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It's funny how one small circumstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time can fuck up the life you had.

Odin James's world changed forever when he witnessed his best friend being murdered. The people he thought were meant to protect him may just be working for the man who wants him dead. Trust doesn't come easy—throw a mate into the mix and everything suddenly slides out of control.

Tom Wylie is the beta of his pack. When his alpha requests he take a police witness and keep him safe, Tom doesn't know what he's getting into. One sniff of the man, and he knows Odin is his mate. Protecting Odin from the bad shit after him is a given.

Life gets complicated when they realise things aren't what they seem. Odin isn't as human as he believed, and his birthright wants him dead. With the help of Tom's pack, will Odin and Tom beat the odds thrown at them, and come out on top, or will evil win?

EXCERPT

Chapter One

Fear had such a rancid scent. It was a smell Odin James had become very familiar with over the last several months. Every time he let his guard down for a fraction of a second his nightmares came flooding back to swamp him. His nights were never peaceful, and now even his days were sliding down the shit chute to hell. Nearly seven months had passed since his world had imploded. People he thought were his friends were no longer in his life, and weirdly those he'd never even considered close friends were the ones still standing by his side. It's funny how quickly things can change. How one small circumstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time could fuck up the life you had.

Nowhere was safe anymore. Odin couldn't go home, and the police were at a loss with what to do with him. Every other witness to the murder of Sebastian Norris was either dead or hiding so far underground they were never going to be found. For the last five days, he'd been staying in police custody in a supposed safe house. That was until an hour ago when the station rang and told them their whereabouts had been disclosed. Woke them in the dead of night to tell them it was time to run again and disappear. Odin hoped things got back to normal soon.

"Don't worry, son. We'll find you someplace new to hole up for a while. We're not going to hang around here waiting for them to come and get you." Patric Charles was the older of his two babysitters at the moment. Okay, so maybe he was only in his late fifties or early sixties, but compared to Odin's own twenty-two years it was like a lifetime away. Patric was on loan to the police from the FBI, and right now he was Odin's very last hope.

After they had woken the day before, Patric had been making calls to someone outside of law enforcement. When Odin had asked he was just told it was a family friend who lived off the grid. Someone that had a place he could take Odin to for safekeeping. To be honest, Odin wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, because according to Patric they were going to be breaking protocol and pissing off everyone along the chain of command. But at least Odin would be protected, and more importantly he'd be still alive to be able to testify at the trial of Warren Mortimer.

Odin fought hard to keep his mind from going back to the night he'd hauled arse all those months ago and went to the police about what he'd seen. One minute, he and Sebastian had been walking home from the night club and the next Bas had been lying dead in a pool of blood at his feet. Odin had looked up long enough to see Warren Mortimer sitting in the backseat of a Jag, pointing a gun at Odin's friend. The man had snarled, and Odin had known it was time to get the hell out of there. He'd hated leaving Bas on the ground, but the hole in his forehead said his friend was dead.

Odin had run. The sound of a gun firing had made him run faster. He'd crawled into a hotel dumpster and hid. He had called the police to tell them what had happened, and then he'd waited, hoping like hell the police would find him before Warren Mortimer did. Mind you, back then he'd had no clue who the guy was. Mortimer had just been the person that had shot and killed his best friend.

It felt like hours had passed until someone had come to get him. The smell of the garbage he'd been sitting in had enough time to permanently bond with his clothing and skin. When the lid of the dumpster had opened and a uniformed cop was standing there, Odin had sighed in relief before bursting into tears as the whole evening came crashing back on him.

Odin came out of his flashback when Patric placed a hand on his arm and spoke. "Odin, it's time to move."

"Where are we going?"

Patric guided him out through the kitchen and into the garage. It wasn't until Patric had unlocked the door out into the side yard that he realised they weren't taking the car. His fear tripled as Patric led the way to the back of the property and into the adjoining Golden Club Resort.

