Lora Leigh News including a Sneak Peek of Coyote's Mate

Great Reviews for Only Pleasure!"A sizzling hot love story guaranteed to heat up the cold winter nights." Mandy Burns ~ Fresh Fiction"craftily written...highly emotional, insanely scorching, and truly outstanding novel." Natasha Smith ~ Romance Junkies"ONLY PLEASURE is a wild ride into eroticism balanced with an equal measure of pure romance." Jennifer ~ Wild on Books "Chase and Kia steamed off the pages and when Khalid was part of the action, erotic does not seem a strong enough word. Flaming hot is one word I would use, heart breaking is another when I discovered just what Kia had gone through and had to face yet again. Satisfying is yet another word to describe my reactions and emotions as I finished Only Pleasure." Jo ~ Joyfully Reviewed

ONLY PLEASURE by Lora Leigh made the New York Times Bestsellers list for Trade Paperback Fiction!


Only Pleasure by Lora Leigh(Book 10 of the Bound Hearts Series)

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Available Now)

ISBN-10: 0312368739ISBN-13: 978-0312368739

Since Chase Falladay came to her rescue two years ago, Kia Stanton has never been able to forget the powerful man or the kind of life he leads. So two years later when she runs into Chase and his friend, Khalid, and leaves with them that night, she knows exactly where it is all heading. However, little prepares her for what it is like to be in Chase's arms, and in his bed. After years of holding back, Kia is finally able to be the woman she's always dreamed of being in his arms.Kia is a dream Chase has not allowed himself to entertain. Now that he has her, it's her heart he's after and he's determined to win it, no matter the cost. And even though they both agreed that it would only be for pleasure, somewhere along the way it becomes an all-consuming love.

Sneak Peek of Chapter One of Only Pleasure by Lora Leigh ©...(unedited excerpt)

Two Years Later

It was snowing. Of course, it was December in Washington D.C., it was bound to snow eventually. The fat, fluffy flakes drifted like a wintry cape from the dark cloud laden sky. There was little breeze, so it fell and piled and between the time it took Kia Stanton to escape from the hotel and the very boring party she had attended to the little corner bar, it had covered the sidewalks.
The salt trucks were already running, their little plows lifted for the time being. The heavily traveled streets of Alexandria would stay clear for a while yet. The sidewalks were another matter.

She stepped carefully in her three inch heels. They were perfectly safe to wear in the hotel, but here, on the slick sidewalk was another story. She held the skirt of her winter white velvet dress to her ankles and wished she had just attempted to grab a cab and risk going home rather than attempting to hide for a while.

There were few places she could hide where she wasn't known. The bar seemed the least likely place. She had been inside it a time or two before in the past year. It was close to the hotels she was forced to attend events in, and those events invariably included her ex-husband, Drew.
She lowered her head as she ducked into the bar, pulling the wrap that was much too light for this weather around her cold arms.

She waved to the bartender and he nodded quickly as she headed to the table she always snagged. In the corner, where it was dark and shadowed and she could watch. Just watch the patrons as they chatted, laughed, joked.

Friends came in with friends or business associates. They could get a little loud, but they laughed and slapped each other on the back and had fun.

"It's a little cold out there tonight, honey." The barmaid, a young woman named Andrea sat a chilled bottle of beer in front of her and smiled back at her in concern as she let her eyes rove over her evening gown.

Andrea was quiet, a dark brunette with laughing gray eyes and a smile for everyone. Her sweater and jeans attested to the fact that the chill in the air outside often seeped inside here as well.

"Yes it is," Kia agreed as she accepted the beer. "They're calling for several inches of snow tonight and much more in the morning."

"Ten inches last I heard," Andrea agreed. "We should all just hunker down with a hot man and a hotter fire."

Kia smiled as Andrea turned away.

The pub wasn't very full tonight. The middle of the week, the weekend crowd wasn't here. She sipped at her beer and pulled the wrap closer around her shoulders, restraining a shiver as she looked around.

From where she sat, most of the room was visible to her. The two back corners were as shadowed as her own. They were private, cocooned with darkness.

She sighed deeply as she played with the chilled bottle of beer, stared down at her fingers and wondered why the hell she had come here. She could have gotten a room at the hotel. Drew would have known of course, and getting her room number would have been easy for him, but he couldn't have gotten in. She could have just called security. Except, the thought of the battle she would face there had her flinching. Drew wasn't above causing a scene, and he hadn't yet realized that she didn't give a damn.

