Michelle Lauren: The book is available 11/13/2009 from Cobblestone Press. It is part of their Wicked line – and this story is definitely that. Here is a blurb:
Sometimes passion has a price…
Eve Templin has the reputation of an ice queen in the courtroom, but in the bedroom she craves the thrill of sexual submission. Past betrayals left her wary of emotional involvement with a Dominant, but she can't ignore the connection she feels with one in particular, incubus Alonso D’Agostino.
Alonso is everything Eve craves in a Dominant: Intelligent. Exotic. And insatiable. He is also one of her law firm's biggest clients and a notorious playboy. When he offers her more than a fling, will she risk her career for love or walk away for good?
Minx: What inspired Temptation Eve? Have you ever dated anyone you work with?
ML: Originally, I wrote this as a piece of flash fiction with no paranormal elements. It was very hot and very short. But the characters had more stories to tell so I revised it. I’m very glad I did because plot went in a totally different direction.
No, I have never dated a coworker. I’ve been tempted before, though.
Minx: Which comes to you first, the characters or the plot?
ML: The characters. Plot develops out of whose story I'm telling. Alonso and Eve have a lot in common: they are both successful, attractive people with major control issues. Both have experienced hurt and betrayal in the past and don't trust open declarations of love. They indulge their need for intimacy with these games.
Minx: While your love for nerds is well known, I have it on good authority that you have a tendency to fall for villains. Which is your favorite?
ML: Nerdy villains, what else? Alonso isn’t a villain, but he is definitely a bad boy. A real triple threat: looks, brains and attitude, the kind of guy that would never bore me. And that is a major attraction. ML:It was intentional. Women love bad boys. To me, the best bad boys are a marriage of brains and brawn. They’re cunning, seductive and yet vulnerable. ML: Easy. Pajamas. Strange, huh? What can I say? Some women collect shoes. I can’t pass up a cute pair of PJs. ML: Sure. Enjoy! If you enjoyed that, be sure to visit Michelle's Freebies page tomorrow to read Chapter 1 FREE! **BONUS** Get an exclusive 6k FREE READ w/purchase of Temptation Eve. It includes a SNEAK PEEK at Nocturnal Cravings Book 2. TO RECEIVE: Just email your purchase receipt to interactive@michellelaurenbooks.com. **Want to know more about the book? Chat with incubus Alonso or visit the book’s Virtual Release Party for a chance to win an Amazon Gift Card. Spread the word about the book and you can win even more goodies! **
Minx: The character of Alonso seems like a merger of those two concepts - the intelligent bad boy. Was his characterization intentional or did he just "happen" that way?
Readers will be able to empathize with Alonso’s situation. Beneath his sometimes brash attitude, he harbors a desperate yearning for Eve, someone he thinks is out of his reach.
Minx: The title of the story alludes to Eve's greatest temptation, the freedom to give up control. What's your greatest temptation?
Minx: Can you tempt us with an excerpt?Sex with an incubus definitely wreaked havoc on a woman’s wardrobe.
Eve Templin glared at the run in her black lace thigh highs before she turned and scowled over her shoulder at her lover.
“You are costing me a fortune in lingerie. This is the third pair this month!”
Said incubus, Alonso D’Agostino, grinned. Lush, midnight black curls fell across his forehead as he studied her. Hunger darkened his normally pale gray eyes to pewter. His finger trailed up her thigh, causing the muscles to jump.
“Let me make it up to you, bellissima.“
Eve gasped as his callused hands palmed her butt and then spread her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip to muffle a moan. No matter how many times they met, this part—the anticipation—never got stale.
“Do you have any idea how hot you look right now?”
She could imagine. Kneeling on the floor, hands bound behind her with his red silk tie, her thick curls swinging around her waist and naked except for those thigh highs, she probably looked like a pagan offering to the gods.
Warm breath ghosted over her entrance, followed by the cool glide of Alonso’s tongue thrusting inside her heat. Eve’s head dropped on a moan—only to jerk upright as laughter, loud, feminine and entirely too close for comfort, filtered through the door. Her pulse skyrocketed.
More laughter, accompanied by the clink of glasses and the crooning strain of a saxophone, reminded Eve why having sex in a closet during her law firm’s annual Black and White Ball was a really bad idea. Right now, a flimsy door was the only barrier between her and two hundred of her coworkers and clients. Even worse, Alonso seemed oblivious to the danger.
What was it about him that made her natural sense of caution disappear? Six months ago, Eve would have blamed her reaction on his powers. Blessed with a touch that could take a woman from zero to orgasm in seconds, the thirty-four-year-old playboy never lacked for lovers.
Alonso was everything she wanted in a Dominant: exotic, intelligent and insatiable.
But their attraction went beyond physical chemistry. She enjoyed spending time with him. Beneath his aloof exterior was a man who—despite spending most of his adult life on the wrong side of the law—could win legal debates with his eyes closed, was surprisingly insightful, and had a biting sense of humor and a smile that made her forget why falling in love with him would never work.
Not only was he a commitment phobe, he was also a client. Make that her firm’s biggest client. Wolkowich, Blythe & Templin was a Virginia-based law firm that catered to paranormal clientele. At age thirty-one, Eve was the youngest partner and the only female, a distinction she’d worked too hard to jeopardize.
Despite the preternatural nature of the firm’s clients, Wolkowich, Blythe & Templin maintained a disappointingly conservative view on some matters, including lawyer-client fraternization. If her relationship with Alonso ever went public, she could kiss her professional credibility goodbye.
Eve opened her mouth to tell him to wait. At the same moment, his lips closed around her clit and sucked. All thoughts of stopping vanished.
Buy Link: http://cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/temptationeve.htm
