Lady Be Bad (22 page)

Noah eased her backward onto the cushions,
his mouth and hands never leaving her silken skin. His teeth and
tongue coaxed her nipple into ripe awareness while he unsnapped her
jeans so he could explore the wonders of her femininity.

She moaned softly, delighting in the
rapturous sensations he was giving her. "Do I get a marriage
proposal? I'll let you forgo the bended knees."

His head lifted from her breast, the love in
his eyes more vivid than any words. "Will you do me the honor of
becoming my wife?"

Marlayna cupped his handsome face between
her hands. "I can't think of anything I'd rather be."

***

"Mimi, I'm home."

She smiled at him, held up her palm and
finished her phone conversation. Before the receiver had fallen
into place, she was wrapped in his arms. "I love hearing you say
that when you walk in the door."

"Not bored yet? Even after six months?"

Her lingering kiss was her only answer. "I
do have some good news, great news and wonderful news."

Noah eyed her curiously. "Start with the
good."

"That was Perkins, he's saying good-bye to
King Arthur and hello to the Drakes."

"Hey, that's terrific. But we've already got
Pearl."

"She goes with this place and the owner is
returning," Marlayna reminded him. "Our new house will be finished
soon. So Paul has found us a furnished house to rent until then.
Besides, we're going to be needing some help." Her fingers
straightened the knot in his striped tie. "Here's my great news.
Paul has a new contract for me."

"Will you be gone often?" His hands
tightened into the curve of her slender waist. "Because I'm missing
you already."

"Nope. Just a few hours here and there, but
it's very lucrative."

Noah frowned. "Sounds too sporadic to be
lucrative. But Paul should know. What is it? Cosmetics?"

Marlayna shook her head. "Clothes."
Blue-gray eyes locked into brown. "Maternity clothes. That's my
wonderful news."

"Oh, baby!" He surprised himself by lifting
her off the floor.

She laughed. "That's exactly what the doctor
said!"

"Shouldn't you be sitting down? Lying down?"
Noah's words were as disjointed as his actions.

She captured his gesturing hand between hers
and smiled. "Darling, that's exactly how I got in this wonderful
condition!"

***

Meet Elaine Raco Chase

I love reading. And that’s how I became a
writer. It started in high school with a serial for the newspaper,
then I moved on to writing radio/TV programs and advertising copy.
I was sure short stories would be perfect for me, because I could
create the most vivid scenes in under 60 seconds!

But – I found I needed more time to write
compelling characters and their stories – be it romances or
mystery/thriller and suspense novels. Whatever genre I write, my
stories are funny, sarcastic, and loaded with fast-paced, bantering
dialogue. My books feature confident, strong women – who have a
wicked sense of humor and aren’t really looking for a man – until
the perfect one appears.

I have published eighteen novels and
non-fiction as well – all of the novels hitting assorted
bestsellers lists – and have over 4 million books in print, in the
US and 27 other countries and 17 languages. It’s been fun!

Now, I’ve entered the world of eBooks and am
delighted to be acquiring new readers and renewing connections with
previous fans. All my books have been updated, but as one reader
wrote – “wow, they are just as fresh today as when they were first
written.” That’s quite a compliment.

I’ve always believed in love at first sight.
Well…maybe not quite
love
but instant attraction. Why?
Because my dad told me he fell in love with my mother while she was
chasing her dog down the street! I told him that was impossible, he
hadn’t even talked to her. He just grinned and said, “sometimes you
just know.” They were married for 57 years…and their lives were
full of love and laughter. My husband claims he was ‘intrigued at
first sight…maybe with a bit of lust thrown in.” Well we’ve been
laughing and loving for the last 42 years!

I also teach of creative writing – and do
online classes. I have some very talented students that I know
you’ll be reading quite soon.

Right now, I’d like to introduce you to some
sexy, funny excerpts that are even more fun when read together –
because love and laughter make perfect bedfellows!

Enjoy!

An Excerpt from
Double
Occupancy
– coming to an eBook near you.

