Chapter Reveal - CRUX UNTAMED (HADES HANGMEN #6) by Tillie Cole
3/14/2018
ONLY BOUNDLESS LOVE CAN SILENCE THE WHISPERS OF THE PAST . . .
A broken woman.
A damaged man.
A free spirit intent on saving them both.
Elysia ‘Sia’ Willis lives a solitary life. The only person in it is her big brother, Ky, vice-president of the infamous Hades Hangmen. She loves him, but she has absolutely no love for the outlaw MC he belongs to.
Raised in secret by her mother, Sia grew up separated from her brother and distant father. No one knew she even existed.
After the tragic murder of her mother, Sia spiraled into a rebellion against the rules of the Hangmen. A rebellion with dire consequences that now, years later, she still can’t escape.
As she lives once again in secret, happy on her own at her secluded ranch, a devil from her past comes calling. A devil who wants to possess her once again and take her from the simple life she never wants to lose.
And he will stop at nothing to collect what he believes is his: her.
Valan ‘Hush’ Durand and Aubin ‘Cowboy’ Breaux have finally found a home in the mother chapter of the Hangmen. The notoriously private Cajun twosome have, for now, put aside what chased them from their beloved Louisiana. But as threats toward the club build, Hush and Cowboy are given a task—protect Elysia Willis at all costs. Cowboy welcomes the job of watching over the blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty.
Hush fights against it.
Scarred by events from his past and a secret that plagues his everyday life, Hush refuses to let anyone else get close. Only Cowboy knows the real him. Until a certain sister of the club’s VP begins to slowly knock down his defenses, shattering the heavily built walls that guard his damaged soul . . . with his best friend leading the charge.
As lost and open hearts begin to meld, taking each other from indescribable pain to the never-before felt relief of peace, the newly-mended threesome must first endure one more rocky path.
Only then will they finally shake free of the shackles of their pasts.
Only then will they shed the bonds that have for too long held their happiness captive.
And there is only one way to survive that path . . . together.
Dark Contemporary MFM Romance. Contains scenes of violence and explicit sexual situations. Over 18’s only.
Sia
High Ranch, Austin, Texas
Present Day
“Steady . . . steady . . .”
Sandy’s ears flicked back and forth as she heard me soothe her from my place in the center of the ring. I kept my newest mare’s training rein loose as she trotted on the sand. Her coat was lathered with sweat; so was my forehead. The sun was burning a hole in my jean-clad ass.
“Okay, enough for today,” I announced, both to Sandy and myself.
I had just fed her with hay and water and locked her stall door when I heard the all too familiar sound of motorcycles roaring in the distance.
Frowning, I headed out of the barn. I walked to the front of my house and spotted two Harleys as they approached my door.
Styx and Ky, I realized, giving them a surprised wave.
They didn’t wave back.
I perched on the top step of my porch as they pulled to a stop and flicked out their kickstands. Ky smoothed back his long hair and strode toward me. I got to my feet. “What y’all doing here?”
I hugged Ky. He held on a little too long. It was weird. I pulled back, curious, only for him to look out to the distance, checking around my ranch. I was about to ask him what was up when Styx came toward me and gave me a brief one-armed hug.
“Hey, Styx. How’re Mae and Bump?” A flicker of a smile graced Styx’s lips.
“Good,” he signed, but my attention snapped back to Ky when my brother said, “Get inside, sis. We need to talk.”
He grabbed my elbow and guided me forcefully up the porch steps. “Hey!” I said. He pulled harder, not releasing my arm. “Hey! Dickhead!” I wrenched my arm back. I turned on my heel to meet my brother’s moody-ass face. “What the hell are you doing?”
“For once in your fucking life, will you just do as I say, Sia?” Ky said, exasperated. His face was red . . . in fact, so were his eyes.
I crossed my arms across my chest. “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes all bloodshot? Why do you look like shit?” I shook my head. “And more to the point, why are you handling me like a damn child?”
Ky sighed. His eyes closed, and he opened his mouth to speak. But then he didn’t . . .
Styx cleared his throat. “Been a stressful time lately.”
“Why?” I asked, immediately panicked. “Is Lilah okay? Grace?” I quickly checked my brother over for wounds, or . . . hell, I didn’t know what else. What the hell trouble bikers could get into. “Are you okay?”
My heart started pounding, some weird sense of dread seeping through my body like a poison. Ky opened his eyes and nodded. “Everyone’s fine.” But I could see through his pretense. I was just about to call bullshit when Ky blurted, “Garcia’s back.”
I was sure the warm wind was blowing, because I saw strands of my blond hair floating in front of my eyes, but I didn’t feel it. Ky’s mouth was working, saying something I was meant to hear, yet to my ears, he made no sound. I was lost to the memory of heavy footsteps on creaking floorboards as they approached my room. Memories of screams and barked orders scourged my mind . . . and his touch, his fingers running down my back, his lips nipping at my ear as he caressed my burned flesh. As—
“Sia!” Ky was holding my arms, shaking me from my stupor. I blinked, but a suffocating lump clogged my throat. I blinked fast to rid the flood of tears from my eyes. “Sia,” he repeated, softer this time. I stared at my brother, wordlessly. “Get inside.”
I let him lead me into my home and to the couch. A glass of whiskey appeared in my hand a second later, courtesy of Styx. I knocked it back in one, relishing the burning feeling that filled my chest. I shakily placed the glass on the coffee table and turned to look at Ky.
“You better?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s . . . he’s found me?” My voice was choked. I couldn’t have hidden my fear even if I’d wanted to.
