Thanks to Leslie for giving me her day so I can celebrate the release of MAXIMUM EXPOSURE with all of you jungle animals!
For those of you who’ve followed my SG-5 series from Brava, MAXIMUM EXPOSURE is Finn McLain’s story. Finn’s not an operative. He’s the brother of Georgia McLain from DEEP BREATH who hooked up in that book with Harry van Zandt. Finn played a heroic role in that book, but didn’t get his romance until now. You can read one excerpt of the book at the title link above, and another one at this link so you can decide if it’s something you’d like to read from beginning to end! (I’ll also make it really easy for you to click away and buy your own copy at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble!) While I’m here I should tell you that I’m giving away a $50 online bookstore gift card at Fresh Fiction, and you can get to the contest via this link. But I’m also going to give away a copy of MAXIMUM EXPOSURE to someone who comments on this post today – AND I’m giving you a special PlotMonkeys only excerpt to read! I’ll draw a winner Wednesday night, 8:00 p.m.ish CST. In what follows, Olivia has just arrived at her first photo shoot with Finn . . . enjoy!
On the seat beside her, her cell phone rang. She jumped, then took a deep breath and answered. “Yes?”
“Are you on your way?” Finn asked.
Now or never. Do or die. “Actually, I just pulled up.”
“Cool. There’s a table just inside the door. You can leave your purse and phone and whatever else there.”
“And then I do what?”
“Walk through the curtain. There’ll be a spotlight. I’ll see you there.” He hung up, leaving her frowning at the phone.
She grabbed her tote, her phone, her keys, tightened the belt of the summer weight trench coat she wore, and headed for the door. Once inside, she slipped out of her coat, draped it over the table, and set all of her things on top. Then she smoothed the fringe and her hair, and stepped through the curtain where her wizard and her spotlight were waiting.
At least she assumed Finn was waiting. He’d called her after all. She just couldn’t see him. There wasn’t much she could see for that matter. The spotlight aside, the room was pitch black. And, she had to admit, a bit intimidating.
She made her way across the floor to the small pool of light, her heels clicking, the echo hinting at the vastness of the space into which she was walking. Alone. Exposed. Vulnerable. In control of nothing but her own footsteps.
The curtain through which she’d entered the room had seemed to be black, a velvet or a satin, a stage curtain she supposed. Had this space been used by a production company? Or had Finn arranged for the dark backdrop and the lights?
She’d ask him as soon as she saw him. She didn’t want him investing a lot of money in a project they weren’t certain would bring any of them a return. Right now, however, all she could do was follow his directions and stop gouging her fingernails into the skin of her palms.
The moment she stepped into the circle of light, it vanished, the loud metallic whoosh as it shut down sucking the air from the room. She startled, but she stayed silent, waiting for Finn.
This was obviously part of his wildly uninhibited fun concept. Next photo shoot, she’d be in on the plan from the start. And speaking of start . .
Her bones began to rattle as he pumped up the volume on a soundtrack with a decidedly hip-hop beat.
Then . . . Flash!
“I like the outfit,” he yelled at her, though he couldn’t be more than ten feet away.
If not for the music, she would have heard him, his shoes, his breathing, the adjustments he made to his camera. She hadn’t heard a thing. Not even the click of the remote he had to be using to work the lighting and the sound.
“Thanks for blinding me,” she raised her voice to grumble back, blinking to adjust to the darkness again. She wasn’t sure she liked this, though she was curious about his goal.
A click and another whoosh and the spotlight came back. This time, he joined her in the circle of light. His eyes sparkled with life. His jaw was dark with the stubble of his beard, his hair a shaggy mess, held away from his forehead by a ball cap worn in reverse. His T-shirt was wrinkled, his blue jeans worn thin.
And he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life.
“Are you going to explain to me what we’re doing here,” she said after he’d lowered the volume.
“You’re going to dance.”
“Dance?”
“You’re at a party. At a club. The Fifth, wherever. You’re surrounded by music and booze and bodies glistening with sweat.”
“I’m in a warehouse, alone, with nothing to drink.” She figured she’d be sweating soon enough.
“I’ve got plenty of water. Just say the word.” He nudged up the volume. “There’s your music, and I’ve got the lights.”
“Your camera’s flash?”
He nodded, his expression growing coy. “This was your idea, remember? Performing for me instead of for your usual suspects?”
