Book Blast: Forever With You by Heatherly Bell

About the Book

She forgot something on the way to the courthouse …
Sophia Abella has a good life, even if she is a little stuck.  Not quite single, not quite married, she keeps men at a safe distance. But when her ex-Marine husband returns to town and takes the job of chief of police, it might finally be time to get that paper work done once and for all. After all, most of her family already thinks she’s divorced.

They’re not actually, in the fullest sense of the word … divorced.

Years ago, Riley Jacobs chose the Marine Corp over his wife and has regretted his decision every day since. But once a Marine always a Marine, and he’ll use every tactical advantage he has to get Sophia to realize that she’s the only one for him.

Love and marriage … take two

He didn’t answer but only studied her. “Eat.”

She took a bite somewhat automatically and felt immediately annoyed with herself for listening to him. “You’re bad for me.”

What she didn’t say, because she didn’t even want to voice it, was that he’d somehow become nothing but a constant reminder of loss. Pain. Of a fear so overwhelming and raw it threatened to take over everything in its path.

“I’m not. I’m what the doctor ordered.”

“You’re like eating Chunky Monkey every night instead of once a week. Not a good idea.”

He moved closer, so that his shoulder was touching hers. “So what do you want? Vanilla?”

“Not vanilla.” She took another sip, moved her legs and Hershee jumped off her lap, disgusted with Sophia for not sitting still enough for Her Highness. “Maybe Neopolitan. It’s good enough but not so much that I want it every day of the week.”

Riley stood up, took Sophia’s bowl and set it on the coffee table. He pulled her up off the couch, his hands on her elbows. The blanket fell to the ground at her feet. “Admit it. You’d like to have Chunky Monkey every day of the week. And sometimes you catch yourself thinking about it in the middle of the day. Wondering how you could get away with it.”

“Maybe.”

She’d forgotten how perfect it felt to be this close to him, their breathing comingled. Without a doubt, she’d once known he would have breathed for her if he could. He would have done anything for her.

“You want Chunky Monkey. Admit it.” He pulled her closer, until she could feel every hard ridge of his body and then closer still.

“Wait. Are we still talking about ice cream?”

“No.” He kissed her. Not a tender kiss at all, but rough and claiming.

Her hands fisted his shirt, and then with both hands she untucked it at his waist, letting her palms glide up his hard chest, touching the soft short hairs between her fingers. How she’d missed this, missed him. No matter what, they’d always had this part right. Touching, feeling.

Riley squeezed her ass, his other hand sliding under her sweater to tug her bra cup aside. But then just as suddenly as he’d kissed her, he stopped.

“Stay with me.” She pulled on his arm, directing him toward the bedroom.

“Slow down, baby.”

“It’s this way to the bedroom.” Sophia tugged on his hand again, a little like trying to move a mountain. “Just like your floor plan but reversed.”

“Wait.” He bit his lower lip and didn’t move.

“I don’t want to wait. I’ve waited long enough.”

“You can wait a little bit longer, can’t you?” He grimaced.

“Why should I?”

He chuckled and framed her face with both hands. “Because I need you to be sure.”

“Oh, that. I’m sure, Riley. I want this. I want you.”

“No,” he said and his hands dropped down. “I want you to be sure about us.”

“Us?”

“You and me. Us. Forever. Can you tell me you’re sure about that?” He studied her.

“Listen, you and I …”

“Yeah.” He moved away from her, picking his jacket up on the way to the door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“But—” Was he seriously leaving her? Now? After all that talk about Chunky Monkey? Bastard!

“Eat your soup,” he called out and shut her front door.

About the Author

When early onset stage fright dashed dreams of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame status, Heatherly tackled her first book in 2010, and now the people and voices that occupy her head refuse to leave. She no longer sings unless you count randomly bursting into song to annoy her children (and the dogs).

If she were not an author, Heatherly maintains she would be a detective and a criminal's worst nightmare. She watches Dateline every Friday night and takes notes.

She lives in northern California with her family, including two beagles, one who can say 'hello' and the other who can feel a pea through several pillows.    

Connect with Heatherly at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Excerpt: Beautiful Boy by Leddy Harper

About BEAUTIFUL BOY

One introverted girl. 
One extroverted guy. 
One assignment. 
One afternoon. 
Then everything changed… 

“You destroyed me.” 

Novah wanted nothing more than to walk away, never see him again. She was determined to pick up the pieces of her tarnished reputation and move on. Her torture became her muse, earning her well-deserved notoriety for capturing beauty with her lens. She had come full circle. She had it all…until he returned. 

