The 5 W's of BDSM - Wonderful

Why is it wonderful?
Because it just is.

It's adaptable to meet the needs of everyone who is curious about it, and there really is something for everyone. From a feather and some scarves all the way to hoods and harnesses and oh so amazing rope.

It can change with you and your partner(s) over time and circumstances.

It's beautiful, and amazing and just plain wonderful.

In each of my books I share some of my kinks with you. Kinks I may have gotten to try, some I've witnessed and were Delicious and some I just plain made up BECAUSE I COULD! :)

There is no limit to what you can have in life and that is my wish for each of you.
Find the REAL you...and never settle for anything less.

Members Only, Book Two
Ink.
A three-lettered word that means different things to many people. Pictures and words that might stand as a reminder of love, loss, rebellion, or camaraderie. For Haleigh Grace, it meant freedom.
Walking through the doors of the tattoo parlor, Inkfluence, marked the start of taking her life back. Making it what she wanted it to be. No one was going to tell her she couldn’t. Not ever again.
Little did she know that behind those doors stood Kyle Muse. He was her best friend, who had walked away years ago without a backwards glance. The one man she fantasized would someday be her knight in shining armor. The one she saved herself for.
But, he has a knight of his own. Tall, dark, and dangerously sexy, Scott Preston. The owner of the very shop Haleigh has an appointment with at midnight.
Feelings long buried rise to the surface and the three find themselves bound by more than just ink…
A Romantica® ménage BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links
Haleigh's Ink Available at Amazon
Haleigh's Ink Available at Barnes and Noble
Haleigh's ink Available at Ellora's Cave

Together In Cyn - Book One Members Only
A Very Menage Christmas - Book Three Members Only
Duke's Valentine - Book 3.5 Members Only

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

The 5 W's of BDSM - Why

Why?
Man, that's a hard one I must say, because the answer to that is as diverse as the people reading this.

Some people just need to let go. It's a way to release all of the toxins piling up inside you, and BDSM is a way of allowing someone else to take those things from you.
It's a way to quiet all of the things cluttering up your brain and to just...be.

Others it is simply who they are, especially if they are in a 24/7 type dynamic.

Temper can play a big part in BDSM. Or maybe temperament is a better term. Some people need to be able to blow off steam. So they might need to find a masochist who can take a huge amount of pain and they can take a flogger to their back, or a dragon-tail whip to their rear-end for an hour.
Others need to be shackled to the wall and have a violet-wand run along their naked skin for hours.

Sadness that you can't express in conventional ways can be released with BDSM, or happiness, or sexual needs you want fulfilled but you can't allow yourself to feel what you need to unless your tied to a bed, blind-folded and gagged.

Some couples just want to spice things up a bit in the bedroom. GO FOR IT!

Everyone's journey to BDSM is different, but each of us needs SOMETHING or we wouldn't be looking...

Members Only, Book Two
Ink.
A three-lettered word that means different things to many people. Pictures and words that might stand as a reminder of love, loss, rebellion, or camaraderie. For Haleigh Grace, it meant freedom.
Walking through the doors of the tattoo parlor, Inkfluence, marked the start of taking her life back. Making it what she wanted it to be. No one was going to tell her she couldn’t. Not ever again.
Little did she know that behind those doors stood Kyle Muse. He was her best friend, who had walked away years ago without a backwards glance. The one man she fantasized would someday be her knight in shining armor. The one she saved herself for.
But, he has a knight of his own. Tall, dark, and dangerously sexy, Scott Preston. The owner of the very shop Haleigh has an appointment with at midnight.
Feelings long buried rise to the surface and the three find themselves bound by more than just ink…
A Romantica® ménage BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links
Haleigh's Ink Available at Amazon
Haleigh's Ink Available at Barnes and Noble
Haleigh's ink Available at Ellora's Cave

Together In Cyn - Book One Members Only
A Very Menage Christmas - Book Three Members Only
Duke's Valentine - Book 3.5 Members Only

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

The 5 W's of BDSM - Where

Where can you engage in BDSM?
The sky is literally not even a limit. Gives new meaning to the term mile high club, huh?

There is a lot of ritual when it comes to BDSM. Certain disciplines that each couple / household adhere to so that their lives revolve around each other and the dynamic they share.

