Summer Reading List

Two struggling souls seek peace and end up finding each other...

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Layla Evans was a damned good defense attorney with the fancy car and beach condo to prove it. But, sometimes success comes at too steep a price and she’s done with it all. She’s sold her soul to the devil for the last time. Escape comes in the form of an unexpected inheritance. She leaves her expensive, tailored lifestyle and turns in her high heels for a pair of cowboy boots. The move is a major but with any luck her demons will stay behind with her old life.

Ben Callahan knew a thing or two about demons. His have haunted him day and night since leaving his Special Forces unit a few years ago. It was the sole reason he sought out the solitude of the mountains. With nothing more than a cabin, a fishing pole and a few acres, he was finally able to sleep a little at night. Until he gets a new neighbor that rocks his carefully constructed world with all the force of an IED.

When Layla’s past catches up to her, Ben finds old instincts kicking in. His need to protect the woman he is falling for becomes stronger than his desire to protect his heart. Can he get to Layla in time to save her and also heal his battered soul?

A little excerpt:

Without another word, Ben followed her directions and headed to the bedroom. All the way there, Layla alternated between anger and gratitude. She was flipping hot that another human being had inflicted such physical pain on Ben and down-right pissed off that someone he loved had in essence treated him worse than his torturers. On the other hand, if those things hadn’t happened she wouldn’t be in the arms of a man she was pretty sure she was close to falling in love with.

He placed her carefully on top of the colorful patchwork quilt Layla had found in a closet when she took the house over from her deceased father. After replacing the mattress, box spring and sheets, the handmade piece made her feel homey and comfortable. It almost seemed sinful to have it present for what she was about to do with Ben who was stretching out on the bed on top of her.

She didn't have a problem with that at all.

Ben adjusted the pillows behind her head. Layla couldn't stop trying to touch him. She was as hungry for the contact between them as a man starved for food but he stayed just out of reach of her embrace.

"Ben!" There was frustration in her cry. She needed him and she needed him right now.

"Shh…" He held a finger to his lips as he ran his hand along the bottom of her shirt, slipping just inside. The muscles in her abdomen trembled under his fingertips. With that hand he slowly inched her shirt up exposing her stomach. Layla shivered. Ben continued to pull the top up until the bottoms of her breasts peeked out. She heard him suck in a breath and then release it slowly. "Are you sure…?"

"Oh, yes," Layla replied before he could even finish his question.

Sitting up and pulling her with him, he yanked the tee shirt up over her head and then pushed her gently back against the pillows. "It's been a while—I might be a little out of practice." The pink tinge of embarrassment in the russet skin of his face just made her smile.

"Just like riding a bike, I promise."

As she contemplating pushing him over and climbing on top of him, Ben leaned in and took her lips. The kiss was tentative at first, not like his usual passionate go broke or go home approach. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him back down on top of her, opening her lips and granting him the access he hadn't yet asked for. To hell with it, the guy had no idea what he wanted. She would just have to show him.

The feel of his hard chest against her softer one was glorious in all the ways one could imagine. So many nights of sleeping alone, the other side of the bed cold and empty, could be coming to an end. Layla hadn't been alone as long as Ben but she had been lonely for a lifetime. She needed this as much as he did, if not more.  Trailing kisses from her lips to the line of her jaw and down her neck, Ben let out a little moan that Layla echoed. His touch sent sparks shooting over every last one of her nerves. Her entire body was electrically charged and ready to spontaneously combust if he didn't do something soon to relieve the agony.

"Ben, please." She reached for the button on his jeans as his mouth moved a little lower on her chest. He stiffened for a second and Layla was certain he was about to flee like a startled deer but he slowly relaxed.

He nodded against her chest and she felt a shudder run through him before he spoke. "Do you want me to close the shutters and pull the drapes?"

"Now why would I want you to do that?" Layla slid her hands up his abdomen until she held his face in her hands. Avoiding her gaze, Ben kept his eyes focused on the place where her heart beat. Just having him stare at her like that, so focused, stepped up the rise and fall of her chest.\

 "Look at me, Ben." He did as she asked. "I am not Lauren. I am not repulsed by you. Can't you see that by now? Everything—and I mean everything— about you turns me on. Now, stop holding back on me, would you? I want the lights on and the windows open. If it will make you believe me, we can go out back in the middle of the pasture and do this."

"I'm sorry." He shook his head vigorously, tossing a lock of thick, dark hair onto his forehead. She reached up and pushed it away as he laughed. "Damn it! Why do I keep saying that? I feel like a teenaged boy getting it on for the first time!"

