Dating and Other Dangers!

It's been a bit of a rough week here in the Anderson household - won't give you gory details, just think vomit and virus and that's enough said! Fortunately October is just around the corner and I'm so happy because that means one of my favourite books is out on the shelves (I know, we don't really have 'favourites' but this one does have a special spot in my heart).
DATING AND OTHER DANGERS is out as a Presents Extra in the US and has also been re-released digitally in the UK as part of the RIVA relaunch. The covers are quite a contrast aren't they? Which do you prefer??

So, as I'm busy doing the dreaded laundry mountain, I'm going to leave you with something far more fun--an excerpt from Dating and Other Dangers!



A ripple skittered down Nadia's spine and her brain sharpened. She blinked away the blinding effect of his beauty. He didn't look as if he hoped to score a job at the most prestigious insurance firm in the city. He looked as if he had the world and its riches at his feet already, and could take or leave anything at his leisure. But that edge was there—simmering—and something raw was a scant centimetre below his incredibly smooth surface. Something she wasn't sure she wanted to identify.



He paused another moment just inside the doorway, then carefully closed the door behind him. All the while he stared as hard at her as she belatedly realised she was staring at him. Finally he spoke. 'You're Nadia Keenan?'



She swallowed. 'That surprises you?' she asked, with a coolness that surprised her. She gestured to the seat across the table, because she was going to get a crick in her neck if she had to look that far up for another moment. Yeah, she should have stood, but her legs were as supportive as soggy tissue paper, and somehow she knew revealing weakness in front of this guy wouldn't be a smart idea.

He took the seat, moving his all-muscle, no-fat frame in a too controlled kind of way that made the ripples run even faster across her skin. Apprehension…and something else she definitely didn't want to identify. Instead her brain tracked down another avenue. Exactly how had he known to ask for her specifically? Because she was sure now he had—it wasn't Steffi fobbing anyone off. This guy was here for some very precise reason. But she was merely an HR assistant. It wasn't as if her name was listed on the company website. So why her?



Silence sharpened another second. She glanced past him, relieving her strained wide eyes and trying to regulate her pulse back to normal. Two of the walls were windows—the lower half frosted, but the upper part clear. Her clenched muscles eased a smidge. Anyone walking past could see in. There was no reason to feel isolated—no reason to feel as if the room had been sucked of all its oxygen. There was no reason for those ripples to relentlessly slither back and forth across her skin. And it wasn't exactly fear…it was that something else.



She swallowed again and drew another cooling breath. 'How can I help—?'

'What's the policy on internet use here at Hammond?' he interrupted.

Pressing her lips together, she nudged the recruitment pack on the table between them, avoiding looking at him as she pulled her scattered thoughts together.



'I should imagine it's pretty conservative,' he continued, before she'd collated her answer. 'Pretty conservative establishment all round, is Hammond.'



'Do you have a point, Mr.?' She paused deliberately, still not looking him in the eyes.

'Rush. Ethan Rush,' he said, as smoothly and unselfconsciously as if he were James Bond himself. 'Do you recognise my name?'



'Should I?'

'Yes, I think you should.'



She blinked and pushed the pack again, to buy another moment of thinking time. Except she couldn't really think—she could barely breathe—and her pulse was pounding. 'Well, I'm sorry, Mr Rush, you'll have to explain.'



'But you've been warned about me.'



'I have?' Startled, she looked up—and found herself snared in the reddish tint of his brown eyes—the hardness of those eyes.

'Yes, on WomanBWarned. Do you know that website, Nadia?'

In less than the micro-second it took for her to gasp, shock had covered her body in goosebumps. Every inch of her skin screamed with sensitivity; every cell was shot with adrenalin. She let another second slide, and as it did she decided to avoid—then feign ignorance. And if that failed she'd deny, deny, deny.



'Was there something you needed today, Mr Rush?'

'Yes, I wanted to be sure about the internet policy here at Hammond, and apparently you're the HR expert on it.' He didn't seem to move, but he was somehow even bigger, filling the room with ferocious energy. 'Tell me,' he said drily, 'does your employer know you run one of the bitchiest, most defamatory sites on the internet?'



Nadia's throat tightened as if a hangman's noose had just been jerked, rendering speech impossible.

'It wouldn't do your little HR role much good if your bosses found out about your hobby, would it? Not when you're sending out these little edicts to all their employees about online protocol. Not in a great position to give advice, are you?'



Nadia firmed her jaw—she resented the "hobby" description.



