On a train bound for Aushwitz, little Gretl Scgnudt and her sister are steered by their mother to jump from the train in the darkness of night. Jakob Kowalski is part of a resistance who are setting up to blow up and destroy a German troop transport train, only there is an unscheduled train bound for Aushwitz.
The bridge is blown up and the trains falls and bursts into flames. At the time, Gretl has no idea that the remainder of her family are dead, with the exception of her sister who soon dies. Gretl is taken in and the family that has her does not want a German Jew among them and say they can barely afford to feed their own.
Due to some guilt, Jakob takes Gretl along with him. They build a friendship and trust, but about 3 years later he can no longer care for her and as he is taking her away, reads an article that changes both of their lives. Gretl is sent to an orphanage where she is adopted by a South African couple who are Protestant and taken to their country.
Gretl leads a beautiful life with her new adoptive family. She fits in but at the back of her mind she knows she is a German Jew and is afraid that the knowledge will make her new family not love her.
Years later when she is in college, she reconnects with Jakob, but can the friendship they had withstand the telling of her story and her heritage.
This is a story of love, redemption and a time in our history when cultural boundaries where more difficult to penetrate.
This is my first book by Irma Joubert and I cannot praise it highly enough. I was entranced with the story from the beginning and could not put it down as my heart raced to see what would happen next.
Tully isn’t alone in her skin. Whenever she touches someone, they feel everything she feels. All her ugliness. All her darkness. All her pain. The only thing she wants is to be left alone--and to finally get out of her small Oregon town.
But then she meets Chris. He’s everything she’s not: Light. Trusting. Innocent. And he wants Tully.
Tully knows she should spare him the heartache of being with her. But when he touches her, she’s not sure she’ll have the strength to push him away—until he learns about her dark past, and what really goes on in her ever decaying home.
From the author of Every Ugly Word comes a poignant, emotionally raw story about the violence that plays out behind closed doors and the all-consuming passion of first love
I think it’s because the first time Chris saw me, I wasn’t me. He saw someone who didn’t exist. And by the time he figured that out, he didn’t care anymore.
He should have cared.
He cares now.
In the half-light of my pitiful bulb, everything looks gray. Dust motes hang in the air. My narrow bed is unmade, sheets tangled. The quilt my mom stitched when I was two hangs half-way off the mattress, stretched toward the door like it too would flee this room if it could. The rest is bare—the drawers, the closet door, the walls. Even the clothes strewn across the chair and rug are plain and dirty.
Somehow it’s never bothered me before. But with Chris here it does.
His eyes are closed, his burnished lashes quivering because he’s screwed so tight. Everything’s shaking under the pressure. The muscles in his jaw twitch. His hand is white-knuckled. His shoulders . . . oh, Lord, help me, those shoulders that have lifted things I can’t carry and swept me along too . . . they’re hunched. Knotted. Pressed in on themselves. On him. There’s so much of him that I feel small, yet he’s the place where I can breathe.
At least, he was.
My insides are in freefall because I did this to him. I shouldn’t have that power over him. I shouldn’t have that power over anyone. But he gave it to me and refused to take it back.
“Chris?” I barely whisper, but he flinches like I screamed. “It wasn’t about—”
“Don’t.” It’s a hard syllable. A word bitten off. He doesn’t even open his eyes. “I swear, Tully, if you say one word . . .” His fist becomes a hammer.
I am ugly. I am black inside, rotting and putrid. I have told him this. Many times. But tonight, finally, he believes me. As he turns on his heel and stumbles out the door, I can’t even call after him. Because when he gave me the power to turn him inside out, I gave him mine. And even though I knew this day would come, knew he was wrong about me, somehow he gave me hope.
As I watch him stagger into the hallway and disappear, that hope begins its death throes. It doesn’t die quietly. It screams and curses and shoves at me. And for the first time ever, I am grateful for my life, for my father, and for this house.
Because if it’s taught me anything, it’s how to take a blow.
My Own Worst Enemy- Guest Post
By Tully Harden (main character in Dark Touch, by Aimee L. Salter)
People think my story before Chris walked into my life was sad because I was hurt. A lot.
