NEW SERIES ALERT: A Sorceress of His Own (The Gifted Ones Book 1) by Dianne Duvall 

A Sorceress of His Own (The Gifted Ones Book 1)

by Dianne Duvall

Publication Date: June 2, 2015

PRE-ORDER $2.99

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1DIVxaY
B&N: http://bit.ly/1FSOZWG
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1FP0caG
iBooks: http://apple.co/1GElV3u

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1HiI7DJ



FROM DIANNE DUVALL

Dear Reader,
One of the questions I am asked most often is what inspired my Immortal Guardians series–paranormal romance novels and novellas that feature dark and dangerous heroes, kick-ass heroines, action, passion, and romance.  The easy answer is:  this book, A Sorceress of His Own.  There were, of course, other sources of inspiration–a documentary on the water bear, research into possible explanations for the emergence of vampire folklore, and a biography of King George, to name a few.  But long before Sarah Bingham rescued Roland Warbrook with her trusty shovel in Darkness Dawns, I wrote A Sorceress of His Own . . . and the gifted ones were born.

Alyssa, the heroine of A Sorceress of His Own, was the first gifted one I created.  And she, along with Seth, Roland and Marcus–all of whom appear in this book–fired my imagination and inspired many of the what ifs that drove me to create my Immortal Guardians.  I am very pleased to bring you Alyssa’s story. I hope you will enjoy it.  And, for those who have read my Immortal Guardians books, I hope you will enjoy seeing Marcus as a mortal teenaged squire.

–Dianne Duvall



SYNOPSIS

From the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Immortal Guardians series comes an enchanting new series full of romance, danger, and loyalty: The Gifted Ones

Since the day Lord Dillon earned his spurs, rumors of his savagery on the battlefield have preceded him into every room, stilling tongues and sparking fear. Weary of battle, he wishes only to find a woman he can wed who will approach him not with fear, but with the tenderness that has been absent from his life for so long. Yet only the wisewoman seems invariably at ease in his presence. Perhaps because she garners the same fear in others that he does himself.

For seven years, Alyssa has been by Lord Dillon’s side, counseling him from the shadows, healing him with her hands, and staving off the worst of his loneliness while his fearsome reputation keeps others at bay. Blessed–or cursed–with gifts that label her a sorceress, she is forced to conceal her youth and the love she harbors for him beneath umbral robes that lead Dillon and his people to believe she is the same aged wisewoman who served his father.

All is revealed, however, and passions flare when an enemy threatens Dillon’s life and Alyssa sacrifices everything to save him. When Dillon discovers that the wisewoman is far from elderly, he is instantly entranced. And, as he and Alyssa work together to defeat an enemy bent on destroying them both, Dillon will risk anything–even the wrath of his king–to be with her.

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TO ENTER THE ONGOING GIVEAWAY:
Pre-Order A Sorceress of His Own before June 2nd, then fill out this form ► http://bit.ly/1DQTXTd  (buy links above)




✦Immortal Guardians Series by Dianne Duvall✦

✦Series Link: Kindle | B&N | Kobo | iBooks 
Darkness Dawns – Book 1
Night Reigns – Book 2
Phantom Shadows – Book 3
In Still Darkness (novella) – Book 3.5
Darkness Rises – Book 4
Night Unbound – Book 5

Shadows Strike – Book 6

 


✦Night Unbound (Immortal Guardians #5) by Dianne Duvall
Kindle $2.99: http://amzn.to/1HixrF3
Amazon PBK $7.99: http://amzn.to/1Ic6OiO
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1ruLDnL
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1l8f38z
iBooks: http://apple.co/1xb4aZB
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/NdYdFy

✦Review 5 Stars & Interview: http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-1xe
✦READING IN PAJAMAS FAVORITE ROMANCE BOOKS 2014 http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-1Ux


ABOUT DIANNE DUVALL

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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Dianne Duvall earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of St. Thomas, where she studied fiction writing, playwriting, and poetry writing. Darkness Dawns, the first book in her Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series, was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance by RT Book Reviews and for Best Paranormal Romance – Vampire by The Romance Reviews. It was also deemed a Top Pick by The Romance Reviews and a Best Book by Long and Short Reviews. Night Reigns, the second book in the series, was nominated for Best Best Book of 2011 – Paranormal Romance by The Romance Reviews and declared an “utterly addictive” Top Pick by RT Book Reviews. Phantom Shadows, the third book in the series, has been declared a Top Pick by both The Romance Reviews and Night Owl Reviews. Her Immortal Guardians novella In Still Darkness was released in the Predatory anthology on May 7, 2013, and has received many fabulous reviews. Darkness Rises, the fourth book in the series, hit the USA Today Bestseller list, has been nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance by RT Book Reviews and was deemed a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick.

Dianne has also completed two not-yet-published paranormal romance novels that are prequels to Darkness Dawns. A Sorceress of His Own is a medieval romance with paranormal elements that won awards in the Lone Star, Where the Magic Begins, Southern Heat, Picture This, Book of Your Heart and Suzannah national writing competitions. Rendezvous With Yesterday is a time travel romance and won second place in the Picture This writing contest.

In addition to writing romance, Dianne has completed a one-act play (comedy) and teamed up with an award-wining screenwriter to write a spec script for a new situation comedy. Several of her poems have also been published in anthologies.

When she isn’t writing, Dianne is very active in the independent film industry and once even appeared on screen as a machete-weilding maniac not unlike the vampires she so loves to create in her novels.

Author Links

Website | Facebook | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | YouTube 

Announcement: Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress Series & Night Huntress World Series

ANNOUNCEMENT

IAN! IAN! IAN! So excited! Ian’s book! Squeal! Check out her post! Reading order and info about the series below. /Cori

Update on Jeaniene Frost’s Blog 3/22: http://bit.ly/1HkIslY

Jeaniene Frost’s Blog Post/ Announcement 3/20: http://bit.ly/1MZQzpZ

From Jeaniene Frost’s post:

After I finish the Night Prince series, the next front runner for  a vampire book is Ian. As many of you know, I’ve said for years that Ian is moving closer to his own book, and if I didn’t already have a story in mind for him, I wouldn’t have offered his book as a bribe. However, as mentioned, I still have to finish the Night Prince series (one more book), plus the Broken Destiny series (two more books) so, an Ian book is still a little ways off. You will see him pop up in the final Night Prince book as a side character, though, and having Vlad and Ian interact together should be a lot of fun to write.

Before you ask, I’m not revealing who the heroine is for Ian’s future book yet. To give you a hint, she has appeared in the Night Huntress series before. That’s all you’re getting out of me at the moment, so you are welcome to take your best guess, but I will neither confirm nor deny any of them yet ;).

FAVORITE IAN QUOTE

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Jeaniene Frost is one of my favorite authors! Love the paranormal worlds she has created and the characters in it! The Night Huntress, Night Huntress World and Night Prince Series all go together and you should read them in published order instead of reading each separately. Recommend reading order is listed below.

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*Note graphics are from Jeaniene Frost’s website. You can find other wallpapers there as well. I just added quotes to some of them. Website http://www.jeanienefrost.com

FAVORITE QUOTES

“I love your hands,’ he sighed. ‘You think I look like an angel? Well, Kitten, your hands are my heaven and your eyes are my home.'”
― Jeaniene Frost, This Side of the Grave

“If I die, I will wait for you, do you understand? No matter how long. I will watch from beyond to make sure you live every year you have to its fullest, and then we’ll have so much to talk about when I see you again… ”
― Jeaniene Frost

“You’re not going to let her do this, are you?” Bones snorted. “Let her? Mate, if you think you can control a woman, you must be single—-and a thousand pounds says she beats your arse.”
― Jeaniene Frost, This Side of the Grave

“Now I am short on some props, and there isn’t nearly enough time in one night to run through all the ways I’ve fantasized about taking you, but I promise you this…” His voice deepened, “You’ll be scandalized in the morning when you can think again.”
― Jeaniene Frost, One Foot in the Grave

“He f**ks even better than he looks”, I settled on saying. Several heads turned. I didn’t care; I was pissed. “And that beautiful face is going to be clamped between my legs as soon as we get home, don’t you worry.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Destined for an Early Grave

“Kitten, you need to make a decision. Either we stay here and behave or we leave now and I promise you”—his voice dipped lower and the words fell against my lips—“if we leave, I won’t behave.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Halfway to the Grave

“And there is my payment the rubies in your cheeks. Are you properly scandalized by your wicked behavior? If you were Catholic, you’d singe the ears of the priest you confessed to. Do you remember making me swear to repeat all those naughty actions agian, no matter what you said this morning?”
Now that he brought it up, I did recall saying that. Great Betrayed by my own immorality.
“God, Bones…some of that was depraved.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He closed the distance between us.”I love you. Don’t be ashamed of anything we did, even if your prudery is on life support.”
― Jeaniene Frost, One Foot in the Grave

“Much slower, I turned around to see Vlad examining his fingernails, as if his hands weren’t still ablaze in the flames that had blasted the ghoul’s head off moments before.
‘what the hell was that?’ I gasped.
‘Premature inflammation,’ He replied. ‘Happens sometimes. Very embarrassing, I don’t like to talk about it.’ ”
― Jeaniene Frost, This Side of the Grave

“Ask me if I sparkle and I’ll kill you where you stand,” Bones cut him off with utmost seriousness.”
― Jeaniene Frost, This Side of the Grave

“No matter what happens, you will never lose me, I am forever yours, Kitten, in this life or the next.”
― Jeaniene Frost, This Side of the Grave

“I wanted you to watch, so I stomped around the room to wake you before I got in the shower. Didn’t you wonder why the light was on? It wasn’t for me, I can see in the dark. And then I kept the water cold so the glass wouldn’t fog.”
― Jeaniene Frost, First Drop of Crimson

“No, I’m too tired to run, and you’re too fast. You’d only catch me.” “That’s right, luv.” Softly, but with unyielding resonance. “if you run from me, I’ll chase you. And I’ll find you.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Halfway to the Grave

READING ORDERS

Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost (Cat and Bones):

✦Series Links: Amazon http://amzn.to/1xl8Q9H | B&N http://bit.ly/1xImpjX | Kobo http://bit.ly/1CG9NBj

HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE 

ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE 

AT GRAVE’S END  

DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE 

THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE 

ONE GRAVE AT A TIME

UP FROM THE GRAVE

Night Huntress World novels (Stand-alones set in the Night Huntress universe):

✦FIRST DROP OF CRIMSON ➢ http://amzn.to/1xndjP5
✦ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS ➢ http://amzn.to/1FOaEQ0

✦NIGHT PRINCE SERIES BY JEANIENE FROST✦
✦Book 1: Once Burned ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1LC9mw1 | B&N http://bit.ly/1Fp1smM | Kobo http://bit.ly/1DyGsVQ
✦Book 2: Twice Tempted ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1BAodjo | B&N http://bit.ly/1DmF9Mz | Kobo http://bit.ly/1xGlTWU
✦Book 3: Bound by Flames (January 27, 2015) ➢ Kindle http://amzn.to/1BAmb2P | Amazon PBK http://amzn.to/1BAlQx0 | B&N http://bit.ly/1xGjyez | Kobo http://bit.ly/1w1hOYf 

 

READING ORDER of all novels, novellas, and short stories in the Night Huntress Universe:

✦Series Links: Amazon http://amzn.to/1Hgz06r | B&N http://bit.ly/1HeSOnx | Kobo http://bit.ly/19bbfhk | iBooks http://apple.co/1HeTKrQ

(I suggest reading them in this order rather than going by series. They all go together)

 

Pre-Release Blitz: Holding Strong by Lori Foster

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Check out this upcoming release from Lori Foster! /Cori 

SYNOPSIS

Book 2_Holding Strong by Lori Foster_cover

An up-and-coming MMA fighter wants more than just one night from a woman fleeing her past in Lori’s irresistible new novel.

Heavyweight fighter Denver Lewis plays real nice, but he doesn’t share. That’s why he’s been avoiding top-notch flirt Cherry Peyton. But a man can only resist those lush curves for so long. Their encounter surpasses all his fantasies, bringing out protective urges that Cherry’s about to need more than she knows…

Denver’s combination of pure muscle and unexpected tenderness has been driving Cherry wild. Yet no sooner does she get what she’s been craving than old troubles show up on her doorstep. And this time, Cherry can’t hide behind a carefree façade. Because the man by her side is one who’ll fight like hell to keep her safe…if only she’ll trust him enough to let him…

PRE-ORDER

“Holding Strong will have you holding your breath while burning fingers quickly turn the pages.”

– Fresh Fiction

“…a fun and sexy read. It has a touch of suspense to it as well to keep the pace of the story going along.”

– It’s a Reading Thing

“The men of Foster’s Ultimate series may be powerful fighters, but they are all heart, and none more so than the hero of this installment. His unwavering support for his feisty, frightened heroine redeems them both in time, but it is their searing chemistry that will hold readers’ attention.”

