Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Release Day Blitz/Spotlight: Two Princes: The Biker and the Billionaire by Victoria Danann

Two Princes: The Biker and The Billionaire
Sons of Sanctuary
Book 1
Victoria Danann




Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: 7th House Publishing,
Imprint of Andromeda LLC
Date of Publication: June 16, 2015
Number of pages: 300
Cover Artist: Victoria Danann



Book Description:

Brigid Roan is a graduate student at the University of Texas. She had no trouble getting her thesis approved, but finding a Hill Country motorcycle club willing to give her access to their lifestyle had started to seem impossible. Then she got a lead. A friend of a friend had a cousin with ties to The Sons of Sanctuary.
What she wanted was information to prove a proposition. What she didn’t want was to fall for one of the members of the club. Especially since she had set out to prove that motorcycle clubs are organized according to the same structure as primitive tribal society.

Brash Fornight was standing in line at the H.E.B. Market when his world tipped on its axis. While waiting his turn to check out, his gaze had wandered to the magazine display and settled on the new issue of “NOW”. The image on the cover, although GQ’d up in an insanely urbane way, was… him.
After reading the article, Brash threw some stuff in a duffle and left his club, The Sons of Sanctuary, with a vague explanation about needing a couple of days away. He left his Jeep at the Austin airport and caught a plane for New York, on a mission to find the guy who was walking around with his face.

Two brothers, one a player, one a playboy, are on a collision course with destiny and a woman who thought she won a prize when she was allowed a look inside the Sons of Sanctuary MC.


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Excerpt;
“Sir?” Brash Fornight gradually became aware that someone behind him in the grocery checkout line was trying to get his attention. “Sir?” He refocused and glanced behind him. The woman leaning on a cart overflowing with chip bags and cookie boxes nodded toward the cashier indicating that it was his turn to move forward. Brash looked her in the eye and had to give her props. Most people wouldn’t have the balls to try to herd a guy wearing Sons of Sanctuary MC leather.
The club employed a woman who cooked and did grocery shopping several times a week as part of her job description, but Brash didn’t like to explain his relentless craving for peanuts and he liked being teased about it even less. He didn’t know whether it was the Vitamin B or the fat or just because he liked the taste, but he couldn’t imagine going a day without them.
That’s how he came to be standing statue still In the grocery checkout line, being prompted by some woman with more nerve than sense. While he was waiting, his eyes drifted over the magazine display and settled on the cover of “NOW”, on the Most Eligible Bachelor edition no less. The debonair figure staring back was wearing Brash’s own face and body. He looked different with short hair and a four thousand dollar suit with the shirt fashionably open at the neckline, but the similarity was inescapable.
On impulse he grabbed the magazine and tossed it onto the conveyor belt with his week’s stash of peanuts.
He stuffed the bags into the saddlebags of his bike and roared toward home, nervously tapping his fingers on handlebars at red lights, riding on shoulders to keep from slowing down. He was anxious to get to the privacy of his own room and read about Branach St. Germaine.
Two beers, one jar of peanuts, and one “NOW” article later, Brash was sitting on the edge of his bed looking at the wall, seeing nothing but his own heavy thoughts. He pulled out his phone, looked up a website, and waited on hold for ten minutes to hear the time of the next flight from Austin to New York.

