HAPPY COVER REVEAL DAY!!
Scroll down to see the lovely cover for
Kiss Me I'm Irish
by Author Bee Stevens
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Day: 14th of March 2017
Ireland calls to Hailey’s soul like an emerald siren. Her past is inextricably linked to this small island.
Cillian is a jack of all trades with a musician’s restless soul. He loves his country - the history, the landscapes, the people and the traditions - but is it his forever home?
With his Irish charm, his silken tongue and the weird effect he has on her nipples, Hailey struggles to resist.
Discovering the romance of the Irish countryside has its own passionate side-effects.
Can an American tourist intent on being independent keep up with a wild Irish rover with more issues than National Geographic? And will Cillian’s heart follow Hailey no matter where she lands?
Add to your Goodreads TBR
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34374443-kiss-me-i-m-irish
Meet the Author
Born and raised in a sleepy village in North County Dublin, Bee Stevens only ventured outside of it in her imagination. If you asked her as a child what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have said Journalist. That changed several times over the years, but her dream was always to write, in one form or another. Bee published several short-stories in an in-flight magazine for an airline she worked for but never pursued it outside of her daily routine. When illness changed her daily routine without much preamble, she found being stuck at home was the kick in the arse she needed to finally write the book lurking within her. These days, though she has ventured further afield, Bee can still be found in the slightly less sleepy, but still small village, with a cup of tea in her hand and a dog on her lap, as she tries to type around the ball of fluff who rarely leaves her side.
Connect with Bee
Twitter - @beestevensauth
Facebook – Facebook.com/beestevensauthor
Instagram – instagram.com/beestevensauthor
Email: [email protected]
a Rafflecopter giveaway
2 Comments
Title: Dishonorable Author: Natasha Knight Release Date: March 14th Cover Designer: Shanoff Formats ADD TO GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/2kN3byi Blurb: Sofia I knew little of Raphael Amado’s history with my family, but when he turned up on our doorstep demanding restitution, my grandfather quickly conceded. That restitution? Me. Six months later, on my eighteenth birthday, Raphael came for me. He took me from my home to his Tuscan estate where from the crumbling chapel to the burnt-down vineyard, to the cellar that haunted him, the past followed him like a shadow. It waited for him, hid behind corners for him, and trapped him at every turn. As much as Raphael’s cruelty terrified me, his darkness seduced me. But in the end, it was his tenderness that devastated me. Raphael Sofia came to me like an offering. Like a virgin to be sacrificed at the altar. But truth was, her grandfather betrayed her. I guess we had that in common. He’d fucked me too. I knew hate. I’d vowed vengeance. This was never supposed to be about anything else. But in the end, her innocence broke me. The very thing I would destroy, destroyed me.About the Author: USA Today Bestselling author Natasha Knight writes dark romance as well as spanking romance in a variety of genres including contemporary, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction and fantasy. She is a #1 Amazon Bestseller in multiple categories forever searching in every story for that single most important element of love. All of her stories contain at least one kinky Alpha male, lots of dirty talk and a well deserved happily ever after.Connect with Natasha: Facebook | Newsletter | Website| Amazon | Goodreads✮✮✮A delicious world of erotica, BDSM with alpha-subs and their Dommes, and a gripping love story…Welcome to The Bee’s Honey! The first book in New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley’s Honey Series, THE DEEP END is a seductive and rich love story releasing March 7, 2017! And check out the tantalizing excerpt below!✮✮✮Fall into THE DEEP END and preorder your copy today!About THE DEEP END (Erotic Romance Releasing March 7, 2017):Enter a decadent sensual world where gorgeous alpha males are committed to fulfilling a woman's every desire…Olivier isn’t sure what he’s gotten himself into when he joins the Honey Club, only that a dark part of him hungers for the lifestyle offered by this exclusive club. Here, no boundary will be left untested…and one's deepest fantasies will become an exquisite reality.When Amélie invites Olivier to surrender, she gives the alpha submissive what he craves. Soon they both find themselves falling harder than they ever anticipated—but as their connection deepens, the truth about Olivier’s past could destroy everything…Gripping and seductive, The Deep End is the first book in a sensational new series from bestselling author Kristen Ashley.Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | iBooksGooglePlay | Kobo | IndieBound | BAMEXCERPT: She turned back to him. “You seem to have a good deal of stamina.” “Amelie…Mistress, I don’t think you’re getting’ that I seriously find you not hard on the eyes.” She bent closer, as intended for this part of their session, some of her fair falling on his chest in another caress. She did this letting her amusement show, if not all of the emotion she felt at his compliment. “I wonder, monchou, if you think you can butter me up with compliments.” “I don’t know. Maybe. Though not sure why I’d bother since I didn’t give you one and you just made me shoot a huge-ass load the like that have never come from my cock.” “And he gives another compliment,” she said through a smile. “You earn it, I’ll say it, he replied, his lips twitching. “That is, if I’m physically capable of speech.” She was still smiling when she reached out a hand and delicately traced circles around his nipple. His eyes darkened. Her good humor increased. “You’re of course aware I should do something about you being so audaciously cheeky.” Another darkness crossed his face. “What?” “I shouldn’t allow you to be cheeky with me.” “Cheeky?” “Impudent,” she explained. The look fled. “You mean, in uppity, hot-chick speak, a wise-ass.” Amelie couldn’t help it, she laughed softly. “She’s got a pretty laugh, too, to go with that pretty accent,” he murmured and she saw his eyes on her lips. I could get lost in this one, she thought. Lost and never found. About Kristen Ashley: Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA and nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!). Her mother said they took Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room, her mother looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before). Kristen's Mom remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning. Nothing's changed. Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus, she's blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write. They all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched). Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up. And as she keeps growing, it keeps getting better.WEBSITE * FACEBOOK * TWITTER * NEWSLETTER * GOODREADS * PINTEREST * INSTAGRAM Immure Diaries Series Cover Reveal _______________________ Author: H.Q. Frost Cover Designer: Inked Imprints Series synopsis: For Akela Dietz there is no safety net if she follows her heart. A chance encounter at the airport has turned her world upside down and sent her straight into the arms of a killer. He brings her to life when they’re together, but his job keeps him away more often than a relationship can withstand. Overcome with anxiety and depression when Malcolm is gone, Akela is forced to consider more secure options. She can open her heart to make room for someone else, but she'll have to decide if it's worth giving up the thrill Malcolm inspires within her. Hearts are on the line as she falls deeper into a life she never before dreamt existed. Malcolm Corpseknot was born to kill. It's ingrained in his DNA. Never one for relationships, or emotions in general, he's caught off guard by the tantalizing Akela. She's his only chance at a life worth living, but the one thing she wants most is more than he can give. This 3-part saga is full of darkness and passion as Akela and Malcolm are forced to answer the question: How far will one go to claim their fate? Immure Diaries Part I Synopsis: A chance encounter puts Akela Dietz in a stupor for the first time in years. When the encounter happens again and again, she becomes leery of the attractive Brit that puts a beat back into her heart. Malcolm Corpseknot III is peculiar, too good looking to be true, and a trained killer. When his scope is set on Akela, he’s not sure if he wants to hit or miss. She’s a force to be reckoned with, already having given up on life, and she’s going to be the death of him. If she doesn’t end up dead first. Goodreads TBR: goo.gl/7RfvcQ Immure Diaries Part II Synopsis: Cold, collected, crazy. He’s a death dealer to the scared. A master to the envious. And a ticking time bomb to the sane. Lost, living, lusting. She’s fighting for sanity anymore. Finding a new life directed by a dangerous man holding her heart. But her fragile heart breaks every time he walks away. He’s a devil in disguise, but she likes things hot, and he’s going to be the death of her. If he doesn’t end up dead first. Goodreads TBR: goo.gl/wV90sa Immure Diaries Part III Synopsis: She’s followed in his footsteps and doesn’t plan on looking back. He regrets creating the woman she’s become, but he won’t deny she’s skilled. Together they could dominate, but they work better alone. She’d die for him and he’s killed for her. Their love has always been a battle that neither can control. As much as she pulls, he pushes. As often as he begs, she denies. There’s one thing that will always be certain. No matter where they end up, the other won’t be far. Goodreads TBR: goo.gl/5eKtxI WATCH THE SERIES TRAILER! https://youtu.be/O9K6GNlscWk Follow H.Q. Frost! Facebook: www.facebook.com/h.q.frostauthor
Instagram: @h.q._frost Twitter: @HQ_Frost e-mail: [email protected] Follow Inked Imprints! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkedimprints
Title: Big
Series: Satan's Fury MC
Author: L. Wilder
Genre: MC Romance
Release Date: March 7, 2017
I don’t use a knife or a gun to get the guy I’m after. I find that my weapon of choice has a much longer, more crippling effect. With just a few keystrokes, I can have him scrambling for his life. I’ll take everything he’s ever worked for, everything he’s ever loved, and I’ll destroy it. That’s what I do.
My brothers don’t ask questions. They don’t want to know what I do behind the closed door. They know I bring results, and that’s all that matters. It’s my job to protect the club, and nothing is going to stand in my way—not even Josie Carmichael.
The girl with the tantalizing curves and emerald green eyes is an unexpected threat, but a threat nonetheless. It’s my job to take her down, but there’s just one hitch. I can’t get the smart-mouthed beauty out of my head. She’s trouble. The kind of trouble that would turn my whole world upside down, but I don’t give a damn. I want her.
Josie Carmichael will be mine, even if that means I must break her first.
Leslie Wilder grew up in a small town in West Tennessee. A country girl at heart, she’s always thought that life is too short, but she had no idea how short it really was until her brother passed away in 2014. She’s always been an avid reader, loving the escape only a great book can give, and wondered if she had what it took to write one of the wild romances she’d come to adore. With the support of her family and friends, she published Inferno: A Devil Chaser’s MC, one year after her brother’s death. With him in mind, she fulfilled her lifetime dream of writing. Since then, she’s completed the Devil Chaser’s Series and continued on with the Satan’s Fury MC Series. She has so many stories in her head, and can’t wait to share each and every one.
Leslie has been blown away by the support of her readers, appreciating every message, review, and encouraging word she’s received over the past year. She looks forward to continuing this journey with them for years to come.
Title: Coal
Series: Regulators MC #3
Author: Chelsea Camaron and Jessie Lane
Genre: MC Romance
Release Date: February 28, 2017
Cover Model is Jacob Wilson
Cover Photographer is Furious Fotog
Cover Design by Mina Carter
Chapter Excerpt
Written by:
Chelsea Camaron and Jessie Lane
Copyright © Chelsea Camaron and Jessie Lane 2017
This book contains mature content not suitable for those under the age of 18. Content involves strong language and sexual situations. All parties portrayed in sexual situation are over the age of 18. All characters are a work of fiction.
This book is not meant to be an exact depiction of a motorcycle club but rather a work of fiction meant to entertain.
Please Note: The following excerpt is subject to change in final edits.
~Coal~
She is the everyday girl next-door.
He is shadowed by regret laced in broken memories.
Dark sins of the past have a way of taking hold of your heart and never letting go.
Paisley Asher is the average woman trying to get by in life. Happy and safe in her bubble of ease, she is not prepared to take on the black pit that is one man’s heart.
Trevor ‘Coal’ Blake has a past covered in black. Tainted. He is a dark soul.
In the moment, it is easy to lose sight of what is going on. Looking back, however, little cues were misread … or were they? He lives with more questions than answers.
Chance encounters bring these two together. Is she the angel to pull him from the depths of his personal hell, or is he destined to remain alone and as black as coal?
Prologue
The pounding in my head continues to assault my ears. Chad’s party last night was epic, and my head is making sure to remind me of the good time I had.
