Monday, February 29, 2016

Release Blitz #giveaway: One Hour Girl by Leteisha Newton




Title: One Hour Girl
Series: Lost Souls #1
Author: LeTeisha Newton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
 Release Date: February 29, 2016



Blurb

He thinks I’m his forever girl, I saw it in his eyes. I wished I could have slapped the look off his face and hit him with the same jarring finality I’d learned I didn’t mean shit.

I’m not a forever sort of girl.

I’m not even his for the night.

He’ll be lucky if I’m his for the next hour if he doesn’t pay me for it.

And then Royce Mattherson stormed my defenses. Took all the poison inside of me and pushed it out through my pores. He tasted the taint on my skin and still decided to love me.

He terrifies me. Exhilarates me. Frustrates me.

And he always gets what he wants.

Always






Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK






Excerpt

“You are my date for the night.” He said date like a curse and I arched my brow at him, irritated that I noticed his good looks when he seemed to be disgusted by the very thing I represented. This man probably never had to pay for sex in his life.

Well I wasn’t some newbie who’d let his actions hurt me. I wouldn’t.

“That’s what you paid for.” I shifted my chest so my breasts swayed a bit. His eyes left my face and his gaze followed the sway of my breasts for a moment before he looked back at me. So, not completely adverse to my charms.

“Your job is to stay silent, entice, and smile pretty. These men here are donating money toward my organization based on ‘paying for one of you for the night’” he said, fingers curling in quotation marks.

“I understand,” I said. This was business, and that I could do. Men with money did a lot of odd things with their money. I had more powerful men and women in my client list than I would have ever believed when I first started. This was no different, and the premise of the evening didn’t bother me.

It was the fact that the organizer seemed discomforted by his event. And his discomfort was extended to me.

And why it bothered me, I didn’t know. But it shouldn’t have. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and stood taller. I let my arms fall to my sides before I stepped up to his side. He stiffened a moment before relaxing as I grasped his arm in my hands. The cool material of his suit rubbed against my nipple and I sucked in a breath, and took in his scent with it. I could taste it on the back of my throat.

He smelled of sandalwood and Jasmine, but in a light, lingering signature that I recognized. I’ve smelled Clive Christian on a lot of men, but I hadn’t smelled it like this. Ever. I leaned in, inhaling more of his scent. My date shifted against me, and molded his body to my front. I let go of his arm with one hand and gripped his lapel. He held his body, hard and hot, against me. My breasts tingled, crushed to his chest, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking another whiff. My nose touched his neck before I realized it. I caught his swift intake of breath, the bite of his finger in my upper arms as he gripped me, and pulled me a little closer.

“You do your job well,” he whispered in my ear. His voice was low, seductive, and authoritative.

“But I don’t pay for kicks.” I stopped breathing.

He couldn’t have done a better job if he’d tossed cold water over my head and laughed in my face. I plastered a smile on my face, feeling the burn of embarrassment on my cheeks. I leaned back from him and looked directly in his eyes. He wasn’t going to scare me. He wasn’t going to hurt me like so many others had.

“Sugar, you spend over two thousand dollars on cologne made to attract women, and then buy escorts to earn money for your organization. You pay for tricks already, you just would have been much happier had you paid for mine. Shall we?” I gestured toward the open door, and the party he’d paid me for. He hid his momentary surprise well, the expression melting into a cool mask so fast I would have missed it had I not been looking at him.

Take that. I may be a lot of things, but your object of ridicule I am not. He didn’t acknowledge my statement, but he turned towards the door and walked with me out of it. I kept my grip on his arm, holding my head high.

“Royce Mattherson,” he said then, and I frowned over at him. “My name,” he added. A smile played on his lips, the left side a bit higher than the right. That smile, that show of imperfection made my heart skip a beat. I forced myself to ignore it as I thought of my reply.

“Nice to meet you, Royce Mattherson. I’m your one hour girl.” I bowed my head to read the watch on his wrist. “Of which, you have forty-five minutes left.”

He chuckled, a soft rumbling sound that had my toes curling. “I hurt your feelings, I see. Grow up, little girl. This world will crush you if you let it. You won’t make it very far if you don’t understand that.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I hissed at him through clenched teeth, maintaining my false smile as he walked me up the hallway to the main part of the party in a ballroom.

“You’ve got a chip on your shoulder a mile wide,” he responded.

“Now who has the hurt feelings? I think you’re more bothered than you want to let on that I didn’t offer my services,” I argued.

“You’re here; I’ve already got your services. I just don’t want what’s between your legs,” he added. I felt his eyes on me.

But I knew what he said was a lie. I could read it in him. I’d bothered him. Stepped on his peace offering, but I hadn’t known how to read him. And, yes, I’d been sort of hurt, sort of bothered that he hadn’t reacted to me the way I’d hoped.

And where did that leave me admitting that?

“Yes you do,” I said, stopping.

He stopped with me. I turned towards him and ran my hand down over his groin area. His cock jumped under my hand. The desire was there, despite his words.

“I know this better than anything, and you do want me.” I trailed my fingertips over his shape. The cloth separated us, but his heat pushed through the cloth as I measured his girth. My pulse quickened. Yes, this is what I knew, what I understood. He gripped my wrist and pulled my hand away.

