Thursday 8 December 2016



HIS to Keep Live on Amazon!
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Hi Lovelies!
A special welcome to all of you who just signed up to my newsletter over the past couple of weeks. Great to have you on board to celebrate the Christmas season. Happy Advent to all! I just love this photo. The poinsetta  is a gift from my daughter and the gorgeous card is from my sister. Do you have any holiday images you love? Why not join my new readers group and post them! Join Karol's Keepers

WooHoo! Her Keeper 2 Episode 1 is now live on Amazon for $0.99 for a limited time. It includes two versions. A recently revised version, HIS to Keep, and the original version, In HIS Custody. Now that I'm picking up the story after a long break, I’m writing it a bit differently. The new version is sweeter with less BDSM and more emphasis on the crime element.

Having said that, I still like the original version and know many of you enjoyed it too. So, I'm going to include both versions in each re-released episode. When it’s finished, I’ll release it as two separate books - one sweet and steamy and one with more erotic elements. I did this with Julian and Claire’s story - Chances & Choices and HIS By Design. It’s worked well. Each book has its own following.

It’s up to you which story you choose to read. Of course, feel free to read both and tell me if you have a preference. Either way – enjoy!

Also -  Don't miss two great Holiday Giveaways 

   

Wednesday 2 November 2016

In HIS Custody - Resisting A Hot, Alpha Jailer! WIP It Up

Hi All
Welcome to Wip It Up Wednesday. My excerpt to day is from my e-serial Her Keeper2 - In HIS Custody. I'm actually tweaking the whole second series. I've pulled it from Amazon until I've finished the next episode. It's coming along gradually. In this excerpt, Sara is coming to terms with being court ordered into Rick's custody. A big thank you to my beta readers for suggestions.



