Saturday, January 10, 2015

Book Birthday: TAG by Shari J. Ryan @sharijryan

Tag sales banner


Today I'm celebrating the release of Shari Ryan’s Tag!!! And to celebrate the sale she’s running, Shari is sharing an exclusive excerpt and a fantastic giveaway.

Tag_(Final_ebook)

What if your family had a big secret . . . a life changing secret. My dad, the bigwig CIA agent, was always on the run, whether he was being chased or doing the chasing. I missed him. Then my mom passed away, and my sister was murdered. I turned my solitude to strength because the alternative was too bleak.

But my luck seemed to turn: I met Tango. And while I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my twenty-two years, danger lurks around every corner and I simply can’t take the chance of it finding me. But his tattoos, his smell, his darkness, and his body— that marine has taken over my every thought. But, what if he too isn’t what I think? A ticking time bomb isn’t going to leave me much time to waver. Even the bravest person can be in need of a miracle.

Before she was gone, my mom warned me to know everyone and trust no one. But what was I supposed to do when I found out I am the one not to be trusted? Turns out, I was always the bait in this conspiracy.

In author Shari J. Ryan’s gripping novel, TAG, the canyons hold secrets, the waterfalls provide safety, and romance has a pesky way of showing up when you are sweaty and dirty and least expect it.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks


Excerpt:

I've been seated among the dozens of other passengers for the past two hours, watching the gate times change a number of times before I see the plane actually arrive. Just as I'm powering my phone down, preparing to board, an awful stench burns my nose from a few inches away. A middle-aged man with greasy black hair and a thick lip-covering mustache who smells exactly like the inside of a port-a-potty has found a reason to sit directly beside me in a row of empty seats. When my eyes unfortunately meet his, he takes the opportunity to speak to me. "Heading to Boston?" he asks. I raise my eyebrows and force a tightlipped smile. I simply follow that with a nod and give him a no shit look. "I heard winter's coming early this year," he continues.

"Cool," I mumble with a sigh. I pull a magazine out of my bag and open it in front of my face, hoping to block my vision of the man's blackened-stained grin. But it's only seconds before I'm taken back when his finger sweeps down the bare skin of my collarbone.

"What does that mean?" he asks, pointing to my tattoo.

With a smooth motion, I lay my magazine down onto my lap and place my hand over his, giving him the false notion that I'm a gentle person. I take the opportunity to offer him a slight smile before I twist his forefinger backwards as far as it will go before the expectant snap. "I'm sorry," I say sweetly. "Did I tell you it was okay to touch me?" I pull down a little harder, and he smiles in response to the pain. But as I hold my hand there, I see the smile begin to fade.

"It's a free country, chicky," he sputters as his tongue knocks around between his bare gums.

"Why would you think it's okay to touch me?" I ask again, keeping my voice calm, yet stern. He licks his lips and looks me up and down, responding with only a look. "Do you go around touching girls half your age because you feel it's okay?"

He clears his throat and looks around to see who's watching or listening, but I don't move my eyes from his. "Why not?" he says, shrugging his bony shoulders. "Besides, you're definitely asking for it."

He thinks I'm asking for it? I'm wearing a fucking scoop neck, black long sleeve shirt, jeans, and combat boots. "The only reason it's okay, is because no one has ever probably told you no. But it occurs to me that after I snap your finger off your hand, you won't be able to touch people inappropriately anymore, will you?"

He hoots with laughter, dragging in attention he probably shouldn't want. "You think you could break my finger, little chicklette?"

I pull his finger a little further, and his smile grows. "Ow, stop. You're hurting me," he puckers his lips and winks at me.

"Oh, look, it's your right hand. You a righty?" I turn his hand over and see deep callouses bubbling on his palm. "Yes, you are. So, if I rip this thing off, you wouldn't miss it, right?" I turn his hand back over and glare into his beady eyes. He's questioning my words. He's unsure of my capabilities. And that's fine. "Sound okay to you? Or are you going to leave and stop touching people?" His smile fades and his eyes widen. I release his hand and offer him a smart-ass smile. "Oh, and the tattoo means death. It's a Maori Warrior symbol. They used to eat their enemies once they slaughtered them. Cool, huh?"

I see his Adam's apple struggle to move. He lifts his bag from the ground and nearly trips over his own feet, darting away.

I reopen my magazine to the page I was reading and refocus my attention on an article as I hear a soft chuckle coming from the other side of me. I turn to see who was enjoying the free entertainment and I'm faced with a man who looks to be either a wrestler or in the military--black shaven hair, stiff jaw and bulging muscles on every inch of his arms. His eyes are currently focused on a book, and I suppose he could have been laughing at that, rather than me. But as I question it, his large shamrock green eyes lift and look right at me. A slight grin tugs on the corner of his lips, and he winks so quickly I'm questioning whether it was me who might have blinked. Before I can react, he stands up and walks away.

I swallow hard and refocus my attention on the magazine once more. Stupid attractive man causing a moment of feebleness. I didn't react, though. He winked at me. I think. And I didn't make a snide comment or scowl. Weakness.

I let out a few short breaths, regaining my composure. He's gone. It's fine.


About Shari Ryan

ShariProfilePicBestselling author, Shari J. Ryan, hails from Central Massachusetts where she lives with her hubby and two lively little boys. Ryan has published the 3-book Schasm Series for Romantic Suspense/Thriller fans. TAG is her first book written solely for the Romantic Suspense audience, and she is hard at work on Red Nights, a standalone coming this spring. To learn more, visit her at: www.sharijryan.com

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Giveaway

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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Want beautiful nails that don't chip and last two weeks?