There was a flight to Newark in a little over three hours. He looked at his watch and calculated the time it would take to drive from Dripping Springs at that time of day. As he booked the flight, he stood up, walked to the small closet, grabbed a duffel bag, and began shoving stuff into it. Ten minutes later, he closed his door and locked it, threw the duffel over his shoulder, and headed straight for the office downstairs. He dropped the duffel on the hallway floor beside the closed door and knocked.
“Yeah?” Brash looked inside, glad that his dad was by himself, and stepped in. “What’s up?”
“I’m takin’ personal time, Pop. Gonna be gone for a couple of days.”
“What the hell is ‘personal time’?”
The gruffness made Brash smile. “It means I’m not gonna be here if you call and I’m not tellin’ you why.”
The Sons of Sanctuary President looked up at Brash, over the top of his readers, and narrowed his eyes. “You got a secret?”
“Everybody’s got secrets.”
Brandon Fornight studied his son for a minute. “True enough. Is it the kind of secret that could affect this club?”
Brash shook his head. “Don’t see how.”
“Well, then. See you… When did you say you’d be back?”
“I didn’t.”
“Bein’ purposefully vague, are you?”
Brash grinned. “That’s why they call it personal time. But I expect to be back Friday.”
“You gonna have your phone with you?” When Brash nodded, Bran looked back down at his ledger in a deliberately dismissive gesture. “Well, get outta here then.”
Brash parked his bike in the airplane hangar. The structure had already been on the property when the club had bought it and turned it into a compound twenty years earlier. They used part of it for vehicle maintenance and repair and part for parking.
Some of the guys who were working looked over and shot curious glances his way when Brash threw his duffel into his pickup and started it up, but it wasn’t their way to ask questions. The Sons figured that if somebody wanted you to know something, they’d tell you.
Brash took a cab to a midtown hotel, wondering all the way why human beings would choose to live in such a place. As he slid his credit card across the hotel counter to the agent on duty, he glanced at the name, Brandon Fornight. It seemed unlikely that it was a coincidence that that the mysterious look-alike’s first name began with the same four letters. He ordered room service and pulled out his laptop.
Getting intel on the guy didn’t take advanced ops. Within an hour Brash knew where Brannach St. Germaine worked, what kind of car he drove, what kind of women he dated, who his tailor was, and where he liked to dine. There was no shortage of photos online, but the one that grabbed his attention wasn’t one of the many with starlets or debutantes on his arm. It was the one taken with his arm around his mother as they were arriving together for some red carpet fundraiser. Brash had an almost irresistible compulsion to reach up and touch her face on the screen in front of him.
The knock on the door signaled that room service had arrived. It cost a fortune, but looked and tasted like shit. So he closed the computer and went out for a walk to clear his head and find something edible.

About the Author:


USA Today Bestselling Author, Victoria Danann, is making her debut into Contemporary Romance with releases in May and June 2015, after taking the world of PNR by storm.

Her Knights of Black Swan series won Best Paranormal Romance Two years in a Row (2013, 2014). ~Reviewers Choice Awards, The Paranormal Romance Guild.

Victoria’s paranormal romances come with uniquely fresh perspectives on “imaginary” creatures, characters, and themes. She adds a dash of scifi, a flourish of fantasy, enough humor to make you laugh out loud, and enough steam to make you squirm in your chair. Her heroines are independent femmes with flaws and minds of their own whether they are aliens, witches, demonologists, psychics, past life therapists, or financial analysts from Dallas. Her heroes are hot and hunky, but they also have brains, character, and good manners – usually – whether they be elves, demons, berserkers, werewolves, or vampires.

The first book of the Knights of Black Swan Paranormal Romance Series, My Familiar Stranger, was nominated for Best Paranormal Romance of 2012 by both Reviewers’ Choice and Readers’ Choice Awards. All of her books have opened on the Amazon Best Sellers list and earned Night Owl Reviews Top Pick awards.

Many have appeared on Listopia Book of the Month as #1 across all genres.

For books published in 2013, Black Swan won three awards.

1. Best Paranormal Romance Series
2. Best Paranormal Romance Novel – A SUMMONER’S TALE

3. Best Vampire~Shifter Novel – MOONLIGHT.

In 2014, Solomon’s Sieve won Best Vampire Novel.

If you’re interested in me personally, I am also a classically trained musician who defected to Classic Rock and that’s my first love. Yeah. Even more than writing.

This is Roadhouse, the very best in Classic Rock, taken near The Last Concert Cafe, Houston Texas, 2011. I was the utility player which means I played rhythm guitar, keyboards, sang backups and a few leads.


Author Links:
Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest


Tour giveaway:

NOTE: This is the celebrity featured on the cover of TWO PRINCES.

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Monday, June 15, 2015

Book Blitz: Deacon by Cheryl Douglas

Deacon
Starkis Family
Book 1
Cheryl Douglas


Genre: Contemporary Romance
Number of pages: 158
Cover Artist: Fantasia Frog Designs

Book Description:

When Deacon Sarkis sets his sights on the gorgeous young model gracing the pages of his glossy catalogue, he knows he has to have her. One problem. She’s not available. But that won’t stop Deacon. He’s a man used to getting what he wants and he wants Mia.

Mia is stunned when she receives an email from the elusive billionaire who owns the lingerie company she models for. He tells her he’s intrigued. He’s not the only one. But she knows she’d be a fool to throw away an eight year relationship for a brief affair with the head honcho. He doesn’t do relationships and she doesn’t do casual sex. It seems they’re at an impasse.

