Excerpt: Everywhere and Every Way by Jennifer Probst

Hot on the heels of her beloved Marriage to a Billionaire novels, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst nails it with the first in an all-new sexy romance series featuring red-hot contractor siblings who give the Property Brothers a run for their money!

Ever the responsible eldest brother, Caleb Pierce started working for his father’s luxury contracting business at a young age, dreaming of one day sitting in the boss’s chair. But his father’s will throws a wrench in his plans by stipulating that Caleb share control of the family business with his two estranged brothers.

Things only get more complicated when demanding high-end home designer Morgan hires Caleb to build her a customized dream house that matches her specifications to a T—or she’ll use her powerful connections to poison the Pierce brothers’ reputation. Not one to ignore a challenge, Caleb vows to get the job done—if only he can stop getting distracted by his new client’s perfect…amenities.

But there’s more to icy Morgan than meets the eye. And Caleb’s not the only one who knows how to use a stud-finder. In fact, Morgan is pretty sure she’s found hers—and he looks quite enticing in a hard hat. As sparks fly between Morgan and Caleb despite his best intentions not to mix business and pleasure, will she finally warm up and help him lay the foundation for everlasting love?

Excerpt

Rated XXX:

Cal worked her panties down her hips, then leaned over. The drawer opened and a condom was in his grip. She watched with hungry eyes as he stripped off his boxers and fit himself with the condom. Raising her legs, he hooked her ankles over his shoulders and paused at her dripping entrance. Breath held, she shut her eyes and waited for him to take her. A trickle of fear hit. How long had it been since she’d been this intimate with a man? The sheer vulnerability of this moment overwhelmed her, but she wanted him too badly to pull back. He pushed in a few inches. Paused.

“Open your eyes.”

The low rasp startled her, so she obeyed. Cal poised above her, held in a muscle lock she didn’t understand. Was he afraid he’d hurt her? Sweat gleamed on his brow. “How do you like it? Slow and easy? Fast and hard?”

Morgan didn’t know, because it had been two years since she’d had sex. Hating to admit her inexperience, she said the only words that came to mind. “I like it every way.”

His jaw clenched. “Crap, you’re gonna kill me. So tight and wet. Don’t hide from me. I want to see your face when I make you come again.”

Oh, my. Morgan had never engaged in dirty talk during sex, but his words were like a live wire to her body. The filthier he talked, the crazier she got, her body softening and opening up to any bad thing he wanted to do. Instead of surging forward, Cal began to stroke his cock against her swollen folds, rubbing against her sensitive clit until she was right there again, at the precipice of orgasm. She writhed beneath him, digging her nails deep into his shoulders, but he ignored her cues and kept up the maddening, slow, torturous pace until her sanity shattered into tiny pieces.

“For God’s sakes, Cal, fuck me! Please, take me now!”

“Good girl.”

He plunged his cock deep inside, burying himself completely. She cried out and hung on, the sheer width and length of him making her squirm from the hot, stretching sensation. Morgan gasped. He completely filled her, allowing no room for anything but the primitive demand to surrender to him. She tried to fight it—her mind gave a good fight—but then he started to move and she gave up and gave in.

Cal gave her no time to shore up her defenses. With every stroke, he claimed her. She hung on to his shoulders while he drove inside her over and over, rocking his hips, putting just the perfect amount of pressure on her clit to keep her from tumbling over but maintaining the sharp edge. She cried his name. She begged. And with one perfect deep thrust, something in her belly shimmered with staggering heat, and she shot apart.

About Jennifer Probst

Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.

She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.

Connect with Jennifer: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Excerpt: Béla’s Letters by Jeff Ingber

“Béla’s Letters” is a historical fiction novel spanning eight decades. It revolves around the remarkable life story of Béla Ingber, who was born before the onset of WWI in Munkács, a small city nestled in the Carpathian Mountains. The book tells of the struggles of Béla and his extended family to comprehend and prepare for the Holocaust, the implausible circumstances that the survivors endure before reuniting in the New World, and the crushing impact on them of their wartime experiences together with the feelings of guilt, hatred, fear, and abandonment that haunt them. At the core of the novel are the poignant letters and postcards that family members wrote to Béla, undeterred by the feasibility of delivery, which were his lifeline, even decades after the war ended.

Excerpt

I imagine Mama, Papa, Ilona, Libu, Miki, Feri, Marcel, and András huddled together and whispering comforts to each other. They and any of my friends and classmates who survived the trip would have disembarked on a platform covered in white ash, only a few hundred yards from the gas chambers. Most of these arrivals, particularly the elderly and children, were gassed and cremated within the day. If the chambers could not accommodate the volume, Jews would be shot and burned in fire pits. Those who did not go quietly, such as sobbing children, were thrown alive into the hungry flames. The rest were enslaved.  