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my jams. click to see more detail.

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Book Birthday: BLIND PASSION by Bonnie Dee

Bonnie Dee

Blind Passion (Wyatt Brothers, #1) by Bonnie Dee is an NA Romance, out now! 

Blind Passion_300dpi

Through personal darkness, two strangers find their way to each other.

Leah Schaeffer has come a long way since an accident took her sight. She’s finally ready for independence, but convincing her wealthy parents she’ll be safe on her own isn’t easy. The first night in her own place at last, she encounters her neighbor with the midnight velvet voice and her world shifts again.

Since finishing a military tour, J.D. Wyatt has struggled both financially and emotionally. When Leah’s parents hire him to act as her bodyguard, he seizes the opportunity. The catch—she can’t know she’s being followed. As he grows closer to the intriguing woman and begins to have feelings for her, the burden of this secret grows heavier.

Although Leah and J.D. have suffered different types of trauma, their mutual understanding of each other’s pain bonds them. But their relationship, dependent on absolute trust, is rooted in lies which will detonate like an IED when exposed.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks


Excerpt

I was nearly asleep, the plot of the CSI show lost on me, when my doorbell rang. I literally jumped to my feet, my heart pumping so hard and fast it hurt. Who would be at my door tonight? If Bets had changed her mind and decided to come over, she’d have phoned first. Maybe my parents had forgotten something and come back for it.

I muted the TV, moved to the door, and leaned close. “Who’s there?”

“J.D. Wyatt.” He added to jog my memory, “From across the hall.”

“Yeah. Just a minute.” I hurried into my bedroom, found a cardigan, and wrapped it around me to hide my braless state, then returned to open the door.

“Hi. What’s up?” My voice sounded breathless, as if I’d sprinted and I was sweating a little.

“I brought you something.” A paper bag rattled, and he paused long enough for me to realize he’d held up whatever it was, forgetting I couldn’t see. “Ice cream. Or if you need something a little stronger after the big move, I’ve got whiskey too.”

I tried for clever. “How about whiskey floats?”

“Perfect.” He chuckled, and heat more potent than whiskey rippled through me.

“Come on in.”

I led the way into my apartment. For just a second, I doubted whether it was sensible to invite a complete stranger inside. Shouldn’t I get to know him for more than two minutes? But I shrugged off my mother’s voice whispering worry at me.

I gestured in the direction of the couch. “Sit down. I’ll get glasses.”

He stepped close and held the bag so my fingertips brushed paper.

I took the bag and went into my kitchenette where I shoved the ice cream in the freezer and opened the bottle of whiskey. I poured a couple of glasses and sipped mine to calm my nerves before returning to the living room. What did I look like? Was my hair a mess? My pj’s too scruffy? How was I going to check my appearance every day without Mom there to give me the thumbs-up? At least the aide, Gina, would be around for a month.

I calmed myself but clung to the glasses too tightly as I returned to the living room and held out one.

“Thanks.” J.D. took it from me.

From the direction of his voice, I needed to correct a few paces the other way in order to reach one of the chairs facing the couch. I navigated slowly, and when my shin bumped the chair, I found the front of it and sat—more awkward than I’d like in front of a guest, but not too bad.

My unexpected visitor clicked his glass against mine. “Cheers.”

The straight whiskey was far more potent than the microbrews I was used to. It burned my throat and baked my stomach, but a warm, relaxed sensation filled me soon after, and that was nice.

“Looks like you’re settling in,” J.D. said. I imagined what my apartment might look like, but for the first time, I was living someplace I hadn’t seen before my accident, so I couldn’t visualize it.

“My family helped put everything in order.” I searched for something else to add. “You mentioned you moved in recently too. Are you new to Chicago?”

“Yeah. I’m from Kentucky. Went into the army after high school. I just returned from a tour in Afghanistan and crashed at my brother’s place here for a while.”

Another military vet. There seemed to be a lot more of them these days.

“I’m juggling a couple of part-time jobs while I figure out what to do next,” J.D. added.

“Guess we’re both in transition. I’m all about figuring out my future too.”

“Change is hard.” His voice was slow and thoughtful. His Southern accent seemed more pronounced.

I loved the smooth, sexy drawl. Maybe it was the liquor percolating through me, sending tingly sex signals down between my legs, or maybe it was the hushed intimacy of the two of us sitting together in my apartment, but I was becoming aroused. Every time J.D. shifted or swallowed more of his drink, the quiet movements gave me a little shiver. Again a sense of familiarity tickled at the edge of my consciousness, as if I’d been here before. And I felt as if I was poised beside something big stirring and waking up.

“Change is hard,” I echoed. “Especially when it’s forced on you and you don’t know what direction to take next.”

I must sound pathetic. The alcohol loosened my tongue, making me talk too openly to a stranger.

“Sometimes it seems like I’m feeling my way blind—oh fuck, I did not just say that.” The horror in J.D.’s voice made me smile.

“It’s okay. Don’t sweat it. Honestly, it’s kind of nice to know I’m not the only one flailing around in the dark.”

He laughed, and what a sweet, rich sound that was. Little petals of attraction unfurled inside me. Or, to be more honest, it was petals of pure, primal, gut-level lust. I slowed down on sipping the whisky before it made me do things I might regret.