Who will come out on top in this battle of wills? The dominant one or the woman intent on teaching him the meaning of submission?


Book Trailer

Except:

I barged into Deacon’s office at eight o’clock that evening. Since his silver Lamborghini was one of the few cars left in the parking lot, I wasn’t too concerned about interrupting a meeting.
He looked up from his computer when I stormed in, and a smile quickly replaced his scowl.
“They let you in without clearance?”
I plopped down in the seat across from him, trying not to notice how tempting he looked
with his sleeves rolled up and no tie on.
“The receptionist who usually guards your castle left for the day, and the security guard at the front desk has a crush on me, so he didn’t ask any questions.”
He frowned. “Which security guard is that?”
I spotted a stress ball on the corner of his desk. I doubted he used it; it looked like a
promo item Alabaster’s gave away. I whipped it at his chest. “You’re not serious.”
He laughed, catching the ball before it hit him. “You have a pretty good arm.”
“Shut up, Deacon!” The nagging voice in the back of my head reminded me I was talking to my boss, but I told her to mind her own goddamn business and go back to sleep. “I’m pissed at you.”
He leaned back, kicking his feet up on the desk as he tossed the ball from one hand to
the other and squeezed it. “Do tell.”
“You told Eleni about us.”
“So?”
“So you had no right to do that!”
He seemed totally unfazed by my anger, which only incensed me further. “She’s my friend. I should have been the one to tell her, when—or if—I decided there was anything worth telling her.”
That got his attention.
When he pinned me with that hot gaze, I feared he would demand I bend over the desk and take my punishment like a brave girl.
“I asked you not to tell anyone, including Eleni. You didn’t, and I appreciate that. Now that you’re single, I’ve decided it’s time your best friend know about our… relationship.”
The way he said relationship made me feel as though he had been seeking a different word but come up short. Arrangement, perhaps? Was that what this was to him?
Not willing to let him have the last word, I said, “We’re not in a relationship. We’re still getting to know each other. If I like what I see, I might agree to date you, though not exclusively. I’ve been tied down too long to get serious again so soon.”
I swallowed, averting my eyes when the thin skin across his knuckles turned white from the pressure he was inflicting on the  ball.
“Let me get this straight. You might agree to date me—though not exclusively?”
I was almost afraid to push him further, but if I backed down, that would set a precedent for all future arguments. “That’s right. If you have a problem with that, we can part ways now and—”
He planted his feet on the floor and made his way around the desk slowly, like a panther
preparing to devour its prey. He gripped the armrests of my chair, his face a fraction of an inch
from mine. I held my breath—waiting, praying, and trying to predict what he might do next.
Pushing him had been a very bad idea.

“You really think that’s an option?” he whispered.


About the Author:


When one door closes, another one opens. I closed the door to my business for the last time in 2011, which left me with a decision. What now? Find another location and move my nutrition business, go to work for someone else, or take a chance on my dream? I chose the latter and I’ve never looked back!

I’ve always loved reading and writing, but it wasn’t until I jumped in with both feet and decided writing would be my career, instead of just a hobby, that my muse woke up from her deep slumber.

It was like someone flipped a switch inside my head and stories just came pouring out. At the end of the day, I would often look at the keyboard and wonder, ‘Who the heck wrote that? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure it wasn’t me!’

I don’t write books. I tell stories, or rather, I allow my characters to tell their stories through me. I’m not a plotter, never have been, never will be. Why? Because I have no idea how the story will evolve and it’s not my place to manipulate it. My job is to get to know these characters, figure out what makes them tick, then follow their journey wherever it takes me.

When I’m not writing, I’m daydreaming. Thankfully, I have an understanding husband and son who know I’ll re-join the land of the living just as soon as my muse decides it’s quitting time. I don’t work for myself. I work for her. She’s the boss. And I’m okay with that.


Author Links:
Website | Facebook  | Twitter | Goodreads  


Tour Giveaway:

$25 Gift Card Giveaway

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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Spotlight: Viking Heart by Sky Purington

Viking Heart
The MacLomain Series
Viking Ancestors
Book 3
Sky Purington



Genre:  Time-travel Fantasy Romance

Date of Publication: June 4, 2015
Number of pages:  260
Cover Artist:  Tamra Westberry



Book Description:
Amber is heartbroken. Supposedly because of a pact made between three ninth century Viking brothers and Mt. Galdhøpiggen’s seers, her sisters have vanished into the distant past. Struggling with grief, she leans on her part-time fling Sean until even he is torn away. Or so it seems.

