Sandra Walsh was a deadly sniper for the Sweet Briar Group, a covert agency with assassins for hire, until her last mission went horribly wrong, accidentally killing an innocent girl. Knowing she’s a danger to her team, Sandra goes off the grid, becoming a Shade—an agent declared dead but secretly hiding among the living. She intends to honor her vow never to pull another trigger or have contact with the spy world again. Until she meets Casper Grady…
Grady is a former Marine with a troubled past and a debt to pay. His life mission has gone from protecting the nation to helping local children and their families. The moment he meets Sandra, he knows there’s more to her than meets the eye, but he can’t help but be drawn to the mysterious femme fatale. And when Sandra’s past suddenly catches up to her, Grady is determined to protect her at all costs, no matter how dark and dangerous her secrets are.
As the danger increases, so does their intense attraction. But when they’re forced to choose between each other and the people they’ve sworn to protect, their growing love might not be enough to keep them together—or alive…
Grady had had enough of the bullshit. Too many people were dropping in, and he was tired of being the only one who didn’t know the whole story. He needed to jump-start the explanations, and the best way to do that was to go for the throat.
He lifted his chin and locked gazes with Cappy. He held up his fingers and started counting. “Cappy, Wraith, Talon, Romeo, Magician. Not your typical Christian names. Add to that Sandra’s confession that she’s a former sniper and Lethal Fuzzball Boy’s acclamation of her world-famous skill before she ‘died’ and became Jesus with her resurrection . . . I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re the Commanding Officer of this clandestine team, right? Trained with them in Kansas and now lead everyone on missions? Tell me, does the company you work for start with a big C?”
Cappy stiffened, and the reserved expression on his face eclipsed into a thundercloud. “What. The. Fuck?”
“Here we go,” Romeo muttered, but everyone heard due to the sudden silence at the man’s bellow. Even the sun seemed to pause its ascent in the sky for a moment. “Someone had better start talking,” Cappy demanded in his gruff voice. “And, yes, I mean you, Wraith.” He spread his weight over his feet and slapped his hands on his hips.
Sandra lifted her chin and met the CO’s incensed stare. If her arm hadn’t been touching his, he wouldn’t have known that a tremor raced through her before she opened her mouth. “I made the decision to fill Grady in on details I thought he should know. Especially after an assassin took shots at his head earlier this evening.”
“Granger,” Talon inserted, crossing his arms.
Cappy’s eyes flashed and his jaw hardened. He dipped his chin once as if to acknowledge Talon’s contribution and began to pace. “So, despite the oaths you took, you decided to compromise this team by talking to an outsider?”
“Yes.”
“And what else does he know?”
Grady hated being talked around. “Not nearly enough,” he stated bluntly, not caring that Sandra now gripped his arm as if to warn him to back off. Grady had this guy’s number. He was completely lethal, no doubt, but he also seemed to be levelheaded and fair. Time to test that theory. “For example, why do you all act like Sandra’s a ghost? Why would a confessed sniper be insinuating herself into my company as an Operations Manager? Why was a gunman shooting at us earlier? Why did Calvin and Hobbes here”—he pointed to Talon and Romeo—“decide it’s better to break in than knock on the door?”
P.A. DePaul is a multi-genre romance author including paranormal fantasy and romantic suspense. She originally hails from Carroll County and Baltimore County, Maryland, but also lived in Macon and Warner Robins, Georgia. She currently resides in a beautiful community just outside Philadelphia. Exchange of Fire is the first novel in the SBG series with the second novel, Shadow of Doubt, releasing April 2015
Cameron Sinclair is a successful businessman, with offices all over the world and a multi-billionaire with all the trappings. He is also a Wolf and he vows never to return to Pack life, or his birthright as Alpha.
He is ‘summoned’ back to his Highland Pack by his estranged father and things do not go smoothly, resulting in him leaving to help his Uncle in the USA with several of his friends in tow.
What awaits is heartache, sorrow and the chance for a new life as Alpha of a large Pack. A life with love in it. His first sight of the white She-Wolf affecting him in ways he can’t even understand.
First, he and his Wolves have to take on a deadly threat, the deadliest of all; a corrupt and depraved Alpha with a horde of guards as immoral as their leader.
Will he take his chance at love? Or do as he always does; walk away?
Book 1 in the Highland Wolf Clan series. Another hot paranormal romance by A K Michaels!
Teasers:
About the Author:
A K Michaels, Ava, was born in Scotland quite a number of years ago! She was married at a young age and is mother to three much loved children. After the birth of her last child she went back to higher education and studied for a year before gaining employment in the banking industry. She worked in that role for a number of years before leaving, both the job and the country.
She lived abroad for a few years before returning to Scotland and finally taking up her dream – writing.
She is the author of the Defender’s Blood series of books and other series’ including The Witch, The Wolf and the Vampire, Supernatural Enforcement Bureau and also Sabrina’s Vampire, together with a Wolf Erotica Novella, Lori’s Wolf. Her books fall into the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy genre and she loves writing those particular kinds of stories where she can let her imagination run wild!
United States Army Captain Gabriel Hastings knew he would always follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. Serving his country was his destiny.
Until he fell in love…
When Gabe’s love affair is cut short, he turns to whiskey for comfort and swears he will never fall in love again.
Until he bumps into an unexpected angel…
By all appearances, Autumn Jones has the perfect life. Her husband, Richard, is a loving man who wants to be a father to her unborn children. But Autumn knows the truth. Richard has a controlling, dark side that leaves nothing to chance, especially Autumn. He’ll stop at nothing to make her the trophy wife he wants her to be.
When Autumn bumps into Gabe, he consumes her every thought, but she can’t act on her feelings. She’s married to a dark man she can never leave.
When he learns who Autumn’s husband really is, Gabe knows he will stop at nothing to protect her. Or is it too late for him to save his angel?
Kimberly Knight lives in the mountains near a lake with her loving husband and spoiled cat, Precious. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her favorite reality TV shows, watching the San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks kick butt, crushing candy on Candy Crush, playing computer games like World of Warcraft with Audrey Harte and online poker. Now that she lives near a lake, she plans on working on her tan and doing more outdoor stuff like…watching hot guys ski. However, the bulk of her time is dedicated to writing and reading Romance and Erotic fiction.
A book where the romance is just as dangerous as the crime….
FBI Agent Devon Mitchell is trying everything he can to move on with his life.
Except he can’t.
After losing the one person he loved more than life itself, he struggles to carry on with the guilt and burden of letting her go. When a new assignment in his old hometown lands on his desk, he can’t help but feel drawn to it.
Drawn to her…
But this isn’t a case he was assigned, but a secret undercover mission that could ruin his career if his
cover is blown.
Tegan Anderson wishes for a normal life. Pushing her way through college, she finds herself in dead
end relationship number three—except this time, the guy is into something far more dangerous than your usual twenty-three-year-old is involved in.
Drugs, dirty money, and casino debts are just a few things her ex has found himself wrapped up in.
When the people he owes money come looking for him, she finds herself in a situation that could be the
difference between life and death.
With the odds stacked against them, and a herd of angry men after them, can Devon and Tegan survive
the mayhem that is about to ensue? Can they overcome the past or will it shatter both of them?
Sometimes, love isn’t enough, but could theirs be truly invincible?
J.L. Beck is the Best Selling Author of Indebted (A Kingpin Love Affair Vol: 1), and The Bittersweet Series. She plays mother and wife by day, and writer extraordinaire by night. When she’s not writing, reading or doodling, you can find her watching The Vampire Diaries, and The 100. She currently resides in the tiny town of Elroy, in the state of Wisconsin with her husband of seven years, and three year old hellion.
Amanda Wyatt is having a bad month. Her bartender job at the Red Ruby is on the line, her cheating boyfriend has thrown her out, and she’s dying. Now homeless and without any hope, she’s resigned to living in her car in the woods… until a naked stud walks out to change her mind.
Ryker is a werewolf with a major chip on his shoulder… and the bad attitude to go along with it. When he discovers the beautiful BBW bartender he desires is homeless, he’s determined to get her into his home and into his bed.
When she agrees to the temporary arrangement, Ryker is sure everything is going along as planned. He uses every bit of his supernatural sensuality to seduce her, but it turns out that having her isn’t as easy as he thought it would be.
A future between them is impossible, but that doesn’t stop her from craving his muscular body and wicked caresses. And it certainly doesn’t stop him from plying her with his lethal seductiveness. The alpha is determined to mate her, and she’s determined to submit, even if it kills her.
Purchase Links
My Wolf King (Wolf Town Guardians #1) Free w/Kindle Unlimited Amazon
Barnes & Noble My Wolf Protector (Wolf Town Guardians #2) Free w/Kindle Unlimited
Amanda stopped and turned, politely listening as Jean talked. The other woman took a long sip of her ice water before clearing her throat and continuing, “Women have got it all wrong now. They give it up too soon, and the men don’t respect them. And before you tell me I don’t have a clue, let me tell you something. By the time I let my future husbands climb into my bed, I’d made them work for it. And you know what? By the time they left it the next morning, they were begging for me to marry them.”
Jean grinned broadly as she winked at Amanda, her expression all-knowing. Amanda couldn’t help but smile back, trying to picture the wrinkled woman as a seductress. It wasn’t possible.
“Of course I outlived both of them, too,” Jean added, stabbing her cigarette into the ashtray. “And I’m too old now to try for a third.” She sighed despondently, her face settling into heavy lines as she frowned. “Thank God for this bar. If it weren’t for it, I just might have withered away and died myself. Still, nothing can ever replace the love of a good man, or his strong, warm arms to hold you close throughout those late night hours.”
Amanda wouldn’t know. She might have lived with Jimmy for the last several years, but his arms had never been warm and they certainly hadn’t held her. She turned back to the clipboard to finish up her inventory counts, her thoughts depressed. She might as well have been single for the last six years. There was only one thing worse than being alone, and it was feeling alone when you were supposed to be involved.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Jean said quietly, her eyes meeting Amanda’s in the mirror behind the cash register. “In all the years you’ve been here, I’ve never seen you really socialize. Everyone needs someone to confide it, at some point or another. Believe it or not, I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”
Her words surprised Amanda, but she wasn’t the type to share her problems… even if she might have wanted to. Careful to keep her expression blank, she turned her eyes away from Jean and grabbed up a clean rag to clean the bar. “Thanks for the offer,” she replied casually, her voice even. “I appreciate it.”
The rest of the night passed fairly quietly, but driving back home Amanda reflected on Jean’s words and cried.
Meet Rose Wynters
I’ve often been asked how I’m inspired to write about werewolves, immortals, and zombies. The answer is easy. I adore them.Be it the Wolf Town Guardians or the Endurers, these characters have been a joy to write about. And why not? What woman wouldn’t love a sexy immortal male or a long-lived werewolf that is destined to have them?
Not all of my books contain plus-sized heroines, but many of them do. I believe in true love and true love isn’t based on a size tag. If you agree with this, I think you will enjoy my books.
Beverly Preston writes the perfect romance hero: sexy-as-hell good guys, the kind you want to screw your brains out and put a ring on your finger.” Sinfully sexy, emotionally rich contemporary romance series! Stunning love stories set in exotic destinations such as Bora Bora, Greece, Italy and more. Laugh, cry and fall in love with The Mathews Family one Happily Ever After at a time: with a Hollywood A-list actor, a sexy contractor, an Italian winemaker, and a dream-come-true architect.
EXCERPT
Seconds after hearing the click of the front door shutting, his mouth was at her ear. His fingers slipped beneath the straps on her shoulder, lifting the dress above her head and tossing it on the end of the bed. Spikes of sensual energy gathered between them. Reed nuzzled the rasp of his stubble into the sensitive spot on her neck and her skin came to life beneath his firm yet gentle touch. Tremors chased down her spine and desire ached between her thighs. Never in her life had JC been so completely in tune with the bodily forces filling her physically and emotionally. A slight giggle dissolved into a soft gasp as one arm crossed beneath her breast, pulling her closer. Gooseflesh covered her body as his lips traversed the slope of her neck and shoulder, revisiting receptive areas he’d pursued the night before. “I don’t understand,” she murmured. Reed pressed the shape of him, rearing and stiff, against the small of her back. Her head listed back against his chest, followed a soft ambiguous cry of need. “How do you do that to me?” He turned her to face him, cupping the tender curve of her breast. “Darlin’, in few minutes, you’re not gonna give a damn.” Heat. Heat spread everywhere, engulfing her senses in flames of desire. Draping her wrists over his shoulder, she raised on her tippy-toes, searching for his lips. Reed resisted her fervent urges, pulling back, not allowing her the passionate kiss she yearned for. He stared into her eyes, capturing her spirit with his ice blue eyes. Zings of pleasure chased though her and JC feared she might melt before they even started. Unspoken words drifted between them. Reed’s unconditional acceptance disarmed her. He accepted her commitment phobias, occasional neurotic tendencies, her fears of love, her mishaps in life and bad judgments. He understood her implicitly and appreciated her exactly as she was. Her heart pounded. Excitement and nervousness mingled through her emotions. Her eyes drifted shut as she leaned into his chest and his hands played over her slowly, tortuously igniting a new passion within. She quivered and stumbled, falling onto the chaise behind her. He started toward her hungrily, but she shook her head. “No?” he asked with a questioning grin. “No.” She shook her head again. “This isn’t exactly how I pictured this. You make me too damn nervous.” She pointed toward the bathroom. “Can you please give me two minutes?” He bent, securing her to the hide with his thigh between her legs, possessing her mouth with long, intimate licks of his tongue. “I’ll give you three,” he assured, releasing her from his kiss and sauntering into the bathroom. JC leapt to her feet, pacing in circles in nothing more than her white cheeky panties. “What the hell is wrong with me?” Stopping midstride, she shook out her trembling limbs. “You can do this! Pull yourself together.” She took a few deep breaths, trying to ward off the tension looming close the surface of her thoughts. Her limbs felt weighted and encumbering, restricting her body from its natural rhythmic flow of sensual language. He’s just a man. I’ve kissed dozens of men! You’ve already had sex with him. Don’t be chicken! She bent over, tousling her hair through her fingers and flipped her head back, letting the long caramel layers cascade down her back in sexy loose pieces. JC plopped onto the chaise, strumming her fingers on the hide. Yeah, but damn what a man! Nestling back into the hide, she draped her hands above her head. Unable to find the right position, she fidgeted awkwardly. “This is not comfortable,” she grumbled. “Oh, my God. What is wrong with me?” Irritated by her own anxiety and gracelessness, she flopped to the opposite end of the chaise. Her long legs and feet dangled over the arched back and her head hung over the foot of the lounge. Sunbeams pushing through the glass door swept across her body. Her eyes drifted shut and she drew in a deep, full breath of air and then another. The scent of his skin lingered with the warmth of the sun, caressing her senses and calming her nerves. She startled when Reed gently placed his hand on the outside of her thigh. His naked hip brushed against her skin when he sat beside her. Her eyes remained closed as the coolness from his hand slid along her waist to her breast, resting on top of her heart. “I know…” she panted breathily. JC placed her hand over his. “Just feel you in here.” “That’s right, darlin’” “I don’t know why you make me so nervous.” “Just relax.” Feeling his avid stare burning through closed lids and the weight of his hand dip to her breast, she slipped her tongue across her lips sensually. “You make me nervous too,”—his breath fractured—“JC.” Her eyes opened when he called her by name. “We’ll figure it out together.” Feelings of passion and adoration flourished, stringing tightly around her heart. She nodded. “Goddess,” he hummed, wiggling his brow. The back of his hand traced lazily over her jaw and earlobe. He leaned closer, nearly kissing her before halting. “You’re beautiful. Inside and out.”
Author Information
#1 Bestselling Author, Beverly Preston has been a stay at home mom for 21 years, although she prefers the title Domestic Engineer. Along the way, Beverly worked side by side with her husband Don, the love of her life, designing, building and selling custom homes. As her children begin to venture out on their own, she’s left to shed a tear—for a minute—wonder what’s next in life, and embrace the feeling of empowerment that surely must’ve been wrapped in a present she received on her fortieth birthday.
If Beverly isn’t at home riding her spin bike, you’ll find her spinning richly emotional and sinfully sexy romance stories.
GENRE : Mature YA contemporary romanceA Special Thank You to Lindee Robinson photography for the teaser images and cover image.
Hudson and Blake Lovelly lead a charmed life—successful careers, loving family, beautiful
home. Now, on the eve of their daughter’s birth, they’re counting their blessings. Life wasn’t always so generous . . .
Fifteen years ago, seventeen-year-old Blake Voss walked into Cranbrook Preparatory High to participate in the school year’s most-prestigious debate competition. She never expected to fall for the pretentious, golden-haired boy on the opposing debate team, and he never expected to be ensnared by the quick-witted prankster with a heart of gold.
Their mutual love for joking pretense soon leads them to pull their biggest prank yet–pretending to be in love. But when danger threatens, Hudson can’t conceal his growing affection. He’ll do anything to be with Blake, even if it means risking his heart to protect her.
They didn’t plan for their friendship to grow into a love story. But sometimes, all it takes is a little Hope.
This powerful companion to Forever Kinda Love tells the history of Hudson and Blake’s relationship. Laced with haunting emotion and beautiful sentiment, this is a tale about overcoming even the darkest moments, reminding us all to love more. Give more. Without regrets.
Life’s. Little. Surprises.The last thing seven-year-old Carrigan “Ace” Casper foresaw was an eight-year-old Heath Lovelly walking into her life the day her mother died. From that moment on, Heath sticks by her side, slowly becoming her strength, her confidant, and her entire world. What she doesn’t know is, she’s his saving grace, too.Ten years later, Ace is handed another crippling challenge that threatens everything in her almost perfect life. Only, this time, she doesn’t turn to Heath, hiding the truth instead. But Heath knows Ace too well and won’t back down easily. He’s ready to do whatever it takes and will stay by her side until she accepts that their love is the kinda love worth fighting for.
Will he be her forever triumph or her unexpected downfall?
Clara Stone lives in the beautiful city of Boise, ID. Unlike what most believe about Idaho, it’s more than a sack full of potatoes. When she’s not writing, you’ll catch Clara reading YA and NA books, mostly romance, and enjoying time with her family. She is a proud CW TV addict.
This bundle contains books 1-8 of the USA Today Bestselling Submission Series, and totals 1300 pages of intense, steamy romance that will leave you breathless.
***
Jonathan Drazen. Gorgeous. Check. Charming. Check. Smart. Check.
Rich. Hey, I’m not gonna complain.
All the ingredients for a few nights of mind-blowing pleasure are right there. He’s made it perfectly clear he can’t love me, and I’m not out to fall in love either.
But I can’t stay away from him. He’s got this bossy way about him in bed. The word “Sir,” falls from my lips, and when he tells me to get on my knees…well, my knees have a mind of their own.
I got this. I can be his slave for a few nights and walk away unscathed.
We get in. Get it on. Get the hell out. Done.
He knows the line between love and lust. It’s right between my legs. Now, let’s see if that line blurs for me.
EXCERPTS
FROM CODA (RATED NC-17)
“You know what, Monica, you don’t even know yourself. Look at you. I haven’t seen you this relaxed in months. The only time you let your worry go is when you give me control. And your worry is what keeps you from being honest.” I swallowed. Blinked. A torrent of wetness welled behind my eyes, “I don’t want to break the scene.” “Stay still. Stay naked. Speak your mind.” “I almost died with you a hundred times. That recovery room, they had you in this induced coma and you looked dead. There were bags of blood. Bags, hanging over you and you were all opened up. And, I’m sorry, I haven’t said this because you’re the one who went through it.” I swallowed a gallon of tears. “I don’t want to see you like that again. But I think about it all the time. I dream about it. I see it when I close my eyes. I want you to live, so I do what I think is going to make you happy and I always get it wrong. Stay or go. I give you attention or none. It’s always wrong.” “What about your happiness?” “It doesn’t matter. Not as much as yours. It’s not life or death.” “It is, Monica. It is.” I shook my head. “You can’t convince me of that. We can do this hurtful honesty thing all day. You’re the priority and I’m okay with that. Deal with it.” He nodded, looking down for a blink, then up at me. He reached for my wrists. “These go behind your back.” I did as instructed. “Now, get on your knees.” I bent them. With my hands behind my back, it was hard to balance. “Do you need some help?” he asked. “Yes.” I thought he’d take me gently by the elbow, but dragged me down. He was right. I was relaxed, totally submitting and trusting him, loving every bit of discomfort he dished out. “Spread your knees apart.” I did, too slowly for him. He kicked them wide. “Do you remember your safeword?” He asked, unbuckling his belt. “Yes.” A tingling rush went down my spine with the promise of his dominance and the way it made me forget how fragile he really was. His cock was out in the next second. “Open. Your. Mouth.”
FROM THE SUBMISSION BUNDLE (RATED X)
“Get on your knees.” Even through the phone, I could tell Jonathan was using his dominant voice. I got nervous that I would dampen the expensive panties so badly the protective paper at the crotch would curl and peel off. “Yes, sir.” Facing the dressing room mirror, I got to my knees. The black garter and stocking I was trying on looked as though it had been taped on me. The black satin belt slung low on my hips held the straps that dropped down my thighs with silver rings. “How does it look?” he asked. “I think you’ll like it.” “How does it make you feel?” “You really want to know?” I asked. “I’m sitting in the back of my car, thinking about you. It’s wall-to-wall traffic. So, yes, I want to know how it makes you feel.” I heard women outside the dressing room door. Their soft conversations and laughter were muffled by the clothing draped around the room, lingerie with bows and clasps and metal rings set into lush satins and elastics. Every piece I’d tried on aroused me, and when he called, the addition of his voice to the mix brought me near tears. “How do I feel?” I asked. The carpet dug into my knees, and I was goose bumped from the air conditioner, but that wasn’t what he meant. The black satin bra’s cups were made of two panels that could be moved for access. It felt so comfortable, I didn’t even know I had it on. The curves of the underwear accentuated the length of my pelvis. “I feel like fucking.” I heard him take a breath. I did enjoy shocking him. “Tuck the phone under your left ear.” “Done.” “Done?” “Done, sir.” “Put your left hand on the mirror,” he said. “Lean on it.” “Yes, sir.” My hand spread on the mirror like a starfish. It would leave a mark. “Put your right hand between your legs.” “Jonathan…” “Do it.” My cunt clenched with anticipation. I stroked lightly through the string of cloth, sucking air between my teeth from the tingle of the touch. “Get under the fabric,” he said, as if he could see I hadn’t put my fingers on my skin. “Yes, sir.” The word sir seemed to vibrate not just outward, to him, but inward, down a thick nerve connecting my vocal cords to my core. When I slipped my fingers under the panties, I shuddered. “You wet?” “So fucking wet,” I whispered. “Your legs spread?” “Yes.” “Look at yourself in the mirror.” I did, and I was greeted by a face slack with arousal, flushed with sex. “Yes, sir.” I watched myself submit to him, in that outfit, as if I needed to be more turned on. Outside the door, I heard a throat clear. “How do you look?” he asked. “I look like I can’t stay in here much longer without someone coming.” “You got that right,” he mumbled. Papers shuffled on his side. He was working while telling me to finger myself. A true multitasker. “Stroke your clit and all the way down to that beautiful hole.” I groaned, my cheek caressing the phone. “Keep going. Work your clit. Go around it twice, then over the top.” I did, and the heavenliness came as much from my own touch as the knowledge I obeyed him. “Oh, Jonathan.” “Put two fingers in.” My pussy clenched around my fingers, kissing them, sucking them in. The heel of my hand found my clit as I pushed my fingers in and out. He whispered, “Tomorrow night, when I see you, I’m going to put my fingers in you and lick you until you beg me to stop. Then I’m going to squeeze your clit with my lips until you come again.” “I want you.” “You will have me.” “May I come?” There was a distinct possibility he’d say no, and I was so far gone, holding off my orgasm would hurt. “Please let me come.” His silence tormented me. “Please, sir.” I smiled a little. I never thought I’d actually want to call a lover sir. But it felt good, and right, and fun. I hears his smile as he said, “You may.” I pressed my whole hand along my wet cleft, feeling everything from the tingle around my pussy to the powerful ache at my clit, back and forth, slowly. My breathing got hard and short. I had to keep it down. If I could hear myself, someone else could as well. I closed my eyes and buckled. My hand left the mirror as my back arched, encompassing me in heat from my knees to my waist. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. My hips pumped as pleasure washed over me in impossibly long waves. The phone dropped to the carpet.
Author Information
CD Reiss is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well, hauling buckets. Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere, but it did embed TV story structure in her head well enough for her to take a big risk on a TV series structured erotic series called Songs of Submission. It’s about a kinky billionaire hung up on his ex-wife, an ingenue singer with a wisecracking mouth; art, music and sin in the city of Los Angeles. Critics have dubbed the books “poetic,” “literary,” and “hauntingly atmospheric,” which is flattering enough for her to put it in a bio, but embarrassing enough for her not to tell her husband, or he might think she’s some sort of braggart who’s too good to give the toilets a once-over every couple of weeks or chop a cord of wood. If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.
Title: Love Brewing Series: Love Brothers #3 Author: Liz Crowe
Release Date: March 2, 2015 Paperback Release: March 14, 2015
The Love Brothers ~ Family saga with humor, heat and heart…not to mention beer, bourbon and basketball.
SYNOPSIS
Every family has one—the black sheep, the problem child, the prodigal. But Dominic Sean Love could teach all of those guys a lesson or two. Stuck in the middle of a boisterous group of siblings, he’s given “acting out” a new meaning from the day he drew his first breath. While he’s the one son who follows his strict father’s footsteps into the Love family business, he’s also the one who butts heads with him the hardest. Their epic clashes are the stuff of family legend. But they have made peace and work side by side to take Love Brewing to the next level of success. Until Dominic does the one thing his father can never forgive. Diana Brantley has been Dominic’s friend, girlfriend and ex-girlfriend so many times she’s lost count. When he shows up at the farm she’s slowly transforming into a wildly popular farm-to-table resource for restaurants all over the U.S. her first impulse is to shoot first and ask questions later. But she doesn’t. And their lives entwine once more, for good, bad and ugly.
PURCHASE LINKS #3 Love Brewing (Amazon only for 90 days) US: UK:
TRAILER for the series, produced by Fiona Jayde Media, starring model Scott Nova, photography by Taria Reed. Narrated by Daniel Dorse, who will record all the books for Audible.com
EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEAK AT CHAPTER ONE:
Diana patted Pepper’s flank as she released him into the paddock then leaned against the barn door, relishing the soreness in her muscles. The sun burned a white hole in the light-blue late summer sky. Smells of her childhood filled her nose, smoothing her edges. A bit of coolness in the air, heralding the coming seasonal transition sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. Masie, the pregnant cow, uttered a low moo, snapping Diana out of daydreaming about her favorite season—the hunting kind. It brought her long to-do list flashing across her brain, reminding her she still had to finish mucking out the rest of the barn. The garden was in desperate need of weeding, too. The last of her tomatoes were due in and her sister had already sent three texts that morning about the chicken salad Diana still had to make and get over to the shop. With a heavy sigh, she let the light wind cool her skin. Her arms burned and her thighs shook in a wholly welcome, familiar way, post long ride. She dropped onto the overturned bucket from the horse’s cool-and-wash. “Go on, get out there, ya big baby.” She smiled when the huge animal nuzzled her shoulder before he trotted away obediently, sticking his nose into the water trough, tail flicking lazily, indicating satisfaction with the morning’s proceedings. Bees buzzed, the cow made another lowing sound, late season locusts hummed, and the sun heated her skin. Drifting, her mind calm and free of Jen’s endless demands and catering menus she let the sweet sounds and distinct odors of her family’s farm soothe her. When the horse whinnied and snorted, Diana ignored it and stretched her legs out. One of the dogs let out a loud bark then the other two joined in. They sounded delighted, so Diana figured that her sister must have arrived in the catering van to pick up the chicken salad—the one Diana hadn’t even started yet. Deciding to pretend she was alone a minute longer and enjoy the peace and quiet she always found in the barn, Diana closed her eyes. “Hey.” A distressingly familiar male voice hit her ears. “Um…Diana?” She blew out a breath, unwilling to acknowledge how much she would have given at one point in her life to hear that voice say her name again. “What do you want?” “Just a place to crash. Hide a bit, I don’t know.” “Why now? I thought you and your folks were gettin’ on like a house afire.” She tried to keep the anger out of her words, but it was nearly impossible. “Diana. Please.” She opened her eyes and observed the man she’d loved as long as she could recall. Dominic Love stood in front of her dressed in, of all things, a pair of dress pants and crumpled, long-sleeved shirt. A red tie hung loose around his neck. He had his blond hair scraped back and tied at his nape so she could see he’d added more body art. He stood still, hands tucked in his trouser pockets, his expression scarily blank. She rose and smacked the dust off her ass then stood, arms crossed, willing him not to be there, not to tempt her, because God help her still loved the man, despite how badly he’d treated her. “I am not letting you back in my bed, Dom.” When the corner of his full lips lifted in a smirk, she imagined how satisfying it would feel to smack it off his face—with a blunt instrument. “Not asking for that…yet.” “Go to hell.” She brushed by him, forcing him out of her brain. He snagged her arm and held on tight. “I’m already there, babe, trust me. I swear I just need a friend right now and someplace to lay low. I’ll help around the place, you know that.” As if on cue, the horse bumped Dom’s shoulder, shoving the man forward. The grip on her arm tightened and Dom leaned in close. She yanked away from him, keeping her gaze on the far horizon and her mind on the fact that if she went with her gut right then, she’d pull him back into her life, no questions asked. “You can sleep out here.” He let go. “Thanks, babe.” She clenched her jaw. “Stop calling me babe, you shit-heel, motherfucking, selfish, cheating asshole.” “Okay,” he muttered, but his eyes were bright in a way she knew well. She walked away, letting the memory of their last, and she believed final, fight fill her mind, fueling her fury as she put one boot in front of the other, placing as much distance as she could between them. The dogs circled her legs, escorting her en masse to the door. It slammed, cutting off their nervous whines and snuffling, leaving her standing in the middle of her outdated, overworked kitchen. Usually being in this room helped her forget all the crap going on in the real world while she transformed the various vegetables from her large garden and the meats she’d either hunted or raised herself into meals fit for a five-star restaurant. She shook her head. There were no five-star-restaurants in her universe and there never had been. Even thinking those three words in that order caused heat to rise up her neck and into her face at the memory of her ex-husband—the man who’d swooped in right after Dominic’s last rejection of her and convinced her that he would open the restaurant of her dreams, using the inheritance money she’d saved. Yeah, that had worked out not-so-well. Men. Stupid, lying, cheating men. Stupid me and my stupid need to have one nearby all the stupid time. Her hand landed on something substantial and her fingers curled around it. She picked up the cast iron pan slowly, contemplating it for a split second, recalling she’d left it out to use for frying bacon. With a noise between a grunt and a yell, she put every bit of long-forgotten frustration into the effort to fling the pan at the door. At the last second she worried she might hit one of the dogs. But there was no canine yip of pain. They’d vacated her immediate area, likely sensing the temper eruption on her horizon before she did. It did bust a satisfying hole through the screen at the top of the door and hit the back porch railing with a musical clang that echoed back to her still burning ears. She blew her hair out of her eyes, ready to tackle the next thing on her long to-do list—this time free of any memory of her last disaster of a relationship. That loser—now officially her ex-husband—had been floating through, setting up some chain restaurant over in Lexington. Memories of his handsome face and lying mouth rolled through her head even as she tried to halt them. A real five-star restaurant, Di, he’d liked to say, usually when they were naked. That and, You should try it, and, I could use thirty thousand of your dollars to make it work, plus, let’s get married! And they were naked a lot. Diana groaned and leaned over the sink for a few seconds then straightened. She had too much to do. There was no time for that kind of useless reminiscing. Damn Dominic Love to hell and back for showing up and sending her into this tailspin. She grabbed her mother’s soup pot, slammed it into the sink and starting filling it from the leaky tap. A breeze lifted the lace curtains at the window, stirring the hair around her face. She smelled the rain a few seconds before it let loose, pounding onto the grass between the kitchen window and the barn. Squinting through the sheeting water she spotted Dominic standing in the middle of the paddock, seemingly impervious to the deluge. Pepper trotted over to see what could possibly make the tall, yellow-haired male human stand in the rain like an idiot. When Dom didn’t respond to nudging, the animal gave every appearance of shrugging and glancing in her direction with a whattaya gonna do look before getting under cover in the barn. Within a very few minutes, Dom’s drenched dress shirt clung to him. She watched, gape-jawed and shivering as he yanked his hair from its tie and shook it free, turning his face to take the full force of the increasing downpour, arms outstretched as if preparing for crucifixion. Then he seemed to disappear in the space of a blink. She turned off the tap, which was overflowing the pot by then anyway, and ran out the door. Heart pounding, ears ringing with well-remembered panic over what she might find, she took the expanse of grass between house and paddock in a few long strides. In her fury at how casually he’d sauntered back into her life that morning, she hadn’t thought to study his eyes very closely. Diana had memorized long ago how Dominic’s deep-brown gaze took a particular edge, a kind of sharp, distinctive sparkle, when he hovered on the verge of a breakdown. The rain soaked all the way to her skin by the time she rounded the post at the paddock. At a burst of lightening, she flinched and started counting, only getting to three seconds before the ear-splitting thunderclap. She squinted, seeking a prone, muddy Dominic. But the paddock was empty. Cursing, she glanced back at the house. It was pretty well futile to run back now that she’d gotten drenched. She mirrored Dom’s earlier stance, letting the rain pound against her cheeks, forehead, and lips. Lightning flashed. Thunder followed. Laughter bubbled up from her throat, only getting louder as she realized what an utter whack job she must be, out there, cackling and drinking rain.
ALSO RELEASING MARCH 2, 2015 #1.5 SAFE LOVE: A BONUS Love Brothers Companion Novella
SYNOPSIS
Antony Ian Love has a lot on his ample shoulders. He owns and runs a small business, is estranged from his teenaged daughter AliceLynn, his beloved mother is dying of cancer, and he’s come face to face with his youngest brother Aiden’s sudden reappearance into the Love family circle. Years of sublimating his true self in deep mourning for his long dead wife have hardened the surly, emotional shell he’s nurtured, but one woman seems to have broken through. Rosalee Norris is the young widow of Antony’s best friend Paul and their mutual sorrow and close friendship has slowly morphed into something more.
Family therapist and recent divorcee Margot Hamilton is dropped into the close-knit Love family by necessity but fate has a real design twist in mind. With her heart and mind closed to anything resembling an emotional connection, Margot is shocked to discover something about Antony the very first time they meet–something she tries, and fails, to resist.
SAFE LOVE, The Love Brothers novella is a tale of love’s realistic complications within the saga of family devotion that runs as wide and deep as the Ohio River–except on Sundays when brothers Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations on the basketball court, Love brother style.
“I’m going to try a little experiment with you.” She came around the side of the desk and headed to him, just as he jumped to his feet. “Sit down, Antony,” she said, using her best ‘take no shit’ voice as she invaded his personal space with the blindfold in one hand. “It will be all right, I promise.” He shook his head but sat, leaving her standing over him, which gave her a shiver of anticipation that she promptly quelled. His strong arms hung loose at his sides, his jeans clad legs sprawled out, too long for the chair. She stood behind him and placed the black silk blindfold over his eyes. After tying it in a way she knew would be nearly impossible to release, she placed her palms on his broad shoulders. As she had hoped, his thrumming, nervous energy calmed under her touch. Too easy, she thought. Not good, she also thought, tamping down the extreme urge to lean over him and lick her way up his neck. Instead, she spoke into the air over his head. “Now, tell me one thing you miss about Crystal.” “Uh…” he said, clenching and unclenching his fingers. “It’s…um… been such a long time and I…” “One thing Antony, quick, without thinking too hard.” He took a long, shuddering breath. “Her lips.” “Okay, now another thing.” She kept her hands pressed on his shoulders, willing him to be calm and to open up to her. “Her ass,” he ground out. She smiled. “Now we’re getting somewhere. One more thing please.” “Her…” He sucked in a breath. “The way she’d be in charge.” “Hmm…” Margot said, willing herself to stay put, to not place herself in front of him and do what she really wanted. “And what do you mean by that? She balanced the checkbook?” “No,” he whispered. “Okay then. Where was she in charge?” She caught herself even as she said it, implying that Antony’s wife had been “in charge” in a specific place. It cut to the chase, so why not? “I’m, um…not really comfortable with this.” His leg was jittering up and down as tension rose in him again. Margot took a deep breath, cursing her body for betraying her. She squared her shoulders. “I know. That’s why we’re not looking at each other.” Unable to stop herself, she leaned down and put her lips near his ear, sucking in a huge breath of leather, a hint of smoke, cotton and a clean, soapiness that made her want to weep. “It’s all right. I’m in charge in this room so you can just…relax.” She saw him grit his teeth and knew he was trying hard to do the exact opposite of what she was telling him to, so she tightened her grip on his shoulders, not an easy feat considering how firm they were. A point had to be made and she knew her options for making it were limited, since she’d promised herself that this would be nothing more than a therapy method. “The bedroom,” he said, so low she barely heard him. “Crystal was in charge in our bedroom, in private. It was…something we…liked.” Margot straightened, smiling but shaking at the same time, even more confused about how to proceed. Keeping her hands on him, knowing he required at least that much from her, she got herself under some modicum of control and plowed forward. “How was she in charge?” “Oh, I’m pretty sure you know,” he said, surprising her with the sudden strength in his voice. “And I’m also pretty sure I’ve told you enough.” He jumped up, ripped off her un-rip-able blindfold, sending it fluttering to the floor in two strips of black fabric and kicked the chair out of the way. She stumbled, blinking fast, brain spinning and body going into overdrive at the look on his face. He was begging her now, using his unconscious body language, but she could not—she would not—give into the urge to shove him to his knees. Her butt hit the bookshelf, making her stumble and curse. Antony stopped, looming over her and sending out the sort of obvious vibe she’d spent years coming to terms with and assuming she understood—until recently. “Step away from me,” she said. “This isn’t what you think.” He frowned and got even closer, pissing her off and making her inner self rise up and take over. She put her hands on his impossibly firm chest and shoved, forcing him to move out of her personal space so she could breathe and process how quickly she’d lost control of the situation. Typical, she thought with a shudder of disgust. No wonder Gavin left you. You’ve gotten weak. Antony bent down and picked up the pieces of the blindfold. When he held them in his outstretched hands, his expression did nothing to dispel her dismay. “Sorry about this,” he said. She grabbed them, her heart pounding way too fast. “Get out,” she whispered. “Just go. I’m sorry. I can’t…do this.” “You’re the only one I’ve ever told…about Crystal and me and what we…you know, liked.” She willed away the girlie tears. “I know,” she said. “It’s not something you’d share with your brothers.” Antony chuckled and ran a hand around the back of his neck, breaking the tension in the room enough for her to breathe again. “I, um, I’m engaged. And I love her, Rosie, and her boy.” He dropped his gaze to the carpet. Without thinking, Margot tilted his face up, ignoring that strange electrical charge that snapped between them. “It took me nearly four years to even kiss her, Rosie. And we only just… um…” A charming blush rose from his neck to his face, making Margot faint with lust. “I don’t know why in the hell I’m telling you this.”
Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.
Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”
With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished. Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.
There is a giveaway for $40 + $10 Amazon gift cards,
choice of an entire series by Liz (ebook only: Stewart Realty OR The Black Jack Gentlemen OR Turkish Delights)
& single book of winner’s choice from Liz 25 book backlist!
Cleo’s a Pararescueman for the U.S. Air Force. When a PJ is called, it’s because everyone else has said no. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the entire military, but also one of the most rewarding. It’s the reason he doesn’t form relationships. He’s seen his teammates divorce one by one, and he doesn’t want to do that to a woman. Especially one that he’s supposed to love. However, nowhere in his grand scheme did he plan for the force that was Rue.
To My
Rue’s life has been rough. What she needs is a break. One that’ll distract her from the fact that she’s drowning in responsibility. It comes in the form of a dark and dangerous biker who has a habit of putting his life on the line. He gives her the world, and she holds on with both hands, knowing that he only wants to be friends. Or does he?
Flight
Thinking she knows what’s best, she pushes him too far, causing his control to take flight, and Cleo to disappear before the dust settles. One night of passion turns into a year of heartbreak as Rue tries to find the ability to move on from Cleo. He was pretty clear with his wishes, and they didn’t include her.
Cleo’s not through with Rue, though. Not even a little bit. She’ll be his. All it’ll take is a little bit of…persuasion.
I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 5, 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.
