I Love Romance

Friday, September 1, 2017

SPOTLIGHT: LOVE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER (SHADES OF LOVE) BY TRACEY LIVESAY

An accident changed Leighton Clarke’s life forever.

When she awakens from a coma, her childhood memories are intact but she possesses no memories of the past six years of her life. Terrified, anxious and disoriented, she’s only calmed by the presence of the gorgeous celebrity chef with compassionate brown eyes, the man who turns out to be her fiancée, Jonathan.

Jonathan Moran is tormented over his part in the deception that he’s Leighton’s fiancé. In truth, she’s engaged to his brother! Any day now, her memory is destined to return and she’ll remember it’s his fault she was injured. Meanwhile, the more time they spend together, the closer they become until Jonathan begins to wish the pretense of them being a couple was real.

And then Leighton’s memories come flooding back…

About the Book

Love Will Always Remember
by Tracey Livesay

Series
n/a

Genre
Adult
Contemporary Romance

Publisher
Avon Impulse

Publication Date
Avon Impulse

Get Your Copy Today!

REVIEW: LOVE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER (SHADES OF LOVE) BY TRACEY LIVESAY

Love Will Always Remember by Tracey Livesay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I like a challenge and Tracey Livesay sent one my way. Love Will Always Remember is complicated yet simple. This romance has some major angles. There are circumstances that complicate the lives of all involved. The accident and all it entails is the catalyst. It takes a while to figure out what drives the key players. The irony is that the truth is obvious but seems almost out of reach. I can honestly say, this was a true original. I've never experienced a tale like Leighton and Jonathan's. A smart page turner.

View all my reviews

EXCERPT

“What can I get for you?”
An elegant brow lifted. “You’re going to serve me?”
“I do it all.” He reached beneath the bar for a towel and slung it over his shoulder.
“I bet you do,” she murmured.
He stiffened. Had she actually said that or had his fantasy life taken over for a brief moment? He glanced at her, but her cool expression gave nothing away.
“Special service from a James Beard Award–winning chef. I’ll try to contain myself.”
“I’m sure my brother didn’t waste his breath extolling my achievements, so you’ve been checking up on me?”
He braced his arms against the bar and her eyes followed the motion, lingering. He could barely breathe. He had to force the oxygen into his body. No other woman had ever affected him in this way. Why her? He didn’t understand it.
She averted her gaze. “I check on everyone who comes into my life.”
He frowned. “I was just joking.”
“I wasn’t.” She placed her purse on the bar stool next to her.
Interesting. That type of vigilance made for a very lonely existence. And it wasn’t natural. Something had happened to make her believe such action was necessary. However, he didn’t get the feeling she would be amenable to sharing that information with him.
He straightened. “Now, about that drink . . . a cosmo, apple-tini, strawberry daiquiri?”
She exhaled and her lips quirked. “I appreciate you offering me some of your personal favorites, but I’ll take a Macallan 21 on the rocks.”
He hesitated. “You drink whiskey?”
It was rare, but he did know a few women who enjoyed the smooth spirit. He suspected his disbelief would annoy her.
He was right.
“Sexist, much?”
“Maybe, but it’s borne out by my fifteen years in the restaurant business.”
“Isn’t it wonderful to still be able to discover something new after all that time? An old dog can still learn . . . something.” Her sweet smile had him struggling to contain his grin.
He grabbed a lowball glass off the stack, added a couple of ice cubes and poured the drink. “M’lady.”
She took a sip. Her lashes fluttered and her jaw moved laterally as she coated her tongue with the flavors. The blood rushed straight to his dick again—it must have an E-Z pass—leaving him momentarily light-headed. Thank God he was standing behind the bar.
She set the glass down on the black cocktail napkin he’d provided. “What do you drink besides your beloved apple-tinis?”
She had jokes. One corner of his mouth tipped upward. That’s all he’d allow her. “Macallan’s good, but I prefer bourbon. Jefferson’s Presidential Select.”
“I’ve heard good things about Jefferson but I’ve never had the opportunity to try some,” Leighton said. “The stock is limited, right?”
“Yes, but I tracked down a case of the Seventeen.” He smiled, recalling the night he’d shared a bottle with Adam and Mike last year. “I’d be willing to part with a little bit.”
Silence met his offer. Then— “Maybe I can get Thomas to try it. He tends to stick to craft beers.”
His brother.
Her fiancé.
Right.
Big guilt keep on churning . . .
He turned to put the bottle he’d used on the back bar shelf where it belonged. “Yeah, well, my brother’s taste has always left a lot to desired.”
Only after the words were out did he realize how they sounded. He turned back in time to see the hurt on her face morph to anger. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”
Her expression cut into him like an extremely sharp gyuto knife. She held up a hand as if to halt his words. “Then it’s a good thing your opinion makes no difference to our life at all.”
“No seriously. Leighton.” He rushed around the bar and reached for the hand that had fallen to her lap. He didn’t question his need for her to understand his words weren’t aimed at her. He dipped his head until he forced her to meet his eyes. “I swear, I wasn’t talking about you. My brother should be on his knees kissing someone’s ass every day, thanking his lucky stars that you’ve agreed to marry him.”
She stared at him, stone faced, and he feared he may have ruined whatever accord they’d managed to form.
Which was probably for the best.
But when her features began to soften and forgiveness seemed to follow, relief made him giddy and he couldn’t have stopped what he did next even if his very survival depended on it.
One taste. That’s all he needed.
He touched his lips to hers.
Time stopped.
He’d been wrong. He’d need much, much more.
He deepened the kiss, tasting, nibbling then moaning when her lips parted and she let him in. Her soft tongue glided against his and desire roared through him.
Her arms snaked around his waist and clutched his ass. She scooted forward on the stool, spreading her thighs and pulling him between them. His fingers skimmed along her jaw and slid through her hair, like air moving against silk.
His heart was pounding so loudly it drowned out any protests his rational mind tried to put forth. He didn’t care who she was, who he was, or why this could never be. He’d never experienced this kind of raw passion with anyone and in that moment, his only concern was giving her as much pleasure as she was giving him.
“Chef, do you want us to leave you—” Gib’s voice acted as fingers on a chalkboard, jarring and cringeworthy.
Leighton’s eyes flew open, and fear and disgust contorted her features. She pushed against his chest, catching him off guard, and he fell back into a neighboring bar stool.
Before he could process what was happening, she’d jumped from the stool and was running—quite a feat in her heels—to the front door.
He hurried after her. “Leighton!”
She pushed out into the night and paused looking left and right.
He saw the metal scaffolding falling and a roaring filled his ears.
Oh no! No! GODDAMMIT!!
He started to run. “Leighton, wait!”
He was too late.

