April 7 is release day for Full Contact, the third book in my Redemption series of standalone erotic fighter romance novels!
To celebrate I want to share the top three things I learned about mixed martial arts while researching the series.
1.
If you have a dirty mind like
me, MMA is full of sexually suggestive terms.
Fighters take the
"dominant" position, and try to force opponents into
"submission." Some favour the Ground and Pound, and others like the
good 'ol Rear Naked Choke. And don't get me started on the "mount."
Time to whip out your copy of Fifty Shades of Grey.
2.
Fighters train with dummies.
Often life-like (although sadly
not anatomically correct) fight training dummies come in all manner of shapes
and sizes, with names like Grapple Man and my personal fave, the Submission
Master. Dark and mysterious, the Submission Master “holds its arms and legs up
where they belong… not flat out on the floor.” If you're feeling kinky after
reading over a glossary of MMA terms, you can have them both.
3.
Fighters have ring names
For obvious reasons, fighters are
not allowed to choose their own ring names. If you’re a good fighter and have
lots of friends in the gym, you might luck out and be named Destroyer or Axe
Murderer. But if you piss off your team, you’ll be sitting in the sidelines
with a name like Twinkle Toes, Cushie, or Babalu.
What’s your ring name? Check it
out on the Fighter Name Generator below. http://www.bleedingmedia.com/fighter_name_generator.php
Check out the blurb and excerpt below:
Blurb:
Ray wraps his arms around me and
holds me tight as if something terrible has happened and he doesn’t want to let
me go.
Full Contact. This is how Ray
speaks when his emotions overwhelm him. I melt into his stillness. His body is
hot and hard, his breath warm on my neck. He smells of leather and sweat, sex
and sin. Nothing can tear me away.
When you can’t resist the one
person who could destroy you…
Sia O'Donnell can’t help but
push the limits. She secretly attends every underground MMA fight featuring The
Predator, the undisputed champion. When he stalks his prey in the ring, Sia is
mesmerized. He is dominant and dangerous and every instinct tells her to run.
Every beautiful thing Ray “The
Predator” touches he knows he’ll eventually destroy. Soft, sweet and innocent,
Sia is the light to Ray's darkness—and completely irresistible. From the moment
he lays eyes on her, he knows he’s going to have to put his dark past behind
him to win her body and soul.
The Redemption Series
Against the Ropes
In Your Corner
Full Contact
Excerpt:
Except for the White Buffalo’s cover of “House of the Rising Sun”
playing in the background, there is no sound except the rasp of Ray’s breath as
his chest rises and falls under my hand. Although I’ve done shoulder and pec
tattoos countless times, the intimacy of this position sends a shiver through
my body. Longing grips me hard and fierce, and I scramble to regain some
semblance of control. Maybe a little conversation.
“So, did you catch your bad guy?”
“No. Still after him.”
When I look up, Ray is watching me. He is so close I can see the
stubble of his five o’clock shadow, the thickness of his lashes, his eyes
deepening to an azure blue. I force myself to look into them and swallow hard.
“Everything okay?”
Apparently not. Jaw tight, muscles quivering, he captures me with
his glance. “Your hair.”
I give my head a slight shake and my ponytail swings back and
forth. “What’s wrong with my hair?”
“Take it down.” He fingers a loose tendril beside my ear, his
authoritative tone sending a wave of heat raging through me.
“I keep it up so it’s out of the way.”
“Down.”
“I’ll have to take off my gloves first, and then I’ll have to…” My
words die in my throat when he strokes his hand over my hair, front to back.
With one sharp jerk, he tugs out my ponytail holder and my hair tumbles around
my shoulders.
“Beautiful.”
Trembling, painfully and desperately aroused, I pick up the razor
and shaving gel from my tray. “I…have to shave you.” My voice drops to a
throaty whisper, and if that doesn’t tell him what he does to me, nothing will.
Another curt nod. But then he’s not a talkative type. I’ve never
seen him hanging out with the other fighters after the gym closes for the
night, and not once has he ever joined us for drinks after a fight.
Taking a deep breath, I steady my hand, then smooth the gel over
his skin. But when I dip the razor, Ray tenses, his fist clenching and
unclenching beside my hip.
A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. “Don’t worry. I’ve never
cut anyone. I’ll be gentle.”
