Series: Dixie Point Series
Author: AJ Alexander
Release: June 18, 2021
Genre: Small Town Contemporary Romance (Brother’s best friend)
Cover Designer: Popkitty Designs
Photo Credit: Adobe Stock
Sometimes fantasy can become reality …
Brady Thomas has been the star of my fantasies since I was old enough to have them. As my older brother’s best friend, he never saw me as anything more than a nuisance.
But still, even knowing my feelings for him were unrequited, they persisted. Until one night changed everything.
It’s been almost a year since I last saw him.
A year since he deployed.
A year since he kissed me and then left without a word.
Now he’s home and I’m determined to show him how I feel. Brady may want to pretend nothing happened, that our kiss didn’t mean as much to him as it did to me, but the explosive chemistry between us is too scorching to deny.
Bro code be damned, because I’m not letting anything—or anyone—stand in the way of me getting what I always wanted…
Brady’s heart.
“Hey, Brady.” Her chocolate-brown eyes sparkle as she scans the table before greeting everyone else. “Gentlemen.”
I preen like a peacock at her attention. Her voice glides across my skin as I breathe in the scent of lilacs and honey, two things that will always remind me of her. My heart jumps at the thought that there may still be hope for us yet, but I remember the guy from earlier and the way she let his hands roam all over her body.
My shoulders sink as the reality of my situation sinks in. I broke her heart and she moved on, just as I hoped she would. Now I get to suffer the consequences. Besides, she has her whole life ahead of her. She’s getting ready to graduate from college soon and start her life, probably far away from this small town in the middle of nowhere, Alabama.
We continue to stare at each other as something flashes behind her eyes, but it’s gone in an instant.
“And what are you doing here, little lady?” the man sitting next to Seth says as the others whistle softly.
I growl under my breath, wanting nothing more than to rip out their throats for the impure thoughts I’m sure they are having about her. I grip the chair arms, ready to teach those men a lesson, as Seth shakes his head, warning me against the decision.
“Just came to say hello to a friend,” Emersyn says before turning her attention back toward me.
Gone is the girl I left without a word a little over a year ago. She’s been replaced by the woman standing before me. Yes, her body has changed in the best way possible, but she even carries herself differently, commanding the attention of everyone in the room. Not just with her beauty, but her presence alone draws everyone to her, men and women alike.
My eyes catalog every detail of her body, noticing all the small changes that have occurred over the last year as her eyes bore into my soul. Her hair is a little longer, hanging just below the shoulders, and her curves are a little more pronounced, giving her a perfect hourglass figure. I lick my lips, imagining the taste of her skin as I explore each and every part of her, from the swell of her breasts to her apple bottom.
“Emersyn,” I reply tersely before grabbing my beer and turning my attention toward the bar where her brother stands.
Beckett shakes his head, warning me once again to stay away from his sister as he serves her friends drinks. I lift my glass in response, letting him know I’ve received his message loud and clear.
It’s not like I have a chance at Emersyn’s heart anyway. It’s time to put the past behind me and move forward.
“Who’s your friend?” Emersyn flashes Seth a smile, leaning her hip against the table, drawing my eyes to her body once again.
“Seth,” he supplies, taking a swig from his beer.
I don’t deny my desire for her. I want—no, I need—her to understand how much I want her. Her eyes drop slightly, betraying her true emotions. She wants me as much as I want her.
“Nice to meet you,” he continues.
“The pleasure is all mine,” she purrs as she stands back to her full height, never breaking eyes contact with me.
We continue having a silent conversation as I attempt to relay all my feelings to her in these few moments.
I want you.
I need you.
I love you.
Tears gather in her eyes as I lean forward, wanting to wrap her in my arms and let her know everything is okay, but one of the jackoffs at the table interrupts our conversation. I narrow my eyes slightly, daring him to say another word and risk my wrath.
“Run along, Emersyn. We have better things to do than play babysitter.” I wince, knowing that once again I’ve let my anger get the best of me.