“You speak your mind, and I can respect that. But let me be perfectly clear, I have never, and will never pay for sex.”

“Is that your problem? And if we’d met in a bar? In a club late at night with the music thumping around us?” I asked.

“Then I’d have fucked you against the nearest surface until you couldn’t stand. And then I’d have walked away,” he answered. He stepped back from me and straightened his clothing before looking over at me with a question in his eyes.

I had no return for that. My body was hot with the idea, and the anonymity of the encounter would have been just what I liked, but something in me hesitated. Would I have liked to be a passerby in this man’s world? I didn’t know, and the lack of answer irritated me. I needed to get away from him, and the questions he brought, fast.

“I’m sure it would have been a fun time,” I answered, no longer interested in the banter. I gripped his arm once more and he walked into the party, his small crooked smile on his face again.

I hated that smile. It meant he won. That he’d bested me. I didn’t want him to win. I didn’t want to fall behind. And it irritated me that I care so much. And yet, as I listened to him talk about his organization, helping with domestic violence and using rescue dogs to help rebuild trust in those who’d learned only pain from their loved ones, there was no doubt he was an intelligent man. He was composed. He was a man that I could have liked. A man that I could have respected if my other side, the pristine side, the perfect side had met him first. Would she have sat and smiled, talked to him? Would she have blushed prettily at his compliments and challenged him with thought provoking conversation? Would he have liked her?

Because right now I was playing the whore, and, for the first time, I felt dirty and wished Ms. Perfect was in attendance.

I hated Royce Mattherson.








Author Bio

Writing professionally since 2008, LeTeisha has spanned from Fantasy to Interracial Romance on her road to getting the jumping characters out of her head. Most days she’s pretty color blind, unless it’s a great shade of red (then she can’t ignore it). Other times she’s plotting her next twenty books and then remembering that the computer can’t read her thoughts and doesn’t type at lightning speed. Either way, she just can’t seem to get enough of quill to paper…or eh…keyboard strokes, apparently.



Author Links


Blog Tour: Entangled Darknes by Brandy L Rivers


ENTANGLED DARKNESS by Brandy L Rivers
Others of Edenton #8 
Genre: Paranormal Romance

- SYNOPSIS -
Even the best intentions can be entangled in darkness.

Tremaine is no stranger to tough decisions. One case took him so deep he nearly lost his way. Saving Liz gave him purpose, pulling him back into the light.

After tragedy, Tremaine helped Liz rebuild her life. Their pieces fell into place with Robert. The three of them have forged an unbreakable bond through heartbreak and reunion.

Robert’s new case threatens to drag Tremaine back to his darkest hours. Every revealed secret pulls them deeper, entwining the three further.

Together they’ll uncover plots set in motion long before Tremaine’s was assigned the case that nearly broke him. The truth will either bind or destroy them all.

- PURCHASE -
Googleplay - http://bit.ly/1YLCBzP





- EXCERPT -
Tremaine burst through the door, slamming it shut. He fused the knob and trapped the sound with the same spell. When he turned toward Robert, the rage on his face sent a thrill of fear down Robert’s spine.

“You happy with yourself?”

Robert stood, meeting his glare. “What on earth are you talking about?”

He growled. “You scared the fuck out of Liz by not coming home and sending that cowardly text. Why? Because you’re pissed about my past? I gave you those files thinking you could see the bigger fucking picture. Now you want to accuse me of what? Treason against the Council? Draecyn’s the bastard who sent me on the goddamned case to begin with.”

Robert drew in a slow breath, trying to gather his words. He’d never seen Tremaine this angry before. Generally, he was levelheaded through the worst of times.

“Nothing?” Tremaine spat. When Robert didn’t answer, he snarled, “Really think I could do all that?”

Robert stepped around the desk, anger flickering to life. “You tell me, Tremaine. What am I supposed to think? You handed me stacks of files without warning me what was in there. Of course, I’m going to question every single thing.”

Tremaine shook his head in slow motion, his brown eyes fading to gold, flashing with light. “You question what side I was on, then fucking question me like a man. Don’t hide away from Liz. You didn’t see the look on her face when she asked me if you got tired of her and wanted to give up.”

“I’ll never give up on her.” An array of emotions splintered through Robert as he took a step closer, narrowing his eyes. “Yes, I made one bad decision. I gave her what I thought she wanted nearly twenty-two years ago. Never again.”

“Then why didn’t you come home?” Tremaine demanded.

He growled in frustration. “I was so twisted up trying to make sense of everything I read and couldn’t come home to see you wrapped around her, which I knew you had to be.”

“Do you think I wanted to go so deep into HARP? Think I wanted to do all that shit? Tell me something, Robert, why do you think Draecyn sent me? No one else could get into HARP’s ranks. Draecyn knew I was the only one with any kind of chance of getting intel because he was the only one who knew who my real father was.”

Robert’s heart sank. And they were right back to what he had finally realized a second before Tremaine barged in. “Because you’re half druid?”

Tremaine’s hands trembled a moment before they fisted. He stepped closer until he was an inch from Robert’s face. “Exactly. I didn’t choose the assignment. It was chosen for me. And yeah, they expelled me… technically, but I kept Draecyn in the loop. Did you skip his files?”

