Maci Roberts is trying to forge her own path away from the only support system she’s ever known, her family. She recently graduated college, she’s a freelance writer, and now she just scored a very well paid job as a nanny. The only thing she wishes she could forget about is meeting the guy who blew her mind on her very last spring break as a college student.
Damian Stone is a well-respected attorney whose life is fairly simple. Until a trip to the beach turns his entire existence upside down. Meeting Maci is the best and also the worst thing that could’ve happened to him. What he thought was a very well thought-out plan ends up being a life choice he never expected to have to make.
***This story has heart, humor and lots of heat that’s intended for readers who are 18 or older***
Andie Bale lives in Ann Arbor (Go Blue!), Michigan, with her husband, daughter and awesome four-legged baby. Her love of reading started at a young age when sneaking her mother’s romance books to read was the highlight of her day. Now, I am beyond grateful and excited to be able to bring the characters in her head to life.
“I have chills. This is unlike anything I’ve read.” –Ava Harrison, USA Today bestselling author
Darling Venom, an all-consuming romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Parker S. Huntington is now live!
My first love ended in tragedy.
My second began with his brother.
From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Parker S. Huntington comes an angsty, broken love story.
I wasn’t supposed to be on that roof on Valentine’s Day.
Neither was Kellan Marchetti, the school’s designated freak.
We met on the verge of ending our lives.
Somehow, the tattered strings of our tragedies tangled and tightened into an unlikely bond.
We decided not to take the plunge and agreed to check on each other every Valentine’s Day until school ended.
Same time.
One roof.
Two restless souls.
We kept our promise for three years.
On the fourth, Kellan made a decision, and I was left to deal with the consequences.
Just when I thought our story ended, another one began.
They say all love stories look the same and taste different.
Mine was venomous, disgraceful, and written in scarlet scars.
My name is Charlotte Richards, but you can call me Venom.
Fall in love with Tate and Charlie today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dHYSxs
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/DarlingVenom
Audible: https://adbl.co/3lTMb76
Amazon Hardcover: https://amzn.to/3IF5Mlm
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Cm1afm
Barnes and Noble Hardcover: https://bit.ly/3kEFKnW
Excerpt
I dropped my voice. “Look, I have questions.”
“The answer to all of them is no.”
“Then one of them is, ‘Would you mind it very much if we talked about Kellan for a few minutes?’”
“Ha. Ha,” she deadpanned, but I wasn’t laughing. “Go. Away.”
The grunting behind me intensified. I never took the subway, and now I remembered why. Other than the fact that it smelled like a public toilet, BO, and clinical depression, it was also a hostile environment.
“Not until you give me some answers after the bomb you dropped in my office yesterday.”
A guy in a hoodie tapped my shoulder. “Hey, can you hit on this fine ass standing on the right side of the escalator like a goddamn New Yorker? People are trying to pass through.”
I shifted to the right side, two steps below Miss Richards. Which reminded me…
“What’s your name, anyway?”
My nose was level with her head. She smelled like sugar cookies and cypress. Maybe even coconut. More importantly—not like stale piss.
“None of your business.”
“Cute name. Artsy parents?”
“Dead parents,” she gritted out. “You’re bothering me.”
I told myself her parents were not really dead, so I could keep pestering her with a clear conscience. “Give me what I want, and I’ll leave you alone.”
Her head snapped in my direction, her dramatic eyebrows pinched together in anger. “Kellan was right.”
It hit like a bullet to the gut, but I smiled through the pain. Cocky and unaffected and everything I was known for. The aloof, charming ob-gyn with the bronze heart.
She stormed to the platform. I tailed her. My patience, already a rare commodity, evaporated. Her train arrived, and Miss Richards stepped in. I did the same. I had no idea where we were headed. Hopefully Hell, so I could have the home-field advantage.
I realized on the train that, excluding the month after Kellan’s death, I hadn’t done anything out of character or off my schedule for at least a decade. Yet, I took the seat next to her. She tugged a stack of papers from her leather briefcase. A manuscript. She uncapped a yellow highlighter with her teeth and struck a line on the page in her lap.
“If I were you, I would cooperate,” I said through a tight-lipped smile, aware of the fact that people were watching us. Getting arrested for harassment would be the kiss of death to my career. Living without answers, however, seemed like a bigger punishment.
