#Spiced Right 2

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Fired Up by Gigi Templeton

Spiced Right #2

Who knew that barbecue and a bunkhouse cook showdown could be so HOT and the food produced in a pit so delicious sounding! Oh…and the romance was spiced just right, too!

What I liked:

* Returning to The Triple R – Reed River Ranch and spending time with this wonderful supportive group of people

* Avery Reed: award winning pitmaster, bunkhouse cook ranch cowboys, integral member of the ranch, abandoned by his mother, abusive father, loves his family, rather taken with Layla

* Layla Jenson: YouTube cook-off host, influencer, grew up on a farm, had and has big dreams, survived abuse to reinvent herself, good friend, loves the ranch and is rather taken with Avery

* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing

* The delicious sounding food created by Avery and wanting to taste it all

* The sidebar regarding Avery’s father and wondering if he will show up in a future book

* Trying to figure out how two people with such different goal will manage to find a happy ending together

* Wondering which of the potential single people mentioned might have their story told next: Ritchie, Chance, Luke, Riley, will Todd and Brodie end up together, and perhaps there are others

* That Karma managed to deal with Layla’s abuser in just the right way

* The scene with Layla and her father toward the end – would have liked more about them

* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* The abuse experienced by more than one character and wishing it had not happened

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series/by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC – this is my honest review

4-5 Stars

BLURB

The author of Spiced Right serves up scorching romance with just a hint of danger in this novel about a sexy pitmaster and the sultry cook-off host determined to rope him in. Avery Reed knows how to fire up the grills! And with his piercing blue eyes, the rugged pitmaster makes women’s mouths water, including Layla Jenson’s. She’s a YouTube cook-off host who’s spotlighting talented BBQ cooks across the country. Her current project is a bunkhouse cook showdown—and former pitmaster pro Avery holds the key to its success. Unfortunately, Layla’s running from a troubled past. And Avery has his own demons nipping at his heels. When Layla visits the TRIPLE R to ask Avery to be on the show, will their scorching chemistry seal the deal? Or will their complicated pasts tear them apart?

[twice-in-a-blue-moon]

when solomon has sex with you for the first time, he makes sure to absolutely worship your body. during the first kiss scene with him, he said he's been waiting for a chance to do it. so with this, he's going to make sure his patience will pay off. not an inch of your skin will be unloved by him. it may have taken so long, but the end result will be perfect as the two of you are satisfied, love growing by the second

(Ooh, thank you for the food, anon!! Solomon's first kiss scene will forever have my heart) Reader is GN! :)

Minors DNI!

"Why don't you come just a little closer?"

You shift a little closer until there's no space between you two on the bed, and his lips are back on yours. His hand comes up to cradle your jaw, softly rubbing his thumb along to solidify in his mind that you are here and that this is happening.

Somehow, miraculously, he finally got you alone...and you want him too.

Though he fears he'll get too eager and move too fast for your liking, leading to crossing a boundary or scaring you away. So, he's careful, treating you as if you were glass, slow to do anything more than kiss you like this. Truthfully, he could just do this all night and he'd still be over the moon. But he can't deny in his heart the need for more.

His hand on your jaw slowly slides down your neck, simply letting his fingertips brush against the sensitive skin. It's warm, and he can feel your pulse thrumming just beneath. He wonders how it would feel against his lips.

Solomon reluctantly pulls away from your lips, leaning down to instead kiss along the column of your neck. It elicits a soft gasp, and he feels giddy that he can get such a cute response from you. It only serves him to want to hear more. A secondary motive.

With each article of clothing he removes from your body, he falls deeper in love as he sees his person bared completely to him. It signifies the trust you've built together. And he'll do everything to never lose it - a promise he quietly makes to himself.

From your neck, he lavishes kisses along your collarbones, down both of your arms, your shallowly rising and falling chest, your soft stomach, all the way down to your naval. Any further is iffy territory and he wants explicit permission before he does anything more.

Through a husky tone, he asks, "is this okay? Can I continue?"

Your approval and reassurance are resounding. The weight of worry eases a little, but he's still tentative to continue. He wants you to feel good. He wants this first time with you to be perfect. He can't help it, he's an ancient sorcerer in love for the first time in a very long time...if ever.

So, slowly, he ventures onward to where he sees the obvious impact he's had on you tonight. His talented silver tongue makes you squirm on the bed, your hands tangling in his soft locks as his name tumbles out of your mouth like a prayer. The taste of your sweet arousal is something he fears he could get addicted to.