It’s true, I carry scars—both those you can see, and those you can’t. But the truly sad part of my past is that I spent years hurting myself. I was pissed off, and frightened, and so freaking tired I had given up and accepted what happened to me. So whenever hate rose like bile in my throat (which was most of the time), I turned it on myself.
I am my own worst enemy.
My self-destruction might look different to yours, but we’re driven by the same loathing. I hurt myself because I hated what I was. What I became. I turned the anger in, because until I met Chris, I didn’t think I deserved forgiveness. Hell, I didn’t even think forgiveness existed. I threw myself under the bus because when the pain came, it fit. It felt right.
Chris didn’t save me from that—he couldn’t. But he showed me my own truth. Let me see where I believed lies. Assured me my life could be different. I will never love anyone more than him because what he showed me set me free.
So now it’s my turn to speak up. If you remember nothing else I’ve said, remember this:
Whatever you’ve been through, wherever you’re coming from, you don’t have to hurt to earn a smile.
Love is out there. Joy is possible. And there’s no penance to pay when you find it.
I hope you’ll read my story and see how I discovered this. I know my story can give you hope. Just be aware: I know how hot my boyfriend is. If you so much as look at him sideways, I’m still capable of slapping your teeth out of your face.
Just sayin’.
About Aimee L. Salter:
Aimee L. Salter is the author of the gut-wrenching Every Ugly Word, a gripping and emotional story about the devastating consequences of bullying, and Dark Touch, an equally raw story about the violence that plays out behind closed doors and the all-consuming passion of first love.
Aimee lives in Southern Oregon with her husband and son where she writes made-up stories that tell the truth about life. She never stopped appreciating those moments in the dark when you say what you're really thinking. And she'll always ask you about the things you wish she wouldn't.
She blogs for both writers and readers, and you can also find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook:
Arabella Nox soaked in the feel of Felix’s edges and planes against her body. Her palms wrapped around his thick neck, and her fingertips grazed the stubble on his head. She drank in his salty, woodsy scent. With her eyes closed, she willed time to stop—she had to remember how his embrace felt, how his hands grasped and rubbed her sides, hips, and ass. The thrills that consumed all of her nerve endings every time they were close were better than adrenaline or a manmade drug.
She knew what she was doing was wrong and that he might not forgive her this time for her deception—the thrills that she’d once craved more than air now also made her want to cry. Especially when she knew this time there wasn’t going to be a next time.
There had never been a guaranteed next time for them anyway. They loved like crazy, fought like they had nothing to lose, and ran from each other like they might burn if they stayed any longer.
The funny thing was, when she’d first met Felix, she’d never expected to leave his side again—but the world twisted, and pretty soon they were on opposite sides.
She captured his bottom lip and gently bit down as he reached for the front of her pants. There was no button or zipper to undo on her red romper, though.
She had to walk away. Her new plan depended on it.
Yet, instead of leaving, she relaxed into him, opening her mouth to his and pressing her hands around his jaw.
She wanted him.
She’d crawled naked into his bed to relate to him in the best way she knew how, and to get up the courage to tell him why she was really here. She’d desperately wanted to drop her usual guise and come at him straight with the information, but he’d been in no mood to hear her plight. She chickened out.
But she’d be lying if she said a part of her didn’t want him to take her up on her clear offer of pleasure. Right now, all of her was mad that he hadn’t. If he had fallen into bed with her, if they had made love and then slept in each other’s arms, then she could’ve come clean. Maybe she would’ve had the courage to tell him what was going on after all. Maybe he’d have wanted to save her life on his own instead of being tricked into it.
But now she had to throw him off kilter, plant thoughts in his head, to get him on her side.
Dana Volney lets her imagination roam free in Wyoming where she writes romances and helps local businesses succeed with her marketing consulting company. Surrounding herself with good friends and family, Dana thrives on moments and memories created with loved ones, especially while baking. Not possessing the natural ability to want to cook every day, she enjoys watching culinary shows while eating take-out - it helps her to dream up sweet treats and sexy men. Dana is bold, adventurous and, by her own admission, good with plants, having kept a coral cactus alive for more than one year.
Born into blood, I was a mafia princess. Raised in hiding, I was a Californian sweetheart.
