From national bestselling author Sharla Lovelace, comes another romantic and heartwarming novel set in the heart of Texas.

Ian was the wild boy every girl dreams of, a renegade who thrived on breaking the law and setting Savi’s body on fire. It was all fun and games and hot excitement, no strings attached, until the one day he got serious—and then disappeared without a trace.

Savi has spent the ten years since committing herself to her work, her daughter, and to not thinking about Ian—or love. Just when it’s possible she might have found the one man who can change her mind, Ian pulls into town, bringing with him all of the lust, danger, and excitement Savi remembers.

As Ian stirs up old feelings and draws Savi back into memories and passion she’s too weak to fight, he’s also digging up dirt on the man Savi is falling for, doing everything he can to prove that Duncan is not who he seems to be. And Savi, unsure whether she can trust either man, will be forced to decide between rekindling a love that never really burned out and building a new one that looks ready to catch fire.

“I’m not perfect and I will never claim to be,” I said. “I’m screwed up. I have baggage that has baggage, I have issues with girly things, and have done some not-so-smart things in my past. I have jacked up hair and I talk when I’m nervous. You once called me a mess, and it’s true. I’m—”

“A beautiful mess,” he said, stepping closer again. My breathing quickened and I had to think about exhaling. That look. That damn look. “I said you were a beautiful mess.”

The burn that had started low was up in my throat then, threatening to choke me. “Yeah, well,” I managed, the words clipped and quivery. “You were high on steak then.”

A sound escaped his throat that almost sounded like a chuckle, and his hands came up again. They stopped just short of touching me, as if he had to think about it one more time, and then they were on either side of my face, pulling me to him. I sucked in a breath and let my hands move slowly around his waist.

“And what’s my excuse now?” he breathed, restrained emotion making his voice gravelly.

“Lack of sleep?” I whispered, my heart doing bottle rocket launches against my ribs. “It does tend to make you—”

“Shut up,” he said, covering my mouth with his.

Sharla Lovelace is the bestselling, award-winning author of sexy small-town love stories. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her retired husband, a tricked-out golf cart, and a mutt puppy with ADHD. She is the author of The Reason Is You, Beforeand Ever Since, Just One Day, Don’t Let Go, and Stay with Me.

For more about Sharla’s books, visit www.sharlalovelace.com, and keep up with all her new book releases easily by subscribing to her newsletter at http://sharlalovelace.com/my-newsletter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***** Mature Content, Sexual Situations, Adult Situations, Strong Language *****

To him, I was only just Sage, Matt Nichols’ little sister. But I’ve worshiped Conall my whole life. My brother’s best friend. My secret crush. My first and only love. Always hoping he’d really see… me.

And then, a torrent of circumstances ripped through my life. One by one, my family began to crumble. My dad’s heart attack. My brother’s tragic death. My mother’s slipping sanity. And then Conall’s abandonment. He took my heart when he left, but he gave me a reason to grow up fast, to be strong, and to live.

Now, just when things finally start looking up, he’s back in Bitterroot. Standing before me, not the boy he once was, but a man. Just when I’m on the cusp of living again. Just when I’m starting to feel like I could let go of the past and be happy without him, the feelings I set aside for all those years are raging once again through my veins. My tight control is slipping. The future I’ve so carefully mapped out now seems so uncertain.

He’s changed, but he hasn’t. I hate him for leaving, but I love him for coming home.

But will he stay? And do I really, truly want him to after he shattered me before?

“I love you.”

“Sage,” he whispered, “don’t do this. Don’t say that. I’m not worth it.”

“But I do,” I shook my head defiantly. “I love you, Conall.” A drop of rain fell from the tip of his nose to his full lips, and I pulled myself up to capture it with a clumsy, tremulous kiss. My fingers framed his taut jaw. “I love you,” I hoarsely begged. “Please don’t go.”

“Sage,” he warned. His hands settled at my hips, as though to steady me… maybe even to steady himself. He didn’t pull me closer, but he didn’t push me away either. His raging uncertainty fueled my desperation, and I moved with him, guiding my fingers around his neck and pulling myself closer. Molding myself against his body, I lifted my trembling lips to kiss him again.

For a moment, he stood frozen, shocked by my brazen actions. I pulled my body against him hard, turning my head, increasing the pressure of my lips, pushing my tongue into his mouth. Kissing him like I’d always dreamed of doing.

He couldn’t leave me. He just couldn’t.

He was all I had left.

I had to make him stay. So I beseeched him with my kiss, my touch, my sheer overwhelming need. I pleaded with the tears that streamed from my eyes and mixed with the frigid raindrops. Please, Con,” I whispered.

“Please… I need you. I love you.”

And then, as though he was coming alive, his strong hand caught the base of my head, tangling in my hair as he began to kiss me back.

Cover Model Spotlight

Brian Laferrier is a 24 year old fitness/muscle model, who resides in Boston but travels often. He started modeling when he was 18 years of age. His favorite kind of music is oldies, he hates video games, as a hobby he writes. What he writes is a mystery, which may be something you will have to ask him yourself. He spends his mornings reading fit magazine, eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, naked. No, that’s a lie. He doesn’t do that, nice image though right? He actually prefers a bowl before bed, if he’s naked or not isn’t something he divulged.

While watching his news-feed on Facebook, it has become known that he has a low tolerance to negativity and often expresses ways to banish those thoughts. He loves being outdoors and doing Yoga as a way of stress relief. He takes comfort in the way the Buddhists thinks, which explains why his personality is good natured and humbling.

You can find Brian on Facebook, if you’re bold enough, send him a friend request. Or you can like the CJC Photography’s page to see more of Brian. Just do both, you know you want to….

Link to view more of Brian:

Music is her emotional trigger. Growing up with a Wagnarian-loving mother, Sibylla was raised to treasure music that digs deep into the psyche, drawing out elation, sorrow, grief, desire. The soundtrack to her life includes many genres spanning centuries. She looooooooves Thirty Seconds to Mars (rather obsessively, actually… but, really, how can you NOT be crazy about this guy!? Jared Leto. Shhh. ) & pimps them out to all her friends through Spotify. She also delights in Met Opera HD broadcasts at her local movie theater & hopes (listening Met?) to someday see Diana Damrau reprise her role as Mozart’s Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte. Sibylla lives with her husband and hero who saved her from her own calamitous, young-adult self. He makes her laugh daily, even when things are tough. He’s proved to her that love really can heal a shattered soul. In 18 years, they have never had a fight, although argue regularly with their two teenage kids who have, unfortunately, inherited their father’s quick wit (unfortunate as it is a quick wit that Sibylla, herself, definitely does not possess – there is a reason she is a writer & not a stand-up comedian). They live a quiet life with their two weird little rescued Chiweenies. Wait… teenagers & little yap-dogs? OK, maybe not so quiet.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Always Conall Prize Pack: includes Signed copy of Always Conall, Signed photograph of Brian  Laferierre,  Always Conall personalized Dog tags.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m so excited to share with you a bit of Kristen Proby’s SEDUCING LAUREN today! You can read an excerpt, read all about this new release, and enter a fantastic giveaway! SEDUCING LAUREN is the second title in Proby’s Love Under the Big Sky Series! Check out everything below and then go 1-click this amazing new title!