Bang.
Bang.
Thump.
Thump. Bang. Thump. Bang.
The rhythm is now unsteady.
“Trevor wake your ass us right the fuck now!” My dad yells in his Army Ranger voice that has me immediately up and at attention by my bed.
Shit, why is my dad yelling? This tone is reserved for the major fuck ups.
Making my way to the door, I don’t bother to put on clothes and exit in my boxers. Immediately, I’m met with the brick wall that is my dad. We’re about the same height and of similar build. Only my dad has seen war, has scars and quite honestly scares the shit out of me.
“Turn around and put some clothes on. Then you get downstairs and face the shit storm you’ve caused. Two minutes, or I drag you down and let them see you in your naked glory, I don’t give a damn.”
He gives me a slight shove back into my room while my vision blurs and the chalky taste in my mouth only makes me wish I had time to grab a glass of water. His instructions were clear and precise. I won’t press my luck with the Ranger. Quickly tossing on my sweats and a t-shirt I rush downstairs only to stop midway. There is no way I’m going to be any longer than necessary, not with the mood he is in this morning. No sir.
The sight in front of me is like a punch to my hungover already ready to puke gut.
My girlfriend, Amber, stands at the bottom of the stair case with tears in her eyes with her parents flanking her on either side. The girl I have spent every spare moment with for the last few months doesn’t look like the lively, beautiful young woman I’m used to seeing. No, she looks a mess, hurt, broken, and could it possibly be she’s ashamed. Her mother’s eyes are swollen from crying and her father …
His face is murderous. What the hell is going on?
I shake my head trying to sort out why they’re here. Why my girlfriend looks like the world has crumbled at her feet. More so, why she’s brought this to my doorstep.
“Trevor,” my father barks harshly making me jump while I complete my descent and hit the bottom step. “Ass – couch - now.” He commands me before looking to the other family. “Mr. and Mrs. Bridges, Amber, please head into the living room so we can address this matter.”
Matter? What could be wrong? I haven’t seen Amber in three days. She said she had the flu. We’ve been dating six months. Three weeks ago, she finally gave it up at a party at her best friend, Kiki’s house. Nothing has seemed out of the ordinary. We haven’t had much time together. I know I was drunk, she was drunk, so it wasn’t some romantic thing. In fact, once I got inside her tight pussy, I had to fight not to blow my load with the first thrust. I didn’t last long, but I told her next time would be better. I tried to make it good. I even held her afterward knowing it was her first time.
I sit while my mind races.
“Trevor,” my mom says my name gently while I look up into her dark eyes and see pain. “Amber’s family tell us that something occurred a couple of weeks ago,” she starts only to be interrupted.
“You fucking piece of shit got my daughter drunk and raped her!” Mr. Bridges roars lunging at me only to be held back by my dad who easily towers a good six inches over the man.
My mother rushes to my side, her long black hair hitting me in the arm. She’s Native American and I get my dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin from her. My height of six feet seven inches comes from my beast of a father.
“We need to discuss this,” my mother says to the Bridges.
“Nothing to discuss,” Mrs. Bridges replies. “Graduation is in two weeks, we want to see Trevor gone. Amber will have enough of a reminder for the next nine months of what’s happened to her. After the kids graduate, Trevor gets out of town for school or the military, or we go to the police and press charges.”
“Press charges?” I scream and run my hands through my hair as sharp pains assault my head. “For what?”
“Rape!” Mr. Bridges yells back.
Tears hit me. I’m seventeen years old. One night at a party where I swear she said yes leaves me in this kind of mess.
“I didn’t,” I gasp and try to get out the words, only I make the mistake of looking into Amber’s eyes. The fear, the pain, the sadness, and the desolation are all writing in her features as she shakes her head at me. “I didn’t do that.” I can’t even say the word.
My mother grips my arm in support. “Let’s sit down and talk this through.”
We back up and sit on the couch where my father releases Mr. Bridges and paces behind us. The Bridges’ take their seats on the loveseat and chair. Amber refuses to make eye contact any further with me.
“Were you at a party two weekends ago with Amber?” Mr. Bridges starts his interrogation.
I nod.
“Were you drinking?”
I nod.
“Do you understand that the legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one?” He continues to fire questions at me. “Do you understand that an underage girl being intoxicated is not of the right mind to give consent to sexual activities? Do you understand the pain you’ve caused our daughter? Do you understand the ramifications of your actions?”
“Sir,” I have to swallow the lump in my throat as I fight back emotions. “I understand the legal drinking age. I understand that while yes, I was intoxicated, your daughter was an equal participant. So no, sir, I do not understand the ramifications of my actions.” I fight back the urge to puke.
My father’s hand comes to the back of my head. “Since your mother and I failed to make a man out of you. The Army will.” He clips out. “Trevor will be signing enlistment papers today and be gone within thirty days time.”
Mr. Bridges rises to extend his hand to my father to shake. “We appreciate your attention to the matter and easing the burden for Amber. We’ll be in touch about the future.”
Amber stands with her mother never once looking at me as she exits, while I can’t help but fear what my future holds and my mind tries to grasp what they’re saying.
I didn’t do it. I didn’t take advantage of her.
**
Two years later, I finish selection to become a Green Beret. The badass of the badasses. One of the elite. I remember in the selection process, while trying to mentally survive one obstacle to the next, someone said, “Hell is a fictional place. When you’re done here it’ll seem like a fucking sanctuary.”
He was both right and wrong. Finishing selection was the most grueling thing I’ve ever done, but I had already seen hell.
Hell was your girlfriend saying you raped her when she turned up pregnant. Hell was getting a letter she lost the baby before summer was over. Hell was knowing her life went on while I couldn’t figure out if my memories of that night were teenage fantasies or reality.
Hell was living day in and day out haunted by an event you aren’t sure really happened.