"What's happening, Patric? Where are you taking me?" Odin whispered. He was too scared to talk any louder in case someone was already out here in the darkness watching them.

"Hush now, before you alert everyone to the fact we are trying to sneak away." Patric gave his hand a tug and headed further away from the safe house.

Odin jumped at every noise he heard as he followed Patric around the boundary of the resort. When they got to the car park, Odin dug his feet in. There was someone standing there waiting for them. Someone he didn't know, but by the way Patric yanked him forward the man was a friendly, or at least Odin hoped he was.

"Is this him?"

The growl in the deep voice scared the shit out of Odin. What if he'd been wrong about Patric? What if Patric was the one who had leaked his location?

"Yeah, this is Odin. Odin James, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Tom Wylie. He's the son of one of my former work partners. I promise you this, Tom will keep you well hidden."

Odin stared at the bear of a man and didn't know what to think. Tom on the other hand appeared to be giving him the once over and finding him lacking in some way. How was he supposed to trust someone who for all intents and purposes he didn't know? Then again, he had trusted the police and look where it had gotten him. Taking a deep breath to fortify his nerves, Odin held out his hand. "Hello."

For a moment, he wasn't sure Tom was going to respond. He wasn't prepared for the shot of electricity that flowed through him the instant their hands met. There was something primal about the other man, and it terrified Odin beyond belief.

"We need to move. We've been standing here for far too long," Tom growled at him, and then added to Patric, "I'll be off the grid. Contact me the way you would Dad, and I'll eventually get the message."

Odin gasped as Tom took a hold of his upper arm and walked him toward a huge SUV. He was even more shocked when Tom opened the passenger door and lifted Odin into the seat like he was a sack of groceries. He bit his lip to keep from lashing out, because if he believed Patric—and seriously he needed to believe in someone—Tom was going to be his bodyguard for the foreseeable future. The truth was he was too scared to do anything to piss the man off in case he dropped him by the roadside to fend for himself. It'd be just his luck.

I can do this. I can put my trust in a stranger. Who am I kidding? I just want my life to go back to normal. After buckling in, Odin moved as close to the door as he could. He tried to put as much distance between himself and Tom as he could, but as big as Tom was there wasn't much room left. His grip on his seatbelt tightened as Tom started the ignition and began driving. The overwhelming silence between them was rattling Odin's nerves, but he wasn't going to be the one to break it.

A little over thirty minutes had passed before Tom spoke gruffly. "You don't say much do you? Don't you have a ton of questions you want to ask?"

"Would you answer them if I did?"

The deep chuckle filling the interior of the car was akin to a low rumble of thunder and Odin felt it vibrate against his body. "Now that'd depend on the question," Tom said, and Odin couldn't work out if he was joking or not.

"Can I ask where you're taking me?" Odin asked.

Tom was quiet for a moment, and then said, "I'm taking you to a place no one but myself knows about. Not even my family. Basically, I'm taking you off the grid."

"Are you in the armed forces?" The way Tom talked Odin knew he wasn't just an average everyday man.

"No. I used to be, but I can't talk about what branch. Suffice to say, I'm very good at what I do."

Odin shuddered. "Am I safe with you?"

"Safer than you were with the police. They have rules to follow—I don't."

He voiced another thought going through his mind. "Are you human?"

The way Tom's hands squeezed the steering wheel Odin guessed he'd hit a sore point. Again he didn't think Tom would answer, and was surprised when he did. "I was once, but now I'm not." There was an underlying sadness to his words and Odin felt bad for bringing up the topic.

Nearly a hundred and eighty years ago, all hell had broken loose when the human populace had discovered they weren't the only sentient creatures on the planet. Most people had panicked, and mob mentality had ruled as they sought to destroy anyone determined to be preternatural. Personally, Odin thought the humans were all idiots, and had taken the wrong approach. Instead of starting an interspecies war, they should have realised the preternaturals were the same people they'd always been. When he met new people, Odin usually never asked what species they were. If it was important the other person would let him know.

"Aren't you going to ask what breed I am?" Tom asked.

Odin shook his head. "It's none of my business. Patric told me you were a good person, and he trusted you to keep me safe. I'm willing to do the same."

"You'd be the first. Most people shun me when they find out."

"Even your family?" Odin asked.

Bitterness edged Tom's words. "They were the worst of all. If it wasn't for Patric, I'd have no family left. Even then, it cost him his friendship and work partnership with my father."

"Sometimes people are idiots, even if they are family. My family hasn't spoken to me since I was nine years old." Odin bit his lip to keep from revealing more than he should. Not everyone needed to know his life history, but if Tom asked he knew he'd be truthful.

"Why?"

Weighing the pros and cons of telling the whole truth right now, or waiting until Tom had them both safely tucked away, warred within him. In the end, his soul told him he'd just better man up and get it over and done with. "I'm gay. My family is very religious. Luc, my father is very high up in the community, and I apparently no longer fit into his perfect family."

"Like you said. Some people are idiots."

Odin flashed Tom a grin. "I wish everyone thought our way." The sky outside the window was beginning to lighten. "Do we have far to go?"

"Not much farther today. I have an out of the way place to hole up until nightfall and then we'll make the next leg of the journey."

"I hope they don't find me. I'd hate to bring trouble knocking on your door."

Tom winked at him. "They'd have to find the bloody door first."

There was definitely something rugged about the man which made Odin think wolf. He was dying to know what kind of preternatural creature he was, but knew it had to be Tom's choice to reveal it, or not. "Not to be a pain in the arse, but I need to pee."

"You'll have to be quick about it. I want to be off the road before it's fully light," Tom said as he turned into a side track and stopped the vehicle.

They were out in the bush, so Odin made short work of the pit stop knowing no one would see his junk swinging in the breeze as he stood beside the car and relieved himself, though he was a little self-conscious with Tom being only a few feet away. He swore he could feel Tom's gaze on him but was too chicken shit to turn around and find out if he was correct. When he was done, he zipped up and quickly got back in the car. He wasn't even fully buckled in before Tom was already pulling back onto the main road.

Odin yawned, and then was immediately embarrassed when Tom chuckled softly. "Why don't you get some shut eye? I'll wake you up when we get there."

"I'm okay. I just haven't been getting much sleep lately. Every time I close my eyes I keep seeing my friend being gunned down in front of me. To be honest, I'm too scared to sleep."

"Trust me, if you don't start looking after yourself and trying to sleep, you'll burn out."

With the way he spoke, Odin wondered what had nearly burnt Tom out. Whatever it was, he must have gotten over it or at least worked out how to cope as he was a picture of perfect health. "I try, I really do, but then I wake up terrified, because I know I'm next on Warren Mortimer's list. I don't know why he killed my friend. All I know for sure is he's after me because I saw him with the gun in his hand. I know he did it."

"He won't get you. I'll keep you safe."

"And what if you can't? The police couldn't, and apparently neither could the FBI." Panic swamped Odin as he started to hyperventilate. The sad part was he didn't know how to stop it from happening.

"Deep breaths." Tom reached across and squeezed his thigh. "You're safe with me."

A violent shiver tore through him as he tried to do what Tom asked. "You just don't want me to puke in your expensive car."

"Well, there's that too." Tom grinned and as weird as it was Odin was grateful Tom kept his palm firmly pressed to his thigh as if anchoring him in the here and now.

"I'm not going to puke. I'm just freaking out. Seven months ago, one night changed my whole world. I lost my best and dearest friend and found myself on the run when some arsehole called a hunt on me. Warren Mortimer isn't going to let me live long enough for his case to go to trial. Every night, I pray for time to turn backward so I can have a do-over. I wish I could make it so that night never happened at all. That way Bas would still be alive, life would be normal, and you wouldn't have to be stuck babysitting me." Taking a deep breath, he added, "And yes, in case you're wondering, I do have a tendency to babble when I'm in the process of having a panic attack." 

I Admit Defeat

This year has been shot to hell for me writing wise... My family life has been turned on its head... and I must admit that for a while I was finding it hard to focus on anything except the disaster in my life at the time. I've picked myself up and dusted myself off and I've decided that I've had enough time to build a bridge and get over it... and now I'm ready to start my life over again... So I've deferred the challenge until 2017 where I will have to start from scratch. This year I'll be flat out completing the books I need to do for my publishers... I apologise for my high expectations and then failing so spectacularly. Hopefully this is the last year I have to deal with all of this crap. Next year going to be a hell of a lot better for me.

Playing Catch Up...

Well, for the past little bit I have been doing lots of different things...

1) I started Edits & Final Line Edits for Pride Publishing on Wardens Of The Guild 1: The Real You... They have been both fun and challenging.

2) I have been taking Emily to more Dr Appointments... Nothing to complain about--it's actually good news for once... After 11 year of living with a blood disorder they are finally at the stage where they can try medications to balance her out.

3) I've had a cold... minor I know, but it still factors into how my week has played out.

4) Said cold has forced me to rest so I have been reading... David Eddings: both the Elenium & Tumuli series... I think I would have to say these are my favourite books in the whole world to read.

5) I have been cleaning out the office... Now that Ethan no longer lives with us, and Emily might be moving out in November I want it set out more so that it's easier for me to lay my hands on different things, even though I don't really use the office to write in.

Edits & Over Used Words

So, I'm currently doing edits on Wardens of the Guild 1: The Real You... 

Actually, I've done the edits and I'm now backtracking to give some much needed descriptions for people and places, as well as tackling those dreaded over used words... mine seem to change with ever book I write... This time mine are (added - spoke - before - no sooner) along with the ever faithful (smile/grin - just). Somehow I don't think I'll never write the perfect manuscript... if I did what would the editors be for? I need Faith BB on this, she points out all the holes that I just don't see. 

How I don't see the holes I'll ever know, and why don't I realise just how many times I use a word before it becomes annoying to the reader? Truthfully, my major problem is I forget the storylines as soon as I write them. But I have to get this lot done and in because Faith BB is also working in the edits for The Connelly Chronicles 2: Beautiful Goodbyes.

The trouble for me with writing is the story in my head needs to get out as fast as possible and usually in my haste I don't actually think about my phrasing... and I tend to use cliches a lot. I have to try and stop myself from doing this... at the moment while reading whether it be MM, MF, FF if I see a description of something... I have a spare notebook beside me and I re write that snippet in my own words. trying to retrain my brain to not gloss over what I see. I always forget... the reader can't see inside my head they need to see through my words... 

A good example is, and this has nothing to do with my writing... I love reading Diana Gabaldon I love her Outlander series... but after seeing the TV version... that Jamie Fraser and the one inside my head when I read the books are two completely different images. In saying that, I'm now making a conscious effort for my readers to see my characters like I do. I'm also trying to make sure the images on the cover match the characters... it's so annoying when they don't.

I've Signed The Contract

Just signed with Pride Publishing

The Connelly Chronicles 2

Beautiful Goodbyes

Cover Art Reveal

Created by the amazing Emmy Ellis

My Guest ~ Ashe Barker

Totally Bound, 2016

Contemporary erotic romance

BDSM

Three books, average 66,000 words each

Cliffhangers, but eventual HEA ending

#bdsm #eroticromance #ashebarker #discipline #dominance #spanking #contemporary

Buy Links

Darkening   Amazon US   Amazon UK   Barnes and Noble   All Romance   Totally Bound 

NB. Darkening is FREE at Totally Bound and All Romance until 30 April 2016

Darker   Amazon US   Amazon UK   All Romance   Totally Bound

Darkest   Amazon US   Amazon UK   All Romance   Totally Bound

Introduction

Hi, and thank you for inviting me over today to chat about the re-release of The Dark Side.  This series was my first attempt to write anything more steamy than a birthday card and I was delighted with it. I’ll always be proud of how well the books did and the fabulous reviews they received. I am eternally grateful to Totally Bound for accepting them and for taking a chance on the unpublished rookie I was back then.

So, if it ain’t broke, why mend it?

As I wrote The Dark Side I had no idea if anyone but me would ever read the books. I knew next to nothing about the world of publishing or professional writing, so although my editor did a fabulous job of making the books fit to be seen among decent folk (or should that be indecent folk?) there were always aspects of the story I felt could be improved. There were scenes I thought about writing but left out, and ways in which I believed the connection between Nathan and Eva could be deepened. The re-release was a rare opportunity to have my time again and complete the job.

There’s new content in each of the three books, but I won’t spoil it by saying exactly what. Suffice it to say we see yet another quirk in Eva’s already complex nature, and aspects of Nathan which I hope will endear him to readers even more. He’s a hard Dom, stern, demanding and insanely sexy. We lose none of that, but the additional content helps to bring out his caring nature a little more.

There’s also a whole new epilogue to conclude the story. This picks up a loose end which always bothered me so I feel the series is better rounded now.

Enter my Rafflecopter for a chance to win ALL THREE BOOKS in the series. The competition ends on 1 May. 

Find Rafflecopter Here

Series Blurb

The Dark Side trilogy charts the sensual journey of academic musician Eva Byrne as she struggles to overcome painful shyness, sexual inhibition and personal tragedy. Lonely, unsophisticated, desperately seeking love and approval, Eva is easy prey for sensual and experienced Nathan Darke.

He wants her submission, and he knows how to go about getting it. Eva is quickly caught up by the whirlwind of his effortless seduction, though she has her own reasons for agreeing to join him in his world of pain and pleasure, on the dark side.

Inexplicably fascinated and at the same time totally frustrated by his new submissive, Nathan is increasingly drawn to her as she opens up in his hands and he realises there is much, much more to his latest playmate than he ever could have imagined.

The Dark Side charts the turbulent relationship between Eva and Nathan as their mutual fascination builds. They both discover what surrender truly means as together they explore the fragile bonds of desire, trust, risk and reward, and the destructive power of betrayal.

Darkening (Book 1 Blurb)

Who knows where pain ends and pleasure begins?

The chance of a new life out in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors sounds too good to be true to shy musician Eva Byrne. Stifled and smothered within the cocoon of her brilliant academic career, Eva yearns for something different. Something real and exciting. Something she can feel.

Excitement. Passion. Pleasure. She finds that sexy, enigmatic Nathan Darke can provide all these and more when she moves into his home as violin tutor to his young daughter. But Eva’s sensual encounters with her demanding, domineering new employer quickly evoke her deepest fears, as he introduces her to the trauma of submission and marks her with his particularly dark brand of love.

But will Eva’s natural curiosity and thirst for new experiences be enough to withstand the sting of Nathan Darke’s exquisite touch? Will simple surrender be enough as he challenges her every inhibition, taking her on an erotic journey of self-discovery and liberation?

Darkening (Book 1 Excerpt)

He breaks the kiss to start nibbling his way down my neck. As if not finding the angle to his liking, he suddenly, effortlessly lifts me from the chair, turns and lays me down with my bare back flat on the table top. He holds both of my wrists in one hand, pinning them to the table above my head and, standing between my legs, leans over to look down at me, stroking his other hand the length of my body from neck to waist.

“Beautiful… Holy fuck, so lovely,” he murmurs before he leans down to take my right nipple between his lips.

I squeal, the shock jolting through me even though I had sensed what he was about to do. His body weight and his hand around my wrists hold me in place as he continues his work. The sensation is everywhere, starting at my nipple, which is now painfully engorged. The tingling pulses radiate out through my whole body, connecting as if by some sort of internal electric current to that spot between my legs, which is now drenched. It feels exquisite, acute, intense, forbidden and overwhelming. I arch my back, pushing my breasts toward his mouth, his tongue, his teeth, this source of ecstatic pleasure.

One or two ill-fated fumblings from other students when I was a teenager at university did nothing to prepare me for this. I have never, ever felt anything remotely like this before. I might have read about it, known the theoretical possibility was out there, somewhere. Happening to other women—women who were attractive and had lush, sexy bodies and soft, wavy hair. But this is here, now, happening to me. 

I feel the hard table beneath my shoulder blades as I writhe under his skilled lips, his expert tongue and teeth, desperate for more. And he knows what he is about—he knows what I need and he has more for me. Opening his mouth wider, he takes more of my breast in and sucks hard, first one side then the other. He slides his free hand, palm up, between my shoulders and the table to raise me up, giving him easier access with his mouth, his tongue, his teeth. Gently grazing my now helplessly sensitized nipples with his teeth, he suckles me relentlessly, nipping slightly harder, just enough to hurt, maybe—I’m not sure where pain ends and pleasure begins now. What does it matter, anyway? He can do whatever he wants to me as long as he doesn’t stop.

He is no longer holding my wrists—he has no need to because I’m lying boneless under him, spread across his kitchen table, pleading wordlessly for…for what? More? Less? The ecstatic pleasure tinged with a hint of pain is so intense now that I can only moan, ride the waves of sensation pulsing from my breasts out through my fingers and toes, each wave bigger, heavier, more compelling than the one before until I am writhing with need.

“I can’t. Please, it’s too much…” Is that me? Or someone else whimpering nearby?

“Yes, you can, you are. Don’t fight it, sweetheart, come for me. Now. Come now.” His words—insistent, soft and low, seductive—are breathed into my ear before he returns to my breasts, nibbling and sucking mercilessly, building the tension, increasing the sensations coursing through every part of me, winding me tighter and tighter until I burst, screaming out loud as fireworks explode in my head, my groin, everywhere as the earth shifts beneath me. My inner core clenches violently, the wetness surely flooding across the table. I feel I am falling, floating as the tension is released and I hear myself moan in delighted satisfaction, drifting back down toward reality.

Me, the girl who can’t bear to be touched. Somehow—God only knows how it happened—I have just spent the last ten minutes spread out half naked on Nathan Darke’s kitchen table, his hands and mouth all over me until I totally lost control, and he watched me thrashing about in the throes of my very first orgasm, right in front of him. Christ! How wonderful, how intimate. How unlike me. And he’s achieved all this without so much as a button of his coming undone.

Darker (Book 2 Blurb)

Can Eva outrun the secrets of her past, or is surrender her only choice?

Eva Byrne’s first encounter with the darker side of Nathan Darke’s sensuality ends in disaster. Frightened, hurt, betrayed, she struggles to regather her shattered confidence—in him, and in herself.

Desperate to continue her journey of exploration and self-discovery, Eva has to convince a skeptical Nathan that she’s worth the trouble. And that she can learn to submit to him. When she is forced to reveal elements of her past she has preferred to keep hidden, both her brilliance and her vulnerability are laid bare. Will Nathan accept Eva as she is, and help her to become the woman she longs to be, or will she face yet another rejection?

Terrified and intrigued in equal measure, Nathan has no idea how to deal with the exquisitely enigmatic Eva Byrne. Should he cut his losses and run, or allow their relationship to continue, and watch as Eva’s delicate beauty unfurls in his hands?

Fascinated and ensnared by Nathan, Eva longs to taste what he offers and her erotic journey continues. But how much will she have to surrender to him in order to liberate her own desires? 

Darker (Book 2 Excerpt)

We continue to stroll in the direction of the waterfront once more, and arrive back at Nathan’s apartment around midnight. As soon as the lift doors close he is on me, kissing me, exploring my mouth with his tongue while pulling my shirt from my pants. Deftly undoing the buttons, before I know it he has my hands caught behind my back, tangled in the sleeves. Lifting his head to glance appreciatively at my new, pink lacy bra he cups my breasts, squeezing gently, lowering his head to kiss the mounds visible above the lace. “So sweet, Eva, so pretty,” he breathes, and I vaguely wonder if he means my underwear or my body. Who cares? He flicks open the front fastening of my bra to bare my breasts for his ministrations. With his mouth and clever fingers my nipples are brought to swollen, aching hardness before the lift arrives at the penthouse, and the doors glide open.

It’s only when he takes my elbow to tug me forward into the apartment that I realize my hands are effectively tied behind my back, still caught up in my discarded blouse. I wriggle, trying to free myself so I can kiss him back, hold him, but he smiles down, knowingly. I realize he’s done this on purpose. And that he won’t free me until he’s good and ready. After dropping a light kiss on my lips, he opens the door to the apartment and gestures for me to enter before him.

Once inside, Nathan leaves me standing, topless, in the middle of his living room as he goes over to the fridge. Pulling out a chilled bottle of wine he quickly uncorks it and pours one glass. Strolling back toward me, the glass in his right hand, his eyes are on my breasts, admiring, lustful. I realize my usual inhibitions might be diminishing, but have not yet disappeared as I wish I was better endowed, curvier. Nathan doesn’t seem to mind, though, as with his free left hand he cups and massages my breast whilst he reaches with his right hand, still holding the glass, to curl it behind my neck. He pulls me close, kissing my ear, nibbling the lobe before dropping his face to my neck.

“Christ, Eva, you are a beautiful sight. Perfect. Exquisite.” He kisses me again before sipping the wine.

“Would you like a drink, Eva?”

I nod. “Yes, please. But you’ll have to hold the glass.” I roll my shoulders to indicate my bound hands.

He smiles. “Ah, yes, anything to be of service, Miss Byrne.”

He lifts the glass to my lips, tipping a little of the crisp chilled liquid into my mouth before immediately following it in with his tongue, tasting the wine before it disappears down my throat.

“I do like to share, Miss Byrne,” he murmurs before taking another sip himself. This time, though, he catches my mouth in a deep, open-mouthed kiss, letting the liquid pour from his tongue onto mine. It feels sensuous, intimate, delicious. I moan, swallow quickly in surprised contentment.

Darkest (Book 3 Blurb)

When his past destroys Eva’s trust in her Master, can he win her back?

As their turbulent, complex relationship deepens, Nathan Darke is increasingly aware that Eva Byrne has become much more to him than his submissive. She’s in his home, in his family. And in his heart.

Eva hasn’t found it easy to trust, to believe in herself and in a relationship that might last. But happiness, once so elusive, is within her grasp. Nathan is her Master, her lover and her soulmate.

However, no sooner do they manage to find a fragile balance between them—a way of entwining both their worlds—and start to build a future than their past comes crashing back to destroy their emerging love. Jealousy and hate brutally shatter Eva’s and Nathan’s delicate trust in each other, and their life together crumbles.

Can they overcome the crushing pain of betrayal and deceit to regain some sort of future together, or are some wounds just too deep to heal? Are some risks too great? Some rewards just not enough? 

Darkest (Book 3 Excerpt)

“I just… I’ve never done anything like this before. It feels sort of… Well, as if I shouldn’t be doing it. On my own, that is.”

“Ah, but it’s the forbidden that makes it so much fun. Lie back and enjoy, Miss Byrne. Let me help you…”

“I wish you were here.” My voice is small, thready, needy. I miss him so much.

His tone is low, gentle, caressing. “I will be. Soon. But I’m with you now in spirit, sweetheart. So, tell me what you’re doing at this moment.”

“I’m lying on my bed, talking to you.”

“Smart-ass. I think you’re taking advantage of the situation. If I was there you’d be lying across my knees, and your bottom would be smarting for that little wisecrack.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”

“I think you mean you’re sorry, Sir. Okay, now, are you lying on your back?”

“Yes.”

“Can you put your phone on speaker and leave it on the pillow next to you? You’ll need both hands free for this.”

With a gulp I shove any embarrassment into a far corner of my mind and decide to go for it, go with it. I push a few buttons and lay the phone beside my head. “Okay, I’ve done that.”

“Open your legs wide and look at yourself in the mirror on your wardrobe.”

“What! I…”

“Do it, Eva.” His tone is firm, the command one to be obeyed. So I do it. I obey.

I hadn’t even realized how strategically placed my wardrobe was, but as I lie there, my thighs spread wide, I can see the lips of my vagina, still gloriously naked following the Brazilian wax, glistening with my own juices. Just waiting to be touched, and stroked, waiting to be gently opened to slide a smooth, warm dildo inside me. Oh. Wow.

“Tell me what you see, Eva.” The voice is soft now, a seductive whisper brushing my ear.

“I can see—me. All of me.”

“Tell me exactly what you see. Use any words you want.”

“I see my—my vagina. And my clitoris. They’re very pink.”

“That’s good. Your slick, pink little cunt is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. And are you wet, Eva?”

“I, I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Find out for me now, love. Slide your hand down there. Stroke your cunt just like I would if I was there with you. Tell me if you’re wet.”

Despite what’s happening, despite my willing participation, I am still a little shocked by the crude language. This is explicit, even by Nathan’s standards. And it makes me hot as hell. He thinks I’m beautiful. There. God!

Watching every movement in the mirror I slide my hand along my stomach, trailing my fingertips across my lower abdomen to gently, lightly probe between my legs. I deliberately skip over my clitoris, although I can clearly see that hot, needy little nub starting to swell. Instead I run my fingers around the entrance to my vagina, and gently dip the very end of my middle finger inside.

“I, yes, Nathan. I’m wet. And, oh my God, this feels so—decadent. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Talking to you like this. About this.”

“Decadent? I like that, Eva. And does it feel good?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “So good.”

Review Quotes

• Holy crow! I knew Eva was intelligent but WHOA! (OK no spoiler reveals).
• The sex … is bow-chica-wow-wow hot! Note to Eva - if you get tired I'll tag in for you! Yes this is an erotic story but there is so much more than just sex. The soul baring and secret revealings have me alternating between laughing, gasping and tears.
• Author Ashe Barker has definitely mastered the art of cliffhangers because just when I think her books are going to end on a high note, BAM! there it is. I know I will just be crushed to see this story end … an absolute must read and I do highly recommend reading the Dark Side Trilogy.
• What a fantastic third book. The ending was everything you could hope for. Ms Barker knows what it takes to satisfy her readers, and she doesn't disappoint. My only complaint is that there are no more books to read in this trilogy.
• Wow, I have enjoyed these three books so much that I would like his version of this love story, please it would be nice. 

About Ashe

I’ve been an avid reader of fiction for many years, erotic and other genres. I still love reading, the hotter the better. But now I have a good excuse for my guilty pleasure—research.

I tend to draw on my own experience to lend colour, detail and realism to my plots and characters. An incident here, a chance remark there, a bizarre event or quirky character, any of these can spark a story idea.

I live in the North of England, on the edge of the Brontë moors. When not—which is not very often these days - my time is divided between my role as resident taxi driver for my teenage daughter, and caring for a menagerie of dogs, tortoises.  And a very grumpy cockatiel. 

I have over thirty titles on general release with publishers on both sides of the Atlantic, and I have several more in the pipeline. I write M/f, M/M, and occasionally ring the changes with a little M/M/f. All my books feature BDSM. I write explicit stories, always hot, but they offer far more than just sizzling sex. I like to read about complex characters, and compelling plots, so that’s what I write too.

I have a pile of story ideas still to work through, and keep thinking of new ones at the most unlikely moments, so you can expect to see a lot more from me.

Find Ashe Here 

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