Of dragon blood and brother to the king, Kol Sigdir ‘the lucky’ has been determined to avoid his fate since the moment he promised himself, sight unseen, to a woman from the future. He adores all women and it’s no easy thing knowing he has to eventually pledge his heart to just one…until he meets Amber. A spirited artist and musician, she captivates him. When she offers him a soul-deep glimpse at what was missing from his life, he soon wonders how he will ever be able to let her go.

As Kol and Amber grow closer, they face multiple threats. Eager for revenge, King Alrek declares war. To make matters worse, he has an ally nobody could have anticipated. One determined to see everything come to an end.

Hearts struggle, rip apart, and then are rebuilt when the laws of time are tossed aside. A thousand years means nothing when two star-crossed souls are meant to connect. Even so, will the strength of love be enough to withstand a powerful enemy and bridge a gap across time already closed?

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Excerpt:

After receiving another horn of ale, Kol leaned back and eyed Amber with amusement as she stopped in front of the men playing bodhran drums. Unlike her sisters, she seemed to be embracing their society right away or so said the slow sway of her hips. Fortunately, the fires kept it warm enough that she’d removed her cloak, giving him and every other man a pleasurable view of her backside.

And just like him, there was nothing but lust in their eyes.

He didn’t recognize the low growl in his chest and had no idea he was heading in her direction until he was halfway there. Her sisters might be a solid wall of protection around Amber but far too many men were contemplating a way past them. Even with the potential wrath of the king and Raknar coming down on them, several clearly thought the loot well worth the inevitable punishment.

She must have said something about the instrument because Kol had nearly reached Amber when one of the men stopped playing his drum and handed it to her. Red dragon haze skirted the corners of his vision when the musician wrapped his arms around her from behind. Though he was only showing her how to use the drum, Kol also knew he was just as aroused as the men now forming a circle around her.

A dagger at the ready, he stopped beside her sisters and glared at any man willing to meet his eyes…which were few. No, they weren’t just lusting but downright enchanted by Amber. Even his eyes were snagged from protecting her when warm laughter bubbled up from her chest. She tossed her hair over a shoulder and winked at the man behind her. Arms crossed over his chest, Kol was impressed with how smoothly she kept the musician from pressing too close while simultaneously making him feel like the world revolved around him.

He had never seen anything quite like it.

From a woman that is.

Hel, Amber maneuvered a man nearly as well as Kol maneuvered a woman.

And that’s precisely what they did. Made the opposite sex feel special until they tired and moved on to the next. But Kol would bet that like him, she rarely left a man lacking. If anything, she left them happier than they were prior.

“I knew it wouldn’t take her long to make herself at home,” Megan murmured and bumped shoulders with him. “Put away the dagger, Champ. She’ll be all right.”

“I’m sure she will.” But he didn’t put away the dagger. Better that his fellowmen see his intentions…or at least that she was under his protection. Yet even as he tried to keep his attention on the bastards around her, he soon became as enamored as the rest when she held the crossbar beneath with expertise and started playing the drum. She had a way of moving her hand in such a way that the sound made the listener feel the passion within her.

Incredible passion.

Blatant sensuality.

The woman possessed a natural eroticism that simmered beneath the surface of every move she made. Kol watched the speed and roll of her hand, imagining that same hand playing his body with as much talent and hunger. Because there was a definite hunger in the sound she created. One that originated in the depths of her soul. A soul that felt things far more deeply than most.

Though Kol narrowed his eyes at the man behind her, he didn’t need to. Amber was handling him perfectly as she pulled away and nodded her thanks. Then her eyes met the women playing the pipes and she offered a dazzling smile as they caught her beat.

Captivated, he couldn’t decide which part of her he wanted to eye more. Her animated face, the way her hand deftly worked the instrument or the sway of her lovely hips as she moved in synchronization to the beat she created. 

About the Author:


Sky Purington is the best-selling author of fifteen novels and several novellas. A New Englander born and bred, Sky was raised hearing stories of folklore, myth and legend. When combined with a love for nature, romance and time-travel, elements from the stories of her youth found release in her books.

Interested in keeping up with Sky's latest news and releases? 


Author Links:
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest








Tour giveaway:
1 $50 gift card to winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Book Spotlight: Winning Glory by Ann Gimpel

Winning Glory
GenTech Rebellion, Book 1
Ann Gimpel




Dream Shadow Press
Release Date: 4/21/15
Genre: Military Romantic Suspense



The line between hunter and hunted thins, blurs, and finally shatters.