Chapter One
Coal
“Ropa Vieja,” I order my shredded beef while Ice looks over his menu beside me. Without having to watch him I know what Ice is doing – scanning the restaurant. Taking in the colorfully painted booths and wood stained stables while checking to make sure there is no threat in here to us. To men like us, it’s second nature to make sure your area is free of danger.
“Arroz con pollo,” he gives the waitress his chicken order.
With a nod, she takes off to the back, weaving in and out of the tables, leaving me with one of the few people who I consider family sitting in front of me.
“It’s been three years, brother.” Ice meets my stare and doesn’t back down. “Madyson is good. She’s working through it.”
I pause and give it to him honest, “you really think someone works through something like that?”
“Watching her, I know they do.”
His statement does nothing to ease my fears.
“You got a thing for my wife’s sister, Coal?” He asks the question everyone seems to wonder. “Look me in the eye and tell me. If you do, I’m not gonna judge. Not sayin’ I’ll be happy either, but you need to buck up, Coal.”
“Fuck no, I’m old enough to be her damn dad.” I am angry he can even think this. “You know me better than that.”
“Then why since the day we got her back, you’ve made it your mission to make sure she moves beyond this. Hell, Coal, you’ve paid for her college like she’s your fucking kid.”
I glare at him. “No one is supposed to know that. As far as she goes, Morgan goes, or the damn Pope goes, you pay her way through school. Drop the subject.”
“Easier said then done, brother.” He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Got ghosts,” I reply as the waitress drops our plates in front of us.
It’s all I’m going to give him. My personal life, my hell, is not his business. I have the means now to find Amber. I don’t. I made a vow to my father the day I signed my enlistment papers to let the Army make a man out of me. I promised I would let Amber go and live her life free of me. Since the moment I took my oath, I haven’t looked into her. I won’t. The baby is gone. There is nothing for me to talk to her about without bringing up what is one bad fucking memory.
When Madyson was found, I promised her I would be by her side to make sure she could move on in life. I made a vow to leave Amber alone, good or bad. I had to keep my word. I wouldn’t let Madyson be alone, though, no I gave her my word to be her support.
And I have.
Ice raises his hands in surrender knowing I’m done talking about Madyson. “For now, I don’t have to kick your ass.”
“Forever,” I clip back meaning it. I do care about the well being of Madyson, but not in the way he thinks.
Three years ago Madyson was kidnapped, drugged and raped by men who were operating a sex slavery ring out of the Miami area. The Regulators had already taken notice of the number of women who were going missing, but it became personal when Ice’s daughter, Brooke’s best friend, Madyson, became one of those missing women.
Our club went in undercover, starting a business relationship with the man we thought was running the ring. I had to do some despicable shit to prove the Regulators were genuinely interested, such as fuck two of their drugged-up whores, but in the end it had been worth it because we got Madyson back.
Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to help other people. I have no problem doing that. I also have no problem with the black strokes each offense leaves on my soul after doing them. I am coming to realize there isn’t much of a soul left in me anyways. The way I prove to myself that I actually am some sort of decent human being is by doing things such as putting Madyson through school. Giving one girl the chance that I had inadvertently taken from another so many years ago.
It’s one of those things I don’t need to explain to a single soul. It’s between me and whatever higher power I choose to believe in today.
With our meals in front of us, we eat and spend the rest of our time in companionable silence. Brett ‘Ice’ Grady is one of my long time friends. He’s also not one to press me for words. Even if he did, he wouldn’t get them. My past is my own and it’s not something anyone needs to know.
I left Trevor Blake behind the day I enlisted in the United States Army. My black heart is dark as coal they say and earned me my name in the Green Beret’s where I met, Ice, Shooter, and Hammer. I kill without question. I sleep without dreams. And even all these years later, I still wonder if no was yes or somehow yes was no. It eats at me. It’s my penance to pay. I won’t bother her, I won’t dredge up the history for Amber. I let it be the gray area in life and determined that my future would be black and white forever. I no longer leave anything to chance or a misunderstanding.
Our phones ping at the same time, the text is from Screech, our tech man, and it’s a simple one-word statement.
Mission.
We have orders, time to finish up here and meet everyone at the club to see exactly what Uncle Sam has in store for our undercover group next.
Regulators Motorcycle Club, a brotherhood of military men with a job that is a special skillset. One that walks a line between right and wrong. We’re always one second away from going too far.
I have nothing to lose. I’m more than okay with it all.
Some of the other men in our club, such as Ice and Hammer, have everything to lose. Ol’ ladies, families. That’s not me. I have nothing to tie me down and not one fucking thing to lose.
My father died ten years ago from a heart attack. Now my mom lives alone. I help her out when it comes to making sure her bills are paid, but I can’t make myself face her in person. I’m afraid all I’ll see is shame in her eyes from the things in my past.
As I walk out of the restaurant behind Ice I see a familiar face. She goes by the street name Precious and is one of the whores I use when I need to get off. I don’t do many repeats, but Precious is one of the few that I have gone to more than once because she’s always clean, pretty, and I know she has a kid she’s trying to support on her own.
Sauntering over to me she purrs, “Hey baby. Haven’t seen you in a while. Want to go get a room?”
I shake my head. “Got somewhere to be Precious. You hittin’ on me because you want my dick or because you need to pay a bill?”
Her eyes flash in humiliation and I know it’s the latter. Pulling out my wallet I take out a hundred dollar bill and put it in her hand. “Take this and I’ll see you when I can.”
I walk away, not wanting to hear her thanks. I’m not the sort of man anyone should thank for anything. Seeing her desperate like that makes me wonder about my mom. It makes me worry if she needs more money from me or not. She’s stubborn and doesn’t like to take the ‘handouts’ I give her. Instead she would rather earn it at the little garden shop she works at. I’ll have to have Screech hack into her bank account and check things out for me.
