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Red Leopard
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~ Details ~
~ Outline ~
~ Reviews ~
~ Excerpt ~
~ Author’s Note ~
~ Also of Interest ~
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Details
EROTIC ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
If they give in to their desires a whole country will fall.
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Red Leopard is the first book in the Guns ‘n Lovers series
Black Heart is the second book and is now available.
The thirds is Blue Knight, which is waiting a release date.
The fourth book in the series will be White Dawn (yet to be written)
For more about the series, click here.
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Red Leopard is now available.
Outline
Calli Munro, American, soon-to-be economics professor, and single by choice, arrives in Vistaria during La Fiesta de la Luna, a combination of Mardi Gras and Carnival. Calli’s there to keep her sex-kitten cousin, Minnie, out of trouble. When she meets Nicolàs Escobedo, the powerful bastard half-brother of Vistaria’s president, she realizes she is the one in trouble. Their attraction is instant, powerful and mutual, but to give in to it will open the floodgates of bloody revolution in Vistaria. Not even the mysterious man known only as The Red Leopard can stop it.
Reviews
A great read that will have you glued to the pages!!!
This is the second book that I’ve read by Ms. Cooper-Posey and it was great! The characters, the setting, and even the storyline are unique and fun. The chemistry between Calli and Nicolas is instant and it’s hot, but Ms. Cooper-Posey manages to draw it out and as a result when our lovers finally get together it’s beyond steaming. This story is very romantic and although this is a “romantica” story, this is not a book with page after page of gratuitous sex scenes. Instead it’s a story about strength and integrity, and yes, attraction. This was really an emotional story that was well told. The characterization was right on, and Ms. Cooper-Posey does an excellent job of keeping our interest alive while at the same time keeps our lovers apart. That is until…well, never mind I’ll let you read the book! This was a great book that I highly recommend to the fan of the romance genre. Word of warning — things are a little spicy than the average romantic read, but it’s tastefully done. Ms. Cooper-Posey is now an author I’ll pick up simply because her name is on the cover.
Kristi Ahlers for Amazon.com
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This is a great suspense story. I don’t want to tell too much of the story because it would ruin it for other readers. If you love those movies where you don’t know who’s side the hero is really on until the end, then you’ll love the intrigue of Red Leopard. Cooper-Posey did excellent with the personalities of the characters. A follow up story on Calli and Nic would be great!
Angel Brewer for TRS Blue
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Red Leopard is a fabulous read, because it combines a political thriller with an erotic, sensual read that builds and builds, and — well, you get the picture. The anticipation is electrifying as you wait to see if Nick and Callie can actually reach the point where they are willing to risk it all to be together. With a good, strong plot, the reader is thrown into a fictitious but surprisingly realistic Latin American country that is dangerous and politically unsafe; in short, a perfect setting for these two explosive personalities, and when they finally come together, it’s dynamite. Deserving of its NC-17 rating, the passionate scenes in this novel are well developed, subtle when needed, and as hot as necessary. There are also other scenes, though, like the one where Callie tries to rescue Minnie’s boyfriend that are riveting and tautly suspenseful.
Red Leopard is not a read-it and leave-it novel. Its pace is fast, but it stays with you for a long time, long enough that you enjoy reading it just as much the second time around. I highly recommend Red Leopard to those of you who enjoy some thrills and chills along with some fiery scenes guaranteed to please.
Astrid Kinn for Romance Reviews Today
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In Red Leopard, national multi-award-winning, multi-published author Tracy Cooper-Posey, has produced an untamed, wildly exciting story of love and raw sexual desire. With steamy, pant-provoking sex scenes and a love to rival the most notorious forbidden affairs in history, Red Leopard will leave the reader in a state of arousal that will require a Tarzan-like beast of the jungle to sate! Tracy Cooper-Posey receives the highest rating for her great writing, intricate plotting and tasteful yet extremely erotic sex scenes.
Titania Ladley For Women on Writing
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Red Leopard is an interesting book that keeps the reader glued from beginning to end. The romance between Nick and Calli is spell-binding. The mixture of romance and sexual ecstasy made this book worth reading over and over. This reviewer found herself drawn to the mysterious sexy red leopard wanting to find out more about him. The whole romantic country and words that are used take you deep inside the book and you find yourself there. It takes you from an ongoing war to a romantic get away back to the war. It just goes to prove two people from different countries can fall in love and be together even when the countries don’t want them to be.
