I was excited to see my reminder pop up about my guest spot on this blog. Yes, I need to leave myself reminders, write long lists of things I need to do, and financially support the Post-it-Note company on a major level. Because I'm forgetful.
I'll walk around the house saying the same phrase over and over until I can make it into the kitchen and write "juice boxes" on my grocery list. If I don't - poof! it's gone, and nobody gets their juice that week.
It wasn't so bad when I was single, living in an apartment, and working a nine-to-five job. But when you add a whole family, a whole writing career, and a whole house to maintain - lots of poofs! began happening in my brain.
My hubby, Kick, always complains as he pushes his way into the back door and steps over the five or six things I need to take with me. "Why do you leave stuff sitting in front of the door all the time?" Um, 'cause otherwise I forget them! I've recently started to bring my stuff out to the car as soon as I remember I need it in the hope of keeping my marriage a happy one.
But he enjoys hearing about all the kooky trouble I get into with my sluggish memory. My latest one had him chuckling for an hour. I walked uptown to mail a birthday card. It was raining, so I geared up and kept the envelope dry inside my raincoat. I made it the two miles to the post office, carefully tugged the envelope out of my coat, made to drop it into the box and…no postage stamp. UGH!
I checked every pocket for a dollar or a few coins, eyed up the people standing in line to buy stamps, and considered finding a piece of cardboard and writing a sign "Will name my next hero/heroine after you for one 1st class stamp."
But, I decided to cowgirl up and walk home, attach a stamp to the envelope, and make the hike one more time. It was kind of an exercise-punishment for being so forgetful. The memory of those four rainy miles will keep me from ever making that mistake again (ha ha, right!)
Worried about the possibility of early (VERY early) Alzheimer's, I talked to my doctor (physician, not psychologist) about my slippery memory and she confirmed what I already knew. I'm just too darn busy. I need to slow down and find some quiet time for myself where I can organize my brain.
When I asked her to write a doctor's note to my husband requiring I take a month alone on a tropical island, she laughed (um, I wasn't kidding) and suggested meditation instead. She's really no fun at all.
So while I meditate and let things flow out of my memory, emptying it in preparation for refilling it with all those important little things my life requires me to remember, I am transcendentally transported to that beautiful beach. Next to me is a hot cowboy in a sexy Speedo, who just happens to look a lot like the handsome cowpoke on the cover of Cowboy Bad Boys. And in his hand is…oh, shoot!...the edits I was supposed to have back to my editor today!
Body Heat – When a rancher and his gorgeous passenger are buried in his truck under an avalanche, they discover a sensual way to keep warm.
Breakfast in Bed – A ranch foreman has an imaginative idea to keep his woman from bolting out of his bed every time they finish making love.
Hard Headed Cowboy – When a rodeo bull rider needs a lift, his sexy equipment sponsor makes him a proposition.
High Country Ride – Fulfilling her father's last wishes, a city girl hires a hot cowboy to guide her into the Rockies.
Kill Me or Kiss Me – With her life in danger, an exotic dancer has to trust a sexy cattle rustler to keep her alive.
No Way Out – The town sheriff and the beautiful bank president he's been lusting after are cornered by a killer.
Private Lessons – When her girlfriends buy her a mechanical bull lesson with a real bull rider, a college girl gets a sensual ride from her high school crush.
Stubborn Redhead – The rancher's woman left him because of rumors of his cheating, but what will it take to make her believe his innocence?
Takin' a Chance – A barrel racer has one last chance to seduce the sexy rodeo bullfighter she has fallen for.
Where We Left Off – In desperate need of help, a country veterinarian calls the man she'd loved but booted out of her life years ago.
EXCERPT: Over 18 only, please.
From Breakfast in Bed
Nate took Misti's hand and led her to the back of the house. Into his bedroom. He snapped on the light and stepped aside, watching her face.
She sucked in a quick breath and a smile followed. "It's gorgeous." She walked in and ran her fingers along the dark oak dresser, then over the mission-style footboard that matched the headboard. She plopped down on top of the golden bedspread and bent forward, her head between her knees. "You bought a dust ruffle?"
He huffed out a breath. Sissy. "The store lady—"
"I love it, Nate." She sat up and bounced on the bed a couple times. "It's so cozy here."
Cozy enough that she'd stay the night? He crossed to her and pulled her up into his arms. "Darlin'." He rubbed his hard, hot cock against her mound. "Let's break it in."
She laughed and tugged his shirt off over his head, threw it aside, and went right for his jeans. The first time was always wild, but tonight, she was feral. Their clothes ended up in a pile next to one of his new nightstands.
"How do you want it, cowboy?" Her breath panted from her lips, her eyelids drooped, sexy and hungry.
Every drop of blood from his brain rushed to his staff. His ass tightened and released. He needed to be pumping his cock into her soft, hot slit. Smelling her musk, he cupped a hand over her nearly-bare pussy. What creative shape had she gotten waxed into her blonde curlies this week? He'd get a close-up view a little later. Right now, he had to get that first rush of sliding his shaft all the way inside her tight opening. Juices dripped from her swollen lips as his fingers stroked, slowly at first, then faster, carrying her natural lubricant up to her hard little clit.
Each pass of his fingers made her shudder and gasp, until she had no muscle left to stand. He turned her to face the bed, lifted her, and set her face down on his new comforter.
She stretched and writhed on the fabric, sending his balls contracting and his lower back spasming. Fuck. If he didn't get control, it'd be over with one thrust. He grabbed a condom and rolled it on, then crawled onto the bed, up on all fours over her.
"Nathan. Take me." It drove him insane when she called him 'Nathan.' It meant she was close. Right on the edge. The way her hair spread across his bed brought a yearning inside him. This was where she belonged. Her face in profile so beautiful, glimpses of her full breasts teased him as she wiggled and arched her back.
Grasping her wrists, he tugged them up over her head and pressed his body full-length on top of hers, his shaft settling in the sweet crack between her ass cheeks. She gasped for breath under his weight, but he knew she liked it. Liked being restrained. Beneath him, she was soft and warm, smelling sweet and sexy, making his skin tingle where they touched.
With his knees, he spread her legs wide open for him. Under his hips, her ass pushed up as she arched her back. "Now, Nathan. Please." Her voice came out barely a whisper.
Taking both her wrists in one hand, he slid his other hand slowly down her arm, knowing she liked the scratch of his calluses. He brushed his fingers over her armpit, feeling her body quiver, then touched lower, over her side. He found her breast and palmed it, firm and satin-soft, he would spent hours kissing and sucking and nibbling tonight. And hopefully tomorrow morning, too.
When he pinched her nipple between his splayed fingers, she cried out and her body jerked. Her hips moved to an animal rhythm, humping into his cock, nearly setting him off. He needed her. He reared back with his hips and settled the tip of his erection at her slit. Her hot, slick opening burned the head of his pulsing shaft. Then he entered her, his length stretching her as he greedily took her and generously gave her what she craved.
She moaned, long and low, tipping her head back.
He suckled her neck, careful not to bruise. His cock moved into her, then out in mindless, primitive plunges. His body shook, the ache in his lower back spread to his balls. They tightened, ready to shoot his cum into her, needing to mark her as his own.
Releasing her wrists, he slid his hand between the satin comforter and her stomach, then lower, finding her clit hiding in her full, wet pussy lips. His finger touched her, rubbed twice, and she came. She screamed his name, her body shuddering and stiffening, her core clenching around him, forcing him to follow her.
His release was monumental, drowning him as waves of pleasure rolled through him. His hips strained to go deeper, as far inside her as he could get. His mind sank to the bottom of a dark pool, never wanting this to end, wanting her with him every time he felt this release.
When he collapsed beside her, he pulled her close. Her breath panted, her body after-shocking with shudders and sighs.
His last thought before drifting off was selfish. How could he keep her here—permanently?
Nate woke with the first rays of the rising sun on his face, streaming through the curtains he'd left open last night so they could look at the river as they made love. Seven times last night. An all-time record for them. He smiled. Who was counting. He rolled over. Her side of the bed was empty. "Shit."
*********
I'd love to hear about your memory lapses! What's the most important thing you've ever forgotten? Or the silliest? Or the most embarrassing?
To celebrate the release of Cowboy Bad Boys, I'm giving away, to one lucky *commenter, an e-copy of either of my first two releases, Chase and Seduction or Her Cowboy Stud. Just leave a comment today and we'll choose a winner tomorrow. *Commenter must be 18 years of age or older to win.
~ Chase and Seduction/Her Cowboy Stud cover banner here
Good luck, and thank you!