He pulled a paper from his pocket and unfolded it, placing it in the table. She glanced at the heading, and then back up to his simmering countenance. She didn't need to read more because she'd written most of it. The internal memo on internet access and computer use, explicitly detailing that social networking sites, forums and such, were forbidden. She'd drafted the updated policy before getting it approved by Legal and her supervisors.



'Where did you get that?' And how on earth had he tracked her down?

'I find it so ironic that you deliver seminars to the other employees about protecting their online presence and reputation when you're so vicious in cyberspace yourself.'



'Do you have a point, Mr Rush?' She curled her toes and tensed her muscles. She wanted to escape but refused to run away. Because she really needed to know what his point was. Despite her hammering heart, she told herself to keep calm. She was safe. She'd never used Hammond computers for her forums and she never would—her job mattered too much.

'What do you think, Nadia? Why am I here?'



She shrugged her shoulders slightly. 'No reason I can think of. Unless you wish to discuss possible employment at Hammond, I don't think we have anything to say to each other.'



He smiled as he surveyed her. Sitting back in his seat, he was now completely at ease, as if he was the one who worked here, and not total stranger who'd just come in off the street. And he was completely gorgeous, in an all-male, all-arrogant way.



Oh, yes—woman be warned. She knew his type—too good-looking for his own good. A spoilt playboy who'd been outed as a two/three/four or more timer for sure. And he wasn't happy about it?

Too bad.


Dating and Other Dangers is available now from: Amazon; Barnes and Noble and if you’re in the UK, it’s also just been rereleased in digital form and you can grab it from Amazon UK. 

Nadia Keenan’s first date Do’s and Don’ts:

    1.     Do boost your confidence by looking hot

    2.     Don’t put out until at lease date two

    3.     If the man is trouble (however sexy!) do report all on www.WomanBWarned.com

After being trashed on Nadia’s website, serial dater-and-dumper Ethan Rush is about to put Nadia’s rules to the test. He’s determined to change her mind about him. She’s determined to prove him for the cad he is.

Let the battle of the dates begin…

Sunday Smooch

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a fun smooch from Dating and Other Dangers by Harlequin author Natalie Anderson, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Kez!


Congratulations, Kez! Can you please contact Nikki Logan at

nikki (at) nikkilogan (dot) com (dot) au

and she'll send you a signed copy of Rapunzel in New York.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Dating and Other Dangers by Natalie Anderson ...

 Nadia Keenan's first date Dos and Don'ts:
 
1. Do boost your confidence by looking hot.
2. Don't put out until at least date two.
3. If the man is trouble  (however sexy!) do report all on womanbwarned.com

After being trashed on Nadia's website, serial dater-and-dumper Ethan Rush is about to put Nadia's rules to the test!

He's determined to change her mind about him.
She's determined to prove him for the cad he is.

Let the battle of the dates begin...

So Nadia has been out on the first date with the loathed Ethan – you’ll have to read the book to get the low-down on what happened while they were out! But at this point, he’s escorting her home and, fuelled by too much sugar and a little too much wine, Nadia has been thinking the ‘snake’ will make the first move – she’s read all about practiced touches online, so she’s been really looking forward to shooting him down. Only it doesn’t happen…and surely not, she can’t be feeling disappointed?!

Where was the move? Where was the ‘best sex’ those women had talked about?

The cab pulled over and Ethan got out, paying him off. He glanced and saw her surprised expression. “I’ll see you to your door and then walk.”

“I’m not inviting you in for coffee,” she said, stupidly hurt by his impersonal politeness.

“I’m not expecting that,” he answered, like he couldn’t care less.

And he couldn’t, could he? Anger surged again as she realised this guy was totally not interested. Why not? Why wasn’t he when, according to all reports, he slayed any female who had the misfortune to slide across his path?

He rested his hand on her back as she turned to walk up her path. Anger burned hotter when she felt again the electric effect that one touch had. His hand was all she could feel. Impotent emotion clogged her throat as she blindly stepped forward. 

But because she felt that touch so acutely, she felt the stroke of his thumb upwards across her spine – the slow intimate sweep. The smallest of signals.

Oh thank goodness, there it was. Satisfaction slammed into her. The man couldn’t help himself. Finally he was going to go with some of his moves. She walked slowly now, enjoying the thrill of him moving so close behind her, smiling as she imagined her refusal scene. She’d keep it polite tonight, but playful too – to give him the illusion of possible success in the next date or two.

But in reality it was impossible. For sure. 