"Don't apologize any more. There is nothing to be sorry about. I want you, you want me and it's Lauren's loss."

He seemed to consider what she said for a moment before jumping up off the bed. Afraid he was leaving, she started to speak until she realized he was pulling off his boots and dropping his jeans to the floor.

"That's so much better." Layla grinned, feeling giddy. "Now get back over here."

Ben did as he was told but instead of stretching out over her again, he hooked his fingers in the waist of her borrowed sweat pants and yanked them down. Layla giggled. "Now I’m the one that feels like the teenager. Did you lock the door?"

Ben laughed, a relaxed sound that just added to the excitement of the building anticipation. "Nope. Let your folks walk in. I don't care."

"My folks? You're ridiculous!" She squealed as he dropped down on top of her again. His hands went everywhere his mouth wasn't. Her body was hot all over, muscles pulled so tight she thought they might snap as Ben continued exploring parts of her that had been dormant for much too long. When his fingers trailed their way along the top of her pink lace panties, Layla's pulse pounded so loudly in her ears she thought she might go deaf from it.

The pounding got louder. And louder. Ben stopped the assault his tongue and lips were waging on her and sat up. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" She gasped, reaching for him again.

"Someone's knocking on the door."

"They will go away eventually." Her voice was hoarse with need as she tried again to reach for Ben at the same time he rose from the bed.

"Wait here." The undertone to Ben's voice unnerved her. The pounding had grown more insistent. Ben pulled on his jeans, settling them over his hips but not bothering to button them.

"What's wrong?" she asked, grabbing her shirt and pants and scrambling back into them.

"I don't know. Were you expecting any visitors?"

"I don’t know anyone and I haven't called the insurance company yet."

Grabbing a gun off the bureau she hadn't realized he’d been carrying, he held a finger to his lips telling her to be quiet. "Stay out of sight and be quiet."

She thought about arguing with him that he wasn't her father or her boss but something in Ben's eyes told her do as he asked. Ben made his way down the hall toward the front door. Layla trailed behind, quiet as a mouse despite the fear setting up camp in her insides. No one knew Ben was there. What if it was the same person that had burned her barn down and painted the cows?

Why would a criminal knock on the door?

The thought made sense but then why was Ben holding a gun, ready to shoot whoever it was that kept pounding on the door?

She watched from the corner of the hallway as Ben looked through the peep hole. Her heart raced and her body shook just a little. Ben was all business. Standing behind the door, he grasped the handle and yanked the door open pointing his gun at the chest of whoever was there.

"Who the hell are you?" Ben demanded.

"Who the hell are you?"

She heard a click as Ben readied his weapon.  His voice was low and deadly. "I asked you first."

"Whoa, man! Put the gun down!"

It couldn't be.                          

She stuck her head around the corner and yelled. "Ben, no!"

Summer Reading List- Romantic Suspense

I can't believe we are already half way through July. This summer has been moving way too fast. I am not ready to even think about going back to work in the fall and it seems like it's just around the corner. There's still plenty of time to get some writing done and definitely time to read! This week I am posting excerpts from one of my romantic suspense series. Plenty of car chases, gun fights and oh, chemistry of course.

                                              Grab your copy here!

Someone wants NYPD detective Angelina Ferrara dead…again.

Following her heart instead of her mind landed her in Witness Protection. Can she trust it and handsome detective Logan James to keep her alive this time?

As far as the world knows, NYPD detective Angelina Ferrara died in a violent firefight on Chelsea piers over a year ago. Living in the witness protection program as history teacher Lucy Taylor was supposed to save her life but being alive and living were two very different things. Until she meets detective Logan James when he goes undercover in the same private school where she works. Something about the handsome man with the gorgeous blue eyes piques her interest. There’s no doubt he has secrets… but then so does she.  When the Ricci crime family discovers she’s still alive, can she trust the same heart that landed her in the witness protection program in the first place to let Logan to help her survive it?

A little excerpt...

"I so cannot do this again." Lucy groaned loudly and pulled her pillow over her head as the bright Virginia sunshine filled her bedroom. There was no smog, no skyscrapers, no anything to filter the light and give her a chance to ease into being awake.

A distant rooster crowed its early greeting to the sun. Five thirty in the morning, every freaking morning. If she stayed in this godforsaken town for a hundred years she would never get used to it. She missed horns blaring and tires squealing against heavy brakes that used to serve as her alarm clock back home in New York City. The whole chickens in the yard, cows grazing alongside the highway, thing didn't really work for her.