She has every right to spend time with whoever she wants, even the asshole sitting across from me, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Emersyn doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. She deserves to be treated like the queen she is, but I can’t stop the torrent of emotions raging through my body as the realization of our situation hits me: Emersyn has moved on, just like I wanted her to, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
AJ Alexander is a wannabe psychologist and author of steamy (borderline erotic) contemporary romances with happily ever afters that must be earned by her characters. She lives in the angst capital of the world, Seattle Washington with her own personal knight in shining camouflage and her two beautiful girls.
Want to read more insta-love romance with a twist? Check out all of my books on Amazon #FREE in Kindle Unlimited.
I SHOULD GIVE HER UP—SET HER FREE.
The Russian army made me a killer, but the brotherhood made me what I am.
Ruthless. Deadly. Irredeemable.
Which is why Kayla should stay away.
The innocent young actress has a bright future ahead of her,
so long as someone doesn’t break her first. Someone like me.
Every weekend, she gives herself to me fully. Without question. Without hesitation.
She’s mine to command.
In return, I give her what she craves—pain and pleasure.
But it’s a fantasy that can’t ever become reality.
We’re playing with fire,
but I can’t seem to let her go…
USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR RENEE ROSE loves a dominant, dirty-talking alpha hero! She’s sold over a million copies of steamy romance with varying levels of kink. Her books have been featured in USA Today’s Happily Ever After and Popsugar. Named Eroticon USA’s Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, she has also won Spunky and Sassy’s Favorite Sci-Fi and Anthology author, The Romance Reviews Best Historical Romance, and has hit the USA Today list eight times with her Bad Boy Alpha and Wolf Ranch books and various anthologies.
The Bully, an all-new enemies-to-lovers standalone in The Kingmakers Series from bestselling author Sophie Lark, is available now!
Cat is in so much trouble. She did something bad, and I saw.
I’ll keep her secret… for a price.
Poor, sweet, timid Cat should never have come to Kingmakers. It’s a place for monsters and killers. People like me.
She wandered into the lion’s den and now she’s mine.
Mine to play with. Mine to torment. Mine to break…
The Lark Notes:
My very first inspiration for Kingmakers was Dean Yenin. I wanted to write a true anti-hero, with a character arc spanning three books. Dean will make you feel all the things, sometimes against your will. You’ll love him and hate him and love him again, and never get him out of your head. – Sophie
“The Bully” is the third installment in the epic dark mafia Kingmakers series. It’s a bully romance, full of dark, twisted enemies-to-lovers conflict, and some dubious scenes. Reader beware, this one is intense.
Download your copy today!
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Excerpt
I have to return to my own life at Kingmakers. Even if there’s something horrible waiting there for me.
It’s ironic. My father is forbidden to force me into a marriage contract against my will. But I’ve already trapped myself in something far, far worse.
The moment I step foot aboard the ship to Kingmakers, I’m looking around for Dean Yenin. I remember the last words we spoke to each other as though it were three minutes ago, instead of three months.
“I know what you did . . . “I saw you . . . “I won’t tell. But understand this . . . I own you now. When we come back to school, you’re mine. My servant. My slave. For as long as I want you . . .”
I almost spilled my secret to Zoe a hundred times. I almost told her what I did.
But in the end, I stuffed the words down again, into the ball of frozen fear that’s been lodged deep in my guts all this time.
This is my burden to bear, not hers. If I told Zoe the truth, she’d never feel free to go to L.A. with Miles.
She’d be compelled to stay with me, to try to protect me from something she simply can’t prevent.
Dean knows what I did. He could tell the Chancellor at any time. Nothing can stop him from doing that. My only chance is to stay on his good side. To trust in his mercy.
The only problem is that I don’t think he has any goddamned mercy.
I’m trying to please a man who can’t be pleased.
Dean is spiteful. Vengeful. Full of rage.
He could destroy me with a single word, just because I looked at him sideways.
The train of his hatred is long and complicated.
He hates Leo Gallo because of the feud between their families.
He hates Miles and Zoe because Miles is Leo’s cousin.
And he hates me because I’m Zoe’s sister.
But that barely scratches the surface of his fury. I’ve thought about this long and hard over the summer, wondering how I truly attracted his ire.