In the second book in the Love Under the Big Sky series from this NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of the With Me in Seattle series, life in Montana gets spicy when a woman and her divorce lawyer sign off the papers—and sign on to love.

Now that his best friend, Josh, has happily settled down with his true love on a Montana ranch, small-town lawyer Ty Sullivan starts thinking that maybe single life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And when Lauren Cunningham’s no-good ex-husband comes after her for an unexpected trust fund, Ty steps in to protect her. But soon he can’t help but think of her as more than a client. Lauren’s in no mood to jump into another relationship, so how can Ty convince her that her mistake wasn’t getting married, but marrying the wrong guy?

LOVING CARA

As I approach his house, I see his Jeep parked in the drive, the hood up, and a tight, jean-clad ass bent over the side.

Okay, he’s definitely home.

I tentatively wander around the other side of the Jeep and lean against the side, looking at the engine. He hasn’t noticed that I’m here yet, and I’m not even sure how he’ll react to seeing me here, but I can’t seem to stay away. His dark head is bent low, his arms buried in the engine, tinkering with something. His arms are bare as he’s pulled off his T-shirt, which is draped over the windshield. A thin sheen of sweat covers his shoulders and back, and his entire sleeve tattoo, which runs from just above his wrist all the way up to the top of his right shoulder, is on full display, making my girlie parts all tingle and come to life.

Holy Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

He’s so fucking toned it’s crazy. Jeez, his muscles bunch and stretch as he pulls on the wrench in his hand.

“Come on, you motherfucker,” he mutters. I have to bite my lips to keep from laughing out loud.

“So, what seems to be the problem?” I finally ask when he doesn’t notice me, keeping my eyes trained on the engine when his head whips up to look at me. I slowly lift my eyes to his and grin.

“I didn’t hear your car,” he murmurs with a smile.

“I walked.” I shrug and look back down into the bowels of his Jeep. “What’s wrong with your car?”

“You walked from your house?” he asks incredulously.

“No.” I shake my head and chuckle. “From Sips. I had coffee with Cara this morning.”

He stands up straight and leans his palms on the side of the Jeep, watching me. My eyes immediately fall to one drop of sweat slowly making its way down his hard chest.

“You had coffee with Cara?” He smiles.

“Yeah.” I shrug shyly. “I’m sorry to just stop by like this. I was out for a walk and just sort of found myself here.” I feel my cheeks heat and I back away, but he shakes his head and smiles widely.

“I’m glad you came by.” He raises his brows as I continue to stare.

I shake my head and raise my eyes to his, then bust out laughing.

“Why are you laughing?” he asks with a wide grin.

“Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without a shirt. I didn’t realize the tats went all the way up your arm. Who would have thought that under it all you’re just a bad boy?”

His eyes flash with heat as he narrows them on my face, watching me. He pulls a rag out of his back pocket and begins wiping off his hands, but his gray eyes stay on mine. Did I offend him?

“I’m not such a bad boy. Looks can be deceiving, Lauren.” He smirks as he lowers the hood on his Jeep. “But from the look of you right now, you don’t seem to mind the tats.”

“I don’t mind.” I shrug nonchalantly and try to ignore the way my heart picks up speed as he slowly saunters around the hood of the vehicle.

“Do you have any tats?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes widen in surprise and then rake over me from head to toe.

“Where?”

I grin, enjoying this flirtatious banter. “Here and there.”

“I have ways of making people talk, you know.”

“Bright lights and rubber hoses?” I ask with a raised brow.

He tosses his head back and laughs, an all-out belly laugh. “I’m not a cop,” he smirks.

“You might get to see them. Someday.”

He closes the gap between us and kisses me gently on the forehead, not touching me anywhere else.

“I hope someday comes sooner rather than later,” he whispers before pulling back and smiling softly down at me. “I would hug you, but I’m dirty.”

I wave him off, as if it’s no biggie, although I don’t mind so much that he’s a bit dirty and sweaty. “What were you doing?” I gesture to the car.

“Changing the oil.”

“There are places you can go,” I inform him with a perfectly straight face, “where you pull into this big garage, and then you leave your car and go into this small room with five-year-old magazines and stale coffee, and the people there will change your oil for you.”

“Or, smart-ass, I can do it myself in my own driveway.”

“Suit yourself.” I shrug.

“Did you sleep okay on the couch?” he asks, changing the subject.

“Yeah, actually, I did. But I could always sleep just about anywhere.”

“Hence the chaise in your office.” He chuckles.

I nod and stuff my hands in my pockets. “I’m sorry that I interrupted your morning. I was just out for a walk and found myself here.”

“I’m glad you did.” He scratches his stomach, and my eyes follow the movement. His abs are just delicious. For being so dark haired, he has little hair on his chest and stomach, but a light trail of hair falls from his navel and disappears into his jeans. He’s also sporting a V in the muscles on his hips that the heroes in my novels would covet.

“Lo?” he asks with a wide grin.

“Yeah?” I drag my eyes up to his again.

“I lost you for a second.”

I blink rapidly and feel heat fill my cheeks. Jesus, get a grip! You’ve seen hot men before, Lauren. “Sorry, my mind wandered.”

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kristen Proby is the author of the bestselling With Me In Seattle series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong characters who love humor and have a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type; fiercely protective and a bit bossy, and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves.

Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys coffee, chocolate and sunshine. And naps.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keela Daley is the black sheep of her family. She has always come second to her younger cousin Micah. Even in the eyes of her mother, Micah shone bright, and Keela faded to black. Now, in adulthood, Micah is a bride-to-be and the spotlight is solely on her. Keela is a low priority…or so she thinks.

Alec Slater is a bachelor, never one to bed the same woman, or man, twice. He is a free agent who does what he pleases and answers to no one; that is until a fiery Irish redhead with a temper to match her hair colour knocks him on his arse. Literally.

She hates to admit it, but Keela needs a favour from the cocky Slater brother, a huge favour. She needs him to not only escort her to Micah’s wedding, but to also pose as her boyfriend. Alec agrees to help Keela, but has certain conditions for her to abide by. He wants her body and plans to have it before anyone can say I do.

What he doesn’t plan on is losing his heart as well as the possibility of losing his family when someone from his past threatens his future.

Alec owns Keela, and what Alec owns, Alec keeps.

Amazon

ALEC

(Slater Brothers, #2)

L.A. Casey

Chapter One

  

“Miss Daley? Open up! I know you’re in there, your car is outside in the tenant car park!”

