TJ Michaels

There’s nothing quite like falling in love. And there’s certainly nothing like falling in love after you’ve had your heart ripped out of your chest, right?Everything has a beginning, every adventure starts somewhere. In today’s Snippet our girl, Delaine, has been through the mother of all divorces and has moved to a new city to take her life back. Oh, and did I mention she’s a kickass undercover agent?

In this Snippet, our hero, Justin, meets Delaine. She’s the woman of his dreams. There’s one problem – he’s seen her somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be…

This was my debut novel that received 4 stars from RT. I just received the rights back for it, and you’ll see it up for sale again soon. In the meantime, enjoy! Then head over to the other Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of the page.

Justin lifted his eyebrows with a perfected dumb-as-a-rock, need-more-information-please look. He knew it had the intended affect when Delaine chuckled.

“I work for a company that specializes in providing analytical solutions to pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers. We help them map out their production processes in a hierarchical manner. Then they can retrieve data from multiple databases for any part of their process. It enables them to do analysis just like that,” she explained with a quiet snap of her fingers. “My job is to work with my customer’s business community and scientific process engineers. I help them determine how they plan to use their data for analysis then we can build the graphical representation of the process, or hierarchy, appropriately. Make sense?”

Justin nodded. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he kept his expression neutral. This woman was alluring, sexy as hell, and he was instantly attracted to her. But she’d just confirmed that she was definitely involved in what he was investigating at Astin Pharma. When he’d sighted her in The Vault, it hadn’t been an interesting coincidence after all. Damn.

“So, Justin, what do you do?” Delaine asked. Mimicking his behavior, she dipped her own finger into the whipped cream on their dessert then licked it off with a mischievous grin.

Justin’s eyes zeroed in on the pucker of her mouth as her dark cherry lips curled around her finger. He couldn’t decide if he should choke on his wine or swallow his tongue. So he did both.

Out of her seat in a flash, Delaine circled around the table and starting thumping him right in the middle of his back. Damn, the woman has a strong hand, he thought, wondering if he would have bruises where she whacked him in her effort to clear his windpipe.

“Are you all right? Oh goodness, my first outing in this town and I’ve already half killed a man!” Delaine growled, and kept right on beating the hell out of him. Justin’s hacking cough turned into a raspy chuckle. She’d sounded so sincere, he couldn’t help laughing.

“I’m fine, Delaine, really,” he wheezed around a final hack. He held up his hands to ward her off in hopes that she wouldn’t pound him again. Well, the physique he’d glimpsed when he’d watched her disappear down the tunnel in The Vault obviously hadn’t been a play of the dim lighting. He smiled big and shook his head in delight. The woman was a treat. The smile vanished when, all on its own, his mind filled with thoughts of his tongue sliding along her smooth cocoa skin to discover what this rich treat tasted like. His cock filled right along with his mind. Hungrily he watched her pretty almond-shaped eyes turn all soft and feminine, then widen as he reached out and took one of her hands. He leaned forward and spoke quietly, his fingers a feather-light caress over the back of her hand.

“Thank you for saving my life, beautiful.”

Delaine settled back into her chair, her face on fire with a fierce blush. She’d totally overreacted to his little bout of choking, but here he was thanking her. And looking at her like she was the most beautiful female on the planet. His gaze slammed into her and those damned butterflies stirred once more.

She could only nod. His expression was so lusty she couldn’t look into his eyes another second. It did funny things to her belly, made her want to pull him across the table and jump his bones on top of the remainder of her apple tart.

“Delaine, I know a little jazz club not far from here. You game?” he asked, not bothering to hide the huskiness in his voice. He watched her body language closely and her eyes flashed such a wide range of emotions so quickly he couldn’t catch them all. His eyes followed her tongue from one side of her inviting mouth to the other as she licked her lips nervously. For a moment, he thought she might turn him down. Relief stilled an uneasy flutter in his gut he hadn’t noticed was there until she nodded and allowed him a glimpse of her dimples once more.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He left the table, strode to the coat check. From a distance Justin could have sworn she was mumbling to herself, but as soon as she saw him approaching, she stilled. He slipped the heavy black cloak around her shoulders and put on his own coat before offering his arm to her again.

