Read an excerpt from Dragon Burn by Donna Grant

In this scorching Dark Kings novella, New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant brings together a determined Dragon King used to getting what he wants and an Ice Queen who thaws for no one.
Marked by passion.

A promise made eons ago sends Sebastian to Italy on the hunt to find an enemy. His quarry proves difficult to locate, but there is someone who can point him in the right direction – a woman as frigid as the north. Using every seductive skill he’s acquired over his immortal life, his seduction begins. Until he discovers that the passion he stirs within her makes him burn for more…

Gianna Santini has one love in her life – work. A disastrous failed marriage was evidence enough to realize she was better off on her own. That is until a handsome Scot strolled into her life and literally swept her off her feet. She is unprepared for the blazing passion between them or the truth he exposes. But as her world begins to unravel, she realizes the only one she can depend on is the very one destroying everything – a Dragon King.

Excerpt

Seduction can come upon you like a whisper, brushing against your skin with a subtle promise. It can surround you like warm velvet, its caress provocative and tempting. It can blitz you, overwhelming your senses until there is only one thought—him.

Gianna didn’t know when, she didn’t know how, but Sebastian’s seduction had flooded her like the wispy fingers of mist before effortlessly besieging with the skill of a warlord.

Ever since she found herself in his arms the night before, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. Not even work could shove him aside.

She’d passed the night weighing his offer of spending the day with him. She waffled back and forth until she finally dozed off. When she woke and got into the shower, she still hadn’t come to a decision.

As she’d left her home that morning, she’d told herself she was going for coffee. And ended up at the Piazza San Marco.

With him.

She’d seen him long before he noticed her. It gave her a chance to study him at leisure. He wore black slacks and a button-down in a purple so deep in color it was almost black. The black leather jacket sat upon his wide shoulders like an afterthought instead of a necessity.

The breeze was gentle, ruffling the ends of his golden brown hair that swept atop his shoulders. He studied the architecture around him, not with wonder, but...almost as if it was intruding.

Not once did he appear to notice any of the women who endeavored to capture his attention. Yet he looked down and smiled at the pigeons who came close to him. And he gazed at children with a kind of amazement, like he wasn’t sure what to think of them, but he couldn’t look away.

Like she couldn’t stop staring at him.

Then he turned and locked eyes with her. Her heart had actually tripped over itself. Not once in her life had she ever experienced such a reaction to anything. Chills raced over her body that had nothing to do with the cool temperatures and everything to do with the enigmatic, baffling man who held her utterly spellbound.

His smile was both sensual and secretive. She didn’t remember what he said after he walked to her. It had been a question, and she’d agreed. The next thing she knew, they were having coffee.

To say she was shocked to find herself talking so readily to him was an understatement. What was it about him that made her feel comfortable? Relaxed, even?

As they walked from the café, his hand rested on the small of her back. The pressure of his palm against her was so profound that, for a moment, she wondered if she had on clothes, because it felt as if he were touching her skin.

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About Donna Grant

Donna Grant is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the sizzling Dark King series featuring dragons, immortal Highlanders, and the Fae.

She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

Despite deadlines and voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two children, four cats, and one long haired Chihuahua.

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Spotlight: Drift by Amy Murray

I’m not crazy. My mother may have died with everyone believing she was insane, but I refuse to accept that as my fate. Even if I am recalling memories about a life I never lived. A life that includes the mysterious James—a guy I’ve only just met, but feel as if I’ve known all my life. The memories are coming hard and fast, and I’m falling down a rabbit hole with consequences that far exceed anything I could have ever imagined.

And now, someone is trying to kill me. 

Someone from my past who knows about my visions and is looking for something he believes I took from him. All I have to do is figure out how these memories relate to the present and maybe I’ll survive to live another day.

Maybe…

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About the Author

Amy Murray graduated from the University of Houston with a B.S. in Psychology. She is a CrossFit addict, proud Harry Potter enthusiast (Gryffindor all day, everyday), and obsessed with modern quilting. She and her family live in Cypress, Texas. 
 
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Spotlight: Last Gentleman Standing by Jane Ashford

A fortune hunter’s dream…
Miss Elisabeth Elham is an unlikely heiress. She never knew the curmudgeonly uncle who died suddenly and left her a fortune. She’s proud, outspoken and independent—a definite challenge for London’s fortune hunting suitors.

