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RELEASE TOUR ~ The Change Up by Elley Arden
Readers looking for something a little different will love The Change Up by Elley Arden,
a twist on the traditional billionaire romance.
Out now! The Change Up (Arlington Aces #1) by Elley Arden
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Title: The Change Up
Series: Arlington Aces #1
Author: Elley Arden
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 16, 2016
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Length: 66k words
Format: Digital
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4405-9151-8
Synopsis:
Commercial real estate mogul Rachel Reed is the one person her father can depend on, so when he walks into her Philadelphia office two weeks shy of her fortieth birthday to drop a personal and professional bomb, she rises to the occasion. She will help get his independent professional baseball team up and running before the inaugural season, and then … she will sell the team to recoup his substantial investment. It’s a tall order, but Rachel knows one thing for sure: a sexy nuisance from her past and a few acres of trees won’t stand in her way.
Former minor-leaguer-turned-landscaper Sam Sutter is surprised to find his brother’s ex in the woods behind the house he bought when he cashed out his signing bonus and said so long to baseball. He’s even more surprised to learn “his” trees are on her chopping block. There’s no way he’ll desecrate his nature-loving mother’s memory by letting that happen. But butting heads with the beautiful business woman is a tricky task that leads Sam to accept a position as head groundskeeper at her father’s stadium. Working under Rachel’s watchful, smoldering eyes might be Sam’s undoing.
She doesn’t know a thing about baseball. He swore off the sport ten years ago. But strange things happen when field dust gets in your veins.
Find out more at: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Excerpt One:
He didn’t trust her, and that was even before she tilted her head and regarded him through narrowed eyes. “You of all people must be excited about my father bringing professional baseball to Arlington.”
Here we go. Sam shrugged. “I don’t really follow baseball these days.”
“That’s a shame. Sam used to play for the …” she looked from Wes back to Sam, “The Cubs, right?”
Sam nodded once and added, “Never made it out of the minors.” Why sugarcoat it? Chasing “the bigs” in a rusty bus, believing he was the next big thing, caused him to miss out on a lot of things. He was still trying to make up for some of that.
Again he thought of his mother, and this time the guilt was almost too much to swallow.
“What are you doing now?” Rachel asked, surprising him, not because he expected her to keep tabs on his career, but because she’d never been the kind to care much about other people—at least that had been his experience when she’d labeled him “whiny little Sammy” who was always trying to come between her and Luke.
“I’m working for my dad,” he said with little genuine interest in keeping this conversation going.
“Just like me.”
Except he wasn’t like her, and he couldn’t leave that assumption hanging between them. “We’re nothing alike, Rachel. For starters, I would never even think about cutting down these trees. That would be a really shitty thing to do.”
She shrugged. “What can I say, Sammy? Progress can be painful, but in the end, it’s the best thing for everyone.”
“Because the best thing for you is the best thing for everyone?” He scoffed. She hadn’t changed one bit in twenty years. “Try telling that to the birds.” Sam looked at the wide-eyed man taking this all in beside her, and nodded curtly. “Nice to meet you.”
But that was a lie. It would only be nice if the guy drove back to Pittsburgh without touching a single tree. If one trunk fell … Sam hated to even think about it. Thank God his nature-loving mother wasn’t alive to see this.
He wandered off with Babe beside him and the warbler overhead, craving the usual Sunday peace and quiet, but he kept hearing phantom chainsaws and wood chippers. How much parking did the Reeds need? Surely they wouldn’t cut down all of this. He reached out and let almond-shaped leaves tickle his palm. But what if they did? What if he had to say goodbye to Sunday walks and evening fireside chats with his dad? And what if he had to look out his kitchen window and see a baseball stadium every damn day. He stopped. Babe stopped, too.
That was not going to happen.
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
Excerpt Two:
She thought about that for a minute, thought about him, standing there, looking at her like she was the only woman in the world, and the heat was undeniable. The attraction unmistakable. Sam Sutter was a mouth-wateringly beautiful man. Five years younger and without a discernible life plan, but damn it, libidos didn’t care about those things. And honestly, the only thing holding her back from taking out all her recent frustrations on his blessed body right now was the fact his crew was just outside the leftfield wall.
To neutralize the lust bubbling in her veins, she asked, “Do you miss baseball?”
He looked broadsided by the random question and didn’t rush to answer.
“I know that came out of left field …” she grinned at her cleverness, “but I’ve been wondering about it ever since the festival. When my dad was asking you about baseball, you looked very uncomfortable.”
His gaze shifted away from her and anchored onto something in the grandstand, but then he shrugged like she hadn’t hit a nerve. “I was uncomfortable because I was worried about your father. I wasn’t sure what was going on. That’s all.” But his jaw pulsed, and she knew better.
“Sam …” She stepped closer, narrowing the space between them. “I saw that same look a minute ago when I asked you to help me out with the coaching prospects. You miss baseball. It’s okay to admit it. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be human. God, you played every year of your life until you were how old? Just because you were ready to hang it up professionally doesn’t mean you don’t miss the game personally.” He looked at her then with a hurt in his eyes that seemed to be saying maybe he wasn’t as ready to hang it up as he pretended to be.
“I miss some things more than others,” he said. “There’s a rush you get from playing the game.” Silence stretched out between them as the warm wind wrapped them in the sun-dried fragrances of spring. All the while, his eyes roamed her face until they focused on her lips. “Fortunately you can get that rush from other things.”
“Like?” she asked, breathlessly, knowing damned well she was encouraging him.
“This,” he whispered before he leaned in and kissed her, a brush of his lips, soft as the breeze that carried the heated scent of his skin to her nose and then to her brain.
Author Bio:
Elley Arden is a born and bred Pennsylvanian who has lived as far west as Utah and as far north as Wisconsin. She drinks wine like it’s water (a slight exaggeration), prefers a night at the ballpark to a night on the town, and believes almond English toffee is the key to happiness.
Elley has been reading romance novels since she was a sixteen-year-old babysitter, sneaking Judith McNaught and Danielle Steele novels off the bookshelves of the women who employed her. To say she’d been sheltered up to that point is an understatement. No one had ever told her women could live bold, love freely, and have sex lives that were exciting and fulfilling. (They don’t teach these things in Catholic school!) Now that she knows, she’s happy to spread the word. The women she writes about may be fictional, but the success, respect, and love they find on the page is a universal right for women everywhere.
Elley writes books with charming characters, emotional stories, and sexy romance. Visit The Bookshelf for a detailed listing.
You can also visit her online at the following places: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
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BLOG BARRAGE ~ AWAKENED BY A DEMONESS by Felicity Heaton
Awakened by a Demoness, the tenth 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 of this awesome milestone in the series, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY and sharing sneak peeks of the book.
Enter the Awakened by a Demoness international giveaway (ends June 5th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate by using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post or at her website, where you can also download a 4 chapter sample of the novel:
Here’s more about this forbidden romance between a powerful angel warrior and one very sassy wicked demoness, including an excerpt for you to sink those teeth into!
Awakened by a Demoness
(Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 10)
Felicity Heaton
Asteria of the Second Legion of demons has messed up. Royally. With a capital everything. Certain that her dark lord is about to end her in the most painful way imaginable, she’s stunned when the fallen angel offers her an uncharacteristic shot at redemption—and determined not to fail him again. With her life on the line, she sets out on a mission that sounds easy but proves to be far from it when a hot slice of angelic eye candy comes storming into her life, stirring dangerous desires and tempting her more than any male before him.
Fifth Commander of the Echelon, the highest order of angels in Heaven and those responsible for hunting demons, he will allow nothing to stand in the way of fulfilling the mission he began close to a century ago so he can finally return to his home. On the verge of securing the half-breed he has been hunting, he can almost taste victory—until a sassy demoness struts into his life, awakening wicked needs and forbidden hungers that will test him to his limit.
When their mission brings them on a collision course, can they fight the fierce heat of the passion that blazes between them to claim a victory for their side or will it burn their resistance to ashes and set their hearts on fire with a love both forbidden and eternal?
Awakened by a Demoness is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer HERE:
Awakened by a Demoness – Excerpt
Asteria held her shit together as she approached the monolithic black citadel, her boots loud on the polished obsidian flagstones of its central circular courtyard. She tipped her chin up, clenched her fists at her sides to stop them from shaking, and strode towards her doom with the same resolve as she had managed to cling to during her trek through the previous six circular courtyards that surrounded the citadel like concentric rings.
She was fairly certain that these were the last few moments of her life and it was about to come to a grisly close.
It had taken her days of grovelling to her superiors, issuing profuse apologies unbecoming of a demon and having to bite her tongue when her temper had flared, but she had secured a meeting with her dark lord. She had been elated when the leader of her legion had informed her that their master was willing to speak with her, but as the hours had trickled
past, that elation had turned to full blown fear.
She had failed in a very important mission, the sort no amount of grovelling could actually correct, so she wasn’t sure why she had thought this was going to end well.
The meeting a ridiculous part of her had believed was going to somehow redeem her was probably in fact a meeting in which she was going to discover her punishment.
Would it be a swim in the lava pit while the Devil watched her burn, or something far worse?
She wouldn’t be the first demoness, or demon, to be sentenced to spend time in his bed.
It wasn’t an honour.
It was a death sentence.
She hadn’t heard of anyone surviving the torture of being his bedfellow, mostly because those he didn’t eventually kill during the act were tossed into the lava pit when he was done with them.
Several low-ranking young demons scurried past her, dressed in black jackets and trousers, their feet bare and bloodied. The black sacks they carried over their shoulders dripped crimson, smelling of entrails.
Asteria swallowed hard and it was damned difficult to hold her nerve as she watched the clean up team carting away whatever poor bastard had just finished meeting with the Prince of Darkness.
An unfortunate lover?
She had heard the stories from those who served in his dark citadel, the young souls assigned to mopping up the mess after a lover had done or said something to flip his switch. Rumour had it that he went through at least two mattresses a week, and demanded a fresh, brand new set of sheets every few hours. His appetite for fucking was as insatiable as his appetite for destruction and death, and unfortunately that meant the two often coincided.
She sucked down a deep breath as she reached the grand arched entrance of the towering castle and looked up its height, taking in the jagged towers that rose into the dark grey sky of Hell. Light from the bubbling pits of lava beyond the walls of the central courtyard and the braziers that formed a circle, lining those walls, tried to lend warmth to the matt black stone of the fortress but only managed to make it look more sinister by casting shadows in the recesses.
The four huge demon males guarding the entrance eyed her, their elliptical pupils stretched thin in the centre of their black irises and burning gold. Elite. They were kept in a permanent state of rage in order to maintain their appearance, keeping them looking as dangerous and deadly as her kind could be.
She had such a dark side herself, but unleashing it right now would be a big mistake. Huge. Her dark lord didn’t appreciate those below him showing up on his doorstep looking ready for war.
It was the reason she had chosen her lighter black armour, the red-edged metal plates fitting more closely to her legs and hips, and across her chest, and had forgone wearing the gauntlets that normally encased her forearms and hands. She had also brushed her long black hair, tamed the gold-to-red streak that ran down the front right side, and had taken her time in front of the mirror in her hut, applying black around her blue eyes and painting her lips crimson.
She had even taken the time to preen her black leathery wings, buffing the membranes with wax until they shone, and had done the same with the small obsidian horns that curled from behind the pointed tips of her ears, following the curve down to end in a point near the lobes.
She eyed the four ripped bare-chested demon males guarding the entrance again, envied the bastards a little as she gazed at their horns. Males had bigger ones, the sort that twisted around to form deadly daggers beside their temples when they were enraged.
Asteria sighed, wishing she had such horns.
One of her friends had told her once that she had horn envy. She had denied it at the time, but it was true. Whenever she found herself banging a demon, she couldn’t keep her hands off their horns. She had even tried to rip one out of a male once. He had thought she was merely being rough and had enjoyed it. The damn thing had been rooted too deeply though and she had sort of forgotten about trying to break it off when he had begun thrusting harder between her legs, turning her brain to mush.
One of the male’s gazes slid her way and he raked an approving look over her. His black horns flared a little further, revealing his desire and interest to her.
She flicked her onyx hair over her shoulder, shot him a wink, and kept walking, a little swing to her hips with each step now as she silently flirted with the brute. She looked him up and down just as she passed him, bit her lip at the sight of so much hard muscle, and swore that if she survived the next few minutes she would be back to take him up on his offer.
Which would be a miracle, and those didn’t happen in Hell.
Still, he was a nice distraction as she ogled his arse over her shoulder, one that kept her thoughts away from her imminent death until someone approached her.
“Asteria of the Second Legion?” a demoness said, a wobble in her throaty voice.
She nodded and looked at her, and quickly masked the fear that bolted through her when she found herself face to face with a young female dressed in little more than a scrap of crimson around her hips and breasts, a thick black metal collar that was tight against her throat, and a lot of bruises.
By the Devil, was this the future she was doomed to endure staring right back at her with bleak bloodshot eyes and a startling lack of horns.
Someone had cut them off. Asteria tried not to gawp at them but she couldn’t stop herself, and her stomach plummeted when she realised they hadn’t been shorn.
They had been broken.
The black stumps that remained were brutally fractured.
The female’s hands twitched at her sides, as if with an urge to touch the horns Asteria stared at, so she dragged her eyes away, feeling bad that she had upset the young demoness.
Demons tried their best to be the toughest, most badass creatures in Hell, but when it boiled down to it, they had feelings too, and this female had been through the mill.
Probably at the hands of the one creature in Hell who didn’t possess a single jot of emotion.
The fallen angel she was about to meet.
The young demoness bowed her head and led the way, and Asteria tried to busy herself with taking in all the details of the palace her dark master called home in an attempt to stop herself from preening her horns, reassuring herself they were still perfect. Still there. On the outside, it matched his image perfectly, but on the inside… it was quite the opposite.
Oh, it was sumptuous and decadent, but it wasn’t exactly goth-chic as she had expected.
The black of the outside world gave way to white marble floors that were so highly polished she could see herself in them. They reflected the light from the crystal chandeliers, and that same light shone off the gold filigree that decorated the dark wooden ceiling. The walls were smooth and, of all things, papered. The vestibule and hallway that led off it had crimson wallpaper with black almost fleur-de-lys patterns on it. She had been in some expensive homes in the mortal world and the Devil had decorated his in that same style, but with a more sinister edge that she would have attributed more to a vampire than a fallen angel.
Her escort stopped at a set of arched wooden double doors and bowed.
Asteria guessed this was it. The bloody end to her somewhat not glorious career as a demon. She was a damned idiot for failing to capture the people who had slaughtered Barafnir but how the hell was she meant to have known the demon arsehole had been one of the Devil’s favourites?
She reached for the solid gold knob on one door, pulled down another breath to steel herself, and took hold of it. It was warm to the touch. Nothing like the cold bastard waiting on the other side. She could feel him there, his power vibrating through her, calling to her.
She closed her eyes, twisted the knob and pushed the door open just as she lifted her chin and fixed her gaze straight ahead.
It landed on a male lounging in a huge black throne in the centre of an enormous blue-walled room, wearing only gold-edged obsidian armour on his lower half.
Heaven be damned, because it had made him breathtaking.
She knew he was a brute, seven feet tall and dark and deadly, but he was a beautiful bastard, and he knew it as he sat there on his throne, black hair falling around his broad shoulders and chiselled torso on show.
The air in the expansive open room vibrated with his power, making her blood hum and skin tingle.
His red eyes held hers, a bored edge to his handsome face, and he lazily lifted his right hand from the arm of his throne and crooked a clawed finger, beckoning her.
Asteria’s palms sweated. She should have dressed a little sexier, taken more time about her appearance. It ran through her gaining volume on each pass as she sauntered towards him, feeling his heat rolling over her, power curling around her, drowning out the part of her that had feared him and replacing it with something altogether more terrifying.
Desire.
The corner of his profane mouth twitched into a smirk.
He knew he was affecting her, and while his mouth said that pleased him, the way his eyes darkened said it didn’t.
She straightened her spine, crushed her unruly feelings and boxed them away, and held her head high as she marched towards him, all business. Not weak. Not affected by just his damned gorgeous presence.
Her step faltered when she noticed a smouldering bloody stain on the white marble floor.
His last appointment?
By the Devil, she was going to die in the next few seconds, or worse, at a later date after he was done with her.
When she was within a few metres, he lowered his right leg from his left knee and set his foot on the floor. His hands came down over the edges of the arms of his black throne, curling around to press sharp black claws into the stone and causing his biceps to bulge.
Behind him, a sheer black curtain did a poor job of concealing the other half of the room and she tried not to look there but her eyes were drawn to the hazy glow of candles on the other side, her focus snagged by the low moans coming from that direction.
That heat curled around her again, pushed at her will but she pushed back, refusing to fall prey to it and the Devil’s dark allure. She wasn’t about to become like those females on the other side of the curtain who were probably writhing around on his bed, waiting impatiently for the male who was staring at her.
“Asteria of the Second Legion.” His deep voice rumbled around the room like thunder, charging the air and sending tremors of pleasure through her, and she had to squeeze her thighs to stop herself from collapsing into a puddle of goo at his feet. Heaven be doubly damned, it had built this male for sin. Thoughts of dirty hard sex popped into her head, illicit images that she did her best to shove away as soon as they burst into existence. “You disappointed me.”
Just like that, the spell over her shattered and cold fear replaced the wicked heat of desire.
This was it.
Her death knell.
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
Hells bells & heaven above!!!! I loved Awakened by a Demoness
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Felicity’s work. PNR is my ‘go to’ genre and her books totally hit the spot!
This story continues the Eternal Mates series but, for me, it had a different kinda vibe from the rest of the reads. I actually got the same kind of feelings that I had reading some of the books in the Her Angel series – and that was mainly down to the storyline.
Heaven and Hell are up to no good, again… They are both out to get a half-breed; pitting a feisty, flirty and determined demoness and an uptight, straight-laced angel, an Echelon no less, against each other in their race to ‘turn’ the half demon/half angel to their own side.. but, as we’ve come to expect with Ms Heaton’s stories, not everything is as it seems……
I really fell for this couple. The spark between Asteria and the Fifth Commander is there from their first encounter… they are drawn to each other, regardless of how much they try to ignore the ‘enemy’. The build up of their relationship was fraught with doubt and second guessing of their connection and feelings. Was it all real, were they really mates, as Asteria thought, or was there something else behind the attraction and their inability to stay away or stop thinking about each other.
Asteria is a lot of fun. She’s got no filter, she’s sexy, sassy and will use any means required to get what she needs. When it comes to finding her target she determined as hell – she has to be as, with this mission, she’s pretty much fighting for her life – if she fails her duty this time, the outcome could be way worse than death – and for this particular demoness, that’s unthinkable!!
The Echelon; he’s hot, good looking and he HATES demons – his kind will kill any that they come into contact with… but when he meets Asteria, for some reason, he fights those feelings. He experiences emotions and thoughts that an angel shouldn’t have for anyone, never mind a demoness… and he doesn’t trust that they are real.
Even though they are in competition to find the half-breed, they end up working together to try to locate her as she’s currently hidden in a coven. When they do finally find her, she tells them something that blows everything they’ve ever known to hell and back…. That’s all I’m saying, ‘cos anything else would give the game away! 😉
Packed full of the action, adventure, twists, turns and intrigue, with all of the heat, passion and sexy times we love, Awakened by a Demoness felt like the start of something bigger to come in the Eternal Mates story arc…. I could be way off base in my thinking, but I’m excited to find out where this fab series goes next.
A fantastic, 5* read. Even though AbaD is the 10th book in the series, it could easily be read as a standalone, but IMHO, read the rest of the books, they are well worth it!
xxxxx
Awakened by a Demoness is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.
Find all the links, a fantastic 4 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website:
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
- Book 6: Bitten by a Hellcat
- Book 7: Taken by a Dragon
- Book 8: Marked by an Assassin
- Book 9: Possessed by a Dark Warrior
- Book 10: Awakened by a Demoness
- Book 11: Haunted by the King of Death – Coming Summer 2016
 About Felicity Heaton 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: |
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BLOG TOUR ~ Seducing The Fireman by Jennifer Bonds
He Always Gets What He Wants…And He Wants Her…
He’ll do whatever it takes to get her…Becca Mancini doesn’t have time for distractions, especially the walking, talking, swaggering, sexy-as-sin kind that disappear without a trace and leave scars on your heart and revenge on your lips. So when Jackson Hart strong-arms his way back into her life, determined to rekindle the flames, there’s only one thing she knows for sure. Sparks. Will. Fly.
Check out Jennifer Bonds’s newest Risky Business novel,
SEDUCING THE FIREMAN.
About SEDUCING THE FIREMAN
He’ll break her three-date rule or go down in flames trying…
Firefighter Jackson Hart is back in Brooklyn and on the hunt for the girl who’s kept him burning for ten long years. The girl he left, in a total prick move, without saying goodbye. Now he’s determined to make it right, to hell with her three-date rule.
But Becca’s not ready to forgive and forget. In fact, she seems determined to stoke his fire every chance she gets. She wants to avoid sexy distractions like him? Fine. Because what she doesn’t know—yet—is that Jax isn’t the kind of man to give up when he wants something. And he always gets what he wants.
On Sale in Digital: May 2, 2016
Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | B&N | Goodreads
Add SEDUCING THE FIREMAN to your TBR pile on Goodreads!
**10% Of First Month’s Sales Go to the FDNY Foundation**
CELEBRATE THE RELEASE WITH A GIVEAWAY!
Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire!
3 Runner-Ups: A FDNY 2016 Calendar & 1 digital backlist title from Jennifer Bonds
Rafflecopter Giveaway Link:
Excerpt:
In the opening scene of Seducing the Fireman, we meet Becca, a free-spirited photographer who’s enjoying a night on the town with her girlfriends. She’s supposed to be celebrating a once in a lifetime opportunity to shoot the FDNY Calendar of Heroes, but when she spots Jax—the man who broke her heart and left town without saying goodbye ten years ago—sitting across the bar, she’s sure fate has given her an opportunity for sweet revenge.
It’s now or never.
Solidifying her resolve, Becca reached out, resting her palm on his bicep—his rather massive, rocklike bicep—and proceeded to curse herself for noticing. So not the point. Just because he could wrap her in that steely embrace, didn’t mean she wanted him to. This was the same boy who’d broken her heart and left her crying into her pillow more nights than she cared to remember.
Looks changed, people didn’t.
Jax shifted on his stool, turning his body toward her. He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on the hand that rested on his arm. Their eyes met, and he smiled at her, a sexy grin that hooked up on the left playing across his full lips. And, oh sweet Jesus. When he turned those dimples on her, her panties nearly went up in flames.
Damn. She’d forgotten those dimples. How was that even possible? No matter. He was a player and she wasn’t falling for it this time.
Fool me once.
“Can I help you?” he asked, the words smoother than a shot of Johnnie Walker Black.
Pretending to study him, she gave a coy smile in return. Then, tapping into her inner vixen, she stroked his bicep, relishing the way his muscles rippled at her touch. “That remains to be seen. I’m Becca.”
“Jackson Hart,” he said, offering his hand. First a smile and now a handshake? If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he’d gone off and become a proper gentleman. With no choice but to accept his offer, she released his bicep and met him halfway, trying not to think about the way his calloused hand swallowed her own, wrapping it in warmth and sending a tingle racing up her arm. Or about the way her heartbeat accelerated at his touch. No way they had chemistry all these years later. No. Freaking. Way. “You can call me Jax.”
“Because that’s what all the ladies call you?” She leaned into his personal space, reminding herself it wasn’t real. It was a set up. A role she played. Jax needed a hefty dose of karma, and she fully intended to deliver. Nothing more.
“The ladies?” He raked a hand through his dirty blond hair. Interesting. Jackson Hart was nervous. She was sure of it. After all, how many times had she watched him do the very same thing as a kid? His hair was shorter now, cropped close on the sides with an artfully messy spike on top, but that gesture? It hadn’t changed at all. “I just moved back to town. So, yeah, no ladies.”
“No ladies yet,” she said, correcting him with a growing level of confidence. Pressing her body against his, she snaked a hand up his arm. “Which means you’re all mine.”
“These guys might have something to say about that,” he teased, hooking a thumb over his shoulder at his buddies.
“I’m really not interested in what they think.” Licking her lips suggestively, she kept her eyes fixed on him, pretending he was the only man she had eyes for in the crowded bar. Guys liked to feel important, too, right? And really, she didn’t give a crap about his friends. They were definitely not part of the plan. “But I’ll make this easy for you, Jax. Me and you. Saturday night. Eight o’clock. Co.”
BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
Check out the other books in the Risky Business series!
ONCE UPON A DARE:
The first night was a dare. The second night was trouble…
Advertising guru Olivia Masterson is all work and no play. But on the eve of earning her dream promotion, her best friend dares her to drop her ice queen façade for one night and seduce a sexy stranger. Olivia’s worked her ass off to get where she is-why the hell not?
Cole Bennett never thought he’d run into his feisty one-night stand at the office, furious that he stole her promotion. No matter how hard she tries to ice him out, they can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves…or their clothes on.
Olivia’s talented-maybe even more than Cole-so when his dropped hints to the boss net her a promotion of her own, he’s ready to celebrate…until she accuses him of fueling office rumors that she slept her way to the top. She wants to earn her own way? Fine. So what the hell does a guy have to do to permanently melt an ice queen?
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ONCE UPON A POWER PLAY:
He’ll do whatever it takes to get her against the boards…
Sidelined by a potentially career-ending injury, the only thing hockey player Ryan Douglas should be thinking about is recovery. But after sharing a near death experience and a night of passion with a spunky brunette, the only thing on his mind is five and a half feet of sexy sarcasm. And he’ll do whatever it takes to get her back in his bed–even if it means playing dirty.
Chloe Jacobs is done with fairytales. And men. She’s kissed her share of frogs and what’s it gotten her? Dumped by text–again. Determined to eighty-six illusions of romance and prove she’s more than just a good-time girl, the last thing she needs is a pushy, arrogant hockey player testing her resolve. Especially one who’s sinfully good with his hands and thinks date-by-blackmail is a perfectly acceptable social convention.
Ryan wants to play games? Fine by her, but this is one faceoff he’s going to lose.
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Author Bio:
Jennifer Bonds writes sizzling contemporary romance with sassy heroines, sexy heroes, and a whole lot of mischief. When she’s not writing or wrangling toddlers, she can be found curled up with a good book and a bottle of wine. Jennifer lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where her overactive imagination and weakness for reality TV keep life interesting. She’s lucky enough to live with her own real life hero, two adorable children, and a pair of rambunctious dogs. Loves Buffy, Mexican food, the Winchester brothers, and all things zombie. Sings off-key.
Connect with Jennifer: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon
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RELEASE BLITZ ~ Dare to Take by Carly Phillips
Dare to Take
by Carly Phillips
Date of Publication: May 3, 2016
Blurb
She was off limits,
But he couldn’t resist.
There are just some guys you don’t touch–even someone as innocent and inexperienced as Ella Shaw knows that. But when her brother’s best friend is up for grabs and willing, she can’t resist. After all, she’s wanted him for years…
On leave from the army, Tyler Dare WAS just looking for a little fun, but his best friend’s sister is off limits. Yet unable to deny how sexy and alluring she is, he finds it all too easy to succumb to a night of passion and heat that ends the next morning in the worst way possible.
Now years later, Ella is stranded on a tropical island with a hurricane bearing down, and only Tyler can save her. It’s his chance to make amends for the past and show the woman he’s never forgotten that he’s coming after her . . . in more ways than one.
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About Carly Phillips
After a successful fifteen year career with various New York publishing houses, and over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels published, N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips is now an Indie author who writes to her own expectations and that of her readers. She continues the tradition of hot men and strong women and plans to publish many more sizzling stories. Carly lives in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She’s a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she’s a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers. You can find out more about Carly at http://www.carlyphillips.com.
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BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy
I have to start by saying that I did it again…. totally got into a book that was the last in a series!!!
That said, it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of DARE TO TAKE and I’ve since 1-C’d a couple of the earlier books in the Dare to Love collection.
Tyler and Ella’s book was a really good read. Their history created some tension but their attraction really amped things up. It was a hot, sexy story with some sweet moments.
Both characters have issues they have to overcome. Ella builds up her walls to keep Tyler away from her heart following their disastrous one night stand and Tyler needs to get his act together and stop baling when things get tough…. Add in the threat to Ella that follows her home once Tyler rescues her from the hurricane hit tropical island, they’ve both got a lot to deal with.
Can they get past their individual issues and act on the connection and chemistry they have?
The book was based more around the budding relationship between the pair and the ‘threat’ to Ella took second place to that. Both main characters were likeable and I found myself rooting for them – even though their first ‘encounter’ ended so badly all those years ago.
I’m looking forward to going back to the start and meeting the rest of the Dare’s and their significant others that were also featured in Dare to Take.
Teaser
The sun shone overhead, the temperature neared ninety, and the humidity was hair-curlingly high on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, making it hard to believe a hurricane was coming soon. Ella Shaw glanced up at the blue sky, knowing it wouldn’t remain pristine for long.
The calm before the storm.
She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and headed out of her hotel, determined to hit the local gift shop she’d caught sight of on her way to the photo shoot yesterday. She’d seen long, draping, blue-beaded necklaces from the storefront window, but she hadn’t had time to stop. Her boss was a stickler for getting the right shot in the exact light, and they’d worked well past dark. By the time they’d wrapped for the day, the store had been closed.
As an assistant for Angie Crighton, a fashion designer based in Miami, Ella was responsible for the little details involved in a photo shoot. And though Angie, the photographer, and models had left the island this morning, Ella had stayed to make sure the shooting site was clean, the hotel pleased enough to allow them back another time. And if she were honest with herself, she liked the downtime after the craziness of a photo shoot, the rushing around of the crew, the bossiness of some of the models and, of course, of Angie herself.
Ella appreciated the fact that she had time to souvenir shop for her best friend, Avery Dare. How ironic was it that the two girls from very different worlds had met at all? But they had. And it was Avery who’d introduced Ella to the finer things in life, leading her to seek out a job with an haute-couture designer. Whereas Avery came from a wealthy family, Ella had been raised firmly middle class, but the two girls had bonded instantly. They’d even shared an apartment until recently, when her best friend had moved in with her rock star boyfriend, Grey Kingston.
Yep, two different worlds, even now, Ella thought wryly. But their friendship was solid. Which reminded her, she needed to let Avery know she might not make it back to the States tomorrow as planned.
When Ella had heard about the storm changing course, she’d tried to book an earlier flight out, without success. She shivered at the possibility of being stranded here alone during a hurricane and knew Avery would like the news even less. Her best friend suffered from severe anxiety, and Ella didn’t like to make her worry.
She’d just buy Avery an extra gift to make up for it, she thought, walking into the shop. She immediately headed to the turquoise-blue beads she’d seen through the window. The shopkeeper claimed they were Larimar beads. Even if they were fake, the beads, popular in the Caribbean, were said to have healing powers. Ella purchased two dozen, a mix of bracelets and necklaces, so she could share with the children at the cancer treatment center where she and Avery volunteered.
Avery had been nine, Ella ten years old when they’d met at a Miami hospital, both donating bone marrow, both there at the behest of a parent. Neither of them really understanding what was happening. All Ella had known was that she was doing a favor for her father, helping the stepmother Ella didn’t like all that much to begin with. Even at a young age, Ella had been a good judge of character, a better one than her father, obviously, because shortly after Janice had gotten well, she’d left Ella’s dad. And both her father and Ella’s life had gone downhill from there. Ella shook off the thoughts of her past before she could go deeper and darker, and focused on the pretty jewelry.
She spent some time choosing a thick turquoise bracelet for Avery and a similar one for herself before paying for everything and waiting for the shopkeeper to wrap things up.
Bag in hand, she started back to the hotel, cutting through side streets and looking into the windows of the stores, soaking up the culture along the cobblestone streets before heading back to Miami tomorrow. At least, she still hoped she’d be home. Knowing she couldn’t change the outcome, she pushed her worrisome thoughts aside. She’d deal with the situation as it came.
Sweat dampened her neck from the humidity of the island, and she contemplated taking a cab back to the hotel. She reached into her straw bag and pulled out her cell phone to make the call, when, without warning, she felt a hard jerk on her purse.
“What the—?” She spun around, but whomever wanted her purse was quicker.
She barely caught a glimpse of a tall guy with dark hair as he yanked harder, nearly pulling her shoulder out of its socket before slamming her against the nearby building with his other hand.
Her head hit the concrete wall, and spots immediately appeared behind her eyes from the impact. As she struggled not to pass out, the man grabbed her purse, along with her cell phone that had fallen to the ground.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her legs collapsed beneath her, and she fell to the ground, her head smacking the sidewalk before everything went black.
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