HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Man, how did the months fly by so quick? Oh, wait . . . I know! I was busy working on edits for ILLICIT! They're all turned in and the book is set for release in July, just in time for your summer beach reading!

I'm starting work on DENIED, book 3 of the series, and am very excited about both stories and the Sazi couples that find their happily ever after.

I also finished work on a short story for a science fiction anthology called DEALER'S CHOICE that will appear exclusively at the Intergalactic Bar & Grille party at the RT Booklovers Convention in Las Vegas! Since it's Vegas and SF, all of the stories center around SF romances set in a casino! My story is called HOUSE EDGE and tells the story of an android turned human named Tee Sixienne who works for the Galactic Police in the casino theft division and a man she thought she left behind. The antho won't be available for sale, so I encourage all of you to come to RT to pick up a copy. But, once the party is over, I might be marketing it to the magazines, so you never know...

Also now on shelves is a story some of you have already read- GREEN-EYED MONSTER in the KOLCHAK: PASSAGES OF THE MACABRE anthology from Moonstone Books. I'd honestly thought this anthology had died a slow death, but darned if it didn't perk up in the morgue and spring back to life! There are some rocking other authors in the anthology, so if you're a Kolchak fan, go forth and pick it up!

Hopefully, all of you have already had a chance to pick up my short contemporary in the HUNKS, HAMMERS & HAPPILY EVER AFTERS anthology, which is also on shelves now. Seven novellas for only $2.99! How can you go wrong?

Whew! As you can see, I've been plenty busy while I've been off-line.

I'll be appearing at a couple of conventions coming up in the new few months, as well:

I'll be at the Lone Star Book Festival, April 8-10 (website not uploaded with info yet)
and the RT Booklover's Convention, April 12-17

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! It was a wonderful birthday, filled with awesome friends and family. Congrats to Diana T. for winning the random drawing! A birthday gift is speeding her way.

Just a note: All prizes and other goodies have been mailed out. One person's was returned for post office issues (not me-the postage stamp literally came off the box!), so if anyone hasn't received their prize, drop me an email and I'll get a replacement out. That's how I found out about the one that went missing.

So, now it's February, and the month is all about love. Just to show how much I LOVE all you fans, it's time for another contest! Drop me an email with the subject line, "It's all about the love, baby!" at: cathyclampfans@gmail.com to get entered in a contest for three-count them, THREE, autographed books! If you have a favorite or one you've been desperately wanting to read, tell me which one in the email! Yes, it's open to international. I love you all equally.

And since it IS all about the love, and you love reading, get set for the first few pages of ILLICIT, just for all my loyal fans!

********************

Chapter 1

Moonlight struggled to shine through clouds heavy and swollen with rain. The breeze, once light enough to be held back by the towering spruces, became a steady wind that swayed the trees and turned the mist coming off the Drina River into icy daggers. Dalvin instinctively tried to fluff his feathers to warm himself, but he was in the wrong form for that, so he flipped up the collar of his leather jacket instead.

He wished the collar went high enough to cover his ears and mute the jackhammer snoring of the delegates sleeping in the cabin nearby. Maybe earbuds would be better. But he wasn't certain even the loudest rap could drown out the reverberating bass thrum.

Babysitting bears on the ground. Hell of a waste of a Wolven agent who can fly. I should have been the one they put on aerial patrol.

Then branches cracked in the distance and his senses went into high alert. The peace talks were contentious, objected to by both sides and by who knows how many other packs. He had to check it out. Dalvin slipped through the trees, keeping his footsteps light on the carpet of needles. After a few hundred yards, he blinked, concentrating, forcing the pupils of his eyes to completely dilate. The trees took on an almost surreal texture as fragments of light turned the darkness into a million shades of grey. It was easy to do in owl form, but it always gave him a splitting headache when he did it in human form. Still, being able to see better usually helped him ferret out thugs pretty quick. He forced himself to slow his breathing, to listen and sniff.

The scent of fruity perfume intensifying an underlying musk of sweet raspberries revealed the intruder moments before her pale face popped out from behind a tree. Another false alarm-just one of the delegates. "Hello, Dalvin. I thought you might be out here." Her low, sultry voice always seemed to make his pulse pound.

Tonight she was wrapped in a fluffy lamb coat dyed dark brown, nearly the color of her fur in bear form and her hair in human.