“Not yet,” Ky assured me. He got to his feet and began to pace. “Some club shit went down a while ago, and Garcia was involved. Fucker saw me and Styx.” Ky met Styx’s eyes. Styx nodded. Ky removed an envelope from the pocket of his cut. He placed it before me. I stared at the obviously expensive stationery on the table. My hands shook as I slowly reached forward and opened it. A Polaroid picture peeped out. When I finally pulled the picture out and turned it to face me, every ounce of blood in my veins seemed to drain to my feet.
A single black rose.
A black rose, on a bed I recognized so well.
There was no note. No explanation. But I didn’t need one. This image spoke more than a thousand words ever could.
“Mi rosa negra,” the echo of his voice whispered in my mind. His heavy Mexican accent sliding around the words like a delicate silk scarf wrapped around a thorn-studded vine.
All of the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “Where . . .?” I cleared my throat. “Where was this sent to?”
“The club.” Ky slumped to sit beside me. “Don’t like the cryptic shit”—he pointed to the Polaroid—“but I know that it’s his brand or something, yeah? The one he forced on you? On the girls he traffics?” I instinctively ran my hand over the plaid shirt covering my shoulder, where the small black rose tattoo had once desecrated my skin. I could still feel the scar under my fingertips, out of sight but never gone. And if I ever dared show my bare skin to the sun, a white outline would form as the area around it tanned. Erased, yet forever seared into my very flesh.
Worse still, the longer I stared at that picture, the more someone else flickered to my mind, a face I reflexively recalled several times a day. Brief images of what might have happened to her. But only ever enough to taunt me; I didn’t know how to mentally unlock the rest. Where she was—
“Sia!” Ky called. I blinked into focus. My brother kneeled in front of me. “You’re coming home with me.”
I shook my head. “No.” My arms wrapped over my chest, a shield to fend off the thought of leaving. “I don’t want to.” I swept my eyes around my home. The only place I now ever felt safe in. “You know I can’t leave.” Ky went to speak, but I cut in before he could. “I know I went to y’all’s weddings. I wouldn’t have missed them for the world. But I can’t leave here for too long. I . . . I . . .” I searched for more of an explanation, to put into words the vapid stream of anxiety forming in my stomach like a black pit, stealing all of my courage, my reason, my sanity, my very being.
It was ironic: when I was a teen, I made a vow to leave Austin and stop all contact with the Hangmen.
Then, one escape . . .
That was all it took to make me wish I had never set foot outta Texas. Never cut all ties with the Hangmen.
And one man . . .
One man, named Garcia, to make me long for the lazy Texas days and the sound of horses’ hooves padding on the grass outside of my old bedroom window.
“I don’t give a shit if you wanna come or not, Sia. You’re coming, and that’s that.”
The lack of empathy in Ky’s outright order broke through the mental fog that shielded my inner thoughts. A fire ignited the kindling that lived within me. My chin tilted high and my eyes narrowed to stare at my brother. “Don’t you dare speak to me like that, Kyler Willis. Don’t mistake me for a club whore who’ll jump at your command.” Ky’s face reddened. But I wouldn’t be spoken to like this. Right now, my brother resembled the one man who’d treated me like an errant child. A man I blamed for all the shit in my life. “I love Lilah, I truly do. But I am not some meek and submissive woman who’ll accept your orders. I’m your sister, not your fucking lapdog.”
Ky slowly rose to his feet. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
“Does he know where I live?” I asked my brother. He didn’t answer. “I said, does Garcia know where I am?”
Ky’s eyes snapped open. “It’s only a matter of time.”
I got to my feet, ignoring the shaking of my legs. I boldly met Ky’s eyes. “Then I ain’t leaving my ranch. I’m hidden. I’ve been hidden for years. False identity. False deeds on this place. For Christ’s sake, I live in the fucking boondocks. No one around for miles. He ain’t making me leave my home. I won’t give him that satisfaction.”
“Think again.” Ky stood taller. “Get upstairs and pack a bag, and tell that young bitch we hired to help you that she’ll be taking care of things around here ’til you’re back. Tell her there’s a family emergency or some shit.”
My heart pumped faster. “I. Ain’t. Going. Clara can’t deal with everything herself. We have two mares in foal, two saddle broncs that need training. I’m needed here.”
We argued back and forth, back and forth, voices and tempers rising, until a loud whistle cut through our squabbling. I snapped my eyes to Styx, who was standing before the fireplace. His face was like thunder, and he looked like a fucking Titan, he was so huge. He raised his hands. “Sia, grab your shit. You’re coming with us.” I swallowed, defeat settling over me like an unwelcome rain shower on a sunny day. “Ky, calm the fuck down.” Ky turned and bust out of the front door of my ranch. I watched my brother go. I had an eerie feeling that this—the argument, his shitty mood—wasn’t all down to Garcia.
Styx cleared his throat. “You two are way too fucking similar. Both a pain in my ass.” He paused, then signed, “More going on at the club than you know. So how about you chill the fuck out with all the dramatics. I get enough on the daily with my fucknut brothers without adding you into the mix.” His lips tightened, and I knew I wasn’t gonna get my way. “You’re coming with us. I ain’t giving you an option. You’re Hangmen family. And that fucker is sniffing around. Pack your bag so we can get the fuck gone.”
Feeling like a sulking teen, I stormed past Styx toward my bedroom, shouldering him as I passed. He didn’t even move. “Sometimes I fucking hate the family I’ve been born into. Chauvinistic pricks. Y’all have fucking god complexes.”
