Forced Disappearance by Dana Marton-Review and Spotlight Tour

Forced Disappearance by Dana Marton -a review and spotlight tour

forced disappearance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

NOTE: Dana is hosting a Forced Disappearance Release Party on Facebook on 11/24 from 5-9pm EST. She hopes you can come by and visit! Just click on the link below to RSVP – Dana will soon be announcing guest authors, there will be prizes, Q&A with some of your favorite authors, and lots of FUN. So whether you can pop in for 10 minutes or all 4 hours, Dana hopes to see you there!Here’s the Facebook Forced Disappearance.

Click HERE to sign up for the FORCED DISAPPEARANCE Facebook party.

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 18, 2014

When wealthy American businessman Glenn Danning goes missing in Venezuela, investigator Miranda Soto volunteers to track him down. It’s her first assignment for the Civilian Personnel Recovery Unit, but this mission is about more than salvaging the remnants of her shattered military career. Glenn was Miranda’s best friend and first lover, and she’ll do anything to save him from danger…especially since she just lost everything that mattered to her.

Glenn barely survived being kidnapped and tortured as a suspected spy, but the shock of seeing Miranda again gives him a new lease on life. Their still-simmering attraction grows hotter as the couple races through the treacherous jungle. Determined to reach safe ground, they must stay alive long enough to stop the terrifying enemy who still hunts Glenn. And even if they survive, Miranda’s dark past could jeopardize their future together…

••••••••••••••••

Who doesn’t like the geeky guy in college who grows into a multimillionaire hottie? Glenn Danning is a wealthy American who is traveling in Venezuela for pleasure or business, we don’t know. A FORCED DISAPPEARANCE by Dana Marton opened my eyes to a phenomenon that is happening worldwide. Americans are “disappearing” in countries that are not friendly with the United States. They are accused of being political or business spies, sometimes ransomed back or they just disappear…….

Miranda Soto has been dishonorably discharged from the military and she wants a second chance. She works for a government agency called Civilian Personnel Recovery Unit. This assignment is personal. Miranda and Glenn knew each other at MIT and they were each other’s “firsts”! Glenn asked to touch her breasts, purely a scientific experiment and that led to a college relationship. Miranda leaves him and joins the military and Glenn still pictures her in his mind during his kidnapping and torture. Yes, poor Glenn is tortured by the Venezuelans for information and that first chapter was horrific. I am a wimp and I sure could picture each horrific detail due to the writing talent of Ms. Marton! Luckily, there is a secondary character, Winky the monkey that softens some of these scenes.

No one thinks that Miranda can track Glenn down, except for the Venezuelan agents that are “helping” her with her investigation. Glenn had escaped on his own and was on his way to Brazil when Miranda ruins everything and finds him! Their adventures on the run are fast paced and very “edge of your seat”. Yes, I read this novel in one sitting! I couldn’t put it down until I found out who betrayed Glenn and if the couple would reunite! College was a long time ago and both of them had been married to other people. Miranda even had a child! Miranda has a lot of secrets, especially concerning why she was dishonorably discharged and the fate of her family. Those back stories were heartbreaking at times.

FORCED DISAPPEARANCE is for the suspense and military lovers. It’s very fast paced and for a genre that I normally would not pick up, I loved it! Who knew? I loved both Glenn and Miranda and the way their minds work together out in the jungle! That couple had great teamwork! I will definitely read more of Dana’s novels! Enjoy!

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Jules C

Excerpt beige

 

 

THE NEW GLENN WAS DEFINITELY NOT LIKE THE OLD GLENN, MIRANDA
thought as she woke in his arms at dawn, pressed against his wide
chest, soaking up the heat of his hard body.
He’d been a nerdy engineering student. Okay, they’d both been
pretty socially awkward. She’d had braces. He’d had thick, hornedrimmed
glasses. They met in Engineering Principles 101, bonded
over receiving the two highest grades at midterms.
They’d become study buddies first, then lovers after a few
months and a lot of awkward kisses and groping sessions in dark
corners. It had been the first time for the both of them.
“Good morning.” His rusty voice in her ear interrupted her trip
down memory lane.
As soon as he pulled away from her and rolled onto his back,
she missed his heat. Ridiculous. She didn’t need him. She briskly
shoved herself away from the platform. “Fire?”
He sat up and stretched. “We should dry off.”
The makeshift roof had kept most of the night rain off them,
but their clothes were damp.
She dragged out the dry wood they’d stored under the platform,
then grabbed a couple of cigarettes for tinder and started a
fire while Glenn got up and took off his shirt.
He shook off the leaves that had stuck to it, and a couple of
inch-long ants. She brushed off her own shirt, grateful to see that
the ants had left her alone. She blew on the fledgling fire, then
looked up at him.
He was stretching with his back to her, his arms above his head
as he bent at the waist to the right first, then to the left.
Holy mother. The new and improved Glenn had a body that
could have been in one of those firemen pinup calendars. Impressive
cords of muscles flexed under his skin.
“What do you do?” she blurted.
He turned, cocking an eyebrow. “I manage the family company.”
“No, I meant . . .” His sculpted chest distracted her, the faint
smattering of hair that started below his bellybutton and led into
the pants that were a size too large for him, held up only by what
looked like a bamboo rope belt. The waistband sat below his hips
and revealed enough for her to know he wasn’t wearing underwear.
She snapped her gaze back to his. “You look different. Do you
do sports?” Back in the day they used to make fun of the hotshot
football players. If he told her he’d turned into a jock since, she
might just faint into the fire.
He shrugged. “I swim. The pool is a good place to think. I don’t
have to pay much attention, just stay in my lane and keep going.”
“You didn’t used to be sporty.”
“The better health, the fewer sick days, the less time away from
the company.”
Of course. All very logical, very much like him. Nothing geeky
about his swimmer’s body, though—flat abs, great pecs, wide
shoulders.
He stepped forward. “Are you okay? We should find some food.”
Her expression was probably off, but not from hunger.
She looked away from him, tossing another handful of
branches on the fire, and the flames grew. He came closer to hold
his shirt up to the heat. She shifted forward so her clothes would
dry too. She definitely wasn’t stripping.
The sky was still dim, but the fire provided enough light to illuminate
more than the impressive outline of his body. She could do
little but stare at the puckered scars that marred his skin, the rows
of burn marks along his collarbones.
She swallowed, anger rising swiftly. “How badly did they hurt
you?” He shook out his shirt one more time, then shrugged into it, sat
across the fire from her. His mouth tightened as he looked toward
his feet. “No permanent damage.”
“What about the burns? I’m sure they still hurt.”
His expression darkened. “Sometimes the commander smoked
cigars. He liked using me for an ashtray.”
Her stomach clenched. He was half a head taller and nearly twice
as wide in the shoulders, yet she felt her protective instincts take over.
She’d been a soldier, her job to keep America and Americans safe. She
doubted that instinct would ever go away. She wanted to . . . What? Hug
him? Maybe.
She wished she could have come sooner. Her heart twisted at the
thought of what he’d been through in the past few weeks.
She drew a deep breath. Regrets were a waste of time. She was
here now. She was going to do whatever it took to get them back to
the US safely. She popped to her feet with a new burst of energy. “We
should get going.”
“Right.” He brightened at the prospect of leaving the forest
behind. “Let’s do this before the soldiers get all caffeinated.”
She groaned. “Don’t bring up coffee.”
“Remember the wickedly strong espresso in the main hall at MIT?”
She threw a stick at him. “Sadist.” Then she kicked dirt on the
fire while he packed up, laughing at her.
As they moved out, a monkey screeched in the trees above
them, so close it startled her.
Glenn looked up. “Winky?”
“Who?” She followed his gaze.
“My old buddy. We were POWs together. He followed me
when I escaped.” Glenn grinned. “He goes off, then comes back. I
have no idea how he finds me.”
“He probably thinks you’re part of his tribe.” She shook her
head. “He came with you from Guri?”
“He was caged in the courtyard, target practice for the soldiers.
I couldn’t leave him.”
Okay, that was the Glenn she knew, the one with the big heart.
She felt herself softening, so she picked up her pace.
They walked a full hour, Winky following them, jumping from
tree to tree, before they reached the end of the woods. Only a dirt
road separated them from the nearest houses, little more than
hovels, on the edge of the city. Not a difficult distance, but two
guardsmen sat in a military SUV a few hundred feet to their right.
Roberto had the city on lockdown.
Miranda gestured toward the men with her head. Glenn nodded,
and they silently retreated a hundred feet.
“We’ll go around them, then try again in a little while,” she said.
The authorities couldn’t have enough people to circle the entire city,
could they?
He followed when she moved on.
They didn’t talk much. Better not to be overheard if there were
soldiers in the woods. And the going required their full attention.
They had to watch where they stepped, what they grabbed.
Since they were moving as quietly as possible, they heard the
people up ahead before the people could have heard them. Miranda
raised her right hand, her fist in line with her ear.
Though he’d never been in the military, Glenn seemed to get
the signal because he immediately stopped.
She turned back and mouthed, “Soldiers.”
Even as he nodded, they heard laughter and a woman’s voice,
too faint to make out what she was saying.
They crept forward slowly, carefully, crouching in the cover of
a thick stand of bushes once they reached the path. Twenty or so
tourists were walking through the woods, escorted by two guardsmen.
The tourists wore backpacks, looking prepared for a full day
of hiking.
“Are you going up in the plane to see Angel Falls tomorrow?” a
tall, aristocratic-looking woman asked in a British accent.
Her partner, a pudgy, red-headed fellow, shook his head. “I
think I’ll stay back at lodgings to download the photos and sort
through them a bit.” He was snapping pictures even as he spoke.
“Do you think the guards are necessary?” the woman asked.
The man shrugged as he moved on. “They’re worried about
the two fugitives the tour guide told us about this morning. Better
safe than sorry.”
The guards trailed behind them, bringing up the rear.
Miranda flashed Glenn a questioning look. If there were
guardsmen with the tourists, then they had to be all over the city.
How many National Guards had Roberto called into Santa Elena?
Her stomach growled. Glenn had to be hungry too. She
looked after the small group as they disappeared from sight on
the winding path. The nearest food was in those backpacks. And
maybe a phone too. If she could call Elaine at the office, they
might yet be saved. The general could enter some kind of diplomatic
negotiations if he had proof that two US citizens were here
under duress.
She nodded after the tour group and whispered, “Breakfast
and phone.”
Glenn’s lips stretched into a grin.
God, that grin could do things to her. She swallowed. Could.
As in the past. Definitely not now.
They followed the group at a distance. The monkey screeched
now and then, but the sound wasn’t out of place, blending in with
birdcalls. Nobody turned back to investigate.
The tourists fawned over every new plant, snapped photos of
every leaf and bug. Miranda kept close to them, but out of sight.
At some point, the group would have to stop to eat and relieve
themselves, if nothing else. Sooner or later, those backpacks would
come off and be set on the ground. And a clever hand reaching out
from the bushes might come up with something useful then. She
just had to wait.
So they did, for two full hours, before the boisterous group
stopped at last in the middle of a clearing. Backpacks did drop to
the ground, but nowhere near where one could be raided.
The tour guide stood on a stump to gain everyone’s attention.
“We have the third-highest woody bamboo diversity in Latin
America.” He spoke in English with a soft accent, beaming with
pride. “About ten genera and sixty species. Among our states, the
southern states have the greatest diversity of woody bamboo.”
One of the tourists raised a hand as if in school. “Could you
tell us more about the different species?” he asked in a heavy German
accent.
“Certainly.” The man on the stump smiled even wider. “Most
of the bamboo are Myriocladus or Chusquea. The rest are from
the genera Rhipidocladum, Atractantha, Guadua, Arthrostylidium,
Neurolepis, Elytrostachys, Merostachys‚ and Aulonemia.” His chest
puffed out. “We have more Guadua diversity than any other country
except Brazil.”
An excited twitter ran through the group. Miranda flashed
Glenn an unimpressed look. Apparently, they’d run into botanists
on holiday.
“Does bamboo play a major role in the economy?” a young
woman wanted to know, her lilting accent decidedly French.
“Unfortunately, no. Not yet,” the guide answered. “Other than
the bamboo spoons and bowls and other souvenirs you see in the
gift shops, our bamboo resources are underutilized. But the government
is conducting studies on how we could better use bamboo
as a natural resource.”
He paused before he went on. “Of course, the indigenous people
and the peasants build houses from it. It’s also used for drying
racks for tobacco. But bamboo-based organic textiles are becoming
popular. And bamboo flooring is catching on. Unlike hardwood,
bamboo is an easily replenished resource.”
He went on about that for another twenty minutes before the
group moved on. His last words were, “I’ll point out species and
genera as we go.”
Oh, jeez, let’s get the party started, Miranda thought. But the
tourists looked positively titillated, while she and Glenn exchanged
snarky expressions. Back at MIT, there’d been a friendly rivalry
between the engineering and life sciences departments. They’d
enjoyed outdoing each other in the Nerd Olympics.
The tourists soon came into an enormous stand of bamboo.
They followed a man-made path, but off the beaten track, the stalks
grew too close to each other. In places, Miranda and Glenn could
barely squeeze through.
When forward movement became impossible, they waited
until the group progressed far enough ahead, then they fought
their way to the path and followed behind, out of sight.
Another two hours passed by the time the group stopped
again, on the other side of the endless stand of bamboo, where a
zip-line course waited for them in the trees. Miranda and Glenn
went around them, stayed in cover as the tourists dropped their
backpacks, climbed a rope ladder to a large platform twenty feet off
the ground, then to a second platform twenty feet above that, then
a third platform twenty feet higher yet.
While they lined up for their next thrilling experience, the two
guardsmen stayed on the ground.
“I distract the guards, you grab some food and a cell phone,”
Miranda whispered to Glenn.
“I’ll distract the guards.”
Seriously? He needed to exert his male dominance now? She
rolled her eyes and skirted the clearing, moving as close to the
bags as possible. Then she waited until she heard some stomping
and branches cracking across the clearing in the woods.
The guardsmen grabbed their rifles and ran toward the sound.
She waited until they disappeared into the bushes before she
sprinted forward. One second. In the first bag she found a large,
empty Ziploc bag with crumbs, probably the remains of somebody’s
breakfast.
Nobody was going to miss an empty bag. She grabbed it. Two
seconds. She looked for opened bags of food—pretzels, nuts, bitesize
nutrition bars, raisins—and grabbed a handful from each,
dumping her loot into the empty bag. At least half a minute ticked
by, but by the end she had at least two pounds’ worth of trail mix,
and in such a way that nobody would miss anything.
She was elbow deep into a fancy black backpack when a tourist—
the young Frenchwoman—climbed down the rope ladder and
nearly caught her.
Heart pumping, Miranda jumped behind the tree, the trunk at
least three feet wide, enough to hide her.
She peeked toward the bags. Oh, man. The flap on the fancy
black backpack lay open. She hadn’t closed it. She pulled back into
cover since the woman was heading straight toward the pile.
Would she notice?
Would she stay down here?
Miranda held her breath. If the woman stayed and the guardsmen
came back . . . They’d notice her. If not immediately, then
when the rest of the botanists returned to the ground and began
milling around. She could stay on the opposite side of the tree
from one person. It’d be impossible with twenty people spreading
out.
Shit.
Think!
Were the guardsmen authorized to shoot on sight, or had they
been ordered to bring the fugitives back? Either way, she suspected
the end result would be very similar.
The woman sat on the pile of backpacks and drank deeply from
her water bottle, even as Miranda could hear voices in the bushes
where the guardsmen had disappeared. The voices grew louder as
the seconds ticked on. The men were coming back.
She glanced toward the woods. If she ran now, the woman
would see her. She’d probably scream. The guardsmen would be
after Miranda the next second. Poised to flee, she pulled out her
weapon, hoping Glenn was smart enough to run in the opposite
direction and save himself once gunfire erupted.
But the Frenchwoman stashed away her drink at last and hurried
back to the ladder, climbing back up with agility.
The guardsmen were still shouting to each other in the bushes.
So the second the French tourist was on the first platform, Miranda
dashed back to the backpacks. She wanted a cell phone, desperately.
She closed the bag she’d left open earlier, then searched the
outer pockets. Nothing there, but she found a phone in the second
bag she checked. As she tugged it out, her sleeve caught on
the zipper of a pink hygiene kit. Would the owner notice if it
went missing? Possibly not until she got back to the hostel. Most
likely, she would think it had fallen out during her trek through
the jungle.
Miranda grabbed the kit and dashed back into the cover of the
woods, not a moment too soon. The guardsmen were returning, all
muddied up and swearing, talking about a stupid monkey.
She hurried back to Glenn, feeling a hundred percent better
about their chances.
They had food and they had a phone. They were as good as
saved.