Group messaging and chat programs are awesome to keep everyone connected, especially in a multi-partner group, and most definitely when one or more of the partners is out of state or even out of the country.

The technological age has brought people together that would otherwise have NEVER been able to meet. That's amazing to me! Makes finding your needle in a haystack that much easier / or the haystack a HECK of a lot bigger.

Scenes can take place in the privacy of your own home, private play parties, a local dungeon, the grocery store, out paying the bills, running errands, on a road trip...at work.

There is no limit to where you can bring your kink. The only limit is what you are willing to do...and probably if you're willing to go to jail for it.

To each there own.  So find your kink and explore what it means to you!

Members Only, Book Two
Ink.
A three-lettered word that means different things to many people. Pictures and words that might stand as a reminder of love, loss, rebellion, or camaraderie. For Haleigh Grace, it meant freedom.
Walking through the doors of the tattoo parlor, Inkfluence, marked the start of taking her life back. Making it what she wanted it to be. No one was going to tell her she couldn’t. Not ever again.
Little did she know that behind those doors stood Kyle Muse. He was her best friend, who had walked away years ago without a backwards glance. The one man she fantasized would someday be her knight in shining armor. The one she saved herself for.
But, he has a knight of his own. Tall, dark, and dangerously sexy, Scott Preston. The owner of the very shop Haleigh has an appointment with at midnight.
Feelings long buried rise to the surface and the three find themselves bound by more than just ink…
A Romantica® ménage BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links
Haleigh's Ink Available at Amazon
Haleigh's Ink Available at Barnes and Noble
Haleigh's ink Available at Ellora's Cave

Together In Cyn - Book One Members Only
A Very Menage Christmas - Book Three Members Only
Duke's Valentine - Book 3.5 Members Only

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

The 5 W's of BDSM - When

Part 2 - the When's of BDSM

The short answer - ANYTIME YOU WANT!

Participating and loving BDSM doesn't mean you're in a cage 23 hours a day or on your knees every hour on the hour. I guess it could mean those things depending on what kind of dynamic you're in, but it's not the norm based off of my experiences. People still have to work. They still have to take care of themselves / or their families. Life must go on!

It can be as simple as waiting for your top to open the car door for you and seating you because you are his/her property to care for.
Or being tucked in at night because that's the kind of care you need.
Or wearing a collar out to a theater performance.
Or a remote control bullet so your Dominant can drive you crazy when you're at the movie theater.
Maybe even simple "Good Morning" and "Good Night" texts to someone who's out of town so they know you're thinking about them as soon as you wake up and right before you go to sleep.

It doesn't have to be grand scenes taken place in a large dungeon for half your town to see. It can be whenever you and your partner(s) need it.
It is absolutely uniquely adaptable to your wants and time constraints.

This is one of the things I find so great about this lifestyle. It's completely different and can be perfect for anyone just starting out or someone who's been in for decades. And it's adaptable depending on altering physical and mental needs.

Yea for BDSM!

Members Only, Book Two
Ink.
A three-lettered word that means different things to many people. Pictures and words that might stand as a reminder of love, loss, rebellion, or camaraderie. For Haleigh Grace, it meant freedom.
Walking through the doors of the tattoo parlor, Inkfluence, marked the start of taking her life back. Making it what she wanted it to be. No one was going to tell her she couldn’t. Not ever again.
Little did she know that behind those doors stood Kyle Muse. He was her best friend, who had walked away years ago without a backwards glance. The one man she fantasized would someday be her knight in shining armor. The one she saved herself for.
But, he has a knight of his own. Tall, dark, and dangerously sexy, Scott Preston. The owner of the very shop Haleigh has an appointment with at midnight.
Feelings long buried rise to the surface and the three find themselves bound by more than just ink…
A Romantica® ménage BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links
Haleigh's Ink Available at Amazon
Haleigh's Ink Available at Barnes and Noble
Haleigh's ink Available at Ellora's Cave

Together In Cyn - Book One Members Only
A Very Menage Christmas - Book Three Members Only
Duke's Valentine - Book 3.5 Members Only

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

The 5 W's of BDSM Starting with What

I'm going to give you the 411 on the 5 W's of BDSM. What, when, where, why and wonderful!