She unlocked her door and flicked the switch just inside the door so light spilled from the room out onto the path. Then she turned to say goodbye, her smile impossible to contain.

He really was very tall up there, still in the shadows, looking down at her. She could tell he was smiling too – but suddenly she knew it wasn’t a lust fuelled smile. It was that amusement again. Was he laughing at her? Her certainty of success faltered.

“Thanks for an interesting evening Nadia,” loaded with irony.

He was laughing. She’d been wrong about that touch. He wasn’t going to do it – no move, no kiss. There was nothing. She felt piqued. And disappointed. And disappointed anger swamped her. She was not going to let him go without scoring a point of her own.

“I’ll see you Sunday,” he said in farewell.

 Just before he turned she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and stood on tiptoe as high as she could. 

And pressed her mouth to his. 

He froze. Didn’t pull away but didn’t respond either. So she worked a little harder, stroking his lower lip with her tongue. A faint response then – the smallest flinch of his muscles. But it was so faint she let go and stepped back, suddenly aware she’d made a massive mistake.

“What was that for?” he asked, somehow closer despite her retreat.

“Curiosity,” she flipped back at him, frantically thinking up her defence. She’d crashed out of the floating feeling now. “I wanted to know if you’re as amazing as they all said.” 

She felt his muscles firm even more and he loomed closer still.

“And the verdict?”

“Not as hot as I’d been lead to believe.”

 “But I thought one of your top tips on first dates was not to get too hot.”

“You were playing by my rules?”

“What, you thought you were playing by mine?” He laughed, she could feel the vibrations in the scarce space between them. “You really have no idea.”

 “Don’t patronise me.”

“But, darling, you don’t just lean in and stick your tongue down a guy’s throat.”

Mortification and the hated goose bumps made her skin – and soul – painfully sensitive. So she covered with mock incredulity. “Are you giving me kissing advice?”

He was a jerk – she hadn’t stuck her tongue down his throat and he knew it.

“A little lesson in seduction if you like,” he stepped even nearer. “I think you need it.”

She tried to push him away but he was a mountain in front of her now – immovable and impassable. Her hands were tiny on his chest, her fingers instinctively curling into the fabric of his shirt.

“To begin, Nadia,” he said softly and with light sarcasm. “Less is more.”

“Is that right,” smarting she snapped, tipping her chin high to glare into his eyes, deliberately digging her nails into his skin now. 

He leaned closer, resting his hands on the wall behind her as he bent, his words whispering across her face. “Anticipation is everything, didn’t you know?”

“It’s only everything, if the end result is a disappointment,” she said caustically. “If the end result was all as amazing as it’s meant to be, then the anticipation would be forgotten in the heat.”

“Oh you’re wrong,” he smiled. “You need to live moment by moment,” his head lowered. “It’s much more fun.” He paused, his mouth a millimetre from hers as he gently instructed. “You start with lots of soft, teasing touches.”

His lips brushed hers lightly, just the once. But the second she went to snap back at him he did it again. Then again and again and again. Until it was lots – like he’d said. Not deep hungry kisses but slivers of rich sensuality that made her open her mouth for more before she’d thought to stop it. Then she couldn’t think at all – she only wanted to move closer for more.

But he kept them light. Lifting back as she tilted towards him. 

“Uh huh,” he teased. “You keep it the same – don’t go deeper until she’s begging.”

With one hand he played her like an instrument, gliding one finger after the other across her neck. Not making music, but pleasure, with gentle touches. But she knew the strength was there.

And she wanted it.

To be in the draw to win a copy of Dating and Other Dangers, tell us if you have a date-gone-wrong story – or even a little embarrassing ‘Oh no’ moment from a date.

On my first date with the guy who’d become my husband, he took me to a lovely restaurant and it was super delicious! But when I went to the powder room after the main I saw I’d somehow splattered droplets of sauce all over my top.

Happily, my display of gluttony didn’t seem to put him off… so share a moment if you have one, or just leave a comment to be in to win!


Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Christmas at Candlebark Farm by Michelle Douglas will be posted!

Dangerous Dates & Earthquakes!

By Natalie Anderson


I wasn’t going to mention earthquakes this blog – but is really is at the forefront of my brain at the moment (and Soraya’s!) - so do put up with us won’t you! Poor old Christchurch has had thousands of earthquakes since that first big one last September – twenty-nine over them a magnitude 5 or more.

