DAY 2 of the Allure Authors 30 days of Giveaways - Sasha White!

In celebration of our upcoming release ALLURING TALES: HOT HOLIDAY NIGHTS, the Allure Authors are giving away prizes for the next 30 days! Today I'm giving away a copy of Sasha White's WICKED and a special puppet (I'll let you guess what kind of puppet it is. Hint: it's naughty) Post a comment on another blog about the Allure Authors Giveaway and leave a comment here with the link to be entered for the prize! I'll choose a winner tomorrow to give you folks time to post!


The winner of WICKED is ArkieRN !!!!! Please contact Myla Jackson to claim your prize!
Check out Cathryn Fox's Blog for Day 3 of the Giveaway!

And for your reading pleasure here's what Reviewers have to say about WICKED!
WICKED
Berkley Heat
ISBN-10: 0425219186
ISBN-13: 978-0425219188
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel
Release Date: January 2, 2008

“Sasha White’s WICKED definitely lives up to its name; the sizzling hot and sexy storyline has characters you’ll fall in love with.”-Fresh Fiction.com

* * *

“This fast moving story is sure to keep you wanting more with its erotic action, delightful characters and intriguing plot. It was also nice to hear Karl’s story after getting to know him a bit in Bound and Trouble, though reading the previous stories isn’t imperative to keep up in Wicked. 5 Angles!”- Fallen Angels.com

Readers first met Karl Dawson in BOUND, they’ll get to know him a little better in TROUBLE, but one woman will learn all in WICKED.

Bad-boy divorce attorney Karl Dawson has seen all the ways love can go wrong. That’s why he’s given up on it. Jaded and feeling restless, he has playmates, not girlfriends. A leather-clad Dominant, he comes and goes in the city’s after-dark playgrounds as he pleases. That’s how he likes it.

Lara Fox is an independent jack-of-all-trades who can do anything she sets her mind to - except that falling-in-love thing. She’s got a need for control too strong for most men, and an inability to walk away from a challenge. Including a challenge like Karl. He’s cocky, arrogant, and demanding. That’s how she needs it.

They’re perfect for each other. But what begins as a sensual battle of wills turns into a journey neither is prepared for when Lara is threatened and emotional walls start to crumble.

READ AN EXCERPT

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Excerpt

“Why is there a woman under your desk?”

Karl Dawson’s steps faltered as soon as he entered the office. He stopped walking to enjoy the view of the denim covered heart shaped ass sticking out from under his assistant’s desk. Definitely female. And the way it was tilted up at an angle that made his hand itch to spank.

“I’ve switched sides.” The smirk on Graham Nelson’s pretty face as he said that made it clear he was full of shit.

Dressed in black slacks, a purple shirt and a pink tie, he was such a flaming homosexual that Karl toyed with the urge to hose him down with the fire extinguisher, just to see what would happen.

Instead, all he did was raise an eyebrow, fix his assistant with a look, and deepen his voice slightly. “Graham.”

“My friend Lara. She’s installing a wireless network for us.” Graham stood back from his desk, planted a hand on his outthrust hip, and eyeballed him. “Your client base has increased thirty percent in the last two months alone. This is needed.”

Karl eyeballed him right back. The divorce business was booming, and Graham was right - his legal services were in high demand with no signs of slowing down.

Shit. He hated changes made to his computer. Computers were not his friend. Anything beyond email gave him a headache and Graham knew it. “If you put more crap on my computer and my life gets more difficult … so does yours.”

“Actually …” a muffled voice came from Graham’s desk and Karl tried not to notice his body’s reaction to the delectable ass wiggling and waving as the woman backed out from beneath it.

She stood casually, thick black locks streaming down her back as she tossed her head and met his gaze head on. “Once I get my hands on your laptop you’ll be able to connect to the Internet from pretty much anywhere in the building, including the restaurant downstairs. We’ve set up a dedicated server for your files and all your data has already been transferred. I can teach you how to navigate the new programs in less than fifteen minutes, and life will be easier for you both.”

Graham waved his hand airily. “Trust me on this, Mr. Dawson. The upgrade will make my job easier, therefore your life simpler.”

The words barely registered in his mind as Karl watched Lara check him out. He recognized the appreciation in her gaze and an answering hunger stirred inside him.

He arched an eyebrow her way. “You’re going to teach me?”

“Sure.” Her smile turned suggestive. “I have no problem teaching a man how to do things right.”

“I don’t usually need instruction from my women.”

She shrugged. “All men need instruction at some point or another.”

Fire leapt to life inside of him, but Karl didn’t bother to respond. It had been a hell of a morning and he wasn’t really in the mood to deal with attitude from anyone, sexy or not.

And she was very sexy.

Bright blue eyes, smooth honey colored skin, and lush cocksucking lips made her very tempting, but she wore her arrogant attitude like a second skin. A second skin that blanketed a small, tight body in faded jeans and a skimpy pink t-shirt that made it clear she wasn’t wearing a bra. When his gaze lingered on her pert breasts, her nipples hardened and surprisingly, his mouth watered.

The image of her stretched out on his bed, tied down and still trying to tell him what to do flashed through his mind and he shook his head. She’d be too much work.

“I’ll be in my office when you’re ready.” He strode into his office, aware of her eyes on him as he walked, and closed the door.

Spring fever had hit full force this year and he’d been fighting his restlessness for a while. How it happened he didn’t know. Work was great. The divorce business was booming, and as one of the city’s top sharks in that pool, he was making more than enough money to make him happy.

