In Blood And Worth Loving Coming from Red Rose Publishing June 11. © 2009 Marilyn Lee All Rights reserved The door of the master bedroom to the Mountain Retreat opened. Brandi Knight, standing in front of the full-length mirrors mounted on the closet doors, had a clear view of the door. A tall, handsome, male with the high cheekbones of a Native American male filled the doorway. He had short dark hair silvering at the temples. His face was unlined. He appeared to be what she considered the perfect age for a lover—just over forty. He had wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. His dark pullover, opened at the neck, revealed an enticing glimpse of his massive chest. He projected an air of mystery and danger. Brandi could easily imagine him bare-chested with the sun glinting off his blue-black hair, astride a horse galloping across the Plaines eager to return home to ravish his woman. His woman. She savored the thought of being his woman. Was this just another fantasy? Her constant struggle to be a good girl had ended a year earlier with the death of the aging grandparents who raised her. After her parents’ death, they had sought to impress upon her the need to carefully choose her boyfriends. Eager to please them, she had only dated men of whom they approved. With the sharp edge of grief dulled, her years of pretending she didn’t prefer bad boys to good ones were over. She was finally about to reap the reward for the years of dating safe and dull men who left her emotionally untouched and sexually dissatisfied. This weekend she would get to be the lucky woman the handsome bad boy Adrian teased and pleased. She flashed him a quick, tentative smile.   “And just who the hell are you?” The obvious displeasure in the deep, sexy baritone with the hint of a southern drawl diminished some of her excitement. She moistened her lips. “My name is Brandi.” He eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. “Brandi?” She nodded. “Yes. Brandi with an I.” “You’re Brandi Knight?” “Yes.” “You’re Rayna’s co-worker?” “Yes.” Having seen his picture on Rayna’s desk at the library branch where they both worked, she knew who he was. As Rayna had promised, he did not disappoint. “And you’re Adrian.” “Yes. I’m Adrian.” She gave him another tentative smile in the mirror. “We have all weekend to get to know each other.” “All weekend?” Why was he repeating everything she said? “Yes.” “Oh, hell, no!” He slammed the door shut. A sudden air of menace permeated the room. In the act of turning to face him, she froze. Ok, Brandi, maybe agreeing to this weekend was not one of your brighter ideas. He took a slow deep breath. It didn’t seem to help. In the mirror, she saw him clench and unclench his right hand. He leaned back against the door, staring into the mirror at her. If her research was accurate the fact that he cast a reflection indicated he wasn’t evil. But he sure as hell was mad. Brandi could almost feel his fury as he allowed his steel-blue eyes to rake along her back. She suspected he didn’t like the view. What now? What did a good girl who wanted to be bad do when her chosen bad boy didn’t want to be bad with her? “Tell me this is a belated April’s Fool’s joke that you and Rayna are having at my expense.” Oh, Rayna. What did you tell him about me? He didn’t look like a male with a preference for full-figured black women. “April’s Fool was last month,” she reminded him. “I said belated. So you’re telling me this isn’t a joke?” Brandi hesitated. Each of her answers seemed to increase his anger. “No. It’s not a joke.” “It had better be.” Oh, great. He was definitely not amused or interested. “I—” “If you think for one minute that I’m going to spend the weekend here with you, you…” He pushed himself away from the door. She froze and sucked in a breath. Whatever misstatements Rayna might have made to him, she hadn’t misled Brandi. The male stalking across the room towards her with bared incisors was clearly the real thing. After years of fantasizing about spending her birthday with a man capable of validating her belief in the supernatural, she’d made a fatal error in her attempt to be bad. She was alone in a remote cabin with a vampire she hoped wasn’t angry enough to kill her.    Adrian Redwolfe felt as if the top of his head was on fire. Rayna had gone too damn far this time. After months of indecision, in a weak moment, he’d finally admitted he was ready for a monogamous relationship. Insisting she had the perfect mate for him, Rayna  had lured him to the Redwolfe family Pocono Mountain retreat with the promise of a weekend with a pretty, slender green-eyed supermodel with long, blond tresses. He had half-expected to arrive and find his long time friend and lover, Marcella awaiting him. Instead, he found himself alone with a full-figured human plain Jane. Her dark hair was shorter than his was. The cream bra and thong she wore looked as if she’d stuffed herself into them. Although he couldn’t hurt the female he and his brothers had reared as their niece, her duplicitous friend was another matter. She would suffer the consequences for having deceived him. He stopped several feet from the woman, allowing his gaze to slide down her body. Her ass was so large the back of the thong was nearly lost in her crack. Each cheek was round and brown. In the act of curling his lip, he paused. Actually, her skin tone reminded him more of rich, dark, melt-in-your-mouth-decadent chocolate. The kind Marcella said made her wet and ready for a night of mindless fucking. The dark three-inch heels the woman wore drew attention to her plus sized thighs and her long legs. He looked at her ass again and found it difficult to look away. Damn. It was large, but very nice. While he stood staring at it, she turned to face him. He raised his gaze to her face. Although she was plain as hell, she had dark, sexy eyes, beautiful, clear skin and full, soft looking lips. He glanced at her breasts. His cock stirred. Damn if she didn’t possess the largest natural breasts he’d ever seen. Each round mound spilled out from the cuppless bra to reveal dark aureoles that must have been an inch wide. Talk about all day suckers. Maybe she wasn’t so plain after all. ***** If you'd like to read another excerpt, join Marilyn’s Yahoo Group. Buy the entire books from Red Rose Publishing on June 11.   In Blood and Worth Loving Cocktail Recipe Ingredients : - 12 oz Hawaiian Punch - 2 oz vodka  Use a "In glass" for In Blood and Worth Loving drink recipe Pour Hawaiian Punch into a 12 oz highball glass. Take a gulp/mouthful, and fill the rest of the glass with vodka. Alter the proportions if you prefer a stronger bite.     Return to Top o Page     3/14/10 © Marilyn Lee 2006-2010