About Tracey Livesay

A former criminal defense attorney, Tracey Livesay finds crafting believable happily ever afters slightly more challenging than protecting our constitutional rights, but she’s never regretted following her heart instead of her law degree. She lives in Virginia with her husband—who she met on the very first day of law school—and their three children.

Tracey’s Links

TRACEY LIVESAY GIFT BUNDLE GIVEAWAY

8/29 -9/12

Giveaway is being hosted on Rafflecopter. Open to US & Canada shipping addresses only. Prizes: One signed paperback copy of a previous title in the Silicon Valley series, one wine glass filled with chocolate, and a Tracey Livesay pen.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

Original post: ishacoleman7.booklikes.com/post/1592317/spotlight-love-will-always-remember-shades-of-love-by-tracey-livesay

HAPPY BOOK WEEK: ROMANCING THE WALLFLOWER (CRIMSON, COLORADO) BY MICHELLE MAJOR

In a Colorado mountain town, a good girl kindergarten teacher propositions a sexy bad boy uncle of one of her students…It’s all part of ROMANCING THE WALLFLOWER by Michelle Major

On Sale in Print: August 22, 2017

On Sale in Digital: September 1, 2017

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Harlequin

Add ROMANCING THE WALLFLOWER to your TBR pile on Goodreads!

CELEBRATE THE RELEASE WITH A GIVEAWAY!

Grand Prize: 1 Winner Will Each Receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card

Runner-Up: 3 Runner-Up Will Receive any Backlist Michelle Major Title (Digital Version Only)

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Romancing the Wallflower by Michelle Major

ROMANCING THE WALLFLOWER (CRIMSON, COLORADO) BY MICHELLE MAJOR

Release Date: September 1, 2017

SYNOPSIS

"I'd like to have an affair with you."

Dedicated kindergarten teacher Erin MacDonald isn't the type to make the first move on a man—especially gorgeous David McCay, her secret crush. But when a crisis involving one of her pupils offers a chance to help the pro baseballer turned local brewery owner, Erin goes way out of her comfort zone. So way out she makes a shocking suggestion!