About the Author

I began telling stories as a child. Whenever there was a sleepover, I was the designated ghost tale teller. I still have a story printed on yellow legal paper in second grade about a ghost, a witch and a talking cat.

I enjoy reading stories about people damaged by life who find healing with a like-minded soul. When I couldn't find enough books to suit my taste, I began to write them.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Birthday: HUNTED BY A JAGUAR by Felicy Heaton @felicityheaton #giveaway

Hunted by a Jaguar Blog Barrage

Hunted by a Jaguar, the fourth book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at her website and sharing sneak peeks of the book.

Find out how to enter the Hunted by a Jaguar international giveaway (ends January 18th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 7 chapter sample of the novel.

If you haven’t had a chance to step into this passionate and action-packed world of dark elves, fae, demons, vampires, shifters and hunters, then you can take the leap with the first book in the series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, which is only 99c / 99p until January 15th as part of her fantastic Winter Warmers special deals.

huntedbyajaguar

A jaguar shifter with a dark secret, Kyter has spent his entire life running from his demons. When a tragedy takes him back to his pride’s village, he is set on a path of vengeance that will see him collide with the terrible ghosts of his past and a beautiful vision of his future.

Iolanthe deals in finding artefacts for discerning clients, but this time her client is one of the deadliest men in Hell and her mission has the highest stakes imaginable. Failure is not an option when your life is on the line, but things take a dangerous turn when she crosses paths with a handsome and mysterious male on the hunt for the same artefact—a male who declares she is his eternal mate.

Can Iolanthe resist Kyter’s wicked allure and find the artefact before he does? Can Kyter face his demons and win the heart of his fated female? Or will this deadly game of cat and mouse claim both of their lives?

iBooks | Kobo


Excerpt

Iolanthe despised fae towns. They were always crowded with disgusting creatures and smelled of vile things. She curled her lip at a male approaching her. He was hideous, the rolls of his stomach spilling out from beneath a brown leather vest three sizes too small for him. The repugnant bald-headed thing should have been lurking in the shadows of a damp cave rather than parading himself in public. Huge pustules dotted his meaty and hairy bare shoulders.

She grimaced as she quickly pinned her back against a wall to avoid brushing him. The last thing she needed was one of those blisters of pus bursting all over her. She would vomit and her mood would turn blacker than it already was.

The thing passed her without any contact and she moved on, using a series of side alleys to swiftly cover half of the town. She came out at the edge of the witches’ district and checked her crudely drawn map. The demon had done it in a hurry, and with only one hand.

The one she had left him.

The corner of the parchment was smeared with his black blood and it spotted the map in places. She hoped those splotches didn’t conceal anything vital. She would hate to have to go back and ask him to draw another one. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be happy to see her either.

She moved swiftly through the crowd, gracefully arching around a woman who wasn’t looking where she was going, and then diving down a shadowy alley when she spotted a dangerous male ahead of her. Her heart rushed against her chest and she edged towards the end of the wall, her back pressed against it.

She peeked around the corner and ducked back when she saw she had been right about the dark-haired male’s identity.

Lord Van der Garde of the Preux Chevaliers.

She slunk back into the shadows, hoping he wouldn’t spot her. She didn’t need a mercenary seeing her. Especially one as ruthless as this vampire. They had crossed paths, and swords, before over a mission and she had barely come away with her life. She had no doubts that he would want to know why she was in the fae town.

Just as she wanted to know what had brought him out of Hell.

Normally, he had an entourage of vampires with him. The male never travelled without companions who could do any menial work for him, such as dispatching a foe that the vampire felt was beneath him. Not today though. He was alone.

She risked another glance.

And he was as wary as she was.

He moved through the crowd, eyeing everyone, allowing none to go unscrutinised. Was he looking for someone? Or did he feel someone was looking for him? Either way, he was angry about something judging by his crimson irises and how thin the elliptical pupils were in their centres. Most vampires kept low profiles when travelling to fae towns. The witches despised them. Was he looking to stir trouble?

Iolanthe wasn’t in the mood to have him stirring trouble with her. She turned away from the main street, intending to use the alleys to reach her destination, and collided with a solid wall of muscle.

The male caught her arms before she could stumble backwards, righting her. “Sorry.”

“It is my fault for not looking where I am going.” Iolanthe lifted her gaze to his face.

His dark grey eyes held hers and spots of cerulean and gold broke through. She jerked her arms free of his grip and distanced herself. An incubus. She had hoped not to run into one of his kind.

He flashed her a winsome smile.

She tilted her chin up and swept her hand down in an arc between them. “I am not interested in whatever you are attempting to peddle my way.”

His smile faded and his eyes turned stormy, his handsome face becoming as cold and hard as ice. “I was being nice. I wasn’t trying to peddle you shit.”

He shoved his fingers through his short sandy hair, pushing the soft spikes back, and she caught sight of his fae markings that tracked up the underside of his arm to disappear beyond the rolled up sleeves of his dark striped shirt. They shimmered in hues of crimson and ash black, betraying his feelings to her. She had angered the male.

He advanced on her and she stood her ground, refusing to indulge her sudden desire to back off a step. He didn’t stop until he was so close she could feel his strength radiating from him, a dark power that warned her that he was a dangerous male and one she didn’t want as an enemy.

A hint of magic clung to his earthy scent. Had he come from the witches’ district? The smell seemed to run deeper than one he had picked up by passing through the area, almost as if it was branded on his skin, together with something that surprised her and definitely ran as deep as his blood.

