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Character Traits and the Author

Do you rub off on your characters? Do many of them have similarities? Mine do. Most of my heroes have expensive taste in fine wines and tobacco. Many drive luxury cars when the need arises for them to do so in my romance stories. My heroines and I have taste in lingerie and erotic fantasies.

Take my heroine, Katalin, from Light and Shadow. She has a yearning for a higher sense of enjoyment, living life closer to fantasy than reality. In her story, a light hearted BDSM tale, Stefan whisks her off to New Orleans to offer her an illusion he’d like to make into reality. Only, the real world interferes and she runs off into a dangerous part of town where she hurts herself. Stefan chases after her and the story progresses from there.

Very similar to Stefan is Reinhold from Her Shelter. While Stefan is not a wolf as Reinhold is, he is a definite Alpha on a learning curve with his mates. Both men share that trait as I have in the past. Reinhold’s connection to Stefan is that he aspires to give those in his care a fantasy come true in the form of a better life.

Most of my heroines tend towards the curvy side, as that’s the type of woman I’m generally attracted to though if you saw my twitter stream you’d see I flirt with pretty much everyone. Reinhold has that affect on the women in his life. They flirt back and enjoy his rich, sometimes ribald humor.

Then there’s my love of drink. I can’t find one hero I’ve ever written for ANY publisher that didn’t enjoy fine wine, whisky or woman. I guess the latter has to be incorporated since I am a romance author, but the wine and whisky aren’t a part of the stories. Or are they?

These character traits lend depth to my romance stories and give the characters more than just dialogue and action. I like to think they tie me to the theme of whom and what I write about. What about you and your characters?

HER SHELTER
Ghost of Christmas Future
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The ghost of Christmas Future…

Can a strong Alpha learn lessons of the heart from someone who refuses their own emotions or will the Ghost of Christmas Future be forced to interfere?

New pack alpha Reinhold struggles with control over his pack, trying to provide the best for them while maintaining his relationship with the Sisters of the Moon.

Mistress Crissy is the solid, logical member of three sisters that have been granted possession of all wolves in this world by Diana, Goddess of the Moon. Her connection to Reinhold is purely lust based, or so she thinks until he pulls a stupid stunt and injures himself and her heart.

Can either of these two see heart to heart or will it take a little intervention from the ghost of Christmas Future to force them both to realise that they need each other as Mistress and switch?

EXCERPT:

The world came into focus as he opened his eyes. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and stretched, looking down at his body with a yawn and an amused grin at the sight of the bruises he wore that reminded him of last night. Still, the milky taste of his own seed in his mouth irritated him.
Soft sheets surrounded his naked body and beneath him a firm mattress. Looking to his side, he noticed Crissy was gone. Where had his Mistress gone off to, he wondered. Like the other two sisters, Crissy was an enigma all herself. But unlike Lynne, who was the more emotional one, Crissy had boxed up her emotions and put them away.
Reinhold knew that game well. He’d done the same thing until Katiera had come into his life. The fact that Mistress and submissive shared a trait like that endeared her more to him.
Sliding off the bed, he padded into the large bathroom that was directly in front of him. A weight pressed against his neck. He saw the collar, black and red with a dragon emblem on the front in between two D rings. An O ring protruded from the centre of the dragon. The leash was gone.
Pliable leather was soft beneath his fingers. This collar was completely different than the posture collar Lynne made him occasionally wear.
Grinning, his cock hardened slightly at the thought of being inside Crissy again. Then he remembered his punishment last night. She’d tried to humble her wolf by making him eat his own cum out of her sopping wet pussy. The thought had horrified him, but he’d did it anyway. Reinhold wasn’t one to complain much, whining was for sissies. A part of him had been excited that Mistress Crissy took her role seriously and had punished him. But this wasn’t about that, ultimately. It was about her getting what she needed from him.
Or so he let her think.
Walking into the bathroom, he looked around and saw the black and forest-green tiling, noted the silver showerhead and ornate curtain hanging from the matching silver rod. Peeling it back, he turned on the water, testing it until it hit just the right temperature. Reinhold hadn’t been able to heal himself to full strength in many weeks due to his hectic work schedule with his business and the pack.
A wolf’s power came from the Moon, but if the wolves didn’t rest and hunt during the full moon, then his body would become weaker, and he’d have to eventually have a spiritual healer come in and play with light energies to cleanse him.
Reinhold had no time for that. The determined wolf had a pack to take care of, the human had a business to run.
The hot spray hit his back, easing some tension from his body. With a tug on his hair, he freed the braid and let water sluice down on him, soaking his hair.
Steam filled the bathroom quickly, letting his mind settle into a light fog that he used to think his way out of business predicaments. He was here for a week, and it didn’t bode well. There were two commercial deals that needed to be funded with documents finalised before the end of the month. There were babies who needed to learn how to hunt with the Alpha.
Reinhold took a very active role as Alpha, training Katiera in her duties as mate, alpha and head honcho when Reinhold was absent. She was a mystery all by herself, but…
He let out a long, slow breath. Scents of jasmine and vanilla filled the room from the lather in his hair. Must be Crissy’s scent.
Unsnapping the collar, he set it on the counter. The water wouldn’t ruin the leather, but he’d want to dry it off before he put it on again so it’d remain clean.
“Showering early?” The shower curtain pulled back quickly, and Crissy stood before him, wrapped in a large black and green towel. Her hair had been piled atop her head. Silver and purple eyes sparkled, but the rest of her face held that same emotionless expression she’d worn when she showed up last night.
“Yeah. What of it?” He turned his face back to the steaming water, inhaling the spray along with her woodsy scent
She dropped the towel and stepped in behind him.
He remained still even though his body hardened. Arousal thrummed through him, forcing him to clench his fists. She wouldn’t like it if he stepped over the line by taking her. She was the aggressor, that much he’d tried to remember from last night.
Funny, the wolf being prey for a human.
The two stood in the shower for a moment, each soaking themselves beneath the spray before he returned to face the wall. Crissy stood behind him. His body became oh so aware of her luscious figure. Breasts pressed into his back before her hands circled his waist.
He felt heat on his back and fingers parting his hair.
Crissy’s hands ran over his shoulders, fingers working into his sore muscles. More tension dissipated from his body with each stroke down the plane of his back. He moved to face her, but her hands gripped his shoulders.
“Stay,” she commanded.
“But I want—”
“You still don’t get it. It’s not about what you want. It’s what I want.” She spoke curtly.
The wolf inside him growled with annoyance. Reinhold made an undignified sound but kept looking into the black and green tiles before him.
Her hands rubbed down his shoulders, smoothing over knots in his back before circling around his waist.
His cock stiffened to full attention.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” she uttered.
He nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat that had formed from anticipation of being touched and stroked. The wolf inside wanted its mate, and recognised the scents pouring off Crissy’s skin, vanilla and dirt, scents of the sensual wolf.
Lynne had once told him his own scent was masculine, rich and dark, a compliment to both her and her sisters. The thought pleased him, bringing a smile to his face that widened when Crissy’s hands slid down the small of his back over his ass. Cupping his cheeks firmly, she dug sharp fingernails in.
Spray splashed off his face and down his neck. He arched forward, placing both hands against the wall.
Nails raked gently along his inner thighs, causing a shudder to race through him. His cock bobbed and began to throb, desire to bury himself inside his Mistress coursing through his body.
But it wasn’t about his needs.
Her nails traced her name on the backs of his thighs before returning to his ass and giving him a light squeeze.
Gritting his teeth, Reinhold let out a breath. “You’re killing me,” he muttered.
“Good. That’s part of the point.” Crissy cupped his sac and tugged lightly.
Her gentle touch nearly made him cum right there. His knees went weak. His body shook from her touch.

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