We absolutely love L.B. Simmons' Mending Heart series! Running in Place (Book 2) is a beautifully written story about discovering your strength, power, and beauty in the world - when you grew up made to feel worthless. We smiled, cried, smiled, and cried some more. We SWOONED over Noah Reese, he is just... perfect. Noah & Tate's broken love journey will evoke every emotion you want from a happily every after but at the same time, it's real life and very relatable. You won't regret it!Enjoy an excerpt and teasers from two of our favorite scenes. Plus, enter to win Signed Paperbacks! Running in Place Excerpt: Meet Noah and Tate “You’re a worthless excuse for a daughter. I wish I never had you.”
Frantically, my eyes dart around the room for her. She’s here. I know it. I can smell the stench of alcohol in the air. Whipping around, I search for any trace of her, my entire body shaking and the knot in my throat unbearable. Tears fill my eyes as they anxiously race around the kitchen, finally landing on the cabinet where she used to store her liquor.
Memories flood my mind, the immobilizing terror that I would feel every time she approached it. The prayers I would send to no one in particular, just hoping that she wouldn’t open that fucking cabinet for just one night. Prayers that fell on deaf ears.
Slowly I make my way to the white doors, crouching down in front of them.
“You killed him and I will make damn sure you spend the rest of your life paying for that. I’ll never again know true happiness because you fucking exist.”
Shaking my head to try to clear her voice from my mind, I set my trembling fingers on the silver knobs and yank the doors open. Nothing.
A sigh of relief escapes my lips as I close them. Rising, I turn to take a step towards the sink when another memory strikes.
“Mama, don’t please.” I cry out loud as she approaches me with the scissors.
“I have to, Tatum. Your beauty does not match the vile, revolting child that you really are on the inside. Everyone should see you for who you are.” I try to run, but she grabs my long dark hair as I pass by her, swiping the blades so close to my neck that I can feel the cool metal against my skin. Laughing she chunks my tresses into the sink. “You’re an ugly person, Tatum. Inside…and out, now.”
“God, Daddy. Please help me,” I say out loud, lifting my shaking hands to my forehead, threading sections of hair through my fingers. “Please, Daddy, I need you.” After a while, calmness spreads throughout my body. I’m no longer shaking, but the voices are still there.
Turning the faucet on, I splash water on my face repeatedly, trying to drown out them out along with the memories. After wiping my face dry with a dishtowel, I hear the crackling of gravel as Noah’s Jeep pulls up into the driveway.
Breathing in deeply, I try to regain my composure as I walk to the door, straightening my shirt and running my fingers through my hair before I reach for the knob. Hearing steps in front of the house, I barely crack the door and poke my head out to make sure it’s really him. With all the crazy shit going on in this house I can’t be too sure. But, much to my relief, there he is, standing on my porch in his classic white t-shirt, work jeans and boots, his fist raised about to knock.
And just like that, the voices are gone and my head is clear.
I release a comforted breath and feel the corners of my mouth slightly lift at the sight of him.
“What are you smiling at?” Noah asks, seemingly nervous. Opening the door wider, I gesture for him to enter my house of horrors. The sight of his disheveled hair makes me grin even more.
“Your hair, it’s nice to see it like that. I don’t know why, but it makes me smile.” I clear my throat. His nerves must be contagious, because suddenly I feel that hummingbird feeling in my chest.
With him now inside, I close the door and head towards the kitchen, checking over my shoulder to make sure he’s following me. “Want something to eat?”
Once I see he’s fallen into step, I turn back around and round the corner, making sure to avoid looking at the sink. The memory still lingering on the hinges of my mind, I try to push it as far away as I can. “I don’t have much, but I did manage to make it to the store over the weekend.”
“No, I’m good, Thanks, though.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks onto the balls of his feet.
Thinking about our last night together, I feel the frustration mounting within myself. I should kick my own ass for kissing him. Everything seems so edgy between us now and I hate it. Running my fingers through my hair, I twist it at the nape of my neck and bring it over my shoulder.
“Well, what’s up? What couldn’t wait until tonight?”
His eyes widen. “Tonight? What’s tonight?”
“I picked up Sadie’s shift.”
He grinds his teeth together as he leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “I told you to take the entire week off, Tate. You don’t need to work right now. You need to concentrate on healing.”
I know.
“No, I don’t. I’m sick and tired of being cooped up in this depressing house. I need to get out, to stay busy. I feel like I’m losing it, honestly.” My hands are still trembling and I’m not sure if it’s the sudden anxiety from being around Noah or the fact that I’m losing my mind. His eyes break from mine and land on them as they continue to shake like a leaf. Pressing himself off the wall, he takes a small, timid step towards me.
I want to tell him to stop. To stay where he is. To tell him to leave this house and forget about me. That I could ruin his perfect life by just being near him.
But I don’t.
I let him continue taking those steps until he’s right in front of me and even breathe out a sigh of contentment when he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his frame. The tears fall as he lightly traces my back with his fingers, and with each touch, my uneasiness lessens. I know it’s selfish, but I would give anything to stay in this moment forever.
Circling my arms around his waist, I press my forehead against his chest and watch the droplets as they plummet from my face towards his boots, dark spots forming as they strike. After a couple of seconds, I replace my forehead with my chin, daring to look into his muddy brown eyes, full of their usual intensity as he studies me, peering into my soul. In them, I find complete solace and protection, and the sudden desire to share things with him that I swore I’d never share with another living person.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Noah. I feel like I’m going fucking crazy. Ever since Friday, I can’t stop them. The voices. My mother’s leading their charge to my insanity.” My throat closes almost completely shut. “I hate this house. I hate being here, alone. So many memories…” I trail off, my strength fading, no longer able to keep from bawling.
I close my eyes as the warm moisture cascades down my cheeks and runs down my neck. Unwrapping his arms, he moves his hands to my face, wiping the tears away, but it’s useless. They’re replaced instantly.
“Tate, open your eyes. Look at me, baby.” I keep them closed, not ready to face the wary expression in front of me.
“Let me in, Tate. Open your eyes.” The heartache in his tone and the tremble of his voice prompts me to open them immediately. As soon as our eyes catch, a breath hitches in my throat. His eyes shining, he gently wraps his fingers around my shoulders, pressing his thumbs softly into my flesh as he speaks.
“You’re not alone. I’m right here.” A slight smile of relief breaks through the tears on my face.
I watch his mouth tip up in response. “Now, tell the voices to shut the fuck up because it’s my turn.”
Powerful Teaser: Meet the Wrath of Noah! Mending Heart Series Book Summaries & Purchase Buttons | I had the perfect life.
Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls.
Successful career.
The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence.
Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.
But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.
There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.Absolutely no way.
The question is…
How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up? | I have the perfect life.
I’ve finally found my happy ending.
I fought through the loss of one husband, lucky enough to be given a second chance at a lifetime of happiness. Settling into our new lives, however, may not be as easy as it seems.
What really happens after the fairytale ending? What happens after the prince rescues the princess? After he sweeps her off her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Do they truly live happily ever after?