All fear of societies gossip had been burned out of her the day she had been forced to retract her knowledge of exactly what her husband was, and what he had been a part of.

In two years, she hadn't forgotten that moment in time for even a single day. Or night. Some nights, she dreamed of it, and the dreams where much different than what had happened in reality.

She smiled at the thought of that. How brave she was in her dreams. And in those dreams, Chase Falladay had tempted her to acts that her ex-husband could have never convinced her to become a part of.

She picked at the paper on the beer bottle and tried to tell herself that it was only the loneliness brewing inside her that made those dreams seem so very intriguing.

Two years. She'd divorced, she had no friends. She had learned that lesson quickly. She had had only a few friends at that time, and once one of them had started the gossip concerning the club she still wasn't certain about, the others had taken up the cause and added to it. By time she had managed to do the damage control Chase had requested of her, it had blown so far out of proportion that no one would have believed it anyway.

But, she had learned valuable lessons from that event. She had learned to trust no one. Except, perhaps Chase. She almost smiled. She'd done as he told her and sued for a high divorce settlement. She'd gotten it easily. But it hadn't compensated for the pain, the humiliation, or the knowledge that her marriage had been a lie from the first day.

She tipped the beer to her lips once again, her gaze straying across the room. As she lowered the bottle she frowned, her eyes narrowing on that back corner.

It couldn't be him she told herself. That devil's black hair reflecting in a sudden spear of light, a profile that was as strong and as determined as the man himself was.

But it was him. She knew it was, and he had company.

She wasn't going to wonder at the sudden trip of her heart, the knowledge that her greatest sexual fantasy was in this bar with a man everyone in the free world knew, had no problems what so ever getting wild and depraved.

Chase Falladay and Khalid el Hamid Mustafa, the bastard of some little known Middle Eastern prince. He was in the news often, the gossip columns even more often. And he was sitting there with Chase.

As she stared, Chase's head lifted, his eyes narrowing through the smoky gloom, finding her instantly.

The breath left her throat. He couldn't know it was her. There was even less light here than there was in his corner. Then Khalid turned as well, his black eyes amused, his expression sensual as he lifted a glass and toasted her.

Shock raced through her. There was no way to run now, no way to hide. This wasn't a society ball or event where she all she had to do was drift to another pocket of guests and so on to avoid either of them.

Chase, because he was a temptation. Khalid because he was known to help Chase tempt the women they shared in the past months.

News of the club of men who shared their women may have died down over the years, but there were certain men rumored, always rumor only, to enjoy that particular pleasure more than any other.

Only a few, as though those brave, hungry souls relished the gossip they caused.

She took a long sip of the beer to ease the dryness in her mouth as she jerked her gaze away from them. They couldn't truly know who she was, she assured herself. She had to assure herself of that, otherwise, she'd never be able to force herself to stay in place.

Chase stared into the corner, wondering if Kia had any idea how the light spilled from the bar and glistened over the winter white velvet wrap and dress she wore. She looked like a snow princess fallen from the cloudy skies. Soft creamy flesh, champagne blonde hair, blue eyes, wide with a hint of nerves and fear. And something else.

Hell, he had to be drunk. That something else couldn't have been there.

"I wondered how long it would take her to get curious," Khalid remarked as he turned back to Chase.

"Curious about what?" Chase asked, watching as the lights caught the twinkle of diamonds in her upswept hair.

"About you my friend, and the pleasures you could give her. I've watched her gaze sweep over you for two years now. And wondered what she hid beneath those lashes that swept over her eyes each time," he explained.

Chase snorted. "Hatred?"

Khalid shook his head. "Never that." His smile was hard, curling with knowledge. "The two of you tip toe around each other as though you're terrified of the electricity flashing between you. She knows what you are." He leaned forward at that point. "And still, she's curious. I of course would be available if you needed a third."

"You're horny," Chase growled. "Who says I'd pick you for my third anyway?"

Khalid chuckled at that. "Who cares? A woman such as that one, you would have no hardship in finding a man willing to provide that service. But I would know immeasurable pleasure in being so chosen."

The amusement in Khalid's black eyes had Chase shaking his head at the other man.

"Perhaps it is fear that holds you back?" Khalid grinned then. "Your brother Cameron I have learned is floating in monogamous bliss where his woman Jaci is concerned. Perhaps, you are afraid it is contagious?"