As various determined gentlemen vie for her attention at balls, routs, picnics and parties, Elisabeth finds herself embroiled with a charming rake, a mysterious nabob, and an elegant neighbor. This would all be great fun, if only she wasn’t so fascinated by the one man in London who’s not trying to woo her…

Rediscover this classic Regency romance!  Originally titled Bluestocking, this classic story has been unavailable for over 25 years and is now returning from the vault!

Excerpt

Elisabeth had recrossed a stile and was traversing an open field when she heard hoofbeats behind her. Turning, she was just in time to see the rider urge his magnificent chestnut up and over the fence she had just climbed. The form of both was flawless, and she forgot herself in her admiration of the jump, watching unself-consciously, as the horseman approached her.

The chestnut had white feet and was one of the most beautiful and spirited animals she’d ever seen. He moved with the ease and power of a true thoroughbred and might have made almost any rider appear insignificant, but the man on his back matched his quality. He looked to be tall, and his figure was well-molded and athletic. His buckskin breeches fitted him to perfection, and his coat fairly cried out its fashionable origin in the workrooms of a Weston or a Stultz. Elisabeth had seen a few gentlemen of the haut ton in Bath, and she knew enough to recognize that the deceptive simplicity of the folds of his cravat and the carefully casual arrangement of his hair were the signs of a veritable tulip, a top-of-the-trees corinthian. At that moment, she met his slightly mocking gaze and looked down in confusion, recalling herself with annoyance. She had been gaping like a schoolgirl, she thought.

The rider pulled up before her. “I almost feel I’ve been in a competition,” he said. His voice was deep and resonant. “I hope you gave me full points for that jump.”

Elisabeth looked up. His eyes were pale blue, she noted, in spite of his black hair and rather dark complexion. “I was staring quite rudely, I know,” she replied. “I beg your pardon. But I was transfixed by the way your horse took that fence.”

The man patted the chestnut’s neck, “He’s wonderful, is Tristram.”

“Tristram?” repeated Elisabeth, smiling. “That’s an uncommon name for a horse. Do you take it from Tristram Shandy?”

The rider looked at her with much more interest than he’d first shown. “Yes, I’m fond of Sterne.”

“Oh, it is my favorite of all books. I thought hardly anyone read it now.”

He smiled back at her somewhat quizzically. “And I should hardly have thought it fit reading for young ladies.” He surveyed her. He was the despair of his mother and several aunts, who had all at one time or another introduced to him dazzling debutantes calculated to urge him into marriage. But though he’d treated them politely, he’d been extremely bored in their company and really had very little notion of what to say to conventional young women. Seeing that Elisabeth was a bit uncomfortable under his gaze, he continued, “But then I rarely find young ladies wandering about my land unattended. So I can’t quite make you out. Are you someone’s governess, perhaps? Do you teach your pupils from Sterne?” His amused smile faded as he went on before she could answer. “No, that doesn’t seem right.”

Looking down at her drab garments, Elisabeth laughed. “I’m sure I don’t know why you say so. I do look very like a governess. In fact, until a few weeks ago, I was a teacher at a seminary for young ladies. Now that my uncle has obligingly left me his fortune, I shall have to change my style of dress.”

“Uncle?” he asked. His eyes narrowed. “You can’t mean old Anthony Elham? I heard of his death.”

“Yes. I am Elisabeth Elham. Though it is not at all the thing to go about introducing oneself to strange men,” she told herself reflectively.

The rider laughed. “I hope I’m not strange. But I beg pardon. I should have made myself known to you immediately. I am your neighbor, Derek Wincannon. Do you mean to say that old Elham has left you Willowmere?”

Elisabeth shrugged. “It is part of the estate. And a very ramshackle part, I must say. I have never seen so neglected a house.”

“It’s the scandal of the neighborhood,” said Mr. Wincannon. “Your uncle was a shocking landlord and a worse neighbor.”

“From what I heard of him,” answered Elisabeth, “he was uniformly shocking. I’m rather sorry I never met him.” The man laughed again. “But in any case, you may inform the neighborhood that I shall be putting the place to rights as soon as I may.”

“That’s good news. Will you be settling there?”

“No. At least, not immediately. I shall live in London for a time, at Elham House.”

“For the season, I assume.”

“Yes, I’ll be bringing out my cousin.”

“You are bringing out someone? I’d have thought it would be the other way about.”

“Oh, no,” Elisabeth smiled. “I’m beyond that sort of thing. Quite on the shelf, in fact,” she added lightly.

“I see it now,” he responded dryly, “a veritable antique. How can I have mistaken you for girl in her twenties?”

She laughed. “Well, I daresay I shall attend a few parties also, if I’m asked.”

