Title: Bedhead Author: Brooke Blaine Series: Hate to Love You #1 Genre: MM Contemporary Romance
Hudson I hate Drew Edwards. That isn’t a secret to anyone in New York. Smug, charming, flippant, and a royal pain in my ass, Drew has a way of making everyone fall in love with him, but I know the truth. Under that public persona is a ruthless man who’ll do anything to come out on top. He’s done it to me before…and a leopard doesn’t change his spots.
Drew Hudson Montgomery. He hates me. Eh, no breaking news there. If anything, his hate only fuels my desire to provoke the pompous bastard at every opportunity. So when the chance to publish the most scandalous book of the year comes down to our companies, I’m determined to do whatever I have to in order to take Hudson down.
Brooke Blaine is a USA Today Bestselling Author of contemporary romance that ranges from comedy to suspense to erotic. The latter has scarred her conservative Southern family for life, bless their hearts.
If you’d like to get in touch with her, she’s easy to find – just keep an ear out for the Rick Astley ringtone that’s dominated her cell phone for years. Or you can reach her atwww.BrookeBlaine.com.
Jack Cassidy heads the team opening the next in an exclusive line of boutique hotels, this one in wine country. Working with his best friend’s sister should make it easier, tapping into her expertise about the area and its wines. The pair have been friends for years, so sharing an apartment shouldn’t pose any issues… except for the simmering heat building between them.
Campbell Taylor’s one of only a handful of women to battle the all-boys club and go for the title of master sommelier. She didn’t rise to her position by being a pushover, but living and working with her brother’s best friend – the man she’s secretly crushed on for years – might prove to be her greatest challenge. How can she get him to see her as more than Cameron’s little sister? And will their undeniable attraction derail her dreams?
They both stood and Campbell stumbled into him. Jack caught her shoulders in his large hands and her fingers splayed across his powerful hard chest.
She tilted her head back and their gazes locked. “Jack.” His name escaped on a long breathy sigh. Every inch of her was pressed against his chiseled body and a shiver rushed through her.
His eyes hooded and he yanked her closer. He slid his hands up to frame her face and lowered his mouth to hers in a whisper of a kiss. Sampling. Testing. Asking.
She answered. Her lips parted and their tongues tangled and stroked and sparred. He tasted like crème brûlée and heaven and how she’d always imagined his beautiful mouth would feel against hers. She slid her arms around his neck, thrusting her fingers into his close-cropped dark hair. A hum escaped her throat and she changed the angle of the kiss, teasing and tasting.
She dug her nails into his scalp. More. She wanted more of him. Needed more. His clean masculine scent, his powerful body, the overwhelming sense of him, was like a match tossed onto the fire raging inside her.
He growled, stroked his hands down her back, and cupped her ass, rocking her against the steel ridge of his arousal. He slanted his mouth across hers and took her deeper. The overhead lights and the rest of the world receded and all her focus narrowed down to their connection.
The heat blazed between them.
He pulled his head back, his breath ragged, his eyes closed, the dark lashes fanning out over his cheekbones. He lowered his head again and trailed kisses down her neck and found the tender spot in the hollow of her throat. Goosebumps erupted along her skin and her back arched, crushing her breasts against him. Her head lolled back, suddenly too heavy to handle the onslaught of sensation coursing through her.
“Campbell,” he rasped her name and the hint of stubble on his jaw felt like a rough cat’s tongue against her skin.
She shivered. “Jack.” She kept her eyes squeezed shut, unwilling to allow anything to invade this perfect bubble enveloping them.
A sharp chime sounded from a distance, piercing said bubble. For a moment, neither of them moved.
Claire Marti is an award winning and USA Today Bestselling author of swoonworthy Contemporary Romance novels set in Southern California, including the Pacific Vista Ranch series and the spin-off California Suits series. She lives in San Diego with her husband, silly dog, and two clever cats.
Claire started writing stories as soon as she was old enough to pick up pencil and paper. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature, Claire was sidetracked by other careers, including practicing law, selling software for legal publishers, and managing a non-profit animal rescue for a Hollywood actress.