The scent of a vampire.

She lifted her eyes to meet his grey ones, filled with a need to know why he smelled of both vampire and incubus.

He waved his left hand in her face and she couldn’t miss the brushed platinum band around his ring finger.

“I have a mate,” he snapped.

She hadn’t realised that incubi could mate or that they would want to devote themselves to a single female when they fed off sex. It wasn’t often she learned something new. She wanted to ask about it but she didn’t think he would give her the information she desired to assuage her curiosity. She appeared to have deeply offended him.

He pushed past her, muttering to himself. “Do all elves have bad attitudes?”

Iolanthe stared after him, unable to get her apology out before he disappeared into the crowd. She slowly raised her hands to her ears. They weren’t pointed, but he had recognised her as an elf. How? And what did he mean—did all elves have bad attitudes? How many had the male met?

There weren’t many elves in this world. Only ones who passed through. Had the incubus been to Hell?

She shook herself and pushed him and the vampire to the back of her mind. She was wasting time. A shiver went down her spine and she looked back over her shoulder, sure she had felt someone watching her. She shook that off too. People hadn’t stopped looking at her since she had entered the town. It was another of the reasons she hated these places. She preferred mountains and forests, and deserts. Places without people.

She preferred to be alone.

She checked her map and walked down the alleys, following them towards the demons’ district. When she reached the street marked on the map, she paused and studied the crowd, the medieval-looking buildings with their black oak beams intersecting white plaster panels, and all the other alleyways that branched off from the wider thoroughfare.

Her senses warned of several strong creatures in the vicinity but she ignored them. It was to be expected after all. Many of the fae towns harboured powerful demons. Unfortunately, none she had visited had been home to the one related to the artefact she needed to locate.

Apparently, he preferred to remain in the Devil’s domain in Hell, in service to his dark master.

Barafnir.

He had a nasty reputation. Most of the demons she had asked about him had refused to tell her anything and had kicked her out. They feared him. That had set Iolanthe more on edge than she had already been.

What did her client want with Barafnir?

She refused to believe the tale that Fernandez had spun when she had met him. He had sat behind an enormous obsidian desk in his opulent yet grim office of his mansion in Hell, surrounded by mirrored walls intersected with black marble columns, a marked sign of his vanity together with his expensive tailored black suit.

And the two females who had sat on a black chaise longue in the corner, scantily dressed in sheer red baby-dolls and eyeing him as an addict would eye their next fix, occasionally breaking their silence to beg for his attention.

Fernandez had slid them a smug smile whenever they had, one that had promised he would allow them to pleasure him later, and then returned his focus to Iolanthe.

When she had questioned why he wanted the key, he had pinned her with cold blue eyes that had held a flicker of red around his pupils, his hands resting on the arms of his throne-like chair, and had told her that he wanted the artefact used to summon the demon for his mantelpiece.

That black stone mantelpiece had stood off to her left, a huge fire burning in the grate beneath, throwing heat across her side and providing the only light in the room. Several rare artefacts had already been on display across it, but there had been a space in the centre that had appeared as if it had been waiting for the one he desired her to find.

Iolanthe still didn’t believe he merely wanted the key for his collection.

She was no fool.

He wanted dominion over Barafnir.

Normally, Iolanthe would have refused such a quest, but Fernandez had been very persuasive, making her an offer she couldn’t turn down.

Satisfied that the coast was clear, she slipped from the alleyway and followed the flow of people down the road to her right, towards a small white-panelled building with a haphazard crooked dark tiled roof. She exited the crowd outside the green painted door framed by black oak beams and rapped her knuckles against the wood.

It swung open.

Iolanthe ducked into the dark room, having to remain hunched over to avoid banging her head on the low ceiling. Her eyes swiftly adjusted to the muted light to reveal a cramped space with a fireplace and two small threadbare green armchairs to her left, and a rickety wooden staircase that led up into the roof on her right. Her gaze sought the demon she had come here to speak with and widened when he stepped around her.

He was nothing like she had expected.

All of the demons she had met in her lifetime had been strong males, taller than she was and broadly built, wearing an almost human appearance with the exception of their horns and the occasional pair of cloven feet.

This one was barely half her height and blue all over. Black horns flared forwards from above his pointed ears, reminding her of a bull, and eerie yellow eyes ran over her from her boots upwards. She raised an eyebrow when his gaze lingered on her breasts.

He glanced up at her face and then down at his shoes, and shuffled off towards the armchairs. His height explained why he lived in a building with such a low ceiling and why the chairs were far smaller than the ones demons normally had in their places of business. They were smaller than the ones mortals used in their homes. She wasn’t sure how anyone other than a child or the demon could fit on them.

She would say one thing about the tiny demon though. He dressed far more impeccably than the other demons she had met, wearing a fine pair of black tailored trousers with his waistcoat and shirt.

“Your reputation precedes you.” He pulled himself up onto one of the armchairs and eyed the other one.

Iolanthe was certain she wouldn’t fit in it but she did her best, unwilling to appear rude to her kind host. She mentally commanded the sword on her back to disappear, using her teleportation abilities to send it back to her bolthole. She didn’t like being without the comforting weight of it, but she would be safe now that she was off the streets.

She squatted on the seat and had to tense her thighs to stop herself from sinking into it completely. They flexed hard beneath her black trousers, pulling the material tight. If the chair had possessed springs once, it didn’t have them anymore.