Chase tore his gaze from Kia. She looked cold. She was too close to the door to manage any warmth dressed as she was. As soft, as delicate as she looked in it, she had to be freezing.
She tugged the wrap more firmly around her shoulders when Chase realized he hadn't torn his gaze from her for long. Perhaps a second. Maybe.

"Why not ask her to join us for a drink?" Khalid suggested. "She would be well hidden here with us." He waved a broad hand at the corner next to Chase. "And I have no doubt she wouldn't be warmer."

Chase was rising to his feet before Khalid was finished talking. He ignored the other man's laughter and moved across the room. She would join them, or he would take her home. Any other option was out of the question. She was tempting him to the point that his back teeth ached at the thought of touching her, and he wasn't thinking about the erection pounding beneath his slacks.
She watched him as he approached. He felt her eyes on him, raking over him, nervous little looks that made him tense in arousal. She'd been doing to this to him even before her ex-husband had tried to force her into a ménage. And he'd been furious that Drew had chosen to try to draw her into that lifestyle without her knowledge beforehand.

"You look like a snow fairy," he leaned against the heavy post that supported the ceiling, only a few feet from her table.

Her gaze lifted, her slender neck rippling as she swallowed tightly.

"Well, it is snowing tonight," she cleared her throat.

It was there between them, he could feel it. He could see it in her eyes, almost taste in the air around them. If she left that table to join him, it was going to be for much more than a drink.
He glanced away from her for a moment, acknowledging that every attempt he had made to stay away from her had just flown the hell out the window.

When he turned back, his jaw clenched.

"I'm not playing games with you Kia. I have too damned much respect for you that that." He held his hand out to her. "Would you like to join us?"

She looked over to where Khalid had turned in his chair enough to watch them. His dark eyes gleamed with sensual, sexual knowledge. Just as Chase's did.

She stared at his hand.

She had wondered for two years what being with him would be like. What the pleasure could be. The knowledge in his eyes when he told her, it was only for the pleasure.

"What if I can't?" she whispered, knowing what he meant. "What then?"

"Then you can't." He continued to hold his hand out. "It's your choice."

It was her choice. She hadn't been offered a choice before, she had nearly been raped by her husband instead.

But this wasn't Drew. This was the man that had been honest with her from the start. He had, in small ways perhaps, but in ways impossible for her to miss, protected her.

She looked at his hand again, remembering the dreams, the fantasies, and all the lonely nights she had assured herself, if this night ever came, she would have the courage to take his hand.
She stood slowly, holding her wrap around her shoulders with one hand as she saw Khalid rise from his chair in the back of the room.

"The limo's outside." Chase took her hand in his, broad, warm fingers wrapping around her smaller, paler ones. "Are you going home?"

Where she was alone? Where she could dream about him rather than taking her courage in both hands and becoming the woman she had been wishing she could be.
Bold. Courageous.

She was breathing harshly. She could feel her breasts rising and falling, felt his gaze flick over them as he began to pull her to the door.

"I don't want to go home yet," she finally whispered.

Available February 3, 2009!

Reviewer Top Pick! "...a page-turning tale that you will hate to see end" Susan ~ Night Owl Romance


Coyote's Mate by Lora Leigh (Coyote Breeds, Book 2)

Publisher: Berkley (Available February 3, 2009)

ISBN-10: 0425226336ISBN-13: 978-0425226339

For six years Anya Korbin worked with Del-Rey Delgato--the genetically altered rebel known as the Coyote Ghost--to free a group of coyote women kept in her father's lab. As Anya matured into a woman, she and Del-Rey grew close...but then he broke his promise and killed her father. Now she must deal with her animalistic desire for the one who betrayed her.

Sneak Peek of Chapter One of Coyote's Mate by Lora Leigh ©...(unedited excerpt)

Anya was where she was supposed to be, but things weren't going as they had been planned. Nothing had gone as planned. When she returned to the labs that evening, within hours, the attack came.

There was no warning. There was no call. Security alarms were blaring, cell doors were opening as safeguards were overrode and locks on the weapons rooms deactivated.

She pushed the scientists into a secure, hidden wall she had found the month before. They hadn't been here long enough evidently to know all the secrets of the labs. Dr. Chernov had replaced the aging scientists ten years before and brought his protégé, a much younger female scientist along with him.

"Don't leave. Don't move," she ordered them. "Stay here until you hear only silence."