I groaned at the sound of the loud voice, and flicked my eyes open then quickly re-closed them. It took a few moments for me to be able to keep them open, and when I could, I couldn’t see very well. I squinted through the darkness waiting for my eyes to adjust to the minimal lighting. When I could see a little, I quickly narrowed my eyes at the fat snoring male beside me. I shoved him hoping to knock him off the bed, but instead of falling off like I’d hoped he only farted and rolled over in my direction then placed a big sloppy kiss on my mouth.

“Storm!” I shouted and wiped at my mouth and tried not to heave, but the smell of Storm’s breath made that very hard.

Storm lazily got to his feet, stretched and made some weird noises then proceeded to belly flop on top of me until I gasped for air. Storm, my two year old German Shepherd, needed to be put on a diet or one of these days the fat baby was going to smother me in my sleep.

“Off!” I gasped and shoved at his large body with both of my hands.

Storm did as ordered and got off me. But he didn’t get off the bed, instead he just rolled back over to his side – yes, my dog had a side of the bed – which was just typical. The only time he willingly moved was if it was breakfast time, lunch time, dinner time or pretty much any time he knew there would be food in it for him.

“You pathetic excuse for a guard dog,” I muttered as the banging on my apartment door started up again.

Storm replied with another fart that had me opening the windows before I left my bedroom to proceed down the hallway to open my door. I stubbed my toe on one of Storm’s doggy toys as I walked and cursed the person on the other side of the door for making me get out of bed; it was the middle of the night for God’s sake!

“I’m comin’, keep your knickers on!” I shouted when I reached my door and began unlocking all the locks. There was five of them in total because, in the area where I lived, one lock was not enough. I switched on my hall light and jumped when the bulb blew, coating the hall in darkness once again. I sighed as I turned to my front door, even though I knew who was on the other side, I still looked through the peep hole just to be safe.

When I confirmed the noisy menace at my door was in fact my neighbour, I unlocked the final lock and pulled it open then harshly glared at the man who was stood before me. Mr. Pervert – his real name was Mr. Doyle – was a middle-aged man who was the CEO at Perverts ‘R Us. The man was a major creep, and I hated that I answered the door to him dressed in nothing but my nightdress because it gave him free rein to ogle me with his ever roaming eyes.

“Can I help you, Mr. Per-Doyle?” I asked, biting my tongue, so I didn’t laugh at almost calling him Mr. Pervert out loud.

He snapped his eyes up from my legs to my face and cleared his throat as he lifted his hand – a hand that contained one single envelope. I simply stared at the envelope for a moment then flicked my eyes up to Mr. Pervert and found his eyes weren’t on my face anymore. I knocked on the outside of my door with my free hand which made him jump with fright and me inwardly snort. When his eyes were once again on mine, I nodded to the envelope in his hand and then raised my brows in a silent question.

He cleared his throat again before saying, “I’ve been away the last few weeks and found this on my floor when I got home a few moments ago. It is addressed to you, but has my apartment number on it instead of yours.”

I wanted to punch him. I used the light from the hallway outside of my apartment to look back inside my apartment and lock my eyes on the clock hanging on the wall behind me; it read 3:20 am.

Couldn’t he have just waited till morning before he delivered it to me?

The bloody eejit!

I sighed as I turned back to Mr. Pervert, who was back to looking at my body. I reached out and gripped the envelope and gave it a little tug until Mr. Pervert released it.

“Thanks, I appreciate you goin’ out of your way to make sure I get me post.” I faked a smile and then pulled the hand that now held the envelope away until it was tucked safely behind my door – along with the rest of my body – so Mr. Pervert couldn’t see me anymore.

He blinked a few times and looked at my face, because it was now all that he could see.

“It was no problem at all, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart?

Bleh!

I smiled and nodded my head as I inched my door closed. “Good night.”

“Good-” I closed the door before he could finish his sentence.

I shook off my shivers then I relocked all of the locks on my door and closed the bolt at the top of the door. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard Mr. Pervert’s footsteps trot back across the hall and into his own apartment where he closed the door behind him. I looked at the envelope in my hand and decided to open it because I was curious as to what was inside it. I couldn’t see very well because the hallway was still dark but I knew it wasn’t a bill, it didn’t feel like the envelope bills came in, it was thicker. From what I had seen it looked nicer than a bill envelope. Fancier.

I headed into my sitting room which was also doubled as my kitchen and flicked on the light. I tossed the envelope on the kitchen table and went to the counter drawers to look for my envelope cutter. I found it after only a second of looking, but had to put it down when I heard my phone ring from my bedroom. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

Who the hell would be calling me at half three in the morning on a Friday night?

“Aideen,” I said out loud and headed in the direction of my bedroom.

Aideen Collins was my best friend. She was the closest thing I had to a sister and I loved her dearly, but she had her moments when she royally pissed me off. Ringing me at half three in the morning was one of those moments.

When I got to the phone in my bedroom and pressed answer, I said, “You’d better have a good reason for ringin’ me at this hour Aideen Collins or I am goin’ kick seven shades of shite outta you!”

I heard a deep, rumbling chuckle.

“She does have a good reason, so you don’t need to kick any shade of shit out of her,” a male voice replied, it made me jump with fright because I wasn’t expecting it.

“Who are you? Where is Aideen? Why do you have her phone?” I asked then gasped and shouted, “If you have hurt me friend in any way I’m goin’ to fuck you up!”

The stranger laughed this time and said, “Is that a promise, kitten?”

Ex-fucking-cuse me?

“Where is Aideen? You better tell me right now or I’m gonna-“

“Fuck me up? Yeah, I got that part,” he chuckled again then before he could say anything else I heard a different male voice speak. “I asked you to ring the girl’s friend, Alec. What the hell is taking so long?”

I mentally made a note of the name Alec incase I had to call the Guards.

“I’m talking to her friend, but I haven’t been able to tell her the point of my call. She is too busy threatening to ‘fuck me up’ if I have hurt the girl,” the lad who called me laughed.

I was mad and also scared as to where Aideen was and who these foreign guys were. I knew they weren’t Irish or even English – their accents sounded too different – but I couldn’t pinpoint where they were from because there was a lot of background noise. It sounded like music.

“Just tell her what I told you to say so she can get here already,” the second lad said to the one who called me.

The lad who called me sighed and said, “Keela, I’m calling to let you know your friend Aiden was in a fight and we need you to come pick her up. She told me to call you.”

“Her name is Aideen not Aiden, it’s pronounced Ay-deen,” I said then widened my eyes when I comprehended the rest of what he just told me. I screamed, “Is she okay? What happened? Who hurt her?”

“Calm down, hellcat. She is fine, we just need you to come and collect her. I’ll explain everything once you get here.”

“Where is ‘here’?” I snapped as I moved around my room pulling on my vans. I grabbed my car keys from my bedside table as I held my phone to my ear with my shoulder.

“Playhouse Nightclub, it’s right beside the Tallaght bypass-“

“I know where it is, I’ll be there in five minutes,” I said and hung up on him.

