Claire de Lune by Robert Appleton & Sloane Taylor

Sloane Taylor and I met many years ago at a writer’s conference in Chicago. I don’t recall much about that conference beyond sitting in the hotel bar with Sloane, sipping a drink (or two), and talking about all the books we wanted to write. And laughing. We laughed a lot. A lot.

Since that conference, Sloane has published 14 hot, erotic romances. For her latest, she hooked up with Robert Appleton to take us out of this world. Claire de Lune is a fantastic book (all of her books are wonderful, and if she isn’t already, I highly recommend you add Sloane to your ‘must read’ list). Seriously, check it out.
 

CLAIRE DE LUNE
Robert Appleton & Sloane Taylor
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-011-5 (Electronic)
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-995-8 (Paperback)
Amber Quill Press – Amber Heat

Genres: Science Fiction / Futuristic / Action / Adventure / Mystery / Detective / Voyeurism
Heat Level: HOT
Length: Novel (70k words)

Buy The E-book
Buy The Paperback

You are invited to the galaxy’s most prestigious beauty pageant. Swimwear optional.
Romance and danger...fully provided...

Cocky young detectives Gerry Rappeneau and Sebastian Thorpe-Campbell arrive at the premier lunar resort expecting a week of eye candy and long massages. With a half-billion-credit purse up for grabs, this year’s pageant is the focus of a hundred worlds. And beauty isn’t the only thing in the eye of the beholder.

One contestant, Evelyn Lyons, is attacked and her assailant killed. Surely a simple case of a stalker gone mad, as nothing bad ever happens at the Selene contest. So the brochure says.

The closer Gerry gets to Evelyn, the more he is convinced she’s hiding something. His meticulous character sparks with her wild, sassy nature, and they embark on a torrid affair. Their forbidden romance isn’t the only thing set to ignite in Pont de Reves.

Sebastian’s infatuation with demure Claire Villiers, another contestant, threatens to put all four of them in harm’s way.

A deadly trail of corporate conspiracy, monstrous assassins and hot bikini wax is more than anyone bargained for in this incendiary erotic mystery. Get ready for some serious heat on the dark side of the moon.


EXCERPT:

Gerry raised his hand, then dropped it back to his side. Nervous as a teenager on his first date, he scrubbed his sweaty palms down his pant legs. A few deep breaths proved another fruitless attempt to calm himself. He stood straighter, ignoring the giggles from farther up the corridor, and cleared his throat. A few ahems later, he managed to find the balls to knock on Evelyn’s door.

His pulse quickened at the click of a switch inside the room. A trace of exotic perfume. The jingle of a purse chain. All familiar, but never old: the details preceding a first date.

A double beep signaled the door unlocking. Evelyn flung it open.

“Hey, thanks for being on time.”

Her greeting wasn’t the most romantic he’d experienced, but, Christ alive, her dress more than made up for it. A deep purple Aeon evening number, off-shoulder, the kind all the hottest policewomen wore to the annual ICLA social on Io.

He’d…um…encountered it before on a few occasions, but never on such mouth-watering curves. When she turned to lock the door, her pert ass and shapely hips, accentuated by a waist-hugging belt, roused his dick to Mach 9.

She wheeled around and flashed him a hungry glance. Her red lipstick, dark eyeliner, and blonde hair tied back, exposing her swan-like neck, conspired to steal his breath.

“You look lovely,” he whispered, ashamed it was the best he could manage without panting like a Labrador in heat.

“Thank you. Love that shirt.” She spun too quickly and almost clashed heads with him, before dropping her keycard into her purse and wrapping the chain around her wrist. She offered him her free arm and added, “Shall we?”

The touch of her soft white skin on his bare arm ghosted him for a moment as they walked to the elevator. He noticed her lip quiver—the girl inside the goddess—and it settled him into his old confident self. Charming, some might say. At the very least, a smoother groove from which to guide the evening.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “Not too far, I hope. We’re supposed to adhere to a strict curfew.”

“Farther than you’ve ever dreamed.”

“Goody. Rules are for wimps anyway. And you are my official bodyguard.” She squeezed his arm to her supple body, her soft breast pressing into him. “Is it expensive? Not that you should spend the Earth on me or anything, but—”

“It’s obscenely expensive. You’ve no idea.”

“Really? And a secret, I take it.”

“And a secret.”

At the elevator, he held the door open and gestured for her to go first. He then followed and pressed the button for the tenth floor. They were alone in the small space, which seemed to shrink as they climbed higher. He watched her reflection in the mirrored wall while inhaling the full body of her delicate honey scent. Delicious. He swallowed hard, mustering all his strength not to wrap her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

The doors pinged open and he led her across a beige carpet and into an elegant tunnel. Pastel murals of strange, exotic landscapes, encompassing all colors, morphed and blended into one another in a rolling three-sixty display that dizzied as much as it dazzled. Evelyn appeared fascinated as she brushed her hand in front of the imagery, wanting to touch those wild alien locales.

Gerry grinned to himself. So far, so good. If she liked this swirling intro, she’d flip for the full service.

LINKS:
Robert Appleton www.robertappleton.co.uk

Sloane Taylor www.sloanetaylor.com