Friday, January 31, 2014

Book Blitz & Giveaway - The Eve (The Eden #3) by Keary Taylor



Series: The Eden Trilogy #3
Release date: November 21st 2013
Self-Published
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:
 
A plan was laid out as the Evolution crushed mankind, a plan that was right under Eden’s nose all along. And Eve is the key to everything. New Eden—mankind—they have a small chance at fixing their dismembered planet. 

But it will be a reckless sprint against time and the coming Bane to retrieve the final piece to the plot. New Eden’s worst fears have become reality. The Bane are back in the city and they’re smarter and more aggressive than ever. They know where the humans are and they’re coming to finish what they’ve nearly completed.

Eve has been content with the family she’s found—Avian, West, Gabriel, Royce. But she’s about to discover she may have the one family Eve never thought she would: blood. With every odd stacked against her, all the lies and all the secrets of her origins will be exposed.

The past and the future are about to come full circle.
 
_________________________________
 
Excerpt:
 
“Start checking vehicles,” I said, racing across the street to a parking lot. “Maybe we’ll find something with keys.” 

“Eve,” West said as we started yanking car doors open. “You know if that kid was infected that it’s too late for Avian. He’ll get infected.” 

I shook my head, my jaw set hard. “No,” I said as I checked another car. No keys. “There’s a chance the boy wasn’t infected. And if it just barely happened, he won’t be able to spread the infection for a few hours.” 

But even as I made my argument, I knew it wasn’t true. Those bodies had been dead for days, maybe even over a week. If the kid was infected, TorBane would be fully saturated into his system.” 

“Got it!” West shouted. He held up a pair of keys as a floor mat came tumbling out of the truck. “Get in!” 

I hopped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. I tossed our supplies in the back seat. 

“You don’t know how to drive,” I said, my voice breathy. 

“Today seems like a good day to learn,” West said, shoving the key in the ignition. 

The truck clicked and sputtered. It had been a sitting, rusting dinosaur for six years. We’d been stupid to think any of these vehicles might start. 

“Come on!” West shouted, pounding the steering wheel. He slammed one of the pedals with his foot and suddenly it roared to life. “Yes!” 

“That there puts it into drive, I think,” I said, pointing to the stick on the side of the driving column. 

West yanked on it and the truck jerked backwards and slammed into the vehicle behind us. 

“Okay,” West said, shifting the stick again. “R stands for reverse. So D for drive?” 

“Let’s assume,” I said, my blood racing and pounding in my ears. “Let’s go!” 

D was indeed for drive and we rocketed forward, clipping another vehicle as we swung wildly out of the parking lot and onto the street. 

“That woman was touched,” I said, bracing myself as we swerved madly. “She had probably gone out to look for food or something when a Hunter must have found her. West, this means they’re starting to come back into the city.” 

The speedometer crept up to eighty miles an hour as we peeled back onto the onramp. Just as we pulled onto the freeway, there was a figure ahead of us. There was no time to stop and the truck plowed right into it. 

The mechanical body broke right in half, completely cybernetic by this time. The upper half of the body crashed into the windshield, shattering it. 

We both screamed as the glass burst into tiny glittering pieces and an arm dangled between the two of us. 

“Holy…” West bellowed as the truck swerved violently back and forth and we ran over the lower half of the body. 

“Keep driving!” I shouted. I was about to reach for the shoulders of the body, when its hand suddenly flung out at me, and wrapped around my throat. 

West swore loudly. “It’s still alive?!” 

“Keep…” I gasped for air as West swerved in an attempt to put distance between himself and the Bane that was somehow still attacking. “Driving!” 

Wrapping my hands around the wrist, I squeezed until the cybernetic bones crumpled and bent and the hand let go. Plowing the heel of my hand into what was left of where its nose should have been, its head whipped back with a sickening crunch. The thing was instantly still. 

But still carrying active TorBane. 

I coughed violently, unbuckling my seatbelt. 

“You okay?” West asked, wild fear in his eyes as he attempted to drive straight. He leaned as far to the left as possible, attempting to put some space between him and the mangled Bane. 

“Yeah,” I croaked. My throat was probably bruised. “Keep driving. I’ll take care of this.” 

I half stood as well as I could in the cramped space. Placing my hands on its shoulders, I gave a good shove. The body slid forward two feet and to the right. But one of its arms slipped down the front of the hood and caught in the grill. 

“Oh, come on,” West said, looking at the body in disbelief. 

“Keep driving,” I repeated. I used my boot to knock out the rest of the glass hanging around the frame of the window. Crawling up onto the dash, I slowly worked my way out onto the hood of the truck. 

