For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.
A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them…and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.
The final book in the story of Vlad and Leila didn’t feel like as much of a romance as it did an urban fantasy. Yes, we still have all the romance elements and a happily ever after (or for now at least), but so much happened without the two of them being together. It tried too hard to bring the side characters to the forefront of the story. And I assume that’s because their story will be coming soon. But it did cause this last book to fall a little flat in the romance department.
Now, I enjoy a good urban fantasy all the time, so the lack of togetherness didn’t bother me in general. But this was supposed to be a romance. The urban fantasy part of me loved the action and the lore. Finally seeing how Leila “came to be” and learning more about her history was really nice – if it did take up a little too much of the story. It gets stuck there for quite a while. But, in a world as vast as Jeaniene Frost’s, there may be a reason for this that I don’t understand just yet.
Vlad’s past is fleshed out a lot more, and we find out that his version isn’t really the right one – and he doesn’t know it. I really enjoyed that part of the storyline. The shock and confusion from a vampire that always strives so hard to stay in control and all-knowing was a nice change of pace.
There are still a lot of loose ends at the conclusion of the book, but we do know that there are people working on “things” still. Again, this gave it less the feeling of an ending for Vlad and Leila and more of a feeling of a setup for what happens next – those two were just along for the ride.
For fans of Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
In a world inspired by 16th century Italy, magic is a common occurrence. Everyone in the realms of Epidalio and Zafiria is gifted with it at birth, but with every spell cast, their power wanes.
Gaiane Asares is the result of an accurate selection by her mother, the queen of Zafiria. She’s infinitely powerful; a weapon of mass destruction kept segregated in a tower and used against her will to conquer Epidalio.
Meanwhile, in Epidalio, Leo was born with no magic at all, a rarity. She lost her home and family when Zafiria attacked, and her resentment toward the invaders still burns.
Gaiane manages to escape her gilded cage, and the two girls cross paths. But when war threatens the land again, their loyalty will be put to the test. Will they manage to overcome their differences in the name of freedom?
As an affiliate at retail sites, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. See my disclosure for more details.
Three Reasons You Should Read This New Adult Contemporary Romance:
Stalling for Time by Christy Hayes is an emotional sort of love triangle (but not really) with an unrequited love twist.
Emily’s assumptions when she finds an engagement ring in her best guy friend’s backpack lead to a whole mess of an adventure – and she drags her roommates into the fun.
Instead of the stereotypes turning me away from a few characters – they really made them stand out against the unique ones.
What’s a girl to do when her best friend is making a huge mistake?
College sophomore Emily Dilbert has been best friends with Dylan Chamberlain since the second grade. When she finds an engagement ring in Dylan’s backpack, she panics and vows to do whatever it takes to stop him from marrying a girl he barely knows.
Dylan Chamberlain has been in love with his brother’s girlfriend, Emily, since they were kids. When his brother asks for help planning a surprise proposal, Dylan knows it’s time to bury his feelings and finally let Emily go. If only his heart would cooperate.
After her roommates fail to lure Dylan away from his girlfriend, Emily is forced to confront him directly. When she accidentally puts them in a compromising position, will Dylan reveal his long-buried feelings, or will Emily realize she’s dating the wrong brother?
Stalling for Time by Christy Hayes follows the high school couple into college. Emily and Zach seem like the perfect couple – the college football star and his supportive girlfriend. But not everything is good with them. It’s a very one-sided relationship, and I could tell from the get-go that things weren’t OK.
This story really shows why it is so important to be honest – not just in your romantic relationships, but in your friendships. Once Emily finds the ring and jumps to the wrong conclusion, it’s a series of misunderstandings and miscommunication for the rest of the story. At times it was a little humorous – especially the roommates and the part they played in getting the right people together. But after a little while, the confusion just got old and I really wanted everyone to just have a nice sit-down and sort it all out.
Emily’s plot (and the fact that her roommates seem to go along with it) seemed a little too juveline for a college student. And a little too cruel for a best friend. I feel like everyone mostly redeemed themselves by the end of the story, but it was touch and go there for a while.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
Meet the Warlocks of the Black Oak: a powerful order of modern-day sorcerers fighting evil to protect the ones they love. Three urban fantasy romance now together in this second installment in the Order of the Black Oak – Collection
“Bourque develops a world of mages and sorceresses unlike any other.“ — Night Owl Reviews
Book 4: AN ARCHMAGE’S DESTINY: A Slow-Burn Urban Fantasy Romance: A steadfast attorney must convince a daredevil modern archmage to return to the folds of his powerful warlocks family or apply the devastating consequences herself.
Book 5: A SPELLBINDER’S DENIAL: A Slow-Burn Urban Fantasy Romance: A savvy banshee teams up with a guilt-ridden billionaire warlock in order to protect her adopted baby girl from cursed vampires after the child’s blood.
Book 6: A NECROMANCER’S LOVE: A Slow-Burn Urban Fantasy Romance: A life-loving blogger seeks the help of a lethal Seattle necromancer in order to locate her missing teenaged brother.
★★★★★ Fantastic series of action, magic and awesome romance. You will fall in love with the characters and feel you are right with them.
Bryce Jackson slid her damp palms on the wool fabric of her pantsuit and hoisted herself from her stool in the Singing Kraken Tavern.
Pushing her drink away with resolve, she eyed himagain.
That’s it. No more waiting.
She was here to do one job. Better get it done fast.
For half an hour already, she’d been observing him while aimlessly twirling the straw in the lowball glass of her diet soda. Not once did she break her focus.
She had watched him order his beer. Then, she’d studied his reflection in the faded mirror behind the bar while he exchanged casual banter with the bartender serving him.
He had flirted with at least three women dropping on him. First, she saw the whisper in the blonde’s ear. The girl, a tall beauty covered in swirling tattoos, had laughed before kissing him on the mouth.
Minutes after, he’d swapped phone numbers with a gorgeous black woman in regal yellow silk. Then, there was the small purple-haired girl, who had playfully tousled the dark curls from his forehead, before jumping to straddle his lap as he’d let his fingers trail lazily on her naked thigh.
Without question, he was hot.
The bar was full of millennials. Seattle hipsters with beards, expensive tattoos, upscale hiking garbs, glittery dresses matched with combat boots, and the occasional 12th man football paraphernalia.
Despite the variety bordering on outrageous, he managed to stand out from the crowd.
Not at all trendy but bad boy classic.
Basic jeans, black-t-shirt, and motorcycle leather jacket. The hair, which he raked back a few times, a little too long. Lips curled with both amusement and lust at the gaggle of women crowding him.
Marie-Claude Bourque is a Seattle-based author of gothic paranormal romance and the winner of the American Title V award with her first novel ANCIENT WHISPERS.
Her writing features modern-day fantasy skillfully weaved into infinitely romantic supernatural stories between smart strong women and complex passionate heroes.
Corbello, Italy, 1947. A woman and a little boy stagger into the ruins of an old house deep in the forest, wild roses overwhelming the crumbling terracotta walls. Since the war, nowhere has been safe. But they both freeze in shock when a voice calls out from the shadows…
For young mother Fosca Sentino, accepting refuge from reluctant British war hero Richard – in Tuscany to escape his tragic past – is the only way to keep her little family safe. She once risked everything to spy on Nazi commanders and pass secret information to the resistenza. But after a heartbreaking betrayal, Fosca’s best friend Simonetta disappeared without trace. The whole community was torn apart, and now Fosca and her son are outcasts.
Wary of this handsome stranger at first, Fosca slowly starts to feel safe as she watches him play with her son in the overgrown orchard. But her fragile peace is shattered the moment a silver brooch is found in the garden, and she recognises it as Simonetta’s…
Fosca has always suspected that another member of the resistenza betrayed her. With Richard by her side, she must find out if Simonetta is still alive, and clear her own name. But how did the brooch end up at the house? And with a traitor hiding in the village, willing to do anything to keep this secret buried, has Fosca put herself and her young son in terrible danger?
Before The Tuscan House, I had not read much about WWII in Italy outside of my world history classes. Angela Petch brings the Italian city of Corbello to life, both during the war and after as it is rebuilding. The people of Corbello showed an intense friendship and loyalty to Richard, welcoming him back as if he had always belonged.
Fosca was an interesting character. I’m still not quite sure what to think of her. She was brave, but selfishly so at times. I guess that makes her more human. Richard was the same. I think that is what really stands out for the characters in Corbello – they are human. They try to do the right thing, but feeling, life, and circumstances sometimes get in the way – and a few are just downright awful people. It’s a very realistic mix.
The town was busy rebuilding, and Richard was trying to rebuild his life. It was a fitting place for his story. When he finds the body of a woman in the garden behind his new fixer-upper, the story takes quite a turn. There’s a case of mistaken identity, some blackmail, stolen gold, and even an ex-girlfriend thrown in.
But I feel the heart of the story was further in the past – during the war – when the resistance was doing everything they could to harm the Nazis and Fascists. The daring and bravery of these folks were riveting, and their adventures and sabotage may have really helped the war effort. The Tuscan House has made me add some more books about how Italy managed during the war to my non-fiction list.
I was fully on board, 100%, 5-stars all the way until the very very end. It felt a little contrived, and almost like the author had to wrap up a loose end and didn’t know how else to manage it.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
Warlord Wulf thought nothing could be worse than being tortured and contaminated by the Hive. That was before he’s ordered to transport to Earth and represent The Colony in an unfamiliar horror… a human reality show. The Bachelor Beast is the hottest new program on Earth, but being set up with two dozen clingy females is not his idea of a good time. When his Beast refuses to show the slightest interest in any of the show’s potential mates, he knows he must choose one or die due to his raging mating fever.
His Beast prefers execution to claiming anyone but his true mate. Wulf is resigned to his fate, a one-way trip to Atlan, a prison cell and execution. It is the only honorable thing left to do.
Until one glance, one sweet, feminine scent lingering in the air and his beast rages for a female who is not supposed to be his.
But try telling that to his Beast when his entire body transforms on live television and one simple word thunders from his lips…MINE.
This couldn’t be what I thought it was. This huge, gorgeous alien man was not talking about me. No freaking way.
I took a step backward.
Wulf’s roar made people scream.
I didn’t scream. I couldn’t breathe.
Chet had his dramatic voice back under control. “Ladies and gentlemen, what we are seeing is unprecedented in the history of live television. It appears that the alien, Warlord Wulf, has decided to choose a member of our audience as his mate.”
Wulf spun around and faced Chet. The man turned pale under his thick stage makeup. When Wulf loomed over him, Chet gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Wulf grabbed the microphone out of Chet’s hand and squeezed, crumpling the metal as if it were tinfoil, then dropped it to the orange carpet.
Wulf turned around, ignored Chet entirely and made his way in my direction again.
“Turn the cameras!” the producer hissed.
The one nearest me swung about, and I was about to jump out of the way of its path when Wulf stopped it with his palm. The cameraman retreated to safety, and with one push Wulf toppled the huge machine onto its side. The crash reverberated through the set, but all I heard was a second, “Mine,” coming from Wulf’s lips. The producer screamed at the other cameras to get the shot as Wulf stopped directly before me and… sniffed.
I looked up. Way up. My head was tilted so far back my chin was facing him more than my eyes. My mouth hung open.
“Um… hi.”
“Mate.”
“Uh… no. No, no. No,” I stuttered.
“Mine.”
Taking another deep breath, he growled. Men with handheld cameras surrounded us, absorbing in everything. What was I wearing? God, I had on my white T-shirt with the word sassy in sequins across my chest. It was almost laundry day, and I wore a skirt I’d found in the back of my closet. My hair was up in a sloppy bun, and while I did makeup for a living, I wore none. Holy crap, I was on live TV around the world.
I couldn’t think of that now. An Atlan warlord was looming over me, breathing hard and saying mine.
“Genevieve or Willow are lovely choices for a mate. You should pick one of them,” I said, my voice shaky.
“No. You. Mate.”
My eyes widened and I stared. You could have heard a pin drop on the set… and Wulf’s ragged breathing. “Me?”
Grace Goodwin is a USA Today and international bestselling author of Sci-Fi and Paranormal romance with nearly one million books sold. Grace’s titles are available worldwide in multiple languages in ebook, print and audio formats. Two best friends, one left-brained, the other right-brained, make up the award-winning writing duo that is Grace Goodwin. They are both mothers, escape room enthusiasts, avid readers and intrepid defenders of their preferred beverages. (There may or may not be an ongoing tea vs. coffee war occurring during their daily communications.) Grace loves to hear from readers.
Pressure is a hot, enemies-to-lovers romance, contemporary romance written in K. Bromberg’s Driven World Project.
Malik Pierce lives with his family’s high expectations in his head. He does his best to make them proud. Slated as the next CEO for a billion-dollar racing company and on track to become its top strategist, he should be on top of the world, but life has handed him a cheating scandal that won’t be simple to solve.
Sarai Lambert wants a man she can trust to do the right thing, but right now, Malik isn’t that man. Not yet, anyway. She can’t sit back and wait as life passes her by. She has to move on, but when she does, the happy life she thought she’d get in exchange for leaving her hometown is nothing but a dream… until or unless Malik can pull himself together and fix the problems in his life.
Will they find a path forward together or are Malik’s problems too much for either to bear?
“Why do I keep running into her?” I mumbled to myself. Since it was still pretty early and I’m not fond of it still being semi-dark, I approached her to see if she wanted to jog with me.
“We keep meeting like this,” I muttered, surprising her and she jumped back and held her hand to her chest catching her breath.
“Sorry for scaring you,” I said.
“What are you doing here, Malik? Are you following me?” Sarai queried as she looked around the area. I chuckled and shook my head no.
“Out for my morning run.”
“I came out to run and never saw you out here,” Sarai replied. “Usually you’ll catch me on the other side.”
“Ohh,” Sarai said.
“You want to run together?” I asked.
“Uhm…sure,” Sarai said.
She followed alongside me as I started jogging at a slow pace keeping my focus in front of me and debating if I wanted to bring up last night. “What time did you get in last night?” I questioned.
“Pretty much thirty minutes after you left,” Sarai said.
“Who is your boyfriend?”
Sarai chortled. “That didn’t last five minutes in before you got in my business.”
“I like to ask questions.”
“Are you dating Asia?” she questioned, and I was taken aback at her constantly asking me about Asia.
“She told my mom you guys were dating and I’m trying to steal you,” Sarai said.
I stopped jogging, placed my hands across my chest and Sarai shrugged her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal her cousin was going around and lying about me.
“I’m not interested in Asia.”
“I know, but she’s in her own world and trying to find a rich guy to feed into her delusions,” she said.
“I think it’s time for me and Asia to have another conversation.”
“I can talk with her for you,” Sarai mentioned.
“You’re family and I hate to cause any issues between you two.”
“She’s young. I tried many times to help her out with finding work that fits her personality,” Sarai told me.
“Corporate Cares is a great place to work at and to gain world experience,” I said.
We started running again around the track and a few more people showed up as the sun was rising.
“Yeah, I switch between CD Enterprises and Corporate Cares. Most of the time I work out of my main office in the city,” Sarai stated.
“How did you end up working for Pierce Motors?”
“I forget we never had to deal with each other until the last year or so,”
Sarai remarked. That was true because most of the time I stayed more focused on the team and the business side and less on the celebrity side of things with the drivers.
“Once I started working with Colton and from Ry’s recommendations, I was introduced to Arianna and we hit it off and she asked me to meet with Jackson,” Sarai explained.
“So, who do you think is better, CD Enterprises or Pierce Motors?” I joked.
“Never gonna answer that question,” Sarai replied. I laughed and came upon a bench and stopped to sit down to catch my breath and talk more.
Chiquita Dennie is an Author, Filmmaker, Podcast host, and Entrepreneur. Born in Memphis, TN, and currently a Los Angeles CA native. Her background in film/tv has taught and shaped her passion for writing with her debut romance novel Antonio and Sabrina Struck In Love. Since its debut, fans have embraced the unconventional love story of Sabrina Washington and Antonio De Luca an Amazon Best Seller series.
She thought she accidentally slept with her boss… Then she met his twin brother.
Real talk: I slept with my boss. Back before he even was my boss. Back when I had no clue who he was.
Real talk: My boss is an arrogant jerk. I hate him. If we didn’t work so well together, I would have told him exactly where he could shove his pompous attitude a long time ago.
Turns out…my boss has a twin. Identical twin.
Now I know why he’s always acted like our one night together never happened. Why he acted like he’d never met me before when I started working for him.
It wasn’t him that night. It was his brother.
A brother who’s just as gorgeous as my boss and a hell of a lot nicer.
Real talk: I’m kind of…bothered that it wasn’t my boss that night.
But that’s before certain revelations about that night come to light.
“Wow.” My voice is dry as I scoop up all my materials and head for the door. “I mean, really…wow.”
“What?” Ryder snaps, right on my heels.
“Remind me to bring a tape measurer to the next meeting,” I call out as I exit the conference room.
“I don’t need one with that little prick. Emphasis on the little.”
My feet stumble at the temper sharpening his tone. “That man was perfectly polite.”
He’s practically on top of me, mouth grazing my ear, when he says, “There’s no part of you that man didn’t just eye fuck. Since when do you flirt with clients?”
No, the better question is, since when do I get off on my boss battling the green-eyed monster? And devolving into a brutish caveman?
“Who says I was?” I cleverly respond. I drop the stacks of folders in my arms onto my desk with a defiant thud. “Besides, if I have to bat my eyelashes a few times in order to score a huge account like this, what’s the harm?”
I’m bluffing, but I maintain my poker face. He’s right, I never flirt with clients. If I land a new account, I want to know it’s because the client is impressed by the reputation and quality of service TCG is known for. Not because they want to get in my pencil skirt.
Before I can register what’s happening, Ryder has me by the elbow and is dragging me through the office at a brisk, albeit forceful, pace. He stands close enough that my co-workers can’t see anything inappropriate taking place. And the bastard knows I’m not the type to cause a scene.
He pushes through the double doors and punches the button at the elevator bank. When the doors slide open, he shoves me inside. Then we’re enclosed in the cramped space with nothing but our own panting for company. Eyes pinning me in place, he slams his fist onto the emergency stop button, halting the car’s descent.
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now.”
“You are not going to flirt with some schmuck just to get his business,” he seethes. “I’ll fire you before I let that shit happen.”
I huff, hands on my hips. “You won’t fire me. No one can deal with your intolerable ass better than I can.”
His eyes narrow in challenge. “Try me. Take off your clothes in front of a client again and see what fucking happens.”
“Stop acting like I just stood up on that table and gave them a striptease. I took off my damn jacket. Big deal.”
This car gets a lot more claustrophobic when he launches himself across it and cages me against the elevator wall. His hips mount me to it, his arms trap me in on both sides. His lips are white around the edges from pinching them shut so tightly.
“To Baldwin, you might as well have been shaking your ass for singles,” Ryder growls. “Hell, to any man. The mere act of exposing this goddamn top was sexual. It was a deliberate move to provoke me, duchess, and you fucking know it.”
It’s ludicrous how my blood spikes with adrenaline. Nothing has been getting me hotter lately than Ryder being unapologetically direct. And a bit of an asshole. “And why would I want to provoke you?”
His nose nuzzles my jaw. “Good question. Why, indeed? Is it because you like getting a rise out of me?” He gives a sharp thrust of his hips, stealing my breath when I feel his rock-hard erection against my center. “Or because you want to feel something rise?”
Traveler. Reader. Beach-goer. St. Louis Cardinals fan. Pasta-obsessed. North Carolina resident. Sarcastic. Bit of a nerd. Author of the Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie loves all things romance, comedies and suspense in particular because it’s boring to only stick to one sub-genre! From light-hearted comedies to sexy thrillers, she likes to mix it up, but loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.
Go visit Melanie’s website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!
Leila’s years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn’t learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin…
Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn’t like Vlad to feel fear, but he does…for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad’s love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both…
Vampire romances naturally trend toward the darker side – you inevitably have blood and carnage before the couple walks happily off into the starlight. But Bound by Flames really takes it to another level. There’s torture and what comes close to sexual assault – so that’s your warning if you don’t want to read that.
Leila and Vlad’s relationship really grew in Bound by Flames, but I feel like a lot of the story was a little too damsel in distress. Leila being kidnapped and needing to be rescued – it seems a little overdone. Now, Jeaniene Frost did add some nice twists and turns to make it feel a little more unique, but I really wanted to see the tables reversed for a change.
There is A LOT of emotion in this one. Be prepared to go on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. And it isn’t all between Leila and Vlad. The crew I’ve come to love has some incredible moments that let you see just how much Vlad really does care (even though he would never admit it).
I really hope that Vlad and Leila can find a sort of peaceful ending – where they’re able to settle down and relax some. They definitely deserve it after this book.
Title: Hawk Author: Harley Wylde Series: Reckless Kings MC #2 Genre: Contemporary MC Romance
Hayley – Having both a father and brother who are in law enforcement, and over protective, doesn’t make it easy to date. Which is why I was still a virgin at eighteen and had never had a serious boyfriend. If I’d realized chasing Cuddles through the biker compound would result in the hottest night of my life, I might have fixed my hair and dressed a little better. Not that Hawk seemed to mind. He made my knees weak and blew my mind. I just didn’t realize the night would end with a free gift with purchase – one that’s an eighteen year long commitment.
Hawk – Never thought I’d make it to the age of forty without ever finding someone special. But I did. Then I met Hayley. She’s the last woman I should fall for, but I can’t seem to help myself. Too bad I figured it out after she disappeared. If I’d known our one night had repercussions, I’d have tried harder to find her. Finding out I have a daughter is the best and scariest thing, but it means I get what I want most. A family.
I leaned against the back of the Dixie Reapers’ clubhouse, enjoying a cigarette and a little alone time. We’d been here two days with Beast and his woman. I understood the reason behind the trip to Alabama, but I was ready to get back home. Nothing against the Reapers, but the men with old ladies only wanted to do family-oriented sh*t and the single ones were all about the free p**sy in the clubhouse. I’d have preferred the middle of the road. Or maybe I was getting old. The women in the clubhouse only wanted to sink their teeth into someone in hopes of getting claimed.
Nothing against the club wh*res, but they didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting claimed by me. I wanted a woman who looked like an angel on the outside, but clawed my back and screamed my name in the bedroom. Someone respectable to the outside world who only showed that devilish side in private. I was starting to think she was a damn unicorn and I’d never find her.
I inhaled another lungful of nicotine before letting it out. Beast had mostly given up smoking since he’d found out Lyssa was pregnant. Before that, he’d have been out here with me. I had no problem with his priorities changing, as long as he focused on the club when we needed him. But I sometimes felt like I’d lost my brother. He wasn’t down to party like he’d been before, even though he’d slowed down a bit even before Lyssa showed up.
I heard something rustling through the grass and a muttered “I’m going to kill you when I find you.” Definitely a woman’s voice. Since I doubted it was a club wh*re, it had to be one of the old ladies or some other family member of the Dixie Reapers. Which meant I needed to give her a wide berth.
A fat raccoon went waddling by me wearing a harness and dragging a leash. I stared at it, wondering if I’d had more to drink than I thought or if I’d gone crazy. Who the f*ck leashed a raccoon?
A moment later a goddess stepped into the moonlight. Cut-off shorts clung to her like a second skin, and the tank she had on left little to the imagination. Her long, blonde hair fell in curls nearly to her waist.
“I swear to God, Cuddles, I’m going to turn you into a fur muff when I catch you.”
I nearly choked as I tried to hold back a laugh. Cuddles? She might be beautiful, but she was damn sure peculiar if she’d made a pet of that raccoon and named it something so ridiculous. Oddly, I found her intriguing, even if she was crazy as a bedbug.
I watched her stomp past me, mesmerized by the sway of her ass. The shorts barely covered her ass cheeks, and f*ck if I wasn’t jealous of them for getting to cup the tempting globes. I reached down to adjust myself, my c*ck getting uncomfortably hard.
“Cuddles? Cuddles! Goddamnit! We’re not supposed to be in here to begin with. Are you trying to get me killed?” She huffed and stamped her foot.
“Need some help, beautiful?” I asked, pushing away from the wall and stepping out of the shadows.
She whirled to face me, hand at her throat, and her blue eyes wide. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Hawk. My club is here visiting the Dixie Reapers. I think the question is who are you?”
She folded her arms, like she was trying to hold herself together. Her lips pressed together, and she glanced away. It was clear she didn’t want to give me her name, which made me want to know even more.
“Guess I should go get Tank,” I said. “I’m sure he can spare a few men to help you find your pet.”
She jolted. “No! Wait, I… I’m not supposed to be inside the gates, but Cuddles took off and I needed to find him.”
Now we were getting somewhere.
“I’ll help you find Cuddles, on one condition.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Your name, for one.”
She licked her lips and shifted on her feet. “Hayley. Hayley Daniels.”
Harley Wylde is the International Bestselling Author of the Dixie Reapers MC, Devil’s Boneyard MC, and Hades Abyss MC series. When Harley’s writing, her motto is the hotter the better — off the charts sex, commanding men, and the women who can’t deny them. If you want men who talk dirty, are sexy as hell, and take what they want, then you’ve come to the right place. She doesn’t shy away from the dangers and nastiness in the world, bringing those realities to the pages of her books, but always gives her characters a happily-ever-after and makes sure the bad guys get what they deserve.
The times Harley isn’t writing, she’s thinking up naughty things to do to her husband, drinking copious amounts of Starbucks, and reading. She loves to read and devours a book a day, sometimes more. She’s also fond of TV shows and movies from the 1980’s, as well as paranormal shows from the 1990’s to today, even though she’d much rather be reading or writing.
You can find out more about Harley or enter her monthly giveaway on her website. Be sure to join her newsletter while you’re there to learn more about discounts, signing events, and other goodies!
