With disturbing and sinister threats suddenly aimed at her, she must decide… will she flee to avoid becoming the next victim or will she trust Archer with not only her heart and body, but her life as well?

Dulcie Taylor visits my blog today with a wonderfully robust and delicious excerpt from her latest release, Victims of Obsession. If you like unique plots, well-developed characters, and romance novels that have good length, you need to one-click a Dulcie Taylor book, and which better book to try than her latest release? Victims of Obsession is this author’s first mystery novel, but of course it’s still full of her typical fare – romance, dominance and spankings!

What kind of mystery, you ask? Well…

Juliette’s lost her passion for working in long term care and her life’s as stale as old croutons, so when the opportunity arises to care for the disabled brother of Archer MacCaleb (a man she’s been fantasizing about for over a year), she jumps at it.

Archer’s everything she’s never wanted to admit she needs and his sweet, child-like, brother steals her heart the moment they meet.  As Juliette learns to understand Archer’s fiercely over-protective nature and begins to embrace her deepest desires, she discovers the MacCaleb’s are shrouded by mysterious deaths.  Could one of the mercurial men she’s taken into her heart be responsible?

With disturbing and sinister threats suddenly aimed at her, she must decide… will she flee to avoid becoming the next victim or will she trust Archer with not only her heart and body, but her life as well?

Buy Links

AMAZON
BLUSHING BOOKS
BARNES & NOBLE

Excerpt

“Have a seat.” He motioned to the chair across from him at the tiny bistro style table. She swallowed a dry patch in her throat and did as he requested, almost jumping out of her skin when the chair scraped the floor. She looked sheepish until he smiled at her warmly.

“Juliette, I think you need to relax.” His face took on the nurturing look from the previous night, and she felt her nerves ease a bit.

“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just this is a rather odd and embarrassing situation,” she answered.

“I’ll give you that.” He folded his hands in front of him. “But no one is forcing you to agree to my terms, Juliette.”

“I know.” She repeated her earlier words. “It’s just I already gave up my other job, and my circumstances have forced me to agree, ya know?”

“Everything in life is a choice, and if you look at things honestly, you’ll probably realize you’d be okay if we part ways here. You don’t have to do this.” His gentle words unnerved her.

“Are you trying to convince me to quit?”

“Of course not. I invested a significant amount of time researching you as an appropriate candidate for the interview alone. I think you’d be a wonderful fit as a caretaker for my brother. We both like you, and believe me, Elijah doesn’t approve of many.” He chuckled. “Although, most of the interviewees didn’t make it to even meeting him.” He reached across the table and took her wrist. She wondered if he could feel her pulse racing beneath his thumb as it stroked her. “I want this to work, Juliette.” His eyes went a few degrees warmer. “I don’t want to have to do this, but I also know I need to be able to.” She bit her lip.

“Can’t I just tell you now that I’ll be careful?”

“Tell me you didn’t think before you opened that door this morning.” She lowered her face. He knew she did. “This works, and you know it.” He stood and pulled her up from her chair. “It works because of who you are and who I am.” He took her to him and held her a moment. His fingers kneaded the tension from her back.

“You’re right, Archer. I completely agree, but last night, forgetting the door, it was an honest mistake. I would never think I’d need to lock up, knowing we are in the middle of nowhere behind huge fences and guarded gates.”

“I would think you’d realize if I have the need for such security, there must be a serious risk being associated with me.” He released her, sat on the chair she’d been occupying and pulled her bottom onto his lap. It was odd, but she was in such a submissive state of mind, she did whatever he wanted.

“We’re going to deal with this and then, if you’re willing, I want to spend the day getting to know you, from you. Elijah has gone with his therapist to a car show. They’ve had it planned for months. We have the whole day.”

“But why? I don’t understand any of this. I really don’t.” Her chest burst with happiness at the thought of spending the day with him, and it confused her. She hated the effect he had on her. “I don’t feel like your employee, and I’m not your family—I don’t know you—yet you treat me like we’re something else. There aren’t any normal boundaries between us, and I don’t know how to deal with it. It’s confusing.” It was the truth, but she couldn’t believe she said it aloud. Archer had a way of loosening her lips.

“You’re not just my employee, Juliette.” He turned her head with a single strong finger, so their eyes met. “I don’t let employees past my gates.” His words were firm. “Once you took my offer, you became my family—my responsibility. That’s the only way I do this. I will rely on you heavily—it’s not going to be easy. You have no regular hours, and besides your holidays, you can be called anytime.” He smiled then and tapped her nose. “You really should have read that contract,” he said with a softer playful tone. “But I will also be more than any boss you’ve ever had. You can confide in me. You can trust me to be there when you need me. I am just as committed to you and your welfare as anyone else in my family. When you screw up, I’ll be there to reprimand you, yes, but when you do something amazing, I’ll be there to cheer.” His head cocked to the side, and he ran his hand along her face, gliding it down gently, following the slope of her jaw. “I will take care of you,” he whispered. “I promise to protect you.”

She felt herself choking up at the passion in his eyes and words. She had been without a family so long. He guided her off his lap, and as she stood before him, his face turned serious again. This was it.

“Yes,” she said, in answer to his questioning look. He smiled but not in his usual warm way. It was his serious ‘you made the right choice, now let’s get down to business’ smile. He patted her hip and stood.

Buy Links

AMAZON
BLUSHING BOOKS
BARNES & NOBLE

About Dulcie Taylor

I started creating stories as soon as I could write and even as a young aspiring novelist found that my heroes were frequently loving but dominant men that kept their feisty ladies in line. What luck that I found fans that enjoy reading about those sassy characters as much as I enjoy writing about them!

I live in a small Canadian town with my husband, two daughters, and the many characters that play in my head while I go about my day. It’s not unusual to spot me at the market with a faraway look and a smirk as one of those characters has most certainly gotten herself in a pickle!

When I’m not writing or working one of my two ‘day’ jobs, I love taking my 80lbs labradoodle for long walks along the river, lazing in my hammock snuggled up with my girls, the dog, or just my Kindle. Or in colder winter months, skiing, skating, or more often, hibernating.

Where To Find Dulcie

Twitter: @DulcieTaylor78
Website and Blog: http://dulcietaylorauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dulcietaylorauthor/

Other Books by Dulcie

Fess Up
Reckless Intent
Handyman Special Book 2
Handyman Special Book 1
Reckless, Sassy and His
Rules to Survive By

You can find out more about these titles on Dulcie’s website.