My birthday and my first release on the same week!

Today I celebrate a birthday and on 5/1, I'll get to celebrate the release of my first novella, Sofia's Lobo from Red Sage!

You can enter for a chance to win a copy on 5/15 here: http://laurenblades.com/contest.php

On 5/1, I'm going to draw a name from my new Yahoo group for a chance to win two things:

A print copy of Secrets Volume 21
A Fever massage bar from Lush cosmetics

You can join at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laurenblades/ or by sending a blank email to: laurenblades-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Here's an excerpt from Sofia's Lobo:

The crunching sound behind her provided the first clue. The low growl that followed it had her spinning around to find the source. Sofia spotted a huge black wolf not ten feet away from where she stood in the tall weeds to the river bank, and it was stalking her.
Her heart began racing in her chest even though the beast didn’t show its teeth or appear to be threatening her in any way. It eyed her as a predator watched its prey, drawing closer. The suspicion forming in her mind grew with each passing second.
Hoping no one else was around, she cocked her head to the side and almost laughed when the wolf stopped moving and did the same thing.
“Antonio?”
A long moment passed until she thought she’d truly gone around the bend and was just now realizing it.
When the animal’s huge body began to quiver, her body tensed and readied for flight. The beast let out fierce growl as it writhed and contorted, its limbs elongating and changing shape in a way that was almost grotesque. The black fur covering its body thinned and yielded to bronze flesh. The creature tucked its head as its snout began to shorten and draw in.
Slowly, the form of a man emerged. All at once he was still, crouching on the ground. His long dark hair obscured his face but
Sofia’s heart told her who he was before he slowly rose, magnificently
naked.
Antonio’s dark eyes met with hers, his expression a blend of defiance
and apprehension. She’d glimpsed him in wolf form before, she thought. Never had she seen any part of the actual transformation.
While she knew it had to be shocking to witness, and it was, somehow it wasn’t quite as bad as she would have thought.
“I hope you have clothes somewhere nearby.” She tried to lighten the moment because the tension between them was thick. “Otherwise, I’m going to have a devil of a time explaining you to my crew.”
He smiled at that. His cock jutted out proudly from his body while he stepped toward her. A not-so-subtle pang of desire tightened
her lower body at the sight.
“Looks like you’re happy to see me,” she pointed out.
“Are you happy to see me, Sofia?”
Antonio stopped inches before her, folding his arms across his the wide expanse of his chest. She had to admire his comfort with his natural human form.
Still, it appeared he expected an answer.
“Antonio, every time I see you my heart beats like a love sick school girl’s and my body goes crazy. Can’t you tell? Do you really have to ask me that?”
“I know many of the secrets of your body, mi amor. It’s the secrets of your heart I want to unravel. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Okay, then no.”
“You’re not happy to see me? Why, Sofia?”
“I just told you why.”
“You tell me how it feels to see me, tell me what I want to hear. But it doesn’t make you happy. That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense to me, Antonio,” she explained. “Sure I have feelings for you and my body goes up in flames at the mere sight of you. But this is going to ruin everything. Can’t you see that?”
His features steeled at that. “So this is all about your career then?”
“Not totally.” As easy as it would be to let him believe that, she couldn’t.
“What else does it ruin?”
“Me.”
Antonio reached for her then and she took a step back.
“No, don’t. Antonio, no matter how much we feel for one another,
this can’t go anywhere. Don’t you see that?”
“Why?” His handsome face colored. “I told you I’d tell you everything,
Sofia. And once I have, you’ll understand why I couldn’t tell you things then. There will be no more secrets between us. Isn’t that enough for you?”
She shook her head. “It’s not enough for us.”
“You told me that you weren’t concerned about what I am last night. You tell me you don’t want to know my secrets now that I’m willing to tell you. Are you trying to leave me with nowhere to go?”
“Ay Dios Mios, I have to.” The words pulled from her lips before she thought better of it. “I barely survived leaving you six years ago. I’m not sure I could last through another parting.”
His arms felt so good sliding around her, his body was so warm and solid. Sofia melted into that gentle embrace, wanting the comfort
he offered.
“Who said we’ll be parted again?” he whispered into her hair. “How could I have ever let you go?”

Coming 5/1 from Red Sage http://www.eredsage.com