  SARA


I bang and stomp miserably around the bedroom. The memory of the moment Judge Matthews’ gavel crashed down on my freedom churns inside me. Close to tears, I vent my fury on Rick’s designer furniture. I’m glad that I’m wearing boots, considering how often I kick the solid oak bedstead while making it up.
My stomping soon becomes aimless. I’ve pretty much exhausted all I can do in the room. My stomach growls and I wonder how I can satisfy it without accepting food from Rick. I ease open the door and take a stealthy look out. There’s no sight of him. The distant, muffled sound of his voice eases towards me. The direction of the sound tells me he’s out on the deck. It sounds like he’s on the phone. I can only make out a few words here and there. The words ‘Mom’ and ‘pissed at me’ float towards me through the open glass door.
I let out a slow breath when the weariness in his voice gets to me even through the muffled sounds. Their might even be contrition in his tone. I imagine his mom’s solid common sense comments on the other end of the conversation. Mara Andrews has always favoured me. I know she’s taken Rick to task over his treatment of me more than once. The idea that she might be supporting me now almost makes me feel better.
My stomach grumbles some more. Maybe I should eat with him. It’s not like I have to be nice to him. The image of me sitting with him sharing a meal in dignified, silent reproach while he squirms in abject contrition starts to appeal. A step towards using that power Lisa was talking about. I’m just about to make my way out to the deck when his cell rings again. I recognize Luke’s ringtone.
I’m closer now and his words are clearer. Through the glass door I can see the rain has stopped and the last rays of the autumn sun have dried the deck and no doubt the sand in front of it. An evening barbeque is growing more and more appealing. Rick’s first words to Luke make me feel even better. His rueful, “What do you think?” definitely sounds a bit tortured. At least he’s suffering for his crimes. I stop as he pauses to listen to Luke. Might as well let him finish the conversation. I don’t even feel guilty about eavesdropping. Not after his betrayal. His next words make me wish I’d been more scrupulous.
The hell she will, but she’ll learn to put up with it…’
Gasping, I turn and head back to the bedroom before he finishes his sentence. I don’t want to hear any more. The arrogant, heartless bastard!! How dare he! I stomp back in. I just manage not to slam the door and sit furiously on the bed consumed with angry misery. I yelp and wince loudly as the mattress reminds me of our time in the interrogation room. I shift and groan. The desire to rotate and push into the pleasure pain of my glowing, welted ass and the memory of the pulse of the dual penetration of the plug and him hard inside me is unbearable. I’m swept away by the hotness of that memory. I want nothing more than to open the zipper of my jeans and slip my hands into my panties to massage my throbbing clit and plunge my fingers into my wet channel.
No way! Not after what I just heard. I thrust my clenched fists into the bed, then twist the comforter in my hands. Resist! I have to resist this feeling as much as I have to resist my more tender feelings for Rick or better yet Detective Prick as Lisa likes to call him. Lisa’s features and tone of voice flash into my mind at that thought and I’m overtaken by spontaneous laughter. The laughter bubbles up and consumes me and I know I’m verging on hysteria. I indulge it. The release feels good. I lie back onto the bed and give way to gusts of laughter. Before I know it, I‘m bawling my eyes out. Deep sobs come in gulps.
“Sara?”
Rick’s urgent inquiry sounds through the door. I can tell he’s hovering on the other side of it, weighing up whether he should respect the line I’ve drawn or come in. I know if I don’t answer him he’ll cross that line. That’s just who he is.
“Go away!” I yell through hiccups and sniffs. Yeah right! Even I’m not convinced I want him to leave.
Rick doesn’t fall for it either. Through my tears I feel his solid, warm body beside me on the bed and then I’m in his arms. I struggle against him, thrashing backwards and forwards in his hold. His hold tightens. I manage to break away a little, kicking against him. I pound his chest, again and again, desperate to fight the overwhelming desire to sink into his embrace. To surrender.
“Stop it, Sara. Let me hold you. Let me take care of you.” His voice is an urgent whisper. 
It stills me, calming my urge to fight. Until the moment in the courtroom and the clutch of my gut at the proclamation of the sentence hits me again. Trusting him has got me nowhere except court ordered into his custody. My stillness has encouraged him to relax his hold and I’m able to pull away and look at him. I struggle to ignore the melting concern in his mocha gaze and stare at him accusingly, my voice scathing. 
“Yeah, right! Like you took care of me at the court house? Like you vacated the warrant? Sure. Why not? That worked out just fine.”
Guilt flashes across his face. His eyes wince at the sarcasm in my tone. His hold lessens even more at the green fire of rebuke I flash at him. I escape from his embrace and we both sit up. I fight the urge to relent at his loss of face. Instead, I feed my satisfaction. It doesn’t feel as satisfying as you’d think. I’m beginning to realize that the surety of Rick Andrew’s always being right is one of the necessities of my life.
That’s what angers and upsets me the most. How dare he fail to be perfect! I need him to piss me off with his justified challenges. To always know, argue and do what’s best for me. I may have stubbornly held a grudge for eight years, but deep down, despite the objections I voiced to Lisa, I never truly doubted that it was my own recklessness that earned me that trip across his knee.
Just like all the other times over the years when we kept butting heads. I knew his advice was sound and that I should listen more. Every time I went up against him it was because I longed for him to rein me in, to step up and take me in hand. When he finally did, my surrender felt like coming home. Liberating. But there’s no way I can justify his going along with Judge Matthews sentence.
No. All I can do is hate him because now he’s squarely in the wrong. I swallow. My mouth tastes bitter and my stomach churns at this new stark reality. A world where the love of my life can screw up indefensibly.
Unbearable.
I fight to keep my feelings from showing, but I suspect my despondency creeps through enough to be visible. I’m sure of it when the guilt on his face disappears and concern melts him again. He reaches for me. A river of his tenderness flows towards me. Hell no! I need to avoid that. I pull further away from him and jump up from the bed, my fists clenched.
“Go to hell, asshole! You really think you can romance your way out of this? Act like you delivered on your promise. Like fuck! You delivered exactly what you threatened in Ginny’s. Even when I followed your stupid orders. Don’t even think of touching me, you jackass!!”
Anger flares in his eyes for a moment and then the determined look I’m used to seeing strengthens his handsome features. He stands up, dwarfing me. I feel his power pulsing against my body before he moves back to give me the space I demand. I can feel my control slip even further in contrast to his measured actions.
He folds his arms and fixes me with his clear, chocolate gaze. His voice is solid, unwavering. “It might not have turned out the way we planned with Lisa earlier, but you were still only sentenced under a bylaw. Your offence stays in this town and disappears at the end of the year served. Your record’s clean and you’re not in jail. So! Yeah! I delivered! Just as I promised.”
I snort inelegantly, effectively expressing my disdain at his claims
He straightens, his arms dropping to his sides. His fists clench, mirroring mine. His face and voice take on a stern fury that doesn’t bode well for my ability to sit. “And I promise I’ll deliver a hellava a lot more if you keep up this attitude, little girl!”
I’m too incensed to heed his warning. Or maybe I want to push. Hell, maybe this is what I’m pushing for. A flash of triumph rages through me. Victory at arousing the tiger in him prompts me to push him even further. This is what excites me about our bouts. The freedom to give vent to my unrestrained anger banishes my fears and even my misery. My heart pounds as I stare into the furious face of the man I love. The fierce passion in these moments binds us together as irrevocably as our lovemaking.
“Don’t you dare threaten me. You’ve no right over me after your betrayal in court. My record may be clean, but you really think this won’t have an effect on my reputation! I struggle enough to gain respect in this town. You think any of that will survive my sentence? Ordered into your custody as a wayward woman under a colonial bylaw! I’m going to be a laughing stock! Just when I’m going back into private practice. Lisa unearthed that bylaw to protect me and you male chauvinist jerks used it for just the opposite! And you bet I’m in jail! With a lying, two faced fucker as my jailer!”