The demon’s yellow gaze darkened and narrowed. “I am certain that my friend would have been kind enough to tell you my location without you resorting to ambushing him and chopping his hand off.”

She wasn’t so certain.

“I do not trust demons in the Devil’s service. It was easier to convince him to talk rather than ask him nicely and wait to see whether he would help or would attempt to cut my heart out of my chest and feast on it.”

The latter had happened too many times to count. She had learned to maim first, ask questions later with demons. They had a strange thing about eating hearts.

“You do not like demons in the Devil’s service, and yet you are looking for an artefact belonging to one?”

She nodded. “It is not for me. I am just the middle-woman. There is a party interested in the artefact and I agreed to find it for them.”

“And who would your client be?” The small blue demon leaned back in his armchair and eyed her with a shrewd gaze, one that she didn’t like.

He could attempt to wheedle information out of her all he liked. He wasn’t going to get any. She didn’t talk about her business with anyone and she definitely wasn’t going to discuss it this time.

Iolanthe smiled sweetly. “I am afraid I cannot discuss such things. Now, if you would not mind. I require the location of an artefact and was told you could help me. Can you help me or not?”

“And what artefact might that be?” He smiled right back at her and she had the feeling it would fall right off his face when he discovered who the artefact belonged to and would refuse to help her, just as all the other demons had.

“I must find the key to Barafnir. My client desires it.”

His smile faded. “Barafnir?”

She nodded. He shifted on his seat and eyed the door. He was going to kick her out. At least it wouldn’t be as humiliating as all the other times it had happened. She didn’t think he was strong enough to pick her up and physically throw her out of his door.

The demon shook his head.

Her heart sank.

“I only have information about it,” he said and she blinked. He was going to help her? He shuffled to the edge of his seat and leaned towards her, and she mirrored him, getting as close to him as she could bear considering the foul odour of his breath. “I should warn you to let this particular job go. Barafnir doesn’t like people meddling in his affairs and has taken great pains to ensure the method of summoning him remains hidden.”

She had come to understand that after she had asked the first forty demons for information and had been told to get out, had been thrown out, or had been told to give up her quest.

“I cannot,” she whispered and searched his yellow eyes, seeking a sliver of compassion in them. “You must tell me what you know. I must have that artefact. I have promised delivery of it in eleven days.”

His expression turned grave and he had the audacity to touch her knee. Iolanthe barely stopped herself from curling her lip. He patted her, as one would a child, and she regretted desiring compassion from a demon. It felt more like patronisation.

“You must make haste then.” He thankfully took his hand back just as she began to consider chopping it off, sparing her bloodying her blade.

“To where?”

He stared deep into her eyes and if she had thought they were past all the riddles and games demons loved so dearly, she had been mistaken.

“Look for knowledge in the shadow of a volcano.”

Iolanthe smiled, much to the demon’s obvious irritation as he huffed.

That was an easy one for her.

She stood, narrowly avoiding banging her head on the low wooden ceiling by quickly stooping, and teleported her blade back to her. She also transported a small pouch of gold coins and held it out to the demon.

“Thank you.” Iolanthe bowed.

The demon nodded and took the coins.

She let herself out, shutting the painted wooden door behind her, and hesitated as a shiver went down her spine again and the sensation that she was being watched returned. She looked around her at the street. No one was looking her way. She frowned, sure she hadn’t been mistaken this time. Someone was stalking her and it wasn’t her usual escort.

She scanned the crowd one last time before she slipped into the flow.

Knowledge in the shadow of a volcano.

Green-purple light flashed over her body and she disappeared.

Teleporting to a familiar location in what was now known as Italy.


Books in the Eternal Mates paranormal romance series: Book 1: Kissed by a Dark Prince | Book 2: Claimed by a Demon King | Book 3: Tempted by a Rogue Prince | Book 4: Hunted by a Jaguar

Book 5: Craved by an Alpha – Coming January 27th 2015 | Book 6: Bitten by a Hellcat – Coming February 17th 2015 | Book 7: Taken by a Dragon – Coming March 10th 2015


About the Author

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

FelicityHeaton.co.uk | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | GoodReads | Amazon

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Exclusive Short Story: "Dinner with Will" by Katee Robert @katee_robert

When Penelope loses a bet and becomes Will’s submissive for seven days, she has no idea she’s about to submit her heart as well.


Betting on Fate is the fourth novel in the Serve series containing the first Brazen Books mĂ©nage scene, and the second written by Katee Robert. Fans of Tessa Bailey’s Exposed by Fate or Diane Alberts’ Falling for the Groomsman will love this sexy, erotic romance by NYT Bestselling Author Katee Robert!


The man she should want, or the man she craves…

This time, all bets are off...

Penelope Carson loves to steal clients from Will Reaver. Yet something in her business nemesis's icy blue eyes makes Penelope...nervous. It certainly doesn't help that the man is the living embodiment of a Norse god. A controlled, powerful Norse god. Which she really should have remembered before she made a bet with him—because losing means becoming Will's personal submissive for a week.

There's nothing Will would like more than to have Penelope kneeling before him in complicit submission, her fiery dark eyes inviting him in. Challenging him. But their bet takes Will and Penelope deeper than either of them have ever been. Where control is an illusion, and boundaries are pushed aside. And where hearts become the stakes in a game that neither Dominant nor submissive can win…

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See where it all began with Tessa Bailey's Owned by Fate and Exposed by Fate, plus Katee’s first installment, Mistaken by Fate.


