very differently and not been cast in such a poor light.

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, read a few paragraphs of the beginning of Love Out Loud from Benai’s point of view and judge for yourselves. If you want to read more than this, Marilyn has posted more excerpts in the files section of her Yahoo Group, Love Bytes.

Randall Grayhawk.

An Excerpt From: LOVE OUT LOUD
Copyright © MARILYN LEE, 2008
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

“So you don’t have a sheenea?”

“No. I don’t.”

Good. “They’re both sweet, romantic concepts, Randall.”

He shrugged. “My family believes in a long line of love concept. We don’t always fall in love quickly or easily but when we do fall in love, we don’t stray.”

“What more could a woman ask from a man?”

“Some prefer money to love,” he said coolly.

“You have that as well.”

“I wasn’t always wealthy.”

She reacted to the bitterness in his voice. “That mattered to someone you cared about?”

His jaw clenched. “We were discussing Bancroft.”

So his personal life was off limits. “Yes. You were going to tell me how he lost his spiritual center.”

“It started when Rissa, Brandon’s sheenea, was murdered. We all hurt with Brandon and tried to help him work through his grief. After two years, Layton decided we needed to do something more to help him dissipate some of his grief.”

“Couldn’t he see a therapist?”

“It’s not always easy to find a therapist who understands and respects our beliefs. Besides, Tempest might have mentioned that Declan has a healing touch.”

“A healing touch? You mean he can heal people like a doctor?”

“He can’t heal physical ails but often he can help with emotional ones. Layton and Bancroft decided Brandon’s emotional pain was too much for Declan to handle alone. Between the three of them, they helped Brandon rid himself of enough of his grief to help him regain his spiritual center. In the process, the three of them absorbed most of the dark, negative energy, which had been consuming him.

“As a healer, Declan was used to absorbing others dark pain. As Layton’s sheenea, Tempest’s love and support provided an outlet for Layton’s. That left Bancroft. He has neither a sheenea nor a woman with whom he had a close enough emotional tie who can help him as Tempest did Layton. He’s been left to struggle alone.”

He raised his lids and looked at her. “Could you…”

She sighed at the pain she saw in his gaze. “I feel badly for Bancroft, Randall but Tempest was able to help Layton and bear with the darkness in him because of her vested emotional interest in him. She loves him. I don’t have any such vested interest in Bancroft. I never have.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “Forgive me. I had no right to ask. It’s just that he’s in such pain and there’s nothing we can do to help him.”

“Declan can’t help?”

“Croft has abilities of his own and each time Declan has tried, Croft rebuffs him. He erects mental barriers Declan can’t penetrate.”

She unfolded her legs and scooted across the sofa cushion to stroke a finger down his clenched right hand. “I’m not his sheenea, Randall. I can’t help him. The darkness in him is a little…frightening.”

“You’d be perfectly safe with him.”

“Then why did you feel the need to rescue me?”

He pulled his hand away from her. “You weren’t in any danger from him. I didn’t rescue you.”

“Okay, why did you…intervene when we were dancing?”

“Although you weren’t in any danger, I could see you weren’t comfortable dancing with him. You were a guest in my home so I needed to make sure you were as comfortable as possible.”

“Why did you follow us into the hall?”

“I suspected you didn’t want to be alone with him.”

“Thanks for explaining why he’s so different now.”

“He won’t always be so dark, Benai. When he’s not—”

“I’ll be very happy for him but I think I’ve made it clear that he’s not the brother I’m interested in, Randall.” She placed her hand over his.

He shook his head and withdrew it. “This was a mistake.”

She felt as if he’d slashed ice water on her. “No, it wasn’t.”

“I shouldn’t be here with you like this.”

“Like what? We’re talking, Randall, not making out.”

“The conversation is going in directions it shouldn’t.”

“Why not if we both want it?” She placed a hand on his arm. “Or are you implying I’m flattering myself to think you share my interest?”

“I’m not implying anything.” He glanced at his watch. “Damn. It’s after eleven.”

“Do you turn into a pumpkin at twelve?”

“Not tonight.”

“Good. You haven’t answered my question.”

He rose. “I can’t afford to get personal or intimate with you.”

“Why not?”

“I have to go.”

She stared up at him. “Randall—”

“I’d better go now, Benai before…”

She placed a hand on his thigh. “Before what?”

He stepped away from her touch. “Please don’t make this any harder for me.”