She looked up at him warily, her brows knit in a tight furrow of suspicion. He hadn’t realized until this moment that he hadn’t asked which coat was hers but had simply retrieved the one his investigator’s mind logically picked out—an ankle-length black cloak with fox fur around the large hood that said “class” loud and clear. He knew exactly what she was thinking. Softly, he said, “Baby, I’ve watched you from the moment you walked in the door. You’re the only woman here classy enough to wear something like this.” He fingered the thick, soft material at the neck and secured the clasp, grazing her soft cheek with the backs of his fingers.

Snippet Saturday Authors
Lauren Dane
Rhian Cahill
Eliza Gayle
Selena Blake
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
Leah Braemel
HelenKay Dimon

In case you missed the announcement of my new release along with the awesome recipe that was posted over at the Smutketeers Annual Xmas blow out last week, I’m x-posting it here. If you cook this dish (Cajun food, bebe!) be sure to tell me how it turns out!

In honor of my new Christmas release, Forever December (Kindle | Nook), let’s get down to business about one of the things I love about this story: FOOD!

At the beginning of the story , the heroine, Melaniece, meets her kids at their mountain getaway for their Christmas vacation. The first thing Mel notices after receiving her hugs and kisses is the scent of yummy Cajun food filling the air. For myself, growing up in a home with a Louisiana grandmother, Cajun food is something I absolutely love. I can actually make a mean seafood gumbo, too!

Later in Forever December the family enjoys some homemade cinnamon rolls, which my daughter happens to make from scratch. Her speciality is something we call Peach Burst rolls – cinnamon rolls made with Saigon Cinnamon with fresh peaches baked into the dough. Nom nom nom nom!

Now, back to the Shrimp Creole. Seems to me that many people assume what Shrimp Creole is. Unfortunately their belief is typically based on some half-assed, watered down, tomato-sauced fake version shown on TV or from a person who claims they’ve make authentic Shrimp Creole…via a recipe that is unauthentic. Not their fault. They probably just didn’t know.

First, what is it? It’s a simmered shrimp dish in red sauce that is served over white rice. Perfect for cold nights and good company. That pretty much sums it up. However, the flavors are complex and when made correctly, can be damn addicting.

So here’s how to make it…but first things first:

Do NOT use tomato sauce or marinara sauce in your shrimp creole *tj wagging finger, scowling and tsk’ing*. Use fresh tomatoes and run ‘em through a food processor or something. If you don’t have the time, use a good quality tomato paste instead. But never, ever use tomato sauce.

Next, instead of chicken stock or water, make shrimp stock with the shrimp shells OR as a good alternative make dashi (Japanese fish stock) using bonito flakes (but be careful – leave the bonito flakes in too long and it’ll be much too strong). Here’s a recipe for dashi in case you want to make it for things other than shrimp creole. It really is very VERY yummy.

Use the best quality gulf shrimp you can get. It can be pricey, but there’s nothing quite like the sweet smooth flavor. If you can’t find them locally, there’s a place called Deanie’s that I visit when I’m in New Orleans (god, they make the best PoBoy sandwich ever) and they’ll SHIP YOU Louisiana gulf shrimp for a very reasonable price.

Now for the recipe, which you can double or triple if you want to make a big pot:

Shrimp Creole:

2 lbs. (or more, if you like) Peeled and Deveined Shrimp (remember to save shells to make Shrimp Stock)
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Large Onion, finely chopped
2 Celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small Green Pepper, finely Chopped
2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
3 Cups Ripe Tomatoes, Diced
2 Cups Shrimp or Fish (dashi) Stock
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2-4 Bay leaves
2 tsp Black Pepper
1 small bunch of fresh Thyme, coarsely chopped
Sliced Green Onions (garnish)
1/8 Cup Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped (garnish)
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (careful with this)
Boiled Rice