Styx didn’t even flinch at my words. “As long as that complex belongs to the Dark Lord holding a noose and an Uzi, I’m fucking all right with owning that shit. It’s the way it is. Ain’t gonna change because you’re pitching a fit,” he signed. “You don’t have to like my orders, but you will obey them.” Then he added, “You’ve got ten minutes,” before he left to go after my brother.
Too angry to even give two shits about what was wrong with Ky—it was probably some “club business” I wouldn’t be allowed to know anyway—I stuffed clothes and toiletries into a bag and called Clara to ask her to watch the ranch while I was gone and get help from the vet if she needed it. He owed me a favor or a million for taking in sick horses when his practice was full.
Ten minutes later, my house was locked up and I was in my truck, following my brothers to the Hangmen compound. With each mile I drove away from the safe haven of my ranch, I felt less and less myself. I heard Garcia’s voice in my head, telling me he was coming for me. Threatening that he’d own me once and for all.
But like Kyler, I was good at covering what was bothering me.
So I’d pull up my big-girl panties and stay at the club for a while. As we passed through downtown Austin, lights from South Congress Avenue illuminating the cab of my truck, I let two images of Hades guide me: his smug face, and a noose, reminding why I ran away all those years ago.
This club was quicksand. A quicksand in which I was hell-bent on not getting stuck.
High Ranch, Austin, Texas
Present Day
“Steady . . . steady . . .”
Sandy’s ears flicked back and forth as she heard me soothe her from my place in the center of the ring. I kept my newest mare’s training rein loose as she trotted on the sand. Her coat was lathered with sweat; so was my forehead. The sun was burning a hole in my jean-clad ass.
“Okay, enough for today,” I announced, both to Sandy and myself.
I had just fed her with hay and water and locked her stall door when I heard the all too familiar sound of motorcycles roaring in the distance.
Frowning, I headed out of the barn. I walked to the front of my house and spotted two Harleys as they approached my door.
Styx and Ky, I realized, giving them a surprised wave.
They didn’t wave back.
I perched on the top step of my porch as they pulled to a stop and flicked out their kickstands. Ky smoothed back his long hair and strode toward me. I got to my feet. “What y’all doing here?”
I hugged Ky. He held on a little too long. It was weird. I pulled back, curious, only for him to look out to the distance, checking around my ranch. I was about to ask him what was up when Styx came toward me and gave me a brief one-armed hug.
“Hey, Styx. How’re Mae and Bump?” A flicker of a smile graced Styx’s lips.
“Good,” he signed, but my attention snapped back to Ky when my brother said, “Get inside, sis. We need to talk.”
He grabbed my elbow and guided me forcefully up the porch steps. “Hey!” I said. He pulled harder, not releasing my arm. “Hey! Dickhead!” I wrenched my arm back. I turned on my heel to meet my brother’s moody-ass face. “What the hell are you doing?”
“For once in your fucking life, will you just do as I say, Sia?” Ky said, exasperated. His face was red . . . in fact, so were his eyes.
I crossed my arms across my chest. “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes all bloodshot? Why do you look like shit?” I shook my head. “And more to the point, why are you handling me like a damn child?”
Ky sighed. His eyes closed, and he opened his mouth to speak. But then he didn’t . . .
Styx cleared his throat. “Been a stressful time lately.”
“Why?” I asked, immediately panicked. “Is Lilah okay? Grace?” I quickly checked my brother over for wounds, or . . . hell, I didn’t know what else. What the hell trouble bikers could get into. “Are you okay?”
My heart started pounding, some weird sense of dread seeping through my body like a poison. Ky opened his eyes and nodded. “Everyone’s fine.” But I could see through his pretense. I was just about to call bullshit when Ky blurted, “Garcia’s back.”
I was sure the warm wind was blowing, because I saw strands of my blond hair floating in front of my eyes, but I didn’t feel it. Ky’s mouth was working, saying something I was meant to hear, yet to my ears, he made no sound. I was lost to the memory of heavy footsteps on creaking floorboards as they approached my room. Memories of screams and barked orders scourged my mind . . . and his touch, his fingers running down my back, his lips nipping at my ear as he caressed my burned flesh. As—
“Sia!” Ky was holding my arms, shaking me from my stupor. I blinked, but a suffocating lump clogged my throat. I blinked fast to rid the flood of tears from my eyes. “Sia,” he repeated, softer this time. I stared at my brother, wordlessly. “Get inside.”
I let him lead me into my home and to the couch. A glass of whiskey appeared in my hand a second later, courtesy of Styx. I knocked it back in one, relishing the burning feeling that filled my chest. I shakily placed the glass on the coffee table and turned to look at Ky.
“You better?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s . . . he’s found me?” My voice was choked. I couldn’t have hidden my fear even if I’d wanted to.
“Not yet,” Ky assured me. He got to his feet and began to pace. “Some club shit went down a while ago, and Garcia was involved. Fucker saw me and Styx.” Ky met Styx’s eyes. Styx nodded. Ky removed an envelope from the pocket of his cut. He placed it before me. I stared at the obviously expensive stationery on the table. My hands shook as I slowly reached forward and opened it. A Polaroid picture peeped out. When I finally pulled the picture out and turned it to face me, every ounce of blood in my veins seemed to drain to my feet.
A single black rose.
A black rose, on a bed I recognized so well.
There was no note. No explanation. But I didn’t need one. This image spoke more than a thousand words ever could.
“Mi rosa negra,” the echo of his voice whispered in my mind. His heavy Mexican accent sliding around the words like a delicate silk scarf wrapped around a thorn-studded vine.