Well…
This is our story. | Tatum O’Connell:
Some call me a party girl. People see me as happy, full of life, with absolutely no cares in the world. They see what I want them to see. But no one knows me - really knows me. Not even Noah Reese. Mr. Perfect is always watching me, most likely judging every single imperfect thing I do. But, if Noah wants to keep an eye on me, that’s just fine. I definitely don’t mind. I just hope he doesn’t have any plans to save me from my new-found life of self-destruction because in order to save me, he will have to see me…
And I’m never going to let that happen.
Noah Reese:
Perfect. That’s me. That’s the only acceptable way to be, according to my father. Perfect grades. Perfect manners. Perfect athlete. Perfect SAT scores. Perfect college. And recently, I was accepted into the perfect med school. My future has already been mapped out for me and there’s nothing that can change that. Not even Tatum O’Connell. That girl is out of control, yet for some reason, I can’t seem to keep my distance from her. I watch her closely, hoping that one day she’ll let me in, but watching her lead her life down the dangerous path she’s on right now isn’t easy…
I have a feeling I’m about to find myself swept away by the hurricane that is Tatum O’Connell. | Click HERE for our Recovery Spotlight! Author Bio: Meet L.B. Simmons! 
Huge Tour Giveaway: Signed Paperbacks!
Mark your calendars! We're incredibly excited for you to read Kendall Ryan's scorching new novel, Working It, releasing November 11th! Kendall's BEST to date - it will burn up your ereaders! If you know Kendall, she does not disappoint when it comes to bringing the heat and giving us characters we adore. Ben & Emmy's journey is a heartbreaking, honest, sexy and emotional love story. Ben Shaw is one sizzling and tortured BBF you will want to get your hand on ladies - he has a filthy mouth that will have you squirming in a really good way and a sweet tenderness and protectiveness towards Emmy that will melt your heart. We were hooked the moment this "walking orgasm" made an appearance. Click HERE to Pre-order Working It now! Do it! Today we have an Exclusive Teaser, the recently released Prologue and teasers from Kendall. PLUS, we want you to get a chance to meet Ben & Emmy with a GIVEAWAY to win Working It on Release Day! Enter Below! Exclusive Teaser: Meet Ben and Emmy  I stumbled to a halt. His bed held an array of sex toys--whips, cuffs, dildos, vibrators, weird little rubbery things I had no name for, and a large box sat discarded nearby. “W-what’s all this?”
Ben chuckled at my innocent response. “Gunnar goes through my fan mail and only gives me what he thinks might be interesting. This came from a sex toy company. They want me to be a spokesmodel.”
“Oh.” My pulse accelerated. “And are you going to?”
“Not planning on it, no. The girl I’m with wouldn’t need any toys, so I wouldn’t make a very good advocate for their products.” He patted the bed beside him. “Come sit. I just thought it’d be fun to look.”
“Right.” I joined him on the bed, arranging myself politely next to him.
“And if you wanted anything…” He trailed off, leaving the second half of the sentence unspoken but seductive all the same. Was he asking if I wanted any sex toys? I fought to keep my breathing under control, but I could feel the heat crawling up my neck, my chest rising and falling with shallow pants. Sex. Ben. And to think, I’d only just gotten my mind out of the gutter.
“Ben…I know things got heated between us the other night…but I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I’m not that girl. I’ve never had a one-night stand. I’m more of a committed relationship, one-boyfriend-at-a-time type.” Thankful my voice sounded calm, I pulled in a breath and met his eyes. “This isn’t going to work for me. I’m sorry.”
He watched me with an amused expression. “Any of these interest you?” His hand swept across the bed, indicating the array of oversized toys.
I chuckled nervously. “A lady never tells.”
“And a gentleman never asks, but I’m neither, so spill it, darling.”
Don’t let him see how rattled you are. Be confident. Pushing my shoulders back to conceal the flash of heat that traveled through my core, I pointed to a modest purple glittery toy. “That would do the trick.”
“Hmm.” He thoughtfully looked over the toy I’d indicated. “We’ll have to work up to this then.” He placed the largest one next to my hip--a long, flesh-colored member, thick as all get-out.
“Ha, aren’t you funny.” I shifted uncomfortably on the bed. The damn thing was nudging my hip. “Nooo, I don’t need all that.”
“I wasn’t talking about the toy, sweetheart.” His stare cut straight into mine. He picked up a little silver vibrator, holding it in his large, masculine palm. “You can borrow this one. It won’t do me any good.” His voice had dropped even lower and sent a rush of desire through me.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had the upgraded model down in my room. My heart kicked up a notch, stuttering inside my chest. My resolve to keep things professional vanished. The alcohol had left me gloriously relaxed. And slightly turned on.
Ben turned on the toy, running it along my knee. The gentle buzz against the bare skin made my entire leg tingle. I swallowed roughly. I clamped my knees together, my breathing shallow and much too fast. The gentle hum from the toy sent little jolts up my leg as Ben lazily traced it against my skin. My panties were soaking wet and my breasts felt so full and heavy, they heaved with each breath I drew.
He placed the toy against my knee. I started to quiver.
“Ben?” My voice was a soft murmur but I meant it as a warning.
He ignored me, moving the little buzzing toy in a slow progression up my thigh. “Shh, let me make you feel good.”
 A story of heart-stopping, toe-curling passion by the beloved bestselling author of Hard to Love, Resisting Her, and The Impact of You.
Straight-laced and well-mannered southerner Emmy Clarke is out of her depth in New York City’s fashion world, but when she lands a job as an assistant at a modeling agency it seems like the perfect mix of business and pleasure. Working under the notoriously tyrannical Fiona Stone is a nightmare, but there’s one distinct perk: ogling the ridiculously hot male models who parade through the office—particularly rising star Ben Shaw.
Ben is everything Emmy’s not: exquisitely gorgeous, highly paid, and well-traveled. He’s also got more issues than Vogue. Emmy looks after Ben on photo shoots, but she refuses to become another one of his lusting groupies. Ben finds Emmy’s refreshingly real attitude to be surprisingly attractive.
Against a backdrop of the most fashionable cities in the world, casual flirting turns into an illicit affair, but when Ben’s twisted past is revealed, and the bitter Fiona catches wind of their relationship, their careers and hearts are threatened.
Want MORE of Ben & Emmy? Kendall shared the Prologue!
Read it below! Giveaway: Win an ebook of Working it on Release Day!
We're honored to spotlight Nina Lane's breathtaking Spiral of Bliss series, Arouse and Allure. This series, hands down, is one of our favorites, EVER. The honesty, the realness, the relatable emotions that are evoked, the beautiful normalcy, and the inspiring love and passion between Dean & Liv makes this a Must Read. We respect Nina Lane for writing about the struggles of a married couple - yet her talent as a writer and storyteller made Dean & Liv's story so much more. They are perfectly imperfect and now have a permanent place in our hearts.
And, holy mother of Hot, Alpha, Geeky Professor! Dean West is one of our top BBFs.... ever. His mind and nerdiness is hot. His all-consuming love for Liv is beautiful. His way of calling Liv "Beauty" is swoon-worthy. His sexual dominance and how he works it on Liv is panty-melting. Seriously, if Dean West does not affect you, something is wrong with you!
