I'm still working on the release of my latest novel,
SHADOWS OF LOVE. Last month I offered an excerpt from CHAPTER 1, but I've been asked by some readers to put the entire chapter up for viewing. I figured, why not. More than that will be excerpted on site when the book is released anyway. So, not only is the entire Chapter 1 below, but so is the Prologue. After you read the excerpts, please look at the new book cover for
Sweet Sacrifice and see what you think. Don't worry though, it's the same fast moving story.
SHADOWS OF LOVE
PROLOGUE
Entering the front door, the woman walked into the
house with the confidence of someone who knew its interior well. She had worked for the owner since he moved
here years ago. She was his cook and
housekeeper and it was a job that she enjoyed.
Her employer was a nice man. He wasn’t demanding and he paid well. She didn’t work on weekends, so she usually
prepared his meals for those days ahead of time. When she came back to work on Monday, she had
no idea that it wouldn’t be another normal day, until she found her employer in
bed unconscious.
That was three days ago. Since his hospitalization, his condition had
gone from bad to worse. The doctor
informed her this morning that the situation was grave. He might not recover. They asked about his next of kin.
She could provide them with nothing. All she knew about the man for whom she
worked was his name and that he was an American.
After the grim diagnosis, she returned to his
house and went into the bedroom that had been converted to an office. She reasoned that it couldn’t be illegal to
break into his locked desk drawer since this was an emergency. Secretly, she had always wondered what he
kept in there.
Getting into the drawer wasn’t easy. She used every tool she could think of, but
nothing worked. Frustrated, she decided
to search the rest of the house and return to the drawer later. She didn’t expect to find anything, but much
to her surprise, buried deep in the back of his bedroom closet, behind his well
appointed suits and ties, she found a metal safe deposit box burrowed inside a
suitcase. There was a key taped
underneath the box. It fit the lock and
when it was opened she hoped what was inside would offer clues to the mystery of
who he was.
CHAPTER 1
“I can’t believe this!”
Nedra Davis-Reasoner banged on the steering wheel
of her luxury vehicle in frustration. This
could not be happening!
Refusing to believe the obvious, she turned the
key in the ignition and pressed down on the accelerator one more time. Nothing. No sound at all.
Looking down at the Burberry trench coat she was
wearing, she sighed in resignation. This
could prove embarrassing.
Weighing her options, she considered which one
would be best. Should she call her
husband, Sinclair, at his office or the auto club for a tow to a garage? Sinclair was closer to her.
She was just about to push speed dial when there
was a knock on her driver side window.
Startled, Nedra jerked around to see a man peering at her.
“Hey! You
need some help?”
Nedra nodded.
“Yes, I think I do.”
****
Sinclair Reasoner was feeling great. In a few hours he and Nedra would be on the
road to Sausalito where he would spend the upcoming week overdosing on
golf. His best friend, newspaper mogul,
Brandon Plaine, introduced him to the sport years ago. Since then he had been hooked.
Brandon was vacationing with his family at their
home in Hawaii, but Sin would still have plenty of playmates. There was Ray Wilson who was married to Bev
Cameron, the mother of Sin’s half sister. The Wilsons lived on a houseboat in Sausalito
and Ray knew every course in Marin County.
Almost as knowledgeable was their other golfing buddy, James Starr. He and his wife, Dana, lived in Tiburon, not
far from Ray and his wife. Dana was
Bev’s younger sister. The two women were
Nedra’s cousins.
This week was about spending time with family,
which was something he always enjoyed.
Orphaned as a child, he had grown up on the streets of New York City alone,
longing for such a bond. Now, he
cherished everything about being a part of such a close-knit group.
There was a knock on his office door and his
administrative assistant entered.
“This just came for you, special delivery.” She handed him a single envelope, and placed
the rest of the mail in his inbox. “And
your wife is on line one. She tried to
reach you on your cell phone, but it went to voice mail.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Reaching for the receiver Sin threw a cursory glance at the envelope he
had been handed. It was from outside the
United States, but he didn’t recognize the return address.