All of the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “Where . . .?” I cleared my throat. “Where was this sent to?”
“The club.” Ky slumped to sit beside me. “Don’t like the cryptic shit”—he pointed to the Polaroid—“but I know that it’s his brand or something, yeah? The one he forced on you? On the girls he traffics?” I instinctively ran my hand over the plaid shirt covering my shoulder, where the small black rose tattoo had once desecrated my skin. I could still feel the scar under my fingertips, out of sight but never gone. And if I ever dared show my bare skin to the sun, a white outline would form as the area around it tanned. Erased, yet forever seared into my very flesh.
Worse still, the longer I stared at that picture, the more someone else flickered to my mind, a face I reflexively recalled several times a day. Brief images of what might have happened to her. But only ever enough to taunt me; I didn’t know how to mentally unlock the rest. Where she was—
“Sia!” Ky called. I blinked into focus. My brother kneeled in front of me. “You’re coming home with me.”
I shook my head. “No.” My arms wrapped over my chest, a shield to fend off the thought of leaving. “I don’t want to.” I swept my eyes around my home. The only place I now ever felt safe in. “You know I can’t leave.” Ky went to speak, but I cut in before he could. “I know I went to y’all’s weddings. I wouldn’t have missed them for the world. But I can’t leave here for too long. I . . . I . . .” I searched for more of an explanation, to put into words the vapid stream of anxiety forming in my stomach like a black pit, stealing all of my courage, my reason, my sanity, my very being.
It was ironic: when I was a teen, I made a vow to leave Austin and stop all contact with the Hangmen.
Then, one escape . . .
That was all it took to make me wish I had never set foot outta Texas. Never cut all ties with the Hangmen.
And one man . . .
One man, named Garcia, to make me long for the lazy Texas days and the sound of horses’ hooves padding on the grass outside of my old bedroom window.
“I don’t give a shit if you wanna come or not, Sia. You’re coming, and that’s that.”
The lack of empathy in Ky’s outright order broke through the mental fog that shielded my inner thoughts. A fire ignited the kindling that lived within me. My chin tilted high and my eyes narrowed to stare at my brother. “Don’t you dare speak to me like that, Kyler Willis. Don’t mistake me for a club whore who’ll jump at your command.” Ky’s face reddened. But I wouldn’t be spoken to like this. Right now, my brother resembled the one man who’d treated me like an errant child. A man I blamed for all the shit in my life. “I love Lilah, I truly do. But I am not some meek and submissive woman who’ll accept your orders. I’m your sister, not your fucking lapdog.”
Ky slowly rose to his feet. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
“Does he know where I live?” I asked my brother. He didn’t answer. “I said, does Garcia know where I am?”
Ky’s eyes snapped open. “It’s only a matter of time.”
I got to my feet, ignoring the shaking of my legs. I boldly met Ky’s eyes. “Then I ain’t leaving my ranch. I’m hidden. I’ve been hidden for years. False identity. False deeds on this place. For Christ’s sake, I live in the fucking boondocks. No one around for miles. He ain’t making me leave my home. I won’t give him that satisfaction.”
“Think again.” Ky stood taller. “Get upstairs and pack a bag, and tell that young bitch we hired to help you that she’ll be taking care of things around here ’til you’re back. Tell her there’s a family emergency or some shit.”
My heart pumped faster. “I. Ain’t. Going. Clara can’t deal with everything herself. We have two mares in foal, two saddle broncs that need training. I’m needed here.”
We argued back and forth, back and forth, voices and tempers rising, until a loud whistle cut through our squabbling. I snapped my eyes to Styx, who was standing before the fireplace. His face was like thunder, and he looked like a fucking Titan, he was so huge. He raised his hands. “Sia, grab your shit. You’re coming with us.” I swallowed, defeat settling over me like an unwelcome rain shower on a sunny day. “Ky, calm the fuck down.” Ky turned and bust out of the front door of my ranch. I watched my brother go. I had an eerie feeling that this—the argument, his shitty mood—wasn’t all down to Garcia.
Styx cleared his throat. “You two are way too fucking similar. Both a pain in my ass.” He paused, then signed, “More going on at the club than you know. So how about you chill the fuck out with all the dramatics. I get enough on the daily with my fucknut brothers without adding you into the mix.” His lips tightened, and I knew I wasn’t gonna get my way. “You’re coming with us. I ain’t giving you an option. You’re Hangmen family. And that fucker is sniffing around. Pack your bag so we can get the fuck gone.”
Feeling like a sulking teen, I stormed past Styx toward my bedroom, shouldering him as I passed. He didn’t even move. “Sometimes I fucking hate the family I’ve been born into. Chauvinistic pricks. Y’all have fucking god complexes.”
Styx didn’t even flinch at my words. “As long as that complex belongs to the Dark Lord holding a noose and an Uzi, I’m fucking all right with owning that shit. It’s the way it is. Ain’t gonna change because you’re pitching a fit,” he signed. “You don’t have to like my orders, but you will obey them.” Then he added, “You’ve got ten minutes,” before he left to go after my brother.
Too angry to even give two shits about what was wrong with Ky—it was probably some “club business” I wouldn’t be allowed to know anyway—I stuffed clothes and toiletries into a bag and called Clara to ask her to watch the ranch while I was gone and get help from the vet if she needed it. He owed me a favor or a million for taking in sick horses when his practice was full.
Ten minutes later, my house was locked up and I was in my truck, following my brothers to the Hangmen compound. With each mile I drove away from the safe haven of my ranch, I felt less and less myself. I heard Garcia’s voice in my head, telling me he was coming for me. Threatening that he’d own me once and for all.