Teaching Catholic school wasn't so great either. Why the powers that be in witness protection felt a New York City cop would make a good Catholic school history teacher, she couldn't begin to fathom. In fact, she hated teaching almost as much as she hated chickens. The only thing she had in common with her students was being Catholic.

Yet here she was, all dressed up in her ridiculous teacher clothes, with her fake blue eyes, and disturbing straight blonde hair, trying to live a life she despised and be thankful for it.

"At least you are still alive, girl," she whispered to the sad reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Yeah, right. She might be alive, but living was another idea all together.

"If I could at least carry a gun..." Lucy said to no one in particular. Not carrying her trusty sidearm made her feel as naked as a jaybird, but there was no getting around it. Part of the terms of the contract stipulated she could do nothing reminiscent of her old life, including the concealed carry of her favorite type of accessory.

"Here we go again," she muttered, sliding behind the wheel of her little car.

The drive to St. Mary's took less than ten minutes. The parking lot looked exactly the way it did when she drove away the previous June, full of expensive SUVs and shiny convertibles that all made her aged sedan look much older than its nine years. The only noticeable change was a deep blue Jeep Wrangler—as about as out of place as a football team would be in the all-girls school—sat in the space where Lucy usually parked. Not a good way to start her morning when she was already so tense.

"Hey, Ms. Taylor!" a voice called to her from across the lot.

"Good morning, Sarah!" she called back a lot less cheerfully than she had intended. Her former student waved and walked on.

Another year was about to begin. Oh, how she missed her old life. Lucy was not born to be a teacher, not by any stretch of the imagination. But, it was a job. It kept her from going insane from the loneliness that had been a constant part of her life since she fled the city over a year ago and left her friends and family to believe she was dead.

"I'm so sorry, Mom," she whispered for the hundredth time since it had all gone down.

As she trudged her way to room 210, Lucy forced thoughts of death and funerals from her mind, replacing them with good memories of her life in the city. Such as the smell of roasted cashews and sauerkraut covered hotdogs from street vendors, taxis honking, New Yorkers telling each other to go to hell on every corner. Dark alleys hosting a multitude of crimes that beckoned to her like crack to an addict. No text books, no lesson plans, no parent conferences.

"Umpf!" Lost in recollection, Lucy slammed into a solid mass. As the man turned around, she came face to face with the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen. A quirky smile lifted one corner of his lip as he reached out to steady her. His light touch on her forearm sent a shocking shiver down her spine. No one had elicited any sort of response from her feminine side since...well, in a long, long time.

"Excuse me, Miss. I'm sorry to get in your way. I...umm...I am a little lost. I guess my eyes were focused on room numbers instead of where I was walking."

Lucy couldn't help but smile back, despite her best effort not to.

"Oh...are you new here?"

"Yes, ma'am." The handsome stranger stuck out his hand. "Name's Logan Smith. I'm teaching World History."

Lucy eyed the man, instantly suspicious. Of course, lately she had become instantly suspicious of everyone. Lucy accepted his outstretched hand.

"Lucy Taylor. I teach U.S. History. What room were you looking for?"

"Oooohhhh, Ms. Taylor! Who's the hottie?" The same girl from the parking lot called out, openly eyeing the school's newest instructor. Lucy flushed a deep crimson. They were standing in the middle of the main hallway practically holding hands. Quickly letting go of Mr. Smith's hand, she shoved her own into the pocket of her corduroy skirt. It irritated her that she missed simple human contact way more than she should.

"Don't you have a class to get to, Sarah?" Lucy used her sternest teacher voice to redirect the young lady. Sarah was all smiles as she waved to the new teacher. Lucy could see why, Mr. Smith was definitely nice to look at, a fact that was going to cause some unrest in the all female population. "The bell is about to ring, you know."

"Yes, Ms. Taylor." The girl scurried off giggling, her plaid skirt flipping around her legs as she moved. Lucy turned back to Logan. The man was definitely way too handsome for his own good. His students were never going to take him seriously. Why did she even care anyway?

Because that man is fine with a capital F, and you have been alone and lonely for way too long.

Lucy pushed thoughts of how handsome Mr. Smith was out of her mind and focused on the task at hand.

"Now, Mr. Smith, which room were you looking for?"

He checked the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. "Um, looks like room 212."

"Oh, that's easy. I can take you there. It's the room right next to mine. Follow me."

Damn! He's right next door.

The new teacher unnerved her, and she didn't need anything throwing her off her game. Suddenly very self-conscious, Lucy took off down the hall and through the throng of girls eagerly greeting each after a summer of camps and vacations. Without looking back even once to see if Logan Smith followed her, Lucy stopped short in front of her classroom.