“You could have warned me what was really in there.”

“So you could question if I was just saying that to keep you in our bed? No. Thank. You. I gave you every last shred of the files so you could see what happened and draw your own conclusions. Apparently, that was the wrong fucking move.”

Robert’s jaw clenched. “Last night, after reading the final files, my head was swimming with a million details I didn’t understand. This morning they clicked into place, forming the bigger picture. I needed time to process.”

“Next time, man up and call me. Tell me to fucking leave so you can go to Liz and not break her to pieces when she starts wondering if you really love her.”

“Of course, I love her. I’ve always loved her. I didn’t want to fight in front of her when I was so lost in the details I couldn’t see the truth. Now back off.”

Tremaine inched closer, his eyes lasered on Robert’s. “You want to lose Liz?”

Robert shook his head.

“Me? I’d understand that. Is it too much now? If so, it’s too damned late to get rid of me. I’ve always loved Liz, and I love you, but right now you disgust me. I’ve never done a damned thing to make you doubt me like this.”

Robert attempted to shove him away, but Tremaine didn’t move. Frustrated, he hissed, “Had you waited ten more minutes, I would have been past the doubt. I needed time, Trem.” He reached for his phone to call Liz.

Tremaine caught it and threw it across the room. “Fuck that. Stop and talk to me! Tell me what I have to do to convince you I’m not part of HARP?”

“I know you’re not. There’s still a million questions on the tip of my tongue, but I get it.”

“Promise you won’t do that to Liz again,” Tremaine insisted.

“I swear it, and I’m sorry.” He met Tremaine’s golden stare. “Do you hate me now?”

“You know better. I love you. You’re a piece of my soul. I can’t have you thinking I’m that scum.” He closed the distance, looking into Robert’s eyes with deep intensity.

Desire washed through Robert. He gripped the back of Tremaine’s neck and pulled him in for a bruising kiss. Then he hissed into Tremaine’s ear. “I love you too.”

“Prove it,” Tremaine growled, reaching behind Robert to shove everything off the desk. Files fell to the floor, books, journals, everything, even the phone.

Their mouths collided, tongue’s dueling, teeth gnashing. Robert stood, and Tremaine pushed his jacket off, then gripped Robert’s shirt, ripping it open. Buttons flew across the room.



- OTHERS OF EDENTON SERIES - 
- New Beginnings, #0.5: http://amzn.to/19shmii
- In Too Deep, #1: http://amzn.to/1FsGP7j
- Shadows Fall, A Novellete #1.5: http://amzn.to/1Co7mn5
- Shadows of the Past, #2: http://amzn.to/1CmtcFV
- Fated Love, Novella #2.5: http://amzn.to/1EklEjA
- Falling Into Place, #3: http://amzn.to/1AwCzhw
- Breaking Free, #4: http://amzn.to/1MG5W6U
- Mending Scars, #5: http://amzn.to/1BwVB7T
- Labor of Love, #5.5: http://amzn.to/20JGCnu
- Light in Darkness, #6: http://amzn.to/1FonVdS
- Blissful Agony, #7: http://amzn.to/1P0Rjkp

- NEW RELEASE!! -
- Entangled Darkness, #8: http://amzn.to/1SWUk7w

AND NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER for .99¢ 
════ DEEP TROUBLE, Others of Edenton #9 ════
iBooks - COMING SOON
All Romance - http://bit.ly/211myz3
Smashwords - http://bit.ly/1XqgWfF

- ADD THE SERIES ON GOODREADS -


- OTHERS OF SEATTLE SERIES - 
#1 Nights Embrace - http://amzn.to/1QUBeMt
#2 Storm Mistress - http://amzn.to/1JoK9zB
#3 Accepting Fate - http://amzn.to/1QUBlrn
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#4 Changing Destiny - http://amzn.to/1JoKAtw
#5 Coming Together - http://amzn.to/1JoI86i

- Others of Edenton BOXSET #1 
Includes: New Beginnings, In Too Deep, Shadows Fall, and Shadows of the Past: http://amzn.to/1MFma1L

- Others of Edenton BOXSET #2 
Includes: Fate Love, Falling Into Place, Breaking Free, Mending Scars, and Labor of Love: http://amzn.to/1CX1Q7R


- ABOUT THE AUTHOR - 
Brandy L Rivers is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her two main series are Others of Edenton and Others of Seattle. She has also written a couple contemporary stories. An avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing. She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. Her secret lair, guarded by a pint-sized pound puppy who imagines himself a hellhound, contains a file full of manuscripts she plans to edit and put out with new creations she is constantly dreaming up. Living in rainy Western Washington with her husband and three kids, Brandy is already working on future stories in each of the series, and several other projects. 