– RT Book Reviews

“Foster…manages to keep characters evolving throughout the course of a novel, becoming true ‘heroes’ by the time ‘The End’ rolls around.”

– Ripe for Reader

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has
become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author.
Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.
Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.
Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/

DARK-HUNTER SERIES BY SHERRILYN KENYON RE-READS PROGRAM

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Join me on the #KenyonReReads & re-live or discover the best moments of the Dark Hunter series!

► http://t.co/FAwVdUPMg5

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Check out our post about Night Play in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Re-Reads Program. There are some discussion questions and fun stuff about the book. Just go to the link and comment to start talking with other readers about the series. Answer discussion question, add your favorite quote or favorite scene in the book. We are going to give away a copy of any of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s backlist or a pre-order copy of an upcoming release (to be awarded on release day) to a random person who participates and teh comments on this blog post or the Facebook post to tell me they commented on the Night Play Re-Reads post.

✦Join #KenyonReReads Here ► http://t.co/FAwVdUPMg5

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A random participant will be selected to win a Sherrilyn Kenyon book. Winner will be selected 3/27.

★★★TO ENTER GIVEAWAY★★★
1. Participate by commenting on #KenyonReReads “Night Play” Here ► http://t.co/FAwVdUPMg5
2. Tell me you participated by commenting at either of these 2 places:
BLOG post here ►http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-2cQ OR
Facebook post here ► http://on.fb.me/195RveV

PRIZE: Any book in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s backlist or a pre-order copy (EBOOK will be gifted on release day or hardback will be pre-ordered to be delivered on release day)

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OUR FAVORITE QUOTES

“Bride had been the most beautiful woman Vane had ever seen.
She still was.
Her long auburn hair was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head that left curls of it to caress her porcelain face. She wore a long, black dress that flowed around her body as she jerked a vacuum cleaner across the carpet.
Every animal instinct in his body roared to life as he saw her again. The feeling was primal. Demanding.
Needful.
And it wouldn’t listen to reason.
Against his will, he found himself headed toward her. It wasn’t until he had opened the burgundy door that he realized she was crying.
Fierce anger tore through him. It was bad enough that his life sucked, the last thing he wanted was to see someone like her cry.”

*****

“Then why are you being so nice to me?”
He cocked his head as if puzzled by her question. “Do I need a reason?”
“Yes.”
Vane was completely baffled. Humans needed a reason to be nice to each other? No wonder his kind avoided them.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “I didn’t know there were rules for giving gifts or for trying to make someone feel better. You looked so sad as I walked by that I only wanted to make you smile.”

****

“Bride had never taken a step on the wild side. Fear and responsibility had ruled her life from the moment of her birth.
Yet here she sat, holding a complete stranger in her arms. A gorgeous stranger who had been kinder to her than anyone else.
And she wanted to taste him. To know just once what it was like to actually kiss a man who looked like this.”

******

“He growled at her. Bride shifted nervously at the sound that wasn’t quite human.
“Look, Bride,” he said, his voice deep and resonant. “I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t know what I’m doing tonight, okay? I’ve never had a date before and I was told that women liked to be taken out someplace nice to eat. Grace and Amanda said that I should be myself and not try to impress you. So here we are at my favorite restaurant, but if you don’t like it here, we can go someplace else and eat something you want.”

******

“Most of all, I like the fact that you share yourself with me. That I don’t have to prove my strength to you. I don’t have to hurt or be hurt to lie with you.”
There was a note in his voice that told her just how important that was to him.
What an odd thing to say to a woman.”

******

“Fury leaped up to put his paws against her breasts and lick her face.
“Yo, down,” Vane snapped, forcing the wolf back. “There’ll be none of that.”
“I don’t mind,” Bride said charitably.
Fury wagged his tail and smiled wickedly, then tried to look up Bride’s dress.
Vane caught him quickly by the neck. “Stop!” he snarled mentally to Fury. “Or I’ll rip your head off.”
Bride frowned at them. “Don’t you like my wolf?”
“Yeah,” Vane said, patting him roughly on the head. “He’s my new best friend.”
“I’m your only friend, dickhead.”
Vane balled his fist in the wolf’s fur as a warning to him. “You know you have to be firm with wolves. Let them know who the alpha is.”

******

“I’m human,” he said in a tormented tone. “And I’m not.” He dropped his hand to her shoulder. “I never knew softness,” he breathed. “Not until the moment you touched me in your store. My life is violent and dangerous. It’s dark and twisted and no place for someone like you. I have more people wanting me dead than I can count. They will stop at nothing, and you . . .” He ground his teeth before he spoke again. “You’ll never want again for anything in your life. I swear it on what little bit of human soul I have left.”

*****

“Since when am I family?”
“Since the minute we were born and since the second you came to me to warn me about Stefan.” Vane held his hand out to him. “I don’t need an oath to be bound to you, little brother. We’re family.”
Fury hesitated, then placed his hand in Vane’s. Vane pulled him forward and hugged him.
Bride’s throat tightened at the look of pain on Fury’s face. It was obvious he had never expected Vane’s reaction or his acceptance.
“I won’t betray you, Fury,” Vane said. “Ever. And if Fang ever comes out, he won’t either.”
Fury stepped back and nodded.”

****

“He knelt on the floor before her, took her hand in his and kissed her palm. Oh, he was so tender with her. So kind. She curled her fingers against his warm, whiskered cheek.
How could she leave a man like this?”
He’s not human.”

****

“A man decked out in black leather and chains with long red and black hair and a dagger earring in his left ear definitely didn’t look like someone who should relish caring for an infant. And yet there he sat in the frilly pink room peacefully cradling the baby. Ash ought to look completely out of place and yet he seemed at home here.”

*****

“Do you believe in eternal love, Vane?”
He nodded. “When you live for hundreds of years, you see all kinds of things.”
“How does someone know the difference between that and infatuation?”
He sat up between her legs, then pulled her into his lap to cuddle. “I don’t think there is a difference. I think infatuation is like a garden. If tended and cared for, it grows into love. If neglected or abused it dies. The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it’s like to live without it.”

*****

“I guess if I have to choose between a human and an animal, I’m going with the animal. So be warned, Bryani. If you ever threaten Vane or his brothers again, I’m going to show you just how human I am. I will don my camouflage, hunt you down, and skin you while you scream. Do you understand me?”

*****

 

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✿DARK-HUNTER SERIES BY SHERRILYN KENYON✿

Click to access 1-1-smallreadinglist.pdf

✦SERIES BUY LINKS: Amazon http://amzn.to/1yT4U0B | B&N http://bit.ly/1zi9Jj1 | Kobo http://bit.ly/1v81buL

1. FANTASY LOVER ~ http://amzn.to/16ISJHM
2. DRAGONSWAN – Found inside the Other Worlds http://amzn.to/16ujtjq
3. NIGHT PLEASURES ~ http://amzn.to/12BAjbk
4. NIGHT EMBRACE ~ http://amzn.to/14vkpk7
5. PHANTOM LOVER ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
6. A DARK-HUNTER CHRISTMAS ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
7. DANCE WITH THE DEVIL ~ http://amzn.to/1fc574U
8. KISS OF THE NIGHT ~ http://amzn.to/12BCED0
9. NIGHT PLAY ~ http://amzn.to/15a2H80
10. WINTERBORN ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
11. SEIZE THE NIGHT ~ http://amzn.to/1dG0fHb
12. SINS OF THE NIGHT ~ http://amzn.to/1dfrJ7U
13. UNLEASH THE NIGHT ~ http://amzn.to/159TLso
14. DARK SIDE OF THE MOON ~ http://amzn.to/17W2u4B
15. A HARD DAY’S NIGHT SEARCHER ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
16. UNTIL DEATH DO WE PART ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
17. THE DREAM HUNTER ~ http://amzn.to/1c6QVug
18. FEAR THE DARKNESS ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
19. DEVIL MAY CRY ~ http://amzn.to/16IW0XJ
20. UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR ~ http://amzn.to/1dfsCxx
21. DREAM CHASER ~ http://amzn.to/14vlYhR
22. ACHERON ~ http://amzn.to/12BCeN5
23. WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
24. SHADOW OF THE MOON ~ available in the Dark Bites compendium. http://georiot.co/2DiU
25. ONE SILENT NIGHT ~ http://amzn.to/19T3ADG
26. DREAM WARRIOR ~ http://amzn.to/1c6S4C0
27. BAD MOON RISING ~ http://amzn.to/1dG1Qg8
28. NO MERCY ~ http://amzn.to/17VZHs9
29. RETRIBUTION ~ http://amzn.to/14vgQtZ
30. THE GUARDIAN ~ http://amzn.to/1dFZ1M5
31. TIME UNTIME ~ http://amzn.to/141dgUU
32. STYXX by Sherrilyn Kenyon ~ http://amzn.to/1d3CtWU
33. DARK BITES ~ http://georiot.co/2DiU
34. SON OF NO ONE ~ http://georiot.co/3Ha
35. DRAGONBANE ~ http://amzn.to/1H8NVNF

***************

THERE IS ALSO AN EBOOK BOX SET
✦The Dark-Hunters (The Collection Thus Far) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Kindle http://georiot.co/32o1
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1k9WZVQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/1hU6FlE

✦Check out our favorite Sherrilyn Kenyon Quotes: http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-iI

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✦You can also check out an interview we did with Kenyon http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-1n4

INTERVIEW (originally posted June 20, 2014) posted with our “Born of Fury” review. It includes some info about “Son of No One.”

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ABOUT SHERRILYN KENYON

The #1 New York Times bestselling author, Sherrilyn Kenyon, who is proud of her mixed Cherokee heritage, lives a life of extraordinary danger… as does any woman with three sons, a husband, a menagerie of pets and a collection of swords that all of the above have a major fixation with. But when not running interference (or dashing off to the emergency room), she’s found chained to her computer where she likes to play with all her imaginary friends. With more than twenty-five million copies of her books in print, in over one hundred countries, she certainly has a lot of friends to play with too.

In the last few years, she has placed more than 65 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga. This extraordinary bestseller continues to top every genre she writes. Her current series include: The Dark-Hunters, The League, and Chronicles of Nick.

Her Lords of Avalon novels have been adapted by Marvel, her Dark-Hunter novels are a New York Times bestselling manga published by St. Martins. and the Chronicles of Nick manga are published by Yen Press. Chronicles and Nick and Dark-Hunter are soon to be a major motion picture and the Dark-Hunters are currently being developed as a television series.

Join her and her Menyons online at SherrilynKenyon.com and http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSherrilynKenyon

Feature & Excerpt: The Warlord’s Wife (Sons of the North #1) by Sandra Lake 

The Warlord’s Wife (Sons of the North #1) by Sandra Lake

March 17, 2015
Genre: Historical Romance

SYNOPSIS


A stunning historical romance from debut author Sandra Lake transports readers to 12th century Sweden, where a powerful Viking lord will discover a fierce heart cannot be taken by mere force.

Lida was married to the love of her life for just two months when she became a widow. Pregnant and disowned by her late husband’s family for suspected infidelity, she was forced to return to her family in shame. Eight years later, uninterested in the prospect of finding another husband, she finds herself the unwilling object of a marriage contract with a powerful warlord. In a day, she is wed, bed, and put on a ship headed for Tronscar; an unknown icy stone and steel fortress.

Jarl Magnus is pleased to have taken a strong wife who, however stubborn she may be, will surely produce sons. However, he is less pleased with his wife’s additional baggage—a young daughter. But despite himself, Magnus falls for the daughter just as hard as the mother, and Lida’s heart is warmed to see the cold, serious Jarl move surprisingly fast into the role of stepfather.

When enemies attack Tronscar, Jarl Magnus’s nerves of steel waver, as the warrior fears his love for Lida will weaken him. But when his family is threatened, he’ll go to war to protect them, discovering along the way that they have the strength to protect themselves.

