DARK DESIGNS: The Sneak Preview

by Madelynne Ellis

'Shhh! Quick, is anybody looking?'

'No - right then, lets get set up!'

So, it's the last Friday of the month tomorrow, which means it's time for our Monthly Sexy Snippet, when I'm expected to take to the floor with my 'award-winning' (how did that happen), tribute to yaoi manga and Gothic decadence. But, you know, I thought what's wrong with celebrating Thursday too? Maybe we could kick back and get in the mood a bit.


Ahem! Book Blurb

'Silk inclined his head a fraction and let the very corners of his lips curl upward, letting most of his response come from his eyes. Remy swallowed hard. It was like getting a come-on from a panther - aggressively, knicker-wettingly sexual.'

As the designer for an opulent gothic wedding, Remy Davies is under pressure. There's the over-stressed bride, a trinity of vampire-obsessed bridesmaids, a wayward groom, and then there's the best man... Silk looks as if he was drawn by a manga artist; beautiful, exotic, and with a predatory sexuality. She has to have him, in her bed and between the pages of her new catalogue. Remy is about to launch herself into the alternative fashion world, and Silk is going to sell it for her whether he knows it or not. But Silk is nobody's toy, and for all his androgyny, he's determinedly heterosexual. Pity, since Remy's biggest fantasy is to see him making out with her sometime-boyfriend, Japanese biker Takeshi.

Teaser:

Remy rubbed her brow and tried to focus on costumes. Alix was becoming mutinous, partially due to hunger, and partially because she was sick of making her two rivals look good. Takeshi was cavalier play-acting and Silk - well now! Dare she ask him to strip for the camera?

'Quit bloody obsessing, Remy,' Alix barked. 'Sort them out. I've been at this five fucking hours, you've got two minutes before I pack up and go in.'

It took less than thirty seconds to dress Silk. He looked like a manga character anyway. She just added the coachman's coat to the formal three-piece tail-suit he was wearing, and asked him to braid his hair. She wanted him to tease it out as his clothes came off, until it swirled around him, dusting his bare calves. Takeshi took a bit longer, a fact Alix conveniently overlooked, despite a loudly rumbling stomach. They swapped the knee breeches for leather jeans, lost the shirt and added his own leather jacket with the picture of the girl, then a long duster coat. Somehow the contrast between the two men worked, although they began shooting most of the poses separately.

They'd been at it about twenty minutes. Silk was stripped down to shirt and trousers, and Takeshi to just his leathers. Remy had them posed like lovers, with Takeshi's hand upon Silk's shoulder and their heads tilted towards one another. But the tension between them seemed to be running at an all time high. Between shots, Silk seemed to be making it clear he was there under duress. Remy wondered if she was expected to feel obligated to him after this.

'Closer, and look into each other's eyes,' Remy demanded. Despite the pressure, she was enjoying herself immensely. 'It needs more intimacy.'

Takeshi leaned forward and brushed his lips against Silk's.

Well, that was intimate!

Silk's lips parted in surprise. Takeshi snaked an arm around his waist and moulded their bodies together from hip to thigh. Silk retaliated by shoving Takeshi off his feet, followed by a wordless snarl of fury.

Remy's carefully constructed fantasy fell apart, although Alix gleefully continued snapping expressions. 'Yey, fight!' she cheered.

Takeshi snatched up the great sword and forced Silk back against the rim of the fountain. The tip of the metal beast pressed between the open edges of Silk's shirt making cold contact with the skin...

**********

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the rest of the extract, when I'll also be giving away a signed copy of DARK DESIGNS packaged in honour of Silk's chocolate addiction with a 400g bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk.

If you can't wait that long, you could always zip over to my website, where you can read the naughty and somewhat sordid tale of Remy and Takeshi's first encounter.

Madelynne xxx

http://madelynne-ellis.com/

PS. I have no idea why the book cover features a man in drag sporting a clown wig, since I have no memory of including such a character.