Series Backstory:

Sometime between the interminable wars in the Middle East and 9/11, the United States moved forward breeding a race of super humans. Clandestine labs formed, armed with eager scientists who’d always yearned to manipulate human DNA. At first the clones looked promising, growing to fighting size in as little as a dozen years, but V1 had design flaws.

Seven years ago, a rogue group turned on their creators, blew up the lab, and hit all the other breeding farms, freeing whomever they could find. In the intervening time, they’ve retreated to hidden compounds and created a society run by men. Women are kept on a tight leash because the men fear if they discover their innate power, they’d launch their own rebellion.



Book Description:

Being a genetically altered human without a name grew old, so Glory named herself. Surrounded by a maze of unpleasant alternatives, she makes a bold choice and ends up a fugitive in the midst of a Minnesota winter. Once she’s on the run, she discovers how unprepared she is for life outside her protected compound.

CIA agent, Roy Kincaid, devoted his career to hunting super humans who staged a rebellion seven years before. He’s not making much headway, so he goes deep undercover. One blustery night, a striking woman staggers into the café where he’s catching a late meal. Part waif, part runway model, the half-frozen woman arrows straight into his heart.

Glory’s flat out of alternatives, but death in the storm might be preferable to telling the tall stranger looming over her anything. Sensing Roy is dangerous, she pushes into his head seeking clues and discovers he hunts those like her. Maybe she can fool him, just for tonight. Get a hot meal and dry motel room out of the deal. If she’s lucky, he’ll never find out she’s on the run from the same group he’s targeted for death.

The thing she didn’t count on was falling in love.
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Excerpt:

…“Dessert, hon?” The waitress sidled back over to him, and Roy realized he was her only customer.
“Sure. What do you have?”
She rattled off a series of pies and cakes. He chose apple pie with a scoop of ice cream, and she left with his dinner plate. Roy slumped against the chair. He had to keep going. No choice. Not really. A good night’s sleep, coupled with the first adequate meal he’d had in a couple days might make a big difference in his attitude. At least he hoped they would.
He’d just begun on the pie, which had a surprisingly flaky crust, when a rush of cold air yanked his attention toward the door. A tall woman walked in. Long, dark hair caked with snow swirled around her, and she held her body tightly as if she were really cold. Roy glanced at her feet and was shocked to see a pair of tennis shoes with holes in them. Good God, had she been outside with such inadequate footwear? Didn’t she understand she could freeze to death? Even his stout boots didn’t do much to divert the cold.
Keeping her gaze downcast, she made her way to the counter and sat.
“Coffee, hon?” The waitress asked.
“How much is it?” the woman inquired.
“Two bucks.”
“Oh.” The woman’s shoulders drooped, and she swiveled the stool around, getting ready to go back out into the storm.
“No, you don’t.” The waitress’s voice sharpened. “I’ll stand you a coffee. You look about done in.”
The woman’s even features melted into what looked like relief before she turned back to face the counter. “Thank you. That’s really kind and I appreciate it. My wallet was stolen, and—”
“Never you mind.” The waitress patted the woman’s shoulder. “Bet you’re hungry too.” She poured hot coffee into a mug and handed it to the woman, who drew the steaming liquid to her lips.
 “Maybe a little,” the woman ventured. She clasped the cup with fingers white from cold.
By now, Roy knew he was staring, but he couldn’t make himself turn away. There was something waiflike and alluring about the tall woman with long, black hair. Snow dripped off her, creating puddles around her stool. All she wore against the winter weather was a thick, gray sweater and worn jeans. No scarf. No gloves. No hat. He was close to certain her wallet hadn’t been stolen. She looked more like an abuse victim on the run to him. Maybe he could help her get to her intended destination, if it wasn’t too far out of his way.
He pushed his chair back and made his way to the counter. “Say—” he began, but she started and drew away as if she expected him to hit her.
I was right. Abuse victim for sure.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He kept his voice low, soothing. “Order whatever you want, and I’ll pay for it.”
She kept her gaze on her hands clutching the coffee cup. “I can’t let you do that, sir. I’m all right. Truly I am.”
Without waiting for an invitation, he took the stool next to hers and called to the waitress. “Bring her the same meal I just had.”
“You got it, hon,” rang from the direction of the kitchen.
“You are not all right,” Roy said. “You’re thin as a rail, and you were shivering when you came in here. In fact, you still are. I’ll bet your shoes are wet clear through.” When she didn’t respond, he ploughed on. “Let me help you.”
She shook her head. “Don’t want your kind of help. It always comes with strings.”
“Mine doesn’t.”
He pushed a little with his enhanced mental ability to get her to look at him. If she did, maybe she’d see truth in his eyes. A shudder ran down her thin frame, but she dragged her gaze upward reluctantly. Roy felt bad for forcing her, but he didn’t have time to soothe her wounded places, which he suspected ran deep.
Eyes a shade of green he’d never seen inspected him. Long, thick lashes framed those eyes, and they were set in a face with high cheekbones, a high forehead, and black eyebrows winging a track over porcelain skin.
“Who are you?” The words tore from him. He hadn’t meant to say them. She was nervous as a feral cat as it was.
She shook her head sadly. “No one. I’m no one. You’ll forget all about me when you leave here.”
Something shifted in his mind, but he fought it. Before he could determine if something real had just happened or if he were imagining things, the waitress showed up with the woman’s dinner.
“Here you go, hon. Hope medium’s okay for that steak?”
“Fine, thank you.” Before the words were out, the woman picked up the fork and knife and shoveled food into her mouth.
Roy congratulated himself on a good call. Even though she’d been reluctant to admit it, she really was starving. He had no idea what she’d do tomorrow or the next day, but it wasn’t his problem. While she ate, he observed her from the corner of his eyes. In addition to being hungry and underdressed, she looked young. Maybe twenty. He’d be surprised if she were much more than that.
He shook a mental finger at himself. The country was full of abused women running from the men who used them as punching bags before they raped them. It was one part of law enforcement work he’d never understood: why the women kept going back for more.
“There are safe houses for girls like you,” he said, and could’ve kicked himself. What the hell was wrong with his mouth tonight? He couldn’t seem to keep words on the other side of it.
She stopped chewing long enough to glance at him. “What’s a safe house?”
“A place where women like you can go so whoever’s after you can’t get to you.”
“What makes you think someone’s after me?” Color splotched across her white cheeks.
Roy took a deep breath. “I was a cop for a long time.”
Her entire body tightened, and he wondered if he’d been wrong about why she was out in the storm. “You said was.” She swiped a paper napkin over her lips. “Are you still?”
“No. Not anymore.”
She took another bite, clearly thinking about what he’d said. “These people you think are after me. Could they still find me in a safe house?”
He wanted to lie to her, but didn’t. “Sure. Anyone can find anybody with the Internet and all, but the people who run the safe houses won’t let anyone who might hurt you inside.”
She drew her arched brows together and drank some coffee. “I’d have to go outside sometime. Work. Earn my way.”
He nodded. Those things were all true. He scratched his head and pushed too-long hair out of his eyes. “Sometimes, when a man is really persistent, there are ways of setting you up with a different identity in a different part of the country.”
Interest lit her features, and she cut up the last of her steak. “Where would I go to have that happen?”
“I’m not sure, but we could check with local agencies in the morning.”
A blank expression washed over her face, as if someone had shut out a light. She shot him a look she might have given yesterday’s overripe trash. “Morning, huh? You’re just like all the rest of them, mister. Means I’d have to spend the night with you.”
Roy winced. He hadn’t been thinking. Of course she’d make that connection. “No.” He shook his head emphatically. “I’d buy you your own room for the night. You can clean up, get some sleep, and we’ll regroup in the morning after breakfast.”
She narrowed her eyes, and he felt himself drawn into their depths. “My own room with a locked door?”
He nodded solemnly, willing her to believe him. If he could just do one decent deed, it would make up for the last two weeks of beating his head into a brick wall. Maybe it would give him enough juice to keep hunting for the scientists who were a bunch of Houdini fuckers.
“Mmph.” She started on her potato, taking large bites. In between them, she said. “I’m trying to figure out your angle. If I’ve worked my way around to believing you won’t hurt me by the time I’m done eating, I’ll accept your offer.”
It was the best he was likely to get. Roy stood. “Fair enough. I’m going to finish my pie.” It was sitting in a pool of melted ice cream, but he didn’t mind. “If you’d care to accept my help, just stop by my table on your way out. If you walk past, I give you my word I won’t bother you.”
“Deal.” She said around a mouthful of food. Swallowing, she twisted to look at him.
It felt as if she were staring straight through him, but Roy held his ground even after he identified a zing of power withdrawing from his mind. What the hell was she, anyway? When she returned to her dinner, he retreated to his pie, thoughts racing a mile a minute. What the fuck was he doing? If he were smart, he’d forget his offer, throw enough money on the table to cover both meals, and run like hell for his car.
There was something about the woman, though, an appeal that drew him, snared him, and wouldn’t leave him be. He ate mindlessly, not tasting the pie. He knew the feel of freak mind control. Was that it? Had he inadvertently stumbled onto one of them?
Impossible. They’re never by themselves, and whatever she examined me with didn’t feel quite right.
Plus, she didn’t resemble the ones he’d killed before. They had dark hair, but animal eyes. Amber, not green like hers. Of course they’d been men, but simple genetics argued they’d all look much the same if they came out of the same petri dishes.
Were there other augmented humans beyond those he already knew about? The thought fascinated and chilled him at the same time.
He scraped his fork over the plate and realized it was empty. Slugging back long-since-cold coffee, he dug for his wallet and extracted what he was certain would cover dinner, laying bills on the table and placing his empty mug atop them.
The woman looked almost done with her meal. What would she do?
What would he do if she walked by him and out the door? Would he be able to keep his promise and not go after her?…