Today enjoy an excerpt from both Arouse and Allure, meet Liv & Dean, and enter to win a Signed Paperback & SWAG for both books! Open Internationally! Arouse Excerpt - Liv's POV "Liv," he said, his voice rough with tenderness, "you don't have to be afraid."
"Why not?"
"Because I'll slay monsters for you." The promise of autumn is in the air. Breezes sweep from the surface of the lake, trees rustle, and ducks waddle along the beaches. The tourists are leaving town, and university students bustle around with their backpacks and laptops. Dean is mired in planning fall semester classes, advising, department meetings, committees. We talk, but not about anything important. Not about us.
I’ve agreed to work three days a week at The Happy Booker, and I volunteer for a few hours at the public library and the Mirror Lake Historical Museum. After an afternoon spent organizing an exhibition on colonial currency, I stop at a coffeehouse for a mocha. The scent of roasting coffee beans makes me think of my first few months with Dean.
I was twenty-four years old and had been accepted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a transfer student. I’d spent the previous three years in rural Wisconsin, working at a clothing store and taking night courses at a community college to earn transfer credits.
When my application was accepted at the UW, I’d packed up everything I owned and moved to Madison to start what I hoped would be a new life. The day I registered for classes, a woman at the registrar’s office gave me a hard time about the transferability of my community college work.
I was upset, trying not to cry while pleading with Mrs. Russell to work out a solution.
“There must be something we can do,” I said.
“Miss Winter, the courses you took won’t cover the requirements,” she informed me.
“But I wouldn’t have taken them otherwise. If I can’t get them to transfer, it puts me behind an entire semester.”
“Look.” Mrs. Russell swept the papers into a stack and pushed them toward me. “It’s all in the catalog, if you have questions. We can’t retroactively allow the credits to transfer.”
“I’m not asking you to do it retroactively!” I said. “This is my first semester here, and I’m trying to get my courses in order. If I have to take another foreign language translation class, then I’m already behind. And those classes are full already anyway.”
“The courses you took aren’t equivalent to the requirements for your academic program.” Mrs. Russell glanced pointedly at the line of students behind me. “I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
I blinked back tears, refusing to budge. “Why would they have told me the credits would transfer if they’re not equivalent?”
Then a tall, handsome man approached from another section of the office, his dark eyes fixed on me, his deep voice rolling over my skin like a wave of heat on a cold winter night.
“Can I help with this?” he asked.
My breath stopped in my throat. The sight of him jolted something loose inside me, and for an instant I could only stare at him, struck by the sharp, masculine planes of his face, the steadiness of his expression, his aura of complete control and self-possession.
He was wearing black trousers and a navy blue shirt open at the collar to reveal a V of taut, tanned skin. His hair shone under the fluorescent lights, and I was seized by a sudden urge to tunnel my fingers through the strands to see if they felt as thick and soft as they looked.
Unnerved, I jerked my attention back to Mrs. Russell, who was explaining the situation to him. She called him “Dr. West.” Likely a professor, then. I wondered what he taught.
Dr. West listened patiently, glancing at me every so often. “What classes are you trying to take?” he asked me.
“She’s a library sciences major, and she has to register for foreign lit translation and intro to biology,” Mrs. Russell said.
“But I shouldn’t have to take those because my credits should transfer,” I persisted.
“Make an appointment with a guidance counselor, Miss Winter,” Mrs. Russell suggested. “That’s all I can tell you.”
“By the time I do that, classes will already have started.”
“You have a couple of weeks yet to finalize your courses,” she continued. “I’m sure they’ll help you sort this out.”
I knew by the tone of Mrs. Russell’s voice that she wasn’t going to give in, and the hopelessness of the situation crashed over me.
“The professors can—” Dr. West started.
“Never mind.” Because I didn’t want to start crying in front of him, I grabbed my bag and left the office.
Halfway down the sidewalk, my vision blurry with tears, I tripped on an uneven piece of concrete and went sprawling onto my hands and knees. My open satchel thumped onto the ground, papers spilling out.
“Are you okay?” Then he was there, crouching beside me to pick up the papers before the wind caught them. He reached out a hand but stopped an inch from my arm, his fingers brushing the sleeve of my gray sweatshirt.
“I… I’m okay,” I said.
He could have touched me. He was close. Close enough that I caught a whiff of him, a clean, soapy smell that settled in my blood and loosened the knot of frustration stuck in my throat. Close enough that I noticed the size of his hands, his long fingers and the dark hairs dusting his forearm where his sleeve inched up.
Awareness shot through me. I dusted the grit from my palms and straightened. He stood between me and the street, waiting in silence for me to collect my composure. A few people passed behind me, forcing me a few steps toward him.
He held out my satchel, his gaze moving over me, eliciting a surge of heat. I pushed strands of hair away from my face and looked at him. My heart hammered, my chest pooling with warmth. I was shaken all over again by the way my body reacted to him, with this hot pull of attraction I had never experienced before.
Not for any man. Ever.
“Thank you.” I took my satchel from him and straightened the papers. All I had to do now was turn and walk away.
I didn’t. He was still looking at me, his hands in his pockets, his hair ruffled by the breeze.
“Are you a professor here?” I asked.
He was big. Not all bulky and heavy, but tall with broad shoulders, long legs, and that air of self-control that made him seem in total command. The wind flattened his shirt over his muscular chest, and I had a sudden image of folding myself against that chest and feeling his arms close around me. Safe. Protected.
Nothing to fear. Not from him.
I stepped back, not having felt this way before and not knowing where it was all coming from.
Why him? Why now?
“I’m a visiting professor for the year,” he said. “Medieval history.”
He was a medieval history professor. For whatever reason—the sheer dorkiness of the field?—this admission eased some of my tension.
“Oh.” I hitched the satchel over my shoulder and folded my arms across my breasts. “Well, thanks for your help back at the registrar’s.”
“The professors of whatever classes you need to take can approve your transfer credits,” he said. “You don’t need to go through the registrar’s office first. Get the course syllabus and bibliography from your previous college, and bring them to the professors to see if it fits their curriculum. If it covers the same ground, they should approve the transfer as a direct course equivalent.”
“Why didn’t Mrs. Russell tell me that?”
“She probably didn’t know. Professors have a lot of power.”
I almost smiled. “Even medieval history professors?”
“Especially medieval history professors,” he assured me.
“Knights on horseback and all that?”
A responding smile tugged at his mouth. “And damsels in distress.”
My heart constricted. Ah, fairy tales.
“Hey, Professor West!” A young man jogged up to him. “I heard you were teaching here this year. I was at Harvard when you were a grad student. Tom Powell.”
The kid stuck out a hand. Professor West shook it and made a few appropriate comments. I backed up a step, not wanting to leave him and yet not knowing how to stay.
The other guy kept talking. Something about a paper he was working on.
Professor West glanced at me. I had the sense he was about to make an excuse, extract himself from the conversation so that he could turn back to me.
So we could finish what we’d started.
I retreated another step, staring at the sunlight glinting off his hair, the sharp edges of his profile, the muscles of his neck, and the confidence of his stance.
Professor West was beautiful. He was beautiful and warm and wanted to help a distraught girl in a ragged gray sweatshirt. Even though his eyes seared me like a caress he hadn’t made a move to touch me or invade my space. If anything, he seemed to restrain himself from doing so.
