Monthly Archives: November 2022

The Spotlight Is On Valencia by Lorri Smith Jackson @storiesbylorri @iReadBookTours

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Book Details:

Book Title:  Valencia and the Velvet Dress by Lorri Smith Jackson
Category:  Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12),  88 pages
Genre: Children’s Early Chapter Book
Publisher:  Mascot Books
Release date:  Nov 1, 2022
Content Rating:  G
Book Description:

Valencia is a kind ten-year-old, who always sees the good in others. When she receives a dress for a special performance at school, she can’t stop wearing it. After many taunts, rumors, and finger-pointing—especially from neighborhood boy Joseph-Kelly Hunter—Valencia’s parents come up with the perfect plan to stop the ugly rumors before Valencia gets word of them. Will they be successful?
BUY THE BOOK:
Mascot Book
Amazon ~ B&N
add to goodreads
Meet the Author:

Lorri Smith Jackson has been writing since she was a teen. Lorri graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, with a degree in Communications. She currently works for the City of Manassas in Virginia, and is happily married to her husband, Bruce, and they have five daughters: Lorrin, Samantha, Corin, Elizabeth, and Renee. They also have four grandchildren: Hazel, Micah, Sydnei, and Kaleigh.

connect with the author: facebook ~ instagram


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Giveaway – Violins Played Before Junsian by Lou Kemp @GoddessFish

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Violins Played before Junstan by Lou Kemp

GENRE: Fantasy (magical realism)

BLURB

While on a mission to avenge the death of his lover, the immortal peyote-eating magician Celwyn is hired to deliver an automat, Professor Kang, to a priest. But Celwyn quickly learns that everything the priest told him was a lie. Now his ship, the Zelda, is stuck in a horrific storm and Celwyn knows he must reconsider his allegiance if he is to steer his vessel in the right direction and continue his quest.

EXCERPT

San Francisco, 1865  

Late in the evening, thick ribbons of fog moved like a living animal, breathing, then thinning to vapor before revealing the shadows between the wooden barrels that lined the docks. Beyond the Opera House’s silhouette, oily glimmers of the bay cut through the darkness, only to be obscured by the fog again.

As Celwyn neared the docks, he heard virulent cursing above the commotion from a carriage as it charged down the cobblestones toward him. When the coach drew level, the driver raised a whip above his horse. On its descent to the horse’s back, the tip suspended mid-air and snake-like, the whip shimmied out of the coachman’s hand.

The man steered the hackney to a stop. As he slithered out of the high cab, the whip followed him, wrapping around his ankles, lifting him feetfirst into the air. His cursing echoed to screams as he disappeared into the night sky. A moment later, a splash could be heard, and a satisfied smile crossed Celwyn’s lips; he couldn’t stand to see anyone mistreating an animal. The horse trotted down the street, rather jauntily, back toward the stable yard as the magician stepped around a snoring drunk and into Salty’s tattered and dingy atmosphere. Celwyn could have sworn it was the same drunk he stepped over last night.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Early work was horror and suspense, later work morphed into a combination of magical realism, mystery and adventure painted with a horrific element as needed.

I’m one of those writers who doesn’t plan ahead, no outlines, no clue, and I sometimes write myself into a corner. Atmospheric music in the background helps. Black by Pearl Jam especially.

More information is available at LouKemp.com. I’d love to hear from you and what you think of Celwyn, Bartholomew, and Professor Xiau Kang.

Milestones:

2009 The anthology story Sherlock’s Opera appeared in Seattle Noir, edited by Curt Colbert, Akashic Books. Available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble online. Booklist published a favorable review of my contribution to the anthology.

2010 My story, In Memory of the Sibylline, was accepted into the best-selling MWA anthology Crimes by Moonlight, edited by Charlaine Harris. The immortal magician Celwyn makes his first appearance in print.

2018 The story, The Violins Played before Junstan is published in the MWA anthology Odd Partners, edited by Anne Perry. The Celwyn series begins.

Book 1, The Violins Played before Junstan reissue with the publisher, the 4 Horsemen on 10-17-22. The 4 Horsemen will publish the remaining books in the series beginning with Music Shall Untune the Sky, The Raven and the Pig, The Pirate Danced and the Automat Died.  The companion book, Farm Hall continues the story of Pelaez, another immortal magician and Celwyn’s brother will also be available.