• Melt the butter in a sauce pan (be sure it’s big enough to fit the shrimp and stuff later).
• Saute all the vegetable EXCEPT the tomatoes and herbs. Once the veggies are soft, add the tomatoes and Old Bay seasoning. Toss in some salt (a big pinch should do). Turn down the heat a bit so as not to burn the tomatoes before they have a chance to break down.
• Once the tomatoes have cooked down and begun to fall apart turn the heat up, add the shrimp stock or fish stock, bay leaves pepper and cayenne. Add the herbs and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer for about 45 minutes.
• Taste your sauce. If it needs “something” now is the time to add it. Make sure it’s got enough salt (remember you haven’t added the shrimp yet), pepper, garlic and herbs.
• Bring your sauce back up to a boil and, if you like, thicken it with a few tablespoons of roux (basically oil and flour browned, then made into thick gravy) or use a cold water-n-cornstarch mix).
• Once thickened a bit, throw in your shimp. Good lord, don’t overcook the shrimp or they’ll taste like rubber. Turn the sauce back down to low heat and let it simmer until the shrimp just begins to turn pink (remember, after you turn off the heat, the shrimp will continue to cook).
• Service with rice and garnish with green onions and the parsley.

Voila! Shrimp Creole!

If you make this be sure to let me know how it turned out! Merry Christmas and have you have a Forever December…

TJ

‘Tis the season to snuggle up in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea, some good food, and an even better book. The only thing that could make the season more perfect is…SNOW!

I used to live in Colorado and I must admit, snow is gorgeous to look at and play in for awhile…and that’s about it ;D  However, in Carinian’s Seeker (Vampire Council of Ethics Bk 1) our heroine and her alpha vampire lover found that snow was good for all kinds of other interesting…things. To find out, you’ll have to read the book, but let’s say this sweet scene leads up to something more scorching hot than the hot chocolate Carin is enjoying *grin*.

Enjoy this Snippet and be sure to visit all the other marvelous authors via the links at the bottom of this post. Merry Christmas!

Excerpt from Carinian’s Seeker, Vampire Council of Ethics Bk 1
Kindle | Nook

The sun had just begun its rise over the eastern mountains when Bix tiptoed into their bedroom, bundled Carin up and carried her outside.

The entire place was a winter wonderland sitting on endless acres of gently sloped, snow-covered hills with a nice mix of trees and open space overlooking Smith Lake. In the distance, white peaks of the Rocky Mountains could be seen. Carin felt like a kid at Christmas. Having grown up in San Francisco, gone to college and started her career in the same city, she’d never seen snow. And San Diego certainly wasn’t a place known for the fluffy cold stuff. As they walked, Bix pointed out the estate’s private golf course down the hill and off in the distance, promising to teach her to play if they were still in residence here come spring. She kind of hoped not, preferring to learn to ride horses on his estate rather than trudging across the greens playing golf. She just couldn’t get over it—vampires played golf and rode horses. Real country-clubbers.

The only sound was the soft crunch of Bix’s boots in the snow as he moved at a leisurely pace in consideration of her sore bones and achy, but healing, body. The main house was at a good distance but visible when he stopped at an open-topped gazebo surrounded by towering evergreens. Bix set her on her feet, and Carin stepped inside and surveyed their haven in awe. Instead of wood flooring, the inside of the shelter was all snow-covered grass covered by a tarp and piles of thick, soft blankets. Her mouth watered at the delicious aroma wafting up from a large breakfast basket perched on one of the sturdy benches built into the wall of the gazebo. Her man had been plenty busy this morning.

The clear, jewel-blue sky was visible through the top of the structure. She’d have to come out here at night with a telescope and view the stars, well once Bix let her out of his sight. In a word, the spot was perfect, beautifully secluded, and an ideal place to enjoy a bit of privacy.

She removed her shoes and Bix shooed her into the middle of the very comfortable, extremely thick pallet. After tossing her an even thicker blanket to cover herself, he set the breakfast basket within arm’s reach and lit a blazing fire in an oversized sunken pit smack in the middle of the shelter. She smiled behind his back. The man had thought of everything. Food, warmth and a ton of soft down pillows made it nice to be outside in spite of the bone-chilling cold. Her insides went all fuzzy when he tossed a huge chunk of cured wood into the pit and looked over his shoulder with a mix of care and naughtiness in his one-sided grin.