David moved to the Colorado mountain town to look after his sister and her son. Now he's a stand-in parent to his nephew, trying to fight his attraction to Erin…who just propositioned him. David is nobody's hero. So why can't he convince the sweet, kindhearted beauty that she deserves better than him? Is it because they're the perfect imperfect match?

BUY LINKS

Amazon B & N Google Play Books Harlequin IBooks Kobo

REVIEW: ROMANCING THE WALLFLOWER (CRIMSON, COLORADO) BY MICHELLE MAJOR

Romancing the Wallflower by Michelle Major

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She taught him how to trust. He showed her the meaning of true love. David and Erin did not have an easy romance, but the cloudy days made the sunny times so much more profound. Romancing the Wallflower is the best of Michelle Major. A journey of love, a story of hope and a road map to understanding. The attraction is a combination of subtle and intense. Romance sneaks up on your heart and after tightly taking hold, refuses to turn it loose.

View all my reviews

EXCERPT

“Stop staring at the hottie brewmaster’s butt.”

Erin MacDonald choked on the gulp of strawberry daiquiri she’d just swallowed. “I’m not staring at anyone’s butt,” she said as she grabbed a wad of napkins and dabbed at her chin and shirtfront. “And don’t talk so loud.”

Melody Cross, one of the second-grade teachers at Crimson Elementary, snorted. “It’s a crowded bar on a busy Thursday night. No one can hear me.”

But Melody had the kind of booming voice that could quiet a room full of squirming eight-year-olds the afternoon before summer break. The tall table they stood at was a good five feet from the bar, but Erin swore she saw the man’s broad shoulders stiffen.

“Want me to take a picture of him?” Suzie Vitale, her fellow kindergarten teacher, offered with a tipsy smile. “It lasts longer.”

Before Erin could stop her, the curvy blonde aimed her phone at the backside of the gorgeous guy who not only worked the bar but also owned Elevation Brewery. The brewpub had opened a little over a year ago and had become a popular hangout for both locals and tourists in the quaint mountain town of Crimson, Colorado.

Erin had noticed David McCay, the brewery’s owner, the first time she’d stepped into the nouveau rustic—and very on-trend for Colorado—space. He was tall and lean, with dark blond hair that curled around the collars of the flannel shirts he favored. David McCay was as handsome as a movie star and built like he spent endless hours tossing huge sacks of barley—or whatever it was beer brewers did.

Erin, who was built like she spent her days sitting cross-legged on a reading rug, had surreptitiously watched him each time she came into the bar with friends or coworkers for a random happy hour or birthday celebration. He was often tending bar or sometimes she’d spot him coming out from the back, wearing the heavy rubber boots and backward ball cap that she’d quickly learned were his uniform when actually brewing beer.

Colorado was known for its craft brews, and the fact that Elevation had made a name for itself so quickly was a testament to his hard work and talent at running a business.

At least that’s what Erin wanted to believe. Her mother liked to remind Erin that she too often assumed the best about people, which allowed them to regularly take advantage of her.

But David McCay hadn’t taken advantage of her, even though it was the stuff of her fantasies. Even though his nephew, Rhett, was now in her kindergarten class and David had been with the boy and his mother for back-to-school night. Erin had barely been able to put a sentence together with David towering over the other adults in the back of her classroom, but he hadn’t bothered to acknowledge her. Heck, it was doubtful he even knew she existed.

Except when she blinked and looked up, he was staring straight at her. Sparks of awareness flamed through her body, setting every inch of her skin on fire. He lifted one thick brow as if he could read her thoughts. Which might be impossible since it felt like all of her brain cells had spontaneously combusted under the weight of his stare.

She heard Melody giggle behind her, and Suzie gave her a little shove forward. David now stood at the edge of the bar, only a short distance from her, with movement all around him. Customers in groups laughed and talked. A waitress set her tray on the rich wood bar top. A group of women at near the edge of the bar vied for his attention. But his focus remained on Erin.

Then something—someone—suddenly blocked her vision. Cole Bennett, Crimson’s recently elected sheriff, was talking to David. Cole was also tall and broad, and to use one of her mom’s favorite expressions, made a better door than a window.

Erin shifted to the right as she overheard Cole mention Rhett, David’s nephew. David’s gaze hardened and his jaw clenched. Unable to stop herself, she moved forward, sidestepping a couple heading toward the back of the bar and a group of twentysomething guys who looked like they’d just come off a hiking trail, until she stood directly behind the sheriff.

She was five feet four inches tall in the clogs she favored for work, so both men towered over her and were completely unaware she was listening to their conversation. Invisibility was Erin’s unintentional superpower. She knew much more than she should about her coworkers and neighbors, simply because people didn’t notice she was there.