Website / Amazon / Book Depository / B&N

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review – Look At Me by Hash Black #HashBlack #Horror

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the awesome cover and stories that take place on the water, in the water, or around the water. I am also a huge fan of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, so it was a no brainer to grab Look At Me by Hash Black for review. I did enjoy the story, but never connected to any characters or found myself hanging by my fingertips wondering what comes next. There are two novella/short stories that are quick, easy reads. I won’t spoil anything by telling you why you need to Look At Me, but BEWARE….

2 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

I SEE HER EVERYWHERE I GO

Cinder Bay is a rotting dump and Harry wants out. A boat ride with the richest tech genius in town and a foolproof pitch is exactly what he needs to change his life forever.

If only he knew how right he would turn out to be.

Sea and Ocean Horror stories have never been this scary! LOOK AT ME is inspired by a real traditional folklore story off the coast of East Africa.

If you enjoy reading Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Paul Tremblay, and Dean Koontz, then you’ll love reading Hash Black.

ABOUT HASH BLACK (from Amazon)

Hash Black is a horror author with an affinity for the vile and the ungodly. Ironically, his educational background is rooted in marine biology and has an innate love for coral reefs. However, he has always enjoyed writing his heart out as he grew up. R. L. Stine was a major influence during those days, with Goosebumps and Fear Street series getting lots of traction among his peers. Finally, at the age of 30, Hash gave in to his passion. A passion for writing.

More recently, Hash has taken up exploring books from other renowned authors, with Dean Koontz’s ‘Nameless Series’, and Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ being his most beloved at the moment. His other favorite authors include Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Anne Rice, and Neil Gaiman.

Enjoy the fruits of his efforts here and support his journey along this winding journey of writership.

Amazon Author Page

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Giveaway – Holy Terror by John R Dougherty @iReadBookTours @AuthorJRD

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Book Details:

Book Title:  Holy Terror by John R. Dougherty
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  275 pages
Genre: Supernatural Mystery
Publisher:  Self-Published
Release date:  September 2022
Content Rating:  PG-13 +M – There is very little mild bad language, but there is a lot of somewhat graphic violence depicted.
Book Description:

The Miami police force is utterly baffled by the horrific crime scenes they are finding. The victims are being executed in unimaginable ways, and unlike most crimes perpetrated against humanity, these victims do not fit the usual murder victim profile. These victims are themselves criminals. In fact, some are very well-known criminals. But this scenario is not unique to Miami. Locales worldwide are seeing the same kind of maniacal homicides.

Who is responsible for carrying out these crimes, and how can they be stopped?

Two of Miami PD’s finest, Detectives Ian Jelani and Lane Madigan, are on the prowl, trying to solve these mysterious crimes. But they are being drawn into something far beyond their imaginations, something more than they have ever bargained for. These men may think they have seen it all, but that is quite the understatement. They are on a collision course with the most terrifying vigilante they have ever encountered. When their families become embroiled, the gloves come off, no holds are barred, and the rage of the vigilante spills onto them as well.

The forces of good and evil have waged war since long before Creation. Angels of heaven, both good and evil, have struggled to expand the borders of their kingdoms, and humankind has long been caught in the middle of that raging turf war. Men and women have faced the choices of good and evil since the Garden of Eden, and everyone knows where that original choice landed the rest of us. But humans are not the only ones tempted by the wares of evil. Angels have stared those same choices in the face too. Some have fallen away from the Creator, while some have remained faithful to Him. What of an angel caught betwixt good and evil, an angel who thinks he is serving his Master, but he is actually teetering on the edge of his own fall? What if that angel was the greatest warrior angel of all time, and decided to take it upon himself to rid the Earth of evil people? What might happen to those evil people who are trying to exert their malevolent power and intentions upon their fellow humans if such an angel was to go after them?

In Holy Terror, Thumos, the greatest warrior of the Creator’s angelic army, the fiercest of all heavenly soldiers, has had enough of what he perceives to be a pattern of deference. He decides to take matters into his own hands. But the path he starts down is a path that other angels have traversed before. And many of them have ended up in the camp of the Evil One, the most destructive force the universe has ever known. Thumos comes face to face with Satan himself, and he have even more decisions to make.
BUY THE BOOK:
John R. Dougherty
Amazon ~ BookBaby


Meet the Author:

John has spent his professional career working in information technology by day and dabbling in a variety of other diversions by nights and weekends, including a few decades of serving in lay ministry. While serving in this capacity he preached hundreds of sermons, taught countless Bible study classes, and wrote dozens of inspirational articles.