“You comfy, sweetheart?” Bix inquired as he toed off his boots and joined her under the covers. She nodded but kept her eyes on the flicker of building flames blasting waves of welcome heat to where she reclined buried under the blankets. Her thoughts were surprisingly quiet. This was the first time she’d been out of bed in more than a week, and given her scrape with death she couldn’t believe how calm she felt. Death scared her more than anything, yet here she was, stitched wounds and all, just as happy and content as you please. Bix kept the companionable silence. Retrieving a large thermos from the basket, he poured her a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

Scooting back to lean against one of the little benches, she sipped the steaming brew with a contented sigh. Bix passed her a flaky raspberry pastry made especially for her as a get-well-soon gift from the resident chefs. A fresh banana and another cup of hot chocolate finished her off. Mmm, she couldn’t remember the last time something this simple tasted so yummy.

Snippet Saturday Authors
Lauren Dane
Rhian Cahill
Eliza Gayle
Selena Blake
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker

At holiday time we get in the kitchen and my family cooks together. My son makes a mean fresh cranberry sauce from fresh berries. My daughter makes breakfast wonderful with her homemade cinnamon rolls, and we do all the meal prep together for whatever nom-nom’s we’re going to have that year. We typically choose something different each year. Last time we have gumbo – genuine seafood gumbo made by these hands, compliments of my Louisiana grandma *wheee!!*. This year we’re down to the wire and still deciding what we’re cooking. But whatever it is, we’ll do it together.

Releasing this week is Forever December – the story of a hunky vampire out to secure a second chance at love. In this snippet, our heroine has just rolled into her vacation home to discover her children, home for a visit from college, have prepared her some goodies. And she’s all ready to dive in!

And don’t forget to check out the fabulous Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the end of the post!

The sun had just dipped below the mountain peaks when Melaniece pulled into the garage. Snow had begun falling in fat, wet flakes and she was relieved to see a big, black SUV covered with a fresh dusting of the white stuff parked on the other side of the wide garage. She slammed her car into park thinking now was a good time to do a funky little happy dance—her children, Denise and Melvin, were already here.

The second she shut off the engine and popped the trunk, an excited and very loud female came hurtling out the door. A blur of what looked like a white sweatshirt covered with red Japanese hiragana symbols and a pair of black pants practically tackled her before she’d cleared the car door.

“Hi, Mom,” Denise squealed with happiness.

Melaniece’s heart melted and a big grin tipped up the sides of her mouth. Awww, it was so nice to be loved by one’s children.

“Hi, sweet pea, it’s so good to see you. Where’s your brother?” Melaniece asked, trying to peek over her daughter’s shoulder toward the open door leading into the house.

“I’m right here, Mom. How are you?” Melvin asked cheerfully. Long jean-clad legs carried him out to the garage and to Melaniece’s side. Six-feet-two inches of slender muscular male wrapped his arms around both sister and mom, engulfing them in a warm group hug.

Melaniece stepped back and grinned widely at her “babies”. At eighteen and twenty years old, they were mirror images of herself, with the exception of their dwarfing her modest five-feet-four inches. Long, dark locs covered their heads, apple pie cheeks sported dimples and they both flashed perfect, bright smiles. Their cocoa-n-cream skin and strong physiques were rounded out by stellar personalities. Beautiful and handsome described them to a tee.

Melaniece stepped back and shook her head in disbelief at Melvin. “Boy, are you ever gonna stop growing? I know you’ve grown at least a few good inches since I last saw you. And so good-looking, too? You know you get that from your mama, right?” she quipped. And there it was—the blush only a teasing mom could bring about in a grown son. It bloomed in his cheeks until they looked like little caramel-covered apples.

“And you should see all the girls that chase after him. And once I caught him and the neighbor…” Denise chimed in, ever the older sister.

“Mom!” Melvin implored.

“Okay, enough teasing your brother,” Melaniece chuckled, feeling happier than she had in…well, since her trip home to Michael, er, California. But she wouldn’t dwell on that. Or her goofy dream.