“Rhett is safe,” Cole told David. “But they can’t get him to come out.”

“What the hell was Jenna thinking?” David asked, then scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “No, don’t answer that.”

“She’s in trouble, David. The crowd she’s running with—”

“I’ll handle it.” He pulled a set of keys out of one of the pockets in his tan cargo pants. “I just need to tell Tracie I’m leaving for the night. I’ll be over for Rhett.”

“I have to call Social Services,” Cole said softly, and Erin felt the tension ratchet up a notch.

“Give me some time with him first, okay?”

“Can you—”

“I’ll handle it,” David repeated. He moved behind the bar and spoke to the woman filling two pint glasses from the tap.

The sheriff walked out of the bar, patrons instinctively clearing a path for him although he wasn’t in uniform tonight.

When she looked up, David McCay stood toe-to-toe with her. She realized she’d moved forward to block his path from behind the bar.

In her daydreams, she’d compared his eyes to the brilliant summer sky above the ragged peak of Crimson Mountain or the iridescent cobalt of a tropical lagoon. But now his frosty stare was more like the ice blue of a glacier, so cold a shiver passed through her.

“I don’t have time for this, sweetheart. You and your friends are going to have to play your liquid courage bar games with someone else.”

“It’s not a game,” Erin said.

“Darlin’, you ordered a froofy drink in my bar. It’s either a game or a joke.”

This close to David, the heat and frustration radiating off him made her feel different from the woman she knew herself to be. She was aware of her body in a way that was new and exhilarating. She wanted more. She wanted…something she couldn’t name. Still, the promise of it made her weak with longing.

Also braver than she’d ever been. Or maybe crazy was a better word, because when he moved to step around her, she placed a hand on his arm.

“I can help with your nephew.”

Author Bio:

Michelle Major grew up in Ohio but dreamed of living in the mountains. Soon after graduating with a degree in Journalism, she pointed her car west and settled in Colorado. Her life and house are filled with one great husband, two beautiful kids, a few furry pets and several well-behaved reptiles. She’s grateful to have found her passion writing stories with happy endings. Michelle loves to hear from her readers at www.michellemajor.com.

Connect with Michelle: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Original post: ishacoleman7.booklikes.com/post/1593706/happy-book-week-romancing-the-wallflower-crimson-colorado-by-michelle-major

COMING SOON: TROPICAL ICE (KINDLE WORLDS: BAREFOOT BAY) BY KAT MIZERA

Your kindle is about to heat up!

Tropical Ice by Kat Mizera, part of Roxanne St. Claire's Barefoot Bay kindle world, releases on September 15th!

SIGN UP to get an alert when it's live →https://www.katmizera.com/

Garrett “Hawk” Hawkins may be a bad boy in the rink but he doesn’t know what to do when he’s wrongly accused of on-ice misconduct. Given a five-game suspension by the NHL, he heads down to Mimosa Key to lay on the beach for a few days and get his head on straight—until he runs into a troubled beauty who happens to be the sister of his ex-teammate.

Madison Teller is struggling to get past the trauma of her brother's brutal attack, but her much-needed vacation is turning into a nightmare. The sexy tattooed stranger who saves the day is just the distraction she's looking for, but she isn’t prepared for the way he makes her feel.

When his present collides with her past, they’ll have to learn to trust each other before both their hearts end up on ice.

Original post: ishacoleman7.booklikes.com/post/1593750/coming-soon-tropical-ice-kindle-worlds-barefoot-bay-by-kat-mizera

GOOD BARGAINS = GREAT READS!

Sharing the Love of Books

Enjoy our selection of New Releases / Free & Bargain Books this week

Authors please feel free to add your own books

Readers please free to add your own finds

(any genre except erotica welcome)

This weekly link up is hosted by Beck Valley Books & these awesome book loving blogs...

Monday

Life as Leels | IrishdaisylovesRomance | Book Babble | All Romance Reader

Tuesday

It's My Side of Life | Celticlady's Reviews | First Time Mommy Adventures | Bound 2 Escape

Wednesday

Beck Valley Books | A Library of Reviews | Cinnamon Hollow Reviews

Thursday

Miki's Hope | Taking Time for Mommy | Nicki's Nook

Friday

Ebook Addicts | I Love Romance | A Bit Bookish | Mother Distracted | Colorimetry

Saturday

Totally Addicted to Reading | 3 Partners in Shopping | Angie's Angle | I Creat Purty Thangs | Wishful Endings

Sunday

Deal Sharing Aunt

For Pre-orders post - PRE-ORDER / genre / title /author

For New Releases post - NEW / genre / title / author

For Free Books post - FREE / genre / title / author / end date

For Bargain Books post - SALE / price / genre / title / author / end date

(Strictly no Erotica please. Steamy romance is fine but watch those covers people, incase any underage child is viewing it!)