The day my father sold my thirteen year old body to pay off a five year old debt was the day my mother stole me in the dead of night. She protected me as she was supposed to.
My father may have been the king, but my mother was the queen.
The mafia blood was hers.
That was ten years ago. Now… the devil was on the loose.
Carlo ‘Hunter’ Rosso was my father’s right hand man and the boy I’d loved since I could tie my own shoelaces. He was always the most ruthless and the most deadly of all the children.
He’d thought I was dead until the day his assignment was given: Kill Adriana and Alexandria Romano. Kill the princess, and definitely kill the queen.
What he didn’t know was that the queen was dead, and the princess had taken her throne.
Blood didn’t lie. It smeared, distorted, stained. But it didn’t lie.
My father was going to learn the hard way that the empire he’d stolen belonged to me.
“Staying, are you? Figure it's easier to kill me in my sleep?”
Once again, he rubbed his hand across his face. He said nothing.
“Trying to work out whose life is worth more, right? Mine is probably worth a lifetime of comfort for you. Kill me and everyone's happy, right? My pathetic excuse for a father gets to keep his empire and you're taken care of for life.”
He looked at me, and his expression was a little tortured. I was being harsh. I knew that. But I needed to be. It was easier to provoke him and be angry with him than give in to the horrible ache that had settled in my heart.
“Adriana...” Weak. The word was weak.
I wanted to ignore the indecision on his face, but I couldn't.
He was considering it.
He really was.
I scoffed quietly at him and grabbed the gun from the coffee table. His mask and gloves fell to the floor, but he made no move to pick them up. The safety was on the gun, and I held it out to him. “Here. Take it. I don't care, Hunter. I don't have much of a life here in hiding anyway.”
He didn't even look at the gun. His silvery gaze never left mine. I wished he would look away, because in that gaze, I saw the Hunter I knew. The boy who once ripped his favorite shirt to stem the bleeding when I fell and cut my leg, then proceeded to carry me home. The boy who offered to pee on my foot when I got stung by a jellyfish in Mexico on vacation when I was seven.
The boy I loved before I knew what love even was.
“You're weak, Hunter,” I whispered. Slowly, I turned the gun back to me and touched the barrel to my temple the way he did earlier. His jaw clenched when my thumb edged toward the safety, and when my finger moved to hook around the trigger, he moved.
He was like a lightning bolt. He came at me like a flash, snatched the gun from my hand, and dropped it on the sofa. It bounced but stayed on the seat, and then he turned on me with blazing eyes. “Don't,” he ground out, his arms tensing and looking even bigger. “Don't ever fucking put that to your head again.”
“Why? I was saving you the job.”
The words had barely left my lips when he pounced on me. It was deadly, the way his hands clasped my face and his mouth descended on mine. I staggered back into the wall, gasping at the ferocity of his movement. Shock paralyzed me as he kissed me harshly. His tongue ran along the seam of my mouth, and as I fisted the sides of his shirt, I bit his lower lip.
A low growl left his throat, but he didn't relent. He just kissed me harder. He kissed me until I was fucking spinning and could barely string two thoughts together. Until my whole body was alight with his touch and responding to his every movement.
He tasted like whiskey. The strong, rich taste that lingered on his lips was heady and only added to the intoxicating way he touched me.
And then... It hit me. He was touching me. Kissing me.
Twenty minutes ago, he could have killed me.
Blaire Drake is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author who wanted to think outside her box and write the kind of things that would shock even them. She loves taboo romance and pushing boundaries in her work. She also enjoys long walks on the beach at sunset, as long as it’ll be followed by a good, old-fashioned spanking right after.
DEAR PROFESSOR is her debut standalone novel, and her next book, HUNTER, is also a standalone novel that promises to be equally as taboo and sexy.
We are so excited to bring you the Review & Excerpt Tour for DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice! DANCE OF DESIRE is the first contemporary romance told with the author's trademark humor and heart. It also introduces readers to a quirky and beautiful town in the Texas Hill Country called Chapel Springs. It is due to be released on February 23, 2016! Grab your copy of this hot new novella today!