“Man lives the life I’ve lived, he’s not used to gentle.”
Tilting my head to the side, I meet his gaze. “You never had
anyone be gentle with you?”
“I usually scare the gentle ones away.”
“I can’t imagine why.” My hand relaxes and I stroke the razor
across his skin. Stroke and dip. Stroke and dip. The rhythmic movement calms my
fraught nerves, but with every touch, tension builds between us until it is
almost a living, palpable thing. “You’re not so scary.” I tease the blade
around his nipple and Ray sucks in a sharp breath.
“Sia—” He chokes off his words so I continue talking, keeping my
voice low and even, soothing the savage beast trapped in my chair.
“I have to admit, in the ring, you’re pretty terrifying. You have
so much power and yet you keep it so tightly leashed. But when you let it go”—I
look up and my cheeks heat—“I think it’s thrilling. But you keep it in control.
You never go too far. That’s where I see the beauty.”
Ray stares at me as if entranced, heaving his breaths, his gaze
focused, intent. Even when Slim walks past to grab some supplies and then heads
back to the private rooms, Ray doesn’t take his eyes off me.
“Slim ink the butterfly too?” He leans forward and lightly touches
the butterfly tat on my shoulder. I yank the razor away in case he becomes my
first ever casualty.
“Yeah he did. I have one on the other shoulder too. Slim’s a real
master. When he was finished with the roses and thorns, I felt like something
was missing. I wanted hope and freedom. And yellow, because it’s my favorite
color. He came up with the butterflies.”
“Would have thought black was your favorite color.” He gestures to
my clothes. “You always wear black.”
“Yellow is my secret favorite color.” I give him a half smile.
“Not many people know.”
Ray gives a grunt of satisfaction, and I feel a little tingle at
the thought that I’ve pleased him. He traces the outline of the little
butterfly and pleasure ripples through my body.
“Looks just like a butterfly I caught when I was a kid. I watched
it for hours. Learned a hard lesson that day. I wanted to touch it and I was
too rough. Must’ve broken its wing. When I let it go, it couldn’t fly.”
“You can touch me. I won’t break.”
His jaw tightens, and I curse myself for being so flippant about
what was probably an upsetting moment in his childhood. What the hell is wrong
with me? He shares an actual piece of personal information and I show no
sympathy at all. Not only that, but now I’m begging for his attention.
After a few more strokes with the blade, I wash him off, then I spritz
him with disinfectant. In my zeal, I spray not only the area to be inked, but
the rest of his torso as well. Damn klutz side strikes again. “Sorry. Forgot to
reduce the nozzle.” Grabbing a sterile cloth, I dry his chest then work my way
over his rippled abdomen. His muscles quiver beneath my touch as I pat along
the soft, dusky trail of hair, following it down to his belt. Imagining where
it might go.
He tenses when I near his buckle and gives a strangled grunt.
“S’good.”
My gaze drifts below his belt, to the bulge in his jeans. He is
fully erect, his shaft straining against his fly. A naughty thrill of
excitement shoots through my veins. He’s aroused because of me.
“Um…do you want to take a break before I apply the stencil?”
He shakes his head, then leans forward and sweeps his hand through
my hair, letting the strands slide through his fingers. A sigh escapes my lips
as delicious sensations sweep through my body. I am on fire. And although I’ve
been with men before, I’ve never been immobilized by a single touch.
“So soft.” He runs his hand over my hair again, this time trailing
his fingers along my shoulder. His thumb glides over my throat and he curls his
hand around my neck. “So fucking delicate.”
I am burning. Consumed by fire. A burst of need drives a whimper
up my throat, and I choke it back as his thumb circles the sensitive hollow at
the base of my neck. Firm. Unyielding. Dominant. With one squeeze, he could
break me. The way I was broken before. The way he broke the butterfly. And yet
nothing could tear me away from this moment.
Pre-order Links:
Amazon: http://bit.ly/Full_Contact
B&N: http://bit.ly/FullContactBN
Chapters: http://bit.ly/1vTl9wi
Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1zmfjqQ
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"Captain Crush," here. ;) I can't tell you how excited I am to see Ray "the Predator" and Sia's story hitting the shelves and e-readers! I heart the Predator. He's a killer hero. Congratulations, Sarah!
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