Here is this weeks awesome selection!

Would you like to share our linkup on your site? click here

Would you like to become a weekly host? sign up here

Come back and check out the new selection every week x

Original post: ishacoleman7.booklikes.com/post/1585191/good-bargains-great-reads

NEW RELEASE: MY NEXT BREATH BY SHANNON MCKENNA

A relentless rebel supersoldier must seduce a mysterious beauty in his quest to rescue his brother, but gets more than he bargained for when their passion rages out of control… and releases a monstrous killer hellbent on their destruction...

Rafflecopter for My Next Breath Blog Tour Giveaway:

One (1) lucky winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

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About My Next Breath:

Title: My Next Breath

Author: Shannon McKenna

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: August 29, 2017

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Format: eBook

ISBN: 978-0-99779-413-7

Zade Ryan. Rebel supersoldier. Nearly superhuman. On a desperate quest to rescue his missing brother Luke by any means possible. To do it, he must seduce the elusive Simone Brightman, inventor of the ingenious and deadly tech used to capture Luke and hold him prisoner, location unknown. Zade will do whatever it takes to get close to Simone. Her mysterious beauty and highly sexual allure have him at a disadvantage, but time is running out . . .

Simone is fighting battles of her own, on her own. Until Zade—six foot four of sinewy muscle and lethal combat skills—rescues her from street thugs and leaves her breathless. His smoldering black eyes and overpowering sensuality—and his seductive invitation to spend one wild, unforgettable night with him—prove too tempting to resist. Their passionate encounter unleashes scorching desire that neither can control—leaving them vulnerable to their enemies who watch from the shadows and wait. And when they are lured into a trap by a monstrous killer hellbent on their destruction, they must fight with every weapon they have to save Luke, and each other.

Because one night together could never be enough—and they might not live to have another . . .

Add to your TBR pile: Goodreads

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

EXCERPT

An excerpt from MY NEXT BREATH

Damn, now he’d lost the sound thread again. He reached for it—listening harder . . . yes. Rubber boot soles on the wet pavement. He’d know that little squeaky-squeak song anywhere. He’d memorized its exact rhythm and pitch.

Less than a block away now. He was already getting a whiff of her. Warm, female smells. He seriously dug that honeysuckle shampoo. Couldn’t wait to sniff it at close range.

He stepped out of the shadow of the awning. Raised his hand to signal the men waiting down the street. One raised his hand in response. They were ready. She was an easy target, parking an almost new Audi on a badly lit street like this.

His heart raced as his augmented sensory processor kicked into high gear, as if revving for combat. Which was overkill. He didn’t need an ASP jolt for this. The Obsidian researchers had wired him and rewired him during the Midlands experiments on their quest to produce the ultimate, relentless war machine. The data that speed-scrolled over his field of vision whenever he was stressed was a constant reminder of how they’d changed him. Permanently.

But he ignored it. He’d stolen himself back. He and all the rest of the Midlanders. He was more than what Obsidian had tried to make of him. Fuck them all.

Tonight—for her—he needed to be funny, smart and unthreatening, for starters. And good in bed, if he got lucky. Past experience suggested that he would. It was bad form to get cocky about it, but whatever. A guy could hope.

In fact, he quivered with hope. Watching Simone for two whole months had kept him perpetually half-hard. It wasn’t like she was doing anything sexy. On the contrary. She mostly just sat there on the bed, cross-legged in a thick snarl of wires and cables, surrounded by screens, dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt. Braless. Eyes narrowed with ferocious concentration as she typed so fast and hard the detached wireless keyboard bounced against the mattress.

He was in a groove with surveillance monitoring. Forget sleep. Pill-induced or natural, it wasn’t happening while he was watching that woman. And after their escape from Obsidian’s research facility at Midlands, he’d sworn never to inflict sentinel sleep on himself again. Constant vigilance turned the strongest into short-circuited robots. It didn’t matter how skillful he was at alternating his brain hemispheres, resting one while using the other and blah-blah-di-fucking-blah.

He was good at it, yeah. And so? He was good at a metric fuckton of unspeakable things. That didn’t mean he would ever do them again.