About the Author:


Ann Gimpel is a mountaineer at heart. Recently retired from a long career as a psychologist, she remembers many hours at her desk where her body may have been stuck inside four walls, but her soul was planning yet one more trip to the backcountry. Around the turn of the last century (that would be 2000, not 1900!), she managed to finagle moving to the Eastern Sierra, a mecca for those in love with the mountains. It was during long backcountry treks that Ann’s writing evolved. Unlike some who see the backcountry as an excuse to drag friends and relatives along, Ann prefers solitude. Stories always ran around in her head on those journeys, sometimes as a hedge against abject terror when challenging conditions made her fear for her life, sometimes for company. Eventually, she returned from a trip and sat down at the computer. Three months later, a five hundred page novel emerged. Oh, it wasn’t very good, but it was a beginning. And, she learned a lot between writing that novel
and its sequel.

Around that time, a friend of hers suggested she try her hand at short stories. It didn’t take long before that first story found its way into print and they’ve been accepted pretty regularly since then. One of Ann’s passions has always been ecology, so her tales often have a green twist.

In addition to writing, Ann enjoys wilderness photography. She lugs pounds of camera equipment in her backpack to distant locales every year. A standing joke is that over ten percent of her pack weight is camera gear which means someone else has to carry the food! That someone is her husband. They’ve shared a life together for a very long time. Children, grandchildren and three wolf hybrids round out their family.


Author Links:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter 

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Blitz Spotlight: Enemy's Kiss by Kristi Jun

Enemy's Kiss
Kristi Jun


Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Number of pages: 270

Release Date: May 12 2015
Cover Artist: Kim Killion



Book Description:


She gave up her future for justice...

Emma Willoughby had an idyllic life until her parents were murdered and her world, as she knew it, came undone. She sacrificed everything and even accepted a marriage proposal from a man she thinks knows the identity of the killer.

Unfortunately, he is murdered before she’s able to discover the truth. Now the Crown claims a mission to Tibet will bring the answers she seeks. The trouble is, the man who has been assigned to protect her, a man she'd once deceived, is an arrogant spy who wants nothing to do with her.

He lived a lie to protect his family...

Michael Whitfield left home nearly a decade ago, but when his childhood friend is murdered and accused of high treason, he is determined to clear his name and his killer be brought to justice no matter the cost, even if it meant accompanying the woman who turned out to be nothing more than a heartless viper. But as their mission takes twisted turns and reveals a sinister plot that threatens both their lives and the lives of the innocent, his admiration for her grows and sparks between them once again ignite. But can he trust his heart to a woman whose history holds nothing but lies?