If I could trust myself with anyone, I thought, it might be him.
Before he looked at me again with those penetrating eyes, before I could think of an excuse to stay, I surrendered to my fear and hurried away. I had to force myself not to look back.
Allure Excerpt: Dean's POV I tilted my head back to look at him. He’d waited a long time for me. His gaze searched mine.
“Thanks for waiting,” I whispered.
“My beauty,” he said, “I’d wait for you forever.” I’m a guy. When I first saw Liv five years ago, I didn’t think I would really like to understand that woman.
I thought: Damn, she’s pretty.
I thought: I want to kiss her.
I thought: What does she look like naked?
I would have stayed on that lusty train of thought if she hadn’t turned her brown eyes on me, and I realized she was on the verge of tears. Then my protective instinct kicked into high gear, and I thought: I need to help her.
I ended up not doing a damn thing for her at the university registrar’s office where she had a problem with transfer credits, even though she thanked me afterward. I knew I wanted to see her again, but not because I was being chivalrous or useful or sensitive.
I wanted to see her again because when we stood there on the sidewalk, a few strands of hair swept across her face and clung to her cheeks. Because I noticed that her mouth had an indentation in the upper lip. Because I tracked my gaze to her breasts moving with her breath under a white T-shirt and ragged gray sweatshirt, and my blood got hot. She had rounded hips. Legs encased in faded jeans with a rip in the denim exposing a pale strip of thigh.
She was curved. Sexy. Alive.
My chest filled with heat when I looked at her. It had been a long time since I’d had that rush. I wanted to feel it again.
It hadn’t happened with the business administrator I’d dated a few times over the summer. Rebecca was my age, an attractive brunette with short hair and a serious face who could talk about finance systems and process analyses as if she were discussing what to make for dinner. She read books about the economy, power-walked every morning, and always looked like she was thinking about something important.
She reminded me too much of me. Never once did my heart pound harder when I saw her. We went our separate ways as soon as the semester started. Shortly before I met Liv.
Olivia. That was how I thought of her those first couple of weeks when we’d see each other at the coffeehouse where she worked. Olivia R. Winter. I wondered what the R stood for.
One day she stopped next to the table where I was sitting at Jitter Beans. I’d been pretending to work on my laptop while actually sneaking glances at her. I liked the way she moved, her long ponytail swinging every time she turned to fill a mug, the bend of her body as she reached to take something from the dessert case.
“Free sample,” she said. Her apron was tight across the front of her body, dusted with cocoa powder and streaks of chocolate. “Our new peanut-butter brownie. Would you like one?”
She held out a tray of tiny paper cups filled with squares of chocolate. A speck of chocolate clung to the corner of her lip.
She tries the free samples. I tucked that bit of information away along with the other things I was learning about her.
She smiles at every customer.
She sits at the corner table during her breaks and reads one of the magazines.
She wears a pendant on a silver chain around her neck.
She’s older than most other undergrads, but no more than twenty-five.
She’s not a flirt.
She doesn’t notice when men look at her. Or she turns away from them.
She doesn’t turn away from me.
“Sure.” I reached out to take one of the paper cups. I wanted to ask her when her shift ended. Wanted to ask her to go somewhere with me.
I couldn’t yet. Though I knew the university’s policy about dating students, knew it was acceptable if the student wasn’t subject to the professor’s authority, I needed to make damn sure Olivia R. Winter and I wouldn’t cross academic paths for the rest of the year.
“Was it good?” I asked.
“What?”
I gestured to the crumb on her lip. Wished I could wipe it away. “Looks like you tried it.”
“Oh.” She rubbed her fingers across her mouth. “It’s delicious, sure. Peanut butter and chocolate—can’t go wrong. Right?”
She smiled. My heart thumped against my ribs.
It was a strange feeling, foreign, that anticipation making me feel like a teenager with his first crush. I couldn’t even remember my actual first crush. I’d been too busy training for the football team or burning my brain out studying for AP classes.
My girlfriends in high school and college had been the same way. They’d had to be. Ivy League universities, scholarships, the right classes and majors, junior years abroad, grad school, fellowships, published papers, guest lectures, prestigious jobs…
Driven. Focused. Serious. So freaking tedious.
Like me.
There was nothing tedious about this girl with the long hair and pretty smile who blushed when she met my gaze.
I thought: I want to get you alone.
When I finally did, the night of a lecture I was giving at a local museum, I discovered there was something contradictory about her, a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Like she wanted to be brave but wasn’t sure what would happen if she dared to let herself. A mouse peering out of its hole, whiskers vibrating with the urge to dart out.
I’d never wanted to prove myself to anyone the way I did Liv. I liked her too much. Liked the way I didn’t feel cold inside when I was with her, the way I didn’t think about anything except her. I liked that she was a mystery. I liked the way she looked at me, as if she knew I would protect her. That I could.
Until… I couldn’t.
The admission still lodges like a blade inside me.
“Oh, look, Pirates of Penzance is playing at the Civic Center.” Liv’s voice breaks into my darkening thoughts. She’s sitting across from me at the kitchen table, peering at the local section of the newspaper. “Want to go?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Or Cats will be there this spring, if you’d rather see that,” she remarks.
“I’m not really a cat person.”
“More of a pirate person, huh?” She glances at me with amusement. “Okay, I’ll see if tickets are still available. I love that ‘Modern Major-General’ song.”
It’s a measure of how much I love my wife that I just agreed to sit through two hours of dancing, singing pirates.
Book Summaries and Purchase Links “Easy, beauty,” He presses his mouth to the tears that have slipped from the corners of my eyes and down my temples. His breath rasps against my ear. “Come first, and then I’ll fuck you.”
- Arouse by Nina Lane | "One day I'm going to touch you in a thousand different ways and show you how to touch me," he said.
And he did.
Struggling with a tormented past, undergraduate Olivia Winter once led a practical but isolated life. Then she met Professor Dean West, a brilliant scholar of medieval history who melted Liv's inhibitions and taught her the meaning of both love and erotic pleasure. But after three years of a blissful, lusty marriage, Liv and Dean now face a crisis that threatens everything they believe about each other...and sex might not be enough to save them. | “We both want this so badly. I can feel it resonating between us like the hot pull of our first attraction, tangible and intense.”
After lies and betrayal almost destroy their marriage, Dean and Olivia West reignite their blissful passion. The medieval history professor and his lovely wife are determined to fix their mistakes, and Liv’s unexpected pregnancy intensifies their desire to fall madly in love all over again.
Then a family crisis forces Dean back into a feud with his parents and siblings, dredging up guilt over a painful family secret. Dean fights to shield Liv from the hostility, but for the first time, Liv resists her white knight’s defense. Her newfound resolve clashes with Dean’s desperate need to protect her.
Liv and Dean have battled obstacles together before, but bitter family conflicts now endanger their fragile intimacy. And when Dean’s career is suddenly threatened, he and Liv must struggle with events that could damage them in ways they had never imagined. | Our relationship, our love, cannot and will never be perfect. It will, however, always belong only to us in all its flawed, intense beauty. Perfect in its very imperfection.