When Claire’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga. You can find her sixty+ online classes on the international website www.yogadownload.com. A breast cancer survivor, Claire is a sought-after speaker on the power of yoga and meditation. She’s been published in numerous magazines with articles on wellness and is the author of a memoir, Come Ride with Me Along the Big C, on her experience beating breast cancer. Claire loves to hear from readers!
Callie’s mind holds the key to weapons of mass destruction, both nuclear and biological. As a child, she drew the attention of an obscure military branch who kidnapped and held her in the bowels of a Think Tank.
Following a daring escape, death and destruction dog her steps yet can’t diminish her determination in seeking justice.
Nate Crofton left his black-ops unit seeking a quieter existence as a private investigator. When an ex-teammate draws him into a web of tangled lies and betrayal, he can’t resist the young prodigy in need of protection.
Little does he know the blue-eyed enigma holds incredible secrets and can take care of herself, along with the team sworn to protect her.
Together, they rely on each other’s strengths to stay one step ahead of agents, both foreign and domestic, while navigating their growing attraction.
A must-read for fans of for fans of CM Sutter, Dale Mayer, Dean Koontz, LT Ryan, and Fiona Quinn.
Timing remained key to survival while the erratic, pounding pulse in her ears rivaled a snare drum’s buzz roll, an executioner’s beat. Before the adrenaline in her blood circulated again, she’d be free or dead, depending on which card destiny threw her way.
Crouched between Jake on the left and Franklin on the right, she took a deep breath and waited for the signal. Both men risked their lives to set her free yet asked for nothing in return.
“Whatever happens, don’t look back and don’t hesitate, regardless of what you see or hear,” Franklin issued orders per routine. Years in the military merged certain traits with his basic character. A glance at his watch then around the corner, he assessed the building’s front.
Wind shrieked through specimen trees dotting the courtyard and offered the illusion of cover. Neither would stop a bullet.
A shimmer of perspiration glazed Jake’s forehead. Steel in his gaze matched the resolve of his harsh whispers.
Jake gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “We’re in this together, Callie. This is our best shot. Let’s go. It’s time to set you free.”
Omission of flaxen-haired warbler attested to his degree of concentration. No quips, no banter, just streamlined focus.
Her mind defaulted to calculating estimated distances while factoring in wind resistance, depth of snow, and the time needed to reach the tree line beyond the fence.
The perimeter guard pulled up his collar against the frigid wind in passing. She wondered if he knew exactly who, and what, he secured.
Anxiety innervated and stimulated her senses, twisted higher by the potential for failure. Unable to distinguish between the urge to run or freeze, she was caught in a limbo of her biological making.
Static squelch of the second perimeter patrol’s radio faded with distance. Each circuit of the border yielded a like check-in. Stereo came from the electrical channel noise of a tower watchman’s walkie-talkie above.
Something felt— off.
The facility’s floodlights defined the unmistakable profile of the rooftop sentry. Light glinted off the barrel of his automatic rifle.
Seconds into her nightmare bid for freedom, an earsplitting siren blasted the silence.
Jake rushed forward with a stronger grip on her upper arm. Additional pressure compelled her to tap into unrealized energy reserves.
Her life changed in ten strides.
Franklin’s grip on her other arm convulsed before sliding to her wrist, then releasing. “Go, Jake. Get her out of here. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
Reily Garrett is a writer, mother, and companion to three long coat German shepherds. When not working with her dogs, she’s sitting at her desk with her fur kids by her side.
Author of chilling suspense and snarky romance, her stories span the distance of romantic thrillers, paranormal romance, and erotic romance. Regardless of genre, each book delves into a dark and twisted imagination yet is tempered with romance and a touch of humor.
Reviews by Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Bay Review, and BestThrillers.com best describe her work:
“This could be James Patterson, Lee Child, and Tess Gerritsen rolled into one, but the dark, twisted methods used by the serial killer could surprise even those readers…” – San Francisco Bay Review
Bianca has finally found her rightful place amid the powerful Constantines. But all is not what it seems in this glittering new world. And Tiernan Morelli refuses to give up her up…
BEAUTIFUL NIGHTMARE is the final book in the Dark Dream duet by USA Today bestselling author Giana Darling.
