Title: Lawdawg Author: Markeeta Karland Series: Black Reign MC #7 Genre: Contemporary MC Romance
Eden: The first time I saw Grady Bassett was when Samson brought Charlotte home. Turned out my brother’s woman is Grady’s daughter. Naturally, the man’s focus wasn’t on some camgirl at a MC he had no desire to be around. When he finally does notice me, he can’t see me for my position within the club — a woman who has sex on camera for strangers. But I noticed him… and I’m a woman who knows what she wants.
Lawdawg: Eden’s the most naturally sexy woman I’ve ever seen. Sure, I’d been worried sick about my daughter, but the second the danger to her was past, I became obsessed with Eden. I even downloaded every one of her videos. Which meant I binge watched. I gave Samson hell for wanting my daughter when he’s so much older, but now I’m in the same position. I need to let her go, to be the better man. But now I know Eden has an online stalker. He knows where she lives and who her friends are. Black Reign is compromised, so I reached out Cain at Bones MC. She might be young enough to be my daughter, but she’s still mine. No one will ever harm her. This stalker will have to go through me to even get close.
She answered on the first ring. “Hey there, Lawdawg. How’s it hangin’?” She hiccuped slightly at the end and giggled.
“Are you… are you drunk?”
“Well, yeah. It’s a party, you know. We’re all drunk.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Just fuckin’ great.” I scrubbed a hand over my face but continued. “Listen to me, Eden. Go to Samson. You’re in danger. There’s a guy stalking you.”
“Sinner58? Yeah. I know. He’s running off all my good followers.” She sounded like she was pouting.
“You knew about this?” Anger was starting to build inside me. Anger. Aggression. I wanted to take her over my knee and paddle her like the child she was.
“Of course, I knew! He’s been bullying my regulars for weeks. It’s just that it must have stepped up in the last few days, because my followers are leaving now instead of merely waiting until the next show.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
“Nope.” No further explanation.
“Of course, you didn’t.” I let out an exasperated breath. “Look. Just stay put. This guy knows where you are and how to get to you. I’m headed that way.”
“Oh, you are, huh?”
“Eden…” I tried to inject as much warning as I could. Anyone else would have tripped all over themselves to do his bidding. Eden? Not so much.
“What do you plan on doing when you get here?”
“I’m lockin’ that place down with you in it!”
“Oh, really?”
“I don’t have time to argue with you, Eden,” I snapped, beginning to get really angry now. Well, angry but more frustrated. She wasn’t taking this seriously at all. Hadn’t in all the time she knew about it.
“You don’t?” I sensed a trap but had no idea what it might be. “Well, what if I did this…” There was a pause before my phone signaled I had a text. I pulled it up and there was a selfie of Eden. Her exquisite tits on fine display. “Or this.” The next image she sent had a man sucking at one of those tits. Something inside me just… snapped. I felt like something inside my head that was primitive and territorial roared to the front and demanded I claim that woman. She was mine. No one else’s. It didn’t seem to matter she was young enough to be my daughter or that my late wife was probably rolling over in her grave because of the girl’s age. I needed her and had every intention of taking her with me. I could tell myself it was to keep her safe, but the pure and simple fact was, I just fucking wanted her.
Romance author by night, emergency room tech/clerk by day, Marteeka Karland works really hard to drive everyone in her life completely and totally nuts. She has been creating stories from her warped imagination since she was in the third grade. Her love of writing blossomed throughout her teenage years until it developed into the totally unorthodox and irreverent style her English teachers tried so hard to rid her of. Now, she breathes life into faeries, space hunters, werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, and a few just plane ole ordinary people. She loves to see the awkward, self-conscious band geek get the captain of the football team and make him beg for it.
Title: Love You Wrong Author: Julia Kent Genre: Romantic Comedy
Two young do-gooders working to change the world find friendship and maybe more in a cutthroat business, but when the stakes are higher than they ever imagined, will a betrayal bring them together—or ruin everything?
Kellan “Kell” Luview is a new man. He left his tourist-trap small town and his dad’s business behind in rural Maine for a position at an environmental policy think tank in Washington, D.C. More comfortable climbing trees than talking about them, he’s determined to stretch his wings as he builds a new life with an ambitious girlfriend and smart friends who are just as dedicated as he is.
Despite his love for his work and the excitement of D.C., he feels pulled in too many directions when his girlfriend Alissa starts acting weird, his best friend Rachel needs an embarrassing, public rescue, and his mom hints that things are not going well at home in Luview–“Love You”–Maine, where every day is Valentine’s Day.
As a shocking betrayal shakes the very foundation of everything he believes in, Kell must decide who to trust, who to challenge, who needs him most—and figure out fast whether Rachel’s warnings about his girlfriend are credible.
Or yet another tactical maneuver in a city founded on them.
Unraveling the mystery of who to believe pits Kell against Rachel in a battle where the truth is uncertain and hearts are just collateral damage as ambition rules over feelings.