 

About The Author beige

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Dana Marton has thrilled and entertained millions of readers around the globe with her fast-paced stories about strong women and honorable men who fight side by side for justice and survival.

Dana MartonHer writing has been acclaimed by critics, called, “gripping,” “intense and chilling,” “full of action,” “a thrilling adventure,” and wholeheartedly recommended to readers. Dana is the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, the Readers’ Choice Award, and Best Intrigue, among other awards. Her book, TALL, DARK, AND LETHAL was nominated for the prestigious Rita Award. DEATHSCAPE reached the #1 spot on Amazon’s Romantic Suspense Bestseller list.

Dana has a Master’s degree in Writing Popular Fiction, and is continuously studying the art and craft of writing, attending several workshops, seminars and conferences each year. Her number one goal is to bring the best books she possibly can to her readers.

Keeping in touch with readers is Dana’s favorite part of being an author. Please connect with her via her web site (www.danamarton.com) or her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/danamarton).

Having lived around the world, Dana currently creates her compelling stories in a small and lovely little town in Pennsylvania. The fictional town of her bestselling Broslin Creek series is based on her real life home where she fights her addictions to reading, garage sales, coffee and chocolate. If you know a good twelve-step program to help her with any of that, she’d be interested in hearing about it!

Website: https://danamarton.com/   sign up for her newsletter and get a FREE novella!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanaMarton
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Letting Go (Thatch #1) by Molly McAdams-Review and Blog Tour

Letting Go (Thatch #1) by Molly McAdams-Review and Blog Tour

LettingGoBanner

Letting Go
Thatch #1
by Molly McAdams
Genre: contemporary, new adult, romance
Release Date: November 4, 2014

Letting Go

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

LETTING GO (Thatch #1) by Molly McAdams

RELEASE DATE: November 4, 2014

Grey and Ben fell in love at thirteen and believed they’d be together forever. But three days before their wedding, the twenty-year-old groom-to-be suddenly died from an unknown heart condition, destroying his would-be-bride’s world. If it hadn’t been for their best friend, Jagger, Grey never would have made it through those last two years to graduation. He’s the only one who understands her pain, the only one who knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving when your dreams are shattered. Jagger swears he’ll always be there for her, but no one has ever been able to hold on to him. He’s not the kind of guy to settle down.

It’s true that no one has ever been able to keep Jagger—because he’s only ever belonged to Grey. While everyone else worries over Grey’s fragility, he’s the only one who sees her strength. Yet as much as he wants Grey, he knows her heart will always be with Ben. Still they can’t deny the heat that is growing between them—a passion that soon becomes too hot to handle. But admitting their feelings for each other means they’ve got to face the past. Is being together what Ben would have wanted . . . or a betrayal of his memory that will eventually destroy them both.

•••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: LETTING GO is the first installment in Molly McAdams’ contemporary, new adult Thatch romance series focusing on the town of Thatch. This is Grey LaRue and Jagger Easton’s story. LETTING GO is a friends to lovers storyline, one brought about by the death of Grey’s fiancé two years earlier.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Grey and Jagger) the focus of the storyline finds Grey and Jagger existing following the unexpected death of Grey’s fiancé and Jagger’s best friend-twenty year old Benjamin Craft. Fast forward two years, and we get a glimpse of Grey’s life in the months following the death of her best friend and soon to be husband Ben. While Grey mires in the depression and guilt, Jagger is the rock that prevents Grey from completely falling away. As their graduation day approaches, Grey’s depression and guilt worsens as the date would coincide with what would have been her two year wedding anniversary.

The relationship between Grey and Jagger is one of best friends to lovers but also one that is co-dependent upon one another’s strengths and weakness. Grey is a young woman who is unable to let go of the past or let go of the memories, and in this the relationship and love between Grey and Jagger is a ‘love triangle’ of sorts with Ben’s ghost as the third party. Jagger is a man who has loved Grey since he was nine years old, but knowing his best friend Ben had also fallen in love with Grey, Jagger stepped aside and watched what could have been his love-from the sidelines. Our trio of friends were as close as any trio could be, yet there were secrets and betrayals that had yet to be revealed. The intimate and seductive sex scenes are limited and mostly implied. There is no graphic erotic sexual imagery or language.

The premise follows Grey and Jagger’s building relationship, one that is hindered by the memories of Benjamin Craft. But as Grey and Jagger’s love blossoms, threatening notes and a ghost from the past begin to haunt our couple’s daily lives. It is only when the police get involved does the truth finally reveal.

LETTING GO is an emotional, angst ridden, intense and passionate storyline about letting go and moving on. Jagger’s family is about as dysfunctional as any family can be while Grey’s family is supportive and a little bit over protective. There is betrayal, heartbreak and awkward moments especially where Jagger’s family is concerned and it is his family that drives a good portion of the drama once our couple move back to town.