Solomon can feel his own arousal growing past anything he's ever experienced before. He didn't know he had the capacity to feel so needy for someone else. Good lord, just what are you doing to him?

Once he feels he's prepped and pleasured you enough with his tongue and dexterous fingers, he pulls away to finally undress and bare himself to you. His eyes shift away nervously as he feels you studying his body now. He knows his skin is marred from centuries of living; the countless pact marks, scars he doesn't remember the stories of, and burns from experiments gone wrong. He's never felt self-conscious like this before, but it's another product of what you do to him.

When you sit up on the bed, crawling to him to brush your fingers along his skin, it takes his breath away. You aren't afraid to explore him. Tracing his pact marks, kissing his imperfections, never once showing disgust like he might've thought.

No, only care.

Solomon gently chases you back down onto the bed, crawling over your excited form with smiles and giggles exchanged in the otherwise quiet room. Once again, he gets your staunch permission before continuing. And once again, you reassure him that this is what you want. Any lingering doubt subsides, and with that, he lines himself up with your entrance and slowly slides in, letting you adjust once he's fully settled within you.

"D-Deus meus..."

His forehead rests against yours as his breathing turns ragged, reveling in how goddamn good you feel around him. It takes all of him to be patient, but he waits for your signal, and once he has it, he doesn't hesitate to start moving.

His hips snap against yours in deep, measured thrusts. Passionate kisses are shared, soft moans and grunts fill your ears, and his hands never once stop exploring your body. The love he gave it earlier wasn't nearly enough.

There's no rush. It's not frantic - it's not even desperate. It's slow and intimate as he guarantees you both feel good in this one moment of solitude.

Solomon isn't even thinking about afterwards or what those brothers might say. He's fully entranced by you. He makes love to you as if it's the last time he ever will.

Soon he brings you both to a mind-shattering orgasm. His body shudders above yours as he buries his face in your neck. The way you clench around him makes him consider asking for a second round. Though, he wants to take a break more - to love and care for you as needed. As carefully as he can, he pulls out, already missing being enveloped by you and your sweet body. The second his fatigued self hits the bed, you instantly cuddle up to him, locking him in place for the foreseeable future.

To say he's a little shocked is an understatement. Sure, you both just shared a moment of passion and pleasure, but there was still some part of him that wondered if you really wanted him. For you to take the initiative to cuddle up to him in the afterglow touches his heart. Solomon wraps his arms around you, humming at the shared warmth between your sweaty bodies and shielding you from the world outside of this room.

Tonight you're his. And he knows he'll always be yours.

[fuckmeyer]

if smeyer wasn't a coward vamp!Bella would have immediately eaten her daughter Rensesmem whole-hog like Saturn Devouring His Son

[bunnithechubs]

vinny's weakness= hot women. jenn's weakness= stupid men. binx's weakness= behind ear scratches.

if i misspelled anything- no i didn't

[toxintouch]

hii!! I just read cold spots and it was AMAZING!!! Im not sure if you wanted to continue the fic, but if you don’t mind could you continue with Veres part? I don’t know what you would write about but I just feel like that fic has so much potential to be a little 3 part series or something 🙏

<- Cold Spots TYSM ANON!! I put the Vere End at the beginning for ease of reading. For the sake of folks who would like to read this as a stand-alone... I think u can? With the knowledge that the premise of Cold Spots is that Mhin and MC/Sparrow went ghost hunting. Vere is said to have been responsible for a handful of local ghost stories, so…of course he makes some mischief.🦊 Also MC needs some Winter wear, stat.  A very light Possessive Vere warning in this btw, though perhaps in a roundabout way.  Plausible deniability is so important to him.

You putter around in your room at the Wet Wick as you go about your nightly routine. The occasional cheer or thud from below only accentuates your nervous energy, punctuating your reluctance to settle down and get into bed. You smooth the covers with your bandaged hands and fluff the pillow before extinguishing the lamplight. You tug the bedding up above your shoulders, fighting to get comfortable. As your eyelids finally start to droop, the flicker of a shadow catches your attention.   It dances and sways and bends and grows until suddenly it is right in front of you.  On top of you. Silken, blood red drips down onto your face, a knife gleam smile too close for comfort.  You breathe in a gasp, wondering if you should scream. “Vere, what–” “Shhh,” he coos, pressing a finger lightly to your lips.  His breath is hot against your skin. “I only came to keep you warm, pet.”

Heat Signature

“Poor thing.” Vere purrs.  “Your lips are so cold.”  He leans ever closer, his mouth hot over yours–hovering.  His other hand reaches for your face as well, nails trailing against your cheek in a teasing caress.

