Friday, February 27, 2015

Cover Reveal!!! Getting Dirty-- Mia Storm!!!!


We are so please to introduce brand new author Mia Storm with her debut release, Getting Dirty

Releasing on March 19th




Dirty
A poem by Blaire Leon

If sex is dirty, why would I do it with someone I love?
If sex is dirty, then didn’t we all come from the dirt?
What if I like the dirt?
What if I want to get dirty?
What if I want to roll in the mud until I’m so fucking filthy that I’ll never be clean again?


 
 
When twenty-five-year-old graduate assistant Caiden Brenner asked Blaire Leon how old she was, she said she was a senior. He chose to believe she meant in college. They connect over Lord Byron’s Don Juan and, as their conversations become increasingly thicker with sexual innuendo, Caiden finds himself obsessing over a totally off-limits undergrad who’s bold, beautiful, brilliant, and one of the most passionate poets he’s ever met.

But it turns out Blaire hasn't been totally honest. She's the seventeen-year-old valedictorian of her high school class, taking courses at Sierra State while awaiting her acceptance to Stanford.
 
Will Caiden get too deeply into Blaire to back away before he finds out the truth? Or will their connection be enough to seduce him into risking his entire future on Jail Bait?
 

"A thousand and one feels....Getting Dirty is a thrilling, tantalizing forbidden romance you do not want to miss! I not only devoured this book, it devoured me right back!"--Katy Evans, New York Times Bestselling author of REAL



 


 
EXCERPT
 
“What year are you?” I don’t even realize I’ve said it until it’s out of my mouth.
Her eyes flick from the book to mine. “A senior.”
I feel my eyebrows arch before I can stop them. “You look younger.”
She bites her lips between her teeth for a moment. “Is that good or bad?”
“Neither, I suppose.” But my insides burn, knowing that she’s not as off-limits as I originally thought. It’s nearing the end of January. Commencement will be here soon enough. She graduates and all bets are off.
“So…” she says, twisting a finger into the ends of her hair. “I know you like old, dead poets. How do you feel about hearing something fresher?”
I lean toward her. “Such as?”
“I’m reading in a poetry slam tonight. It’s just something over at Tino’s in Jonestown on the fourth Friday of every month. There’s no prize money or anything, but I perform something new pretty much every month.”
“A poetry slam…” I want to say yes in the worst way, but it feels dangerously like a date.
She must read the hesitation in my eyes. “If it’s too weird, no worries. I just thought, since you like poetry…”
She leaves the thought dangling. Like a noose. And I jump right into it. “Yeah. Why not?”
The answer to that rhetorical question is that it’s not May yet and she hasn’t graduated. I’m risking everything I’ve worked the last three years toward. My entire future. But the voice of reason is being drowned out by the raging waves of something rolling up from the deepest layers of my being like an undertow. Something base and essential. And unrelenting.
“Do you want to meet me there?” she asks, standing from her seat and giving me a better view of the entire exquisite length of her.
“Yeah…that’s probably best.” Plausible deniability. No, Dr. Duncan, I didn’t have any clue she’d be there. Just went to hear the poetry.
“Great,” she says as she gathers her book and shoves it in her bag. “It starts at nine. There are usually five or six poets and it’s a random draw, so I don’t know what time I’ll be reading.”
I nod without standing, no longer able to tame my erection. “I’ll be there at nine.”
“You know where Tino’s is?”
Electricity crackles under my skin. I’m really doing this. “Yeah. I’ll find it.”




About the Author:

Mia Storm is a hopeless romantic who is always searching for her happy ending. Sometimes she’s forced to make one up. When that happens, she’s thrilled to be able to share those stories with her readers. She lives in California and spends much of her time in the sun with a book in one hand and a mug of black coffee in the other, or hiking the trails in Yosemite.

Connect with her online at MiaStormAuthor.blogspot.com , on Twitter at @MiaStormAuthor, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MiaStormAuthor

Thursday, February 26, 2015

New Release!!! Vandal-- Carian Cole!!!!

Vandal RDL Banner


It' release day for Vandal by Carian Cole!! We're so excited to be sharing this fantastic romance with you--and Carian is hosting a giveaway, as well as sharing an amazing excerpt! Be sure to check it all out! 


Blogs Taking Part in the Release Day Launch
Books to Breathe
Crazii Bitches Book Blog
Literary Nook
She Hearts Books
Best Book Boyfriends
2 Greek Girls Reading
Kelly Sloane
Indy Book Fairy
Those Crazy Book Chicks
I Heart YA Books
undercover book reviews
Vera is Reading
Red Hot + Blue Reads
The Fairest of All Book Reviews
My Favorite Things
Becky's Book Bytes
Addicted Readers
Whispered Thoughts
Corazones Literarios
My Book Filled Life
Ali's Reviews and More
iScream Books
Ripley Loves to Read
Ellesea Loves Reading
Novels In Heels
Reviews by Tammy and Kim
Riverina Romantics
Between The Lines
The Book Junkie
Book Fancy
All Booked Out
Sultry, Steamy Reading
Shelf Life
Passionate Page Turner
Naughty Book Eden
flirty fiction blog
A Dirty Book Affair
Tanya Rae
Morning Books & Coffee
Bookworm Betties
Not Another Damn Blog-Blog
The Book Fairy Reviews
For Whom The Books Toll
Fictional Rendezvous Book Blog
Verna Loves Books
Kris & Vik Book Therapy Cafe
The Power of Three Readers
Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog
Obsessed by Books
The Book Bellas
Hooked On Books Forever
Hooked On Books Forever
Ladies Living in Bookland
The Boyfriend Bookmark
Sweet N Sassy Book A Holics
Cover to Cover Book Blog
Naughty Moms' Story Time
NightWolf Book Blog
BestSellers & BestStellars
Rough Draft Book Blog
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
Rustys Reading
Twin Sisters Rockin' Book Reviews
The Ultimate Fan Blog
Rumpled Sheets Blog
Fictional Mens Page for Book Hos
Pussycat Promotions
Mama She's Crazy About Books
Once Upon An Alpha
Reading Is My Superpower
Hawt Reads & Dirty Talk
Anny books
Just One More Page
Panty dropping Book Blog
Sin Sisters Books
The Booktique
This Redhead LOVES Books
♥The Romance Vault♥
Books to Light Your Fire
101 Ways to Make Love to a Spoon
One Last Page Book Blog


vandal_teaser8a


Exclusive Excerpt: I slowly walk down the dark hallway and stop at Katie’s doorway. Her pink nightlight is on, illuminating the room. I don’t want to go in, but I can’t stop myself. The mix of her presence and her void is completely overwhelming, and I fall to my knees in the middle of the room. The pain in my chest is like nothing I have ever felt before, as if my heart is being ripped from my body and sliced into tiny pieces. I want her back so bad. I want to just feel her tiny hand in mine and tuck her into bed. Lifting my head, my eyes fall on Teddy, Katie’s coveted bear that she left here to ‘take care of me’. I crawl to the small bed and lie my head next to the little bear that, just a few days ago, we tucked into her blankets together until she’d be back. Pressing my face against the little bear, I can’t hold back my tears anymore.


  vandal_teaser4 



  amazon

Vandal Synopsis:

She takes my breath away; she is so beautifully damaged. Yes I had broken her, ravished her life, destroyed her happiness. I brought her to ultimate despair. I was responsible for all the pain and suffering that now brought her to her knees in front of me. Broken. Hopeless. Reckless in her agony. She is a mirror of my own tortured soul. But what I took away I can give back. In ways she cannot even begin to imagine. She is everything right in all my wrongs. She loves me. She needs me. She has no idea I’m the one who wrecked her life. 
 
Barnes and Noble: Pending

(Storm, book 1 in ASHES AND EMBERS)

vandal_teaser14


Carian Cole Bio:

carian

I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives. My first novel in the Ashes & Embers series, Storm, published on September of 2014. Vandal, the second novel in this series is publishing in February of 2015. I currently have approximately nine books slated for this series, as well as an MC series in the works, and a few stand-alones coming in 2015 onward. Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming. 

Sunday, February 22, 2015

New Release!!! A Stone In The Sea-- A.L. Jackson!!!






He wanted nothing at all…

Until he found she had everything to give…

Sunder lead singer and guitarist Sebastian Stone has everything—fans, fame, and fortune. He also has a heart full of bitterness and a reputation for a short-fused temper. But an outward reputation rarely reveals the true man inside. Facing assault charges after trying to protect his younger brother, Sebastian is sent to Savannah, Georgia to lie low until the dust settles in L.A.

Shea Bentley is beautiful, kind, and hiding from the very lifestyle Sebastian has always embraced.

When the mysterious, tattooed stranger begins hanging out at the bar where she works, Shea is quick to recognize he is nothing but trouble, but she's helpless to the way her body lights up every time his intense gray eyes tangle with hers.

They both soon find themselves drowning in a sea of desire and passion that won’t let them up for air.


Sebastian knows firsthand secrets never die, and he’s not the only one who’s hiding them.

Loving someone always comes with a price. But will it be Shea’s past that costs them everything?








EXCERPT

With a smile, I turned around, then froze when my sight registered the obscured figure leaning against the wall. A strangled gasp caught in my throat, and my heart took off at a sprint, blood pounding hard in my ears.
Pushing from the wall, he stepped from the shadows, his hands again stuffed deep in his pockets.
My heart rate only increased, the energy radiating from him almost as strong as the disappointment he’d left me with when he’d gone.
I pressed my hand to my chest to try to still the panic thundering against my ribs. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.” The words were soft. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”
But he did. I was scared of what he was capable of doing to me, the way I knew he held the power to trounce all over this hammering heart, to hold it in his hand and crush it into a million unrecognizable pieces.
“What are you doing here?” I asked on a shaky breath.
He looked to the sky and exhaled heavily, before he leveled his gaze back on me. “The same thing I’m doing every night, Shea. Thinking about you and wondering why the hell I can’t stop.”
My stomach flipped, and I gulped for air.
“What do you want from me?”
He laughed, lifted his elbows out to his sides in a helpless gesture without pulling his hands free. “Dinner?”
Nonsensical laughter shot from me. “At three in the morning?”
“Breakfast?” he amended, a coy smile pulling at his full, crooked lips.
Tingles spread across my skin, and I ran my hands up my bare arms. “I already told you I don’t have time for distractions.”
“Come on, Shea. It’s just food. Go out with me. Just tonight.”
Somehow I knew it was a lie, even though he wanted to believe it was true.
Nervously, I glanced to the back door all the while being inexplicably drawn to this man I didn’t even know. I knew I should make a break for it, run for the safety of my little world and give him no opportunity to rip it apart.
“I am hungry,” I found myself saying. After a long night of work, it was true. But it had nothing to do with the reason I was giving in.
Because I just wanted to…
I shook my head.
That was it. I just wanted. I wanted to be in his space. I wanted to understand why he had this pull on me. I wanted him.
Even though I’d never allow myself to have him.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



A.L. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Take This Regret and Lost to You, as well as other contemporary romance titles, including If Forever Comes, Pulled and When We Collide, as well as the New Adult Romance Come To Me Quietly due out January 7, 2014. 

She first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves. 
 



New Release!!!! Relent-- Nina Levine!!!

 
 



I am SO excited to see this new release!! I love Nina's work and the Storm guys, so I'm thrilled to get more!!
 

Release Date: 23rd February

 
Mark your diaries.

We're in for a wild ride.

"I’d sold my soul a long fucking time ago." ~ Kick (Relent)

• Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1B3QgIL
• Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1AA5a7K
• Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1w0knLe
• Amazon AUS: http://tinyurl.com/kd683pb


SYNOPSIS
 
Evie Bishop grew up loving Kick Hanson. He loved her, too. They were inseparable. Best friends who looked out for each other. Until the day scandal hit their families and ripped everything apart, changing the course of all their lives.

Kick follows a dangerous path that leads him to the Storm MC where he spends his days buried deep in a violent and lawless world that is slowly consuming his soul. Evie works hard to escape the hopelessness that threatens to swallow her after her family is ripped apart. She builds a stable life for herself, however it's devoid of the one thing she has always longed for - Kick.

The love these two have for each other never wavers but sometimes in life, love isn't enough. Even in the times they find each other again, they can never make it work. Kick fights against bringing Evie into his world and Evie refuses a life with Kick if he won't fully commit to her. However, when circumstance throws them together again, Kick knows he must finally make her his. The trouble is, Evie's done. She loves him but she believes their chance to be together has long passed.

When Kick finally stakes his claim, will Evie relent and give their love another go, or has Kick left it too long to go after the woman who has owned his heart forever?




 
 

EXCERPT
 
Kick grinned and came towards me, his hands reaching for the button on my jeans. I slapped his hand away. “No,” I said firmly, giving him the evil eye. “You’ve had your fill this morning and I’m all out of orgasms.”
He smirked. “Baby, you are never out of orgasms.”
I raised my brows, trying to look stern. “I am today.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he said, “So you’ve got a dentist appointment and then what?”
“Then I’ve got work. Why?”
“I’m just trying to figure out how long until I can get my dick out again.” When I smirked, he added, “You don’t seem to realise just what you do to me, Evie.”
I put my hand on my hip, settling in to hear this. “Tell me, Kick, what do I do to you?”
He uncrossed his arms and took the few strides separating us. “You cause an insatiable fuckin’ need in me that I’ve never experienced before. Even if I fucked you all day long, I’d still never get enough.”
Oh god.
My core clenched.
Maybe I did have more orgasms in me today.
He traced my lips and then cupped my cheek before kissing me. “I’m taking you to your appointment and then to work, and then I’m picking you up from work and taking you back to my house. Today we play my way. With my toys,” he growled, and I felt his growl all the way through my body.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Add Sydney Storm MC Series To Goodreads: 
KING'S WRATH: http://bit.ly/1L4ThMO
DEVIL'S VENGEANCE: http://bit.ly/1uBS4aW
HYDE'S ABSOLUTION: http://bit.ly/1CJcKN3
NITRO'S TORMENT: http://bit.ly/1yBCJXu



••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

OTHER BOOKS BY NINA LEVINE

STORM MC SERIES

HAVOC SERIES

CRAVE SERIES

Available to Purchas Ebook/Paperback: CLICK HERE

http://ninalevinebooks.blogspot.com.au/p/my-books.html

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

ABOUT NINA LEVINE

 
USA Today Bestselling Author Nina Levine, is an Aussie author who writes stories about hot, alpha men and the tough, independent women they love.
 
When she isn't creating with words, she loves to create with paint and paper. Often though, she can be found curled up with a good book and some chocolate.
 
CONNECT WITH NINA: 
 

Blog Tour!!! Unexpected Fate-- Harper Sloan!!!

 
MY REVIEW FOR UNEXPECTED FATE:
 
Holy fucking hell!!!! I'm in love and lust, and all of those wonderful things!!! This book is f'n PHENOMENAL!!!! One of the best I've read!!! Harper's stuff is like lit crack for me- and Cohen and Dani are no exception!! Plus, getting a glimpse at the Corps gang years down the road, and all of their offspring- it was like coming home again. There's just nothing better than that, and Harper did a bang up job on it. It needs more than 5 stars, because her stuff is just that- so much more. Can't wait to see the rest of these kiddos live out their stories, just as their folks did!!
I can't even decide which of the gang I want next, because I know that they are all going to be freaking phenomenal- as nothing that Harper has written hasn't been. She has firmly cemented herself as one of my all time favorite authors, and without a doubt, will be staying there. I cannot even fathom the greatness that she has for us to come, I can only get ready for it, and hope that it doesn't take that long!!




Unexpected Fate

(Stand alone)

Have you ever felt like you were living your life for a future that was predetermined? Like there was some bigger picture you just prayed you would someday see clearly? That picture has been crystal clear to me since I was old enough to recognize it for just what it was.

Or I should say recognize him for who he was.

I’ve loved Cohen Cage since I was a small child. He’s been my everything for the last twenty-two years. I’ve loved him through every girlfriend he’s ever brought home. Through his college years and then mine. I’ve loved him through two deployments. And ever since the day I told him how I felt, he’s acted like I’m a stranger.

My name is Danielle Reid, and it’s time for me to get my man.

Our future is an unexpected fate, and no matter what our parents, siblings, and friends say…it’s going to be worth every second of the fight to make it happen.




Prologue

“Axel Reid, don’t you dare!”  my mom exclaims. Then she yelps when my daddy charges through the front door.

“Don’t I dare what, Princess?  No way that boy is going near my girl.  Look at him!  He looks like he can’t wait to creep on my daughter!”

“Well, there is no need to scare him to death!” she mocks.

My cheeks heat instantly when I see Dane start backing away from the porch.  My hopes of being able to actually go to my senior prom are starting to go up in flames.

Poof.

Just like that.

Not that I should be surprised about it.  Mom did her best to calm Daddy down, but we should have known better.  He took one look at me and stormed over, only to return ten minutes later looking like he does now.

So embarrassing.

“You need to stop this nonsense right now, you big lug, or you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” Mom fumes.

“Like hell I will, woman!” Daddy roars at my mom.

I watch her face get sharp.  He stops long enough to sling one of—that’s right, ONE of—the rifles he’s carrying over his shoulder, where it lands next to the other one he already has over his other shoulder.

Only my mom would be brave enough to deal with him when he’s in “Protect Dani from everything with a penis” mode.  He looks absolutely ridiculous.  He has two hunting rifles now hanging by their leather straps over each shoulder.  He has two handguns strapped to each thick thigh, two on each side of his belt, and various knives along the way.  His shirt, which he thinks is hilarious to wear when I attempt to go out on a date, says I kill things…and eat them.  I know it’s a hunting shirt—for animals, not teenage boys—but Dane doesn’t.

Mom moves in front of him, standing in the front doorway and blocking his path, where Dane is still slowly retreating.  She’s been dealing with this way before they even had me.  He’s…protective.  I guess that’s the nicest way to put it.  Well, she calls him protective.  However, I call it possessive, overbearing, controlling, demanding, and jerky.

“This is her senior prom, Ax.  You wouldn’t let her go last year.” She pauses when he grunts. “And I’m sorry, but you won’t be stopping her this year.  She has a right to experience this.  And Dane is a nice boy.  Right, Dane?” she yells over her shoulder.

“Uhh…” he stammers, causing my daddy to grunt some more.

“The boy doesn’t even know how to talk, Izzy.  I bet he will be nothing but handsy and think with his little pecker.  Nope.  No way.  Not near my baby girl.”

Oh.  My.  God.  I wish I could just fall into a hole right now.  I try to see over my parents to find out if Dane heard that, but with Daddy basically being a giant, that’s not happening.

“You did not just say that!” I yell at his back.

Daddy turns around, his movements awkward with how many weapons he has strapped to his body.  His green eyes, so like my own, slant and harden.  He looks down at my dress for the thousandth time since I came downstairs and doesn’t even bother hiding his displeasure that it’s showing too much of my body.  Even if it is about as tasteful as it gets.

My strapless, red dress has a sweetheart neckline, and everything he calls my “girly bits” is covered.   There isn’t really any cleavage.  Well, okay, there is some, but surely with my lack of being busty, you couldn’t even call what is showing “cleavage.”  His first problem was with how much of my legs was showing.  Then I made the mistake of turning around without my wrap on.  That’s when he saw that the dress was completely backless to my bra line.  Well, what it would be if I had been wearing one.  Which is clearly when he lost his mind.

“You look just like your mother did that night twenty years ago when we finally came back to each other.  Right down to those strappy shoe things. And I guarantee you, Danielle Reid, any teenage boy who doesn’t bat for the other team will be thinking thoughts I’ll cut his dick off for.  No.  You aren’t going with that boy, and that’s final.”

I harden my eyes, and his narrow even further.

I put my hands on my hips, and he squares his shoulders, his rifles clinking together.

I raise one brow, and he mirrors the action.

“Daddy.”

“Dani.”

“I’ll cry.”

“No, you won’t.  You have more balls than that.”

“Want to bet?”  I attempt to muster up some tears, knowing that he won’t be able to handle them, but before I can force the first one out, my brother jumps into my line of sight and blocks our standoff.

“Yo, Dane!  You just run along now.  Dani is unfortunately feeling a little under the weather.  Ebola. Or the flu. I don’t know.  It’s really ugly and you probably don’t want to be around this.  The boils—they could pop at any moment.”

“You did not just do that,” I heatedly whisper, fuming at his nerve.

Nate turns and smirks at me. “Oh I just did.”

“I can’t believe you two!”  I spin to look at the one person who can help me.   “Mom, seriously?”

Her expression softens, and she just shakes her head.  “I’m sorry, Dani.  I tried.”

“You two,” I start, pointing between my older brother and father.  “You just can’t leave it alone?  I’ll be eighteen in a few months.  What are you jerks going to do then?”

“You’re not dating, Danielle.  Not ever.”

“Oh yeah, Daddy?  And how realistic is that crap?”

“Watch your mouth, little princess.”

“Mom?”

“I’m so sorry, Dani.”  She walks over and wraps me in her small arms.

I could probably really cry now a lot easier than when I was trying to fake it, but I’ve never been one of those girls who weep constantly.  It would be easier to just go upstairs, take off the dress mom and I spent hours looking for, scrub off the light makeup she helped me apply, and pretend this night didn’t happen.

 

***

 

An hour later, I’m sitting in my bedroom, still wearing my perfect dress.  My makeup is still done and my hair is still flowing in long waves.  And I’m no less mad at the men in my life than I was earlier.  I’ve considered climbing out my window.  I’ve considered asking my best friends, Lyn and Lila, to come help me escape.  But what would be the point?  Rambo-Dad already scared away my date, the only boy left in school who had been willing to ask me even though his friends had warned him about my father.

I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling.  Maybe I should go away for college.  I planned on living at home while I attended Georgia Tech, but there is no way I can deal with this stuff any longer.  If my father had things his way, I would be shipped off to become a nun.  Or he would buy an island and make it an all-girls cult.

“Uhggggg!” I yell to the empty room.

“Seriously, Dani-girl, things can’t be that bad.”

I jump up when I hear the deep, gravelly, insanely sexy voice coming from my bedroom door.  That voice.  My lord.  The things it alone does to me should be classified as illegal.

My hair slaps me in the face, a good handful landing in my open mouth, and I hastily pull it out before I turn to where he is standing.

My lord, he’s beautiful.  He’s always been.  My heart speeds up when I take in his smirking face and the mischief dancing in his brown eyes.

“Cat got your tongue?”

I shake my head.

“Speechless?”

I shake it again.

“Do you really have some flesh-eating, boil-slash-Ebola-like sickness?” he laughs.

I narrow my eyes at him, and his rich laughter booms through the room.

“I’m just kidding, Dani-girl.  Come on. Get yourself ready and let’s go rock this prom.”

My jaw drops again.  “What?” 

For the first time, I notice that he’s dressed in a perfectly tailored tux.  My eyes travel down his tall form to his shining, black dress shoes.  On the way back up, my eyes hit the corsage spinning around his finger before I look back up into those gorgeous eyes.

“Let’s go, beautiful.”

“Does Daddy know you’re here?” I ask, not moving from my spot.

He sighs, steps into my room, and walks over.  His cologne, Gucci Black, wraps around me.  He’s worn the same scent for years.  I perversely sniff it every time I hit the mall with Lyn and Lila.  That scent—it’s my undoing.

He grabs one of my hands and gives my knuckles a kiss before placing the corsage around my wrist.  He gives my hand a squeeze before letting go.  Placing his strong hands on my shoulders, he presses down until I’m seated on my bed.  Kneeling before me, he takes my feet one by one and fastens the straps of my black heels before standing and grabbing my hands, again, to pull me to my feet.

The whole time, I act like a freak and just gape at him.

What in the hell is going on?

“Ready?” he asks.

“Uhhh…”

“Right. You’re ready,” he laughs, grabs my hand, and pulls me through the house, down the stairs, and into the entryway of the house, where my parents are waiting.

Mom has her camera ready, forcing us to take some pictures, for all of which I’m sure I’m just standing there in a daze.  I think I smiled in them, but I was too busy trying to figure out what the hell is going on.  Daddy smiles big and triumphantly the whole time, like he’s won some battle here.

“Oh, good.  You got here,” Nate mumbles through a sandwich he’s stuffing down his throat.

I shake out of my stunned stupor and look over at him.  “You did this?”  I ask with disbelief.

“Well, duh.  Can’t have my little sister miss her prom because of some boils.  Plus, I knew this guy,” he says, pointing at our father, “wouldn’t mind him.”  He takes another bite before he looks over my shoulder.  “And I know he isn’t going to try to pet the cat.”

“Nathaniel Gregory!” Mom gasps.

“What?  Why do you think Dad acts like he does?  Just because I’m willing to say the words doesn’t mean you have to freak out.”

I look over at my mom, who has turned bright red.

Daddy laughs at her embarrassment and pulls her into his arms.  “Are you sure we didn’t drop that one a few times as a baby?”

She slaps his hard stomach and shakes her head. “You look beautiful, honey.  Have fun, okay?”

I smile at her and move my eyes to Daddy to judge his mood.

He just smiles at me. “I trust him.  He won’t let any of those pimple-faced, prepubescent boys touch a beautiful hair on your head.  Have fun, sweetheart.”

I walk over and give them both a hug, standing up on my toes as far as a can to whisper my gratitude in his ear.  He’s annoying, overprotective, and possessive of his girls, but I love him and I know he comes from a good place.

“Uh, excuse me?  Do I not get any little-sister love here?  I’m the one running this show, you know?”

“You’re such a dork, Nate,” I laugh and give him a hug before turning back to my date.

He’s standing by the door, talking in low tones to my daddy.  I can’t hear him, but he’s still smiling, so I’m guessing there isn’t any talk about dismemberment going on.  He looks over, his smile deepening and the lines around his eyes crinkling.  Something moves behind his eyes that darkens them slightly, but he looks back over at Daddy, finishing up their conversation.

“Ready, Dani-girl?” he asks a few minutes later, making my heart speed up again.

Holy.  Crap.

“Yeah. I’m ready.”  Or at least as ready as I’ll ever be.

 

**

 

That night, while dancing to Brett Young’s “Kiss by Kiss,” I knew I would never be the same.  I could feel the jealous waves coming off every female in the room as he held me in his arms.  Of course, I had a man and not a boy as my date.  Five years older than I am and very obviously not a teenager.

Being held in his arms was a dream come true.  His scent invaded my lungs with every inhale.  His eyes twinkled as his smile held me hostage.  I knew I would never love a man as much as I love him.

Yeah.  That was the night I confirmed what I had always known.  What I had always felt.

Cohen Cage owned my heart and I never wanted it back.
 
 
 


Meet Cohen & Danielle in the newest stand alone

in the Hope Town Series by Harper Sloan!








About the Author:


Harper lives in small town Georgia just a short drive from her hometown of Peachtree City. She (and her 3 daughters) enjoy ruling the house they dubbed 'Estrogen Ocean', much to her husband’s chagrin. Harper has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books; you can almost ALWAYS find her with her eReader attached. She enjoys bad reality TV and cheesy romantic flicks. Her favorite kind of hero--the super alpha kind!

Harper started using writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn't take long before a head full of very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.



GIVEAWAY

$50 Gift Card (2 Winners)