As you read this blog post, I sit in the jury selection room of my county courthouse, waiting to learn if I’ve been chosen to decide a case. If so, the jury commissioner instructed me to reserve five days for duty. Payment is $9 per day, plus free parking. I pay for my own lunch. Failure to appear will result in a warrant for my arrest. I’ve opted for good citizenry, since that seems to be the smarter option.
In my absence, I hope you’ll enjoy an excerpt from my contemporary paranormal erotic romance INTIMATE ART.
Best~Adele
INTIMATE ART by Adele Dubois
"Ms. Dubois casts a spell that ensnares you
before you're done with the first page."
~ Simply Romance Reviews
before you're done with the first page."
~ Simply Romance Reviews
Summary:
When Jack Harris strides into the Special-T café each morning, wearing jeans hot enough to melt glass, the erotic fuel between him and waitress Legs Anderson almost ignites the room. That’s why Legs’ willingness to keep Jack at bay is Hartsville’s most bemusing mystery.
That and the fact that Jack Harris is the only person in town who doesn’t believe the Anderson house is haunted.
But Legs believes. And as long as her aunt’s ghost haunts the master bedroom of the house she inherits, Jack can’t spend the night. Ada had an ironclad rule she enforces from the grave: No men allowed.
Especially Harris men.
Jack forms a plan involving paint, body stencils, and exotic ingenuity to chase Ada’s ghost from the house. Will erotic art help him claim the woman he loves?
Excerpt:
Legs set her coffee cup down on the desk and moved to the oak trimmed doorway of her aunt’s room. Jack was pushing too hard and she was growing more defensive by the minute. “Men aren’t allowed in her bedroom.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “You’re really serious about her haunting the place, aren’t you?” His question was heavy with controlled annoyance.
Legs nodded and folded her arms across her chest. “And she has very strong opinions about what you and I have been doing.”
His smirk told her he couldn’t care less. “Then we don’t need to sneak around anymore, do we? She knows.” He set his coffee cup on the dresser and plunked the bag on the floor. “Just because her husband ran out on her doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a life. I’m not like your miserable drunk of an uncle.”
He shifted his gaze around the room, a scowl forming on his handsome, angular face. Glints of gold in his long, thick hair caught the morning light, and Legs sucked in an admiring breath. His hair was combed back from his face and trailed to the center of his neck like rich butterscotch fudge glazed with real vanilla. It looked so good she almost wanted to take a bite.
She never could stay mad at him long.
The last time they made love she’d run her hands through his gorgeous hair and combed it with her fingertips. She’d reveled in the silky texture while he licked the swells of her breasts and sucked her taut nipples, groaning as his erection strained against her naked thigh. The memory of his hot skin against hers made her tremble inside.
Some of her defenses fell away.
Legs could tell Jack recognized the scent of Ada’s White Diamonds perfume gaining strength in the air by the way he tilted his head as his nostrils flared. His blue eyes flashed defiance. He looked around, shouting at corners. “Do you hear me, Ada? I’m not like he was. It’s time to let her go.”
A cold chill swept through the room. Legs shivered against the draft and ran her hands over her arms. She stared into the sunbeams shining across the floor, trying to focus through the dust motes in the early morning sun. If she looked in just the right way, and at just the right angle, she might see glimmers of her aunt. It had happened before.
Jack turned to face her with a slow smile curving his lips. “I know how to get her out of here, darlin’”. He reached out and pulled her to him. “Tough Love.”
“What?”
The scents of fresh lime soap and musk aftershave filled her senses, dousing the White Diamonds. Strong arms hugged her to his muscled chest. The smell and feel of him drifted over her like a safe, sensuous blanket.
She pressed her cheek against his pectorals and rubbed her face across the nipple that had hardened beneath his black t-shirt. The fullness of her bottom lip clung to the tip and she resisted the primal urge to nip it with her teeth and poke it with her tongue through the fabric.
His voice turned gruff. “We’ll fuck her out of here.”
*****
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Adele, I hope you get to be on a jury. It's very enlightening. I have been on several over the years and it's an interesting process.
ReplyDeleteLove the hot excerpt.
Adele, thanks for posting the hot excerpt and good luck with that jury duty thing:)Hope you can get back to writing, very soon!
ReplyDeleteAdele, good luck with jury duty. Thank you for the excerpt. I've got this book on my hard drive..Can't wait to get to it.
ReplyDeleteLove that excerpt...Hope you don't get stuck on a murder case/ What an awful thought!
ReplyDeleteOMG, I do not envy you. I was called last year for jury duty. In California, that's nearly a prison sentence for a juror. Our trials last weeks/months/sometimes years. The judge asked if anyone couldn't be a juror. The lady next to me was practically in tears. She said she'd just lost her job, her husband was unemployed (not strange in Cali with the economy), she had a series of job interviews within the coming weeks and as she was the sole support of their two kids, she just couldn't be a juror for $15 a day. The judge said "Too bad. Show up. Get a job later."
ReplyDeleteGod, I almost died. When it came my turn, he asked what my excuse was. I told him I was leaving on a flight Monday (this was a Friday) for a week at my EDJ's headquarters. The tickets were already paid for and non-refundable (purchased months before). He excused me, (go figure) but said I had to come back within the next two months. I went in August, the courthouse was practically deserted (it was 127 degrees outside) and they let me go after an hour there. I'm free for another year.
Good citizenry does seem the best way to go. Best of luck, and thanks for leaving us the excellent excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI was on a jury for four days once. A young woman embezzled money from the bank where she worked. She said her boyfriend made her do it. We found her guilty. It was kind of fun and I got out of work.
ReplyDeleteI love "Intimate Art."
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping my post company while I was away. I enjoyed reading about your jury duty experiences. As it turned out, yours were a lot more exciting than mine.
I got excused without so much as an interview. Half the people called to serve were dismissed. The other half heard cases. Those dismissed were also dismissed for the rest of our service term.
I'm free!!!!! :throws confetti: Tomorrow--I write!
Best--Adele
Cara--A million thanks for buying INTIMATE ART, liking it, and giving it a great review. Big hugs.
ReplyDeleteSavannah--I hope you like the book! Thanks so much for buying INTIMATE ART. Big hugs to you too.
Best--Adele
Adele, I loved the excerpt. I was on jury duty a long time ago. I would not recommend it as a career change, does not pay well. :}
ReplyDeleteHope it goes your way, like not a long trial.
Lynda