As we drove over the bumpy freeway, the arm wedged its way tighter and tighter into the grill. Finally, I simply snapped the arm off at the elbow. The rest of the body crashed to the ground. I tried yanking the rest of the arm free, but it wouldn’t budge. 

“Get back in here, Eve!” West shouted. “We can have it melted down later. Sit down before I kill you!” 

An amused chuckle worked its way through my lips as I carefully climbed back up the hood and into the vehicle. 

“Well, this turned into an exciting day,” West said, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, I think the Bane are getting back into the city,” I said, pushing my windblown hair back off my forehead. “That store was supposed to be fifteen miles inside our perimeter. They’ll be getting back into the center of the city soon. I thought I’d cleared all of them out for five hundred miles after the beacon went off.” 

“Just another day in the world of the Evolution,” West said. “Must have been a Sleeper that recently woke up. It could have been inactive when you called them all out to the desert. 

“For once, could the element of time just be on our side?” I said, exasperated. 

“What,” West said, smiling at me as he swerved around a particularly large crack in the road. “And make life simple and boring?” 

I shook my head and laughed. “Seriously.” 

 ________________________________________
 
 
About the Author
 
 
Keary Taylor grew up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where she started creating imaginary worlds and daring characters who always fell in love. She now resides on a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two young children. She continues to have an overactive imagination that frequently keeps her up at night. She is the author of THE EDEN TRILOGY, the FALL OF ANGELS trilogy, and WHAT I DIDN'T SAY.
 


 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Song Of The Fireflies by J. A. Redmerski





SONG OF THE FIREFLIES (February 4, 2014; Forever E-Book; $3.99)

THE TRUTH WILL SET THEM FREE
Brayelle Bates has always been a force of nature. Even as a child, Bray's wild and carefree spirit intimidated everyone around her. The only person who's ever truly understood her is her best friend, Elias Kline. Though every fiber of her being wants to stay with Elias forever, Bray can't bear the thought of him discovering her agonizing history. She's done everything she can to keep him at arm's length, including moving away. But their undying bond was too strong a pull to deny, and Bray couldn't survive without him. Now she's back home with Elias, and things have never felt more right-until one night changes everything. 

Elias vowed never to be separated from Bray again. So when she decides to flee in a desperate attempt to escape her fate, Elias knows he must go with her. As the two try to make the most of their circumstance, taking up with a reckless group of new friends, Elias soon realizes there's a darkness driving Bray he can't ignore. Now in order to save her, he'll have to convince Bray to accept the consequences of their reality-even if it means losing her.

 Excerpt:

Thunder rumbled in the sky and the thick, dark clouds lit up in the distance, revealing what the tops of the trees looked like painted against the black backdrop that had shrouded them. The crawling branches that reached upward along the infinite dark looked ominous as the flash of light faded.

I felt a drop of rain. And then another. 

“So much for a quiet walk together,” Bray said. 

And just then, the sky opened up and it began to pour. Bray shrieked and tried to cover herself unsuccessfully with her arms and then the screaming turned into laughter. We were both drenched in under five seconds. The rain pounded down so fast and so hard that we had to shout over the noise to hear each other; each drop like a million nails being thrust into the dirt on the baseball field. 

“It’s a long walk back!” I said. 

Bray started spinning like a ballerina in the middle of the field. She laughed and raised her arms above her and turned her face upward toward the sky and just let the rain wash over her. She opened her mouth and spun around and around. I watched her for a moment, mesmerized by her innocence. I saw that little girl I met so long ago, running with me through that pasture without a worry in the world. Just seeing her like that, it made me smile, but deep down it also crushed me. I knew that she would never be that innocent again, that our life together would never be as carefree as it was when we were children. 

“Dance with me!” she shouted. 

“What?” 

“Dance with me!” 

I had heard her right the first time. I just didn’t understand why here, why now. 

“There’s no music!” I said over the rain. 

She grabbed my hand. “You don’t hear that?!” she said, motioning to the patter of rain and thunder around us. 

She started spinning around me and I stood in the same spot following her until she grabbed both of my hands and pulled on them. Next thing I knew, we were spinning together, holding each other’s hands tightly and distributing equal weight on our arms. At first, I felt like an idiot and hoped Tate wasn’t spying, or worse, Caleb. But I was quickly lost in Bray’s laughter and her smile and her beautiful blue eyes. The thunder got louder, the lightning more intense. I was beginning to worry about us being out in the open like this, in the center of a baseball field just asking to be struck down by the finger of God. But soon, I didn’t care. We were those two innocent children again, living free and loving life. And not even lightning could ruin this moment. It wouldn’t dare. 