- Allure by Nina Lane Author Bio: Meet Nina Lane!  USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane writes hot, sexy romances and spicy erotica. Originally from California, she loves traveling and thinks St. Petersburg, Russia is a city everyone should visit at least once. Nina also spent many years in graduate school studying art history and library sciences.
Although she would go back for another degree if she could because she's that much of a bookworm, she now lives the happy life of a full-time writer. Nina's novel The Erotic Dark hit #1 on Amazon's Erotica Bestseller list, and she is currently working on the third book in the Spiral of Bliss series.
Connect with the Author: Website | Facebook | Twitter |Goodreads
"Since the day we met, I haven't wanted anyone but you," Dean says.
My heart jumps a little.
"Never looked at another woman," he continues, "Never thought about one. It's always been you, Olivia."
- Arouse by Nina Lane Signed Giveaway: Paperbacks and SWAG, or ebooks! 2 Winners!
Open Internationally!
We thrilled to spotlight The Dark Light of Day, an incredible debut novel by T.M. Frazier. Wow, holy twisted and dark love story, if you're a fan of books that will push your boundaries and make you cringe and squirm with disturbingly captivating characters - this one is for you. It will hurt you, it will piss you off, it will make you wonder if you are as dark & twisted as Jake and Abby because you will cheer for them and you will want them to have their happily ever after... even if it means reaching into the pit of hell to find it. Intrigued? Run, Hurry, Go Now. We devoured it in one sitting. You might need a drink before, during, and afterwards. ;)
Don't take our word for it, read an excerpt and meet Jake & Abby for yourself. You will be hooked like we were! Plus, enter to win a Signed Paperback or ebook! 2 Winners!
Caution: This is not your typical romance. The story of Abby & Jake contains disturbing situations, graphic violence, sex, strong language, drug use, and all types of abuse.
"I'm not good enough to touch you either, but that's not enough to make me stop."
- The Dark Light of Day by T.M. Frazier Excerpt: Introducing Abby & Jake “Bee, how come I can’t touch you?”
“Because you can’t.” It was the truth. My truth.
He couldn’t, because I wouldn’t let him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to be like this! There is no way you can be fine right now!” Jake smoothed his hand over his goatee. “Someone bursts in here in the middle of the night and attacks you, and you’re just fine? Cause I’ll tell ya, I’m not fine!”
“Calm the hell down! I’m okay, really. I promise.”
“Okay is worse than fine. For fuck’s sake, I would rather you scream, and yell, and cry, and blame me!” Suddenly, he was quiet. “I just...I just want to hold, and comfort you.” He made a move toward me, but this time I refrained from flinching.
As long as he didn’t touch me, he couldn’t break me.
“Why do you want those things from me? It doesn’t change anything. I’m okay because I choose to be okay.”
I'd been saying it my whole life. It was all I knew.
“No!” Jake shouted. He jumped off the bed and started pacing the room. “No, you’re not okay because you choose to be—you just think you're okay because you choose to avoid the situation. You’re not honest about your feelings, and that’s not okay at all!”
He reached for me, and I scurried to the other side of the bed as if he were wielding a knife instead of offering comfort.
“No,” I screamed. My heart was racing. I didn’t want to feel the burn. I didn’t want to be pulled down into a place I didn’t know if I could ever climb out of.
I didn’t want to feel.
“Just let me hold you, Bee.”
“No. Fuck you. Leave me alone!”
“Why don’t you want me to touch you?” he asked again, this time louder, his voice laced with anger.
“Why do you want to touch me? I’m nothing. I’m no one.” My voice was shaky. I was on the verge of my first real tears since I was a child, and I was hell bent on not letting them come.
“Why do I want to touch you? Are you fucking kidding me right now? I want to help you. I want to hold you. I want to make it all okay for you. I want to fucking touch you because you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, and I can’t imagine never being able to hold your hand or kiss you.” I thought that was everything, but then he added, “And yes—I want to fuck you, too, like I’ve never wanted anything in my whole life.”
Why would he want me?
Sincerity played behind his eyes, the same eyes that had held so much hatred for his father no more than an hour earlier. “You’re not nothing. Don’t ever fucking say that again, because you’re everything.” He said it again, quietly this time, “You’re fucking everything, Bee.”
 Abby has been through hell and has survived one of the most brutal childhoods imaginable…barely.
To the outside world she is just a loner with an attitude.
When her grandmother dies in a tragic explosion, Abby is left with questions-and nothing else.
Homeless, sleeping in a junkyard, and on the run from a system that has failed her over and over again, she meets Jake, a tattooed blue-eyed biker with secrets that rival her own.
Two broken souls that can't be healed. They can't be saved.
Abby & Jake have to decide if they can accept the darkness not only within one another, but within themselves.
If they can accept each other for who they really are, they might be able to learn that love isn’t always found in the light.
"If you ever disappear on me, I would track you to the ends of the Earth and back.
I will always find you, Bee. Always."
The Dark Light of Day by T.M. Frazier Dreamcast: Jake and Abby Author Bio: Meet T.M. Frazier!  T.M. (Tracey Marie) Frazier resides in sunny Southwest Florida with her husband and three feisty fur kids.
She attended Florida Gulf Coast University where she specialized in public speaking. After years working in real estate and new home construction, she decided it was finally time to stop pushing her dreams to the back burner and pursue writing seriously.
In the third grade she wrote her very first story about a lost hamster. It earned rave reviews from both her teacher and her parents.
It only took her twenty years to start the next one.
It will not be about hamsters.
Stalk Her: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Goodreads.
Signed Giveaway: The Dark Light of Day Paperback & ebook!
2 Winners! Open Internationally!
Craving Constellations by Nicole Jacquelyn is a book full of emotion. From the beginning, I could not put it down. This book contained all of my favorite things - bikers, motorcycle clubs, ansgst and suspense wrapped around a group of ridiculously HOT alpha men! Craving Constellations is also a story of a father's unconditional love.
Brenna and Dragon find their way back to each other after five years .
Their reunion is bitter sweet and they have a lot to overcome, however, the story is written wonderfully.
You will laugh, you will cry and you will enjoy the hell out of this one!
Check out a deleted scene, a dream cast and a Giveaway! “How could someone make decision after decision attempting to get away from their past and somehow end up right back where they were started?”
― Nicole Jacquelyn, Craving Constellations Deleted Scene
Grease I walked up to the hospital, irritated as shit that Callie hadn’t called me back yet. God, that woman was stubborn. If I didn’t love Bren like a sister, I wouldn’t have even made this stop while I was out—I would have rode straight home and figured out what the fuck was going on with my woman. Shit was getting pretty damn strange around the club—old ladies and babies, everywhere.
When I got up to Brenna’s room, I had to firm my mouth to keep from smirking at the scene. It was like a biker’s version of a fucking Norman Rockwell painting.
Brenna and Trix were curled up like a couple of puppies on the hospital bed. Trix was completely out of it, snoring quietly, but Bren’s eyes were wide open, and she was listening intently to whatever Dragon was saying to the baby. When she saw me, she slowly lifted the hand by her face to put one finger over her lips, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.