I gripped onto my phone and car keys as I closed my bedroom window. I told Storm to stay put, but it feel on deaf ears because he didn’t move an inch or even wake up. I ran down my hallway and unlocked the locks and the bolt on my door then flung it open and sprung into the corridor. I closed my front door, locked it, then ran like a bat out of Hell down the hallway, down four flights of stairs and out into my apartment complex’s car park. I sprinted towards my car and only realised I was in my nightdress when the cool breeze hit me and made me shiver.

“Fuck!” I snapped as I unlocked my car, got into it and started the engine.

I didn’t think of changing clothes, just about getting my shoes on and then getting out to my car. I wasn’t going back inside to change; I had to get to Aideen and make sure she was okay before changing clothes even became an option. It was okay though; I didn’t show off any valuables. The nightdress was just a little short, it was black so I didn’t have to worry that it was see through, at least I got lucky with that. The weather was good tonight as well, it was cool but not windy or raining. I would just have to hold the hem of my nightdress down when I got out of my car to keep it from rising up incase I had to run anywhere.

I pulled out of the car park and straight onto the main road and headed towards the nightclub[J11] . I was wide awake now, but the stinging in my eyes didn’t go amiss. I had only been asleep for four hours before Mr. Pervert woke me up, but before that I hadn’t slept in twenty-seven hours. I worked in my local supermarket, Super Value. I was broke, and I needed all the hours I could get, so yesterday I worked an eleven hour shift and instead of going straight to bed when I got home, I dove straight into writing and pulled an all-nighter.

I always had a passion for bringing the stories in my head to life on paper or on a laptop screen. I only ever dabbled in silly little things here and there, never a full length novel. Luckily Aideen – literally – gave me the kick up the arse I needed and said I should just ‘go for it’ because I wouldn’t know if my writing would be a success if I never put it out there. After that wake up call, which was three weeks ago, I knuckled down and started writing my very first book. Yesterday, even though I was shattered, I was completely in the zone and just had to write. I had so much inside me for my story that if I didn’t get it out of my head soon I was going to explode. So I wrote, wrote, and wrote some more. The lack of sleep and the stinging in my eyes from staring at my laptop was kicking my arse now though because I felt like death, and I was pretty sure I looked the part too.

When I came to a red traffic light I pulled down my visor and looked in the little mirror and winced. Scratch that, saying I looked like death would have been kind. The sclera around my green eyes looked like a road map to Hell, that’s how bloodshot they were. My fiery red hair was slightly greasy, and pulled up into a disastrous looking bun. I glanced down at my long bare white legs and shook my head.

Why did I have to be so tall?

If I were shorter, this nightdress would be longer and less exposing!

I was a bloody mess!

I angrily pushed my visor up when the traffic light changed to green and sped to the location of the nightclub Aideen was at with these men. I got there in less than five minutes because the green lights were with me, and there was little to no traffic on the roads thanks to the early hour. I turned into the nightclub car park entrance and looped around until I saw two huge males looking down at a small woman sitting down on the path a few meters away from the nightclub’s entrance. It was Aideen, I just knew it. I parked my car across from them, jumped out, and slammed my door before I took off running towards Aideen.

When the noise of my feet hitting the pavement could be heard both men looked up at me, but didn’t say anything as I reached them. When I was next to them, I dropped down to my knees and pulled Aideen into a hug. I ignored the slight stinging in my knees from the concrete ground digging into my skin and held Aideen tightly.

“Are you okay? What happened?” I asked then pulled back from the hug so I could look at her.

Aideen looked back at me and I gasped at the sight that greeted me. She had a small cut over her eyebrow and her right jaw was swollen.

“Some bitch jumped on me,” she grumbled.

“Who?” I snapped. “I’ll fuckin’ kill ‘er!”

I was surprised that I sounded like I could actually follow through with my threat.

I was not a fighter.

Not. At. All.

I have been in one fight in my entire life, and that was only because my younger cousin Micah punched me in the face when we were kids to see if my blood was blue. She told everyone I was an alien from outer space with blue blood and the only way to prove I was a human was to punch me and make my nose bleed. I agreed because I didn’t think it would hurt that much – I was wrong, very wrong, because it hurt like hell.

After Micah punched me and red blood streamed from my nose and we confirmed I was in fact human, I jumped on her because I was in so much pain and decided that she needed to be punished for hurting me. Instead of dishing out a hiding, I received a black eye and a chipped tooth. Micah kicked my arse, and it was the first and only fight I have ever been in. Regardless of my inability to bring the pain, if anyone hurt Aideen or Storm, I would go Bruce Lee on those fuckers.

That was a cold hard fact.

Aideen smiled at me and pulled me in for another tight hug. “I know you would, but I just want to go home now. Can I stay with you?”

Was that a serious question?

I shook her. “Of course, you bloody eejit.”

Aideen laughed and so did the males who stood over us. I don’t know how, but I forgot they were next to us. I quickly stood up and pulled Aideen with me. She wasn’t exactly drunk, just a little tipsy, so I didn’t have to balance her or anything, but I still kept a tight hold on her just in case.

“This is Alec,” Aideen said and lazily pointed to the man on the right who was openly looking me up and down, “and Kane.” I tightened my hold on Aideen when I looked to Kane, the man on the left. He was just as tall and as muscular as the arsehole who was looking at my body, but he was scary looking. He had a large scar that curved around the left side of his mouth and some claw like scars going from his right temple and down through his eyebrow leaving gaps in the hairs like they were styled that way.

“Hi,” I said lowly and avoided direct eye contact.

“Kane came to my rescue when Alec’s girlfriend hit me,” Aideen said and smiled at Kane, who smiled right back at her.

“She was my lay for the night, not my girlfriend… and I apologised for her actions,” Alec said with a sigh.

I ignored Alec, the eejit who just spoke, and looked at Kane when he smiled and felt myself instantly become relaxed. He didn’t look scary when he smiled like that. I frowned though when the rest of what Aideen said settled in my brain and before I knew it I let go of Aideen and shoved Alec in the chest as hard as I could. He wasn’t expecting it so when I shoved him he lost his balance and fell back onto his arse with a grunt.

“That is for your bird hurtin’ me friend and if I find out who the slut is I’m goin’ fuckin’ kill ‘er!” I bellowed.

Aideen pulled me back by the arm and begged me to stop while Alec looked up at me with wide eyes before he looked to Kane, who stared down at him also with wide eyes and his mouth agape. A few seconds passed until they both burst out laughing like what just happened was the funniest thing ever. I saw red and tried to go for Alec again, but Aideen moved herself in front of me and pushed me back by the shoulders.

“I told you bro, she is a fucking hellcat!” Alec cackled as he gripped onto Kane’s outstretched hand and was helped to his feet.

Kane continued to laugh as he shook his head. “I wish the twins saw that, Dominic would have helped her hit you while Damien recorded it.”

