Guest post: Hold My Hand, by Paloma Beck

We interrupt this blog (and the silly school serial starring yours truly) to bring you a very special guest post from a very talented author: the delightful, the fragrant, the one and only… Paloma Beck!

(Paloma has a racy new book out, you see, and like all smart people she knows that the way to megasales and untold riches is an appearance on the mighty Naughty Little Writer).

I’ll be in the next room scribbling the next instalment of Penny’s misadventures, so play nice!

Thanks to Penelope for having me today. This is the start of my promotions for Hold My Hand, my very first self-published book. With my first two series contracted through a publisher, I decided to try something different for my NaNoWriMo project. I wrote 98% of the book in November 2012 but the origins of the book go back even further... to a dream...

I had a dream. That’s how my latest release started. Don’t worry... my hero is not a vampire and I’m not going to tell you he sparkles! However, a character coming to authors in dreams is not such a far-fetched idea. We’re creative people, after all, and I suspect authors’ subconscious is brimming with characters waiting to tell their stories. When we sleep, our subconscious is relaxed and open which makes for the perfect opportunity.

Characters have come to me this way before but never as clearly as Aubrey spoke to me. In fact, the first bit of the book is the running monologue that woke me. Not able to go back to sleep or get it out of my head, I plucked myself out of bed and recorded everything she said. Did she have a story to tell! She’d come from a sad place and was now afraid to embrace her chance at happiness. Since I specialize in Happily Ever Afters, I was up for the challenge. Though she threw more at me than I first expected, William became the perfect hero for her and, I suspect, more up to the challenge of her HEA than even me.

Enjoy an excerpt of Hold My Hand, a story about Aubrey & William. Aubrey has been hurt in the past, discouraged by her family and degraded by a heartless father. Still, William sees something in her that won't allow him to walk away. Instantly drawn to her but intuitive enough to take it slowly, he courts her. Then he bargains, persuades and seduces until his commanding nature ensnares her. Despite the fight she puts up in accepting William's lifestyle, the bonds he places on Aubrey give her a freedom she desperately needs. Together, they heal old wounds and find their perfect love.

Hold My Hand is a contemporary BDSM-lite Romance with consensual Spanking Elements. Enjoy!

EXCERPT ©Paloma Beck, 2013

Drawn from my thoughts by the movement at the coffee shop door, I saw him. William. His eyes surveyed the small shop and then rested on me, a smile lightening his face and causing those strong creases around his eyes to deepen. I wondered about his age. There was more character in his face than I detected in the men my age. I thought maybe he was a lot older than I was but I didn’t know for certain then. He hadn’t told me and I hadn’t asked. I hadn’t asked much of him.

William was a vision to behold and I sat a bit straighter knowing he was there for me. He walked with purpose, confidence radiating from him like beams of the sun that caused you to shield your eyes and look away. Still, you crave the touch of the sun’s warmth. He’s like that. I sensed I should turn away but was drawn to him at the same time.

I was caught by him; absolutely, unintentionally ensnared. Held by the look in his cocoa brown eyes when he spoke, commanding me. I shivered at his words as if they were touches sliding down my spine. His commands –even the simplest instructions over dinner– invoked a fear in me that served only to feed my need for him, my desire. I wanted to sink myself into him. I wanted my life to become his even though I knew –there’s a part of me that truly recognized–wanting such a deep claiming was maybe somehow wrong, I could no more help my desire than I could resist taking my next breath. It was him. He created this desire within me and I wanted nothing more than to allow him to lead me, to guide me, to dominate me. I craved his power over me so purely that I only needed to follow.

I’m not the only person in the small coffee shop who looked up and noticed him when he entered and that little tinkling bell rang over his head. He was jaw dropping handsome. The black shirt he wore stretched across his broad shoulders and was tucked neatly into a pair of black trousers. William dressed this way every time I’d seen him. His attire reflected his ever-demanding role as the businessman I knew him to be though I didn’t know yet what business exactly. Another question I’d failed to ask.

The dark curls that fell onto his nape and down his forehead were slightly wet. I noticed the gym bag hanging from his shoulder and couldn’t help but consider just a few short minutes ago, this magnificent man was naked, wet in a shower rinsing the sweat from his body. I also couldn’t help but wish I’d been with him to clean him, running my hands down his chest, lathering soap and stroking him. It seemed all I ever wanted, especially since our dinner, was to be with him. Even before I ever was, even just when I was watching him, I would dream of him. Yet my unlearned body doesn’t quite comprehend what being with him would feel like.

“Aubrey” His voice was deep, husky and warm. The word alone kicked up my heart rate. Then he took my hand from the table, raised it towards his lips, turned my palm over and kissed my wrist. The touch of his warm skin on my pulse point made me jump.

*****

Hold My Hand is currently only available through Smashwords but will release at all other major ebook retailers on April 1, 2013. You can check out Aubrey’s Pinterest Board and mark the book as Want To Read on Goodreads today!

About Paloma
Paloma Beck is a Romance Author living a life of contradiction... she's a happily married carpooling mom writing erotic romance. It's almost naughty! Paloma writes in both the Contemporary and Paranormal realms, journaling the stories her characters tell her, and they are anything but PG. She dabbles in vampires, witches, ménage, spanking and bdsm - all in her books, of course. Paloma believes a daily dose of espresso and a good book make any day better.

She is currently working on a contemporary romance series about three brothers. Finding Home, book two, will be released sometime in 2013 with Secret Cravings Publishing. She also has a paranormal romance series, The Seven Sin Sisters, contracted with Secret Cravings Publishing, which will be released sequentially between August 2012 and August 2013.

Paloma has committed herself as a volunteer staff member for MFRW, the Marketing for Romance Writers group, an association committed to the success of romance authors. She manages the MFRW Pinterest Boards.

Connect with Paloma:
Website: http://palomabeck.weebly.com
Tumblr: http://palomabeck.tumblr.com
Blog: http://RomanceBeckons.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalomaBeck
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PalomaBeckAuthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/PalomaBeck
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/PalomaBeck
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Paloma-Beck