Read an excerpt from Besting the Billionaire by Alision Aimes

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Playing dirty in the boardroom just got a whole lot dirtier….

Billionaire Alexander Kazankov always wins. But he didn’t count on high-heeled, drop-dead sexy Lily Bennett getting in the way of his latest deal. She’s a distraction he doesn’t need, not when he’s so close to making things right for his family.

Lily may walk and talk like a Southern piece of fluff, but she’s been underestimated before. She’s determined to succeed—and no entitled, arrogant asshole, especially the too-gorgeous-for-his-own-good-kind, is going to get in her way.

Oil meet water. Gasoline meet spark. It’s all out war as these two enemies go toe-to-toe in an ugly, take no prisoners battle to prove they’re the right choice to be CEO of the same company. All too soon playing dirty in the boardroom leads to playing even dirtier in the dark. It’s destined to end in personal and professional disaster. So why can’t they stop?

Excerpt

“Do...do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

She ignored the brief stab of hurt. “I understand.”

“Do you?”

“I think I do. You feel guilty even being here right now.”

Pain flared in his gaze. “Yes.”

But he was here anyway. Unable to help himself. Drawn to her. Just like she was to him.

She advanced another small step. “I’m not sorry you’re here. I’m glad.”

He shook his head. Looked away.

He’d been strong for her once. Known exactly what she needed. She was determined to be the same for him now. “It’s okay, Alexi. I really do understand.”

Shifting restlessly, he plowed a hand through his hair. Even with the distance still between them, she could sense the violence of his emotions.

It was several long heartbeats before he spoke. “The first thing I thought after I found out Lena was okay was how badly I wanted to be with you.” His gaze tangled with hers, as intense and raw and unapologetic as ever. “I shouldn’t have, but all I could think of was feeling your skin against mine. Drawing your scent into my lungs. Wrapping your thighs around me and driving deep.” He took a step closer. “Forgetting everything else and coming alive. The way I only do when I’m with you.”

Her heart stuttered and then floated out of her chest.

For a man like Alexi, to admit his need was probably as comfortable as swallowing a sharp knife. But here he was. Scared shitless, grieving, desperate for solace—and he’d come to her.

Her. The woman who been told a million times she was only good for one thing. Who’d been useful to the first man in her life as a pretty face and a punching bag. Who’d been useful to her second as a trophy and a nurse.

But not to this man. He was here because of her strength. Because she’d lived his pain and survived it. Experienced the same anguish of watching someone you loved dying, helpless to do anything. She knew how badly it ate at you. She understood words couldn’t do a damn thing to ease the agony.

Sometimes you just had to escape for a little while. Lean on someone else. Lose yourself in someone else.

“I’m here,” she told him, letting the last of her defenses crumble. “We can forget together. Come alive together.”

His gaze darkened to near black, his stare tracing from her running shoes past her jogging shorts and T-shirt up to her lips. “If you’re going to run, you better do it now.”

Excitement shivered along her skin. “And if I’m in the mood to be caught?”

“Even better.” He opened his arms. She didn’t hesitate. Sprinting forward, she leaped. Her mouth claiming his as he wrapped his arms around her and carried her backward into the trees.

Pure and total insanity with no outcome but disaster in sight, and yet she couldn’t stop if she wanted.

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About the Author

Alison Aimes is the award-winning author of the sexy, sci-fi romance Condemned series as well as the sizzling, contemporary romance Billionaire Bad Boys collection. A romance fanatic with a PhD in Modern history, she’s an all-over-the-map kind of woman with a love for dramatic stories and great books, no matter the era. Now, she’s creating her own stories full of intrigue and passion, but always with a happy-ever-after ending.

 Connect: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub | Bookandmainbites

Giveaway Details

To enter this fabulous giveaway, all you have to do is use the link below to go to Alison Aimes’s FB Page, like and share her pinned book release post, and leave a comment for her in the comment section letting her know it’s done.  That’s it. Winner will be drawn at random on 1/30.

http://bit.ly/29mVzwO

Spotlight: My Kinda Mess by Lacey Black

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All her life, Lexi Summer has dreamed of one thing: to become a mother. As the youngest of six, she’s accustomed to the chaos and camaraderie that comes with a big family, which is why she has been anxious to get a jump on this next phase in her life. She thought she had it all: the perfect house, husband, and future. Until one secret rips it all apart.

