Darkness Embraced Part 33

I moved to the next item. The leather was as smooth as suede against my cheek. I fol owed the line of rich cowhide ta.s.sels. I knew by the feel of the leather against my cheek that it was a versatile flogger, capable of producing either a sharp, stinging slap or a light, erotic tickle. It al depended on how Renata chose to wield it.

I trailed my face to the base and opened my mouth, catching it between my teeth. Only then, only when I had selected the flogger, did I place my hands on the floor and crawl to her.

The edge of her skirts brushed the tops of my hands and I raised, letting the flogger fal from my lips into her lap.

She laughed and I knew she had retrieved it. "Ti amo," she said, caressing my face. "Ti amo, cara mia."

Those fingers tickled down my cheek, sweeping lower to the line of my throat.

There are those Elders that thought less of me because I had been the Queen's beloved pet, because they believed that love and submission were for the weak of heart and faint of wil . On the contrary, I had learned that to love, one must carry a reservoir of great strength. Their judgments and frowns did not trouble me overmuch. Behind the doors to Renata's bedchambers, she al owed me to be al that I am and more.

She accepted the whole of my being without question, without doubt, and most importantly, without judgment. She did not ask that I restrain any aspect of myself, both the strong and the weak.

I was simply her Epiphany.

About the Author.

Winter Pennington is an author, poet, artist, and closeted musician. She is an avid pract.i.tioner of nature-based spirituality and enjoys spending her spare time studying mythology from around the world. The Celtic path is very close to her heart. She has an uncanny fascination with swords and daggers, and a fondness for feeding loud and obnoxious corvids. In the shadow of her writing, she has experience working with a plethora of animals as a pet care specialist and veterinary a.s.sistant.

Winter currently resides in Oklahoma with her partner and their ever-growing family of furry kids, also known as, The Felines Extraordinaire.

Books Available From Bold Strokes Books.

Darkness Embraced by Winter Pennington. Surrounded by harsh vampire politics and secret ambitions, Epiphany learns that an old enemy is plotting treason against the woman she once loved, and to save al she holds dear, she must embrace and form an al iance with the dark. (978-1-60282-221-4) 78 Keys by Kristin Marra. When the cosmic powers choose Devorah Rosten to be their next gladiator, she must use her unique skils to try to save her lover, herself, and even humankind. (978-1-60282-222-1) Playing Pa.s.sion's Game by Lesley Davis. Trent Wiliams's only pa.s.sion in life is gaming-until Juliet Sulivan makes her realize that love can be a whole different game to play. (978-1-60282-223-8) Retirement Plan by Martha Miler. A modern morality tale of justice, retribution, and women who refuse to be politely invisible. (978-1- 60282-224-5) Who Dat Whodunnit by Greg Herren. Popular New Orleans detective Scotty Bradley investigates the murder of a dethroned beauty queen to clear the name of his pro footbal playing cousin. (978-1-60282- 225-2) The Company He Keeps by Dale Chase. A riotously erotic colection of stories set in the s.e.xualy repressed and therefore s.e.xualy rampant Victorian era. (978-1-60282-226-9) Cursebusters! by Julie Smith. Budding-psychic Reeno is the most accomplished teenage burglar in California, but one tiny screw-up and poof!-she's sentenced to Bad Girl School. And that isn't even her worst problem. Her sister Haley's dying of an il ness no one can diagnose, and now she can't even help. (978-1-60282-559-8) True Confessions by PJ Trebelhorn. Lynn Patrick finaly has a chance with the only woman she's ever loved, her lifelong friend Jessica Greenfield, but Jessie is stil tormented by an abusive past. (978-1- 60282-216-0) Jane Doe by Lisa Girolami. On a getaway trip to Las Vegas, Emily Carver gambles on a chance for true love and discovers that sometimes in order to find yourself, you have to start from scratch. (978-1-60282- 217-7) Ghosts of Winter by Rebecca S. Buck. Can Ros Wynne, who has lost everything she thought defined her, find her true life-and her true love- surrounded by the lingering history of the once-grand Winter Manor? (978-1-60282-219-1) Who I Am by M.L. Rice. Devin Kely's senior year is a disaster. She's in a new school in a new town, and the school buly is making her life miserable- but then she meets his sister Melanie and realizes her feelings for her are more than platonic. (978-1-60282-231-3) Call Me Softly by D. Jackson Leigh. Polo pony trainer Swain Butler finds that neither her heart nor her secret are safe when beautiful British heiress Lilie Wetherington arrives to bury her grandmother, Swain's employer. (978-1-60282-215-3) Split by Mel Bossa. Weeks before Derek O'Reily's engagement party, a chance meeting with Nick Lund, his teenage first love, catapults him into the past, where he relives that powerful relationship revealing what he and Nick were, stil are, and might yet be to each other. (978- 1-60282-220-7) Blood Hunt by LL Raand. In the second Midnight Hunters Novel, Detective Jody Gates, heir to a powerful Vampire clan, forges an uneasy aliance with Sylvan, the Wolf Were Alpha, to battle a shadow army of humans and rogue Weres, while fighting her growing hunger for human reporter Becca Land.