Pale, shaking in shock, the two scientists did as they were told, huddling in the little room as Anya slid the secured door closed and rushed to the exits that led to the cold, desolate land above ground.

"Anya, get out of here," Sofia Ivanov, one of the administrative assistants gripped her arm and dragged her down another hall. "Go that way." She pointed to the stairs. "They're free. I'll cover you."

Cover her? Anya stared behind her as doctors raced from labs with weapons drawn. They were firing on personnel? Shock rushed through her, tore through her mind. She knew those men and women. Knew them well. And they were firing on the personnel attempting to escape?

"Run damn you!" Sofia pushed her to the exit. "Get out of here before I have to shoot you."

Anya ran. As she ran, fury fed the fear and the shock that coursed through her adrenaline laced mind. This was the exact plan she had given Del-Rey for the rescue. Had he not trusted her? He had attacked only hours after her return, giving her no time to ensure her father and cousins weren't here?

No, it had to be something else, she sobbed in desperation as she raced up the stairs. She gripped an older woman's arm, one of the secretaries and pushed her ahead of her.

"Hurry Marie," she urged the other woman as she sobbed and nearly fell. "We must hurry."
Other personnel were racing past them as Anya grabbed Marie's arm and all but dragged her up the steps. Marie had children, grandchildren. A husband that was ill. She was needed. And besides, she always brought the breed cookies. She was kind and gentle.

The door was broken from its hinges above, laying on its side as security forces were waving personnel through, urging them to hurry, to rush. Masks covered their faces to protect them from the cold. It was bitterly cold outside, and Marie had no jacket, no coat to wear.

"Run for the barracks," she told the other woman. "It will be warm there and safer. We'll hide there."

She ran into the cold, aware of the gun fire, the yell of voices, the clash of forces. Then she was only aware of the hard arm that wrapped around her waist, jerked her against a broad chest and the knife that lay at her throat.

She could feel the cold blade pressing into her throat, pinching the flesh, within a breath of actually cutting her skin.

"Kobrin, I have your daughter."

Loud, echoing through the valley, she knew that voice, knew the growl that sounded in it and felt the sob that tore from her throat.

Betrayal. He had betrayed her.

Agony tore through her with such pain she could only sob at the reality of it.

The sound of gunfire faded away. Personnel were no longer rushing through the doors, she could hear them at the entrance though, feel the tension that thickened the air.

Del-Rey. She felt the first tear fall. Oh God, she had trusted him. She had trusted him so much.

Don't Miss Lora Leigh's RAW2009!http://www.readersappreciationweekend.com/

Visit Lora's site for all her book newshttp://www.loraleigh.com/

Need an Elite OPs fix??

NIGHT HAWK - A never before released free short story from Lora Leigh!
CLICK HERE to sign up for a free copy of Night Hawk Coming February 2009!

Win an ARC of Coyote's Mate

December Monthly Competition

Here are the rules

To win an ARC of Coyote's Mate, Simply answer these questions and email your answers to breedsarehot@gmail.com

Question 1 - Which Breed would you buy a Christmas Present for?

Question 2 - What would you buy him or her?

A winner will be drawn on December 31st and the ARC posted out in the new year.

Dont forget, your answers have to be emailed to breedsarehot@gmail.com in order to qualify for entry.

Lora Leigh Booksigning this Saturday

Lora Leigh, Kay Stockham and Justine Rutherford

Will be signing books from 2 - 4 pm

at

Barboursville - Borders

120 Huntington Mall, Barboursville, WV 25504

Phone: 304.736.6233

If anyone is in the area, please come along !

Win an ARC of Only Pleasure

To celebrate Thanksgiving I am running a competition on my forum, Simply post about which Bound Hearts male or female character you would like to share Thanksgiving with and why.

The instructions on how to enter can be found at this link http://pub4.bravenet.com/forum/330493581/show/1154607

I hope you have fun.

As promised, here's your first taste of ONLY PLEASURE. I hope you enjoy the excerpt, and when the book releases, I do hope you enjoy the story.
Kia's part in the Bound Hearts series has intrigued me since the first book and her name came up as the disenchanted wife that told the tale on the members. It took a while for me to get to know her though, for her to tell me her story, and when she did, it was so much more than I had imagined.
Chase's fascination with her, and his determination to hold himself aloof also drew me. In WICKED PLEASURE, he was a difficult character to write at times because he was so determined to hold his secrets, and his desires inside. And now I know why.
I hope you enjoyed WICKED PLEASURE, and I hope ONLY PLEASURE fulfills his story in all the ways you're looking for, as well as ways that will surprise you as it did me.
Until it's release in January 2009, I hope you enjoy the small glimpses I'll give you into it, and I hope Chase and Kia touch your heart as they did mine.


