Baking Up a Batch of Romance by Roz Lee
Being a writer is a lot like being a baker. We both work ungodly hours trying to turn out something the general public will find palatable. Just like the baker, I begin each day with an empty display case, and work diligently to fill it with delectable treats for my customers (readers) to enjoy.
I begin with a nice clean bowl (blank screen), and start tossing in raw ingredients (words). I mix them around until they blend together smoothly, and then I 
put them in to bake (edits). When I’m sure it’s done, I cross my fingers and pass it off to my editor who that gives it a little taste to see if it is good enough to offer for sale. If it passes her taste test, she makes sure all the crumbs are brushed off and passes it on to someone else who puts the icing on (cover art).
If all this goes well, the tasty new treat is offered for sale in the bakery window, along with all the other delectable confections offered up by the other bakers.
As someone who knows how much work went into each and every one of those creations, I’m often tempted to sample a few, and I do. I particularly enjoy trying things that are different than what I’ve put in the case. It’s nice to see what other bakers have done with the same raw ingredients, how they’ve put their unique touch on them to make something special.
My latest confection is a bit different than what you usually see in the delectable romance case. My raw ingredients for FOUR OF HEARTS are two, very happily married couples. I know, there aren’t many bakers out there who would think to put such complex ingredients into their mix. What kind of delicious treat could come from such a thing?
I gave it a lot of thought before I began to mix these two couples together. At first, I thought perhaps they should be strangers with no history together, but it soon became clear that the ingredients had to age some before I could throw them in together if I wanted it to come out right. So, I looked at two couples I’d already mixed together in a satisfactory manner – Ryan and Candace from THE LUST BOAT, and Richard and Fallon from SHOW ME THE ROPES. The two couples had mixed together on some level for a while, and seemed to get along nicely.
So…one bright morning, I dropped them into my shiny new bowl and began to stir. The result is a fabulous new confection you really must try! Two loving couples who find that the human heart is capable of a love more complex than they ever knew. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t easy mixing these two couples together. They resisted, and the laws of polite society said it couldn’t be done, but I persisted.
I’m very proud of this new treat, and I hope you’ll give it a try. Grab a cup of tea, and curl up beside the fire and dream of a Caribbean cruise aboard the Lothario – where anything can happen!
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Four of Hearts
(Lothario Series, Book #4)
by Roz Lee
November 1st 2011 by Red Sage Publishing
Marriage hasn’t tamed Candace Callahan’s sexual curiosity, something her husband Ryan is grateful for, but when she asks him to tie her up for her anniversary present, he knows he’s going to need the help of their friends, Richard Wolfe and his wife, Fallon.
Dr. Fallon Enright is the resident sex therapist aboard the Lothario – the cruise ship co-owned by her husband and Ryan Callahan. When Ryan asks to participate in one of their couple’s rope bondage classes, Richard isn’t sure it’s a good idea, but Fallon assures him all will be well.
What begins as innocent curiosity, blossoms into a polyamorous relationship none of them could have expected, but they are powerless to ignore. When the tabloids expose their new lifestyle, the foursome must choose between the love they feel for each other, or accepting society’s moral constraints.
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Ryan froze with his lips against the pulse in Candace’s neck. His erection surged with new vigor against her stomach. Why couldn’t his wife ask for something easy for their anniversary? Something like diamonds, a villa in France, hell, even an expedition to the North Pole. The image in his brain coalesced, and he knew he would give her whatever she wanted.
“You want me to tie you up?” he asked as soon as he found his voice.
“Don’t even try to tell me it doesn’t excite you.” Candace wiggled her soft mound against his cock. “I felt that.”
He had no intention of denying his interest. Only a fool would, and Ryan Callahan was no fool. He continued his exploration of his wife’s creamy soft skin, all the while forming and reforming the new image in his head. His lips left her neck, slipped to her shoulder where he tasted every inch of skin, before angling lower toward the perfect swell of her breasts. His hands held hers pinned flat on either side of her head. He’d tied her hands once, when he’d spirited her away from the Lothario and onto the Vixen, but that had been role-playing more than anything else. He was pretty sure she had something more in mind. He hoped to God she did.
Her request shouldn’t have been a surprise. She’d spent a lot of time lately talking to his best friend’s wife. Rope bondage was Fallon’s new research topic, and a passion shared with her husband Richard. Ryan inched his way lower, and teased one nipple to a marble hard peak with his tongue, before taking it in his mouth. Candace drew in a sharp breath and arched her back, encouraging him to suck harder. He obliged his wife.
His wife. The moniker still sent a thrill through his body every time he thought, or said the word. Candace Callahan. His wife. God, what a wondrous thing that was. For nearly a year, she’d been his constant companion, his lover, his…everything. Before he met Candace, he’d been lost and alone, searching for something he couldn’t name. Now it had a name. Love.
“Well?” Candace prodded on a gasp as Ryan switched breasts, sucking the poor, neglected one in his mouth without preamble.
Surely, she knew the answer. He couldn’t deny her anything. Still, he made her wait for his reply. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t given it any thought himself. There wasn’t much he hadn’t imagined doing with Candace.
He released her hands and slid lower until he lay pillowed between her thighs. He brushed his thumbs over the neatly trimmed auburn triangle that drew him like a compass needle to magnetic north. The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils and fueled a primal need. He swept his tongue through her juices. She ground her swollen flesh against his face, and he knew she’d forgotten everything but this. He dedicated himself to keeping the status quo for the foreseeable future.Don’t miss the next stop for this tour: http://www.babsbookbistro.net/blog.