Ruby for Love Romances
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Pros: Fresh new idea. Cons: none. The Bottom Line: Calli Munro, an American arrives in Vistaria during La Fiesta le La Luna, a combination of Mardi Gras and Carnival. Red Leopard is a strong sensual story that deals with irresistible attractions and the forces that stand in the way of love. This has both romance and action though out the story. Reading about the political climate of Vistaria, and the unfolding of romance between Nicolas and Calli will keep you on the edge of your chair. For Romantica this is something new and fresh.
Pat McGrew for About Romance.com
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By the way, I’m just sinking my teeth into Tracy Cooper-Posey’s Red Leopard and WOW. Is this a great book. Enjoying the steam and the characterization. Now that’s my favorite combination…danger, adventure, excitement, high-power characterization and steam. Yep. Love it!!!!!!!!
Denise A. Agnew, Ellora’s Cave author.
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Tracy Cooper-Posey weaves this tale in a delightfully exotic setting. The people on the isle of Vistaria are sensual and the descriptions of the landscape are beautiful. The characters are well developed and have great sensual chemistry together. The love scenes are well written and very hot! The plot moves along at a nice pace and is filled with sexuality. I really enjoyed the suspense of wanting them together intimately. I really enjoyed this and I would recommend Red Leopard to other people who love romanticas.
Maria Desrosiers for eBook Reviews Weekly
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I just finished the best book – Red Leopard - those of you who love good writing and hot heros, a tight plot and an incredible love story set against the backgound of a rebellion, get Red Leopard! Tracy sure is a fantastic writer! (I first read her Diana by the Moon, I think it is at Hardshell, and I love her style.
Samantha Winston, Ellora’s Cave Author
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In Red Leopard, Ms. Cooper-Posey has written a spellbinding, adventurous novel. The sexual tension between Nick and Calli is compelling. I could not see how it would be possible for Calli and Nick to have a future together and worried that there might not be a happy ending. I hope that there will be a sequel to Red Leopard as there are a few unanswered questions at the end. I am anxiously waiting to see what comes next from Ms. Cooper-Posey’s talented pen!
Denise Powers for Sensual Romance.
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I loved this story. I was enthralled with Tracy’s writing style, it’s almost lyrical. There were several passages I had reread just because of the sheer beauty of the language. It was such a romantic love story…and very sensual too, and the action wasn’t bad either . We have a country on the verge of revolution, and two lovers for whom common sense dictates should stay far apart from each…and they try their hardest to be oh so sensible…but lucky for us they fail miserably. Tracy, here’s hoping you do more contemporaries…particularly a sequel to this one soon!
Maryam (a reader)…off to savor this story again.
Excerpt
He entered the room so quietly that at first she didn’t notice him. It must have caught the soldiers off guard, too, for the first hint she got was an overly loud “¡Atención!” followed by the sound of men scrambling to their feet, knocking over their stools in their haste. Grunts of effort and an alarmed cry sounded.
She turned, alert.
He wasn’t in uniform. He didn’t even look Latino. Dark red hair and midnight blue eyes, with the pale skin that went with that coloring. He looked more Irish than her great-grandmother, who came from county Kildare.
American? she wondered. Help, at last?
But no, they stood rigid, waiting. The sergeant, the big soldier in the corner, now stood with his hand locked into a salute, quivering with perfect attention. The woman next to him leisurely pulled her blouse into place.
The man looked about the room, sizing the men up. What had the soldiers called him? It had sounded, amongst the gibberish of mongrel Spanish, like the name “Roger” had been spoken.
He looked at the woman, and gave a little shake of his head. “Rosali…” and he spoke to her.
She gave a shrug and a smile and moved slowly to the door behind the man. He patted her shoulder as she went. She shut the door behind her while the man looked around again.
Not one of the soldiers had moved an inch. He spoke a quiet word, and they relaxed, but none of them sat down again.
He spoke to the sergeant then, in the same quiet, understated way. He didn’t use his hands, either. In this land of flamboyant gestures and uninhibited volume, he was icily contained, controlled. His hands stayed relaxed at the sides of his dark, modern suit.
The sergeant rattled off a stream of words. Explanations, she realized.
They had been royally busted…so who was this guy?
