Welcome
to the Charity Sunday blog hop for June!
Today
I’ve decided to support the cause that started me doing Charity
Sundays. Looking back, I was amazed to discover that was in June of
2017 – three years ago! Anyway, that first Charity Sunday was a
post on behalf of my cousin Danny, who was born with Spinal Muscular
Atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder that affects roughly 1 in 11,000
births. SMA is a disease that robs people of physical strength by
affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, taking away the
ability to walk, eat, or breathe. It is the number one genetic cause
of death for infants.
The
majority of babies born with SMA die before they reach their first
birthday. Danny was lucky enough to be in trial of the experimental
drug Spinraza. He’s now five years old. Although he is still
severely disabled, physically, he’s alive and active, going to
school, supported by a loving family and an informed medical
establishment.
CureSMA
is an organization dedicated to fostering research on SMA, providing
authoritative information for individuals and families dealing with
SMA, and advocating for government policies that assist rather than
disadvantage SMA sufferers.
Anyway,
for today’s Charity Sunday, I will donate $2 to CureSMA for every
comment I receive. And to give you something to comment on, here’s
a quick excerpt from my latest release, D&S Duos Book 6.
This is a snippet from the first story, “Muse”.
“Will
you sign my copy of your book?”
Her
wrist ached from two hours of autographs and she was desperate for
caffeine, but she managed a professional smile. “Of course.”
The
last person in a line that had stretched out the door at the start of
the event, he didn’t look like her typical reader. His shaggy black
hair needed cutting and he could have used a shave. He wore beige
zip-up coveralls, a Yankees jacket, and dusty boots. A bit scruffy.
Forgettable. His eyes, though, were anything but. They burned in his
aquiline face, fierce, passionate, almost crazed. A quiver of unease
swept through her. It was a terrible cliché – who would know
better than she? – but in the intensity of that stare, she really
did feel totally naked.
Smiling
more broadly to hide her discomfort, she accepted the paperback he
offered. The cover featured a powerfully built man in a leather hood
with a scantily-clad blonde kneeling at his feet.
She
flipped to the title page: Slave to Love by Melissa Appleton.
“To...?”
“To
my master.” He pitched his voice low. No one else could have heard,
but that didn’t stop hot blood from climbing to her cheeks or
sudden moisture from soaking her panties.
“Excuse
me, sir, but I don’t think...” She peered frantically around the
bookstore, at the browsing customers and busy clerk. Nobody had
noticed. Some force dragged her back to meet the brazen challenge in
his eyes.
“You
should think, Lissa. Is this what you really want?” He made
a dismissive gesture toward the volume on the table. “Knotted silk
scarves and soft, sweet kisses? Velvet blindfolds and spanking games?
‘Slaves’ who surrender for a half-dozen pages, then go about
their lives as though nothing has changed?”
“I
– my fans – the market...”
“Screw
the market.” His coarseness made her shudder and yet her nipples
snapped into tight, hard peaks as if he’d ordered them to
attention. “You want more. I know you do.”
He
loomed over the table, an undeniable presence despite his no more
than average height. She shrank back into her chair, her pulse loud
and fast in her ears, her thighs slippery. “I know you, Lissa. I’ve
read every book you’ve written. I’ve watched you, on the street,
at readings, working at your computer. You don’t want timid games.
You’re afraid to admit it – I understand – but you want marks.
Bruises. Blood. You want to be tested, stretched to the breaking
point and beyond.”
He
captured her right wrist in his big, bony hand. The fountain pen
fluttered in her fingers like a caged bird. “Write me your
fantasies, and I’ll make them real. Show me your rawest, darkest
dreams – all the filthy details. Then trust me to fulfill them.”
Clearly
he was mad. Perhaps even dangerous. She should call Jeremy, the
manager, or the security guard who was taking a break now that the
crowd had dispersed. Somehow she couldn’t move. His grip wasn’t
tight. She could have pulled her hand away. But his eyes bored into
her and his voice stilled her, holding her transfixed like a pinned
insect.
“I
can’t...” she murmured.
“I
say you can. If you choose.” He leaned closer, until she felt his
warm breath on her face. He smelled of tobacco and wood varnish.
“It’s up to you, Lissa, to take the first step.”
D&S
Duos Book 6 is available at all your favorite online
bookstores.
Add
on Goodreads:
Don’t
forget to leave a comment! Every one of them helps kids like my
cousin Danny.
And
while I’ve got your attention – I do hope you’ll visit the
other bloggers participating in today’s Charity Sunday. Each one of
them is showcasing a cause dear to her heart.