EXCERPT

 

Lida surveyed her lavish confine. Rare furs lay across the velvet canopy bed, a stack of plush white linen pillows at the head. Braziers and scented oil lamps flooded the chamber with sweet-smelling spice and soft golden light.
Heaven help her. She was alone, awaiting an unknown fate in a warlord’s private chamber.
How had she even gotten here? The day had passed in a rapid blur of disjointed events. Nothing felt real.
Closing her eyes, dread washed over her. Lying with Urho before they wed, blinded by her love, had never felt wrong. Lawfully wed to the cold jarl, by the bishop no less, she felt soiled. She had no affection for the jarl, no feeling for him, no knowledge of this stranger she had meet only this morn. Husband or naught, she was selling her womb to him for a name for her daughter and a farm. Is that not the description of a whore, placing a price on carnal acts?
She drew in a deep breath. It mattered not what happened to her now.
Fragrant rose petals, surely acquired from a distant shore, floated on the surface of the bath. She ran her fingers through the warm, inviting water. She did not fear the act of mating. At times, coupling with her husband had been splendid.
Lida did not expect any of the same sensations with the jarl. He was a barbaric northern warrior with one intention for her, and it was not passion or love. She knew what must be done and how to do it, yet she lacked one key ingredient: desire.
He would deposit his seed in her—it was naught but farming, and she was the field, he the farmer. Her head dropped forward, and she shivered.
She stripped off her clothing, climbed into the steaming water and closed her eyes.
Lida had never allowed herself to dream of more children. The good men in Turku had no interest in taking on the burden of another man’s child, not when so many maidens were available to start fresh.
She slid her hand down the flat planes of her stomach. Another babe? Katia loved her infant cousins, treating them almost as dolls. She would be a most attentive sister. Lida smiled, envisioning her sweet girl protectively holding her cousin in her little tight grip.
Magnus stood at the doorway, silently inspecting his bride reclined in his bath. The small lines of her forehead were erased with the steaming water. She was . . . flawless. Her body was ideally curved, soft and feminine.
By Thor’s toes, this one might be a mistake. He should have searched longer. Her feminine powers had the ability to lead him to more trouble than she was worth. Vixens should be stirring. Wives should be serviceable, nothing more. He had been distracted with winning his argument, with taking what she said he could not have. Now that he had her, he questioned if he had picked correctly.
As he idly disrobed while he gazed upon her nakedness, his male member thickened. Her jewel-toned eyes flashed open. Bath water splashed on the floor as his skittish bride sat up and covered herself, clutching her knees into her chest. He stepped one foot into the water and she flew up, preparing to leap out.
“You will remain.”
“I would prefer not,” she replied softly. “I am finished—”
“Sit, my errant bride.” His wife would require a considerable amount of training.
“There is not room for two. I am sure you will be more—”
“Sit.” He captured her hand, tugging her down into the warm water.
She reclaimed a corner of his oval travel tub, which in fact he had designed for two. He stretched his legs out and was amused to see her stiffen as he tucked his feet under her soft rump. She no longer had the mettle to hold his stare.
Wiggling his toes to toy with her, he said, “Why bother with this virginal display? We both understand that producing a child requires that you have experience with a naked male. After seeing one, is it not all the same?” His bride snapped her eyes back up. He grinned with his small victory.
No, ’tis not the same at all! Lida wanted to shout at him, but bit her tongue hard instead. This massive warrior in front of her looked nothing like Urho. Her husband had been but a boy compared to this man. The jarl had a chest the size of a mighty bear. His arms were longer, thicker, and harder, and he had the belly of a Roman shield. He was not slim and nimble as her husband had been. In contrast, the jarl was pure brawn, no doubt molded from his cursed Norrland steel. Muscular limbs wrapped in bronzed skin were covered with soft golden hair.
Embarrassed and determined to be done with it, Lida emboldened her heart. “May I await upon you in your”—she swallowed hard—“bed, Jarl Magnus?”

 


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Sandra Lake was raised in rural Canada and married her childhood sweetheart (who, like the heroes of her novels, is blond and on occasion shirtless). They are currently living happily-ever-after along with their musical sons and unruly husky.

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Cover Reveal/ New Series: BLOOD KISS: The Black Dagger Legacy Series by J.R. Ward

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BLOOD KISS

The Black Dagger Legacy Series

by J.R. Ward

 

Releasing December 1, 2015

 

PRE-ORDER

Kindle $5.99: http://amzn.to/1BlQjuG
Amazon PBK $7.19: http://amzn.to/1NXGNbe
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SYNOPSIS

Release date: December 1, 2015 | Series: Black Dagger Legacy (Book 1)

The legacy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues in a spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author…

Paradise, blooded daughter of the king’s First Advisor, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female. Her strategy? Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood’s training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself…be herself. It’s a good plan, until everything goes wrong. The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it’s very clear that the Brother in charge, Butch O’Neal, a.k.a. the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.

And that’s before she falls in love with a fellow classmate. Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her, but everything she could ask for in a male. As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program, and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated–and left wondering whether she’s strong enough to claim her own power…on the field, and off.

Goodreads Message: http://bit.ly/1CdXeqK

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Message from J.R. Ward on Goodreads

“I miss the Brothers.

The original ones. We’re talkin’ the ones who started it all.

Z.

V.

Butch.

Rhage.

Wrath.

Tohr.

Phury.

Rehv.

Etc.

I miss that scene, in DARK LOVER, when Fritz kindly asks the Brothers, if they’re going to bloody the human, please take him outside.

I miss Sox hats and grey Goose, Tums and Tootsie Rolls, Biggie Smalls in the Escalade, and Wrath putting a dagger into the wall next to Hollywood’s head.

As much as I LOVE the BDB series where it is now, and as much as I’m psyched to keep writing it and will continue to do so, I miss the good ol’ days.

The issue is that the nature of a series is that it must continue to grow, and change, or it dies. The Black Dagger Brotherhood books started off with the original Brothers, but after their meet-and-greets with their shellans were told, by definition, they had to background it in subsequent books: With a world as big as the BDB one, you have to train your “camera lens” in a controlled manner, or you run the risk of a given story bleeding out for too much extraneous stuff.

(Something I’ve been tagged with doing from time to time, and it’s certainly a fair point.)

So when my boss (my editor) and I were chewing on things last spring, I told her… hey, I got this idea.

I have a lot of ideas. She’s used to this.

I described to her a new series, where the BDB training center is reopened to a new cast of recruits, and THE ORIGINAL BROTHERS teach these FNUGs wassup. In the process of the new recruits falling in love and getting into a sh*t ton of trouble, THE ORIGINAL BROTHERS could be shown with their shellans, their Brothers, their people in the mansion, in a more prominent way than I’m able to do in the BDB books.

Paperback, yo. Not hardcover. Traditional PNR, just like DARK LOVER was in the old days.

Sex. Lot of sex.

As in, you might need your BBQ tongs. Maybe a flame retardant suit.

Maybe a fire truck on standby out in your front yard.

My boss, who’s brilliant, was like, wow, that really doesn’t suck. (Okay, that’s paraphrasing.)

So… we have the first of the Black Dagger Legacy books, BLOOD KISS, coming out this December.

Now, let me say this: the ORIGINAL BROTHERS are still going to show up in the BDB books. Hell, yeah! And from time to time, a BDB book is going to be about them and their mate if there’s a big thing going on in their lives (think THE KING.) I am NOT taking a step away from the Brothers at all- if anything, I’m bringing them further to the forefront with the Black Dagger Legacy books.

But I miss my boys 😦 I want to show you where they’re at. I want to take you back to them- in their new roles as… well, role models and teachers.

Before you ask, yes, they will still be colossal a&&holes- I mean, let’s be clear. Things haven’t changed THAT much. (As an aside, Doc Jess and I were talking the other day, and she was like, I’m so impressed with your ability to be offensive with your heroes. LOLOLOLOL)

This is not to say that the Black Dagger Legacy books will solely be about the Brothers, however. The book will have a lot of the Brothers in them, but the Legacy books will feature a main romance between a couple, and the Brothers will help that along.

eHarmony the BDB way.

Jeez, I gotta be insane for signing up for this. Can you imagine V offering dating advice? “Well, sh*t, just get her some black candles and dog collar, true? Then order her to pop up her ***** **** * * ******* * * * ************** At that point, you’re going to want to inform her, that you’ll tell her when she can beg.”

Great. Really looking forward to this.

*sigh*

Anywho, the first Brother who’s up?

A certain cop. From Boston. Who’s going to have his hands full with the new recruits- two of whom you’ll meet in THE SHADOWS.

A cover reveal is coming soon- but I couldn’t sit on BLOOD KISS any longer!!!!

Gahd, I suck at keeping secrets. But come on now, don’t lie. You’ve missed those leathers, those sh*tkickers… that golf cart… the Pit.

V nakey in the shower.

Don’t lie.

I know I have!

Happy Reading, and thank you for all your support, J.R. “

******

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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J.R. Ward is the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series of vampire books. She is a winner of the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA award for Best Paranormal Romance and is a multiple RITA nominee. A graduate of Smith College, she was a double major in History and Art History with a medieval concentration in both and she still longs at times for a return to those days sitting in dark lecture halls, looking at slides of old triptychs and reliquaries. Prior to becoming a full time writer, she was a corporate attorney, serving for many years as the Chief of Staff of one of Harvard Medical Schools premier teaching sites. Her idea of absolute heaven is a day filled with nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot and the Brothers, of course.

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Feature, Excerpt & Giveaway: Girl Before a Mirror: A Novel by Liza Palmer

Girl Before a Mirror: A Novel by Liza Palmer

Release Date: January 27, 2015



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SYNOPSIS


The author of Conversations with a Fat Girl—optioned for HBO—returns with the hilarious and heartfelt story of a woman who must learn how to be the heroine of her own life—a journey that will teach her priceless lessons about love, friendship, family, work, and her own heart.

An account executive in a Mad Men world, Anna Wyatt is at a crossroads. Recently divorced, she’s done a lot of emotional housecleaning, including a self-imposed dating sabbatical. But now that she’s turned forty, she’s struggling to figure out what her life needs. Brainstorming to win over an important new client, she discovers a self-help book—Be the Heroine, Find Your Hero—that offers her unexpected insights and leads her to a most unlikely place: a romance writers’ conference. If she can sign the Romance Cover Model of the Year Pageant winner for her campaign—and meet the author who has inspired her to take control of her life—she’ll win the account.

For Anna, taking control means taking chances, including getting to know Sasha, her pretty young colleague on the project, and indulging in a steamy elevator ride with Lincoln Mallory, a dashing financial consultant she meets in the hotel. When the conference ends, Anna and Lincoln must decide if their intense connection is strong enough to survive outside the romantic fantasy they’ve created. Yet Lincoln is only one of Anna’s dilemmas. Now that her campaign is off the ground, others in the office want to steal her success, and her alcoholic brother, Ferdie, is spiraling out of control.

To have the life she wants—to be happy without guilt, to be accepted for herself, to love and to be loved, to just be—she has to put herself first, accept her imperfections, embrace her passions, and finally be the heroine of her own story.




