Title: Follow Spot
Author: Brenda Murphy
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 08/08/2023
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Female/Female, Female/Female Menage
Length: 64500
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, contemporary, BDSM, thriller, dominant, submissive, interracial, over 40, menage/multiple partners, sex work
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Description
Celebrity lookalike escort Astrid Lepler is tired of running. When an old friend invites her to apply for a role at Rowan House, she travels to Scotland to show off her skills as a purveyor of fantasy and in-demand Mistress in hopes of securing a position.
Long time Rowan House employee Benita Azevedo would do anything for Tessa Morgan, the woman who warms her bed and fills her soul like no other, even if she has to shatter her heart to secure Tessa’s happiness.
Tessa has worked hard to put her past behind her and make a place for herself at Rowan House. Respected by her peers, desired by clients, surrounded by friends with all the benefits, she has everything she has ever wanted.
It all comes crashing down when Astrid arrives at Rowan House. Faced with their undeniable attraction to each other, Tessa and Astrid rekindle their past romance. When the Widow threatens to end Astrid and Rowan House for good, it will take everything Tessa and Astrid have to save Rowan House and keep their love alive, but will it be enough?
Follow Spot
Brenda Murphy © 2023
All Rights Reserved
Tessa’s knees stung as she stood by the car door. She glanced down at her ruined suit and swore as she calculated how much another pair of matching pants would set her back. Movement caught her eye and she turned to watch Astrid as she walked toward them.
Her blonde shoulder-length hair billowed around her face. The late-morning sun cast a golden glow over her body. She was tall, with curves in all the right places, and her gait was sure in her pumps. The staccato of her heels was a steady beat that matched the pounding of Tessa’s heart.
Astrid’s tailored dress moved with her, accenting her full hips and breasts. An ache pulsed in Tessa’s chest. Model gorgeous, with a blazing intellect, Astrid had been, and was everything Tessa had ever dreamed of and more.
She risked eye contact. Astrid held her gaze, her face a mask of icy reserve. Tessa stumbled down the slope of adoration she had sworn she would never tread again. When Astrid arrived at the car, the faintest hint of a flush colored her creamy cheeks.
Tessa’s mouth went dry as she stared into her blue eyes. The doorframe cut into her palm where she gripped the door. Astrid entered the car and settled back on the seat.
Tessa’s gaze drifted over her form, her eyes lingering on Astrid’s thigh where her skirt had pulled back. “There are—um, refreshments in the basket. Muffins, and your coffee.” She forced her gaze back to Astrid’s face.
Astrid smoothed her skirt into place. “Thank you.”
The moment strung out between them as Tessa stared into Astrid’s face, searching it for signs she recognized Tessa. Her fingers ached where she held tight to the door.
“Tessa, I promised Elaine we’d be back in time for Ms. Lepler to rest before tea.” Millie’s prompt from the front seat startled Tessa out of her trance.
“Sorry.” Tessa made to close the door.
Astrid put her hand up, palm out. “No. Back here. With me.”
“Nothing is permitted outside the house.” Tessa took a step back from the open door.
“I will remind you, as has Tessa, that nothing is permitted outside the house proper.” Millie’s voice was clipped as she started the car engine.
Astrid frowned and pursed her lips. “Would that include first aid? Or must poor Tessa wait to be properly tended to? Is that a house rule too?”
Tessa’s already pounding pulse spend up as Astrid’s voice shifted from gracious to hard-edged Mistress.
Millie twisted in the front seat. She peered at Tessa’s knees before glancing at Astrid. “I see your point, Ma’am.”
“I can wait, Ma’am.” Tessa met Astrid’s gaze and chewed her lower lip, caught between Millie’s protectiveness and Astrid’s command.
“Millie, is this car equipped with a first aid kit?” Astrid lifted her eyebrow at Tessa.
“Yes, Miss.”
“Give it to me, please.”
Millie removed a blue and white kit from the glove box and passed it to Astrid.
“Now.” Astrid waved the box at Tessa. “Get in.” Her tone left no room for Tessa to refuse.
Tessa stepped into the car and settled back onto the cool leather seats. She closed the door and locked it.
“There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Astrid lifted her chin.
“No, Ma’am.” Millie pulled out of the car park.
“Since you seem worried about my character and intentions, Millie, leave the partition down.”
“Sorry, Ma’am, didn’t mean to offend.” Millie pulled out of the parking spot.
Astrid sniffed loudly. “I don’t know what kind of Mistresses you’ve dealt with previously, but I can assure you I play by the rules. Always.”
“Aye, Ma’am.” Millie piloted the car though the parking lot and out onto the road toward Rowan House. The back of her neck was red above her starched white shirt.
Tessa perched on the edge of the buttery soft seat. “You don’t have to—”
“Have and want are two very different things. Sit back. Let me see your knees.”
Tessa leaned back against the door and extended her legs.
Astrid reached down and lifted Tessa’s legs across her lap. She sucked her teeth. “There’s a bit of gravel in your skin.”