But Kell’s had enough.
More than enough.
Time to decide what kind of man he is—and who to trust.
Her comment was meant to be a joke about the lemur costume, but suddenly the air was charged with a heated electricity she wasn’t expecting.
“Right,” he finally said, giving her a lopsided grin she liked very much. “Come over at seven.” He opened his arms and pulled her into a hug, stepping forward so quickly, her arms stayed at her side, pinned by his. He smelled so good, with that woodsy cologne he wore.
“Thank you,” he whispered. The hug was over before she could register it, but something about his quick retreat felt more like he was being careful than abrupt.
Like maybe he felt the spark between them, too.
“For what?”
“Being a good friend.”
“Of course.” Flustered, she pointed to the door. “I’m behind on emails.”
“Me, too.” He held up his phone. “But I’m going to stay in here for a minute. Some personal business.”
“Okay.”
She practically ran out of the conference room, her skin warm from his hug. Reaching her cubicle, she sat down, bent over, and pressed her forehead into the palms of her hands.
Tomorrow. Seven p.m. Watch Nordic noir.
That was all.
Because as Kell’s mom had just said, she was Friend Rachel. And nothing more.
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire). She lives in New England with her husband and three sons in a household where the toilet seat is never, ever, down.
Kelly, a successful investment manager from Tel Aviv, is living it up. She is single, rich and happy to be with men just to scratch an itch. Embarking on a no strings attached relationship with the hot, much younger Slava feels like a great idea—and he’s totally up for it.
Ilan, an ambitious and charming investigator working for the Israeli Securities Authority, is trying to untangle a huge market manipulation scheme. He needs Kelly to crack the case, but whistleblowing might jeopardize everything she’s ever worked for. Ilan, however, can be very persuasive. Soon, and against their better judgment, they start mixing business with pleasure.
But, when Ilan asks her to stop seeing Slava, Kelly realizes that no-strings doesn’t mean it’s easy to let go. With her livelihood on the line and her love life a mess, can Kelly keep it together, or has she thrown one too many balls in the air?
Slava took off his T-shirt and used it to pat his armpits. He heard a few scattered catcalls and whistles, giggling girls elbowed each other and young moms pushing strollers stared. Slava took it in stride. He applied fresh deodorant, rummaged some more in his bag, pulled out a clean white T-shirt, and put it on. A slight sea breeze zigzagged its way past the seaside hotels to reach his bench and caress his flushed face.
The weather was warm, but the relentless Mediterranean sultriness hadn’t yet arrived in full. He thought about how unbearably hot the small Bat Yam apartment he shared with his mother would get in the summer. Slava chuckled—the Hebrew word for apartment, “dirra”, sounded like “dryannaya dyra”—Russian for “crappy hole”. Slava and Olga Korman both agreed that Bat Yam’s gray, crowded tenement blocks warranted the cheap rents. It had two redeeming qualities: its closeness to Tel Aviv, and the beautiful beaches. Slava would get up early every morning—even before his mother went out to clean houses—walk 1.5 km to the Bat Yam boardwalk, and practice Tai Chi for twenty minutes. It was the best time of his day, not counting the days when he treated Kelly. Somehow, some time ago, the ninety minutes he spent touching her had become the highlight of his week.
Slava checked his phone. It was twenty-five past six—Kelly was seriously late today. Fortunately, her appointment was always the last one. She truly needed his massages. At the beginning of every session, her shoulders were knotted, her neck was rigid, and her back stiff. It would take Slava nearly thirty minutes to de-stress Kelly—more than double the time it took his other clients.
Kelly was different in every other way too. She was the only one who lived in Tel Aviv proper, south of the Yarkon river. Slava knew she must make a lot of money to afford the two-bedroom apartment she rented. She never tried to flirt with him or make small talk. Slava wasn’t good at small talk and didn’t like it. Flirting made him acutely uncomfortable. Kelly would turn off her phone and stay quiet, and Slava could relax, put on music, and attune himself fully to her body.
He recognized her dark hair and light blue helmet. Standing up, he waved, and she braked right next to him. Her brown curls danced as she freed her head from the small, stylish helmet. Her wide mouth was curved into an apologetic smile.
“Hola, Slavito. Sorry I’m late—it got crazy at the office.”
Slava shrugged and smiled back without answering. How could he be angry with her when she called him “Slavito” and gazed at him with those liquid, caramel eyes of hers? Slava stole a glance at the slender, attractive woman striding confidently alongside him. She was totally out of his league.
Mia Sivan is an Israeli woman who lives, works and loves in Tel Aviv. The city is as much a part of her books as any other character.
Mia has worked as a senior investment manager for many years, and the books she writes draws much from her personal experience, as well as real-life scams that took place in the Israeli financial market.
When not writing or dreaming up steamy scenes, she lives with her handsome husband and even handsomer two sons, and enjoys long walks by the beach (it’s Tel Aviv, it’s never too cold).