“Stop,” I choked out, panic roaring through me in wild surges.
I started to thrash against him, so hard I clocked him in the mouth with my chin. He started to bleed, but he didn’t let loosen his hold.
“I won’t let you go,” he repeated calmly as he held me like Peleus wrestling the ever-changing form of Thetis, determined to win me and keep me forever. “I won’t.”
“I don’t want you,” I cried out, but there were more tears on my face and a keen edge of desperation in my tone that shook my conviction.
“Such a little liar,” he reprimanded, darkness crossing his face as he pressed his groin harder into my hips, pushing my legs farther apart so he could cant his erection against my panty-covered sex. “Should I show you how badly you lie?”
“No.” I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my face from him.
A part of me wanted it, a large part. For Tiernan to take from me. For him to press me open and pull me apart with the hard drive of his thick cock and the punishing hold of those strong fingers all over my flesh.
But another part was terrified. I didn’t have anything more to give to anyone, but Brandon. How could I trust anyone after a lifetime of being taken from?
I expected him to kiss me then. To take me with the same ruthless savagery he’d taken me on the beach.
Instead, he licked the path of a tear from the edge of my jaw up my cheek before planting a soft kiss at the corner of my closed eye. He smoothed my hair back with a big palm and I could feel his gaze hot on my face.
I didn’t dare open my eyes to see his expression.
I knew, whatever it was, I couldn’t bare it.
This was the side of Tiernan that eviscerated me. Those small glimpses of a warm heart and kind spirit that razed my resolve to the ground.
So, I lay still and sightless as Tiernan kissed me again. Hot, open-mouthed kisses down my cheek to my neck and chest. Each press of his lips to my body melted my resolve. Atom by atom I sank into the floor, into him, pliant and hungry in a different way than I had ever been before.
This wasn’t a flash fire. A burst of lust so intense it burned fast and clean.
Giana Darling is an USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Top 40 Amazon Best Selling Canadian romance writer who specializes in the taboo and angsty side of love and romance. She currently lives in beautiful British Columbia where she spends time riding on the back of her man’s bike, baking pies, and reading snuggled up with her Golden Retriever puppy, Romeo.
I fell hard and fast for the son of an elite wolf pack. Then he rejected me.
Asher was my fated mate, and he took off when I needed him most, rejecting me and my inner wolf. Then my half-sister is murdered at an exclusive college that’s enshrouded in magic and secrets. When the school offers me a scholarship, I accept and move onto campus. I’m going to find out who killed her, then rip them apart. And if I run into Asher while I’m there? He’ll learn I’m no longer his sweet little thing. He’s about to taste the fury of a wolf shifter scorned.
Everly’s everything to me, but to protect her, I had to shove her away. If I go near her, the Drudge Pack will discover who she truly is. My father—their enforcer—will kill her. But when she shows up at Ravenmire College, my inner wolf hungers. I’ll do anything to keep her safe—even if that means sacrificing myself and betraying my dangerous family.
Asher stood beneath a long-needle pine. When I paused, he strode forward, letting the moonlight touch his gorgeous features. He cupped my face with his warm hands.
Likes him, my wolf sighed.
“Missed you,” he whispered.
“You, too.” My heart rate picked up to double time.
His lips captured mine, softly at first, then harder and with growing need.
I wasn’t sure where this was going between us, but I did know one thing. Cats might rule and wolves might drool, but Asher was my catnip. Whenever he touched me, I purred.
“Jeez,” Shorty groused through the screen door of the food truck behind me. “Don’t be doin’ any of that crap so close to my truck. Go on with you. Take a walk on the beach or something. Kids.”
Pulling away from Asher, I snorted out a laugh. I gazed up into his warm brown eyes that sparkled solely for me and held out my hand.
“Take a walk with me, Ash?” I asked coyly. He told me I was the only one who could call him Ash.
He took my hand and tugged me close, wrapping his arm around my waist and holding me against his warm frame.
Likes, my wolf sighed again. Likes him lots.
Asher guided me around the truck, across the sidewalk, and out onto the sand.