What is BDSM? - Some say it's a sexual orientation. As in, gay / straight / transgender / submissive. It's unlike power neutral relationships since there is normally a power exchange involved between the people (sometimes more than two) in the relationship. This dynamic is gender neutral though. You'll find men and women on both sides of the power exchange which I think is super cool because it greatly broadens the possibilities of finding yourself.

Let me break down the word for you.

B/D - Bondage and Discipline (physical and/or mental restraint)

D/S - Dominance and Submission (power exchange)

S/M - Sadism and Masochism (people who like to give pain and the people who like to take it)

Some people in this lifestyle just like the bondage part. They like to be tied up, or down, or sideways depending on the day/time or circumstance, but they don't want to give up their power to someone else.
For some it is only while in a scene (public or private) and the rest of their life they are as vanilla as they come.

A lot of people in this lifestyle have some aspect of power exchange going all the time. Even if they are unpartnered certain aspects revolve inside their head all the time. Wanting to be submissive to someone all day every day.
Others want to top or dominate others all the time. It's just a part of them. An integral piece they just can't shut off.
A LOT of people are like this but they have to wear a vanilla suit all the time so they can function in the world.

My suggestion? Accept it. Don't fight who you are. It will just make you miserable along with everyone else around you.

BDSM can be harsh and painful and dark, but it can also be beautiful and cathartic and the light in an otherwise pitch black world.

Members Only, Book Two
Ink.
A three-lettered word that means different things to many people. Pictures and words that might stand as a reminder of love, loss, rebellion, or camaraderie. For Haleigh Grace, it meant freedom.
Walking through the doors of the tattoo parlor, Inkfluence, marked the start of taking her life back. Making it what she wanted it to be. No one was going to tell her she couldn’t. Not ever again.
Little did she know that behind those doors stood Kyle Muse. He was her best friend, who had walked away years ago without a backwards glance. The one man she fantasized would someday be her knight in shining armor. The one she saved herself for.
But, he has a knight of his own. Tall, dark, and dangerously sexy, Scott Preston. The owner of the very shop Haleigh has an appointment with at midnight.
Feelings long buried rise to the surface and the three find themselves bound by more than just ink…
A Romantica® ménage BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy Links
Haleigh's Ink Available at Amazon
Haleigh's Ink Available at Barnes and Noble
Haleigh's ink Available at Ellora's Cave

Together In Cyn - Book One Members Only
A Very Menage Christmas - Book Three Members Only
Duke's Valentine - Book 3.5 Members Only

Jennifer Kacey is a wife, mother, and business owner living with her family in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website - http://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.kacey.7
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JenniferKacey
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941549.Jennifer_Kacey
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/

The Bannockburn Spell by Nancy Adams

Happy Sunday and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!

I'm parting with Goddess Fish on this beautiful fall day and am here to share a blurb and excerpt from my newest release The Bannockburn Spell.
Hope you enjoy.

Nancy



The Bannockburn Spell

With the help of a bet, an eight-hundred-year-old marriage contract and a spell, ex-SBS soldier Will might just have enough in his arsenal to capture Meghan’s heart.

Since arriving in Little Glen, Scotland, Meghan Kennedy’s life has got decidedly more interesting. She enters into a bet with hunky ex-SBS soldier, William MacKenzie, discovers an ancient marriage contract and to top it all off, she learns that she had a spell cast on her…eight hundred years before she was even born. None of it matters, because she refuses to make the same mistake twice. Will’s hard body and sexy grin don’t matter, his beautiful hypnotic eyes don’t matter, and it doesn’t matter that every time they kiss her body calls out for his, as though denied of his touch for hundreds of years.

Ex-SBS soldier William MacKenzie is disciplined, trained to be an efficient soldier and he takes the same approach with his life as he does his business. Then Meghan arrives, with her fiery temper and hair to match, all he can think about is Meghan. Her feisty temper bemuses him, her beauty astounds him and her stubbornness annoys the hell out of him. Lucky for him, he doesn’t know how to quit, he can be just as stubborn and occasionally ruthless, and he will use any means necessary to get her. Of course the ‘means’ at his disposal just happen to be a bet, a marriage contract and an ancient spell, but if in the end Meghan belongs to him, who is he to argue?