But like Kyler, I was good at covering what was bothering me.
So I’d pull up my big-girl panties and stay at the club for a while. As we passed through downtown Austin, lights from South Congress Avenue illuminating the cab of my truck, I let two images of Hades guide me: his smug face, and a noose, reminding why I ran away all those years ago.
This club was quicksand. A quicksand in which I was hell-bent on not getting stuck.
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.
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Release Blitz for MY WAY BACK TO YOU by
3/14/2018
The emotional conclusion of New York Times Bestselling Author Claire Contreras’s Second Chances Duet is NOW LIVE!
My Way Back to You by Claire Contreras Book 2, Second Chances Duet Genre: Contemporary Romance Publication Date: March 15th, 2018
Love isn't always about timing. Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and roll with it. I admit I wasn't ready. I know you don't want to look at me, let alone talk to me, but please, let me explain. Let me tell you all the ways my heart broke when you walked away. Let me show you what our years apart have done to me. Give me a chance to find my way back to you . . .
Read Today!
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QueenZany 5 Star Review
Then There Was You
by Claire Contreras
Claire Contreras took me on a slow burn of angsty, wracking my heart, decimating my will! Oh, I was teetering on the edge of sanity from the very first chapter. Just hanging on hoping not to yank my hair out! OMG!!! Bangs Head on the table! WOW!
Let's say my heart is still battered and not fully recovered a few days later. Plus I’m dealing with a heck of a book hangover.
But the beauty of Claire writing out ways my pain or even tears.
Then There Was You is a brutally beautiful story that should be your next read!
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Meet Claire:
Claire Contreras is a New York Times Best Selling Author. Her books range from romantic suspense to contemporary romance and are currently translated in seven different languages. She lives in Miami, Fl with her husband, two adorable boys, three bulldogs, and two stray cats that she refuses to admit are hers (even though they live on her porch, she named them, and continues to feed them). When she's not writing, she's usually lost in a book.
Connect with Claire:
Website: http://www.clairecontrerasbooks.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CContrerasBooks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Claricon/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ClaireContreras/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ccontrerasbooks/ Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BgzLQ0
Release Day Blitz - Breaking In His Virgin by Jenika Snow and Bella Love-Wins
3/14/2018
She’s been my best friend for more years than I can count. But my friendly affection for her has turned into something much more. I am in love with Marie. But I’m too afraid to tell her. No other woman compares to her. She’s smart and hardworking, sweet and sexy, innocent yet made for temptation. And it’s because of that because i want her so damn much, that I’ve stayed celibate, hoping one day Marie will be mine.
But it’s when the threat of another man making her another notch in his bedpost that drives me into action. I should have made Marie mine long ago, but there’s no time like the present. It’s time I show her that nothing will stop me from claiming her.
Warning: Grab something cold to drink and crank on that fan, because you’ll be sweating as you read this short, filthy story. It’s sweet but delivers on that heat you need. Because who doesn’t like a hero who only has eyes for the one woman he’s always loved?
But it’s when the threat of another man making her another notch in his bedpost that drives me into action. I should have made Marie mine long ago, but there’s no time like the present. It’s time I show her that nothing will stop me from claiming her.
Warning: Grab something cold to drink and crank on that fan, because you’ll be sweating as you read this short, filthy story. It’s sweet but delivers on that heat you need. Because who doesn’t like a hero who only has eyes for the one woman he’s always loved?
Rowan
I guide one of my colts out of the barn toward the equine veterinarian’s truck.
Right away, jealousy twists up my insides, urgent and demanding. I know I might be too late to stop fate the second I see her.
Marie Dawson.
We've known each other since childhood, but became close in our teens. All through high school, we had summer jobs at the Sun Vista Stables, the largest horse boarding ranch around.
Marie and I have been good friends for years. Our shared interest in horses put us in close quarters, but I never crossed the line. That’s not for lack of interest on my part. I’ve been tempted more than a few times.
I’ve been meaning to grow some balls and cross that line, see if she wants to be more than just friends. I’ve just been too afraid of ruining what we have. But it’s time to park all this fear and make my move. It’s past time. It seems fate is stepping in. A few days ago, I found out that Dr. Morris Trent, the local vet, hired Marie as his assistant.
The guy is a womanizing son of a bitch. He puts on the charm with every female to get what he wants. Not that he needs charm. For a lot of women around here, panties drop once they hear the title doctor before his name, even for just a vet.
I know Marie’s smart enough to see right through his games, but the fact that they’ll be working together day in and day out makes me worry a little. I should have been a man and told her how I felt long ago, but with the doctor threat now right in my face I need to just be honest and take this to the next level with her.
If I had it my way, she’d be nowhere near him. The thing is, helping nurse sick animals back to health is Marie's dream job. She worked hard for this career change, taking night classes while holding down two waitressing jobs. She sacrificed her free time to study and work so she could support her family and keep a roof over their heads when her dad lost his job at the mill.
So even though she lives in the next town over and has to drive thirty miles to work, I know exactly how important this job is to her. It's a unique opportunity, considering that Doc Trent is the only veterinarian around for a few hundred miles. I'm proud to know she's finally doing what she loves, but fuck, does it have to be with this guy?
Doc Trent's a player. He's slept with half of the single women around. I wish like hell Marie and I hadn’t been in the friend zone for so long, that I just had the guts to make her mine. But I know why I respected the friends only code we shared.
She told me ages ago that what we had in our friendship meant more to her than anything else.