She flipped a page in the manuscript, forcing me to switch to the not-so-nice method. Clearly, I should have gone that route the minute I’d found her. There were not a lot of opportunities to salvage a relationship that began with you staring into a woman’s eyes while coming deep inside another.
“I guess you leave me no choice but to tell your boss you flung my door open yesterday, caught me having sex, and decided to make yourself comfortable and watch.” I took out my phone and began texting Reagan Rothschild.
Miss Richards snapped her head up in horror. “Wait.”
Bingo.
My thumbs kept flying across my iPhone. She should have knocked on my door as soon as I’d lost him. No one had come to talk to me and Terry, other than Principal Brooks and a couple of guilt-ridden teachers who’d hardly even remembered anything significant about my brother.
Kellan had died, and not one of his peers came to offer their condolences.
She slapped her hand over my phone. I dragged my eyes up to meet hers. She averted her gaze.
Guilty.
“Where can we talk?” I demanded.
She flinched. I wanted to shake the answers out of her. I didn’t even know why I cared so much. Finding out what made him do this wouldn’t bring him back. A part of me just wanted to punish her for not offering her condolences.
Her forehead crumpled. “About Kellan?”
“No, about your fabulous beret. Your fashion choices charm me.” I bared my teeth like a beast. “Of course, it’s about Kellan.” The way she stared at me, with enough hatred to freeze the sun, made me want to laugh in her face.
She thought I cared about her opinion of me. She thought I cared, period. I’d stopped caring the day he died. Threw myself into my work, not bothering to build a life outside of it.
“Well?” I popped an eyebrow.
“Fine. But not today.”
“Why not?”
“I have plans.”
What could be more important than Kellan?
“Elaborate.”
She tipped her chin up. “I don’t want to.”
I fished my phone out and resumed my text to Reagan. Miss Richards slapped it away. It fell in my lap, and the lock screen image—of Kellan hiding behind a book, grinning—flashed. I flipped the phone on its screen. She sucked in a breath.
She saw.
“I’m taking my sister to the dermatologist,” she answered, more softly. Which didn’t make sense. Most dermatologists in my building closed by five. Six, at the latest. But I didn’t press on account of the fact that I didn’t want to give her any reason to change her mind.
“Then when?”
“Tomorrow. There’s a little café right across from my office—”
“I know the place,” I shot out. “Time?”
I noticed her right leg was jumpy, rocking up and down. A nervous tick.
“Six.”
“Now let’s start over. Do you have a name, Miss Richards?”
“Charlotte. My name is Charlotte.” She licked her lips. “I would say it’s nice to meet you, but we both know that’s not the case.”
I got up and off the train without looking back at Charlotte.
“Wait,” she called. “Shouldn’t we exchange numbers or something?” I could practically hear her blush.
Rather than turning around, I exited the doors as I answered her. “No. I don’t want anything to do with you after tomorrow.”
About Parker S. Huntington
Parker S. Huntington is a USA Today bestselling author from Orange County, California. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside and a Master’s in Liberal Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from Harvard University.
Genre: MC Romance/Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense
Release Date: December 13, 2021
I’ve always had a healthy obsession with fire. We have mutual respect for one another, our own love language. It’s helped me immensely in my work as Fire Marshal of Paradise, NV. The only fire that’s ever burned me has come from the female variety. I have a type, wild, spirited, and aggressive. Redheads are my weakness, drawing me in like a moth. A chance meeting brought me to my current obsession, and after spending the best night of my life with her, she disappeared until a few weeks ago. We keep meeting at the wrong damn times, life always keeping her just out of reach. Until I see her fleeing the scene of my latest arson case. Now, it’s my mission to find her and figure out if she’s the one I’ve been hunting all along. My life can’t be that cruel, could it?
D Williams is a retired 41 year old Puerto Rican wife and mother of 3 plus 1 bonus daughter. Originally from NYC, she now lives a quiet life in the south suburbs of Chicago. She enjoys reading and writing romance and erotic fiction.
Two years ago, Tyler Reid left the California Coastline in search of a new start. One that didn’t include Genevieve Lawson and the disastrous ending to their life together. Stubborn and alone, Reid is determined to move forward but remains haunted by his past and the events that occurred before he left the sleepy beach community.
Reluctantly, Reid finds himself in therapy, forced to deal with his past to embrace his future. But, as he begins to heal, the memories of his upbringing start to unravel, forcing him to question all he’s known about his relationship with Genevieve and those around him.