This was the fate thrust upon my beloveds in the spring of 1944. I offer these facts antiseptically—who am I to provide commentary? When those I cherished were subjected to merciless blows, I was not there to shield them. When they wept, I was not there to kiss away the tears. When their hunger or thirst grew unbearable, I was not there to relieve it. When the children screamed, I was not there to comfort them and assure them that they were loved. And when those who had given me life were being led to their death, I was not there to walk with them. I did not help. I did not know. I was not there.

About the Author

Jeff is a financial industry consultant, who previously held senior positions at Citibank, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. His latest book is “Bela’s Letters,” a family memoir based on his parents, who were survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust. Jeff also has written a screenplay entitled “The Bank Examiners.” He lives with his wife in Jersey City, NJ.

For more information visit Jeff Ingber’s website. You can also connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Béla's Letters

Excerpt: The Darkest Torment by Gena Showalter

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with her most explosive Lords of the Underworld tale to date, about a fierce warrior on the brink of sanity who will stop at nothing to claim the exquisite human with the power to soothe the beast inside him… 

Driven to his death by the demon of Distrust, Baden spent centuries in purgatory. Now he's back, but at what cost? Bound to the king of the underworld, an even darker force, he's unable to withstand the touch of another…and he's quickly devolving into a heartless assassin with an uncontrollable temper. Things only get worse when a mission goes awry and he finds himself saddled with a bride—just not his own.  

Famed dog trainer Katarina Joelle is forced to marry a monster to protect her loved ones. When she's taken hostage by the ruthless, beautiful Baden immediately after the ceremony, she's plunged into a war between two evils—with a protector more dangerous than the monsters he hunts. They are meant to be enemies, but neither can resist the passion burning between them…and all too soon the biggest threat is to her heart. 

Excerpt

But as Baden slips deeper into the abyss, she'll have to teach him to love…or lose him forever.

Katarina wasn’t afraid of Baden. Not anymore.

He took a step to the side, intending to move around her. Oh, no. She flattened her hands on his shoulders, keeping him in place.

“I want to know what’s wrong with you.” She said. “Tell me.”

He snapped his teeth at her in a show of dominance. “You think you want to know my problem. You’re wrong.”

Her tone dry, she said, “I’m so glad you know my mind better than I do.”

“Very well. I need sex.” He threw the words at her as if they were weapons. “Badly.”

Whoa. Blindside!

Heart pounding, she jerked her hands away from him. “Sex...from me?”

“Yesss.” A hiss. “Only from you.”

Only. Amazing how one little word could send pleasure soaring through her, warming her. “You told me never to touch you.” Which she’d just done, she realized. My bad.

“I’ve changed my mind.” His gaze dropped, lingered on her lips.

Burning her... “But you and I...we’re a different species.” As if that mattered to her body. Gimme!

He took a step closer, invading her personal space.  “We’ll fit, I promise you.”

Tristo hrmenych! The raspy quality of his voice, all smoke and gravel...she shivered with longing. Must resist his allure.

But...but...why? Before she’d committed to Peter, she’d dated around, had made out in movie theaters, cars and on couches. She’d liked kissing and touching and “riding the belt buckle,” as her friends had called it. Then, after committing to Peter, she’d gifted him with her virginity. At first, he hadn’t known what to do with her—he’d been just as inexperienced—and she’d left each encounter disappointed. When finally she’d gathered the courage to tell him what she wanted, he’d satisfied her well.

She missed sex. But connection...intimacy...she thought she missed those more.

The dogs barked, jolting her from her thoughts. They’d cleaned their food bowls, and now wanted to play. She clasped Baden’s hand to lead him out of the kennel. He jerked away, severing contact.

One action. Tons of hurt.

“I’m allowed to touch you and you want to have sex with me, but you’re still disgusted by me.” She stomped outside the kennel, done with him. “Well, I’m leaving. Good riddance! Your do-what-I-say-or-else attitude was annoying, anyway.”

He darted in front of her, stopping her. Breath caught in her throat as sunlight streamed over him, paying his chiseled features absolute tribute, making his bronzed skin glimmer.

So beautiful. Too beautiful.

“I’m not disgusted by you. You need me. I’ve come to accept it,” he admitted, looking away from her. “But being skin-to-skin with another is painful for me. We’ll have to proceed carefully. And you’ll get over your annoyance.”

Another order!  She would show him the error of his ways.

About Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series--Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles--and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series.  In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she's appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black--if you ask her about it, she'll talk for hours…hours!  Her books have been translated in multiple languages.