Nolan found himself surrounded by the grim facets of life, no longer the prominent boy from an affluent family who’d caught Novah’s eye. The years had been unkind and left him in the dark, painful trenches of life. He needed her help. 

Fifteen years can equate to a lifetime of change, neither one the same person they once were. Despite the humiliation, the latent wounds, the missing years…they’re destined to heal one another in unexpected ways. 

“You saved me.”

Excerpt

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Richards meets by appointment only. I can help you schedule one if you’d like.” The woman seemed nice, but I wasn’t about to let her stand in the way of me and my retribution. This had been building over the last couple of days, and I wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of the justice needing to be served. 

I slowly began to back away, and then darted down the long corridor, hoping the doors had nameplates on them. Her voice rang out behind me, reiterating that Nolan didn’t see walk-ins, but I ignored her. 

I picked up the pace in case she came after me. Without a care in the world that he could be in the middle of a meeting or have guards surrounding him, I frantically searched for his office. I had something to say, and no amount of protection would keep him safe from my wrath. 

Finally, at the end of the hallway, I found a silver plate etched with the name “Nolan Richards.” Before I allowed my fear or panic to halt my actions, I turned the handle and pushed through the door. I stopped dead in my tracks, causing the receptionist to run into my back. 

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Richards, I tried to tell her—” 

“It’s quite all right, Tanya.” Nolan cut her off and rose from his chair, buttoning his coat before walking around the large oak desk. “She’s okay. I’ve been expecting her.”

Time stood still. 

Sounds vanished around me. 

And thoughts fled my mind. 

I didn’t register Tanya’s response, nor did I realize she had left, closing the door behind her, trapping me in the room with the boy who had shattered my life. No… not boy. He most certainly was not a boy anymore. 

Nolan had on a suit, and he looked as if he’d come straight out of a GQ magazine. His hair— which used to be shaggy— had darkened to an almost black color over the years, and he wore it short, cut closely to his scalp. He had always been tall, but he seemed to have added about forty pounds of muscle mass, distributed evenly throughout his entire body. His arms, chest, and shoulders filled out his suit quite nicely, and I attempted to stop gawking. 

But I couldn’t. Nolan most definitely wasn’t the same kid from high school. 

Not at all. 

My gaze roamed the smooth skin on his face. His eyes were still the familiar hazel that had haunted my dreams over the years, except they seemed to have lost all the luster they once held. Other than the slight humor I noticed in them as he peered at me, they were lifeless and dull. 

Emotionless. 

“You’ve surprised me, Novah. Although I had expected you’d come here, I didn’t think it would’ve been this soon.” 

His deep voice flooded the air around me and filled me with… 

Hatred? 

Lust? 

Disgust? 

Desire? 

Whatever it was, I didn’t want it. The thought of falling into the same trap I had found myself in fifteen years ago didn’t appeal to me. All I cared about was being vindicated and making it out alive. 

Intact. 

Whole

About Leddy Harper

Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped. 

She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.

She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females. 

The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. Most importantly Leddy wanted to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.

Connect with Leddy at: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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Excerpt: Dueling with the Duke by Robyn DeHart

About the Book

England, 1838

Gabriel Campbell, Duke of Lynford never intended to carry that title, but when his reckless brother gets himself killed in a duel over a woman, Gabe has no choice. Now he’s sworn off love, blaming the woman that broke his brother’s heart and led to his untimely death. 

Lilith Crisp, Lady Thornton, knew from a young age that pretty girls grow up and get married off to the highest bidder. Being paraded around London as her husband’s trophy has taught her some unique skills and now she can manipulate any man for his darkest secrets. 

Gabriel's position in the Brotherhood of the Sword leads him directly to Lilith’s door. For Gabe, Lilith is the one woman he’s always wanted, and Lilith is now forced to deal with a man who seems immune to her charms. But a secret about Lilith’s niece brings them together to face a danger that threatens not only their lives, but the fate of England’s Crown. Resisting Lilith is getting more and more difficult and Gabe finally recognizes that he can’t keep blaming her for his brother’s fate. Finding love means forgiving the past and that might be the one thing they simply can’t do…

Excerpt

She was ridiculously beautiful in any scenario, but when angry, she became an entirely different creature. There was something authentic about the anger in her eyes. What was most disturbing was this wasn’t the first time today that he’d felt as if he was seeing the real her. He shook off the feeling.

Lilith was no fool. He knew he’d have to tell her something, some measure of truth about the work that he did, in order for her to trust him. Or at the very least, in order for her to give him the information that he needed.

When the Crown demanded information, people tended to comply.

“It has been a few years, and I know that it must seem as if I sprang into your life suddenly.”