Molly McAdams has an incredible gift of story telling but at times the angst and anxiety was a little too much. Although one can never put a timeline on grief, Grey’s continuous wallowing in self-pity pushed a few anxious buttons for this reader but in the end, there is a happily ever after for two people whose lives were destroyed by the death of a lover and friend.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

 

excerpt

 

 

 

Prologue

Grey May 10, 2012
“Then over there is where the girls and I will be waiting before the ceremony starts,” I said, pointing to the all-seasons tent just off to the side. “I think the coordinator said she’d get us in there when the photographer is taking pictures of Ben and the boys on the other side house, so he won’t see me.”
I glanced to my mom and soon-to-be mother-in-law talking about the gazebo behind me, and what it would look like with the greenery and flowers, and I smiled to myself. They’d been going back and forth on whether we should keep the gazebo as it was or decorate it ever since Ben and I had decided on The Lake House as our wedding and reception site. And from the few words I was hearing now, they were still undecided. I honestly didn’t care how it was decorated. I wanted to be married to Ben, and in three days, I would be.
“Grey, this place is freaking gorgeous. I can’t believe you were able to get it on such short notice,” my maid-of-honor and best friend, Janie, said in awe.
“I know, but it’s perfect, right?”
“Absolutely perfect.”
I grabbed her hand and rested my head on her shoulder as I stared at the part of the property where the reception would be. Ben and I had promised our families that we wouldn’t get married until we’d graduated from college, but that had been a much harder promise to keep than we’d thought it would be. School let out for summer a few days ago, and we wanted to move off campus for our junior year … together. That hadn’t exactly gone over well with my parents. They didn’t want us living together until we were married. I think in my dad’s mind it helped him continue to believe I was his innocent little girl.
I’d been dating Ben since I was thirteen years old; the innocent part flew out the window over three years ago. Not that he needed to know that. After a long talk with both our parents, they agreed to let us get married now instead of two years from now.
That was seven weeks ago. Even though Ben had asked me to marry him last Christmas, we’d officially gotten engaged once we’d received the okay from our parents, and had started planning our wedding immediately. Seven weeks of being engaged. Seven years of being together. And in three days I would finally be Mrs. Benjamin Craft.
With how the last few weeks had dragged by, it felt like our day would never get here.
My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket. My lips tilted up when I saw Jagger’s name and face on the screen, but I ignored the call. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I kept my other hand firmly wrapped around Janie’s and walked over to where the rest of the bridesmaids were. My aunts and grandma had gathered around the gazebo-debating duo, and were helping them with the pros and cons.
“So what are we going to do tonight?” I asked, hoping to get some kind of information about the bachelorette party.
“Nice try.” Janie snorted. She started saying something else, but my phone rang again.
Glancing down and seeing Jagger again, I thought about answering it for a few seconds before huffing out a soft laugh and ignoring the call a second time. I knew why he was calling. He was bored out of his mind and wanted me to save him from the golf day Ben and all the guys were having before the bachelor party. Normally I would have saved him from the torture of golfing, but today was about Ben. If he wanted to go golfing with all his guys, then Jagger just had to suck it up for his best friend.
Almost immediately after ignoring the call, I got a text from him.
Jagger: Answer the goddamn phone Grey!
My head jerked back when the phone in my hand began ringing just as soon as I’d read the message, and all I could do was stare at it for a few seconds. A feeling of dread and unease formed in my chest, quickly unfurling and spreading through my arms and stomach.
Some part of my mind registered two other ringtones, but I couldn’t focus on them, or make myself look away from Jagger’s lopsided smile on my screen. With a shaky finger, I pressed on the green button, and brought the phone up to my ear.
Before I could say anything, his panicked voice filled the phone.
“Grey? Grey! Are you there? Fuck, Grey, say something so I know you’re there!”
There was a siren and yelling in the background, and the feeling that had spread through my body now felt like it was choking me. I didn’t know what was happening, but somehow … somehow I knew my entire world was about to change. My legs started shaking and my breaths came out in hard rushes.
“I—what’s happ—” I cut off quickly and turned to look at my mom and Ben’s. Both had phones to their ears. Ben’s mom was screaming with tears falling down her cheeks; my mom looked like the ground had just been ripped out from underneath her.
Jagger was talking, I knew his voice was loud and frantic, but I was having trouble focusing on the words. It sounded like he was yelling at me from miles away.
“What?” I whispered.
Everyone around me was freaking out, trying to figure out what was going on. One of my friends was asking who I was talking to, but I couldn’t even turn to look at her, or be sure who it was that had asked. I couldn’t take my eyes off the only other women currently talking on a phone.
“Grey! Tell me where you are, I’m coming to get you!”
I blinked a few times and looked down at my lap. I was sitting on the ground. When had I sat down?
Janie squatted in front of me and grabbed my shoulders to shake me before grabbing my cheeks so I would look at her instead of where my mom and Ben’s were clinging to each other.
“What?” I repeated, my voice barely audible.
Just before Janie took the phone from me, I heard a noise that sounded weighted and pained. A choking sound I’d never heard from Jagger in the eleven years we’d been friends. The grief in it was enough to force a sharp cry from my own chest, and I didn’t even struggle against Janie when she took the phone from me.
I didn’t understand anything that was happening around me, but somehow I knew everything. A part of me had heard Jagger’s words. A part of me understood what the horrified cries meant that quickly spread throughout every one of my friends. My family. Ben’s family. A part of me acknowledged the sense of loss that had added to the dread, unease, and grief—and knew why it was there.
A part of me knew the wedding I’d just been envisioning would never happen.
Chapter 1
Two years later…

Grey May 10, 2014
I dressed in a fog and sat down on the side of my bed when I was done. Grabbing the hard top of the graduation cap, I looked down at it in my hands until the tears filling my eyes made it impossible to see anything other than blurred shapes. I knew I had to leave, but at that moment I didn’t care.
I didn’t care that I’d done my make up for the first time in two years and I was ruining it. I didn’t care that I was graduating from college. I didn’t care that I had already been running twenty minutes late before I’d sat down.
I just didn’t care.
Falling to my side, I grabbed the necklace that hadn’t left my neck once in the last couple years, and pulled it out from under my shirt until I was gripping the wedding band I’d bought for Ben. The one he should be wearing, but I hadn’t been able to part with—almost like I’d needed to keep some part of him with me.
The last year had been easier to get through than the one before it. I hadn’t needed my friends constantly trying to get me to do my schoolwork. I hadn’t needed Janie pulling me out of bed every morning, forcing me to shower and dress for the day. I’d even taken off my engagement ring and put it away a few months ago. But exactly two years ago today, I’d been showing off the place where I was going to marry Ben. Completely oblivious to anything bad in the world. And Ben had died.
At twenty years old, his heart had failed and he’d died before he’d even dropped to the ground on the golf course. He’d always seemed so active and healthy; nothing had ever picked up on the rare heart condition that had taken him too early. Doctors said it wasn’t something they could test for. I didn’t believe them then, and even though I’d read news articles of similar deaths in young people, I wasn’t sure if I did now. All I knew was that he was gone.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the hall of my apartment seconds before Jagger was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, a somber look on his face.
“How did I know you wouldn’t have made it out of here?” One corner of his mouth twitched up before falling again.
“I can’t do it,” I choked out, and tightened my hold on the ring. “How am I supposed to celebrate anything on a day that brought so much pain?”
Jagger took in a deep breath through his nose before releasing it and pushing away from the doorframe. Taking the few steps over to the bed, he sat down by my feet and stared straight ahead as silence filled the room.
“I honestly don’t know, Grey,” he finally said with a small shrug. “The only way I made it to my car and your apartment was because I knew Ben wanted this, and would still want it for us.”
“He was supposed to be here,” I mumbled.
“I know.”
“Our two-year anniversary would have been in a few days.”
There was a long pause before Jagger breathed, “I know.”
I stopped myself before I could go on. Nothing I would say right now would help either of us, not when all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball on the bed that was supposed to be our bed, and give into the grief. I had to remember that today wasn’t hard for only me. I hadn’t been the only one to lose him. Ben and Jagger had grown up together; they’d been best friends since they were six. And two years ago they’d been in the middle of a conversation when Jagger had looked over at Ben because he hadn’t answered, and watched as he fell.
“Jag?” I whispered.
“Yeah, Grey?”
“How do we do it?”
The bed shifted as he leaned forward to rest his forearms on his legs, turning his head so he could look at me. “Do what?”
“Keep moving on. I thought this year was easier, I thought I was doing better until this last week. And then today…” I drifted off, letting the words hang in the air for a few seconds before saying, “It’s like no time has passed. It’s like I’m right back where I was when you picked me up and took me to the hospital. I feel like my world has ended all over again. There are still some days where I don’t want to get out of bed, but not like this.”
“There isn’t an answer to that. Even if there were, it would be different for you, for me, for anyone else who’d ever been in this situation. I get up and keep going because I know I have something to live for, and I know it’s what he would want. I can’t think about how I’ll deal with the next day, I just take each day as it comes. There will always be hard days, Grey, always. We just need to take them with the good days, and keep living.”
“I feel like it’s cruel to his memory to move on,” I admitted softly a few minutes later.
“No one ever said we had to move on, we just need to keep moving.”
I met his gaze and held it as he stood up and turned, holding a hand out to me.
“You ready to move?” he asked, and the meaning in his question was clear.
“No,” I replied, but still held my hand out. Slipping my hand into his, I let him pull me off the bed, and wrapped my arms around his waist, dropping my head onto his chest.
Jagger folded his arms around me, and brought his head down near mine to speak softly in my ear. “Don’t think about next week, or tomorrow, or even tonight. Just focus on your right now. Right now we have to go to our graduation. Right now Ben would be flipping out because you would be making both of you late.”
I choked out a laugh, and a deep laugh rumbled in his chest.
“And you would tell him?” His question drifted off, waiting for my response.
“To get over it and bet him twenty bucks that we would still beat you there.”
This time his laugh was fuller, and he rubbed his hands over my back before stepping away from me. “Exactly. Then he would put an extra twenty on it, saying I would show up with fresh charcoal on my hands.”
“And face,” I added.
Jagger rolled his eyes. “That was one time.”
“It was to your mom’s wedding.”
“I didn’t like the guy anyway.” I smiled and his eyes darted over my face before he held his hands up. “No fresh charcoal, and we’ll show up at the same time. So no one wins today.”
I took a deep breath in and out, and nodded my head. “I think I’m ready to move now.”
“All right.” He bent forward and grabbed my cap and gown off the bed before turning to leave the room.
I followed him down the hall and into the living room, pausing in the entryway only long enough to look in the mirror and wipe away the streaked make up. Once we were in his car, I touched his forearm and waited for him to look over at me.
“Thanks, Jagger. For coming for me, for talking to me—just … thank you.” He had no idea how thankful I was for him, and I wouldn’t have known how to explain it if I tried. He was just always there to make things better, always there to help me … always there to be everything I needed.
He shook his head slowly once, and his green eyes stayed locked on mine. “Sometimes I need motivation to keep moving too. You don’t need to thank me, just let me know when you have to talk about him, okay?”
“Yeah.” Letting go of his arm, I sat back in the seat and grabbed the long chain holding Ben’s wedding band on it. Taking comfort in the feel of it in my palm, and the knowledge that he would be proud of Jagger and me right now.