She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfan
 
Connect: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter: @genashowalter

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Spotlight: Kiss Me That Way by Laura Trentham

A river divides Cottonbloom in two: the upscale enclave on the Mississippi side and the rundown, rough and tumble side in Louisiana. They’re worlds apart—but nothing can build a bridge like love…

Cade Fournette never had it easy Cottonbloom. He stuck around long enough to raise his orphaned siblings and then hightailed it out West—and never looked back. Even though he’s made a success of himself in Seattle, Cade never lost the toughness and the angry edge that helped him survive down South. His only weak spot: the girl he left behind…

Monroe Kirby came from the wealthy side of town, but that didn’t protect her from her mother’s drinking—or her mother’s boyfriend. It was Cade who did that, on a long-ago hot September night, before he disappeared…along with a piece of her heart. Now Monroe is a physical therapist who can fight for herself, and it’s Cade who could use some conditioning when he makes an unexpected return back home. Will he and Monroe pick up where they left off and finally explore their mutual passion—or will the scars and secrets of the past divide them once more?

“You left Cottonbloom without telling me. Without saying good-bye. I want to know why.” Monroe hadn’t meant for the words to come out at all, much less with such vehemence.

“It was complicated.” Cade broke eye contact. “You were a good kid in a bad situation.”

“Weren’t you a good kid in a bad situation?”

He shifted toward her, bracing a hand on the dash and laying his other arm over the back of her seat, invading her space. She didn’t retreat. His intensity spurred her heart rate into an erratic gallop, yet she wasn’t intimidated. Perhaps it was only echoes of the past, but he made her feel safe, even when he was the one she should be scared of.

“I grew up fast and tough.” His voice contained more than a hint of warning.

“You were nice to me,” she said softly.

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking I’m nice. I wasn’t then, and I’m sure as hell not now.”

He ran a callused finger down her cheek, the rasp igniting her nerve endings like a flint. His hand continued south and wrapped itself in her braid, the slight tug on her scalp sending shivers through her body in spite of the sun bearing down on the truck. Her nipples felt tight, and she hoped her tight sports tank masked her sudden, inexplicable arousal.

He pulled her braid, forcing her toward him. She didn’t fight him. He dropped his face next to hers, his coarse beard hair caressing her cheek, his mouth close to her ear. “If I see something I want, I go after it and get it by any means necessary.”

“How very Machiavellian.” She tried a laugh, but it came out more like a stuttering sigh. His scent hooked her even closer, and her lips grazed the outer rim of his ear.

He pulled back, his green-eyed gaze roving her face. She returned the favor, noting the faint brackets around his mouth, the crinkles at his eyes, the thick beard. A full-grown man. Yet was he so different from the boy she remembered?

“Ovid.” The movement of his lips jammed the cogs of her brain. The word made no sense. Her confusion must have been obvious, because the mouth she stared at tipped up in the corners, deepening the grooves. “The Greek philosopher Ovid, not Machiavelli, actually wrote: The end justifies the means.”

“Ovid. Of course.” Apparently, Monroe had slept through that philosophy class at Ole Miss. The fact that high-school dropout Cade Fournette was quoting Ovid made her wonder what other mysteries she might uncover if she went digging.

Just when she was ready to grab a shovel, he released her braid and slipped away. His limp was less pronounced as he took the stairs holding the cane parallel to the ground. Although he’d physically released her, she felt bound to him in some other fundamental way, incapable of tearing her eyes off him until he disappeared behind Sawyer’s front door. Even then, she sat, unable to drive away for a long minute.

How could the simple brush of Cade’s finger ignite a fire when other men left her cold? As her arousal ebbed, she realized something else. She’d just been manipulated by a master. He hadn’t explained why he left.

She spent the evening going through the motions of her life, eating when her stomach growled and heading to bed when her eyes felt heavy. A few short hours ago, her life had been tidy and predictable and boring. Cade Fournette’s return had spun her into chaos.

About the Author

An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years.

She writes sexy, small town contemporaries and smoking hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she's shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest-sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.

Connect:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Excerpt: Tempting Isabel by Rissa Brahm

Luck. Lust. Love.

Wedding planner Isabel Ruiz is cursed. Her hometown of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico agrees, considering her tragic track record. Alone and loveless, she creates fairy-tale weddings for others. Her only distraction? The occasional anonymous fling. So to avoid further tragedy, her rule, one–night–only, is never broken…

Until Zack.

Self-made millionaire Zack James is in town for his brother’s wedding, when a sudden spell of depression hits. Maybe burned out by his fast and luxurious lifestyle? Not even his two female companions hold any interest.

That is, until he meets Isabel.

She humbles and captivates him, reigniting his thirst for life. With her, Zack feels more alive than ever. To his delight—and her dismay—they share a deep bond, a sensual connection, and one mind-bending night.

