Police academy cadet Charlie Burns can’t believe his luck when the gorgeous blonde he meets in a bar murmurs those magic words: “Nothing serious, ’kay?” Mind-blowing, no-strings sex with Ever Carmichael—it’s the holy grail of hookups for a guy who’s too busy following in his law enforcement family’s footsteps to think about getting serious. Charlie’s all about casual…that is, until Ever calls it quits and his world tilts on its axis.
Ever knows that when you control the relationship game, you can’t get played. But for the first time, she wants more than short-term satisfaction. Step one: end her fling with commitment-phobic Charlie. Step two: sacrifice herself to the ruthless NYC dating scene. Yet everywhere she turns, there’s Charlie, being his ridiculously charming self. No online match or blind date compares to the criminally hot cop-in-training, but they’re over. Aren’t they?
If love is a four-letter-word, why does the idea of Ever seeing someone else tie Charlie up in knots? Now he’s desperate to win her back…and a little date sabotage never hurt anyone, right?
About the Book
Disorderly Conduct
by Tessa Bailey
Series
The Academy
Genre
Adult
Contemporary Romance
Publisher
Avon Romance
Publication Date
August 29, 2017
Get Your Copy Today!
Feeling lucky? One lucky winner will be chosen to win a paperback copy of Indecent Exposure: The Academy! This giveaway is being hosted on Rafflecopter and is sponsored by Pure Textuality PR. Open to US shipping addresses only.
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention. She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.
It’s dirty and filthy and rich – as dirty and filthy and rich as he is – and it haunts me as much as he ever did.
Even after knowing what I know now, I still want to talk to him, to touch him. But there’s an ocean between us, and I’m not sure it can be crossed with something as easy as a phone call or a plane ride.
Yet I’m willing to try.
He doesn’t know this yet, but this time I’m the one with the power. And maybe – just maybe – if the air were cleared and all our secrets bared, there could still be a chance for us.
And this dirty, filthy thing between us might end up being love after all.
In Wild Ride Cowboy, Alex Donnelly returns to Copper Ridge, Oregon to keep a promise, but the last thing he expects is to fall for his best friend’s sister, Clara Campbell. Fans of Maisey Yates’ Copper Ridge series will love this sweet, sexy romance releasing August 29th!
Title: Wild Ride Cowboy
Author: Maisey Yates
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Series: Copper Ridge #9
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9780373803644
He’s come back to Copper Ridge, Oregon, to keep a promise—even if it means losing his heart…
Putting down roots in Copper Ridge was never Alex Donnelly’s intention. But if there’s one thing the ex-military man knows, it’s that life rarely unfolds as expected. If it did, his best friend and brother-in-arms would still be alive. And Alex wouldn’t have inherited a ranch or responsibility for his late comrade’s sister—a woman who, despite her inexperience, can bring tough-as-iron Alex to his knees.
Clara Campbell didn’t ask for a hero to ride in and fix her ranch and her life. All she wants is the one thing stubborn, honorable Alex is reluctant to give: a chance to explore their intense chemistry. But Clara has a few lessons to teach him, too…about trusting his heart and his instincts, and letting love take him on the wildest adventure of all.
Reluctantly, she covered the coffee with a white to-go lid then turned to walk out the door. She didn’t make it very far, though, because she ran right into a brick wall.
Well, it wasn’t really a brick wall. It just felt like one. Large, hard and uncompromising. But breathing. Which brick walls definitely didn’t do.
“Clara Campbell. Fancy meeting you here.”
Clara blinked and stared up into Alex Donnelly’s forest-green eyes and felt a strange response that seemed to originate in her stomach and travel upward to her chest, where it twisted, hard and sharp.
After looking at Asher, his understated physique and much softer brown gaze, the sight of Alex was jarring. Too intense. Too masculine. Too a lot of things.
His dark hair wasn’t military short anymore. It was long enough to hang into his face. He pushed it back off his forehead and again, something twisted, low and deep inside of her.
And then it wasn’t only his features that seemed too sharp. It was seeing him at all. She had been studiously avoiding him ever since he had moved back to Copper Ridge. If ever she’d caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, she’d gone the other way.
The last time she’d seen him up close had been at Jason’s funeral.
Pain washed through her, canceling out all of the good Asher feelings from only a moment before.