“Help me with my stuff?” Moving toward the already open trunk of her car, she turned to grab whatever was closest at hand and began to fill the arms of both Denise and Melvin with their Christmas gifts.

“Good lord, woman, what is all this?” Melvin asked, feigning a gasp under the weight of a particularly hefty box.

Melaniece didn’t answer, just smiled and handed over package after package until both their arms were loaded. Before she could reach for another one, Melvin said, “Go on in and relax. We’ll bring this stuff in. Dinner is already prepared.”

Melaniece felt her stomach tighten and rumble. Gosh, with all the packing, the long drive up, and preoccupation with her dreams—not to mention the constant low-grade arousal because of those dumb nocturnal thoughts—she’d completely forgotten about breakfast and lunch. Well, her stomach made it clear it was feeling neglected and the loud rumble was heard by all.

An aroma hit her nose the second she stepped over the threshold into the house. Shrimp, tomatoes, garlic…Old Bay Seasoning?

“Wooo, I smell it,” she cried happily. “Cajun food! Oh yeah! Uh-huh!” An awful rendition of the Electric Slide dance carried her on inside. She headed directly to the kitchen, not the least bit offended when her kids’ chuckles followed her. Yep, this was going to be one heck of a Christmas.

EIGHTEEN Snippet Saturday authors to enjoy!
Lauren Dane
Rhian Cahill
Eliza Gayle
Selena Blake
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
Leah Braemel

In honor of my new Christmas release, Forever December, on December 14th I’ll be hanging out with the Smutketeers for their 12 days of Xmas extravaganza. I’m so totally excited because I’ll be sharing the day with the marvelous Michelle Pillow and Mandy Roth! Woooo!

Be sure to catch my post that day because in addition to hot hunky winter vampires, I’m going to tell you how to make Shrimp Creole. It’s a dish I grew up loving thanks to my Louisiana grandmother. If you make this particular nom-nom, be sure to tell me how it turned out. AND, if you’re going to the Authors After Dark convention in New Orleans, let’s hook up there for sure!

Can you handle…a Forever December?
Coming December 14th

TJ

Carinian’s Seeker, Vampire Council of Ethics Book 1, is FREE for Nook and Kindle for the next two weeks! Get it from BN.com or Amazon.com from November 1 through November 14.

Also, Egyptian Voyage is on sale! Get it at BN.com or Amazon.com… but you can get it for 35% off at Smashwords with this code –> AQ73D

You know, when I first started thinking on this theme I was thinking it referred to important calendar dates. You know, like an anniversary or birthday or date of a memorable event, whether good or not so good. Then it dawned on me that an important date could be that first date, or the dinner date that your beau asked you to marry him or whatever.

And for the first few days I couldn’t think at all of a single excerpt from any of my books! At the time Iwas traveling for work, looking for a new house while away from home, dealing with any other myriad of things and my poor brain was just tired. In the end, I picked an excerpt where the heroine was so wrapped up in what was going on in her head that she wasn’t seeing what was really in front of her. She was missing the forest for the trees…kind of like me right now.

So enjoy this excerpt from Primed to Pounce where Delaine Jeris, our heroine, is so caught up in what she thought was a wrong done against her, that she almost misses out on her dude.

Enjoy, then visit the other Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of this post ;D

TJ

Excerpt from Primed to Pounce
by TJ Michaels
Copyright @ 2006, All Rights Reserved

*Stop running, Suta. Embrace our mate. He comes.*

‘Yeah, whatever,’ Delaine words were flat and uncaring, and in truth, she hadn’t really been listening to what Sapa was saying to her along the bond.

The sleek mountain cat rolled her eyes and stalked away to a quiet corner of Delaine’s mind. Before she retreated, Delaine felt her frustration. Well, she could forget about meditating. All she could think about was Justin. Justin’s lips. Justin’s hands on her body. Justin treating her like the queen he proclaimed her to be. Cooking for her. Taking her on road trips.

Justin sleeping with her best friend. Rather, a chick that was supposed to be her friend.

