Thursday, July 31, 2014

Cover Reveal: Breaker by Emma Raveling

CoverReveal_July31 (1)
This is the cover reveal for Breaker by Emma Raveling, the fourth book in the Ondine Quartet, an upper Young Adult Urban Fantasy series. 

Breaker

War. Prophecy. Freedom.

She fought for herself. She fought for friendship and love. Now, Kendra Irisavie fights for the survival of her world.

War rages on, leaving no one untouched. Destruction rips through elemental communities and terror flourishes in its wake. Suspicion soars, order fractures, and loyalties crumble despite Kendra’s desperate attempts to protect everyone she holds dear.

 When an organized Aquidae army launches a series of merciless assaults, Kendra and her friends set out to end the bloodshed once and for all. With the fate of elementals hanging in balance, the Shadow and sondaleur hunt each other down in a brutal match of cunning and will.

 Kendra has trained for this her entire life. But in a ravaged world where trust is scarce and no life is sacred, she soon realizes her battle may be against an invincible enemy and that her darkest days lie ahead.

 Twists and turns shape her harrowing odyssey, leading to a stunning climax that challenges everything she believes in.

 Torn between destiny and autonomy, Kendra must finally decide whether the cost of freedom is too high.

 Heartbreaking decisions, turbulent alliances, and shattering revelations collide in Breaker, the
explosive conclusion to the Ondine Quartet.


Tell us about the covers in this series.

The main novels of the Ondine Quartet (Whirl, Billow,Crest, Breaker) have conceptual covers. Each cover’s imagery captures a particular theme or motif in the book, and the coloring conveys a sense of the story’s mood and emotional arc.

The shorter works/novellas in the series (Ondine,Chevalier, and Warrior Prince) are essentially character portraits and are told through the eyes of different characters in the series. Those covers use models.

The goal for Breaker’s cover was to visually convey high stakes, explosive energy, and a brilliant, sharp intensity.This is the epic finale to the series and everything that has happened in previous books has led to this moment.

Out of all the covers in the series, this one took the most amount of work. My designer and I went back and forth multiple times, going through several drastically different versions before finally arriving at the right
imagery and coloring.


How does it feel to end a series?

It’s bittersweet. A part of me is thrilled to share the end of Kendra’s journey with readers. I’ve had the entire series planned since the very beginning so finally releasing what’s been in my head is a relief.

But the process of writing this final book has been a highly emotional one. There’s a personal attachment to the work itself. I’ve spent countless hours thinking and living with these characters and with this world over the past four years. It’s difficult to bring not only Kendra’s story, but my journey with her story,to an end.

A few easy questions:

Top 3 books?

Only 3?? Argh! There are so many books I love for different reasons and my list of favorites is always changing, depending on what’s going on in my life. Right now, if I had to name three, they’d be:

1. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

3. And of course, the Harry Potter series


Top 5 movies?

1. Aviator

2. Mulholland Drive

3. The Matrix

4. The Breakfast Club

5. Okay, I couldn’t just pick five. So the last one is a tie between The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Star Wars (ep. 4-6), and Catch Me If You Can.

Top 5 places in the world you enjoy visiting?
1.New York City
2.Tokyo
3.Paris
4.Kauai Island (Hawaii)
5.Berlin


Top 5 foods?
1.Fresh basil pesto – I’ll add this on anything
2.Sashimi (Japanese-style raw fish)
3.Dark chocolate
4.Jamón ibérico(Spanish ham)
5.And my terrible guilty pleasure: pizza



Author Bio:
Emma Raveling writes a wide variety of fiction for teens and adults. Hopelessly addicted to coffee and diet coke, she is the author of the Ondine Quartet and Chancer young adult series, and is currently working on the first book in her new Steel Magic series for adults.

 Previous Novels:

whirl_500billowcover_500Crest_500
   

Previous Novellas:

ondine_500chevalier_500WarriorPrince_500
 
This event was organized by:

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Grace Burrowes, Katie MacAlister, and Shana Galen Ask: Which Type of Historical Romance Heroine Are You? (With Giveaway!)




Quiz: Which Type of Historical Romance Heroine Are You?