Nothing in Linkin Stone’s life has been easy. Raised by a single mom, working two jobs, and helping with his much younger twin brothers which keep him on his toes, and working two jobs. He busts his butt to right the wrong of someone from his past and keep the ones he loves safe. He doesn’t need anyone or anything. But that all changes the moment he meets his sexy, feisty neighbor, Lexi.

When fates collide, two people on separate paths suddenly find themselves traveling the same road. Could an easy friendship turn into something more? Or in the end, will their decision kinda create one big mess?

*Though part of a series, this book can be read as a standalone. It is intended for those 18 and over due to graphic language, descriptive sex, and the world’s most inappropriate grandparents.

Exclusive Excerpt

“It’s time to get this thing started!” the little old woman hollers behind me, walking by and swatting me on the ass. “Oh, that’s nice,” she adds with an ornery grin and a wink.

What in the hell is going on here?

“We’re ready. Go!”

“Go?” I ask, confused, and rubbing the back of my neck with my hand.

“Strip! It’s why you’re here, right? My granddaughter, Alexis, is celebrating her divorce, and what a better way to rejoice than with a stripper! Oh, that agency was right. You are a delicious, big ol’ slab of meat. So, take it off! Take it off!” the woman chants, the girls standing off to the side giggling and chugging whatever is in their glasses (probably alcohol).

“Grandma, this is completely not necessary,” Lexi says from the chair.

“Zip it! It’s completely necessary to welcome you back into the dating world with some naked man meat. This is a cellllllllebrationnnnnnn, Alexis.”

“Stop calling me that. I’m not even divorced yet.”

“Semantics.” Walking up to her granddaughter, the old woman whispers loudly, “Hey, maybe you’ll get to sleep with the stripper. He’s super hunky with a great ass,” she adds with another wink sent my way.

“Please don’t do this,” Lexi begs from her chair.

“Too late. I’ve already paid the beefcake. Just sit there and enjoy. I know I’m ready,” Grandma says, pulling a folding chair nearby so she gets an up-close and personal view.

My heart is hammering in my chest as I take in the room. The other occupants are staring at me expectantly, while Grandma grabs her phone, presumably to take pictures or video.

Strip in a room full of woman?

For Lexi?

Fuck yes!

Suddenly, the music changes to Warrant. “Cherry Pie” blares through the speakers, and I realize I’m at a fork in the road. I can get the hell out of this apartment, away from the crazy old woman who’s apparently into buying her grandkids strippers, and hide away from Lexi and her whacked family for the rest of my time in this building.

Or, I can stay.

And strip.

A broad smile stretches across my face as I take in the anxiously nervous woman sitting before me. I wonder why she hasn’t removed her blindfold, and upon closer inspection, I realize her hands are also tied to the back of the chair.

Perfect.

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About Lacey Black

Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and a chocolate lab. Lacey loves watching NASCAR races, shooting guns, and should only consume one mixed drink because she’s a lightweight.

Lacey’s debut novel, Trust Me, was released in August 2014 and has been an Amazon Bestseller twice for Free e-books, as well as #1 for Contemporary Romance. All of the Rivers Edge books have been bestsellers in the Romance and Contemporary Romance categories.

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Cover Reveal: Mercury Rises by Scarlett Kol

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A girl looking for a way out.

Being the daughter of New America’s leader, Mercury Masters has everything a girl could want. A glamorous life full of beautiful people, and the power to have anything she wants, except for one thing—to escape. Because Mercury’s perfect life comes with secrets to keep. Dangerous secrets that if made public would destroy her, her family, and her father’s reign. Then she meets Hawk.

A boy looking to be a hero.

Hawk, a handsome prep school dropout turned vigilante, has his own family secrets. Deadly secrets that have haunted him since he was fifteen. But instead of fighting the ghosts of his past, Hawk has assembled a group of misfit hackers and thieves to save the future from the corrupt government of New America and the mysterious virus that is killing off its citizens. But trying to do the right thing is tough when the person you really want to save is your enemy’s daughter.

A love that could kill them both.