I had no idea what or whom they were talking about, but I pointed my finger dangerously over Aideen’s shoulder at Alec and snarled at him.

“Keep laughin’ pretty boy, and I’ll scratch up that face of yours!” I warned.

Alec stepped forward, a grin tugged at his mouth. “I’m finding myself highly attracted to you right now. Would you like to come home with me since you’re already dressed for bed?”

I dropped my jaw in shock, and so did Aideen, who spun around and shoved him in the chest, but didn’t manage to knock him to the ground. “Knock it off! I appreciate you both helpin’ me, but I won’t have you treatin’ me friend like she is one of your clients, Alec. She is a good girl!”

Clients?

What the hell did that mean?

Alec grinned at Aideen before he flicked his eyes to me. “Oh, I’m bettin’ there is a bad girl deep inside her somewhere. I’ll just have to use my fingers, mouth, and cock to bring her out to play.”

What. The. Fuck?

“Who the hell do you think you are?” I snapped.

He grinned and gave me a wink as he said, “Alec Slater, your next – or only – great fuck.”

Was he for real?

“You’re about to be Alec Slater – murder victim – if you don’t shut that hole in your face!”

Kane cracked up with laughter as he reached for Aideen’s arm and pulled her into him and away from me. “Please, don’t interfere. I’ve never seen a female, besides Bronagh, backtalk him like this before,” he said to Aideen then brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes; the action caused her to melt into a puddle by the way she sagged into him.

I rolled my eyes at her then looked to Alec, who had inched closer to me, before I growled, “Try touchin’ me, and you won’t ever be able to have kids. I’m warnin’ you.”

Alec grinned and folded his arms across his board chest; it caused all his muscles that I could see to contract and tense. He settled on staying put, but openly raked his eyes over my body, mainly my legs, and it made me feel very uncomfortable.

“Stop lookin’ at me you dirty bastard!” I growled.

Alec flicked his eyes up to me. “Why would you come outside dressed like that if you didn’t want people to look at you?” he asked.

I clenched my hands into fists and took a step towards him. I had to tilt my head back a little bit because he was a lot taller than my five foot ten inches and when I realised that I felt intimidated, but I was not ready to back down.

“I came outside dressed in me nightdress because me friend needed me and gettin’ dressed didn’t cross me mind when you rang me, you eejit.”

He flashed his teeth at me when he smiled. “You sound like my bro’s girl, she calls me an eejit a lot.”

I looked him up and down; my lip curled in disgust. “She must be kind ’cause there are a lot of words that would suit you much better. Batty boy would be two of them,” I snarled then turned in Aideen’s direction and found her kissing Kane. Not just smooching, she was completely necking on with him. I walked forward, grabbed her arm and tugged her, not so gently, next to me.

When she was next to me I squeezed her arm and snarled, “Do you not remember the stranger danger film we watched when we were in school?”

Aideen gave me an are-you-serious look before she snickered and shook her head. “They aren’t dangerous. Kane saved me from danger.”

I pointed over my shoulder. “Yeah, and batty boy’s bird put you in danger so let’s go.”

“I get the feeling that you’re calling me gay,” Alec said from behind me.

I set my jaw and continued to tug on Aideen as she frowned over my shoulder and said, “She is callin’ you gay, but she doesn’t mean it as an insult or anythin’. She’s not homophobic, she just said it because she hoped it would piss you off.”

Seriously?!

“You aren’t supposed to tell him that, Ado!” I snapped.

“Ado? I like that nickname,” Kane’s voice purred from my right.

He pronounced Ado so proper.

Ay-doh.

I pushed Aideen behind me, ignoring her complaints as I fixed Kane with a glare that wavered the longer I looked at him. “Listen, thanks for helpin’ me friend after she got hurt, but she isn’t goin’ to thank you with some personal pole dancin’ so give the flirtin’ a rest.”

Kane raised his eyebrows as he looked over my shoulder and asked Aideen, “You’re a stripper?”

“No, I am a teacher,” Aideen scoffed. “‘No pole dancin’ means no shaggin’.”

Kane laughed then. “Your friend is banning you from having sex with me?”

“Yes,” Aideen and I said in unison.

“And you’re going along with it?” Alec asked Aideen as he rounded on us and leaned back against the same car Kane was leaning on.

They looked like a pair of fitness models and noticing that pissed me off.

“Yeah,” Aideen sighed. “She is pretty big on no sex with strangers and… so am I.”

Kane’s eyes bore into Aideen and then he smiled as he said, “Pity.”

“Uh huh,” Aideen agreed with a sad sigh.

I rolled my eyes and said, “I’ll stop off at the shop on the way home and buy you some batteries for your vibrator to get you through the night. You will be grand.”

“Keela!” Aideen gasped and smacked my arse, it made me yelp and jump.

Both of the lads laughed at what I said and shook their heads as they continued to look at us. I got annoyed and said to Aideen, “Maybe they could apply to Pervert ‘R Us, they fit the bill with those stares.”

Aideen laughed and smacked my arse again.

“Excuse me?” Alec said.

Aideen was snickering as she said, “Keela’s neighbour, Mr. Doyle, is a man who stares a lot so she named him Mr. Pervert and imagined him bein’ the CEO of a company called Pervert ‘R Us.”

I narrowed my eyes when the two hyenas started laughing again – they seemed to do that a lot.

I angrily reached behind me and grabbed Aideen. “We’re leavin’. I have to go home to Storm.”

“Storm?” Alec questioned.

“Storm is her-“

“Boyfriend,” I smiled as I cut Aideen off and gave her a go-along-with-me look. She looked back to me and I could see the amusement in her eyes as she nodded her head and looked to Alec.

“Storm is pretty protective of her,” she said.

Alex cocked an eyebrow. “If he is so protective then how come he let you come out here alone while dressed like that?”

He made it sound like my nightdress was skimpy!

I snarled and made a move forward to set him straight but Aideen put herself between Alec and I before saying, “Storm is very hard to rouse durin’ the night. He probably didn’t even hear her leave, but he is still a great… lad.”

I inwardly snorted.

“Yeah, and he will kick your arse for even suggestin’ we have sex!” I stated.

Alec popped his head around Aideen and grinned at me. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

Good news!

“You better back off then because one more crude comment and I will fuck you up, never mind Storm!” I snarled.

Alec bit down on his bottom lip and grinned at me, I knew he was thinking crude things, so I glared at him which made Kane snort.

“Can we keep her? I like hearing someone put you in your place, the fact that she is a female is even better. You don’t affect her bro; you’re losing your touch.” Kane chuckled and playfully shoved Alec when he settled back beside him on the car they were leaning on.

Alex continued to grin at me as he spoke to Kane, “It’s still early, don’t shoot me down so quickly, bro.”

“I’ll fuckin’ shoot you,” I murmured making Aideen snort as she reached for my hand.

“This has been… interestin’. However, Keela is right, we better get goin’.”