My parents might have believed that I was a disappointment of a son because of what happened. Since the day I left to join the Army I still remember all the lessons my father taught me. Taking care of your family was one of those lessons. Whether my mom likes it or not, I’m going to check in on her soon to make sure she’s got everything she needs. If that means paying her bills for her behind her back, then that’s what I’ll do.
Throwing my leg over my bike, I start her up and rev the engine. Ice is already moving so I head out after him. I have no idea what the mission is yet, but I’m ready for it.
I feel that familiar need to fight, get my hands bloody. Release some of the rage I hold inside of my body twenty-four hours a day. I’m just hoping this mission gives me the chance to make someone the mangled mess I am inside.
Paisley
“Girl, you’re on fire!” I tell the air around me as I dance around my loft apartment getting ready for my day. Self-talk, it’s working wonders. “Dance, Paisley, dance, no one is here to see.” I shake my bootie and swirl around the kitchen making my morning smoothie. The space is open and airy, so I can twirl and shimmy my ass anywhere I please to go from the living room to the kitchen. For now, I stay in the kitchen as I start to drink my smoothie and bounce my hips from side to side.
In the last few years, I’ve changed my routine to start my day with as much pep as I can conjure. When everything is taken from you in a blink, it’s hard to rebalance.
Within thirty minutes, I’m at the gym for yoga. Walking through the front doors, I have my earbuds in and my music up, jamming in my mind. Looking down, I am stopped abruptly when I feel two firm hands grip my shoulders stopping me just inches from his chest.
Scotty.
While the man has muscles on top of muscles he’s an ego-maniac. I’m sure most women do swoon over him, but ‘man grunts’ and flexing don’t do it for me.
“Paisley, baby, gotta be careful.”
“Sorry,” I mutter knowing I need to pay attention.
“Make it up to me, take me to dinner tonight.” He sort of commands in the way Scotty does.
I reach up and pat his pectoral muscle to which he makes it jump in what I assume to be a way to impress me. “Scotty, at least twice a week you tell me to take you to dinner.” I sigh. “It’s getting old, buddy. Women want to be whisked away, swept off their feet, ya know,” I look up into his green eyes, “romance, buddy, romance.”
He cups my chin with his first finger and thumb, “Paisley, this ain’t no fairytale. You can have a night or two with a man like me, gotta take the leap, baby.”
I raise an eyebrow at him, “you really think that works?”
“You have no idea,” he smirks and I’ve had enough. Jerking my head back, I step to the side and around the behemoth.
“Not happening, Scotty, go have another protein shake.” I say without looking back at him.
I make my way front the front entrance of the gym, passing a few isolated exercise rooms to the door that leads into the women’s locker room. Desirae, who is one of my closest friends is already putting her stuff in a metal locker when I walk in.
We met when she came to Miami after the death of her sister. She still visits North Carolina regularly but for the most part her life is in South Beach with her man, Ethan ‘Hammer’ McCoy. They’re cute together in that ‘get a room’ kind of face sucking way.
Des is easy-going and doesn’t judge a soul. It’s why we get along so well.
She takes one look at my face before automatically speaking, “Scotty, again?”
“Yup. Des, is it really bad to think romance is dead?”
She laughs. “Honey, I live with a biker. Depends on your definition of romance.”
I sit on the bench rather than tuck my stuff away. “I want to be knocked on my butt. When cupid nails me with his arrow, I’m gonna be swept away. It’s not something I’ll find on a date, it’s something that’s going to spark and then go BOOM.” I raise my hands dramatically.
“You do realize it doesn’t necessarily work that way, right?”
“You and your logic. Okay so for most people it may not, but for me that’s how it’ll be. The stars will align and something will happen sending me barreling into the man of my dreams life and instantly there will be fireworks. I know it.”
She closes her locker before picking up my phone and towel to toss them in the locker beside hers.
“Fireworks, those can happen for a lot of reasons, Paisley.” She smiles and takes me by the hand to pull me from my perch on the bench. “I love you to death, but you are the craziest woman I know. Maybe a little meat in you would take the edge off?” She jokes to which I just sigh loudly.
“Meat in me, huh? That’s gonna solve all my problems.” We both laugh and make our way to class. Exiting through the other side of the women’s locker room, we walk through the heart of the gym filled with various exercise machines until we reach the yoga classroom in the back.
An hour session later, love, fireworks, romance, and all thoughts of my morning are gone. No, the meditation, the focus, the calm is all back in place. I’m balanced. Rejuvenated.
My shift at the grocery store begins on a register. Beep, beep, slide the cans with a smile, its my job. I count items or sing songs in my head to entertain myself as I ring up my customer.
“Paisley,” the produce manager calls my name getting my attention.
“Yes, sir.”
“Flip your light. Finish that one then you gotta work organic today, Paul called in.”
I nod my head and do as I’m told.
Bin by bin, I go through the vegetables and fruits making sure to discard any that are going bad and refill low stock.
“Can you believe they want over a dollar more for this organic crap?” A lady says to her friend.
“Half of it still has dirt on it,” her friend chimes in. I should probably mind my own business, but they are missing out on some good foods by their assumptions.
“While I can understand one’s aversion to the dirt, please understand that once rinsed in tap water the metal and mineral components in all water speed the process therefore the food rots at a faster rate. Organic does cost some more because the rate in which a store loses the produce is higher since they aren’t packed full of preservatives which settle in your gut and make for a slow moving digestive system. And the dirt you visibly see is simple the covering provided in nature to slow oxidation and keep the air off the fruit or vegetable.” Immediately, I regret speaking. I switched majors in college and finished with a degree in Horticulture. Plant life, studying it, exploring it, well it’s the only thing I could make sense of after facing loss of real people’s lives.
“Thanks for the science lesson,” the woman cuts me off and I draw back at her tone. My intention wasn’t to offend but to explain.
Shrugging my shoulders, I go back to work deciding not to press my luck.
I made a decision five years ago to live a simplified life as much as I can and be conscious of my decisions for both my body and my environment. I lost everything by being careless and I won’t do that again. The regrets kept me up at night for far too long. I try to remain focused and centered in my every thought, word, and action.
