Friday, May 29, 2015

Cover Reveal : Lust by Alyssa Rose Ivy



We are so excited for this Cover Reveal (and the book!) for Alyssa Rose Ivy's LUST!! LUST is a New Adult Paranormal Romance releasing July 16, 2015 and the second novel in her The Allure Chronicles Series!

 
LUST - cover

Cover design and photography by Mae I Design.

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Lust (The Allure Chronicles #2)

After years of searching Daisy and Owen have finally found each other, only to face the threat of being forced apart. If they are unable to stop Daisy from becoming an Allure, she will forever lose the ability to love.


Desperate to stop the change before time runs out, they must decide what price they are willing to pay to save their love.

 

And don't miss LURE, the first book in The Allure Chronicles and SEDUCTION'S KISS, a prequel novella:

 

LURE

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About LURE:

There's danger in the beauty...

Two years, six months, and twenty-five days. That's how long it had been since I'd seen my winged hero— not that I'd been counting. I'd suffered through years of counseling just to convince my friends and family that I wasn't crazy and knew he didn't exist.

But he did. And I was done waiting.

Days after college graduation I headed back down to New Orleans to retrace my steps and find Owen again only to find my life was about to get even crazier... thanks to the most beautiful and dangerous of all paranormal creatures, the Allures.

 

Seductions Kiss

Amazon * Nook * iBooks * Kobo * Google Play * Smashwords

About SEDUCTION’S KISS:

*Prequel novella to Lure (The Allure Chronicles #1)*

Never agree to a road trip to New Orleans with your roommate. At least not when your roommate is dragging you along while she reconnects with an ex-boyfriend. Possible consequences of failing to take my advice:

1) Unknowingly going out with a vampire stripper
2) Getting kidnapped by said vampire's nest mates
3) Falling head over heels for your winged hero

Believe it or not number 3 is the worst one, especially when no one believes you that he exists.

 

Alyssa Rose Ivy- Author PhotoAlyssa Rose Ivy Bio:

Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.



 

 

 

Twitter ** Author Goodreads ** Pinterest ** Website ** SEDUCTION'S KISS Goodreads ** LURE Goodreads ** LUST Goodreads ** Facebook

 

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Cover Reveal : Dare to Run by Jen McLaughlin





dare to run comps_final.indd

Today we are celebrating the release of the DARE TO RUN cover! DARE TO RUN is a gritty, super sexy, adult title coming out on February 2, 2016 from Jen McLaughlin and published by Penguin (NAL Signet). To celebrate, we are having a scavenger hunt! There are 8 clues scattered around groups of bloggers hosting this feature. All you have to do is find all 8 clues and figure out the scrambled word.

To make it easy for you, we will tell you where you can find Clue #1.

Just go to this article on DARE TO RUN, found at USA Today HEA!

In order to find the groups of bloggers posting, go to Jen McLaughlin's blog and she will have the lists so you can check out each group and find the remaining 7 clues.

 

For this site, the clue is listed below, along with the rafflecopter.

DTR_SHunt_Clue3

 

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DARE TO RUN Summary:

The New York times bestselling author of the Out of Line Novels takes readers to Boston where one gang of criminals knows how being bad can be so good…

She knows what he’s like on Boston’s mean streets. Now she’s going to find out if he’s got some heart.

Lucas Donahue is not ashamed of his criminal past, but after a brief stint in prison, he’s ready to go legit and live a normal life. The problem is, no one leaves the gang without permission—even if he is one of the boss’s top men. Plus someone’s placed a hit on him. And then there’s that feisty little bartender who’s going to cause him even more trouble.

Heidi Greene knows to keep her distance from a ladies’ man like Lucas—even if she can’t keep her eyes off him. When he rescues her from an attack in the alley outside her bar, she’s forced to stay by his side for safety. But the longer she spends time with him, the greater her chances are for getting hurt in more ways than one.

 

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PRE-ORDER THE BOOK NOW

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

JenM

Jen McLaughlin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy New Adult books. Under her pen name Diane Alberts, she is a multi-published, bestselling author of Contemporary Romance with Entangled Publishing. Her first release as Jen McLaughlin, Out of Line, released September 6 2013, and hit the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal lists. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal-clear water. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal-clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and a cat. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name.


FIND HER HERE:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

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Thursday, May 28, 2015

Release Day Launch : GETTING PLAYED by Mia Storm











Rules of the game:
1) Never underestimate your opponent
2) Avoid personal fouls
3) Score early and often
4) Play or get played

Coach Marcus Leon has always played by the rules…until he
meets Addaline Grace, the seventeen-year-old senior transfer on his Oak Crest
High water polo team. Addie changes all the rules, mostly because she doesn’t
play any games. But as off limits as she is, the more Marcus discovers about
Addie, the more he finds himself…and the more he questions whether Addie might
just be worth risking everything for.

For Addie, water polo is anger management. She’s driven and
focused because it keeps her mind off other things…like the fact she destroyed
her family. Her game plan is to keep her head down and graduate so she can
leave her father and the crappy town he dragged her to in her wake. But when
what starts as friendly completion with Marcus turns into more than a game,
Addie has to decide if she’s willing to face down her demons…and possibly ruin
the man she may or may not be falling in love with in the process.



What happens when the only thing you need is the one thing
you can’t have?

** This is a standalone




ADD TO GOODREADS















Chapter 1
Marcus

I stare Caiden Brenner down over my younger sister Blaire’s shoulder. The beating early September sun in the courtyard of Town Hall is roasting me alive in this monkey suit, but I hardly notice. I’m too busy trying to get into my soon-to-be brother-in-law’s head.
“I do,” Blaire answers when the Justice of the Peace asks if she takes Caiden to be her husband.
I’ve decided Caiden isn’t the devil incarnate—that would be my ex-best friend, Nate—but I’m still struggling with what Caiden did to my sister four years ago, when he was twenty-five and she was barely seventeen.
But Blaire is shining in a way I’ve never seen her shine, and it’s more than the way she looks today—totally gorgeous in her bright blue sundress and black Converse, her long black hair tucked up in a bun on top of her head. It’s that, each time her eyes connect with Caiden’s, I see the visible change in her. All her sharp edges dull and something peaceful softens her face. Not only does she love him, she trusts him. For Blaire, that’s huge.
So maybe I need to trust him too.
I glance at Mom and Dad, seated in the short row of chairs under the small gazebo next to Caiden’s mother. Blaire and Caiden insisted on immediate family only at their civil service. They’re having a barbeque later at Graffiti Park for a few close friends and extended family.
I turn back in time to hear Caiden echo Blaire’s “I do,” then Blaire spins and look expectantly at me.
“What?” I ask.
Her expression turns decidedly more exasperated. “Jesus, Marcus.”
My eyes widen when it hits me what she’s waiting for. I pat my pocket and feel the ring there. I fish it out and hesitate.
Blaire’s glare could melt steel as she holds out her hand for it.
I swallow the acid rising up my throat and slip it into her palm. She’s really going through with this. She’s marrying the man who went to prison for statutory rape.
I’ve been hard on him. I know that. But all Blaire and I have ever had is each other. She’s always had my back, but I let her get hurt twice on my watch—once by Caiden, and then by Nate. It’s just been in the last few months that she’s seemed to find herself again after everything that happened. As much as I wish it were me that brought her back, I know it was Caiden. I need to cut him some slack.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath as they exchanging rings, and when I open them, they’re kissing.
When he finally lets her go, Blaire turns to me. She gives me a wary once over. “Just so you know, you suck as bro of honor.”
I duck my head and rub the sweat off the back of my neck. “You should have picked Zoey.”
Her eyes narrow. “I picked you, Marcus. I wanted you.”
Fuck. I really need to get over myself.
Just as I’m thinking this, Caiden slips to Blaire’s side and holds out his hand to me.
“Thanks for your support, Marcus.”
I split a glance between Caiden’s hand and my sister. Her gaze is unwavering, as usual, but under her hard exterior, I see a deep vulnerability in her eyes.
The moment of truth. Either I accept my new brother-in-law into the family, or break my sister’s heart.
I squeeze Caiden’s hand. Hard. “Welcome to the family. Just know this: You mess with Blaire, I will kill you.”
My compromise.
Blaire gives me her signature smirk, then tugs her groom closer and kisses him. “He messes with me, I’ll kill him.”
Caiden’s face beams as he looks at her. “Of that, I have no doubt.”
“You two are on grill duty at the reception,” she says, poking me in the chest. “And I expect you both to come away un-charred.”
I shake my head. “Can’t make any promises, sis.”
“That was lovely, Blaire,” Mom says, joining our small circle.
I glance around and find Dad already at the door. Social situations are his nightmare. This should be enough to drive him over the edge. But to his credit, he seems sober.
There’s an awkward moment where Blaire and our mother negotiate their way around a brief hug, then Mom backs away. “You said Zoey’s getting everything ready at the park?”
Blaire nods and pulls her phone out of her bra, glancing at the screen. “She says they’re ready anytime we are.”
Mom looks warily toward where Dad is shifting on his feet. “I might need to drop your father off at the house on the way. He’s not feeling well.”
Of course not. He’s already had to say hello to Caiden and his family. The thought of having to interact with more people at the reception is probably making him physically ill.
There’s a glint of disappointment in Blaire’s eyes, but it passes quickly as she thinks about it and comes to the same conclusion I have. “We’ll see you over there,” she says grasping Caiden’s hand and starting toward the parking lot.
#
Despite the “no gifts” decree, a handful of people wait near a pile of wrapped presents on one of the picnic tables under the small shelter when we arrive at Graffiti Park. The shelter has silver and blue streamers twisted around the poles and looped from the eaves, and the five picnic tables underneath are covered in blue paper table clothes with silver balloons tied to the benches. In the center of the middle table is a cake shaped like a penis in between two boobs. Blaire’s best friend Zoey’s contribution, no doubt.
Blaire leaves Caiden and I in the dust, where we’re carrying the gas grill from the back of my pickup truck across the grass to the shelter, and makes a beeline for Zoey. Her face is something between a scowl and a grin as she surveys the cake. “You know I’ll never be able to show my future children pictures of my wedding reception now.”
“But you’ll never forget it,” Zoey answers with a self-satisfied grin, wrapping Blaire in a hug. “Love you, girl.”
Next to me, Caiden’s feet stall and I yank the grill out of his hands when I keep walking. When I look back at him, he’s giving Blaire a stunned stare. But then a grin slowly spreads across his face.
“I guess this works,” I say, straightening out the grill next to the edge of the shelter.
His eyes snap to me as if he’s just remembering I exist. “Oh…sorry.”
I tug off my jacket. “So you guys are doing the whole kid thing?” I ask, tucking my tie inside the royal blue shirt I bought to match my sister’s wedding dress in a show of solidarity.
He glances at Blaire again and bobs a nod. “It appears that way.”
I crouch down to screw the gas line into the grill. “You haven’t talked about it?”
He shrugs as he pulls open a box of frozen Costco burgers. “Not specifically.”
“Kids makes it permanent,” I say in warning.
“Our marriage vows made it permanent,” he counters with more than a little irritation in his tone.
A hand brushes over my back. “Hey, good lookin’.”
I turn at the Texas drawl and find my date, Deanna, standing there in a tiny green dress and killer heels. She’s pretty in the Barbie sense: blond and blue with a heart-shaped face, copper skin, and an amazing body—long and lean with curves in all the right places.
I use the word “date” loosely. She’s the woman who stole my job at Oak Crest High. I know she was teaching in Texas for four years before coming here—the reason the school board cited for hiring her over me. Experience. Which means she’s at least three, maybe four years older than me. But what started as mindless frenemy sex a few weeks back has turned into a regular thing. When she invited herself to my sister’s wedding, it seemed a little heartless to tell her no.
She wraps her arms around my neck and sort of hangs off me. “How was the ceremony?”
I glance at Caiden, where he’s firing up the grill. “It was good.”
Deanna smiles at Caiden and holds out her hand. “I’m sure it was ten yards of romantic. Congratulation.”
He shakes her outstretched hand. “Thank you.”
I watch her walk over to Blaire and introduce herself. Maybe that’s something I should have done, but I feel like this thing is already taking on a life of its own, and her getting all chummy with my sister makes me a little nervous. I busy myself getting everything ready then take up my position next to my new brother-in-law when he starts throwing burgers on the grill.
“Listen, Marcus,” he says, tearing open a package of hot dogs. “I get that I’ve never been your favorite person and I can respect your reasons for that, but I need you to understand that Blaire is my life. I’ve given up everything for her and I’d do it all again if it meant the same result.”
“You can prove it by not fucking this up,” I say with a wave of the barbeque tongs between where Blaire is hugging some Berkeley friends who have just arrived and him.
“I can’t predict the future better than anyone else,” he answers, his eyes raising from the grill to his new bride, “but I can swear to you I’m going to do everything in my power not to.”
We cook and, at Zoey’s direction, people start filing past for burgers and dogs. Once most everyone is served, Caiden grabs a burger off the grill for Blaire and brings it to her. They sit across the picnic table from each other, and even though they’re talking to other people, their eyes keep straying to each other’s.
Deanna and Zoey seem to hit it off and are deep in conversation about shoes when I slip away from the shelter. On autopilot, my legs start up the hill toward the playground where Blaire, Nate, and I used to spend all our time as kids.
As I walk, I loosen my tie and flick open the top button. Near the top of the hill is a bench nestled into the shade of some big oaks. Nate and I carved it up pretty good back in the day. Which makes me wonder about him.
We haven’t spoken since I decked him after he cheated on Blaire. It’s been four years. He came back to town to live with his parents after we graduated college, and since it’s a small place, I saw him here and there, but it’s been a while. With any luck, he’s moved on.
I start toward the bench, but then see it’s occupied. A woman is laying on her back, her knees bent and her head propped on a backpack with a book in her hand.
I shove my hands in my pockets and look farther up the hill, toward the playground. There are a few benches up there, but they’re occupied by parents supervising their kids on the massive wooden play structure. The only free bench is facing into the afternoon sun, about twenty feet across the open, grassy area from the one the woman is occupying. I head over to it and plunk down on the end. I glare through the blinding sun at the woman on my bench before leaning onto my elbows and resting my face in my hands.
If you’d asked me five years ago where I thought I’d be right now, it wouldn’t have been here, coaching girls water polo at my old high school and working at the local gym. This is so not where I saw my life going. After living large for four years of high school and four more at college, I guess I started to feel charmed. But there’s nothing charming about crashing on a friend’s couch for the last six months because it’s all I can afford. I’ve only been out of UCLA for a year and I feel like I’ve already hit a total dead end, but I’ve got no one but myself to blame for that.
As the sun dips behind the tops of the trees surrounding the bench across the way, I sit up straight and look at the woman who stole it. There’s a second I wonder if she’s homeless, because her wardrobe has a definite secondhand vibe—a faded army-green tank with pale pink stripes under a baggy red cardigan, tattered jeans which are probably too short because they’re rolled halfway up her shins, and plaid Vans with no socks.
She rolls her head my direction and catches me staring.
I divert my eyes, but then blow out a disgusted laugh. I never would have done that back in college. She’s hot. I can see that from here. A hot girl makes eye contact, I would have held her gaze. I would have sent the message loud and clear with my eyes that I was interested.
When I glance up, she’s gone back to her book. I shove up off the bench and cram my hands into my pockets as I amble slowly toward her.
She lowers her book and sits up when she sees me, combing a hand through her thick strawberry blond corkscrew curls, and it strikes me that she looks vaguely familiar. Her face is thin and, at the bottom of a smallish nose that curls up slightly at the end are a pair of full, pink lips that tend to curl down. There’s the faintest hint of freckles smattering her cheeks and nose, and it’s kind of a turn-on that she’s comfortable enough in her own skin not to hide them behind layers of makeup. But it’s her charcoal gray eyes that snag all my attention. They’re large and round, but not innocent.
“Nice day,” I say, looking toward the shelter down the hill, wracking my brain trying to place how I know this woman. Maybe from the gym?
She closes her book and nods.
“Mind if I…?” I gesture at the now vacant end of the bench.
She gives me another wary nod.
I lower myself onto the spot her feet just occupied, and now I’ve got nothing else to say. I should have stayed on my own fucking bench. I give her a second to bail me out, and when she doesn’t, I gesture to the book. “Good book?”
She lifts the book and shows me the cover. The Metamorphosis. “It’s okay.”
I pull it from her hand and read the description on the back cover. “Pretty dark.”
She almost shrugs, more with her face than her body. “I found a list of the twenty-five most controversial books of all time. Making my way through the ones that interest me.” In the corner of my eye, I see her wave her hand at the book I’m thumbing through. “That’s number ten.”
I look up at her. “What are numbers one through nine?”
“Lolita is number one. I’d already read that, though, as well as number two, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, number four, The Grapes of Wrath, and number nine, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
“So, what new books have you picked up because of the list?” I lift The Metamorphosis. “Other than this?”
She looks at the book in my hand rather than me as she ticks off on her fingers. “I skipped American Psycho, which is number three, but I’ve read the rest: And Tango Makes Three, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Tropic of Cancer, and The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie…which I have to say was pretty dry.”
“That’s a pretty impressive reading list.” I set the book down on the bench between us. “So, you’re not a Rushdie fan. What did you think of the others?”
“And Tango Makes Three was cute. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was depressing, and The Tropic of Cancer was…” She trails off and gives me that face shrug again. But this time she’s blushing through her freckles.
It’s been a while since I read it, but my recollection is it’s full of graphic sex. She’s embarrassed to talk to me about it, and for some reason that sends a rush through insides that settles in my groin. My gaze trials over the lines of her face, down her long neck, then trickles over her body. She’s on the tall side and athletic, with breasts that are a perfect handful, a flat stomach, and long, toned legs that I’d suddenly kill to have wrapped around my head.
“And what’s the verdict on this one?” I ask, handing back The Metamorphosis.
A shadow passes over her face as she looks at the cover. “It’s…thought provoking.”
“What thoughts is it provoking?” I ask, laying the innuendo on thick and hoping I’m not the only one feeling the attraction.
The thought passes through the back of my mind that hitting on another woman while my date is just down the hill is a pretty skanky thing to do, but there’s something compelling about this girl. The idea that I might never see her again tugs hard at my gut. I can’t let this chance to find out who she is slip by.
“Have you read it?” she asks.
I lean in and shake my head. “Should I?”
“It’s a little out there,” she says with an unsure squint.
“Why don’t you save me the trouble and give me the SparkNotes,” I say, looping my arm behind her and resting it on the back of the bench.
She gives me a curious look, and I feel her body tense under my arm.
I give her my best cocky smile and arch an eyebrow. I intentionally let my fingers brush her shoulder and am rewarded with a shudder. “Unless you’d prefer I leave?”
A sly smile curves her pink lips as she lowers her lashes, and the rush in my groin intensifies.
“The SparkNotes…” she says, picking up the book between us. I take the opportunity to slide closer. “This guy Gregor wakes up one day to find he’s a giant bug…which I get is a little weird, and there’s no explanation as to why, but the upshot is that everyone is pretty grossed out by him and all his family seems to care about is that he can’t do his job anymore, so he can’t contribute to the finances. He can only speak bug, so because they can’t understand him, they assume he can’t understand them when they say they wish he’d just go away. But he can’t leave because he has nowhere to go, and also because his father threw an apple at him and injured him pretty badly, so he hides in his room and eventually just dies.”
“Seriously?” When I take the book back and turn it over to read the jacket copy again, I notice it came from the county library.
“Seriously,” she answers, earnestly.
I lift my eyes to hers. “So a happy ending, then,” I say, my voice full of sarcasm.
“Yeah, right.” Her eyes lower to the book in my hand. “I don’t really understand why it’s the tenth most controversial book of all time, but it’s a pretty true testament to human nature. Gregor is messed up, so instead of trying to help him, people just wish he’d go away.”
There’s no mistaking the mix of disdain and sadness in her tone. I only realize how intently I’m staring at her when she turns her face away. Does she feel that people wish she’d go away? And, if so, who is making her feel that way and why? Is she “messed up?”
The overpowering need to know sweeps through me in a rush that forces a shuddering breath from my lungs.
“So, what’s next on the list?” I ask, handing the book back.
“Brave New World,” she answers, her eyes lifting to mine again.
I cuff a laugh. “That one I have read. Another uplifting story.”
“So I hear.” She glances down the hill in the direction I came from. “So, what’s going on down there, anyway? Someone’s birthday?”
My gaze follows hers. “My sister’s wedding reception.”
“In a public park?” she asks, her eyebrows raising in surprise.
I nod. “Graffiti Park is special. We spent a lot of time here as kids.”
“Graffiti Park? That’s really the name of this place?” she asks, looking around.
“I have no clue what the real name is. That’s just what we’ve always called it.” My thumb brushes over where Nate carved my name into the back of bench we’re sitting on at least ten years ago.
She squints toward the shelter below and shades her eyes from the last of the afternoon sun. “I don’t see a bride.”
I point to Blaire. “The one in the bright blue dress.”
“That sort of flies in the face of tradition, doesn’t it?” she asks, still watching.
“That’s my sister. She’s never cared much about social conventions. If you search YouTube for her valedictory graduation speech from Oak Crest High four years ago, you’ll see what I mean.”
Her eyes snap to mine, wide and curious, and her gaze knocks the wind out of me. “What did she say?”
“She basically told the whole world off. But that was because her now husband,” I say with a jut of my chin at the gathering below, “had just been arrested for statutory rape.”
Her eyes widen even more. “Oh my God!”
“She’s always insisted they were in love, and the age difference shouldn’t matter. It was her giant ‘fuck you’ to society.”
Her head cocks to the side as she watches the party below. “I like her already.” She turns back to me. “Won’t they miss you?”
I press myself against her shoulder. “I’m disturbing you?”
A sardonic smile ghosts over her features as she lifts the book. “I was in the middle of reading the thoughts of a dying giant bug-person and not thinking that was at all weird, so I’m obviously already very disturbed.”
I can’t stop staring, because she’s suddenly stunningly beautiful. Her eyes flash, looking momentarily more black then gray, and there’s a long, deep dimple in her right cheek, which is the only one I can see because of the angle of her head. I’m dying to know if there’s a matching one on the other side.
The smile fades under my scrutiny and when she drops her gaze to the book between us, a cascade of strawberry corkscrews hide her face. “Sorry. Stupid joke.”
“No!” Damn. A little too eager there, tiger. I work to lower my voice. “I mean, it wasn’t stupid. It was funny.”
I just forgot to laugh because your smile knocked me senseless for a sec.
She lifts a knee to her chest, hooking the heel of her sneaker on the edge of the bench. Her knee pokes through the long crosswise tear in her jeans. “It’s okay, my sense of humor’s pretty dry. Not too many people get me.”
“Your sense of humor is refreshing,” I say. “And as for people getting you, most people don’t pay enough attention to anyone but themselves to ‘get’ much of anything.”
“Marcus!”
I look down the hill at Deanna’s voice. She’s at the shelter waving her hands over her head to get my attention. There’s a sudden cramp in my stomach at the thought of her coming up here.
“Looks like you have to go.” I’d swear a catch a hint of disappointment in her tone.
“Looks like.” I stand and shove my hands into my pockets. “My name is Marcus, by the way.”
She smiles and something roguish flashes in her eyes. “I know.”
Fuck. I do know her. Everything felt so relaxed and comfortable between us. I hate that I might have just fucked that up. Before it gets totally awkward, I blurt, “I’d be up for maybe getting a burger at Sam Hill sometime, if you’re into that.”
She nods, but that wary glint is back in her eyes. “Yeah…sure.”
I fish my phone from my pocket. “Can I get your number?”
She reels it off and I type it in. “Girl who stole my bench,” is say with a cocky grin as I type it in to contacts. I turn my amusement on her. “Or is there something else I should call you?”
He gives me a questioning tip of her head. “Addie.”
I know that name. Someone I went to high school with, maybe? My brain chugs harder trying to put the pieces together as I type it in. “Got it,” I say, holding up my phone. “I’ll give you a call.”
She squints at me. “Okay.”
I start backing down the path. “Enjoy my bench,” I say with a wink.
She lifts the book in a wave. “See you Monday, Coach.”
Suddenly I see her face under a navy blue swim cap with the Oak Crest Cougar on the side. The jolt of electric panic almost knocks my legs out from under me and I stumble, just catching myself before I go down.
Because she’s on my fucking team.
I ran tryouts Wednesday and Thursday. Practices just started yesterday. I’m still trying to get the new girls’ names. She said Addie, but my roster says Addaline, I think. All I can remember for sure is she’s a senior transfer and mostly keeps to herself.
“Fuck me,” I mutter, then hear myself. I hold up a hand. “I mean…” I trail off in a cringe. “Sorry for the language.” Because I’m not supposed to swear in front of a fucking student.
But fuck. My mind reels, replaying everything I said and did and trying to figure out how to backpedal out of this. “So, we’ll talk about a…team dinner…for bonding and whatever…at practice on Monday.”
Just shoot me now.
She tips her head and bites her lips, fighting a smile. “Sounds good, Coach.”
After what feels like a small eternity, I shake myself loose from her gaze and start down the hill without saying anything else. I can only dig myself deeper at this point. But the whole way, all I can think about is that, as shitty as my life is at the moment, it might have just gotten shittier.







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?





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



LIKE MIA STORM on FACEBOOK

Monday, May 25, 2015

Release Day Blitz : Always Yours, Baby by Airicka Phoenix





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Today is the release day blitz for ALWAYS YOURS, BABY by Airicka Phoenix. This is a new adult, standalone novel that is the 4th book in The Baby Saga. Check out the materials below for buy links, an excerpt, and a giveaway!

The Baby Saga 14(1)

 

AlwaysYours

Title: Always Yours, Baby
Author: Airicka Phoenix
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Series: The Baby Saga
Series Number: #4

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BOOK BLURB:

How could someone so pure want filth like him?

Damon Comb was no stranger to pain, hunger, loneliness, and abandonment. Being given a family that would die for one another didn’t erase six years of torture. It didn’t take away the nightmares. She did. She was everything someone like him should never be allowed. She was goodness and strength and she made him human.

How could someone so broken complete her?

Willa McClain had it all, a family that adored each other, the love of an entire town and a future she worked her butt off to get. But all she wanted was the boy with the sad blue eyes and the crooked smile. He was her best friend, her protector and the only one who really understood her.

How could a love like theirs be extinguished?

But nothing ever lasted forever. Damon knew better than anyone how quickly the tides could change. Can he keep his past at bay before it consumes the only light in his dark world? Can he finally tell Willa the truth, or will his fears tear them apart forever?

How could love so strong ever fail?

couple in love on the beach in autumnThe Baby Saga Twitter Banner 2

EXCERPT:

She beamed, but it didn’t go all the way to her eyes like it normally would. There were lingering fingers of shadow along the edges that prickled his attention.

“What?”

“Does it feel different?” she asked.

He hooked her hair with a finger and dragged them back behind her ear.

“Does what feel different?”

“Us,” she whispered. “I feel like it should feel different, but I feel the same.”

He hummed quietly, knowing full well what she meant.

“How do you want to feel?”

“Like this,” she said immediately, eyes growing urgent. “I love the way I feel when I’m with you. I don’t ever want that to change. But I have been so scared for so long that I just … I wasn’t expecting to feel exactly how I always felt.”

He let his fingers ghost along the elegant curve of her brow, down the lines of her face to the hollow of her cheek. He watched as her eyes closed and her head tilted into the touch.

“How have you always felt?” he wondered, his voice constricting with the band that had tightened around his chest at the simple gesture.

“Loved.” Her eyes opened and met his. “Wanted, happy, excited. A little sad.”

He felt his muscles stiffen at the confession. “Why sad?”

“Because I know one lifetime with you won’t be enough and it kills me.” Her eyes bore into his, reflecting the fear she spoke of. “I can’t lose you, Damon. I’d never survive.”

He kissed her gently on the mouth with one hand lifting up to cup the back of her head. He pulled back a second later before caution could be thrown to the winds and he started something he would be powerless to stop.

“You will never lose me,” he promised. “I won’t ever let that happen.”

Teaser 3 Twitter Banner 1

BUY LINKS:

For a limited time you can get ALWAYS YOURS, BABY, and the rest of The Baby Saga for just .99¢ each!

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Teaser 8

PURCHASE THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES

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Forever His Baby *Sloan & Lily* (Book 1):

Amazon us: http://goo.gl/syIa8C

iBooks: http://goo.gl/lOZ7RW

Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/Q6GRZB

Smashwords: http://goo.gl/nqrsaH

 

Bye-Bye Baby *Cole & Beth* (Book 2):

Amazon us: http://goo.gl/5uX19t

iBooks: http://goo.gl/QydkSn

Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/CZIFA3

Smashwords: http://goo.gl/M2Dutw

 

Be My Baby *Calla & Jared* (Book 3):

Amazon us: http://goo.gl/nDgRIa

iBooks: http://goo.gl/H88IMk

Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/EWpDvs

Smashwords: http://goo.gl/7EU3BW

Teaser 6


a Rafflecopter giveaway
AUTHOR INFORMATION:  


Airicka PhoenixBIO:

Airicka Phoenix is a romance junkie with an incurable addiction to chocolate. She is also a prolific author of several novels written for young adult and new adult romance addicts who love bad boys, hot kisses and a gritty plot. Airicka prides herself in producing quality material her readers can fall in love with again and again.

When she's not hard at work bleeding words onto paper, Airicka can be found cuddling with her family, reading, watching TV shows, or just finding excuses not to do chores.

Be the first for giveaways, teasers and upcoming releases by joining Airicka's newsletter on her website www.AirickaPhoenix.com


AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: www.AirickaPhoenix.com

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/VgLqD

Facebook: http://goo.gl/eYXrrh

Twitter: http://goo.gl/yoVWYF (@AirickaPhoenix)

Goodreads: http://goo.gl/HGVszf

Google+: http://goo.gl/wgdslQ

Instagram: http://goo.gl/QRmqdy

Pinterest: http://goo.gl/Y5AOQq
Amazon: http://goo.gl/Nq57nJ

z-InkSlinger Blogger

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Cover Reveal : FLAME by Erin Noelle







RELEASING ON AUGUST 6, 2015



I’m soaring.

After years of hard work and determination, I am exactly where I want to be in life. As the top ranked Freestyle Motocross rider in the world, I have more money than I could ever dream of spending and gorgeous women throwing themselves at me in every city I land. I have everything I could ever want. 

Everything except her.

While in Breckenridge for my best friend’s wedding, I was introduced to Dakota Shavell, a friend of the bride-to-be, and from the moment our blue gazes met, sparks flew.

What I initially intended to be a single steamy night together turned into a scorching two week road trip to New Orleans with a sassy-mouthed blonde. Being between her legs gave me a bigger adrenaline rush than I’d ever gotten from flying through the air while straddling a bike.

It was supposed to just be fun, a good time. I planned to walk away unchanged.

But it was more. Feelings I never intended to have got involved, and I’ll never be the same.

Yet, I still walked away.

Except now I’m injured and my outlook has changed. Priorities have become clear.

And I’m going back to reclaim her…to show her that together we can make the fire between us burst into flames.


Cover Design: by Hang Le
Photographer: Golden Czermak with Furious Fotog
Cover Model: Brendon Charles










prologue

Levi

The
bright lights blind me to everything except the dirt track laid out in front of
me. The energetic, bustling noise from the crowd feeds the adrenaline buzzing
at the speed of light through my veins. The familiar vibration of the bike’s engine
securely tucked between my legs locks me into that special frame of mind where
things move in slow motion, allowing me to do what it is that I do best.

This
is it.
Why
I’ve busted my ass every day for the last decade.
The
final tour stop of the year.
Winner
takes all.
Me
or him.
Do
or die.

Tightly wrapping my fingers around the
throttle, I coast down the ramp, picking up speed as I go. By the time the
tires hit the clay-colored earth, I envision myself executing the trick
my trick—flawlessly
from take-off to landing, exactly like I do each and every time I nail the 501
Double Back flip.
            Moments later, I’m soaring through
the air, my body somersaulting forward over the handle bars as I whip the bike into
two full backward rotations. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of
yellow and twist my head instinctively, wondering if it was her. If she came to
watch. A collective gasp from the packed crowd can be heard a split-second
before I look away from the multitude of camera flashes around the arena and
glance down below.


Something’s wrong.


Want the rest ?
 Subscribe to the newsletter HERE to get the rest of the prologue on May 27. 




SPARK 
 BOOK 1 in the series


I'm failing.

My younger brother
is getting worse, and my job - my duty - is to help him at all costs. We've
tried everything modern medicine has to offer and nothing works.

Nothing.
Deciding to turn
to unconventional treatments, we end up at Fire-on-the-Mountain, a holistic
resort deep in the Rockies.

In our search for
medical marijuana, I find beautiful, free-spirited Hudson Shavell - a girl who
may not only hold the key to heal my brother, but to fix me as well. Even
though I can't afford distractions right now, she's all I can think about. All
that I want.

It's funny how
everything can change with one little SPARK.

***Though Spark is
the first book in the Fire on the Mountain Series, it is a stand alone novel***


***Intended for
mature audiences only***


AMAZON




Erin Noelle is a Texas native, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. While earning her degree in History at the University of Houston, she rediscovered her love for reading that was first instilled by her grandmother when she was a young child.
A lover of happily-ever-afters, both historical and current, Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels.



Her titles published include the Book Boyfriend Series, the Dusk ‘Til Dawn Series, Translucent, Conspire — co-authored with SE Hall, Surviving Us, MILF: Wrong Kind of Love and Spark.
Her books have been a part of the USA Today Bestselling list and the Amazon and Barnes & Noble overall Top 100.

TUMBLR     tsu       PINTEREST



Spotlight : Hard Wear by Marilyn Lakewood







Title: Hard Wear
Author Name: Marilyn
Lakewood



Author Bio:

Marilyn lives in the northwest U.S.,
not too far from the Canadian border, and believes the long, cold
winters are perfect “writing weather.”
She started writing romantic,
sex-driven stories “just for fun” seven years ago. Today, she’ll
joyously admit she’s obsessed with creating hard-core dominant
heroes and happily-ever-after endings.

Visit Marilyn at
www.marilynlakewood.com




Author Links - 








Book Genre: Romance/Hot Alpha
Billionaire
Publisher: Troll River Publications
Release Date: February 14, 2015

Book Description:

Book One of the Hot Alpha Billionaire
Series
Stand
alone. Not a cliff-hanger. HEA. M/F, Mild D/s themes.
How does a sophisticated man with everything, convince an unassuming
older woman with nothing, that she’s what he desperately needs?
At 36, Chase Tanner controlled his world and the women in his bed.
With a grown son and several successful businesses, he thought he had
everything a man could desire… until he walked down the aisle of a
country hardware store and saw exactly what he needed for a
happily-ever-after. Now, he just had to make her believe it.
You’re just not good enough, Kali.”
Her ex-husband’s hurtful words echoed in Kali Benson’s heart as
she rebuilt her life in tiny Laketon, Washington. It took some time,
but at 39, she’s happy, self-sufficient, and emotionally armored.
She’s strong enough to resist a sweet-talking hunk, who drives an
old Dodge truck and makes her feel nineteen again... isn't she?

Excerpt:

Chase took the
shortest route to the auto accessories area and cut through the
carpentry section. He turned down the aisle and his steps slowed.
Fuses, old trucks, everything, dropped off the radar as his gaze
focused on the woman perusing the locks-and-hinge display.
Sweet. There was
something incredibly sweet and alluring about her. More than pretty,
she was arresting. His heart did a drum roll against his ribs, and he
drew in a deep, stabilizing breath.
Easing to a stop a
few steps away, he positioned himself near the opposite side of the
aisle as if he were interested in something other than her. Not the
most inspired tactic, but he needed a moment to process her intense
effect on him.
In profile, she
had a straight, refined nose, full lips, and a balanced chin. Thick,
golden-brown hair shimmered in glossy layers past her shoulders,
styled with a fringe of bangs across her dark, tawny brows.
When she pulled an
item from the display, he noticed she kept her nails a short,
practical length, and she wore no wedding ring.
His eyes drifted
down her slender length, admiring her lush, handful-size breasts and
the pert nipples that dimpled against her knit top. She had a slim
waist, gently rounded hips, and a great curvy ass, temptingly
displayed in a pair of distinctive cutoffs. They were distinctive to
him, at least. Although she’d removed the label, he recognized Soft
Wear jeans and understood what the brand signified.
This little beauty
might not want anyone in Laketon to know, but if she bought those
jeans, she harbored at least some sexually submissive desires.
In a sudden, vivid
image, he pictured her in his bed, her body pinned beneath him, his
hands holding hers against the mattress. He imagined her thighs
around his hips. The first intimate touch of his cock to her sex. Her
mouth parted, gasping when he shifted deeper.
The fantasy jolted
him.
He flinched and
she turned her head.
Large, topaz eyes
danced over him, and she smiled distractedly, the merest civility
necessary, before returning her attention back to the shelves. He’d
been dismissed. There was nothing haughty or superior about it, but
apparently she’d found him unsuitable.
A grin tugged on
his mouth. He enjoyed a challenge.







April 26 - Introduction at VBT Café Blog

April 28 - Guest Blogging at Bitches Be Writin

April 28 - Spotlight at IndieWritersReview

April 30 - Interviewed at Deal Sharing Aunt

May 4 - Review & Guest Blogging at Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews

May 6 - Guest Blogging at Let's Get Booked!

May 8 - Guest Blogging at Bellevue Book Reviews

May 8 - Spotlight at Writers Revolution

May 11 - Guest Blogging at Lori's Reading Corner

May 13 - Reviewed at Bottles & Books Reviews

May 15 - Spotlight at Underneath The Covers

May 15 - 6 Besties at BK Walker Books

May 19 - Review at PRATR

May 21 - Spotlight at Books Books The Magical Fruit

May 21 - Review & Guest Blog at Inner Workings Of A Female Mind
May 21 - Spotlight at Readsalot


May 28 - Spotlight at Jody's Book Reviews