I gave her a small nod as I leaned against the door jam and moved my eyes to D. His cut was off and draped across the end of the bed, and he sat in a rocking chair in one of his white T-shirts, the new baby lying on his chest. Fuck, that baby was small. Had my boy been that small? I couldn’t remember. Dragon’s voice was quiet in the room, obviously trying not to wake up the girls, but there was no baby-talk coming out of his mouth.
“Me and you—we’re the men of the house. Now, you may decide that my life’s not for you, and that’s fine. But I better never catch you doing the stupid shit that I did. Took me a long time to figure shit out with your mama—too long. You don’t do that. You find a good woman, and you treat her good, none a’that back and forth shit. That’s for pussies.” His voice drifted across the room, and I had to stop from shifting uncomfortably. Back and forth shit? Yeah, that sounded familiar.
“Speaking of your mama—you take care of her and Trix. That’s our most important job. Now, I know that she’s older than you and that’s going to be a problem for a while, but you do what you can. If your brother—” he paused for a minute, swallowing hard “—Well, let’s just say, that’s your job now.”
My eyes shot over to Brenna at the emotion in Dragon’s voice, and the tears running down her face gave me the incentive to stop whatever was happening before I saw something I shouldn’t. Brenna might not care if I was there, but Dragon sure as hell would. I reached up and tapped quietly on the doorframe.
“Hey, you guys up for visitors?” I asked, like I’d just walked in.
“Hey brother—yeah come on in,” Dragon told me with a smile. The man’s chest was going to bust out of his shirt like the Hulk if he puffed it out any farther. I had to smile back at him—the man was preening like a goddamn peacock.
“Brenna’s sleeping—” He stopped short when he looked at Brenna’s face. Her eyes were open and filled with tears. “Give me a sec, yeah?” he told me quietly, before walking to the edge of the bed.
I tried to ignore them. I felt like a dick for intruding on whatever was happening, so I averted my eyes, but I could still see them. The room just wasn’t big enough to give them the privacy they needed.
“Hey, mama. Why you cryin’?” he asked her before leaning down for a gentle kiss. Shit! I needed to get the fuck out of there. I looked around the room, trying to fucking ignore them. It worked with whatever Brenna was saying, her voice was too low for me to hear, but Dragon’s quiet was like a goddamn blow horn.
“I love you. Ain’t nothing gonna change that.” Then more kissing. Serious kissing, by the sounds they were making. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.”
At his words, my eyes involuntarily went to their side of the room, and the picture they made was—well, I shouldn’t have even been in the same room. Dragon was still holding the baby to his chest, supporting his little head with one of his hands, and he was leaned over Brenna and Trix on the bed. The look on his face would’ve been enough to make me uncomfortable, but the way Brenna was looking at him was so much more.
Her arm closest to the bed was curled under Trix’s head, but the other one was lifted up and was cupping Dragon’s cheek, her thumb swishing back and forth, sometimes catching his lower lip. Her lips were swollen, and her eyes were staring into his like he had the answers to the fucking universe.
I shouldn’t have been watching them, but for some reason, I couldn’t look away. They were in their own little bubble; it was like I wasn’t even there.
I jerked when Poet’s voice boomed out behind me, making me feel like a Peeping Tom.
“There’s my girl,” he called out as he brushed by me to stand by Brenna’s bed.
“You came!” Brenna was practically squealing.
“Of course I did. My baby had a baby. I wasn’t gonna miss it,” He told her with a wink, subtly pushing Dragon out of the way as he looked Brenna over. Dragon just shook his head laughing and finally walked toward me as Trix woke up from all the voices in the room.
“Well?” I asked him, not really sure what I was doing. The only experience I’d had with this whole newborn in the hospital thing had been very different. I’d been in his shoes—sort of. “Congrats, man,” I told him with a nod. That seemed like the safest bet.
“Thanks. You wanna hold him? Take off your cut,” he told me, shifting the baby like he was going to hand him over. Oh, fuck no.
“Where’s my baby?” Vera called, as her and Slider came in the room, carrying a massive bunch of flowers.
“I’m right here, Auntie Vera!” Trix giggled back, still completely confident in her place.
That was my cue to leave.
“I’ll hold him once you guys are home.” I hedged, lightly rubbing my finger across the baby’s back.
Dragon gave a slight nod, watching my face like he couldn’t figure me out. “Sure, man. I’ll see you in a few days.”
With a nod, I strode to the door, and by then, no one was paying attention to me. They were all gathered around the bed, talking over each other as Vera unwrapped the baby to change his diaper.
As I made my way out the door, I heard Trix’s dubious voice screeching from the bed.
“What is that!”  "How is it, that someone can make decision after decision attempting to get away from their past and somehow end up right back where they started?"
When Brenna decided to leave the only life she'd ever known, she never thought she'd ever be back. Now, five years later she's running from her clean cut husband straight back to the motorcycle club that raised her... and the man she left behind. She left with a secret, and as soon as she returns the truth will break her carefully constructed life wide open.
“Yeah, okay, Brenna. You wanna pretend like you and me aren’t what we are, that’s fine. I’m not gonna pretend. I’m not takin’ your bullshit either. Baby, I’ve been waitin’ five years for you. That shit’s never gone away. So, you can bitch and moan and make your own life miserable, or you can suck it the fuck up and get on the same page with me. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
― Nicole Jacquelyn, Craving Constellations “I knew it was going to be a process for us to put things behind us, but I was willing to be patient. When I looked at him, I saw everything I wanted. That was enough.”
― Nicole Jacquelyn, Craving Constellations
Today we have a promotional day for Sawyer Bennett's OFF CHANCE, book 5 of her terrific Off series - a series that has quickly become one of our favorites and never disappoints. We had the pleasure of reading an advance copy and cannot wait for you to meet Rowan & Flynn to become consumed with their heart-wrenching, steamy, and stirring love story. Flynn is the sweetest of Sawyer's BBFs and he stole our hearts!
Today we have a sexy & fun Excerpt, hot teasers, Plus a SIGNED Giveaway of Off Chance and winner's choice of any ebook from the series! Enjoy! "... you have the power to destroy me if I had your love and then lost it. I'm just not brave enough to want it the way you do."
- Off Chance by Sawyer Bennett Excerpt from Off Chance: Meet Rowan & Flynn! I can only imagine what Thanksgiving would be like with the Caldwells. There will be plenty of good food, lots of laughter, and probably some naps when it’s all said and done.
“And Capone can come, too,” Flynn throws in to entice me further, but I’d already decided to accept.
“Okay. We’re in. Can you ask your mom what I can bring?”
“I’ll ask but I know she’ll say ‘don’t bring a thing but yourself’.”
I laugh over Flynn’s impersonation of his mom’s Irish accent. “In that case, don’t bother asking and I’ll just bring something. Maybe a pie.”
“You can cook?” Flynn asks with astonishment.
“Of course I can cook,” I tell him with indignation.
“Then how come all we ever have is pizza or bologna sandwiches when it’s your turn to cook?”
“Just because I can cook, doesn’t mean I want to. This is the twenty-first century pal... get with the times. Women have shed the chains of slavery and we no longer serve you menfolk.”
