The winner of the Grand Prize for the Fall Into Romance Blog Hop, a $75 Amazon gift card is Yolanda Matias.  Congratulations, Yolanda.

The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card provided by yours truly is, Linda Kish!  Woot, way to go, Linda.  I will be sending your gift card to you shortly.

I am sincerely grateful to all those who took time out of their busy schedules to visit my page.  A special thank you to Jane Wakely for putting together this fun hop and all the amazing authors who participated.

Hugs,
Stevie

Welcome to the Fall Into Romance Blog Hop.  Each author participating will be offering a prize for visiting their blog.  I will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card. Simply leave a comment that includes you email address or sign up for my newsletter using the link on the right to enter. The winner will be announced by Wednesday, September 24th.  There is also a grand prize provided by the blog hosts of a $75.00 Amazon gift card and you may enter once on any blog in this hop using the Rafflecopter link.  Mine is at the bottom of this page.


www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com

For my post I've decided to share a sample from chapter one of my WIP (work in progress).  This book is a spin-off from The O'Malley books.  I don't have a working title yet, but it's from Abby and Connor's story.  I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One

      Abigail Stevens was standing on the top rung of a six foot step ladder arranging boxes of designer shoes when Connor McCabe entered the back room of her new shop and frowned.  She was barefoot, her heels kicked off at the base of the ladder, so she hadn’t totally lost her mind but it was still incredibly reckless as far as he was concerned. 

      They’d talked about this very thing, more than once. Taking chances, leaving the doors unlocked when she was there alone, were not acceptable.  Once the store was open for business it couldn’t be avoided.  There would be times she was on her own, but at least there would be customers coming and going, not a solitary woman behind paper covered windows late at night.

      He calmed his breathing, forcing the frustration he felt deep.  She was ignoring every directive he’d given her and he didn’t like it, not one bit.  Abby was over an hour late getting home, her glittery cell phone was lying on the counter in the main part of the shop, far out of reach should she need it, and he’d been standing there a good three or four minutes and she still didn’t realize she wasn’t alone.  By now, had his intentions been evil, he could have had most of her clothes off or slit her throat.   At the very least he could be driving away in her car with her cell and purse!  No, this wasn’t something he could ignore. She was small, fragile and she thought she was kick-ass tough, touting her black belt like it was a prize she’d won, as if it could protect her from someone like him, a former Navy Seal who’d been standing unnoticed for what, six minutes now, he realized, glancing at his watch.  He topped her by more than a foot, outweighed her by better than a hundred pounds and could move so quickly and quietly she’d never know what hit her.

      Instead, he stood by the ladder, ready to offer aide if she needed it.  Brushing her long dark ponytail over her shoulder, she made her way down the rungs, feeling for each step with her bare toes.  When she settled on the one about two feet from the bottom, Connor snaked an arm around her waist and plucked her off, swinging her up and into his arms. She screamed and struggled instinctively as he held her, staring into her frightened eyes.

      “Jesus Connor,” she swore, slapping him on the shoulder as she relaxed in his hold.  “You scared the crap out of me!”

      “Daddy’s not very happy with you,” he informed her sternly.

      “Connor, we talked about this,” she sighed in frustration.  “You’re only my Daddy when we’re playing, and right now I’m working, so put me down,” she insisted, with a stare that was meant to intimidate him, yet somehow failed miserably.

      “So right now, I’m Connor?” he asked with slightly evil intent in his blue eyes.

      “Yes!”

      “Good,” he snapped, putting his booted foot on the second rung of the ladder and flipping her in his arms.  He had her face down over his knee in a heartbeat.

      “Wait,” she screamed, frozen for a moment.  “Why is that good?”

      Connor smiled as he patted her bottom.  “It allows me to be harsher,” he replied. “A daddy would never punish his little girl so harshly, as your man, it’s acceptable.”

      “Acceptable to whom?” she screeched.

      “To me,” he replied, tightening his grip on her waist.

      “No, wait,” she pleaded, back peddling like mad.  “You can be my daddy now, if you want to.”

      “Too late,” he said, smiling as his hand began to fall.  He didn’t pull her jeans or panties down, he didn’t need too.  There was more than enough power in his large hand to instill his feelings about this.  One swat covered her entire ass, and he had no intention of holding back.

She was crazy foolish as far as he was concerned and he would make her aware of that now.

He didn’t count the slaps that rained down on her bottom; he didn’t care how many it took for her to learn this lesson.  He would spank her each and every time she ignored her personal safety and it wasn’t news to her, they’d discussed it many times and a few in this very manner.  Why she didn’t take his warnings seriously, he had no idea, but she soon would.

      Abby struggled, swore and promised retribution of immense proportions as Connor turned her butt into a raging inferno.  Her hair hung almost to the floor, her feet kicked uselessly and she tried to pinch his calf.  Finding no extra skin, she used her nails to dig him.  In response, Connor moved to the back of her thighs.

      “Stop, please,” she finally begged, giving into the pain as her tears fell.  “At least tell me why,” she demanded on a wail.

      “Why?” he asked, truly shocked as his hand paused.  “You tell me, little girl,” he shot back, waiting.

      Abby racked what was left off her brain.  The entire episode caught her so off guard it was hard to focus.  That added to her now scorching ass, made concentration difficult.

      “The ladder?” she asked, as she twisted her head, trying to make eye contact.  Maybe if he saw her big brown tearful eyes he would relent. It had worked before.

      “That’s a start,” he replied, smacking her bottom a good one.

      “Oh,” she yelped, struggling to handle the sting and think.  “Um… the door being unlocked?”

      “What else?” he asked as he nodded and walloped her again.

      “I don’t know,” she wailed, drooping over this thick thigh.

      “Where’s you cell?” he demanded, spanking her three times, hard.

      “Out there on the counter,” she cried.

      “And is it of any use to you, say now when you’re at the mercy of a very determined man?” he questioned with three more cracks.

      “No,” she sobbed.  “Please stop Con, I get it, I really do.”

      “Obviously you don’t,” he insisted, spanking her again and again.  “Your purse is out there, lying open with your wallet and keys in plain sight,” he growled, his huge hand resting for the moment on her burning butt.  “And you’re alone.”

      “I’m not alone,” she shouted, regretting it immediately as he spanked the tops of the thighs.  “Bridget’s with me.”

      “Really, I don’t see her,” he drawled, pausing.

      “She was here, she just ran out to get coffee,” Abby sighed sniffling.

      “Oh, ‘Miss I can get distracted by anything that sparkles’ is you protection, your back-up?” he snorted.   “Is there a reason you couldn’t have locked the door behind her? Why you couldn’t have waited until she got back before balancing on the top of a six foot ladder?”

      “I ah…I…”

      “I didn’t think so,” he snapped, resuming his blistering cracks to her ass with a steady rhythm. 

      “Please Con, please,” she cried.  “I’m sorry, so sorry,” she sobbed, her small body trembling.

      Connor turned her over and planted her sore bottom on his thigh, holding her in place as she tried to hop down.  Grasping her chin, he forced her to look at him.

      “I will not tolerate this, Abigail.  I know what having your own shop means to you and I support you 100%, but not under these circumstances,” he barked as her eyes studied his face.

      Cropped blonde hair, clear blue eyes and a chiseled jaw that currently had a tick in it were not very reassuring. Abby had no doubt that this scene would be replayed each and every time she disobeyed him on something he took seriously.  Part of her wanted to tell him to fuck off and mind his own business, even though it would certainly ensure her spanking wasn’t over.  However, it was another part of her that stopped her.  Inside, despite the painful discipline, there was the gooey warm feeling his dominance brought out.  His no nonsense attitude when it came to her well-being both frustrated her and turned her on right down to her pink toenails. 

      Connor loved her, she had no doubt, and this wasn’t some macho, alpha act.  This was who he was, overprotective, demanding, bossy and used to being obeyed.  He was also loving, gentle and fun.  It was a lethal combination as far as her heart went and as much as he pissed her off, she wouldn’t change one hair on his head.

      “Why didn’t you call me when you knew you were going to be late?” he asked, softly.

      Abby wasn’t fooled by his change of tone or the accusing look in his eyes.  One smart-ass comment and he would resume spanking her with a vengeance.

      “The time just got away from me baby,” she answered truthfully wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt.  “I have so much to do before I open and it’s only two weeks away.  A major shipment of stock is coming in on Saturday and I don’t even have a place to put it.  Shelves have to be put up and there are displays to get ready.  I haven’t even unpacked my computer system or register yet, I had no idea everything would take so long.”

      “Why haven’t you asked for help?” he scowled.

      “It’s my responsibility.  You’re working for Mason now and at the pub.  I’ll…”

      “You’ll swallow your pride and ask for help, is what you’ll do,” he informed her lifting her to the floor.  “Put your shoes on and hand me the rest of those boxes.”

      A half an hour later all the shoes were neatly on the upper shelves arranged according to style and size.  Bridget still wasn’t back and it was no surprise when Dell walked into the shop.

      “Anyone see my bride?” he asked, looking around.  “She was supposed to be home an hour ago and I can’t reach her on her cell.

      “No,” Connor replied, lifting a heavy box onto a display case in the main part of the store, “but she better hope you find her before I do.”

      “What did she do now?” Dell asked, sighing.

      “She was supposed to be here with Abby and I found this one by herself doing all sorts of naughty things,” he replied, indicating a blushing Abby

      Abby elbowed him away from the box and managed to make him grunt.

      “Hey,” he yelled, “for someone who just got her bottom roasted, you’re pretty fresh.”

      “She went to get coffee,” Abby offered, pulling Styrofoam out of the box Connor had sliced open.

      “How long ago?” Dell asked, checking his watch.

      “Oh, may half an hour ago,” Abby replied

      “Maybe an hour and a half,” Connor corrected, giving Abby a stern look.

      “An hour and a half,” Dell asked, looking at his watch.  “There’s a coffee shop around the corner.  Where was she parked?”

      “Out back,” Abby replied, feeling a little worried herself, now that she really thought about it.

      Dell headed through the store to the back entrance.  In the weak glow from one security light he saw Bridget lying crumpled on the pavement as soon as he pushed open the heavy steel door.  Her leg was at an odd angle and there was no sign of her car.

      “Call 9-1-1 and tell them we need an ambulance and call Rory,” he shouted in through the open door as he ran to his wife.  Abby and Connor were right behind him as she fumbled with her cell.

Copyright 2014 Stevie MacFarlane
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