When the sergeant had run out of words and fallen silent, the man studied him for a pregnant moment. Then he spoke a few words.
The sergeant quailed and nodded eagerly. He spoke to the other men, who scurried to clear the table and go about their business.
The man in the dark suit turned then, finally, to look at Calli for the first time.
It felt like being pinned down by lasers. His direct gaze, the unflinching eyes, locked onto her face. The blue seemed almost black when he stared at her directly that way—as if a trick of the light made them appear that dark indigo blue only when reflected correctly.
He slid a hand into his pants pocket. “You have been in the country for less than five hours, Miss Munro, and already you are in trouble. It does not augur well for the remainder of your stay here, does it?”
His English was flawless. His voice had a gravelly quality that reached out and caressed the back of her neck. Calli shivered.
“It’s not my fault I’m here. There were three of them, and I kept saying no…”
He considered this. “Then you very forcefully backed up your ‘no’ by breaking one nose and leaving various cuts and bruises for them to remember you by.”
“How many times do I have to say no before it sticks?” she asked, trying to keep her voice sweet and reasonable.
Again she got the thoughtful silence. “This is not Montana, Miss Munro. This is Vistaria, in South America, during the Luna festival. Americans here are treated with suspicion and prejudice. You should make allowances.”
“Like they did for me?” she asked, appalled to realize her voice was rising. What allowances had the men who had come up to her tonight made? They had appeared out of a dark side street as she had been making her way towards lights and civilization and scared her silly. They had been in the mood to have some fun, and now she thought about it, she recalled that “Americana” had dotted their talk as they had surrounded her, laughing and pushing playfully. She had shaken her head, repeated “no” a few times while trying to slip out of their little circle. When one hand had briefly cupped her buttock, she had reacted. Three years of karate had paid off…sort of.
But the man did not appear to agree with her point of view.
“You are a visitor, Miss Munro. Things are different here. You cannot demand the same rights that you are used to in the States.”
“You’re not American,” she judged.
He seemed a little amused at that one, for his mouth curled up at one corner. Just a little. “No, I’m not American.”
“Don’t I at least get a phone call?” she asked.
He once again appeared to consider her request seriously, carefully. He took a step or two closer to the cage. Calli already stood close to the bars and his paces brought him much too close to her for comfort—she didn’t like to have to tilt her head up to look someone in the eyes. But she held her ground, unwilling to show him by stepping backwards just how much he had disturbed her.
His gaze dropped to the ground. He spoke barely above a whisper, but each word reached her with crystal clarity.
“Miss Munro, you are an American, and your nationality is declared by your hair, your skin, your very demeanor. You come to my country dressed in provocative clothes, during the festival when inhibitions are loosened, and complain when you are subjected to unwanted attention.”
She pushed at stray locks of hair that had fallen around her face, suddenly conscious of their golden wheat color and their wild disarray. Somewhere along the way they had escaped the long braid she normally wore. “I didn’t go looking for trouble,” she said, in the same whisper. The whisper seemed appropriate.
“I know.”
“Then—?”
“You have to understand this country, Miss Munro, if you are to have a peaceful stay here. Americans are not loved. They are looked upon with suspicion and dread, and you have been subject to some of the prejudice that fear engenders. You would do better to spend your time here being as insignificant as possible. The political situation in Vistaria verges on explosive—we have guerillas in the mountains just waiting for an excuse to swoop down on the capital, and an…incident would be all the excuse they would need.”
She licked her lips. “You mean rebels, don’t you? They are rebels in the mountains.”
He smiled a little and looked at her with that same direct glance. “Touché, Miss Munro. You have revealed my own prejudice.” The smile was deprecating, with a touch of wry humor. It reminded her that he was only a man, after all. A man with weaknesses…and passions.
He stood much too close, she decided. Despite the bars barely two feet separated them. She could almost feel the heat of him washing against her. A masculine, strong scent curled around her, evoking a sense memory of being wrapped in a man’s arms, his warm long body against hers. A picture flashed into her mind—firm flesh, heat, moisture, the caress of a hand along her bare hip.
The man stared at her through the bars of the cage, not moving, his gaze as fixed as a hunter’s.
The pit of her stomach rolled over slowly and the old familiar ache awoke.
“Do you know me?” she asked, her voice husky.
