“What a surprise! A gun instead of the promised gold.” – #Giveaway #MFRWHooks #SteampunkRomance

It’s time for another MFRW Book Hooks blog hop!

I recently had a very encouraging interaction with Amazon’s support team. The e-book version of my steam punk paranormal ménage BDSM romance Rajasthani Moon has been out since 2021. Last year, I started publishing my novels in print as well. In the other cases so far, the e-book and the print book editions were automatically “linked” on Amazon, so that they share reviews and other information. For some reason, that didn’t happen with Rajasthani Moon.

I did some research and tried to fix the problem according to the directions on the KDP website. This just made things worse; after unpublishing and republishing the paperback, the edition somehow got stuck in limbo. It was in “publishing” state for more than two weeks, and listed as “unavailable” on the Amazon website.

In desperation, I turned to the chat option on KDP. My expectations were low, and sank further when the person I was chatting with couldn’t figure out the issue. He promised to refer the query to others and email me within four business days. I sighed and went on to other tasks.

Imagine my delight when the book reappeared on the site within 24 hours. Even better, when I asked the support person who emailed me with this news to help with the linking, they handled that, too.

So, to celebrate this success, I've selected Rajasthani Moon as my book for this week’s Book Hooks. I’ve got a rather humorous excerpt for you, which will give you some notion of the over-the-top tone of this novel.

Meanwhile – if you leave me a comment, I’ll enter you to win a free copy of the e-book edition!

Blurb

A bandit prince cursed into beast form under the full moon.

A brilliant but sadistic Rajah whose robotic sex toys mingle torture and delight.

A voluptuous spy on a mission from Her Majesty, tasked with discovering Rajasthan’s secrets.

She has never faced such a challenge.

When Rajasthan refuses to remit its taxes, the Queen calls on her most lethal and seductive secret agent, Cecily Harrowsmith. Cecily expects to have little difficulty persuading the rebellious Rajah to submit once more to the Empire. Instead, she is the one forced to submit – to endure unprecedented extremes of pleasure and pain.

Kidnapped by the ruler's half-brother Pratan and delivered into the hands of the handsome but depraved Rajah Amir, she soon finds herself fighting against her own lascivious nature as much as the schemes of her captors. Her sympathy for the moon-cursed wolf-man Pratan only complicates her situation. Cecily has never failed to complete an assignment, but now she risks betrayal by both her body and her heart.

And here’s the lovely new linked page on Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DBMLQQG#

The Hook

Cecily struggled to right herself but the damp and twisted fabric of her skirt hampered her movements. Hitting the floor scattered the last vestiges of her lascivious daydream. Instantly her mind was clear as crystal, sorting theories and weighing strategies like clockwork.

Bandits seemed the most likely explanation for their sudden halt. If they’d lost a wheel in some wretched gully, the coach would not have been level. And if the driver had been seized by some affliction, the vehicle would have slowed gradually.

A gunshot rang out, followed by a bloodcurdling yell. The door slammed against the outer wall of the carriage as it was flung open. A swarthy, black-haired scoundrel wearing a mask thrust his torso in the aperture. He released an ominous chuckle when he saw that the only passenger was an apparently defenceless woman.

“Your money and your jewels,” he growled in Hindi. “Quick now!”

Cecily lowered her gaze, feigning modesty. Meanwhile, she tightened her hand into a fist to release the knife. Nothing happened.

Her fall must have damaged the mechanism. Bloody machines…

And, in the interim, the bandit had produced his own much longer blade, which he now held to her throat. “Do you understand me, woman?” He switched to Rajasthani. When she still didn’t respond, he tried Gujarati. “Give me your valuables. Now!” Apparently losing patience, he plucked the gold hoop from her left earlobe with his other hand, while still pressing the cold steel against her skin.

“Ow!” she protested as the wire tugged at her flesh before pulling free.

“Aha! You can speak after all!” He glanced around the plush interior, no doubt noting brocaded cushions, the silver tea service, the crystal goblets secured to the wall in their polished wood racks. “You look like you’ve more than enough to share. Give me your purse before I get tired of waiting and slit your lovely throat.” Despite her Indian costume and the dusky complexion she’d inherited from her Ceylonese mother, the brigand addressed her in English this time, probably cued by the obvious provenance of the artefacts that surrounded her. The clarity of his pronunciation surprised her.

