The book cover for Raven’s Seduction has been selected to take part in the AllAuthor’s monthly “Cover of the Month” contest. The top 100 covers with the most votes will move onto the 2nd round of the competition on October 7th.
To vote, click on the button below.
He touches me without laying a hand on me. He caresses my soul without speaking a word. How can I resist him when seduction is his superpower?
A teaser from Simone for your reading pleasure…
A little over two months ago, she hijacked my heart. I’d only been in New York for a week. I was in the process acclimating to the metro transportation system when a loud female voice jolted me.
“Yo, what the fuck are you looking at?” she said, her raw tone laced with that New Yorker’s accent.
She garnered the attention of everyone on that car.
I looked up from my phone to find a stunning girl glaring at some dude standing across from her.
“I’m looking at you, mami,” he announced with a smarmy grin.
“I suggest you avert your eyes before I pluck them outta your fuckin’ head, hombre.”
He laughed, which sounded forced. “You ain’t much to look at anyway, uppity black puta.” Hanging on to the railing, he made his way to my end of the car. He may have had the last word, but the scowl on his face indicated that his ego had taken a hit.
After that, I found myself helplessly obsessed with her.
Simone typically sat on the same bench every day, and every day I moved a little closer to her. Took me two months to muster up the courage to sit right across from her. Wonder how long it would take to occupy the same bench as her. I watched her through the throng of bodies swaying with the motion of the car, like I did every morning. I tried many times, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I never could. I was blatantly staring again.
A shudder coasted across the walls of the vehicle, making it lurch.
That’s when she looked up. She glanced to the left then the right and forward, where our gazes clashed.
Oh God, oh God… Oh God! The furious knocking beneath my chest increased. A bout of heat spread throughout my entire body.
Please don’t curse me out. I can’t help but stare.
Available At:
Ice Dragon Press: https://yvonnenicolas.com/simone
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Uz8lvM
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2VQKw2E
Apple: https://apple.co/2F8qBGZ
Google Books: https://bit.ly/2JibOxI
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/simone-24
“I don’t know what it is about her, but she sets my soul on fire by simply existing.”
SIMONE, AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
AMAZON: https://goo.gl/UKePos
B&N: https://goo.gl/GBze7g
Apple: https://goo.gl/33St65
Kobo: https://goo.gl/PqZydd
Hips swaying, she sashayed across the stage with her electric guitar, Venom, in tow. Her swarthy skin shimmered like dark diamonds under the spotlights. Strawberry blonde dreadlocks cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. She swept a gaze over the eager crowd. The lights caught the spark in her haunting eyes, adding to her seductive allure.
A jeweled choker adorned her long neck. Fashioned from leather and lace, a crimson corset hugged her torso, and a short plaid skirt flared out over her bodacious hips. Completing her stage ensemble, skin-tight leather clung to her legs, and a pair of red, wedge-heeled sneakers sparkled on her feet.
This woman was a rock goddess haloed in lights. Wielding her mighty guitar, she ruled the stage and everyone beyond it.
Our mistress, Queen Sting.
Stirring with great anticipation, the crowd waited. Not one person shifted their attention from the stage.
A wicked smirk graced her face. Positioned at the microphone, she whirled Venom in front of her and teased the strings with her long, scarlet painted nails. Her glossy lips parted and her tongue slid out, revealing a sparkling guitar pick. She plucked it off her tongue and cooed in a husky timbre, “‘S’up, sexy bitches.”
A voluminous roar bounced off the club’s walls as the sea of people went into frenzy.
“Allow me to introduce my band of badasses!” With one hand wrapped around Venom’s neck, she ripped the pick across the taut strings. The electric guitar released a rebellious cry. It soared through the large speakers like a thunderous strike. “On bass is my Californian playboy… Chase.”
The bright eyed, floppy-haired kid to her left strummed the golden beauty hanging from his neck, drawing screams from the women in the audience.
“On keys, the sexiest man you’re ever gonna lay eyes on… Becca.”
With his lengthy hair draped over the sides of his face, the guy to her right flashed an enticing smile as he fingered the keys on his instrument. The crazed screams only grew louder.
“And on drums, my brotha from another motha… Slice! Hit it, baby!”
Surrounded by a shiny percussion set, the muscular man in the fedora whipped his stick from one drum to the other, delivering a brutal beating. A wild cadence resonated through the building.