EXCERPT


“I don’t understand what Bruce Springsteen has to do with why you haven’t been on a date in over a year,” Hannah says.
“You haven’t heard the ‘Thunder Road’ story?” Michael laughs.
“Everybody has a ‘Thunder Road’ story,” I say, smiling at the approaching waiter as the single candle flickers in the scoop of very pink gelato. My friends sing me “Happy Birthday” and I can’t help but smile. They’re off-key and terrible.
“Make a wish!” Allison says.
A moment. I close my eyes and breathe in.
You can wish for anything, Anna. You’re forty now. Forty. My mind riffles through the wishes I have for this next year as if they’re in a virtual photo album: me atop mountains, the breeze blowing my hair back. The pages flip and now we’re in Paris, meandering through a farmer’s market. Flip. Drinking a pint of Guinness overlooking all of Dublin. Flip. A red gingham tablecloth, a picnic, and the Jefferson Memorial. The flips are growing more manic. A gray-shingled cottage in a small beach town along the California coast. Flip. Fresh, lavendery linens, a perfect Sunday morning with nowhere to go, and a muscular chest beneath my cheek. Flip. I’m dressed to the nines and ac- cepting the Clio. Flip. I’m lying on the grass and covered in squirming golden retriever puppies.
I open my eyes. Everyone is staring at me. Concerned.
“It’s just a wish, not an exorcism,” Ferdie says, taking a swig of his beer. My mind goes blank and I blow out the candle. I’m forty years old and I have no idea what to wish for.
My friends clap as I pull the candle from the gelato and lick the end. Raspberry. The other desserts arrive and we all dig in.
“So, the ‘Thunder Road’ story,” Allison asks, pulling the chocolate monstrosity she and Michael ordered closer to her.
“I went out to dinner with this guy who worked in my building. He seemed nice enough.”
“Seemed being the operative word,” Nathan adds.
“Never a good sign,” Hannah says, taking Nathan’s hand in hers. He makes no attempt to hold Hannah’s hand back. She smiles and picks up her fork, digging into her tiramisu. We all let her think we didn’t see. We’ve been not seeing Nathan’s annoyance at Hannah for years now.
“Dinner is fine. Not terrible. Worthy of a second date, anyway, and as we’re driving home, ‘Thunder Road’ comes on the radio,” I say, stopping to take a bite of my gelato.
“That’s such a great song,” Ferdie says.
“Somehow I don’t think that’s where the story is headed,”
Hannah says, laughing. Nathan rolls his eyes.
“I just wanted to put it out there. It’s not the song’s fault,” Ferdie says.
“Always the protective brother,” Hannah says.
“He’s being protective of the song, not me. So,” I say, nudging Ferdie. “So this guy starts singing along—not really knowing the words, but enough. Enough for me to think better of him, you know?”
“Knowing the lyrics to ‘Thunder Road’ is a definite plus on a first date,” Michael adds.
“Right? And it was one of those beautiful D.C. nights right before the summer turns evil and there we are: windows down and singing along with The Boss. Then we get to that part—” Allison pulls her cardigan over her face, attempting to shield herself from what’s coming next. Michael barks out a laugh and she continues to cringe as if both I and the story I’m telling are some kind of horror film. “We get to that part, ‘you ain’t a beauty, but hey you’re alright.'” The table gasps in unison. I continue, “And the bastard motions to me.” I raise my eyebrows and hold my hand aloft. “You ain’t a beauty, but hey you’re alright.” And then I just sit back and nod.
“Your wedding vows are writing themselves,” Michael says, cracking both of us up.
“No. That . . . that didn’t happen,” Hannah says.
“Oh, yes it did,” I say, taking another bite of my gelato. “And he just . . . he just kept singing?” Hannah asks.
“Like nothing had happened. Like he was just hilariously
acting out the song,” I say.
“No no no no no,” Hannah says, picking up her wineglass.
“And it was right then—and you know I don’t care about
looks, but I sure as hell know that the person you’re dating should think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” I say. I catch Michael gazing at Allison as she finishes off their chocolate cake. Hannah and Nathan can’t make eye contact.
Ferdie gives me that sheepish grin of his. I know he hates this story, but telling it helps. “I needed a break. Ever since the divorce, I’d been way too focused on moving on with the wrong kind of men. But in that moment, I knew enough to know I was nowhere near ready for the right one.”
“So you put yourself—”
I interrupt Hannah. “On a Time-Out, yes.” “Since when?” she asks.
“It was just before summer last year, so—”
“A year? You’ve been doing this for over a year?” she asks. “I needed to take some inventory,” I say.
“You needed a training montage. We get it,” Michael says. “A training montage?” I ask, laughing.
“Yeah, you needed to run through North and South Philly
while being thrown oranges and then hit sides of beef,” Michael says absently. We all just look at him. He finally notices our expressions. “Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.”
“Oh, we know,” Ferdie says. “Oh, we got it,” I say.
“Thank God, I thought I had to get a new group of friends there for a minute. Who doesn’t know about Rocky?” Michael asks.
“The question is: Are you at the Philadelphia Museum of Art yet?” Allison asks, clearly more used to Michael’s Rocky analogy than the rest of us.
“That’s the only question?” I ask. She laughs.
“No, I get it. Are you ready for the fight? Ready to step into
the ring?” Michael asks.
“I think you’re taking this whole Rocky thing a bit too far,” I say.
“I mean, I don’t think Rocky analogies can ever be taken too far, but that’s just me,” he says. I laugh.
“Kids have a way of making personal inventory-taking impossible. Sadly, no training montages for us,” Hannah pipes up.
“Unless this is a training montage containing a series of clips where I try to figure out where all our money and sleep went,” Nathan says.
“Sense of self, cleanliness, how many elastic-waist pants you now own . . . ,” Allison adds.
“Chronicling all the neuroses you’ve clearly passed on to them as you watch them interact with other kids,” Michael says.
Everyone laughs, happy to move on. Hannah’s eyes dart to her wineglass, her finished dessert, and Nathan now looking at his phone under the table. She looks back up at me and I smile. Allison excuses herself to the bathroom and Hannah joins her. I take this opportunity to check the time. Ten p.m.
“You got somewhere to be?” Ferdie asks, eyeing me. “I have a plan,” I say.
“You’re Marpling someone, aren’t you,” he says. “What?” I ask innocently.
“Without question,” he says.
I ignore him. And I totally am.
It was in my second year at the local community college that I came up with my Marple Theory.
The Anna Wyatt Marple Theory is named after Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple, the elderly lady detective who brought countless criminals to justice. Miss Marple was effective because everyone underestimated her and no one ever noticed her observing, chronicling . . . working. No one ever noticed her at all. Ergo, the Anna Wyatt Marple Theory was born: If people don’t perceive you as a threat, how will they see you coming? They won’t.
A text from Audrey. It’s an address on K Street. From where we are in Adams Morgan, it won’t take me long at all to get over there.
“Your boss is texting you at ten p.m. on a Sunday?” Ferdie asks, craning over to see my phone.
“Nosy,” I say, tucking my phone back into my purse.
“Marple away, birthday girl, Marple away,” he says, finishing his beer.
I smile at Ferdie and let him chastise me. Thing is, my birth- day dinner was lovely. There were flowers delivered to my apart- ment this morning from Michael and Allison, and I had a lovely lunch with a couple of people from work. While I don’t regret or second-guess my decision to go on a dating sabbatical for the last year, I do welcome the prospect of not having to go home to an empty house just yet. Michael’s words come roaring back. Am I ready to step into the ring yet? Guess that’s a resounding no. I check back in just as Nathan is settling the bill, much to everyone’s chagrin.
“It’s on me. I insist,” he says, sending the waiter away. Hannah beams. We are all unfailingly polite and thank Nathan for his generosity. We always do. That’s the deal: he buys dinners and we act like he wasn’t a complete jerk the whole time.
“We’d better get going. The babysitter is going to think we finally made a run for it,” Michael says. Allison nods. We gather our belongings, make our way out of the restaurant, and say our goodbyes.
“Happy birthday, Anna,” Nathan says. I situate my purse over my shoulder, hold on to my phone with the address to where I’m going, and try to stabilize the beautiful handmade mug Allison made me inside the very elaborate pink gift bag it came in.
“Oh, thank you,” I say, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm. He smiles and softens for the slightest of moments, his salt-and-pepper hair ruffling in the summer wind. He says his goodbyes to everyone and walks over to his waiting car, beeping it unlocked. Hannah’s smile falters as he strides away. Michael and Allison remind me that our book club is reading Hamlet and that they’re making Danish meatballs for our gathering.
“Don’t you mean—”
“We mean Danish meatballs. They’re Danish,” Michael says as he hails a cab.
“Even though they may very closely resemble Swedish meat- balls,” Allison adds.
“Let’s just say there will be plenty of dill and discussions about what exactly happened in that closet between Gertrude and Hamlet,” Michael says, arm held high into the night sky.
“I thought we were reading Twelfth Night,” Ferdie says, scrolling through his phone.
“Nope, that’s next,” Allison says. “Next?” Hannah asks.
“We’re reading Shakespeare in order,” I say. “Nerds.” Hannah laughs.
“Proudly,” Michael says, as a cab slows in front of him. He opens the door and signals to Allison.
“Happy birthday, my darling,” she says, giving me a huge hug. “Thank you,” I say, letting her warmth surround me. One last smile and she walks over to the cab and climbs in. Once she’s in, Michael walks back over to me.
“Happy birthday,” he says, towering over me one minute, then engulfing me in a hug the next. He bends down just enough to whisper “and the rest is silence” in my ear. I can’t help but laugh. A quick squeeze and he’s climbing into the cab with Al- lison. They wave and speed off.
“I’m sorry about . . . ,” Hannah says, gesturing over to Nathan waiting in the car. Ferdie walks a few steps away to where his bike is chained to a parking meter.
“Oh, honey, don’t worry about it. Birthday dinners for your
wife’s friends are a scourge to couples everywhere,” I say.
“I keep thinking it’s a phase, you know?” she says, in a shocking moment of honesty. One I will ask her about later and she will “forget” ever happened. “How did you .  .  . how did you know it was over with Patrick?” I decide to answer with the truth.
“We were driving home from somewhere and having one of our fights—the same fight, really. Right?” Hannah nods and allows a small smile. “Always the same fight. And then this calm passed over me. Completely out of place. I remember it so viv- idly. Like I could breathe again. And then this germ of an idea:
I could get out. It shouldn’t be this hard.”
“Marriage is hard.”
“But not all the time.” Hannah pulls a tissue from her purse
and dabs at her eyes. “I’d forgotten what being happy felt like.
Happy with him, anyway. I filed for divorce a week later.”
“Happy. God, we were so happy,” Hannah says.
“I know.”
“I was much thinner back then!” Hannah laughs.
“Honey, you’re beautiful. Stop with that,” I say, watching as Hannah pulls at her clothes, trying to smooth out her growing curves. Curves made from trying to comfort herself in a loveless marriage.
“If I could just lose a little weight, you know? Maybe we
could—”
“Hannah—”
“Leave it to me to be the crying girl at your birthday,”
Hannah says, looking back at Nathan. She gives him the “just a sec” sign and he nods. God, they were so in love. They were the couple you hated because they could never keep their hands off each other. They were scandalous and hot and he was all she thought about and vice versa. Now they can’t even look at each other.
“You going to be okay?” I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yes. Of course I am. Now. Enough of my histrionics, it’s your birthday,” Hannah says, giving me a big hug. She was always such a good hugger. “Happy birthday,” she whispers in my ear.
“Thank you,” I say as we pull apart.
“Don’t work too much tonight.”
“I won’t.” Hannah reaches out and squeezes my hand. “Call if you need anything,” I say.
“I will. Ferdinand Wyatt, come over here and give me a hug.” Ferdie walks over and lets Hannah lunge into him with a hug, idly patting her back with his mitt of a hand. She busts him about getting a real job and walks off to the car.
Tonight’s festivities, while lovely in every way, still feel a bit off. In transition. There’s been a lot of that “in transition” feeling over the past year. On top of the dating hiatus, my training montage has also been about cleaning house of all the friends in my life whom I’ve outgrown or who just weren’t working anymore. And while that may be empowering in the abstract and feel impressive as I wax rhapsodic about it to my therapist, the truth of it—the daily reality of it—is much quieter. The lack of white noise in my life has been a bit harder to get used to than I thought it would be. Having people around that caused drama was, I’m finding, quite the hobby of mine. Now that it’s gone? It’s just me. In my apartment. Feeling evolved and valiant as I smugly troll the various social media of ex-friends who look like they’re having way more fun than I am.
I haven’t been ready to step into the ring, so for right now it just feels lonely. I watch as Hannah closes the door behind her, pulls the seat belt across her body, and smiles at me. Nathan says something to her and she nods. Then she looks down at her lap, her body utterly deflated. They drive off and all I can do is watch. I’ll be very happy when I don’t have to act as though I like Nathan anymore.
“I have never been around two people who hated each other more,” Ferdie says, pulling his messenger bag over his shoulder and situating the strap across his chest. His wild brown curls are cut into this end-of-summer weird fauxhawk thing that he does. He’ll shave it all off within the week. His tall frame, powerful from a lifetime of hockey, is still settling around a knee injury that left him hopeless as he disappeared into a fog of pot smoke, barroom brawls, and nights in the drunk tank. But tonight he’s cleaned up and clothed in khaki Dickies and a plain white T-shirt. Nine years my junior and quite the surprise to our parents, Ferdie looks like every kid you screamed at to get off your lawn.
“They weren’t always like that,” I say, hailing a cab.
“Well, they’re like that now,” he says. He wheels his bicycle over and wraps the chain around his waist. “So, where are you meeting Audrey?” I pass him my phone and show him the ad- dress. “Here?” he asks.
“Yeah, do you know it?” I ask, waving down a cab.
“Oh, I know it,” Ferdie says, handing me back the phone. “I worked as a bouncer for them a coupla times.” A cab pulls over and I tell him the address through the open window.
“And?” I climb into the back of the cab and settle in.
“It’s The Naughty Kitty,” Ferdie says, climbing onto his bike.
“Wait, what?”
“It’s a strip joint, Anna.”
“I . . . what?”
“Maybe you can make it rain for your fortieth,” he says.
“I don’t even know what that means,” I say, as the cab pulls away from the curb.
“You’re about to find out,” Ferdie yells after me.
As I ride to The Naughty Kitty, I allow myself to get excited. I got the idea several months ago. I’d just finished pitching an ad campaign for this line of bras and panties—or “intimates,” as the client insisted on calling them. They’d been known as the relics your grammy bought you for Christmas. Now, thanks to me, they were going to be the line of bras and panties you—yes,  you, working professional—are thinking about buying for their function as well as form. It’s a huge account and I nailed it. I’ve certainly come a long way from when I first started at Holloway/Greene as a file clerk fifteen years ago.
***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liza Palmer is the internationally bestselling author of Conversations with the Fat Girl.  Conversations with the Fat Girl became an international bestseller its first week in publication, as well as hitting Number 1 on the Fiction Heatseekers List in the UK the week before the book debuted.  Conversations with the Fat Girl has been optioned for series by the producers of Rome, Band of Brothers and Generation Kill.

Palmer’s second novel is Seeing Me Naked, which Publisher’s Weekly says, “consider it haute chick lit; Palmer’s prose is sharp, her characters are solid and her narrative is laced with moments of graceful sentiment.”

Her third novel, A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents, which Entertainment Weekly calls a “splendid novel” and Real Simple says “has heart and humor” was released in January 2010.