I made it through the graduation without crying again, but I never felt like I was happy that it was happening. Even though Jagger had gotten me to a point where I’d been smiling and laughing, the second he’d left my side when we’d arrived, I’d fallen back into a state where I was constantly on the verge of crumbling from the grief of what today was. Only to be made worse when Janie had hugged me longer than normal, and then I’d seen my parents and older brother, and none of them had been able to force anything more than a strained smile and “congratulations.”
Lunch afterward didn’t prove to be much easier for anyone. One of my uncles mentioned the date and asked how I was dealing with it, and it had turned into some awkward hush-fest where everyone started kicking the other under the table, and giving them meaningful looks as if to say: shut the fuck up! For the next forty-five minutes, no one said a word. Not even a thank you to the waitress when she’d brought the food.
As much as I hated it, and as much as I loved my family, I was relieved when we’d said our goodbyes and my brother had driven me back to my apartment.
“You doing okay, kid?” he asked when he pulled into a parking space.
“Some days.”
“But not today.” It wasn’t a question, he knew.
“Yeah … not today,” I said softly.
“Do you want me to come up? I can hang out, crash here for the night, and head back tomorrow.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t really sleep last night, so I’ll probably go to bed when I get in there.”
“Grey, it’s four in the afternoon.” He looked at me with either pity or sympathy, neither I wanted to see.
“Today was kind of rough, it felt like three smashed into one, and like I said, I didn’t really sleep last night. I’m tired.”
He was silent for a minute before he twisted in his seat to face me. “I’m worried about you.”
I gritted my teeth and took calming breaths before saying, “You shouldn’t be. It’s been two years, I’m getting better.”
“Are you?” he asked on a laugh, but there was no humor in his tone. “I knew today would be hard for you, there’s no way for it not to be. But, shit, how much do you weigh?”
I jerked my head back. “What? I don’t know.”
“Do you look at yourself in the mirror? Do you see how you look in your clothes? You look like you’re wearing someone else’s clothes, and they’re a size or two too big.”
Glancing down at my shirt and skirt, I shook my head. “No they—well, I’m eating! You saw me at lunch, I ate half that burger.”
“No, Grey. I ate half your burger. You picked it up and put it down at least a dozen times before cutting it in half, and then picking up one of the halves only to put it back down. I watched you. You ate two fries. Nothing else.”
I tried to think back to the restaurant, but I couldn’t even remember ordering the burger, let alone cutting it. I just remembered half of it was gone when the waitress asked if I wanted a box. I’d said no. As for the clothes, today was the first time I’d actually done my hair or make-up in years. I usually just put on clothes and left, not caring to see how I looked.
“Well, what do you want me to say, Graham? I’m trying. You have no idea how hard it is to lose someone who has been a huge part of your world for over half your life. Who has owned your heart for most of that. Who you were supposed to marry days before they passed! You don’t understand what I’ve been through,” I seethed, and wiped at my wet cheeks. “I finished school, I’m living, what more do you want?”
“I want you to live, Grey.”
“I just said—”
“You’re existing,” he barked, cutting me off. “You’re existing, not living. You’re going through the motions you’re supposed to without realizing that you’re doing them, or why.”
“That’s not true!” I screamed. “You can’t judge me based on what you’ve seen of half a day. A day that is a horrible reminder of what happened.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed, and when he spoke again, his voice was calm. “Kid, I’m not saying any of this only based off of what I’ve seen today. Janie’s worried about you—”
“Janie? Janie?! You’re having my friends keep tabs on me, Graham?”
“Grey—”
“How often do they check in with you? Huh? Do they only see me now so they can tell you how I’m doing? Because I don’t see them very much, but, then again, who the hell would want to be around someone who is just existing.”
“Grey!” he snapped when I opened the passenger door and jumped out of his truck.
“Screw you and your existing bullshit, Graham! I’m fine! I’m dealing the only way I know how, and I. Am. Fine.”
I didn’t care that I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I didn’t care that I was overreacting. I was overreacting because I was terrified he was right, and I didn’t want him to be. I was tired of everyone looking at me with sympathy or pity. I was tired of rooms getting quiet when I walked into them … still. I was tired of the way everyone seemed to walk on eggshells around me. And I was tired of feeling like I was giving them a reason to.
I took off for my building, ignoring Graham’s voice as he followed me from his truck. Grabbing my keys from my purse as I ran toward my apartment, I fumbled to find the right key so I could get in there before he could catch up with me. The keys slipped from my hand, and I reached out for them at the same time I tripped out of my sandals and hit the concrete on my hands and knees.
Ignoring the spilled contents of my purse, I rocked back so I was sitting on my heels, and let my head hang as hard sobs worked their way through my body.
Two large hands grabbed at my upper arms to help me up, and I swatted at him. “Leave me alone, Graham!” I cried.
“Shh. It’s okay,” a deep voice crooned. I lifted my head enough to see Jagger before letting him pull me into his arms. “It’s okay.”
I pressed my forehead into his chest, and shook my head back and forth. “It’s not. This day won’t end, and the way everyone is looking at me or talking to me is making me feel like I’m failing.”
“Failing?” he asked and tipped my head back, a soft smirk playing at his lips. “Hardly, Grey. I told you, you just gotta keep moving, and you are. You have been. You’re strong, not everyone sees that because they’re waiting for you to break. Just because they’re expecting you to not be handling this doesn’t mean you’re failing.”
“But they won’t talk about him, they won’t talk about what happened. Graham said I’m not eating, and I’m losing weight. He said Janie’s telling him that she’s worried about me. He said I’m just existing and going through the motions.”
“Fuck Graham. He’s wrong. He’s not with you every day to see how you’re improving.” Jagger’s green eyes bore into mine. “Your family hasn’t seen you much this year while you’ve been getting better, so they don’t know how to handle the situation—especially because of what today is and the fact that you are upset. He’s your brother, he’s going to be worried about you; but, Grey, don’t let him make you feel like you’re not doing better than you should be. Today is an exception. And he just happened to see you on an exception, all right?” His arms tightened around me, and he leaned back until he was pressed up against the wall. “You’re doing fine, I promise.”
He held me until I stopped crying, and released me when I pulled back.
“See? Fine.”
Today was making me question everything; I didn’t think I could agree with him on that. “What are you even doing here?”
“I thought you could use some company since it’s an exception day, but I’m gonna go so you can spend time with your brother,” he said, jerking his head at something behind me.
I looked over my shoulder to see Graham standing against the wall opposite us, his arms crossed over his chest, a strange look on his face. “How long has he been there?” I whispered to Jagger when I turned to face him again.
“The whole time.”
“So he heard you…” I had the sudden urge to stand up for Jagger. Graham had hated him ever since we’d become friends when we were nine. But, then again, he hadn’t really ever liked Ben until right before the wedding was supposed to happen, so it could have been an overprotective big brother thing.
“Yeah, but he knows I’m right.” Jagger’s eyes moved to look behind me, and one eyebrow rose in silent challenge, but Graham never said anything. “Go hang out with—”
“I don’t want to,” I said quickly, cutting him off. “I need to either be alone, or be with someone who knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving.”
He looked down at me for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay, let’s go.”
“We’re not staying here?” I asked when he bent down and started shoving things back into my purse.
“No. You want to keep moving, Grey. We can’t do that if we sit in that apartment all night.”
I took my purse from his hand, and turned to follow him out of the breezeway, Graham behind us the whole time. Jagger opened the passenger door of his car and shut it behind me after I’d slid in, and I met Graham’s stare from where he stood a few feet from the front of the car.
Graham’s hand shot out, gripping Jagger’s arm as he went to pass him, and I opened the door—ready for who knows what. It’s not like I could stop them if they went at it.
“Make sure she’s okay,” Graham demanded, his gaze hardening when Jagger ripped his arm free.
“What do you think I’ve been doing for the past two years?” he hissed. “She is okay, she’s better than okay. Today sucks for her, but you can’t treat her like she’s made of porcelain because it’s a bad fucking day. She needs to talk about him; she needs to talk about what happened. She doesn’t need the way you all stood there at the graduation staring at her like you had no idea who she was.”
“Do you see her?” Graham asked, getting closer. “Do you see how thin she is?”
“Yeah, I see her. I see her every day. She lost a lot of weight; she’s also put on weight in the last few months. Give her some fucking credit, Graham. Don’t just take Janie’s word for it—Janie isn’t around enough to give you updates on her. You want to know how your sister is doing, ask her yourself. Don’t tell her how she is.” Jagger didn’t wait for him to say anything else; he stalked around the hood of the car and slid in to the driver’s seat.
Graham looked like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to stop me from leaving with Jagger, or if he was relieved I was leaving. When I shut my door, he put a hand over his chest in our silent I love you, and kept his eyes trained on mine until I put my hand over my chest as well; nodding once as Jagger backed out of the spot.

Jagger May 10, 2014
I let my phone fall to the table, and sighed loudly as I rubbed my hands over my face. After driving around with the music blasting and windows down for a few hours, we’d come to one of the places we used to always go to before Ben died. They had live music on the weekends, and the best diner food in the area.
“Graham?” Grey guessed, and I grunted in confirmation.
“He just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You haven’t,” she began, but paused for a few seconds. “Have you been giving him updates too?”
“Seriously, Grey? Your brother hates me; I didn’t even know he had my number until a few minutes ago. Besides, if I had, he probably wouldn’t have said all that shit to you, and your family wouldn’t have acted like statues at the graduation.”
“I heard you say something about that to him before we left. So you noticed it too, huh?”
“Wasn’t hard to. My sister wanted to see you, but after we found you and saw the way they were all just staring at you, she was afraid to say anything.”
“Charlie was there? Were your mom and brother there, too?”
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes, and just shook my head instead. “No. Mom was probably busy with her new boyfriend or husband.”
Grey rolled her eyes at the mention of my mom’s boyfriends, and her lips tilted up in a soft smile. “I doubt that was the reason she didn’t show. But I wish Charlie had said something. I’ll have to call her this summer, or something. I haven’t seen her in forever.” Her mouth fell into a frown for a second before she turned to look at the stage when everyone clapped.
I hadn’t set foot in here in two years, and it felt strange, but good, to be in here again. Almost like I could see Ben sitting on the opposite side of the booth, right next to Grey. But just as soon as the memory hit me, it was gone. “Do you ever feel like he’s disappearing?” I asked suddenly.
Grey’s head shot up, her eyes wide as she took in my words. “What?”
“Ben. Do you feel like his memory is disappearing? Everywhere, all around us.”
“All the time,” she murmured and nodded absentmindedly for a few moments. “I forced myself to stop buying his cologne, and there are times I don’t remember what he smelled like. When I realize that, I panic. I’m afraid I’ll forget forever, and I want to go buy another bottle. But I know I can’t, I know it’ll just make it harder to move on. I don’t—” She cut off on a quiet sob, and covered her mouth with her hand as tears filled her eyes. “I don’t remember what his laugh sounded like. I don’t remember the way it felt when he held me. I’m afraid to go back to Thatch, Jag.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t want to see his parents’ house and know that Ben’s been completely erased from it.”
I sagged into the booth and blew out a heavy breath. “Yeah, I’d forgotten about that.”
Six months after Ben died, his parents had moved. Not just to another house, not just out of town. They’d moved across the country to get away. They hadn’t been able to handle all the memories of Ben when their only child was now gone. And in a town the size of Thatch, there were memories everywhere.
I’d felt the same, but now I was in the same spot as Grey. I was terrified of forgetting him, and now I wondered if his parents regretted leaving.
“So what are you going to do?”
She blinked a few times, like I’d just pulled her from somewhere else, and after a few seconds she shrugged. “I’m still going back. The apartment here isn’t much better. He’s the one who picked it out, and all I ever think about when I’m in there is that he’s supposed to be in there too. It’ll be hard at first, but I need to go home. What about you?” Grey’s lips curved up in a rare smile, and I felt myself smiling back at her until she spoke. “I always pictured you just taking off. No one has ever been able to hold onto you, and I feel like towns and cities are no different. I don’t see you ever finding a place where you’ll want to settle down forever.”
Of course you don’t. My eyebrows pinched together, and I looked down so she wouldn’t see anything she wasn’t supposed to. There was truth to her words, and at the same time, she was so wrong. No one had ever been able to keep me because I’d only ever belonged to her. I’d dated a handful of girls in the first two years after leaving Thatch … if you could call it “dating”, and had only ever had one girlfriend back home—and that had been in hopes that it would get a reaction out of Grey as much as it had been a distraction for me from the constant in-my-face relationship of Ben and Grey. If Ben hadn’t died, and if they’d gotten married, leaving is exactly what I would’ve done. It was one thing to stay back, not saying anything to her, hoping one day she would see in me what I’ve seen in her since we were kids. It was another when I had to finally acknowledge she would never be mine.
But even though I wasn’t sure she would ever get to a point in her life where she was ready to move on, there was no way I could leave her now. She wasn’t mine, but she needed me. And I would be there for her as long as she did.
“So where do you think you’ll go?” she asked, and I looked back up at her.
“Thatch,” I said, my voice low and gravelly. “I belong in Thatch.”

 


theauthor

 

Molly McAdamsMolly McAdams grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband and furry daughter. Her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling and long walks on the beach, which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. When she’s not at work, she can be found hiding out in her bedroom surrounded by her laptop, cell, Kindle and fighting over the TV remote. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies, fried pickles and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm…or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren’t really happening.
 