He smiled. “There can be little doubt of that, I should think. You’ll wish to sample the gaities of the season and attend the assemblies at Almack’s.”

“Almack’s? Oh, no, I shouldn’t think so.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“My father used to tell me stories about London, and he was most severe on Almack’s. He called it the Marriage Mart and painted such a vivid picture of the trials young girls undergo as they are catalogued and labeled according to their faces and fortunes that he gave me quite a horror of the place. I don’t at all wish to go there now.”

Mr. Wincannon’s interest was definitely caught. “Now?”

“Well, of course I might have done so some years ago had I been offered the opportunity,” Elisabeth explained obligingly. “When one is thrown penniless upon the world at the age of nineteen, one is willing to try any shift to come about again. I was very willing then to marry to make my fortune. But I wasn’t given the chance, and how fortunate that was, really. For now, you see, there is no need.”

Derek Wincannon laughed. “You are a most unusual girl,” he said.

“Because I prefer to order my own life now that I have the means to do so?” asked Elisabeth. “I’m persuaded you can’t really think so. Would you give up your independence without need? No indeed. When I was desperate and might have married, no one dared offer for me. I certainly won’t encourage anyone to do so now that I have an income.”

“Much good that will do you, I should say.”

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About the Author

Jane Ashford discovered Georgette Heyer in junior high school and was captivated by the glittering world and witty language of Regency England. That delight led her to study English literature and travel widely in Britain and Europe. Her historical and contemporary romances have been published in Sweden, Italy, England, Denmark, France, Russia, Latvia, Slovenia, and Spain, as well as the US. Jane has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award by RT Book Reviews. She lives in Beverly Hills, CA.

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Spotlight: Finding Home (Coming Home #2) by J.M. Adele

I’ve done some things I’m ashamed of. Been the subject of gossip they didn’t even bother trying to keep from my ears. But I’m here, thousands of miles away trying to atone for my sins. Funny thing is, some sins are so ingrained it’s impossible to scrub them from your DNA.

Chelsea’s hell bent on reigning in her free spirit and becoming the daughter her mama could be proud of. Lord knows she owes her that much. But when a stranger crosses her path, her wild heart flares to life. She figures a little bit of fun never hurt none. She isn’t prepared for the lesson fate serves with a slice of pie, and some sweet tea on the side.

Greyson is done with being neck deep in cow dung. He’s ready to hang up his cowboy hat and replace it with a toque blanche. Following his passion all the way to Boston, he gets the shock of his life when the smokin’ hot blonde from Alabama turns up in his uncle’s restaurant.

But her plans and his future are set for different destinations. And distance isn’t the only thing trying to tear them apart.

The kitchen is about to go volcanic as he fights to chase his dream, and hold on to his dream girl.

Chelsea will have to make a choice between her heart, or her home.

Which one will it be?

*Recommended for readers 18+ due to mature content. *

Excerpt

Belly full of beer and nachos, Chelsea found herself sitting in a dim candlelit room with about fifteen others, listening to a psychic pull random information from thin air. She didn’t think there was any threat of actual communication with the dead, but some vibe in the room made her twitchy. Perhaps it was because she was sandwiched between Ryan and Grey, who both sat with arms crossed and one ankle on the opposing knee. It seemed Hannah was in charge of the itinerary for the night, and nobody liked her choice of activities.

Strangely, Dakota chose a seat beside Grey, quietly absorbing the show. Or maybe it wasn’t strange, and Chelsea was letting her green side take over. Not the Oz kind of green, either. It was more the mammoth proportions of the big guy who split his pants every time he got mad.

Hannah appeared oblivious, hanging on every word coming out of the psychic’s mouth. Lord bless that free-spirited woman. She embraced everything she did, wholeheartedly. Chelsea could learn a thing or two from her. She unfolded her arms, placing her hands between her knees, and sat up.

“May I approach you?” The psychic had Chelsea in her sights.

“Me?”

“Don’t be scared. I have a message from your loved one.”

“Pfft. Oh, I’m not scared, honey.” She rubbed her palms together, shuffling her butt back in her chair.

You’re such a liar.

“Your loved one with a B sound. A female. You were close, but not related.”

Chelsea’s muscles tensed, the twitchy feeling intensifying under her skin.

“She said to let go of the blame. It was her choice. You were not responsible.”

Her vocabulary vanished as her body locked tight. What could she say? That information couldn’t be randomly plucked from the air. Unless this psychic somehow knew her from Texas, there was no way she could’ve known Chelsea had been carrying the burden of blame for her wild ways... and the irreversible consequences. She squeezed her palms between her knees as her mind reeled. Was that really Beth?

“She said to tell you she’s okay.”

Well, I’m not.

“I have a message for you, too.”

Chelsea’s focus turned to Greyson as the psychic addressed him.

“This spirit is very clearly your grandfather. A forceful personality. He refused to wait his turn. He said he’s sorry for being so stubborn, and that you must follow your heart, wherever it may lead you.”

Grey tipped his chin up in a dismissive gesture, choosing not to speak. Angling himself towards her, he pulled one of her hands onto his thigh and clasped their palms together, unspoken questions suspended in his eyes.

Are you okay?

Who is Beth?

“I got you.” The words rumbled out in a deep, calming whisper.

Oh, honey. You have me more than you know.

She fixed on their joined hands, her eyelids tapping out a frantic rhythm. He’d brushed aside his own revelation to take care of her, the security net still blanketing her. She half expected to see a cascade of rubble as another of her walls came crashing down. He’d offered her a safe place to forgive herself for all her failings. A chance at normal. She’d vehemently denied the small voice in her mind that said, ‘what if?’ What if she allowed herself to trust enough to find love? What if she found someone who would cherish her? Didn’t she deserve that? That’s all Beth had wanted.

As the psychic moved through the room, Chelsea struggled with herself to stay seated. She turned her thoughts back to Grey. The way he held her hand steady, as if he knew she needed an anchor because she was suddenly lighter than before. He gave their joined hands a shake to get her attention, and tilted his chin towards the door. She didn’t need to be told twice. She stood and followed him. Breaking free, she took a gulp of night air, letting his hand slip from hers.

He flexed his fingers. “You’ve got a good grip.”

“So I’ve been told.” She winced. She’d let her tongue loose again. Damn, it was hard holding back around him. “Sorry about that. Knee jerk reaction. I’m trying to be a better person and that means less inappropriate flirting.”

“It’s only inappropriate if it’s unwelcome.”

“Well, I just crushed your hand. I’m sure you weren’t thinking about my grip around anything else.”

“I haven’t stopped thinking about parts of you wrapped around parts of me ever since we met.”

Her lids dropped low as she took in the firm set of his jaw. His molten gaze warmed her up, making her body pliant and ready for his touch. Maybe she could let him in? For the time she had left, anyways. And finally give herself a taste of something she could hold deep inside for the rest of her days.

“That can be arranged.”

“Oh really? Forfeiting your bet so early in the game? Shame on you, Chelsea. I thought you were made of tougher stuff.”

“How do you—” Her eyes popped before narrowing. “Dane… Oh, he is going to get a wupping next time I see him.”

“He’s a good friend. You have a good group of people who love you.” He pushed some hair out of his face and glanced at the door they’d just exited. “And some questionable tag-alongs.”

“You don’t like Ryan, huh?”

“I wasn’t referring to Ryan. But, no. I don’t like him. He wants what I want.” Those eyes travelled over her features.

“He can’t have me. And, for the record, I don’t give a rat’s ass about the bet.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it, because you and I are gonna happen.”

“Now?” She bounced on the balls of her feet.

He barked out a laugh, flashing his teeth. “No. I don’t sleep with witches.”

“Oh. That’s a shame, because I’m pretty sure witches sleep naked.”

His brow shot up. “Is that right?”

“It’s just a rumor I heard from someone in the know.”

“I’ll dream about that until the time comes.”

“When will it be time to come? Because I’m lookin’ forward to the coming part.”

The smile spread across his face in a slow seductive tide, as his lids grew heavy. “It’s going to be explosive.”

“When? When is it going to explode? I hope we have some towels on hand.”

Laughter burst from deep in his belly, the sound rivalling the revelry in the street. “Oh, you are a peach.” He reached out and pulled her into his frame.

Enveloped in his arms as he shook in amusement, she couldn’t contain her smile. He was all kinds of warm and hard, and big… and hard. Yeah, she might’ve burrowed in close enough to feel something against her stomach. A girl had to check these things. He had all the right gear to get the job done.

He also had so much more that she wasn’t prepared for. He had heart, and compassion. He’d known that she needed to get out of that room, and he’d made it happen without pressing her for a reason why. And then he’d made her laugh while getting her panties wet. He was a goddamn rock. A big, gorgeous, steady rock. Her arms crept around him as she turned her face into his chest and breathed him in. She listened to the beat in his chest, absorbed the rise and fall of air from his lungs, and felt her own match it.

She’d been so torn between belonging in two different places that she hadn’t imagined she could feel so content in a place like his arms.