During the day, crowds of humans mobbed Old Orchard Beach. Once the sun had set and the tourists headed to their rented condos and hotels, the locals could breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the quiet. And late at night, especially when the moon bathed the sky with her milky gaze, wolves like me and Ash could run.
I kicked off my shoes and shimmied out of my jeans and long-sleeve shirt—I wisely wore thin shorts and a tank underneath.
Asher watched, his smoldering eyes tracing my every curve as I moved. We’d come close to going all the way but hadn’t done it yet. I wasn’t sure why I resisted. He made it clear he wanted to. The heat simmering in my veins told me I did too. I guess I wanted to wait. We’d only known each other for a few months.
He had to leave for college soon, but he said he’d come back for each of his breaks. We had plenty of time to do things then.
“Shift?” he asked.
Yesss, my wolf sighed. She rose and stomped her paws, eager.
The first time I shifted, it felt like my skin turned itself inside out, ripping muscles, tendons, and breaking my bones to morph five-four, skinny old me into a gorgeous white wolf with steel gray tufts on her ears and the tip of her tail.
Go for it, babe, I told my wolf, stepping back in my mind.
She leaped forward, jumping into my skin.
Ash joined us, and I could feel his grin as our wolves touched noses then rubbed necks.
Likes so much, she said. She gave him a wolfy grin and raced toward the water, charging a wave and yipping with joy. He followed, only a bit more sedate.
When she kicked up her feet and ran through the shallows, he kept pace, nipping at her ruff and huffing with pleasure.
They ran for what felt like forever, and it recharged my soul. Shifting might turn me inside out, but it put me back together again after, making me brand new.
My wolf flopped on the sand and rolled, shimmying her back to scratch an itch. Asher’s wolf stood nearby, watchful. As protective as Ash.
Time’s up, I finally said. She’d run and play with him all night long if I let her. I wanted to, but Ash would leave for college in three days, and I needed to be with him more than I wanted to breathe.
We morphed back.
Ash gathered me into his arms. His kiss drank me in as the final push settled, turning me back into what I was before. My wolf changing back to me. His wolf into him. Us.
I moaned, pressing myself fully against him.
We eased apart, and he took my hands with that special gleam in his eyes he shared solely with me.
Things couldn’t get any better than this. Sometimes, I dreamed we were fated.
A feeling I couldn’t define sped across my skin, leaving goosebumps behind. I told myself it was nothing. The wind with a hint of the crispness of fall. A bit of stray magic lingering in the air.
It couldn’t be us. Nothing would come between me and Ash.
Marty writes young adult fiction with plenty of suspense and romance, plus a touch of humor. When she’s not dreaming up ways to mess with her character’s lives, she works as an RN. She lives in New England with her husband, three children, three geriatric cats, and a spunky Yorkie pup who keeps her on her toes.
She also writes adult contemporary romance and romantic suspense under the pen name, Marlie May. Marty/Marlie was a 2018 RWA ® Golden Heart ® Finalist in contemporary short and romantic suspense.
Title: Bonds of Discord Author: Alexa H. Michaels Genre: Fantasy Romance
This story is a fairy tale in the original sense–there is no “happily ever after” for me. Marella: As the daughter of the alpha, I’ve been taught to put the needs of the pack before my own. Yet, my father does the unthinkable and betroths me to a fae prince…but not the one I picked. How can I sit by and let Fate ignore my desires? But what can I do to fix this? Something so desperate it could break the laws of nature itself. If all goes well, I can be with the prince I want. If my plan fails, the repercussions will be felt for generations to come.
In fairy tales, the princess is supposed to ride off into the sunset with the love of her life. While it doesn’t seem like that future is in my cards, I’m going to do whatever I can to make it a reality. Let Fate be my judge, jury, and if need be…my executioner!
Bonds of Discord is a novella and a prequel to the Wolves of Denae trilogy. While some of the main characters from the trilogy are introduced here, Bonds of Discord focuses on the origin story of a young wolf-shifter and her tragic end. With the new adult content of the modern dark fantasy genre, this story brings to mind the classic formula found in the timeless tales of the Brothers Grimm, Andrew Lang, and Hans Christian Anderson. Lessons are learned the hard way and the hapless heroine endures a bittersweet nightmare.