She smiled to herself, thinking of the
half-finished page of the manuscript she had left in the
typewriter. It was smoother and more polished than before. It
flowed more naturally. It..it was covered with a series of blue
editing marks, of changed punctuation and spelling corrections!

Her forehead puckered and a lump formed in
her throat. She hadn’t made these corrections. It must have been:
“Matt!” Casey turned, her wet, braided ponytail bouncing against
her bare shoulders, and ran across the living room to push open the
door to the other bedroom.

Sunlight slanted through the tops and sides
of the half-closed drapes, clearly illuminating the outline of a
long body contentedly snoring beneath a thin cotton sheet. All that
was visible was the back of a dark head and half of a bare,
muscular back.

Casey’s feet silently moved across the blue
tweed carpet. She reached out and laid a cool hand on his warm
shoulder. “Matt,” she called softly, gently shaking him. “Why
didn’t you wake me when you arrived last night?”

He made a grunting sound and rolled over.
Instead of looking into Matt Granger’s familiar gray eyes, Casey
found herself staring into a pair of sleepy, sherry-colored eyes
and a face decidedly unfamiliar!

The stranger’s hair was as black as Matt’s
was but that was where the resemblance ended. This man was in his
late thirties with strong, carved features – a face more
interesting than handsome. The white sheet had fallen, revealing a
broad muscular chest covered by a light mat of dark curly hair.
Casey had the distinct rather unsettling impression the sheet was
the only thing covering the man.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled
with a silent message of warning and her pulse accelerated in
alarm, but she was more curious than panic-stricken. She cleared
her throat and attempted to speak, only to be halted by the man’s
slow smile and the deepening grooves on either side of his mouth.
She simply stared at him in paralyzed, fascinated silence.

At first, he thought she was standing on an
impossibly tall pair of platform sandals, but a cursory glance
showed bare feet with ten poppy-red toenails wiggling uncomfortably
amid the carpet fibers.

His alert golden eyes belied their lazily
drooping lids. Slanting his head, he leisurely eyed every visible
inch of her – the long shapely legs, the gently rounded hips and
slender waist, the full breasts that the damp teal green maillot
revealed with tantalizing near-transparency. He made a slow
assessment of her face, roaming over her softly rounded cheekbones,
pert nose, and an ever-widening pair of emerald eyes.

He was actually smiling, a wide wolfish smile
that made Casey shift uneasily and wonder where her confidence had
gone.

“You must be the surprise I was told to
expect,” he murmured suggestively, his tone husky with sleep.

“I…I thought you were Matt.” Her own voice
came out a disgusting squeak.

“No, I’m Travis, but I’m positive you won’t
mind the substitution.” His eyes glittered with amusement and
confidence.

Casey felt a desperate need to turn and run,
but she found her legs refused to move. Travis’s left hand snaked
out and captured her right wrist, is free arm slid around her waist
and pulled her off balance onto his chest before he pulled her down
on the wide bed.

A muffled cry caught in her throat. She
twisted her head, her lips ready to deliver a violent protest, only
to find his mouth lowering to take possession of her half-parted
lips. His hard tongue probed the moist sweetness of her mouth,
their breaths became as one in a long, sensuous kiss that made her
feel dizzy and weightless. She felt drugged, her rigid muscles
relaxing and weakening under his masterful touch.

His fingers spread across her smooth, bare
back and moved down her spine, following the thin material of her
bathing suit that covered her curving buttocks.

The weight of his powerful body pressed her
farther into the downy comfort of the mattress. His hands expertly
caressed her hips before sliding over her flat stomach to gently
cup a full breast. He had succeeded in trapping her hands and arms
between the crush of their entwined bodies and she was powerless to
stop his intimate exploration. His cheek and jaw nuzzled against
her neck, the rough stubble of his beard scratching the smooth,
sensitive skin he found there.

These unaccustomed sensations of intimacy
spread a warm lassitude through Casey’s lower limbs. Her body
seemed unafraid, arching instinctively against his hardening
length, encouraging his hungry caresses.

Casey’s brain, however, was not totally
anesthetized. When she felt his fingers trying to disengage the
metal clasp that held the bathing suit’s halter straps together,
she knew that unless she took immediate action, the situation was
going to be totally out of her control.