To be continued...

If you haven't read Rick and Sara's love story the first book with HFN ending is available as episodes or a complete book.


                                                                     

Saturday 22 October 2016

Intimate Knowledge - Caught and Punished!


Hi Everyone,
Great to be back on Saturday Spankings! It's been a while. It's been a glorious summer and a gorgeous fall here in England and Belgium where I was working for part of the summer.Off there again this morning for three weeks. Working but hoping to write as well.
My extract today is from my e-serial Intimate Knowledge. I'm rewriting it here and here and working on the next episode and plan to re-publish soon. It is an undercover cop and mafia romance.
We join the two main characters Raisa (undercover) and Leo (mafia) at a Boston nightclub where he has caught her trying to meet someone to as her BFF put 'f**k him right out of her system.' Naturally, she's in trouble, especially as she's wearing a very slutty outfit. At this point, after two very painful swats to her behind, he's marched her off to a private corridor and ripped off her far too revealing dress, leaving her in only her panties and heels...





I cross my hands over my naked breasts.  I can’t help comparing how different this feels from this afternoon when he freed them with tender passion using his hands and mouth to provide me with sweet, succulent pleasure. Strangely, shamefully, it’s no less arousing.
“Drop your hands.”
I obey him, dropping them to my side, but I refuse to drop my eyes.  Matching his piercing stare, I lift my chin.  Penitence or appealing to his pity is not working, maybe bravado will.  He leans into me, bracing one hand flat on the wall at either side of my head, caging me.  
Speaking close to my ear he warns in a quietly, ominous tone, “If I ever catch you dressed like that again, you won’t sit for a week.” He pauses to run his hand over the burning flesh of my buttocks before he continues. “That’s not an exaggeration, Raisa.  For the simple reason that each and every day of that week, I’ll take you across my knee for a severe thrashing - is that clear?”

Don't forget to visit all the other great blogs. 




Wednesday 19 October 2016

Wip It Up Wednesday Intimate Knowledge - Take Two



Well back on Wipitup Wednesday. Late due to computer crash and not on my new website, but here it is. Right now I'm reworking a serial I published from November 2013 to July 2014. Unfortunately didn't write it for a while so I unpublished it. I'm now getting ready to republish with a reworking and the next episode. I love this story best of all. It's the story of Leo and Raisa and has a suspense element and a love triangle.
This is the new opening:



Preface

Drip, drip, drip…

It is deeply dark.


I peer through a nighttime, black velvet absence of light only present in the semi-wilderness. I choke on the cloying, fetid stench of the water and centuries of layered undergrowth and fallen forest. The frozen dampness seeps in through my ripped clothing and torn flesh. I shift awkwardly to ease the ache of lying in this place for so long. I try again to struggle against the tight bonds that render my wrists and ankles immoveable. Faint sounds of movement further down by the bank of the lake alert me again to the grotesque activities enacted over the past hours. A soft, muffled weeping reaches me. I strain to see through the dark. Clouds move across the night sky. A sudden revelation lit by the half-moon uncovers a wretched sight.


Dark figures hunch over the inert form, their foul work finally at a close. All hope leaves me as I watch them heave the body into the lake. The movement of the trussed form through the dark water takes on an aching, slow motion quality, drawing out the agony. Desperate to cry out to mark the descent with the piercing howl it deserves, the filthy rag at my mouth denies me even that. Instead, I’m left only with the sound of the dripping forest, the lapping waves and Aura’s keening lament tearing through the night.


Chapter One

RAISA

Whoosh


My breath escapes in measured gulps as my surroundings come back into focus. The bullseye target hurtles down the shooting range towards me. The repeated bullet holes at its center form a ragged circle that testifies to the effectiveness of my aim. I’m aware of the weapon heavy in my hand.


Stepping away from the range, I remove the protective earmuffs that deaden the sound of repeated gunshots from the other lanes. Passing a shaky hand over my face, I’m met with the dewy dampness that covers it. I close my eyes, willing the misery and fear away. The sound of a long, low, drawn out whistle eases me free me from the power of the haunting sights and sounds.