When Alexa isn’t writing, she can be found with a book in her lap and a mug of coffee or glass of red wine within reach. A native of the North Woods, Alexa is an avid lake-jumper, beach lounger, and sunshine lover.
Alexa is living a happily ever after with her own steamy hero. Together they have an English Springer fur-baby and would love a few more!
Alexa loves any type of love story. So you can find her writing both contemporary romance and fantasy novels. Instead of making a separate pen name, Alexa just adds her middle initial to her fantasy genre books!
I slide my arms under her small frame and easily lift her from the snow. Her dead weight settles against my chest, and a gust of wind batters us with a blast of icy flakes.
Memories come with it…swirling in my head the way the snow does around us.
Another body in my arms.
A hopeless struggle to survive.
The look of death staring back at me.
Clenching my jaw, I shake away the visions and concentrate on the moment. I need to get her warmed up and settled in at the cabin and get back out here for the firewood before it’s too bad out here for me to come to get it. While I’m used to the unpleasant weather here, it doesn’t mean I want to get stuck outside during shit like this.
And while all I may want is to disappear out here and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist, it seems fate has other plans. There’s no one else to help her.
The very real weight of the situation rests heavily on my shoulders, and I glance down at the limp body in my arms.
Christ.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen a woman, I almost forgot how beautiful they are. Soft, pale skin, perfect bow lips, thick, dark lashes spread across her wind-reddened, high cheekbones. It almost makes me miss being part of the world.
Almost.
But the slightly blue tint to her lips and a big shake of my head bring me back to reality.
Get out of your fucking head and get moving, asshole.
The snow isn’t going to let up anytime soon, and it will only get worse the longer I stand here staring at this poor woman like a fucking idiot. That’s what happens when someone lives alone for as long as I have—I get lost in my own head too long with no way out.
I set out through the growing drifts toward the cabin, fighting the brutal wind and biting snow with each step. By the time it comes into view on the other side of the clearing, it’s practically a white-out. There’s no way she would have survived or been able to find the cabin if she hadn’t stumbled upon me.
It may already be too late.
All I can do now is try to warm her up and hope the sheriff can get up the mountain to bring her to the clinic in town for real treatment before we’re completely snowed in.
Gwyn McNamee is an attorney, writer, wife, and mother (to one human baby and two fur babies). Originally from the Midwest, Gwyn relocated to her husband’s home town of Las Vegas in 2015 and is enjoying her respite from the cold and snow. Gwyn has been writing down her crazy stories and ideas for years and finally decided to share them with the world. She loves to write stories with a bit of suspense and action mingled with romance and heat.
When she isn’t either writing or voraciously devouring any books she can get her hands on, Gwyn is busy adding to her tattoo collection, golfing, and stirring up trouble with her perfect mix of sweetness and sarcasm (usually while wearing heels).
Gwyn is the author of The Hawke Family series, The Slip Series, The Deadliest Sin Series, The Inland Seas Series, The Supernatural Love Stories in the Absurd (written as her alter-ego, DP Payne), and several stand-alone novels.
Hit on the sexy new firm partner looking him over…maybe?
For Aaron Cambrian, life is lived by checklists. No matter how promising, everything – jobs, potential partners, cars, drinks, food, etc – needed to meet all his criteria or he walks away.
Everything changes one night at the cocktail bar when his best friend challenges Aaron to abandon his list and ask the first hot guy who catches his interest if he can buy him a drink.
Thanks to his old nemesis alcohol, Aaron takes the dare! The next thing he knows, he finds himself in the condo of an absolute stranger! It was supposed to be one drink. One accidental kiss… Good thing he’d never see the guy again.
Wrong! When the sexy new partner at Kimball & Marks law firm turns out to be the hot stranger, Aaron is faced with a life-changing decision: keep the checklist or lose the hottest, most frustrating man who ever stole his heart.
