- For services rendered…
- Who or what was the inspiration for Christa? Is she anything like you?
Well I’ve never entertained a desire to sell flowers, but the mystery at the heart of Rough Diamonds is based on my experience working in the care system in the UK some thirty years ago so I suppose Christa does draw on something of me.- So, tell us a bit more about Johan. He’s stern and sexy, and obviously successful in his career, but what else is there to know?
Well, I think you just about covered the basics there. Johan is driven and successful, but he is also honest in his dealings with a strong sense of duty, and of justice. He wants Christa from the beginning, but he’s willing to work for it and takes nothing for granted. He’s kind to her, and generous, and he shares her sense of adventure and curiosity about the origins of her surprise windfall.- How many books have you written? Are they all erotic fiction?
I think I have about sixty titles out now, and yes, they are all erotic stories. Some are more BDSM themed and some are spanking/domestic discipline. At first, I wrote just contemporary stories, then I started adding a few historicals and more recently I started writing sci-fi too.- What advice would you have for writers who decide to try their hand at erotica?
I’d tell them to have a go, but to have a decent thesaurus to hand. And an internet connection. Youtube and Google are the erotica writer’s friend, and Wikipedia of course, the fount of all wisdom and knowledge.- Do you see writing as a career?
Yes. I try to be fairly ordered about it. I like to be at my desk (well, more accurately the kitchen table) laptop fired up and coffee to hand, by nine in the morning and I tend to write for most of the day then. There are also a lot of related tasks to keep on top of, mainly to do with promo or research, or keeping in touch with readers and other authors. It’s definitely a full-time job for me.- Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I think it was always there, though I only started writing properly about five years ago. I have always tended to plot stories in my head though, often when sitting in traffic jams on my daily commute. I now work at home so all that time spent inhaling exhaust fumes is finally paying off.- If you could have been told one thing that you weren't told when you were a teenager, what would you like to have heard?
I was given lots of advice as a teenager, much of it unsolicited and not especially good. I think we all have to make our own mistakes, but hopefully I haven’t made the same mistake to many times. That would be sad.Looking back, I think the most important thing I picked up along the way was that we all have choices, all the time. We’re entitled to choose our own way in life, but we should also be ready to own and accept the consequences of our decisions.Someone once invited me to cast my mind forward to a time perhaps sixty years from now when I’ll be long-gone and my daughter (currently nineteen) is herself enjoying a ripe old age. Imagine she’s talking to her grandchildren, telling them about me. What would I like her to be saying? My actions now, today, will dictate what those obituaries might be so don’t leave it until later to be the sort of person you want to be remembered as.- If you had to describe yourself using three words, it would be…
Resilient. Creative. Calm.- What would you do if you were the last person on this earth?
Turn out the lights.- If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
I think at some level or other they are all a little bit about me. I could never write a book about a heroine I didn’t actually like or identify with in some way. Maybe I’d call my autobiography Made a Difference, because I hope that would be true. Perhaps that should be on my gravestone rather than a book cover, come the day.- What's your favorite love story? (movie or book)
I adore Love Actually and I can’t count how many times I’ve seen that movie. It has lots of love stories all rolled up and woven into each other, but I think perhaps my favourite is the one featuring Hugh Grant.I also remember reading Katherine by Anya Seton many years ago, and I’ve never forgotten the magic that shimmers between Katherine and her hero, John of Gaunt. Their lifetime love affair is set against the dramatic backdrop of medieval England, a period I also like to write about.- One good turn deserves another
- He smiled at her, an expression which created a rather odd sensation low down in Christa's abdomen. It reminded her of that feeling you get as you crest the summit on a roller coaster, knowing that from here on it's all downhill. Fast.
“…you are delightful company and absolutely beautiful. You take my breath away. I really should tell you now, if I can find any way to convince you to remain with me tonight, I will do so."
“You are a lovely woman, sexy, sensuous, and I want nothing more right now than to inspect that rather spectacular garment spread across the foot of this bed, preferably with you inside it.”
“Pleasure is good, is it not?” He cupped the full mound in his hand and caressed her slowly, stroking his fingers across the quivering peak before he caught it again and this time squeezed hard enough to make her squeal. “But pain is even more exciting, if properly applied.
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Pleasure is good, but pain is even more exciting if properly applied
Blurb
What if someone handed you over a million dollars in uncut diamonds, and a note? For services rendered…
A random act of kindness years earlier gives rise to an astonishing chain of events. Johan Klaas holds the key to the mystery and he will help her – for a price. Can she trust him? Should she? And what has Christa ever done to deserve such a reward?
Swept from her modest flower shop in England, caught up in the opulent global diamond trade in Antwerp and introduced by her millionaire lover to a sensual world of pain and pleasure, Christa is determined to solve the riddle.