#1 What word best describes you?

a) effervescent
b) nonconfrontational (mostly) 
c) stealthy

#2 My favorite hobby is ...

a) comparative study of the male form
b) looking after my darling baron   
c) target practice

#3 What is the perfect late night snack?

a) bread, cheese, meats, lemon tarts … whatever can be liberated from the kitchen
b) the baron's kisses
c) ratafia, shaken not stirred

#4 My ideal man must have ...

a) a sublime derriere
b) an aptitude for growing hardy, contrary flowers 
c) brains

#5 What accessory do you never leave home without?

a) my corset (large bosoms are such a trial)
b) my composure 
c) my pistol

***

If you choose mostly As ... then you are as sparkling and resourceful as Her Serene Royal Highness Dagmar from The Truth About Leo by Katie MacAlister. Dagmar may have been raised in a strictly formal manner, but she’s never let that stop her from pursuing anything that catches her interest. She’s a bit quirky, marches to her own drummer, and has a fine, fine appreciation of the manly form.

If you choose mostly Bs … then you are clearly the stuff a baroness is made of, much like Millicent, from The Traitor. Milly is sweet, fierce, determined, and brave but slow to trust. Sebastian, Baron St. Clair, is ALSO sweet, fierce, determined and brave, and relentless when it comes to protecting those he cares for. Alas for both Sebastian and Milly, an enemy stalks them who is not sweet. By the time Milly is done with Sebastian's enemies, they are not very brave either. So if you chose mostly B's, the bad guys better steer mighty clear of you!

If you choose mostly Cs … then you are equipped to be a master spy like Jane Bonde from Love and Let Spy by Shana Galen. Jane is smart, cunning, and loyal, but she has her weaknesses too. Her latest weakness goes by the name Dominic Griffyn. Planning a wedding and defeating a villain intent upon the destruction of England is tricky, but if you're the sort who multitasks easily, then you too have Jane's unique skills and panache.



GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Let Me In by Erin McCarthy



Let Me In by Erin McCarthy
(Blurred Lines #3)
Publication date: September 25th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

A girl in danger…

Aubrey Walsh never dreamed that she would find herself in an abusive relationship, but after her boyfriend hits her so hard he breaks her tooth, she flees the University of Maine to hide on a remote island with her best friend.  Only to discover that she is pregnant.  Terrified of what will happen if Jared finds out, she is walking along the rocks, deciding her future, when she slips.

A guy with a secret past…

After a job gone wrong, Riker has left the assassin business and is incognito as a ferryboat operator off the shores of Maine.  It’s a lonely life, and when he sees a young woman almost fall off the rocks, he doesn’t hesitate to save her and take her in, though he’s determined to stay unemotionally uninvolved.  But when the truth about her situation is revealed, he will do anything to protect Aubrey and her unborn child.
Even marry her. Even kill for her.

When Jared comes looking for the only girl who has ever rejected him, Riker won’t allow it.  And Aubrey is torn between protecting herself and her child, or protecting the mysterious husband she has come to love.
And when chance brings them together but fate tears them apart, can their love survive the storm?





AUTHOR BIO

USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written almost fifty novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult, and adult romance. Erin has a special weakness for New Orleans, tattoos, high-heeled boots, beaches and martinis. She lives in Ohio with her family, two grumpy cats and a socially awkward dog.


Author links:


Book Blast and Giveaway: Semper Mine by Lizzy Ford



Award Winning author, Lizzy Ford, gives us an emotional, sexy read with her first Sons of War novel, SEMPER MINE.
A Marine captain tortured by the death of his men in Iraq returns home and falls in love with the sister of one of the slain, who blames him for the massacre that killed her brother.  SEMPER MINE, is a standalone novel in the Sons of War contemporary military romance series.

Want to get to know Lizzy better? Check out this exclusive interview!

About SEMPER MINE:
“A freak accident landed both of the Khavalov twins under my command, just before a routine mission turned into a nightmare. I brought home one twin in a coffin and the other in a coma missing his leg. I did everything right – and still people died. I can’t forget that night or how many lives it changed, including mine.

It’s natural for their sister, Katya, to blame me. I made one decision in the middle of a firefight, and it shattered her sheltered world. I’m the ice to her fire, and when we first meet, it’s not pretty. I don’t fear war or death, and I am definitely not going to let a beautiful woman with a quick temper and broken heart scare me off, either. I know she’s hurting, and I’m determined to make sure she’s okay. It’s the least I can do for the twins.

I may have failed them that night, but I won’t fail her. What I’m not counting on: the feelings she ignites within me.” – Captain Sawyer Mathis


Also in the Sons of War series: SOLDIER MINE, coming fall 2014!


Excerpt:  Good Luck Charms

I wait until he’s gone to pick up the box again. I’m not exactly excited about the idea of taking time off. Dr. Gomez has been telling me I should for a month. Guess she got tired of me brushing her off and went to my boss.