In a lot of ways, I understand what she means. Having someone who knows you inside and out, sees your flaws, and still has your back, well, it’s rare. Good friends are few and far between, especially for a guy like me who has burned a hell of a lot of bridges. Before Marie and I were friends I’d given my virginity away. I regretted it, wished like hell I’d saved it … for her. Only for her. No other woman could get my heart racing like just the thought of Marie could.
And after I became friends with her … yeah, no other woman was good enough. So here I am, celibate for fucking years, only wanting one woman, my best friend, and she doesn’t even know it.
But seeing her now, it's driving me crazy to know that any day now, Doc Trent will hit on her with one thing in mind.
Getting her into bed, fucking her, and moving on to the next woman in sight.
No way am I about to let that happen.
Fuck no.
Marie is mine. Irrevocably.
I just hate it took some asshole threatening to move in on what is mine to get my ass in gear.
"Good morning!" Marie chirps, her voice pulling me from my thoughts as I make it to the open double doors at the back of the vet truck.
“Morning yourself.”
She pets the colt along his neck and he nudges toward her. “Hey, boy,” she hums, licking her lips.
I should be used to her by now, but the idea that some philandering douchebag in a Stetson cowboy hat, brand new Tony Lama cowboy boots, and fake as fuck rodeo buckle is sniffing around Marie causes me to see her in a new light. I can’t help but notice every little movement she makes around me now.
Like how she licks those sexy, full cupid’s bow lips.
It’s the last thing I need to see her doing right now while they’re glistening, shining a soft, naked and natural pink under the bright mid-morning sun. I’ve seen her countless times with makeup and without, and I’ve always liked admiring them, but today, it’s harder than ever not to smash my mouth to hers.
“You all right?” she asks.
“Sure I am.”
She reaches her hand up into her fiery red hair, all pulled up into a loose bun at the top of her head. My fingertips start to tingle. They’re itching with the urge to remove the hair band holding up that bun. I’d like to see all her wavy tresses fall around her shoulders, tempted to wrap a handful of it around my fist and take that mouth.
“You seem a little… distracted,” she says.
“Nah,” I tell her. I clear my throat and rearrange the growing bulge in my pants when she’s not looking. I can’t help but picture Doctor Love em’ and Leave em’ touching her, trying to coax her into his bed. It pisses me off and makes me possessive as hell.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” The concern in her voice is unmistakable. She squints her big hazel-green eyes and tilts her head up from her five-foot-two height to inspect my face. Given that I’m six-foot-two, she’s always had to crane her neck a little to look up at me. Today, though, the slender lines and harsh sunlight only highlight the faint flutter of pulse point at the base of her neck. Jesus. At the rate I’m going, I’m liable to devour that spot any minute now, and several more on her body.
“I’m fine.”
“You look a little flushed.” Marie walks around the front of the colt and comes to my side. She places the back of her hand on my forehead. “Your skin’s kinda warm.”
I have to do my best not to react to the heat of her touch. I curse silently, mostly at goddamned Doc Trent. Although I probably should thank him. If he hadn’t hired her, if he hadn’t become an imminent threat, I might have stayed a coward and never told her how I feel. But the womanizing doctor has lit a fire under my ass, it seems. I’m standing here with an erection growing without my permission. And feeling all kinds of possessiveness about Marie.
I guide one of my colts out of the barn toward the equine veterinarian’s truck.
Right away, jealousy twists up my insides, urgent and demanding. I know I might be too late to stop fate the second I see her.
Marie Dawson.
We've known each other since childhood, but became close in our teens. All through high school, we had summer jobs at the Sun Vista Stables, the largest horse boarding ranch around.
Marie and I have been good friends for years. Our shared interest in horses put us in close quarters, but I never crossed the line. That’s not for lack of interest on my part. I’ve been tempted more than a few times.
I’ve been meaning to grow some balls and cross that line, see if she wants to be more than just friends. I’ve just been too afraid of ruining what we have. But it’s time to park all this fear and make my move. It’s past time. It seems fate is stepping in. A few days ago, I found out that Dr. Morris Trent, the local vet, hired Marie as his assistant.
The guy is a womanizing son of a bitch. He puts on the charm with every female to get what he wants. Not that he needs charm. For a lot of women around here, panties drop once they hear the title doctor before his name, even for just a vet.
I know Marie’s smart enough to see right through his games, but the fact that they’ll be working together day in and day out makes me worry a little. I should have been a man and told her how I felt long ago, but with the doctor threat now right in my face I need to just be honest and take this to the next level with her.
If I had it my way, she’d be nowhere near him. The thing is, helping nurse sick animals back to health is Marie's dream job. She worked hard for this career change, taking night classes while holding down two waitressing jobs. She sacrificed her free time to study and work so she could support her family and keep a roof over their heads when her dad lost his job at the mill.
So even though she lives in the next town over and has to drive thirty miles to work, I know exactly how important this job is to her. It's a unique opportunity, considering that Doc Trent is the only veterinarian around for a few hundred miles. I'm proud to know she's finally doing what she loves, but fuck, does it have to be with this guy?
Doc Trent's a player. He's slept with half of the single women around. I wish like hell Marie and I hadn’t been in the friend zone for so long, that I just had the guts to make her mine. But I know why I respected the friends only code we shared.
She told me ages ago that what we had in our friendship meant more to her than anything else.
In a lot of ways, I understand what she means. Having someone who knows you inside and out, sees your flaws, and still has your back, well, it’s rare. Good friends are few and far between, especially for a guy like me who has burned a hell of a lot of bridges. Before Marie and I were friends I’d given my virginity away. I regretted it, wished like hell I’d saved it … for her. Only for her. No other woman could get my heart racing like just the thought of Marie could.