“I’m going home now,” his assistant told him as
she started toward the exit. “Enjoy your
time off.” The door closed behind
her. Sin pushed the speaker phone
button.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Absently, he slit the top of the envelope
with a sliver plated opener and started to remove the contents.
“Get in your car right now and come get me!” She sounded desperate.
Sin froze.
“Are you in trouble? Where are
you?”
She gave him the name of the garage where her car
had been towed. “And hurry!”
Tossing the envelope on the desk, Sin pocketed his
cell phone, grabbed his suit jacket and hurried out of his office. When he arrived at the garage, Nedra was
waiting outside. She snatched the car
door open and slid inside as soon as he came to a stop.
“Let’s go!” she ordered.
Throwing her a puzzled glance, he pulled away from
the curb. “What did you do, rob the place?”
Covering her face with both hands, Nedra shook her
head slowly and sank down in the seat.
“Lord, lord, lord.”
“What happened?
Did they stiff you on the car?”
“Just drive, please.”
Sin did as ordered, wondering what was wrong with
his wife. She sat in the passenger seat
holding her coat tightly against her body and looking glum. When he turned to head back to his office,
she nearly jumped out her skin.
“Where are you going? I thought you were going home!”
“I left my briefcase. My laptop is in it. I want to take it with us. Now
what’s wrong with you?”
She ignored his question. “It’s past work hours,
is anybody still there?”
“There wasn’t when I left.” Pulling into his private parking place in
front of the Victorian mansion that housed his successful import business, he
cut off the ignition and turned to face her.
“Did something happen I should know about?” His voice deepened. “Did somebody hurt you?” He looked poised for action if she confirmed
the latter.
Understanding his concern, Nedra decided to show
him rather than tell him.
“Since nobody is inside, I’ll go with you
upstairs. We’ll talk then.”
When they arrived in his office, Sin closed the
door behind them, leaned against it and crossed his arms. “So talk.”
Tossing her purse on the desk, Nedra turned and
let her eyes feast on the male specimen she had married. The man was downright fine. Who could resist that chocolate brown skin,
those coal black eyes, that sexy cleft in his chin or the solitary gold earring
he sported? Sinclair Reasoner turned the
heads of women wherever he went. The
slight sprinkle of gray in his hair and his well groomed moustache made him
look distinguished. And when he flashed
that smile of his, it was hard for a woman not to wet her panties. Sin’s nickname suited him well.
Gazing at his fit, six foot two inch frame, Nedra
considered herself a fortunate woman, but, Sin should consider himself fortunate
too, and she was about to show him why.
Nedra’s light brown eyes held his dark ones as she
slowly unbuttoned her coat. She opened
it with pain-staking care.
Sin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. His shapely, five foot ten inch wife was standing
in front of him dressed in a lacy black demi- bra, matching bikini panties,
black patent leather high heels and nothing else.
“Damn!” His
manhood jerked involuntarily.
Nedra gave an anguished sigh. “I was on my way here to surprise you, when
my car stopped and there I was in the public streets half naked!” Her voice rose in distress.
As he moved toward her like a man in a trance, Sin
was trying to focus on what she was saying, but he was mesmerized by a pair of
long nutmeg brown legs that seemed to go on forever. The curve of her bosom as they molded
themselves to that bra had him throbbing.
He broke into a sweat.
Nedra slapped a hand to her forehead. “What was I thinking? I’m a minister for goodness sake! The mother of three children! I can’t run around town naked…”
I wish.
“…trying to play sex games with my husband!”
Oh yes she
could!
Nedra grabbed his lapels. “All I wanted was for us to have a little
playtime before we got on the road.”
Yes!
“You know I’ve never done anything like this
before!”
Wish she
had.
She laid her head against his chest. “Some tow truck driver was behind me when the
car stopped and helped me. I was so
embarrassed. I was scared the whole time
that somebody might find out I was running around like this.”