Buy links:
Amazon.com
All Romance Ebooks
Kobo 


Excerpt:


For a week Will watched Meghan. He watched her body movements, her expressions. Took mental notes on how she responded to him when he was close and what she was like when she was unaware of him. And after the week was up he paid Duncan a visit.

"Will!" Duncan stepped aside allowing him entry. "What brings you here?"

"Meghan."

"She’s still at the library, something about a rush on a deadline."

"I know where she is." He levelled his stare on the older man. "I need to ask you a few questions about her."

Duncan frowned, closing the door. "I have a feeling we might need a drink. Come on." Duncan marched into the den not bothering to wait for him.

Once Duncan had handed him a Scotch and had settled himself in an old wingback chair, he asked, "Now, what’s this all about?"

"What’s wrong with Meghan?" Will asked, taking a seat across from him.

"How do you mean?"

He placed his glass on the floor beside his feet. Clasping his hands, he rested his elbows on his knees. "When I’m with Meghan she’s fine, no nervous stomach or nausea and she eats. But, when I’m not there, she looks uncomfortable and I swear to God she looks as though she is about to throw up. This wasn’t happening before, but it is now, so I’m asking you, what the hell is the matter with her?"

"Just like you said, nervous stomach."

"Bullshit," Will snapped then ran his hand through his hair. "It looks like…" This was crazy, but it was the only thing that made any sense. "Like she gets nausea when I’m not with her."

"Well, at least it’s happening when you’re not there. It’s good to know you’re not the one making her sick," Duncan pointed out.
"Damn it, Duncan, that’s no’ the point." 

Sighing, Duncan gripped the glass in his hands. "I was hoping she wouldn’t have this much trouble, but I should have expected it, she’s a Kennedy after all and if we are anything, we are stubborn."

"Yes, you are and so is Meghan, but what does that have to do with anything?"

The older man exhaled slowly. "Meghan’s sudden bouts of queasiness are your fault."

The muscles in his shoulders tensed up. "How’s that?"

"Now don’t go getting your back up. She is doing her share to you too."

"Doing what to me?" He clenched his fists.

Duncan gave him the okay-I’ll-spell-it-out-for-you sigh. "Meghan’s absence is causing you to behave this way."

Will snapped his head up. "What way?"

"The entire time I’ve known you, even when you were a wee lad, you could always control your actions, when other children even your own brothers, could not. Yet here you sit about ready to beat me senseless."

"Duncan, I would never—" He was cut off before he had a chance to finish.

"This behaviour is out of character for you, as are Meghan’s bouts of nausea out of character for her."

Will exhaled as he stood. "Jesus, Duncan, out with it."

Duncan swallowed the remainder of his Scotch. "Have you ever heard of a binding spell?"

"A what?"



 You can find Nancy at:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

Answering an Ad for all the Wrong Reasons

Jasper doesn’t want to get married. He’s not opposed to marriage in general. He just has a plan for his life and being married to a rancher on a remote settler planet isn’t going to get him where he’s decided he wants to be. But he does need investigate what’s going on. A lot of government land seizers have been coming across his desk lately. And when the ad for a husband catches his eye, he knows that would be the perfect cover for his investigation. He’s going to have to sell himself to Kat, though, without overselling and coming off like a creep. So this is how I imagined his reply to go.

I am a very courteous and respectful male in my mid-thirties. I do not have any warrants and have never been arrested or ever charged for any crimes. Though I’ve never worked with animals or been on a settler planet, I am a hard worker and a quick learner. I also have a solid background in business, which I believe could be a benefit to you and your ranch. My interest in your ranch is purely from a business perspective. It would be nice to develop a friendship and camaraderie over time, but I have no expectations of physical intimacy if we do reach an agreement.

Blurb:

Universal Defiance, Book One

On a rural settler planet, Kat must resort to putting out an ad to find a husband. She doesn’t expect to find love—that’s a dream in these parts—just a partner to help work her ranch. Then the devastatingly handsome Jasper answers her ad and turns her on in ways she never dreamed possible. Too bad he’s not who he says he is.

Jasper doesn’t know what he’s getting into when he ventures undercover to investigate a legal claim against Kat’s ranch. But after a toe-curling night under her roof and in her bed, he’s willing to do anything to stay there. He can’t say no to the tough-as-nails businesswoman who makes his body come alive.