“It’s not as if there was ever anything between Bancroft and me, Randall—”

“He thinks there is so I can’t do this.”

“Okay. I’ll see you out.” She rose. She reached for the bowtie hanging from his breast pocket.

When he reached for it, she shook her head. “I think I’ll keep it as a souvenir.”

He shrugged. “Fine. Keep it if you like.”

“I’d rather keep you here.”

“That’s not going to happen.” He turned and walked away.

She lightly tied the bowtie around her neck before she followed him to the apartment door.

He sighed and turned to stare down at her. “Good night.”

She moistened her lips and placed a hand on his arm. “What about our date to see your pictures?”

“Give me your email address and I’ll send them to you.”

She placed her other hand on his chest and leaned close to him, staring up at him with her lips parted. “That wasn’t the deal, Randall.”

He stared at her mouth for several moments. He touched the bowtie around her neck before he sucked in a breath. “That’s the way it has to be.”

She slipped her hands across his chest. “So I shouldn’t expect anymore cozy dinners alone with you?”

“You have no idea how hard this is for me.” He closed his hands around her wrists and held her hands away from his body. “Please don’t touch me like that.”

“It’s not nearly as intimately as I’d like to touch you, Randall.”

Still holding her wrists, he leaned close, his lips parting and his head bending.

She closed her eyes and waited to feel his lips against hers.
************************
Love Out Loud, sequel to Nights of Desire will be published by Ellora's Cave (http://www.ellorascave.com). Nights of Desire is available now from Ellora's Cave.

2006-08-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.changelingpress.com

Ladies,

My name is Josh. Since I’m one of the three principal characters from Naughty Girls, Inc: No Commitment Required, Marilyn asked me to stop by and tell you a little bit about me and our story.

My story is still evolving but several years before Nila came into my life, I had a very bright future. Then friendship tore my world apart. Whoever said a friend in need is a friend in deed, never has the mistake fortune to try and befriend Richard. One moment, I had everything, the next…I was a shell of my former self…my career, the woman I loved, my ability to direct my own future was snatched away from me. I was a mental and physical wreck and all because of Richard.

I tried not to be bitter, but I wasn’t always successful. I thought I had learned to cope—then Nila walked into my life…our lives…Richard’s and mine. And nothing was ever the same after that. Before we met her, Richard and I had formed a sort of peace and had revived our friendship. Believe me when I tell you that we shared everything. And I do mean everything.

Before we met Nila, I don’t recall the last time we’d even had an argument…well, I do, because that was the night my life changed forever. But that was a long time ago. Within hours of meeting Nila, we were at each other’s throats, both of us wanting her for ourselves…neither of us wanting to share. And that in itself was usual. If it was one thing Richard and I had learned to do during the time we lived under the same roof, it was to share—everything.

But there was just no sharing Nila. She’s the kind of woman who knocks a man off his feet and makes him want to possess her totally. So you’ll know what I’m talking about, below is a little of our first meeting, told from Nila’s point of view.

Josh,
Naughty Girls, Inc: No Commitment Required
Changeling Press (http://www.changelingpress.com).

“Is there a man in your life who would object to our arrangement?”

I shook my head before I remembered he couldn’t see. “No. My… my fiancé died in a car crash two years ago… two months before we were going to get mar…” I stopped abruptly and shook my head, my eyes filling with tears.I swallowed hard several times and took a deep breath.

Josh had troubles enough of his own without having to sit and listen to my sob story.

To my surprise, he spoke in a soft, sympathetic voice. “I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult for you.”

“It was, but I know he wouldn’t have wanted me to wallow in misery.”

“So there’s no one to object?”

“No. There’s no one.”

He inclined his head. “And you won’t have a problem giving me what I want with no strings attached?”

Oh, there’d be strings all right -- in the form of the money I’d earn. “No.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want romance or false promises or hopes. And I don’t want a good girl. I want a sexy, naughty woman who understands the facts of our arrangement. I just want sex…”

He paused and I watched his lips tighten. When he spoke again, his voice had deepened. “Let’s start off as we mean to go on. I want pussy and ass whenever I want it without having to tell you I love or care about you to get it.”

My nostrils flared. Wasn’t he just the charming, romantic one? No wonder he had to pay for sex.

“And sometimes… things between us might get a little… kinky. Can you handle kink?”

“I can handle most things short of sex with a woman.”