When Amber Watson walks in on her husband in the throes of extramarital passion with one of his employees, her comfortable, passion-free life is shattered in an instant. Worse, the fate of the successful country music bar that bears her family's name suddenly hangs in the balance. Her soon to be ex-husband is one of the bar's official owners; his mistress, one of its employees. Will her divorce destroy her late father's legacy?
Not if Amber's adopted brother Caleb has anything to do with it. The wandering cowboy has picked the perfect time for a homecoming. Better yet, he's determined to use his brains and his fists to put Amber's ex in his place and keep the family business intact. But Caleb's long absence has done nothing to dim the forbidden desire between him and the woman the State of Texas considers to be his sister.
Years ago, when they were just teenagers, Caleb and Amber shared a passionate first kiss beside a moonlit lake. But that same night, tragedy claimed the life of Caleb's parents and the handsome young man went from being a family friend to Amber's adopted brother. Has enough time passed for the two of them to throw off the roles Amber's father picked for them all those years ago? Will their desire for each other save the family business or put it in greater danger?
DANCE OF DESIRE is the first contemporary romance from award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice, told with the author's trademark humor and heart. It also introduces readers to a quirky and beautiful town in the Texas Hill Country called Chapel Springs.
READER ADVISORY. DANCE OF DESIRE contains fantasies of dubious consent, acted on by consenting adults. Readers with sensitivities to those issues should be advised.
EXCERPT
Another series of pounding knocks, followed by Caleb’s voice bellowing her name.
“Okay, well, I guess if I’d wanted more of an explanation I could have returned one of your ten thousand calls.”
“I should…”
“Yes, you should. You let that man inside, darling. You just go right ahead and let that man inside.”
Amber stands there for a second listening to the dial tone, realizing that as soon as she puts the phone back in its cradle she’ll be crossing a point of no return.
When she opens the door, he reaches up and pulls his hat off so she can see it’s him. The gesture sends raindrops spraying from the hat’s brim to the pavement beside him. How long was he out in the rain looking for her? How is it possible that he’s here at all?
There’s fear in his big, beautiful blue eyes and his tense mouth suggests he’s having trouble breathing.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asks.
“What are you doing?”
“Following you.”
“Well, come inside.”
When he steps across the threshold, he seems to fill the room. He sets his cowboy hat down next to the tiny boxy television. Then he begins to slide out of his jacket, one arm after the other, slowly, so as not to send raindrops spraying everywhere. And now there’s just the sound of the rain pounding the roof and the occasional roll of thunder and the occasional flash of lightning as the man she’s resisted for years greets her in an anonymous motel room.
He looks bigger than he’s ever looked before. Maybe it’s the room. Maybe it’s how close they’re standing. Maybe it’s what they did to each other just a few hours before. Or maybe it’s because she’s seeing him as a teenager, a teenager clawing his way through dark woods, sobbing and grief stricken and desperate to find his way back to the only family he’ll ever have.
“How long have you been following me?” she asks.
“I was parked outside your house. I was going to wait until you woke up but then you sped off so I followed you.”
“Why didn’t you call me? You knew I was awake once I was driving.”
“I thought you were going there, that place. The sex club.”
“I see.”
“Are you?”
“She won’t take me anymore.”
“Your boss?”
“Yeah?”
“Why’s that?”
Because of you, she thinks. Because she knows I’m in love with you.
About Christopher Rice:
After publishing four New York Times bestselling thrillers by the age of 30 and being declared one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive, award-winning writer Christopher Rice became the first author to make his erotic romance debut part of the 1,001 DARK NIGHTS series. THE FLAME: A Desire Exchange Novella kicked off a steamy new series set in New Orleans, featuring magical candles and a sexy new breed of supernatural beings, The Radiants, who are devoted to helping heroes and heroines realize their heart’s desire. THE FLAME earned accolades from some of the biggest names in erotic romance and was quickly followed up by THE SURRENDER GATE: A Desire Exchange Novel, available from Evil Eye Concepts as a Blue Box Special. Aside from authoring eight works of dark suspense, Christopher is also the co-host and executive producer of THE DINNER PARTY SHOW WITH CHRISTOPHER RICE & ERIC SHAW QUINN, all the episodes of which can be downloaded at TheDinnerPartyShow.com and from iTunes. Make sure you’re subscribed to The Dinner Party Show’s You Tube channel to receive their newest content in 2016.