Powerful forces keep them apart, but coming together could be the key to saving New America from destruction—even though it may cost both their lives.

A near-future YA biopunk retelling of Robin Hood.

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About the Author

Scarlett Kol grew up in Northern Manitoba reading books and writing stories about creatures that make you want to sleep with the lights on. As an adult, she's still a little afraid of the dark. Scarlett now lives just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with her husband and two boys, but if you need to find her she's likely freezing at the hockey rink.

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Spotlight: Where Do I Go by Beverly Magid

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It’s 1908 and Leah and her boys have immigrated to New York’s Lower East Side to live with her brothers after surviving a pogrom in their Russian village. She is determined to find a home in America but the conditions are harsher than she expected. The garment sweat shops are brutal to work in and it’s essential that her son Benny works after school to help with expenses. Unbeknownst to her he runs errands for the local bookie/gangster. Life isn’t what Leah hoped for, but she’s a fighter and not willing to accept the awful conditions at Wollowitz’s Factory. She’s on a journey to find her own voice, to find a place for herself and her sons, to find a little beauty and romance in her life.

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About the Author

Beverly Magid, before writing her novel, was a journalist and an entertainment and celebrity PR executive, who interviewed many luminaries, including John Lennon, Jim Croce and the Monty Python gang, and as a publicist represented clients in music, tv and film, ranging from Whoopi Goldberg, John Denver and Dolly Parton to Tom Skerritt, Martin Landau, Kathy Ireland and Jacqueline Bisset.

Beverly is a longtime west coast resident who still considers herself a New Yorker. Among the social issues she’s passionate about is literacy and she worked with KorehLA to mentor elementary children in reading. Also she has been an advocate for Jewish World Watch, an organization dedicated to working against genocide and to aid the victims of war atrocities. On a lighter side, she is also a volunteer at the Los Angeles Zoo, monitoring animal behavior for their Research Department.

She is a news and political junkie who supports environmental, animal and human rights issues. She believes most passionately that “We must remain vigilant to the those who would erode the rights of people around the world and work to defeat them.”

For more information, please visit Beverly Magid’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Spotlight: Scoring with the Wrong Twin by Naima Simone

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Meet the Author:


USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone’s love of romance was first stirred by Johanna Lindsey, Sandra Brown and Linda Howard many years ago. Well not that many.

She is only eighteen…ish. Though her first attempt at a romance novel starring Ralph Tresvant from New Edition never saw the light of day, her love of romance, reading and writing has endured. Published since 2009, she spends her days—and nights— writing sizzling romances with a touch of humor and snark. 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.

Connect: Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
 

About the Book:


Shy, awkward Sophia Cruz has a hard time telling her vivacious identical twin “no.” But when her sister begs her to swap places for a modeling shoot, she caves … again. Then Zephirin Black walks onto the set. The brooding, aloof, and gorgeous tight end for the Washington Warriors. But she can keep it professional… She has to. Because the adorkable Cruz twin has no luck with guys once they compare her to her sister.

After a bad break-up, Zeph hasn’t been big on second chances—and even less with trust. But he finds himself giving please-call-me-by-my-middle-name-Sophia both. The woman he’d dismissed as a spoiled cover model is different from the first time he met her. Quirkier. Funnier. Definitely sexier. What started as one night turns into another…and another…and another…

Still, Sophia can’t go on keeping her secret from him. But telling Zeph the truth will mean losing him for good.

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

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Read an exclusive excerpt from A Merciful Secret by Kendra Elliot

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Raised off the grid by survivalists, Mercy Kilpatrick believed in no greater safeguard than the backwoods of Oregon. Unforgiven by her father for abandoning the fold for the FBI, Mercy still holds to her past convictions. They’re in her blood. They’re her secrets—as guarded as her private survival retreat hidden away in the foothills.

In a cabin near her hideaway, Mercy encounters a young girl whose grandmother is dying from multiple knife wounds. Hundreds of miles away, a body is discovered slashed to death in a similar way. The victims—a city judge and an old woman living in the woods—couldn’t be more different. With the help of police chief Truman Daly, Mercy must find the killer before the body count rises. Mercy knows that the past has an edge on her. So does her family. How can she keep her secrets now…when they’re the only things that can save her?