Randi "Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied"
RandiAlexander.com
Wild and Wicked Cowboys Blog
69 Shades of Smut Blog
-Cowboy Bad Boys available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon
and in paperback from CreateSpace and Amazon
-Chase and Seduction and Her Cowboy Stud available at The Wild Rose Press
and Kindle versions are available at Amazon
-Pre-order the Cowboy Lust anthology, which includes my short story Banging the Cowboy at Amazon
Hi Randi! Just wanted to congratulate you on your new release today. No need to enter me in the contest because I have both books already :)
ReplyDeleteOh, memory lapses, I know them well. I used to have a great memory, unless I was sleep deprived. I don't do well without sleep. Never have--not even in my twenties. I once forgot I was married, but that wasn't the worst of it. I also couldn't remember if I had kids. Could. Not. Recall. In my defense, I'd been without sleep for about forty hours at that point.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great post, Randi. Lovely to have you here. :)
Hi Phuong, thanks for dropping by!
ReplyDeletePG, wow, you must have been darn tired! I know sleep depravation can do all sorts of strange things to us. Thanks for hosting me today!
Ha I love this! I can so relate! When I went back to work full time, my kids alternated days between babysitter and daycare. One day I arrived at the day care to pick them up and the worker said, "Your kids aren't here." I immediately panicked, thinking they'd been taken to the hospital or abducted or something and demanded, "Where are they?" She said, "It's Wednesday. They don't come here on Wednesday." Oh yeah. I'd gone to the wrong place.
ReplyDeleteI have a ZILLION other memory lapses I could share with you but I won't!
Hot cowboys Randi!
Wow. I don't feel quite so bad now. I do the same things. Set everything out on the table that I have to take to work with me, leave notes everywhere, send myself Yahoo reminders all the time, email myself, and yes, repeat things over and over until I get to the grocery list. God forbid if someone interrupts me before I get there, because *poof* it's gone! I blame it on being a single mom who works full time and has 2 teenagers and a house to take care of (not to mention 3 book review blogs). No wonder I'm insane!
ReplyDeleteMichelle V
romanceinreview AT gmail DOT com
Hi Randi, welcome. I feel like my memory is currently at the Swiss cheese stage, particularly when we're on the road as we are now.
ReplyDeleteHowdy Randi!! Wow, I see we share a love for post it notes!! I use them daily! I am a very busy woman working from home, running the household and keeping up with a competitive soccer player aka Madi. I even have a dry erase board on my fridge that she and Stud are to use for anything they need from me during the day. As for forgetting things, oh yes I have been there and done that. Not a good thing to go out of town for a soccer tourney and realize you did not bring the shin guards! Can I just say thank goodness we were not playing in a small town and I was able to find an Academy!! Best of luck to you on your new release and I will chat with you soon!
ReplyDeleteMy husband would tell you that I can't remember anything, but I call it selective memory. The biggest problem I have is remembering my students' names. I have taught for nearly 20 years. 15 of those years I've had between 115 and 130 students. It's hard enough for me to remember my present students, but when former students say, " you remember me? What's my name?", I stand there with my mouth hanging open! Really? What's my name? OMG! Usually I can estimate a time period by what they call me. If it is my maiden name, then I know I taught them at least 11 years ago. So forget that! I just started telling them that if I remember their name, it's not a good thing (you always remember the ones that gave you a hard time). I did have twins last year in two different classes. We were three quarters through the school year before I realized this. They never corrected me when I only used one name for both. LMAO!
ReplyDeleteBTW - that 115 - 130 has been each year, not total. "Forgot" to put that.
ReplyDeleteKelly, oh, gosh, I can imagine your panic. I've done things like that, too!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, you live a very busy life. Isn't it amazing how much one person can do? No wonder a few things slip out of our memories.
Meg, I heard that they don't say our brains are like sponges because they soak up so much, it's because they're full of holes. LOL
Hi Rana, love the post-it-notes! I get the extra-extra-sticky ones so I can put notes on my clothes. Yep, I've answered the door with a sticky note attached to my breast.
ReplyDeleteKim - hubby and I are laughing about the twins and your using one name for them. That's so funny!
Congratulations, Kim B! Using Randomizer.org, you were chosen the winner of an ebook. Please contact me at Randi @ RandiAlexander . com to claim your prize. Please let me know if you'd like Chase and Seduction or Her Cowboy Stud, and what format you'd like.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Nine Naughty Novelists for hosting me, and for the great comments everyone left. I'm glad I'm not alone in the shaky memory department!