We stopped spinning, and I twirled her around by her hands as I stood in place, and then I dipped her. Leaning over her body, I pressed my wet lips between her breasts as her white shirt was weighted down by the endless rain.


Buy a copy:



About the author:



J.A. Redmerski, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas with her three children, two cats and a Maltese. She is a lover of television and books that push boundaries and is a huge fan of AMC's The Walking Dead.


Find her on the web:

 

Waiting On Wednesday - January 29th

My WOW pick this week is
Isla and the Happily Ever After
by Stephanie Perkins
Releases - May 2014



From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new. [Goodreads]






_________________________________


Why I'm waiting? Stephanie Perkins wrote two of my most favorite books (Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door). I feel like I've been waiting for this third book forever. Can't wait for May!

What are you waiting on? Leave me a link so I can stop by!

Meme details: Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine. Thanks for hosting! Don't forget to stop by and share your pick.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Red Rising Release Day Blast & Giveaway




RED RISING by Pierce Brown
Published by Del Rey – Random House
Hardcover: 978-0-345-53978-6
Ebook: 978-0-345-53979-3 

See what all the buzz is about on Goodreads 


“Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow.”—Scott Sigler


Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.


But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.


Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.


Buy a copy of Red Rising:




About Pierce Brown 

Pierce Brown spent his childhood building forts and setting traps for cousins in the woods of six states and the deserts of two. Graduating from college in 2010, he fancied the idea of continuing his studies at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a magical bone in his body. So while trying to make it as a writer, he worked as a manager of social media at a startup tech company, toiled as a peon on the Disney lot at ABC Studios, did his time as an NBC page, and gave sleep deprivation a new meaning during his stint as an aide on a U.S. Senate campaign. Now he lives Los Angeles, where he scribbles tales of spaceships, wizards, ghouls, and most things old or bizarre. 

Connect with Pierce 


Check out a livechat with Red Rising author, Pierce Brown, on Thursday. 
You can check out the event here: http://shindig.com/event/redrising


Flash Giveaway!
US Only
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Teaser Tuesday - January 28th

My teaser this weeks comes from
Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning






It's not going to kill me. At least not today. I guess I amuse.

It will only make me wish I was dead, and, hey---I know that feeling. Been walking around with it for a while.
 
~Shadowfever - 21%









Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading
Leave me a link to your teasers. I'd love to read them!
Monday, January 27, 2014

Top 5 List & Giveaway with Jaime Rush - Magic Possessed Blog Tour


Jaime Rush is here today to talk swoonworthy fictional men!


 Top 5 Swoonworthy Fictional Men

Ichabod Crane – Sleepy Hollow TV series

Dean and Sam Winchester – Supernatural TV series (two in one!)

Jamie Frasier – Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Curran – Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews

___________________________

About Jaime Rush:

Things that go bump in the night have always fascinated Jaime Rush. Sometimes those things are human; other times, not so much. Now she has twisted them all together in the Hidden, a trilogy about humans with the essence of gods who walk the knife's edge between the glamour of Miami and a place filled with dark magick and dangerous beauty.

Jaime is the author of the Offspring series and also writes under the name Tina Wainscott. She is the bestselling author of eighteen romance novels. She lives in Southwest Florida with her husband, daughter, and cat. 

Find her on the web:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

__________________________
 

MAGIC POSSESSED, The Hidden Book #2 
(January 28, 2014; Forever Mass Market; $8.00)
 
They are the Hidden.
  Not quite human. Far from normal. 
  And never, ever safe . . . 
 
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
 
Her brother was mysteriously murdered with no witnesses, clues-or motives. Yet Violet Castanega knows he won't be the last to die unless she seeks help. But the Hidden's law enforcement won't come to the aid of her rowdy dragon clan, and the only person who will listen to her is one tough cop. Violet has tangled with him before, and it got rough. This time, it's getting hot . . .

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
 
Powerful Guard member Kade Kavanaugh has been ordered to take out Violet Castanega. While assassination orders don't come with explanations, his instincts scream that killing the feisty beauty is wrong. Now Kade must put his career, not to mention his life, on the line to save her. But as the passion-and the danger-heat up between Kade and Violet, can they survive the darkest magick of all?
 
 


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Friday, January 24, 2014

Top 5 List & Giveaway with Kate Meader - Feel the Heat Blog Tour






Kate Meader is stopping by the blog today to talk hot men in books. 

