Gale Force Passion - and the weekend that inspired it

by Kate Richards

Once upon a very romantic weekend many long years ago...I stayed at the most wonderful little hotel on Lower Abaco Island. Just ten rooms, back to back in five sort of 'huts' and no television, radio...or any other kind of electronic distraction. There was snorkeling in the ocean and the lagoon, a gorgeous salt water pool, wonderful food...and a double hammock hanging outside each room. We were horrified. Yes it was a romantic getaway, but no television, no phones? The only music on the property was a single Caribbean tape that played over and over in the restaurant until the staff must have been going insane.


Each room did have a tall bookshelf stuffed with books. For me that heavenly and I read several, cuddled in my guy's strong arms in the hammock's swinging embrace. Once we mastered getting two people into a hammock at the same time with nobody ending up dumped on the hard ground... Then one afternoon I was perusing the shelves for something interesting and found.... erotica!


From that moment on we discovered....reading aloud! We took turns reading these books to one another...and stopped going out to the hammock. We did emerge to eat because our lovely hotel did not have room service, and to play in the surf, but it was the most incredibly sexy thing. Just the two of us, in a thatch roofed hut. No interruptions, no news...no telephones! At first a little shy, then laughing, then, well you can imagine.


So writing a romantic story about the Bahamas was a no brainer. I can't imagine a sexier, more romantic place to go, and I do not completely attribute my enjoyment to the endless Bahama Breeze cocktails we enjoyed. For those of us who aren't able to run to the Bahamas this winter, here's a recipe!


Bahama Breeze
/2 oz apricot brandy
1/2 oz banana liqueur
1/4 oz grenadine syrup
1/4 oz honey
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz dark rum
1/2 oz coconut rum


Combine all ingredients in a blender with a few ice cubes. Pour into a tall glass. Garnish with an orange wedge and a cherry.




Gale Force Passion Blurb: What to do when your fiancé dumps you for a bimbo, right before a vacation of a lifetime to a luxurious Bahamas couples resort? If you’re lucky, like Terese, the reservations clerk can refer you to another resort, even nicer, and suggests you contact the fabulous Madame Eve at 1Night Stand—for a replacement date!


David is Terese’s date. Very tall, ebony dark and handsome, he’s also starting to yearn for more connection than career has allowed. After years of working at various resorts, he can settle in and enjoy his position as Castillo Resorts’ newest manager right in his native Bahamas.


Add in a hurricane with a sudden change in course, and David and Terese may have a more exciting date than either of them planned. In more ways than one.


Excerpt: A dream…not a dream. The armful of woman with her thigh slung over his legs, fisting his rock hard dick was Terese, his one-night stand date. And apparently she’d decided not to wait until their actual date the next night. His head cleared and he was delighted, if surprised. She hadn’t seemed like a woman who would be so aggressive, or who would be ready to have sex without at least a little “getting to know you” time. He must have been mistaken.


Who am I not to accommodate the lady? It would be ungentlemanly.


He used the arm pinned under her shoulders to pull her closer, stroking her back through her soft T-shirt and pressing kisses over her face before returning to her welcoming lips. He urged them apart and thrust his tongue into her mouth, desire warring with the warning in his head. Wait, David, there’s something not right here.
What could be wrong? Terese wanted to make love to him. An attractive, sexy female, and he already more than liked her. Why not go along with the lady’s wishes right now, unless it made tonight count as their date. Nah, just a little fooling around. Tomorrow I’ll wine and dine her and show her a good time on the island. But for tonight, if she wants….


Gale Force Passion is available at www.decadentpublishing.com or your favorite eBookstore and you can visit Kate at http://katerichards.wordpress.com.

The Impetus of a 1 Night Stand by Becca Dale

When Valerie and Kate asked me if I would be interested in writing a story for the 1NS series, I cringed a little bit. Why? Well, because honestly, casual sex is not my style. Then I started thinking about it and realized that there would be an element of freedom in turning things over to someone objective like Madame Evangeline. In addition, I started to wonder how I could work my own need for connection into a single night. The urgency of such a moment intrigued me, as well. What kind of pressure would my heroine have to be under in order to seek solace at the hands of a stranger? What kind of setting would enable a woman to leave her inhibitions behind and embrace such a scary situation? Once the idea had been planted in my head, it would not shut up. I had to find a way to explore a one-night stand.

My husband and I often travel out of the country with friends or to the motorcycle rally in Sturgis. Though the latter is in my home state, both environments are so foreign compared to my usual world that I find I am more carefree, less worried about who will see me dance on a table or sing karaoke—badly—if I indulge in a drink or two. I usually start a story with a hero, but this one demanded I begin with a setting that would allow the heroine to fly without a net. Jumping on the web, I search many beautiful places, but when a picture of Greece popped up, I knew everything. The hero, the reason behind Brenna’s need to flee, the ultimate outcome, all came clear in an instant. From there Erotic Healing burned through my keyboard. I cannot remember ever having written something so fast that I truly adore.

Despite the fact that Brenna is stunning and a bit spoiled, I had no trouble feeling for her. Her struggle broke my heart from the moment I understood it. Thus, the thought process behind her sweet hero. Kostas represents the only guy I have ever written who is not American through and through. He is not the rough and ready cowboy or the arrogant American businessman. He is a cocky shit, but his drive stems from his desire to be kind. His gentleness blew me out of the water. Though my heroes are usually overly protective of their women, they are, by nature, not always nice. Kostas offers a weird twist. He uses Brenna’s pain, even feeds it, in his effort to be considerate, and I found myself fascinated by him.

[GRIN] You may call off the men in white jackets. I have not lost my mind to the point that I am unaware Kostas sprang from my head, but anyone who has ever written anything will understand when I say that he is not my creation. I am merely the pathway through which he found life. The one constant I try to hold in my writing is the idea that a true hero is whatever the heroine needs. Kostas meets and exceeds that requirement, and though he is not anything like I expected him to be, Madame Evangeline guaranteed he would be exactly the type of man necessary to free Brenna for at least one night.