ONLY PLEASURE
(Unedited Excerpt)
By Lora Leigh

Prologue


Kia Rutherford-Stanton opened the door to her penthouse suite and stared back at the man on the other side. Dressed in dark slacks and a gray dress shirt, he appeared far more dangerous than the clothing and the handsome quiet features would suggest.
She knew him, everyone knew who Chase Falladay was, and those who didn’t soon learned. According to her bastard husband, he was also the one man she didn’t want standing on her doorstep.
As though she should be frightened of him. Perhaps that was her mistake. It was never fear that filled her whenever she was around Chase. Wariness at times. Uncertainty. And since her marriage, an awareness that she shouldn’t be anywhere near him.
But fear had never been one of those emotions.
“What do you want?” She wondered if the bruises on her face were still apparent. She didn’t think so. She’d spent forever on her makeup that morning.
It seemed Drew hadn’t been pleased when he found out that his wife had no intentions of taking him back, or of retracting the information spilling through their social set that he had not just attempted to rape her with another man, but that he and that man were part of a club created just for such perverts.
As though she wanted that to get out. As though it didn’t humiliate her as much as it did him. That didn’t mean she had to do anything to help him. And the back handed blow had given her in response had assured her that she didn’t care if he fried in society.
But, as he had warned her, Chase had shown up. And he had also warned her that if he did, they all needed to be very frightened.
“I’d just like to talk to you a moment, Kia.” His voice was like smooth, rich brandy. It curled over the senses and reminded her, no matter how much she wished otherwise at the moment, she was still a woman, and a voice like his was guaranteed to gain a response.
“As if I’m not perfectly aware of what you want to talk about.” She stepped aside, watching as he moved into the apartment, his tall, hard body somehow at odds in the mainly feminine atmosphere that surrounded him now.
She turned and led the way from the wide foyer to the living room, tossing him a glare over her shoulder. Drew, her soon to be ex-husband had called her the day before, warning her to expect a visit from the goon squad.
The son of a bitch. Fury rose inside her like a vicious flood, filled with betrayal and anger, it stamped a trembling sneer on her face as Chase Falladay stepped into the room.
“Kia, I don’t want to battle with you,” he turned to her, staring back at her, as though he understood, as though he were compassionate. “It appears to me that you’ve been through enough.”
“Then why are you here?” Her lips trembled as she let herself meet his cool, light green eyes. They pierced her, had her throat thickening with the gentleness in them.
“Can we sit down?” He motioned to the chairs.
Kia sat down warily, watching as he took the other chair across from her, his gaze brooding and heavy as he watched her.
“Drew told you about the club,” he finally stated softly.
Kia flinched and looked away. Like the bastard had a choice.
She licked her lips nervously and turned back to him.
“Did he tell you what he did too?”
“He didn’t, but others have. I’ll tell you, his membership is being investigated. He’s facing losing it, as well as a hefty deposit he paid. But there’s more at risk here than the deposit he could lose, or his membership. The risk, Kia, is in the gossip, which came from you, and is now spreading through Alexandria.”
She tightened her lips. “Do you think I wanted that damned gossip?” She came to her feet in a rush of anger. “It seems I can’t trust my husband, nor the few friends I believed I had. And now, you’re here?” She waved her hand at the room. “What are you going to do Chase? Kill me for it?”
According to Drew the secret of the club had been maintained for more than a century. Until she told a friend what he had told her the night he and his friend tried to rape her.
She pushed her fingers through her shoulder length blonde hair before shaking her head wearily at his patient look. Chase was never ruffled. He was always calm.
“You’re not denying the gossip,” he pointed out.
Hell no she hadn’t. She had thought she could let her husband strangle beneath the weight of it, hoping he twisted in agony as all eyes turned to him. She had thought she could. How wrong she had been.
“Two of your members tried to rape me, in my own home, Chase,” she informed him bitterly. “And you’re here to what? Berate me because I told a friend and she spread the rumor of all those little perverts you protect?”
He sat back in his chair, his arms laying comfortably on the heavily cushioned arms as he stared back at her. Those eyes, they seemed to sink into a woman, made her soften, made her want to please him. What a dangerous talent for a man’s eyes to possess.
“You’re not denying the rumor,” he stated again.
“Neither am I upholding it,” she argued.
He watched her carefully, silence stretching between them as she paced back to her chair and sat down wearily.
Her father was pacing at home she knew. He had called that morning, torn between loyalty to his daughter and the knowledge he had just learned that his entire life, the holdings four generations of Stanton’s had possessed could come crumpling to his feet. All because of Drew. Because he had dared to threaten her with that damned club and when she had spilled all her hurt and anger to the person she believed was a friend, it had begun to spread.
“My father called,” she finally said. “He’s received phone calls from major stockholders.” She knew this game. She had been born and raised within the dirty little social sect that thrived on power and threats. “Drew was right, wasn’t he? You have enough power to destroy all of us.”
“Kia, I’m here to help you,” he promised her.