He enjoys golf, guitars, grandchildren, and all things Kansas City – the Chiefs, the Royals, Sporting KC, KC Symphony, and KC Broadway, to name a few. He thinks (if not for his long-lost metabolism of youth) he could eat the famous Kansas City barbecue every day…maybe not for breakfast, but lunch and dinner for sure!

Now he is enjoying bringing to life his angelic hero, Thumos, and a host of other characters that he hopes you will find both entertaining as well as either inspiring or repulsive (after all, there are both good guys and bad guys in this story). This is the first book of a series, featuring detectives Lane Madigan and Ian Jelani, whose experience with Thumos will yield life changing results. And if you happen to be interested in such things, happy Bible Easter Egg hunting while you read, since many are planted throughout the book.

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram 
Enter the Giveaway:
HOLY TERROR Book Tour Giveaway



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Review – The Devil In Disguise by Cynthia Eden @cynthiaeden

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MY REVIEW

Ever since I binged on the Lucifer TV show, I look for books like The Devil In Disguise by Cynthia Eden. I loved everything about the TV show and this book. The writing was easy to read and the pace unputodwnable. The story sounded so familiar, yet was filled with twists and turns of its own. I loved the characters. Of course, we have the devil and his twin brother,good and evil, BUT, we also have a unique individual in Mina James. She is strong, determined, and in love with the devil. I hope to continue the series.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Don’t make the devil angry…

Luke Thorne loves having one hell of a good time. As the ruler of every dark creature to walk the earth, he certainly has more than a bit of a bad side. He lives for danger and isn’t the type to lose his heart—mostly because he doesn’t have one. Then she walks into his life.

Mina James is seduction in the flesh, a perfect temptation that the devil himself couldn’t pass up. Too late, Luke realizes he’s let a real siren into his life, a woman who is bent on using his dark powers to free herself from hidden enemies. Since Luke isn’t the type of man to be used, he should walk away from her, but…something about Mina draws him close.

Soon he’s realizing that she isn’t who she appears to be. Not dark and cold, but burning red hot. Mina is a woman fighting for her life—and the Lord of the Dark suddenly finds himself in an unlikely role…hero. Luke isn’t going to let her enemies destroy Mina. He will fight heaven and hell to keep her. But in the end, the secrets they both carry may just rip apart a love that should never have been…

There are Bad Things in the world…very, very bad. Are you ready for them?

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The Spotlight Is On Ex Appeal by Cathy Yardley @XpressoTours @cathyyardley

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Ex Appeal
Cathy Yardley
(Ponto Beach Reunion, #3)
Publication date: November 1st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A hacker and a fixer—who just happen to be high school exes—reunite to help each other out in this witty second-chance romance from the author of Love, Comment, Subscribe.

Vinh Doan has a problem. Ten million of them, in fact. He’s a high-level fixer for global conglomerates, which means big money…and big troubles. When ten million dollars go missing from one of his accounts, he needs a top-notch hacker to find it. His first thought? Emily MacDonald, his high school ex.

While Vinh has been taking the financial world by storm, Emily has been struggling. After her dad died, she dropped out of college and put her dreams aside. Her job in tech support has seriously tested her sunny disposition and her finances. Now, there’s an unexpected solution: Vinh, the guy who dumped her when she needed him most.

When Emily finally lets herself listen to Vinh’s request, she realizes that this is a desperately needed chance to get paid…and get payback. But the more time they spend together, the more they recognize that even though they’re not the same people they were a decade ago, their off the charts attraction is just as strong as ever. As they give in to their simmering chemistry, can Emily and Vinh let go of their past, figure out their futures—and hack a second chance at love?

Goodreads / Amazon

—

SNEAK PEEK:

The man answering the door was taller than her, with jet black hair in a short, stylish cut, and obsidian eyes framed by mile-long sooty eyelashes. Cheekbones you could probably chisel marble with. His broad shoulders filled the hell out of – she swallowed hard – a gray Henley long-sleeved shirt, with the sleeves pushed up to reveal some really hot forearms. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans that completed the look. She could feel her mouth go dry. Holy hotness, this man is…

Wait.

She shook her head, then blinked. “Vinh?” she croaked.

He nodded, staring at her intensely. Just like she remembered. “Hello, Em,” he said, and his voice did that rumbly low baritone that had melted her for years.

Her first love.

Her first heartbreak.

And the one man she was not expecting to see here today.

She dropped the pie. Then she turned and, without one ounce of shame, ran.