But he’d do any number of unspeakable things for a chance to know what happened to his brother. Watching Brightman prance around in her underwear was no chore. She was so damn pretty it just turned his head around.

She was almost upon him. His ASP processor sent a fire-hose of data scrolling wildly up both sides of his field of vision. His senses sharpened to a level beyond painful. He hadn’t expected this. Bullshit timing.

Her footsteps echoed in his ears, boom-scrape-squeak. Her soft breathing, the quick and steady drum of her heart. He smelled the warm mix of her hand lotion, her wool coat, the leather of her boots, the swish of her long skirt, the brush of the tights between her thighs. He smelled the coffee she’d had not long ago and a hint of the vanilla flavored creamer she’d lightened it with. Whiffs of the perfume she used to wear back in her corporate days wafted out of her purse like little ghosts.

He also smelled the festering mouth-breathers who waited across the street.

His heart thudded loudly. In a few seconds he’d see Simone in the flesh. The mysterious ex-fianceé of Noah Gallagher, Zade’s friend and fellow Midlander rebel.

A woman who might or might not hold the key to the last possible clue that could lead him to his brother.

Or to his brother’s bones.

That thought stabbed through him like a thin blade of ice just as Simone Brightman rounded the corner and hit his line of vision.

About Shannon McKenna

Shannon McKenna is the NYT bestselling author of sixteen action packed, turbocharged romantic thrillers, among which are the stories of the wildly popular McCloud series and the brand new paranormal series, The Obsidian Files. She loves tough and heroic alpha males, heroines with the brains and guts to match them, villains who challenge them to their utmost, adventure, scorching sensuality, and most of all, the redemptive power of true love. Since she was small she has loved abandoning herself to the magic of a good book, and her fond childhood fantasy was that writing would be just like that, but with the added benefit of being able to take credit for the story at the end. Alas, the alchemy of writing turned out to be messier than she'd ever dreamed. But what the hell, she loves it anyway, and hopes that readers enjoy the results of her alchemical experiments. She loves to hear from her readers.

Connect with Shannon: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Original post: ishacoleman7.booklikes.com/post/1592149/new-release-my-next-breath-by-shannon-mckenna

EXCERPT REVEAL: THE VERANDA BY ROSALIND ABEL

JO&ISALOVEBOOKS BLOG IS PROUD TO BE HOSTING

THE EXCERPT REVEAL OF...

THE VERANDA

LAVENDER SHORES BOOK 3

AUTHOR ROSALIND ABEL.

LIVE NOW!!

SYNOPSIS

Donovan Carlisle helps countless people in Lavender Shores with his skills as a therapist. It seems, however, that his ability to enable others to live their happiest life only works outside of himself. Donovan truly loves his life, but isn’t able to find a relationship that satisfies his heart’s craving. Maybe the problem is that the only man he wants is off-limits.

Spencer Epstein came to Lavender Shores to find himself. Instead, he married one of the local town beauties. He’d thought his prayers had finally been answered. Then, he met his pregnant fiancée’s brother. It turned out those answered prayers were just cruel twists of fate.

A decade later, after a divorce and the crumbling of all Spencer thought was set in stone, he sees his brother-in-law at a masquerade sex party. He takes full advantage of the anonymity and acts on the desires he’s held at bay all those years. The problem is, those silent and frenzied moments didn’t satiate anything. The fire and heat between the two men only grows as secrets are uncovered and they must determine if the cost of their passion is too high...

Add to your Goodreads TBR

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35758328-the-veranda?ac=1&from_search=true

In this chapter, Spencer, who is a lawyer, is giving Spencer a tour of his work. Let’s just say, Spencer gets quite a bit more than he’d imagined…

Donovan’s eyes grew wider with each step we took on the tour of my firm. I nearly thought they were going to pop out when he realized the law firm filled the top three stories of the high-rise. It was kind of cute.

He’d kept his Friday afternoon free of clients so we could start our San Francisco weekend a few hours early. Donovan started out the tour nervous, finally meeting my coworkers. By the time we were done, I could feel that my head was a little bit swollen by his awe and the pride I heard in his voice as I introduced him to people.

Giving a tour to a new client was typical, but I normally explained what the client was there for or why I was introducing them. With Donovan, I didn’t give an explanation. The obvious assumption would be that he was a client. And if they assumed something else? Well, that’s what the weekend was. Us not having to worry about what anyone else thought.