Determined to make things right, Reid returns to California attempting to make peace with his past and provide both him and Genevieve closure. Only when he arrives, their encounter takes a turn neither expected, nearly derailing his progress and their plans.
Can the two put aside the past for a chance at a possible future?
What to Can Expect From, At Last
~ Wounded Hero Determined to Heal
~ Torn Heroine Afraid of Being Hurt Again
~ Redemption Story
~ Two-Hour Short Read with All the Feels
~ Guaranteed Happily Ever After
Krista Harper is a contemporary romance and romantic comedy writer.
The first in her family to attend college, she received a practical degree in nursing before pursuing her MFA at the age of 40.
A Chicago native, Krista currently resides in the Colorado mountains with her husband, two kids and four rescues, where she enjoys being nature adjacent.
Get her to her family and home for Christmas. Keep it in your pants. Easier said than done.
Retired SEAL and now special operative, Barnes Wark just wants to finish his current job—find the long-lost McAllister sister—then escape to solitude in his beachside cottage. He’s not one for fuss, people or holiday cheer.
But for the last four months, every lead has been a dead end, and he’s getting pissed.
Hiding away in a seaside village in beautiful Portugal, he finally finds who he’s been searching for.
Unfortunately, she’s not leaving without a fight and that pisses him off even more.
Dr. Brier Scofield allows herself one indulgence in life and that’s one three-week vacation every year. With no family, she’s dedicated her life to curing the disease that killed her mother.
So when a handsome, but frustrating, stranger shows up and says she has family waiting for her in the snowy mountains, she doesn’t know what to think.
Going from no family to a ton seems daunting and something this quiet, introvert isn’t ready for.
Barnes doesn’t care if she’s ready or not, he has a job to do—and that job is her.
In more ways than one.
★★★★★ Goodreads Review – “Two of my favourite themes are holidays and mystery/suspense; so for me Quick and Snowy was a perfect blend for me.”
★★★★★ Goodreads Review – “If you love holiday romances with some mystery this book should certainly be on your radar.”
★★★★★ Goodreads Review – “Author Whitley Cox gives readers a lovely story around newly found family (it’s huge) and Christmas, then add in two introverts who get each other and discover that there is sizzling hot chemistry between them!”
He pulled the sheet away and watched as a new layer of gooseflesh chased across her skin.
He wanted to feel those bumps beneath his lips.
Melt them with the heat of his tongue.
Setting the plate off to the side, he leaned forward, and from just above her crease, he ran his tongue up the length of her spine, feeling her tremble and shiver beneath him. He ended at her neck and gently bit her shoulder.
She relaxed into the bed.
Yes.
The woman needed to fucking relax.
He’d never met someone who was constantly so tightly wound.
He’d watched her unravel and loosen up just a bit on the plane when he slid his fingers beneath her pants, but even then, even as she allowed him to bring her to orgasm and suck on her nipples, she hadn’t allowed herself to completely let go.
What was “relaxed” Brier like? When she truly allowed herself to be free of worry.
He wanted to find out more than he’d wanted to find out anything in a long fucking time.
Swirling his tongue over her shoulder and down her arm, he brushed her hair off her face to find her looking at him.
The smile in her eyes hit him hard in the solar plexus, and a breath hitched in his chest.
But he made sure to hide his physiological response from his face.
If she got even a whiff of anything, she could shut down all of this.
She couldn’t know that he was beyond having temporary feelings for her. That parts of him wanted to explore this connection, this friendship they had, beyond their time in Whistler.
Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Her eyes closed.
He’d made sure to place the plate with orange slices within reach, and while still kissing her, still giving her attention, he reached for a slice, brought it over and squeezed it over her bare back.
Starting at the base of her spine, right above her crease, he moved his hand up the length of her body.
She inhaled sharply, and her eyes widened.
He grinned down at her, then brought the now empty and crumpled orange slice in front of her face.
Understanding dawned on her face. But her eyes remained wide.
Intrigue and desire replaced the surprise, burning hot and making the green of her eyes intensify in color.
He moved away from her face and back toward her butt. Her gaze followed him.
He didn’t have to see her eyes to know they were glued to his every movement.
He could feel the heat of her stare. Sense the ripping vortex of desire and unease that dueled within her.
She wanted this.
But she didn’t think she should.
“Relax, Bry,” he cooed. Before dipping his head, he swirled the tip of his tongue at the top of her crease for just a moment, then raked his tongue up the length of her spine, gathering the droplets of sweet juice as he went.