Author Bio:

Cathy Yardley is an award-winning author of romance, chick lit, and urban fantasy, who has sold over 1.2 million copies of books for publishers like St. Martin’s, Avon, and Harlequin. She writes fun, geeky, and diverse characters who believe that underdogs can make good and that sometimes being a little wrong is just right.

She likes writing about quirky, crazy adventures, because she’s had plenty of her own: she had her own army in the Society of Creative Anachronism; she spent a New Year’s on a three-day solitary vision quest in the Mojave Desert; she had VIP access to the Viper Room in Los Angeles.

Now, she spends her time writing in the wilds of East Seattle, trying to prevent her son from learning the truth of any of said adventures, and riding herd on her two dogs (and one husband.)

Website / Goodreads / Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Twitter / Instagram / Amazon

—

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Review – Toyworld: Home of the Christmas Thief by Tony Bertauski @tonybertauski

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.

NEW RELEASE

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have been reading books in Tony Bertauski’s Claus Universe since Claus: Legend of the Fat Man came out in 2012. I have missed some of the books, but I am always eager to enter the fantasy realm Tony as created.

Hiro’s world expands when he finds the dreams he has been having are of Toyworld. He finds friends he never would have made, danger that could keep him trapped in Toyworld, and the reason the real world is so gray and dreary. Christmas has disappeared. Hope and happiness has been stolen.

Dreams aren’t just dreams, they’re windows. Not windows, doorways. Most nights we’re just looking through the, seeing what’s over there. But you can crawl through a window if you open it.

People say anything is possible even when we know it isn’t true.

It’s hard to review a book like Toyworld by Tony Bertauski without giving all the good parts away. The adventure is definitely something a reader would want to experience on their own. The world building is out of this world. HA HA HA The descriptions are vivid and detailed. The characters are richly developed, and, if you are anything like me, you will find it hard to choose a favorite. They all have a role to play and it will take all of them to save Christmas.

Can the villain be redeemed? Isn’t that always the question?

I find it hard to name an age group. I got lost in the adventure, but it has been so long since I have had a youngster in my home that I can’t remember their reading level. I did some searching, so I would recommend middle grade and up.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Toyworld: Home of the Christmas Thief by Tony Bertauski.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Book 10 in the Claus Universe.

Hiro’s parents rearrange the furniture every December.

They make space in the corner for something tall. They plug in string lights and leave them on the floor. Sometimes, they cut down a tree but don’t know what to do with it. It’s not just Hiro’s parents. Everyone does it. Come January, they all straighten up their living rooms and everything goes back to normal. They do this every year.

No one knows why.

Something’s missing and they all feel it, but they never wonder what it is. And every year that passes, the world becomes colder and grayer. Until Hiro has a dream.

It’s a world of magic, where he can taste sounds and hear thoughts, see things that defy the laws of physics and biology. It’s a place where trees are decorated and stockings are hung above the fireplace. Every day is celebrated with gifts.

It’s the last place where joy exists.

Someone has stolen the Christmas spirit from the universe and hidden it in the dream. Hiro doesn’t remember a jolly fat man or flying reindeer, or elves on the North Pole. No one in Hiro’s world remembers Christmas at all.

Hiro and others like him need to free the Christmas spirit. This is their one and only chance. If they fail, his world and all others like it will stay cold and gray without Christmas… unless they discover the thief’s true identity.

It’s closer than they think.

ABOUT TONY BERTAUSKI

Tony Bertauski

Get my books FREE. Tell me where to send them at http://bertauski.com

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I’ve written textbooks on landscape design, but that was straightforward, informational writing; the kind of stuff that helps most people get to sleep. I’ve also been writing a gardening column with a humorous slant. That takes a little more finesse, but still informational for the most part.

I’m a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I’d rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That’s the sort of stuff I wanted to write, not the assigned reading we used to get in high school. I wanted to create stories that kept you up late.

Fiction, GOOD fiction, is hard to write. Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it’s only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

MY TONY BERTAUSKI REVIEWS

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Giveaway & Review – Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P Roman @caroleproman @GoddessFish

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Amazon / Goodreads

Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman

GENRE: YA  adventure

MY REVIEW

Grady is in middle school with his best friend Aarush, who is on the autistic spectrum.

Kids…autistic, asthmatic, overweight, bullies, insecurity…This coming of age fantasy has it all. I was captivated with the world and characters that Carole P Roman has created. I loved watching them learn and grow.