Exclusive Excerpt

Truman Daly checked his phone for the twentieth time as he strode toward the police station. 

Mercy still hadn’t replied to his good-morning text. 

It was their routine. After the nights they didn’t spend together, they texted each other in the morning. She should have been up by now. He knew she had planned to spend a few hours in the evening at her cabin, and that those visits often went past midnight, but she never overslept. 

A subtle uneasiness stirred in his belly. 

He kicked a clump of dirty packed snow off the sidewalk and pulled open his department’s door, a small sense of pride shooting through him at the sight of his name below the Eagle’s Nest Police Department logo. Police Chief Truman Daly. He loved his job and considered it an honor to help the people of his tiny town. He’d given big-city police departments a try; it wasn’t for him. He enjoyed the closeness of the community and had learned nearly every resident’s name over the last year. 

“Morning, boss,” Lucas said, his big bulk squeezed behind his desk. “Nothing urgent yet this morning.” 

“Thanks, Lucas.” Truman eyed the bright-red reindeer on his office manager’s sweater as he took off his cowboy hat. “You know Christmas has been over for a month, right?” 

The nineteen-year-old man glanced down. “I like this sweater. It’s cold, so I wore it. Makes more people smile now than when I wore it in December.” 

“Good point. Who’s here?” 

“Royce went out to a car accident, and Ben should be in any minute.” 

The uneasiness in his belly grew. “Any injuries in the car accident?” 

“Nah, a fender bender and then one slid into a ditch. Both men are fine.” 

His tension loosened. Not her. Mercy had been in a horrible car accident last November, and her silence this morning was deafening to him. 

He headed down the hall to his office, texting Mercy’s niece Kaylie as he walked. 

Tell Mercy to check her phone. 

The response was immediate. 

She’s not here. 

Where is she? 

His phone buzzed in his hand as Kaylie called. 

“She wasn’t here when I got up this morning,” the teenager told him. 

“What time did she leave last night?” 

“Around seven. Right after we ate. She said she’d be back after midnight.” 

“Did she come home and then leave early this morning?” Truman’s uneasiness blossomed. 

“I don’t think so. There’s no coffee in the pot. She always makes coffee.” 

She does. 

Kaylie didn’t sound concerned. “She probably slept at the cabin. She does that sometimes. I assume you tried to call her?”

“I texted.” 

“Cell service out there is spotty. Drives me crazy,” she said with teenage disgust. 

“Tell her to call me if you hear from her.” 

“Will do.” 

Truman stared at his unanswered texts. I have to go out there. 

Mercy’s cabin was her lifeline. Her center. Her balance. An upbringing in a family of preppers had left her with a soul-deep need to always be prepared in case of TEOTWAWKI. The end of the world as we know it. Truman understood the logic behind having a supply of water and rations in case of an emergency, but Mercy took it to a whole other level. She could live at her cabin indefinitely if the world drastically changed. Truman admired her dedication and didn’t say a word when she spent hours chopping wood in the middle of the night or combed antique stores searching for old tools to replace electric or gas-powered ones. 

She could have sliced an artery with her ax. 

“Shit.” He turned around, crammed his hat back on, and marched out to the reception area. “Lucas? I’m heading out. Call me if you need me.” 

“Hey, wait. This just came in. Elsie Jenkins can’t get off her property because the highway snowplow left a huge pile at the end of her drive.” 

Truman pictured her rural farmhouse. “We only got six inches.” 

“Yeah, she said somehow the plows left all the snow to kingdom come blocking her drive. Her words, not mine.” 

“She’s been stuck there for three days?”

“She waited to see if it’d melt down. But now she’s low on Scotch and Triscuits. Again, her words.” 

Her old farm was in the general direction of Mercy’s cabin. “I’m on it. Tell her I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” 

“Got a good snow shovel?” Lucas asked. 

“Always.”

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About the Author

Kendra Elliot has landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times and is the award-winning author of the Bone Secrets and Callahan & McLane series and the Mercy Kilpatrick novels. Kendra is a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award, an International Thriller Writers finalist, and an RT Award finalist. She has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female heroines such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls. She was born, raised, and still lives in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her husband and three daughters but looks forward to the day she can live in flip-flops. Visit her at www.kendraelliot.com. 

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