She stiffened beneath him.
He felt her tense.
Felt her walls start to go up.
She was stepping out of her comfort zone, and he needed to let her know that it was okay to do so. That she was safe to be herself with him. Safe to let go.
When he reached the back of her neck, he bit down just hard enough to send her a message. Then he slid his hands over hers, which were flat above her on the bed, and he covered her body.
He didn’t put all of his weight on her, but he put a bit.
“You are safe, Bry. Safe with me. Nobody can hurt you here. Nobody outside of the people in this room need you for anything other than for your desires to be fulfilled. Turn off your worries. Let yourself relax. You’re safe to be yourself with me.”
Quick puffs of warm arm fled her flaring nostrils.
He glanced at her. She looked up at him.
Both of them were keenly aware of his erection laying against the crack of her ass. Particularly her, because when he lowered himself onto her a little more, she clenched her cheeks.
“We won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, Bry. But something tells me you want to do more than you’re willing to admit … to me or even to yourself. Give yourself a gift for Christmas. The gift of not overthinking. The gift of just going with the flow. Of giving in to your basest, most animalistic and carnal desires.”
She shivered beneath him when he said that last bit.
“You might just surprise yourself with how much you enjoy this other side of yourself. How freeing it is.” He brought his mouth down next to her ear. “How much you like to be dirty.”
A Canadian West Coast baby born and raised, Whitley is married to her high school sweetheart, and together they have two beautiful daughters and a fluffy dog. She spends her days making food that gets thrown on the floor, vacuuming Cheerios out from under the couch and making sure that the dog food doesn’t end up in the air conditioner. But when nap time comes, and it’s not quite wine o’clock, Whitley sits down, avoids the pile of laundry on the couch, and writes.
A lover of all things decadent; wine, cheese, chocolate and spicy erotic romance, Whitley brings the humorous side of sex, the ridiculous side of relationships and the suspense of everyday life into her stories. With single dads, firefighters, Navy SEALs, mommy wars, body issues, threesomes, bondage and role-playing, Whitley’s books have all the funny and fabulously filthy words you could hope for.
Fictitiouswander – “Wow, this book was extremely hard to put down.”
Ohthatellie – “I think it goes without saying that I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book.”
Book_nerd13 – “I completely LOVED this book, it’s messy in the best possible way.”
Five years ago, I broke the boy-next-door’s heart.
Now Camden Hayes is a rock star. He’s every bit as seductively beautiful as he was years ago, and yet he wants ordinary me to pose as his live-in girlfriend for the next six months. If I agree, I’ll walk away with enough money for my little girl and me to live comfortably for years to come.
The catch? He still hates me. This is only a temporary arrangement for him.
I can’t let it become more for me.
~~~
The woman who betrayed me is in desperate need of money. Lucky for me, I have a lot of it.
Since the band’s world tour is cancelled, I’ll be living in San Diego for the first time in years. It’s the perfect opportunity to finally get over this irrational longing for Lauren Henderson. For the next six months, I’ll spend every waking moment getting everything I’ve ever wanted from her.
The catch? At the end of this, I have to let her go.
No matter how badly I want to hang on.
Skyler is a romance novel reader first and foremost. Her books feature strong heroines who sometimes make their heroes cry, but only because they deserve it. After all, if romance isn’t angsty, is it even worth it?
A one-night stand. A little white lie. And a whole lot of shenanigans.
As the brother of the groom, it was my duty and honor to take the bridesmaid for a wild ride down “O” Street. Six months and a little screw up later, she’s staying with me for a month as we try to organize a surprise anniversary party for my parents. Now, all I can think about is retracing my original itinerary and making our one-night turn into a lifetime.
The problem?
Three thousand miles of American highway stand between us. Will our feelings for one another be enough to close the distance?
Eva LeNoir grew up travelling with her parents to various countries in the world. Reading was her constant companion during her travels and her ability to adapt to different cultures fed her mind with endless possibilities. The characters swimming in her head are always from various horizons with a multitude of dreams and aspirations. However, all of these voices always have one thing in common: The women are strong and independent. A true believer in the female cause, Eva’s wish is to portray the women in her books as the leaders. She sees them walking hand in hand with their partners and not be the sheepish followers of the male gender. But most of all, Eva LeNoir wants to offer her readers a moment of pleasure as they dive into the world of her mind’s creation.
My first love ended in tragedy.My second began with his brother.
