Caridad, thank you so much for giving me some space on your blog. I appreciate it, and hope your readers enjoy this excerpt from my upcoming release from Grand Central Publishing, HEART OF THE DEMON.

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world–or send it spiraling into chaos.

The next opening of the rift is coming-and its consequences will be deadly. A rogue group of human-hating preternaturals is planning an apocalyptic attack, but the Council of Preternaturals may have found the key to saving the world: Keira O’Brien, a fey with a long criminal record, whose empathic abilities once made her the queen of con artists. If she successfully infiltrates the dangerous faction, the sins of her past will be forgiven.

Keira isn’t the only agent working against the rogue prets. Finn Evnissyen, a powerful demon with a dark lineage, is a hired assassin looking for a way out. If he stops the threat, he will finally earn his freedom. As the rift fast approaches, and danger escalates, Finn and Keira must discover if they’re on the same side-or sleeping with the enemy . . .

* ~ *

Feeling the need to appreciate beauty of a different kind, Finn watched Keira, enjoying the way the lighting, strategized to enhance the art, played off her dark red hair. As she scrutinized the painting she chewed on her lower lip. The longer she did it, the more he wanted to be the one to nibble on that plump lip. And he wouldn’t contain himself any longer.

With a low growl, he took her arm and guided her to an alcove a few feet away. The atmosphere and contents of the art gallery might be calming to him, but this woman fired him up like no other. “I’ve wanted to do this since that damned slow dance at the club the other night.”

She looked at him, startled, but he saw no alarm in her eyes. Then humor replaced the surprise. He wasn’t discomfited by it because she always seemed to find something about him that struck her funny bone. Which was all right by Finn. He could laugh at himself, too.

“Someone might come in,” she whispered. She stroked her fingers down his cheek, letting her thumb play across his mouth. He assumed she wasn’t overly concerned by the possibility of being interrupted.

He took a moment to listen to the sounds in the gallery. He couldn’t hear anything but the music and the faint sound of their breaths. He pressed a kiss to the pad of her thumb. “Other than Rudi, we’re the only two in here right now,” he murmured back. “And he’s not going to bother us.”

She looped her arms around his neck, her hands cradling his skull. Her eyes were as blue as he’d ever seen them. “Well, then,” she said with a delectable lilt in her sultry voice, “let’s not waste any time.”

He bent his head and set his mouth on hers. The feel of her lips beneath his was as arousing as the first time he’d kissed her. Giving a low groan, he closed his eyes and pressed her deeper into the alcove, enticing her to part for the sweep of his tongue into her mouth. God, she tasted good. Fresh and sweet with a hint of tartness.

Finn left her lips to explore her jaw, the slope of her neck, the hollow of her throat. Keira shifted, slowly rocking her hips against his, the slide of her body making him hard all over. His muscles tensed, his hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. He went back to her lips, determined to make a meal of the honeyed depths of her mouth.

When she sighed, he drank down her breath like it was the finest of wines. She tightened her fingers in his hair, her mouth becoming more demanding.

After a few minutes he drew back and rested his forehead against hers. She was breathing as harshly as he was, and once he had enough breath to talk he said, “You’re addictive, you know that?”

“No more than you are.” She lifted her head. Looking into his eyes, she said, “Why am I so drawn to you?”

To Finn she sounded like she was trying to work through a particularly knotty problem. “Because I’m so good-looking? And charming. And smart. And—”

“And so obviously modest, too.” She grinned, making the smallest of dimples flash near the left corner of her mouth.

“You didn’t let me finish.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “And a fantastic lover.”

Keira’s expression went serious. “That you are.” She reached up and pushed her fingers through his hair, the tips sliding against his scalp in a caress that made him tilt his head into her touch. “I’m not sure you’re good for me.”

He knew he wasn’t. He was the son of a ruthless demon, and he’d done things he wasn’t proud of. Things that had needed to be done, but still, his past wasn’t something to be gloated over. He wished he could have met her a thousand years ago. A time when he hadn’t been as hardened or as cynical. “If either of us was looking for a long term relationship, I’d agree with you. But we’re not, are we?”

She shook her head. Sadness flicked through her eyes before she chased it away with a smile. “You’re a bad boy through and through, and pure temptation.” She slid her arms around his waist. “Yet you’ve always treated me with nothing but respect and gentleness, in spite of that tough image you project.” Her smiled grew wider. “It’s a good thing I like bad boys.”

HEART OF THE DEMON is the third book in Cynthia Garner’s Warriors of the Rift series and is available February 26th at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and other retailers.

Thank you, Cynthia!

This sounds fabulous! I hope you all enjoyed Cynthia’s visit!

You probably have not seen Mike Woods unless you are in the NY/NJ area, but I just love waking up in the morning to meteorologist Mike Woods. What a cutie! What a smile! No matter what he says about the weather, it doesn’t seem to matter. Did I also mention he’s got a great body?