Tanner Hayes smashed Claire's life to pieces when he chose the rodeo over her ten years ago. And now he'd wrecked her truck! Fantastic. She'd lost her husband, the family ranch was mired in debt, her father was recuperating from a stroke and her son was being bullied. Why not throw a reckless bull rider into the mix?
All she'd wanted was a safe, stable life. But with Tanner back in town—and staying on her ranch—nothing was safe, or under control. Not the feelings she'd fought so hard to forget. Not the son she was determined to protect. And certainly not her long-held secret…
Everything happened at once and in slow motion.
A crushing jolt shuddered through the truck. Her wheels skidded sideways. She smacked against the window when her pickup rolled down an embankment, as if punched by something large and lethal. Glass rained deadly sharp. The earth tumbled around her, her truck in spin cycle. When a massive tree loomed, the Chevy slammed into it then stilled.
Winded and stunned, she hung upside-down in her lap belt, blood, metallic and warm, on her tongue, a rushing sound whistling in her ears. Her heartbeat changed and grew slow and rolling in darkness. Something hurt, a long way away. Then nothing.
“Ma’am. Ma’am. Are you all right?” A man’s voice shouted, rousing her. She tried turning her head but pain held it in place. When she opened her mouth, silent panic flew out.
“Hold on. I’m getting you out of there.”
Acrid smoke pierced her consciousness. She closed her eyes against the billowing grit.
This wasn’t happening. It was a dream. No. A nightmare.
A tugging motion jerked her right and left, followed by a ripping sound. Large hands halted her sudden fall.
“Got you.”
Her rescuer cradled her against his chest, his breaths heaving beneath her ear. After carrying her some distance, he lowered her slowly to the ground. Grass scraped against her stinging cheeks and she opened her eyes.
“What?” she croaked, then swiped at the trickle leaking from her mouth. A man wearing a cowboy hat hunched over her, his features blurred.
“You’ve been in an accident. We have. Our trucks collided in the intersection.”
“My truck!” She bolted upright and clutched the swirling ground.
An arm snaked around her back and eased her down. “I called the dispatcher. The fire department’s on the way.”
A wail sounded in the distance and Claire wanted to shriek with it.
Her special day. Her anniversary. Ruined. No. Demolished by this…this…
She squinted upward and focused. A dark swirl of hair brushed across the tall man’s forehead; a light scar zigzagged down his square jaw. Recognition zapped through her.
It couldn’t be…
“Tanner?”
“Hello, Claire.” His mouth went up, just a fraction—the same ready-for-anything smile that had once undone her.
She closed her eyes, heart thudding. Ten years since she’d vowed never to see him again…and now here he stood, two for two in wrecking her life.
Karen Rock is an award-winning YA and adult contemporary romance author. She holds a master's degree in English and was an ELA instructor before becoming a full-time writer. Currently she writes for Harlequin Blaze and Harlequin Heartwarming. Her novel, A LEAGUE OF HER OWN, won the 2015 National Excellence in Romance Fiction award in contemporary romance series and the 2015 Bookseller's Best award for contemporary romance, long.
If you could have a second chance at true love, would you take it?
Jayden is offered the opportunity to journey back in time when she loses her soulmate, Callahan, on their twentieth anniversary. Enticed by the idea of meeting Callahan ten years earlier, she takes the leap.
From 2015 back to 1985, Jayden restarts her college experience at Florida State University. Her best friend Patrick from the first time around is at her side, supporting her attempts to win over young Cal.
Professor Travis Stratford has his eyes set on Jayden and throws his hat into the ring. Could he be a good distraction while she waits for Callahan to give her a second first chance?
Young Cal, still suffering from a recent loss of his own, is a different man than her Cally of the future. Will Jayden have the patience necessary to win him over? Will Cal believe her crazy tale?
Immerse yourself in this poignant, sexy, hilarious romance, which will have you laughing—and crying— your heart out.
Blakely Bennett grew up in Southeast Florida and has been residing in the great Northwest for over ten years. She graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a degree in psychology, which accounts for her particular interest in crafting the personalities, struggles, and motivations of her characters. She is an avid reader of many genres of fiction but especially enjoys erotica and romance. Writing has always been her bliss.