Darling Venom, an all-new emotional second-chance romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Parker S. Huntington is now live!
My first love ended in tragedy.
My second began with his brother.
From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Parker S. Huntington comes an angsty, broken love story.
I wasn’t supposed to be on that roof on Valentine’s Day.
Neither was Kellan Marchetti, the school’s designated freak.
We met on the verge of ending our lives.
Somehow, the tattered strings of our tragedies tangled and tightened into an unlikely bond.
We decided not to take the plunge and agreed to check on each other every Valentine’s Day until school ended.
Same time.
One roof.
Two restless souls.
We kept our promise for three years.
On the fourth, Kellan made a decision, and I was left to deal with the consequences.
Just when I thought our story ended, another one began.
They say all love stories look the same and taste different.
Mine was venomous, disgraceful, and written in scarlet scars.
My name is Charlotte Richards, but you can call me Venom.
Fall in love with Tate and Charlie today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dHYSxs
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/DarlingVenom
Audible: https://adbl.co/3lTMb76
Amazon Hardcover: https://amzn.to/3IF5Mlm
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Cm1afm
Barnes and Noble Hardcover: https://bit.ly/3kEFKnW
About Parker S. Huntington
Parker S. Huntington is a USA Today bestselling author from Orange County, California. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside and a Master’s in Liberal Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from Harvard University.
Weakness isn’t an option.
It’s an excuse.
And Sam never makes excuses.
Rise of the King, an all-new addicting mafia romance from Bella Matthews is available now!
Amelia cannot get attached—not to the town or the people in it.
And definitely not to the tall, dark, and handsome mafia prince who sweet-talks his way past her carefully built walls.
Why put yourself through that, knowing it’ll all be ripped away when you leave?
And she will have to leave.
This life isn’t hers to keep.
Sam calls her Snow, like the fairy-tale princess.
But her life is far from a fairy tale.
Even a prince can’t change that.
For Sam Beneventi, there’s a difference between his family and The Family.
He’s been raised to one day take control of The Family, putting that above all else.
Strength and power are all that matter.Weakness isn’t an option. It’s an excuse. And Sam never makes excuses.
Until his future walks into his life and blows it up with one single bullet.
When the lost princess stumbles into this mafia prince’s city, all bets are off.
And Amelia is all he sees.
To keep her safe, it’s time for Sam to take control.
To take the throne.
To wear the crown.
It’s time for the Rise of the King.
Get your copy today!
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CiKvKQ
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/riseking
Add to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/2Vt0NzW
Excerpt
AMELIA
I’ve just placed a tray of my favorite go-to cookies in the oven when the alarm on the metal staircase outside my building is tripped.
Screw this day.
I don’t get visitors. Ever. And I’m too old to believe a fat man in a red coat is coming to see me with gifts aplenty today. Whoever is outside is probably not friendly.
And definitely not wanted.
I lift the purple hat that serves as the lid on my oversized Dopey the Dwarf cookie jar and remove my gun before moving to check the security monitors set up in the second bedroom of my apartment.
What the heck is Sam Beneventi doing here, and why is he knocking on my door?
When I don’t answer the door fast enough for him, he knocks again.
Louder this time and with more force than necessary.
With a shake of my head, I call out, “Hold your damn horses,” and take my time. Once I get to the door, I leave the chain in place, and crack it partially open. A cold burst of wind whips through the opening, and I wrap my favorite comfy sweater tighter around myself. “Why are you here?”
“Well, hello to you too, Snow White.” Sam attempts to reach through the cracked opening and release the chain, but I smack him away. “Let me in, Snow.”
“My name is not Snow White, Beneventi.” I push on the door, trying to shut it when he blocks me with a foot in the opening. “Move it or lose it.”
Sam’s foot stays firmly planted between the door and the jam. “Open the door. You’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”
My eyes trail from his feet to his face. “I’d let you in if you’d move your foot, genius. I can’t unlatch the chain unless the door’s closed.”
Sam huffs out a sound of annoyance in a puff of cold air before pulling his foot back.
Of course, I take the opportunity to slam the door in his face, and for a hot second, I contemplate not reopening it. This door is reinforced steel. You’re not breaking it down with Italian leather boots on your feet.
But I decide to be a big girl instead, and after I put my gun in the waistband of my jeans under my sweatshirt, I let the mafia prince in.
Suddenly I’m feeling a bit like Little Red Riding Hood opening the door for the big bad wolf.
Or maybe just the idiot who opened Pandora’s box.