“It certainly does,” she said. Her frown stayed firmly in place, and he had to force himself not to look at the way her breasts swelled with her angry breaths.

“I’m not trying to frighten you, Lilith, nor anger you,” Gabe said.

“That is difficult to believe.”

He took a step toward her. “I need for you to trust me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest; again he fought to keep his gaze on her face and not her tempting curves. “Why the devil would I ever trust you?” she asked.

“It is I who should have difficulty trusting you, yet here I am fully expecting you to answer my questions honestly.”

She winced as if he’d struck her.

He went to put his hand to her face and stopped himself, instead moving to the window though he made no move to look outside. “It’s quite evident that you and the girl are in danger, and I can help, but only if you let me.”

Her features set in a frown. “We shall be safe enough. I am planning to leave town soon.”

“Lilith, you can’t lie to me,” he said. “You saw what happened at the school. Certainly you cannot deny that Isabel is in danger.”

“No, I do not deny that, but it does not mean I require your assistance.”

“Enough!” he said, more forcefully than he’d intended. He walked back to her and gripped her upper arms. “We can dance around this all night.” He softened his tone. “But hear me now when I say that like it or not, I am in your life for the indeterminable future, and I will get answers. I can only help you protect the girl if you give me some information.”

She released a low breath. “What do you want to know?”

About the Author

National Bestselling author, Robyn DeHart’s novels have appeared in the top bestselling romance and historical romance lists. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages. Her historical romantic adventure series, The Legend Hunters, were not only bestsellers, but also award-winners, snagging a Reader’s Crown and a Reviewer’s Choice award. She had three releases in 2013 and 2014 will see four more, all set in the popular historical romance Regency and Victorian eras. 

Known for her “strong dialogue and characters that leap off the page” (RT Bookclub) and her “sizzling romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been featured in USA Today and the Chicago Tribune. A popular writing instructor, she has given speeches at writing conferences in Los Angeles, DC, New York, Dallas, Nashville and Toronto, among many others.

When not writing, you can find Robyn hanging out with her family, husband (The Professor) a university professor of Political Science and their two ridiculously beautiful and smart daughters, Busybee and Babybee as well as two spoiled-rotten cats. They live in the hill country of Texas where it’s hot eight months of the year, but those big blue skies make it worth it. 

Connect with Robyn: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Newsletter

Excerpt: Grit by J.C. Valentine

Synopsis

Gabby Morgan isn’t looking for love. Not even a little romance. Following a rocky past that she’d just as soon forget, she’s determined to focus on the future. One that most certainly doesn’t involve the tough-as-nails, short-on-words, hot-as-hell biker…or his kid.

Blake Mahone may not be done with women, but he’s finished with relationships. Then Gabby Morgan enters the picture. She’s flawless, refined, and as his kid’s teacher, way out of his league. She acts like she hates him, but her eyes tell a different story. Before he knows it, Blake finds himself hot for teacher, and he’s more than ready to learn all her secrets. Now all he has to do is convince her to give him a shot…without getting them both killed in the process.

GRIT - EXCERPT

Sensing movement, Gabby opened her eyes and found herself staring at a wall of male chest. Leather creaked as Blake drew even closer, closing out what little space was left between them. Body heat licked her breasts sending goosebumps scattering down her arms and across her chest that teased her nipples into stiff, sensitive points.

When he leaned down, placing his face so close to hers she could practically taste the beer on his breath, Gabby shivered. It became painfully clear that the time for fighting this attraction had come to an end. The sheer torture of trying to resist was something she could no longer abide, and so Gabby gave in.

“You want something, teach?”

The low rumble of his voice reached down deep, sending a flood of heat rushing between her thighs. “I—”

“Because the way you’ve been watching me all night tells me you see something you like. Or maybe it’s not so much a like as it is a need,” he growled, one hand reaching up to curl a lock of her hair around his finger.

The way she bloomed for him told her that he was right. He was beautiful, he was edgy, and in the rare moments that he opened his mouth to speak, he was devastating.

She needed him in the worst way. To ease the growing ache inside of her. To temper the need she’d felt from the moment she laid eyes on him. But she didn’t know him. And what she knew of him, she didn’t necessarily like.

“I don’t know if I…like you,” she whispered into the narrow space dividing them.

Bending farther down, the rough hairs dusting Blake’s jaw scratched deliciously against her cheek as he placed his lips beside her ear and whispered back, “I don’t know if I like you either, teach.” She felt the heavy weight of his hand curl around her hip and give her a possessive tug, pressing them together, chest to chest. “Is that a problem for you?”