__________________________________





Too many fictional boyfriends, not enough time. How about a few from my reading over this past year?











1.  Rowdy Yates from Getting Rowdy by Lori Foster.

With his sketchy past, and his penchant for hitting first and asking questions later, Rowdy is a great protective alpha. And the cover for this book is perfection.

2.   Flynn from Willing Victim by Cara McKenna.

Construction worker-boxer with a taste for rough role-playing, and while we never get inside his head, McKenna lays it all out there. A Boston bruiser I wouldn’t mind meeting in a dark alley. (I’m working on my own boxer hero for my next series. He’s also a firefighter. And a former gang member. Just sayin’.) 

3.   Hardy Cates from Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas.

Rich, Texan, from the wrong side of the tracks, and so caring of the heroine. LK writes the caretaker alpha so well, and Hardy is my favorite of her heroes.

4.  Joey Miller from Collision Course by K.A. Mitchell.

This is an M/M romance and while some people probably prefer the brooding Aaron of this pairing, I love, love, love the manipulative, puppy-eyed, totally grounded Joey. A surfing social worker, he’s the perfect match for a guy who’s been screwed over by the social services system.

5.  Lord Vere from His at Night by Sherry Thomas.

He’s a secret agent posing as a society idiot! What’s not to love?

  

About Kate Meader:
 
Kate Meader writes contemporary romance that serves up delicious food, sexy heroes, and heroines with a dash of sass. Originally from Ireland, she now makes her home in Chicago, a city made for food, romance, and laughter—and where she met her own sexy hero. When not writing about men who cook and the women who drool over them, she works in an academic library. Visit her website athttp://katemeader.com and follow her on Twitter @kittymeader

 

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT . . .

Photographer Lili DeLuca spends all her time working at her family's Italian restaurant, instead of following her dream of getting an MFA. When famous British chef Jack Kilroy unexpectedly challenges her father to a cook-off, Lili decides she's tired of playing it safe and vows to seduce the tempting Brit. But once a video of her and Jack kissing goes viral and her luscious (if voluptuous) butt starts trending on Twitter, Lili fears she's cooked up a recipe for disaster . . . 

Jack Kilroy's celebrity has left him feeling used and used up. While Lili's oh-so-sexy moans when she tastes his delicious creations turn him on, he's even more aroused by how this beautiful, funny woman is unimpressed by his fame. He knows they could be amazing together, if she could only see past his rabid-bitch, fork-wielding fan base. Now as he's about to start a new prime time TV cooking show, can Jack convince Lili to realize her own ambitions-and turn up the heat in his kitchen?
 
Buy a copy of Feel The Heat
 B&N



 

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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Forever Young Blog Tour - Excerpts & Giveaway







Things Paige Morrison will never understand about Mirabelle, Florida:
 

Why wearing red shoes makes a girl a harlot Why a shop would ever sell something called "buck urine" Why everywhere she goes, she runs into sexy-and infuriating-Brendan King
 

After losing her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend, Paige has no choice but to leave Philadelphia and move in with her retired parents. For an artsy outsider like Paige, finding her place in the tightly knit town isn't easy-until she meets Brendan, the hot mechanic who's interested in much more than Paige's car. In no time at all, Brendan helps Paige find a new job, new friends, and a happiness she wasn't sure she'd ever feel again. With Brendan by her side, Paige finally feels like she can call Mirabelle home. But when a new bombshell drops, will the couple survive, or will their love come undone?




Excerpt:

 
When Brendan pulled into the shade of the park he saw Paige sitting on top of a picnic table. She was staring down at the screen of her camera, biting the corner of her lip. She looked up at the tree and then back down to her camera, shaking her head. Brendan pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head, grabbed his loot, and got out of his truck. When he slammed the door shut she looked over at him. She turned her camera off and shoved it into a bag that was on the table. 

“Hey,” she said, standing up and brushing the back of her orange dress down before she started walked toward him. 

“Hi,” he said, walking past her and sitting down on top of the picnic table. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, spinning around and looking at him. “My Jeep’s over there.” 

“Yes,” he said, grabbing a Coke and popping the top. “But lunch is over here.” 

“I thought you were going to change my flat,” she said, frowning. 

“I am, after I eat lunch. Care to join me?” he asked, patting the empty space next to him. 

“You’re serious?” 

“Paige, it’s almost one o’clock, so I’m going to eat. You can either stand there and watch me, or you can split this Cajun turkey sandwich that my grandmother made,” he said, taking the sandwich out of the bag. 

She shook her head and smiled. 

“You, Brendan King, are a whole mess of trouble,” she said, walking over to the bench and sitting down next to him. 