Amazon


Excerpt:

Finding the strength, Emma pulled away from the door, walked up the stairs, and stepped into her room, biting back the hot emotions igniting again with new purpose. She had no room for tears, no room for— 
A cold blade drew up to her neck and her breath snagged in her throat. Her hands gripped the culprit’s solid arm and her chin tilted up as the cold knife pressed on her neck.
“Afraid?” A chilling yet familiar voice taunted.
His musky male scent propelled peculiar tingles up and down her spine. He lowered his free hand and slid into her bodice. She gasped when his fingers touched the tip of her breasts, heart racing with anticipation. With one flick of his hand, he pulled out a pen knife she'd hidden between the mounds of her bosoms before departing home. Before she could react he released her with a gentle shove, leaving several feet between them.
Their eyes met and her gaze swept the very tall length of him. She had forgotten how delicious he smelled. His stark blue eyes darkened and, for one single moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of lust brewing there.
Lust? Wrong. He despises you.
“Danger, Miss Willoughby, lurks everywhere.” Michael slid his knife back into the sheath tucked into his boot.
“Apparently so,” she whispered.
“I thought you were trained?” He tossed her knife on the settee.
“I am.” Her eyes swept his broad frame, the loose cravat about his neck.
“Really?” He walked around the room and tipped his head to look out the window, then back at her. “If that were the case, you would have had your knife about my neck. How many missions, exactly?”
She unlocked her gaze from his and turned to the window. She felt him approach, closer. Closer still. Her heart quickened. She dared not move.
"How many?"
One. But she was not about to give him the satisfaction. “I do not need to use physical force to accomplish my task.”
 “Ah yes, the good old game of seduction. A skill you've quite mastered, I think. I know this first hand."
If only he knew the truth, he wouldn't be so cruel. She felt him approach her from behind, his hand caressing the curve of her neck. Slowly snaking around, he pulled her to him, her back now against his firm chest. Heat flared inside her, wishing for the impossible.
 "That may work well with a target, especially when the poor soul is already in love with the spy charged to take him out, don’t you think?” he said.
She pulled away from him. "I did what I had to."
“Listen well. You are an amateur at best and you will only end up rotting in the gutter if you persist.” He took several strides towards her, leaving barely a foot between them.
 “So you have come here to teach me a lesson? Is that it? I can assure you that there is nothing you can say or do to deter me from my goal.”
“No, I am not here to teach anyone a lesson. But I do need to know the extent of your capacity."
“Now you know, so kindly get the bloody hell out of my house,” she warned. Walking over to the settee, she retrieved her knife and held it firmly in her hand.
He didn’t bat an eye at her blasphemy. She refused to let this man intimidate her under his scrutiny. She tipped her chin up and looked squarely at him.
 “Tell Lord Tomkin you want out and I'll give you my word to deliver the message and find the killer.”
Typical male, thinking he would be her knight to save the day. No, it was her responsibility to find justice for her family and to keep him on task. “I will do no such thing. I will have my satisfaction of looking him in the eye when he is caught.”
His jaws twitched. “Then I suggest you prepare yourself because we will be entering a hostile territory in the middle of a bloody war. Gurkhas will not hesitate to slit your throat once they discover you.”
            “Gurkhas?” She tried to sound impassive, but her tone gave it away.
“Nepalese mercenaries,” he said. “Quite unforgiving where the English are concerned. Lord Hastings is fighting a bloody war that no English cares a damn about.” He paused for her reaction. “And the Chinese military, well….that’s another matter altogether.”
She'd deal with them once she was there. "Thank you for the cautionary advice. I am well prepared for miscreants that cross my path."
"I don't think you are," he said carefully. "And that can be very dangerous for us both."
She glared at him. “Since you seem to have everything figured out, what is your plan?”
“My plan,” he said with a mocking tone, “is to stay alive.”
“Is that supposed to frighten—”
“This isn't a game.”
His gaze fixed on her lips and lingered, sending waves of heat through her body. She cursed herself for allowing this man to affect her. “I’m quite aware this isn't a game, Mr.Whitfield.” Her tone belied her show of confidence. No doubt he could see her quaking skin and shivering nerves.
He looked deep into her eyes. "Emma," he said, his voice taking on a softer tone. "I need you to back away from this. I give you my word I'll find the killer."
Their gazes locked and she saw he meant what he said. "I can't," she said softly, shaking her head. "I won't."
He backed away from her, his features hardening once more. “Then I only have one thing to say to you."
"And what would that be?" she said, curtly.
"Be prepared," he said, "for the hell you are about to enter."

About the Author:
Kristi Jun resides in Southern California with an infinitely patient husband and a beautiful quirky son. If she isn't conjuring up another Happily Ever After, she can be found searching the web for all things English, watching reruns of Star Trek (new and old), Dr. Who, and Downton Abbey. She LOVES to hear from her readers!


Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Giveaway:
1 signed copy of Enemy's Kiss and $10 Starbucks Gift Card (US only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway