2007 Emma Award – Favorite New Author
2006 Romance in Color Reviewers Choice Award – Favorite New Author

2008 2-Emma Nominations
 Favorite Anthology and Favorite Novella

Cuffed By Candlelight: An Erotic Romance Anthology, February 2007 Parker Publishing, LLC ISBN-10: 1600430074 ISBN-13: 978-1600430077 Format: Trade Paperback Book Blurb: What do a farmer in the past, and a present day corrections officer and police officer have in common? A desire that won’t abide by the rules of engagement. Cuffed by Candlelight is three erotic tales of women bound to uphold the law and obey the rules. But when desire and the rules clash, love and passion ignite with some handcuffs and a little candlelight.

Novella Blurb:

Why try to reason...

DEA Agent Lance King has been watching over Tamara Downing ever since she was a kid and he will continue to look out for her. Whether she likes it or not. In fact, he thinks it's high time she comes to term with the fact that they are meant to be together. If only he could figure out a way to get her to stay still long enough to listen to him. Steamy, sultry, lovemaking might just do the trick... She has to be able to see reason eventually. Doesn't she?

When you've got handcuffs...

Newly minted Police Detective Tamara Downing has made it her business to say away from the man she gave her virginity to, especially since in the process he stole her heart and handed it back to her permanently broken. There is nothing Lance can tell her to get her to understand why he took it upon himself to meddle in her most recent case. But then she never has found another lover quite like him... She could stick around long enough to get some sexual maintenance and make Lance see exactly what he walked away from ten-years ago. He can't be serious about all this love and marriage stuff anyway. Can he?

Their journey to love becomes a test of wills laced with passion and desire. Will they get to a space where their love can prevail?

Gwyneth Bolton finals out this thrilling anthology with a fantastic storyline and kick butt heroine whom readers are going to love. Tamara is brave, daring, and not about to sit back and let Lance play the 'knight in shining armor' for her…This story is feisty and filled with all the emotional turmoil that I've come to expect when picking up one of Ms. Bolton's tales... Each of these authors brought daring characters, thrilling plots, and super hot sex into this one dynamic anthology. Handcuffs have never been so sexy.
~ Chrissy Dionne Romance Junkies, 5 Blue Ribbons

Cuffs, candlelight and cuddling are essentials for an erotic tale. Imagine intimate time with your lover with a pair of handcuffs, the mood lights of candles and unmasked sexual energy. Jenkins, Jones, and Bolton will ignite your passion with their unique storylines and unbridled sex... Cuffed by Candlelight is a collection of sensual stories that will engage all of your senses turning the pages of this tastefully written plot driven erotic romance.
~ Monique Bruner Real Page Turners, 5 Stars

Handcuffs Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry by Gwyneth Bolton is a hip-hop influenced wild ride of a story… I recommend this anthology to anyone interested in romantic heat and diversity in stories. Prisoner is a historical, romantic adventure. Gunns and Roses boasts contemporary flavor, while Handcuffs is cutting-edge and hip-hop influenced. What they all have in common is unbridled heat.
~ Angelia Menchan APOOO BookClub, 4.5 Stars

This cheeky trilogy features three romance writers who have taken a slight detour into the blue. Beverly Jenkins, Katherine D. Jones and Gwyneth Bolton have collaborated on an erotic anthology in 3 stand-alone stories, 1 historical and 2 contemporary... Overall, I found this anthology an enjoyable read, and special commendation to the editor for the story arrangement. They are all sensual, packed with power, and definitely to be read with access to a "special friend" close by. Take notes--you're going to use them all!
~ Angela T. Hailey Black Butterfly Review Group, 4.5 Stars

Since Jenkins is renowned for her historical romances, the scandalous and outrageous sexual romps between the restrained woman who marries a paroled inmate are shockingly titillating. She forces you to shed stereotypes of Southern belles. "Guns and Roses," by Jones, is a mature twist from the horde of hip-hop books about sex and drugs in prison. Bolton's contribution, "Handcuffs Mean Never Having to Say You're Sorry," has several scorching moments. Throughout, the characterization is crisp, and the pace is moderated so precisely that you're primed for more.
~ Robin R. Pendleton Romantic Times Book Review Magazine, 4 Stars
 

