Just Vamps Release Party/Blog Hop

Just Vamps is available for purchase! As part of a blog hop, each of the authors is giving away a FREE copy to one lucky person! The hop ends Oct. 21 so don't procrastinate! All you have to do is leave a comment to enter. (Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so I can send your prize if you're the lucky winner!) Good luck and happy hopping!

Here's an excerpt from my story Chatting with a Vampire:


“Hello?”
Alaya gulped. His voice was deep, dark and smooth. She thought she detected a hint of an accent. Possibly British? Her eyes fluttered closed. One word and he had her on the verge of swooning.
“Alaya, are you there?”
“Yes,” she squeaked. She cleared her throat. “Sorry. Is this Alexander?”
“Yes. Please call me, Alex.”
“Alex, um, as I was saying, that message was intended for my eyes only. It was never meant as a proposition.”
He chuckled. “So I gathered. Yet I was captivated and felt compelled to offer my assistance.”
“Yes, well, you’re a man. I suppose you were,” she stated in a dry tone. “Anyway, I added the ‘get laid’ part as a joke to myself. I wasn’t serious.” Alaya wiggled her mouse and waited as her screen brightened. She opened a browser window and went to a news website. This was where he made an offensive sexual overture. Attempting to cut him off, she continued, “I’m sorry you were inconvenienced—”
“No, don’t apologize to me again. Your e-mail is the most interesting thing to happen to me in … some time.”
Good grief, she thought. How sad. That list had been deadly dull with the exception of the “Get laid!” joke she’d added for her own benefit. Lord knows her social life was nonexistent, but if she’d received an unexpected e-mail from a stranger, she would have marked it as spam and never given it another thought.
He laughed. “You think that’s pathetic, don’t you? While I admit my days have been a bit dull and filled with the mundane, you intrigued me. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a financial advisor.”
“You must love your job.”
“I do. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m retired. I manage my own investments. I guess you could say that I’m in a similar line of work.”
Retired? “How old are you?”
“Thirty-five. Dare I ask how old you are?”
“Twenty-seven. How long have you been retired? What did you do to retire so young?”
“I started my own company and sold it. Boring stuff really.”
“Not to me. Maybe I’ve heard of it. What was the name of your company?”
“How about we discuss this over drinks?”
She was curious, but she wasn’t crazy. Alex was a stranger. Charm and an appealing accent couldn’t change that. She’d enjoyed their conversation, but that was as far as it would go. “No, thank you.”
He chuckled. It was a sexy, low-pitched sound. “We could meet at the destination of your choice. I will e-mail you my photo and my address here in Charlotte. Once you verify it, you could send it on to a friend. And you can bring a friend to meet me before we begin our date.”
Alaya bit her lip. He was persuasive. She couldn’t believe she was actually considering it. “No. Listen, you don’t even know what I look like. Why do you want to meet me other than the fact that you think I’ll easy to get into bed?”
“We’ve talked. I want to get to know you better. As for bedding you, will I turn you down? Not if you ask nicely.”
She laughed. “All right. Drinks. Tomorrow night. I’ll send you the details.”