“You have something against threesomes?”

The thought of two horny men, both of who wanted me, held definite appeal. “I don’t have sex with women.”

“Is that your only restriction?”

I hesitated. “Well… I can’t think of anything else short of heavy S & M or manhandling that I won’t be at least willing to consider.”

“I like to pamper and spoil a woman, not spank or handcuff her.”

Although I wasn’t averse to an occasional spanking before anal sex, I wasn’t interested in being tied up, blindfolded, or sexually humiliated.

“Good.”

He smiled. “If you’re prepared for the final test, we might have a deal.”

“What did you have in mind?”

He pushed himself away from the desk and patted his lap. “Come sit here and we’ll discuss it.”

*******
Coming soon from Changeling Press (http://www.changelingpress.com).

One Sweet Night

2006-07-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Ladies,

My name is Raphael and Marilyn tells me I’m one of her newest heroes. She’s still working on getting Etienne to stop by. In the mean time she asked me to stop in and introduce myself.

I jumped at the chance because I don’t really get to say much in my book, One Sweet Night. The story is told from my lovely Negrita’s point of view. She’s lovely ladies, but not easy to convince. She rocked my world the moment I saw her. It was just a brief sighting and unfortunately, she wasn’t even aware of me, but I knew right away I wanted to get to know her—in the biblical sense. I just had no idea how long it would take me to achieve that goal or how difficult it would be.

Don’t take what I’m about to say as an arrogant brag. Despite what Jake said, I am not arrogant. Although if anyone knows about arrogance, it’s him. But I didn’t come here to talk about Jake. I came to tell you a little bit about me and my Negrita, Jule.

When she and I met, I had nearly everything I wanted—a prosperous and rapidly growing software company, more than enough money to buy whatever I wanted and ensure I was able to provide my lovely Negrita with all the comforts and luxuries she deserved. I’d achieved all of that by the time I was thirty-five.

And that was part of the problem Jule, my jewel, had with me and our relationship—my age. Now I’ve never really been attracted to older women. But as I told Jule, age was not important and she’s not that much older than me. Nothing was important except getting to know her.

When we finally met, she was ripe for the picking and the moment she opened her apartment door and I saw what she wore, I knew come hell or high water, I was going to be the lucky man to turn her world upside down.

It’s funny how things work out because when Tia first asked me if I were seeing anyone and if I’d be interested in a blind date, I was not interested. I’ve never needed help getting a date with a woman of my choice—until Jule.

But even after she saw that we were physically compatible, Jule kept me an arm’s length, making my life unnecessarily miserable. And for what? None of her reasons caused me any concern—not even the secret that had broken up her marriage. Nevertheless, despite all my reassurance, she was afraid to share it with me. She wasn’t sure how I’d react.

I can understand her reluctance—because I had a secret of my own I was none too eager to share with her. When you consider how we finally met, her concern about my age, and her lingering feelings for her ex, you can see how hard it would be for us to really get to know each other in any meaning for way or to share more than one sweet night together.

If you want to know how and if we resolved our issues and handled each other’s secrets, you can ask Marilyn to post the beginning of our story, One Sweet Night.

Raphael Canseo,
One Sweet Night

Skin Deep--Now posted

2006-07-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Marilyn tells me she will start posting my story, Skin Deep on her Yahoo Group Love Bytes on July 23. When she does, I'll be interested in your thoughts ladies.

Jake Volmer

2006-07-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Skin Deep—Book I
Copyright 2006 by Marilyn Lee
All rights reserved.

Hi

I’m Jake, one of Marilyn’s new characters. She asked me to stop by and introduce myself and give you a preview of my upcoming confession, Skin Deep. I don’t generally like to talk about myself and I can’t say that this will show me in a particularly good light, but I’ve found that talking about it helped me come to terms with my less than sterling character.
These days I feel a lot better about myself. It wasn’t easy to reach this point. Before I did, I experienced a lot of problems and troubles. But let me start at the beginning…

I've always heard beauty is only skin deep. Maybe so, but my philosophy has always been, show me a man who doesn't prefer a beautiful woman to a plain one and I'll show you a blind man. Despite my mother's efforts, I'd never dated a female I didn't find drop dead gorgeous. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against ordinary women. I've just never seen the need to date one.

So what spell did Bree cast on me to turn my life so upside down? I have no idea. But before I tell you what she did to me, let me explain how I came to meet her in the first place.