And after I became friends with her … yeah, no other woman was good enough. So here I am, celibate for fucking years, only wanting one woman, my best friend, and she doesn’t even know it.
But seeing her now, it's driving me crazy to know that any day now, Doc Trent will hit on her with one thing in mind.
Getting her into bed, fucking her, and moving on to the next woman in sight.
No way am I about to let that happen.
Fuck no.
Marie is mine. Irrevocably.
I just hate it took some asshole threatening to move in on what is mine to get my ass in gear.
"Good morning!" Marie chirps, her voice pulling me from my thoughts as I make it to the open double doors at the back of the vet truck.
“Morning yourself.”
She pets the colt along his neck and he nudges toward her. “Hey, boy,” she hums, licking her lips.
I should be used to her by now, but the idea that some philandering douchebag in a Stetson cowboy hat, brand new Tony Lama cowboy boots, and fake as fuck rodeo buckle is sniffing around Marie causes me to see her in a new light. I can’t help but notice every little movement she makes around me now.
Like how she licks those sexy, full cupid’s bow lips.
It’s the last thing I need to see her doing right now while they’re glistening, shining a soft, naked and natural pink under the bright mid-morning sun. I’ve seen her countless times with makeup and without, and I’ve always liked admiring them, but today, it’s harder than ever not to smash my mouth to hers.
“You all right?” she asks.
“Sure I am.”
She reaches her hand up into her fiery red hair, all pulled up into a loose bun at the top of her head. My fingertips start to tingle. They’re itching with the urge to remove the hair band holding up that bun. I’d like to see all her wavy tresses fall around her shoulders, tempted to wrap a handful of it around my fist and take that mouth.
“You seem a little… distracted,” she says.
“Nah,” I tell her. I clear my throat and rearrange the growing bulge in my pants when she’s not looking. I can’t help but picture Doctor Love em’ and Leave em’ touching her, trying to coax her into his bed. It pisses me off and makes me possessive as hell.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” The concern in her voice is unmistakable. She squints her big hazel-green eyes and tilts her head up from her five-foot-two height to inspect my face. Given that I’m six-foot-two, she’s always had to crane her neck a little to look up at me. Today, though, the slender lines and harsh sunlight only highlight the faint flutter of pulse point at the base of her neck. Jesus. At the rate I’m going, I’m liable to devour that spot any minute now, and several more on her body.
“I’m fine.”
“You look a little flushed.” Marie walks around the front of the colt and comes to my side. She places the back of her hand on my forehead. “Your skin’s kinda warm.”
I have to do my best not to react to the heat of her touch. I curse silently, mostly at goddamned Doc Trent. Although I probably should thank him. If he hadn’t hired her, if he hadn’t become an imminent threat, I might have stayed a coward and never told her how I feel. But the womanizing doctor has lit a fire under my ass, it seems. I’m standing here with an erection growing without my permission. And feeling all kinds of possessiveness about Marie.
Jenika Snow
Jenika Snow is a USA Today Bestselling Author that lives in the northwest with her husband and their two daughters. Before she started writing full-time she worked as a nurse.
Bella Love-Wins
I'm a Wall Street Journal (Begging for Bad Boys, April, 2017) and USA Today (Begging for Bad Boys, Alpha for the Holidays, Shifters in the Snow: Bundle of Joy, Shifters in the Shadows) Bestselling Author.
I love reading and writing steamy, high-action romance stories about firefighters, billionaires, and alpha males who know what they want and aren't afraid of laying claim to the women who catch their interest. I love a happy ever after ending. I enjoy reading, hiking, the countryside, and traveling to destinations unspoiled by commercial tourism, like Las Vegas... :)
Like so many characters in my novels, I enjoy action, romance and unexpected love connections that take your breath away. For the next while, you'll find me plotting and writing about my latest stories on my Macbook.
Release Blitz GET IT ON by J. Kenner
3/13/2018
Get It On, the newest standalone in the Man of the Month Series by #1 New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner is LIVE!
Skillful hands. A talented tongue.
Meet Mr. May.
Fate’s been messing with veteran Tyree Johnson. It took his buddies in combat and his wife in a fatal car accident. But he’ll be damned if he’ll let Fate take his beloved bar, The Fix on Sixth.
For years, he’s avoided being Fate’s whipping boy through sheer force of will, and now every bit of his focus is centered on saving his business. Until, that is, the first woman who ever touched his heart walks back into his life—along with a daughter he never knew.
After years of loneliness, Tyree’s not prepared for the way Eva’s sensual curves and sharp wit still capture his heart and rekindle his senses. All he knows is that for the first time in forever, he’s found a passion other than his bar. But one final twist arrives when Fate pits the bar he can’t bear to lose against the woman who’s stolen his heart.
He’s a master at red-hot ecstasy.
**Get It On is part of a binge read series by New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and #1 International bestselling author of the million copy Stark series, J. Kenner.
Read Today!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2zza8t1
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Down On Me
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About J. Kenner
J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres. Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit. JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A five time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development with AwesomenessTV/Awestruck. Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages. In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.
Connect with Julie:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JKennerBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliekenner
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/juliekenner/
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+JulieKenner-author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliekenner/
Tumblr: http://juliekenner.tumblr.com
Website: www.jkenner.com
Cover Reveal for The Boy & This Ribbon by Pepper Winters
3/12/2018
The Boy & His Ribbon by Pepper Winters The Ribbon Duet Book 1 Publication Date: April 3rd, 2018 Genre: Coming of Age Romance
“What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret?