You feel even the thought of being cold leave your body, replaced instead by the unusual thrill he commands, that strange enthralling sway.

That heat you’ve come to associate with Vere; sweet tendrils of want that nestle in your bloodstream.

You squirm a little, though you can’t move much with him looming over you.

(You should probably do more to protest his intrusion into your room, you think to yourself, though, the majority of you is–curious, daresay even far too eager to–)

“Whatever trouble did you get up to that left you in such a state?”

At this you scoff, tilting your head back into the pillow and effectively knocking Vere’s finger from your lips.  

“As if you don’t know,” you accuse.

Vere looks entirely unperturbed by you shaking him off, his lithe fingers traveling freely along the newly displayed skin of your throat, making your pulse jump.

Vere chuckles at that, dark and silky.

“Being tight lipped about your adventures, hm?”  He angles your face just so, ensuring you meet his sharp eyes, his nose brushing up against yours.  “Not that it matters.  It so happens I do know what you’ve been up to.  Trespassing in places that don’t belong to you.”

“...It was an abandoned building.  I don’t think it really belonged to anyone.”

“And that’s where you’d be wrong,” Vere says, “everything in this city belongs to someone, darling.  You just don’t know what belongs to who yet.”  He peers down at you with laughter in his expression, though there's a distinct edge to it that you can't quite place.

“So, you're here because that building belongs to you...?”

“Hmm, amongst other things.  However shall I make you apologize to me for this most egregious offense?”  He asks airily, shifting until he’s beside you rather than perched over you, resting his cheek in his hand and letting his eyes slip closed. He's the absolute picture of unbothered leisure.  

(You’re not fooled–he’s simply waiting for you to let your guard down before he pounces.)

You open your mouth to deny any debts on your part (though, if your ghost hunting spot was indeed Vere’s hideout, you really do feel guilty) but Vere cuts you off before you can speak.

“Alas, I suppose it’s not mine anymore.  Within a week it will reek of wet dogs and cheap booze. It's a lost cause now that those drooling reprobates know it's inhabitable.  A pity.  By Eridia's standards it really was divine in its heyday.  Good wine, music, dancing.  There was this portrait artist who would paint the performances…”

His tone remains light as he reminisces.  But the look he pins you with is dangerous: his eyes gleaming bright, his canines bared in an irreverent grin.

“I had such hopes and dreams of reviving the place myself.  Some of the dances were very scandalous.  You never did share with me your stance on dancing, did you?”

You stumble out an approximate answer.  It’s…harmless information to give, isn’t it?

Though, judging by how pleased Vere looks, you wonder if you should have refused to say.  He looks positively wicked as he ponders your answer aloud.  “Oh, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of talents to share.  In another life, perhaps I'd have put you on stage.  Though, I admit.  I find myself partial to a private show.”

And–as expected–the moment you let your guard down, he's in your space again, crowding you.  Heat and proximity and the softest brush of his lips against yours, light enough to send a thrill down your spine, curiosity and a want so deep it surprises you.

“Well?”  He purrs.  “Care to audition?”

You can't hide behind the excuse of supernatural sway or charm or the thrall of hypnotic sunglo eyes.  It's not Vere's power that controls you. It's your own gnawing desire; starvation and longing that draws you to him despite all sense.

Kissing Vere is heady.  Dizzying.  

Kissing Vere is like being in conversation with Vere–a constant of giving and taking, being chased after and running to keep up.  It’s enticing and alluring and decadent and never quite enough, over too soon even as you feel yourself losing air, the rush of blood and sensation threatening to overwhelm you.

He gives a parting nip to your bottom lip as he pulls away.

Then another one, playful, to your jaw.

When he presses his face into the side of your neck, you expect him to bite again.

What you don’t expect is for him to nuzzle into you, inhaling deeply before heaving a great sigh, his tail flopping lazily to land across you with a thump.

He’s officious as he rearranges the covers, ensuring your arms are tucked carefully away from him before he’s willing to fully settle into the bedding, pulling the blankets up around the both of you like a den.  He hums something low in his chest as he tucks himself up alongside you, long tail curled around your waist. 

It’s rhythmic–

purring.

And it’s…soothing, actually.

The weight of him, the warmth.  The incessant lamplight of the Amaryllis District, shining ever present through your window, is dim–tolerable, even, courtesy of Vere's magnificent shadow manipulations and the blankets sheltering you. 