"Dinner with Will" - Part Two

Read the exclusive short story, "Dinner with Will", that shows what happens to Ridley and Will after Mistaken by Fate.

From Katee: At the end of MISTAKEN BY FATE, Ridley and Garrett had decided that they wanted to be together (yay!), but I was really excited to be able to show the how of their being together. Relationships, even fictional ones, aren’t without their ups and downs, and his absences are hard on both of them. But it’s just like Garrett to do something thoughtful like this when he can’t be there for her. Enjoy!

She looked at her nearly empty kitchen and did her damnedest to ignore the small smidgen of guilt that wanted to rise. “I’ve been busy. It looks like that store is going to go through with the contract, after all, so I’ll have to hire at least one other person—probably two—before the month is out.”

“That’s great—even if it answers my question.” He laughed softly. “I kind of figured, though. Do me a favor?”

She sighed, though a smile tugged at the edges of her lips. She should have known this was coming. Ever since he’d proposed, he’d taken it into his gorgeous head that she needed someone to drop in from time to time when he couldn’t be there to make sure she was feeding herself properly and taking time for fun things. Every time she pointed out that she’d done a pretty damn good job of taking care of herself before they got together, he just smiled and said it was his privilege to chip in now.

She couldn’t really argue with that—she didn’t really want to.

But it also meant that he had one of his check-ins scheduled tonight. “So who are you sending? You know last time your Uncle Rodger showed up with the makings for spaghetti and the pots and pans to cook it in? I have pots and pans, Garrett. I’m not a completely lost cause.” But her protest was halfhearted at best. She’d existed on a steady diet of takeout the last week, so the idea of a home-cooked meal made her mouth water.

“It made his week to do it and you know it.” Noise sounded in the background. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll be home in five days. I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too.” She bit back everything else she wanted to say. Come home safe to me. He wouldn’t take any risks, but even being out there was a risk. She was still working on making her peace with that, but she wasn’t about to bring it up now, when it could distract him. And, anyways, he knew. Garrett always seemed to know. That was the other reason for these check-ins with his family. They kept her distracted and were more comforting than anything else could be. After all, they’d been dealing with his being off on dangerous missions for years.

Read the rest of the story here:
Part 1 - Jan 5th - Literary Escapism
Part 2 - Jan 6th - Aria Kane
Part 3 - Jan 7th - Fresh Fiction
Part 4 - Jan 8th - Fiction Vixen
Part 5 - Jan 9th - TBA


About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. She found romance novels at age twelve and it changed her life. When not writing sexy contemporary and speculative fiction romance novels, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her wee ones, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

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Giveaway

Throughout the tour, Katee is giving away a $25 giftcard for Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice) + a swag pack.

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Cover Reveal: LOOK AFTER ME by Elena Matthews @authorelenamatt


Look After Me (Look After You #2) by Elena Matthews is out February 24th!


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The moment Sebastian Gilbert watches his fiancée declare her undying love to another man, his entire life changes.

Forever.

Unable to cope with the loss of his fiancĂ©e, his job … his life, he turns to the one thing that will help ease the pain.

Cocaine.

Seven long months later…

Sebastian has checked out of rehab, but after three months locked behind those doors, away from the outside world, he’s struggling to adapt to his new life. His thoughts are clouded with anger … bitterness…

Cravings.

When he reaches out to his drug counselor from rehab, his one and only lifeline, he begins to find hope.

Addison Scott is sweet, smart, and understands him in a way that no one else does. As she helps Sebastian rebuild his life, their friendship grows.

But lines become blurred…

Sebastian’s broken heart is slowly mending, but will letting Addison in shatter it once more?

Add To Goodreads


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About The Author


Receptionist by day, author by night, Elena Matthews is from Manchester, United Kingdom, the home of Manchester United, Media city and of course, Coronation Street. When Elena isn’t writing, she can be found with her nose in a book or watching guilty pleasures such as Gossip Girl, developing a rather unusual liking to Chuck Bass. And when she isn’t doing any of those things, you can often find her on Facebook, obsessing over Kellan Kyle, book boyfriend extraordinaire

Elena spent three years of her life at Salford University studying media production, to decide she no longer wanted to pursue a career in the media. Instead, it took her another two and half years to realise her calling. Writing. Now she lives and breathes her writing. She even had to tell her colleagues at work whenever she is found daydreaming at her desk, it’s because she is conversing with her characters.

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Monday, January 5, 2015

Book Birthday: FOR VALENTINE'S by Kat Bastion with Stone Bastion @KatBastion @stonebastion

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Today we have the release day launch for For Valentine's the nightcap novella to Kat and Stone Bastion's No Wedding series. And for release day only, you can get the a signed digital copy with a bonus scene from Hannah!!!

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This steamy nightcap novella, the fifth book in the No Weddings Series, takes us on a post-happily-ever-after adventure as Cade attempts to rewrite Valentine’s Day with his new wife, Hannah.

Wedded bliss. After everything Hannah and I have been through, we finally have it. Yet dark dreams from my troubled past continue to escalate as we approach Valentine’s Day.

Determined to fill our present with great memories that overtake all others, I plan a trip to New York—down to every scheduled detail. Yeah, there will even be a musical.