“Good to see you haven’t lost your touch, teach.”


I breathe out, grateful for the teasing nickname and steadying balance of the deep male voice behind me. My legs are still shaky from the dark images that invaded me for those few moments. Drawing heavily on my cop skills to banish the aftermath of the waking dream, I manage to turn round with a casual grin on my lips


“It’d take more than a few weeks away to do that, Kincaid.”


The 6’1’ rugged, rough around the edges detective winks at me. “Guess I can confirm your weapon reclassification, then.” He takes my Glock, records the serial number, signs off on the form and hands it back. “Good to have you back, Raisa.”


I weigh the weapon, fondling it like a lost lover and then fit it tenderly back in my shoulder holster. Six weeks is a long time to be parted from my baby.


“Yeah.” I answer Kincaid, huskily.


“But not for long, I hear.”


Kincaid’s tone holds a quiet rebuke. Despite that, I feel a quick rush of excitement. Something I’ve not felt for a while.


“Yeah.” My tone is hard against his reproach.


He runs his hand through his hair in an action I know he adopts when he’s troubled. I rest my hand on my weapon, keeping my sight on the target in front of me. I shrug. My tone is flippant.


“Yeah, well. How was I to know that two years of evening courses would get me up to speed enough for the chief to enter me for a police scholarship? Guess he really wants shot of me.” I turn and grin, trying to lighten the mood. “Imagine, in about three months, I’ll be sitting in the halls of learning of a prestigious institution – me, Raisa Gordon.” I shake my head. “Go figure.”


Detective Luke Kincaid is not deterred. He counters my grin with a determined, searching stare. “I don’t get it, Raisa. I thought law school was just to help you be a better cop. Isn’t that what you told me? So you’d never screw up the arrest or the search. Now you’re going to be one of them.”


I match his look, giving him the seriousness our association deserves. My voice is soft, slightly apologetic, recognizing his sense of betrayal. “Yeah, vice has been good to me, partner, but it’s time.” I lower my voice and meet his eyes, my own darkening with a request for his understanding. “It’s still law enforcement, Luke.”


His accusation melts with my unusual softening, coupled with my almost never use of his first name. He looks at me soulfully before he realizes he’s doing it. When he does realize, I see the blush creep up his neck and along his hard, darkly stubbled jaw. He drops his eyes hiding their green glow. I don’t have to see it. I know him too well not to be able to picture it. Six years on the force hasn’t managed to erode his endearing mix of tough and tender. He’s one of the best rookies I brought through during my days as a training officer. After I left training for active service, it didn’t surprise me that he’d moved through the ranks rapidly enough for us to serve in the same department. He was my partner in vice for three years until he moved up to homicide last year.


I know he carries a torch for me.


My reputation as a badass and the seniority of my training role never intimidated him the way it did the other rookies. He’s a genuine nice guy and despite his dark, hard man looks, a bit of a soft touch with women. None of which detracts from his hotness. Several sources attest to his considerable talent in the sack and I’m tempted every time we reconnect, but it would be cruel to hook-up with him. His feelings are engaged and I know he’d not be satisfied with anything less than a relationship.


Raisa Gordon doesn’t do relationships. Hot sex with hot guys when she has the time, but not relationships. Professional camaraderie, even friendship, is fine at a certain level. Love is too dangerous an emotion and to be avoided unfailingly. I ruthlessly discarded it on any intimate level – family, lover, husband, child - when it catastrophically shredded me apart eight years ago.


I focus on the procedure of returning the earmuffs and securing my weapon, giving Luke space. He soon recovers and starts talking shop as we head off the range together. In the lift to the detectives’ floor, he fills me in on the significant goings on that I’ve missed at the precinct.


As we walk across the bullpen, he nods over to the senior detective’s office. “The chief’s been in there with two agents from the bureau for the past hour.”


My pulse starts to quicken. I follow his gaze. The only gig we have with the bureau these days is the Gold Task Force. Their trafficking and other nefarious activities have been under surveillance for over three years. Rumor has it there’s a new lead in the case. I’ve wanted to be on that task force from day one, but no way so far. Luke’s filled one of the spots for homicide for just under a year. Letting me live vicariously through him, he usually keeps me updated as much as my classification allows.


“Yeah? Any idea what the gig is?”


He confirms what I’d heard. “There’s a new lead in the case.” He gives me a pointed look, like there’s something I should know.


I raise my eyebrows, frustrated that he’s making me work for it. Wishing I were a bitch so I could unscrupulously use his feelings for me to indulge in constant pillow talk about the investigation, I just give him my best badass, I trained you, look. It really pisses me off that he has less experience and yet pulls more challenging and higher rated duties. It may be the 21st Century, but the glass ceiling is still there for women in the field as well as the boardroom.


He gives me a meaningful look. “You’ll find out soon enough.”


I turn quickly, heart hammering. Active duty does that to me “Fuck, Luke, you serious! They’re bringing me in?”


He nods darkly and gives me a non-committal answer. “Not for me to say.”


“Hey, you schmuck, you can’t tease me like that and leave me hanging.”


He’s not happy about them bringing me in. I wonder why. I know it can’t be because he feels I’m not up to the job.


He shrugs. “Like I said, you’ll find out soon enough.”


***


Hope that's peaked your interest. Please checkout my new website and maybe download the free book and join my mailing list. Just remember however tha tthe websitis also a WIP!


Helen Karol x

Wip It Up Wednesday Intimate Knowledge - Take Two



Well back on Wipitup Wednesday. Late due to computer crash and not on my new website, but here it is. Right now I'm reworking a serial I published from November 2013 to July 2014. Unfortunately didn't write it for a while so I unpublished it. I'm now getting ready to republish with a reworking and the next episode. I love this story best of all. It's the story of Leo and Raisa and has a suspense element and a love triangle.
This is the new opening:


Preface

Drip, drip, drip…

It is deeply dark.


I peer through a nighttime, black velvet absence of light only present in the semi-wilderness. I choke on the cloying, fetid stench of the water and centuries of layered undergrowth and fallen forest. The frozen dampness seeps in through my ripped clothing and torn flesh. I shift awkwardly to ease the ache of lying in this place for so long. I try again to struggle against the tight bonds that render my wrists and ankles immoveable. Faint sounds of movement further down by the bank of the lake alert me again to the grotesque activities enacted over the past hours. A soft, muffled weeping reaches me. I strain to see through the dark. Clouds move across the night sky. A sudden revelation lit by the half-moon uncovers a wretched sight.


Dark figures hunch over the inert form, their foul work finally at a close. All hope leaves me as I watch them heave the body into the lake. The movement of the trussed form through the dark water takes on an aching, slow motion quality, drawing out the agony. Desperate to cry out to mark the descent with the piercing howl it deserves, the filthy rag at my mouth denies me even that. Instead, I’m left only with the sound of the dripping forest, the lapping waves and Aura’s keening lament tearing through the night.

Chapter One

RAISA

Whoosh


My breath escapes in measured gulps as my surroundings come back into focus. The bullseye target hurtles down the shooting range towards me. The repeated bullet holes at its center form a ragged circle that testifies to the effectiveness of my aim. I’m aware of the weapon heavy in my hand.


Stepping away from the range, I remove the protective earmuffs that deaden the sound of repeated gunshots from the other lanes. Passing a shaky hand over my face, I’m met with the dewy dampness that covers it. I close my eyes, willing the misery and fear away. The sound of a long, low, drawn out whistle eases me free me from the power of the haunting sights and sounds.


“Good to see you haven’t lost your touch, teach.”


I breathe out, grateful for the teasing nickname and steadying balance of the deep male voice behind me. My legs are still shaky from the dark images that invaded me for those few moments. Drawing heavily on my cop skills to banish the aftermath of the waking dream, I manage to turn round with a casual grin on my lips


“It’d take more than a few weeks away to do that, Kincaid.”


The 6’1’ rugged, rough around the edges detective winks at me. “Guess I can confirm your weapon reclassification, then.” He takes my Glock, records the serial number, signs off on the form and hands it back. “Good to have you back, Raisa.”


I weigh the weapon, fondling it like a lost lover and then fit it tenderly back in my shoulder holster. Six weeks is a long time to be parted from my baby.


“Yeah.” I answer Kincaid, huskily.


“But not for long, I hear.”


Kincaid’s tone holds a quiet rebuke. Despite that, I feel a quick rush of excitement. Something I’ve not felt for a while.


“Yeah.” My tone is hard against his reproach.


He runs his hand through his hair in an action I know he adopts when he’s troubled. I rest my hand on my weapon, keeping my sight on the target in front of me. I shrug. My tone is flippant.


“Yeah, well. How was I to know that two years of evening courses would get me up to speed enough for the chief to enter me for a police scholarship? Guess he really wants shot of me.” I turn and grin, trying to lighten the mood. “Imagine, in about three months, I’ll be sitting in the halls of learning of a prestigious institution – me, Raisa Gordon.” I shake my head. “Go figure.”


Detective Luke Kincaid is not deterred. He counters my grin with a determined, searching stare. “I don’t get it, Raisa. I thought law school was just to help you be a better cop. Isn’t that what you told me? So you’d never screw up the arrest or the search. Now you’re going to be one of them.”


I match his look, giving him the seriousness our association deserves. My voice is soft, slightly apologetic, recognizing his sense of betrayal. “Yeah, vice has been good to me, partner, but it’s time.” I lower my voice and meet his eyes, my own darkening with a request for his understanding. “It’s still law enforcement, Luke.”


His accusation melts with my unusual softening, coupled with my almost never use of his first name. He looks at me soulfully before he realizes he’s doing it. When he does realize, I see the blush creep up his neck and along his hard, darkly stubbled jaw. He drops his eyes hiding their green glow. I don’t have to see it. I know him too well not to be able to picture it. Six years on the force hasn’t managed to erode his endearing mix of tough and tender. He’s one of the best rookies I brought through during my days as a training officer. After I left training for active service, it didn’t surprise me that he’d moved through the ranks rapidly enough for us to serve in the same department. He was my partner in vice for three years until he moved up to homicide last year.


I know he carries a torch for me.


My reputation as a badass and the seniority of my training role never intimidated him the way it did the other rookies. He’s a genuine nice guy and despite his dark, hard man looks, a bit of a soft touch with women. None of which detracts from his hotness. Several sources attest to his considerable talent in the sack and I’m tempted every time we reconnect, but it would be cruel to hook-up with him. His feelings are engaged and I know he’d not be satisfied with anything less than a relationship.


Raisa Gordon doesn’t do relationships. Hot sex with hot guys when she has the time, but not relationships. Professional camaraderie, even friendship, is fine at a certain level. Love is too dangerous an emotion and to be avoided unfailingly. I ruthlessly discarded it on any intimate level – family, lover, husband, child - when it catastrophically shredded me apart eight years ago.


I focus on the procedure of returning the earmuffs and securing my weapon, giving Luke space. He soon recovers and starts talking shop as we head off the range together. In the lift to the detectives’ floor, he fills me in on the significant goings on that I’ve missed at the precinct.


As we walk across the bullpen, he nods over to the senior detective’s office. “The chief’s been in there with two agents from the bureau for the past hour.”


My pulse starts to quicken. I follow his gaze. The only gig we have with the bureau these days is the Gold Task Force. Their trafficking and other nefarious activities have been under surveillance for over three years. Rumor has it there’s a new lead in the case. I’ve wanted to be on that task force from day one, but no way so far. Luke’s filled one of the spots for homicide for just under a year. Letting me live vicariously through him, he usually keeps me updated as much as my classification allows.


“Yeah? Any idea what the gig is?”


He confirms what I’d heard. “There’s a new lead in the case.” He gives me a pointed look, like there’s something I should know.


I raise my eyebrows, frustrated that he’s making me work for it. Wishing I were a bitch so I could unscrupulously use his feelings for me to indulge in constant pillow talk about the investigation, I just give him my best badass, I trained you, look. It really pisses me off that he has less experience and yet pulls more challenging and higher rated duties. It may be the 21st Century, but the glass ceiling is still there for women in the field as well as the boardroom.


He gives me a meaningful look. “You’ll find out soon enough.”


I turn quickly, heart hammering. Active duty does that to me “Fuck, Luke, you serious! They’re bringing me in?”


He nods darkly and gives me a non-committal answer. “Not for me to say.”


“Hey, you schmuck, you can’t tease me like that and leave me hanging.”


He’s not happy about them bringing me in. I wonder why. I know it can’t be because he feels I’m not up to the job.


He shrugs. “Like I said, you’ll find out soon enough.”


***


Hope that's peaked your interest. Please checkout my new website and maybe download the free book and join my mailing list. Just remember however tha tthe websitis also a WIP!


Helen Karol x

Wip It Up Wednesday Intimate Knowledge - Take Two



Well back on Wipitup Wednesday. Late due to computer crash and not on my new website, but here it is. Right now I'm reworking a serial I published from November 2013 to July 2014. Unfortunately didn't write it for a while so I unpublished it. I'm now getting ready to republish with a reworking and the next episode. I love this story best of all. It's the story of Leo and Raisa and has a suspense element and a love triangle.
This is the new opening:


Preface

Drip, drip, drip…

It is deeply dark.