Damn civilians. I pull the knife on my belt out of its sheath and slice the tape on the box. Not sure what to expect, I replace the blade and open the package. A ring-sized jewelry box is inside, and my brow furrows. Did someone send me the wrong thing?

Sometimes, we get care packages shipped to us by charity or volunteer organizations Stateside that collect donations and send everything from candy to socks to deployed service members.

Every once in a while, one of us will get something odd, possibly shipped by mistake.

I’m convinced this is the case, until I open the box.

For a moment, I stare at the golden Ruptured Duck nestled in the black velvet interior.
There are only two people in the world who know the significance of this little pin to me,
and one of them is deceased.


It doesn’t seem likely that Katya sent this, not after the exchange of letters we had weeks
ago. It seems even less likely that a dead man sent it, though.

I pluck it out of the box and study it. The one given to me ten years ago was beat up and
worn with a colorful patina, an heirloom in every sense. This one is in mint condition,
polished to a soft shine. I’m not a collector by any means, but I can assess that finding a
flawless, nearly one hundred year old gold Ruptured Duck probably wasn’t cheap.

Its light weight is familiar. I missed my good luck charm. My mentor gave it to me as a
reminder for me to stay on the straight and narrow. I was not happy with myself for losing it.
I always treasured it for what it symbolized – selfless, honorable, brave service. I understand
the concepts better now after losing men and having my own command for close to a year. I
think, somehow, it means more to me now than it did before that night that changed my life
in so many ways.

There’s only one person I know capable of the level of thoughtfulness it’d take to track
one of these down and pay what I would consider to be a small fortune to buy it. Katya is
many things; superficial will never be one. Even if I want to deny it’s her, I’ll always know it
is.

Don’t let her get to you.

It’s too late. My insides are already growing warm, the hot emotions I feel any time I
think of her trickling into my thoughts. In a blink, she takes away the quietness in my mind.

“Fuck, Katya.” I can’t help saying the words aloud. The tiny gift stirs me in ways I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get over. It’s not only what I feel for her but the newfound appreciation I have for those men like her brother, who didn’t even flinch when he volunteered to sacrifice himself for others.

This pin represents everything I’ve learned and gone through since that night.

Katya has a way of provoking emotions when I want to be numb. I set the golden duck on
the desk.

There’s still something there between us, something more than the emotions both of us
feel surrounding Mikael’s death. I don’t know what it is or how deep it might run, but it’s not
going away. Neither is it to the point where I can determine if and what either of us actually
feels towards one another. It’s like walking blind folded into enemy territory without
knowing how many weapons are trained on me.

This can’t be healthy.

I have no fucking idea what to do about it. Usually, staying away solves problems. It’s not
working this time. With no operations planned for the holidays, I’m not certain how I’ll be
able sit here for two weeks and not think about her.

I lean forward, elbows on my knees, and glare at the Ruptured Duck.

There’s no way to know what Katya intended when she sent it, if she meant this as a something more than friendship.

Shit, we aren’t even friends. We aren’t anything that I know of. 

She knows what this means to me.

I close the box and absently reach for the dog tags around my neck. I’ve got Mikael’s with me still. I intended to give them to Riley or one of the others before they left. I didn’t. I’m not sure why. It’s not like me to forget something that important.

Katya should have them.

About Lizzy Ford:
Lizzy Ford is the author of over thirty books written for young adult and  adult romance readers, to include the internationally bestselling “Rhyn Trilogy,” “Witchling Series” and the “War of Gods” series. Lizzy has focused on keeping her readers happy by producing brilliant, gritty romances that remind people why true love is a trial worth enduring. Lizzy’s books can be found on every major ereader library, to include: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony and Smashwords. She lives in southern Arizona with her husband, three dogs and a cat.







Giveaway:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Release Day Blitz: Fireside Bundle by Morgan Black

 

The Fireside Series is Complete! 
Get all 3 novellas in the Erotica Romance series!

Sometimes scars are on the surface, but sometimes what lies beneath is far more treacherous.
Cheyenne is beautiful, successful, and filthy rich. But hidden below her impeccable facade lies a broken girl who feels like love is just another business transaction. After she marries Collin, another wealthy ranch owner, she'll have done her part to keep the family business alive. But when she meets Luke she realizes that her heart can't be bought.
Cheyenne and Luke become stranded in a cabin in the woods and when a blizzard threatens to bury them they must fight for their lives. If only they realized once rescued they'd have to keep fighting.