The real reason he hates me is that I saw him in a private, unguarded moment. I saw him sobbing after Ozzy’s mother was executed by the Chancellor.
I saw him hunched over, tears streaming down his face, as he gave in to the storm of pain inside him.
And he will never, never, never forgive me for that.
I saw Dean weak and vulnerable. He’ll have me killed before he’ll chance me telling anybody else.
Like a fool, I handed him the perfect leverage over me.
I murdered Rocco Prince, my sister’s intended fiancé.
And Dean knows it.
The Rule of Recompense is the most iron-clad law of Kingmakers: an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life.
If Dean tells anyone what I did, I’ll be executed, just like Ozzy’s mother.
About Sophie
Sophie Lark is an Amazon Bestselling author who writes intense, intelligent romance, with heroines who are strong and capable, and men who will do anything to capture their hearts. She lives with her husband, two boys, and baby girl in the Rocky Mountain West.
She has a slight obsession with hiking, bodybuilding, and live comedy shows. Her perfect day would be taking the kids to Harry Potter World, going dancing with Mr. Lark, then relaxing with a good book and a monster bag of salt and vinegar chips.
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When looking for a place to nurse my broken heart, Mason Creek is the picture-perfect escape…
I almost made the biggest mistake of my life walking down the aisle. Thankfully, I caught the groom with his pants around his ankles and my bridesmaid around his waist before I said, “I do.”
My best friends kidnap me and take me away to a cabin in the middle of nowhere Montana. They convince me trespassing and skinny dipping are both acceptable remedies for a broken heart. Turns out, the owner of the property found our little excursion unacceptable…and amusing as hell.
After my douche of an ex calls to rain on my non-honeymoon parade, I decide to stick around Mason Creek while I figure things out.
I had no idea accepting a temporary job at Dream Big Realty would land me face to face with none other than Mr. Tall, Dark, Handsome, and Not Pressing Charges.
Falling for him and his adorable daughter is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. But competing with old flames makes me wonder if this town is big enough for the both of us.
Small town life was supposed to be a brief Band-Aid, then sexy, single dad Grady gives me a reason to stay…and a second chance at happiness.
Fae and vampires never fall in love.
Except when they do.
Vampire Guardian, a deliciously erotic paranormal romance from award-winning author Joey W. Hill is available now!
Joey Kissing young couple on a dark background
Adan has come to Club Atlantis to do a job. The BDSM club is to become part of the portal network for magic users. A born vampire with the blood of a Cherokee shaman and an Irish Seer, Adan is apprenticed to a Light Guardian helping him hone his skills to become a full sorcerer. Perhaps even a Guardian himself one day.
But Club Atlantis is a haven for a Fae female, an unwelcome distraction. His hatred for her kind means even her scent can set off his bloodlust.
Catriona is a Fae unsettled in her own world, and physiologically unable to be in the human one without extraordinary protections in place. She can’t put down roots anywhere. For a tree nymph, that’s a serious problem. One that calls for a solution that will appall the Fae world.
History says a vampire and a Fae who fall in love are destined for tragedy. But love has a way of refusing to be ignored. No matter the consequences…
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Excerpt
Catriona approached the St. Andrew’s cross. Her feet were delicate, lacking the calluses he would have expected from her shoeless preference. If vampires didn’t get gray hairs, it made sense that Fae—at least of her tree nymph variety—didn’t acquire calluses.
She laid her cheek on the cross piece between the upper arms. The piece of BDSM equipment was adjusted for a taller person, so she had to stretch to do it. It made her backside tighten and tilt upward. A similar reaction happened in his groin. Was she doing it on purpose?
“What magical abilities do you possess?” Adan asked coolly.
As she turned her head, a light smile touched her lips. “What intelligent being would reveal that to someone who has not decided whether he is friend or foe?”
“Don’t play with me.”
Her smile vanished, her body going rigid as she pivoted back to the cross. “If my company offends you, my lord, you can return to your studies.”
Why the hell was he testing these waters? But he already knew the answer.
Dom, sub. Same room. Dungeon equipment.
Let poor judgment reign.