More Like Her is Palmer’s fourth novel. The book received a starred review from Library Journal in which they said, “The blend of humor and sadness is realistic and gripping, and watching Frannie figure out who she is and what matters is gratifying.”

After earning two Emmy nominations writing for the first season of VH1’s Pop Up Video, she now knows far too much about Fergie.

Palmer’s fifth novel, Nowhere but Home, is about a failed chef who decides to make last meals for the condemned in Texas. Nowhere but Home received the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction for 2013.

Palmer’s sixth novel, Girl Before a Mirror, is the story of Anna Wyatt, a driven ad exec who must attend the annual RomanceCon to land the Romance Novel Cover of Model of the year for Luxe Shower Gel’s spokesman.

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EXCERPT REVEAL: Silver Bastard (Silver Valley Series) by Joanna Wylde

EXCERPT REVEAL

Silver Bastard by Joanna Wylde

Releasing April 7, 2015



Check out the excerpt below from Silver Bastard, the first book in Joanna Wylde’s new Silver Valley series. Our review is scheduled for next month but I will tell you I loved this book! I loved Puck! Be sure to add to your TBR and/ or pre-order. You are going to want to read this one. /Cori

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SYNOPSIS

First in the new Silver Valley series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reapers Motorcycle Club Novels.

Fourteen months. For fourteen months, Puck Redhouse sat in a cell and kept his mouth shut, protecting the Silver Bastards MC from their enemies. Then he was free and it was time for his reward–full membership in the club, along with a party to celebrate. That’s when he saw Becca Jones for the first time and set everything in motion. Before the night ended he’d violated his parole and stolen her away from everything she knew.

Five years. It was five years ago that Puck destroyed Becca and saved her all in one night. She’s been terrified of him ever since, but she’s even more terrified of the monsters he still protects her from… But Becca refuses to let fear control her. She’s living her life and moving forward, until she gets a phone call from the past she can’t ignore. She has to go back, and there’s only one man she can trust to go with her–the ex-con biker who rescued her once before.

Puck will help her again, but this time it’ll be on his terms. No more lies, no more tears, and no more holding back what he really wants…

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Excerpt from Silver Bastard
By Joanna Wylde
http://www.joannawylde.com

Prologue


California
Five years ago

Puck

Motherfucker that burned.
The shot was a double, and the fact that it’d come cradled between two beautiful, giant tits attached to a stripper with endless legs and a tight ass didn’t hurt one goddamned bit. Tequila hit my stomach, the alcohol shocking my system, and shit finally got real.
Freedom.
Fourteen months since the last time I’d had a decent drink—all but forgotten what it felt like, too. That sweet, harsh pain that comes from losing the surface layer of skin all the way down your throat? Gorgeous. Never felt better in my life, and that’s a fact. Helped that the queen of body shots had sucked me off right after we’d pulled up to the party.
Spent the last year trying to decide what I’d do first when I finally got out. Kept going back and forth between getting laid and getting drunk, but God apparently has a soft spot for assholes because we’d found one hell of a good compromise.
I’d been free nearly four hours now. Still felt like a dream. The California Department of Corrections took its own sweet time with everything, up to and including processing a man out. I’d spent half the wait wondering if the cockwads would change their minds or if the club lawyer had forgotten something. Figured they’d find some way to fuck with my head.
FBI, state cops, even Homeland Security—they all wanted a piece of my club, the Silver Bastards MC, and not a week went by inside that they didn’t try to cut it out of my hide. Guess they figured a prospect made an easy target.
Not fucking likely.
My old man died for the Bastards. If I turned, he’d haunt my ass the rest of my life because that shit does not stand in my family. I’d been born to wear a Bastard cut. And tonight? For the first time I finally had the right to show those colors off.
A hand slapped my shoulder, then a burly man caught me up in a hug so tight it hurt. My fucking ribs creaked.
“That patch feel right on your back, brother?” asked Boonie. He was the president of the Silver Bastards in Callup, Idaho, and I’d heard him call me a hell of a lot of things—but never brother. Felt good. Damned good. Until an hour ago, I’d been a prospect and I’d never gotten any special treatment because of my old man.
That’s how I wanted it.
“Best night of my life,” I admitted. He pulled back, and his face grew serious.
“Proud of you,” he said. “You did what you had to. Protected the club, took care of business. Painter told us how things were inside, how you took his back. You earned this, earned it with your life and your blood. I know you won’t shame this patch, Puck.”
“I won’t,” I replied, his words almost too much. Boonie grinned suddenly, then grabbed my arm and turned me toward the bar again.
“Drink up,” he told me. “Then find yourself some pretty little thing to play with, because tomorrow we’re ridin’ home. Your bike’s in good shape—took care of it for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Another shot, baby?” the stripper asked. She rolled onto her side, reaching out to catch my neck with her hand, pulling me in for a kiss. That brought me a little too close to her face. She was sweaty, and her mascara had started running. Didn’t smell that great, either.
“More shots,” I said, pulling away. I’d appreciated the blow job, no question. But she wasn’t exactly the fantasy I’d been jacking off to the last year and I’d promised myself I wouldn’t settle once I got out. I wanted someone fresh—someone clean and soft and sweet enough to eat. I’d play with her for a while before letting myself go, punching through all that softness until she screamed and begged for mercy.
Mouth, cunt, ass.
That’d been what got me through those long nights wondering why the fuck I’d let myself get caught.
Ignoring the bitch on the bar, I reached across and grabbed the bottle of tequila, chugging nearly a third of it down. Christ, there went the rest of my throat. Then I turned to look out across room. Four of my new Silver Bastard brothers had come down from Callup—Boonie, Miner, Deep, and Demon. Joining them were four Reapers and two Reaper prospects. They were here to welcome Painter, who’d gone down with me on a weapons charge. This sucked, but such is life. We’d been fighting for our clubs, so no regrets there. Through a combination of luck and well-placed payoffs, we’d managed to stick together for the duration of our time served. The clubs provided the funds and the attorneys—to protect them, we matched that investment with our silence.
Painter caught my eye from across the room, grinning. After so much time together I could almost read his thoughts. I gave him a nod, one of those chin jerks that speaks volumes.
Congrats to you, too, asshole.
“You havin’ fun?” a man asked. I looked down to find a painfully skinny, greasy little man missing half his teeth standing next to me. Tweaker called Teeny. His face was just a little too eager, his eyes a little too bright. Unfortunately, Teeny was our host for the night so I had to be nice to him. We were out in the middle of nowhere, tucked back in a canyon where this douche had somehow acquired a house. The Longnecks MC—one of our “allies,” although their loyalty was questionable—had a warehouse set up in a shop right next to this guy’s house.
This Teeny asshole wasn’t even part of the club . . . Apparently his brother Bax was patched in, though, so they used him as a pit stop. Something didn’t quite add up about the situation, but fuck if I cared. In the morning I’d be riding for home. With luck my future association with the state of California in general and Teeny in particular would be extremely limited.
“See anything you like?” he asked. “That’s my old lady, there. “You want her? She’s real good, welcome you home right.”
I shrugged, glancing over toward his woman. She was probably in her midthirties, I decided. Pretty enough, but she had a hard, tired look around her eyes that didn’t appeal. Not only that, she was wiry and skinny as fuck. Probably smoking meth to block out the fact that she had to live with this dickwad.
“No, she’s great but not my type,” I said, casually taking another drink of tequila. Wasn’t burning so much now, which in retrospect should’ve been a sign to slow down. Maybe things would’ve turned out different.
Shitty thing about time—only runs the one direction.
“What’s your type?” he asked. I shrugged. The day I needed some tweaker to find me pussy, I’d cut off my own cock and get it over with. Swallowing another drink, I glanced across the room, pointedly ignoring him.
That’s when I saw her.
Now, I fuckin’ hate clichés, and shit like this only happens in movies . . . but I swear to fuck, I think I fell for her in that instant. She was small, with long brown hair in one of those knot things on top of her head. Not dressed to show off her figure, either. I could still see she had a tiny waist, though, along with generous tits and the kind of round, healthy curves you just know will cradle your hips perfectly when you’re pounding her.
I had to have her.
Like, needed her. Now.
“Good call,” Teeny said. I ignored him, focusing on the angel I had every intention of owning just as soon as I talked her out of her pants. God, she was pretty. Kind of out of place, too. Not flirting with anyone, and not a ton of makeup. Just wandering around, picking up empties, and avoiding conversation. Fascinating.
“I’ll introduce you.”
Teeny walked across the room toward my Dream Fuck. I started after him, because I didn’t want the asshole speaking on my behalf. Then Boonie caught my arm.
“Heads‑up,” he said, his voice pitched low, difficult to hear through the noise of the party. “We think somethin’s going on with that guy. Don’t be afraid to talk him up, okay? Can always use good information.”
I nodded, wondering why the fuck Teeny had to pick me to buddy up with. Tonight was for relaxing, enjoying myself. Just looking at him made me feel dirty, and considering some of the shit I’ve pulled in my life, that’s an accomplishment. Another hand slapped my back, then Painter caught me by the neck, squeezing me as he laughed.
“Never ends,” he said. “Boonie cock-blocking you?”
I punched him in the gut—not hard. Just enough to make him back off.
“No, right now you have that honor,” I muttered, glaring at him. “Christ, we just spent a year together in a fuckin’ cell. Think we’ve covered everything, so let me get laid? Please?”
He answered by punching me back, and I reeled . . . damn, hadn’t realized how drunk I’d gotten. Still, I wasn’t about to go down easy. I swayed, watching him as our brothers started crowding around us. The wild gleam in his eyes—a mixture of almost manic happiness and pent‑up energy—matched my own.
“Take it outside,” Boonie said. “I got fifty on Puck.”
“Hundred on Painter,” Picnic Hayes, the Reapers’ president, answered and then we were bundled outside for the fight.
I couldn’t wait.
We’d sparred before, of course. Nothing but time to kill in the pen, so I knew Painter’s moves like they were my own— and he knew mine, too. We were a good match, could go either way. Neither of us had much in the way of formal training but we’d both picked up a fair amount along the way. Hell, I’d gotten caught in my first bar fight when I was fourteen years old, seeing as my pop wasn’t exactly Father of the Year material. Still loved the old bastard, though.
The sun was fading as we stepped outside, painting the sky in pinks and oranges shot through with smudged clouds. I paused a moment, struck by the incredible beauty all around me, and smiled, breathing deep. So fucking good to be outside again. Nobody knows what it’s like, trapped in a cell like an animal. Nobody but the guys who’ve heard the sound of those gates closing behind them.
Fortunately for me, I wasn’t exactly the first Silver Bastard to do time for the club, which meant my brothers got me. They knew what this was like.
“Okay, we got a circle here,” Pic was saying. I blinked, starting to process the fact that maybe boxing with Painter while I was drunk might not be such a hot idea. Of course, he was drunk, too, and the booze would numb the pain . . . “Fight goes until one of you is down or taps out. Time to make your bets, brothers.”
Boonie caught my arm, pulling me to the side and looking into my face.
“You ready?” he asked. I nodded sharply, because drunk or not, I wasn’t going to pussy out in front of my president on the same day I got my colors. I glanced across the dusty circle to see Painter, who gave me a friendly sneer. Laughing, I flipped him off, then shook my arms out, loosening up.
That’s when I saw her again. Off to the side, standing next to Teeny, who was talking rapidly and pointing to me. I frowned, because I really didn’t need or want that asshole on my side. Knowing my luck, the fucker would send her running. I nudged my brother, Deep, who was standing next to me.
“See that girl?” I asked, jerking my chin toward her. “Make sure Teeny doesn’t scare her off, okay?”
“Sure,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Thanks.”
Painter and I stepped into the circle together, and I felt the thrill of adrenaline cut through the haze of alcohol. My blood started pumping, pounding through me until I could all but taste it. Christ, but I loved to fight. Always seemed to clear my head, and I’d gotten good enough over the years that I won more than I lost. Inside, those skills had saved our asses, and I’d picked up my fair share of pointers from the very man I found myself facing.
Painter moved first, coming in with an experimental jab toward my stomach. This wasn’t a real attack, just him testing my limits. I’d had a lot to drink, which would slow my reflexes. So had he. That changed the baseline, something we both needed to feel out.
“Can’t believe they gave you a top rocker,” he said, taunting me.
I grinned.
“Try harder, old man. I know you too well.”
Painter laughed, then came at me again, suddenly. He punched me square in the stomach and I doubled over. Shit. I fell back and almost stumbled out of the ring, catching myself at the last minute. I heard the shouts of my brothers urging me on.
Oh, hell no.
No fucking way I’d lose a fight tonight. Painter could fuck right off, because he’d had his colors for years. This was my night. I owned this bitch and he’d just have to suck it up and deal.
Still staggering, I lurched forward toward him like I was out of control. Then I attacked, and this time I caught him. One hit, two. Three. Right in the gut. Painter gasped and I moved in for the kill.
Somehow he pulled himself together, catching me across the chin. My entire head rattled as I staggered to the side. I felt blood in my mouth, then found a loose tooth with my tongue.
Asshole.
I thought of the pretty girl I’d just seen, which pissed me off. The anger was good. Cleared my head. Didn’t matter if I won or not, she wouldn’t want to suck face with someone bleeding like a stuck pig. This wasn’t a fight—it was a cock-block.
Time to end it.
Painter waited for me, swaying. I’d gotten him pretty good.
He was definitely favoring his left hand, which was great news because he was left-handed. Lucky me. I was ambidextrous.
I launched myself at him, turning that to my advantage.
He tried to block me but his arm was weak. I landed a blow to his gut followed by one that caught the side of his cheek. Pain seared through my hand, parting the fog of alcohol.
“Dick,” he managed to gasp as I danced back, flexing my fingers. That last one had been bad—if I’d been any more off-center, I’d have a fist full of broken bones.
“You got him,” Boonie shouted. I stretched my hand again. Did I want to risk another head blow? I hadn’t even wrapped my knuckles. . .
Fuck it.
I caught his chin again and Painter went down, falling hard. Blood dribbled from his nose and for long seconds I wondered if I’d actually hurt him for real.
Then he managed to roll onto his stomach, tapping out and flipping me off, all in one gesture.
“Congrats on getting your colors, Puck,” he groaned. “I’ll give you this one. Enjoy it while you can because next time I’m killing you.”
I staggered back, grinning and raising my hands once I realized he wasn’t seriously hurt. It’d been a lucky shot and we both knew it—we were well matched, could’ve gone either way. As I heard my brothers shouting in victory I didn’t care. This was my night. I had my freedom and my patch.
Still needed that girl, though.
I looked around and spotted her standing next to Deep. Teeny stood on the other side of him, looking all sorry for himself. She was hugging herself with both arms, obviously nervous, and I felt my smile fade. Shit. I hadn’t wanted her scared. I shook my head, wishing things weren’t moving so fast. Waving off the men crowding around me, I headed toward her, half expecting her to run off.
She didn’t, though.
As I came to a stop in front of her, she gave me a wavering smile, then spoke. “Can I help you find another drink?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I took her arm and pulled her into my side, exchanging a satisfied look with Deep.
“Let me know if you need anything!” Teeny yelled after us, and
I felt the girl shudder.
“Christ, but he’s a nasty little shit, isn’t he?” I asked her conversationally, and she gave a startled snort of laughter. I liked the sound. Sweet and sort of innocent. Made my dick happy, that was for sure. Still, I didn’t want to fuck things up and push her too hard, because the skittish vibes were intense.
“Yeah, he is,” she agreed quietly, and I leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She smelled good—fresh and clean, just like I’d been fantasizing all those months inside. Fresh and clean and perfect.
I wondered what she’d taste like.
“They’re lighting a fire out back,” she told me, her voice soft. “By the kegs. Maybe we should go over there?”
Hmmm . . . I could work with that.
“Okay.”
She tried to pull away from me then, but I caught her hand playfully, tugging her back toward me.
“I can’t get you a beer if you don’t let me go,” she pointed out.
Fuck. She was right. Still, I wasn’t about to let her get away that easy—knowing my luck, Painter’d swoop in and take her, just to fuck with my head. If anyone could pull it off, he could. Fucker was pretty in his own weird way—even I could see it. I couldn’t compete, not with the nasty scar on my face.
I’d just have to keep a close eye on her, I decided. Protect what was mine.

* * *

An hour later I found myself leaning back against the wall of the house, wondering how I’d gotten so lucky. My girl’s name was Becca, and she was rapidly turning into my all-time favorite female. Not that we’d talked much—she was pretty quiet. But she was soft and warm, and now I had her tucked between my legs, leaning back against me.
“Skittish” hadn’t been the right word for her, either. She’d been nervous as hell, so nervous I’d been afraid at first she’d pull a runner on me. Beer helped with that, and now she was relaxed into me, eyes closed, head turned toward my chest so that my chin brushed her forehead. I’d have said she was asleep if it wasn’t for the little noises she made every time my fingers circled her nipples under her shirt, or slid down her stomach.
We’d pushed up the bra about ten minutes ago, and I’d explored down below just enough to know she wasn’t sopping wet for me yet . . . but she was getting there. This was a good thing, because my dick was harder than a rock and ready for more. I shifted my hips, sliding my erection against her back, and groaned.
Feeling her up in the firelight was great, but time to move things along.
I pulled out one hand, catching her chin and tilting it up for a kiss. God, she was sweet. She tasted like sunshine and beer, with a hint of tequila mixed in for good measure. I could tell she didn’t have a ton of experience, because when I slid my tongue into her mouth she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her own.
Turned me on in a big way, gotta admit.
“Becca, you should take him on upstairs, don’t you think?”
Teeny’s voice cut through the kiss, and Becca stiffened. She pulled away from me, shutting down so hard I could practically feel the arctic chill. Fuck. For an instant I gave serious consideration to killing Teeny. It’d taken me nearly an hour to get her to this point, and he was not going to fuck it up for me.
I stared him down, eyes narrow.
“Is there a reason you’re talking to her?”
He smirked.
“Just making sure it’s all good here.”
“Go away.”
“Take him upstairs, Becca.” If anything, she got more tense, and I groaned. Sure, I could just go find someone else. But I didn’t want anyone else, and this asshole was ruining things for me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me, tight, making it clear that she didn’t need to worry about Teeny.
“Now would be a real good time to disappear,” I told him, my voice full of a quiet menace designed to convey one message—fear. Becca shivered, which pissed me off. Been hard enough to get through to her, and now she had to see this. “Otherwise I’ll make it happen. Got me?”
Boonie came to stand next to us.
“We got a problem here?” he asked.
“No,” Teeny said, glaring at me and Becca. Then he turned and scuttled off like the fucking roach he was. She shivered, and I rubbed my hands up and down her arms.
“Don’t worry, babe,” I told her absently. “Thanks, Boonie.”
“No prob,” he muttered looking after Teeny. “Glad we’re leaving in the morning. There’s something wrong here—been a very educational trip.”
I nodded, although I didn’t have the full story. They’d fill me in later, so until then I’d just follow Boonie’s lead.
“Let’s go inside,” Becca said. “Find some privacy.”
She pulled free and stood up. This startled me, but I wasn’t exactly unhappy about the development. I lurched off-balance as I rose, and things were a little hazy around the edges. Wasn’t messing with my dick, though, so all good where it counted. She led me into the house and up the stairs to a small room in the back. It had a twin-size bed that was rumpled and stained. There was a puddle of beer spilled on the floor next to a turned-over bottle. More cups and bottles littered the area, and an ashtray was half full on the bedside table.
“Guess we aren’t the first ones looking for some privacy,” I commented, but I didn’t really care. Nope. I just shut the door and locked it. When I turned back, she’d already stripped down to her bra, and was busy unzipping her jeans.
Holy shit.
Becca was gorgeous.
I mean, I’d seen how pretty she was outside, but those sweet little boobs I’d been groping the last hour were even more perfect than I’d imagined. Somehow the fact that a plain cotton bra cradled them just enhanced the experience. Then she slid her pants off and I nearly died because I’d never seen anything sexier. I wanted to tie her down and take possession of every hole in her body. Twice.
Becca saw it all written in my face—clearly it scared her. She took a step back, and held up a hand. A deeply disturbing question flickered through my foggy brain.
“Are you a virgin?” I asked, the words tasting strange in my mouth. She gave a harsh laugh, then shook her head.
“No, I’m not a virgin.”
She reached behind to unhook her bra and I saw her nipples for the first time. Pink and pointy and gorgeous, exactly the right size for my mouth . . . I stepped toward her and she surprised me, dropping to her knees and reaching for my fly.
“How long has it been?” she asked, her voice almost businesslike. I groaned as she pushed down my jeans and briefs, cock springing free. I’d never been harder—wasn’t entirely sure I’d survive the next ten minutes. Fuck, would I even last ten minutes? Then her hand wrapped around me and I closed my eyes, reaching out to lean against the wall because otherwise I would’ve fallen flat on my ass.
She started out slow and steady, wrapping her fingers around me and rubbing up and down. After a minute she paused. I opened my eyes to see her peeking up at me as she licked her palm, looking older and more seductive than I’d pegged her before. Fuck. Fuck. Then her other hand reached down to cup my balls as she started working me again with all ten fingers.
I gasped, falling into the sensation again. Definitely wouldn’t be lasting that long, I realized. No way. But that was just fine, because tonight I had a lot more than one load saved up and ready to go.
“Use your mouth.”
She obeyed, opening up and taking me in, her tongue flicking at me expertly. Almost too expertly . . . weird, and a little surprising, given how she kissed. Then she sucked me deeper and I stopped thinking at all. Everything was warm and wet and fucking perfect.
Thirty seconds later I blew up in her mouth without warning. Hell, it caught me off guard, it happened so fast, and I cringed. Reaching down, I caught her hair in my hand, pulling out the rubber band holding it so the long, brown strands fell around her face. She stood, wiping her face with the back of her hand, soft brown eyes meeting mine.
She looked like an innocent little angel again.
“Becca, that was . . .” I didn’t have the words. God, I’d missed sex. Real sex, not just jacking off in my hand. Nothing in the world quite as sweet as the feel of hot wet woman wrapped around my dick.
She turned away, reaching down to grab a half-empty fifth of rotgut vodka off the bedside table, taking a big drink, and swishing it around her mouth. Then she spat it out on the floor so it mingled with the pooled beer before taking another swig.
Okay, not a total angel.
I reached out, and Becca handed the bottle to me wordlessly. Then she slid off her plain cotton panties and laid back on the bed.
“You ready?” she asked. I drank deep, my head spinning because I’d never been more ready for anything in my life. She didn’t look ready, though. Her eyes were distant, and when I kicked off my pants and stepped between her legs, I could see her body wasn’t with me, either.
Fortunately I knew how to fix that.
Pulling off my cut, I looked for somewhere safe to put it. The only available flat surface was the little table, but in the back corner was one of those hanging racks with some clothes on it. I walked over and grabbed a hanger, hung up the leather vest, and turned back to Becca.
She’d closed her eyes, and I’d have thought she was asleep if I didn’t know better. Fuck, maybe she’d passed out.
“You awake?”
She nodded her head.
“Yeah, just sort of drunk,” she muttered. “Don’t worry about it.”
Shrugging, I pulled off my shirt, then knelt down beside the bed and caught her legs up and over my shoulders. She squawked as I spread her pussy lips, giving her a long lick straight up to her clit.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, suddenly awake and alert. I licked her again, and Becca squirmed and gasped as her little nub started to harden for me. Nice. “Oh my God! I can’t believe how good that feels . . .”
She fell back on the bed as I got going. I love pussy. Of course, most men do, but not all of them love going down on a nice, juicy cunt as much as me. I licked and tickled, every once in a while giving a little nip as Becca came to life under me. I think she was trying to keep still at first, but no way was I having any of that shit. Nope. I wanted her soaking wet and screaming, because I planned to ride her hard the rest of the night.
Then I slid two fingers deep inside, searching for just the right spot as I sucked on her clit like candy. Found it on the first try, and she blew up around me, crying out and sobbing. I pulled away, grabbing a chunk of loose sheet to wipe off my mouth, and she moaned, little shivers running through her body.
I’d been hard for her before—almost constantly, even right after I’d come in her mouth—but that was nothing compared to my cock now. Fluid seeped from the tip, and I reached across the floor for my pants, pulling out a condom. Along the way the vodka caught my eye and I took another drink, following her lead as I swished out my mouth and spat on the floor.
The place was truly disgusting, but I’d spent fourteen months in prison so a little filth was the least of my concerns. Tilting back my head, I sucked down the rest of the booze, swaying as I stood. I caught her under the arms and scooted her up the bed before I slipped on the condom. Seconds later I pushed deep into her. Fuck, this had been the right call tonight, because—I shit you not—never felt anything that good before in my life.
She moaned and I caught her mouth with mine, kissing her hard and claiming her. This time I didn’t hold back. Nope. I just took as much as I could, savoring her sweet taste and wondering if she wanted to see Idaho . . . We’d be leaving in the morning, and the thought of throwing her on the back of my bike and taking her along worked for me in a big way.
Then she squeezed down on me hard and I stopped thinking altogether.