She wanted to knock herself in the head. What had she been thinking to get involved with him anyway? He was too nice, too perfect. And you know what they say—if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. So here she was again, in a relationship with a man who couldn’t keep his dick out of another woman’s pants. Her boss might think he was a good guy, but Delaine saw him as nothing but Gary-Number-Two.

Grumbling under her breath, she rose from the back porch and stomped into the cabin. She hit the sheets early, determined not to lose any more sleep over Justin, Pam or her job.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

What the hell was that? On silent feet, Delaine jumped out of bed with her gun in hand. She checked the lock on the window in her bedroom then edged her way to the small living room.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Someone was banging on the door like they were the police. That was fine, because if it wasn’t the police, whoever it was would limp away with a bullet in the ass.

“Delaine! Open the door!”

She lowered her weapon and clicked on the safety. Justin? Oh my god. How the hell had he found her? Okay, now that was a stupid question, she thought, shaking her head. The man worked for one of the most sophisticated covert organizations in the country. Of course he could find her.

Geesh, Delaine, get it together, girl, she grumbled at herself. ‘And Sapa, stop all that pacing. It’s making me dizzy.’ An irritated growl resonated along the bond.

Sapa had told her Justin would come for her. She hadn’t believed it one whit, not while he had someone else’s warm body to bury his cock in. But Sapa had been wrong, in a manner of speaking. He hadn’t come for her. The bastard had come for Pam. And when she was finished with him, he’d wish he’d kept his distance

With her gun fisted on her hip, she yanked the door open and glared up at him under the light of the single bulb illuminating the small front porch.

“What the hell are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Pam?”

Justin drew his neck back, arched a brow and looked down at her like she was crazy.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Delaine ignored his innocent, confused expression and ground her words into his face. “You. Slept. With. Pam! You bastard!”

“I slept with Pam? You’ve got to be kidding me!” he laughed.

Delaine quirked a brow, not seeing any humor in the situation. His laugh seemed genuine enough, but this was a man whose job was to be an expert at hiding who he really was. As are you. She ignored that little voice and, seeing no humor in the situation, scowled at him and his stupid laughter.

SNIPPET SATURDAY AUTHORS!
Anne Rainey
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Lauren Dane
Helen Kay Dimon
Vivian Arend
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker

Two of my books are on sale!

My debut novel, Primed to Pounce, is on serious sale at Amazon! Click HERE to preview it and then pick it up for only $1.49. Note, this is NOT a quickie or short story, but a full-length novel. This book also received 4 stars from Romantic Times Book Reviews.

Jaguar’s Rule is on sale at Amazon, too! Click HERE to preview it, then pick it up at a huge discount. This is also a full length novel and was nominated for a CAPA award by The Romance Studio.

Neither of these books have been on sale before so grab ‘em while you can!

As for the “behind” part: I’m so behind on anything writer related. I do have a bunch of Goodreads posts to make so expect to see those pop up here soon. I’ll also put ‘em out there on Facebook. I’m also working on edits to my current WIP. I love this book, by the way. I’ll tell you more after it’s been contracted somewhere ;D

If you haven’t friended me on Facebook yet, I’m here –> TJ on Facebook

Talk soon!

TJ

There’s nothing quite like family to make or break your day. Enjoy a bit of humor between Max and Sasuke as they discuss the female members of their family – all of which happen to be a handful and a half! After the post enjoy the rest of our fabulous Snippet Saturday authors!

Max would have laughed harder if he had the energy. He and Sasuke made one hell of a pair. Max’s name was known not only on the northern island of Japan but also by their affiliates in the States and Australia, while Sasuke was his underboss responsible for one of the most powerful and feared organized crime clans.

And they were both laid up like old women.

With painful effort, Max turned his head toward his best friend and Second sitting—or rather lying—on the couch on the other side of the coffee table in the living room. A gurgle rumbled up from Max’s diaphragm and ended in a laugh so consuming, he was bent over double in near exhaustion when he was through.

“What?” Sasuke hissed with a scowl.

“Look at us. Me, Max Maruyama, leader of Clan Ooeto, practically in need of a nurse. And you, my Second, covered with bruises like you’ve taken the beating of your life.”