- social media links - 


Blog Tour #giveaway: Love 'em by Kelley Harvey

Blog tour banner


COVER


Title : LOVE ‘EM - A Bad Boy Romance 

Author : Kelley Harvey 

• Amazon Paid In Kindle Store Top 100 Best Selling Author • 

Genre : Contemporary Romance 

Release Date : February 11, 2016



BONUS: For a limited time, the eBook of LOVE ‘EM. – A Bad Boy Romance will include a BONUS. SO. BAD. - A Bad Boy Next Door novel full length novel. Both are standalones.

header


LOVE ‘EM—a Bad Boy Romance Book Blurb


RONNIE
He’s rude. He’s crude. He’s socially unacceptable. 
Jackson Tremaine gets under my skin as easily as he gets into my pants. 
He’s the prince of late night television and he single-handedly ruins my life between commercial breaks. 
That’s fine. Payback’s a bitch, and she’s named Ronnie Fitz.


JACKSON
Ronnie thinks she knows men, but she don’t know Jack—jackshit, that is. 
The biggest problem with Ronnie Fitz? She’s addictive. 
I had the best night of my life with her, and now she decides we can only be friends? 
Screw the friend-zone. 
It’s the fuck-zone or no-zone with Jackson Tremaine.

Teaser 2 

Where you can purchase LOVE ‘EM:

LOVE ‘EM available on Amazon, $.99 or *FREE* for Kindle Unlimited Members.

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK

8c7d4-goodreads-button


Teaser 3 

  
exclusive excerpt


CHAPTER ONE



My brand new shoes bite into the back of my heels and squish my toes. I fill a paper cup with water and set it aside without ingesting so much as a sip.

Shayna takes my elbow as I pass by for the fifteenth time. “For Christ’s sake, sit down. I wasn’t nervous until you started pacing.”

I press my finger to the twitch at the corner of my left eye. “This is going to be a disaster. I know it.”

“It’ll be fine. Relax.” My best friend for the last three years fluffs my corkscrew curls around my shoulders and grasps my upper arms. “A live studio audience will be good. I promise. You’ll be so happy you did this.”

“Somehow I doubt it. Why couldn’t you have kept your mouth shut when Sam called?” Blah blah blah, that’s what she did. Info dump right into my agent’s ear, and that was the cannonball on the catapult that shot me straight to the gates of Hell.

Shayna was the first to be invited on the show, and after she talked to Sam, I got a call too.

Shay whirls me around to face a blank wall. She holds her hand up as if she’s painting a scene. 

“Picture this: You’ll sell a million books, and then you can take me to Cancun. We’ll sip fruity drinks with tiny umbrellas, delivered to us on golden trays by hot cabana boys who don’t speak our language. We’ll say the rudest things and smile and still get laid at the end of the day.”

A smile pulls up the corner of my mouth even as I rub the ache between my eyebrows. “If you say so. Let’s just hope Jackson Tremaine is feeling charitable tonight.”

She sticks her tongue out. “Jackson Tremaine can go fuck himself.”

I straighten her platinum blonde, not-quite-human-hair wig and tip her bug-eye sunglasses down enough to stare into her baby blues. “You think all men should go fuck themselves. You know, most of them want the same things we want. To be loved. To be respected. You just have to give them a chance.”

“Every year, I offer about a hundred of them a ‘chance’. All but three have failed, and those already belonged to other women.” Shay quirks her auburn eyebrow. Good thing the shades hide the dead giveaway that she isn’t really a blonde bombshell.

A sad sigh escapes before I can catch it. “I’m so sorry, sweetie, but maybe you need to consider another career path?”

Even though her eyes are hidden again, it’s as though I hear them rolling.

“Thanks for the advice, but I make an excellent living in my current line of work. As much as I love you, Ronnie, you and I have two different philosophies when it comes to men. I’m good with that.”

A petite woman pops into the room. “Ladies, he’s going to bring you out one at a time, starting with you, Ronnie. In five.”

My stomach grabs hold of my esophagus and trembles as the second hand ticks away the moments. My first live appearance on television is tying me into knots.

Appearing on the Up Late with Jackson Tremaine show should be a boon, but it’s probably going to blow up in my face. Like a big fat dirty bomb. Lights out.

My instinct says that he’s a shark and I’m a guppy. He’s going to chew me up and spit me out. That’s if I’m lucky, and he doesn’t swallow me whole.

No. I won’t let him. He’s a man, like all the other men I’ve studied since I was twelve and Dad skipped out on my overbearing, never-to-be-pleased mother. If she’d have shown him some love and compassion, he’d have stayed. I’m sure of it.

I have to remember that about Jackson. Underneath his Armani suits and Rolex watches, he wants the same things as everyone else—respect and love. That’s all. Show him some respect, and he’ll return the favor. And, after tonight, I can move on and watch my book sales skyrocket as I ring in the new year, and my bank account will follow suit.

Shayna stands in front of the full length mirror in the corner and applies a fresh coat of the blood-red lipstick she purchased specifically for tonight. “Can you tell that it’s me?”

I rub my finger along my bottom lip. “Well, I can tell it’s you, but I’d know you with a bag on your head. That sassy sway of your hips and the way you talk with your hands would give it away. But, I think you’re all right. Most people don’t pay that close of attention. I’m certain your secret’s safe.”

“I only want to ensure my potential clients can be assured that their unsuspecting, cheating bastards won’t know what’s coming when I make my move.”