I peer through a nighttime, black velvet absence of light only present in the semi-wilderness. I choke on the cloying, fetid stench of the water and centuries of layered undergrowth and fallen forest. The frozen dampness seeps in through my ripped clothing and torn flesh. I shift awkwardly to ease the ache of lying in this place for so long. I try again to struggle against the tight bonds that render my wrists and ankles immoveable. Faint sounds of movement further down by the bank of the lake alert me again to the grotesque activities enacted over the past hours. A soft, muffled weeping reaches me. I strain to see through the dark. Clouds move across the night sky. A sudden revelation lit by the half-moon uncovers a wretched sight.

Dark figures hunch over the inert form, their foul work finally at a close. All hope leaves me as I watch them heave the body into the lake. The movement of the trussed form through the dark water takes on an aching, slow motion quality, drawing out the agony. Desperate to cry out to mark the descent with the piercing howl it deserves, the filthy rag at my mouth denies me even that. Instead, I’m left only with the sound of the dripping forest, the lapping waves and Aura’s keening lament tearing through the night.

Chapter One

RAISA

Whoosh

My breath escapes in measured gulps as my surroundings come back into focus. The bullseye target hurtles down the shooting range towards me. The repeated bullet holes at its center form a ragged circle that testifies to the effectiveness of my aim. I’m aware of the weapon heavy in my hand.

Stepping away from the range, I remove the protective earmuffs that deaden the sound of repeated gunshots from the other lanes. Passing a shaky hand over my face, I’m met with the dewy dampness that covers it. I close my eyes, willing the misery and fear away. The sound of a long, low, drawn out whistle eases me free me from the power of the haunting sights and sounds.

“Good to see you haven’t lost your touch, teach.”

I breathe out, grateful for the teasing nickname and steadying balance of the deep male voice behind me. My legs are still shaky from the dark images that invaded me for those few moments. Drawing heavily on my cop skills to banish the aftermath of the waking dream, I manage to turn round with a casual grin on my lips

“It’d take more than a few weeks away to do that, Kincaid.”

The 6’1’ rugged, rough around the edges detective winks at me. “Guess I can confirm your weapon reclassification, then.” He takes my Glock, records the serial number, signs off on the form and hands it back. “Good to have you back, Raisa.”

I weigh the weapon, fondling it like a lost lover and then fit it tenderly back in my shoulder holster. Six weeks is a long time to be parted from my baby.

“Yeah.” I answer Kincaid, huskily.

“But not for long, I hear.”

Kincaid’s tone holds a quiet rebuke. Despite that, I feel a quick rush of excitement. Something I’ve not felt for a while.

“Yeah.” My tone is hard against his reproach.

He runs his hand through his hair in an action I know he adopts when he’s troubled. I rest my hand on my weapon, keeping my sight on the target in front of me. I shrug. My tone is flippant.

“Yeah, well. How was I to know that two years of evening courses would get me up to speed enough for the chief to enter me for a police scholarship? Guess he really wants shot of me.” I turn and grin, trying to lighten the mood. “Imagine, in about three months, I’ll be sitting in the halls of learning of a prestigious institution – me, Raisa Gordon.” I shake my head. “Go figure.”

Detective Luke Kincaid is not deterred. He counters my grin with a determined, searching stare. “I don’t get it, Raisa. I thought law school was just to help you be a better cop. Isn’t that what you told me? So you’d never screw up the arrest or the search. Now you’re going to be one of them.”

I match his look, giving him the seriousness our association deserves. My voice is soft, slightly apologetic, recognizing his sense of betrayal. “Yeah, vice has been good to me, partner, but it’s time.” I lower my voice and meet his eyes, my own darkening with a request for his understanding. “It’s still law enforcement, Luke.”

His accusation melts with my unusual softening, coupled with my almost never use of his first name. He looks at me soulfully before he realizes he’s doing it. When he does realize, I see the blush creep up his neck and along his hard, darkly stubbled jaw. He drops his eyes hiding their green glow. I don’t have to see it. I know him too well not to be able to picture it. Six years on the force hasn’t managed to erode his endearing mix of tough and tender. He’s one of the best rookies I brought through during my days as a training officer. After I left training for active service, it didn’t surprise me that he’d moved through the ranks rapidly enough for us to serve in the same department. He was my partner in vice for three years until he moved up to homicide last year.

I know he carries a torch for me.

My reputation as a badass and the seniority of my training role never intimidated him the way it did the other rookies. He’s a genuine nice guy and despite his dark, hard man looks, a bit of a soft touch with women. None of which detracts from his hotness. Several sources attest to his considerable talent in the sack and I’m tempted every time we reconnect, but it would be cruel to hook-up with him. His feelings are engaged and I know he’d not be satisfied with anything less than a relationship.

