No Ordinary Affair Available from Forbidden Publications

Max is tired of life- his wife has left him, his private investigator business is faltering, he’s lonely and he’s on the verge of ending it all. But a woman comes to his office asking for his help to get the dirty on her cheating husband. The instant and crazed attraction is too strong for either of them to fight. Yet she has a peculiar habit of appearing and disappearing into thin air and Max begins to believe he is either going mad or he is having an affair with a ghost. The truth, however, is more disturbing than even he could ever imagine... Available at Forbidden Publications.

Reviews

"Max is suffering deeply. His marriage fell apart and his wife left him, his private investigation business is failing, and he’s on the brink of eating the muzzle end of a pistol. On this particular fateful morning, as he is contemplating suicide once more, the mysterious Cassandra appears out of nowhere requiring his assistance on getting the goods on her troublesome husband. Then she disappears the same way, but not before leaving an indelible imprint on Max’s heart. But how can he have such intense feelings about... a ghost?"

"In No Ordinary Affair, once again Ellen Ashe captivates her readers with a dark, sexy, twilight zone kind of story. Max is hurting intensely, down deep where he can keep it from others. But it’s becoming harder and harder to hide. Cassandra brings new hope to him, if only he can figure her out. The passion between them is immediate and intense, erotic enough to make the air sizzle."

"Every successive book I read by Ellen Ashe cements her even more solidly in my favorite authors list, which is very short. We are once more given a dark and winding story in No Ordinary Affair. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I was blown away by such a huge twist in the ending I was momentarily at a loss for words, shocked to find out exactly what was happening. I love this aspect of Ellen’s writing… nothing is ever what we expect. In my book, this makes her stories that much more compelling. - Kelley A. Hartsell, Read full review HERE

"No Ordinary Affair is a must read for paranormal suspense fans everywhere. Ellen Ashe is a wonderful author who is able to combine a lot of great elements and genres to create a beautiful yet chilling tale. I was hooked from the very first chapter and was disappointed when it ended. This wasn’t really my type of genre before now, but I’ll definitely be checking out more in the future. I loved the contact between Max and Cassandra. Both fallen souls needing each other to live life again. And I’m a sucker for a man that’s willing to do whatever it takes for the woman he’s fallen in love with." - Amanda H. Read full review HERE

"No Ordinary Affair certainly lives up to its title as it delivers a story with some very unexpected and even startling twists, turns, and denouements. Few readers, if any, will be able to predict the outcome of this novella. Ellen Ashe demonstrates a gifted imagination and a keen grasp of character. No Ordinary Affair is truly a story that begs for initial reading, and then rereading." - Two Lips Reviews
Read full review HERE

"No Ordinary Affair was one of the most unique reads I have ever come across. When I started it, I said to myself "OK, the gumshoe gets the hot client, passionate sex ensues, etc. I got it." Nope I didn't have it. Not even close. This book is a fast-paced stunner that takes the reader through more twists and turns than any roller coaster could ever boast to. Max is a decidedly unlikable character at the start but I couldn't help but find his desperate plea for redemption endearing and touching. He works his way into the reader's heart. Cassandra is a sensual enigma that one must keep turning page after page to try to figure out. It's a thrilling quest to do so. I won't spoil the ending but I do have one 4-Letter word to say about it =) Whoa..." - Reader comment

"No Ordinary Affair will knock your socks off. Ellen Ashe had written a terrific book and will leave you wondering if this could happen in real life. I was amazed at the depth of feeling that Max and Cassandra had for each other. Ms. Ashe puts a twist in the book that will leave you wondering when things turned around and started going the other way. I loved this book and can’t wait to read another one of Ms. Ashe’s books. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves paranormal and a book with a twist. Thank you Ms. Ashe for such a wonderful book, I will be looking forward to reading more in the future." - Romance Junkies
Read full review HERE

Excerpt

With his back to the wall, Max could watch the club’s patrons with ease. Not that he had suffered repercussions as a result of his work —a scuffle here and there maybe from an unhappy recipient of his picture taking, the threat of a swinging fist, but nothing major. Nothing he couldn’t handle. He supplied evidence for unhappy clients, and what they did with it after that he didn’t give a damn. He was anonymous. He did the nasty work, got paid, and disappeared into the shadows.

The shadows. Pretty much summed up how he lived life. That was exactly where he was sitting this night.

That was likely the underlying reason he never pursued his own divorce. The spotlight on him, his cheating wife, how brainless he was to not know what was going on, those irreparable personal problems that weren’t anyone else’s business. As it was, he had walked away from everything he had accumulated so that the bitch could live comfortably, practice her hobby—sucking cock. He didn’t want to see her, hear her voice, nothing. He snuffed a laugh. He didn’t even care whether she was alive or dead. Legally, they were still married, but that was it.