“Yes.” The answer was low, a verbal caress as beguiling as his scent.
Her heart gave a little leap and thudded hard against her chest. “I mean…” She cleared her throat a little. “You know my name.”
“I know all about you, Miss Callida Munro.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket. Her passport was in it. He pushed it through the bars towards her. “Take this. Keep it safe. Keep it on you. In a while, after I’m gone, you will be released. Your uncle, Joshua Benning, will be waiting for you downstairs.”
She took the passport with a small sigh of relief, and pushed it into the back pocket of her jeans. It was warm—from his body heat.
His hand had returned to the pocket.
“Do you have anything else of mine in there?” she asked, nodding towards his pocket.
“Should I have?” He seemed surprised.
“They took my handbag, my luggage…”
“They?”
“The soldiers. The police. The men who arrested me.”
“This country is run under a military junta,” he said politely, as if he informed her of the weather.
“I’m sorry. I’m woefully ignorant of your country and I feel like I’m insulting you.”
“You are no worse than most tourists here,” he said.
“But I’m usually much better prepared. I’m a college professor, for god’s sake, and you’re making me feel like a big ugly American blundering around and tripping over her own ignorance. I came in a hurry—that’s my only explanation.”
“Just as I have asked you, I too, am making allowances.” He gave that same little lift to the corner of his mouth. “And you are not a college professor quite yet.”
“How on earth do you know that?”
“The internet is available in Vistaria, too, Miss Munro. I looked up your college website.”
“Dry reading for a festival night.”
“On the contrary.” He took his hand out of the pocket. “You may or may not get your belongings back. I will see what I can arrange. Count yourself lucky regardless of what is returned. Good night, Miss Munro.”
She grabbed the bars. “Wait a minute,” she said quickly.
He swiveled a little to look at her, and one brow lifted in query.
“Are you going to tell me who you are?”
He barely paused. “No.”
“No name? Nothing?”
“No.”
“No, wait!” she said, lifting her voice a little more.
He turned back to face her, stoic patience in every line of his body.
She swallowed dryly. “This is wildly inappropriate, and I don’t know how to do this in a way that doesn’t sound totally forward…but…can we…can I…hell…” She cleared her throat again.
Curiosity show on his face, then dawning understanding. She recognized it as clearly as if he had spoken, for her whole body took an internal leap and suddenly her heart really was in her throat, choking her. Throughout their short interview, the expression in his eyes had not changed from the cool assessing look. But now she saw heat flicker there, just for a moment.
“You have not had your fill of Vistarian men?” he asked softly.
The look in his eyes, the knowledge, made her heart hurt. Her whole body tingled in response, and it killed any finesse she might have used under normal circumstances. She had run out of time, anyway. He wanted to leave. She shook her head. “Not you,” she said, just as softly.
“Ahh…”
An entire world of conversation lived in that breathed response, and Calli knew she caught only part of it. She heard understanding, pleasure…and regret.
His hand lifted to where hers clutched at the bars, the right hand hidden from the soldiers by his body. The long fingers rested against hers, and the touch thrilled her. The tip of one finger slid against the very tender flesh at the side of hers, and she shivered as a little ripple of pleasure swept through her.
He watched her, recording every minute reaction. When she focused on his face again, he gave another of those little half smiles. The regret lingered in his eyes. Moving his head by only a fraction, he shook it.
She let her hands fall away, and this time when he turned to leave she did not stop him.
Author’s Note
As I write this, Red Leopard is in final editing stage and is tentatively due for release in April 2003, although there are editorial rumblings at Ellora’s Cave that hint it might be released earlier than that. Because it is the latest book I have written, it’s currently my favorite, although that will likely change once I have begun the next story (Solstice Surrender, for the Winter Warriors anthology, due out for Christmas 2003 at Ellora’s Cave).
Red Leopard has the distinction of being the first book I’ve written where one of the secondary characters became as endearing to me as the central characters, and I’m itching to write the sequel, which is scheduled for the not too distant future. I won’t mention which character it is here, because I don’t want to spoil the book for you.
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Also of Interest
Dreaming up Duardo…a short article explaing how Duardo came into being, one of the secondary characters in Red Leopard.
Red Leopard is now available.
Red Leopard is also available in Japanese.
Copyright
© 1999 - 2010 Tracy Cooper-Posey 