The moment I saw Bree, my date for the night, I knew two things. First, I'd been had--big time. Second, I would be getting revenge. Well, I knew three things. The third was that I had to go through with the date-no matter how much I wanted to turn and run away from Bree.

Before you think I'm some fickle dickhead unable to see past appearance, I'll save you the trouble and admit that, like most males, I prefer a woman I spend time with to be at least pretty. Her being beautiful would be even better.

I stared down at the woman smiling so shyly up at me. I liked slender, petite, gorgeous women with green eyes, fair skin, and long, flowing redhair. Bree's skin was dark and clear, her eyes were an ordinary brown, and she wore her dark hair short and natural. I guessed she was roughly five eight--hardly petite. There would be no carrying her off to bed after a night of wining and dining.

I could have dealt with Bree's other shortcomings--had she at least been pretty. Granted, she had a nice smile. Okay, actually she had a fantastic smile, but it would be a stretch to call her anything other than…almost cute. I don't mean to imply that she was thoroughly unattractive. She wasn’t, but she'd have to work hard to be cute.

“You must be Jake.”

I blinked at the sound of her voice. It was kind of husky--in a surprisingly sexy way. She had a nice smile and an interesting voice, but that would only carry her so far with me.

“Jake? I'm Gabrielle.”

I swallowed hard, hoping no trace of the dismay I felt showed on my face. I might have managed that, but for the moment, I was literally speechless at the situation I'd allowed myself to be maneuvered into.
She offered her hand. “My friends call me Bree.”

I smiled and shook her hand briefly. It was soft and warm, yet she had a firm handshake. “Jake Volmer.”

She glanced briefly over her shoulder into her apartment. “Would you like to come in for a drink?”

“No!” Realizing I'd spoken too quickly and decisively, I smiled again.

“We have reservations. If you're ready, we should go.”

She gave me a long, piercing look, sighed, and then shook her head.

“This is a mistake. Isn't it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You're…I'm not what you expected. Am I?”

Now that was an understatement if ever I'd heard one. “What?”

“What did Lea tell you about me to get you here tonight?”

Lea was my sister-in-law who was forever complaining that I was too fickle when it came to women. She’s a fine one to talk about fickleness, but I'd lost track of the number of times she'd told me that I wouldn't know a good a woman if I fell over her. Why the hell had I allowed her to talk me into a blind date just to prove--what? What the hell was this date going to prove except that even married to my younger brother, Ed, Lea could still push my buttons and manipulate me?

It had taken awhile, but I finally had Lea's number. She expected me to take one look at Bree and find a way to back out of the date. Then she could gloat and say I-told-you-so for the next year or so every time we met at some family function. Well, hell would freeze over before I gave Lea that satisfaction.

I arched a brow and smiled down at Bree. “I'm between dates at the moment and she said you were too, so she thought…I thought we could have dinner.”

“I can see that my appearance surprises you.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

She nodded. “I think you do. So, let's both get real. You don't have to go through with this.”

If she didn't want to go out with me, why had she allowed Lea to set up this date? Were she and Lea in this together? Were they both expecting me to back out? Then they were both going to be disappointed. I narrowed my gaze, wondering just how deeply she had plotted with Lea. How far was she prepared to go to make me look bad?

“Jake? Do you want to call this date off?”

In her damned dreams. I shook my head. “Absolutely not. As I said, we have a reservation.” I offered her my arm. “Are you ready?”

She hesitated for several moments before she turned that slow, enchanting smile of hers on me.

I stared down into her warm brown eyes and swallowed. Damn. That smile of hers was—nice. Very nice.

She slipped her arm through mine. “If you're sure, I'm ready.”

Looking down into her dark, alluring gaze, the only thing I was sure of was that this was going to be a long evening. But hell would freeze over before I backed down. At the end of the evening, I was going to teach her a lesson it would take her a long time to forget. In the morning, she would think long and hard before she conspired against another man.
“Great. So let's go.”

In my car, the soft, seductive scent of her perfume seemed to engulf me, making it difficult to concentrate on my newly formed game plan. I realized she was speaking and frowned. “I'm sorry. What did you say?”

She brushed her fingers against my right hand on the steering wheel and I felt a jolt of heat rushing up the back of my neck. What the hell was she doing touching me? I tightened my grip and clenched my jaw.

If you want to know what happened on our date and when I took her home, Marilyn will be posting my story, Skin Deep, on her Yahoo Group, Love Bytes.