When people start getting hurt, though, both Kat and Jasper have to decide how valuable one piece of land is. And the ranch that brought them together might be the very thing standing between them.

A Romantica® sci fi erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Excerpt:

When he opened the door to the guestroom, though, the blaring of an alarm stopped him from going any farther. At first he thought he’d somehow triggered the noise but as soon as he smelled the first wisps of smoke, understanding filled him. Something was on fire. He wanted to rush out into the safety of the open grounds but he fought against the instinct. He had to make sure Kat got out as well.

He raced back to the bathroom to find her standing in the hallway, wrapped in nothing but a towel, with her dark hair flung over one shoulder in a curly mess. There were no tears or hysterical rants despite the fear clearly reflected in her expression.

His job required him to make quick assessments of situations and he excelled at it. But sometimes that left him blind to the more subtle aspects of life. He’d seen a competent businesswoman when he’d first laid eyes on Katarina Maxim. She’d been nothing but efficient and practical from the moment she held her hand out to him. But now, as she shivered in front of him with alarms going off in the background, he realized how much he’d missed in that original assessment. He’d seen her as a businesswoman but the person standing in front of him now possessed so much more.

The vulnerability of the moment and her calm resolve in meeting it added to her strength and touched him.

“I came to find you as soon as I heard the alarm.”

“Most men would’ve gone to battle the blaze first.”

His heart sank at her words. She saw him as a coward. Not that it mattered how she saw him. He wasn’t really trying out for the role of her husband. As soon as he finished his report, he’d be on his way back to his real life. But her words still stung. He’d like to be the hero at least once. To be the one who rushed in and saved the day.

“Don’t look at me like I just kicked your damn puppy. I meant that as a compliment. Most men stupidly let their hormones control them and they tend to get in the way,” she added as she walked past him. “I’ve never been impressed with the gender as a whole.”

He felt fairly certain they did not share the same understanding of the word “compliment” but didn’t dare ask for a clarification as she bustled down the hallway all businesslike.

I’ll be back a little later to tell you about the conflict that binds Jasper and Kat as they struggle to find out what’s going on with the ranch.

In the mean time, you can find out more about me by visiting my website at www.ChandraRyan.com, follow me on Twitter @ChandraRyan, or friend me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/chandra.ryan

If you want to know more about Ulterior Motives you can check out it’s page on the Ellora Cave site: http://www.ellorascave.com/ulterior-motives.html

Or on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ulterior-Motives-Universal-Defiance-ebook/dp/B00DSOY4SO/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1375226633&sr=1-15&keywords=ulterior+motives

Husband Wanted

Ulterior Motives starts out with rancher Kat Maxim going to the shuttle station to pick up her mail order groom. It turns out that the man who answered the ad isn’t there to marry her, but she doesn’t know that at the time. As I wrote Kat and Jasper, however, I began to become more and more curious as to how that initial exchange would’ve gone. In my head, it probably would’ve gone something like this.

Husband needed for rancher on settler planet. Ranch is profitable and on a desirable plot of land. Applicant must be responsible and courteous with no outstanding warrants or previous arrests on his record. Business experience is preferred but not required. Am willing to offer a stake in the ranch if arrangement can be reached. Please send resume, references, and a copy of your last medical exam to the digital drop box, Wild Frontier Lovin’ (I would like to go on the record to say that the service picked that name. It was not my idea or choice). And be advised that physical intimacy might be negotiated at a later date but is in no way guaranteed if a marriage contract is offered.

Blurb:

Universal Defiance, Book One

On a rural settler planet, Kat must resort to putting out an ad to find a husband. She doesn’t expect to find love—that’s a dream in these parts—just a partner to help work her ranch. Then the devastatingly handsome Jasper answers her ad and turns her on in ways she never dreamed possible. Too bad he’s not who he says he is.

Jasper doesn’t know what he’s getting into when he ventures undercover to investigate a legal claim against Kat’s ranch. But after a toe-curling night under her roof and in her bed, he’s willing to do anything to stay there. He can’t say no to the tough-as-nails businesswoman who makes his body come alive.

When people start getting hurt, though, both Kat and Jasper have to decide how valuable one piece of land is. And the ranch that brought them together might be the very thing standing between them.