“Yes, of course you are, how could I have ever believed otherwise?” She stated tearfully, mockingly. “What do you want me to do, Chase, take out an ad in the newspapers that I lied? That Drew never brought a third in on me from your damned club and tried to rape me.” Her voice rose in humiliation and pain. “Tell them he never threatened to destroy me with the power that club wields? Did you bring a list of the papers? Should I stand on the street corner and proclaim it to the world?”
The tears didn’t fall, but they wanted to. She wanted to sob in fury.
“I want you to call your friend and tell her the club doesn’t exist. That you were trying to hurt Drew. When you’re asked about the club or anything he told you concerning it, I want you to deny he ever mentioned it. You didn’t give names, Kia. At this point, it’s all speculation based on the few single members known to share their lovers. Help me fix this now, and I’ll make certain you’re protected.”
She gave him a harsh, very unladylike snort. “And how will you do that, Mr. Falladay?”
“Will you trust me, Kia.” He leaned forward, his elbows braced on his knees as he watched her. “Will you trust me to keep my word? That you’ll be protected, not just in any retaliation against Drew, but from Drew as well?”
The bruise at the side of her face burned.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“There’s not enough makeup in the world to hide that mark on your face, or the fear in your eyes, Kia. I don’t want to add to that. No one is going to hurt you, physically. Drew will never touch you again, period. When the time comes, he’ll pay for what he’s done to you, just as he’ll pay for using the club to attempt to threaten you into a relationship you didn’t want.”
She stared back at him in shock.
“Why would you do that?”
His expression hardened. “Kia, we’re not just a club filled with members who share an agreement in a lifestyle. That club, that powerbase and that protection wasn’t created for its members alone. It was created for their women”
She shook her head. That didn’t make sense. None of it did. “I’m divorcing him though.”
Something flared in his eyes, something she didn’t dare delve into too closely.
“It doesn’t matter. He and another member hurt you, they bruised you Kia, and they frightened you. And that isn’t tolerated. Trust me. Work with me, and before you know it, Drew, and the pain, will be behind you.”
It wasn’t such a large request, and she knew it. The gossip would truly never be squelched but it would never be considered more than an amusing tale without her backing.
She looked down, staring at the toes of her very stylish heels that matched her very tasteful silk dress. She hated the gossip, and she’d never had the friend she had believed she possessed.
Her world was exploding around her, what did this matter?
“I’ll take care of it,” she finally whispered. “I should have never lied on Drew. What he did was bad enough.” Humiliation flamed through her. “Perhaps I was just trying to excuse him.”
“Perhaps the friend so determined to tell the tales put her own lies to the story?” He suggested softly.
To that, Kia shook her head. “No. I’ll take the blame. I trusted her. That was my mistake. I’ll deal with it.”
Chase watched her, so vulnerable, her hair covering her face, hiding the tears he knew must be filling her eyes. Coming here had been the hardest decision he had ever made. It was the only time he had regretted fulfilling this part of his job as Ian’s private investigator.
Wounding this woman’s pride made him feel like a damned animal.
“Kia,” he whispered her name gently, the urge to take her into his arms, to hold her against him, to shelter her from that pain almost impossible to resist.
When her head lifted, he saw her eyes. Bright blue, damp with tears, but fierce with pride and with anger.
“Why did he do it?” She suddenly snapped. “Why attempt to get me drunk and rape me? Why not just ask me?”
He would beat that explanation out of the bastard.
All he could do now was shake his head. “I don’t know. But a divorce is the least of what he deserves from it. And demand a high settlement.” He would make certain she received it for this blow to her pride.
“Why do you do it?” She asked him then, her expression vulnerable, her need for answers swirling in her eyes.
She made him feel like a bastard with that look.
He reach out to her, touched the hair that framed her face and tried to smile back at her. “For the pleasure, Kia. For my lovers pleasure. For my own. Only the pleasure. And there’s no pleasure in rape or in humiliation.” He dropped his hand from the soft, warm silk of her hair and rose to his feet, staring down at her.
“There was no pleasure in what they tried to do to me.” Her voice was choked, with anger and with pain.
Chase nodded slowly, his expression tightening, anger pulling at him. “And he’ll find no pleasure in the consequences of it, Kia. I promise you that. Help me fix that, and I’ll make him pay, for you.”
He left then. He couldn’t stand there any longer and watched the tears fall from those sapphire eyes or see the evidence of that bruise on her face any longer.
He’d begin the process to take Drew Stanton out of the club though, and he’d do it as painfully for the other man as possible.
And one of these days, he swore, he’s show that son of a bitch how it felt to be backhanded across the face. And he’d add a punch just for the sheer pleasure of it. If he weren’t careful, once he got started on the spineless little bastard he might not stop.
Drew Stanton had backhanded his pretty delicate wife, and Chase knew, he wanted to kill him for it. The club had rules against this. No club member abused his wife, period, neither sexually or physically. Those women were the basis for their greatest pleasure, for their satisfaction. They were not to be harmed.
And Drew had dared to hit his wife.
As he left the penthouse he drew in a hard, savage breath and promised himself he was going to stay as far from that woman as possible. Because she made him want, and what he wanted, he knew, she could never give him.