“Tell me what you’re trying to figure out, about the cross,” he said.
Her shoulders tensed. “How it works,” she said stiffly.
When he closed the distance between them, she flipped around to face him, so fast non-human speed got a checkbox on her list of skills. He logged her rabbiting pulse, her dilated eyes. Flight and defense reactions. But when his gaze dropped to her hands, he saw half-curled fists. Fight reaction.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said gruffly. “I’m going to show you. All right?”
She pressed her lips together, gave him a short nod. He could tell her to step onto the cross’s foot platforms, facing him, but he didn’t. He slid an arm around her waist and lifted her. Her willow lean body was surprisingly resilient, and way too female. All the trigger points went off, designed by the smirking, sadistic gods to make him respond to a woman’s proximity.
Keeping a steadying hand at her waist, he gripped her wrist and lifted it, aligning her right arm with that arm of the cross. “Leave your knuckles pressed to the wood.”
He brought down the adjustable handle, guided her fingers beneath it and did the same to the other hand. “Grip those, and don’t let go of them.”
The Dom woodworker had been inspired by a medieval rack, only for far better purpose. Adan slid both handles back up, bringing her up on her toes again. While his vampire senses could calculate precise reach, his experience as a Master told him where that extra inch was, past which a sub had to strain for him.
It lifted her chest, pressed it against his torso. He spread his hands over her wrists, and noted her knuckles were white where they gripped the handles. That, and the quiver of her breasts, told him she wasn’t calm.
Now she had the confused, little-bit-dazed look a submissive new to it did. He’d scented a hint of her arousal when she approached the cross. That bouquet had gone from fragrant, barely there, to a full-on, heady perfume of want.
He should suggest they play, right here and now. If she wanted to learn, there was nothing like hands-on experience. He dipped his head, intending to test those waters by brushing his lips up along the shell of her ear. Except that shell narrowed to a point, and when he followed that track, he saw her wings, framed inside the V-top of the cross and fluttering in uncertain agitation.
It brought him back to his senses. He’d cut his dick off before he’d put it inside a Fae.
Unfortunately, that part of his body didn’t care. His fingers itched to tease her heated wetness, his mouth wanted to taste. He wanted to slide into her so deep he’d reach all her mysteries, open up whatever magic she was spinning on his senses.
Her waiting on him so obediently, while her need grew, didn’t help. She’d kept her hands where he’d ordered them, her body on display, an unconscious invitation, and it made him angry. But he managed to speak in an even tone.
“The Dom straps your wrists up like this. Your ankles to the bottom pieces. He can choose to keep you facing him, or turn you around, depending on what he wants to access.”
Her breath flitted across his mouth like the brush of a feather. “What does he do, once he restrains me?”
“Whatever he wants.”
Her grey-green eyes became even softer, the color of down. “What would you do to me, my lord?”
He stepped back, releasing her so suddenly one of her feet left the platform. Her hands slipped away from the handles and she gripped the frame to steady herself. Emotions flipped across her face. Surprise. Hurt. Thoughtfulness. She straightened, linking her hands together, knotted fingers pressed to her abdomen.
“One moment, you look at me with desire,” she said. “Interest. Hunger. The next moment, what’s in your eyes becomes hatred. So much it hurts.”
“Hurts who?”
“Me. You. Everything.” The break in her voice betrayed her emotions. “It coats everything around you in reds and oranges, the colors of rage.”
He stared at her. “Put your arms and feet back where I had them.”
“Why?” She set her jaw, her fingers digging against her stomach. She was having trouble standing against his will. Knowing why only made him sink deeper into trouble.
“Because I told you to.” He touched her chin to bring her eyes from his throat up to his face. “I still won’t hurt you.”
He hadn’t said the words with any kind of gentleness, but he meant them. Even though the volatile reaction boiling in his gut told him he couldn’t do this much longer.
Since the handles were still where he’d moved them, she reached up with a graceful arch of her body, another unconscious sexual offering, especially with her thighs spread along the bottom legs of the cross.
Red and orange were the colors for passion as well. And rage and passion could get along well enough.