Grady, Aarush and many of their classmates want to go to Templeton Academy, a place to discover your ‘hidden talents and develop them into formidable powers.’ Sounds a bit Hatty Potterish, doesn’t it?

The kids who gravitated to Grady learned to work together for a common goal. I can see a moral to the story and I feel all who read Grady Whill will leave with a smile on their face.

It is hard to describe the story without spoiling it, but I will say it was…unputdownable.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P Roman.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

BLURB

Templeton Academy- the superhero high school is finally open!

The prestigious academy is recruiting the best of the best to enroll in its student body.

The school is as mysterious as it is exclusive.

Grady Whill thinks there is nothing special about him to make the grade.

However, his best friend, Aarush Patel has been selected and thinks Grady has the right stuff.

Even school bully Elwood Bledsoe is attending.

If Grady is fortunate enough to be picked, his guardian has forbidden him to attend.

Will a family secret prevent Grady from becoming the superhero he was destined to be?

EXCERPT

There Whill Be Blood

A barely cooled lump of lava hardened under my feet. One of my sneakers was stuck between two small rocks in the solidifying mess. I stared at my foot in disbelief. Instinct told me I should be a human torch, my legs nothing more than toasted stumps. I glanced up, my heart beating wildly. We were trapped on the side of the mountain facing our school, separated by a burning sea of molten rocks.

The world around me steamed, the lava staining the sky burnt orange. Trees swallowed by molten rock looked like skeletal hands emerging from a grave that glowed beneath the blackened crust. I saw heat waves shimmering from the earth but felt none of its intensity. I pulled fiercely, feeling my ankle twist. Aarush steadied me as I nearly toppled over. He was shirtless, his back slick with sweat and covered with scrapes. His fingers worked feverishly to free my foot.

Overhead two helicopter-sized pterodactyls circled the craggy summit. The wind from their leathery wings buffeted the two of us. I think the air they circulated stopped the patches of lava from cooking us alive, but what do I know?

“We better get moving, Grady. Leave your sneaker. We are risking getting burned by staying too long in one spot.” The ever-practical Aarush reasoned as he pulled the velcro releasing my foot. I wobbled, then fell to one knee.

“Do you think they’re real?” I hollered to my friend over the noise, pointing upward.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of over fifty children’s books. Whether it’s pirates, princesses, spies, or discovering the world around us, her books have enchanted educators, parents, and her diverse audience of children of all ages.

Her best-selling book, The Big Book of Silly Jokes for Kids: 800+ Jokes! has reached number one on Amazon in March of 2020 and has remained in the top 200 books since then.

She published Mindfulness for Kids with J. Robin Albertson-Wren.

Carole has co-authored two self-help books. Navigating Indieworld: A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing with Julie A. Gerber, and Marketing Indieworld with both Julie A. Gerber and Angela Hausman.

Roman is the CEO of a global transportation company, as well as a practicing medium.

She also writes adult fiction under the name Brit Lunden and has created an anthology of the mythical town of Bulwark, Georgia with a group of indie authors.

Writing is her passion and one of her favorite pastimes. Roman reinvents herself frequently, and her family calls her the ‘mother of reinvention.’ She resides on Long Island, near her children and grandchildren.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Blog

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

MY CAROLE P ROMAN/ BRIT LUNDEN REVIEWS

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Giveaway – Don’t You Forget About Me by Naima Simone @XpressoTours @Naima_Simone

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Don’t You Forget About Me
Naima Simone
(Love on the Radio, #2)
Publication date: November 1st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Whoever said be careful what you wish for had a serious gift for understatement.

As one of the world’s hugest musicians I’d seen and had it all. Sold out tours. Awards. Fame. Money. Women… And I’d almost lost it all. Epically.

Now I’m back home. A broken, burned out, desperate rock star…and a single father. I returned to give my son a family, stability. To figure out my life. But coming home meant seeing her.

The woman who was once my everything. Who made life in this too small town bearable. Who I loved with my whole heart…my whole body. But long held secrets forced me to leave nine years ago. Forced me to abandon her. And she’s never forgiven me.

Still…

I’ve never forgotten her or the heat between us that burned so hot we damn near went up in flames with it. And I want it again. And again. Even knowing the past will only tear us apart once more…

Goodreads / Amazon

—

SNEAK PEEK:

I enter Hunt Auto’s breakroom, closing the door behind us. As soon as the lock engages, Lennon whirls around, and I shift my gaze from her infuriated glare to over her head.

Just for a minute.

Because Jesus… She’s f*cking gorgeous.