Molly’s Website: http://www.mollysmcadams.com

 

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Play With Me by Lisa Renee Jones-Review and Blog tour

Play With Me by Lisa Renee Jones-Review and Blog Tour

play with me-release day

Play With Me
by Lisa Renee Jones
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic romance
Re-release: October 28, 2014

Play With Me

ebook only .99¢: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Re-Release October 28, 2014

Kali Miller has spent three years reporting fluff stories, waiting for the article that will launch her career to new heights. When she suddenly finds herself forced to take a job as an executive secretary at a Vegas casino, Kali meets the subject of what will surely be a shocking exposé: her boss, Damion Ward, the arrogant and undeniably sexy CEO. But after Damion invites her to help him plan a Thanksgiving charity event, Kali begins to see another side of the man. And when she surrenders to the exhilarating tension simmering between them, Kali hopes her story will have a happy ending.

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW:  PLAY WITH ME by Lisa Renee Jones is the first storyline in the HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS anthology released in the fall of 2013 and re-release as October 2014. The premise focuses on Vegas casino CEO Damion Ward and Kali Miller.

It is a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and we find Kali Miller starting a new job as secretary to the very sexy and very busy Damion Ward. But before the week is through, Kali will discover that there is more to the man and the job than meets the eye. Damion is a man possessed and he wants Kali for his very own.

The storyline is one of forbidden love and a building relationship. Lisa Renee Jones pulls the reader into a sensual and erotic storyline about two people who will fall in love over Chinese food, secret pasts and, personal and business betrayal.

The characters are as colorful as the world in which they work-it’s Vegas, baby and no where is there a more interesting collection of employees with axes to grind and secrets to reveal. And you will fall in love with Damion and Kali as they wind their way through a maze of potential heartbreak, embarrassing revelations and falling in love.

PLAY WITH ME is another wonderful short story that will make you believe in fairy tale endings and happily ever afters.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

 

excerpt

 

 

 

Lisa Renee Jones Play with Me Copyright 2014

“We need to talk,” he says, as if this is a casual event requiring nothing more than a chat, as if I’m not being treated like a felon.
“Talk?” I demand, all the emotions of hours of confinement rising up in me to near bursting. “We needed to talk seven hours ago. Now? Now we don’t need to talk.”
He steps forward, crowding me, forcing me to give him space or let him become a part of mine. I have a rare violent urge to shove him, but I retreat into the room instead. He steps closer and kicks the door shut behind him, and damn him, that delicious scent of him tickles my nose, and the teasing eruption of sensations in my body only serves to make me more angry. I don’t want to feel the way he makes me feel. I don’t want him to be the one man who sparks something in me that no one else does.
“I couldn’t call,” he has the audacity to say. “Just like I couldn’t tell you I knew we had a security breach when you told me what the computer was doing in my office.”
“So you knew what was happening and didn’t tell me?”
“There’s a procedure to—”
“I don’t give a damn about procedures, Mr. CEO, especially from the one who sets the rules I’ve suffered with.” The edginess in me results in me poking my finger at his chest, heat dashing up my arm. “Just tell me one thing. Am I free to leave?”
He looks down at my finger and then his gaze lifts, but there is no anger in his face. There is something else, something I can’t identify. “I got you cleared, but—”
Relief is instant, and I cut him off. “That’s all the talking you need to do.” I try to turn away, intending to gather my things, but he shackles my wrist, more heat ripping up my arm and over my chest.
“Let go,” I snarl, hating a man I barely know who has put me through hell. It’s like I’m a masochist. Why else would I be drawn to yet another powerful asshole?
His lips thin, and I wish I didn’t notice how sensual and perfect they are. “We have to talk.”
“No,” I assure him. “We do not.”
“We’re going to talk.”
“You aren’t my boss anymore, which translates to the end of all conversation.”
His eyes glint hard steel. “What does that mean, I’m not your boss anymore?”
“I quit. Find someone else to treat like crap.”
“I had no choice—”
“There’s always a choice. I just want out of here.”
“You’ll regret this later.”
“I’ll take that risk.”
“You’ve had a rough twenty-four hours, Ms. Miller. You aren’t thinking straight.”
I all but growl at him. “Let me guess. I’m a woman and my emotions must be controlling me.”
“Because you’re human.”
“Why do you even care if I stay?” I demand, and I don’t know how or why, but the air around us shifts and thickens.
“Because I do.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I want to know you.”
I swallow hard. “Well, I’m sure you’ll know every piece of my DNA after seven hours of being trapped here. Goal achieved.”
“Ms. Miller—”
“Stop with the Ms. Miller. I’m not your damn employee anymore. Let go of me.”
He doesn’t let go. His gaze flickers to my mouth, then lifts. “I won’t let you quit.”
“Call Natalie. I’m sure she’ll come back.”
He tugs me close, his hard body aligned with mine, and I can barely breathe. “What do you know of Ms. Duncan?”
“If you mean Natalie, she was in HR when I was.”
“There were circumstances.”
“Yeah. I get that. Believe me, I get it.”
“No. You don’t. She has nothing to do with you or us.”
Us? What does he mean, us? And why is my hand on his chest? Why can’t I move it? “I’m done. Let me go.”
“You won’t change your mind about quitting?”
“No.”
His fingers tangle into my hair, dragging me closer. “Then why would I let you go?”
Both of my hands have now found the wall of his chest, and I intend to push him away, but I just . . . don’t. “What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing? Finding out if you taste as good as I think you do.” And then his lips are on mine, his tongue licking seductively into my mouth, sending erotic sensations spiraling through my body. I tell myself this is insanity. To push away. We barely know each other. I don’t even like him. Except I know it’s a lie. I know that in the short time we’ve known each other, every shared moment, every mutual look, every touch and tangled word exchange, has been leading to this.
Another lick of his tongue and I am unable to hold back a moan or the desperate need to be closer to him. I arch forward, desperate to feel him against me. Desperate to have him naked and touching me. Me touching him. Desperate to be naked and have him inside me. He is a drug, a wicked, wonderful drug that will finally be the end of my sanity if I allow him to be.
That idea sends a burst of panic and adrenaline through me, and I shove at his chest. “Stop. We can’t.”
His mouth leaves mine, and I am one part relief, one part painful need to pull him back. “Why?” he demands, and his voice is rough, affected.
“You’re my boss.”
“You quit.”
“Right. Which means I leave now.”
“You want to leave?”
No. “Yes.”
His eyes darken to deep pools of green fire and stormy torment, telling me he knows this is a mistake. He knows. I know. Why are we still here? “Tell me you really mean that and I’ll let you go,” he vows. “But just know this: If you stay, I absolutely will fuck you senseless and then do it again.”
“I . . . you . . . we can’t . . .”
“We can. I’m going to kiss you now, Kali.”
“Kali?” I whisper, unbelievably aroused by my name on his lips.
“Yes. Kali.” And then he is kissing me, his tongue caressing into my mouth, seeming to touch every intimate part of my body, stroking deep, and burning through me. Sensations roll through me, teasing my senses, torturing me with how much I want him and how wrong I know this is. But then his hand caresses my backside, pulling me closer, hard against his hips, his thick erection pressed to my belly, and I can’t remember why exactly it’s wrong. I am lost. Lost in him. Lost in what I feel, and I don’t want to let anything else in. Not the past. Not the last few hours. I don’t care anymore.
I wrap my arms around his neck, crushing my breasts to his chest, and gasp as he tears his mouth from mine. Then he is staring at me, searching my face for something I don’t understand. And I don’t know what he sees, or what he finds, but his eyes soften, and he strokes the hair from my face. “I was right. One kiss isn’t even close to enough.” His mouth comes down on mine again, and my fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt, holding on to him, willing him not to stop. This time the kiss is deeper, a dark demand that I answer willingly, eagerly, my tongue stroking against his.
Suddenly his fingers wrap my waist and he lifts me, setting me down on the wooden dining room table, spreading my legs to step between them.
“What are you doing?”
He reaches up and tugs on the front zipper of my dress. “Undressing you.”
A moment of clarity comes to me, and I grab his hand. “You need to know this changes nothing. I’m still furious about today. I don’t even know if I like you.”
“But you want me. That’s a start.”
He tugs on my zipper and I don’t stop him, my hands going to the table, trying to stabilize myself, though I’m not sure that is possible. This man is shoving my bra down and ravishing my breasts with a hot inspection that makes my sex clench and my thighs ache.
“I . . .” I pant, and forget what I was going to say. He’s cupping my breasts, pressing them together, and stroking my nipples with his thumbs.
“You what?”
“I don’t know.”
He nudges me backward. “Let me try to figure it out,” he offers, lowering his head, his dark hair tickling my chin, his tongue flicking against my nipple, sending darts of pleasure through me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting for sanity, but his mouth closes down over one of my nipples, sucking deeply, and I am arching my back, offering myself to him. Silently begging him for more. It’s just been so long, I tell myself. So very long since someone touched me like this. So long since I felt like a woman. This isn’t me radiating toward men who like to hurt me. This isn’t me torturing myself. It’s him torturing me in all the right ways.
My hands go to his hair, but he slips away, going down on a knee and caressing my dress up my thighs. “Now I’m going to officially apologize for what happened today,” he vows.

 

ALSO RELEASING on October 28, 2014

NEED YOU NOW (1001 Dark Nights #7) by Lisa Renee Jones-a review

Need you Now

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 28, 2014

Life is hard. Life leaves you beaten, broken…alone. Then one day, a stranger touches your hand and you feel something intense, unforgettable, but yet, you want to forget. You need to forget. It’s safer than believing in things you’ve decided don’t exist. You know all about shattered promises and lost hope. You know them so much better than you know this excited, warm, wonderful feeling, and it scares you. He scares you, but he also makes you feel alive again. He makes you realize you haven’t really been living. You’re surviving and you fear he’s the one who’ll make you forget how to keep doing it. But what if he’s the one who changes everything?

REVIEW: NEED YOU NOW is the prequel novella of Lisa Renee Jones’s new, adult, contemporary Shattered Promises series focusing on billionaire businessman Jensen Miller and Danielle (Danny) Woods. As Danny continues to work towards earning enough money for medical school she will be pulled into the vortex that is Jensen Miller.

Need You Now sets up the reader for a roller coaster storyline where two people meet for an almost one-night stand but discover they have much more in common. We follow as our couple is pulled together time and again; where the heart wants what it cannot have; and where betrayal and misunderstanding are at the center of heartbreak and pain.

NEED YOU NOW is a sexy, sensual and revealing introduction to Lisa Renee Jones’s Shattered Promises series-a series that will have you begging for more.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

about the author

Jones_Lisa_Renee-1ABOUT LISA RENEE JONES

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).

Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.

Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website and she is active on twitter and facebook .

 

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Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1) by Pepper Winters-Review and Blog Tour

DEBT INHERITANCE (Indebted #1) by Pepper Winters-Review and Blog Tour

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Debt Inheritance
Indebted #1
by Pepper Winters
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotica, dark romance
Release Date: August 18, 2014

Debt Inheritance

ebook only .99¢ at time of posting: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /iTunes

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 18, 2014

“I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter.

She is no longer free.

Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey.

There are no rules. Only payments.

A modern day Dark Erotic Romance

•••••••••••

REVIEW: DEBT INHERITANCE is the first instalment in Pepper Winters’s dark, erotic, adult contemporary INDEBTED series. This is NOT your mother’s romantic fairytale. In fact there is very little romance to be had in this particular instalment. This is a story about a six hundred year old debt-one that comes due with the birth of each first born Weaver daughter-and Nila Weaver is its’ next payment. DEBT INHERITANCE is not for everybody. If you take issue with dark, tormented and controversial storylines where morality and legality tread a fine line with non-consensual sex and assault, then this book and series are not for you.