Mike is not just a pretty face. He holds a seal of approval from the American Meteorological Society (AMS) so he does know what he’s talking about. He’s also an athlete who competed in the Nautica Triathlon and he’s involved in quite a number of charities.

Today I’m sharing with you a little interview with Mike. Hope you enjoyed today’s Man Candy Monday! You can see more of Mike by clicking here!

Also wanted to share with you that we’ve got a bonus going on for you! Purchase THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE and get A GHOST OF A CHANCE free! You get two reads for the price of one and my share of proceeds from sales from now until March 1 of THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE will be going to the Hurricane Sandy NJ Relief Fund.

I recently attended the Olde City, New Blood Conference in St. Augustine. First of all, thank you Jennifer Morrison and all your staff for all your hard work. It was a wonderful conference and I can’t wait to go again!

We had a lovely time at the marvelous panels and events as well as the book fair. It was so nice to meet so many of you who dropped by to say hello and spend some time with me! THANK YOU!

I’ve loaded some photos up for you at my Facebook Fan Page. Don’t worry, the photos are open to the public and you don’t need to do FB to see them!

Here’s a video I shot late on Sunday before I had to head back to snowy NJ. These are some kites they were flying over the beach. Way cool.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Caridad is having a little giveaway and she asked me to pop by and share my gamble on love with you.

For starters, I definitely wasn’t looking for love when I went on this assignment. I’ve worked too long and too hard to prove myself as an FBI Agent and getting involved with a possible suspect . . .No way, no how. Especially one of the Ivanovs. I’d had a run-in with that family before and they were not high on my list of people to like.

And then I met the prince. . .big sigh. From the first moment I walked into his office, he was full of male arrogance and yet as the day wore on I realized Alexander was so not like I thought he’d be. Of course, that could have been a big act to throw me off during the investigation, but as we were thrown together on the assignment I realized I might have been totally wrong.

Of course, that didn’t make things easy for me. Not for the assignment and not for me on a personal level. As a prince, Alexander was used to the kind of woman I could never be. The pretty-in-pink, all dolled-up princess kind of woman. So not me. I was more comfortable with kick-ass boots and my weapons harness.

Until a fairy godmother, none other than the prince’s younger sister, helped me jump into my role as the prince’s lover. When I saw the woman staring back at me, sleek, glamorous and alluring . . .for a moment I wished I could be that kind of woman. . .hangs her head in shame.

Lucky for me that Alexander didn’t expect me to change for him. He was willing to accept me just as I was, although I could kind of get used to playing the princess role every now and then. Especially since Alexander and I were able to work things out and find our happily-ever-after.

As I mentioned, Caridad is hoping you’ll share your story as well for a chance to win an assortment of prizes. So please drop by and share your gamble on love at the Entangled Publishing Facebook page http://on.fb.me/VSkrA3.

Caridad is having a little giveaway and she asked me to pop by and share my gamble on love with you. While I know I look like a bit of a rake in the photo Caridad is sharing with you, let me assure you that I’m not the kind of man to kiss and tell. As a prince and a gentleman, I respect the woman I love, but given that it worked out so well for me, I’d like to hope that you, too, can one day have your happily-ever-after. Not that I thought at first that it I’d have any attraction to Kathleen. From the moment she huffed into my office, full of righteous bluster . . . and twenty minutes late, may I add . . . my one plan was to have my business with her done as as quickly as possible.

God laughs at men who make plans. There was something about her, about her strength and her hesitant beauty, that just ensnared me. I wanted to know why she was so unsure of herself that way and why she hated my guts. That was plainly obvious at that first meeting.

I was not prepared for her dislike on various levels. As a prince, there are those sycophants who will “yes” me to death just because I’m a royal. I detest that since I have always wanted to be judged by what I do and not what I am. Somehow I sensed Kathleen had issues not only with that, but with something far more dangerous. I was determined to show her the man I was, if only to prove her wrong.

Somehow I think we both proved each other wrong and it was a delightful lesson to learn. But as I said, I’m not the kind of man to kiss and tell. Suffice it to say, Kathleen and I found our way to our happily-ever-after. I hope you find your way there as well.

As I mentioned, Caridad is hoping you’ll share your story as well for a chance to win an assortment of prizes. So please drop by and share your gamble on love at the Entangled Publishing Facebook page http://on.fb.me/VSkrA3 or leave your story here if you do not use Facebook!

Tomorrow through Feb 16th, visit with me at the wonderful Fools For Luv Blogspot for a chance to win an assortment of prizes, including three of my erotic e-novellas – NIGHT OF THE COUGAR, THE VAMPIRE’S CONSORT and NOCTURNAL WHISPERS.