He had her there. It was put up or shut up time, though she wasn’t going to do either without a groan. Why the hell had performing for him seemed like such a good idea when she’d come up with it last week?
Maybe because she hadn’t thought through what it would be like to let him look when she wanted him as fiercely as she did? God, this was going to be a disaster. “Okay then. If you think it will work.”
“I know it will work,” he said, his grin taking over his face. “The music will be loud enough that you won’t hear me, so the shots won’t look staged.”
“No, they’ll just show how much fun you had scaring the shit out of me.”
He laughed, the sound seeming so deeply and honestly felt, that she laughed with him, and breathed so much easier because she did. “I’m not trying to scare you. Just think of the flashes the way you would a strobe light, or light thrown from a mirror ball. You’ll be fine.”
“I’m glad one of us thinks so,” she said, shaking her arms and legs as if preparing for a sprint. He gave her a wink in response, then stepped out of the light and into the room’s shadows, maxing out the music’s volume once he was completely out of her sight.
She liked the music he’d chosen, and she loved to dance. This really shouldn’t be that hard, but all she could think about was Finn pulling her strings, Finn telling her how to dress, how to move, what to imagine while she danced. They were never going to get anywhere if she didn’t stop.
And so she did. She stopped thinking and let the music take her, let the feel of her body in motion drive her from one beat to the next. The first flash of Finn’s camera caught her by surprise, but others followed in quick succession, and she forgot he was there.
At least she forgot he was holding the camera. She didn’t forget about him; how could she? She was dancing for him, performing for him, letting him look because she wanted him to see her body, her emotions, everything.
She wanted him to want her, and what she wanted, she always got. Winning was her comfort zone. Being noticed her forte. She’d made her way through life as the center of attention, celebrated, cheered, desired . . .
The longer she danced, the more heated she grew, the more aroused, short of breath, and the more she wanted him. Her nipples were tight when she reached up to unhook the bandeau and strip it away from the fringe.
She cupped her breasts, tugged on the rings, clenched the muscles of her sex at the surge of desire that rocked her. She reached down, slipped a hand beneath the tube of her skirt, found the hoop piercing her clit and tugged.
She cried out. She didn’t mean to. She couldn’t help it. She was wet and she was wired, her body aching and ready, and oh, she hadn’t felt like this in years. This was Finn, because of Finn, the dampness seeping from her sex down her thighs.
And then she realized the room had gone silent. There was no music. No sound of the camera’s flash. No flash at all. She stumbled in the darkness, and Finn was there.
#
This was never what Finn had intended to happen. The more he’d thought about shooting Olivia in flashes of light, the more he’d been convinced the results would be exactly what Dustin expected. Her expression illuminated, her body exposed. The black velvet and satin surrounding her glittering and alive. But this . . . this . . .
He groaned, the sound rolling up from his gut as he sank his body into hers and pressed them both against the wall. She melted. She took him. She bore every ounce of his weight. She didn’t resist his advances or stop him, but instead invited him close like she’d intended this to happen all along.
He slid his hands beneath that damn tempting fringe to her breasts, molded, squeezed, found the rings she wore there and pushed the ends of his little fingers through before dipping his head to find her nipples with his tongue. She groaned, her head rolling to the side, her hands flat against the wall at her shoulders as if stapled there.
He’d been waiting for days to taste her, wondering too many times if she’d be sweet or spicy, when after all that writhing and dancing she was salty and musky and warm. He licked his way around the rings that he held away from her breasts, lapping at her areoles and nipples until he couldn’t take it anymore. The scent of her sex drew him down.
Welcome to the jungle where the monkeys run wild . . . Carly Phillips, Janelle Denison, Julie Leto, Leslie Kelly
Destiny
Dirty Little Secrets
Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
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Alison welcome to the Jungle this morning :gobbler:I haven’t read this series but it is one I’m going to go out and get. great excerpt. I will be visiting your website to get a list of books :bigturk have a Happy Thanksgiving :jiveturkey:
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good morning.. thanks for coming and sharing with us.. i havent read these, but i am surely going to find them.. thats what i love about these blogs.. always finding some new awesome stuff to read.. Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving.. going to be a very quiet one here.. :gobbler: :givethanks
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Very hot excerpt! I loved the SG-5 series, can’t wait to read this one.