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Loving Liz by Bobbi Marolt. When theater actor Marty Jamison turns diva and Liz Chandler walks out on her, Marty must confront a cheating lover from the past to understand why life is crumbling around her. (978-1-60282-210-8) Kiss the Rain by Larkin Rose. How wil successful fashion designer Eve Harris react when she discovers the new woman in her life, Jodi, and her secret fantasy phone date, Lexi, are one and the same? (978- 1-60282-211-5) Sarah, Son of G.o.d by Justine Saracen. In a story within a story within a story, a transgendered beauty takes us through Stonewal-rioting New York, Venice under the Inquisition, and Nero's Rome. (978-1- 60282-212-2) Sleeping Angel by Greg Herren. Eric Matthews survives a terrible car accident only to find out everyone in town thinks he's a murderer-and he has to clear his name even though he has no memories of what happened. (978-1-60282-214-6) Dying to Live by Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou. British socialite Zoe Anderson-Howe's pampered life is abruptly shattered when she's taken hostage by FARC guerril as while on a business trip to Bogota, and Elite Operative Fletch must rescue her to complete her own harrowing mission. (978-1-60282-200-9) Indigo Moon by Gil McKnight. Werewolves Hope Gla.s.sy and G.o.dfrey Meyers are on a mercy mission to save their friend Isabele after she is attacked by a rogue werewolf-but does Isabel e want to be saved from the s.e.xy wolf who claimed her as a mate? (978-1-60282-201-6) Parties in Congress by Colette Moody. Bijal Rao, Indian-American moderate Independent, gets the break of her career when she's hired to work on the congressional campaign of Janet Denton-until she meets her remarkably attractive and charismatic opponent, Col een O'Bannon. (978-1-60282-202-3) The Collectors by Leslie Gowan. Laura owns what might be the world's most extensive colection of BDSM lesbian erotica, but that's as close as she's gotten to the world of her fantasies. Until, that is, her friend Adele introduces her to Adele's mistress Jeanne-art col ector, heiress, and experienced dominant. With Jeanne's first command, Laura's life changes forever. (978-1-60282-208-5) Breathless, edited by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman. Bold Strokes Books romance authors give readers a glimpse into the lives of favorite couples celebrating special moments "after the honeymoon ends." Enjoy a new look at lesbians in love or revisit favorite characters from some of BSB's best-sel ing romances. (978-1-60282-207-8) Breaker's Pa.s.sion by Julie Cannon. Leaving a trail of broken hearts scattered across the Hawaiian Islands, surf instructor Colby Taylor is running ful speed away from her selfish actions years earlier until she col ides with Elizabeth Col ins, a stuffy, judgmental col ege professor who changes everything.

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Justifiable Risk by V.K. Powel. Work is the only thing that interests homicide detective Greer Elis until internationaly renowned journalist Eva Saldana comes to town looking for answers in her brother's death-then attraction threatens to override duty. (978-1- 60282-197-2) Nothing But the Truth by Ca.r.s.en Taite. Sparks fly when two top-notch attorneys battle each other in the high-risk arena of the courtroom, but when a strange turn of events turns one of them from advocate to witness, prosecutor Ryan Foster and defense attorney Brett Logan join forces in their search for the truth. (978-1-60282- 198-9) Maye's Request by Clifford Henderson. When Brianna Bel promises her ailing mother she'l heal the rift between her "other two" parents, she discovers how little she knows about those closest to her and the impact family has on the fabric of our lives. (978-1- 60282-199-6)

By the Author.

Witch Wolf.

Raven Mask.

Darkness Embraced.