"Your room is right there." She pointed to the open door about ten feet away from her own.

Logan flashed her a smile that lit a playful light in his eyes. That little shiver traveled the length of her spine once again. What the heck? Since when did the smile of a good-looking guy have any effect on her at all? Nothing had penetrated her shell since Salvatore.

"Thank you. I feel as lost as I did my freshman year of high school! Of course, back in those days I didn't have a pretty escort to show me around, so maybe this time around won't be quite so bad." He winked and then chuckled when Lucy blushed.

She averted her eyes, not accustomed to having conversations anymore with anyone, especially flirty, handsome men. In five minutes she would have thirty expectant teenagers waiting to see if she could teach them a thing or two. She didn't have time to wonder where Mr. Smith had come from or why he was stirring feelings deep inside her that she was absolutely certain she had locked away a long time ago.

"Well, everyone gets the jitters on the first day. You'll be fine. Let me know if you need anything." Lucy disappeared inside her room. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked away. Her abrupt departure was on the rude side, but she was a little rusty on the personal interaction front. Mostly, she just talked to her students, and occasionally the television. She hadn't made a single friend in all the months since leaving New York.

She had no desire to get comfortable in this place and certainly didn't intend to die in the mountains of Virginia, no matter what the feds had to say about it. Lucy sighed heavily and dropped her bag on her desk. The mess that was her life would never be resolved. Not as long as a single member of the Ricci family was alive.

The shrill bell announcing the beginning of her school day filled the classroom and made her jump in her seat. Everything had her jumpy anymore. She had to give away her cat after she almost shot the poor feline in the middle of the night just for jumping off the windowsill. It had probably been a year since she last slept through the night.

"Good morning, Ms. Taylor. Did you have a good summer?" A young lady with big green eyes and tight ginger colored curls stood over her. Lucy looked up from her desk.

"Hello, Hailey. It was just fine. Thank you for asking. How was yours?"

"Umm, it was okay."

"Just okay?"

"Spent most of it watching my two little brothers. Not much fun in that."

Lucy smiled, memories of her own large family filling her with warmth and then a hint of sadness. "Little brothers aren't so bad, really. Some day when you are all grown, they will be your best friends."

"I guess. Whatever." Hailey shrugged and headed to an empty desk in the front row. She was a good student, somewhat shy and reserved but friendly. She reminded Lucy of herself at that age. Lucy had two brothers also, but they were older than her. Another twinge of nostalgia stung in her chest before she pushed all memories of her former life into the deep dark spot in her brain where she had forced them over a year ago. This was her life now. She'd done the right thing, and she could live with that.

For now.

                                     Start this new series today!

Release Information And A Little Something Extra

I'm very excited to announce that the third book in the Secret Lives Series will be released on May 3 by Limitless Publishing! I'll be sharing the cover here in just five days...and it's absolutely awesome!! I can't wait for you all to see it.

As a little treat in preparation for the cover reveal, I am sharing one of my favorite parts of In the Shadow of the Shield with you today.  Diana is finally pulling out mourning and allowing herself to live again...

      If you haven't read this book yet, you can get a copy here...or borrow it free in kindle unlimited



“So, what are you doing here anyway?” she asked as she pulled a couple of tea bags from a canister on the counter. “Obviously you’re on duty.”
He shrugged and offered a sheepish smile. “Would you believe that I missed you?”
She returned the smile. “I definitely wouldn’t mind if you did.” 
“You almost shooting me aside, is it okay that I dropped by? I was down the street on patrol, and my unit seemed to develop a mind of its own. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in your driveway.”

“You can stop by anytime. I’m glad you did.”  Diana set out two mugs, dropped the tea bags in them, and reached for the lemon juice and honey she kept handy.
Carter caught her hand from across the counter and held it, caressing the palm with his thumb. “It’s been a long week. I never minded going home to my empty apartment before. Now, I can’t stand how lonely and cold it is. For the first time since my wife left, I feel like I have a reason to be a little bit happy. Being with you makes me happy.” He looked up at her. “Too much too soon?”
“No. I have been pacing the house for days, hoping Louie would text you so you would have a reason to come by. Crazy, huh?”
“Not at all. I wanted to, but I figured you needed a little space after—how did things go with your son the other day?”
The tea pot whistled. Diana poured steaming water into both cups and passed Carter one of them with a spoon. “Jackson misses his father. He’s struggling with the idea that life has to go on, and you have to admit, he did happen in on us at a very inopportune time.”
 “Yeah, no kidding. It took me half the afternoon…”
“Half the afternoon to what?”
 “Let’s just say that kiss didn’t end in my mind for a good long time.”
“You youngsters are so dramatic!” She flipped a dish towel at him. Carter caught it in one hand, and his expression turned serious.
 “Why are you so hung up on our age difference? It’s only eight years. If I were older than you, would it even occur to you to care?”

She felt her cheeks heat up as Carter watched her intently. “I—I don’t know. I mean, it’s a little strange to me to have someone so much younger—I mean, the way I—” She threw her hands in the air in frustration and turned her back on him. “Look, Donnie was my high school sweetheart. I loved him for more than half my life. I still love him. I was not prepared for the way I would be affected by a man other than him.”
When she turned around again, Carter was standing there, his eyes filled with desire and emotion. “I’m not trying to take Massey’s place in your life. I had no idea when I went to the cemetery that—oh, I don’t even know. I was looking for you, yes, but only because I wanted to know what really happened to Massey. I wasn’t prepared for the way—for what’s happening either. I’m still not. Not really. I’m broken, Diana. I have a mother who didn’t love me, and a wife who couldn’t love me enough to stick around. It’s only been a week since I met you, and it has been the best time in my life in a very long time. I only want the opportunity to get to know you, see where— if anywhere—this thing will go. And figure out what really happened to Massey.”
 “How do we even know something happened to him?”
“It’s a gut feeling. That’s all I can say.” They were standing very close. Too close. She could smell that musky soap of his again, and it was all she could do to stay where she was. He sure looked good in that uniform. Too good. She moistened her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue.  “Don’t do that.”

“What?”
 “Lick your lips that way. I have to get back on the road in a minute, and that might make me quit my job so I can see you do that again.”
She giggled like a schoolgirl. “Oh, you can’t do that. Your uniform is half the appeal. Don’t you know, once a badge bunny, always a badge bunny?” She tapped the badge on his chest with one finger.
“Badge bunny, huh?” In one smooth move, his arm slipped around her and his lips pressed to hers in a quick kiss. “I hate to leave, Madam Bunny, but the streets of Virginia Beach are begging to be kept safe.”
 “What kind of crime is there in a resort town in the middle of the winter?”
 “You’d be surprised. Hookers still got pimps to pay, no matter how cold it is. Crack heads still need a fix, and drive-bys are very popular this time of year. The discerning gangster prefers not to freeze the family jewels to get the weekly quota of shootings in.”
“I suppose that makes sense, since it was this time last year when Donnie got mixed up in that supposed meth case.” No sooner had the words left her mouth that they heard the ringing of a cell phone.
Carter let her go and dug into one of his pockets. “That’s the Louie phone number. A text message.” “What’s it say?”
 “He says he wants a pizza with his Snickers and his Mountain Dew.”
 “What?”
“Hold on. Another message is coming in. It’s a photograph.”

“A photo of what?”
“Hard to tell. It’s pretty dark, but it looks like three people. He says he caught them leaving the house, and they are the same guys he saw the other night.”
“Ask him who they are.” Her heart rate picked up at the thought of a possible lead. “Are they cops?” Carter tapped out a message and then waited for Louie to reply. “Okay, he says they left and locked the place up tight. He doesn’t know who they are, but he is certain they are the same guys he saw the other night.” Carter typed in another message, then set the phone down on the counter by his radio. It buzzed almost immediately with a message from Louie, promising to let them know the second the men returned, as long as he could have an extra-large double cheese pie. “All right, as much as I hate to go, I need to get back out on patrol. Lunchtime is over.”
 “Lunch time? Was I supposed to be a quickie on your lunch break?”
Carter grabbed his radio and clipped it back on his belt. “Trust me, baby, if that was why I was here, there would be nothing quick about it.”

New Book and an Excerpt!

This is it! The final James man has finally found love. Aunt Clara can rest in peace! 

                                                             Check it out here!

Keegan James was all about his career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Until he let his heart get in the way of his good sense and he started thinking about marriage and future. She was too, just with someone else. So, he did what any smart, jilted lover would do- quit his job and moved to the beach. Sort of.

About to start his new job with the Border Patrol, Keegan buys an old farm on a whim.  It needs a ton of work—or a total tear down—but he loves it and can’t wait to make it his new bachelor pad. Too bad the entire property is under investigation by the DEA for drug trafficking and the agent on the case thinks he’s involved.

 What’s worse? She’s smart, sexy and good with a gun.