Flynn throws his head back and starts howling with laughter, then he pitches forward, holding the hand with Capone’s leash to his stomach while he laughs, with the other holding onto his hot cocoa. It’s infectious and I start laughing along with him.
He looks at me and our eyes meet.
Then it happens... there is almost a crackle in the air, like electricity is flowing between us. Flynn’s laughter immediately dies away and the smile slides from my face. The same happens to me and nothing is left in our expressions except a focused intensity on each other. It’s almost as if I can feel heat swirling all around us, and the backdrop of the world fades to black.
Until nothing is left but just Flynn and me.
I call it “The Happening” and it represents those few times when the resolve to just be friends seems to melt away into oblivion. It occurs at the weirdest of times and I have no control over it. When I’m in that moment with Flynn, I want nothing more than for him to grab me and kiss me like I was the oxygen his lungs crave. I want to strip him bare and use just my fingertips to trace every inch of skin on his body. I want to get lost... deeply lost, in Flynn.
“The Happening” hits Flynn just as hard as it hits me. I see the desire light him up from within. I feel the sexual tension pouring off him with visceral awareness, and I swear I can feel his heart moaning for me.
When “The Happening” occurs, I am powerless to fight it. In fact, if Flynn ever made a move to touch me during the event, I would completely submit to him body and soul. But thankfully, Flynn is a stronger person than I am, and he is clearly the more responsible of the two of us. He’ll usually snap out of it first, and bring me crashing back to reality.
Like he does right at this moment.
 He is seeking absolution.
Flynn Caldwell has a hero complex and it’s one of the reasons he joined the New York City Fire Department. He has spent his entire professional career trying to atone for that one person he failed to save. Because, if he can do that, then perhaps he can be worthy of love again.
She is seeking escape.
Rowan Page’s life is nothing short of a disaster. Always immersed in trouble, she has only herself to depend on. She’s determined to pull herself out of this mess and make something of her life, despite the hard years she has lived on the streets of New York.
Together, they have the chance to become complete.
Flynn and Rowan’s worlds exist miles apart, but when a chance meeting brings them together, neither of them can deny the instant pull that connects them to each other. What starts as a tiny spark eventually flares into a fire so hot, it refuses to be extinguished.
For it to work, both of them will need to jump feet first into the flames to see where it takes them, despite the risk of being burned.
Sawyer Bennett's Off Chance Teasers: More Flynn & Rowan! Off Series Reading Order and Purchase Buttons
Off Sides
|
Off Limits
| Off the Record | Off Course
(Sale $0.99) |
Off Chance
| Author Bio: Meet Sawyer Bennett!  Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.
Visit her Author Page at Amazon.
Signed Giveaway: Win Signed Off Chance and
Your Choice of any Off Series ebook!
2 Winners! Open Internationally!
The Woodlands Series by Jen Frederick is one of our favorites. All of her men are ex-marine Alphas who would do anything for their ladies! Today we are introducing her third book in the series UNEXPECTED. We have had glimpses of the Uber Sexy Grayson in Unspoken ---but here is the opportunity to get to know him much better!Check out an EXCERPT, and book summary to UNEXPECTED. Also, some ridiculously hot pics and Enter to win some fab prizes!Plus, Undeclared is ON SALE for ONLY $0.99Enjoy! Exclusive Excerpt to UNEXPECTED “Forty-five days?” Bo’s eyebrows were raised. “How’d you manage that?”
“How do you think? I’m a lucky fuck.” I threw my duffel and pack into the cracker box he called a trunk and wedged myself inside the even tinier interior.
“So The Honorable Dennis Phillips came through?”
“Yup.” My old man was on the House Armed Services Committee and had pulled some strings to get special dispensation for me take forty-five consecutive days of leave at the beginning of summer. Some of it was helped by the fact I’d taken almost zero leave for the past six years and that I possessed a spotless record, but it was still a big deal. Other Marines would have killed to have even half that many days off in the summer. Literally knifed me in the gut. “I can’t believe you still have this car. It’s fucking too small for you.”
“I like ‘em tight.” Bo stroked the leather clad dash of his sports car.
“Given your dick is so tiny, it’s no wonder you need ‘em small. AnnMarie’s still a virgin then?”
“What?” He jerked his hand back and glared at me. “No talking about AnnMarie and sex. Besides, I saw you staring at my junk plenty while we were in A-stan.”
“Because you whipped it out every five seconds.”
“Can’t help that my dick’s so big my regulation pants couldn’t keep it in.”
UNEXPECTED Book Summary
January 20th 2014  Meet Sgt. Grayson Phillips. He was burned once when his girlfriend decided to sleep with an on base officer and since then hooks up with a few friends with benefits. He's spending 45 days with his buddies to figure out whether he is re-enlisting or separating from the Marines. His situation is complicated when he meets Samantha 'Sam" Anderson who was married and widowed before the age of twenty. Sam lost her soldier husband two months after his deployment. She doesn't think she'll ever get remarried and she sure as hell isn't falling for another military man. Their feelings toward each other are both unwanted and unexpected.
 For four years, Grace Sullivan wrote to a Marine she never met, and fell in love. But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.
Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.
This is a mature New Adult book. I see that it is classified as YA - not sure how to change that - but I wanted to be clear that it has explicit love scenes in the story
|  Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.
I've been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away. To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?
He's everything I shouldn't want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren't the danger to me, though, it's his charm. He's sliding his way into my heart and I'm afraid that he's going to be the one to break me.
Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.
I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I'll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I've got fighting and I've got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her.
She's everything I didn't realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she's been hurt too much in the past and I don't want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can't.
| GIVEAWAY
We absolutely ADORE the EVOLVE SERIES by S.E. Hall!
Be sure to check out Laney, Dane, Evan, Whitley, Sawyer and the rest of the gang in this wonderfully written story. EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT TO EMBRACE
first released September 4th Not sure how I remember, but not surprised that I do, I seek out Laney’s door. Pulling the letter from my back pocket, I bend to slip it under her door, shocked when I hear her sweet laugh from the other side. She’s here? She’s not with him anymore? My heart suddenly lifts, as does my hand, ready to knock, when his voice reaches out and rips my heart out of my chest.
I should walk away. Definitely the right thing to do. Fine, open a spot in hell for me, like it’s so much different than where I’m at right now, cause I’m not moving. It’s muffled, and I’m straining to do so, but I hear it.
“So you forgive me?”
“Yes caveman, I forgive you, but I’m still not ready to forgive myself. I mean it though, don’t ever do anything like that, ever again.” “I promise baby. I love you.”
“Me too.” Ah fuck. Me too? Whatever does or doesn’t happen now, words she ever says; those last ones, to him, will be the ones that ring in my ears. How could she love him? I’d gotten ten years with the little girl, the young lady, and apparently the “I love you as a best friend.” But in the span of only months, he’d taken the woman. This realization sends a wave of nausea and loneliness through me, but I muster the energy to move my feet, not wanting them to open the door and catch me standing here like the loser I’ve become.