How long had it been since he had actually laid eyes on her? Statute of limitations must have procured a formal separation by now. Even if it didn’t, so what?

It couldn’t be a crime to seek out the comforts of another woman. No one could possibly accuse him of being an adulterous leech, not after what he had been through. What man wouldn’t want an intimate tryst with a beautiful woman, to be reminded he could desire and be desired? That is, if she desired him. Cassandra. She materialized, and then evaporated into thin air.

He grinned despite himself. Sex with a ghost. That would be no ordinary affair. He’d like to see the paperwork on that go through divorce court!

The jazz singer took the microphone and bled out a mournful song. Max lowered his eyes a moment to reflect not on what he had lost, as he had done for countless years, but rather the woman who had walked into his office for those few short minutes of absolute paradise.

She couldn’t have known it at the time, but she saved his life, gave him a thread of hope. That thread had kept him from pulling the trigger.

He flirted with the idea that she wasn’t real, that she actually was an apparition, or a fantasy formed by a mind wracked with despair and loneliness. He had gone over the events of that morning so many times, trying to come to some logical explanation. But there wasn’t one. Nor was there an explanation as to why he had been so profoundly attracted to her. Why he was so desperately in love with her.

Or maybe he was just smitten like some silly prepubescent. He had been so cynical about relationships, jaded about women’s motives, maybe he had built a wall—one so thick that he could no longer tell the difference between simple biology—that need for sex called lust, and the spiritual connection called love.

Spiritual. Spirits. Ghosts.

What could possibly be more supernatural than love?

It suddenly occurred to him he had never truly been in love. He had no idea what the word meant. That luxury hadn’t touched his life. So what made him think he was in love now?

He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Cassandra, ‘confuser of men’,” he whispered. “Cassandra.” He even liked the way each syllable pushed air past his lips.

“Max?”

He looked up with a jolt. His chest tightened. For a few seconds he calculated the reality of her. He tried to say something, anything, but his mind had gone blank with exhilaration.

Instead, he stood, took her hand and kissed it. Yes, she was real. Very real. His heart had stopped.

A plain dark dress clung to her curves, the front plunging to reveal firm cleavage. Her short hair was immaculately styled, swept back from her glowing face. Her eyes sparkled. She stood out against the dull light of the club.

“I can’t stay long,” she said softly, glancing shyly from side to side. “I wanted to see you again, but I might have been followed.”

Max scanned the room from his corner vantage point. He saw nothing that might confirm her suspicions. There were only a handful of people in the smoky club, and they were all involved in their own secrets. His affection may be blindsiding him, though. He hadn’t even let go of her hand. He never wanted to let go of her again.

She was no apparition. She was real.

She sat down in front of him; they held hands over the table’s surface.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked. Not that he cared about the answer. All he cared was that she had found him and that she would stay. He was almost giddy with joy.

She flushed slightly and squeezed his fingers. “I left too quickly last time,” she whispered, her voice as musical as the singer on the stage. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry about anything.”

There was a lull. In it he cupped her hand in both palms, luxuriating in the warmth that emanated from her skin. Ghosts have warm hands. She rubbed her thumb against his palm. An arousal he had never known surged through his groin. It doubled in his chest.

“It feels good to be with you, Max,” she said, her lips barely moving. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He swallowed the dry spot in his throat. And leapt. “Forgive me if I sound a fool, but….” He hesitated.

“Go on,” she coaxed.

He puffed a short laugh. “I’m not very good at this.”

“Yes, you are.” Her eyes glistened with unyielding admiration.

From the expression, he took courage. He had nothing to lose. Everything to gain. “From the minute you walked out of my office, I suffered.”

Her brow rose.

“I thought maybe I was seeing a vision. That I had slipped into some abyss. My mind was lost. In a way it is, because I have never felt…” He took a breath.

“Felt what?”

“Such a strong connection to someone.”

She nodded. “Connection,” she repeated softly. “Yes, I feel it, too. It’s very strong.”

“I’m not going to argue with it.”

“No,” she sighed. “Nor am I.”

There was a comfortable silence between them as they clutched hands across the table.

“Cassandra,” he said carefully, reciprocating the passion he sensed in her voice, her touch. “What must I do to make you want me?”

“I already want you.”

Was he dreaming? Ecstasy like this didn’t happen to Maximilian Myron. Slowly he brought her hand to his cheek. “You are too good to be true,” he said, forcing a weak smile. “Baby, please tell me you’re real.”

“I am for you.”

He shivered. The block of ice that had been his heart broke with an echoing crack. She strummed his cheek bone. He felt a wave of heat rise in his neck. More than just a physical arousal. “Let’s go somewhere.”

Warily, she glanced over her shoulder. When she turned back to him she smiled, knowingly. And nodded. “Follow me.”

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