Hope all of you down there in the U.S. ( and up there in Alaska, lol ) have a great Thanksgiving!!!
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hi Allison,
I love the SG-5 series!!!!
I have the whole series, and now to know that Finn is finally going to get his story is awesome..
I hope everyone has a great Turkey Day!!!
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Welcome to the jungle Alison! I’m heading to B&N tomorrow to get Maximum Exposure and several other books that came out today! I can’t wait to read Finn’s book…maybe I could stop at B&N on the way to my sister’s tonight.
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Wow! What a hot cover….one of those I just stare at. Never read the series, but sounds good. I have wanted to read a book of yours for a long time, now.
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Great excerpt Alison. The cover is really great it just kinda jumps out at you. Is this the title you gave the book or is one the editor thought up? I like it.
Welcome to the jungle! :bigturk
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Great excerpt and I like the name Finn for a hero.
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WHOAH! *dashes to grab a cold shower* What a way to start the day!
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Love the excerpt! :bigturk
Have a great Thanksgiving!
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I can’t wait to read this book!
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Hey, Alison! Always a pleasure to see you here! :wave:
As for the excerpt —
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o wow I could keep on reading!!!!! Thanks for a great teaser today !!! now I want more!!!!!! Have a great day everyone!
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Oh man, I’ve got to read this book! That was way HOT! And here I was making a list for the bookstore… now I know what I want to read
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Hi Alison, welcome to the Jungle! It’s always great to see you here.
Love the excerpt!!
Cher :bigturk
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Now that’s an excerpt to start off the day right!
Thanks, Alison!
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Hi Alison whew! I haven’t read this series but I’ll be heading to the book store to pick it up! Happy Tuesday
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Wow, Alison, that was a great excerpt. I’m definitely looking forward to reading this one.
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great excerpt. count me in. hot cover
:jiveturkey: :bigturk
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Hi Alison. Congratulations on the release of Maximum Exposure. Loved the excerpt.
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Hi Alison,
I love your SG-5 series. That is a fantastic excerpt! I can’t wait to read the whole book. Congratulations on the release of Maximum Exposure!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :jiveturkey:
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You are a new to me author! Yea! Can your books be read out of order or do they build on the last one written?
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:yumturk Everyone here in the Jungle have a wonderful Thanksgiving. :givethanks
:happythanks :turk2 :givethaks :fourturks
:givethaks
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Happy Release Day, Alison. Thanks for the excerpt.
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Happy release day, Alison!
I have enjoyed the books in this series. Am looking forward to reading this one.
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Hi, Alison!
Just picked up the first three of the SG-5 series. Looking forward to reading them this week-end, especially after reading the excerpt.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! :yumturk
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I own a book in this series and it is good….thank you plot monkeys for sharing your website with other authors..
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Whew – that excerpt was
! I’m glad I made it to the party!!
Hope it’s a great night for everyone!
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Great excerpt! Congratulations on your release! I can’t wait to read this book! Happy Thanksgiving! :jiveturkey:
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Thanks for sharing the excerpt, Allison! It sounds great. I look forward to reading it!
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Very
excerpt. Happy Thanksgiving. :yumturk
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Love the SG-5 series. It’d been a long wait for this one.
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Thanks for the excerpt Alison!
I just finished reading “Deep Breath” and I really enjoyed it (I was hoping Finn would get his own book)!
Definately enter me into the contest too (good luck everyone) and Happy Thanksgiving!
:gobbler:
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This book looks really good. I can’t wait to read it.
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Wow! I loved the excerpt. Time to step outside and cool off in the snow.
:happythanks
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I haven’t missed a book in this series and i’m overjoyed a new one is out! Huge congrats Alison! Thank you for the extra excerpt! Now I really got to read it soon! Count me in! Thanks!
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I’m looking forward to reading Maximum Exposure. Thank you for the excerpt!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :yumturk
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Love the excerpt! I’m hooked, as usual. I can’t wait to read this one, Alison!
:gobbler: :gobbler: :gobbler:
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Hi Alison! Congrats on the release of Maximum Exposure! Terrific excerpt! :bigturk
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It sounds great – I’d love to win!
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Yummy cover… great excerpt!
Have a great Thanksgiving all! :jiveturkey:
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I am a huge fan of the SG5 series and have them all on my keeper shelf. Have Maximum Exposure on my Christmas wish list this year.