Sin snaked his arms around her. Nedra snuggled against him. She was so glad that she had him there for
comfort. That was until she heard the
rumbling in his chest.
She pulled back and looked up at him. “Are you laughing?”
Sin shook his head vehemently. “Noooo!”
The word came out in an unconvincing slur that
ended in a definite snigger. He was
trying to keep a straight face, but was unsuccessful. He broke into laughter. Nedra pushed him away in disgust.
“I don’t believe it! You’re laughing at me!”
He was and he couldn’t stop. Sin laughed and laughed while Nedra
fumed. Leaning against the desk, her
eyes were slits as she watched him double over and flop down on the sofa.
“Go ahead.
Enjoy yourself,” she said coolly, flipping her coat farther off her
shoulders so that he could have a better view of her well toned body in the
sexy lingerie. She had felt the effect
her mini striptease had on him when he was holding her. “And stay over there while you’re at it.”
Sin sobered quickly. Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, he rose
and sauntered over to his gorgeous wife.
She put her hand up to stop his progress.
“Oh no you don’t.
Keep your distance since you seem to get so much humor out of this.”
“You’ve got to admit that as sexy as you look,
baby, what happened is kind of funny.”
He made an unsuccessful attempt to stifle one last snicker before taking
another step toward her. “The Executive Director
of one of the most respected nonprofit organizations in town is running around
the Monterey Peninsula naked.”
“Half naked,” Nedra corrected. “And I was doing it for you, for us.”
Sin took a step closer. “And it’s appreciated.”
“We’re getting older and I don’t want our sex life
to become boring. I don’t want us to
become one of those conventional couples.”
One more step and he was standing right in front
of her. He kissed the tip of her
nose. “When have we ever been
conventional?”
“That’s true.”
She and Sinclair Reasoner had met under the most unconventional
circumstances and their life together had been a roller coaster ride ever
since. “And I’ve never regretted one
moment that we’ve been together.” A
flood of good memories overshadowed her annoyance. She caressed his cheek. He placed a kiss in the palm of her hand.
“Neither have I.” Once again, he wrapped his arm around her
waist and pulled her to him. “So let’s
get this party started half naked
lady.”
Placing her hand on his chest, she pushed him
back. “Are you sure you’re through
laughing at me?”
Sin faked one last snort. “That’s it.
I’m out of laughs.”
“Are you certain?”
“Feel this and you let me know.” He rubbed his hardening member against her
seductively as the heat of his kisses singed the slender column of her neck.
“Oh, I like that,” Nedra purred.
“Then I’m positive that you’ll love this.”
Meandering lips wandered down the length of her
throat, halting at the swell of her breasts rising from their lacey
confines. Taking the flimsy fabric
between his teeth, he tugged gently gaining access to one of her pebble hard
nipples. He licked and nipped. His wife moaned her appreciation.
“Let’s do this, baby,” she breathed hotly against
the waves in his hair.
Nedra’s eyes slid to the abandoned sofa, but her
husband had other ideas. With one arm
wrapped around her waist, he took his other hand and swept his desk clean.
“Sinclair!”
Nedra shrieked with surprise and delight as her purse and everything
else on the desk’s surface scattered onto the floor.
“Unconventional,” he reminded her. In one swift move, he lifted her up on the
desk.
Spreading her legs, he disposed of her panties. She removed his shirt. He released her breast from the confines of
her bra. She unbuckled his belt,
unzipped his pants and then pulled them and his briefs down his slender
hips. With one manicured fingertip she
stroked his engorged penis.
“Looks like you’re ready.”
“Always.”
Sin gave her a kiss that left no doubt about that. He pulled back. “To keep it from being boring, let’s play no
hands.”
Placing them behind his back, Sin’s mouth and
tongue became weapons of mass seduction as Nedra blossomed beneath his
blistering assault. He savored her
hardened nubs as though they were exotic fruit.
He suckled. She convulsed. His deadly tongue worked relentless magic all
the way down to the citadel that guarded her core. When he entered her, Nedra’s screams of
pleasure echoed throughout the vacant building.