He closed the distance, bringing them almost nose to nose. She had a sweet one, small and straight, nostrils flared from her agitation. When he put his hands over her slim wrists, her lips parted. It made him want to unsheathe his fangs.
“I can hate what you are and have you all the same,” he said, low. “Make you beg for more. You’ll cherish my hatred, what I can summon from those fires to turn your body to flame.”
She trembled. Her eyes, so big and filled with the colors of earth, beckoned him to tumble into their depths. Into the heart of the earth itself, which was flame, too. A different kind of flame.
Her head turned, and she started. Her reaction pulled him out of his turmoil, such that he followed her gaze.
Whatever influence he’d had on her mind and emotions had resulted in a resurrection of the wood. The cross now had several cracks in its veneer, tiny shoots coming forth, green leaves unfurling.
“Life doesn’t respond to hate, my lord,” she said softly.
About Joey W. Hill
Joey W. Hill writes about vampires, mermaids, boardroom executives, cops, witches, angels, simple housemaids . . . pretty much wherever inspiration takes her. She’s penned over forty acclaimed titles and six award-winning series, and been awarded the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for Erotica. But she’s especially proud and humbled to have won the support and enthusiasm of a wonderful, widely diverse readership.
So why erotic romance? “Writing great erotic romance is all about exploring the true face of who we are – the best and worst – which typically comes out in the most vulnerable moments of sexual intimacy.” She has earned a reputation for writing BDSM romance that not only wins her fans of that genre, but readers who would “never” read BDSM romance. She believes that’s because strong, compelling characters are the most important part of her books.
“Whatever genre you’re writing, if the characters are captivating and sympathetic, the readers are going to want to see what happens to them. That was the defining element of the romances I loved most and which shaped my own writing. Bringing characters together who have numerous emotional obstacles standing in their way, watching them reach a soul-deep understanding of one another through the expression of their darkest sexual needs, and then growing from that understanding into love – that’s the kind of story I love to write.”
Take the plunge with her, and don’t hesitate to let her know what you think of her work, good or bad. She thrives on feedback!
Connect with Joey:
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Website: https://storywitch.com
Author: P. Roper Release: June 17, 2021 Genre: Dark Romance Cover Design: Dalia Hernandez
Teaser Design: Enticing Journey Designs
My life was anything but ordinary. Being wrapped in taboo secrecy meant being lonely, even in a crowded room.
That was my world. Until I met him. He swooped in, knocking everything I knew off its axis and rearranging things in the most charmed fashion.
But I’ve come to realize that even a dramatic shift in scenery doesn’t change the people around me. It only alters their methods of scrutiny and has the power to open me up to bigger, more startling realities.
However, I guess it’s a good thing that my knight in shining armor plucked me from my tower. Had he not, I may not have known the ugliness of his world. But I also would never have learned what it felt like when my soul caught fire.
** This book contains mature content, not suitable for young readers, included but not limited to strong language, dark themes, and sexual scenes that may be triggers to some readers.**
P. Roper is a word junkie & caffeine enthusiast, born and raised in Western Canada. When she’s not writing (or reading) you’ll usually find her with her husband, chasing their hurricane of a daughter. Or she may be grabbing a coffee with her best friend. She has been half of the book review team Just Living a Thousand Lives since 2019, focused on NA romance; but don’t ask because there is no way she could actually choose a favourite trope. Ask anyone who knows her to confirm, she’s been known to be kind of a big deal. She is releasing her debut novel, Showcase, summer 2021.
Playing by his Rules, an all new smoking hot standalone romance from New York Times bestselling author Erika Wilde is available now!
All he wants is one week of her complete surrender . . .
If someone would have asked Madison Corbin what she wanted to be when she grew up, her answer wouldn’t have been an escort. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and when she finds herself being laid off from her job and in over her head in a debt that isn’t of her own making, being a man’s companion for the night—no sex involved—seems like a quick, easy way to pay off the bills that are piling up.
But she hadn’t counted on Rick Dunne, a breathtakingly gorgeous, sexy man who seems to know her deepest, most intimate fantasies without her even speaking them. He’s a gentleman in public and a hot as sin dominant in the bedroom. And he’s the one man who is able to fulfill all those dirty desires she’d imagined for years.