The constant noise seems to fade away as well, obscured by the sound of purring. “Falling asleep when you have me in your bed, pet?  You really do try your luck…”

[justforthemoon]

You wanna be loved so bad,

They said

You wanna be loved

How simple

How cruel

How sweet

The sting of it rings

A bell chime in my soul

The deepest parts of me

My hope

My desire

My shame

Is it such an ugly thing

To be desperate

Is it such an ugly thing

To want

How intensely must I diminish myself

To be palatable

And wanted

And sane

I wanna be loved so bad

I wanna be

Loved

So bad

The truth hurts

The truth will set

You

Free

And I want to be loved

I want to be loved

I want to be loved!!!

[gophergal]

hello

im sorry

[liesmyth]

dunetwo thoughts: cinematographically stunning. it goes so fucking hard. plot-wise it's kind of weaker than i expected, though? i don't care for incest nephew but WOW i do care for irulan. i liked chani much better than in the book. i love the women unhinged potential.

in short: visually pretty. plot & themes make me think "i can FIX HER". perfect combination to activate my fandom brain

[shaadowmilkcookie]

I miss my wife, tails. I miss her a lot

[awkwardnerdylesbian]

Share pictures of your chickens

not home yet but i have these of a month ago because my mom wanted to see the roosters

[softquietsteadylove]

you know the *really* spicy fic just written? Can we have some aftercare for that please (I just kinda want more detail on that part)

Gil wrung out the cloth, making sure it was soft to the touch, and a perfect lukewarm. Cooling to overheated skin but not so cold that it wouldn't be useful.

Thena was curled up on the couch.

The ego in him was a bit pleased to see her satisfied to the point of exhaustion. But this wasn't about him congratulating himself for being a good lover. This was about Thena.

He crouched next to her, starting at her delicate wrists. He dabbed the cloth against her skin, still faintly red from where he had kept her bound. They had never experimented quite like this before. But he had a good feeling that she enjoyed it too.

Gil ran the cloth over Thena's body lightly, wiping away the sheen of sweat she had developed. He would get some water and a snack into her next, but this came first. It reminded him of when she was in Sersi's poison ward and he had given her a sponge bath.

Thena didn't exactly like recalling that time, or that specific event. But he thought there was something kind of beautiful about it. He hadn't had any ulterior motive in it, he just wanted the woman he loved to be comfortable.

"Hm," Thena hummed as he turned her over to wash her back.

"It's okay, Princess," he whispered. She squirmed the lower down her back he got. She would probably develop some bruising there shortly. He would ice it and apologise on his knees if she wanted.

He then moved to her legs. He bit back a smile; she had never been at such a particular point of pleasure before. He ran the cloth up her legs. They were faintly sticky, she wouldn't like that. He made it up to her thighs before he paused. "Honey."

Thena cleared her throat at him, keeping her thighs together and slightly crossed so as to hide herself. She was roused from her sleep and glaring at him with all the strength she could muster (it wasn't much).

He chuckled. His wife was willing to go to such lengths with him, but as soon as the cold, hard light of day hit, she was somewhat shy. He ran his fingers up the back of her calf until he could slip his palm into the back of her knee. "Come on, Sweetness."

"I am capable of doing this myself," she grumbled as her legs - so devoid of strength that it took nothing for him to open them again - unfurled.

"I know," he mused easily. He moved his eyes away from his precious target and to hers. She squeezed her eyes shut as he wiped away the most significant evidence of their latest foray. He balled the cloth up in his hand and left a kiss below her naval. "But I like doing this for you."

Thena gave up scolding him, flopping back again as he moved back to the bathroom attached to his office. "I recall I have a rule about lying around naked in the office."

Yes, but she was so much better at it than he was. He came out again, having also given at least his upper body a quick and lazy wipe down. He retrieved his shirt, long, long forgotten in their excitement.

"No one is still in the office, are they?" she asked, sounding half asleep as he got her arms through the sleeves and let him button it around her willowy frame.

"Nope, I gave everyone the evening off. Everyone on our floor, at least," he smiled, undoing the first set of buttons he had done up. She huffed at him but he gave her a little peck. "I like seeing your cleavage, Ice."

"Insatiable man," she chided.

"Yeah," he moved his ring to the right hand again, finally scooping her up to settle her on his lap. His hand tilted her head so he could touch the tip of her nose with his. Himself from even just two years ago would laugh at him. "But I'm your insatiable man."

"Hm," she denied him the thrill of more playful arguing, settling against his chest again.

"I love you, Thena," he cooed, kissing along her cheeks and all over her face. The cloth had worked; her skin no longer felt sweaty.

"Love you too," she purred in reception of his affection. She said it far less than he did, but he was always fine with that. When she did say it, he knew she meant it.