Nikki has had to prove herself every step of the way to get where she is.  If her boss weren’t her  father’s best friend and her ex wasn’t a complete idiot, maybe it would have been different. As it stands, she is about to break the case of her career. And, possibly arrest the sexiest man she’d met in a really long time.

It eventually becomes obvious that Keegan isn’t her perp and  that drugs are exactly what’s being moved off his property.

 

Here's a little sneak peak....

 

Excerpt 1

"Have you thought about joining one of them online dating sites?' his mother inquired before he even had his seat belt on.

"Mom." He sighed as he turned the key and put the car in gear. "Give it a rest, would you please?" Keegan pulled onto the road and back toward the more populated area of the city and his temporary rental but Clara had no intention of letting anything rest.

"Come on, it's easy. You just fill out a profile and let the ladies find you."

Keegan groaned. "It's not that easy, Ma. Finding a wife is not like going to the grocery store. I can't make a shopping list of attributes and just fall in love because some computer program says I should."

"Well, nothing else seems to be working for you. Your brother found love; Logan is happy. I just want you to have what they have."

"I'm going to be pretty busy here for a while, Ma. There isn’t going to be time to have a relationship with anyone except my contractor and the construction supply company."

Clara sat back and folder her arms across her chest. "You would deny your mother the chance to know you are happy before she dies?"

"Let it go already, Ma. Please. I can't force someone to love me just to make you happy." Or for any reason at all. A lesson he had learned the hard way—at the expense of his career hard way.

"Well, you can't fault a mother for trying." Clara turned to look out the window and things became eerily silent. Whenever his mother was quiet too long, Keegan got worried. She was probably concocting some plan that he was going to hate.

"What about one of those foreign things? You know, brides from other countries?"

Keegan slammed on the brakes, sending the BMW into a slight fishtail before it came to a stop. Gripping the steering wheel, Keegan struggled to maintain his composure. Clara was his mother after all. "You. Want. Me. To. Get. A. Mail. Order. Bride?"

"Sure, why not? Hank, in my group has one. So does your Uncle Joe."

"What the hell, Ma?" He turned to look at Clara. "I'm not desperate! I'm perfectly happy with my life and I would suggest you let this drop now!"

"You would take that tone with your own mother?" Clara clasped her hands over her heart. "When my only wish is to see you happy and taken care of?"

Keegan put the car back in gear and started driving again. "Let it drop, Ma."

Clara let out a little sigh and folded her hands in her lap. "For now."

Excerpt 2:

Nikki followed Logan's wife out the front door. After being inside the windowless house, the morning sunshine seemed especially bright. As they walked around the side of what Nikki had thought was a small cabin, what she saw stopped her in her tracks. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was absolutely breathtaking. The greens of the trees against the blue of the sky and tendrils of early morning fog weaving in and out of the mountain tops painted a picture that no words could do justice.

"Wow."

Angie looked at her over her shoulder. "I know. It blew me away the first time too."

"How long have you and Logan been married?"

"Just about a year. We had a quick romance, I guess." Angelina laughed.

"That's what Keegan said about Kaiden and Katie."

"The James men are pretty intense and when they make up their minds about something they go after it. No messing around."

Nikki nodded. "They are intense."

"Keegan has already made up his mind about you. I can see it in his eyes. He is head over heels for you."

"We just met less than a week ago."

"I knew Logan loved me two days in. Of course, our courting period happened while we were on the run from mercenaries that wanted me dead so we may have felt a bit of pressure to get things out in the open." She laughed again and motioned for Nikki to follow her. A few hundred feet away was a patio with comfortable oversized chairs and an awning. Angelina lowered herself into one of the chairs and waved Nikki to the one beside her. "So much better to sit."

"I'm not sure I'll ever have a baby. Pregnancy seems so hard. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Angelina smiled. "No worries. It is hard. The hardest part is being on leave and not be able to go after the bad guys anymore. I would give my left arm—not my right because that's my gun hand—to be there when Salvatore goes down but they are right, I need to stay here."

"Is there anything you would like to say to him? I mean, I could pass on a message for you when we get him."

"A well placed knee to his crotch would make me exceptionally happy."

Nikki grinned. "You got it. I mean, as long as those boys don't go all macho on me and cut me out of the action."

"Ah, so that's what's bothering you."

"Come again?" Nikki tried not to sound annoyed but she wasn't very successful. She sounded like a bitch even to her own ears.

"I read people very well. You were pretty pissed in there."

She shrugged. "I was. Am. This started out as my investigation. I know I have to share it with the ATF but honestly, they have all hijacked it totally. I'm just an onlooker now and I'm the one that did all the leg work."