Either way, this feels like a bad move at the end of a bad day.
The timer goes off in the kitchen as Sam walks through my door, looking around and taking it all in. From a stranger’s perspective, my apartment probably doesn’t look like much. It’s small and above a bakery. But I own the bakery and the building, allowing me the privacy I needed and the ability to modify it however I wanted.
No questions asked. No nosey neighbors.
It’s my safe space. I can breathe here.
Until Sam walked through my door. His enormous presence sucks all the oxygen from the room, taking up all the space and leaving me crowded where I’m usually lonely.
“What is that incredible smell?” The look of hunger on his face tells me he may eat me if I don’t feed him a cookie immediately.
Maybe he is the big bad wolf disguised as a tall, dark, and annoyingly handsome hitman.
You’d think I’d be afraid right now.
You’d be wrong.
Stupidly, I’m intrigued. George would be so disappointed.
I pull the hot tray of gooey chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and place them on the stove top to cool before turning back to Bash’s brother. “Why are you here, Sam? You don’t know me, and today’s events don’t change that.”
I amend my earlier statement.
This exquisite man smiles at me, and I realize there’s no maybe about it. He is the big bad wolf. And a lesser woman would have given anything to be his Little Red Riding Hood for the night. But I need to get him out of here.
“You’re a prickly little princess, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry. Prickly what?” I level him with a glare. “Listen to me carefully. I’m no princess. So whatever fantasy you’re rocking on that chiseled jaw of yours has got to go.” His smile grows obnoxiously wide.
Oh no. “That panty-melting smile isn’t working on me. Not even a tiny singe. So put it away and sit down.” I point to the saucer-sized chocolate chip cookies. “You have to wait for them to cool a little. So talk. Tell me what you’re doing in my apartment on Christmas night, instead of at the hospital with Bash and Belle.”
I may not be at all interested in getting involved with any man, let alone this one, but I certainly can appreciate how scorchingly hot he is. Movie star hot. I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt a real attraction to a man, so being attracted to Sam is irritating the hell out of me. Which means instead of allowing him to study my face after that little tirade, I move across the room and grab a spatula from the drawer to take the cookies off the tray.
I may call myself a coward as I turn away, but at least I’m a coward whose emotions won’t be on display.
“Panty-melting smile, huh?” Plump lips pull back, framing bright white, perfectly straight teeth. A strong jaw and the most beautifully blue eyes I’ve ever seen that are framed by long black lashes are topped off by a head of gorgeous thick brown hair. I mean seriously . . . it’s just not fair.
“Shut up.” I push the plate of cookies in front of him. “Do you want some milk with them?”
Sam looks around my apartment again, then raises his hands. “Hold on. Time-out. Why are you feeding me cookies and milk? And how the fuck did you have time to bake anything?”
I pour us two glasses of milk and pass one to Sam before leaning against the counter and picking up a cookie. “I’m a pastry chef, Sam. It takes me less than five minutes to mix a half batch of cookies and eleven minutes to cook them. Not a biggie.”
I watch that mouth bite into the cookie and hold my breath until he moans.
Actually moans. “Oh my God. This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
Not gonna lie. That reaction never gets old. “Thank you. Now would you like to tell me why you’re here?”
Cobalt blue eyes look up at me, assessing. “I think you know why I’m here, Amelia.”
“I really don’t.” I blow out a frustrated breath. “I’ve spent the last few hours at the police station, and I’ve already answered enough questions meant to throw me off my guard to last me a lifetime. I told them everything I knew. So, if you have something to ask, ask it.” I steel my spine and cross my arms, ready to be pissed off. To throw him out of my apartment, and go the hell to bed, ending an unusually awful Christmas. But an image of Belle flashes in front of me, and I soften. “Wait. Before you ask me anything, how are Belle and Bash? Are they both okay? I mean, the cops at the station said they were fine, but I still should have asked you that as soon as you barged in here.”
Sam dunks his cookie in his glass of milk, and I resist the urge to gag.
Why do people do that?
It ruins a perfectly perfect cookie.
And leaves cookie bits in an otherwise perfectly good glass of milk.
I am not a fan of cookie floaties.
Why would anyone want to drink chunky milk?
“Sebastian is fine. A few stitches. A few pain meds. He’ll have a great story to go with a good scar to use to get himself laid. Ballerina is still in the hospital, but she’s going to be fine. The babies are fine. You should call her. She was asking about you earlier.”