She meant it when she kissed him goodbye in the mornings, or parting with him after a stolen lunch together. She meant it when she made it clear to his enemies than an enemy of the Tyrant King's was an enemy of the Ice Queen as well. And he knew she meant it when she let him take care of her after a crazy hot fuck session.

"I've got sushi and tteokbokki and pierogies all on the way," he continued to nuzzle her. He liked cuddling her, especially after being intimate. Sometimes Thena would hit her limit and squirm away from him, like a cat reluctant to accept cuddles.

"You spoil me," she sighed, still letting him cling to her. She truly was exhausted.

He ran his hand over her leg, soft and smooth, although he was pretty sure she would shave if not tonight then tomorrow. "You gonna be able to work in the morning?"

"Of course," she countered, and then immediately yawned and discredited herself. "It is almost as if I recommended some restraint."

Gil grinned, "I did use restraints."

She slapped his chest.

He captured the hand lazily sliding down again and moved it back to his heart. Feeling his heartbeat for herself settled her, like a lullaby. "I'm sure you can move a few morning meetings if you have to."

She puffed through her nose. "You just want me to show up for my investors meeting still glowing from all this."

So they could see his wife in all her beautiful glory and know that she was very well taken care of as a married woman?...no, of course not.

"If you're glowing then it must be because you're the light of my life," he schmoozed. Thena laughed, always amused by his silly and downright corny compliments. He always had plenty more.

She didn't even flinch at the knock on the door. "Go."

"Yes, ma'am," he kissed her cheek again, slipping away to retrieve the food delivery. He cracked the door open and leaned over to drag it inside. Not a soul was there, but he knew how Thena felt about anyone - even a security camera - seeing her at her most vulnerable.

Thena managed to sit herself up, but even the way she was leaning back spoke to her level of physical exhaustion. Gil frowned; maybe they did overdo it. "What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, unpacking the food on the coffee table between this and the other couch.

He blinked as Thena slumped forward, laying herself over his back and looping her arms around his neck. He turned his head but she nuzzled the back of his neck. She muttered something in Russian, which she knew he wasn't good at! "Hm?"

Thena turned her face so she could speak more clearly. "I said you are a good husband."

Nothing could make him happier than hearing that. He patted her arms locked around him and bent his head to kiss her fingers. "Glad to hear it, baby."

"Hm," she concluded, slipping backwards again. "Now, will you stop delaying?"

"Yes, Ice Queen," he chuckled, turning and holding up a rice cake with his hand under it. "Open up."

"You don't have to feed me."

"Aw, c'mon, it's like old times!"

"You feeding me while I was poisoned should not be 'old times'," she huffed, at least leaning forward to accept the bite. Her eyes lit and he could see the hunger she wasn't fully aware of make itself more known to her.

"Well, you can think of this time instead," he suggested, which she ignored, as he would have expected her to. He offered a piece of sushi next.

"Are you not going to have some?" She eyed him from his position on the floor, moving food from the table to her mouth.

He grinned. With them both of the same mind, she moved from the couch and he pushed the table out more. She settled on his lap again, letting him reach around her. She took another piece of salmon roll for herself and then offered him a bite over her shoulder.

"You ever think," he began, before she put her fingers on his lips to make him chew and swallow before speaking again. He gulped. "You ever think about how ourselves from two years ago probably wouldn't believe it if they could see us now?"

Thena smiled at least at the amusing idea. "I believe if you had attempted to describe this scene to my past self I would have littered you with knives until you had more holes in you than a fine sourdough."

Ah, so romantic, his Ice Queen. He merely kissed her cheek, waiting for his next bite, "same here, probably."

[anxiously-awaiting]

women <3

[thesmokinpossum]

drunk as fuck once again and i got a job interview for a job i really want in less than 11 hours, we'll see how it goes

[endlessfuckup]

dont you love it when your family gives you k2 instead of weed

knowing full well that its not fucking weed

[ofmdee]

gifs 🔞

this is why i need to learn to stop writing scenes before i do the animations, because i've written stede riding the hell out of ed, but then this animation came on random and i was like oh..... ohhhhhhhh heck 🥵

so i think ed's gonna take over halfway and mount stede instead which is great and all but now i gotta rewrite stuff 😂

as always, i have a whole series about these guys on ao3 😉

[tony-andonuts]

Working the morning cook shift from today to thursday and tbh its super chill. I get to just cook shit and throw everything into the oven and get paid more than i do when aiding (which 'has me' running around the kitchen and facility) [sidenote but yaaayyyyy more work talk!! /sar]