She opened the kit and pulled on a pair of vinyl gloves. Tessa studied her expression as Astrid picked through the contents of the first aid box. A memory of Astrid tending to her after an encounter with a single tail that had gone further than Tessa intended squeezed her heart. The brisk scent of antiseptic filled the car as Astrid tore open a packet and poured it onto a gauze square.
“Pity about your suit. It looks lovely on you. This will sting.” She gingerly applied the antiseptic to Tessa’s abrasions. “You’ll need a bath to soak the rest of this gravel out. You will do that as soon as you are able, understood?” Astrid lifted her chin, held Tessa’s gaze a long moment.
“I will, Ma’am.” Tessa reached out and risked touching the back of Astrid’s hand.
Astrid paused in her work. She lifted her gaze to Tessa’s face. “Is it too painful? Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” Tessa dropped her voice to a whisper. Her fingertips tingled where they touched Astrid’s skin. Overwhelmed by her tender care, she shoved aside her fear. “Do you remember me, Mistress Roxanne?” Tessa clamped her teeth on her lip.
“Yes,” Astrid whispered. She inclined her head toward Millie. “Is it safe for you to speak freely?”
Tessa pitched her voice low. “Millie’s a friend. And she knows I knew you from before, but not all of it.” She knotted her fingers together in her lap.
Astrid dabbed the wet gauze over Tessa’s torn flesh. “Of course I remember you. How could I not? But please, for both our sakes, keep the name you knew me as to yourself. Have you made it known to the Mistresses?”
“No. I—” Tessa squared her shoulders. “I didn’t tell them.”
“Why?”
Fine lines etched Astrid’s forehead and her eyes narrowed. Tessa’s hands ached to smooth away Astrid’s worries, to draw her fingers over the tiny lines at the corners of her eyes. “I didn’t want to cause—I didn’t want to make trouble for you.”
Astrid placed the red-stained gauze into the plastic trash container and peeled off her gloves. “I think you’ll heal better if we don’t cover your wounds.”
Tessa nodded her agreement.
Astrid reached out and drew her fingers over the scar on Tessa’s cheek. Tessa braced for the questions so many people could not help themselves from asking. Astrid held her gaze as she traced the line of thickened skin with her fingertips before her hand drifted to her lap.
Tessa looked down and away, grateful for Astrid’s unspoken understanding. “Yes, Ma’am.”
Tessa moved her feet from her lap and scooted to the far side of the car, and Astrid’s too tempting touch. “Are you hungry, Ma’am? Myfanwy and Robin sent snacks.” She opened the lid of the picnic hamper.
Astrid lifted a wrapped muffin from the basket. The crinkle of waxed paper filled the silence of the car as she unwrapped her baked treat. The scent of chocolate and orange rose, followed by Astrid’s hum of pleasure. She took a large bite and chewed slowly with her eyes closed. Unable to resist, Tessa watched Astrid. A flush burned her skin. Astrid’s throat worked when she swallowed.
Astrid opened her eyes and smirked. “Delicious.” She flicked her tongue over her lower lip and caught a stray crumb.
Tessa tugged at her tie in the now too-warm car. “House specialty.” She pressed herself against the car door. Her fingers twitched with desire to touch her. Tessa imagined herself tracing her fingers over the delicate column of Astrid’s throat, following her touch with kisses, tracing the soft swell of her cleavage with her tongue. A flood of desire wet her boy shorts, and she squirmed on the seat as she imagined Astrid’s nipples hardening under her tongue.
Astrid took another bite and chewed slowly as she held eye contact with Tessa.
Tessa fell into Astrid’s ice-blue gaze.
Astrid finished her muffin and wiped her mouth. “How much longer to the house?” She smoothed her hand over Tessa’s thigh.
Tessa eyed the dashboard time display, then shifted her gaze back to Astrid. She dug her nails into her palms, the pain grounding her. “Another two hours at least, Ma’am.”
“I can’t wait to try the rest of the house’s offerings”—she teased her tongue over her lower lip, before she tidied her lipstick with her pinkie—“Tessa.”
Pleasure rocketed through her at the sound of her name on Astrid’s lips. The teasing tone of her voice did nothing to stop the raging fire of want burning in Tessa’s belly. She pressed her lips together against the torrent of words that bubbled inside. Astrid did remember. And cared enough to tend to her.
It didn’t mean she still had feelings for Tessa. Not at all. Tessa was a grown woman, not the wide-eyed girl she had been. She could handle it if nothing more than sex happened between them. And that was the lie she told herself for the rest of the drive to Rowan House.
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Brenda Murphy (she/her) writes erotic romance. Her most recent novel, Double Six, is the 2020 Golden Crown Literary Society winner for Erotic Novels, and Knotted Legacy, the third book in the Rowan House series, made the 2018 The Lesbian Review’s Top 100 Vacation Reads list. You can catch her musings on writing, books, and living with wicked ADHD on her blog Writing While Distracted. She loves sideshows and tattoos and yes, those are her monkeys. When she is not loitering at her local library, she wrangles twins, one dog, and an unrepentant parrot
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. For a free short story, information on book signings, appearances, work in progress snippets, previews and sneak-peeks, sign up for my email list
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