I’ll tell you what you do.
You lie.”
REN
Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth.
His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror.
But then…he ran.
He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident and it became the one thing he never wanted and the only thing he ever needed.
DELLA
I was young when I fell in love with him, when he switched from my world to my everything.
My parents bought him for cheap labour, just like they had with many other kids, and he had the scars to prove it.
At the start, he hated me, and I could understand why.
For years he was my worst enemy, fiercest protector, and dearest friend.
But by the end…he loved me.
The only problem was, he loved me in an entirely different way to the way I loved him.
And slowly, my secret drove us apart.
Pre-Order Today!
THE BOY & HIS RIBBON, Book 1
iBooks: https://apple.co/2FAxazG
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More Information: http://bit.ly/2D2D0YU
THE GIRL & HER REN, Book 2
iBooks: https://apple.co/2Fxl9v4
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About the Author:
Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and
USA Today International Bestseller.
After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 19 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-six times in three years.
Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.
Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2017.
Connect with the Author:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lLHxdG
Twitter: @PepperWinters
Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1511645192400372/
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Sign up for Pepper’s newsletter today!
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Release Boost for Where We Began by Nora Flite
3/11/2018
Release Boost for Where We Began by Nora Flite
Title: Where We Began
Series: Where We Began Duet #1
Author: Nora Flite
Author: Nora Flite
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Blurb
My life was full of my sister's laughter and miles of green trees.
Then the black car came.
Strangers in sharp suits dragged my father back to a past he kept hidden. Worse, they made him choose one of us—his own children—to go and live with his enemies. It's a way to keep him working for them... and from running again.
I'm a hostage.
The food is fancy, the carpets are lush, but this bed isn't mine. I don't belong here and my head and heart know it. I'm painfully alone.
And then I'm not.
The first time I meet Dominic Bradley, he saves me from a maid with a pair of scissors. This sweet boy is nothing like the rest of his family. He becomes the only sunlight in these smothering halls. The one person holding me together.
When he leaves for six years, it shreds my soul.
It's nothing compared to when he comes back.
Gone is my sweet boy. In his place is a hardened soldier ready to obey his father. He's gained new demons; and I've lost my only friend. Dominic acts like he's forgotten our past. But I can't. It's impossible to forget the moment I fell in love.
I know where we began.
I'm not sure where we'll end.
Then the black car came.
Strangers in sharp suits dragged my father back to a past he kept hidden. Worse, they made him choose one of us—his own children—to go and live with his enemies. It's a way to keep him working for them... and from running again.
I'm a hostage.
The food is fancy, the carpets are lush, but this bed isn't mine. I don't belong here and my head and heart know it. I'm painfully alone.
And then I'm not.
The first time I meet Dominic Bradley, he saves me from a maid with a pair of scissors. This sweet boy is nothing like the rest of his family. He becomes the only sunlight in these smothering halls. The one person holding me together.
When he leaves for six years, it shreds my soul.
It's nothing compared to when he comes back.
Gone is my sweet boy. In his place is a hardened soldier ready to obey his father. He's gained new demons; and I've lost my only friend. Dominic acts like he's forgotten our past. But I can't. It's impossible to forget the moment I fell in love.
I know where we began.
I'm not sure where we'll end.
Purchase Links
99c for a limited time
Free in Kindle Unlimited
QueenZany 4 Star Review
Where We Began
by Nora Flite
OMFG!!!!!
Where We Began is a mind-numbing manic thrill ride of raw, angsty and brutally gripping need,
Which will make your head spin, your pulse accelerate and leave you in shock! Yearning to absolutely consume every stinking word. Till there is nothing else to do but read it again! Since that cliffhanger has you counting down the days till the book hits your iPhone.
Coming Soon
Releasing March 20, 2018
Author Bio
A USA Today Bestselling Author, Nora Flite lives in
SoCal where the weather is warm and she doesn't have to shovel snow—something
she never grew to love in her tiny home-state of Rhode Island.
All of her romances involve passionate, filthy, and slightly obsessive heroes—because those are clearly the best kind! She's always been a writer, and you'll probably have to pry her keyboard/pen/magical future writing device out of her cold, dead fingers before she'll stop.
She loves when people say hello! If you see her in the wild, walk up and start chatting. Or hey, just email her— noraflite@gmail.com
All of her romances involve passionate, filthy, and slightly obsessive heroes—because those are clearly the best kind! She's always been a writer, and you'll probably have to pry her keyboard/pen/magical future writing device out of her cold, dead fingers before she'll stop.
She loves when people say hello! If you see her in the wild, walk up and start chatting. Or hey, just email her— noraflite@gmail.com
Author Links
#Teaser for WITH THIS MAN by Jodi Ellen Malpas
3/07/2018
#Teaser
Jesse Ward is back in the newest novel in the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling This Man series!
Life is good for Jesse 'The Lord' Ward. Perfect, actually. He still has the charm, he's in great shape, and he still reduces his wife, Ava, to a pool of desire with a mere look. He's in full control, just how he likes it.
But Jesse's perfect world falls apart when a terrible accident lands Ava in hospital with a life-threatening head injury. Devastated and angry, he feels like his entire existence hangs in the balance. He cannot survive without this woman's love. So when she finally comes around, his shaking world begins to level out. But his nightmare doesn't end there. It's only just begun. Because his wife can't remember the last sixteen years of her life. That's all of him. All of their time together. He is a stranger to her.
Now Jesse must do whatever it takes to find her memories . . . and help her fall madly, passionately in love with him all over again.
Pre-Order Today!
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