My fingers itch to sink into those beautiful, thick curls, hold her steady while I desecrate that wide, lush mouth. The knit of her dress pays homage to every curve and dip of her body, molding to her high, firm breasts, the sensual flare of her hips, the thickness of her thighs. And fUck if I can’t feel the heels of her knee-high boots in my lower back.

At twenty I’d barely had the opportunity to explore the searing sexuality and lust that had existed between us before I had to leave. Barely had my fill of that violets and musk scent that was more intoxicating than the best top-shelf alcohol. My stomach aches with hunger for a woman whose particular flavor is still as fresh, as potent to me as it was ten years ago.

“What in the hell are you thinking?” she snaps, then flicks her gaze towards the closed door. She lowers her voice without losing any of the venom. “Do you know what you just did?”

“Yeah.” I drag my gaze from the wall and meet hers. Not daring to glance below her chin. No, f*ck that. Her nose. “I stopped you from driving while you were upset. And don’t try lying to me,” I interrupt when her lips part to do just that—lie. “You were upset. Still are. Don’t ask me to see you hurting and walk away, whether it’s my business or not. Don’t ask me to do it.”

“Why not?” She jerks her gaze back to me, and I go solid. “You do it so well. You’re a pro at it.”

I stare at her. At the tautness of the skin over her cheekbones. The darkness in her eyes. She’s a bomb set on emotional detonate, and the masochist that I am, I want all that shrapnel embedded in my skin. I want her to draw my blood.

“Don’t stop now. Let it out, baby. You’re right. I left you. Didn’t look back. Didn’t give a f*ck,” I lie.

“You don’t give a f*ck about anyone but yourself. You never did. You used me and then threw me away,” she rasps.

“Yeah, I did. Now what?” I keep shoving at her, even though guilt slides through me like filth. “You want me to apologize? To crawl on my knees and grovel? To beg?”

“Yes.” Her whisper echoes in the room as if she shouted it. “I want to see you hurt, sorry, suffering. Just like when you left me broken. You didn’t give a damn then so don’t pretend you do now. Nothing about you has changed, King. Not one thing. And I hate you for it. I hate you for not once looking back at the wreckage you left behind you. I hate you for going on with life and living it like I never mattered while I had to face reminders and memories of you every time I walked out my front door. I hate you…” Her voice hoarsens, and she crosses her arms over her chest, bowing her head. “I hate you because you gave another woman what you promised me. A family. Gunner could’ve been ours. Should’ve been ours. But you stole one more dream from me.”

F*ck.

F*ck.

It doesn’t occur to me not to touch her.

Eliminating the space between us, I pull her into my arms.

“King, don’t…” Her whisper ends on a sob, and I tighten my hold on her, pressing my lips to her hair.

“No. I can’t. There’s no way I can let you go right now.” I inhale her, take her so deep into my lungs, her scent burns me, marks me. Rubbing my mouth over her hair, I beg just like she wanted me to. “Let go, Len. Let go and allow me to be the one who carries you through it. Lean on me, baby. Just for a little while.”

Her fists ball into my shirt, stretching the material at my waist. She rolls her forehead against my chest, and her jagged breaths scorch me through my clothes. I slide a hand up her spine, cupping the back of her neck, squeezing it.

As if that unlocks something inside her, her shoulders shake and seconds later, her cries rip through the room. She crushes her cheek against me, and her tears dampen my shirt and skin. Stroking her back with one hand, I cradle her head with the other, fingers tunneling under the bun to scratch her scalp.

How long she sobs in my arms, I’m not certain. Minutes, hours. A lifetime. It’s not long enough. Curling my body over her, I brush my mouth over her ear.

“I left, yes. But I did look back. So many damn times. And never, ever did I stop giving a f*ck,” I softly admit.

Her breath shudders against my chest, and locking down a groan, I lift my hands to her face, tilting it back. Her eyes, moist with all the tears she’s shed, meet mine. Even with her face wet and swollen, she’s beautiful to me.

“Liar,” she accuses, voice so rough, it’s nearly painful to hear. “You’re such a liar.”

Then she raises on her toes and crushes her mouth to mine.

Author Bio:

Published since 2009, USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone loves writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. Her books have been featured in The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and described as balancing “crackling, electric love scenes with exquisitely rendered characters caught in emotional turmoil.”

She is wife to Superman, or his non-Kryptonian, less bullet proof equivalent, and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They all live in perfect, sometimes domestically-challenged bliss in the southern United States.

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