I shake my head. “One of these days, Shay—”

“I know. I know.” She brings her tone up an octave, mimicking me. “‘One of these days, you’re going to meet the man of your dreams. You’re going to read my book. You’ll fall in love. And wah,wah, fucking wah.’ Save it, Rons. I am perfectly happy with my life. I’ll let you do the loving. I’ll stick with fuck and release, thank you.”


Offstage, the silent monitor flickers in the dark. On screen, two insanely gorgeous men smile at a shared joke and holiday lights twinkle in the background. The host tidies his stack of note cards, tapping them on the desk and tucking the one at the front behind the others.

Jackson’s voice has a velvet covered rasp, even sexier in person than on television. “Eleven days to Christmas, and a brand new year waits just around the corner. Many will make and break resolutions. How about those resolutions to find love or dump a dead weight relationship?”

His smile widens as he holds up his hands, trying to calm the masses as they cheer.

When the crowd quiets, he says, “The ladies who make up this duo are actually very best friends. The livelihood of both women depends on love, in one capacity or another. I call them Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em, if that tells you anything at all about their respective career fields.”

He brushes his fingers through chocolate-colored hair. “Let’s meet Love ‘Em first. How many of you gals have your eye on a man who seems to stay just out of reach, or one who doesn’t want to commit?”

Someone in the audience cat-calls about her guy.

“And we’re glad you’ve got a man who’s hung like King Kong.” Jackson answers the bawdy lady while he winks at the camera. “Anyway, our next guest thinks she knows men. Love ‘Em’s got us all figured out and has put her wealth of knowledge into book form.”

My stomach takes a plunge to my feet. Here we go.

He holds up my book and exchanges a knowing look with his first guest as he stands. “This guide for women is supposed to help you ladies catch and keep your dream lovers. Please welcome the author of Decode the Man in Your Life, Ronnie Fitz.”

The handler ushers me toward the stage’s side entrance. “Watch—”

Applause drowns out whatever he’s saying as I clear the edge of the royal blue curtain. The clipboard-wielding guy gives me a shove toward Jackson Tremaine who waits three feet ahead with his hand held out in greeting.

Jackson has the clearest sage green eyes I’ve ever seen, dark around the edges but almost white at their center. They crinkle at the corners as he smiles at me, sending my heart into an abnormal rhythm. The hand he holds out to me waves me out, drawing me to him like a—

Something grabs my ankle. Crap. A cable running across the floor is wrapped over my beautiful new shoe. I try to compensate with my other foot, but it makes it worse. I stumble forward, losing my balance as my plastered-on smile falters. Instead of shaking his hand, I fall against Jackson Tremaine’s muscular chest.

Strong arms come around me, pulling me up and tight against him. His scent, something like sandalwood and cinnamon, envelopes me. His laugh vibrates through my breasts, now pressed firmly against his pecs.

The audience goes bat-shit wild with applause.

Oh my—Hell. In Hell. Right now. This can’t be happening.

Mr. Tremaine hangs on tight until the crowd quiets.

“Well, that’s a great start to a new relationship. But I’m afraid I’m happy in my bachelorhood, Ms. Fitz.” He sets me away from him, adjusting first his tie and then his junk right in front of God and everybody.

Heat floods my face, and I don’t know where to look. “Oh, I’m—so sorry. I tripped.”

He tosses a sly look at the closest camera. “No worries. I don’t mind at all. I enjoy a beautiful woman in my arms any time—but only for a short time.”

Jackson takes my hand, sending tingles up my arm. “I’ll hold on to you until we get you safely into your seat.”

He leads me to the chair between guest number one and the side of the desk.

Jackson stage whispers to the other man. “Be careful of this one, Bax. Love ‘Em’s quite a handful.”

Casino mogul Baxter Ransom nods as he offers his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Fitz.”
I do the best I can to swallow my embarrassment. “Likewise.”

Jackson returns to his seat. “So, Ronnie—you don’t mind if I call you that? You’ve put together this instruction manual, if you will, for women.”

I brush my wild curls away from my face with trembling fingers. “I suppose you could call it that. It’s really only common sense things that most of us already know but fail to put into practice in our everyday lives.”

“I read the book last night—well, parts of it—and I’m not convinced.”

The lead weight in my gut grows.

No, it’s okay. He’s playing Devil’s Advocate. It’s his job.

“Oh? What part do you need help with?” I smile, but inside my heart is shriveling into a raisin.
He’s making me out to look a fool, and no one is going to buy my book by the time he’s done with me.

He leans back in his chair, propping his feet on his desk. “Well, this whole idea that a woman can get the guy she wants, simply by showing him deference and respect…”

I take a quick breath, heat simmering in my stomach. Dumbass is twisting my words. “I didn’t say deference.”

He laces his fingers across his flat belly. “Oh, maybe I read that incorrectly. Don’t get me wrong. I like the idea of a woman who shows a man respect. I don’t buy that it will get him to commit.”

The fire in my gut stirs. “Well, think about it, Mr. Tremaine. What man doesn’t want the woman in his life to tell him how amazing he is on a daily basis?”

I wait, but he just sits there, smugness poised on his too handsome face. It’s as if he didn’t hear the question I asked.

“Well?” I prompt.

His eyebrows go up, fake surprise in his expression. “Oh, that wasn’t rhetorical?”