Pepper Winters is a writer who pushes the boundaries of contemporary romance. Her stories call forth such emotional and visceral reactions that it leaves the reader exhausted but wanting more. The Weaver family debt has come to fruition and Nila must pay with both her freedom and her body. Never knowing the truth behind her mother’s disappearance, Nila endeavors to survive in a world where the end result will wipe her out of existence. She is a pawn, a slave, a payment rendered for the sins of the past and she will pay with her life.

Jethro Hawk is a dominant male who will be inheriting the mantle of the Hawk patriarch on his thirtieth birthday. But at twenty nine years old he will learn his family fate and about a six hundred year old debt that must be paid-over and over again. He is a man torn between the duties of family and his need for a woman who represents a dark and dangerous past and possibly his own future.

DEBT INHERITANCE is brilliant in its presentation; controversial in topic; and sensational is its portrayal. The premise is alarming, suspenseful, heartbreaking and full of anguish for a woman who knows nothing about her family’s history but is meant to pay for the sins of the past. The imagery is distressing, destructive and tragic, and we only get a glimpse at the possibilities of what is to come.

Copy supplied by the tour promoter.

Reviewed by Sandy

Excerpt beige

Excerpt: Debt Inheritance: Meet Jethro & Nila

ONE – Nina’s POV

“Huge disappointment, Ms. Weaver.” His cold glare sent a snowstorm wiping away the bonfire in my belly. “I’m done playing games, so cut the bullshit. Time to begin the day.” His voice gave no room for interpretation. A cold draft shot down my back.

My brief reprieve from debts and horrible Hawks was over. I’d been shown something I desperately wanted, but denied it because I failed to please him.
“You could teach me…show me how…” I couldn’t make eye contact with him. Mortification painted my cheeks for both admitting I was clueless and asking a monster to coach me.

Jethro laughed. “You think that will save you from what’s coming? Was that your little plan? To make me f*ck you in the hopes I might feel something for you?”

******
TWO – Jethro’s POV

I stood up slowly, clicking my tongue. “Ah, ah, ah, Ms. Weaver. Don’t take that tone with me. You’re the failure. You’re the prisoner. You take what I give you. You do not assume to have any say or authority. That includes listening to everything I deem important to tell you.” Ghosting to a stop in front of her, I murmured, “Is that quite understood?”

I flexed my muscles, welcoming back the soothing chillness of control. I hadn’t liked stepping outside my confines of civility. Things got messy when silence was disrupted. Things got rushed when tempers rose and curses flowed.

And I didn’t want to rush her undoing. I wanted to savour it. Devour it.

About The Author beige

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

 

STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

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No In Between (Inside Out #4) by Lisa Renee Jones-Review, Blog Tour and Giveaway

No In Between (Inside Out #4) by Lisa Renee Jones-review, blog tour and giveaway

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No In Between
Inside Out Series #4
by Lisa Renee Jones
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic romance

No In Between

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 19, 2014

The fourth in the Inside Out erotic romance series by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones, this steamy novel resolves Chris and Sarah’s relationship and leads into Mark’s story.

“Chris and I have faced our demons and bared our souls to one another in Paris. Now that we are back home in San Francisco, I want to believe that nothing can tear us apart. Not Ava’s accusations against me to the police, or Chris’s fear that he will destroy me as he feels he did Amber. And not Mark, who was once too intimately a part of our lives, and who I can see crumbling inside out. He believes he is invincible, just as I want to believe Chris and I are invincible. We have to be invincible. We need each other too much for any other ending.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: NO IN BETWEEN is the fourth full length novel in Lisa Renee Jones’s contemporary, adult INSIDE OUT erotic romance series focusing on artist Chris Merit, former school teacher/graduate art student Sara McMillan and gallery owner Mark Compton. NO IN BETWEEN is the continuing story of Sara and Chris who have returned from Paris only to face the authorities who are investigating the disappearance of former gallery assistant Rebecca Mason. While fingers are pointed in their direction, Sara begins an investigation of her own.

NO IN BETWEEN is a storyline that reveals the slow breakdown of a once proud man. Rumors, innuendo, gossip and spurned lovers take aim at our trio in an attempt to get to the truth about what happened to Rebecca Mason and put into motion a series of events that will focus on the one man who has everything to lose.

Lisa Renee Jones keeps the reader in suspense with the deliberate and sensual exposure of secrets and lies. No one is safe; everyone is a suspect; and in the end betrayal and revenge will begin to unfold. The INSIDE OUT SERIES will pull you in and never let go.

NO IN BETWEEN is not a stand alone storyline. The series must be read in order.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

excerpt

 

 

EXCERPT #1, (No In Between (INSIDE OUT #4), Sara’s POV)

My fingers wrap his wrist. “I know you want to protect me, and I love you for that more than you know.”
“Yet too easily, you found a reason to shut me out tonight. Trust isn’t a fair-weather friend. It’s about a willingness to be vulnerable and exposed.”
“And I am willing to do that. That’s why I’m here now.”
He searches my face, and I don’t know what he looks for, what he needs, or what he finds. He releases me abruptly. “Hold out your hands and lace your fingers together.”
Heat rushes through me with the certainty that I’m about to fully understand the painting he’s created of me. This is him sending me a message. He’s not holding back. My confession, as incomplete as it is, has changed nothing. I offer him my arms, aware as I haven’t been in the past few minutes of my naked body, my breasts pressed together.
Chris reaches into his back pocket and produces a roll of art tape, using it to wrap my wrists. Task complete, he bends my elbows and presses my wrists to my chest, his fingers covering the bindings. He has become dark Chris, the dominant Master who never shows emotion; the Chris who arouses me in ways I would never believe a man could.
“Sit down,” he orders, and the way he manages such force with what is no more than a whisper stirs heat low in my body.
My throat is dry and my heart beats so loudly I am certain Chris can hear. I squat and he follows me down, steadying me so I don’t fall without the use of my hands. “All the way,” he murmurs, gently nudging me until my bare backside is on the floor.
He angles my knees up toward my chest, with my feet out enough to stabilize my body. His long lashes lower, half-moons on his cheeks, and I sense him struggling with what has passed between us. He knows I need to see he won’t hold back, but this isn’t just for me. I think he really needs this, too, for me to show him, not tell him, how much I trust him.
Chris tapes my ankles and then throws the roll over his shoulder. My nerve endings are so alive, so on edge that the roll hits the ground like a thundering drum that seems to radiate through the room, through my body. His hands come down on my knees and the touch sweeps over me, awakening nerve endings in the most intimate and unforgiving of places. I feel this man everywhere, I want him everywhere. But as if he knows what I feel, and he means to deny me, he withdraws. I shiver with a sudden cold certain to linger. He will torment me, make me wait for him. Make me beg.
He stands up, towering over me, and I stare up at him, trying to read him, the anticipation of what comes next tingling through me. And it’s supposed to. I see that in his eyes, and I am reminded of his words when I’d first seen the painting. It’s about trust. The kind of trust I want from you and have no right to ask for. He’s going to push me. He’s going to take me somewhere uncomfortable. Somewhere I might not want to go, but I will. With Chris, I will.

 

Inside Out Series

SPECIAL PRICING for a limited time at Amazon and B&N

1. If I Were You- $1.99
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2. Being Me – $2.99
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3. Rebecca’s Lost Journals- $2.99

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4. The Master Undone –
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5. His Secrets – .99¢
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7. My Hunger – .99¢
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8. My Control-.99¢
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9. No In Between –
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10. I Belong To You –
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11. All of Me (Feb 2015)
Amazon.com

 

About The Author Black and Red

Jones_Lisa_Renee-1ABOUT LISA RENEE JONES

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).

Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.

Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website and she is active on twitter and facebook daily.

Giveaway-redandblack_zps8ff4dc4b

The Reading Cafe and Lisa’s publisher are offering a paper copy of NO IN BETWEEN to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. FOLLOW us on Goodreads

6. Giveaway is open to USA only

7. Giveaway runs from August 20 to August 25, 2014

 

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$15 Starbucks Gift Card

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Nauti Enchantress (Nauti Girls #2) by Lora Leigh-Review and Giveaway

NAUTI ENCHANTRESS (Nauti Girls #2) by Lora Leigh-Review and Giveaway

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Nauti Enchantress
Nauti Girls #2
by Lora Leigh
Genre: contemporary, adult, erotic, romance, suspense

Nauti Enchantress

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 3, 2014

When Dawg Mackay made his four half-sisters part of his family, he vowed that he would care for and protect them with everything he had. But what happens now that the girls are all grown up? The Mackay girls are on the loose, and Somerset County will never be the same…

Lyrica Mackay has wanted tall, handsome Marine Graham Brock for as long as she can remember. Unfortunately, Graham only sees her as his friend Dawg Mackay’s “baby sister.” Or so she believes. The truth is, the fiery party girl stirs something in Graham no female ever has. But Graham, like everyone in Somerset County, knows that trouble stalks the Mackays like bears track honey, and when a Mackay runs as hot as Lyrica does, someone’s bound to get burned.

Then Graham discovers that Lyrica’s wild side is just a cover for a frightened and vulnerable woman who needs something true and genuine, something only Graham can offer. But surrendering his heart to Lyrica exposes them both to her shocking past—and a sinister secret that, once exposed, could destroy their only chance at happiness and shake the Mackay family to its core.

•••••••••••••••

REVIEW: NAUTI ENCHANTRESS is the second storyline in Lora Leigh’s contemporary, adult Nauti Girls erotic romance series-a spinoff from her successful Nauti Boys series. Some background: Six years earlier Dawg Mackay (Nauti Boys) discovered his father had another family who were suffering because of his father’s past. Enter-four half sisters and their mother-and Dawg and his cousins have a new family of women to dominate and protect. This is twenty four year old Lyrica Mackay and Marine Graham Brock’s story. The Nauti Girls series fast forwards Lora Leigh’s NAUTI BOYS series several years with the introduction of Dawg’s extended family.

The storyline follows Graham and Lyrica as they dance around one another-the attraction between our couple is palpable but Graham has been ‘threatened’ by the Mackay boys if he ever touches a single hair on Lyrica’s head. And it is becoming more difficult as Lyrica is Graham’s sister’s best friend and always at his house, and someone is now taking care to stalk and take down Lyrica. Graham is a man-whore; his parade of monthly ‘flavors’ threatens his future with the woman who calls to his heart and Lyrica isn’t willing to become the next flavor in Graham’s parlor of women and sex.

The premise follows Graham and the Mackay cousins (Rowdy, Dawg and Natches) as well as the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) as they try to uncover the people threatening Lyrica Mackay. Lyrica is in a continuous battle for her life, and her safety whenever she leaves the protective confines of the Mackay family or Graham’s house. Our intrepid group of former marines and military personnel know that Graham is in love with Lyrica and ensures that Graham is the first line of defense when it comes to Lyrica’s protection. As the Mackay’s and the DHS dig deeper it will be Lyrica who recognizes one of the people under suspicion and Graham begins to link everything back to his time in the Middle East war.

The relationship between Graham and Lyrica is tempestuous; fraught with heartbreak and betrayal as Lyrica watches the continuous stream of women in and out of Graham’s bed; and yet, Graham and the Mackay boys refuse to allow Lyrica any sense of freedom or explore a love life of her very own. Dawg and his cousins know that Lyrica and Graham are in love with one another but the Mackay boys protective nature ensures that Graham will be in no position to hurt one of their own.

