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Sustained
Legal Briefs Series- Book Two
Release Date: August 25, 2015
A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.
When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and intimidating—and that suits me just fine. In fact, it’s necessary when I’m breaking down a witness on the stand.
Complications don’t work for me—I’m a “need-to-know” type of man. If you’re my client, tell me the basic facts. If you’re my date, stick to what will get you off. I’m not a therapist or Prince Charming—and I don’t pretend to be.
Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. Now I’m going to Mommy & Me classes, One Direction concerts, the emergency room, and am knee deep in a damn compost pit.
Chelsea’s too sweet, too innocent, and too gorgeous for her own good. She tries to be tough, but she’s not. She needs someone to help her, and defend her…and the kids.
And that—that, I know how to do.
Excerpt
Chelsea’s skin radiates the flushed, cheery glow of alcohol. Her eyes are hooded and happy but shield her thoughts, making her harder to read than usual. She leans back in her chair, regarding me, running her finger around the rim of her glass. “So if you started out as such a troubled youth, how did you become”-she gestures to me-“this? Successful. Honorable. Respectable.”
I pour the last of the wine into my glass. “ ‘Respectable’ is probably pushing it a little bit…but the story goes like this: I was fifteen, running around with some real dipshits. Older guys. One night we thought it’d be brilliant to break into a sporting goods store, because that’s the kind of losers we were, only I didn’t know one of them was carrying. He ended up shooting a guard in the leg.”
Chelsea gasps just a little.
And my cock twitches a lot.
“We ran out the back, right into the arms of a waiting squad car.” I shake my head at the idiot I was. “The prosecutor wanted to charge me as an adult, send me away for serious time-and he could have. I had a hot temper and a record, and aside from my mother, I thought the whole goddamn world was my enemy.”
Chelsea leans forward, completely enthralled. “So what happened?”
“The Honorable Atticus Faulkner happened. He was the juvenile judge on my case-a big, mean, scary son of a bitch. And he…thought he saw something worthy in me. So he kept me in juvenile court- gave me community service and probation, to be supervised by the hard-ass himself.” I chuckle. “At the time, I thought the judge was doing me a favor-going easy on me.”
“He wasn’t?”
“Depends on your definition of ‘easy.’ For the next few years I trimmed grass by hand with fucking garden shears. I carried boulders, scrubbed floors, reshingled the goddamn roof-real Mr. Miyagi, wax-on-wax-off kind of shit. He rode my ass-nothing was ever good enough. It made me want to do everything better, just to fucking spite the bastard. And then…he had me start doing research. Studying case law, drafting briefs, analyzing opinions-it was fascinating to me. When my probation was up, the Judge offered me a job. By then I’d gotten my head out of my ass and was actually scoring decent grades in high school. With his recommendation and a shitload of student loans, I got through college, then law school…and that’s all she wrote.”
“I think that’s amazing,” she says softly, watching me.
“Yeah-the Judge is a pretty amazing guy.”
Her lips slide into a gentle smile and something like awe shines in her eyes. “I was talking about you.”
I’m hardly ever taken off guard. Surprised. But this stunning wisp of a woman just did exactly that.
Chelsea turns her head toward the piano music floating in from the other room. “I love this song.”
It’s a Van Morrison cover-“Crazy Love.”
I toss my napkin on the table and move to stand next to her, holding out my hand. “Would you like to dance?” And I can tell I just surprised her too. The simple delight on her face when her hand slides into mine makes me want to do it again.
We step out onto the edge of the dance floor. I wrap my arm around her lower back, holding her tight and flush against me. One of Chelsea’s hands rests on my shoulder, toying with the hair at the nape of my neck. The other is clasped in mine just over my heart. We sway, just looking at each other for a few moments.
“I was going to ask you to dance,” she tells me. “But you don’t seem like the type who would’ve said yes.”
“I’m not,” I answer, staring at her lush moth. “I was just using it as an excuse to be closer to you.”
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love.
She sighs, practically sinks into my arms. Chelsea’s head fits against my chest like she was made to be there. My chin rests against her hair, and I smell clean and sweet vanilla.
“Hey, Jake?”
“Yeah?”
Chelsea lifts her head from my chest. “You don’t need an excuse.”
I lower my head at the same moment she reaches up for me. And her lips-fuck-they’re warms, soft, and move with such innocent daring, I’m practically trembling. Was it just last night that I first kissed her? It seems longer ago. I cup her cheek, stroking her skin with my thumb, kissing deeper, tasting wine and the moan I’ve been obsessing over all night.
And the absolute craziest part of it all? I haven’t gotten laid in three goddamn weeks, but if this is all we do-kissing, with her against me, my arms around her-I’ll be grinning in the morning like a guy who banged a whole sorority house full of cheerleaders.