“Thank you, Jesus,” I cheered making Kane snicker before looking to Aideen.

He grinned at her and said, “I guess I’ll see you around, Ado.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m the only one allowed to call her Ado.”

Kane flicked his eyes to me and smiled. “I like you.”

I flushed but forced myself to stand up straight as I said, “Well, I don’t like you or your pervey friend-“

“Brother. I’m his pervy brother,”  Alec cut me off making Aideen snicker.

I shoved her and glared at Alec before I looked back to Kane, who still looked at me with an amused expression. I cleared my throat and said, “I don’t like you or your pervy brother. You’re both clearly nothin’ but trouble if the people you pal around with attack girls for no reason. You’re both very fuckin’ rude as well!”

I turned and grabbed Aideen’s hand and took off walking away from the brothers and in the direction of my car.

“What? No goodbye kiss? Now who is being rude!” Alec’s voice called out after us making Aideen cackle.

I grunted. “Fuck you,” I shouted without turning around.

“Name the time and place, kitten,” Alec called back which caused Aideen to break out in a full on laugh.

Kitten?

I fumed in silence as I all but hauled Aideen across the dark car park and into my car. “Name the time and place, kitten,” I mimicked Alec’s voice which caused Aideen to laugh harder as she buckled her seat belt.

I buckled my own seat belt then started up my car. I pulled out of the space I was in and quickly drove out of the car park. I don’t think I calmed down enough to breathe normally until we were on the Tallaght Bypass.

“Can you believe him? What a fuckin’ dick!” I spat.

Aideen snorted. “I found that entire conversation hilarious.”

I shook my head. “Well you shouldn’t have. Look at your face, Aideen!”

Aideen sighed. “I know, but it honestly wasn’t their fault. We were just havin’ a good time when out of no where this girl jumped on me.”

I gripped my steering wheel so tight that my knuckles turned white.

“Why were you even with them?” I spat.

I wasn’t angry with her, I was just angry that she got hurt by some bitch.

“I wasn’t even with them. Tonight was the first time I met them. I was out with Branna. Tonight was a small twenty-first birthday party for Bronagh. Branna left early with Ryder because he wasn’t feelin’ very well. Bronagh is still inside the club with her lad, Nico, and her friend, Alannah. I was sat with Kane and Alec when a drunk girl came over and accused me of bein’ Alec’s latest shag. Alec laughed at the girl, but didn’t deny it, so she jumped on me.”

I grunted.

Branna Murphy was Aideen’s friend and has been her friend since they were in preschool. Aideen is a few years older than me so she has known Branna longer than she has known me. I’m a grown woman, I’m not at all jealous of their friendship. Branna was cool after all. Her sister Bronagh was great as well, I was two years older than Bronagh, who turned twenty-one today. I had been invited to go out with everyone tonight but my body was beat, so I declined the invitation.

My thoughts calmed me down enough for me to loosen my grip on the steering wheel but I still shook with anger. “You should have let me punch ’em.”

Aideen chuckled then lifted her hand to cradle her face. “You would have broken your hand! Did you see how big he was?”

I grunted and nodded my head. “His brother was even more muscular. Do they live at the gym or somethin’?”

Aideen snickered. “Branna said they have a gym in her house. ‘Member I told you she moved in with Ryder and the oldest twin, Nico, moved in with her sister?”

I nodded my head.

“Branna didn’t just move in with Ryder, she moved in with Alec and Kane as well. She said there is a gym room where the sittin’ room should be and that they all work out a lot. You should see Nico; he’s twenty-one and the lad is ripped. He is a fighter or somethin’.”

I glanced at her wide eyed. “Why the hell are you hangin’ around walkin’ tanks, Aideen?”

Aideen burst into a fit of giggles which made me grin even though I was mad.

“They are lovely – big and scary – but lovely.”

I shivered when I pictured Kane’s face, calling him lovely was not a word that I would use to describe him.

“How do you think Kane got those scars on his face? They are kind of severe.”

Aideen sighed. “I’ve no idea what happened to him but he is still gorgeous!”

“You like his accent as well, right?” I questioned.

Aideen purred, “Oh, my God. I could listen to him talk all day! He could make wet by just sayin’ ‘Hello’!”

I rolled my eyes. “I swear you think with your dick.”

Aideen cackled. “You mean vagina?”

“Yeah, I mean vagina, but sayin’ dick sounds better.”

Aideen continued to laugh then hissed a little and covered her face with her hands. I glanced at her every so often during the five minute drive back to my apartment complex. I parked in my usual spot, then myself and Aideen got out of the car, and after I locked it, quickly scurried across the car park and into my apartment building. We took the stairs two at a time until we got to the fifth floor where my apartment was located. I opened my hall door with lightening like speed because I didn’t want to be caught by Mr. Pervert again dressed in just my nightdress.

Luckily, we got inside with no one seeing us. Aideen and I then went into the bathroom where I got out my first aid kit while she pulled her dress off then pulled down her underwear and sat on the toilet.

I was opening an antiseptic packet when I glanced up at her through the mirror and snorted, “Do you reckon lads do this?”

Aideen opened her eyes and lazily smiled at me as she said, “Willingly go to the toilet with another lad in the room? Nah, they would call each other gay.”

I chuckled and looked back down to the first aid kit while Aideen finished up on the toilet. I turned when the toilet flushed and waited for her to wash her hands before I began cleaning her face up. She was four inches shorter than me now that her heels were off, so it made holding her head still a lot easier.

“OW!” Aideen suddenly hollered which earned a bark from my bedroom.

“Go back asleep you fat shite!” Aideen shouted when I swiped the antiseptic wipe over a small cut above her eye.

I hissed at her, “Leave him alone, he isn’t fat. He just has a thick coat!”

Aideen laughed through her hissing. “Yeah, a thick coat of blubber.”

I gave her a firm look. “Don’t slag me baby when I’m cleanin’ you up. Me finger might slip and jam into your eye.”

Aideen gave me a wary look and closed her mouth which made me inwardly grin as I finished cleaning up her face. When I was finished, she went into my bedroom to get some of my pyjamas [J16] to wear while I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I turned on the kitchen light then moved to the sink and filled up a glass and quickly gulped down the water. I looked to my left and noticed the envelope Mr. Pervert gave to me earlier, still unopened on my kitchen table.

“Storm, get off the bed… or at least move over!” Aideen’s voice shouted from my bedroom.

I roughly rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. I glanced at the envelope once more before I shook my head and walked over to the kitchen light switch and flipped it off. I turned and walked towards the sounds of growling and shouting coming from my bedroom and decided that dealing with Storm and Aideen was enough for one night.

Whatever was in that envelope could wait until morning.

L.A. Casey was born, raised and currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. She is a twenty two year old stay at home mother to an almost two year old German Shepherd named Storm and of course, her four and half year old (the half is apparently vital) beautiful little hellion/angel depending on the hour of the day.

