Red Rock Pass Blog Tour & Giveaway with Moira Rogers!

THE BACKSTORY

From the time we announced the final Red Rock ebook in 2009, people have been asking us when we'd go back to the Sanctuary world and write more about werewolves and their witch rivals.  In the beginning we didn't want to return--we had our four books and our two prequel novellas, and those were the stories we had to tell.  But people kept asking, and we kept saying, "Well, what if...okay, no, but maybe if..."

A watched pot never boils, and I'm starting to think a watched plot is the same way.  The harder we tried to force ourselves to come up with the right story, the more they slipped away.  Finally we set the idea aside for a while, reluctantly admitting that maybe it had been too long in any case.  We'd missed our window.  It was time to work on other--

BOOM!  That was our idea, knocking us head over heels.  It hit us so hard we sat down and wrote Haunted Sanctuary instead of the book we were supposed to be writing.   It wasn't the story we'd originally imagined.  It takes place in a new town, with a new cast of characters, and is set several years after the end of Red Rock Pass.  You don't have to be familiar with any of the previous books to pick up Haunted Sanctuary...

...but hey.  Any excuse to give away books is good for us!

THE BLOG TOUR

Thanks to the generosity of Samhain Publishing--and with the assistance of many awesome bloggers--we get to spend the next twenty days giving away 80 ebooks!  Those of you who haven't read the Red Rock Pass books will have twenty different chances to win the entire set in the ebook format of your choice.

In honor of that, we're going to be revisiting some of our favorite scenes from each of the four books...and maybe showing a few sneaky peeks at the next chapter in the Sanctuary Universe!

TODAY'S SNIPPET

Sanctuary's Price: First Kiss
aka I'm Sorry, I Tripped And Fell On Your Tongue

Different couples move at different speeds.  Sometimes they're jumping into bed by chapter two, sometimes they're still giving each other meaningful looks into chapter three.

Sasha and Dylan were a couple on a slow burn from minute one.  So much was standing in their way, both internal conflict and external, but that didn't stop the longing looks or the hungry thoughts.  And the first time Sasha decided to put herself in danger, all that tension bubbled to the surface...

Kisses in the midst of disaster are never the best timing, but sometimes you can't help but take that chance.  Just in case.

* * *

“No. Hell no.” His knuckles had gone white, and she thought she might find the shape of his hand imprinted on the doorknob when he let go. “Sam and Gavin won’t let you do it either, Sasha. They’re not going to let you kill yourself, so if you can’t find a way to do it safely, don’t even bring it up.”

Irrational anger seized her. “I wasn’t asking for your permission, and I can’t just let her die.”

“And I can’t just let you die!” The words came out low and hoarse, and Dylan clenched his eyes shut a moment later. He dragged in an uneven breath and exhaled on a curse. “The Gaelic spell. The one Gavin helped us translate. You can use that, on me.”

“No.” She took a step back. “No, it’s the same damn thing. It may as well be a bond, Dylan. It’s too—” Intimate. “It’s too much for you. For both of us.”

He took the words the wrong way, and she saw the pain in his eyes. “I may not be Joe or Keith, but I’m not an invalid. There’s enough power in me to help keep you safe.”

“Stop it. It’s not about that.” If she cast the spell, they’d be inside each other, with no place or way to hide anything. Sasha hadn’t been able to conceal her physical reactions from him during the time they’d spent together, but she wasn’t ready for him to see beyond that. Still, there was no other way. He was right; Gavin would never let her risk herself so completely.

“All right,” she whispered. “I need the book.”

He watched her for a few heartbeats, as if he didn’t quite trust her not to bolt if he left her alone. Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before he let go of the doorknob. “Put on the coat.” This time it sounded like a request instead of an order. “I’ll grab the book.”

“I’ll wait.” She donned the jacket and clenched her fists so hard her nails bit into her palms. What effect the vampire’s blood bond would have on either of them was a terrifying unknown, and the thought of dragging Dylan into a situation she couldn’t quantify, much less control, scared the hell out of her.

But it was clear he wouldn’t let her do it alone. He reappeared less than a minute later with the book in hand and a serious look on his face. When he reached for the slightly dented doorknob, he glanced at her. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Sasha. I know you just want to help. And that’s why I worry.”

Sasha moved without thinking. She wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and hauled his mouth to hers. He had to understand the desperate need inside her before she opened herself to him, so she parted her lips and sought his tongue.

The priceless volume hit the floor with a thud. Dylan caught her around the waist and spun her until her back hit the door. He kissed her with the same intensity that had transfixed her over the past week, with complete focus and a level of expertise that made her heart pound. A groan worked its way up from deep in his chest, low and a little needy, and the skilled play of his tongue against hers melted into something less refined.

He wanted her, and not with a placid human desire either. The man might be the one pressing her into the door, his warm chest a solid weight under her hand, but the wolf’s power stirred as he groaned again, tickling her skin as that dark, primal magic focused all of its attention on her.

Her desperation broke, giving way to heavy, liquid desire, and she pulled her mouth from his with a shaky moan. Her lips tingled, her body throbbed and every cell of her being protested the broken contact. “I’m sorry.”

Dylan rested his forehead against the door for several endless heartbeats, his breath coming only in harsh pants. Then he shuddered and bent to scoop up the book. “You might be sorry.” He opened the door and hustled her out onto the landing. “If you think I was an overprotective ass before, you may want to kill me by sunset.”

***

THE CONTEST

Leave a comment if you'd like to be entered to win a set of the Red Rock Pass ebooks!  And keep an eye open for the new book, Haunted Sanctuary, on sale January 22nd from Samhain Publishing and available to pre-order at Samhain, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, iTunes & Books on Board!