No wonder he’s still single.

I let out a huff of air. “How many men get the respect they want and deserve from the women who profess to love them? The principals in my book all come down to one thing: men aren’t as complicated as ladies think they are. They want love just like women do. The biggest difference is what they perceive as love.”

He squints as though considering my words. “Well, they do say perception is ninety percent of reality. My ninety percent says this is a load of rhino dung.”

My jaw drops.

Did he really just say that—about my book, my magnum opus, in front of billions of people?

I snap my mouth shut and glare at him. “Maybe your perception is what’s full of shit.”

His eyes widen, and his gaze darts to a man on the sidelines with a clipboard and an apoplectic vein popping out on his forehead.

“Oops, probably shouldn’t have cursed. All those pesky FCC regulations.” I smile sweetly at my asshole of a host.

Jackson nods to the vein guy, whips his feet off his desk, and holds my book up once more.

 “And there you have it, folks. Want to know how to get a man? Buy the book and have him in the bag by Valentine’s Day.”

He tosses the book aside and smiles directly at the camera set in the middle isle of the gallery of seats. “Our next guest, BFF to Ms. Fitz here, is pretty much her polar opposite.”

In ways he will never understand.

Jackson grins. “Leave ‘Em—remember that’s her nickname. Sorry, I can’t reveal her true identity, because she needs the anonymity to run her business. Leave ‘Em claims she doesn’t believe in true love. Well, I suppose not, considering it’s her job to prove it isn’t out there.”

Jackson stands and claps. “Please welcome our next guest. She’s the person other women hire to test the men in their lives.”

Shayna glides onto the stage—no tripping for her. She’s much too graceful as she waves and blows kisses Marilyn Monroe style. Maybe she’s taking that wig too seriously.

Shayna takes Jackson’s offered hand in both of hers as Baxter and I shuffle chairs to make room for Shayna in the seat I vacated, closest to the host.

Jackson seats my friend and takes his own chair. “So, you’re the temptress who actually tries to get men to cheat before you report back to your clients.”

“I suppose you might describe my work that way.” Shayna’s lacquered fingernail taps out a rhythm on the arm of her chair.

“You set up and ambush unsuspecting men?” Mr. Ransom shifts in his seat.

She licks her bright red lips. “I only make an overture they could easily ignore. It’s only a trap for those men already predisposed to cheat on their significant other.”

Jackson Tremaine leans forward, his elbows on his desk, chin in his hands. “So, Ms. Leave ‘Em, do you actually screw these cheating guys?”

Shayna grins. As usual, she’s unfazed by direct barbs. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly certain she likes it.

“No, I never go that far. I’m not a prostitute. I simply do my best to lure the men to willingly place themselves in a compromising position. I always stop before anything too serious happens.”

Baxter rubs his chin, as though contemplating what Shayna has said. “Never?”

“Never.” Her shades hide her rolling eyes, but I’m certain that’s what she did.

Baxter lifts one eyebrow. “Hmm.”

Jackson barks a laugh, which he unsuccessfully tries to cover with a cough. “Excuse me. I—oh hell, I can’t lie. I just had a fantastic idea.”

Our host sends a sly look toward the camera to his left before he turns his full attention to me. 

“So, Ms. Love ‘Em—Ronnie—would you be willing to wager that should a woman use the techniques in your book, her man won’t have the propensity to cheat, because he’d be so enamored of her and happy at home?”

Baxter Ransom coughs, and Shayna whips around to me, her mouth slightly agape.

My throat goes bone dry. “Um—well, I mean—I—”

Shayna jumps to my rescue. “A cheater will cheat, no matter how wonderful his woman is. Some guys are scum. Cheaters cheat, no matter what.”

I lay my hand on her arm. “Wait. No. I believe most people cheat because something in their relationship is lacking.”

Shay elbows me. “Shh.”

I toss her a look.

She ignores me. “No. A cheater is a cheater is a cheater—no matter what.”

The mischief coming off of Jackson Tremaine is almost palpable, and the audience goes silent. 

It’s as though they know he’s going to do something outrageous, which he probably will. And they’ll all think it’s epic, only I’ll probably be shoved to a lower level of Hell. Even the slight shifting and shuffling that usually goes on in a crowd dies down as he continues to study me and my friend.

He looks around both of us. “Bax, you’re a gambler.”

Mr. Ransom draws back. “Well, my business is gambling, but—”

“Let’s make a wager, shall we? Right here on live television.”

My bladder twitches. Nervousness makes me need to pee. I could probably fill up three adult diapers at this very moment. Whatever Jackson has in mind is bound to be bad for me, terrible for my book, and probably horrible for my long-term career goals.

Baxter leans closer to Jackson. “Go on.”

“Let’s see which of these two ladies’ juju works best.” Jackson wags his eyebrows like he’s a villain in a cartoon.

Shayna pops up out of her seat. “That’s not how I run my business.”

“Aw, c’mon, now, be a sport.” Baxter grins, his eyes trailing from her fake hair all the way to the five-inch heels of her platform fuck-me boots.

Jackson looks straight into the main camera. “What do you think, America? Shall we wager that Love ‘Em can’t use the techniques in her book to keep Leave ‘Em from taking her man?”

