Howdy!

Today celebrates the release of Taking Tara! WOO HOO! Break out the bubbly!

Taking Tara is my first Ellora’s Cave release since…wow, over a year ago! I’m really thrilled to have something new out with EC and even happier to have more stories contracted and in their line up.

So of course, I’m excited to be blogging and sharing about this novella today. And what, you’re probably wondering, is the topic?

Appearances. Not all they’re cracked up to be!

Our hair, our clothes, the cars we drive and the houses we live in. How we look at others.

If you’ve got long hair and love tie-dye, you’re a hippy, right? (Shout out to my crit partner, Larissa Lyons!) Have blond hair and dress provocatively? Probably a bimbo. Thick glasses and a polo shirt? Total geek.

(Hair a mess, sitting in front of the computer in your jammies? Lazy? Not so—I’m working!)

Nothing sexy about a geek, right? But think about it…couldn’t that geek be the real bimbo? That bimbo a genius? Or that hippy a successful go-getter?

Let’s face it, it’s easy to slap labels on people we don’t know.

But as Tara and Ayden learn in Taking Tara, what’s on the outside doesn’t always reflect what’s on the inside. See, Ayden is naturally predisposed to saving money and wearing sandals with socks. Ack! His idea of fashion is a Hawaiian print shirt with plenty of pineapples.

And Tara? Well, judging appearances comes in mighty handy when you’re completely avoiding intimacy. She’s been known to dump guys over the size of their hand. The kind of underwear they wore. Even for eating a salad. (Naughty Tara needs a spanking, eh?) So it’s a no-brainer when some nerdy type helps her carry her laundry and maybe flirts just a little. After all, he just isn’t her type. Even though…

Tara completely ignores the niggling intrigue that makes her want to hop on the washer and spread her legs. And so does Ayden, confidently unconfident in himself.

But Ayden wants his spitfire neighbor so much, he makes himself into a new man. And score one for him, he’s fulfilling both their fantasies and proving to Tara the alpha dog he really is. A dorky, dominant dog that completely steals her heart.

So next time you’re walking down the street and see some guy in a Polo and flip-flops, take the time to mentally undress him. Give him the time of day, because you never know what you might be missing…

Like being taken. Tied up, kidnapped, and whisked away to spankings, threesomes and more!

One thing I definitely hope you’re not missing is Taking Tara! Be sure to check out the excerpt for this novella on my website at http://www.alyssabrooks.com/. Or just buy the book at http://www.ellorascave.com/.

And if you have a real-life story to share about falling in love with the last person you ever expected, please do! I’m a sucker for romance!

Thanks for having me blog, Selena! It was fun! :-) Alyssa




Taking Tara
Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 9781419918933
Genre: Contemporary
Release date: November 5th, 2008
Length: Novella

Blurb:
Six months he’s been watching her. Wanting her. And now he’ll finally claim her…
Despite her penchant for bad singing and bad breakups, Ayden’s non-too-private neighbor Tara is everything he desires—strong, sexy, wild. Just the type of woman a geeky guy like him could never get. Never, that is, unless he becomes someone else. The kind of man she’ll say yes to. The alpha dog buried deep inside, ready to claim his woman and prove she’s his, forever.
Tell me your fantasies…

Still on the hunt for that perfect guy, Tara goes through men like water but never quenches her thirst. Then the hot new neighbor corners her in the elevator. Mother always said not to talk to strangers…but kissing them? Totally explainable. Revealing her innermost fantasies? Totally irrelevant. It’s not as if he’s actually going to take her, tie her up, kidnap her and whisk her away to spankings, threesomes and more.
But as Ayden warns… Careful, Tara, some fantasies do come true.
Excerpt:


Tara couldn’t believe her good luck. This morning, she’d practically been mouth-fucked by an erotic stranger, but even after being late to work, she’d still found herself able to leave early. Her best friend Sara had called to tell her that tonight ladies were drinking free at Beat Town and Tara’s normally frizzy hair had actually curled and looked freakin’ fabulous—for once. Plus, Mrs. Logan had kindly taken the roses off her hands.
Smacking her lips, Tara pressed them to toilet paper, leaving a crimson imprint. Then she applied gloss and checked her makeup in the mirror. Perfect.
She walked into the bedroom, grabbed her purse, tossed in a couple of condoms—after all, she was hoping to run into her elevator stud again—and headed out of the apartment.
Pulling her door shut behind her, she turned to lock the bolt. Suddenly, someone clamped a hand over her mouth. What the—
She squealed, her cry muffled by the gloved palm as she tried to pull free. Unyielding strength pinned her against a solid body.
Oh God…
Fear assaulted Tara. Her mind whirled and her feet kicked, but for all the flailing in the world, she was being held. What the hell was happening? Was she being robbed? Attacked?
Was it her ex gone crazy and desperate to get her back?
She dropped her purse, letting it fall freely to the floor, wanting to scream, “Take it! Take everything!” Screw the cash! Don’t hurt me!
But she couldn’t offer her attacker a dime. She was suffocating under his hand. Becoming dizzy with panic.
Please God…
She never prayed. Would He listen now? Probably ready to hit her with a lightning bolt.
The stranger pulled her backward into the stairwell. She whimpered against moist leather, dragging her heels and twisting against her assailant’s strong hold.
Whipping her around, the masked man dressed in all black forced her face first into a corner and momentarily abandoned her mouth to drag her arms behind her. Tara let loose a desperate scream, which was promptly cut of by the slap of his gloved palm while his sole free hand aptly secured both her wrists. Terror rushed through her, flooding her veins with useless adrenaline as he held her in place, smothered and frantically trying to scream.
Why had she dropped her purse? Why?
Her mace was in it.
Again Tara squealed against moist leather, struggling with everything in her for her life, then she realized he’d never stop as long as she kept fighting.
Going limp, she waited, ready to catch him off guard.
“Shhh!” The scent of cinnamon wafted in her face as he cautiously lowered his hand. Cinnamon. “Shhh. Your fantasy is about to come true.”
Holy shit! Her stranger! Her stranger? Her mouth-fucking, elevator-kissing stranger?
She ought to slap his face off. Matter of fact, she would, soon as she got her hands free and could turn around.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“What do you think?” he rumbled in a low voice. “I’m making your dreams a reality.”
The asshole! Number 2089, as a matter of fact!
“I take it you’re kidnapping me? This some kind of sick sex game you dreamt up?” God, what had she gotten herself into? The bulge of his cock pressed threateningly against her butt cheeks, answering her question quite thoroughly. She asked for this—and he’d delivered. But still! “You scared the shit out of me, you son of a bitch!”
Oh, she couldn’t wait to knock him flat.
He chuckled. Bastard. “You said you wanted to be taken.”