I turn to head to Sawyer’s room, and with every step I take, a new fervor takes flame inside me. Yes, my face grazed tits, and she’d gotten a picture of it. Sure, her best friend woke up in my room, her only clothing mine…but I never told anyone I loved them! I never gave my heart! And I transferred schools for her, gave up a scholarship, fought like hell with my parents about it…damn right she shouldn’t forgive herself. I flex my hands in and out of fists, rolling my neck, fighting the urge to punch a hole in the wall. Nostrils flared, chest heaving rapidly, I take a few deep breaths before finally knocking.
When Sawyer opens the door, I have only one thing to say. “Last night was a bust. Think we can do better tonight?”
He smiles and fist bumps me, which I take as a yes. Fuck this. Disney movies suck anyway- bring on a porno!
EVOLVE SERIES BOOK SUMMARIES & PURCHASE LINKS  Laney Walker is a quick witted, athletic, southern tomboy who lets few get too close, using her sarcastic zingers to deflect. She also has no idea how others view her, Evan having protected and coveted her since they were children. But college puts a gap between Laney and Evan that neither of them were prepared for- old relationships are tested, new ones are formed and nothing will ever be the same.
Especially when in walks one Dane Kendrick, not at all the familiar, southern charmer of home, but an animal all his own.
A story of growing up, friendship, loyalty, first love, primal love...and life.
|  Embrace, the second book in the Evolve Series by S.E. Hall, follows the characters from her debut NA romance,Emerge.
Evan Allen is a handsome, athletic, southern gentleman...who now attends GSU, for no good reason.
No friends, a year of ineligibility on the football team and no girl, Evan is starting over alone. But certain members of The Crew refuse to let him face things by himself,taking him under their wing, and it doesn't take the ladies long to notice him either.
Sometimes life doesn't go as you had planned, it goes better.
Embrace it.
| GIVEAWAY
HOT AND STEAMY EXCERPT FROM UNDECLARED
Ladies - Hold on to your panties - Introducing: Noah! I rubbed a strand of her dark brown hair between my fingers and then leaned close. "I'm going to kiss you here, okay?" I felt I should ask because it was public, but Grace didn't protest. She only pressed her body closer to mine.
"Because it is the only way to endure the music?" she teased.
As if I needed an excuse. I didn't respond with any words but instead closed the distance between us. Her lips were soft and a little sticky, remnants of some lip gloss perhaps. I swept my tongue across the bottom of her lip and then pushed inside to taste her.
The menthol of a mint still lingered and I could feel a faint tingling sensation. Dimly I thought that she must have just eaten a breath mint.
My hand tightened in her hair. I clenched my other hand in a fist against the wall even though I wanted to touch her all over. Cup her breasts. Unbutton her pants, stroke her from throat to pussy. But this was a semi-public place, and I didn't want Grace to feel embarrassed by anything she did with me, ever. Public making out seemed to be the limit for her. Now.
But that didn't stop me from imagining what it would feel like to have this hot mouth all over my cock, having her suck me like she was sucking my tongue. Then I couldn't resist. My body blocked the view from anyone else. I let go of her hair, pressed my palm just below her breast, and let the plump weight rest in the top of my fingers. When she moaned, I took this as permission and covered her breast, kneading it slightly with my palm and rubbing my thumb across the nipple I could feel even through the sheer shirt, the tank, and the bra she wore underneath.
I wanted to put my mouth on that tip and suck it like the juicy piece of fruit it reminded me of.
My hindbrain was telling me to keep going, to rip the shirt off and pull her shorts down. I pulled my hand off her breast and tore my mouth from hers.
She made a small sound of frustration. Me too, sweetheart. Me too. Book Summary and Purchase Link  For four years, Grace Sullivan wrote to a Marine she never met, and fell in love. But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.
Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.
Bo is an ex-marine and an underground fighter. He is sexy and incredibly romantic.
You will not want to miss the next installment in the Woodland Series.
"So hot. Tight. Can't fucking wait to be inside you." Bo's words were more grunts than complete thoughts. I understood. I had no ability to form complete sentences either. My sole focus was on the slick between my legs caused by the movement of his fingers thrusting in and out and the abrasion of his palm, rough and calloused, against my clit. “I want to stay inside you for hours. Live here.” - Jen Frederick, Unspoken
As I felt his insistent erection against my stomach, I knew I wanted to give him the same pleasure, have him under my thumb just as he’d overpowered me with emotion and need. Bo pushed upright and lifted the heavy fall of my hair aside as I slid off the bed to kneel in front of him. “You don’t need to do this.”
I pressed my hand against his thighs and stared up at him. “I want to.”
The button had already come undone and I unzipped his jeans. Underneath he was completely nude, and his heavy cock fell forward, free of its constraints. I pressed my face into his hair and rubbed my cheek against the soft skin of his erection. It bobbed against my cheek. He smelled of male sweat and musk. I licked his skin between his leg and crotch and tasted the delicious salty flavor. His leg buckled, and Bo readjusted, bracing one knee against the bed, one hand hard against my shoulder. With his free hand, he stroked my hair tenderly.
I rained soft kisses down the hard length of him and licked the top softly. There was a spot of liquid on the tip and I lapped it up. Bo groaned, and the hand in my hair turned to a fist as he tightened his hold. His hips moved forward, as if wanting to be deeper inside, but he asked for nothing, waiting for me to set the pace.
I’d never enjoyed this in the past, but with Bo it felt natural and good. I inhaled his smell, felt the crisp hairs against my nose as I bent forward. Everything about this felt right. His shaft was thick on my tongue. I could hear him panting; it seemed as if he were breathing harder now than he had during the fight. I ran my tongue over the ridge as I mouthed him.
Bo reached along my arm and grabbed my hand. He brought it up to his shaft and wrapped my hand around the base. He moved his hand in short, hard movements, in the same rhythm as my mouth. It was unbearably exciting to have him touching himself over my hand. Under my hair, his other hand palmed the back of my head, providing support. When I’d gotten the gist of the movement he wanted, he brought his hand up from his cock and stroked my cheek, feeling the hollows as I sucked and pumped.
I could feel his balls tighten against the back of my hand as I twisted and pumped like he showed me. As I could feel his release coming, Bo pulled out of my mouth.
“Don’t you…”
“No, I want to finish inside of you.”
I dabbed my finger on the tip and tasted his pre-come.
“Jesus.” He gave a small rueful laugh. “Are you trying to kill me?”
Book Summary and Purchase Link  Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.
I've been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away. To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?
He's everything I shouldn't want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren't the danger to me, though, it's his charm. He's sliding his way into my heart and I'm afraid that he's going to be the one to break me.
Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.
I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I'll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I've got fighting and I've got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her.
She's everything I didn't realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she's been hurt too much in the past and I don't want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can't.
Bonus Content: Upon reaching the USA Today Bestselling milestone, I wrote a 10,000 word epilogue as a thank you to the readers who loved and supported Unspoken. I posted it for free on my blog but at the urging of readers, I have added it to the original version.
Note: This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance with mature content and sexually explicit scenes. 91,000+ words. Standalone novel.
“I'm a bad bet, Sunshine, but if you're willing to give me a whirl around the ring, I'm yours. Because you've got me so twisted up inside that I barely know if up is down. I'm so inside my head that I'm coming out of my asshole. Have mercy on me.”
- Jen Frederick, Unspoken
|