Excerpt: 

He drew his forefinger from my lips down my neck and across my collar bone stopping right above my chest. Slowly his finger dipped between my breasts and down to my navel where his hand greedily grabbed the front of my pants and pulled me towards him. My head snapped back before my lips locked with his. The heat radiated from our mouths, wet and juicy kisses joining together. Everything about him was so forbidden and mysterious, just the relief I needed from my perfectly mundane life. I inhaled his woodsy scent allowing it to take me away. He was the freedom I wanted and now I would do anything to have him.

 “Luke,” I said in a husky voice. “Luke, take me.”

 His eyes met mine for only a moment, while a smile played on his lips.

 I waited on bated breath afraid to move. My heart was beating so fast inside my chest that I considered lunging towards him just to end my moment of discomfort. But as he rubbed his lips together I noticed that his breath increased pace. He took his free hand and put it behind my head into my blonde locks and pulled me towards him. Our faces collided, the air finally releasing from my lungs as our lips converged. Heat spread through my body as his hand reached inside my jeans becoming dangerously close to my already wet sex.

 His lips separated from my own he moved his delectable mouth next to my ear. “You feel so good, so warm,” he whispered throatily. “I want you, all of you.”    

About Morgan Black

Morgan Black is a hair stylist by day and hottie writer by night. She walks her dogs in high heels and never leaves the house without red lipstick. She firmly believes in the power of Zen, and does Yoga freely in her backyard, in her favorite set of pumps.

Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance by Ginger Marcinkowski




The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance
by Ginger Marcinkowski

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Based on the true story of one family’s spiritual saga revealed through buttons that have been secreted away in an antique box, and that ultimately hold the key to each generation’s salvation.

Ginger Marcinkowski’s first novel, Run, River Currents featured Emily Evans, who as a girl shared a special understanding with her grandfather, John Polk. Despite the scars of her father's abuse John taught her to look to the future in faith, promising Emily God's grace can be seen even in the simplest thing—a button.

Years after her grandfather John's death, the unexpected delivery of a decorated tin, still brimming with odd-colored buttons is delivered to Emily. The reappearance of the family buttons unlocks joyous memories and guides Emily to realize a secret her grandfather promised lay within the stories of that worn button box; the healing power of prayer. In The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance each button connects one generation to the next as their interrelated stories unfold across the timeless landscape of their spiritual journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

The buttons buckled against the tin, sounding like marbles in a jar. Maureen’s hand stirred them for what seemed like an hour before she grasped a multicolored globe that reminded John of a fishing lure. Ellen tilted her head and stared at the button, a question knitted on her brow.

“I don’t recognize this one, John,” she said as Maureen dropped it into her mother’s hand. The button rolled in Ellen’s palm, the light from the fireplace piercing the glossy circle and sending flashes of color across the room.

“Well,” John slowly responded, allowing the anticipation of the coming story to rise, “this is a fishing story, girls.” John held out his hand, and Ellen dropped the button into his palm. “You do know that fishing stories might contain an untruth or two, don’t you?”

The girls giggled. Ellen rolled her eyes.

“My brother Frank and I were just about your age when Dad allowed us to fish the Tobique on our own for the first time.” The girls cuddled up near their mother, Maureen pulling a crocheted blanket over her feet before leaning into Ellen. “Yup, that was the summer I got my first fishing pole.”

The memory stuck in his mind like honey, sweet and savory. John had been standing near the front porch whittling a piece of birch bark into the shape of a canoe. He and his brother often raced the makeshift boats on the Tobique when they joined their father’s fly-fishing excursions for the trout that would become the evening meal. Frank was coming out of the barn, two handmade poles and a bucket in his right hand.



~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ginger Marcinkowski was born as one of eight siblings in northern Maine along the Canadian border, a setting that plays a prominent role in her novels, Run, River Currents and The Button Legacy-Emily’s Inheritance.

Her debut novel, Run, River Currents, was published in August 2012, was a 2012 semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis Awards and a 2013 Kindle Book Award Finalist. The Button Legacy-Emily's Inheritance, will be released in July 2014. An interesting fact about Ginger is that she is a million-mile flier with United Airlines and had been a multi-million dollar travel agent in the past. Her travel experience will be the catalyst for a new series of mysteries whose main characters are travel agents.

www.GingerMarcinkowski.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/writer.Ginger.Marcinkowski

AMAZON Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Marcinkowski/e/B008S1BFYI

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Grm55Grm

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18088798-the-button-legacy?ac=1


 GIVEAWAY:

 Ginger will be awarding a $10 Starbucks Card + eBook copy of The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.