#GRIT BOOK TRAILER

About the Author

J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Series. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn’t sorry.

J.C. earned her own happily ever after when she married her high school sweetheart. Living in the Northwest, they have three amazing children and far too many pets and spend much of their free time together enjoying movies or the outdoors. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.

Sign up for J.C.’s newsletter and never miss a thing! http://bit.ly/1KxXWWB

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest • Google+ • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads

Giveaway

Excerpt: Love of the Game by Lori Wilde

About the Book

A sexy sports superstar discovers his body isn’t the only thing that needs healing in this newest Stardust, Texas novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde…

With major league good looks and talent, Dallas Gunslingers relief pitcher Axel Richmond was living the good life. Even if the roar of the crowd could never distract him from the loss of his young son. But now with an injured shoulder and his career on the line, Axel is stuck recuperating at a ranch in Stardust, Texas . . . striking out only with his gorgeous physical therapist.

Kasha Carlyle has one week to get Axel back in action or she can kiss her much-needed job with the Gunslingers goodbye. And any chance to seek custody of the orphaned half-sister she never knew existed. She quickly learns that Axel’s guarded heart also needs healing . . . requiring all kinds of sneaky plays and sexy moves in extra innings.

It starts like this: an unexpected spark, instant attraction, the jolting jab of oh-so-you-feel-this-too? Flash fire in the belly. A corkscrew twist in the center of the chest. A physical ache that punches low and heavy and spreads out hard and fast through muscles and tendons, blood and bone.

    Heady.

    Erotic.

    Thrilling.

    Physical therapist Kasha Carlyle had felt it before, this hot flare, runaway-mine-train-express that stirred fear in the dark recesses of her mind. She’d resisted it then. Resisted it now.

    But this? This here? This was something more.

    Stronger.

    Bolder.

    Scarier.

    Coal black eyes melted her resistance, seared it to ash. In that stopwatch moment when her gaze struck, and stuck to the steely stare of the Dallas Gunslingers’ most valuable pitcher, Axel Richmond.

    He’d just completed a physical therapy session with his trainer, Paul Hernandez, and he was sitting on a bench wearing nothing but red workout pants, his bare chest on display. Every glistening muscle was finely etched. Not a drop of fat on him. He was a splendid specimen of adult male in top physical shape, life and passion oozing from his pores.

    The only thing that seemed out of place was the black tattoo over his heart that spelled out

    “Dylan.”

    One look and everything and everyone blended and blurred as white-hot need transported them into their own little world far from the sports medicine facility in North Dallas, where baseball coaches, managers, administrators, and sports medicine specialists surrounded them.

    For a split second.

    Then pure panic set it.

    It was Tuesday, May seventeenth, and the second week of Kasha’s three-month probationary period at her new job working with injured major league baseball players.

    And she was already falling in lust.

    No. No. This simply would not do. Keeping her job was essential.

    Now that she had Emma to consider, she urgently needed the bump in salary to pay off the student loans that had gotten her through her PhD. Not to mention the excellent health insurance coverage. Finding out about Emma had changed everything.

    Quickly, Kasha peeled her gaze from Axel’s and studied the insignia on the wall above his head—the blue and green Gunslingers crossed dueling pistols logo—but she didn’t see a darn thing. Purposefully, she slowed her breathing, and forced herself to listen to the conversation.

    “I wish we had better news,” Dr. Tad Harrison, the lead physician on the team, said to Axel.

    Dr. Harrison had been the one to hire Kasha, and the one to caution her that only thirty percent of probationary employees made it past the first three months. “It takes a special breed to work with these ballplayers. They’re long on arrogance and stubbornness and always think they know best.”

    “I have a lot of patience,” she’d said because it was true.

    “I heard they call you the Exorcist in your current job,” Dr. Harrison had said. “Why is that?”

    She couldn’t keep from smiling. “My colleagues say I have a talent for taming difficult clients.”

    “And do you?”

    “I consider physical therapy a calling.” She folded her hands in her lap, and said without a hint of ego. “I was born for this work.”

    Dr. Harrison stroked his chin. “That’s what Rowdy said too.”

Rowdy Blanton was the field manager for the Gunslingers. He was also Kasha’s brother-in-law, married to her younger adoptive sister, Breeanne, and he’d recommended her for the job.

    “If I hire you,” Dr. Harrison had continued. “It will be on your own merits, not your relationship to Rowdy. He got you this interview, but that’s as far as nepotism goes.”

    “As it should.” Kasha bobbed her head.

    The uncertainty of the job was why she hadn’t yet rented an apartment in Dallas. Every day, she made the one hundred and thirty-five mile, one-way trek to the stadium from her hometown of Stardust.

