Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Available Now: Thwarting Cupid

You need a little fantasy romance in your life.




Blurb:

When good cupids go bad...

Carissa Langston is a perfectly lovely woman, so she can't figure out why she's always been single. The higher ups at Cupid Headquarters are wondering the same thing.

What none of them knows is that Quincy, her assigned cupid, fancies himself in love with her. He doesn't think anyone will ever be good enough for her--especially not that James "Hutch" Hutchington person. Who cares if the man is really Carissa's soul mate?

When Carissa and Hutch run into one another after years apart, sparks fly. Quincy does some fancy cupiding to keep them apart--no matter the cost. Can Carissa and Hutch thwart cupid and reach their happily ever after?

WARNING: Cupid hijinks, sexy chemistry between soul mates, and adult content.


Excerpt:

It was obvious that Carissa was starting to buy what Hutch was selling. Quincy needed to do something. Fast.

He took note of a street performer setting up a bit further down the block. The guy was a scrawny kid with wild, shaggy hair that was an impossible shade of red. Artsy tattoos covered his neck and arms. His shirt was threadbare along the edges and his jeans were skinny and tight. Quite an impressive feat considering how small he was.

Quincy kept one ear tuned to Carissa and James, but the rest of him focused on the kid. The black case he’d set on the street had ‘Dragon’ written on the side in flame-like letters. What was this kid going to…Oh!

Quincy flinched along with several other passersby when flames shot out of the kid’s mouth. The next time he did it, the spectacle was a barely-controlled fireball. Nearby pedestrians jumped and gave him wide berth. The kid smiled and shot another flame their way. He never opened his case for people to give him money, so Quincy surmised that he just enjoyed scaring the crap out of people.

“So, just like that. You’ll go to Italy with me?” Quincy tuned back in to James and Carissa’s conversation. Whoa. How’d they get from her being ticked at him to going to Italy together? His multitasking skills needed some serious work.

“Why not? I’ve never been. And I have tons of vacation time accrued. Let’s do it.”

“And you’ll stick to my itinerary? No complaints whatsoever.”

“None at all. I’ll just be along for the ride.”

Not if Quincy could help it. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and pointed at the fire breather. Once he had the man’s subconscious attention, he beckoned him toward the not-to-be couple. On the way, the kid stuck his head between two passing girls and burped up another flame. They screamed and ran. That caught James and Carissa’s attention.

“We should go,” Carissa urged. James glared at the kid, but began walking the other direction, hand in hand with Carissa. Oh no. This would not do.

“Whassamatta, Chief? Kitchen too hot?” Quincy swirled the arrow, drawing the fire breather closer.

“Ignore him,” Carissa said to James and walked faster. Quincy noted how the man fought to make himself go along with her wishes. How cute. He wanted to take a stand. A couple more pushed buttons might make things interesting.

Quincy waved the arrow at the traffic signal. The pedestrian signal turned to ‘don’t walk.’ James and Carissa came to an abrupt halt while cars began to whiz by. That gave the fire breather a chance to catch up.

“What’s a sexy African queen like you doing with this uptight old white dude?”

“Walk away, man.” James warned. Huh. Quincy underestimated the guy’s stones. No matter.
The kid blew some flames their direction. “Or what?”

James pulled Carissa around behind him so his body was between hers and the fire breather. Before Quincy could determine just how big James’s stones were, there was a shout a few feet away.

“Police! Stop right there!”

James, Carissa, Quincy and the kid all turned to see two cops running at them. The fire breather recovered first.

“Shit!” He pushed past James and Carissa to make his escape. James launched himself at the guy and brought him down with a hard tackle. When they hit the ground, another fireball shot from the kid’s mouth--right in James’s face.