It’s #StarkOnSaturday again — and that means it’s time for other snippet from the upcoming Claim Me, book two in the Stark Trilogy that began with Release Me.

“While I would love to carpool with you, I’m afraid that’s not possible today.” He leans close and I expect a kiss. Instead, his hand closes over mine and he very deliberately brings the croissant to his mouth and takes a bite. He grins up at me, his eyes dancing like a mischievous child. “You’re right,” he says. “Delicious.”

“You owe me now, mister. You can’t expect to steal a woman’s pastry and get away with it.”

“I look forward to your just and severe punishment,” he says, standing. He holds out his hand to me. “Or perhaps I could make it up to you in the shower.”

“I don’t think so,” I say archly. “I don’t want to be late for my first day.”

“I thought you weren’t due in until ten.”

I nod as I finish the croissant and wash it down with another slug of coffee. “I’m not. But I need to get home and get dressed.” I shoot him a wicked smile. “And I need to shower off last night’s sex.”

“That’s a very sad thought,” he says. “Of course, if you insist on taking such drastic action, I did offer to share my shower.”

I look him up and down. He’s clean-shaven and dressed in neatly pressed slacks and his usual white button-down shirt. His jacket is laid across the foot of the bed, and I can even smell the soapy fresh scent of him. “Looks like you managed just fine without me,” I say.

“Never.” The word is heavy with meaning. “And for you I’m willing to get doubly clean.”

“Tempting,” I admit as I push the tray away and slide out of bed. The air is cool, but it feels good against my still Damien-sensitive skin. “But don’t you have work to do? Things to merge? Cutting edge technology to acquire? Perhaps a galaxy to buy?”

He holds a robe open for me to slip on. It’s not the red one that I soaked in the pool, and I wonder how many robes he has stocked in that closet. “I did that last week. Apparently there’s nothing left to buy.”

“Poor you.” I twist in his arms and plant a gentle kiss on his chin as he tightens the sash around my waist. “Just like Alexander. No worlds left to conquer.”

 Claim Me will be on-sale April 23!

Pre-order Claim Me from Amazon!
Pre-order Claim Me from Barnes & Noble!
Pre-order Claim Me from Books-a-Million
Pre-order Claim Me from Random House
Pre-order Claim Me from your favorite independent bookseller
Pre-order Claim Me in the U.K. from Amazon
Pre-order Claim Me in the U.K. from Waterstones
Pre-order Claim Me in the U.K. from WH Smith

Want more? You can even pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble!  On-sale July 30!

And if you missed Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

More soon,

XXOO