Blakely is married to a wonderful, loving, and supportive husband, who is also a writer, and who helps to keep her grounded. She is a mother, a communitarian, a lover of music (it is always on while she is writing thanks to Pandora), and a good friend. An advocate of love and female empowerment, she is also a facilitator for a women’s group. She loves to walk and hike for exercise, and finds that, since moving to Seattle, Washington, she is now one of those crazy people who walk in the rain.
The Second First Chance is her eighth novel. Her other novels include the Bound by Your Love Series (Stuck in Between, Bittersweet Deceit, & Blue Persuasion), the dark erotic suspense My Body Trilogy (My Body-His, My Body-His (Marcello) and My Body-Mine) and the contemporary romance, The Demarcation of Jack, which she co-wrote with her husband, Dana Bennett.
We are so excited to bring you the Release Week Blitz for FIGHTING DIRTY by Lori Foster! FIGHTING DIRTY is a Contemporary Romance and is the final installment in Lori Foster’s Ultimate Series. Grab your copy of the conclusion to this sexy series today!
He's the hottest MMA fighter in the game, but one woman is ready to try out a few steamy moves of her own in an unforgettable new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster
With the life he's led and the muscles he's gained, Armie Jacobson isn't afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter's effect on him. It's not just that she's his best friend's little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that's all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.
Good girl meets bad boy. It's a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they're both about to learn what's truly worth fighting for…
FIGHTING DIRTY EXCERPT
Bestselling author Lori Foster shares a fighting scene from the last book in her Ultimate Series, Fighting Dirty
Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster is the final book in her addicting and wicked hot MMA-themed Ultimate Series. Check out the excerpt below to see just what we mean. Happy reading!
***
Merissa loved her brother. She’d always seen him as Superman, larger than life, a rock whenever she’d needed one. He was only a couple of years older than her, but for as long as she could remember he’d seemed grown-up.
Right now, Superman was in her kitchen, insisting on getting her a drink when all she really wanted was the time alone to let go. She knew if she fell apart in front of him, Cannon would never leave her.
He didn’t need to be a savior, not right now.
“Here.” He returned with a cola over ice, urging her to the couch. He smoothed back her hair, his gaze drawn to the bruise. Yes, it hurt. But the physical discomfort was nothing compared to the fear.
And here she’d promised herself, long ago, that she’d never again let herself be that type of victim.
But this fear—it was more about Armie standing in front of her, using himself as a shield. Risking his own life.
Willing to die.
“Take these.” Cannon handed her two aspirin.
She tried a teasing smile. “This feels so familiar.”
He stalled, then shook his head. “Don’t think about that.”
She couldn’t help herself. They’d lost their dad when she was only sixteen. As the owner of a neighborhood bar he’d resisted the extortion of local thugs, refusing to pay their demanded fees for “protection.” Late one night when he’d been closing, men had come in and beaten him to death.
Devastated but determined, their mom had nearly worked herself into her own grave trying to keep them afloat. Merissa could remember it all like yesterday. The goons wanted her mother to sell but she’d refused.
Until some of those goons had cornered Merissa on her way home from school.
“It’s all the same. You coddling me, being the strong one for both of us.”
“You were a kid then.”
“You’re only two years older than me,” she reminded him with a shoulder bump. “You were a kid then, too.”
“Maybe. I remember feeling so damned helpless.”
“Like you feel now?” She knew her brother, knew he wanted to make things right for her when that wasn’t his responsibility. “I’m not a kid anymore, Cannon. I can handle it.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do,” she told him gently. “Because I don’t want my big brother stuck taking care of me again.”
He folded her hand into his own. “You know I enjoy it, right?”
Her laugh sounded pitiful. But she still remembered how her mother had given in because of her. Cannon had found those men, and even at eighteen he’d made them pay with his fists—because of her.
She’d influenced him into becoming a fighter.
And it was because of her that he’d formed the neighborhood watch. Everyone loved Cannon, but no one could love him more than she did.
“Superman,” she teased. “This time, I promise I can take care of myself.”
A slight knock on the door made her jump.
“It’s just Armie,” Cannon said with a squeeze to her shoulder. “I’ll let him in.”