Her first novel, Dominic, was released on March 17th, 2014, and on March 21st, 2014, it became an international Amazon bestseller.

Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Website

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m so excited for the release of WITHIN THESE WALLS by USA Today bestselling author J.L. Berg! This new contemporary romance standalone is captivating and heartwarming and you don’t want to miss out on meeting Jude and Lailah.

A portion of the sales during the first week of release will go to a children’s heart charity.

Within these walls, he became my solace, my sanctuary and my strength.

I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.

Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?

Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated.

Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom.

I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget.

But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?

My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

“What is your deal, Jude?” she yelled, taking several strides toward me.

“My deal?”

“Yeah, you’re sweet and endearing one minute and then brushing me off the next. I don’t get it. What do you want from me? Am I a charity case? Do you get off on hanging out with the poor sick girl but then tire of me easily?”

Closing the last few inches between us, I got in her face. “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I hissed.

“No,” she answered, “I really don’t. You don’t tell me anything. You are this big, giant mystery that I know nothing about. Why is that, Jude?”

“It’s too much,” I simply said.

“You mean, I can’t handle it,” she inferred.

“That’s not what I said, Lailah.”

“No, but that’s what you meant. You’re just like everyone else. I’m too fragile. I’m too weak. Let’s sugarcoat the truth, so it doesn’t upset Lailah. God forbid that we upset her,” she said in a mocking tone. “Well, I’m neither weak nor fragile. I’ve endured more pain than most people see in a lifetime, so don’t think for one single second that I can’t handle anything you can.”

“I know you can.”

“Then, why put me through all this? Do you even care a little about me?” Her voice was quiet and timid.

“I care too fucking much, Lailah.”

Without a second thought, I grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her body to mine before fusing our mouths together. She gasped in surprise, pulling back slightly, but then she surrendered, melting into me completely. My hands tightened around her waist as I deepened our kiss. I knew this had to be her first kiss, and I intended to make sure it was well worth the wait.

A portion of the sales during the first week of release will go to a children’s heart charity.

J.L. Berg is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ready Series. She is a California native living in the beautiful state of historic Virginia. Married to her high school sweetheart, they have two beautiful girls that drive them batty on a daily basis. When she’s not writing, you will find her with her nose stuck in a romance novel, in a yoga studio or devouring anything chocolate. J.L. Berg is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC.

Sign up for J.L. Berg’s brand-new newsletter here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An all-consuming need…

Evvie Neal was my addiction. The love I felt for her
controlled me and it brought me to my knees. She was my one. My only.

Destroyed as a boy, healed as a man, she was my
saving grace. The first person who knew the real me. Because of her, I became stronger. Whole. A true warrior in my own personal Hell.

As time went on, demons from my past haunted me,
threatening to ruin what I had worked so hard to become. Strong.

The ultimate sacrifice was giving up a piece of myself to be perfect. For her.

                                   

A fifth-year surgical resident who only has time for her new career…

A talented heart surgeon who’s just returned from Doctors Without Borders and wants to make time for romance…

A relationship that can’t possibly get off the ground…or can it?

Quinn Ross has only a couple of months left of her residency in Houston before she takes her boards and joins a prestigious heart surgeon in Dallas. When she gets a serious case of pneumonia and becomes a patient herself, she meets Dr. Roman Burke.

Roman found his love in Doctors Without Borders and made a career out of helping those less fortunate, especially small children in places like Haiti. Roman hid his heart under a magnificent tattoo for a very private reason and when Quinn thinks she’s found the reason…she’s misled and very wrong, making a wild move which leaves her feelings and her heart locked away.

Can they find they find their way back to each other?

“I know that tone. What did he do?” Angela asked.

I told them the story about the waterfall and the sounds and how he’d shifted to get comfortable on my pillow. When I got to the part about what I’d said and how he didn’t respond, Angela shook her head.

“You put a label on it too quick. Hot boy is gonna run. You just watch.”

There it was. Truth. I broke girl code. Yep, I tried to put a label on it. Not on purpose, mind you, but wishing I could take the words back wasn’t going to rewind time.

Men liked to control what a relationship was or wasn’t. They were the ones who wanted to be the first to call a girl a girlfriend. Girls were supposed to wait on guys. It was clearly okay to just exist, but the minute a girl defined or declared it was a relationship, if the guy wasn’t ready, he would bail. It’d been proven over and over.

I’m a Texan through and through.

While I’ve lived in various parts of the state, Houston is home now, but Dallas is my favorite part of the state and Austin runs a close second. Let’s hear it for the HORNS!

T he hubs and I enjoy having friends over and our place is kindof a hangout…of sorts. We cook and entertain together.

I want my stories to excite the reader. I love it when readers reach out to me.

I have several things planned for 2014. Up first will be my series of Hook-Ups with Ace’s Key, Booty Call and Consolation Prize.

I’m launching a standalone novella series called The KISS ME SERIES. Each novella will be sure to deliver snarky or wild and zainey or erotic twist to romance and perhaps a combo of all of it. First up is KISS ME-MY ASS guaranteed to get the temperature up, if you know what I mean. Releasing June 17th. Followed by KISS ME-T HERE and KISS ME-IN THE RAIN.

There are over 20 books planned in this series.

I am also writing a story for a HOT SUMMER NIGHTS anthology releasing in August.

Stay tuned, 2014 is going to be full of love in all the right places .

Abbie

Connect with Abbie

Facebook | Twitter | Website

Red Coach Cross Body Bag

Kiss Inspired Jewlery

Entry-Form

 

Tori’s MMA career was taking off, until she beat the wrong man. Her training partner, nursing a bruised ego, snapped—shattering her trust and confidence.

Three years later, Tori’s keeping her fists to herself as she struggles to put herself through college. But when a group of gangbangers hassle her at work, old habits kick in and her fists fly. Max Estrada, a frequent diner customer, steps in and gets them out of hot water, but Tori is still fired… days before tuition is due.

With no other option, she’s forced to take a desk job at her old pounding grounds, where her demons still haunt the cage and the temptation to go glove-to-glove with familiar pro-fighter, Max Estrada, is too much. The sexy Colombian draws her back into the world of MMA and revives her dreams of becoming a professional face-puncher—until Will, her old partner and current Middleweight Champion, struts back into the gym. The secret they share is an unexpected liability to his career, and he’s determined to keep her silent.

With her life on the ropes, Tori will have to face the past for a shot at winning back her future, or carry the weight of a loss even greater than before.

My hand trailed down his arm, and his pulse jumped under the warm skin on his wrist. His wrist slipped out from under my fingers, and his hand clamped around mine.

When had he moved closer? I looked up. His face was only inches away.

“And the scar on your eyebrow?” I asked. I reached up, and ran my fingertip over the jagged skin partially hidden in his eyebrow.

“A fight.”

“The one by your ear?” I touched that one, too. He leaned into my hand.