It's been a while since my last posting I know. I promised myself I wouldn't let the blog be neglected, but the last year has been a roller coaster ride and it doesn't seem as though its going to end anytime soon.
RAW, the Readers Appreciation Weekend in September was a huge blast. The slumber party and Masquerade ball was simply wonderful. There were a few glitches, but over all, I think everything went very well.
My special thanks go out to Lorie O Clare and Jessica Beard for all their wonderful help in making the event a success. And all the ladies that pitched in, stuffed tote bags and worked tirelessly to help out, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. We couldn't have done it without you.
Personally, my life is moving along I guess. I'm busier than I've ever been in my life as I try to get everything together but I think I'm making headway in the chaos. At least I hope I am.

Now, onto the good stuff.
I hope you all enjoyed the release of Mercury's War. Mercury had a very special soft spot in my heart, the gentle giant, the man who had accustomed himself to being alone, and now he's alone no more. From the moment he showed up in The Man Within, I adored him, and I hope you came to love him just as much.
I hope you also enjoyed Christmas Heat, my novella in the Christmas Cat anthology.
Noble was such a sweetie, and I thought Haley was the perfect match for him. I very much enjoyed writing their book.
The release of Only Pleasure in January 09 will see the story of another character that I've become quite fond of. Chase Falladay was an unexpected addition to the Bound Hearts series, but one that I was excited to write. His heroine is Kia Stanton. You may remember her from the first books as the wife of another member who had begun the rumors of the 'Trojans'.
Kia divorced her deceptive, calculating husband, and now two years later, she has a chance to see the world she had rejected with another man.
Acting as Chase's third is Khalid, another long time character that I've come to love. Khalid was more than just a wonderfully supportive third, but he played a part in Kia's past that I hadn't quite expected until he spoke the secret in my ear.
ONLY PLEASURE was a joy to write, and of the series, I think this might be my favorite, until I actually start Khalid's book.
If you want to know more about ONLY PLEASURE, here's the blurb that goes with the book and I hope to have an excerpt up soon.
Until then, happy reading to you all, and I hope this year, has seen your greatest dreams come true.

Blurb:
Since Chase Falladay came to her rescue two years ago, Kia Stanton has never been able to forget the powerful man or the kind of life he leads. So two years later when she runs into Chase and his friend, Khalid, and leaves with them that night, she knows exactly where it is all heading. However, little prepares her for what it is like to be in Chase’s arms, and in his bed. After years of holding back, Kia is finally able to be the woman she’s always dreamed of being in his arms.
Kia is a dream Chase has not allowed himself to entertain. Now that he has her, it’s her heart he’s after and he’s determined to win it, no matter the cost. And even though they both agreed that it would only be for pleasure, somewhere along the way it becomes and all-consuming love.

And soon, I'll have an excerpt for your reading pleasure.

A Personal Message to All Of My Readers

I know many of you have wondered where I have been lately. I haven't been up to making this announcement before now, but the time has come with RAW right around the corner. And I wanted all of you to hear this from me.

I have separated and I am filing for divorce from Tony. I don't want to go into details but I will say things are not amicable and the last few months have been some of the hardest of my life.

I ask for your understanding. I'm sorry I've been absent on line and late in answering e-mails. I also ask for your continued patience. It is going to be a long, trying time as I put my life back together and catch up with my deadlines.

Please know that I love and cherish all of my readers. Writing for you is all that has kept me sane over these past few months. Thanks for being so supportive over the years. I look forward to seeing many of you at RAW and writing many more stories for you in the future.

Lora

Get Nauti & Wild in August

Nauti Dreams Available now!

Nauti Dreams by Lora Leigh

ISBN: 0425219518

Publisher: Berkley

Order From Amazon


View a Book Peek (TM)


Third in a sizzling trilogy by the New York Times bestselling author of Nauti Boy and Nauti Nights.Natches Mackay separated himself from his family years ago, except for the two cousins who gave him the only family he’d known. Now he’s being dragged back into his father’s life in ways that could destroy him and the one woman who tempts him beyond reason: Government Agent Chaya Dane, who has fought to put her own past behind her. A mission in Somerset, Kentucky, brings her back into the dreams of Natches—and into the shadows cast by his father, suspected in the theft of government missiles. And it could cost Chaya more than she ever imagined.


What Reviewers are saying:

Reviewer Top Pick! "While the first two books in this series were great, this installment surpassed them. As a treat, you get a brief glimpse into how the other "Nauti Boys" are doing in their new lives as married men. Ms. Leigh just keeps getting better, her stories more intricate, and her writing more touching. And as for steamy sexual encounters, no one writes better." Chris ~ Night Owl Romance

"Lora Leigh lived up to her reputation as the 'Mistress of Seduction' because NAUTI DREAMS was so hot that one match would have been enough to make me erupt into flames. Romance played a huge part in NAUTI DREAMS and I found myself in awe at how romantic, yet forceful, Natches was. Nothing was going to deter this Mackay from his mission and when the smoke cleared Chaya was well and truly caught -- Natches Mackay style." Natasha Smith ~ Romance Junkies

"Hot, sexy and steamy is the Nauti theme to this series while adding mystery and intrigue into the mix. Definitely a must read!" Mandy Burns ~ Fresh Fiction

"While you always can count on Leigh for hyper-charged sensuality and raucous, bad boy sexuality, "Nauti Dreams" has an elevated emotional element that makes the romantic payoff especially sweet." Michelle Buonfiglio ~ MyLifetime.com

"NAUTI DREAMS has everything -- action-adventure, suspense, drama, romance and some wickedly hot love scenes." Jennifer ~ Wild on Books

"This is one hot book, and even though part of a trilogy, its sexy sensuousness lets it stands alone well." Lani Roberts ~ Affaire de Coeur

Wild Card Coming Agust 26th!

Wild Card - Elite Ops Book 1

ISBN: 0312945795

Publisher: St. Martin’s

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It was supposed to be simple. All Navy SEAL Nathan Malone had to do was rescue three young girls from a Colombia drug cartel, then allow himself to be captured just long enough to draw out a government spy. That was before his mission went disastrously wrong…and before his wife, Bella, was told that Nathan was never coming home.

Bella’s mourned her husband’s death for three long years. But she has no idea he’s still alive. Forced to assume a new identity, the man Nathan was is now dead. If he can get back to his wife, can he keep the secret of who he really is…even as desire threatens to consume them? And as danger threatens to tear Bella from Nathan’s arms once more?

Advanced Review!

"WILD CARD is an intoxicating first installment of a brand new series. The words flow, the emotions are raw, and love is in the air. Add in the danger of Noah's mission and I could not have asked for a better book. I can't recommend WILD CARD enough. It is ultimately one of the most satisfying books I have ever read penned by this prolific and talented author." Natasha Smith ~ Romance Junkies

Read an excerpt: http://www.loraleigh.com/eliteops/wildcard/

Find out more about this exciting new series...and get a free desktop background while you're there! http://www.loraleigh.com/eliteops/