“I did take the beating of my life, damn it. Then your sister made it worse by practically removing my ability to ever bear children. And stop laughing, you fucking sadist.”

Max laughed harder until his chuckles became struggling wheezes. After several long minutes of just trying to breathe, he turned back to Sasuke and spoke.

“So, tell me about the man who managed to turn you such interesting shades of purple and blue. And, uh, yellow? Is that yellow, or green?”

“Oh shut it, already. Kikiyo!” Sasuke called as loud as he was able. A stocky man in a stylish gray suit eased the door open. “Bring me some more ice packs, man. And some tea for Max.”

With a simple “Hai” and a slight bow, the man disappeared and returned shortly with several ice packs to replace the ones Sasuke had already used.

All the while, Sasuke’s grumbles turned the air blue. “Fucking pasty-faced, white-haired vampire. Damned pretty boy Seeker. Muscle bound clod of a …”

“All right, already,” Max wheezed. “Stop whining and tell me what happened.”

“You’d think…ah, God that hurts. You’d think it was obvious, Max. I got a call from one of our men who spotted your sister on the dance floor at Valdarre. I went to her house and waited for her, scoping it out, keeping an eye on her. Or so I thought.”

“Valdarre? Shinju went to Valdarre?”

“Yeah, Shinju and that damned long-haired fellow I told you I’d seen before. By the way, I contacted your friend in Clan Li and described the man. He confirmed our suspicions. The guy with Shinju is indeed a Seeker. And not just any Seeker, but what they call an elite. I’m not up on all their hierarchy, but the Clan Li vamp certainly seemed concerned for me while at the same time saying the guy was vamp law enforcement. A good guy. Anyway, they showed up at her house. I wanted to shoot the idiot.”

“Since when do you refer to Shinju as an idiot?”

“Not Shinju, damn it, Kenoe.”

“Who…?”

“Am I telling the story or not?”

“I think getting your ass kicked has made you cranky.”

“Fuck you.” Sasuke made to scoot up a bit higher on the pillows piled behind his head. A deep frown and annoyed-sounding grunt said his efforts were rewarded with some obvious aches and pains. Max watched until Sasuke’s head settled back on the arm of the couch.

“Great,” Sasuke grumbled. “Now my temples are throbbing in time with everything else on my body.”

At Sasuke’s grimaces and hisses of pain, Max bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cracking up again.

“So anyway,” Sasuke continued, “Kenoe, it turns out, is the name of the Seeker on Shinju’s ass. Literally.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Max thundered. Well, it actually felt more like a dull poof than a thundering bellow given how tight his lungs felt these days.

“He kissed her like they were old lovers right there outside her door before they went inside. After about twenty minutes I started to kick her door in, then Kimora showed up.”

“Kimora? What the hell is she doing in Tokyo? She’s supposed to be in London. And isn’t Shinju supposed to visit her family in Atlanta next month?”

“That’s what I thought. In fact the last time I spoke with your mother, she said Shinju was to come visit her and your aunt right at the beginning of summer vacation, as soon as school was out. She was trying to get me to talk you into joining them.”

“Well, she’s been working on me slowly but surely ever since she moved to America. But at least she’s got Kimora’s mother to keep her company and out of trouble.”

Sasuke replaced the ice pack on his thigh, another on his lower stomach, secured one to his shoulder and yet another over his left eye. “Your mother? Stay out of trouble? The woman is a man-magnet, even at her age, and speaks her mind no matter what. Of course she’ll always be in the middle of one thing or another.”

Sasuke was so right. But it was typical for the women in his family. Ever since Max’s grandfather showed up in Tokyo with his grandma so many years ago, it seemed to be a family tradition for the Maruyama men to go abroad to study or work, and bring home a dark-skinned, saucy, beautifully smart female as a wife. Kimora’s father, and his own, had been no different. Kimmie’s parents lived in Atlanta and welcomed his own mother into their home after Max’s father died. Max didn’t have the darker skin tones of his mother, but he had her fire and attitude—the two main reasons he’d risen up through the ranks of the Ooeto clan, taken it over, and expanded their territories—all without bloodshed.