But Mother Nature has a few tricks up her sleeve. And the universe keeps throwing us curveballs…

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No Weddings: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

One Funeral: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Two Bar Mitzvahs: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Three Christmases: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks


Excerpt

When Hannah removed her hand from my crotch, cooler air seeped through the denim. Then her soft lips touched my earlobe seconds before hard teeth tugged on it. She reached over to the ignition and twisted the key, cutting the engine. “We won’t need the heat for a while.”

She was right. Windows? Already fogging.

The coat that she’d been huddling under only seconds ago, slid off of her as she shifted and knelt onto her seat. She bundled up the woolen material and tossed it into the back.

I’d planned this trip to be amazing, to get my troubling dreams in line with my incredible reality, and when we hit a little black-ice speed bump? Hannah grabbed the wheel…

My pulse kicked up at the desire in her darkened eyes. Needing to touch her, I slid a hand up her thigh.

My one-track mind screeched to a halt. “Uh…” Those knit-tight things still clung to her legs. “How do you propose we have sex with these things on?” I pinched the material away from her skin, then released it. The fabric was so soft, it didn’t even snap against her skin properly. I scowled. “These come off.”

She shook her head with an amused smile. “No. They’re keeping me warm. Besides, who said you’re getting any? We said ‘making out.’”

I choked out a laugh. “For over an hour? You trying to kill me with blue balls?”

That luscious lip of hers disappeared behind her teeth as she negotiated carefully around the gearshift to attempt to straddle my lap. Not in any way resembling merely “making out.” Interesting.

With my long legs, the seat was already adjusted back as far as possible. The steering wheel had nowhere to else go. But none of the cramped quarters made any difference to my determined woman. And she fit perfectly.

As her body settled over mine, all soft curves and temptation underneath the thin fabric of her dress, her lips brushed over my ear. “I promise you won’t die. And there will be no blue balls.”

Translation: sex.

She just wanted to play a little. Or a lot.

And I was the happiest fucking man on Earth to be her toy.

Her lips began a sensual path over my skin, trailing below my ear, dotting small kisses over my jawbone, until she reached my chin. Then she paused and swallowed hard.

Her chest heaved up and down, breasts pressing against me with every inhalation. Her fingers found their way into my hair, cradling the back of my head. Her intense gaze penetrated down deep, piercing my heart. “I love you, Cade Michaelson.”

My lips curved into a smile. Before I had a chance to respond, her eyes drifted closed and she kissed me. Not hard and rough. Not urgent. She took her time, savoring each touch. Her tongue tasted mine, then her lips closed, denying me access. Until she sucked on my lower lip.

Unhurried, lazy and seductive, she backed up her words with her body. Our lips touching was the only skin to skin, but her body undulated over mine. Hips arched, then curved against me in slow rhythm. Her fingers tugged at my hair.

I groaned and closed my eyes, my cock hardening painfully behind my denim button fly. But I didn’t pull the plug on her slow seduction. Nothing in the world would make me take control away from her.

About the Authors

Award-winning and bestselling romance author Kat Bastion has teamed up with her husband Stone Bastion to create the new contemporary romance series No Weddings.

A few factoids about the writing team…

Kat enjoys her chocolate rich and dark, her music edgy and soul-filling, and her vacations exotic with toes dug into the sand. And she’s wildly, madly, deeply in love with Stone.

Stone likes pounding the trails on a mountain bike, vibrating the sound system with rock music, and down time spent on a stand up paddleboard. And he loves Kat wildly, madly, deeply…and then some.

Together, they’re having a blast bringing fun-filled romantic stories to life and hope you’ll join them in the exciting adventure. Kat’s first published work, Utterly Loved, was a twentieth anniversary gift of love poems to Stone that they decided to share with the world to benefit charity. Net proceeds from Utterly Loved, and a portion of net proceeds from all their books, go toward charities involved in the fight against human trafficking.

Kat and Stone live amid the beautiful Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

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Friday, January 2, 2015

Book Giveaway Friday: FIGHT OR FLIGHT @NJDamschroder & FIRE & DESIRE by Monique Lamont @sasseYvetteH

Every week, I'll give away a print copy to one lucky winner!



This week I'm giving away paperback copies of Fight or Flight by Natalie J. Damschroder and Fire & Desire by Monique Lamont (aka Yvette Hines)! Read more about the books below and enter to win using the Rafflecopter below.

Eighteen years ago, a group of men killed Regan Miller’s boyfriend and tried to kidnap her daughter, Kelsey. Since then they have lived in hiding, always vigilant and never getting close to anyone.
When Kelsey goes away to college, Regan finally begins to relax. She even starts to think she can have a real relationship, perhaps with her flirtatious neighbor, Tyler Sloane. Then Regan is attacked again.

Desperate to get to her daughter, Regan accepts Tyler’s help—despite her suspicions about him. She knows nothing about Tyler but he knows a shocking amount about her past. Tyler can’t tell her what he knows or who he works for, but he insists she can’t face her enemies without him. Tired of living in fear, Regan is ready to take the offensive, with Tyler by her side. But is she relying too much on a man she can’t trust—and falling for him, too?

Goodreads | Amazon


Trevor Wayne, a computer business owner, has the contract of a lifetime at his door with the governor’s old firm and flames of revenge in his heart that he just cannot shake loose. Five years ago, a man stole something precious from Trevor. Finally, opportunity knocks giving Trevor a chance to settle the score with his old college nemesis, through the other man s fiancĂ©.