Raisa Gordon doesn’t do relationships. Hot sex with hot guys when she has the time, but not relationships. Professional camaraderie, even friendship, is fine at a certain level. Love is too dangerous an emotion and to be avoided unfailingly. I ruthlessly discarded it on any intimate level – family, lover, husband, child - when it catastrophically shredded me apart eight years ago.

I focus on the procedure of returning the earmuffs and securing my weapon, giving Luke space. He soon recovers and starts talking shop as we head off the range together. In the lift to the detectives’ floor, he fills me in on the significant goings on that I’ve missed at the precinct.

As we walk across the bullpen, he nods over to the senior detective’s office. “The chief’s been in there with two agents from the bureau for the past hour.”

My pulse starts to quicken. I follow his gaze. The only gig we have with the bureau these days is the Gold Task Force. Their trafficking and other nefarious activities have been under surveillance for over three years. Rumor has it there’s a new lead in the case. I’ve wanted to be on that task force from day one, but no way so far. Luke’s filled one of the spots for homicide for just under a year. Letting me live vicariously through him, he usually keeps me updated as much as my classification allows.

“Yeah? Any idea what the gig is?”

He confirms what I’d heard. “There’s a new lead in the case.” He gives me a pointed look, like there’s something I should know.

I raise my eyebrows, frustrated that he’s making me work for it. Wishing I were a bitch so I could unscrupulously use his feelings for me to indulge in constant pillow talk about the investigation, I just give him my best badass, I trained you, look. It really pisses me off that he has less experience and yet pulls more challenging and higher rated duties. It may be the 21st Century, but the glass ceiling is still there for women in the field as well as the boardroom.

He gives me a meaningful look. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

I turn quickly, heart hammering. Active duty does that to me “Fuck, Luke, you serious! They’re bringing me in?”

He nods darkly and gives me a non-committal answer. “Not for me to say.”

“Hey, you schmuck, you can’t tease me like that and leave me hanging.”

He’s not happy about them bringing me in. I wonder why. I know it can’t be because he feels I’m not up to the job.

He shrugs. “Like I said, you’ll find out soon enough.”

***

Hope that's peaked your interest. Please checkout my new website and maybe download the free book and join my mailing list. Just remember however tha tthe websitis also a WIP!

Helen Karol x

Saturday 2 April 2016

Her Forbidden Spring - You've Been a Very Naughty Girl, Professor.


Hi All!
My teaser today is from  short story I've been working on for a while, Her Forbidden Spring. It's a short story that's evolved from a 2000 word story I penned for The End of Summer Spanks. The story created interest in the couple then with suggestions to expand it. I decided to do that as I think the couple in the story, Marcie and Troy, have a great dynamic with strong chemistry. 

At this point in the story, Marcie is unbalanced by Troy's unexpected presence in her college seminar. She thought she seen the last of him when she gave him the slip at the archaeological dig in Mexico where they worked together over the winter. She's decided that their relationship must remain a fling and is doing her best to resist her deeper feelings.Troy has no intention of permitting that. He's transferred to the college where she teaches and has turned the tables on her by attending as a new student in her seminar class. The teaser begins at the end of the class after the other students have left and Marcie and Troy are alone in her classroom. Leaving Professor  Marcia Reynolds to deal with a lover who has unexpectedly become her student.

Thursday 31 March 2016

Guess what? It's a sunny day here in England! So, I'm even more inspired by this photo and my memories of the Rockies to settle down to work on my latest WIP set in the beautiful town of Hope Junction.
  Wes and Janey's story, tentatively entitled The Sheriff's Woman, is the second in the series that began with  my #1 best seller The Rancher's Woman.  Here's a sneak peek!

Wednesday 17 February 2016

WipItUp WednesdayInspiring Places! Where Will the Writing Muse Take Me?#wipitup


Missed the link but thought I'd post anyway. Just bought some rosemary oil - determined to stimulate my mind and create some writing romance!

Settling down in rainy, winter grey England to write about beautiful Hope Junction, Wyoming in Wes and Janey's story. 

Saturday 30 January 2016

Some Sexy Biting. #MySexySaturday #MySexyAuthors


Welcome to My Sexy Saturday. The theme this week is sexy vampires. I haven’t written a vampire book yet, but vampires do bite and then heal the hurt with some sexy licking that drives their woman wild. What makes vampires even sexier is that they are darkly handsome, a little unruly and somewhat tortured. And they can't keep away from the woman they love no matter how hard they try. All that sums up Julian in HIS By Design. So I've chosen seven sentences from a scene with a little tortured angst that's flavored with a little delicious biting and licking...