"You know why, right?" Angelina smiled and patted her arm.

"Because I am a woman?"

"Oh, no. The James men are not like that, Clara would kick every one of their asses off the side of this mountain if they were."

Nikki sat forward and looked Angelina in the eye. "Then what the hell is wrong with them? Do I threaten their masculinity or something?"

"Nope."

"Then what?"

"I told you, Keegan is in love with you."

Nikki shook her head. "No, he isn’t. We just met."

"Doesn't matter. He has decided you are the one and once a James decides they love someone, you are instantly inside their circle of wagons, so to speak. They are protecting you now."

"I don't need protection. I want to do my job."

"Then stand up to them. Don't let them shut you out. Even though they aren't trying to do that, they will in a heartbeat if it keeps you safe. Logan about lost it when I was shot. He wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom alone for months. I had to sneak away when he was asleep to go to the supermarket. They love hard, those guys, but they love with every fiber of their being."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for all that."

"I wasn't either but they grow on you. Or wear you down. One or the other." Angelina chuckled as she appeared to slip away for a moment into a private memory. "Anyway, if you don't mind me saying, it is my opinion that you are more ready than you think you are. I see the way you watch him and the way he touches you whenever he can and it makes you blush just a little. Keegan is a really good man, Nikki. I hope you won't be scared off by his intensity. He needs someone like you to even him out."

 

 

 

 

NEW RELEASE ALERT!!

I'm so excited to announce the release of the THIRD book in the Defenders of Love Series! After watching his cousin and his twin fall in love with amazing women, Keegan James finally gets his chance....

                                                     Get your copy of Border Patrol here!

Keegan James was all about his career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Until he let his heart get in the way of his good sense and he started thinking about marriage and the future. She was too, just with someone else. So, he did what any smart, jilted lover would do- quit his job and moved to the beach. Sort of.

About to start a new career with the Border Patrol, Keegan buys an old farm on a whim.  It needs a ton of work—or a total tear down—but it's awesome and will make the perfect bachelor pad. Too bad the entire property is under investigation by the DEA for drug trafficking and the agent on the case thinks he’s involved.

What’s worse? Said agent is smart, sexy and really good with a gun.

Nikki has had to prove herself every step of the way to get where she is.  If her boss weren’t her  father’s best friend and her ex wasn’t a complete idiot, maybe it would have been different. As it stands, she is about to break the case of her career. And, possibly arrest the sexiest man she’d met in a really long time.

When it becomes obvious that Keegan isn’t her perp nor is it drugs that  are being moved off his property, will two stubborn, totally by the book federal agents throw caution to the wind or let the chance at love slip away with the tide?

Here's a couple of excerpts to entice you....

Excerpt 1

"Have you thought about joining one of them online dating sites?' his mother inquired before he even had his seat belt on.

"Mom." He sighed as he turned the key and put the car in gear. "Give it a rest, would you please?" Keegan pulled onto the road and back toward the more populated area of the city and his temporary rental but Clara had no intention of letting anything rest.

"Come on, it's easy. You just fill out a profile and let the ladies find you."

Keegan groaned. "It's not that easy, Ma. Finding a wife is not like going to the grocery store. I can't make a shopping list of attributes and just fall in love because some computer program says I should."

"Well, nothing else seems to be working for you. Your brother found love; Logan is happy. I just want you to have what they have."

"I'm going to be pretty busy here for a while, Ma. There isn’t going to be time to have a relationship with anyone except my contractor and the construction supply company."

Clara sat back and folder her arms across her chest. "You would deny your mother the chance to know you are happy before she dies?"

"Let it go already, Ma. Please. I can't force someone to love me just to make you happy." Or for any reason at all. A lesson he had learned the hard way—at the expense of his career hard way.

"Well, you can't fault a mother for trying." Clara turned to look out the window and things became eerily silent. Whenever his mother was quiet too long, Keegan got worried. She was probably concocting some plan that he was going to hate.

"What about one of those foreign things? You know, brides from other countries?"

Keegan slammed on the brakes, sending the BMW into a slight fishtail before it came to a stop. Gripping the steering wheel, Keegan struggled to maintain his composure. Clara was his mother after all. "You. Want. Me. To. Get. A. Mail. Order. Bride?"

"Sure, why not? Hank, in my group has one. So does your Uncle Joe."

"What the hell, Ma?" He turned to look at Clara. "I'm not desperate! I'm perfectly happy with my life and I would suggest you let this drop now!"