Jake Volmer

Jace responds

2006-07-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

Ladies,

If you've read Bloodlust V--Midnight Shadows, you know what a rough time I've had lately. As you probably know, I love a vampire fem and I'd do anything to make her happy. But those blood-sucking brothers of hers are going to keep me sleeping with one eye open at night.

Thanks for reading my story and commenting on it. If my heart (an other parts of me) weren't already spoken for, I'd be inclined to get to know some of you up close and personal.

Marilyn tells me she's trying to get Etienne to stop by next. I wish her luck. If you think Tat's brothers are nuts, you should see that nephew of hers. Sometimes I wonder what I've gotten myself into with her crazy family. Then she smiles at me and I know I'd deal with a hundred crazy relatives to keep her happy.

I know. I have it bad, but I'm in love. Or is that bloodlust. Or a combination of the two?

Marilyn just told me Etienne is being difficult so she's asked Jake from Skin Deep to say a few words. If you're wondering who Jake is, he's from the new confession Marilyn is writing. You know Marilyn and her confessions. I'm crazy about her, but just between us, don't you think she's a little strange? Who else would keep coming up with so many confessions that are supposedly the story of one of their characters?

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to think our Marilyn has a skelton or two in her closet. But don't tell her I said that or she'll start sighing. And we don't want that.

When Marilyn finishes the cover, I'll post it.

Jace Makefield, rogue vampire hunter

Confessions of a Vampire Hunter

2006-06-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

The last thing I ever wanted or expected was to find myself in love with a vampire. I’ve spent the last fifty or so years of my life killing the soulless creatures. Aside from Wilfredo, I’ve rarely met a vampire that didn’t need killing. And I have happily killed my share of vamps. I’ve encountered a lot of female vamps, or fems during my career. Many of them were super-model lovely. Nearly all of them were sensual creatures, eager to love a man. I once knew a hunter with the misfortune to fall for a fem. How did she reward his love and blind devotion? She loved him—to death.

That happened early in my career and taught me no matter how lovely, alluring, or seemingly harmless, fems could not be trusted. I knew and believed that. So to explain how I fell for Ana, I’ll need to confess to one of my most close encounters with death.

It happened a while back, when Wilfredo sent a few of his most skillful hunters to take down the vicious and ruthless rogue vampire, Vladimir Madison. That mad-dog vamp had spent much of his three hundred plus years killing. Those he didn’t kill, he brutalized. Any woman unlucky enough to fall under his spell was either soon dead, or mentally and physically scarred for life. Finally, Wilfredo, the centuries-old vampire who trained me, decided it was time to put an end to Madison’s worthless life.

Although I am not the oldest of Wilfredo’s hunters, I am one of the most skillful. So he sent me, Benny, Julio, and Marcus to track down and dispatch Madison. I’ll admit I was annoyed to have the others along. With instructions from Wilfredo to avoid Vladimir’s twin, we set out—confident Madison would soon be dead.

Instead, we encountered Aleksei Madison, Vladimir’s much more powerful twin. I hate to admit it, but had he chose to, he could have killed all four of us. Battered and bruised after the encounter, we made our way home separately. I was stalking along, keeping to the shadows, when Ana came along.

It’s not often you meet a beautiful black fem with gorgeous blue eyes. Even as her startling looks attracted me, I knew what she was. I stopped and held back the long duster I wore to hide my sword. I really wasn’t in the mood for a fight, but I’d do what I had to.

When I encountered her gaze and saw the concern there—I knew I had nothing to fear from her. I’m not sure how it happened, but within an hour of meeting each other, we were in an abandoned warehouse—making love. The moment I entered her, I knew I was in trouble. I couldn’t get enough of her. I loved her more than once before she ran away from me.

Exhausted as I was, I couldn’t keep up with her, but as she ran away from me, I swore that I’d find her and make her mine. Little did I know all the grief we’d both suffer, once I finally tracked her down. It’s painful to talk about. If you’d like to read our story, you can do it in the upcoming Bloodlust V—Midnight Shadows. Once you see her picture on the cover of the book, you’ll understand why I had to pursue her.

Jace Makefield, Rogue Vampire Hunter from Bloodlust V--Midnight Shadows--available from Ellora's Cave

(http://www.ellorascave.com)

Up next, Etienne Gautier, vampire-shifter speaks out.