So I’ve had a very busy week organising all the children with personal emergency survival kits. I know, perhaps I’m taking the ‘be prepared’ thing a little far – but, as another mother and I were laughing, it is one way of feeling like you have just a little control in a situation where there isn’t a lot of control going around.

I used to be the last-minute sort of person who always drove with the fuel on empty. Now, if it gets even halfway to halfway, I’m at the gas station and refilling again. I also have bottled water in the car, a first aid kit, plus emergency food rations (i.e. a couple of packs of muesli bars).


And yes, now my fours kids have an emergency kit at the bottom of their bags, plus a really sturdy raincoat rolled up in there too. I’m not quite at the stage of waking them in the middle of the night for emergency drills, and permanently  dressing them in escape-easy trackkies like that Ben Stiller character in The Royal Tennenbaums – but I’m not far off! Their kit has some hand sanitiser, wipes, plasters, mini-torch, whistle, emergency contact numbers, and some high-energy muesli bars. It’s only a small bag, and I’ve kept it light.
Having made the kits all neat and then talked the kids through the contents (and that they weren’t toys!), I then got to thinking I was getting a bit over-the top in this – perhaps just a little.
I mean, if any aftershocks are over a certain magnitude, then the children are not allowed to re-enter the school buildings anyway – so the kids can’t get to their bags.  It would only be if they happened to have their bag with them or were allowed to take them as they evacuated buildings after a shock...
Then we got the school newsletter last night – and the school has asked us to provide asap (i.e. today) a little snaplock bag for each child containing a couple of muesli bars and a card with emergency contact numbers. The school has sourced silver blankets for each child – and these emergency supplies will be kept in a small shed accessible for teachers – outside of the main buildings. So, perhaps I wasn’t being so over the top. Because it’s not a matter of if the kids will end up on the field waiting to be picked up again, but when. And winter is thickening and let me tell you, when those big aftershocks happen, the traffic is unbelievable. A usual thirty minute drive turns into hours.
Needless to say, I’m not straying far from our neighbourhood!

So yes, I have gone all girl-scout and am ‘prepared’. We all avoid car-parking buildings (and any other multi-story buildings), locate the exits of every structure we enter and at the same time keep calm and happy. But I think there’s something very instinctive that rears up when it comes to protecting your kids – or people you care about - and making sure they have everything they might need. You want to keep them safe.

Now Nadia, the heroine in my upcoming release “Dating & Other Dangers” - is all for being prepared too. And all for keeping herself – and other women – safe. her way of 'making a difference' is to run a website and forum called WOMANBWARNED.COM – an 'all about dating' website. Because after all, the dating scene can be fraught with danger! She has tips on what to do on dates, suggestions for dates, how to stay safe and so on...  And there is a name and shame section for those ‘stay AWAY from him’ dating snakes. Her community are voluble at dishing the dirt on serial cheats and sneaks...
She’s set it up with the very best of intentions – she doesn’t want to see any woman hurt (emotionally or physically) - not when information can warn. But yes, okay, maybe she can go a little over the top in that desire... 


Then she’s confronted by one of the guys who’s been named and shamed. 


Ethan Rush has ‘wicked temptation’ stamped all over him – and Nadia is not as immune as she’d like to be. Not when he’s funny and charming, not to mention challenging. So as prepared as she is, there are some things threatening to slip out of her control - exactly how is a woman supposed to stay safe???



By staying away from him of course... but what if he's not going to let that happen???


So lovely readers, I've gotten my author copies for this one - and am keen to give one of you a copy. All you have to do is leave a comment and let me know if you've got your emergency/civil defence or first aid kit up to date! Or, that you're about to get it together now ;)


EDITED LATER TO ADD: Okay! the husband has drawn a name from the hat! TashNZ - can you email me natalie(at)natalie-anderson(dot)com and I can get it in the post to you!
Thanks so much everyone for your comments! :)


Be sure to take care, take charge and take risks!!!  - the fun ones ;)
love Natalie


From the back of DATING & OTHER DANGERS:


Nadia Keenan's first date Dos and Don'ts:
1. Do boost your confidence by looking hot.
2. Don't put out until at least date two.
3. If the man is trouble  (however sexy!) do report all on womanbwarned.com


After being trashed on Nadia's website, serial dater-and-dumper Ethan Rush is about to put Nadia's rules to the test!


He's determined to change her mind about him.
She's determined to prove him for the cad he is.


Let the battle of the dates begin...


And do come back on July 4 for a Sunday Smooch and see what sparks fly the first time one lays lips on the other!