* * *

We slept for a while. Maybe we passed out. Dunno. Same difference. When I woke up, Becca was tucked into my side, one leg thrown over mine. Her hair trailed across my chest and her breath tickled my skin.
That’s all it took.
I rolled her over onto her stomach, sliding a pillow under her hips and spreading her legs before grabbing a condom. She murmured, not really talking, but the sounds coming out of her mouth weren’t unhappy when I found her clit again. Seconds later I pushed into her. I’m sure some man—somewhere in history—had enjoyed the feel of a woman’s cunt more than I did in that moment. Hard to imagine how, though.
I’d taken off the edge earlier and now that I had her nice and warmed up, I was ready to do this thing for real. Grabbing her hips, I pulled back and slammed deep. Becca screamed and stiffened, now well and truly awake. Fuck, so hot and slick . . . I started pumping in and out of her hard, loving how she convulsed around me. Her arms reached out, clawing the sheets, and I lowered myself across her back, using my knees to spread her legs out even wider. Then I caught her hands in mine, nipping at the back of her neck before groaning into her ear.
“Reach down below and finger your clit.”
“I can’t,” she gasped. I paused, catching her hand and shoving it down beneath her stomach as I lifted my weight. We found her clit together, then I shoved back into her roughly.
“Oh my God . . .” she moaned. “That’s incredible.”
Damn straight.
“Now keep it there,” I ordered. “You’re going to come for me at least twice, got it?”
She nodded into the sheets and I pulled my hand free, bracing myself as I started moving again. It wasn’t gentle, but that was okay because I felt how wet and slick she was around me. Tight, too. Even better than I’d imagined back in my cell, and I have a hell of a good imagination. I leaned up on my elbows, catching her hair and jerking it back because I get off on that shit. Each twist of my hips took me closer, and when she started convulsing around me and crying, I nearly lost it. Not quite, though. I wasn’t finished.
Mouth. Cunt. Ass.
I’d planned it all out in my head, dreamed about it for months . . . Now I finally had the staying power to finish it. As she shuddered and trembled, I pulled free and sat back on my heels. Becca’s ass spread wide in front of me, and I smiled because it was fucking gorgeous. Heart shaped, pretty. Not too big, but not fucking skinny and nasty like a half-starved donkey, either.
Christ, I wanted to fuck her there.
My cock was still wrapped tight and dripping with her juices, but I spat into my hand a couple times for good measure, slathering it on for a little extra lube. Then caught her hips and pulled her up and onto her knees.
“Brace yourself.”
She nodded, stretching out her arms in front of her like a cat, which was cute but totally inadequate under the circumstances. I caught her hair again, yanking her head to the side. Becca gasped.
“I said brace yourself,” I repeated. “Gonna fuck your ass now.”
She squawked, and her entire body stiffened.
“That a problem?” I asked. She shook her head quickly.
“No, do it.”
Shit, could she sound less enthusiastic? I stilled, realizing my prison dream girl might not be up for the full porno fantasy in living color. Fuck.
“It’s okay,” I said, pulling back. I closed my eyes, running a hand through my hair and shuddering. I’d just fuck her cunt some more. I could do that. Then she shocked the hell out of me by reaching around behind to grab my cock. She pushed back with her hips, awkwardly trying to guide me to her asshole, which was funny and pathetic at the same time.
Because I’m a shitty human being, I went for it. Not a complete dick, though. I could see the tension radiating off her.
“You never done this before?” I asked her. She shook her head violently, not looking at me.
“Okay, we’ll go slow.”
She nodded this time, but she still didn’t give me her eyes. It bothered me for some reason, although why, I had no fucking idea. I dug my fingers deep into her hair, twisting her head around enough to kiss her. Hard. My tongue dug deep, forcing her to kiss me back and, I shit you not, I felt like fireworks were going off in my head. Clichéd as all fuck, but there you have it. After long seconds we came up for air, and I stared into her eyes, seeing how her pupils grew wide.
Slowly, steadily I found her opening with my cockhead, pushing in as she gasped.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, eyes wide, her lips trembling. I held her there, my heart beating so hard I thought it might come right out of my chest as I pushed down deep. She was tight—really tight. Sure as hell hadn’t been lying when she’d said she’d never done this before. I sank into her for what felt like forever before I hit bottom, balls resting against her pussy. Her heartbeat pulsed around my cock and I realized that I would be happy to die in that moment. That’s how good it was.
Becca closed her eyes and turned her face into the covers, spasming around me. I didn’t like the position—I wanted to watch her face— but she seemed to need some privacy. I got it. I’ve never been a nice, vanilla kind of guy, but this was a different kind of intensity than even I was used to. No screaming, no scratching, no fighting with each other until we both lost our minds . . . No, this was powerful on a whole new level, and looking into her eyes the whole time was probably too much for me, too.
I pulled back out, then slid in again. She gasped.
“Play with your clit some more.”
She nodded without speaking, burrowing her hand back down until she found her target. I started moving, going slowly and carefully at first. But it felt really good, and I’ve never been one to take things slow and careful.
Looking back, I can’t decide if that’s when things really fell to shit, or if they’d been falling to shit all along and I was just too stupid to see it. Never have figured that one out, but what happened next was not my finest hour. I started moving faster. It felt fucking amazing. She felt fucking amazing. Then I was pounding her and she was shuddering and I thought she was coming and it was perfect.
Becca sobbed suddenly. Loud. Not a pretty crying kind of noise, and not one of those moans bitches give when they’re getting off so hard they can’t quite control themselves.
No.
This was the kind of noise a puppy makes when you kick it, and I felt it all the way down to my gut like a knife ripping me open.
Big. Fucking. Mistake.
I pulled out and caught her up and into my arms. She flinched and I hated myself, because even like that she was soft and pretty and I just wanted to keep nailing her ass. Becca knew it, too, because she tried to pull away from the press of my cock against her back. More sobs escaped and tears rolled down her face and I knew for a fact that I’d burn in hell for this.
Rubbing her head, I tried to think of soothing noises. Instead I was full of questions. Why had she let me do it?
‘Cause you’re a pushy, scary bastard.
Fuck.
“I’m sorry,” I told her, my head starting to spin. Shouldn’t have drunk so much. I had no idea what time it was, no idea how long we’d been up here . . . I heard noises outside, the sounds of music and the party still going, but that didn’t mean much. A good party could last all night and into the next morning.
“It’s okay,” she finally managed to whisper, and I bit back a harsh laugh because that was a huge fucking lie and we both knew it. Then she did something that blew me away. Becca turned in my arms and pushed me down onto my back. Seconds later she had the condom off and was sucking me deep again, which made no fucking sense at all.
Unfortunately my dick wasn’t the sensitive, caring type because it really didn’t care that she was clearly so scared and drunk off her ass she’d lost touch with reality.
I could’ve stopped her.
I should’ve stopped her.
Instead I sank my fingers into her hair and blew up into her mouth and it was even better than the first time. The room was seriously spinning all around me as she tucked into my arm and stroked my chest.
“Tell him I did good, okay?” she whispered. “Just tell him I did good. Please?”
I passed out, wondering what the fuck she was talking about.

* * *

My bladder was about to explode.
Needed to pee. Maybe rinse out my mouth, too, because it tasted like something died in there and that was not an exaggeration. Shifting, I realized that Becca was still tucked into me, sleeping heavily. I managed to crack my eyes open, blinking. Faint light was creeping in through the window, although even now I could still hear music down below.
Great. Gonna be a long ride home with no sleep. Sliding carefully out from under Becca, I stood and pulled on my pants. My shirt had fallen into the sticky puddle of beer and vodka, so I stumbled out of the room half naked. The door across the hall was locked, although from the smell it had to be the bathroom—either that or people had started pissing and vomiting in the bedrooms, which I supposed wasn’t entirely impossible. Felt great to be back with my brothers, but our hosts kind of sucked ass. Bunch of assholes and meth heads, so far as I could tell. No wonder Boonie didn’t trust them.
I walked down the stairs into the living room, where despite the fact that music still blared, people were passed out all over the place. My brother Deep leaned back against the bar separating the living room from the kitchen area, arms crossed, a look of faint disgust on his face.
“Hey,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“You look like death. Have fun up there?”
I shrugged, feeling like an asshole.
“She’s perfect,” I said. “But I think I hurt her.”
His eyes narrowed.
“We got a situation? Should I go get Boonie?”
Shit.
“No, not like that,” I said quickly. “I mean, I think I pushed her too far. Tried to fuck her ass, and it didn’t go over so well. She’s okay, but I still feel like a douche.”
“We got a girl who’s gonna cry rape?” he asked quickly, and I snorted.
“Probably should,” I replied. “She told me to do it, though. Afterward she sucked me off. Feels wrong, somehow.”
“You want another drink?” I turned to see Teeny standing there, his beady eyes bright and full of something I couldn’t quite follow. God, I hated him—he was like a cockroach that wasn’t smart enough to stay out of the light.
Anger replaced my disgust. He needed to leave me the fuck alone.
“Are you serious?” I asked him, turning and cracking my knuckles. The fight with Painter had taken off my edge, but it’d come back again as I told Deep about Becca. Hitting someone— anyone—would feel good, but hitting this guy? That’d be a flat-out pleasure. “God, don’t you ever go away? Fucking piece of shit!”
I started toward him, but Deep caught my arm, pulling me back.
“Careful, bro,” he said quietly. “This isn’t about him. You’re pissed about the girl. Pick your battles, because there’s a lot more Longnecks than Reapers and Bastards combined. All he did was offer you a drink.”
Fuck. I breathed deep, looking at the scared little shit and wishing desperately he’d do something—anything—to give me an excuse to take him down. My brothers would back me no matter what, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think there wouldn’t be a price for my actions.
“I’m going back to bed,” I said after a tense minute or so, pulling free. “Talk to you later, brother.”
Deep nodded, watching Teeny as I turned and stalked back up the stairs. This time the bathroom door was open. Sure enough, someone had missed the toilet, and I felt my own stomach heave sympathetically. For a sec there I thought I might lose it. Then I pulled it together enough to piss without barfing. Afterward, I turned to look at myself in the mirror. As always, the face looking back at me was ugly as fuck. Dark, ragged hair. Scar cutting across my face. Nose that’d been broken at least four times now . . .
Shit, no wonder Becca had been scared of me—I looked like a fuckin’ serial killer. I wanted to punch the mirror and break it into a thousand pieces, which would accomplish even less than beating the shit out of Teeny.
Instead I went back into the room and found her still sound asleep on the bed. Her skin was pale and fragile, dark shadows ringing her eyes. Still gorgeous, but younger and more frail-looking now. Christ. What had I done? I crawled back into bed with her, sure I’d never get to sleep. I’d underestimated how much booze was still floating around in my system, because everything went dark again.

* * *

This time the sun was bright and harsh. I blinked, trying to remember where I was . . . Then it all came back and I looked around, wondering where my girl went.
Shit. Becca was gone.
What the hell really happened last night? I sat up, spotting my colors hanging from a rack next to . . . school uniforms? Fuck, some kid must live in this room, I realized. That’d suck, coming home to a mess like this. I turned and lowered my feet on the far side of the bed, figuring I’d open the window to air things out, check the lay of the land in the process. I stepped on a pile of books, which fell over. I reached down to pick one up.
Textbook.
I picked up another. Shit, it was another textbook, and under that was a notebook. That’s when I started to get a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach—something I wouldn’t have pegged as possible, given how shitty I already felt about how the night had played out.
The notebook opened in my hands, and I saw the name Becca Jones written on the top of the front page, along with English: First Period and the date.
Below were notes.
Maybe she was in college, I thought desperately. Please, fuck . . . let her be in college. A piece of colored paper fell to the ground, and I dropped the notebook to pick it up.
What I saw nearly made me throw up.
It was a flyer for a dance—a high school dance.
Becca was still in school. Jailbait. The fuck? It didn’t add up . . . Then her last words to me sank in, and it all added up far too well.
“Tell him I did good, okay? Just tell him I did good. Please?”

* * *

I flew down the stairs half dressed, my boots thudding loudly. My shirt was filthy from her floor, but my cut was still fine—safe and sound after a night spent hanging next to Becca’s little school dresses. Fucking piece of shit pimp Teeny.
Had to be him.
This was his house. Who the hell was she? His kid? What the fuck kind of asshole pimped out his own daughter? But shit, I guess it happened all the time, all over the world. About halfway down I heard her scream, which should’ve woken up everyone all over the goddamned house. Most of them were still passed out drunk, though. I heard more shouts outside and knew my brothers were probably coming.
That turned out to be a good thing, because I came damned close to ending a man’s life that day—fucking craptastic way to start parole . . .
Teeny stood in the center of the kitchen, Becca huddled at his feet as he kicked her. Then he whacked her across the head with a fucking soup pot, of all things, and I lost my shit.
“You cocksucking asshole!” I shouted, launching myself at him.
“Fucking twat! I’ll kill you!”
My fists destroyed his face with a crunch. It felt good— cathartic.
He fell like a bag of concrete and some part of my brain noted vaguely that Becca was scrabbling away from us, chunks of her long hair torn loose and left on the floor. Blood, too. Another woman shouted and tugged at her, but I didn’t turn to look.
Nope. I had work to do.
Specifically, I needed to kill Teeny with my bare hands. Then I’d tear him apart and eat his heart. Raw. He screamed like a bitch the whole time, and I heard Boonie yelling in the background. Then they hauled me off his ass, kicking and fighting because I’d well and truly lost my shit.
“What the fuck is happening here?” Picnic Hayes demanded. Beside him stood one of the Longnecks, a guy who looked a fuckuva lot like Teeny and I realized this must be the brother who was part of the club. Bax.
Bax wasn’t a happy camper. Fair enough. I was pretty fucking unhappy myself.
Teeny moaned on the floor, rolling onto his back, and I spat at him. Then I heard a sobbing noise—one that’d already been burned into my brain. Becca was crying, and I looked over to find her huddled up against Teeny’s old lady.
Shit. I hadn’t seen it before because the woman was so nasty and used up, but under that scrawny, tweaker body was an older copy of Becca. Had to be her mother . . . Even with the meth eating her, though, she seemed too young. If that was the mother, she must’ve had Becca really fucking early.
“She his daughter?” I asked her, my voice like a knife. The woman shook her head quickly, lips quivering. “You let him pimp her out?”
She looked away.
“Damn,” Picnic said. “This is a hell of a clusterfuck.”
“I’m not leaving her here. He’ll kill her.”
Pic shook his head slowly, thoughtfully, but I could see it in his face—he knew I was right.
“Yeah, she can come with us,” he said. “You up for that, Boon?”
My president nodded, eyes never leaving the huddled mass of blood and human filth crying on the floor.
“We’ll head out in twenty minutes,” Boonie said decisively. “Anyone got a problem with that?”
He looked around the room in challenge, and several of the Longnecks glanced away—apparently they weren’t going to stand up for Teeny. Said a hell of a lot about them in general and Teeny in particular. I mean, I was glad that we weren’t fighting our way out, but that’s just pathetic. They were happy to party with him. When it came time to take his back, they were out.
“C’mon, let’s go upstairs and grab some of your shit,” I said to Becca, reaching toward her. She gave a little scream and pushed back with her feet, sliding across the floor to get away from me. Fuck.
“I’ll get her ready,” her mother said suddenly. Her voice quavered, but her eyes were resolute as they met mine. “She’ll go with you—just get her away from here. He’ll hurt her bad for this. Real bad.”
I nodded, watching as she drew her daughter to her feet, then pushed her toward the stairwell.
“Jesus, you can sure pick ’em,” Boonie said. “How old you think she is?”
“She’s still in high school,” I said, my voice grim. “Fairly certain I’m up for statutory if this goes down wrong.”
“Damn,” Painter said, coming up behind me. “That’s fast work—usually takes a little longer to violate parole, bro.”
I met his gaze, and for once his face didn’t hold even a hint of mockery. Fuck. This was really bad.
“Outside,” Picnic said sharply. “Horse, Ruger—you stay here. Make sure the girl gets out safe, okay?”
He caught my arm and pulled me toward the door. Boonie flanked us, and I sensed real danger beneath their calm expressions. We walked over to the bikes as the others scrambled to grab their shit and pack up.
“I won’t leave her,” I told them again. “I know she’s scared of me, but I don’t give a fuck. That girl’ll die if she stays here.”
“Not gonna leave her,” Pic said. “But we do need to get out fast, before they have time to figure out what happened and get pissed off. They decide to fight for her, things’ll get ugly. Not sure we can take ’em.”
“Thanks for standing with me.”
Boonie snorted.
“You’re our brother, Puck,” he said, his voice casual. “This is what we do. You went down for us, you think we aren’t prepared to do the same for you? Now pull your shit together. We can put the girl in the truck with the prospects, or you can take her on your bike. No time to fuck around.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, I watched as Horse, Becca, and her mom walked out of the house. At least thirty members of the Longnecks MC stood watching, talking quietly among themselves. I kept waiting for one of them to reach for a gun or challenge us, but they didn’t.
No sign of Teeny.
Becca had stopped crying, but her face was still covered in tear-smeared blood, and nasty bruises were popping up all over. Her breath sounded wheezy, too, and I hoped to hell she didn’t have broken ribs.
“I don’t want to go,” she whispered, catching at her mom’s arm. “I want to stay with you.”
“You’re getting out,” the woman replied, her eyes hard and calculating. “Let him cool off, then we’ll talk. Figure something out.”
Becca shook her head, but when I caught her arm gently she let me pull her away.
“You want to ride in the truck or on my bike?”
Becca glanced at the truck, eyes widening at the sight of two Reaper prospects. “I’ll stay with you.”
I nodded and climbed on my bike, eyes alert as I monitored our audience. She climbed up behind me, and then her mother gave a satisfied nod. Becca wrapped her arms around me and I felt her tits press tight against my back. My cock stirred to life. What the fucking hell was wrong with me?
“How old are you?” I asked, my voice low.
“Sixteen.”
Shit.
“Like, you’re almost seventeen?”
“No, I turned sixteen last week.”
Double shit.
Boonie kicked his bike to life, and we followed his lead, pulling away from the house in formation.
So that’s the story of how I committed statutory rape less than twenty-four hours out of prison—on my birthday, no less. In retrospect, I probably should’ve stayed inside, served out my full five-year term. Would’ve been less work for everyone.

 

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✿Reapers Motorcycle Club Series by Joanna Wylde✿

✦#1: Reaper’s Property ➢ Kindle | Amazon PBK | B&N | Kobo 
✦#2: Reaper’s Legacy ➢ Kindle | Amazon PBK | B&N | Kobo 
✦#3: Devil’s Game ➢ Kindle | Amazon PBK | B&N | Kobo 
REVIEW 5 STARS
✦#4: Reaper’s Stand ➢ Kindle | Amazon PBK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks 

REVIEW 5 STARS

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Joanna Wylde is a New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Reapers Motorcycle Club series. She currently lives in Idaho.

Social Media Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

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Release Blitz & Excerpt: Hot and Bothered (Rough and Tumble #3) by Crystal Green

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Hot and Bothered (Rough and Tumble #3) by Crystal Green

March 17, 2015

Check out this new release from Intermix! Yummy cowboy romance. /Cori

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SYNOPSIS

On the dusty outskirts of Vegas, there’s a down and dirty saloon where all sorts of lethally charming—and genuinely dangerous—men carouse to seduce the women who happen to venture inside on their way to and from Sin City.

Despite the many women he’s bedded over the years, Gideon Lane has never been able to get Rochelle Burton completely out of his head. He certainly never expected to see the city girl again, now a successful author, all grown up in all the right places and asking for his protection.

After their disastrous night together, Rochelle was determined to put Gideon—and the things he made her want—far behind her. But when an obsessive fan expresses their anger over her latest book in a disturbing way, Rochelle’s overprotective cousins insist she hire the best bodyguard the Rough & Tumble saloon can offer.

Both Rochelle and Gideon intend to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when the threat to Rochelle puts them in close quarters, Gideon can’t help wanting the chance to prove that some things are better the second time around…

EXCERPT

Hot And Bothered (Rough and Tumble #3) by Crystal Green

Release Date: March 17, 2015

 When Rochelle Burton first decided to track down Gideon Lane, she’d wondered how much he might’ve changed from the eighteen-year-old man-slut she’d known all those years ago. But when she found him in the middle of the Rough & Tumble Saloon’s courtyard doing what he had always done best, she immediately stopped wondering.

The light from a small fire going in the pit was hitting the brim of his gray Stetson at a slant, hiding his eyes in shadow. But his hat didn’t cover his lazy smile or the smoke from the cigarillo angling out of his mouth that curled into the mild May night air. He was slumped in his seat, resting one square-toed black boot on his knee and draping his arms over the two rickety chairs on either side of him. If he noticed that Rochelle was leaning against the door frame, where whisky-soaked rock ’n’ roll spilled out of the saloon from a nearby jukebox, he didn’t show it.

Then again, she suspected he was much too busy enjoying the private striptease that four fluffy-haired women were putting on for him. And she was damned sure that he hadn’t been hired by these girls to be their bodyguard, even if that was his profession. No, this was an entirely different sort of personal bodywork.

Two of the ladies, who were twins—and bleached blondes, at that—each had one leg straddled over either side of him while the other two felt themselves up, unbuttoning their blouses, laughing and tipsy.

No, Gideon hadn’t changed a bit. He was still a player, even after seventeen years had passed them by, still the only guy who’d ever left her in tears, even though she’d put that behind her a long time ago.

Definitely.

Rochelle eased her sunglasses down her nose, looking at him until he had to sense her stare. She could tell the moment he caught sight of her, and it wasn’t because she could see his gaze under that hat brim. It was because he tensed in his seat, sliding his arms off the backs of the chairs and then taking the cigarillo out of his mouth.

Well, a grand entrance had been pretty simple. She’d see about the rest of this necessary reunion.

The four girls stopped gyrating and glanced back at her. The non-twins shrugged and kept dancing, but the two blond lookalikes kept their legs draped over Gideon, almost as if they were claiming him.

Rochelle didn’t mind. She merely told herself to smile and pushed her sunglasses up and onto her head, where they held back her dark waves from her face.

Was Gideon thinking that she looked different? The same? Or . . .?

Ugh—she wasn’t here to compete for Miss Nevada or his attentions, so she swiped the thoughts out of her head.

“What do you know,” she said instead, smoothly raising her voice over the music. “It looks like things never change in this town.”

He was still tense, still staring. Her belly flipped, although she wasn’t about to let him know that he affeceted her, even after all this time.

How was that even possible when she’d put him in her past? Scratch that—when he’d been only such a tiny, insignificant moment in her past?

One of the blond twins glanced down at Gideon. “You know her?”

He let the cigarillo drop to the ground, then mashed it into the concrete with his boot. He nudged back his cowboy hat, revealing a face that used to make Rochelle’s heart skid and bump through her chest: light brown eyes that could burn a girl, a strong whiskered jaw, a dimple in his firm chin.

Damn, even now her body was reacting like a runaway sports car, an accident just waiting to happen. But she didn’t do accidents these days—those were things that happened to people who let challenges happen to them, not the ones who brought challenges on.

His gaze rolled over her, from her face and then down a body that had developed more than a few curves and swerves since they were just a couple of dumb kids, and she flushed all over.

She sure felt like a kid now, but she blanked out the weakness.

“I’ll be damned,” he finally said in that velvet twang she’d never quite forgotten. “Rochelle Burton.”

 

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ADD TO GOODREADS

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Rough And Tumble Series

Rough and Tumble (Rough and Tumble #1)

Down and Dirty (Rough and Tumble #2)

Hot and Bothered (Rough and Tumble #3)

 

ABOUT CRYSTAL GREEN

You can call her “Crystal,” “Chris,” or “Christine”—she’s the same person, even though her different pen names reflect different writing personalities.

Under “Crystal Green,” she writes romance. “Chris Marie Green” is in charge of the urban fantasy series Vampire Babylon, which features six full-length books, three novellas, and one short story. Chris Marie has also indie published a New Adult Single Girl/Geek Lit hybrid with illustrations by Billy Martinez called The She Code, along with other shorter works that follow the rules that all girls should know in life.

Crystal used to be an 8th grade teacher of reading, writing, and US History, but she promised herself if she ever sold 3 books in a year, she would take a chance and write full-time. Ten years later, she is still feverishly writing and loving it!

SOCIAL MEDIA: Webpage | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Release Blitz: Naughty King, Part 1 by Michelle A. Valentine

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Check out this new release in a 3 part serial from Michelle A. Valentine. The title alone hooked me and the synopsis had me 1-clicking. /Cori

*****

The first part in Michelle Valentine’s A Sexy Manhattan Fairytale series is available now – grab NAUGHTY KING for just .99c!

naughtykingAbout NAUGHTY KING

The King Always Gets His Way.

Women, business, pleasure: When I want it, I get it.

I’m never denied.

Including her.

I will break her.

I will show her who the king of this city really is.

The Feisty Princess of Manhattan will learn I am not a man that can be tempted.

No matter how damn bad I want her in my bed.

Book one in a three part erotic romance series from NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Michelle A. Valentine (Rock the Heart, Phenomenal X, Wicked White, Demon at My Door).

 

Naughty King (A Sexy Manhattan Fairytale: Part One)
Feisty Princess (A Sexy Manhattan Fairytale: Part Two) — Coming Soon
Dirty Royals (A Sexy Manhattan Fairylate: Part Three) — Coming Soon

 

BUY LINKS

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Google Books | iBooks (Coming Soon)

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ABOUT MICHELLE A. VALENTINE

Michelle A. Valentine is a Central Ohio nurse turned New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of erotic and New Adult romance. Her love of hard-rock music, tattoos, and sexy musicians inspired her erotic BLACK FALCON series.

 Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

Be a little naughty – join Valentine’s Vixens on Facebook for sneak peeks at Michelle’s upcoming works, as well as fun and chatting with her and other readers!