“Good choice,” he said, taking his half out of the bag and handing her the other half. “What are you doing out here?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

“Taking pictures.” 
 
“For?” 

“The tribute program that Mr. Adams wants to start using during the memorial services. He wants to use local pictures instead of the stock pictures that are already in the program.” 

“That sounds like it’s right up your alley.” 

“It is actually,” she said, reaching for the other can of soda and popping the top. 

“Don’t sound so surprised.” 

“Why? That I could actually fit in around here? It does surprise me.” 

“Why?” 

“I’m not used to this whole small-town thing, where everybody knows everybody and their business.” 

“Yeah, that’s one of the things about small towns that sucks,” he said, opening a bag of chips and holding it out for her. 

“You can say that again,” she said, reaching for a chip. “Why don’t you have oil stains on your hands? I thought all mechanics had oil stains.” 

“I wear gloves,” he said, grabbing a few chips for himself and popping them into his mouth. 

“Right.” She glanced down and frowned, reaching out for his arm. 

“The tree,” she whispered, grabbing his elbow and pushing up the sleeve of his shirt. Her soft, delicate fingers lightly traced the lines of his tattoo. It took only one simple touch from her for him to completely lose his mind again. 

“I knew I’d seen it somewhere.” She looked up to the oak tree in front of them and then back down to his arm. “Why do you have that tree tattooed on your arm?” she asked, looking up at him. 

She must have seen the heated look in his eyes because she let go of him and started blushing. 

“Sorry, I just … yesterday when I’d been looking at your tattoo, it just sort of fascinated me, and … and it’s that tree,” she said, pointing to the tree in front of them. 

“It is.” He cleared his throat and finished his sandwich. He grabbed an orange from the bag on the table and started peeling it. “My mom loved that tree,” he said, looking up at it for a second. “She would bring me and Grace here all the time.” 

“Loved?” Paige asked. 

“She died,” he said, turning to look at her. “Twelve years ago from breast cancer.” 

“Oh God, Brendan. I’m so sorry.” 

“I am too. She was a great woman. Grams still can’t talk about her without losing it.” 

“Wait, your mom was Lula Mae and Oliver’s daughter?” she asked, confused. 

“Yeah,” he said, looking over at her. “I know a little bit about being the center of town talk too. My dad walked out on us before I was born, and Grace’s dad, well, no one knows who Grace’s dad is. My mom wouldn’t tell anybody. That was a source of gossip for years,” he said, handing her half of the peeled orange. 
 
The orange was still cold from being in the refrigerator. Brendan stuck a slice in his mouth, the juice bursting across his tongue. Paige sat next to him in silence, eating her half. 

“How do you do it?” she asked, looking at him. 

“Do what?” 

“Accept stuff like that? Move on? I lost my job, my apartment, and my boyfriend all within a span of two months and I thought that everything was falling down around me. But you? God, Brendan, you had a girlfriend run off with another man, your dad abandoned you, and your mom she …” Paige trailed off. She looked down at her empty hands shaking her head. “You make my problems look trivial.” 

“Paige,” he said, edging closer to her and pressing his thigh against hers. 

She looked at him, her hair falling in her eyes. He reached out and pushed it behind her ear, letting his fingers trail down to her chin. 

“That stuff happened over a long span of time, and I’ve had years to deal with it. You had to deal with a lot over a very short amount of time, and it didn’t happen so long ago. It isn’t trivial,” he said, rubbing his thumb across her jaw. “One day, you’ll wake up and it won’t hurt as bad. You’ll be able to move on.” 

“I think I had that breakthrough a week ago,” she whispered, her eyes dipping to his mouth before they came back up to his eyes. 

“Really?” He smiled, moving in closer. “And what was the catalyst for that development?” he asked, moving his hand to the back of her head, his fingers tunneling in her hair. 

“A cracked radiator,” she said, putting her palms on his chest. 

He brought her mouth to his. She parted her lips and when his tongue touched hers he lost himself. She tasted like oranges, like the sweetest freaking oranges that he’d ever eaten. He wrapped his free arm around her back, pulling her into his chest as he slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. One of her hands was in his hair, her nails racking the back of his head. 

Brendan pulled back and looked at her, both of them breathing hard. He was still holding her face in one of his hands as he ran his thumb across her lower lip. 

“That was …” He couldn’t even find the words to describe exactly what it was. 

“Yeah.” She looked at him, dazed as she fisted her hand tighter in his shirt and pulled him back to her. And then they were off again and neither of them had any desire to come back up for air for a long time. 