A Romantica® sci fi erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Kat stared at the man on the platform. With thick dark-brown hair and a muscular body that filled his clothes out nicely, he was handsome enough. Not that his looks mattered. Not really. She needed a husband to be a partner. She wasn’t some young, naïve thing with silly notions of lust and love. Practical and pragmatic were a much better fit for her life. Still, a pragmatic woman could admit that having a man about the house who was easy on the eyes wouldn’t be a hardship.

She chuckled under her breath as she made her way over to him. She doubted she would fare as well if he was hoping for a piece of eye candy for his wife. Oh she could be pretty when she needed to be. But coming all the way to town to collect a man didn’t merit the fuss. She worked long days on the ranch and this excursion had already caused enough of a delay. If she got all gussied up, she’d not only lose that time but also the time it took her to get back into her work clothes when they returned to the ranch. Time was her most valuable commodity right now. She couldn’t afford to squander it.

“Excuse me, sir.” Her calm words broke through the chaos of the port station and gained his undivided attention. This close to him, staring into his rich, brown eyes, her stomach began to churn with nerves. She quickly pushed through the sensation, though. She didn’t have the time for silliness. And it was the height of absurdity for her to be uncomfortable around her soon-to-be husband. “I’m Katarina Maxim. My friends call me Kat.”

She held her hand out to him in casual greeting as she tried not to fidget. She’d debated how to greet him as she’d driven to the station. A kiss seemed rather forward. But she did want him to feel welcomed. A handshake seemed like the best idea at the time. Now, as she waited for him to take her hand, she started second-guessing herself.

“Katarina, that’s a lovely name.”

She noted that he’d called her Katarina but tried not to let that color her first impression of him. She didn’t hate the name nor did she hate being called by it. It just didn’t fit her. Not anymore. Katarina sounded soft, delicate—refined, even. Like she’d been before her family had moved here. She could only hope that he didn’t see her as any of those things. If he did, he would be sorely disappointment when he got to know her better. “Kat. Only my mother called me by my full name,” she pressed.

“Kat it is.” His smile seemed genuine but his palm was as soft as new leather when he finally took hers. If he stayed, that would change. This planet demanded calluses and blisters. Her hands were proof of that.
“Jasper Lee, ma’am. I’m honored to meet you. Out of the thousands of applications you must have received, I am grateful you selected mine.”

Apparently his tongue was as smooth as his hands. That didn’t bode well for their future. Smooth men didn’t do well when faced with the harsh realities of settler planets. “I’m not a politician nor am I a starlet, Mr. Lee. Out here we speak our minds and we keep our words straightforward. My ranch is a great opportunity, especially if you’re looking for a fresh start. But I think we both know there aren’t thousands of men out there looking for backbreaking work on a world so uncivilized that its brothel is its only restaurant.” She took a moment to look him over carefully. He wasn’t a dandy. His stance spoke of power and awareness. She couldn’t very well start patting him down like a horse at auction, but as far as she could tell, her first impression had been spot on. The man looked to be in shape. “But if you’re willing to put in the time and the work, I’ve a feeling you could make it here.”

He returned her careful examination and then nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

She couldn’t ask for more. “That should do. If you’ll grab your bags, my transport is just over this way. It’s not a long drive to the ranch but I don’t make it back to town very often. If there’s anything you need to pick up from the store, now would be the time to tell me.”

He grabbed two suitcases and then shook his head. “I think I’ve got everything I need.”

She led the way to the transport, all too aware of his gaze burning into her back. “The ranch is pretty self-sufficient as far as food goes. Most everything else can be bought in town as long as it’s nothing too fancy or extravagant.”

“Sounds good.” He could’ve said the words sarcastically but she chose to believe he was being sincere.

At her transport, she pressed her palm against the registry’s biometric screen and waited for it to scan her palm. The doors clicked softly as they unlocked when her identity had been confirmed. It only took a moment to store his bags in the back and then they slid into their seats and were ready to go. Only, as he shifted in the passenger seat to lock the restraint, all the space between them seemed to disappear. The man took up entirely too much room. Even though not a single inch of him touched her, she could feel the warmth radiating from him and it made her stomach flutter and her hands shake a little.

I’ll be back later with Jasper’s response and another excerpt!

In the mean time, you can find out more about me by visiting my website at www.ChandraRyan.com, follow me on Twitter @ChandraRyan, or friend me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/chandra.ryan

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