Enter to win a $10 Starbuck's GC and an eBook! A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Release Day Launch and Giveaway: Beautifully Forgotten by L.A. Fiore




Title: Beautifully Forgotten
Series: Beautifully Damaged #2
Author: L.A. Fiore
 Release Date: July 29, 2014 


SYNOPSIS

Successful restaurateur Lucien Black’s blue-green eyes and unattainable attitude drive women wild. But his abandonment issues and criminal past have left him emotionally closed off. When a familiar face shows up for a job interview at his nightclub, the ache he has tried to forget tears at his heart—it’s the girl who once healed him…and then abandoned him.
Darcy MacBride still remembers Lucien’s delicate touch when they were both wildly in love teenagers. His gorgeous eyes had soothed her hurt after she’d been dumped off at the orphanage where Lucien lived. Darcy felt his jagged edges fit perfectly into her own, and she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with him—until a mysterious man warned her away. Now, fourteen years later, she’s ready to endure the torture of Lucien’s indifference and having him as her boss…just to be near him. But when it seems that they might finally take up where they left off, a devastating secret buried in their past threatens to tear them apart again.

L.A. Fiore’s story of smoldering love recaptures the tormented romance of Beautifully Damaged.



LINKS TO BUY



ALSO AVAILABLE



  


EXCERPT

Lucien watched as Darcy struggled to get the printer working. Even from his distance he could hear the cursing, which made him smile. It had been a week since their relationship had taken a very pleasant turn. She was still just as feisty as he remembered and it wasn’t hard for him to recall why he had fallen for her in the first place. Their sparring was verbal foreplay and he fucking craved it. His eyes moved over her. Her body was nothing like the one he had known, with curves that his hands itched to touch. Her hair was up, though he preferred it down, and tendrils were falling out of the twist. He remembered vividly the sight of it spread out over his pillow.

He had to admit that she was still just as interesting to him as she had been at fourteen. Despite everything, she was still his Darcy—sweet, witty, and guileless, except at the moment. She looked about ready to torch the printer, so he moved to help her. As he approached, she was actually staring into the paper tray, yelling at the creatures that lived inside it.

He chuckled, which must have taken her by surprise, because she leaped backward and landed on his foot.

“Fuck!” he cursed.

“Sorry.”

He looked down at her strappy sandals with heels high enough to stake a vampire and had a vision of those legs draped over his shoulders. Instantly, he was hard.

“I was going to offer to help you. The printer can be temperamental, but now I’m bleeding out from a stab wound.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “It probably didn’t even break the skin. What is it you guys say? Rub some dirt into it.”

He eyed her shoes. “Those things should be listed as lethal weapons.”

“Hardly. There are far cheaper ways to kill someone.” She bent to stare into the printer again and Lucien took the opportunity to check out the curve of her ass in the little black skirt she wore.

“Stop checking out my ass and help me.”

Not at all repentant for getting caught staring, he replied easily, “It’s a paper jam.”

He thought he was being helpful and when she straightened slowly, he entertained the notion that she was struggling with the need to throw herself into his arms in gratitude.

One look at her face, though, and he knew he wasn’t going to be copping a feel.

“Your powers of deduction are astounding. Seriously, you should give a seminar on mastering the obvious.”

He tried not to laugh, but he lost that battle. And she responded by flaying a layer of skin off him with her sharp tongue.

“I know it’s a paper jam, Sherlock, I just can’t find it.”

“It’s usually in the back,” Lucien said as he reached for the back of the printer, his arm brushing up against her on purpose. Darcy’s inhaled breath in response had his balls tightening. He dislodged the paper and pulled it free.

He turned to her with a smug smile, which she returned with uncanny accuracy before she said, “Thanks. I almost lost my cool.”

“Almost?”

A slight smile touched her lips. “I should go restart my print job.”

“Probably, unless you can get the little men in the printer to do it.”

Brownies.”

“What?”

She laughed. “Not the baked goods, the little mischievous mystical creatures.”

“They live in my printer?”

“Maybe.” She started away, but stopped and turned to him.“Thanks.”

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

She eyed him through her lashes before she said, “You’re on.”

And then she turned and disappeared into her office.





AUTHOR BIO

L.A. Fiore lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, their dog, two kittens and Willow: their three-legged hamster. Her twin sister lives right down the street and being a seasoned zombie hunter, there is comfort knowing when the zombie apocalypse comes they'll be ready. L.A. loves hearing from readers and can be reached through Facebook at the link below.