1. Schemin’

“Pull out ya nine, while I cock on mine! —” Tamara Downing left the four story brick building that housed Murder Row records rapping Lil’ Kim lyrics and aiming her imaginary gun. Her real Newark PD issued piece was in the car. Yes, things were going her way. Tommy Coles had finally noticed she was alive, and it would only be a matter of time before she could put his behind up under the jail. NPD believed that he ran a prostitution ring out of Murder Row, luring girls in with dreams of stardom. Several of his former “video models” had gone missing and one was badly beaten but wouldn’t talk.

The ringing of her cell phone snapped her out of her momentary revelry, and she quickly answered it as she made her way from the building to her car. She’d just turned the dang thing on again since she always turned it off when she was working.

Giving the dark parking lot a quick once over, she mentally prepared herself for any trouble. Murder Row Records was known for unsavory characters, and she had no desire to get caught out there by someone who saw her as an easy mark. And, even though she’d been born in Newark and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, she knew that dark parking lots in Brick City—Newark’s unofficial nickname—didn’t mix with petite young women in super tight lycra mini dresses. She could more than handle herself if pressed to do so, but it wouldn’t exactly bode well with her undercover assignment if she started going all Alias and Xena Warrior Princess in the parking lot.

Letting her feet move a little faster when she spotted two strange looking men off in the shadows, Tamara answered her phone softly. “Yeah.” She tried to answer it as quickly as possible. The Lil’ Kim ring tone she’d downloaded that played “Shut Up, Bitch” just might have given the jerks in the parking lot the wrong idea.

“It’s about time you answered the phone, baby. I’ve been so worried about you. You didn’t stop by the past two Saturdays like you normally do.”

Mama Paula. Tamara loved the woman who’d saved her life by taking her in after her mother died. But Mama Paula brought worrying to new height.

“I’m fine, Mama Paula. Honest. But I can’t talk now.” Holding her cell phone to her ear with her shoulder, she started to unlock the door to her red poor-girl’s version of a sport car.

Mama Paula hesitated slightly, and Tamara knew instinctively it couldn’t be good. Mama Paula only went silent when she felt a little bit guilty or ill at ease about something she’d done. When it came to Tamara’s life or business that could only mean one thing. “Oh. Okay. I was just worried. That’s why I asked Lance to—”

Several curse words ran through her head, but she had way too much respect for Mama Paula to utter any of them.

“Oh, Mama Paula, tell me you didn’t ask Lance to check up on me. You know I don’t like the way he steps in and tries to—”

Before Tamara could finish her sentence, a gun and a badge were in her face. The shadowed men that she’d thought were thugs turned out to be something worse.

“Unh, Mama Paula, I have to go now.” Tamara hung up the phone without waiting for a response. One of the men had already started cuffing her, and he clearly needed her other hand free to finish the job.

* * *

“She’s going to be mad as hell at you for this.”

Lance King glanced at his childhood friend, Mark Smith, with disdain. Mark had chosen the Newark Police Department, and Lance had chosen the DEA, but both men fought crime and injustice wherever they found it. They were usually on the same page. But ever since Tamara had made detective and had been placed in Mark’s division, Lance and his best buddy seemed to agree on less and less.

Lance glanced at the irritated and angry Tamara through the interrogation room window. She couldn’t see him. But he could see and hear her, could almost see the steam rising from her head and hear the razor sharpness of her tone as she chewed his men out.

Tamara couldn’t be more than five feet, but one would never know it listening to her when she was angry. The brown-skinned beauty with baby-doll looks could out cuss a sailor if she thought someone was trying to disrespect her or she felt someone she loved was in jeopardy. Having been on the receiving end of some of her more well-known verbal-blasts during the past ten years, he didn’t particularly look forward to entering the interrogation room to face her.