He didn't approach any closer, although he wanted to. Really, really wanted to. "You need to go back to the lodge, Larissa. I'm on duty. I have to get back to the cabins."

Lips that would put Naomi Campbell's to shame dropped into a pout. "But it's so cold out here. We could stay warm . . . together." She opened the front of her jacket to reveal nothing underneath. The chilled mist made her gasp and let out a little moan, somewhere between pain and pleasure. Her body swayed under the thick fur, but she didn't close the coat.

He bit at his bottom lip, almost unconsciously. Tempting. So very tempting. In the distance, the snoring continued, loud even this far away. It would keep going until dawn, just like the six previous nights. Plus, the framework of the agreement was already done. The negotiators were working on the last fine details.

When she started to walk forward, the open coat revealed a long line of light brown skin that led down to a tiny yellow thong that didn't cover much. Wide black eyes beneath lids coated with golden shadow transfixed him. It was wrong to get involved with one of the delegates. Dalvin knew that. But Larissa was hard to resist and she had been flirting with him for days. Rubbing up against him, blowing in his ear, running painted nails along his arm when nobody was looking. It had been driving him mad.

I need to stop this. This is wrong. But he didn't step back, didn't stop her when she glided barefoot along the forest floor and wrapped those fur covered arms around his neck. Her mouth found his and he couldn't help but kiss her back. When she pushed him back against the tree and pressed her hips against his, his hands lifted and glided over her chilled breasts and he felt his arousal grow.

Their kiss deepened and her hands began to roam over his body. When she started to unzip his pants, he realized he was losing the battle.

A pair of cries of alarm, in rapid succession, made his head turn back toward the cabins. He tried to pull away, but Larissa wouldn't let go. She wrapped herself around Dalvin and started using raw magic to keep him steady, trying to pull his erection out of his pants.

It wasn't the time for fun. He had to get back, was already kicking himself for getting distracted. "Larissa, stop it!" He pulled her hand away from him, pushed her back and headed toward the cabins as shouting in several languages filled the air. He hopped a few steps, trying to get himself zipped up again and realized her scent was covering nearly every inch of his clothing. The only way to keep people from knowing what had been happening was to change forms.

Dalvin jumped high into the air, summoning enough raw power from the full moon hidden beneath the clouds to burst through his clothes. Now in his preferred form as an eagle owl, he spread his wings wide, caught the wind from the leading edge of the storm, and rose quickly above the treeline.

The same airflow that lifted him tried to tumble him end over end. He fought against the quickly shifting wind as rain started to rocket out of the clouds like icy daggers. Before the rain got any worse, he opened his eyes fully and tried to take in the situation. People were moving around the cabin and lodge, running with purpose. He was too high to make out faces through the bad weather, but could see at least one stretcher being brought to the cabins. He let the wind take him higher to see who was trying to leave the scene. His first circle around the area didn't reveal anything, but it was hard to make out anything during the brief flashes of lightning.

Wait-there! Someone, or something, was running away from camp. Whatever it was, it was too big to be a rabbit or a deer. Narrowing his wings and tipping into a sharp dive, he spun and danced through branches being whipped by the storm.

Soon he was close enough to see a man, running, dressed all in black, including a stocking cap and gloves. Somehow, the man realized he was being pursued and turned to face Dalvin, revealing that a black face shield covered his features. The man pulled something from his pocket-all Dalvin could tell was that he wasn't holding a gun or crossbow-and made a sharp movement of one elbow.

There was no sound that could be heard over the howling wind and thunder, but pain erupted in Dalvin's wing. He let out a screech, twisting in the air. . .

**************

Whew! What happens next? Well . . . that will have to wait for a bit. But ONLY a bit, because I have another surprise! My terrific editor has decided that ILLICIT is soooo good, she can't wait to share and plans are afoot to replace the HUNTER'S MOON bonus content at the back of FORBIDDEN in the ebook version to the first few chapters of ILLICIT!! w00t! I don't have an exact date yet, but watch your inboxes, because I'll announce in a special newsletter when it hits. I have no idea about how Kindle, Kobo and Nook work and whether it'll just appear in the versions you already bought or if it'll just be on new purchases, but I'll try to find out. I know you're going to LOVE Rachel and Dalvin's story!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Hope your special someone showers you with kisses!

Cathy 