No wonder she’d had such a strong, immediate response to the sight of Alex. The man was dragging a bunch of her baggage in with him. Another thing she liked about Asher. He was separate from her life. From her pain.
Alex was all wound up in it.
“Hi, Alex,” she said, clutching her coffee cup tight, the warmth bleeding through to her palms. Which she was grateful for at the moment since her stomach had gone ice-cold at the sight of him.
“I’ve been meaning to stop by,” he said.
“That’s really okay,” she said, and she meant it. More than okay. Jason’s death meant that she was alone. Both of her parents were already gone. They’d had children later in life, and when her mother had gotten sick, her father had done everything he could to make his wife comfortable as her health declined. She’d died when Clara was twelve. And there had been no amount of preparation that could soften the blow. No amount of expectedness that could have made it feel less like a giant, ugly hand had reached into their life and wrenched the beauty out of it, leaving nothing but a dark abyss.
Paying a visit author Maisey Yates’ Copper Ridge, Oregon, always feels a bit like coming home. Tight-knit community, the feel of small-town living, the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, all work so beautifully when brought together in Maisey’s books. I’d been looking forward to getting Alex Donnelly’s story in WILD RIDE COWBOY, and loved every bit of this book.
Maisey does an excellent job of crafting characters with multiple layers, of people just like the rest of us that have much more going on than meets the eye. Both Alex and Clara are moving through life projecting an image that hides so much of what makes up the real them. Maybe it’s something about Copper Ridge, maybe it’s becoming part of something bigger than themselves, of having the opportunity to move beyond the exterior that people have come to expect. No matter the reason, both of these beautifully broken people bloom and flourish under the care and keeping of each other and those around them, and I just adored the unfolding of their story.
WILD RIDE COWBOY has all of the hallmarks of the other books in the Copper Ridge series. Angst, heat, scenes sexy enough to bring both a blush and an ‘oh, my,’ and humor aplenty. I figure that, if an author can make me laugh, cry, and fan myself in the course of one read, it’s a good one, and Maisey has done an excellent job of all of these.
WILD RIDE COWBOY is another win for me, and an easy 4 absolutely enjoyable stars. I can’t get enough of these characters, and am looking forward to getting the lowdown on the backstory between Clara’s friend Sabrina and Liam Donnelly in CHRISTMASTIME COWBOY. If you haven’t met good folks of Copper Ridge, you’re missing out. Do yourself a favor and read these books; they’re a trip you’ll be glad that you took.
Rafflecopter for Wild Ride Cowboy Blog Tour Giveaway:
Harlequin is offering one (1) lucky winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.
Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
Cassian March, the
face of Club X, the most exclusive nightspot in Tampa. One of the most eligible
men in town, he can have any woman he chooses—and he does as often as he likes.
Beneath his cool facade lies a desire for something more, but will his new assistant
Olivia have what it takes to fulfill his darkest fantasies?
Stefan March, the
manager of Club X, loves the single life. Women are his playground, and this
man lives to have fun. Committed to never settling down, he may have met his
match in Shay, a bartender at Club X who seems immune to his charms. Stefan
loves nothing more than a challenge, though, so let the games begin!
Kane Jackson,
half-brother to Cassian and Stefan, he handles the members’ fantasies at Club
X. Big, bad, and dangerous, his style is hard, like the life he’s led. But you
know what they say—the bigger they are, the harder they fall and Kane might
just fall for Abbi, the one woman able to get beyond his hard exterior to the
heart he hides from the world.
Cassian March, the public face of Tampa’s most exclusive
nightspot, Club X, has a great life. Women, sex, and money are his for the
taking, and no man indulges his desires more. Life is short, and he plays hard.
He lives by only one rule—never let a woman get close.
Olivia Lucas needs a job, and if that means working at a club that specializes
in making members’ wildest fantasies come true, then that’s what she’ll do. A
girl’s got to pay the rent, right? She never expected to fall for the gorgeous
owner of Club X, though, but a man like him would never go for someone like
her. Or would he?
#2 SURRENDER
Stefan March lives for a good time. Born into wealth, he
sees everything in terms of what he can have, especially women. So far, life
has denied him nothing and no one. When he meets his newest bartender, he
instantly knows who his next conquest will be, but Shay’s not like the usual
women he collects. To get her, he’ll have to be more than just the player he’s
always been.
