Ménage a May: Blushing Violet by Ann Mayburn (Feature/Excerpt/Giveaway)

Moving right along in our event a master of erotica, Ann Mayburn, has provided us with a fun little snippet from her M/F, M/F/M novel, Blushing Violet. She is also offering a copy to giveaway at the end, enjoy! 

Shy and quirky Violet Bishop has finally found the perfect way to meet a man who could fulfill her hidden submissive desires, something that she has never dared to ask her conservative and uptight ex-boyfriends to do. She joins an on-line matchmaking site that puts couples together based on the books that they love, in this case the BDSM erotica that lines her bookshelves.
Two Dominant best friends and business partners, Carlos Romano and Morgan Kane, are matched with Violet. They both want to date her and rather than fight about it they decide to keep the fact that they know each other away from her and let her pick who she wants to be with. A good idea in theory but something that become impossible as they both fall in love with Violet and wish to make her their own.
Carlos and Morgan work on building up Violet’s almost non-existent self-esteem and help her find an inner strength she never knew she had, along with an almost bottomless craving for their dominant touch. When Violet discovers they have been lying to her, the men realize that they have made her strong enough to leave them, and they have to find a way to win their perfect woman back, no matter what.

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Blushing Violet Excerpt

Violet took a big swig of her black coffee to wash down the aspirin. Her headache throbbed so hard she thought her eyes might fall out of her aching skull. If that would make her feel any better, she was all for it. Even an afternoon nap hadn’t helped the situation.

Trying to think of what she could tolerate for dinner, she opened her email and blinked. There, between an ad for penis enhancement and a discount promo from Victoria’s Secret, sat two messages from Literary Love. She sat there staring at the emails, trying to tell herself not to get her hopes up. It could just be receipts of her purchase, or a welcome message.

That excuse was as flimsy as her last paycheck. In big black letters next to the senders name was the message We Found a Match!. Not once, but twice. Unable to deny that the website had found her an alleged match, in less than twenty-four hours, she moved on to telling herself that the men must be losers.

Adam barked at the back door, wanting to be let out despite the perfectly functional doggy door. Finger hovering over the mouse, she tried to get up the nerve to click it. What if it was some big, super pervert weirdo who wanted to eat peanut butter out of her nose? What if they met her and were disappointed and she had to sit through a date with someone who wanted to chew their arm off to escape her? What if—

Loud and getting frantic, Adam’s barking broke through her indecision. “You’re right, Adam. It’s time to nut-up or shut up.”

Clicking the mouse, she spun out of her chair and headed for the back door before the screen could load. Feeling like a coward, she watched Adam wander around the snow-covered yard and snuffle for a good spot. Normally she wished the dog would hurry up, but today she was content to let him take his time. Heck, if he wanted to get a copy of the New Yorker and read it while he went to the bathroom she’d be happy. It meant she could avoid the computer screen a little while longer. Unfortunately, Adam decided it was too cold to hang out and ran back into the house in record time, for him.

Taking small steps, Violet kept her eyes on the gray carpet as she moved from the enclosed back porch and into the living room. Her gaze ran over the soft cream walls, skipping past pictures of friends and family, looking everywhere but the computer screen. When her feet bumped into the thick plastic sheet beneath her computer chair, she stopped and stood there.

A cold and wet nose nudged her hand and she squatted next to Adam, scratching his ears while his sweet brown eyes rolled in bliss.

“You know I’m being silly, right? I mean, I come from a species that mastered fire and can openers, surely I can find the bravery to look at an email. It’s not like I have to respond or anything.” Adam took her pep talk in stride and flopped onto his back, displaying his barrel belly for some loving. “You’re right, Adam. I’m setting a bad example for you. How can I help you get over your irrational fear of squirrels and the sound of Oprah’s voice if I can’t even look at an email?”

She leaned forward and grabbed his ears, bringing her forehead to his. “For you, Adam, I’m doing this for you.”

Releasing her four-legged love machine, she scooted into her computer chair and looked at the screen.

Dear Blushing Violet,

Well, that wasn’t too bad of a start. At least he got her name right, and could spell it.

You cannot imagine how delighted I was when I opened my email this morning and found your lovely eyes staring back at me.

Maybe he wasn’t wearing his glasses yet.

I’ve never seen their likeness, they remind me of mint leaves covered in frost.

Maybe he sold paint for a living. Would explain his knowledge of colors.

When I read your profile and your favorite book selections, I couldn’t help but smile. If you’ll notice, it almost exactly matches my list.

She quickly scrolled to the bottom of his email, where his profile was displayed. She made a little sound of disappointment that he had no picture. His name was Rocky. She started to snort but remembered her own none-too-original screen name. Let those who don’t have tacky online identities throw the first stone. She would have to click another link to take her to his bookcase, and decided to get back to the letter instead.

I would love to meet with you and take you out to dinner or anything else you would like.

Great, he’s blind and desperate.

I was wondering if you would do one thing for me before we meet. I’ve enclosed my favorite picture from a mutual book that we both like. I would enjoy knowing what picture draws you in, what image speaks to you. Though you do not know me, I promise you that nothing you pick will shock me or make me think less of you. I hope the same can be said for me.

Rocky

Licking her lips, she clicked the attached picture file and gasped. A naked and bound woman rested her head on the thick leather-clad thigh of a man. The photo stopped midway on him, leaving the viewer with only a hint of the body above his spectacular six-pack. Most people would have just looked at the elaborate knots holding her arms behind her and assumed she was in pain, but Violet looked beyond. Peace, tranquility and satisfaction filled the woman’s face as she cuddled against the man. One strong hand gripped the back of her head, but Violet noted how his thumb barely pressed into her cheek, caressing her.

Heart pounding, she closed the email. For a long time she sat and stared at the computer screen, only flinching when the screen saver came on. She loved that picture, it was one of her favorites from the black bound book. Everything about that picture spoke about the relationship she craved, the emotional aspects of being a submissive that went beyond sex.

Putting off responding to him, she opened the next email. To her surprise it wasn’t a copy of the first, but a whole new man.

My Blushing Violet,

With her mind still filled with the emotions of the picture, his words warmed her and heated her body.

I have searched for you for a long time, knowing you were out there but unsure how to find you.

She tried to laugh off his words, but her usual inner snarky self was still buried beneath desire and an ethereal fragment of hope.

Imagine my surprise when on the first day of the new year, I find you delivered to me in my email. The first thing that caught my attention was your hair.

Fire-crotch, carrot head, freckle-face ginger, her mind whispered in her older sister’s cutting voice.

It’s amazing, the most beautiful shade of auburn I’ve ever seen. The way it flows around your face and frames you is a work of art.

Tears actually came to her eyes and this time she did laugh at herself. What a sap, a man compliments her hair color and she melts like ice cream on a hot summer day. That didn’t stop her from eagerly reading his next sentence. In truth, her soul drank up his compliments like dry soil absorbing the first drops of rain.

If you’re willing, I would love to meet up with you. I promise that I will be an utter gentleman and treat you with all the attention and care you so richly deserve. Please let me know if you are willing to give me a chance to prove to you how special you are.

Barney

Blinking, she read his name again and laughed. Of all the names she expected from the eloquent and charming man, Barney was not one of them. Scrolling down to his profile, she laughed even louder. His picture was Barney Rubble from The Flintstones. Snickering, she read a bit more about him and clicked his book link.

They liked almost all the same books, though he was into more hardcore sci-fi than she liked to read. Her heart thudded in her chest as she read the titles of some familiar Dominance/submission erotica, and then the name of the black book. That brought her mind around again to Rocky and his request.

Did she dare? She was intrigued by both emails, each struck her in a different way. Unable to believe her good luck, she started to tear the letters apart and look for a reason not to answer. A glance at the picture of her and Bethany on the wall stopped that line of thought. Bethany said that Violet needed to kick her mother and sister out of her head and listen to herself for once.

Pondering this, she went to the bookcase and flipped to the familiar page of the woman displayed between the two men. This is what she wanted, to be this woman.

Not giving herself time to chicken out, she sat down and pounded out her message and included the page number of the book. Hitting send, she pushed her keyboard back and actually shivered. This was so out of character for her, so out of the norm. She was the quiet girl, her stunning older sister’s silent shadow. The girl who faded into the background and didn’t cause waves.

And right now, she was the girl about to send out a second email to a mysterious stranger, who might or might not resemble Barney Rubble.


Find out more about Ann and all her wonderful titles at http://www.annmayburn.com/ or connect with her on FaceBook & Twitter!

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Ann is giving away one eBook of Blushing Violet to one reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post: Have you ever used a online dating service, would you ever, have you found love through one? and then fill out the RaffleCopter below. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

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