“I’m MonaLisa and we are Scorpion Tail!” The band thundered into a hard-edged rhythm with their mistress leading the way. “Say your prayers, ‘cause we’re about to rock you ‘til death!” Her raspy voice surged into song, “It courses through your veins, my sweet, poisonous kiss… Take me again like that, fill me with your painful bliss… Let me thank you for your pretty lies and smiling deceit… I’ll remember you, only for the days of pain and nights of grief…”
Even though the lyrics she delivered were ominous in their nature, her voice was hypnotic. Spellbinding.
Struck in complete awe, Toshiro watched her strum her magnificent guitar, with her dreads swaying wildly about under the flashing lights.
Her gaze locked on him, a sultry smile followed. “Tell me you wanna die, baby, just for a taste… Give me your soul as you fall in my embrace…”
Can she see me through the blinding lights and sea of jerking bodies? The idea she could separate him from the mob was a fool’s fantasy, but the possibility sent an unrelenting shudder down his body. Even though the building was packed from wall to wall with people caught under her spell, he felt like he was the only one in the club.
She’s singing and playing just for me.
His bones vibrated with the heart-thumping pulse, his blood ran hot. The taste of her lips lingered in his memory. The thought of her poisonous kiss tightened his groin. He couldn’t rip his eyes away, no matter how hard he tried. From that moment on, he couldn’t deny it. He was enthralled, bound to her in body and spirit, and he would never be able to live without her.
MonaLisa…
After attaching my bipod, I slipped on my black leather gloves then took my post.
One-thirty p.m. Like clockwork, Deverati’s snowy Bugatti whipped around the corner and parallel parked across the street from Café Josephine.
“Alright Half-a-mil, let’s do this.” I watched the car through my scope, anxious for the moment my mark revealed himself.
The butterfly door on the driver side swung open, he stepped out and the world shifted into slow motion.
“Daaayum,” I breathed out.
The Italian leather shoes, tailored black slacks and tan trench coat fit him to perfection. A gust of wind breezed by and flared his coat’s tail, adding to the magnificence of his striking presence. A pair of dark Aviators hid his eyes. Sheer arrogance poured off of him in waves as he strutted across the street.
When he disappeared into Josephine’s Cafe, the world returned to its normal pace and I caught my breath.
Fuck the pictures! This man was gorgeous. Even his swagger was a thing of beauty.
Before returning to my sniper scope, I blinked twice. “Focus, Monroe,” I whispered as I mentally reminded myself of the mission.
Eliminate the target.
His superciliousness alone justified him as being more than worthy of a visit from my bullet. But, as I watched him walk across the street with his standard large latte in hand, something about him intrigued me, and it wasn’t just his looks.
Three men were huddled over a table in the far corner of the bar area, where they conversed, laughed and enjoyed their drinks. Like they’d just stepped off the stage of a Shakespearian play, they sported costumes that were stylishly dated for a Masquerade ball, capes and all. Neither one of them appeared to be in our age bracket. In fact, they looked like cougar bait. That made me feel old.
The one Allison had her eyes on, a smooth cocoa brother with a wavy fade, snapped his attention our way. The two men at his sides―one looked Latin and the other white―followed suit.
Uh-oh. I fidgeted uncomfortably under their steady gazes. Allison, on the other hand, flashed a megawatt smile, assumed a provocative stance and stuck her voluptuous chest out for their scrutiny.
“Looks like they’re going to a Masquerade too.” The words slid off Allison’s tongue like she’d just tasted something scrumptious. “One of every flavor. A yummy man swirl.”
Oh goodness, trouble!
Mischief played in Allison’s steely blue eyes. No doubt about it, I was about to be yanked into an awkward, uncomfortable situation. I started getting the jitters. The pounding beneath my chest grew faster at the sparkle in Allison’s leer and the developing interest from the beautiful young men across the way.
Desperate to get out of the building before Allison made her move, I inched closer to the exit. “Let’s go ahead and get our cab, Ally. Running late, remember?”
Her white gloved hand caught me by the wrist. “Trying to run off on me, honey.”
“I’m trying to go hail a cab. You cussed me out for making us late and now you wanna set us back further?”
“They are worth the set back.” Her eyes glued on the handsome gents, she murmured, “Besides, the party doesn’t jump off until we arrive anyway.”
“No girl, I see what you’re ‘bout to do, and I’m not comfortable with it.” I tried to sound stern and serious, but the alcohol sailing through my system made my voice waver and slur. Dang, I’m a lightweight.
“Uh-huh, right, let’s go see if they’re going to the same ball.”
“Please don’t do this,” I begged as I was pulled across the cream tiles to the bar area. “Allison, don’t…”
The closer we got to the threesome, the hotter they became. By the time we stepped onto the carpeted area, I wasn’t resisting anymore. What’s the use anyway? Allison was going to drag me into the mix one way or another.