You know that opening moment in comedy movies when the main character wakes up screaming? The frame freezes, revealing that stupefied face—mouth agape, eyes wide—once they realized they’d done something stupid in a drunken binge. Sometimes the director wanted to give the audience more chances to revel in their humiliation, so he has them pull the sheets to cover themselves. Sometimes they see their mysterious partner and fall out of bed.
You get the picture.
That was me after realizing I wasn’t in my apartment in yet another, probably humiliating, line of horrible relationship/hookup decisions. I didn’t fall out of the bed, but it took all my willpower to replace the horrified scream with a gasp. Don’t misjudge. I didn’t make a habit of going home with strange men, letting them sex me into a stupor, then waking up wondering what the hell I did—or let happen to me—the night before.
A multi-published author of mystery, both Urban and Paranormal, Stormie returned to her love of romantic comedy and contemporary romance. If you love spicy, humorous, and near-erotica stories featuring sexy male protagonists and the men who love them, then look no further. Stormie’s paranormal mystery won quarterfinalist in Screencraft’s novel to screen contest and is a competing finalist in Chanticleer’s International book awards. When Stormie isn’t busy dishing out a new, hot romance, she’s busy blogging her love of books and helping writers become authors.
Kimber Some people view nosiness as a character flaw. I prefer to think of it as a useful skill. Like a sixth sense or intuition. It’s my super power. And since I became a reporter for my small town newspaper, I like to think my super power puts bagels on my table.
A tiny (quite big, actually) mistake has me eagerly accepting a contract job investigating a resort being built in a small Colorado town.
But there’s one small problem. (6’4” according to his license—maybe my nosiness does go too far sometimes.)
What I didn’t count on was being double-booked in a cabin with Mack Boone.
Our families have known each other since high school, so it feels wrong to kick him out of my cabin.
Besides…he’s kind, he’s protective, and a great kisser.
Three qualities I admire in a man.
But when I find out why he is in town, I realize I’ve made yet another mistake.
No more kissing, Kimber. He’s the enemy.
Lines are drawn. (Literally.)
Wars fought.
Hills sledded.
Lips kissed. Oh right, I wasn’t going to do that one anymore. Maybe I’ll call it research…
The more I investigate the resort, the more time I spend with Mack…the more I wonder what I’m really fighting against. The more I wonder if I can take a chance on love.
What if the villain is really the hero in this story?
Mack was in the kitchen when I walked inside, stomping my boots on the rug. After shucking my snow gear, I went straight to the coffee pot and turned it on. Then I tried to reach into the cupboard with my right arm. My elbow seized up.
“What?” I gasped.
Why was my arm so sore?
Someone cleared their throat.
I glanced behind me to find Mack smiling while leaning against the stove, a pan warming up with a pack of bacon sitting beside it on the counter. I hadn’t even noticed him in my quest for a mug.
“You all right?” he asked, with a decidedly cheerful tone in his voice. “I’d be happy to massage that for you.”
“I’m sure you would,” I replied dryly. I tried reaching in the cupboard with my left hand. That elbow had the same problem.
And now I knew why T-Rex’s went extinct. They couldn’t reach their coffee mugs in the morning. Tragedies like that could always be explained if a person did enough research.
“Did you hurt yourself? Dang. I’m so sorry.”
His false sympathy nearly made me laugh. Nearly.
Gone was the sweet guy, and he was replaced with a snarky, poor winner.
I tried to reach into the cupboard again. My elbow creaked loudly. I didn’t know it was even possible for an elbow to creak. I glanced at Mack to see if he realized my dilemma. He finished dumping the package of bacon into the pan before he made any comment.
“Here, let me help you,” Mack said with a heavy sigh.
I happily stepped back, grateful that he was going to take mercy on me in my desperate state.
But instead of reaching into the cupboard himself, he wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me up. My back pressed against his front as he stepped closer to the counter.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I squirmed. “Helping you pick out your coffee mug,” he explained
USA Today Bestselling author Carina Taylor writes zany romantic comedies that make you ugly laugh.
When she’s not writing, you can find Carina ignoring her laundry pile (she’s hit expert level), pretending to work out, eating cheese, (pretending to workout WHILE eating cheese) and dreaming up the next story.
