Category Archives: Must Read
BOOK TOUR ~ Courted by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Series #3) by Felicity Heaton
New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton is here today for the book tour of her new shifter romance release, Courted by her Cougar, the third book in her brand new Cougar Creek Mates Series. Set in her popular Eternal Mates world, Cougar Creek Mates takes you into the deep Canadian wilderness to a secret place that’s home to a cougar shifter pride led by four sexy brothers, each guaranteed to steal your heart and set it racing! With all four books in the series releasing just weeks apart, this is going to be one hot summer.
Check out the book, download it with your Kindle Unlimited subscription if you have one,
and be sure to enter the awesome grand giveaway happening at her website!
Courted by her Cougar
(Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 3)
Felicity Heaton
Madness is sweeping through Cougar Creek, and Flint wants no part of it. The fever has two of his brothers in love already, and Flint is damned if he’s giving up the bachelor life to tie himself to one female, but when a perimeter sweep has him running into an exotic and enthralling beauty who rouses his instincts as a cougar shifter and a male, the hunt is on.
All Yasmin is interested in is making sure her friend, Ivy, is safe, but the alluring black-haired man with a wicked smile she meets on the path to the creek has her thinking about other things. When an incident at Cougar Creek leads to her revealing a secret, and Flint’s persistence pushes her to a rash decision, her entire world is in danger of being turned upside down.
With the gathering in full swing, and males determined to prove their worth to Yasmin, Flint discovers he’s not immune to the madness sweeping through the creek, because he’ll do whatever it takes to claim victory and win Yasmin’s heart… no matter how dangerous it is.
Read it with your Kindle Unlimited Subscription or buy now from…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au
Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win one of a $75, $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card at the Courted by her Cougar book page.
This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on September 23rd. Enter now:
Yasmin huffed as she pushed her ebony waves out of her face, feeling the dampness at the back of her neck that irritated the hell out of her as her hair stuck to it, clung in a way that made her want to do something. Scream probably.
She stopped near a towering pine that looked like every other damned tree in the forest and turned in a circle, trying to spot the path. There had to be a path. She was sure she had been following one from the trailhead where she had left her car parked next to Ivy’s Jeep, and several other vehicles that had told her she was in the right area.
Maybe it had been an animal track.
A cool breeze blew up the gentle slope to her right, carrying the scent of water. She could hear the river in that direction. Maybe it would be wise to head downhill until she found it and then track it towards the area that her friend had called ‘the creek’ more than once. There had been a river in Ivy’s photographs. It stood to reason that she would find her friend near the one she could hear.
Yasmin shrugged out of her heavy pack, set it down on the rough earth between the tangled roots of the pines and rifled through the side pockets, her mood taking a nosedive as she struggled to find what she was looking for.
“A-ha.” She grinned as she opened the fifth pocket—seriously, why so many pockets on these stupid backpacks—and found her elastics and other beauty items.
She straightened, lifted her hair away from her neck, scrunched it together and tied it in place with the band. Parts of it instantly fell down again, framing her face, but it would do for now. All she cared about was keeping her neck clear. It was bliss as the breeze caressed it, had a soft sigh leaving her lips as she savoured it.
When the wind died down again, she stripped off her black jacket, because a winter coat combined with her royal purple sweater and the long-sleeved cream t-shirt she wore beneath that had probably been a bit much. She had been expecting the weather to be cooler than it was. There had been snow on the mountains in Ivy’s photographs after all.
She peered through the dense trees to catch a sliver of the mountain that loomed closest to her. There was still snow on it. Apparently, snow on the peaks didn’t mean it was cold in the valley. It was rare she learned something new, novel in fact. What else was she going to learn on this adventure?
Yasmin hefted the pack back onto her shoulders. The weight of it pressed down on her and she twisted and grimaced, trying to get comfortable again. Maybe the sunny day wasn’t solely responsible for her working up a sweat. The heaviness of her pack combined with the exertion of the hike probably would have been enough to have her running a little hot even if it had been a chilly day.