Shayna falls into her seat with a thud. “She doesn’t even have a man.”

And there it is. I let out a sigh. All of America knows I’m a love specialist who’s not in love and has no man. No hint of a man in my life—not even an old toothbrush still haunting my medicine cabinet from a man I once had. I’m sunk.

Jackson cocks his head, as though he can hardly believe what he’s heard.

I open my mouth to rebut her statement, only to be interrupted.

“Do you not have a significant other, Ms. Love ‘Em?” His green eyes are too beautiful for someone like him. Nasty, evil people shouldn’t get to be gorgeous. Not fair. They should be ugly as a warning to children not to become emotionally corrupt.

I close my eyes. I so hoped this wouldn’t come up. Of all the things, why this?

I clear my throat. “That has absolutely no bearing on—”

He holds up one finger. “Wait. Hear me out. I take it from your reply that the answer is no?”

Panic sweeps over me in a rush of hot tingles up the back of my neck and across my face. I fight the urge to jump up and run off stage. “No significant other at this time.”

The twinkle in his eyes makes me want to scratch them out of his skull. I’ve never met a man I liked less.

Ever.


I toss my purse onto the counter in the kitchen. “Worst. Day. In. History.”

“I don’t want to hear it. You could’ve avoided that entire exchange.” Shayna drops into a chair at the table and unzips her thigh-high boot.

My jaw falls almost to my navel. “I could have avoided it? What about you?”

Shay kicks off one boot. “Not me. You’re the one who should’ve said no.”

You should have, too.”

She tilts her head to the side, glaring. “No. I couldn’t. My work depends on women trusting the fact that if their guy is a cheater—if he’s going to cheat at all—it would be with me. If I were to say I couldn’t possibly entice your guy—whoever the fuck that ends up being—into cheating, then why would anyone ever hire me?”

“Who’s going to buy a book on how to catch and keep their man from a woman who isn’t confident enough to say that she can keep her man enthralled enough that he’ll turn down the opportunity to go at it with a blonde dressed like a prostitute?”

“Prosti…” Shayna looks down at her outfit and giggles. “Yeah, I guess I am kind of dressed to head down to the boulevard and hawk my ample wares.”

She shimmies her tits in her too tight black leather jacket. “Day-umn. I didn’t even get the big O from that one. How about you?”

“What?”

She makes no sense to me sometimes.

Shay extricates herself from her other boot. “I mean, Jackson Tremaine fucked us both, and good.”

“I guess he did.” I drop into the chair adjacent to hers. “It’s not exactly like we can bail—not now that the entire country is waiting to see which one wins.”

She side-eyes me. “We could tell Jackson to fuck off, and dust off our hands and move on.”

I let out a weary breath. “No. We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because millions, if not billions, of people saw us on that show. You’re fine if you bow out. You’ll continue to do your thing. But me? If I back out, I’m screwed six ways to Sunday.”
She rubs the teensy crease between her brows. “Aw, c’mon, Rons. Your book’s success isn’t completely dependent on Jackson Tremaine’s show. You just don’t want to rock the boat.”

“Rock what boat?”

“The boat where everyone does what’s expected and no one does what they shouldn’t. The viewers expect you to be part of this bet. You’ll do it, if for no other reason than that you’re afraid to break the rules.”

I huff. “What rules? I don’t know what you mean.”

“Girl, you’ll fall in line behind whatever perceived rule there is in any given situation. I hate to break it to you, but you, my friend, are a goody two-shoes. In your mind, there’s some invisible rule that states the gauntlet has been thrown. Therefore, you must meet the challenge.”

Goody two-shoes? Gauntlet?

“I break plenty of rules, thank you. It’s only that I happen to know this particular thing can sink my career faster than the Titanic went down. I’ve worked too hard for that to happen.”

Shay cast a skeptical glance at me. “What rules have you broken lately?”

The answer eludes me. I search through my recent memory. Nada.

I scratch my head. “I—I don’t know. Who keeps a journal of broken rules? Just… ugh, stop already. We have to do this bet.”

“Oh whatever. I’ll do it, because you’re my friend, and I’d cut off my right arm for you—that’s my masturbation hand, just so we’re clear about what I’d be giving up.”

Only Shay would point that out.

I can’t help but smile. “At least this way only one of us will be screwed.”

“Well, if I’m the one who loses, please make sure you throw me a pittance when you see me lying outside your gate with my tin cup.” She unpins her wig.

When she shakes her red hair down her back, it cascades like a waterfall. The slight wave in it is probably there from being rolled up under her Marilyn get-up. It’s moments like this that I hate her.

“I’d almost kill to have your hair,” I lament for the umpteenth time.

She shrugs. “Well, I would kill to have your curls. So you’d best sleep with one eye open, bitch.”

Shay’s African Gray whistles and squawks in the living room. 
“Bitch. Who you callin’ bitch?”




MEET KELLEY HARVEY

KH PicKelley and her husband Mike live in North Central Texas. Having two daughters, one teen and one in her early twenties, keeps them on their toes. In other words, they’re saturated in angst and excitement. Kelley often feels as though she lives on Teenage Drama Island and desperately needs a vacation to Adult Sans Kids Resort. The upside is she’s always awash in oceans of inspiration.