A sudden burst of adrenaline mixed with a
heady combination of excitement and danger launched her into
action. She managed to wiggle one arm free and slam her elbow into
his solar plexus. The result was an instantaneous release from her
captor and a sweet sound of a groan of surprise.

Casey wedged her forearm against this throat
and used her long, athletic body to pin him against the mattress.
“All right, buster,” she growled forcefully, “what the hell are you
doing here?”

“It’s not buster,” he automatically
corrected, “its Travis.” She caught the flash of white teeth and
knew he was laughing at her.

“Whatever,” she returned gruffly. “You’ve got
some questions to answer, and don’t get any ideas because I’ve got
a black belt,” Casey threatened and pushed her arm tighter against
his Adam’s apple.

Enjoy the first chapter of Video Vixen –
available now!

The three main topics of conversation among
the luncheon crowd in Maxwell’s Plum were the current price of
gold, Wall Street’s noontime rally and yesterday’s fifteen inches
of snow that paralyzed Manhattan, closing both LaGuardia and
Kennedy airports. Of course, all that changed when
she
walked in wearing the now notorious coat.

The fur was mink – boot-length,
double-breasted, and cut like a man’s jacket. Luxurious black
pelts, lined in
her
shade of scarlet silk, that rippled and
flowed over the tall, well-proportioned woman cocooned inside. The
wide shawl collar and oversized black mink beret framed an equally
notorious face.

Elbows nudged elbows, gazes left their
windowed study of snowplow architecture, and stock market advice
ceased to be bantered back and forth. The famed restaurant’s
excellent cuisine was abandoned. Appetites were piqued but not by
the food. Hungry patrons let their eyes feast on an infinitely more
interesting entrée.

Jerry Corry was the only man in the room not
watching
her.
And why should he? He knew
her
intimately. From the long, luxuriously wavy chestnut hair with its
distinctive widow’s peak, the high, smooth forehead, the straight
nose, crystal-clear blue eyes that pierced a man’s soul, full lips
and slightly square jaw all sitting atop a full-breasted yet supple
five foot eight inch frame.

With his shoulders relaxed against the
leather-backed chair, Jerry viewed the diner’s reactions with
supreme satisfaction. When she stopped at his table, he rose,
kissed her on one winter-flushed cheek, and heard a chorus of
envious masculine sighs.

“I know you don’t have much time, so I took
the liberty of ordering: French onion soup, salad niçoise, and
limed mineral water.” He watched as the mink was shrugged off,
revealing a black knit dress with a vivid red Chanel jacket. His
brown gaze shifted to study her face. “You look tired.”

One precisely defined eyebrow arched and a
smile lifted the corners of scandalously scarlet lips. “I did have
an exhausting morning.” Her throaty voice purred a subliminal
message. “I seduced my virginal eighteen-year-old stepson in the
hot tub while my crippled husband played grateful voyeur. Then I
posed for a revealing fashion layout. Now I’ll take care of you and
later –“ thick black velvet lashes lowered demurely “— I’m
scheduled to ravish the local minister who has been making quite a
nuisance of himself.”

Laughter and a pleased expression etched
Jerry Corry’s angular face. “Victoria Kirkland, at last you are
enjoying the role of Vixen Mallory!”

“You’re giving me no choice!” Came her tart
rejoinder. Vikki leaned forward; one scarlet-coated fingernail
tapped the crystal on his gold watch. “Hundreds of eyes are boring
into my back this very minute. Hopefully they’re all talking about
the billboard featuring this mink coat that was unveiled in Times
Square yesterday.”

“Hopefully they are discussing more than that
gorgeous gigantic ad and the stunning woman in the mink,” Jerry
corrected her. “Hopefully they are discussing what fifty million
other Americans talk about every day. The program that has made
twelve thirty to one thirty
the
lunch hour for businesses,
homemakers, and college students.

“I’m betting my job as PR man on the fact
that everyone in this restaurant is whispering about
Always
Tomorrow
, Garner Broadcasting’s cable-TV entry into the daytime
soaps and currently number one in the ratings against all the major
networks combined.”