I even considered going off the grid living, but soon realized my fear of bugs and my height leave me at a strong disadvantage to making a go at it. Plus, living in South Beach there isn’t really a whole lot of possibilities for that lifestyle.
Instead, I live in a one room loft style apartment, drive a Prius, and eat a mostly natural diet. Like the women beside me, the life isn’t for everyone. Modern day conveniences come at a price to our bodies and environment, but it’s my choice and I can’t push it on everyone.
They push their carts on by without buying anything organic and I go about straightening up.
My shift ends and I find my mood to be lacking. Sadness, an emotion I was once all too familiar with encompasses me.
Depression.
I remind myself I won’t go there again. I’ve cleaned up my life. No demons haunt me anymore. Today was not the best day, but it wasn’t the worst.
I have dealt with the worst. Now I have my crystals, my diet, and my lifestyle to keep my energies refocused to the positive and not into the darkness. I lost a lot, yes, but I haven’t lost it all.
Not everyone can understand me. I don’t take it personally. The choices I make are for me and me alone.
It’s hard to keep it in perspective. Living a clean life allows me to not lose sight of the blessings I have. For me, keeping my diet away from processed foods isn’t about being skinny, it’s about not clogging my heart, my pores, or my mind with junk. Yoga, balances both the mind and the body. It wasn’t until I immersed myself in this lifestyle that I found peace.
I gather my things from the break room and make my way to my car. Distractedly, I pull out into traffic trying to forget my past and stay in my current.
The alarm on my phone goes off reminding me it’s time for a snack. Reaching over to my passage seat cooler, I take out an apple. We eat for sustenance not for hunger. By maintaining a healthy glucose, I don’t feel the hunger pains and keep my body and my mind on a regimented schedule. My mind can’t become distracted and my emotions won’t run in a panic if I continually eat in small portions. Again, it’s about control for me.
The light ahead turns red and I take my foot off the gas and decompress the brake. Lifting the green fruit to my mouth, I bite, feeling the bitter of the granny smith apple hit my taste buds I close my eyes briefly in appreciation.
That’s when the bump happens.
Throwing the apple over my shoulder, I look up to see a huge man on a motorcycle look over his shoulder at me as my bumper has clearly pushed into his rear tire.
Oh heavens, what have I done?
He pushes the kick stand down as I throw the car in park, slap on my hazard lights and open my door.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.” I say rushing to him.
Before me stands a stunningly tall bald man whose aura screams sex. He has one of those seriously killer beards that you sort of want to pet because it’s so fabulous. It accentuates his strong face and tan skin. His long legs are covered in jeans that hug his tree trunk thighs, and his feet clad in some serious looking ass kicking boots. A black shirt covers his chest underneath his leather vest with patches all over it and the whole visual strikes me as an intimidating figure. His dark eyes stare right through me as I look at him. ‘Coal’ sits on the left side of his vest, over his heart. ‘Vice President’ lays opposite the name on his right side. The rest of his vest has a bunch of different patches with different cities and sayings. Is this a biker in the same club as Desirae’s man?
He shakes his head. “You okay?”
“Yes, I am, but are you?”
He nods. “I’m fine. Get in your car, pay attention and go home,” he dismisses me. “Don’t just stand there looking stupefied. Get in the car go home, it’s done.”
“I need to make this right,” I stammer as my mind spins and I feel like things are suddenly out of control.
“Nothing wrong so nothing to make right.” He studies me as cars rush past us. “Get in your car, can’t leave till I know you got back in the vehicle.”
“Don’t you need my information. I have insurance.”
“It was a bump.” He doesn’t hide his frustration. “Not a patient man, Pixie, so get in your pedal car and go on.”
Pixie? I want to ask, but I don’t. The man is clearly not wanting to do anything about our incident. So doing the only thing I can think of, I get back in my Prius, turning off the hazards and putting it in gear, I try to shake off my emotions. Anxiety, guilt, frustration, and sadness all toy with my carefully balanced core. I feel myself tipping, falling, and stumbling down into the darkness.
Next, I do what every respectable, twenty-six-year-old woman does when she is faced with a scarier than a horror movie biker, I follow him.
She is the everyday girl next-door.
He is shadowed by regret laced in broken memories.
Dark sins of the past have a way of taking hold of your heart and never letting go.
Paisley Asher is the average woman trying to get by in life. Happy and safe in her bubble of ease, she is not prepared to take on the black pit that is one man’s heart.
Trevor ‘Coal’ Blake has a past covered in black. Tainted. He is a dark soul.
In the moment, it is easy to lose sight of what is going on. Looking back, however, little cues were misread … or were they? He lives with more questions than answers.
Chance encounters bring these two together. Is she the angel to pull him from the depths of his personal hell, or is he destined to remain alone and as black as coal?
USA Today Bestselling author Chelsea Camaron is a small town Carolina girl with a big imagination. She is a wife and mom chasing her dreams. She writes contemporary romance, erotic suspense, and psychological thrillers. She loves to write blue-collar men who have real problems with a fictional twist. From mechanics to bikers to oil riggers to smokejumpers, bar owners, and beyond, she loves a strong hero who works hard and plays harder.
Jessie Lane is a best-selling author of Paranormal and Contemporary Romance, as well as, Upper YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy.
She lives in Kentucky with her two little Rock Chicks in-the-making and her over protective alpha husband that she’s pretty sure is a latent grizzly bear shifter. She has a passionate love for reading and writing naughty romance, cliff hanging suspense, and out-of-this-world characters that demand your attention, or threaten to slap you around until you do pay attention to them.
Title: Deathstalkers MC Books 1-3
Author: Alexis Noelle
Genre: MC Romance
How hot can you handle it?
They are bikers.
They are rough, rugged, and raunchy.