Tiffany Selina is a highly sought after party coordinator and the daughter of the governor. When she plans a secret bachelorette party in Las Vegas, too include a stripper name The Fireman; things go from hot to scorching...fast. Appalled at her own behavior, she wakes up discover she is not only hung over but married to a stranger—Trevor. Life can’t get more complicated for Tiffany as she attempts to get a divorce, manage her father’s career and run her own company. To make matters worse, every time her so-called husband shows up, it becomes harder for her to resist the passionate desire she feels for him. She soon finds she can’t hang on much longer, something has got to give.

Trevor is determined it will not be him as he discovers that she is not the only one caught in a tangled web of emotions. But can this hero decide to walk away from his revenge in hopes of having a future with the woman he loves?

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Cover Reveal: ILLICIT PROMISE by Taylor Michaels

Today is the cover reveal for Illicit Promise, an adult romance by Taylor Michaels. This title will be released on March 26th, 2015 and it is the 2nd book in the Illicit Desire series. Check out the exclusive excerpt below!

IllicitPromise

I thought I could let her walk away….

Cora Milan left. The secrets and lies that come with being with Raphael Ortiz are too much, and she bolts, retreating to the dubious safety of anonymity. But with the stalker from her past in Miami, Raphael is refusing to let her go. If there is anything the cartel lord is good for, it is protecting what is his—and Cora is.

As the secret from Cora’s past stalk them both, pressure is mounting from Raphael’s criminal connections. And then an attack from the Columbian cartel shakes Miami and Raphael’s empire, and Cora isn’t sure how to leave Raphael so devastated.

He promised to protect her. But what happens when he needs protection and she’s the only one who can offer it?

Goodreads


Excerpt

I stare at him. It’s been a week since we’ve seen each other, even though I know he’s been watching me. And now, here he is, larger than fucking life, sitting in my living room. He’s dressed down, in dark jeans, a cream button down, aviators that hide his eyes, but not the heat of his gaze as it crawls over me.

I want him. I want him, and I hate him for making me feel that again.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, and I’m so fucking proud of myself, that I manage to pull off distant and unaffected. His fingers, drumming on my table, still, and he shifts, sitting up.

“You won’t answer my calls. I didn’t have a lot of choice.” He says carefully. He stands, and I take a step back—the safety of distance. Even this close, with the room and the table between us, I want his hands on me.

I miss him, and I can’t help but search his face for signs as he slips off the sunglasses.

Hunger, so hot and strong, it makes my breath catch, flashes in his eyes. He’s looked at me like that, when I was naked in his bed, and on my knees in front of him.

I look away and he hisses a soft curse. “Bonita, I’m here because Graham is in Miami.”


Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000026_00024] Check out book 1, Illicit Desire

For a very limited time, the first book in the series is on sale!

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Cover Reveal: DOMINO EFFECT by Isabelle Richards

Domino Effect by Kristin Mayer is a contemporary romance, out February 3rd! Kristin is sharing an exclusive excerpt with us, as well as hosting a fabulous giveaway.

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One small movement can impact the rest of your life, like a set of dominoes lined up one after another. It’s not until you step back and see the big picture that you realize the damage you’ve done…

Brandt Mattox had it all—love, success, and friends. One impulsive wrong decision led him down a path that ended in a prison of regrets. He now only dreams of the happiness he once had before the consequences of his actions cost him everything.

He lost his love—not just any love, but his soul mate.

Nikola Kingston has worked hard to keep the past in the past while she focuses on her career and spending time with her grandmother. On a random night, she runs into the one man who will forever hold her heart captive. Her heart knows she still loves Brandt, but her mind cannot forget the dreadful night that cost her the love of her life.

Will the domino effect of Brandt’s and Nikola’s decisions be too much to overcome? Or will the love they never thought they would get back have an everlasting effect?

Amazon


Excerpt

“If I had to wait another day, I was coming to get you. I’ve done it before.”

It was true. I would have started driving this morning.

I moved an inch forward and a police officer held up his hands for me to stop. I complied. Police were out to keep people for idling too long in front. The officer blew his whistle and signaled for us to keep going. I pressed the gas, but we were moving at a snail’s pace due to the congestion.

Nikola pulled the scarf down; she was smiling. “I remember. You came to get me during the last ice storm, three years ago, when I was stranded on Stone Mountain. I was at that conference and the company had put me up in a cabin. You ended up staying with me when they closed the roads for two days. Do you remember—” Abruptly, Nikola stopped and turned to face the window.

I finished her sentence with memories of my own. “I remember making love to you in front of the fireplace in that cabin. I remember what it felt like to be inside you. I remember having you as mine. I remember it was the first time we said, “I love you” to each other. Is that what you were talking about?”

Every chance I got, I’d remind Nikola of how happy we were—even though she seemed to remember everything, too.

She turned my way as we continued to inch along in the baggage claim traffic.

“It would be impossible to forget.”


About the Author

1453346_733703703310003_422813181_nKristin Mayer is a wife, a proud mother, and a full-time Analyst and Import Manager. Since an early age, she has always enjoyed reading and writing. While visiting her father one weekend, he suggested that she should take up writing again. With family and a career, she didn’t give it a lot of thought, until a story entered her mind and wouldn’t leave. It just kept forming and developing over a couple of months.

At the beginning of 2013, she decided to sit down and write it all down, but she kept it to herself. One sentence developed into two, and before she knew it, she had the makings of a novel.

Kristin tries to live life to the fullest during every moment. She loves to travel and meet new people. She holds a degree in International Business and uses it daily in her job. Kristin now adds “author” on her list of jobs, and feels very blessed and thankful.

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