Buy a copy of Undone:


____________________


A biker. A tattoo artist. A love to last a lifetime.

Maddox Cross has always had to be tough. When his father went to jail for murder, the teenager took care of his sister and mother. Now on his own and working security at a night club, Maddox wants to become a tattoo artist-a dream that comes closer to reality when he falls for the hottest, most tatted woman he's ever seen. She's wild and beautiful, and Maddox will do anything to be with her.

Bee Malone came to town to open up her new tattoo parlor, Masquerade. Since being kidnapped as a young girl, Bee has had trouble getting close to anyone. But when she meets Maddox, she sees that under his hard biker's body is the sensitive soul of an artist. What starts out as a sizzling one-night stand soon becomes so much more.

Bee wants Maddox to join her tattoo business, but letting him into her life means revealing all her most intimate secrets. And as the past begins to intertwine with her present, Bee fears their love may not be as permanent as their ink . . . 

 
Excerpt:


“Did you bring any drawings?” Bee sits at the chair behind a desk. 

I hand her a book, but the second I do, I want to snatch it back. It’s always like that showing someone my work, even though I know it’s good. “That’s just one I had with me. I have more at home.” 

She doesn’t answer as she starts flipping through the pages. After a couple minutes of watching her study each page, I start to get jittery. Feel like she’s looking inside me instead of at some pages, so to distract myself, I move around the room, taking in pictures of her work and other tattoos on the walls. 

She looks at the book for what seems like an hour before speaking. “These are good. They’re different. Your artwork has a unique style that I haven’t seen before.” 

I nod. 

“Why do you want to be a tattoo artist?” she asks. The question shows me how serious she is about what she does because no one has brought it up before. 

The urge to tell her it’s none of her business surges through me, but I want this badly enough to answer. “Because when I’m around it, I feel more like myself than I probably ever have.” 

A brief flash of shock shows on her face, but she covers it quickly. “Good. I won’t screw around with someone who’s playing a game. This isn’t something you do to make a quick buck. Not if you’re working with me, at least. Did you get a chance to actually give anyone ink?” 

“No. The apprenticeship only lasted three months before he bailed.” 

Bee nods. “That’s good. I actually rather you have hardly any experience—that way I don’t have to train bad habits out of you.” 

“I’m not a dog.” 

“No one said you were. Chill out, Scratch.” 

I tense at the name, but before I can really say anything, she starts asking questions again. “Do you lean toward liking only black work or are you into color too?” 

Everything I have so far is only black, but as I look at her again, I see a variety of black and colorful work. “Depends. I don’t want to do only one or the other. I love work with shading too. I’ve seen some pieces that are really incredible just because of the shading.” 

She nods and I wonder if that was the right answer. 

“I’m not saying you don’t, but this is something you have to take seriously. There are a lot of dumb-asses out there who think it’s all fun, but it’s not. Stuff like being clean and safe is even more important than the picture you put into someone’s skin.” 

“That’s a given, isn’t it?” 

She grins. “You’d think, but it’s not always like that.” 

We’re both quiet after that. Bee glances down at my artwork again. “I’m surprised I even let you in here tonight. It’s important that you know that. I don’t take shit from people.”
One look at her and that’s obvious. Part of me didn’t expect her to open the door for me either. “I’m surprised I came, so that makes two of us.” When she looks up at me, I’m not sure how I feel about the way her eyes take me in. Don’t know what I think about the fact that we have shit in common or that her look is familiar to me. I give it myself. 

Bee stands, walks around to the front of the desk, and then leans on it. “If we do this, can we keep things from getting awkward?” 

My answer comes automatically. “I can if you can. It was one night. We don’t know each other and I’m never with someone more than once anyway.” I’ve shared this strange sort of honesty with her tonight that makes my body overheat. I want all the words back because they’re a part of me and I don’t want anyone to see who I am, but this is it. Saying these things to her is the only way to get what I want. 

“Now that you’ve asked your questions and realize this isn’t a game to me, I need to know if we’re doing this or not.” 

Silently she walks toward the door and opens it. I hold in the groan, pissed at myself for fucking this up again and even more pissed that she’s in control. 

Bee turns toward me, her blond hair messy from sleep, but it’s another thing she doesn’t care about. It doesn’t take away from how sexy she is either. 

“We’re doing this. Don’t make me regret it. Now I need to get some sleep and then we’ll talk tomorrow about a schedule.” 

I let out the breath trapped in my lungs. Thanks, echoes through my mind, but all that comes out is, “Cool. We’ll talk later.” Then I walk out the door. 

Instead of going home, I head to the high school. It’s such a dumb fucking thing to do, but like I’ve done other nights, I jump the fence and head to the football field. Sitting in the middle of it, I let my eyes trace over the whole thing, trying to remember the time this used to be important to me. And trying not to concentrate on the fact that even though I got something I want, something I need, I still want to take out the fucking world because of everything I’ve lost. 

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Luke Price's life has always been about order, control, and acting tough on the outside. For Luke, meaningless relationships are a distraction-a way to tune out the twisted memories of his childhood. He desperately wishes he could forget his past, but it haunts him no matter what he does.

Violet Hayes has had a rough life. When she was young, she was left with no family and the memory of her parents' unsolved murders. She grew up in foster homes, living with irresponsible parents, drugs, and neglect, and trying to fight the painful memories of the night her parents were taken from her. But it's hard to forget when she never got closure-and she can't stop dreaming about what happened that tragic night. To make it through life, she keeps her distance from everyone and never allows herself to feel anything.

Then Violet meets Luke. The two clash instantly, yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Although they fight it, they both start to open up and feel things they've never felt before. They discover just how similar they are. But they also discover something else: The past always catches up with you . . .


Excerpt:

 
“Maybe you should go get cleaned up first.” She runs her thumb down the side of my lip and the connection sends uninvited emotions coursing through my body. I have to clench my hands into fists, just to keep myself from grabbing her and crashing her lips against mine. 

She withdraws her hand and wipes her thumb and her finger together. “You have blood on your face and clothes.” 

I shrug, smothering the desire to jerk her hand back to me, rip her clothes off and bend her over the hood out of my truck. “I’m fine with looking like a man who just beat the shit out of someone, but if you’re too embarrassed to be seen with me, you can sit in the truck.” 

“ ‘A man who just beat the shit out of someone’?” she muses, stopping at the passenger door of my truck, her hand hovering above the handle of the car door. “Or a guy who just got his ass kicked?” 

I can’t tell if she’s toying with me or not, but it’s both irritating me and exciting me in ways I didn’t know were possible. Half the damn time I have no fucking clue whether she’s being serious or not. Being a control freak, this should send me running, yet it’s having the opposite effect when it comes to her. 

I decide to give her a taste of her own intense medicine, throw her off a little, regain the upper hand and hopefully scare her away. “Are you saying that I’m not tough?” I position myself in front of her, trying to get her to back up into the truck, but she stays still. “Or that I’m not a man?” 

“I’m not saying either,” she says with a fervent look in her eyes that nearly sends me soaring through the roof. The more intense I get the more excited she gets, which makes me want to get even more intense. “Although, I’m guessing that despite that fact, you’re still about to show me that you’re both of those things.” 

“Is that what you want me to do?” My voice comes out husky. This isn’t working out how I want, my plan of keeping her away backfiring on me. I take a step forward and then another, until I’m pretty much stepping on her feet. She still doesn’t back up and it frustrates me even more. “For me to show you how tough I am or how much of a man I am?” 

She presses her lips together, her gaze unwavering, eyelashes fluttering. “I don’t want anything from you, Luke. I’m just simply saying what’s in my head. And the longer you’re around me, the more you’ll realize this.” 

The longer I’m around her? Fuck. I reach a hand around the side of her and grab the door handle of the truck. “So you don’t think I’m tough?” I ask. 

“I think you want to show me how tough you are and how much of a man you can be,” she says. 

I put my other arm on the other side of her, so she’s pinned between my arms. Most girls in this position would back up into the door, but she stands firm, refusing to let me control her like I desperately want to. 

“And how would I show you?” I drop my voice to a husky growl, intentionally this time.

“I’m sure you have your ways,” she replies, her gaze flickering at my mouth as I lean forward and our bodies press together. 

It takes every ounce of strength not to seize hold of her hips and gently shove her back. Instead, I lean farther in, our lips inching closer. “I do have my ways…” I lick my lips and feel the sting of the cut. It reminds me of everything I just witnessed; with her, with me. I know if I kiss her it’ll more than likely lead to me jerking the door open and throwing her down on the truck seat, right here in broad daylight. I wouldn’t care who saw us. I never do. I’d just want to get this God damn need to regain control out of me, the need she’s putting in me. But then what would happen after it was all over? Would we go get tacos and come back to my dorm and hang out? Yeah, that doesn’t seem at all possible, but neither does screwing her and then bailing. I’m too far into her and I’m not sure how to get away or if I can get away at this point. 

I clench my hands into fists as I fight the urge to shut my eyes and kiss her until she can barely breathe. I feel weak the moment I flip up that handle and start to pull the door open because I’m choosing to feel the vile, pathetic feelings of my past—how I did things I didn’t want to do, how my mother messed with my head, how I had no control over my life. I was a puppet. I was weak. I don’t want to be that person ever again. 

I wait for Violet to move out of the way so I can get the door open, but she doesn’t budge and I’m the one who ends up stepping back, losing again. It’s an unsettling place I’ve arrived at and I don’t know what to do with it beside drink myself into a stupor and hammer my fist through anything that gets in my way. My body is actually shaking as my mind craves the burning, blissful taste of alcohol. 

“So where are we going to get tacos?” She sidesteps around me and hops in the truck, tucking her skirt in as she brings her legs into the truck. 

“You pick,” I say as I shut the door. 

She smiles a plain, fake smile, not even giving me the benefit of a real one. “It doesn’t matter to me,” she says as I climb into the cab. Then she kicks her feet up on the dash and flops her head back against the seat, looking as calm as can be. 

I have to wonder if she really means it. If nothing matters to her, and if she’s beginning to matter to me. 

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THE TRUTH WILL SET THEM FREE

Brayelle Bates has always been a force of nature. Even as a child, Bray's wild and carefree spirit intimidated everyone around her. The only person who's ever truly understood her is her best friend, Elias Kline. Though every fiber of her being wants to stay with Elias forever, Bray can't bear the thought of him discovering her agonizing history. She's done everything she can to keep him at arm's length, including moving away. But their undying bond was too strong a pull to deny, and Bray couldn't survive without him. Now she's back home with Elias, and things have never felt more right-until one night changes everything. 

Elias vowed never to be separated from Bray again. So when she decides to flee in a desperate attempt to escape her fate, Elias knows he must go with her. As the two try to make the most of their circumstance, taking up with a reckless group of new friends, Elias soon realizes there's a darkness driving Bray he can't ignore. Now in order to save her, he'll have to convince Bray to accept the consequences of their reality-even if it means losing her.


Excerpt:

When I made my way back to the top, I found Bray wasn’t sitting near the edge of the ridge where I had left her I moved farther out into the clearing with our blankets draped over one shoulder. 

“Bray?” I said, looking around. 

I brushed it off for a second, thinking she was probably just taking a piss behind a tree somewhere, and I set our blankets on the ground. 

But then I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

I walked quickly toward the edge and looked over. My heart started to bang against my rib cage. I peered down as far as my sight could penetrate the darkness, but took a step back upon realizing that if she had fallen there was no way I’d be able to see from way up here. 

She had to be somewhere around close by. She had to be. 

“Bray?” I called out again. “Where the hell did you go?” 

Still no answer. 

Panic set in quickly. I stood there as still and as quiet as I could for several long seconds in case she was coming through the woods, but I heard nothing. I arranged both hands around my mouth and shouted, “BRAY!” and my voice echoed through the wide-open space. But still nothing. I felt sick to my stomach. She wouldn’t have left like that way out here. And if she did, I would’ve seen her on the path coming down as I was making my way back up. 

I ran toward the tree line, searching for any sign of her, for another path she might have taken. I refused to believe that she had fallen off the edge. 

Just as I noticed another path through the woods that seemed to head south and I started to go toward it, I heard footfalls in the leaves. I didn’t wait to see if it was her, I ran blindly straight into the woods. A skinny branch slapped me across the forehead on my way, but I didn’t stop.

Bray and I nearly crashed into each other. 

“Shit, baby! Where the hell did you go? Scared the hell out of me!” I started to pull her into a hug, but something about her was off and I stopped. She didn’t respond or even raise her head to look at me. 

“Are you all right?” 

I took her hands into mine. Hers were shaking. Her whole body was shaking. 

I cupped her face in my palms and raised her head so that she’d look at me. She was crying, and something in her eyes…I couldn’t place it, but it haunted me. I wondered if she even knew I was standing right in front of her. Her hair was messy, with pieces of leaves stuck within a mass of strands. Dirt was smeared across her left cheek. She looked like she’d been in a fight. 

I touched her split lip, where a thin line of blood glistened near the corner. “Bray, you’re scaring me. What happened to you?” I shook her gently and then more aggressively when she still didn’t respond. “What happened? Talk to me!” 

Her lips trembled and more tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. And then as if a floodgate had been opened, she started screaming through her tears, “It was my fault! Elias! Oh my God!” 

“What happened?” I roared, scared for her and for myself, my heart about to burst through my chest. 

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