As I brought him to my office, my assistant pulled me back to clarify something about one of the cases. Donovan went on in while I chatted with her for a few minutes. I made certain to emphasize that I didn’t want to be interrupted from that point on, by anyone. That the things we were discussing trumped any case that might rear its head. As I joined Donovan, I locked the door, just to be sure. He was leaning by the wall of windows, and he glanced back as I entered but then returned to the view. “This is what you see every day? I bet on clear days, you can even see the Golden Gate Bridge.”

“That’s true. I’ll have to bring you back up here at night. That’s my favorite time.” I joined him by the window, standing behind and wrapping my hands around his waist, holding him to me. He leaned against me, and I marveled at how natural it was already.

“Well, that puts what I see outside of my window to shame. There is a squirrel that comes by every once in a while. Sometimes I think he’s waving at me. So, there is that.”

I chuckled and tightened my embrace.

“Lavender Shores is so upscale most of the time that I feel fairly cosmopolitan, plus I make it into the city frequently enough. Coming up here, seeing you like this, everybody in suits, I feel like I’m from a hick town.”

“I hardly think Lavender Shores qualifies as a hick town. That would be like saying Restoration Hardware is a Walmart.”

He shuddered.

I chuckled again. “There’s that founding family sensibility that you try to hide so well.”

He tried to twist and look at me, but I held him close, refusing to loosen my grip, enjoying the feel of his muscular back against my chest. “I’ve seen your suits, Spencer. You didn’t get those at Walmart.”

“I’ve noticed you have a thing for suits. Don’t pretend that you aren’t a little hard at touring three floors of men in suits.” I lowered my hand, grazing his groin. “See? I told you so.”

“That’s because”—he tilted his hips back so they rubbed against me—“I felt your erection pressing into me since you got in here.” He reached back between us and gave me a squeeze. “But you in a suit? That’s about as porn-worthy as it gets.”

He’d read my mind. I moved my hands to his belt, and began to unfasten it.

He stiffened, though didn’t move until I had his pants unbuttoned and the zipper all the way down. “What are you doing?”

The breathless quality of his voice said that he knew exactly what I was doing, but I played along. “What does it feel like I’m doing?” I pulled his pants down, letting them fall around his thighs and palmed his hard-on over his underwear.

“We’re in front of an entire wall of windows.”

“I know.” I slid his underwear to join his pants around his knees. “It’s four thirty on Friday. Trust me, anybody watching from the other office buildings will appreciate this pick-me-up.” I pressed into him, pushing him against the window.

He sucked in a breath, but I wasn’t sure if it was excitement or the contact with the cold glass, probably both. “But—”

Gripping his hips firmly, I knelt to one knee, and cut short any concern he had by running my tongue between his asscheeks. This time when he gasped, I didn’t have to wonder about the reason. I licked him again, and he trembled. “Spread your legs for me.”

There was a moment’s hesitation, and then he spread wide. He’d taught me a few things over the past week as I’d explored his body nearly every night and I’d committed each of those lessons of what he loved to heart—licking the tender skin of his opening, blowing, daring to push my tongue in farther and farther. With each new ministration, Donovan’s whimpers grew louder and more frenzied. I knew he was trying to keep it quiet with all the people in the office on the other side of the door, and it was amazing bringing him so close to losing control.

“Spencer, I’m about to come.”

I leaned back from his ass, feeling a bit dazed, I hadn’t even realized he’d been jerking off. I grabbed his pumping arm from behind, pressed him against the glass, and held it still. “Don’t you dare. We’re not even close to that yet.”

He let out an agonized groan, but I didn’t relent. I’d noticed Donovan liked being told what to do sexually from time to time. And he wasn’t exactly subtle about his arousal at men in suits. I figured it was high time to combine those into an orgasm he’d never forget. And merely pushing him up against the window and eating his ass for all of San Francisco to see was not what I had in mind.

“You good?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, and I wondered what the cleaning crew would think of the smudges on the window that evening.

“Good man.” I stood, walked away from him, and sat behind my desk.

Donovan stared after me, still standing at the window. After a second he took a couple steps back from the glass and started to pull up his underwear and pants.

I shook my head at him. “Oh no you don’t. Take them off.”

He hesitated, halfway bent over. “What are you doing?”

“The question isn’t what I’m doing; it’s what you’re doing.” I could barely keep from laughing; I felt a little silly trying this role-play.

He glanced toward the closed office door. “There’s about thirty people out there. And we have to go soon. Our dinner reservations are—”

“Do I look like I care about dinner?” I gestured toward the office door. “And, we can be quiet. But if they happen to hear something….” I shrugged. “They’ll just be jealous they’re not me.” Maybe I was pushing things too far.

Donovan looked back and forth between me, the office door, window, then back at me. Then, nervously, he took off his shoes, and stepped out of his pants and underwear. He started to remove his socks.

“No, leave those on.”

He hesitated again, licked his lips, and then straightened, standing tall. If his straining erection jutting through the opening in his shirttails was any indication, I wasn’t forcing things too far.

And judging from my own erection screaming to get out of my pants, I was enjoying this just as much as I figured I would. After all these years, it was time to fulfill some of the fantasies I’d tried so hard to keep at bay. “Stroke yourself for me.”

His pause was briefer this time, and he wrapped his long fingers around his shaft and began to stroke. His enjoyment was obvious as he wasn’t pumping trying to orgasm, but showing off.

This had been all to try to fulfill a fantasy for Donovan, but watching the man I desired for so long, standing in my office, all my coworkers a few feet away, and the entire city of San Francisco in view, I realized I might be getting more out of this than he was. He looked like a fucking sex god, those muscled legs flexing as he stroked his long, thick erection, swiping his fingers over the head and smearing his precome over his shaft, his chest muscles twitching beneath his shirt, and his fully lust-filled gaze boring into me. It took every ounce of self-control to not unzip my pants and join him. It was only through reminding myself that this was for him that allowed me to endure. But I wasn’t going to last as long as originally intended.

I swiveled my chair, clearing the edge of the desk and spread my legs wide. “Come closer.”

Donovan crossed the office, stroking his dick with every step, and came to stop within arm’s reach of me. He didn’t say anything. Yeah, he was enjoying being told what to do.

“Leave your dick alone.”

He did.

I already knew what I was going to tell him to do next, the true test to see if he really would do anything I asked, but I got distracted by his freed erection. I stared, watching the precome roll down his cock. I wanted to get on my knees, take him into my mouth, feel him shooting down my throat.

Again, this was his fantasy. Not mine.

Although, at this point, this was equal to any fantasy I’d ever had.

His cock twitched a couple times, which made me tremble. He must’ve noticed, because he twitched it again. I glanced up to him and saw confirmation there. He knew exactly what he was doing. Donovan was always hot, but seeing him like this, exposed in front of me, that glint of seduction in his eyes, I didn’t know he could look that good. I didn’t know anyone could look that good.

I had to force myself to get back on track. I also made certain my voice left no room for question. “Take off your shirt.”

Donovan reached up and began unbuttoning his dress shirt.

“No, not like that.”

He paused.

Here went nothing. “Rip it off.”

His brows knitted in confusion. “You want me to rip off my shirt?”

“Yes.”

“But this is what I’m wearing to the—”

It seemed I’d left room for question in my tone after all. I fixed that. “Rip it off, Donovan.”

There was another heartbeat of a pause, then he curled his fingers around the fastened hems and yanked. Buttons flew across the office, hitting the window, filing cabinets, the desk, my chest. I seriously almost orgasmed right there.

“Holy fuck.” I hadn’t meant to whisper that, but damn. “Now, take it off.”

He did, chest and shoulder muscles rippling as he pulled his arms free, and let the ruined shirt fall to the floor.

I almost considered skipping the next part of the plan, knowing that I would have to be careful to keep from coming, but I thought he’d like it, and at this point, I needed to see it, feel it, cement it in my memory. I angled my hips up, unzipped my pants and pulled my erection through my fly, leaving the belt fastened and everything else in place, and then sat back down in the office chair. “Get on your knees and blow me.”

He whimpered.

I hope you enjoyed that little excerpt. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on the rest of that scene or traveling along side Donovan and Spencer as their love story unfolds.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosalind Abel grew up tending chickens alongside her sweet and faithful Chow, Lord Elgin. While her fantasy of writing novels was born during her teen years, she never would have dreamed she’d one day publish steamy romances about gorgeous men. However, sometimes life turns out better than planned.

In between crafting scorching sex scenes and helping her men find their soul mates, Rosalind enjoys cooking, collecting toys, and making the best damn scrapbooks in the world (this claim hasn’t been proven, but she’s willing to put good money on it).

She adores MM Romance, the power it has to sweep the reader away into worlds filled with passion, steam, and love. Rosalind also enjoys her collection of plot bunnies and welcomes new fuzzy ones into her home all the time, so feel free to send any adorable ones her way.

CONNECT WITH ROSALIND:

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