“A fight.” His voice grew quieter.

“The one on your chest?” Even though he had a shirt on, I knew he had a scar there. I pressed my hand against his chest. His heart rate sped up, and feeling it under my flat palm relaxed me.

“Trying to jump a fence when I was little.”

“Before your ninja skills?” I said.

“Before my ninja skills.”

His gaze felt heavy. I titled my head back, and our eyes locked. His pupils constricted; his chest raised quicker and quicker. My hand fisted his shirt. I wanted so badly to reach out and kiss him.

“And you? This one?” His hand brushed against my hair; his fingers trailed the scar at my temple.

My skin tingled under his touch, and warm arrows shot down my cheek, down my throat. When had it gotten so hot in here?

His question registered in my muddled brain. Between that and wanting to kiss him, I did the only thing I could think of. I threw a double jab, putting distance between us, followed by a cross with my fight hand.

He slipped the cross, and this time sent one of his own back. I slipped it, went in for a hook, but he moved. Still in close. As I grabbed his neck and yanked him forward, I sent out a right Thai knee, angling my hips open, landing my knee rib level. He grabbed my thigh, and wrapped his arm underneath it.

I tightened my arms, and prepared for punches or to be dropped to the mat. Instead, he yanked me forward, and my stomach, bare from where my tank top had rolled up, hit his. I dropped my arms, surprised. He stared at me; we were so close now. He no longer held my thigh. His arm wrapped around my back, his palm against the area above my butt, and I pressed my body tighter against him.

I felt the movement before he hooked his foot around my ankle and yanked. I was already off balance, but I didn’t even try to stay up. I fell, him on top of me, one arm around my back and the other hand cradling my head.

At first, the movement confused me. He knocked me down all the time and never seemed overly concerned about my head.

With my back on the mat, his fingers touched my hair and trailed down my cheek, my jaw, my neck. Hot skin pressed against my abs. Leather and sweat mixed with Max engulfed me.

With one hand resting on my neck, he kissed me.

L.G. Kelso writes speculative and contemporary novels. Having grown up watching Xena and Hercules with her grandmother, L.G. inherited her passion for the fantastical, mythological and paranormal. She writes fantasy genre mash-ups that have empowered heroines, complicated heroes, and, of course, magic. Her contemporary works are NA sports romance novels that focus on people in love with combat sports and sometimes each other. L.G. is involved in combat sports and she strives to bring an authentic view of the always breathtaking, often times crazy, and sometimes painful world of MMA into her novels. L.G writes in various categories, but her passion in New Adult, and has been long before New adult was acknowledged. This interest led her and a group of other New Adult fanatics to create NA Alley: Bridging the Gap between YA and Adult Fiction.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Channel 20Something by Amy Patrick 

(20Something #1) 

Publication date: August 12th 2014 

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

From award-winning author and two-time GOLDEN HEART® finalist Amy Patrick comes a New Adult contemporary series about twenty-somethings entering the world of TV broadcasting, where what happens behind the scenes is the real news.

22-year-old Heidi Haynes is almost one year into her “real life”. She has her first reporting job, her first apartment, and a comfortable relationship with her college sweetheart. But for some reason she’s not as eager to talk about walking down the aisle as he is.

Heidi secretly longs for big cities, big-market breaking news, and real independence from her way-too-close-by helicopter parents. Problem is, the last time she left the security of home for new places and new people, things didn’t go so well. Disastrously, in fact, and she came running back to a local college and a “safe” boyfriend.

Aric Serrano is definitely not safe.

He’s six-feet-four-inches of missing-Hemsworth-brother-hotness and plans to stay in small-market-Southern-Hell just long enough to grab a cup of coffee and put together a kick-ass “escape tape”. He’ll serve his one-year contract, then he’s taking off for a higher rung on the TV sports ladder—alone—the way he likes it. Then he meets his new co-anchor.

Heidi would be so much more comfortable if she could simply ignore Aric. He’s just her type—the type she’s so careful to avoid these days. But that becomes impossible when she’s forced to work closely with him on the weekend newscast. Now the attraction between them is growing even faster than the ratings, and what happens behind the scenes is the real news.

The baby reached out for the stick mic, grabbing a handful of the foam windscreen covering it. Her mom scolded her and tried to pry her tiny hand away. “No, no, Cassie.”

“It’s okay. She can’t hurt it,” Aric reassured. He cupped the baby’s downy head, his large hand covering the entire back of her skull. As he cooed in her face, the baby gazed at him as if he was all that existed in the world. “May I please have this back, Cassie? Can I? Are you going to let me have my microphone back?”

She released her grip and gave him a wide gummy grin dotted with two tiny front teeth.

“Oh, thank you.” Aric stroked her plump cheek.

Oh my God. I’m envious of a baby. I shook my head to clear it. I really needed to get a hold of myself. Especially now that I knew Aric was involved with someone long-distance and he believed I was in a committed relationship. I had to work on my just-friends attitude and banish the improper thoughts that insisted on popping up every few minutes when I was with him.

We finished the interview, Aric thanked the family, and then we talked to a few students on camera, getting some good usable sound bites and some that would never make air. One group of frat guys we met had clearly started the party early. They were loud and happy and flirted with me outrageously.

“You’re beautiful,” slurred a lanky guy with a mop of platinum hair and a maroon blazer. He looked like a freshman and teetered over me like a skinny tree that might go down with the next strong breeze.

“She is, isn’t she?” Aric said in a clipped, impatient way. “Okay guys, just a couple of questions—”

Another one of them, a stocky guy in a wrinkled button-down and crooked tie, ignored Aric completely and pushed things a step further. His whiskey-soaked breath surrounded me as he crowded my personal space. “You’re way cuter than you are on TV. They should make the news desk see-through. You have great legs.”

The guy lurched back from me as Aric stepped in and gave him the buddy-slap on the shoulder, employing more force than seemed necessary. “Okay, friend. Time to move along. This one’s spoken for.”

Aric’s voice sounded even deeper than usual. Though he’d obviously been referring to Hale, the protectiveness of his tone struck a shameful chord of pleasure in my midsection. I hadn’t actually been afraid—we were in a crowd of people in broad daylight—but there’s something almost magnetic about a guy whose instinct is to stand up for you.

In his state of drunken invincibility, the stocky kid bowed up, frowning in offense. Then he apparently realized how far up he had to crane his neck to see Aric’s intimidating expression. He shrank away and joined his friends stumbling into the stadium.
We picked up our gear and headed for the sidelines, flashing our media passes at the security guard on the way in.

“Thanks,” I said quietly.

Aric cut a glance in my direction and grinned. “Anytime. Reporter, photographer, bodyguard. Whatever you need.”

Amy is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who writes Young Adult fiction as Amy DeLuca and New Adult romance as Amy Patrick.  She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two sons and actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She’s been a professional singer and news anchor and currently narrates audio books as well as working as a station host for a Boston TV station.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway