My brother’s teammates know not to touch me—but that doesn’t stop me from daring Jaxson Brittain to be the first to break the rule.
After one steamy night in Austin, I’m all too aware of the hot, broody defenseman with icy blue eyes and ink sprawling his muscular arms. He was the one my brother assigned to keep me safe—and I had far too much fun tempting him to be the one to put me in danger.
It was just one night of tip-toeing the line, of teasing and flirting and messing around knowing nothing would ever come of it.
But when the universe throws me back into his lap two weeks later and we end up on a secret road trip together, all bets are off.
I can’t help but touch him. I can’t help but pray for him to touch me. And I can’t resist the temptation to test him at every turn.
Jaxson is smart and doesn’t have a death wish. So, like a gentleman, he keeps his hands to himself… the jerk.
But the closer we get on the road and the farther we get from reality, the less those warning signs from my brother seem to deter him.
When we started this road trip, we set a boundary. We promised to keep all arms and legs safely in the friend zone.
Now, miles and miles away from all the reasons we shouldn’t, all I can hear is my heart thumping out the resounding reason we should.
And the way those heated blue eyes watch me, I know I’m not the only one.
___________________________________________
TROPES: Pro Hockey Romance Teammate’s Little Sister/Brother’s Best Friend Road Trip Forced Proximity One Bed Age Gap Opposites Attract Forbidden ___________________________________________
Watch Your Mouth is book two in the Kings of the Ice series: a series of interconnected standalones following a team of professional hockey players and the women who bring them to their knees. They do not need to be read in order, but you will gain glimpses of future characters/couples in each book.
Kandi Steiner is an Amazon Top 5 bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.
An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. She started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.”
She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.
When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, planning her next adventure, or pole dancing (yes, you read that right). She enjoys live music, traveling, playing with her fur babies and soaking up the sweetness of life.
Kandi Steiner may be coming to a city near you! Check out her “events” tab to see all the signings she’s attending in the near future: www.kandisteiner.com/events
Raised in Hell. Living in Buffalo. And on the verge of accidentally destroying both realms…
Dark angel and actuary Evangeline Thayer hates taking unnecessary risks, but she knows becoming human will be worth it. All the creatures in Hell have bullied her about her negligible ‘power’ her whole life. And don’t get her started on why she has wings if she can’t even fly?!? She just needs a teensy bit of help with removing her power…which is where a very hot, very flirty, and absolutely infuriating Nephilim comes in.
Half-angel Gideon Durand has been fighting demons a long time, but he’s never heard of a dark angel. Least of all one this gorgeous, stubborn, and with the power to completely nullify evil. Maybe in Hell, that’s a weakness—but with an unknown evil on the loose and murdering Nephilim?—that’s a damned useful skill. So Gideon strikes a deal with Evangeline: he’ll scratch her wings…if she’ll scratch his.
Now good and evil are—temporarily—working together. And might even be having steamy fun…if it wasn’t for a rather inconvenient threat trying to unleash the apocalypse, once and for all.
Each book in the Unlocking His Heart series is STANDALONE: * Imperfect Angel * Hell of an Angel
*****
Review:
This book is said to be a standalone and I’ll have to disagree. While it is an individual romance for Gideon and Eva, and she does have her own adventure as the main plot of the story, it does directly tie into Maisy & Rhys from the first book and will be a part of the next story as well. As an interconnected book, readers should not start here to truly enjoy it. (I think that will help with a decent amount of the negative reviews.)
As a returning reader, I enjoyed getting to continue in this intriguing world that Barth has created – full of mythical creatures and a battle between good & evil. Her three heroes are great together, thru a shared traumatic past they have created a family. One that is slowly expanding as they meet and fall in love with strong women. It’s fun seeing these big, tough soldiers fall in love and learn to open up & share their lives with more than just each other.
Of the three, Gideon is the more outgoing and flirty. He’s working his way through the female population of both the normal and supernatural world … until he comes face to face with one that is not impressed by his charm. Some are not going to enjoy his attitude, but having gotten to know him before and then having his history laid out in this story it definitely becomes a lot more understandable.
Eva grew up as an entity of good in hell, which made her childhood … difficult. All she’s wanted is to get out and become normal, and now is her chance. She just needs to work with Gideon and the other Nephilim but something more is going on than they would ever have guessed. Add in an unwanted attraction to the playboy she’s been paired with, who has more going on than she would have ever guessed, and things quickly become very complicated
These guys have not had it easy (especially Zavier – and I cannot wait for his story!) but they still have big hearts and a deep seated need to protect. It makes for fun interactions as they start to realize that those big hearts have been stolen by spunky women with smarts, attitude, and guts. (Seriously, I cannot wait to get the last book!) It all happens in a world filled with angels & demons, mythical creatures, and Lucifer as the most fabulous, and proud, grandfather. I’m not 100% on my religion & mythology but I think that Barth does a good job of creating a complicated world full of all sorts of interesting creatures. And I can’t wait to see how she wraps it up. (Did I say that already? Well, I can’t.)
Businesswoman Erianne Mitchell falls hard for entrepreneur Ty Mosby and they quickly get engaged. But their whirlwind romance ends quickly when he gets faulty information that she betrayed him in business. They part ways, leaving both heart-broken, confused, and Erianne secretly pregnant, not to mention blacklisted for every company in town.
Erianne has to start over and she goes to Wyoming to care for her growing child. Even though furious that Ty didn’t believe in her, she can’t help missing the man she loves. She builds a life with her child and by cleaning houses.
By accident, as she’s rushing to the doctor with her baby, she and Ty see each other. He knows she never deceived him, but can ever get Erianne to trust him again?
Ty Mosby was bored out of his mind. He could have been home with his sister, Annie, watching that dragon drama on cable. Even that would be better than this stupid office party with two women drooling over him. One was recently divorced. The other was married. Women!
He turned around and almost fell over Erianne Mitchell. Well, her name was Erianne. Nobody called her that. She was just Erin to Ty and his sister, Annie. He glowered at her.
“It’s not my fault that you’re gorgeous,” she teased. “Mary over there has forgotten her ex-husband in her fever to get you into a dark room. And Henrietta—” she nodded toward a gan- gly woman with wild dark hair who was sighing into her drink as she studied him over it “—hasn’t given her husband a thought all night. Just as well,” she added under her breath, “because he’s running around with the Tarver woman.”
“What are you, the town crier?” he chided.
“It’s a nasty job, but somebody has to do it,” she replied with sparkling gray eyes. She laughed and half turned away, her dark hair in an elegant chignon at the back of her neck. “And there’s
Grace. Didn’t you date her last year?”
“Oh, God,” he groaned.
“There, there, she hasn’t noticed you. She’s too busy trying to get Danny Barnes to notice her. He just inherited his grandfather’s ranch over in Comanche Wells.”
“I’ve had my fill of social climbers,” he muttered. He was giving her the once-over with black eyes. “On the other hand, there’s you.”
“Oh, don’t be absurd, I’m not your type,” she murmured, her mind on something else altogether. It was a lie. She’d loved him forever, but Ty couldn’t see her for dust. And why should he? She was plain compared to the women who chased him. He was absolutely gorgeous. He had jet-black hair and black eyes, and light olive skin that made him look even more gorgeous in that spotless white shirt he was wearing with his dinner jacket and slacks. No wonder women drooled over him. Erin had drooled over him for years and hid it so carefully that not even his sister realized it.
“Why not?” he asked, really curious.
“I don’t run around with men.”
He blinked. “You run around with women?”
“I don’t run around period.”
“You’re what, now, twenty-five? You’d better run around with somebody or you’re going to get left behind.”
“You’re thirty-one and you’re already left behind. Besides, I work for you,” she added. “I don’t get involved with people that I work for.”
“We could make an exception,” he pointed out.
She glared at him. “Tyson Regan Mosby,” she said, exasperated. “If you keep this up, I’m calling Annie.”
“God forbid!” he groaned.
“She loves you. She’ll protect you from predatory females.”
“I’ll give you a great job recommendation if you’ll find my sister a husband,” he coaxed.
“Annie doesn’t want to get married yet,” she said. “Any more than you do. And I don’t need a job recommendation unless you have in mind firing me tonight.”
He made a face. “I don’t have enough people as it is. Other San Antonio businesses keep luring our best people away. Even the ones I fire.” He didn’t like firing people, but he sometimes had to. Even though his company was headquartered in San Antonio, people from Jacobsville worked for it. Mosby Construction Company had grown under Ty’s management. He’d taken a little construction company owned by his father and built it into a major contender. He had a degree in architecture. He loved to build things.
He had inherited wealth, he and Annie, and he didn’t really need to work. But he loved his job. And San Antonio was the best place for his company headquarters, although he and Annie still lived in Jacobsville. Ty and Annie were direct descendants of the town’s founder, Big John Jacobs, who’d talked his father-in-law into putting a a railroad through Jacobsville and built it into a cattle shipping center in south Texas back in the nineteenth century.
“Well, isn’t that just like you,” she said, exasperated. “I brought you a brand new human resources manager just last week!”
“He drinks vodka,” he said irritably. “I don’t trust men who drink vodka.”
“How do you know what he drinks?” she asked.
“I asked him.”
“Oh.”
“What are you looking for?” he probed.
“Clarence.”
“Excuse me?”
“Clarence Hodges,” she muttered, peering over a nearby woman’s shoulder. “He’s like my personal devil. I can’t turn around at a party without running into him.”
He didn’t like that, but he hid it. “What does he want?”
She looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “He wants me!”
“Why?”
She really rolled her eyes. “Annie needs to get you a book or something about human relationships.”
He grinned. “I think I can figure those out without self-help diagrams.”
“Can you, now?” she murmured absently, still looking for Clarence.
He’d known her for years. She was as familiar to him as her best friend, his only sibling, Annie. She’d spent weekends with them all through high school and through community college, where Erin got an associate’s degree in business education. She was great at cost estimates, which was her position in the company. She had a brilliant mind for math. She could do most anything on a computer, even rework spreadsheet programs that he used in his construction company. She was his right arm at work, perfectly capable of standing in for him at meetings because she knew the business inside out. Of course, why wouldn’t she, when she’d worked there part-time through high school and full-time during and after college. He trusted her. Well, on a professional basis. He wasn’t keen on thinking about anything more personal. Erin was standoffish. Once, just once, he’d teased her about going dancing with him and she’d mumbled something noncommital and shot out of the room.
He’d never admit it, of course, but it had bruised his ego. Erin wasn’t beautiful. She had pleasant features. Nice mouth, pretty complexion, gorgeous figure, sparkling eyes. But she dressed like an old woman most of the time, and she never seemed to date anyone. He’d wondered why. He’d even asked Annie, but all he got was a blank look and a smile.
He studied Erin while she looked around for the man she dreaded seeing. It wasn’t so much how she looked that made her attractive, he decided finally; it was her personality. She was warm and friendly to most people, outrageously funny around friends, and she loved animals. That last thing was important to him, because he bred and trained purebred German shepherds.
His dogs were like part of the family. They lived inside with him and Annie in their huge inherited mansion in Jacobsville, Texas. The puppies, when he bred them, had their own room and a caretaker who watched over them and kept their living quarters spic and span and odorless. He rarely had more than one litter a year and by a different female each year, from an outside stud male. No interbreeding at all, because it invited birth defects. He loved the pups when they came and had to be persuaded to give them up for adoption. Even so, he actually ran background checks on potential adopters, right down to requiring photographs of their yards and the pup’s living quarters. He was protective.
A recent adopter had taken a leather strap to his puppy when it made a mess on the carpet, and a neighbor had seen and heard what was going on. She’d promptly phoned Annie, who told Ty. He’d gone to the owner’s house that very day, accompanied by police chief Cash Grier and the local vet, Dr. Bentley Rydel, along with a search warrant that would give them access to the dog in question.
To say that the man was shocked was an understatement. He hemmed and hawed and tried to weasel them out of looking at the dog. Cash Grier glared at him. That was all it took.
Most everybody was scared of the town’s police chief, who was nice enough at public gatherings, but hell on lawbreakers of any kind. Cash loved animals as much as the vet and Ty.
The owner was forced to give them access to the puppy, which had been locked in a closet with bloody marks on its back.
Ty had slugged the man before his companions could react. He picked the pup up, gently, and after Cash took photos to document the abuse, walked out the door with Bently Rydel, to end up at his office where the poor little morsel was treated and sent home after an antibiotic shot and stitches. Cash had promptly arrested the owner. The pup’s owner went on trial, was convicted and sentenced to jail. Nobody in Jacobsville liked a dog beater. The jury had only deliberated for ten minutes, despite the harried public defender’s best efforts. All the District Attorney, Blake Kemp, had to do was put up a poster-sized photo of the abused puppy for the jury and the audience to see. It had drawn gasps and the pup’s owner had looked around at glares that felt like burns on his skin.
“What’s the matter with you?” Erin asked, glancing at his taut face.
“Puppy beaters,” he muttered.
Her expression softened. “The man got what he deserved. How is Beauregard, by the way?” she added.
He smiled. “He still whimpers in his sleep. I keep him with me at night. Rhodes isn’t enthusiastic about it, but I think he senses that the puppy needs to be spoiled for a few weeks.
Actually,” he added on a chuckle, “it’s Rhodes’s bed that they sleep in, curled up together. For an old dog, Rhodes is amazingly sweet.”
“You’ve had him a long time,” she remarked.
He nodded. “Thirteen years. I worry about him. Big dogs don’t have the life span that smaller ones do.”
“Rhodes is practically immortal,” she replied with a smile. “He’s pampered.”
“I guess so. Dad gave him to me as a Christmas present the year I graduated high school.”
“I remember your parents. They were so sweet,” she added. “Your mother and mine were best friends.”
“Hell of a shame, what happened,” he said stiffly.
She nodded. “It’s a rare thing, to have a tour bus go off the road and crash down a ravine. But those mountain roads in South America can be treacherous. Your parents were so much in love,” she added quietly. “It’s hard to imagine one going on without the other.”
“That’s what Annie and I thought,” he replied. “But it’s damned tough, losing them both at once.”
“I remember. At least you were both grown at the time,” she added softly.
He drew in a breath. “Didn’t help much,” he muttered.
“For what it’s worth, I know how it is. It was hard for Dad and me to go on, after we lost Mom.”
“Your mother had a hard life,” he said.
She sighed. “Yes. Dad’s hard to live with. He’s not mean or anything, he just makes stupid decisions and runs his mouth when he shouldn’t. Jack Dempsey won’t even speak to him.”
“That must hurt. They’re best friends.”
“They were,” she said sadly. “Dad was repeating some gossip that he’d heard about Jack’s wife running around on him. It got exaggerated, by Dad,” she muttered, “and Jack’s wife divorced him. It wasn’t even true. My father has a gift for saying things without thinking first.”
“A lot of people are like that.”
She grimaced. “I wish they’d had more kids than just me,” she confessed, looking up at him. “It would be easier to manage Dad if I had brothers and sisters to share the misery.”
He chuckled. “You do pretty good.”
She shrugged. “I could do better. I’d have to take away his phone though.”
His eyebrows arched.
“This guy called dad and said he could save ten dollars a month if he switched our long distance to their company. Dad said great, let’s do it. So I tried to phone one of our colleagues at home in Dallas last weekend and got told that we didn’t have long distance anymore. It was a scam. Dad had no idea what he’d done. I tried not to yell,” she added on a laugh. “Honestly, he’s like a little kid sometimes. Ten dollars a month.” She shook her head.
“My mother was like that,” he reminded her. “She got a call telling her the sheriff was coming over to arrest her for a bill she hadn’t paid. The man asked for pre-paid gift cards to save her from jail. She was halfway out the door on her way to town when I stopped her to ask what was wrong. Sadly for him, the scammer was still on her phone talking her through the process.”
She grinned. “I’ll bet his ears are still burning, wherever he is.”
“I imagine so. I was really mad.”
“Do you still have that jar your mother made for you? The one you had to put money in for every bad word you used?”
He laughed. “Yes. It doesn’t get fed, but I’ve still got it.” His eyes were sad with the memory. “She wanted to be a missionary, but Dad came along. She’d lived on a budget for so long that she almost ran away when she saw how much he was worth.” That was true. Her father had inherited a lot of money from his late mother, but he squandered it all on get rich quick schemes. He was still doing that, albeit on a very small shoestring. Erin wore herself out trying to save him from himself.
“A unique woman,” Ty continued. “She really didn’t care about money at all.” He studied her quietly. “Sort of like you.”
She sighed. “I like being able to buy food and gas and pay bills. That’s what money’s good for. There are lots of things it won’t buy.”
He nodded.
“Besides that, I work for this terrific manager who gives me raises,” she added with twinkling gray eyes.
“I don’t have to think too hard to do that,” he said. “I know how hard you work.”
“I’m just grateful to have a job. The economy is pretty bad right now.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Even this company has to be careful. You’re working on that bid now, the one we hope will get us the job just outside San Antonio in Bexar County; a whole retirement complex. It’s worth millions.”
“You’ll get it,” she said with supreme confidence. “You really do know how to undercut the other bidders. And I know how to price out almost everything,” she said, not bragging, just making a statement. She was a good cost estimator.
“We can undercut most of the major bidders,” he corrected. “But I’ve heard that one of them is Jason Whitehall. He and his son Josh have one of the best construction companies around south Texas.”
“His son’s a dish,” she mused.
“And how would you know?” he asked.
“I ran into him at that conference you sent me to, in Dallas, month before last. He looks just like his dad. All three of them were there, Jason and Amanda and Josh.” She sighed. “They’re just beginning to get over losing Jason’s mother, Marguerite. She was a lovely lady. So kind.”
“You know a lot about them,” he said.
“Well, one of our clients was trying to retool his public image and Amanda still owns that PR firm, so she was there getting information from him. She’s very nice. We keep in touch on Facebook.”
“Don’t keep in touch too closely,” he cautioned with snapping black eyes. “They’re competitors.”
“As if I’d ever sell you out,” she said, exasperated, as she stared up at him. “Get real! Annie would have me for breakfast, smothered in jelly!”
He relaxed. “Okay. Just testing the waters.”
She ground her teeth together. “Oh, no.”
He followed her irritated glance and saw a short, rotund man with thinning hair and a big smile headed toward them.
“I told you so,” she moaned. “I’ll go hide in the rest room… Ty!”
His arm was around her waist and he smiled down at her shocked expression. “Don’t give the game away. Smile.”
She did, trying hard to disguise the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat as she felt the strength and heat of his powerful body, smelled the spicy, clean scent of him. She’d danced with him at parties, rarely, and it had been just as problematic, to keep her headlong feelings for him from showing.
He felt a shiver go through her and his brows drew together just for an instant. Surely she wasn’t afraid of him?
Then he felt her heart race where her small, firm breasts were pressed close against him, and odd feelings stirred. Her breath was coming too fast. She was trying to disguise it, but he knew more about women than he ever let on in public.
She stiffened and started to pull back, but his arm tightened.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked in a slow, deep tone.
“Noth…nothing,” she faltered.
“Lies,” he mused. “Here.” He handed her his drink. “Liquid courage. Take a sip and we’ll ward off your would-be suitor.”
She took the glass, sniffed it, and made a face. “It’s whiskey. I hate whiskey!”
“Take a sip. It works better than it smells. Trust me.”
She took a deep breath, held it, and forced about a teaspoon of the vile-smelling liquid into her mouth. She choked it down, catching her breath.
“You could fuel trucks with this,” she muttered as she handed it back.
“This is the very finest aged Scotch whiskey,” he defended. “And now I’ll know not to share my most precious substance with those same people you don’t cast pearls before!”
She glared at him. “I am not a swine!”
“No, you aren’t,” he agreed. He cocked his head and his black eyes twinkled. “But I’ll bet you taste almost as good as a barbequed one,” he added in a slow, soft tone as his eyes fell to her pretty, soft mouth.
She actually gasped and her heart ran wild.
“My, my, is that the whiskey or me?” he asked, his eyes dropping to the fluttering of her heart, very visible under the thin bodice of her pale blue cocktail dress.
“Don’t you stare at me like that,” she said indignantly.
“Like what?” he asked, amused.
“Oh, hi, Erin,” Clarence Hodges said as he joined them. He looked crestfallen when he noticed Ty’s arm around her. “I was hoping you might like to talk to me about having your company do a remodeling job on my new house…?”
She forced a smile. “I’m truly sorry, Clarence, but that isn’t the sort of project we do,” she said in a gentle but professional tone. “We do big projects. Shopping centers. Apartments. Housing complexes. That sort of thing.”
“It’s a big house,” he persisted.
“Erin’s right, we don’t do small projects,” Ty told him, and the irritation he was feeling was visible in the tautness of his unsmiling face. “Even if we did, we’re already overbooked. Sorry,” he added. But he didn’t look sorry. He looked oddly threatening.
Clarence swallowed. Hard. His face flushed. “I see. Well…” He smiled hopefully at Erin. “Maybe you might like to come over and have coffee with me one morning?”
Ty’s chin lifted. His black eyes narrowed. He glared at the smaller man.
Erin just smiled.
“Oh, there’s Billy Olstead,” he said, looking past Erin’s shoulder. “I need to talk to him about my mother’s new car. I’ll see you later,” he added to Erin and smiled again, nervously, as he made a beeline toward the newcomer.
“Thanks,” Erin said with a heavy release of breath. “He’s not a bad man, but he can be annoying.”
“Annie says he’s started calling you two or three times a week.”
“He does,” she agreed sadly. “I can’t make him understand that I just don’t feel that way about him. I’ve never done a single thing that he could construe as encouraging.”
“It wouldn’t help,” he replied. “Men like that don’t take hints. They think they’re irresistible and it only needs persistence to wear you down.”
“He’d need more persistence than he’s got,” she said flatly.
He pursed his lips. “You could go out with me.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
He shrugged. “You could go out with me. Jacobsville is small. It would get all around town in no time that we were dating. Clarence would hear it from everybody.” He chuckled. “Even Clarence wouldn’t be able to convince himself that he’d be any competition for me.”
“Well, yes, but…”
“But, what?” he asked quietly, and he looked down into her eyes until she flushed. Her heart was trying to get out of her chest now.
She couldn’t even find words. It was like having every dream of her life come true unexpectedly, and all at once. She was breathless, giddy. But it was insane to even think of doing it, of going out with him. The gossip would be terrible. It wouldn’t matter that the company where they worked was in San Antonio; too many employees lived in Jacobsville, where Ty and Erin lived. It would be all over town in no time. When he didn’t go out with her a second time, it would be even worse. People would start wondering what was wrong with her.
“I don’t think,” she began.
“Good. Don’t. Thinking is responsible for most of the misery on the planet. We can go dancing. There’s a Latin club up in San Antonio.”
He knew she could do Latin dances. He’d taught her how, for a high school date. How many years ago that seemed now!
“Well…”
Amazing. She was reluctant. He’d never had any woman try to refuse a date with him. It was intriguing, especially considering how fast her heart was going right now. She was attracted to him. Was it new? Or had she always been attracted, but kept it hidden? He wanted to find out.
“Live dangerously. A little gossip never hurt anybody,” he teased.
It did, but he wouldn’t know, not with his spotless reputation. Well, hers was spotless, too. So spotless that she didn’t want to risk staining it, however lightly.
“People will talk. A lot.”
He just smiled. “Your friends won’t care. What your enemies think won’t matter.”
“Yes, but I hate gossip.”
He cocked his head and smiled at her with those black eyes making sensual promises. “There’s a sushi place just down the block from the Latin club,” he said. “They have ebi.”
Ebi was her favorite sushi dish. It was so expensive that she couldn’t work it into her budget. Her father did contribute a little to the family kitty, but never enough. They lived frugally because he was a spendthrift. Ty didn’t know and it would kill her pride to confess it.
She loved sushi, especially ebi. She couldn’t afford it.
“You’re weakening. Think about it. Chilled shrimp with rice. Wasabe and soy sauce and pickled ginger to go on it…”
“Stop! You’re torturing me!”
He chuckled. “I love it, too. Come on. Say yes.”
She drew in a long breath. “Okay,” she blurted out, against her own best interests.
He grinned. “Okay.”
When she got home that night, she could have kicked herself for agreeing.
Her father was watching television. A movie on DVD. They couldn’t afford cable or satellite. The only reason she had a high-end cell phone was that the company provided it for her, along with a company car. These would have been luxuries, even on her good salary.
“I’m home,” she said.
“Hi.” He grinned at her while the commercial was on. “Had fun?”
“It was a business party,” she reminded him.
“Easy enough to have fun and do business. Speaking of business, I saw this commercial on TV about how to invest in the stock market by doing day-trading…”
“No.”
“Now, Erin…”
“No,” she repeated. “We’re still paying off that course you took learning how to sell real estate,” she added pointedly.
He grimaced. “I didn’t know I was a bad salesman until I tried it.”
“Well, trying things is what got us into this financial mess, Dad,” she said, sitting down across from him. “I’m making a good salary. If we live on a budget, we can make it, just. But there’s no extra money. None at all. I can’t work two jobs.”
He studied her with the face of a child. “But it’s only two hundred dollars, this course, I mean.”
“I don’t have two hundred dollars. Not even in savings. That went to the online gambling website you found,” she added, trying not to sound as accusing as she felt.
He grimaced. “I guess I’m not as good a gambler as I thought, either. But, listen, this course,” he began again.
“I can get an apartment of my own and move out,” she said flatly.
He gasped. “Erin, no!”
“I can’t live with the way you spend money, Dad. Either you stop trying to spend it on things we don’t need, or I’m bailing out.” She felt a hundred years old. “I can’t keep bailing you out. We already owe more than I make in a year. I’m just one person.”
“I do help out,” he said stiffly.
“You do odd jobs and you spend what you make as soon as you get it,” she replied.
He flushed. He couldn’t deny that.
“I’ll try to restrain myself. I will.” He smiled. “But the man said that this course is foolproof.”
She ground her teeth together as she got up. “I’m going to bed.”
“If you’d just listen,” he said sadly.
She turned. “I’ve listened since Mom died,” she said. “And every single thing you’ve spent money on has cost us money without returning any. I’m so tired of debt, can’t you understand that? I’m being crushed by the weight of it, worried to death about it, and you just can’t seem to see what it’s doing to me.”
He blinked. He shifted uneasily in his chair. “I’ll do better next time. You’ll see.”
“Next time it had better be your own money that you’re betting,” she replied and toughened her stance. “Or I’m moving out.”
“You’re being unreasonable, Erin,” he retorted. “You don’t love me.”
“I do love you. And you’re the one being unreasonable. Good night.”
She went into her bedroom and closed the door, sick at heart. It was like trying to explain to a child. Her father had always lived in the clouds, but her mother had been able to manage him with supreme ease. Erin couldn’t.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life paying off his bills and then I’ll die,” she thought miserably. “I’ll never get away.”
Which was the one reason she could never let Ty Mosby see how she felt about him. Everybody knew her father kept them poor, but not how catastrophically. Ty would never be sure of her. Was she dating him because she cared for him or because he could pay off their debts.
It was an unrealistic thought, but she was almost panicked at the thought of dating Ty. She’d have to find some way to back out of it, a way that wouldn’t hurt his pride. All her life, her father had been a stone around her neck. Since her mother’s death, it had been much worse.
It would have helped if she had someone to talk to about it, but her only real friend was Annie, and she’d never be able to tell Annie the truth. It would just get back to Ty. Her pride wouldn’t take that.
She wanted that date with all her heart. It was just too risky. She was crazy about him. It might show. There were so many reasons that she didn’t dare let him see what she felt. Her father was the biggest one.
But there was another. Ty wasn’t a marrying man. He kept his liaisons very private, but he’d had relationships in the past. In a small town like this, they wouldn’t be able to hide one.
Erin had a spotless reputation. She wasn’t having it damaged to keep steady company with a man who only wanted one thing from a woman, and it wasn’t love.
So, better not to complicate her life any more than it was already complicated. Which left the problem of her father to solve, if it could be solved. She would never be free of him and his get-rich schemes that never paid off. She’d be in debt until she died.
She put on her gown and crawled gratefully under the covers. She’d think about it tomorrow, she told herself. Tonight, she was going to savor her memory of Ty’s arm around her, his deep voice sensuous as he teased her about going on a date.
It could never happen. But dreaming about it hurt nobody. Especially not Erin.
The prolific author of more than one hundred books, Diana Palmer got her start as a newspaper reporter. A New York Times bestselling author and voted one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.
From the New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster comes a funny, sexy romantic comedy featuring a twice-divorced, stressed-out romance writer who finds out that sometimes true love can be a hot mess.
Who buys a cottage in a New England fishing village on a whim? A stressed-out, twice-divorced romance writer and single mother looking for a fresh start, that’s who. Despite what my besties say about my three-year dry spell, I’m not looking for a man. Or drama. Or sex. I’ve got enough on my plate with writer’s block and a daughter who refuses to grow up. Community. That’s what I need. Unfortunately, it seems the universe has other ideas. Either Chatemup, Massachusetts, has a serious shortage of single women, or I’ve become a hot mess magnet for the male species.
At least I’ve found one funny, good-hearted friend: fish peddler Declan Miller, my brainstorming adventure buddy who stirs my creative juices. I’m his Writer Girl. He’s my Dimple Dude. Just scruffy, granite-chested, deep-voiced, ex-military brawn who happens to be—oh, Nicole, what are you doing to yourself?—stoking a long-neglected fire without even trying.
A self-confessed hot mess, divorced single dad Declan is too old for relationship games. Not interested. Same here. So why do I keep thinking about him? Preferably naked. Because I’m a hot mess, too? At least he’s inspiring me to write. If only real life were like one of my novels. At least then I’d have a better idea of how this was going to end.
Hot Mess Summer is published by Montlake Romance and will be available in paperback and audio formats at all book retailers, and exclusively in digital format for Kindle and Kindle apps. Download a free Kindle reading app here: http://bit.ly/FreeKindle_App1
I am always so happy to get my hands on a new book by Melissa Foster. Her characters are invariably engaging and her writing can turn something simple into a story that draws you in & won’t let go. The fact that this one focuses on an older hero and heroine, a couple that are grown but not done growing, is refreshing. And I was delighted by their journey from being new friends into more.
Both Declan and Nicole are moving into a new phase of their lives – figuring out where they fit with their friends and family, and learning what they want for themselves going forward. The way they do this together, going on delightful adventures, getting closer, and growing as people is just a fun read.
There’s very little drama and angst here, instead it’s a story about self discovery filled with delightful characters, humor, and small town charm. Oh, and a good amount of heat, of course.
*****
Author Info:
Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and new adult romance with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented–perfect beach reads for contemporary romance lovers who enjoy reading about wealthy heroes and smart, sassy heroines.
Romance between them is strictly off-limits, but forbidden attraction has never felt so irresistible…I’m playing a risky game…
I’m the brand new coach of the current Super Bowl Champions. If that isn’t hard enough, I’m also one of the youngest coaches in the league.
Coupled with a recently finalized divorce and the goal to take the team and the city of Nashville’s fans by storm, my ex throws me for a loop when she says she’s sending our daughter to me so she can take an extended three-month vacation.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my little girl more than anything but suddenly becoming a full-time single dad and the Steele’s new coach rocks the turf beneath my feet. I need some help and I need it fast.
Enter Ruby Moore.
The answer to my prayers. She’s looking for a new start, is great with kids and is the perfect set of eyes to watch my daughter when I’m not around.
The problem? I think she is perfect for me too.
The other problem? She’s not only my nanny, but she’s also the younger sister of a guy I’m tasked with leading. She’s way too young and sweet for me and the way she loves Amelia makes my heart melt. I don’t expect her perfume to remind me of lazy beach days and for her smiles to become a craving I can’t live without. But I can’t stop thinking about her. Fleeting glances turn into deeper conversations and even more carnal nights.
Soon, she’s a forbidden addiction I can’t quit.
I know I’m playing a Risky Game, but can I keep the woman I’ve fallen in love with, while still maintaining the respect of the team I’m trying to lead to another Championship?
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I’m back & forth on age gap romances and I’m not always sure what makes them work. I feel like Logan is right to be a little concerned about their relationship – mostly because of his connection to her brother and the bad optics. But Ruby is smart, with a good head on her shoulders. Her life up to this point hasn’t been all that easy and I feel like that helps her be more mature for her age.
I’m also a little conflicted on their steamy times. I mean, I’m not one to kink shame (and I’ll be honest for all the wide variety of spice I read, I’m personally pretty vanilla) but I think because there is such an emphasis on their age difference that it could also parlay into a power balance issue. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely HAWT and I love that they both have a chance to explore that side of themselves together. I just wonder a little about adding that to a story when there was already an imbalance in their relationship.
OK, so that’s the less than positive, but I will say overall I enjoyed the crap out of this book. Lynn does a fantastic job of giving us characters to pull for – Logan is struggling with his new, high-pressure job and trying to figure out how to take care of his daughter in his limited free time. It’s obvious that he loves Amelia but it’s a complication that he didn’t need right now. Throw in his growing desire for his new (young) nanny and it doesn’t take him long to crack. And crack beautifully he does 🙂 While I can worry about their dynamic in a real world situation, I can also find it hot as all get out in a fictional one . . . bossy, growly, and sexy, OH MY.
Ruby is running from a heartbreak back home and taking a little time to get her feet back under her. I can appreciate her need to do it on her own, especially with the wonderful relationship she has with her brother & his family. It would be super easy to let him fix it all. But that self-reliance has her in Logan’s sphere, which leads to new trouble as she struggles to connect with his daughter while also having to resist the oh-so-sexy single dad. (I’m impressed she lasts as long as she does, honestly.)
With her sassy mouth, independent personality, and the care she puts into winning over his daughter, it’s harder and harder for Logan to resist Ruby the more time they spend together. There’s the typical third act troubles, but I appreciate how both of them recognize the roll they play in it. And definitely take advantage of the opportunity to make up after a fight … *whew*
Steamy, humorous, and full of feels, Risky Game was a fast read and a great addition to the Nashville Steel series.
(Part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.)
*****
Author Info:
Stacey Lynn likes her coffee with a dash of sugar, her heroes with a side of bossy, and her wine a deep shade of red.
The author of over thirty romance novels, many of which have been best-selling titles on Amazon, AppleBooks, and Barnes & Noble, she loves being able to turn her vivid imagination into a career that brings entertainment and joy to her readers. Focused on sports romance and emotional, small-town romance, she also loves stretching herself in different genres.
Born in Texas and raised in the Midwest, she now makes her home in North Carolina and loves all things Southern. Together with her ultimate tall, dark, and handsome hero, she has four children. Her life is a chaotic mess that fights with her Type-A, list-making, neurotically organized preferences and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Merrick has the perfect life: a husband, a baby, and a great future ahead of him. Until all that is ripped away, and he’s left alone with his daughter. After two years, he knows it’s time to move on. To find a new life for him and Willow. It comes in the shape of a derelict mill house nestled in the hills above a Devon seaside town.
Drew
When Drew loses the chance to buy and restore the house he’s loved all his life, the last thing he wants to do is renovate it for the mysterious new resident. But something about Merrick Green intrigues him, and he feels compelled to lift the heaviness surrounding him. The fact that Merrick’s daughter seems to have taken an instant infatuation with Drew makes it easier.
As the two men become friends, Merrick battles with his attraction to Drew. How can he be interested in the ruggedly handsome when he’s still in love with Josh?
Letting go of the past is hard, but with Drew by his side, he finds a way forward.
Life After Loveis a sweet small-town, opposites-attract, hurt/comfort romance with low angst and a sweet little girl that everyone falls in love with.
Warning: The book deals with the loss of a loved one.
As I approach my truck, a man is looking at it. No, he’s taking a photograph. “Can I help you?” I put my toolbox into the open flat bed.
The man blushes and takes a step back. “Oh, is this your truck? I’m sorry. I wanted to get a photo of your contact details. I’m looking for a building contractor.”
He must be the latest resident in our small beachside town. The new owner of the Mill House. He’s incredibly good looking. I’d say around my age, thirty-five. About the same height as me at five eleven and has eyes the colour of soft, faded denim. His hair is short at the sides, but with honey-blond curls on top, which I envy. My hair is straight and long enough to tie up. I should get it cut. The amount of dust, plaster and sawdust is a bloody nightmare to wash out every night.
I pull a notebook out of the side pocket on my shorts and the pencil from behind my ear. “I’m sure I can do that for you. What sort of work?”
“Um, it’s pretty much everything. The house is a bit of a wreck. I’d hoped to do some of it myself, but I know that’s out of my abilities. I don’t know if it’s something you’re interested in doing?”
I get the feeling the guy is overloaded with things that need immediate action and has got himself lost in the process. “Why don’t you show me? I’ve got nothing else planned for the day.”
He lets out a sigh. “That would be so good. It’s Mill House. Do you know it?”
I smile. My suspicions this is the new guy were right. “I do. I was born and bred in this town. I can follow you there if you’d like?”
“Okay, thank you so much. See you in a few.”
I wait until he’s in his car, then start the engine on mine. His smart, new, not-cheap-at-all BMW is something else for the gossips to talk about. Handsome, single, and seemingly rich. Melanie will be waving her knickers on a pole in front of him in the blink of her false eyelashes.
The drive takes ten minutes, winding through the town and up parallel to the river that runs down to the sea. The Mill House still has the original water wheel. Although the river has been diverted away from the property, it’s still an impressive feature of the house.
I park next to him and climb out. He opens the back door of the coupé and lifts a small sleeping child from her seat. He wipes her hair, which is the same colour as his, from her forehead and kisses her gently. A sweet, loving moment that makes my heart swell. The obvious love for the child is in his every gesture and expression.
He turns to me. “This is my daughter, Willow. I’m Merrick Green.”
“I’m Drew Roberts, but you probably guessed that from the signage.”
“Oh, yes, well, it’s nice to meet you.” He’s flustered as he juggles the sleeping toddler to shake my hand.
He gestures with his head. “Welcome to my home. Or what will be my home. Come on in.”
I follow him up the stone steps to the solid oak door.
He pushes the door open. “It’s a bit of a mess. Please be careful where you walk.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.” I step in, holding back my smile. I used to come here a lot when I was a kid. It’s not as bad as I remembered.
I wait in the hallway as he places the sleeping child on a sheet partly covering an old mulberry velvet sofa that has been here forever.
“I haven’t been in here for years,” I say when Merrick walks back out.
Surprise flashes in his eyes. “You know the house?”
I chuckle. “Everyone who’s grown up here has played around in this house. Not that we were supposed to, but kids will be kids. School-leaving parties took place here, and teenagers just wanting to hang out would come here. It’s about time someone came and loved it again. It’s a good place to live and raise a family, Merrick.”
A flash of pain rocks over his face, and he closes his eyes as he takes a deep breath.
“Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing.”
“No, it’s fine. Can I get you a drink? I’ve got some bottled water or some juice. Then we can walk around, and I’ll show you what needs your attention as soon as you can.”
“I’m good, and is it just the urgent work you want me to do, or are you looking for a quote for all the renovations? Who else have you spoken to?”
“No one else. I’ve only been here a couple of days.”
“You’re not staying in the house now, are you? I don’t think it’s safe.”
He looks at the cracked walls and sagging ceilings and chuckles. “No, I’m staying in a hotel for now. But if you could give me a quote for the initial work, we can discuss the rest of the work when I have the plans back.”
I scratch my chin. “You’re putting a lot of faith into a man you’ve just met.”
“I asked around. You were the first name mentioned. Plus, you look like a decent guy.” Finally, he gives me a small smile.
“When does your wife arrive?”
*****
Review:
I’m amused that the things I liked the most about this story are the things that have it getting some lower * reviews. I mean I get that everyone has their own preferences (there’re lots of romances that are loved that I didn’t even finish) but it’s just funny that those are specifically what is called out 🙂
Life After Love is definitely slow burn and low angst, with very little conflict between the two main characters. Instead it’s about Merrick finally starting to get over the death of his husband and choosing to move on with his life. Meeting, and falling in love, with Drew is definitely not something he expected but maybe something he needed. (The little encouragements from Josh are touching and the push that he needs at the right time.)
I enjoyed both Drew and Merrick as characters. They are good-hearted and sweet together, making me pull for them from the first page. Merrick has a lot he needs to face, just getting up was hard for a long time after Josh died, but a change of scenery and new friends are definitely helping. Drew shows a lot of patience and understanding as he gets to know Merrick and his daughter (who is just the sweetest). It’s easy to see why Merrick opens up to him and gives him his trust & eventually his heart.
The supporting characters are good for Merrick as well. From Drew’s meddling sister and her friend, to Luke and Benny at the cafe, everyone is welcoming to the little family and there for both Drew & Merrick when they need it. Definitely need to see more of Merrick’s sister and best friend. Both are good eggs, full of heart and support. And I’m hoping that Harper gives us more of Josh’s brother. We didn’t get to know him well but he seemed like a stand up guy who’s hurting as well. Drew’s friend definitely needs a resolution … ok, so there’s a lot of opportunity here. I hope you have big plans Harper!
This is a new author for me and obviously I’m looking forward to finding out what’s in store for us next.
*****
Author Info:
Just in case you don’t know me. I’m a simple soul that puts all my hopelessly romantic thoughts down on my computer. I’m usually in the living room—typing away—with my wayward Great Dane, Siddiqi, next to me on the sofa.
I’m a hopeless romantic, always falling in love with my men, determined to make sure they get the happy-ever-after they deserve, even if they do have to work hard for it.
I live in a tiny village in Lincolnshire, UK, with my husband and dog, who are forever patient with me when I forget the time, and the dinner!
Readers who enjoy romance with flirty bartenders and holiday towns will love Gettin’ Figgy by Gail Haris, a steamy, small town, neighbors to lovers, opposites attract romance.
Gettin’ Figgy
Candy Cane Key
Man of the Month: October
by Gail Haris
Blurb:
Are you ready to meet your next Man of the Month?
What happens when you drop a Halloween fanatic on a Christmas themed island in the Florida Keys?
Rose didn’t expect to find herself toe to toe with her handsome neighbor on a holiday called Sweetest Day… and all because of a fig.
Gettin’ Figgy from Gail Haris is a small-town, opposites attract romance about Candy Cane Key’s charming Greek restaurant and bar owner, Thanasis Diakos, and his wickedly attractive neighbor, Rose Verbeck.
While Rose is convinced Than-ass-is a complete Jack, but not Frost, he sees her as the ultimate thorn in his side. However after a few signature drinks, ‘Gettin’ Figgy,’ they just might discover each other’s sweet side.
The Man of the Month Club is a steamy small-town collection featuring a new hottie (or two!) every month. In 2023, escape to Candy Cane Key, Florida, and celebrate ALL the holidays with your favorite group of romance authors and their delicious paradise men. Can’t wait to see you there!
Thanasis doesn’t look amused. “You know kids live on this street. Stringing the lights to look like Santa is peeing off the side of the house isn’t appropriate. And having my elves holding a body bag with the rest of my Christmas decorations in it is borderline disturbing.”
I can’t help it. I snort with laughter. Thanasis’ eyes soften and I notice a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. “I wanted us to become friends. To make peace.”
Doubtful. But I’ll play along. “Fine. Let’s be friends.”
“Too late. You don’t mess with a man’s yard.” I scoff, Thanasis continues. “I want you to remember you started this.”
Started what? “Nothing has started. It’s finished. Consider that as me getting even for last night.”
“What happened last night?”
“You were being obscene.” I hate the way my eyes drift to his lips. His perfect teeth are on display with his sexy knowing smile. His tongue snakes out only a bit to wet his lips, but it’s enough to have me squeezing my thighs together.
“And you’re being childish by vandalizing my property.”
“Is it vandalizing if it’s an improvement? When you think about it, I did you a favor. Consider it my gift to you for Sweetest Day.”
“You definitely spiced up the neighborhood. I’ll see you for our playdate.”
I loathe the fact that he looks so sexy when he winks. I wonder if I can teach the dogs to pee on him.
Copyright 2023 Gail Haris
*****
Author Info:
Gail Haris loves blending romance out of life’s everyday chaos. Stories filled with humor, steam, and moments of sweetness, along with suspense and twists.
Fueled by coffee and with a wild imagination, she writes in a variety of genres, including romantic comedy, romantic suspense, and new adult/coming of age romance.
Always laughing too loud and thriving on awkward situations, Gail enjoys traveling, binging series, and trying out new recipes (that sounds better than just eating).
Gail believes whole heartedly to never stop believing in love, dreams, and yourself. And coffee…especially the coffee. Don’t give up on coffee and books.
Preston James did things to me. Things that had me wanting more of him and his dirty mouth, even though I knew better. Things that made my heart race. Things that made me come to realize there was more to my boss’s best friend than met the eye.
Nick Reed
As one of the bartenders at Alejandro’s Bar, I’ve seen it all. I’ve even watched my friends, Christian and Cooper, both find the loves of their life. Six years after breaking up with my college boyfriend, I’m convinced that’s not the life I’m supposed to have until forty-five-year-old Preston James makes me the target of his relentless sexy stares and his straight-forward, dirty propositions.
Maybe being the object of his desire wouldn’t be so bad.
Preston James
The first time I laid eyes on Nicholas Reed, I knew I had to have him. There was something about my best friend’s bartender that captivated me. And I always got my way. But this twenty-eight-year-old grad student has me jumping through all kinds of hoops to get his attention. There’s nothing I won’t do to prove to him I’m exactly what he needs. I’m relentless like that and I won’t stop until he’s mine.
We Could Do This Forever is the first book in the We Could Do This Duet and is an MM Bisexual Romance. Additional tropes: Age Gap; Mutual Pining; Boss’s Best Friend; Secretly Wealthy; Humor.
The dance these two go thru getting together provided quite a few entertaining moments. Drunk Preston laying out everything he thinks and feels for everyone is downright hilarious and I can’t blame Nick for finding him irresistible. Once they finally give in, Preston is an attentive and giving boyfriend, taking care of Nick and showing him as much as telling him how much he cares.
But while I liked Nick and Preston’s story overall, there were a few issues. Mainly that these two REALLY need to work on their communication skills. A good portion of the beginning of the book is spent with them giving each other googly eyes, but not going anywhere because they won’t have an actual conversation. Throw in that once they do get together there’s a lot of suggestion about things but no talking and when something that Nick knows needs to be talked about comes up he … avoids it. Does he think it’s just going to go away? And then there’s the whole third act breakup and Preston, because of his additional years of maturity, works thru it like a grownup, right? Uh, no. He handles it about as well as he did the actual conflict, which was not well. At all. I liked the two of them together, but sheesh there were moments.
I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything that I’ve read from Beckett and I’m definitely looking forward to Alejandro’s story to complete this duet. I’m also really hoping that introducing Nick’s friend Evan means that we’re going to get some new football players in San Diego. Please!
*****
Author Info:
Emerson Beckett is an avid sports fan and lover of M/M romance books. She loves her new career as an author of gay romance. It’s even more fulfilling for her when she can combine the two.
Emerson is the co-author of The Package Deal Series, which includes The Quarterback Keeper, Pass Interference, Unnecessary Roughness, Two-Point Conversion, Illegal Motion, Ineligible Receiver, and Roughing the Kicker.
Besides being a retired teacher and author, Emerson lives in North Carolina and has been married to the same man for 33 years. She is a mother of three, one of whom is proudly part of the LGBTQ Community and completely responsible for her addiction to MM Romance. Even though the kids no longer live at home, they filled the empty nest with an Australian Shepherd, three cats, and a cute bunny rabbit.
I loved my life. Sleeping around. No commitments. But my mother kept prying into my love life, wanting to see me happily settled down.
The remedy seemed to magically reveal itself when I stumbled onto Travis, my childhood best friend, on a dating app. When we were in elementary school, we promised to marry each other if we were still single at thirty.
Reconnecting, I proposed we give the pact a real shot. To my surprise, Travis agrees. Somewhere in the midst of planning our wedding, the unthinkable happens. Our feelings for each other become… real.
As the day of our fake marriage grows near, how do I tell Travis I want the real thing and for him to be mine forever?
I gave him a little smile. “I wouldn’t want to make my future mother-in-law uncomfortable, especially not so early in our engagement. And I don’t want to get you in trouble. Heaven knows we did enough of that as kids, right?”
He inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly, grinning. “Thanks for understanding.”
“That’s what partners are for, right?”
His voice was soft when he spoke. “Yeah. Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Silence stretched between us, nervous tension, the air crackling. My heart thumped and thudded. I was sure he could hear it. The tension in my stomach fluttered and roiled, urging me to act.