Her life is currently a mess, the kind that no man wants to take on his own. So, when Rick offers her a staggering amount to spend the week with him while he’s on his business trip, playing by his rules, she agrees. Their temporary arrangement was only supposed to be about physical pleasure, nothing more, and they’d go their separate ways . . . Except Madison could never have anticipated the lengths that Rick would go to make her completely his.
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Excerpt
Madison shifted restlessly on her bare feet. “When are you going to kiss me?” she blurted out, and immediately felt her face heat at her brazen question. God, she wasn’t normally so impetuous—she’d always been a think before you act kind of girl—and she blamed this hot, sexy man for making her so impulsive.
Rick slowly moved toward her, the beat of her heart increasing with every step he took closer. “Impatient little thing, aren’t you?”
“No,” she lied, and crossed her arms over her chest, which only served to lift her breasts higher, and he noticed. “I just want to know when to expect it.”
Amusement flickered in his eyes as she stopped right in front of her, the scent of his cologne and the heat of his body tempting her to reach out and touch him. She refrained, but he didn’t.
Lifting a hand, he grasped a strand of her hair and twirled it around his long finger, ensnaring her in more than just that one way. “Well, knowing when it’s going to happen takes all the fun out of the growing anticipation of waiting and wondering and thinking about it. And, since it’s just one kiss, I want to make the most of it.”
He gave her hair what should have been a playful tug, but the tingling pull on her scalp seemed to connect directly to her nipples, and she had to swallow back another one of those pleasurable, orgasmic moans. God, this man was dangerous to her libido, making her want things that she’d only encountered in the erotic books she read.
He leaned a bit closer–almost near enough to capture her mouth with his, his breath a warm caress across her cheek. “But don’t worry, I’ll let you know when I decide I want to kiss you before my lips touch yours. I won’t kiss you without you telling me it’s what you want, too.”
He released her hair and stepped back like a gentleman, and she nearly took a step forward to chase him down and tell him she wanted the kiss now. Somehow, she managed to stop herself from being such a shameless hussy, but this man seemed to know her internal struggle, her battle between red-hot desire and being the quintessential good girl, and he reveled in it. He’d done nothing to break the rules she’d set for the night . . . so why did she feel the slightest twinge of disappointment?
Meet Erika Wilde
Erika Wilde is a New York Times Bestselling author. She is best known for her super sexy Marriage Diaries series and The Players Club series, and has also co-written the Dirty Sexy Series and the Book Boyfriend Series with Carly Phillips, her best friend and writing buddy for the past twenty years. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two daughters, and when she’s not writing you can find her exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest. For more information on her upcoming releases, please visit her website at www.erikawilde.com and sign up for her mailing list for updates and news!
Connect with Erika
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https://www.erikawilde.com
The Monster, an all-new addictive and moving standalone romance from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author L.J. Shen is available now!
The most important thing I’d ever read was scribbled on the door of a portable restroom, engraved into plastic at a carnival on the outskirts of Boston.
Lust lingers, love stays.
Lust is impatient, love waits.
Lust burns, love warms.
Lust destroys, but love? Love kills.
Maybe it was always my destiny to fall in love with a monster.
When other kids stayed awake at night fearing the pointy-toothed beast hiding in their closet, I longed to see mine.
I wanted to feed it, domesticate it, understand it.
Sam and I were only allowed to love each other in the dark.
Once our story unfolded, and the truth came to light, I was the one to cut the cord.
My name is Aisling Fitzpatrick, and I have a confession to make.
Sam Brennan is not the only monster in this story.
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Excerpt
Haunted mansions were my playground.
I lived in one, after all—my house held the secrets of seven generations of Fitzpatricks—and I’d always been drawn to ghosts and monsters.
I took my place in line, shifting from foot to foot as I checked my phone. My mother and brothers were all looking for me.