Zack must have her – to complete him. And Isabel must escape him – to save him.

Their game of catch and chase leads to lust-turned-love. For Isabel, it's fate’s cruelest joke. But Zack won’t quit, positive he’s the cure to her curse. Can he convince her to risk everything with him? Or will it all go south…in paradise.

**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language, and adult situations. HEA.

Excerpt

She pulled a scarf from her purse and put it on the leather-upholstered driver’s seat as he moped around the front of the car, not even attempting to wipe the muddy street water from his face. She couldn’t see his expression, but it didn’t matter when the clouds opened for another round of rain. She almost laughed, but caught herself so that when he opened the car door, he was greeted by her infinitely warm and empathetic smile.

    With one soggy foot inside, he picked up her scarf. “No, please, take it. I don’t want to ruin this. The car’s a rental anyway. And I am hopelessly waterlogged, it wouldn’t even help.” He tossed the scarf onto her lap as he squished into the bucket seat.

    “It was my fault, anyway,” she muttered, even though he couldn’t possibly understand why.

    “Yeah it was. If you weren’t so goddamn gorgeous, attracting the attention of every man, woman, and roadside puddle…or rather, lake…” He snickered, one sultry eyebrow raised.

    She reached over the gearshift and with the tip of the scarf, she wiped away the rolling droplets cascading down his nose. “Strange, because I didn’t notice any one else’s attention but yours.” She smirked, blinked then stared—God, she could drown in those sea green eyes.

“Mmmm.” The deep rumble in his chest hit her ears. Her answer pleased him.

And his obvious hunger pleased her.

But it was when his lip curled with sinister delight, and his forever-gaze deepened, and the rain turned from pattering to pounding all around them, that the all-out crescendo of the combination made her core’s ache billow to overwhelming lust for this man. This stranger.

Only one beat passed before their hands reached for each other in unison, and mouths crashed. An inhaling, all-powering kiss. Fast and furious and rain soaked. Breath caught and found, then lost again. Too much, and not enough.

About Rissa Brahm

Contemporary romance author Rissa Brahm grew up in New York and has since lived in all four corners of the United States, and beyond. The beautiful paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—the core setting of her soul-deep & sensual debut series, Paradise South—is Rissa’s most recent and beloved home.

When not chained-by-choice to her MacBook, she is embarking on outdoor adventures with her husband and little girl, eating amazing Indian food with something chocolate for dessert; reading good, hot scorchers in bed; biking, long walks, and yoga; zoning out to killer music from across the decades and the globe; and getting lost only to discover a new exciting route home again.

Tempting Isabel, Book 1 of the Paradise South series, releases May 24, 2016, followed by Taking Jana, on June 14th and Catching Preeya on July 8th. To learn more about Rissa and her next romances of the series, visit her website or shout out to her on Facebook or Twitter!

Connect: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Youtube

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Spotlight: A Right To Remain by Beth Rinyu

He had a right to remain suffocated by his pain.
She had a right to remain silent about hers.

For better or for worse.
Those were the vows that I had taken with my wife six years ago. We had lived through the better and were barely getting through the worse. I tried to face our loss together, while she chose to have an affair instead.
Time apart was what we both needed.
What I didn’t expect in that time was her.
The beauty she possessed on the outside was a far cry from the scars she was harboring on the inside. She wasn’t looking for love and neither was I. She just needed someone to help her deal with the pain she had been carrying around for the past two years, and I was happy to oblige.
I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her, but suddenly I was seeing a future that I never dreamed of right in front of my eyes….only to find that the past had other things in mind for us.
***
I always believed that we only got one true love in life, and mine was gone and never coming back.
Through the tear-filled nights and never ending days, I was slowly and tortuously coming to terms with the pain that was my reality.
And then he entered my life.
Tall, handsome, genuine and caring, he was a friend when I needed one most. Together, we were a temporary fix to our own permanent pain. Just two people helping each other to get through a very dark period in life.
But when the light begins to shine ever so slightly with each passing day, and his face is all I can see at the end of that tunnel…..do I run back into the darkness or move into the light with him?

About the Author

Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed Creative Writing. There was always something about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen - or in today's world a touch of the keyboard. I am the author of The Exception To The Rule, An Unplanned Lesson, An Unplanned Life, Drowning In Love, A Cry for Hope, A Will To Change, Blind Side of Love, When The Chips Are Down and Easy Silence.

My life is not as interesting as my books or the characters in them, but then again whose life is? I'm a mom of twin teenage boys, a crazy Border Collie and a cat with an identity crisis! I guess you can say writing is my form of relaxation.

Connect with Beth: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter: @bethrinyuwriter

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