Lora Leigh pulls the reader into an erotic storyline with overprotective alpha males who know a thing or two about falling in love. All of the Mackay cousins-Dawg, Natches and Rowdy play a significant role as well as Alex Jansen and Timothy Cranston (former agent of the DHS). The inclusion of the Nauti Mackay boys lends familiarity and a connection to the Nauti Girls series. As with all of Lora’s books, the sex is erotic, steamy, seduction and imaginative. The males are uber alpha, uber protective and only one woman will ever own each of their hearts.

NAUTI ENCHANTRESS follows another Mackay sibling and their journey of love and romance. There is always a former ally or nemesis waiting to attack and take down the Mackay cousins and their extended collection of family and friends, and in this, Lora Leigh writes another seductive chapter in the Nauti series of erotic stories of romance and love.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

About The Author Black and Blue

Lora LeighFOLLOW Lora: Website/Goodreads/Facebook/

Lora Leigh lives in the rolling hills of Kentucky, often found absorbing the ambience of this peaceful setting. She dreams in bright, vivid images of the characters intent on taking over her writing life, and fights a constant battle to put them on the hard drive of her computer before they can disappear as fast as they appeared. Lora’s family, and her writing life co-exist, if not in harmony, in relative peace with each other. Surrounded by a menagerie of pets, friends, and a teenage son who keeps her quick wit engaged, Lora’s life is filled with joys, aided by her fans whose hearts remind her daily why she writes.

Giveaway-Black and Deep Blue

Lora and her publisher Berkley are offering a paper copy of NAUTI ENCHANTRESS to one (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Giveaway is open to USA only.

6. Giveaway runs from May 29 to June 3, , 2014

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Mended (Connections #3) by Kim Karr-Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

MENDED (Connections #3) by Kim Karr-Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

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Mended
Connections #3
by Kim Karr
Genre: New Adult, romance, contemporary

Mended

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 1, 2014

MUSIC HAS THE POWER TO HEAL ALL…BUT NOT ALL BROKEN HEARTS CAN BE MENDED.

Always in control, Xander Wilde considered life on the road to be a perfect fit for him. But when disaster strikes on the Wilde Ones’ latest tour, fate intervenes…and a newly single Ivy Taylor, the only girl he has ever loved, steps back into his life.

After moving past her painful breakup with Xander years ago, Ivy was poised to become the next big name in pop music…when suddenly she withdrew from the limelight—the same day she announced her engagement to her controlling agent, Damon Wolf.

Xander knows he should keep his distance. But once they’re on the road, he can’t resist pursuing her for a second chance. Yet a jealous Damon can’t let her go—and he’s keeping dangerous secrets that could destroy them all.

When the three of them come together, everything falls apart. But if Xander and Ivy can hold tight to the bond that connects them, they just might have a chance at reclaiming the powerful love they thought they had lost forever….

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: MENDED is the third full length storyline in Kim Karr’s contemporary, new adult Connections erotic romance series. This is Xander Wilde and Ivy Taylor’s storyline. Xander is the band manager for The Wilde Ones’ and Ivy is the woman he loved and lost over tens years before. While preparing for their upcoming tour the band’s lead singer will be forced to take some time off and Ivy offers herself up as the group’s new lead vocals. Told from alternating first person POV (Xander and Ivy) the novel is a combination of past, present, dream sequences and flashbacks.

The focus of the story is a second chance at love for Xander and Ivy. High school sweethearts and lovers, Xander and Ivy’s relationship would be destroyed by a mistaken belief and family tragedy. Fast forward over a decade later and Xander’s feelings for Ivy have never faltered but Ivy is now promised to another man-one whose aim is to destroy the band and the Wilde family.

Kim Karr pulls the reader into an emotional and tragic tale of first loves, secrets, family rivalry, and betrayal. The Connections series comes full circle with the revelations of the past, the present and possibly the future. Dark and painful secrets will be revealed that will crush a man’s heart when everything he knows to be true has been built upon a lie-a lie that will affect not only his life but the woman that he loves.

The world building continues with the inclusion of the previous storyline characters including The Wilde Ones band members and family. River and Dahlia’s storyline continues with a heartbreaking loss; Aerie Daniels (Dazed) returns with some information that will help Xander in his struggle to save the woman that he loves; and younger sister Bell whose past will be surfacing in the next Connections novel.

MENDED is a story of struggle, lies, loss and guilt. It is a story about one man whose entire life has been based upon a lie and the guilt he has buried for the sins of the past. Kim Karr writes a seductive, moving and dramatic storyline where family secrets can lead to heartbreaking reality; where an idealistic young man finds himself alone without the woman that he loves; and where one moment in time can lead to years of improbable pain.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

Mended-teasers-3

excerpt

 