Cillian: Where are you, Aisling? Call me back immediately.Hunter: Yo, sis. You okay? Sounds like you were involved in some heavy shit. Sending hugz from Cali.Mother: I heard what happened. Quite terrible, dear. Please come home so we can discuss this. So dreadful that you saw this. Mother: You know how bad my anxiety gets when I can’t get hold of you. You need to come back home, Ash.Mother: Oh, Aisling, what am I to do? You didn’t even make my herbal tea before you left. I’m a wreck over here!
That was my mother. Self-centered even when it was my world imploding into miniscule pieces. Always worried for her own well-being before mine.
I tucked my phone back in my pocket and craned my neck to look at the carts as they slid back from the jaws of an evil, laughing clown. Muffled screams bled from the inside of the ride. The people who came out stepped out of the carts with wobbly knees, buzzing with excitement.
When I was finally put in one of the wagons—it looked like a rickety pod with red paint smeared all over it to symbolize blood—I was alone, even though there was enough space for two people.
I knew nothing would happen to me on a fair ride.
Still, I felt lost, fragile, and unbearably lonely tonight. Like someone had peeled away my skin in one go and left me to carry my bones and veins and muscles in a messy heap.
I’d just lost my best friend. The only one that counted.
I grabbed onto the shirtsleeve of the guy manning the ride, tugging.
“I want to get off.”
He gave me a slow once-over, his gaze lingering a second too long on my bare thighs.
“Hell, sugar, I’d like to get you off, too. But you’ll have to wait till the end of my shift. I need the money,” he slurred, sounding stoned.
I clutched onto his Hurley hoodie sleeve, throwing fourteen years of etiquette lessons out the window in one moment of desperation. “No! I want to get off the ride. Unless you can put someone in the cart with me?” Hope trickled into my voice.
“Bro, it’s, like, a ride anyone four feet or over can get on.” He shook my touch off, frowning. “You’ll make it out alive.”
“I know. It’s not that I’m scared. I just—”
“Look…” he raised a hand to stop my stream of words “…if I don’t press that red button over there every three minutes, I lose my job. You getting out or sucking it up?”
I was about to answer that it was fine, that I was just being silly, when someone stepped forward, cutting the entire line behind them.
“She’ll suck it up, Sir Smokes-a-Lot.”
A curtain of unshed tears blocked my vision, and I knew if I blinked it away, everyone would see I was crying. I was so embarrassed I wanted to die. Blurry Stoner Guy pushed the metal rail open obediently, muttering a quick hello to the stranger approaching us, ducking his head down.
The person slid into my cart, pulling the metal bar against our waists, flicking a cigarette sideways, an umbrella of smoke cocooning us together.
I wiped my eyes, mouthing a mortified thank you. When I looked up, our gazes collided, and my insides crushed like a glass ceiling shattered by a supernova.
Him.
I didn’t know him, but I dreamed of him.
I’d dreamed of this man every night since I was nine.
Since I’d started reading kissing books under the covers about brave knights and the princesses who loved them.
Beautiful and princely, with eyes that could see through your soul.
He looked to be in his early twenties. With tawny, wind-swept hair tousled in untidy sexiness. His eyes were two silver moons—the kind that change color in different lights. His skin glowed, like he’d been dipped in gold, and he was so tall his knees poked out of the cart. He wore a black V-neck that clung onto his muscular chest and biceps and black jeans ripped at the knees.
A Saint Anthony charm was wrapped around his neck, held by a tattered leather string.
“I—I’m Aisling.” I stuck my hand out to him. Our cart jerked forward and whined as two girls my age jumped into the pod behind us, gossiping hotly about a girl named Emmabelle who used to go to school with them and apparently had sex with half the football team then sucked off the other half.
He ignored my outstretched hand. I swallowed, withdrawing my hand and dumping it in my lap.
“Bad night?” His eyes lingered on my puffy eyes.
“The worst.” I didn’t even have the good manners to smile politely.
“I highly doubt that.”
“Oh, I’ll bet you anything my night is going worse than anyone else’s in this carnival.”
He offered me an arched eyebrow, showing me his handsomeness had a devilish quality to it, the kind I suspected very few women could resist.
“I wouldn’t bet with me.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“I always win.”
About LJ Shen
L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries.
She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.