I swallowed my nerves and leaned close, putting my hand up to cup his face, pulling him close very gently, and we met in the middle with a tender kiss.
The way our lips touched was so tentative. Travis’s sharp inhale was loud in my ears, as was the soft little noise of surprise he made when our tongues met. My entire body was alight, every nerve ending firing at the same time. Travis’s hand found my bicep and gripped me, holding on for dear life as we kissed so slowly. I couldn’t remember a kiss ever being that intense, even the hurried, sexy ones, and I never wanted it to end.
Travis broke the kiss just as gently and carefully as it had started. He backed away, loosening his grip on my arm, and slid back. “Wow,” he whispered. “That was…”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“I think I’m going to like this arrangement,” he said, grinning slowly.
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing a little breathlessly. “Me too.”
*****
Author Info:
Riley Long is an author of gay romances novels spanning many genres from contemporary to paranormal. They live a quiet life in Virginia, with their husband, son, and two very silly pit bulls.
They spend their evenings writing, reading, and watching bad television (or not so bad television).
For fun, Riley participates in NaNoWriMo, GISH, and reads with her book club, the BAMFs.
They like things with silly acronyms.
Riley can tell you two different stories about getting covered in dairy products for a hug.
Join us this Halloween for the exclusive Once Upon a Halloween Night bash in the New Orleans Warehouse District for an evening of fun, costumes, and romance. The Indie Pen PR and Beyond the Bookshelf Publishing are excited to kick off spooky season with seven brand-new, fun, and sexy novellas from Lauren Helms, Kate Stacy, Mel Walker, Susan Renee, Kartina Marie, Courtney W. Dixon, and Louise Lennox.
Once Upon a Halloween Night
by Lauren Helms, Kate Stacy, Mel Walker, Susan Renee, Katrina Marie, Courtney W. Dixon, Louise Lennox
Blurb:
Congratulations!
You’ve been invited to attend the exclusive Once Upon A Halloween Night bash.
This year, join us in New Orleans Warehouse District on Halloween Night for an evening of fun, costumes and… romance?
Wait. What?
That’s right.
The Indie Pen PR and Beyond the Bookshelf Publishing is proud to host Lauren Helms, Kate Stacy, Mel Walker, Susan Renee, Kartina Marie, Courtney W. Dixon, and Louise Lennox – in this fun Halloween romance anthology.
So, throw on your best costume and get ready to sit back and enjoy seven brand new novellas to celebrate spooky season with a romantic twist.
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Dating in Disguise by Lauren Helms
She sets the drink down and turns to me. “You must love Robin Hood if you’re willing to invest.”
“Robin Hood and I have a lot in common, actually.” I inform her.
Her nose scrunches. “Oh really? How so?”
“Well, for starters, I’m a master archer”
“Nope. I don’t believe it.” She giggles.
“I am. Really. I learned at summer camp when I was twelve. Hooked ever since.” I tell her almost defensively.
“Ah, okay then. What else do you have in common?”
“I’m glad you asked. See, I’m also a master of disguise.”
Her eyes widen playfully, “Oh my. I can see that. Is this even your real face?”
I lean my head back and smirk at her. “Everything about me is real, baby. Truth is, I’m not worried about disguising myself tonight, so what you see is what you get.”
“I’ve heard that he’s also a charmer. A ladies’ man. Obviously, that checks out.” She grins.
I nod. “I was born a charmer. It’s in my blood.”
“Right.” She nods in understanding, laughter dancing all over her face. “So what you’re saying is that you are the embodiment of Robin Hood.”
“Oh, I like that. The embodiment of Robin Hood.” I snap my fingers. She’s brilliant and beautiful.
Her brows furrow, “Does that make you an outlaw then?”
“Nah, I mean, if stealing from the rich and giving to the poor is considered breaking the law…”
She huffs out a laugh. “Stealing is totally considered breaking the law.”
I shrug, “Meh, maybe, but I’ve got a heart of gold, so that’s all that matters.”
“I suppose that’s true.” She reaches for her drink and sips it, keeping eye contact with me over the glass. She’s flirty and I’m digging it, but she’s not getting all touchy-feely with me, so I’m a little unsure of where this is going.
~
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Haunted Melodies, Kate Stacy
“Come with me,” I say, grabbing hold of her hand.
Remi’s laughter rings through the night air as I lead her between the cathedral and museum, slipping into one of the alcoves there. The joy in her voice mirrors the twinkling stars in the sky, and her eyes sparkle with a mix of amusement and excitement. Fuck, she’s beautiful.
Carefree looks incredible on her.
Shrouded in shadows, I watch Remi as her laughter subsides into a contented sigh. She looks at me and smiles, so I kiss her again, pressing her body against the hard stone behind her.
I can’t get enough.
The way she tastes.
The feel of her body against mine.
“Luke,” she murmurs breathlessly against my lips.
I trail kisses along her jaw, groaning when she tips her head back, giving me access to more of her soft, silky skin.
“Luke,” she says again, and I want to hear her say it a thousand times more. “We can’t do this here.”
“Afraid of things that go bump in the night?” I murmur, smiling as I kiss down the column of her throat.
She sucks in a breath.
“No. Just charges for indecent exposure, public lewdness, or—”
Chuckling, I take her mouth with mine, kissing her deeply.
~
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Love on the Halloween Dance Floor by Mel Walker
“You promise to wait for me?” She asks the question, already knowing the answer. At a concert in Detroit that had technical issues with the lighting and sound equipment, Aaliyah spent nearly an hour reaming out the organizer. She came out an hour later and was shocked to see me waiting for her. I committed to her that day that I would never leave a venue without her.
“The rest of my life if I have to.” The words slip from my heart to my lips without thinking. My chest thumps heavily with my misstep. She twists to read in my eyes the meaning of my words.
Lights bounce off her glasses, and I fail in my attempt to read hers. An explosion of cheers erupts in front of me, and I look up to investigate. Ali is bowing at the front of the stage. The performance has ended.
The house lights rise in the theatre, and Poppy leads the girls back to their families. Whistles and cheers continue to float in the air.
A warm set of lips land on my cheek. I hold my breath and record this moment, stored alongside a treasure trove of protected memories.
Aaliyah’s lips linger for a heartbeat longer than normal, a hesitation I pick up on because when it comes to her, I notice everything. “Really good work today. Congrats. See you in ten.”
“Here, let me …” I take her hand to help her out of the pit. I chew on my tongue to distract myself from the spark that shoots through my body.
“Such a gentleman. Someday, some lucky woman will …” She doesn’t complete the sentence. The words hang like a challenge.
A challenge I’ve yet to answer.
My eyes linger on Aaliyah as she navigates the narrow aisle. She moves with a purposeful stride, a woman on a mission. My eye refuses to look away until she disappears out the exit. Only then do I take a breath. Only then do I realize I hadn’t.
Like I said, I got it bad.
She has work to do. But I’ll wait. I’ll always wait for her. I whisper the words I don’t have the courage to say to her face. The words I pray may come true someday. “Someday. Someday that lucky woman will be you.”
~
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Ghosted by Susan Renee
“How do you make it so easy to breathe, Scarlett?” Oliver asks me, his forehead pressed to mine.
“Because I don’t expect you to be someone you’re not, Oliver. You’re free with me. Zero expectations. Consider me your safe space.”
“I’m finding myself overwhelmingly attracted to you,” he says. “And I’m sorry if that’s too much. Maybe Rowena was right. I’m not good at hiding my feelings.”
“It’s perfectly fine to have feelings. I have them too.” I bring my hands to his cheeks. “I wasn’t sure how this day was going to go, but somehow, you’ve managed to make every moment perfect. You let me take the lead instead of treating me like your personal arm candy. You’ve asked about my feelings. My desires. What I want for myself and for my future. Do you know how long it’s been since a man has asked how I feel? Hell, I could marry you right now and have no remorse given what I was about to walk into.”
“I’m really fucking glad you didn’t marry him.”
“Me too.”
~
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Hurricanes & Halloween by Katrina Marie
“My bad.” He doesn’t look sorry at all. The wide grin he’s sporting as he watches the people still staring at us says he’s pretty proud of himself. I don’t blame him, though. He never would have had the confidence to do that at eighteen. Now, in our mid-thirties, he’s sure of what he wants. Even if that person lives hours away from him, and has no idea how we are going to make this work.
“It’s all good.” I lean my head on his shoulder. “I’d say it was more than worth it.”
We sit in silence as the DJ continues to play music downstairs. There are still a couple of hours until this thing ends. And as much as I want to ditch the rest of the party and head straight to our hotel room, I know we should stay a little longer. Especially since our tickets were essentially free. I know the payoff will be fine with Kelly, though. This was her moment to play fairy godmother. Her way of making my wildest dreams come true.
“Want to see what else this party has to offer?” Patrick squeezes my knee. It might be my imagination, but I think his hand moved further up my leg. There’s a good chance he’s having the same thoughts I am. Both of us are too polite to voice them aloud.
“Sure.” I stand and he does the same. Grabbing my drink, I hook a finger into his belt loop. Not so accidentally grabbing his butt in the process.
“You keep doing that and I’ll carry you out of here.”
The drinks are working their way through my system because what falls from my lips next is something I’d never say. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
~
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Masked Love by Courtney W. Dixon
Greyson sat back in the seat and stared out the window. We were almost there despite the heavy traffic. “How did we meet?” he asked.
“Hmm, how about at my favorite coffee shop? You spilled coffee on me.”
He waved a hand at me. “Ugh. Please. That trope has been done to death.”
I huffed a laugh. Seriously, I was going to give him wine more often. “And what would you suggest?”
“Let’s keep it relatively realistic and almost the truth since it will be easier to remember the lie.”
“Good at lying, are we?”
He smirked and leaned closer to me. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I never joke.” Which was also a lie.
“Anyway! Let’s say I applied to Nomadology, and you found me so hot and irresistible that I swept you off your feet, and you refused to hire me so you could date me.”
For the first time since I could remember, I barked out a laugh and enjoyed watching him blush.
“What? It could happen.”
~
Excerpt- Copyright 2023 Hot Hex on a Platter by Louise Lennox
At this point, I have tunnel vision. I’m focused on taking out the piece of shit who had the nerve to violate my woman. No one touches or hurts what’s mine and gets away with it.
I maneuver around him while he continues cursing and swinging, matching his speed and intensity as he advances closer to me with every step. As he reaches out with both arms to grab me, I take a chance, knowing I need to knock his big ass out and get this over with.
I hit him with a powerful uppercut that sends him sprawling onto the ground below.
He lies there motionless as I stare down at him with disgust; the power of my punch had been enough to knock him out cold, and between that and his intoxication, he’ll be down for a while.
Tessa rushes over to me, her face filled with worry as she glances at the man’s condition and grimaces.
“Thank You. But I had him under control. The violence wasn’t necessary.”
Her voice has a bite of annoyance, but the relief on her face is evident. She didn’t want to admit it, but she liked being rescued, but I’ll gladly admit that saving her has made my dick impossibly hard. I want to love. Protect, and fuck her until she passes out in equal measure.
Maybe there was a chance of staying out of her life if I hadn’t seen her in the flesh. However, now that she’s within arm’s reach, I know I’ll never let her go.
Her sister steps over the unconscious man, who is now snoring loudly and shakes her head. The man she was with was long gone. “Tessa, are you kidding me? You couldn’t control him, and I swear if I had known he was that disrespectful, I would have never dragged you up here.”
Tears well up in her sister’s eyes. “I’m sorry; I should have listened to you.”
Yeah, she should have.
Tessa gives her a sweet smile and pulls her into a hug. “It’s OK; you didn’t know how bad he could be because I never told you how he harassed me in high school. I was too ashamed and thought I was leading him on or something.”
“This fool harassed you in high school?” I roar. “He doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you.”
Both women look at me like I’m crazy, but I don’t care. The idea of him hurting my sweet girl in any way makes me want to wake him up to knock him out again.
Tessa looks at me warily. “Umm, thank you, I guess.”
She looks back at Foolio lying on the ground and ponders something before returning to me. I hate the look of worry on her face, and all I want to do is kiss every stress line away.
“Look, Marcus, it’s been a long night. We’re heading home, and you should probably get home before he wakes up. He will be furious, and I’d hate seeing you get into trouble on my account.”
I frown. “I’m not scared of him. Didn’t you see me lay his ass out?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Action Jackson, we all saw you, but do you even know who you knocked out?”
Exasperated, I step closer and breathe her in. She smells like cherries and doesn’t flinch away like she did with the man lying on the ground. Instead, she subconsciously steps closer to me.
That’s because she’s mine.
I brush the back of my knuckles over her arm. “No, sweetheart, I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
Her sister Selene snorts and speaks up. “Well, you should care Romeo because he’s Richard Harris, the Chief of Police. What do you have to say now?”
I give her an incredulous look but say nothing.
This can’t be life.
*****
Author Info:
Lauren Helms is a romance author her nerdy and flirty contemporary words. Lauren has forever been an avid reader from the beginning. After starting a book review website, that catapulted her fully into the book world, she knew that something was missing. While working for a video game strategy guide publisher, she decided to mix what she knew best–video games and romance. She decided to take the plunge and write her first novel, Level Me Up. Several published novels later, Lauren created PR company, Indie Pen PR, to help other authors promote their books.
Lauren lives in Indianapolis, Indiana sharing her love of books and video games with her own Gamer Boy husband and three young kid nerds who will hopefully grow up to share the love of things that united Lauren and her husband on their own happily ever after.
Author of emotionally-gripping, contemporary romance, Kate Stacy’s novels feature sassy heroines, swoony heroes, life, love, friendship, and all the angst. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family and friends in small-town North Carolina, Kate can most likely be found nose deep in her Kindle. She stays up too late, swears too much, and loves too hard.
Mel Walker has been writing fiction most of his adult life. Specializing in Short Stories and Contemporary fiction and Romance Novels. A native New Yorker and life-long frustrated NY Mets fan. He loves to write about ordinary people placed in difficult situations, especially as it relates to their closest relationships.
Mel Walker is a rare bird, the male romance author. Specializing in heartfelt small town romance, he enjoys telling compelling romances with all the feels. A native New Yorkers and life-long frustrated NY Mets fan, he enjoys long walks, bike rides and taking in the energy of the city.
Susan Renee wants to live in a world where paint doesn’t smell, Hogwarts is open twenty-four/seven, and everything is covered in glitter. An indie romance author, Susan has written about everything from tacos to tow-trucks, loves writing romantic comedies but also enjoys creating an emotional angsty story from time to time. She lives in Ohio with her husband, kids, two dogs and a cat. Susan holds a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Music Education and a self-awarded Doctorate in Sass and Sarcasm. She enjoys laughing at memes, speaking in GIFs and spending an entire day jumping down the TikTok rabbit hole. When she’s not writing or playing the role of Mom, her favorite activity is doing the Care Bear stare with her closest friends.
Katrina Marie lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two children, bonus child, grandchild, and fur babies. She is a lover of all things geeky and nerdy. When she’s not writing you can find her at her children’s sporting events, curled up reading a book, or binge watching her favorite shows.
Courtney W. Dixon loves to write steamy romance, but in each story, she gives her character’s challenges and struggles. She writes m/f and m/m stories within one series to add a variety to her characters. And she writes her characters as having flaws, imperfections, and who don’t always do the right thing. Humans are never perfect, and make a lot of mistakes in their lives. In the end, she tries to help them grow to be better as they achieve their HEAs.
You can find Courtney working in Central Texas with her husband, two boys, and two crazy dogs, none of whom know how to knock on a door while she’s working.
Contemporary romance Author Louise Lennox is a hopeful romantic writing steamy romances full of heart and healing.
A Spelman College and Georgetown University graduate, Louise provides women with diverse and meaningful representation in romance novel pages. Not seeing enough women like herself headlining positive love stories, she launched #HappyBlackRomance; a community of readers and writers committed to the creation and sharing of positive romance stories featuring Black heroines.
Louise Lennox plots highlight the joys of Black relationships across the diaspora; pushing readers from all cultural backgrounds to admire them for their strength and downright sexiness. In her novels sparks always fly; the sex amazes; and the characters always leave the world better than they found it through their love.
When she’s not writing, Louise is enjoying her work as a school leader, wife, and mother of the two cutest dragons to ever walk the earth!
To learn more about #HappyBlackRomance and to score a free book or two, check out her website http://www.lovelouiselennox.com.
Romantic Reads and Such 