She threaded her coat over the bottom of the right strap of her pack, so it pressed against her back and hip and wouldn’t fall into the dirt, and kicked off again, picking her way through the trees as she headed downhill towards the river.
A man with wild black hair and golden eyes stepped into her path, emerging from the trees like some sort of predator to stare her down.
She casually drew to a halt four metres from him.
Raked her gaze over him, taking in a navy shirt that stretched tight over his athletic build, long legs encased in very practical black trousers, and scuffed boots that looked as if he had trekked hundreds of miles in them and needed a new pair. Too cheap to purchase them? Or sentimental and attached to these ones for some reason?
She lifted her head back up to meet his golden eyes.
He didn’t look the sentimental type.
His straight jaw set hard, his lips compressing, causing the scar that streaked across the left side of his mouth to pull on his cheek.
He looked as if he wanted to growl at her.
Yasmin concluded there was a high probability he could help her. “I’m lost, can you tell me the way—”
“Private property. Turn your ass around and march it back the way you came,” he interjected, voice a gravelly snarl that had more bite than the local bears.
That was rude.
She narrowed her dark eyes on him. “No. If you would let me finish.”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen. This is no place for camping. Private property.”
“Yes, you’ve said that twice now, and if you would let me finish.”
He took a hard step towards her, his eyes glowing brighter. Oh, if he wanted to do angry, she could show him angry.
“Listen,” she snapped. “I know my friend is somewhere around here, and I am going to see her. Something tells me you know her. Ivy Wentworth?”
The barest flicker of surprise lit his stormy gold eyes before he schooled his features, hardening them again. “Don’t know her. Off you go now. Try the other direction.”
Liar.
“The other direction is my car.” And his, she was guessing.
It was probably the battered ancient pick-up she had seen that had more rust than paint on it.
“Good.” He folded his arms across his chest and glowered at her.
“So I’m not going back that way. I’m going this way.” She started left, because he had obviously come from nearby and that meant she was close to the creek.
He was in front of her in a flash, blocking her way. “I can’t allow that. Turn your ass around and march it back to your car.”
That was it.
Yasmin mimicked him, crossing her arms over her breasts, and the bastard had the audacity to glance at them as her actions pressed them together and upwards in her purple sweater.
“Try to make me leave,” she growled as she glared at him. “I dare you. We’ll see who comes off worse.”
His golden eyes leaped up to hers, and this time he didn’t hide his surprise.
Not used to strong females?
He was taller than she was, his build slim but clearly powerful. His shirt was tight enough that she could see it was hiding a muscled torso, and he had rolled up the sleeves to reveal tightly corded forearms that flexed as she stared at them.
Yasmin lifted her eyes back to his. “I’m going to see my friend whether you like it or not. You can’t stop me.”
He tried anyway, moving left and right to block her path as she tried to get past him.
Exasperating man!
She was close to hitting him to get him to stop.
He blocked her again when she made another attempt to pass him rather than giving in to the urge to clobber him. “How do you know this friend of yours is at the creek?”
She almost smiled. The creek. So he had come from the place where Ivy was staying with her new man. Which meant he was going to take her there, whether he liked it or not.
She feinted going left, and when he moved to block her, she went right and slipped past him. He growled in frustration and grabbed her wrist, and she turned on a pinhead, slammed her palm against his chest and shoved him back into a tree. He went easily, wasn’t a challenge at all.
Mostly because he was holding back.
Thought her feeble? Thought he might hurt her by accident if he exerted a little strength? She wanted to laugh at that.
Yasmin huffed and splayed her hand out against the centre of his chest, and yes, it was firm beneath her palm, muscles rigid and tensed, and there was that strength he was hiding from her.
“Are you going to take me to Ivy now?” She inched closer to him and pressed her hand harder against his chest to keep his spine pinned to the tree, just in case he thought about moving.
But he didn’t seem inclined to break free of her hold.
He regarded her with gold eyes that held a spark of heat, his silence stretching out for a moment that was so long she began to feel a little uncomfortable as she stood with her hand on his chest, his heart pounding against it, steady and strong.