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The only one who could save me, was the one man I tried so desperately to push away.
Wild Spirit, the all-new addition to the beautifully written Soul Sister series of standalone romances by #1 New York Times bestselling author Audrey Carlan is releasing August 16th, and we have the stunning cover!
When I was born, I was beloved by my parents. I felt their warmth from the tips of my toes to the untamable curls in my hair—until tragedy hit and I lost them both.
With no extended family, I ended up in Kerrighan House, a home for girls just like me—girls who’d lost everything. Mama Kerri took me in and treated me with nothing but love, as did the rest of my sisters of the soul. In that house, we formed a bond that could never be broken.
Now danger seems to follow all of us. But what danger could come to me: a petite, high-school Spanish teacher who’d never hurt a fly? The only one on my tail is Omar Alvarado, the bodyguard hired to protect me from the danger lurking around my sisters. The more I shun his advances though, the harder he tries to earn my favor. Omar seems to like my brand of sass and doesn’t hide the fact he wants me for his own.
I’m determined to not get caught up in his beautiful smile, the sexy suggestions he whispers in my ear, or that incredible body that would make any woman swoon with desire.
Even with the tension rising between us, all seemed to be kept in check—until I found myself in the middle of a high stakes bank robbery.
And the only one who could save me, was the one man I tried so desperately to push away.
Audrey Carlan is a #1 New York Times and International bestselling author. Her titles have appeared on USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Audrey writes wicked hot love stories that have been translated in over thirty different languages across the globe. She is best known for the world-wide bestselling series Calendar Girl and Trinity.
She lives in the California Valley where she enjoys her two children and the love of her life. When she’s not writing, you can find her teaching yoga, sipping wine with her “soul sisters,” or with her nose stuck in a steamy romance novel.
Love Not at First Sight, an all new enemies to lovers standalone romance from author Sarah Ready is coming July 20th and we have the amazing cover!
When your soul mate is the man you loathed at first sight…Book Two in Sarah Ready’s Soul Mates in Romeo series sparkles with tension and a delicious helping of swoon-worthy romance.
Veronica Diaz loves her career, her friends and the great outdoors – she has no room in her life for men. In fact, she knows there are only two types of men in the world: players and wanna-be players and she wants nothing to do with any of them.
So when a psychic informs Veronica that her fated soul mate is Frederick Knight “The King of Players,” Veronica does what any sensible woman would do – she runs.
A twist of fate lands Veronica in the depths of a pitch-black cave system with a man she’s never met and can’t see. As Veronica and Sam struggle to survive they open up, share their secrets, and risk their lives for each other. Soon Veronica starts to wonder if maybe not all men are players, and maybe she can trust Sam enough to fall in love.
The only problem: Sam is actually Frederick Knight. The man Veronica swore she’d never, ever, ever love.
In fact, she loathed him at first sight.
And if they make it out of the cave alive, and Veronica sees him for the first time, she’ll loathe him again. Won’t she?
But maybe, sometimes you can only see who someone really is when you can’t see them at all? And maybe you can only fall in love when it’s not at first sight?
“This will easily and unequivocally be one of your top reads this year.” By Bookaddict (Chasing Romeo, Book 1 in the Soul Mates in Romeo Series)
Reserve your copy today!
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Graphic Designer: Elizabeth Turner Stokes
About Sarah Ready
Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been described as “euphoric”, “heartwarming” and “laugh out loud”. Her debut novel The Fall in Love Checklist was hailed as “the unicorn read of 2020”. She loves to write fast-paced, emotionally compelling romances about quirky, smart women and the men who love them.
Before writing romance full-time Sarah had lots of fun teaching at an Ivy League. Then she realized she could have even more fun writing romance. Her favorite things after writing are adventuring and travel. You’ll frequently find her using her degree at a dino dig site, crawling into a cave, snorkeling, or on horseback riding through the jungle – all fodder for her next book. She’s lived in Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and NYC. She currently lives in the Caribbean with her water-obsessed pup and her awesome family.
You can visit her online at www.sarahready.com
Connect with Sarah
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PVEe4j
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Website: http://sarahready.com/
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