Maybe home had nothing to do with geography.

But if you want to call someone home, you must both be in the same city.

And there was the problem.

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About the Author

Former nurse, reluctant romantic, and chocolate lover, J.M. Adele, is the author of paranormal and contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. After years of indulging in her addiction to reading, her own characters started to tell their stories. They were relentless, forcing her to put pen to paper and release them into the world. She also owns and runs The Flare Up book blog where she shares her reading obsession. 

On most days you can find her running between the desk, and wrangling her three boisterous boys while carrying a book in one hand. When everyone else drifts off to dreamland she escapes into the worlds conjured by the characters in her head.

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Spotlight: Emerge: The Captive by Melissa A. Craven

A moment of distraction has cost him his freedom but
Quinnton Loukas has a dangerous secret

Held as a captive of the Immortal organization, known as Soma, if his secret is discovered it will be used against him. From the moment of his Awakening, Quinn has struggled with an addiction to his power. The rigid self-control that has kept his addiction at bay is now in the hands of another. If Livia discovers what he is capable of, she will drive him to become the monster he fears is lurking deep inside his soul. His only hope is to escape before she has that chance. But there are others at Soma. Those he’s grown to care for and refuses to leave behind.

Thousands of miles away in India, Sasha blames herself for the capture of the boy she’s loved nearly all her life. As she and her family work to find a way to bring Quinn home, Sasha is caught up on a journey of her own that will take her far from everything she ever thought she wanted. Drafted by the Senate into a brutal training program, Sasha begins to discover who she truly is and how little control she has over her own destiny.

Sasha and Quinn have always shared a special bond, but with their lives moving in opposite directions can they ever go back to the way they were? 

Or is there something much more complicated about the future of their relationship?

Immortality. Prophecy. Power. Join Quinn and Sasha in this coming of age, paranormal and urban fantasy with themes of adoption, diversity, supernatural, and historical fiction.

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About the Author

Melissa A. Craven (the "A" stands for Ann—in case you were wondering) was born near Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Cleveland, Ohio at the age of seventeen. She still thinks of Cleveland as home, so it was only natural for Emerge to take place there.

Today, she is back in Atlanta—for some reason she can't seem to stay away from the ungodly heat that makes her long for things like "lake effect snow" and wind that will knock you flat.

Melissa decided a long time ago that the “life checklist” everyone else was clutching so tightly in their fists, just wasn’t for her. She does everything backwards because she is weird like that, but then, she is an artist and artists are notoriously "unique" and "quirky."
She is an avid student of art and design, and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of West Georgia in 2009. She worked as an interior designer for several years, but she's always thought she might like to be a writer when she grows up.

In her spare time, if she has any, she enjoys shopping for derelict furniture she refinishes to exercise the interior design part of her brain.

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Spotlight: Adeline by Christina McKnight

WHEN THE BEAST WITH A HEART OF GOLD

Everything changed for Jasper Benedict, the Earl of Ailesbury, the night his family died in a tragic fire—the same fire that left him disfigured. Now, his scars have given him the name the Beast of Faversham. But when he stumbles upon a damaged carriage during a tempest, the beautiful woman inside reminds him of the man he wishes he could be: free of his past, and able to love.

TAMES A BEAUTY WITH A WICKED PAST

When her carriage breaks down outside Faversham Abbey, this is just the most recent in a long series of misadventures for Miss Adeline Price. Her beauty hides a fatal flaw: she’s quick to judge, and rarely looks beneath the surface. But the longer she’s around Jasper, the more she begins to want to be better—someone deserving of him. 

But when it comes time to reunite Adeline with her family in London, will Jasper believe that she sees not his scars, but the good, honorable man he is?

Excerpt

“I am the Earl of Ailesbury,” he called, the words fighting the noise of the storm at his back. “My home is only a short distance away. You may seek shelter there.” Her almond-shaped, hazel eyes inspected him from his hidden face and down the length of his body. Jasper hadn’t felt laid bare before another his entire life. Was she leery enough of him to refuse his offer? As if on cue, a wolf howled in the near distance, its call echoing above the whine of the storm. Within moments, several others answered.

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About Christina McKnight

Christina McKnight is a book lover turned writer. From a young age, her mother encouraged her to tell her own stories. She’s been writing ever since.

Christina enjoys a quiet life in Northern California with her family, her wine, and lots of coffee. Oh, and her books…don’t forget her books! Most days she can be found writing, reading, or traveling the great state of California.

You can visit her online at the following places: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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