The men of the Deathstalker MC Club are also loyal to the core. They stand by their club without question or fear, and when it comes to their women, there's no holding them back.
They love fiercely and ferociously.
These men play for keeps, getting what they want when they want it.
No excuses.
No exceptions.
No turning back.
So hop on and take a ride on the wild side--if you dare.
Alexis Noelle lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband, and three kids. On top a writing career, she is a full-time student and a full-time mom. She loves spending time with her kids, although she has to hide the computer from them when she is writing! She love being active and being outdoors, especially if it involves any kind of shopping. She has always been passionate about writing. She loves to read romance books and feels like being able to lose yourself in a book is one of the more exciting aspects. The books she loves to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. Ashley believes that you should have an opinion on every character in a book whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.She also believes that the most important critic is your reader, so she loves to hear from the readers. She want her fans to be open & talk to her about what they want for the characters in the story, and what they would like to see happen.
From New York Times Bestseller, Corinne Michaels, comes a new second chance standalone romance. I spent twenty years waiting for Trent Hennington to open his eyes and see me. But it was all for nothing. He chose to keep himself guarded and let me walk away, proving that my time and efforts were wasted. I'm done being invisible. It's time to move on. A single dance sets my new reality into motion, and I welcome it. After all, Cooper Townsend is perfect. He's kind, sexy, and attentive--everything a girl could want. I thought I got it right this time. That my heart could mend, and I would be happy. Apparently, some things really are just too hard to walk away from. ❈ ADD TO GOODREADS
Say I’m Yours Pre-Order❈ iBooks ❈ Barnes & Noble ❈ Google Play ❈ KoboCorinne Michaels is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of The Salvation Series and Say You'll Stay. She's an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn't ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha heroes are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart. Newsletter | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page | Corinne Michaels Facebook Group"I can't stop thinking about this book...One of my favorite reads this year. Maybe ever. Kennedy Ryan took some of the most complex issues of our time and made them poetic, insightful, and deliciously sexy...5 massive, gripping stars!" - USA TODAY Bestselling Author, Adriana Locke Keep reading for an EXCERPT of Grip by Kennedy Ryan FLOW releases on February 25 and will be totally FREE! GRIP releases on March 2nd straight to #KindleUnlimited! ➡Add GRIP on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31207572-grip ➡Get #GRIPPED (Be notified by email about cover reveal & release): https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/s5e6j4 ➡Check out more information here: http://kennedyryanwrites.com/grip/ GRIP Synopsis: Resisting an irresistible force wears you down and turns you out. I know. I’ve been doing it for years. I may not have a musical gift of my own, but I’ve got a nose for talent and an eye for the extraordinary. And Marlon James – Grip to his fans – is nothing short of extraordinary. Years ago, we strung together a few magical nights, but I keep those memories in a locked drawer and I’ve thrown away the key. All that’s left is friendship and work. He’s on the verge of unimaginable fame, all his dreams poised to come true. I manage his career, but I can’t seem to manage my heart. It’s wild, reckless, disobedient. And it remembers all the things I want to forget.************************************************************ FLOW (The GRIP Prequel) – Releasing FREE a few days before GRIP! In 8 years, Marlon James will be one of the brightest rising stars in the music industry. Bristol Gray will be his tough, no-nonsense manager. But when they first meet, she's a college student finding her way in the world, and he's an artist determined to make his way in it. From completely different worlds, all the things that should separate them only draw them closer. It's a beautiful beginning, but where will the story end? FLOW is the prequel chronicling the week of magical days and nights that will haunt Grip & Bristol for years to come. GRIP is the full-length conclusion of their story.EXCERPT: I wanted to keep this pain locked away, private. Until now. Until Grip. His eyes rest on my face. I feel his compassion, and it weighs so much I want out from under it. I turn my head to escape the honesty between us for a few seconds. Just for a reprieve. As soon as I look over the side, I realize my mistake. “Oh, God. We’re so high.” Breath charges up my throat, panic pushing out the last few minutes of peace. My heart jackhammers. Blood rushes to my head, and the world spins. I grip my head to make it stop. “Hey, hey.” Grip scoots closer, eliminating the distance between us. “Put your head down as far as you can.” The safety bar keeps me from putting my head between my knees, but I don’t think it would help anyway. Nothing helps. It’s irrational. I know I’m safe, but fear mocks me and makes me its bitch. I hate it, but I can’t stop it. “My mom used to tell me to recite things,” Grip says from above me. “Like to distract myself when I was scared. To give me something else to focus on.” It only makes me more anxious that I have nothing I can recite. Fear jumbles all my thoughts together, so discombobulated that I can’t even assemble the digits of my phone number. “I can’t think of anything.” “Okay. Hold up.” He rubs my back in soothing strokes that don’t soothe. “I’ll do it. Just listen to my voice. Focus on what I’m saying.” I can’t focus. I can’t stop the encroaching darkness, blurring my edges and knotting my interior. It’s never been this bad, and it would happen right in front of Grip. “I’ll recite “Poetry” by Pablo Neruda. My favorite actually.” Grip’s voice is warm but disembodied as I press my eyes closed. “It feels like he was writing my life story. Like he knew there would be this kid who needed something bigger than himself, and he wrote this to guide that kid to a different path. This has always felt like more than a poem. It’s personal. It feels like my prophecy.” The emotion, the honesty in his voice compels me to hazard a glance at him. In the faint light of the moon and the bright lights of the carnival, I see his face. Beautiful and bronzed, a sculpture of bold bones and full lips. His eyes are intent, never looking away from mine as he begins. His deep voice caresses Neruda’s sentiments of how poetry called him from the street and away from violence. Of how writing saved him from a certain fate and opened up a world he’d never imagined. And Grip’s right. The