I give him a curt nod, appreciative of his answer, but still annoyed by his presence. “Thank you. Now what do you want?”
“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” he mumbles around a mouth full of cookie.
I scrunch my face up, disgusted. “Seriously? Chew before you speak next time.”
Sam makes a big show of chewing, and exaggeratedly swallowing. “Don’t deflect, Amelia.” Another dunk.
“I’m not deflecting, Samuel. I’m refusing to answer your question when you haven’t answered mine.” I pull the plate of cookies out of reach as punishment.
“Sebastian asked me to check on you. He wanted to know that you’re alright. He was worried.”
Huh. Of all the things he could have said, that was not what I was expecting. And it makes me strangely uneasy. “I’m fine. You did your good deed. Now it’s time for you to go.”
“Not how this is gonna work, Snow White. I answered yours, now you answer mine. Where did you learn to shoot like that?” His long arm reaches forward as his fingers pull the plate back to within an easy reach. “And don’t tell me it’s a long story ’cause I’ve got all night.” A chocolate morsel falls from his lips as he asks, “Got any more milk?”
I spin around, annoyed, and grab the jug of milk from the fridge. “A good friend of my mother’s taught me. He was a big believer in being able to protect yourself. I own the shop downstairs and sometimes have big bank deposits on me. I carry my gun everywhere I go.” I’ve learned out of necessity that the best way to lie is to cover it in a truth. A partial truth never feels as bad leaving my lips as an all-out lie.
I top off his glass of milk and slam the fridge door. “Happy?”
Sam sips the milk as he eyes me over the glass. “Okay, listen. I’m tired and not in the mood to beat around the bush. It’s been a long fucking day. So how about you tell me the real story, Anastasia?”
My gun is out of my waistband and trained on Sam before he takes his next breath.
About Bella
Bella Matthews is a Jersey girl at heart. She is married to her very own Alpha Male and raising three little ones. You can typically find her running from one sporting event to another. When she is home, she is usually hiding in her home office with the only other female in her house, her rescue dog Tinker Bell by her side. She likes to write swoon-worthy heroes and sassy, smart heroines with a healthy dose of laughter thrown in.
The Familia is a mystery to most,
and sitting on it’s throne is Kage Malvagio.
The Malvagio Mafia Duet, an all-new dark romance by USA Today bestselling author Kelsey Clayton is coming January 7th and we have the mind-blowing covers!
Suffer in Silence, Book OneReleasing January 7th
Monsters don’t hide in dark alleys.
They lurk in plain sight, clawing into your soul with cordial smiles.
They wear Armani, they drive Cadillacs, they attend fundraising balls…
And they rule the city with a merciless fist.
The Familia is a mystery to most,
and sitting on it’s throne is Kage Malvagio.
Vile.
Sadistic.
Painstakingly beautiful.
Some say: Ask for forgiveness, never permission.
Kage asks for neither.
Especially when he gets his hands on me.
I should hate him.
I should run at the first chance I get.
But how could the devil be so bad when he looks at me like that?
Pre-order your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3EuhLPX
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/suffersilence
Add to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/SISPart1
Screams in Symphony, Book TwoReleasing January 27th
There once was a girl,
tarnished and ruined by the actions of others.
Some are born plagued by darkness,
but she was doused in it by those she trusted.
Like Lucifer himself,
she fell from the heavens and landed amongst the flames.
Now she wears her crown black,
with diamonds coated in the blood of her enemies.
This isn’t the story of a girl who saved the villain.
This is the story of a girl who became something much worse,
and the man who loved her for it.
Add to Goodreads→ https://bit.ly/3dw5TB3
Meet Kelsey
Kelsey Clayton is a USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance novels. She lives in a small town in Delaware with her husband, two kids, and dog.
She is an avid reader of fall hard romance. She believes that books are the best escape you can find, and that if you feel a range of emotions while reading her stories – she succeeded. She loves writing and is only getting started on this life long journey.
Kelsey likes to keep things in her life simple. Her ideal night is one with sweatpants, a fluffy blanket, cheese fries, and wine. She holds her friends and family close to her heart and would do just about anything to make them happy.
Maci Roberts is trying to forge her own path away from the only support system she’s ever known, her family. She recently graduated college, she’s a freelance writer, and now she just scored a very well paid job as a nanny. The only thing she wishes she could forget about is meeting the guy who blew her mind on her very last spring break as a college student.