She also started to wonder whether she had done some sort of permanent damage to him. She was on the verge of asking him whether he needed medical assistance when he finally responded.
He dipped his chin in a nod, his eyes remaining locked with hers as he spoke. “What’s your name?”
Not quite the response she had anticipated, but she would give it to him, because unlike him, she wasn’t rude. “Yasmin.”
He glanced down. “I’ve heard of you.”
She followed his gaze, tensed and removed her hand from his chest as she realised she was still touching him. His eyes lifted to her, banked heat in them, a flicker of interest that had her wanting to look away from him as a fire tried to lick over her cheeks. She resisted the need that raced through her and the blush, quelling both of them.
“I don’t doubt that.” She kept her voice even and emotionless, so he got the message that she didn’t feel the attraction that zinged between them. She really didn’t. “Ivy emailed me telling me she met a guy, fell in love of all things and that she wouldn’t be home for a while. She assured me that she was fine, but I’m here to see that for myself.”
“Commendable.” He knew big words. Trying to impress her?
She nodded. “I like to think so.”
He pushed away from the tree, coming to tower over her, easily eight inches taller than she was, and looked down at her.
His handsome face softened, that heat in his golden gaze lingering. “I’m Flint, Rath’s brother. Ivy is fine. She’s in love with Rath and nothing bad is happening here.”
He could attempt to appease her all he wanted. It wasn’t going to make her leave.
“Good.” She adjusted the bag on her back. “Because I prefer to heal injuries rather than cause them.”
A hint of a smile, enough that she could see that he would be devastating if he cracked a full blown grin. “Came here prepared for war?”
Yasmin nodded again. “If necessary. Ivy is my friend. My only friend.”
That had him turning serious, the dark slashes of his eyebrows knitting hard as the corners of his lips turned downwards. “I get that. You’re protective. I have a protective streak of my own… one I’ll introduce you to if you try to do anything to hurt my brother, including attempting to take Ivy from him.”
She arched an eyebrow at that. Protective of his brother’s happiness? That was commendable, as he would say.
“You think you can take me? Good luck with that.” She strode past him.
His eyes landed on her back and raked down her spine, a hot shiver following in their wake, and he purred, “I know I can take you.”
Read it with your Kindle Unlimited Subscription or buy now from…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au
Book 1: Claimed by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 2: Captured by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 3: Courted by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 4: Craved by her Cougar (coming 29th September 2018)
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:
WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM
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BOOK TOUR ~ Captured by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates #2) by Felicity Heaton
New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton is here today for the book tour of her new shifter romance release, Captured by her Cougar, the second book in her brand new Cougar Creek Mates Series.
Set in her popular Eternal Mates world, Cougar Creek Mates takes you into the deep Canadian wilderness to a secret place that’s home to a cougar shifter pride led by four sexy brothers, each guaranteed to steal your heart and set it racing!
With all four books in the series releasing just weeks apart, this is going to be one hot summer.
Check out the book, download it with your Kindle Unlimited subscription if you have one, and be sure to enter the awesome grand giveaway happening at her website!
Captured by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 2)
Felicity Heaton
In the wake of an Archangel attack on Cougar Creek, Storm is seething with a need for revenge against the hunter organisation and the key to it might be the petite blonde mortal he’s locked in his cabin, one he’s determined to make sing for him. Only the beauty has a fiery temperament to match his own, and the more time he spends with her, the more she stokes a fire inside him. One that fills him with a startling and undeniable need to make her sing in another way—in his arms.
Gabriella isn’t going to take her captivity lying down. She’s going to give the pig-headed brute holding her against her will hell until he finally believes she’s innocent. He might be a cougar shifter, but she isn’t afraid of him. Or at least she isn’t afraid of what he is. The way he affects her, the flames that lick through her whenever they’re close, terrifies her though, because the longer she’s around the towering sexy-as-sin shifter, the hotter that fire blazes, and it’s only a matter of time before it burns away all her restraint.
With the mating heat and the attack bringing cougars back to the creek, Gabriella is a complication Storm doesn’t need, but she’s one that he wants… because she might just be his one true mate.
Read it with your Kindle Unlimited Subscription or buy now from…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au
Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win one of a $75, $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card at the Captured by her Cougar book page.
This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on September 2nd.
Enter now:
Storm wasn’t convinced that his Little Bird didn’t know the tune he wanted her to sing, not one bit. She hadn’t been surprised to hear him mention Archangel, which meant she knew about them, and he had no doubt she was in league with them.
Like brother, like sister.
Ivy kept vouching for her, but even Rath wasn’t buying what his mate was selling—that Gabriella was an innocent caught up in all of this.
If she was innocent, she would tell him everything she knew. She wouldn’t have a reason to keep denying him and refusing to speak.
“You know the tune, Little Bird.” He turned away from the door, strode to the couch and slumped onto it. “You just don’t want to sing it. I’m a patient man… I can wait until you break.”
He wasn’t a patient male. Not by a longshot. He was itching to open that door and scare her into speaking, but gods, some part of him couldn’t do it. He could still taste the terror that had gone through her when he had grabbed her and pulled her towards the bedroom, her fear that he had been about to violate her, and it was bitter on his tongue, had him cursing himself for causing it. He had only meant to scare her into speaking by locking her in a dark room.
Of course, Little Bird had got revenge by using the last shred of his electricity.
It was going to be a long dark night in there for her.
Storm kicked his feet up onto the coffee table between the couch and the log burner and slumped further, so he was almost horizontal as he stared at the fire. Tomorrow, he would wheel the solar panels out into the clearing and jack them in. Not for her sake though. His desire to get some juice in the batteries had nothing to do with the petite blonde ball of fury ranting in his right ear about being a prisoner.
He tried to tune her out, but fuck, she was persistent.
“I demand to know how Ivy is.” Her tone, so damned regal and oh-so-British, grated on his nerves.
No one ordered him around.
So he ignored her, let her rant until she wore herself out and went quiet. He switched the focus of his senses to her, tilted his head to his right as he felt her stillness, and listened. Her breathing was soft, even.
Little Bird had worn herself out and right to sleep.
Storm kicked his feet down, tempted to check on her. Two reasons not to sprang to mind. One, she might be trying to trick him into opening the door so she could attempt another escape. Two, he didn’t give a damn whether she was comfortable or not.
He really didn’t.
Not only was she human, but she was born of the same woman that the fuck-head Alexander had come from—a woman he was sure was involved in Archangel as much as her husband had been, and therefore had been involved in what had happened to his family and his kin.
Thirty-six years ago.
He slid his grey gaze towards the bedroom door.
Gabriella looked no older than thirty, hadn’t even been born when his parents had been brutally taken from him during the attack by the hunter organisation, but gods, he couldn’t stop himself from laying blame on her shoulders, because he needed someone to aim his anger at, the rage that had been festering inside him for close to four decades now.
Rage that wouldn’t be satisfied until he hunted down every last human who had been involved in the raid and painted his claws with their blood.
He tipped his head back into the couch, the leather creaking as it depressed, and sighed as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. His cougar side shifted restlessly beneath his skin, the pain of his memories of that night winding him tight inside, until he felt sure he would snap.
He shoved to his feet and paced, his strides clipped as he fought to work off some of the energy flooding him, aggression and pain that needed an outlet or it would drive him to shift and hunt.
He needed a run.
He hated mountains and forests, and everything that reminded him of his early years, before Archangel. Preferred big cities and fast cars, and even faster women. All the modern conveniences and concrete and glass that made this world feel like a million miles away.
But the mountains and the forests gave him one thing he loved.
Space to run.
He stripped off his t-shirt and lowered his gaze and his hands at the same time, reaching for the button on his jeans. He froze as his eyes landed on the thick scars that ran over his right hip and disappeared into the waist of his jeans, could almost feel them where they trailed down his thigh to the inside of his knee.
His heart started to pound, a heavy rhythm that rattled his ribs as fear rose to choke him and he saw blood on his bare skin, saw muscle carved open in the line of the scar and bone peeking through in places. His throat closed as he heard Cobalt’s words swimming in his ears, telling him to hold on, and saw his older brother viciously battling to protect him from the humans trying to get to him while he was weak and wounded.
Pull it together.
Storm shook off the fear and squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his teeth as he breathed through the pain, fighting to suppress it and break the hold his memories had on him. He wasn’t there now, pissing his pants and fearing for his life like a fucking cub while Cobalt went to war, his older brother’s strength more than a match for the humans while Storm’s had been inadequate because he had been seven years off sexual maturity.
Movement on his senses had him snapping back to his cabin, on high alert as alarm rang through him, the thought of coming under attack while caught up in his past and vulnerable driving him to react.
But no one was near him.
He stared at the wooden door that separated him from the human.
She shifted on his sharp senses, rolled over and moaned as she settled again.
He had been a fucking idiot for picking his cabin as her cage, but what choice had he had? The other cabins belonged to males, and some to females, and he didn’t know who was due to return for the gathering that would happen this year, one where eligible males were coming to service the needs of the females of the pride who were in heat.
Gods, he wouldn’t say no to a slice of that. He needed a good fuck. No strings attached. Just the way he loved it.
He pushed out thoughts of screwing, because it was just his hormones messing with him, the season rousing the need in him even when he couldn’t participate. His family were responsible for maintaining order during the gathering, and as much as he hated that, wanting to fuck like the next male, he relished it in a way.
Because he got to do the other thing he loved.
Fighting.
Plenty of males lost their heads during the gathering, jacked up on hormones and pushed to the edge by them. Storm was allowed to beat the crap out of them if they kicked off a fight that wasn’t over the right to mate with a female, which meant he got to fight at least once a day. Not gentle warm-up type fights either. He got to really let loose.
Just as he had when Alexander had landed that damned chopper on their land and tried to fuck with his family.
Storm slid his gaze back towards the door.
Towards Gabriella.
She groaned and moved again, and this time, it sounded more like a whimper. He focused. Her heartrate was off the scale too. Having a nightmare?
He didn’t give a damn if she was.
Really didn’t.
Storm scrubbed a hand over his mouth. Fuck, it had been a mistake to set up his cabin as her cage. Sure, it had been the right thing, because it would keep her safe from the other males coming to the area and it was easier for him to keep an eye on her in his own home.
But the whole place smelled of her already.
Her scent was embedded in everything, felt as if it was seared right into his soul.
Sunshine, sand and surf, with a hint of something tropical.
He snagged the red comforter from the couch, brought it to his nose and inhaled, and muttered a ripe curse as it smelled of her.
And damn, she smelled good.
Had his instincts as a male firing on all cylinders.
Read it with your Kindle Unlimited Subscription or buy now from…
Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au
Book 1: Claimed by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 2: Captured by her Cougar – Available in Kindle Unlimited!
Book 3: Courted by her Cougar (coming 8th September 2018)
Book 4: Craved by her Cougar (coming 29th September 2018)
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:
WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM
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RELEASE BLITZ ~ Too Bad, So Sad (The Simple Man series #5) by Lani Lynn Vale
Series: The Simple Man #5
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: August 8, 2018
So yep, I did it again….. devoured another Lani Lynn Vale book in one sitting!!
I’m beginning to think I’ve got an addiction to this lady and her stories..hell, no need to think about it. I’ve got a serious case of must read whenever Lani brings out a new read!
Too Bad, So Sad is the 5th book in the Simple Man series and it was a fun, hot, action packed read that was chock full of chemistry and sexual attraction that I’ve come to expect from Ms Vale.
I really liked Tyler Cree, even though he came across as a bit of a jerk the first couple of times he ran into Reagan. Once he admitted to himself how much he liked her and that he couldn’t stay away from her his protective side really kicked into gear even though he didn’t think he could trust or feeling something for a female ever again. We find out exactly why he’s so hellbent on not moving thing forward with Reagan and I liked how that side of the story panned out.