I’m hoping for more. I want everything-all the secret, sweetest parts of her-but if this is all I get to have tonight? It’s enough.
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love…
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Michel’s Review
I am just going to shout out….I LOVE EMMA CHASE !!!!
EMMA CHASE ROCKS!
Sustained by Emma Chase is the second book in the Legal Briefs series. I loved the first book, Overruled and didn’t think she could top it. I did not give her enough credit because not only did she top Overruled but had me falling head over heels in love with Jake Becker from Sustained. Jake Becker was just as entertaining as Drew Evans from the Tangled series. One moment I was wanting to wring his neck and the next moment he was making my heart burst.
Jake Becker is a hardened defense attorney on the fast track of making partner in the prestigious firm he works for in Washington D.C.. He’s learned to be tougher than his clients and has desensitized himself. He may be brash, appear callous, and come across as heartless but beneath the surface there is this whole other guy that most people will never see. He lives his life by certain rules. One of those rules is to avoid all romantic attachments. He loves sex and has one night stands frequently. When a one night stand goes wrong and weeks later he finds out he may have caught a venereal disease it changes his outlook on dating.
After weeks without sex he’s a bit cranky. When a smart mouthed little kid bumps into him and steals his wallet, he is downright pissed. When he meets the little brats guardian, Chelsea McQuaid he is mesmerized and his gavel is standing at attention until he realizes that there are five more little people lurking. He should turn around and run as fast as he can. But we all know how best intentions go, yeah they go down the drain.
Not only will Jake fall head over heels for Chelsea, he is going to fall in love with six precious little people that he will defend with his life. He will learn the true meaning of love in every form. He will learn to change a diaper, weather a One Direction concert, bet on Mommy & Me classes, and take on the evil wicked parents of an elite school. Is one woman worth it? Chelsea McQuaid is worth that and so much more.
Sustained was delightful! I laughed and swooned. Jake Decker makes Stanton Shaw and Drew Evans look like wannabe’s.
I highly recommend Sustained and Overruled. Each book can be read as a stand alone novel or in series order. I can’t wait for the next book. Appealed will release in November. I don’t think Brent Mason can top Jake Decker but knowing Emma Chase I could very well be wrong.
The Legal Briefs Series
Overruled – Book 1
Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo
A Washington, DC, defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing—with his southern drawl, disarming smile, and captivating green eyes, he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him, and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.
Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.
Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart, the mother of his beloved ten-year-old daughter. Jenny is getting married—to someone who isn’t him.
That’s definitely not part of the plan.
***
Sofia Santos is a city-raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.
But when Stanton, her “friend with mind-blowing benefits,” begs her for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi, to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves. Her head tells her she’s crazy…and her heart says something else entirely.
What happens when you mix a one-stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage, and a gun-toting Nana?
The Bourbon flows, passions rise, and even the best-laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.
Sustained – Book Two
Coming August 25, 2015
A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.
When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and intimidating—and that suits me just fine. In fact, it’s necessary when I’m breaking down a witness on the stand.
Complications don’t work for me—I’m a “need-to-know” type of man. If you’re my client, tell me the basic facts. If you’re my date, stick to what will get you off. I’m not a therapist or Prince Charming—and I don’t pretend to be.
Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. Now I’m going to Mommy & Me classes, One Direction concerts, the emergency room, and am knee deep in a damn compost pit.
Chelsea’s too sweet, too innocent, and too gorgeous for her own good. She tries to be tough, but she’s not. She needs someone to help her, and defend her…and the kids.
And that—that, I know how to do.
Appealed – Book Three
Coming November 17, 2015
Pre- Order : Amazon / B & N / Kobo
When Brent Mason looks at Kennedy Randolph, he doesn’t see the awkward, sweet girl who grew up next door. He sees a self-assured, stunning woman…who wants to crush the most intimate—and prized—parts of his anatomy beneath the heels of her Louboutins.
When Kennedy looks at Brent, all she sees is the selfish, Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue–worthy teenager who humiliated her in high school in order to join the popular crowd. A crowd that made those years a living hell for her.
But she’s not a lovesick social outcast anymore—she’s a Washington, DC, prosecutor with a long winning streak. Brent is the opposing attorney in her next case, and Kennedy thinks it’s time to put him through a little hell of his own.
But things aren’t exactly working out the way she planned. Brent has his sights set on Kennedy, and every fiery exchange only makes him want her more—and makes her wonder if he’s as passionate in the bedroom as he is in the courtroom. In the end, they may just find themselves in love…or in contempt of court.
Author Bio:
By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night she toils away the hours bringing her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. She has a long standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.
Emma is an avid reader. Before her children were born she was known to consume whole books in a single day. Writing has also always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true.
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