    While she was optimistic, she was also practical. She’d learned that fate could derail even the best intentions and you had to be ready to flow whichever way the current took you. For the next three months, until she solidified the job, she would keep making that drive.

    For Emma.

    Her thoughts took off in a hundred different directions at once. Stalled. Spun. Gathered momentum like an encroaching hurricane. Realizing her mind had wandered, she forcefully shut down the unproductive thoughts and directed her attention back to the patient.

    Axel Richmond.

    One more look and Kasha was on fire and she hated it. The last thing she wanted right now was to meet a guy, especially this guy. Whose stark dark hair was drenched in the heady sheen of sweat.

    He was as sexy as ten kinds of sin, and twice as handsome, and he was studying her through heavily lidded eyes as if she was the most fascinating creature he’d seen in years.

    Um . . . yes . . . that’s why her mind had wandered. To keep from dealing with the feelings his hot-to-trot gaze churned inside her.

    She let out such a long sigh that everyone in the room swiveled to stare. She kept her face blank and examined her fingernails, pretending she’d discovered a ragged cuticle.

    From the moment Axel had strolled into the therapy room with his pro-athlete swagger and princely sense of entitlement, she’d been mesmerized.

    Spellbound by the way his fitted T-shirt hugged his intricately muscled body. Then he’d stripped off the shirt, giving her an even more arresting view. A thick head of lush brown hair curled around his ears, and those powerful thighs strained at the seams of his workout pants.

    Whew.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lori Wilde has sold seventy-eight works of fiction to four major New York Publishing houses.

Her first NYT bestseller, the third book in her Twilight, Texas series, The First Love Cookie Club has been optioned for a television movie. The town of Granbury, Texas, upon which her fictional town of Twilight, Texas is loosely based, honors Lori with an annual Twilight, Texas weekend each Christmas.

A popular writing instructor, Lori is a two time RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. She's won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Golden Quill, the Lories, and The More than Magic.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter |  Goodreads | Pinterest

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Excerpt: Weekend With Her Bachelor by Jeannie Moon

Synopsis

Bachelor Gavin Clark is determined to help Marietta reach its fundraising goal for the town's hospital charity. So the handsome emergency physician is up for almost anything on his date with the lucky winning bidder.  

Little did he know his former high school crush, Ally Beaumont, just so happened to be that lucky winner. Their date whisks them off to her friend's destination wedding at a romantic, luxury ranch resort in the western Montana mountains and close quarters, a shared history, and a magical location push the two old friends into each other's arms...

Is Gavin and Ally's story just beginning, or will their romance end with the weekend?

Excerpt

Ally glanced up to see the four bachelors looking down at the crowd from the landing above the main room. Damn they were hot, and each in their own way. But Gavin? There was something about him—strong, quiet, brilliant—the man had it all, and it was nicely wrapped up in a dark-haired, hazel-eyed, six-foot-four-inch package of gorgeousness.

    There was a squeal from a table near the stage, and Ally saw Mandy Pryce and her mean-girl friends looking over the program and then glancing up at the landing. Jenny Gaston was with them, but she wasn’t looking at the guys. No, her wicked baby blues were trained right on Ally. Honestly, considering the trouble she caused, Ally was surprised Jenny even made eye contact. But always having more nerve than conscience, Jenny was behaving as she always had—like an entitled brat. She lied and manipulated people to get close to Gavin, and Jenny didn’t care who was hurt in the process.

Looking up at the guys one more time, Gavin was surveying the crowd, and Ally’s breath caught just taking him in. He was thirty-one to her twenty-nine, and once upon a time she’d dreamed of being with him forever.

    Gavin had that effect on women. He was probably doing it right now, without even knowing it, casting his spell over the crowd. Ally—practical, focused Ally—was falling deep into the romantic well. Just looking at Gavin made her ache.

    Some things never changed.

    Without warning, Gavin turned his head and his eyes locked on hers. He froze. She could see his posture go rigid right where he stood. His face, stony and hard to read, made Ally reconsider her entire plan.

    The last thing she needed was an angry cowboy on her hands.

    No. She couldn’t second guess herself.

    Ally needed him, and there was no one else she could trust to play a convincing boyfriend, while keeping things platonic between them.

    He was still staring at her, and in the excitement of the moment, she smiled at him. She couldn’t help it.

    The problem was he didn’t smile back.

About the Author

Jeannie Moon has always been a romantic. When she's not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs, and resides on Long Island, NY. If she's more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy.

Connect with Jeannie at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads| Amazon

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