 Kelley enjoys reading YA and NA, although on occasion she gets caught reading other genres. Writing is her full time job. Though it’s hard work, it’s also a dream come true. Her characters knock on the door of her heart and constantly poke their heads out the windows of her imagination. She hopes you connect with them as deeply as she does.  




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Blog Tour: Across The Hall by Kylie Walker


Across The Hall by Kylie Walker

Date of Publication: February 24, 2016

Synopsis

 


Jude Falken has just been released from prison on good behavior.
He's hot as hell, owns one of the largest fashion empires & has women coming and going day and night.
A delivery girl that shows up at his loft leaves him intrigued.
She's gorgeous, shy & totally off limits.
She's his best friends little sister.
Jude knows better, he swore he wouldn't go there.
-------------------------
After returning from a year long internship in Paris, Jillian Warren is back in her hometown of Manhattan and steering clear of men.
Her new neighbor has her curious, wanting to know more. Her roommate & brother keeps telling her stay away but she can't.
As their worlds collide, Jillian soon finds out there is a darker side to Jude and she will soon be fighting her own emotions and memories of the one man she left in Paris.
Her past will soon catch up with her. She will be forced to decide.
Big brother's best friend or the hurtful memories of her past in Paris.



About Kylie Walker

 



A true Canadian at heart, although I love to travel anywhere warm.
I am a book addict, coffee addict, a wine addict and a writer!

Find Kylie Walker Online

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Release Blitz: Stolen Kisses by Ruth Cardello






Synopsis


Dax Marshall isn’t the type of man a woman takes home to meet her parents. He’s a business shark who has never let anything as insignificant as caring stop him from taking over a company. Some call him heartless, but he doesn’t see the value of caring about anyone or anything until he meets Kenzi.

Her happiness becomes his obsession.

Kenzi Barrington has tried to be the person her family needed her to be, but she doesn't want to lie anymore. When she can’t hold a dark secret in another day, she turns to the one man she knows is strong enough to hear the truth.

What starts as a simple attraction becomes a friendship that changes how they both define love.

Book 1: Always Mine
Book 2: Stolen Kisses
Book 3: Trade It All (Coming Soon)


Purchase Links

Amazonhttp://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Kisses-Barrington-Billionaires-Book-ebook/dp/B017J8MQWK/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41xxE%2B0uuGL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=0DKZGPNAEXAQV2JQPAS6
IBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/stolen-kisses/id1054817558?mt=11


Book One Also Available

Synopsis 
     
When it comes to getting what he wants, Asher Barrington is a hammer who is known for crushing his opponents. From the moment Emily walks into his office and challenges him, winning takes on a whole new meaning.   The only thing standing between Emily Harris and her goal to open a museum for the blind is an arrogant, sexy as hell billionaire, who thinks sleeping with her will not complicate the situation.   He won’t change. She won’t back down.  But together they sizzle.   

**This is book one of a spin off series from The Legacy Collection and The Andrades. You fell in love with Dominic Corisi and Gio Andrade—come meet the rest of the family. All new couples with cameos from many of your favorite characters.   

Love reading books set in the same world? Watch for Jeannette Winters release, One White Lie. Her series will mirror this series time line. It won’t be necessary to read hers to enjoy mine, but it sure will enhance the fun 

Purchase Links
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Always-Mine-Barrington-Billionaires-Book-ebook/dp/B013GZOXPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447262915&sr=8-1&keywords=always+mine
ITunes -  https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/always-mine/id1027509670?mt=11




 
About Ruth Cardello 


Ruth Cardello was born the youngest of 11 children in a small city in northern Rhode Island. She spent her young adult years moving as far away as she could from her large extended family. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, New York--then came full circle and moved back to Rhode Island. She now happily lives one town over from the one she was born in. For her, family trumped the warmer weather and international scene.

She was an educator for 20 years, the last 11 as a kindergarten teacher. When her school district began cutting jobs, Ruth turned a serious eye toward her second love- writing and has never been happier. When she's not writing, you can find her chasing her children around her small farm, riding her horses, or connecting with her readers online.

Her fourth book in the Andrade Series, Somewhere Along the Way is now available for pre-order!

Email Notice of New Releases: www.RuthCardello.com/Signup

You can find her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/RuthCardello

Follow her at Twitter @RuthieCardello

If you'd like to email her directly, you may contact her at Minouri@aol.com

Lone Star Burn Series (Montlake Romance)
Book 1: Taken, Not Spurred
Book 2: Tycoon Takedown
Want to hear the song Charles proposed to Melanie with? https://youtu.be/SGZT5nVKfMs

The Legacy Collection
Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire (FREE on Amazon!)
Book 2: For Love or Legacy
Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire
Book 4: Saving the Sheikh
Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire
Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea's Redemption

The Andrades
Book 1: Come Away With Me (FREE on Amazon)
Book 2: Home to Me
Book 3: Maximum Risk
Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way
Book 5: Loving Gigi

The Temptation Series
Book 1: Twelve Days of Temptation
Book 2: Be My Temptation

Other Works
Taken By a Trillionaire