Women had always been easy for him. He wasn’t blessed with particularly good looks, his blond hair had just enough curl to make it unruly and his brown eyes were nothing to speak of, but women still wanted him. Even more so since he’d started making the big bucks.

He could get as much sex as he wanted, in any way he wanted, and he’d enjoyed it a lot in the past. But lately, sex just didn’t seem to be enough to hold his interest, and the fighting and negotiating of high profit divorce work was becoming tedious.

At least when he was at The Dungeon he knew it was him the women wanted. When the divorcees and society ladies he met through work hit on him, he was sure they wanted the successful lawyer, not the man.

And yet, last night, for the third time in the last two weeks he’d left The Dungeon alone.

The underground sex club had been his playground for many years, and his reputation as a Dominant had grown so much that offers for companionship were never lacking. More than a couple of offers for sexual play had been made the night before, but he’d turned them all down.

If one of his regular playmates, Jan or Marie, had been there he might’ve been into it. His girls were always eager to please, and that was always fun, but he hadn’t been in the mood for someone new. Strange considering he used to thrive on the challenge of training a new submissive, or just having a new girl for one night. But, the usual sex games had become … boring.

Hell, his life had become boring. Something was missing.

A sharp rap on his door had him shaking his thoughts off, and focusing on the day ahead. “Come on in.”

Lara strode into his office, a challenging smile on her lips and a gleam in her eye. “Ready for your lessons?”

This one was definitely not boring.

Yet, something tightened in Karl’s chest when he looked at her, and he wasn’t sure if it was annoyance, amusement, or … arousal.

Lara Fox couldn’t help herself, she loved flirting too much.

She’d flirt pretty much anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. It made her feel good - made her feel strong and sexy, and in control.

Normally she didn’t initiate flirtations unless she was looking to pick someone up for a night, or hustling him at the pool table. But Graham’s boss was pretty yummy, and she was suddenly very hungry. Despite his obviously expensive suit, crisp navy blue tie and polished shoes, Karl Dawson had an edge to him.

Maybe it was the scar running through his eyebrow, or the hint of ink she saw on his neck when he turned his head and his hair shifted. Then again, it could just be the look in his dark chocolate colored eyes - the look of a man who knew his way around a woman’s body.

“I promise I won’t hurt you,” she said when he didn’t reply to her taunt about the lessons. “Just show me your laptop and we can get started.”

“Sweetheart, you couldn’t hurt me if you tried,” he said as he opened up his laptop.

Oh, you might be surprised, Lara thought with a hidden smile. But instead of saying so, she winked and played a little more. “Is that an invitation?”

Dark eyes flashing, he held out his hands, palms up, and flashed her a cocky grin. When he didn’t say anything further Lara sauntered around the desk to stand beside his chair. Their eyes met and a tingle zinged through her.
So tempting to just straddle his lap and plant a big kiss on him. Just to see his reaction. Well, and to enjoy it too, because there was no doubt in her mind that she’d enjoy kissing him.

A small smile graced her lips and she turned to the laptop, bent at the waist, and started tapping out commands without another word. The silence stretched and the tension built. Lara’s blood heated and she shifted her stance, arching her back a bit more and locking her knees as she bent over the desk.

If they’d met at another time in another place, she was sure they’d have a hell of a good time for a few hours. But he was her friend’s boss, and that could make things awkward when she wanted to walk away — and she was always the one to walk away - so it wasn’t going to happen. Which meant she had to keep her hormones in check.

The heat of him next to her as she worked was distracting. She worked faster, keeping her eyes on the computer, but she couldn’t help flirting with the fire just a little bit by shifting her weight so that her hip brushed against his shoulder, then away again.

Karl’s chair shifted back a little and she felt his eyes on the tribal tattoo on the small of her back, her ass, her legs. The desire to be touched, to connect - just for a short time — awakened inside her and she closed her eyes briefly.
This was not good. Not good at all. She needed to get out of there. Her lunch break was almost over and she had her own job to get back to.

Yeah, that was it. Work.

She gave herself a mental head slap and straightened up.

“Okay, look at this,” she called him forward. “It’s obvious you’re familiar with the Internet and email, which means you also know that it’s not always reliable. With the dedicated server you can store all your files on here and they can be accessed by anyone with the passwords.”

All business, Lara went on to explain what the passwords were, and how he could change them to his own. How he could make certain areas accessible only to him, and leave others open to Graham and anyone else he needed to share information with. She showed him the new programs she’d installed at Graham’s request, all the files they’d already transferred, and showed him how to work the system, as well as the advantages of the wireless connection.

“Got it?” she asked.

“You were right,” he nodded. “These changes will make things a bit easier. Thank you.”

She chuckled. “Try not to choke on the words.”

“Hey, it doesn’t happen often, so when it does I don’t mind admitting I was wrong.”

She perched her butt on the edge of his desk and leaned back on her hands. The posture thrust her breasts forward and the air sizzled between them as his gaze swept over her. “A little arrogant, aren’t you?”

“Not arrogant.” He grinned wickedly. “Confident.”

Her mouth ran away without her brain again. “It’s been my experience that men as confident as you are often overcompensating for something. What do you think about that?”

“I think you haven’t experienced me.”

An unladylike bark of laughter jumped from her lips. “Oh ho! Is that a challenge?”

His eyes darkened and his smile became almost predatory. “Maybe it’s a warning.”

Lara’s heart pumped faster and blood raced through her veins. Suddenly she was feeling very alive.

She pushed away from the desk and started for the door. “Too bad. I’ve always been a sucker for a challenge.” Her hand was on the doorknob when his next softly spoken words halted her in her steps.

“But a warning scares you off?”

Now that was a challenge.