Nothing is as romantic as surrender.
I’m sure many readers won’t agree with me – or won’t have a clue what I’m talking about. That’s the reason I love writing BDSM stories, though. It’s not about the trappings of dominance and submission – whips, paddles, bondage. It’s not about sex. The central thrill, for me, is the trust that is required when you submit to a master or mistress. The intensity of that connection – the gift of oneself – is what keeps pulling me back to my original genre.
Today I’ve got a brand new excerpt from Power and Persuasion. The book’s available wide, as a single title, but it’s also part of my BDSM romance boxed set Whips & Kisses, which is free on Kindle Unlimited.
This bit simply melts me. Maybe it will have the same effect on you.
Blurb
She’s his natural enemy – and the only woman who can satisfy him
Billionaire industrialist Andrew MacIntyre commands a vast empire of railroads, mines and mills. Labor activist Olivia Alcott is dedicated to helping the factory workers responsible for Andrew’s wealth. They are natural foes, but with complementary needs: his need to command and hers to surrender.
The Hook
Catherine MacIntyre watched him from halfway up the grand oval staircase, her hand on the gold-plated banister. She shook her head, her expression somber.
“Where in the name of heaven did you find her, Andrew? And what possessed you to invite her to this house?”
“It’s my house. I’ll invite whomever I please.”
“But a labor activist! How completely inappropriate! I’m sure the news is all over Newport by now. Boston and New York will know by tomorrow morning.”
“So what?” Andrew patted the pockets of his dinner jacket, seeking his cigarettes. “Why should I care?”
His mother sighed. “I expect we’ll have at least a few cancellations for the ball. People are afraid their reputations will be tarnished if they’re seen in the same room with someone like her.”
“What do you mean ‘someone like her’? She’s a perfectly delightful creature, beautiful, intelligent, well-spoken and polite despite where she comes from.”
“But Andrew—”
“I can buy and sell them all, Mother, and they know it. They’ll come to your gala because they go where the money goes. They want your favor, and mine. Mark my words, no one will cancel. They wouldn’t dare.”
Finally locating the embossed silver cigarette case, he removed one of the slim cylinders and stuck it between his lips. He was almost ready to light it right there in the massive, two-storey atrium as a gesture of defiance, but the genuine sorrow in his mother’s face stopped him.
“Everything will be fine, Mother. Don’t worry about Olivia—or about me. I know what I’m doing.” He headed for the darkened terrace, brandishing his box of matches. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
As he leaned on the granite balustrade, though, holding the fragrant smoke in his lungs and listening to the ocean sighing against the cliff, he wondered. What was he doing with Olivia? That afternoon, she’d pleased him beyond measure. He’d come down to dinner as excited as a kid at Christmas. The sight of her, resplendent in her finery, had only improved his mood. But the memory of her behavior at dinner reminded him how alien she was to his world. He couldn’t realistically imagine a future that included such a foreign creature, delicious as she was. After the weekend, she’d be gone, and he’d be faced once more with the odious requirement that he choose a spouse from among his peers.
“You seem pensive.” Olivia glided up to stand beside him, gazing into the night. Her scent had him half hard in seconds. “Are you feeling guilty? Contemplating the immorality of your life?”
“Miss Alcott, it is you who should feel guilty. You managed to completely disrupt my poor mother’s dinner. She’s quite distressed.” He bent to bury his nose in her soft curls. He couldn’t help himself.
“I regret having caused her pain, but someone needs to tell the truth about this life of yours. It’s a bit obscene. You have everything you could desire. You can do whatever you want.”
“Do you think so? I’ve far fewer choices than you’d imagine—as you saw this evening. I’m shackled by wealth and privilege, imprisoned in a kind of gilded cage. Before I do anything, I must consider the expectations of family and society.”
“Can you not consider sharing with the poor unfortunates upon whom your wealth is founded?” Her face was shadowed, but her voice was like music.
“Are you lobbying for that extra dollar in wages, Miss Alcott?” Slipping his arm around her back, he stroked the side of her breast through the velvet.
“That was, if you recall, a part of our bargain.”
He ran his finger down her neck, along her collarbone and into the hollow between her breasts, all bared by the evening gown. She shivered and pressed against him.
“I’ll think about it, Olivia. Meanwhile, what about your part of the bargain? Your agreement to follow my orders in every particular? You weren’t very obedient this evening.”
“You never ordered me to lie—sir.” She gazed up at him. Now, finally, he could see the sparkle in her eyes. “However, if you feel I deserve it, well then, you must punish me.”
Andrew took her arm and led her back into the echoing halls of Wavecrest. “That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Whips-Kisses-BDSM-Erotic-Romance-ebook/dp/B0F9495QN7
Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s Book Hooks!