“That Kenoe bastard beat me up one side and down the other. My enhanced speed and strength made no difference. Even after I pulled a blade on him, it didn’t matter. The man just dodged each strike while landing every punch he threw at me. And the asshole grinned the whole time. Fucking fangs gave me the creeps.”

“And then?”

“And then Shinju came outside and broke it up. After kicking us both in the nuts, she told me to tell you that she didn’t need, and I quote, ‘a fucking babysitter’. I was lucky she didn’t have a katana on her or she’d have shaved my balls. Then she bit the loc-wearing vampire’s head off and told him that she didn’t date thugs who were intimate with her cousin. What she meant by that I have no idea. But then she turned around and left us on our knees. And that damned cousin of yours stood in the doorway laughing. Bitch.”

Snippet Saturday authors:
Jody Wallace
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Sasha White
Shelli Stevens

BFF’s are cool, rare and occasionally a pain in the ass. My BFF is Valda Thomas. Though I haven’t seen her since I moved away from my home state more than ten years ago and we’ve lost touch, I’ll never forget that friendship. To this day, she is still my BFF. She was there when I was pissed off and needed to rant. She was there to tell me I was being an idiot and to sit my “goofy behind down somewhere”. She was there when I was sick and couldn’t take care of myself or my kids (I think she became an expert of doing tricks with Cheerios to keep my then five year old son occupied while I sweated out my fever).

In this Vampire Council of Ethics book, two BFF’s are having a typical conversation…well, typical for them considering Tameth (vampire) is an elite Seeker for the Council, and Carinian (human) is a genius biogeneticist who can hold her own in a no-holds-barred fist fight. Something fishy is going on and these two are going to get to the bottom of it. No doubt they’ll both be in trouble by the time it’s over!

Enjoy this excerpt from Hatsept Heat, Vampire Council of Ethics Book 3, then be sure to visit all the other Snippet Saturday authors via the links at the bottom of this post. Happy Saturday!

Order at Samhain Publishing

“What the hell? Tam, you see that?”

Tameth’s head swiveled around and followed Carin’s line of sight. Exceptional vision revealed the slightest movement of a shadow along the tree-lined path near the fence across the way. That path led to a grotto that couldn’t quite be seen from here, and on the other side of the thick stand of trees was a locked gate that was supposed to be guarded twenty-four seven.

“What the hell is she doing? Kenoe’s gonna kill her.”

“Yeah? Well who does she remind you of, Tam?”

Tameth rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but answer honestly…sort of.

“She does not remind me of either of us.” Tameth replied blandly.

“Riiiight,” Carin drawled. “What about that little excursion to Sausalito after we got back from the London mission?”

“You can’t count that,” Tameth huffed. “We are both Serati females and can do as we please. I was not even on duty and had no need to report in. Besides, I was well prepared to look after both of us.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t have permission to take Stealth One. Which you, uh, sort of failed to mention at the time.”

“Oh shut up. You got a nice pair of designer pumps out of that shopping spree, didn’t you?”

“Sure did. And Bix on my ass. Hell, I was almost looking forward to him getting sent off on a mission somewhere just so I could go take a pee by myself!”

“Drama queen.”

“Me! And who complained after Alaan actually gave her a spanking then revoked her pilot’s license for three months?”

“Nobody I know,” Tameth lied boldly. Carin laughed out loud, then clamped her lips shut. She didn’t want to bring any unnecessary attention to them right now. Considering they’d gotten into plenty of trouble together by wiggling out from under Seeker radar, the last thing they needed was anyone running off to find their husbands.

The shadow eased closer to the grotto entrance then darted out of sight into the trees.

“Come on, we’d better save her ass before Kenoe turns it another color, like blazing red.” Carin wrapped her fingers around Tameth’s upper arm and tugged, almost surprised when Tameth didn’t put up a fuss.

Tameth shrugged. “What can I say? I like her. She’s good for Kenoe.”

“Yeah, but I have a feeling she won’t be good for his nerves.”

Emma Petersen
Leah Braemel
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Sasha White
Shelli Stevens
Delilah Devlin