poem could have been written for him . . . could have foretold the story of a boy called, not from the streets of a Chilean city, but from the streets of Compton. Passion weaves between his words and conviction laces every line. He means these words. He loves these words. Amazingly, as he’s reciting a poem I’ve never heard before, someone else’s words illuminate Grip to me. I see him clearly. A man deeply committed to his craft and who views his gift as a miracle of circumstance. As cocky as he is, I see him humbled by the means to escape a path so many others never leave. And if the poem tells his story, his eyes are a confession, never straying from mine, holding mine in the moonlight, his voice liquid poured over something sweet. As he approaches the end, my fears are forgotten, but I’m still stuck on a Ferris wheel under a darkened sky, and nothing has ever been more fitting than the final words, in which the poet says he wheeled with the stars and his heart broke loose on the wind. There are too few perfect moments in this life. Far too few of us get them, but I am privileged to have this one with this man. When he empties his chest of his heart and empties his body of his soul for me under a starry sky on a Ferris wheel. And I know. In this moment, I know that I’m lost to him. It has been a matter of days. It has been a string of moments. It has not been long enough to tell him, but in my heart, I know I am lost. “Did that help?” he asks. He searches through the dim light for my fear or my panic, but they aren’t there anymore. He leans closer, so close his breath whispers over my face. I don’t know when he realizes that fear has gone and that something else has come, but I see the change in his eyes. I think he might be lost in me, too. The inches between our lips disappear. At the first brush of his mouth on mine, I know this kiss will never end. It will live on in my memory for the rest of my life. His lips beg entry, a tentative touch that blazes through my defenses and hastens the rhythm of my heart. I clutch his arm, skin and muscle, satin over steel. A thousand textures collide. The hot silk of his mouth. The sharp, straight edge of his teeth. The firm curve of his lips. The taste of him. God, the taste of him makes me moan. He cups my face, fingers spearing into my hair. I press so close the heat of his body burns through the thin fabric of our shirts. “Bris.” He says it against my lips before trailing kisses down my chin. His mouth opens over my neck, hot and wet, and I arch into him, the pleasure like a train in my veins. Rushing. Vaulting. Exploding. “Oh, God.” I’m a panting mess. My hands venture under his shirt, desperate, nails scraping at his back. “Keep kissing me.” He’s back at my lips, devouring, our tongues dueling, dancing. This kiss has a cadence, his head moving to the left and then right, on beat, a syncopation, a simultaneity of lips and tongues. His mouth slants over mine, hot and zealous, and I link my fingers behind his head, clinging, afraid this will end. Afraid to lose the enormity of this moment. At the top of the world, so close we could almost touch the sky and with only the stars watching, I found out what a kiss should be.About the Author: Kennedy loves to write about herself in third person. She loves Diet Coke...though she's always trying to quit. She adores her husband...who she'll never quit. She loves her son, who is the most special boy on the planet. And she's devoted to supporting and serving families living with Autism. And she writes love stories! For updates, new releases, giveaways and other adventures, subscribe to her newsletter: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/j9u8i3You can learn more at: Facebook | Book Group | Bookbub | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Google +| Pinterest | Amazon
Bound by Family (Ravage MC Bound) is a NEW Standalone by Ryan Michele!
Release Date: March 28th **Special Pre-order Price of $2.99** Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2ldgjMx Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2lgdytt iBooks: http://apple.co/2l55R7v Nook: http://bit.ly/2l52vRW Kobo: http://bit.ly/2lM7834 Add to your TBR: http://bit.ly/2lIWJo7
Cover Design by Cassy Roop at Pink Ink Designs
Photography by Wander Aguiar Photography Models: Jamie Walker and Tiffany Marie Blurb Cooper Cruz knows what it means to be surrounded and bound by family. Loyalty, brotherhood, and protection are all learned, earned, and respected by him and the Ravage Motorcycle Club family he grew up in. At the same, he’s a man, having fun and living the life he has always envisioned, until a trip to Florida changes everything. Bristyl Daniels knows what it means to be smothered and bound by family. Bonds run deep with her father and all the members of the Sinister Sons Motorcycle Club she has grown up in. But now she’s all woman and wishes they would see she isn’t a little girl anymore. Then one phone call gives her a chance meeting with a hunk of a man she can’t get off her mind. When her favorite band comes to play at a motorcycle rally in her hometown, Bristyl decides it’s worth the risk to sneak off for a little fun. When a situation gets heated, though, Cooper and the Ravage MC step in, setting off a chain of events, both good and bad in both their lives. As the dust settles, Bristyl will have to come to some very hard decisions. Meanwhile, Cooper knows exactly what he wants. To hell with the consequences. ** Bound by Family (Ravage MC Bound Series #1) is a standalone full-length novel. You do not have to read the Ravage MC series to follow this book, but if you’d like to see where it all started, you really should. **
Haven’t read the Ravage MC Series yet? Now is your chance Book One is FREE!
Ravage Me (Ravage MC #1) Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2ktHDBW Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2kGGW9n iBooks: http://apple.co/2lMnMyE Nook: http://bit.ly/2lMn18S Kobo: http://bit.ly/2ktMDq6 About the Author:
Ryan Michele found her passion in bringing fictional characters to life. She loves being in an imaginative world where anything is possible, and she has a knack for special twists readers don’t see coming.
She writes MC, Contemporary, Erotic, Paranormal, New Adult, Inspirational, and other romance-based genres. Whether it’s bikers, wolf-shifters, mafia, etc., Ryan spends her time making sure her heroes are strong and her heroines match them at every turn. When she isn’t writing, Ryan is a mom and wife living in rural Illinois and reading by her pond in the warm sun. WEBSITE: http://authorryanmichele.net NEWSLETTER: http://bit.ly/2i0waZZ READER GROUP: http://bit.ly/2cmeEgb FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/2jyZIBn TWITTER: http://bit.ly/2kDhFfv AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://amzn.to/2hfH3Go GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE: http://bit.ly/2jGZohi GIVEAWAY: $100 Amazon Gift Card, Signed Paperback of Bound by Family & Swag Rafflecopter |
Archives
January 2019
Categories
All
|