Reagan Alvarez was a little bit of a nut case….in a good way! Passionate about her job, she gets blinkered when focused on what she wants to do and ends up finding herself in some sort of trouble most of the time – which is exactly the case when it comes to her first encounter with Tyler….
She didn’t want to like him given how he’d been with her and due to the fact that she’d had enough of controlling assholes in her life, but there was no denying the attraction she had to him and once she decided she wasn’t gonna let him forget about her it was game on!
I love the inclusion of characters from earlier in this and other series and reading TBSS made me want to go reread more than a few of Lani’s previous books.
A definite recommended read that I’m rating 4.5*
~ Tracy
I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 9, so I can assure you that they are a handful.
I’ve been with my paramedic husband now for ten years, and we’ve produced three offspring that are nothing like us.I live in the greatest state in the world, Texas.
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RECOMMENDED READ ~ Must Love Babies by Lynnette Austin
One of my favourite reads this year to date is MUST LOVE BABIES by Lynnette Austin
~ Tracy : BLP
This baby’s not the only one in need of a cuddle…
Brant Wylder is a bachelor and loving it! He’s in Misty Bottoms, Georgia, property-hunting for his vintage car repair shop when he gets the call. His sister’s been in an accident, and Brant has to drop everything and take care of his five-month-old nephew. That’s the end of the bachelor lifestyle.
Bridal boutique owner Molly Stiles is all business all the time, until she sees that Brant’s in trouble. In this Southern town, nobody ever has to go it alone. And besides, how can she resist that beautiful baby in the arms of a beautiful man…?
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Excerpt:
Molly stood beneath a magnolia tree, her face tipped to catch the moonlight. The breath caught in his throat, and for one fanciful second, Brant imagined a mythical princess or fairy.
He shook his head. The woman was real, and he wanted a dance, wanted to hold her in his arms. A little flirting? Harmless.
Stepping out of the shadows, he made his way to her.
“Beautiful night, huh?”
“Perfect.” Slowly, she turned, a smile on her face.
“How about a dance?”
She hesitated.
“I’m not asking for a lifelong commitment, sugar. Just a single dance under the stars. The night’s made for dancing.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
He caught her hand in his, amazed at its softness against his work-roughened one. “In the interest of full disclosure, I’m not the world’s greatest dancer, but you shouldn’t lose any toes.” He glanced at her sequined stilettos, showcased by her cocktail-length dress. “Don’t know how you even walk in those, let alone put on the miles you do, but I have to say that all mankind is grateful.”
Smiling, Molly peeked at her shoes. “They’re awesome, aren’t they?”
He nodded. “You can dance in them?”
“I could run a marathon in these.”
“Okay, then.” The moon shone through Spanish moss that dripped from the live oaks, forming a lacy pattern on the dewy grass.
Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This” played over the sound system. Reaching the dance floor, Brant slid an arm around her waist and drew her in, breathed in her scent. He swung her out and brought her back in one smooth motion, felt her quick laugh in the pit of his stomach. The music slowed when the band segued into John Legend’s “All of Me,” and he drew her close.
Molly fit perfectly in his arms. She lived in Georgia and he in Tennessee, and that made her safe. And if the plans he and his brothers were working on panned out? Still nothing to worry about since she lived in Savannah. When she rested her head against his chest, he wondered if she could hear the rapid thump of his heart. Ms. Molly was hot, hot, hot.
His hand slid a little lower, and without missing a beat, she relocated it to her waist.
Molly smelled of a midnight garden with just a touch of naughty. His body responded, and he willed himself to think about something else. “How’s the city?”
“Savannah?” She shrugged. “I live in Misty Bottoms now. I opened a bridal boutique. Today’s bride was my first.” She grinned, dimples creasing her cheeks.
The dance ended, and he reluctantly released Molly. “I’m driving back to Tennessee tomorrow.”
“Speaking of driving, thanks for taxiing the last of the rehearsal dinner’s partiers home last night. I heard they celebrated pretty hard at Duffy’s.”
“No problem.”
“I need to stop at my car before I go back inside. I left the little silver heart I attach to the bridal gown’s garment bag in my glove box.”
Brant walked beside her in the soft night air, a hand at her elbow, while the band played Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You.”
He lowered his head. “Before we call it a night, I’d love to see the rose garden our friend Cole salvaged.”
“What a mess, but after a lot of hard work it’s incredible again.”
The scent of roses surrounding them, they strolled through the yard. In the silver light of the moon, the flowers glowed and took on an almost magical, fairy-tale illusion. The house shimmered and welcomed, like the true Southern lady she was. Interlacing his fingers with Molly’s, peace enveloped Brant.
They wandered across the expanse of lawn and through the blooms in comfortable silence.
From the parking area, he heard the sound of engines starting, of tires crunching on the long drive. “Looks like it’s about time for lights-out. We’d better head back so you can finish up.”
A slight breeze caused Molly to shiver, and happy for the excuse, Brant wrapped an arm around her and pulled her a little closer, surprised when she didn’t pull away.
Reaching her yellow-and-white Mini Countryman, he made to open her door, then changed his mind, leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, one that should have been impersonal. Friendly. Instead, fire shot through him.
He pulled back, unsure whether he should be relieved or horrified that the expression on her face mirrored his own stampeding feelings. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m taking care of a few loose ends in the morning, then heading back to Tennessee. And I already said that, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did. The kiss was nice, thanks, but you don’t need to worry. I won’t show up naked at your hotel door.”
His breath caught.
She grinned, and he understood she knew exactly the effect she was having on him.
“I—” His phone vibrated. “Whoops. Sorry, but I’d better take this. My brothers probably forgot something. Organization isn’t their strong suit. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Sure.”
“Hello? Dad?” As he spoke, he made his way to a gnarly old oak. His father’s voice was gruff, almost as if he’d been crying. Panic grabbed Brant by the throat. “What’s wrong?
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
I know from some reviews that I’ve read that this wasn’t everyone’s cuppa but I have to say I loved Must Love Babies!!!!
Brant Wylder was settled and happy living his bachelor life and working with his brothers.
Molly Stiles has a solid plan of getting her business up and running and not getting married ’til she’s at least 30.
Then they met and things went to pot where their plans were concerned.
This was a slow brewing, sweet romance with two likable main characters, a fun supporting cast and of course, baby Jax, who was a show stealer! With all that you would expect from a small town by way of support, help and a little bit of helpful interference, this was a great read that I definitely recommend reading.
I haven’t read any of the books that this series has spun from – this was in fact my first Lynnette Auston read and I’m really looking forward to more in this series as well as going back to check our the authors earlier works.
This gets 5* from me!!
About the Author
Once upon a time, a handsome prince walked up to the Tastee Freeze window and asked the lovely princess—who was working there to earn money to redecorate the castle—for a chocolate milkshake and a date. She said yes to both, and they lived happily ever after.
Okay, maybe I embellished a little—the princess didn’t actually live in a castle—but it’s no wonder I write romances with their happy endings. My prince and I are still together.
We had one beautiful son whom we lost in 2006. Aaron brought untold love and happiness into our lives. He was one of those brave firefighters who run into the flames as others are fleeing.
Dave and I both grew up in Pennsylvania’s Alleghany Mountains. From there, we moved to New York, then to the Rockies in Wyoming. Presently we divide our time between Naples, Florida’s beaches and Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
I have a Master’s in Educational Leadership and taught middle school language arts before leaving it to write full-time. My books have finaled in Romance Writers of America’s national Golden Heart Contest, PASIC’s Book of Your Heart Contest, and Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie Contest. My books written as Lynnette Hallberg include Enchanted Evening from Kensington, Moonlight, Motorcycles, and Bad Boys,Chantilly Lace and A Pretty Face, and Night Shadows from The Wild Rose Press, and Just A Little White Lie from Carina Press.
I love books and have closets full of them as well as two well-supplied ereaders. Nothing makes me happier than losing myself in my characters’ worlds. Besides reading and writing, I enjoy traveling. I’ve visited all fifty states with the exception of Alaska and have traveled extensively throughout Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa, and Central America—always on the lookout for new characters or a new story.
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