Shay Callahan is beautiful, determined, and intelligent. She’s got plans for
her life, and they don’t include getting sidetracked by a man, and certainly
not her wealthy player boss. Her job at Club X is for one thing—money to fund
her education—but if she can make Stefan March see he’s not God’s gift to
women, all the better. She never expects to find out there’s more to him than
meets the eye.
As different as day and night, can these two see past who they think they are
to find love?
#3 POSSESSION
Kane Jackson, the ruler of the fantasy section of Club X,
has always been different from his brothers. The bastard son of Cassian March
III, he grew up without the money and privilege Cassian and Stefan enjoyed from
the March name, instead only knowing his father as the man who abandoned him
and seeing himself as unloved and unwanted. He let love in once and like
everything else in his life, all that came from it was pain. His heart hidden
behind the walls he’s built since then, Kane is now just the dark figure who
rules over the fantasies of others but has none himself.
Abbi Linde can’t seem to get a break. Too many bad men and bad choices have
left her bruised and broken, but the opportunity to dance at Club X could
change everything. For the first time, she might be able to make a life for
herself and find the happiness she longs for. After what feels like a lifetime
of heartbreak, Abbi still believes one day her dreams will come true and she’ll
find the love that’s eluded her.
Even the darkest heart craves the light, but will the darkness be too much for
love to overcome with these two souls?
#4 SATISFACTION
Cassian March finally found a reason to give up his player
ways. Crazy in love, he and Olivia are ready to take the next step and make it
official, but just when life is perfect is exactly when everything can slip
away.
Stefan March has lived in the shadow of his two older brothers for too long.
With Shay, he sees a chance to finally be the man nobody thinks he can be. But
old family wounds have a way of opening up, and sometimes love may not be
enough to heal them.
Kane Jackson knows a good man would be by Abbi’s side as she prepares to give
birth to their child, but he’s not a good man. Or at least that’s what he
thinks. Willing to do anything to protect her, he hides himself away so he
can’t hurt her. Abbi still believes in him, but will her love be able to
overcome years of him being told he’s only meant to hurt?
The three brothers of Club X have all that money can buy, but will they find
the happiness each of them wants more than anything else in the world?
#5 ACCEPTANCE
Life after Club X has been good for the three brothers who
used to run Tampa’s most exclusive fantasy club. Cassian and Kane run one of
the city’s up and coming restaurants, CK, and Stefan has his own successful bar
in the old Club X building.
Two marriages, three kids, and three happy couples make up one big happy
family.
But there’s another son of Cassian March III out there, another illegitimate
child who never knew his father. The three brothers don’t agree that they
should find him, and even more importantly, what they don’t know about
Sebastian could risk everything they cherish so dearly.
Author Bio
K.M. Scott is a New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author of sexy contemporary fiction. When she’s not writing, you
can find her reading a book, watching tv or movies, or cooking a new dish for
family and friends.
We’re excited to share another teaser from the upcoming COLD MALICE by Toni Anderson! And if you didn’t catch the excerpt reveal earlier this week, you should definitely check it out here!
About COLD MALICE
Available September 12th
ASAC Steve (Mac) McKenzie is out to prove himself by leading a task force investigating a series of murders in the heart of Washington, DC. His undercover work in an antigovernment compound twenty years earlier is related—as is the sweet, innocent girl he befriended back then. Now that girl is a beautiful woman, and she has something to hide.
Tess Fallon spent a lifetime trying to outrun her family’s brand of bigotry, but someone is threatening her anonymity by using the anniversary of her father’s death to carry out evil crimes and she’s terrified her younger brother is involved. She sets out to find the truth and comes face-to-face with a man she once idolized, a man she thought long dead. As the crimes escalate it becomes obvious the killer has an agenda, and Tess and Mac are running out of time to stop him.
Will the perpetrator use a decades-old dream of revolution to attack the federal government? And will the fact that Tess and Mac have fallen hard for each other give a cold-hearted killer the power to destroy them both?
New York Times and USA Today international bestselling author, Toni Anderson, writes dark, gritty Romantic Suspense novels that have hit #1 in Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, the Top 10 in Amazon and Kobo stores, and the Top 50 in iBooks. Her novels have won many awards. A former Marine Biologist from Britain, she inexplicably ended up in the geographical center of North America, about as far from the ocean as it is possible to get. She now lives in the Canadian prairies with her Irish husband and two children and spends most of her time complaining about the weather.
Toni has no explanation for her oft-times dark imagination, and only hopes the romance makes up for it. She’s addicted to reading, dogs, tea, and chocolate.
If you want to know when Toni’s next book will be out, visit her website (http://www.toniandersonauthor.com) and sign up for her newsletter. If you want to read other fascinating stories about life in a city that, during winter, is sometimes colder than Mars, friend her on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/toniannanderson).
From #1 NYT Bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the swoony and oh-so-romantic title…MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY.
In MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY, the NFL starting quarterback Cooper Armstrong needs his best friend’s sister to pretend to be his girlfriend. Violet is willing, but neither one expects their boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage to turn into a full-contact sport so quickly. Find out if their fake play will become the real deal or if they can turn back the clock to when they were just friends in this sexy new standalone sports romance!
Now available on all retailers! Get your copy delivered now!
✮✮✮ MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY is here! Grab your copy today! ✮✮✮
Hands down, my favorite thing in the world is to score. Touchdowns.
Don’t let the fact that I’m the leading pick in the Most Valuable Playboy charity auction fool you. These days, I’m only a player on the field. I’ve kept my pants zipped all season long — and it has been long — because nothing’s more important than leading my team to victory every week. Except maybe escaping from the team owner’s recently-widowed and handsy-as-hell sister who’s dead set on winning more than a date with me.
Enter Violet and a well-placed Hail Mary.
She’s my best friend’s sister with a smile as sweet as cherry pie and a mind that runs quicker than the 40-yard-dash. After Violet saves the day with the highest bid, I don’t even give her a two-minute warning before I kiss her in front of the whole crowd and then announce that she’s my girlfriend. Which would be fine except my agent tells me we have to keep up the act while he’s negotiating my contract.
Violet takes one for the team and pretends to be mine, but our boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage quickly turns into a full contact sport, and I want it to go into overtime. The problem is — I’ve been riding the bench for years.
How can a guy like me, who finally has a chance to prove his worth on the field, convince the girl she’s most valuable to his heart?
MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY is a brand new standalone sports romance written in the guy’s POV!
The business suit woman raises a hand, offering forty-one hundred.
Maxine’s eyes laser in on me, and she slashes an arm through the air. “Five thousand dollars,” she says, jacking the price up by nine hundred and staking her claim. I shudder inside.
The guy’s eyes widen, and he holds up his hands. “I’m out.”
My stomach plummets when the business woman shakes her head.
“Going once?” Sierra asks, scanning the tables, looking for perhaps one last big spender. My eyes scan the crowd, too. Hell, maybe I’ll find an escape hatch. A trapdoor to drop into and disappear like in a magic act. Maybe Trent will learn to read my mind. Trent, I’ll cover you for anything you bid. Just raise that hand, name a price, and save me.
My best friend’s expression is merely curious now as he watches Maxine and Sierra, waiting for the verdict. My opportunity to play yard boy slips through my fingers.
The look in Maxine’s eyes is pure satisfaction as she waits for the final word. She winks at me, as if we have a secret. Holy shit. She thinks I want this. She thinks I want her to win me.
A flash of chestnut brown hair in the back catches my attention. A flurry of silver. It’s Violet, hands in the air, wildly flapping over her head in the middle of the ballroom. She brings her finger to her nose. And she’s tapping it, like fucking Santa Claus coming down the chimney, and Harlan tapping his nose to signal his agent, and all the greatest solutions in the universe at once.
My heart goes crazy.
It hammers in my chest. This is like finding an open receiver a second before you’re sacked.
“Going twice,” Sierra says, trailing off as she waits.
I raise my arm and tap my nose, too. Violet is the only one who knows I need to get out of this jam. She’s the only one I mentioned it to. And she’s the only one now who can save me.
“Ten thousand dollars.”
Holy shit. Violet does not mess around with my money. Her eyes widen, as if she’s surprised she bid that high.
My gaze finds Trent. He’s staring at his sister, slack-jawed.
Sierra’s smile is bright and wide. “Ten thousand dollars. Do we have ten thousand, one hundred?”
The room is hushed. Maxine’s expression is blank. She must be shocked. She probably didn’t expect anyone to vie with her to this extent.
I tap my foot, willing Sierra to close this quickly. Just slam the door shut, please, fucking please.
“Going one. Going twice.”
I say a silent prayer. I cross my fingers. I hope.
Maxine blinks, opens her mouth, and I steel myself for a disgustingly high counter bid.
But there’s only silence. No words come. Violet has shocked her speechless. This type of bid wasn’t in Maxine’s playbook.
Sierra raises her arm. “And a night with the quarterback is sold for ten thousand dollars.”
Talk about a Hail Mary.
10% of the proceeds from the release day sales along with a portion of pre-orders across all retailers of MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY will be given to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and Houston Humane Society to help those in need from the natural disaster.
✦The audiobook is narrated by Zachary Webber! Grab your copy today! http://adbl.co/2gbiHT2✦
Lauren’s Most Valuable Playboy Team Spirit Prize Package Giveaway! This bundle is valued at $450 and includes a Coach Handbag ($300 value) and $150 Stub Hub Gift Card to use for tickets to the game, your favorite concert, or theater performance.
A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than eighty times, and she’s sold more than 2 million books. In September she’ll release MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY, a standalone sports romance. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter
We’re so excited to share a sneak peek at COLD MALICE by Toni Anderson – check it out below and preorder your copy, so you can dive in to COLD MALICE on September 12th!
About COLD MALICE
Available September 12th
ASAC Steve (Mac) McKenzie is out to prove himself by leading a task force investigating a series of murders in the heart of Washington, DC. His undercover work in an antigovernment compound twenty years earlier is related—as is the sweet, innocent girl he befriended back then. Now that girl is a beautiful woman, and she has something to hide.
Tess Fallon spent a lifetime trying to outrun her family’s brand of bigotry, but someone is threatening her anonymity by using the anniversary of her father’s death to carry out evil crimes and she’s terrified her younger brother is involved. She sets out to find the truth and comes face-to-face with a man she once idolized, a man she thought long dead. As the crimes escalate it becomes obvious the killer has an agenda, and Tess and Mac are running out of time to stop him.
Will the perpetrator use a decades-old dream of revolution to attack the federal government? And will the fact that Tess and Mac have fallen hard for each other give a cold-hearted killer the power to destroy them both?
“You want me to provide an alibi?” The glow drained from her cheeks.
Tension sizzled through the air as Mac watched her body language to see if it matched her words. “You know I have to ask.”
She crossed her arms, every line of her body defensive and resentful. “I don’t remember exactly where I was on Monday morning.” Her eyes moved up and right.
Shit. She was lying. People lied to cops and FBI agents all the time. The question was, what did she have to hide?
“But this morning, when the DJ was shot”— She’d already put together what the cops were officially refusing to admit—“ I was in a coffee shop and then on the Metro.”
“Got people who can verify that?”
She gave him the name of a coffee shop near Tenleytown and the metro stop where she’d got off the train.
“Don’t tell them why you’re asking,” she said. “Please.”
He grimaced.
She cradled her forehead in her hand and looked like she suddenly felt ill. Because, really, what were they going to think when the FBI started asking questions about her movements? He made himself push on. She wasn’t his friend or his date. He had a job to do.
“Any idea who might be committing these murders?”
“I told you. I’m not in touch with anyone from that life anymore.” “What about your brother?”
“Eddie?” An ugly laugh escaped. “I don’t have anything to do with that wacko.”
Eddie Hines was still incarcerated in the Idaho State Correctional Center. They’d pulled a bullet matched to his gun out of a SWAT officer’s vertebrae. The policeman had been lucky to not be paralyzed. To prove that point the officer turned up in a borrowed wheelchair and a “here but for the grace of God” sign every time Eddie came up for parole.
“I meant your other brother.”
She reached out to hold on to the back of the couch. “He doesn’t know about any of this.”
Mac frowned. “You mean the murders?”
“No,” she bit out sharply. “Any of it. Not the Pioneers. Not Kodiak Compound. Not who our family really is. Nothing.” Her fists clenched and unclenched. “And I want it to stay that way.”
What the hell? “Where does he think he comes from?”
“I told him we were the children of Trudy’s second-cousin on her mom’s side. I told him our parents died up in Oregon and Trudy took us in.”
“You lied to him about his parents?” Holy shit.
She put her hand on her hip. “Don’t use that judgmental tone with me, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steve McKenzie.”
“Sorry, Tess.” He strode toward her until they were only a foot apart. “I didn’t realize you had the monopoly on changing your identity.”
She flinched and blinked rapidly as if fighting tears. “If anyone should understand why I wanted to leave that ugliness behind it should be you. You need to leave. Now.”
When he didn’t move she went to the front door and opened it, waiting for him to take the hint. Damn. He’d blown it. When he stood in front of her again he opened his mouth to speak.
She beat him to it. “Don’t leave town, right?” Bitterness was rife in the lines around her mouth. In the bite of her tone.
“I was going to say that if anyone from Kodiak gets in touch—”
“They won’t.”
“But if they do—”
“They won’t!” She appeared on the verge of crying, but fighting it.
He’d seen all sorts of tears during his time on the job. It was always the ones that didn’t fall that affected him most.
He pulled a business card out of his pocket, took her hand and folded her fingers over it. The skin on skin contact made something unexpected spread through his body. Despite her anger she felt it too— he could tell by the way her pupils widened and her lips parted on a gasp. She tried to pull away but he didn’t let go and he didn’t back down.
Instead he pulled her toward him into a stiff embrace. His breath brushed her hair as he kissed the top of her head— like she was still that little girl he’d known all those years ago.
“I’m not the bad guy here, Tess,” he murmured against her hair.
She kept her head bowed, and eyes closed, hand pressed like a fiery brand against his heart.
“Neither am I, but no one seems to care.”
She pulled away, and he let her go. Then he walked away just like he had nearly twenty years ago.
He sat in his car, staring at the house, knowing she was inside watching him right back.
The unexpected attraction had caught him off guard. He’d forgotten what it felt like to actually want someone. But he couldn’t afford to start something with the daughter of one of the most notorious white supremacist leaders in history. That would not look great on his résumé.
That stupid hug had knocked him off balance and made him sit here like a damn stalker. He’d hoped to neutralize some of the antagonism his turning up out of the blue had created and keep her onside should he need her help in the future. But now the fresh scent of her shampoo invaded his nostrils, and the feel of her soft skin tantalized his senses. The sight of her in that damp robe— knowing that she was naked underneath— had distracted the hell out of him. And damned if that embrace hadn’t felt like coming home.
Chances were she wasn’t involved in the current murders. It didn’t seem likely that an accountant, raised by a woman of color, would turn around and start killing people based on her daddy’s evil doctrine. But who knew? He’d seen crazier things in his career. Tomorrow he’d check out her alibi and cross her off his to-do list.
More’s the pity.
And so what if his mind turned dirty. It wasn’t going to lead anywhere. She was off limits. And he was in control of his wants and needs.
See the COLD MALICE trailer
Did you know the first book in the Cold Justice series is available for free? Get your hands on A COLD DARK PLACE!
New York Times and USA Today international bestselling author, Toni Anderson, writes dark, gritty Romantic Suspense novels that have hit #1 in Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, the Top 10 in Amazon and Kobo stores, and the Top 50 in iBooks. Her novels have won many awards. A former Marine Biologist from Britain, she inexplicably ended up in the geographical center of North America, about as far from the ocean as it is possible to get. She now lives in the Canadian prairies with her Irish husband and two children and spends most of her time complaining about the weather.
Toni has no explanation for her oft-times dark imagination, and only hopes the romance makes up for it. She’s addicted to reading, dogs, tea, and chocolate.
If you want to know when Toni’s next book will be out, visit her website (http://www.toniandersonauthor.com) and sign up for her newsletter. If you want to read other fascinating stories about life in a city that, during winter, is sometimes colder than Mars, friend her on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/toniannanderson).
Bestselling author Staci Hart brings you the second installment of an addictive romantic mythology series where love is the ultimate game, and Aphrodite always wins.
Shift by Staci Hart
Publishing Date: August 24th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
Even the gods cannot betray the will of the stars.
It’s been a hundred years since she’s warmed my bed, a hundred years spent waiting for her. Now we’ll compete again in a game that matters little to me. But my prize is far greater than a token to be paid for a favor — I want her.
And for the first time in a very long time, I have the chance to keep her.
Because now the ground has shifted, tilted in my favor, and with her footing unsteady, she will fall.
I will catch her.
This time, I won’t let go.
Excerpt:
ARES
The city stretched up like quartz against the fading sunlight, the colors of the sky deepening with every second that slipped by. Ares’s eyes were on the horizon, slashed with the darkening skyscrapers at the southern tip of Manhattan, but his mind was a thousand years behind him, and her face filled the space in between.
They were Mars and Venus. Man and woman. Ares and Aphrodite. The bond between them was unbreakable, undeniable, no matter how she had tried to reject it, tried to stay away. She’d never quite succeeded. She never would.
Even the gods could not betray the will of the stars.
It had been a hundred years since she warmed his bed, a hundred years of waiting for her. Now they would compete again in a game that mattered little to him. His prize was far greater than a token to be paid for a favor — he wanted her. And for the first time in a very long time, he had a chance to keep her.
Adonis had been in the way far too long — even murdering the human hadn’t removed him from the equation — but now the ground had shifted, tilted in Ares’s favor, and with Aphrodite’s footing unsteady, she would fall.
He would catch her.
This time, he wouldn’t let go.
Ares had already chosen his human player, and soon he would make his way down to the throng of gods who waited for the game to begin. She would be there. She would make her choice, and the fire between them would ignite as it always did — first with a spark, then a flicker. Then, she would be consumed, and so would he.
It would be the same as it ever was, and he was so starved for her, his body tensed from head to heart to heel in anticipation of what was to come.
From a hundred years down to a few days, the distance traveled worth every second of longing, and with every moment that passed, the stars moved closer to alignment and to his favor. And there was nothing she could do to fight it.
Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey.
From roots in Houston to a seven year stint in Southern California, Staci and her family ended up settling somewhere in between and equally north, in Denver. They are new enough that snow is still magical. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.
New York Time bestselling author Lexi Blake brings us the cover for AT YOUR SERVICE, the next book in the Masters and Mercenaries: Topped series releasing on November 14th!
Juliana O’Neil’s promising future was burned away in the heat of battle. She had been an officer with a bright future in the military, but now she is struggling to survive. Her husband gone and her career in shambles, she finds a job at Top as a hostess and tries to put together the pieces of her life. The last thing she needs is any kind of male attention, but she can’t help but be amused at her neighbor and coworker’s lothario antics. Not that she would have anything to do with him, at least not for more than one night.
Javier Leones doesn’t understand monogamy. No woman could ever be enough for his endless libido, but he has to admit Juliana has his attention. For reasons he doesn’t fully understand, he can’t seem to get the gorgeous redhead with the sad eyes out of his head. After one scorching night together, he realizes he’ll never be able to get her out of his system. But with his reputation, he fears she’ll never see him as more than a one-night stand.
When their passions collide, these new lovers will be forced to confront Juliana’s past and come to terms with Javier’s present. Will they find their way or will this reservation be canceled at the last minute?
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
Ryan Steel is known in Snow Creek as the handsomest Steel brother with the most jovial personality. Now that his busy grape harvest and winemaking season is over, he’s happy to spend time with his family and help his brothers, Talon and Jonah, celebrate their impending nuptials. The Steels are taking a well-deserved break from the conspiracy surrounding them…until an unlikely woman and a long-buried secret shatter Ryan’s world.
Detective Ruby Lee has been on her own since she was fifteen. When her past collides with the Steel family’s mysteries, she’s determined to find the truth. She has her own issues, and she’s not looking for a relationship, despite her all-consuming attraction to Ryan Steel. The gorgeous dark-haired man gets under her skin anyway…and he needs her.
Together they explore both of their histories, but those pasts could cost them a future.
#1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Helen Hardt’s passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone…
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention. She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.
About COLD MALICE
About Lauren Blakely:
Juliana O’Neil’s promising future was burned away in the heat of battle. She had been an officer with a bright future in the military, but now she is struggling to survive. Her husband gone and her career in shambles, she finds a job at Top as a hostess and tries to put together the pieces of her life. The last thing she needs is any kind of male attention, but she can’t help but be amused at her neighbor and coworker’s lothario antics. Not that she would have anything to do with him, at least not for more than one night.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