A random act of kindness, an amazing chain of events
Author Synopsis
Christa Barnes is baffled when the man of her dreams – or should that be her wildest fantasies? – turns up at her sleepy little flower shop and insists she has something he would like to purchase. But Johan Klaas is an international diamond dealer and he is not remotely interested in acquiring a bunch of geraniums, preferring instead to discuss gemstones.
Christa’s next unexpected caller is a motorcycle courier clad in black leather and bearing a package for her. She opens it, expecting the latest seed catalogue, and finds instead a fortune in uncut diamonds and a note.
For Services Rendered. See what you can make of these.
Johan Klaas works at the heart of the global diamond trade based in Antwerp, and he agrees to use his contacts and knowledge to help trace the origins of these particular stones. For a price.
As the relationship between Christa and Johan deepens, so does her understanding of the way in which a natural, artless act of kindness years before can start an amazing chain of events.
This book was previously released with a different cover. The story includes sexual scenes and BDSM, and is intended for audiences of 18 and over.
He intended to hurt her, and he meant her to enjoy it.
About Ashe Barker
USA Today Bestselling author Ashe Barker writes erotic romance and spanking romance in a variety of genres including contemporary, BDSM, paranormal, historical. ménage, gay romance and time travel. She is a #1 Amazon Bestseller and all her stories feature hot alpha males and sassy submissives, often with a lot to learn. Kink abounds, and there’s enough dirty talk to satisfy the most demanding smut lover. However dark and dirty the setting, love always emerges triumphant, and her stories never fail to deliver a satisfying happy ever after.
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If you want to make love to me, and play your rather fascinating games, I suggest you get on with it.
EXCERPT
Johan stood over her, his gaze intense as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside. Christa watched, mesmerised by the sight of his sculpted chest. He might spend most of his time in the financial markets of the diamond trade, but Johan Klaas definitely engaged in more physical pursuits, too. His shoulders were wide, the muscles clearly defined, rippling beneath his skin as he moved. His chest sported a sprinkling of blond hair which thinned as it disappeared beneath the waistband of his trousers, drawing Christa’s eye there. She expected his smart suit trousers to follow the shirt, but instead he just kicked off his shoes and peeled away his socks, then came to kneel on the bed between her widespread thighs.
He simply smiled at her, then shoved his hands under her bottom to raise her up from the bed. Then he blew on her clit. Christa shivered, though not with cold. She had never dreamed something so simple could be so erotic, so utterly exquisite.
“Johan, I… Oh! Oh…” She gave up the attempt at speech when he leaned in to draw the flat of his tongue over her wide-open entrance. He repeated the action, and she believed she might melt. He inserted the tip of his tongue inside her weeping pussy, and she lost it entirely. A kaleidoscope of wild colour exploded behind her closed eyelids. Her body convulsed, hips arching up to meet his teasing, torturing mouth as her first orgasm burst from deep in her core.
Christa was panting, amazed at what had just happened. So fast, so fucking overwhelming. She writhed against the restriction imposed by the crimson tie as he continued to tongue-fuck her pussy. She was no expert, not exactly a frequent flyer, but she had enough experience to know she could usually rely on a good ten minutes or so of determined effort from her partner before eliciting so much as a flicker of orgasmic interest. Johan had only to smile at her, tie her up and flick her clit with his tongue and she was lost.
Bring. It. On.
Christa relaxed, spreading her thighs wider, lifting her hips in urgent demand. She prised her eyelids open and lifted her head to peer down the length of her body. Johan caught her gaze, held it, the emerald of his eyes darkened by arousal. He was as turned on as she was. Well, almost.
He paused to smile at her. “Christa…?”
She managed a smile in return, then allowed her head to drop back against the pillow. “Don’t stop. Please, don’t ever stop.”
He returned to his determined, skilful work, tracing the outline of her pussy slowly, deliberately. Then he plunged his tongue inside once more as Christa clenched and bucked under him. He shifted his attention to her clit, taking the swollen nib between his lips and squeezing lightly. He slid two fingers inside her pussy, angling and curling to find that sweet spot where—
“Christ! Jesus, Mary and all the fucking saints…” Christa was almost sobbing with arousal as he brought her hurtling back to the brink of another climax. Johan played her like a musical instrument, teasing just the melody he desired from her body. She was there, hovering, ready to tumble over the edge again, when he stopped.
“Turn over.”
“What…?” Christa gave a swift head shake. “But…”
“There’s enough flexibility in your restraints. Roll over and kneel up on all fours. Now.”
His tone had altered, only very slightly, but enough. A thread of steel now wound around those curt syllables and Christa had no desire to test his resolve. He was in control, that much had been established when she allowed him to tie her to his bed. Now, she wanted to obey him.
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