Guest Post: Rose C. Carole and CATERING TO HIS NEEDS

I'm delighted to offer a peek at Rose C. Carole's first BDSM romance, Catering to His Needs.

~~ Cris

Thanks so much, Cris, for hosting me on your blog. I appreciate your generosity.

Cris and I have become great friends. We met four years ago at the first BDSM Writers Workshop, which was hosted by Dr. Charley Ferrer and was attended by 11 people. We sat for three days in a hotel room and listened to Dr. Charley expound on the dynamics of Dominance and submission. (Cris has written quite eloquently about that first workshop on her blog. It’s worth looking back on it.)

Cris encouraged me all along the way in my writing journey. It is one of the reasons that my new release, Catering to His Needs, is dedicated to her. She encouraged me to join the Liberty States Fiction Writers, where I learned about process and developing a pitch and how to write a query letter and synopsis. I was able to pitch my novel to agents and editors at their annual conference.

She read my work and critiqued it. Every writer needs someone to give them a perspective on how they’re doing, and Cris was one of the people who did that for me. And when my first book went nowhere, she pushed me to keep going. And as I mentioned in my dedication to this book, she always introduced me as “my soon-to-be-published friend Rose.” With a cheerleader like that, it’s your own fault if you fail.

So when my next book was finally accepted by Totally Bound, thanks to being a winner of the BDSM Book Contest at BDSM Writers Con, I had to make sure I thanked Cris. Along with Dr. Charley Ferrer, she is one of the most important figures in my writing career. I am a very, very lucky woman to have her in my corner.

 

Rose C. Carole (center) accepting her First-Sale rose. Cris (left), Dr. Charley (right)

And, again because of Cris’s generosity, I get to introduce you to Catering to His Needs, the first book in my Kitchen Confessions series.

Blurb:

Ethan is at his wit’s end. His brother’s ex-wife has threatened to reveal that Ethan is a member of the Playground, an exclusive BDSM club, unless she gets more alimony from the family trust fund. The scandal that would arise from such a revelation must be avoided at all costs--not only for the sake of Ethan’s reputation, but for the future of his relationship with his treasured sub, Rebecca.

Rebecca is a single mother working hard to expand her catering business. The only peace she finds from her building stress is in the handcuffs of her strong Dom, Ethan. But Rebecca’s life is not her own. Her teenage son is not handling Rebecca’s divorce well, and Rebecca feels the responsibility for her son’s happiness like a weight on her shoulders. Between her business and her son, she has little time for herself--or the growing emotional demands from her Dom.

Ethan is determined to take their relationship to the next level, and Rebecca is equally determined not to upset her son further by revealing that she has a new man in her life. Fortunately, Ethan is a Dom with a passionate interest in seeing that his sub is happy--even if he has to whip some sense into her. He’s making progress until suddenly his own problems take a turn for the worse. His brother Zach has gone missing under suspicious circumstances and now it’s all Ethan can do just to keep himself out of jail. The cat, as they say, is out of the bag.

Excerpt:

As they approached the doorway between the dining room and the living room, Ethan stopped. One after the other, he raised her arms above her head and attached the cuffs to hooks in the doorjamb.

He leaned forward. The words brushed by her ear so lightly she almost missed them. “Who is your safe call?”

“Samantha,” she responded.

“When are you supposed to call her to let her know you arrived safely?”

Uh-oh. Rebecca hesitated. She hadn’t exactly made specific arrangements. She had just told Sam she was going to be spending the weekend in the Catskills with Ethan, but that was it.

“Rebecca, when I ask you a question, I expect an answer without hesitation. Do I need to repeat it?”

“No, Sir. I heard you. I just don’t have an answer. I didn’t tell her I would call when I got here.”

“I know,” he responded and she quickly turned her face toward his steely expression.

“What?” she sputtered.

“Is that how you address me, Rebecca?”

“I’m sorry, Sir. I was just surprised by your answer. How do you know, Sir?” she amended in a voice she hoped was adequately contrite.

“I figured you would use Sam as your safe call, since she’s your best friend. So I contacted her through her Fetlife profile and made sure she had the address and phone number here—something you should have done—and informed her you would call tonight at five.”

“I didn’t think it was necessary, Sir. We’ve known each other almost six months and have been in a D/s relationship almost that long.”

“And have we ever been away together for a weekend?”

“No, Sir.”

“So no one besides me knows where you are, if you’ve arrived safely and if everything is all right here?”

“No, Sir.” She dropped her gaze. She couldn’t bear to face his disapproval.

“Look at me,” he commanded. She slowly raised her eyes. It was difficult to meet his gaze, but she forced herself.

“As we agreed before you came up here, you are my property for this weekend, and as such, I expect you to make sure you are careful about your safety. You have put your cell phone, wallet and other possessions into a locked box that only I can access and left yourself totally at my disposal without making sure that another soul knows where you are. I could have been planning to take advantage of you for some time, and you have no safe call to make sure someone comes looking for you if you don’t check in at a specific time. That’s not acceptable. For that you need to be punished. I don’t like starting our weekend this way, but it’s a lesson you have to learn immediately. Do you understand, Rebecca?”

She nodded her head.

Instantly he grabbed her by the chin. “Not acceptable, my dear. You know better.”

“Yes, Sir,” she responded and blinked her eyes to keep the tears at bay. He was right and she knew it. This lifestyle had inherent dangers, even when they were following safe, sane and consensual, and she had disrespected both of them by not following proper protocol to keep herself safe. She’d just gotten here and she’d already made a terrible mistake. How could she be so stupid? Would he still want to go through with the weekend as planned when she couldn’t even do the simplest thing?

Ethan stared into her eyes. “Where is your focus, Rebecca? It certainly isn’t on me.”

Damn. Can this get any worse? She turned her tear-filled eyes toward him. “Please forgive me, Sir. I know I messed up, and I’m sorry.”

His bent fingers traced down her cheeks and over her lips, then suddenly they were around her throat, gently but firmly letting her know he was in control. She was focused on him now.

“I know you’re sorry, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to address this issue, Rebecca. And I need you present. Are you with me?”

“Yes, Sir. I understand.”

“Good. Let’s get this over with so we can get to the more fun things I have planned for the weekend.”

He walked over to a basket, and she gasped as he pulled out a cane. He had never used one on her before. It terrified her.

“What is your safeword, Rebecca?”

“Chocolate, Sir,” she whispered.

Ethan approached her, holding the cane in both hands. Even though she was tethered to the hooks above, she tried to move backward from him. Shaking his head, he placed the cane on an end table then wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

She just stared at him, uncomprehending.

“You were backing away from me. Is that a sign that you don’t accept the punishment I’m about to give you or that you don’t trust me? Do you need to use your safeword? I will not touch you without your consent.”

His eyes bored into hers, and she realized she’d better tamp down her fear and accept her punishment or this would all end right now. He would never discipline her if she didn’t agree to it, and she had to trust he wouldn’t harm her. It didn’t mean this wasn’t going to hurt. He didn’t take punishment lightly. But she had earned it, so she had to suck it up and take it.

“No, Sir. I’m ready.”

Find out more about Rose at her website. Buy Catering to His Needs Now! Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo| Totally Bound

Enjoy the reading experience of Catering to His Needs.

~~ Cris Anson