Excerpt from Mended Connections #3 by Kim Karr © 2013 by Kim Karr
Published by the Penguin Group Release date: June 3, 2014
The magic of rock and roll—it casts a spell on you. I’m no exception. I’m a band manager and I’m living the dream, touring with The Wilde Ones, helping them secure their well-deserved place in the music industry. I love being a part of it all, especially watching the band perform live—the crowds, the cheers, the music. It’s a high and a low all at once and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Every step of the way with this band has been fun, exciting, stressful—every possible emotion. Obviously we’ve had some breaks but mostly we all put in a lot of hard work—myself, Garrett Flynn, Phoenix Harper, River Wilde, and now Zane Perry.
“Can you hear me now?” he bellows.
I nod my head as my heart pounds in my chest. My hands feel cold and clammy and a nervousness that makes me weak and shaky takes over. Doubts race through my head and I’m questioning if he’s going to make it through this. A vague awareness that something bad could happen kicks around in my mind and I can’t shake it. The Wilde Ones are doing a sound check on stage and Zane’s not on his game.
It’s July and the weather has been brutally hot. But today it seems cooler. Maybe it’s the California weather maybe it’s the excitement of being home. The Beautiful Lies Tour bus finally rolled back into our home state of California after six months away. When we pulled into the amphitheater, we could see tanned kids in board shorts and bikini tops already lined up at the will call window. Security guards in polo shirts directed us to the artist parking lot, and we were officially home. Tonight we’ll be headlining our biggest show to date. We’re on tour without my brother, River, and still more than half of the shows are sold out, including tonight’s. River quit the band—touring just wasn’t for him but even so the album is on its way up the charts. Who knows it may even hit gold status.The songs on the album were written and sung by River but are performed in concert by Zane. Having him as my brother’s replacement has been the key to our successful transition in a world where replacing leads is normally unsuccessful—simply put, we’re lucky as hell to have him. River promised to make a surprise appearance at our next stop. It’s going to be epic.
But tonight is all about the arena—Mountain View and the Shoreline. “That’s enough,” I yell to the band and call rehearsal. This place is the biggest outdoor venue we’ve played and I couldn’t be more stoked—or more nervous. A sold out show and a rocking opening band—what a combination. But a lead singer with another cold and a weakened voice that can’t be heard throughout an amphitheater scares the shit out of me.
I head straight for the bus and spend the next few hours hashing out a song with Nix that he calls a jumbled mess of muscular sense and big-riff sunshine—whatever the hell that means. All I know is that it needs help and that’s why he’s turning to me. I hadn’t played guitar since I was eighteen but for some reason over the course of this tour I’ve picked it back up. At first I used whatever was lying around but last month I had my mother mail my old one to me and it feels like home. It’s a light blue and brown Gibson and I had to have it because it was the guitar that Slash played on. Playing again seems to help pass the time and brings a calm over me that I haven’t felt in awhile.
Hours pass and before I know it, it’s almost show time. We make our way over to the Amphitheater, do the typical festival schmooze fest, and then settle back to wait. Waiting for them to take the stage is always the most nerve-racking time. I’m sitting in the practically vacant makeshift meet and greet area back stage and sipping a beer in a worthless effort to calm my nerves when a voice travels through the sound system. It’s a powerful and emotive mezzo-soprano range that is nothing short of explosive. She sounds unlike any singer I’ve ever heard before—with only one exception, Ivy Taylor. I push back the memory of her name and the emotions it evokes—the memories are just too painful. I can’t see her on stage but I know that the voice belongs to Jane Mommsen. Her band Breathless is playing right before The Wilde Ones.
A hand on my shoulder startles me. I twist and glance up as Amy sits down beside me, crossing her legs. “Hi, Xander. I thought I saw you earlier at the hotel.”
She’s a beautiful woman—long, wavy dark hair, petite figure, very natural looking. She’s wearing jeans, a blue shirt with some kind of foil design, and silver sandals. Grinning at her I say, “Finally we catch up. Can I get you a drink?”
“I’d love that. How’s life on the road been?” “You know, it has its ups and downs but actually not bad. You?” “Jane’s been going full-force for a while now. But the tour ends with the summer.
I’ll be glad to be back in LA.” Standing up, I laugh. “I know the feeling. I’ll be right back, let me grab us that
drink.” Tossing my empty bottle, I make my way to the coolers lined up under the tent and grab two beers. I know she’d rather have a glass of Chardonnay but beer it is. Amy is Jane’s assistant and I’ve taken her out more than a few times. We went to high school together and Amy and I know most of the same people so whenever I need a date, I ask her. Last time I saw her was almost nine months ago when I took her to River and Dahlia’s wedding.
Heading back to the table I hear Jane yell out to the crowd, “Are you ready for three of the hottest guys in music?” The audience starts screaming and the stage lights dim cuing the guys that it’s the fifteen-minute countdown until they take the stage. The band huddles together in their typical pre-performance stance. I’ll have a quick drink with Amy and then join them. As I hand her the bottle my fingers touch hers and we both grin, knowing that we will end up alone by the end of the night.
“You sticking around for the whole show?” “I think I might,” she smiles. “How about we ride back to the hotel together and grab a real drink at the bar?” “Sounds like a plan.” “Great. Time for me to get back to work.”
She rises from the table, I do the same. She stands up on her toes and kisses me quickly on the lips. “See you tonight,” she smiles.
“Catch you later,” I say and then cross the room to join the band. “You’re late,” Nix snickers. “What’s with you two anyway?” he asks. I shrug my shoulders. “Nothing. We casually see each other once in a while.” Garrett raises an eyebrow. “Chicks are never cool with casual.”
Shaking my head at him, I don’t bother to disagree. Amy and I have been doing this for years. It works for her and for me. We like each other’s company but only see each other sporadically. I’ll call her once in a while and we’ll go out but we are in no way exclusive. I don’t ask her about other men and she doesn’t ask me about other women. I grab the bottle and pour the amber liquid into the shot glasses stacked on the cap. It’s our pre-show routine. A shot and a prayer, so to say. It’s Garrett’s turn tonight to ‘pray’ so this should be good.
He raises his glass. “Here’s to hoping Xander gets laid so he’ll get off our backs.”
Tipping my glass back, I quickly down the amber liquid. It burns as it makes its way down my throat. Once we’ve all drank our two shot maximum before a show Garrett follows his toast up with, “Seriously man, you need to get laid.”
The guys laugh and I actually join in. Jerking off in the small bathroom on the bus is definitely one of the downsides of touring. I’ve slept with a few girls at some of our stops but screwing groupies isn’t really my thing. I’m not one to have time for a girlfriend but I’m also not about to pull my dick out backstage, so it’s been a long six months.
Zane coughs after he slings back the shot and I look at him with concern. “You’re going to a doctor tomorrow.”
He shakes his head. “Yes, Mom, if you say so.” “I’m not kidding. Your voice sounds like shit.” “It’s a fucking cold. I took some medicine. I’ll be fine.” “Doctor. Tomorrow. I mean it. I’ll have Ena set it up.” “I can always sing,” Garrett chimes in and I smack the back of his head. “Hey. I can.” The lights start to flicker and I look at Zane with that feeling of uneasiness again.
Second time this tour he’s coughing and hacking. We’re screwed if he really gets sick. He nods at me as I pat him on the back. Slinging his guitar over his shoulder, he heads out first raising his arm in the air. The crowd goes crazy. The six foot guy is a chick magnet and no one misses my brother tonight. Garrett heads out next yelling, “Great to be here Mountain View!” and Nix follows with his trademark nod. Zane skips his normal charming banter and I know he must be saving his voice. Again, I think about how we’re fucked if he gets sick.
I stand at the edge of the stage all night until they finally come to their last song. “It Wasn’t Days Ago,” is a simple but crowd affecting ballad and Zane belts it out. Shouts from nearly thirty thousand fans call for an encore. Turning away from the microphone Zane coughs again. Biting his thumbnail he looks over at me and I slice my finger across my neck.
“One more song for tonight,” he tells the screaming fans and my blood pressure rises. “This one is a cover, an ‘ode to’ I’ll call it. It’s for Xander Wilde, the band’s manager and it’s his favorite song. Everyone ready?” As he starts to sing Linkin Park’s “Iridescent,” I close my eyes and listen. When he hits the chorus his voice gets so low my eyes snap open. Zane turns to grab a bottle of water while the guys continue to play but I can tell something isn’t right.
***
Last night definitely didn’t go as planned—a visit to the ER, then sleeping in a chair next to Zane all night on the bus because the steroids he was given freaked him out. It’s noon and Amy and I are just arriving at the Pelican Hill Resort. Breathless was leaving right after the show last night so Amy had already planned to ride with us and meet up with them in Irvine. She invited me to some party being thrown by her band’s label that I would have rather not gone to but Ellie, the tour manager, insisted we all go for the good PR.
I’m exhausted and really need some sleep before dealing with the press and tomorrow night’s show. The paparazzi have been everywhere—by the bus as we exited to the waiting car in LA, outside the doctor’s office, at the gates of Zane’s father’s house, and now they’re here in Irvine at the hotel.
To avoid the chaos awaiting us in the lobby, I call Ellie, who is already here, and ask her to check me in and meet me at the pool bar with the key. Draping my arm around Amy, we head that way. I’ve been here a few times so I know my way around. Cutting through the grotto and over to the pool and cabanas, I steer Amy to the right and stop in my tracks as all the air rushes from my lungs.
My body floods with adrenaline and my gut twists. I don’t even have to do a double take because I’d know her anywhere. There’s no mistaking her. She’s just so beautiful— the elegant planes of her face, those high cheekbones, red lipstick, her platinum blonde hair shorter than it used to be tucked behind her ear, that face of an angel. She looks the same. No, she looks better. Her skin glistens in the sun and my gaze automatically follows the shape of her long legs. They look smooth and tan against her white bathing suit. An ache forms in my chest as I think about running my fingers up them. She’s still that eighteen-year-old girl I once knew but now she has the body of a woman—lean and toned and full of curves. When she moves it’s so familiar it doesn’t seem like a day has passed—and everything I ever felt for her, it’s all still inside me.
My pulse races at the mere sight of her. She’s lounging in the cushioned chair reading a magazine just outside a cabana. My heart slams harder in my chest when she sticks her earphones in her ears like she always used to do and it transports me back to the last time I saw her do the very same thing. We’d skipped school and were at my grandparents’ house—their pool. She was lying on the lounge chair listening to music and singing along—her voice so full of soul. I’d moved to sit with her under the guise of putting lotion of her back. She sat up and smiled that shy smile she didn’t need to have when she was with me. I squeezed the tube into my hand and after rubbing them together I slowly applied it to her back kneading my way up and down, touching every inch of her that I could.
It brings me back to the here and now when she suddenly sits up and looks over at me. Her eyes pin me in place. She looks at me as if she remembers me for who I was, what we were, not what I did to her. With my chest pounding, memories of us keep flashing through my mind. Fighting a smile, I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing— remembering what we were, what we shared, how we loved.
She quickly breaks our connection when she averts her eyes over to the man handing her a drink. I suck in a deep breath trying not to feel sick at the sight. He’s nearing fifty, wearing a terrycloth robe. He’s about my height, dark brown hair, meticulously groomed facial hair, and not exactly ripped but fit. He’s Damon Wolf, a man I’ve never actually met but hate all the same. I’ve seen their picture on TV and in magazines. He’s her agent, her fiancé, and I’m sure he’s the reason she’s not singing anymore.
She looks up at him with that same forced smile she used to give people she just wanted to appease and mouths “thank you.” I have a sudden urge to go over and deck him when her gaze shifts back to mine and he pulls her chin back to look at him. I can sense a discomfort between them. We could sense each other’s feelings even when we weren’t near each other.
Amy’s hand slides down my face and I have to blink a few times before I can hear what she’s saying. Glancing one last time at Ivy I see that she’s staring at me again. Then suddenly her mouth forms a scowl and she flicks her attention toward him. Hooking her arm around his neck, she pulls him down for a kiss and I think I might throw up.
“Are you okay?” I nod. Not able to say a word. “Isn’t that Ivy Taylor over there? The girl you used to date in high school?” Amy
asks. There’s an irritated tone to her voice I’m not used to hearing and it makes me agitated.
“Yeah, it is,” is all I say. She’s not just a girl I used to date…she’s the only girl I ever really loved. She’s also the girl whose heart I broke. Seeing her now brings back all those feelings I blocked, ignored, tucked aside. So many times over the years I wanted to go after her and tell her the truth—but I never did. Why I don’t know. Then one day it was too late—she had gotten engaged.
Amy chatters on. “I think that’s Damon Wolf with her. We should go say hi.”
My body goes cold and my face blank at the thought. I straighten and just as I’m about to say, “No fucking way,” my phone vibrates in my pocket. Squinting at the screen, I see that it’s my brother. I look over to Amy and motion toward the bar. “Hey, this is River. I need to take it. I’ll meet you over there in a minute.”
“That’s fine. We can catch up with them later. I’ll go order us a drink.” She smiles and starts toward the bar.
Turning around to avoid staring at Ivy, I answer the phone. “It took you long enough to call me back.”
“I was in a meeting and stepped out as soon as I could, so don’t start. What did the doctor say about Zane?”
“He’s out for the rest of the tour and we’re fucked.”
“You sure? You’re back in LA for almost two weeks after tomorrow night right? Isn’t that enough time for him to heal?”
“Technically yes. But his old man wants him out. The doctor said that he couldn’t be sure how long the blood that accumulated under his vocal cords had been there but obviously last night, the amount of ruptured vessels was enough to cause his voice to change. He advised at least two weeks of rest before another evaluation to see if surgery is necessary. Zeak wants his son to take a longer period of time off. He’s just afraid that if Zane keeps singing and it keeps happening, scar tissue will build up and cause his voice to change forever.”
“Do you blame him?”
“No I don’t,” I tell River and I feel like shit that I have to put him in a position to do what he didn’t want to do in the first place. But I also know that if I don’t, the band won’t survive. If I have to cancel this tour—the Wilde Ones are done. So I ask, “Did you talk to Dahlia?”
He sighs. “Yeah, I did. She’s cool with it, Xander. I’m just trying to figure it all out.” “You know I’ll do whatever you need me to do, right?” “Shit why can’t you just be an ass and make it easy for me to say no?” “Because you have no idea what this means to me.”
“Actually I do, and that’s why I’m going to make it happen. But Xander, remember I can’t play a twelve string.”
Laughter and relief take hold of me. I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. “Right now I wouldn’t care if you only played the violin,” I joke.
He laughs and I add, “You’ll be here tonight?”
Now he sounds slightly annoyed. “I said I would. We might be a little late so don’t get your panties in a wad.”
“That’s cool. Thanks for everything. Hey, one more thing.’ “What?” “Ivy Taylor’s here.” “No way. Have you talked to her?”
“Fuck no. You know she won’t talk to me. And besides she’s with that asshole.” “You should talk to her. Tell her the truth.”
“What’s that going to do now? She’ll just think I’m lying.” “You want me to talk to her? I can explain everything.” “No. I don’t need my little brother to fight my battles. I’ll talk to her if I feel the time
is right. Do you hear me?” “Whatever you say. Look, I have to run but I want to discuss this later. And
Xander…you don’t know he’s an asshole. Just because Dad said his name once doesn’t mean shit.”
“Right. Okay, see you tonight,” I say and end the call. My head is spinning knowing that after all these years I’m actually in the same place she is. I want to talk to her, tell her everything but what would it matter now anyway. Glancing behind me, I catch another glimpse of her with him that turns my stomach. He’s such a slime ball. Since his father was hospitalized and he took over the business, he’s been scooping up labels, tearing them apart, and rebuilding them with bands he thinks are better fits. My guess is he picked up Jane’s label—that’s why he’s here. I heard they were having some financial difficulty and he’s just the kind of bottom feeder that would want to capitalize on not only being her agent but now also her producer. The sight of him touching Ivy makes my skin crawl.
Damon Wolf—two of the last words my father ever spoke to me before killing himself, and I never knew why. Of all the guys in the world Ivy had to end up with him— why him? I look up and they’re gone. But I’m anything but relieved. Rubb
ing my chin, I’m antsy, agitated, pissed as hell, but feel more alive than I have in years.


 

about the author

Kim Karr

I live in Florida with my husband and four kids. I’ve always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing.

I wear a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of the family. However, I always find time to read. One of my favorite family outings use to be taking my kids to the bookstore or the library. Today, my oldest child is in college and my twins are juniors so they no longer go with me on these outings. And although I don’t need to go to the actual store anymore because I have the greatest device ever invented—a Kindle, I still do. There’s nothing like a paperback. So now my four year old and I make dates out of going to the bookstore–it’s time I love and cherish.

I like to believe in soulmates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. I love to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart. 

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giveaway

Kim and her publisher Berkley/NAL are offering a paper copy of MENDED to one (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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6. Giveaway runs from May 27 to May 31, 2014

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Whisper To Me by Christina Lee-Blog Tour and Giveaway

Whisper To Me by Christina Lee-Blog Tour and Giveaway

Whisper to Me Blog Tour Banner

Whisper To Me
Between Breaths #3
by Christina Lee
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Genre: New Adult, romance

Whisper To Me

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A hot and consuming New Adult romance about a wayward musician and the one girl who keeps him grounded…

At college, Rachel has a reputation for being a sarcastic flirt with a thing for star athletes. No one at school knows that she’d had her heart ripped to shreds by her high school sweetheart, who’d driven them both off the side of the road on a borrowed motorcycle, and then abandoned her. No one knows the real Rachel Mattson—except one person…

Ever since he helped nurse his sister’s feisty best friend back to health, pierced bass player Kai Nakos has been head over heels in love. But the supposed bad boy can’t risk letting Rachel know the truth—especially now that the two of them are back in their hometown for the summer, together for the first time since the months following that fateful night. Never mind that Rachel’s ex is back, groveling for her forgiveness.

Shaken by her ex’s return, Rachel finds herself turning to the one guy she knows she can trust. Kai is willing to hide his feelings for her, just to have Rachel touch him again. After all, this is only a temporary fling. Until it becomes something more. But maybe it had been more all along.

About the author

Christina Lee Author Photo

 

Mother, wife, reader, dreamer. Christina lives in the Midwest with her husband and son–her two favorite guys. She’s addicted to lip gloss, salted caramel everything, and believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.

 

 

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