AUTHOR LINKS

GIVEAWAY

  

Release Day Launch and Giveaway: Beautifully Forgotten by L.A. Fiore




Title: Beautifully Forgotten
Series: Beautifully Damaged #2
Author: L.A. Fiore
 Release Date: July 29, 2014 


SYNOPSIS

Successful restaurateur Lucien Black’s blue-green eyes and unattainable attitude drive women wild. But his abandonment issues and criminal past have left him emotionally closed off. When a familiar face shows up for a job interview at his nightclub, the ache he has tried to forget tears at his heart—it’s the girl who once healed him…and then abandoned him.
Darcy MacBride still remembers Lucien’s delicate touch when they were both wildly in love teenagers. His gorgeous eyes had soothed her hurt after she’d been dumped off at the orphanage where Lucien lived. Darcy felt his jagged edges fit perfectly into her own, and she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with him—until a mysterious man warned her away. Now, fourteen years later, she’s ready to endure the torture of Lucien’s indifference and having him as her boss…just to be near him. But when it seems that they might finally take up where they left off, a devastating secret buried in their past threatens to tear them apart again.

L.A. Fiore’s story of smoldering love recaptures the tormented romance of Beautifully Damaged.



LINKS TO BUY



ALSO AVAILABLE



  


EXCERPT

Lucien watched as Darcy struggled to get the printer working. Even from his distance he could hear the cursing, which made him smile. It had been a week since their relationship had taken a very pleasant turn. She was still just as feisty as he remembered and it wasn’t hard for him to recall why he had fallen for her in the first place. Their sparring was verbal foreplay and he fucking craved it. His eyes moved over her. Her body was nothing like the one he had known, with curves that his hands itched to touch. Her hair was up, though he preferred it down, and tendrils were falling out of the twist. He remembered vividly the sight of it spread out over his pillow.

He had to admit that she was still just as interesting to him as she had been at fourteen. Despite everything, she was still his Darcy—sweet, witty, and guileless, except at the moment. She looked about ready to torch the printer, so he moved to help her. As he approached, she was actually staring into the paper tray, yelling at the creatures that lived inside it.

He chuckled, which must have taken her by surprise, because she leaped backward and landed on his foot.

“Fuck!” he cursed.

“Sorry.”

He looked down at her strappy sandals with heels high enough to stake a vampire and had a vision of those legs draped over his shoulders. Instantly, he was hard.

“I was going to offer to help you. The printer can be temperamental, but now I’m bleeding out from a stab wound.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “It probably didn’t even break the skin. What is it you guys say? Rub some dirt into it.”

He eyed her shoes. “Those things should be listed as lethal weapons.”

“Hardly. There are far cheaper ways to kill someone.” She bent to stare into the printer again and Lucien took the opportunity to check out the curve of her ass in the little black skirt she wore.

“Stop checking out my ass and help me.”

Not at all repentant for getting caught staring, he replied easily, “It’s a paper jam.”

He thought he was being helpful and when she straightened slowly, he entertained the notion that she was struggling with the need to throw herself into his arms in gratitude.

One look at her face, though, and he knew he wasn’t going to be copping a feel.

“Your powers of deduction are astounding. Seriously, you should give a seminar on mastering the obvious.”

He tried not to laugh, but he lost that battle. And she responded by flaying a layer of skin off him with her sharp tongue.

“I know it’s a paper jam, Sherlock, I just can’t find it.”

“It’s usually in the back,” Lucien said as he reached for the back of the printer, his arm brushing up against her on purpose. Darcy’s inhaled breath in response had his balls tightening. He dislodged the paper and pulled it free.

He turned to her with a smug smile, which she returned with uncanny accuracy before she said, “Thanks. I almost lost my cool.”

“Almost?”

A slight smile touched her lips. “I should go restart my print job.”

“Probably, unless you can get the little men in the printer to do it.”

Brownies.”

“What?”

She laughed. “Not the baked goods, the little mischievous mystical creatures.”

“They live in my printer?”

“Maybe.” She started away, but stopped and turned to him.“Thanks.”

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

She eyed him through her lashes before she said, “You’re on.”

And then she turned and disappeared into her office.





AUTHOR BIO

L.A. Fiore lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, their dog, two kittens and Willow: their three-legged hamster. Her twin sister lives right down the street and being a seasoned zombie hunter, there is comfort knowing when the zombie apocalypse comes they'll be ready. L.A. loves hearing from readers and can be reached through Facebook at the link below.

AUTHOR LINKS

GIVEAWAY