Nodding, she again thought of the way Armie had stood in front of her, willing to block bullets if neces¬sary.
Emotion welled up, choking her, killing her.
She quickly took the aspirin and tried to get herself together.
Armie peeked in cautiously, saw her on the couch and came in farther. “She okay?”
“Yes,” Merissa and Cannon said at the same time.
Armie gave a slight, tilted smile. “Hey, Stretch.” He came over to her, laid her keys on the coffee table, then winced at the darkening discoloration on her jaw.
“I bruise easily,” she explained. “By tomorrow it’s going to look worse, believe me. But it was just a slap. I doubt you guys would have even noticed.”
Armie crouched down in front of her. “Hey, you’re not a fighter, hon.”
She liked it when he called her something other than Stretch. Something affectionate. “No kidding.” She hadn’t fought at all; fear and the furious beating of her heart had kept her malleable and weak. It infuriated her. “I may be big, but I lack muscle.” And guts.
“Tall,” Armie corrected. “You’re tall, but far from big. More like…”
“What?”
He thought about it. “Delicate.”
A genuine smile took her by surprise. So Armie Jacobson saw her as delicate? Huh.
Knowing she needed to get this over with, Merissa took another drink, then set her glass aside and stood.
Armie slowly did the same, his cautious gaze never leaving her. Cannon stood near him, strangely quiet. They both watched her as if expecting her to lose it at any second.
And maybe she would—if she didn’t have an audience.
And don’t miss the previous books in the Ultimate Series!
Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN. Visit her online at LoriFoster.com.
We are so excited to bring you the Review & Excerpt Tour for Rachel Harris’s YOU’RE STILL THE ONE, the first novel in Rachel’s Country Blues Series! YOU’RE STILL THE ONE – a novel published by Entangled Bliss – is out now. Grab your copy today!
Love is one dare neither of them can take…
Arabella Stone, Nashville’s darling, is eager to shuck her prim-and-proper rep, and a few wild months spent checking items off her ” summer bucket list” is the way to do it. First up: kiss the man she’s crushed on since she wore a training bra, the bad boy of country himself, Blue bassist Charlie Tucker.
For Charlie, a beautiful woman flirting with him isn’t out of the norm–but a beautiful woman bolting after the hottest kiss of his life sure is. And when he finds out his kiss-and-run Cinderella is none other than Arabella Stone, daughter of his label’s CEO, he knows he’s in trouble. Because not only is she a Stone, she’s also his employee for the next few months at the recording studio he just bought.
Over the course of one thrilling summer, Arabella and Charlie chip away at her bucket list and fight the simmering attraction between them…knowing that once it’s all over, so is their time together.
About Rachel Harris:
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls-next-door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Vibrant settings, witty banter, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books…and kissing. Lots of kissing.
An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romances, and LOVES talking with readers!
Holly Woods is going to hell in a handbasket—but this time, Satanists aren’t to blame. Halloween is.
Nonna doesn’t understand why there are skeletons and demons everywhere. Mom is threatening to stitch a devil into Nonna’s pillowcase if she doesn’t shut up. Bek is bumbling over a date with Jason, the handsome FBI agent who conveniently got himself relocated to Austin, and I… Well. I’m considering running away to a town without the crazies.
Nothing new here.
Everything is going smoothly—too smoothly—and I can’t shake the feeling that something is about to happen. Drake insists I’m being paranoid… But when a body turns up at the Holly Woods Halloween party, we have a whole lot more than a murderer to worry about.
Because the prime suspect is his mom.
And it’s my job to prove she’s innocent.
(Tied Bond is the fourth full-length book in the Holly Woods Files series and does not stand alone.)
By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies - usually wine - and writes books.
Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.
She likes to be busy - unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.
Aimee L. Salter is the author of the gut-wrenching Every Ugly Word, a gripping and emotional story about the devastating consequences of bullying, and Dark Touch, an equally raw story about the violence that plays out behind closed doors and the all-consuming passion of first love.
Born into blood, I was a mafia princess. Raised in hiding, I was a Californian sweetheart.
About Christopher Rice:
About Lori Foster:
About Rachel Harris:
w York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies - usually wine - and writes books.