“You could have done it my way and just pulled her off the case. Or better yet, you could have listened to me and never put her on the case.” Tommy Coles was bad news, period. Lance had run into him in previous operations and he was happy to finally be in a position to take the man down. Lance pulled his gaze away from the fuming Tamara and shrugged. “Nah, you had to make me pull rank. Now the DEA will be taking over the case, and it’ll be wrapped up so quickly that trust me, Lil’ Bit will have all new reasons to hate my guts before long.”

Not that she needed more reasons to hate him. He was pretty sure that the woman had a longstanding list that she added to on the regular, at least when he was able to get within ten-feet of her. Most of the time she avoided him, which made it a little difficult to plead his case.

If he ever got her alone for a day or two, with nothing or no one around to interrupt, he was sure he could work his magic. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t even need to apologize. She’d just be able to see how much he cared and would forgive him. Yeah. Right.

Maybe having his DEA team pose as NPD blue and pull her into her own precinct wasn’t the best of ideas. But hey, the woman left him no choice. She wouldn’t return any of his phone calls. He’d been trying to call her for the past two months to let her know that there was a possibility that their cases might overlap. Then his mother called all worried because she hadn’t seen Tamara in a couple of weeks. He had Tamara pulled in because he wanted to let her know that he was on the case and he’d be arresting Tommy soon. A simple phone call could have sufficed if she returned his.

Mark shook his head and leaned with his back against the surveillance glass. “She was getting close to breaking the prostitution case herself. She’s not going to appreciate you honing in.” Chewing on a toothpick and smirking as he spoke, Mark seemed to be taking an enormous amount of pleasure in Lance’s predicament.

“She never does.” Lance sighed. It went with the territory as far as he was concerned. “We’re closer to busting his ass on the drugs. The sooner we get Tam outta there the better. I wish we could pull her out now without drawing too much suspicion. This wouldn’t be a problem if she hadn’t been on the case in the first place. Plus, I’ve heard some things hanging around those fools that I don’t like. Mama’s worried and she’d kill me if something happened to Lil’ Bit that I could have prevented.”

“Lil’ Bit is a big girl now. She can take care of herself. Trust me, she is not going to take too kindly to the DEA hauling her in from the Murder Row parking lot. She is going to claw your throat out when she gets a chance. Me? I’m just going to watch it go down. That’s why I decided it would be better for you to pull rank than for me to pull her from this case. I don’t want that little spitfire mad at me.”

“I can’t believe you’re scared of Lil’ Bit.” Lance would have added a laugh to the incredulous tone he used, but he wasn’t so cocky as to think that the woman couldn’t put the fear of God into someone, especially when she got mad enough.

It amazed him that a woman with such a petite and curvaceous frame had a mouth that could do more damage in fewer words than anyone he’d ever met. When she got angry, those big, bright, brown eyes flashed and danced. They were almost as vibrant and passionate when she was mad as they were when she was making love and in the throes of hot, steamy desire. Almost.

He noticed that she’d cut her shoulder-length hair into one of those little pixie cuts, and the style made her look even more innocent and doll-like than any grown woman had a right to look. How could she blame him for wanting to protect her and take care of her?

“She’s not the same little kid.” Mark pushed away from his leaning spot and took a seat at the small wooden table in the center of the room. “And she doesn’t want you in her business. She made that clear when she came to work for me. And I quote, ‘don’t be telling that wack-ass DEA friend of yours any of my business. If he asks anything about me, don’t tell him a damn thing. I don’t want him in my life.’” Mark imitated her timbre and twisted his head back and forth in perfect sista-girl-style.

Lance winced. Hearing Tamara’s words from his best friend’s mouth cut him deep. It let him know for a fact that really nothing short of being stranded on a deserted island with Tamara would make her listen to him and hopefully forgive him. So, he’d have to come up with a solid and workable Plan B. Tamara’s words and her attitude toward him meant it would be hard as hell to get her to see reason.

But reason she would see, or his name wasn’t Lance King.

* * *

Letting out a sharp hiss of breath, Tamara vowed that if she ever saw Lance King again, she’d skin him alive. How dare he send his DEA goons to harass her while she was working a case? And how dare he have them haul her into her own precinct like a common criminal? Okay, so maybe she hadn’t returned any of his phone calls, even the ones marked urgent. But that didn’t give him the right to haul her in. It was hard enough being a woman with those sexist cavemen she worked with reminding her of it time after time after time. They would never let her live this down.

The inane questions Lance’s men asked her proved they were just holding her until Lance showed his stupid face. She was willing to bet the jerk was in back of the surveillance window watching her along with his buddy Mark.

Mark knew better than to let Lance in on her business. And if he didn’t before, she would make sure he never forgot again. Mark Smith might have been her boss, but she fully intended to give him a piece of her mind for teaming up with Lance against her.

When Lance finally did walk into the room, she thanked God that she was too angry with him to be swayed by his muscular frame and smooth demeanor. It wasn’t as if walking clichés didn’t still make her salivate and his tall-dark-and-handsome-tall-drink-of-water vibe wasn’t still in full effect. She just wasn’t biting.

Her eyes roamed his body, noting the confident assured swagger that marked each of his steps, and she swallowed.

Okay, maybe she was biting, a little. But she wasn’t swallowing.

Holla. Back. His shoulders appeared broader. Thighs firmer. Arms stronger. Eyes dreamier. The man just plain got finer. Where was the justice in that?

Pulling up a chair and straddling it backwards, Lance parked himself right in front of her. Tamara knew there was a god, and he obviously smiled on Lance because handcuffed to her own chair she couldn’t scratch his eyes out the way she desperately wanted to. Hauling me in. Humiliating me in front of my colleagues. Putting my case in jeopardy. Oh hell no!

“So Lil’ Bit, I don’t need to tell you why you’re here. The Murder Row case is ours now.” Lance made sure he looked her in the eyes when he spoke, and she made sure she stared him right back in the eye. “Mark should have never put you on the case and they don’t want to just pull you out. They think it will look too suspicious. But I’m thinking that you can be so distraught that you were hauled in for questioning that you can tell Tommy Coles you no longer feel comfortable working there. That way, I can just wrap this up and you’ll be safely outta there. I plan to have this wrapped up within the next day or so.”

“Forget you, Lance. How you just going to waltz in here and take over a case I’ve been working on for the past two months?” Tamara all but hissed the words and even tugged at her handcuffs. If she could get out, he would be sorry.

The Murder Row case had been her first major undercover operation since making Detective. She really wanted to bust Tommy Coles on the prostitution, especially after the way her mother died.
Rubbing his chin in a slow, easy, appraising manner, he offered casually, “I did some digging, and this is not the case for you.”

“You can’t just pull rank and stop me from doing my job. It’s not fair.” Appealing to the reason he clearly didn’t use probably wasn’t the best option, but she did so anyway.

Shrugging, Lance pushed the chair back as if closing off all conversation. “Life isn’t fair, Lil’ Bit. Now will you cooperate and tell Mark that you’re fine with stepping down and letting me and my team handle this?”
Jerk. “No.”

“Figured that much.” He got up from the chair.

“Then why’d you bother?”

“Because I care and because I can.” Lance pushed the chair back underneath the metal table.

Tamara watched as he walked out of the room. Soon after he left, they released her. She didn’t even bother responding to her colleagues in blue as they heckled her leaving the building. It would probably take her years to live this experience down. I can’t stand Lance King! Urggghhh!

Stepping out into the crisp Newark night air, she quickly saw that she didn’t have to worry about how she would get home.

The Murder Row limo waited for her outside the precinct.

“Get in, Darling.” A smooth voice attached to an even smoother head demanded.

Great. Tommy Coles. That idiot Lance probably ruined everything. Tamara slid into the limo and decided to play it brazen. She’d come too close, and she wasn’t about to let the DEA, in the form of Lance King, throw salt in her game.