Sprawled on the floor, tangled in her clothing, Cecily glared up at him. A swathe of dark cloth wrapped around his head hid everything but his deep brown eyes. Sheltering under elegantly arched eyebrows, those eyes glittered with malice and craft. He had long, lush eyelashes that any woman would envy and a high forehead that bespoke considerable intelligence. A brute, no doubt, but scarcely dumb. She’d have to move with the utmost care.

“If you will put somewhat more distance between your blade and my flesh,” she began, keeping her voice sweet and level, “I will be able to reach my money. It’s pinned into my waistband.”

The bandit’s eyes flicked to her bare midriff. She let her hand drift down towards the concealed pistol as though she were about to extricate a hidden pouch of coins.

Before she could reach her goal, he shot out his hand, catching her wrist in an iron grip. “Allow me.”He slipped his dagger into a sheath slung across his chest, then grabbed her other wrist and pinned it with the first. His hand was large enough to encircle both of hers.

“Now, then…” He trailed his fingertips across the naked gap between her blouse and her skirt. Electricity sizzled up Cecily’s spine. The next thing she knew, he slid his hand under the fabric of her skirt, rooting around for items more solid than her soft, round belly.

He groped for a moment, while she held her breath. His calloused fingers struck sparks from her flesh. Of course, he discovered her weapon almost instantly. He drew it out, chuckling once more when he saw its size. Her skin mourned the loss of his touch.

“What a surprise! A gun instead of the promised gold.” He tightened his hold on her wrists until she feared the bones would snap. “Who are you, my lady? Not, I think, a common traveller.”

“That’s none of your concern…sir.” Cecily decided that it might be wise to be polite.

“Oh, I think it is. Not many women travel on their own across the wastes of my country, especially in the most modern of conveyances. Those that do are wise to carry a weapon—but this one will not help you. Who sent you, madam? What is your business here?”

“I’ll not share my business with a common brigand.”

“And if I were someone else? Would you tell me then how and why you happen to cross my path?”

Cecily of course had a cover story. Her documents attested that she was the sister of a wealthy Bombay textile merchant, come to Rajasthan looking for business contacts. She was not, however, about to divulge anything to this rogue.

“I will tell you nothing.”

“Indeed? I think I may be able to change your mind.” After tucking the pistol into the folds of his garment, he drew out a length of what, aside from its strange silvery colour, looked like common rope. He dangled it near her trapped wrists. “Bind,” he said.

The rope came alive, coiling like a snake. Quick as a cobra strike, it looped itself around her forearms—once, twice, half a dozen times, pulling tighter with each cycle. Before she could devise a plan, Cecily found her crossed arms were laced together as firmly as the back of a corset.

“How dare you? Untie me at once!”

“So that you can stab me? Or shoot me? Who knows what other cunning devices you have hidden about your charming person? No, on the contrary, I think I’d be wise to bind your legs as well.”

He climbed into the carriage, bringing with him a strong odour of horse and male sweat. Although the vehicle was designed for two passengers, his considerable height and broad shoulders made it feel distinctly crowded, especially with Cecily’s non-trivial bulk occupying a significant area of the floor. He crouched down and reached for her ankle. She scooted away, kicking out at him. Her boot connected solidly with his shin.

“Shiva’s balls!” he cursed. “That hurts!” She cocked her knee back for a second blow, but he caught her foot in mid-kick and raised it until her leg was almost at right angles to her prone body. Her skirt slipped down, baring her knee and part of her thigh, and releasing a flood of her woman-scent.

The miscreant’s eyes widened. No doubt his nostrils flared as well, but they were hidden beneath his impromptu mask. Had Cecily been a fair English rose of a woman, her cheeks would have burnt bright pink. Her mixed heritage allowed her to hide her embarrassment.

“Unhand me, sir!”

Instead, he seized her other ankle, brought her leg parallel to the first, and whipped out another of his devilish self-binding ropes.

“No, please, sir!” Seeing that outrage would get her nowhere, Cecily decided to try deception. If he bound her legs, she would never be able to escape him. “Stop, please. I will reveal everything to you.”

“Of course you will, madam.” The mockery in his voice stung, especially when she remembered that most of her lower body was now visible to his sharp eyes. “Back at my quarters. Bind.”

In an instant, the robotic shackles wound themselves around her calves and ankles. She tried tensing her muscles, so as to create some slack later. The device clamped down with relentless power, forcing her to relax.

“There. I hope I’ll be safe now from your most unladylike aggression.”

Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s hop. And don’t forget to leave an email, if you’re curious about Cecily’s adventures!

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