PROMO Excerpt: Love Cuffs by Ashlyn Chase and Dalton Diaz

Ashlyn Chase and Dalton Diaz have brought forth a tell of mystery, wonder, and Dominating good times. "Love Cuffs" is releasing September 17, 2008 from Ellora's Cave.

Blurb:

At thirty-eight, Hope Daniels is a Jersey cop with superhuman hearing, a controlling mother, and she's about to marry any sane woman's last choice of a groom. Right before she walks down the aisle, she hears distant screams. Figuring someone should be rescued, she bolts from her mother's vision of a royal wedding. But when she busts down the door of a BDSM club, she's the one who winds up in handcuffs.

Dorian Markoff is intent on using a hypnotist to wipe the beautiful cop's mind of his—and his club's—existence. But the hypnotist is in Vegas so a mad romp ensues, involving lots of hot vanilla-ish sex that turns his BDSM lifestyle upside down.

Neither guesses what an adventure it will be to find the hypnotist, avoid one unintentionally snubbed Dominatrix, and explain it all to Hope's mother.
All while falling in love.

Excerpt:"Time to get out, lover," Dorian said.
That damn, suede-soft voice of his turned me on all over again. What was wrong with me? Was I a nympho? I just wanted to jump his bones at every turn. As he opened his car door and got out, the drag on my arm reminded me that I had to scoot over to his side—either that or pull my cuffed arm out of its socket.

"Haven't you ever enjoyed the feeling of allowing your lover some freedom, knowing they'll stay because they want to—not because they have to?"
A look of surprise crossed his face. "Are you saying you'd stay with me because you want to?"
"No. Just curious."

He humphed—if that's a word. At any rate he made a noise that sounded like disappointment.
I probably should have minded my own business, because after that he towed me a little roughly up to the front door of a well-hidden home. As Ivan unlocked it, he said, "Welcome to my hillside hacienda."

Holy Shit.As we entered the main home from the foyer, a large open floor plan revealed the size of the place. Travertine stone floors and one wall of solid rock gave it a semi cave-like feel. Some hacienda! Were all Doms stinkin' rich cavemen? The opposite wall of glass looked out over millions of glittering lights that could only be Sin City at night. If I had to be held hostage, this beat the heck out of a grubby warehouse.

"Thanks, man." Dorian clapped his friend on the shoulder and waited for him to set the alarm.
As I think I've said before, patience isn't one of my virtues. Hell, even virtue isn't one of my virtues. "So, asshole, are you going to unhook us now, or what?"
Dorian tucked his hand in his pants pocket.

Ivan's eyes bugged out. "Man, I know you like a challenge and everything but are you going to let her talk to you like that?"
"I've had to muzzle her before but it doesn't seem to do much good. I don't think she can be broken."

Broken? Housebroken? I know we had that whole dog discussion earlier but I thought it was metaphorical. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
The infuriating bastard didn't answer me.
Ivan continued their conversation as if I weren't even in the room. "Most subs aren't this mouthy even in the beginning. Are you sure she's worth it?"
Dorian laughed. "I'm not sure of anything where Hope's concerned."
"Wait just a minute. What are you two blabbering about? I'm not a sub. Never was and never will be." Just for emphasis, I slapped Dorian's shoulder. "And by the way, in case you didn't notice, I'm right here!"
Ivan shook his head. "I guess we'd better find Larry soon. I can't stand her abusing you much longer."

That struck me so funny, I burst out laughing.
"I'll have to stay here and watch her. Even though she can't escape, I'm sure she'll try. I don't want her fucking up your alarm system if she tries to disable it."
"Better you than me, buddy. Listen, make yourself comfortable. Larry can be hard to find when he doesn't want to be bothered by his fans. I might be gone a while."
"Who's Larry, anyway?" Larry the lounge lizard? That would be just what I needed.
"He's the hypnotist we've been looking for," Dorian said. "Although from the sounds of it, we might as well be searching for the Holy Grail."
"Oh, that's just awesome. So then what? Am I going to spend the rest of my life bound to you?"
He smiled, wryly. "Would that be so bad?"

* * * * *

Another two minutes and I would have missed her escape. I'd done the best I could with what I had but obviously it hadn't been enough to hold her. I should have just taken her with me or had Ivan come straight to the room instead of meeting him in the garage but I'd wanted a few minutes alone with him to discuss my options. Beyond needing some peripheral help, I hadn't wanted to involve the other club owner any more than necessary. I was dealing with a cop, after all.

Thanks to Hope, my good intentions were once again blown to hell. We couldn't take her back inside, couldn't take her anywhere public and we had to get the hell out of there quickly in case we'd been caught on surveillance by security guards who weren't members of Ivan's club. Hey, I'd chosen that hotel for a reason.

The club itself was near too many landmarks, which left Ivan's home. No need to confirm we were headed there. I'd have done the same for Ivan had the situation been reversed.
True to form, Hope fell asleep, woke up, embarrassed me, then played twenty questions without the twenty limit. I sighed, I laughed, I got a boner.
Fuck. I fell further in love.

This was not a good thing. Ivan had said it best, even though "normal" was the last category I would ever stick Hope in. I had always pictured myself living the same life as my parents—vanilla on the outside, with a sharp bite smoothed by a creamy center. They had loved each other, loved the lifestyle, so much so that they had started the club where others could safely indulge their same fantasies.

Hope didn't hesitate to show her sharp bite the second we'd entered Ivan's home. I understood that side of her, hell, it got me hard every time but she knew Ivan was also a Dom. Calling me an asshole in front of him was not her brightest moment. And that was saying a lot. She seemed to think her being a sub was ridiculous. I knew better. There's a little sub in every woman.

Keep an eye out for "Love Cuffs" by the Beautiful Ashlyn Chase and the Dreamily Handsome Dalton Diaz melting your hard drive September 17, 2008!

Phoenix Forrester
Out of the Ashes TROUBLE will Rise!
www.phoenixrisingpromotions.com