"You would take that tone with your own mother?" Clara clasped her hands over her heart. "When my only wish is to see you happy and taken care of?"

Keegan put the car back in gear and started driving again. "Let it drop, Ma."

Clara let out a little sigh and folded her hands in her lap. "For now."

Excerpt 2:

Nikki followed Logan's wife out the front door. After being inside the windowless house, the morning sunshine seemed especially bright. As they walked around the side of what Nikki had thought was a small cabin, what she saw stopped her in her tracks. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was absolutely breathtaking. The greens of the trees against the blue of the sky and tendrils of early morning fog weaving in and out of the mountain tops painted a picture that no words could do justice.

"Wow."

Angie looked at her over her shoulder. "I know. It blew me away the first time too."

"How long have you and Logan been married?"

"Just about a year. We had a quick romance, I guess." Angelina laughed.

"That's what Keegan said about Kaiden and Katie."

"The James men are pretty intense and when they make up their minds about something they go after it. No messing around."

Nikki nodded. "They are intense."

"Keegan has already made up his mind about you. I can see it in his eyes. He is head over heels for you."

"We just met less than a week ago."

"I knew Logan loved me two days in. Of course, our courting period happened while we were on the run from mercenaries that wanted me dead so we may have felt a bit of pressure to get things out in the open." She laughed again and motioned for Nikki to follow her. A few hundred feet away was a patio with comfortable oversized chairs and an awning. Angelina lowered herself into one of the chairs and waved Nikki to the one beside her. "So much better to sit."

"I'm not sure I'll ever have a baby. Pregnancy seems so hard. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Angelina smiled. "No worries. It is hard. The hardest part is being on leave and not be able to go after the bad guys anymore. I would give my left arm—not my right because that's my gun hand—to be there when Salvatore goes down but they are right, I need to stay here."

"Is there anything you would like to say to him? I mean, I could pass on a message for you when we get him."

"A well placed knee to his crotch would make me exceptionally happy."

Nikki grinned. "You got it. I mean, as long as those boys don't go all macho on me and cut me out of the action."

"Ah, so that's what's bothering you."

"Come again?" Nikki tried not to sound annoyed but she wasn't very successful. She sounded like a bitch even to her own ears.

"I read people very well. You were pretty pissed in there."

She shrugged. "I was. Am. This started out as my investigation. I know I have to share it with the ATF but honestly, they have all hijacked it totally. I'm just an onlooker now and I'm the one that did all the leg work."

"You know why, right?" Angelina smiled and patted her arm.

"Because I am a woman?"

"Oh, no. The James men are not like that, Clara would kick every one of their asses off the side of this mountain if they were."

Nikki sat forward and looked Angelina in the eye. "Then what the hell is wrong with them? Do I threaten their masculinity or something?"

"Nope."

"Then what?"

"I told you, Keegan is in love with you."

Nikki shook her head. "No, he isn’t. We just met."

"Doesn't matter. He has decided you are the one and once a James decides they love someone, you are instantly inside their circle of wagons, so to speak. They are protecting you now."

"I don't need protection. I want to do my job."

"Then stand up to them. Don't let them shut you out. Even though they aren't trying to do that, they will in a heartbeat if it keeps you safe. Logan about lost it when I was shot. He wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom alone for months. I had to sneak away when he was asleep to go to the supermarket. They love hard, those guys, but they love with every fiber of their being."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for all that."

"I wasn't either but they grow on you. Or wear you down. One or the other." Angelina chuckled as she appeared to slip away for a moment into a private memory. "Anyway, if you don't mind me saying, it is my opinion that you are more ready than you think you are. I see the way you watch him and the way he touches you whenever he can and it makes you blush just a little. Keegan is a really good man, Nikki. I hope you won't be scared off by his intensity. He needs someone like you to even him out."

#WIPWednesday

I hope you all made it through the Christmas holiday happy and healthy. We made it, but barely!

The weather has been beautiful, the food plentiful and the gifts gracious.

I started a brand new project this week and an I am already well into it so I've decided to have an excerpt be this week's #WIPWednesday. The book is still untitled but it has been fun to write so far. Evie and Landon are the perfect match...they just don't know it yet. :-)

Amelia walked toward the door. “Maybe you’ll have better luck with him.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, not quite ready to deal with reality yet.

“Good morning, Mr. Reed.” She didn’t sound all that old. “Do you plan to stay in bed all day?”

“Maybe. What’s it to you?” I sounded like an ass but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Well, it’s all the same to me if you want to rot away in that bed. I get paid either way.” I heard soft footsteps cross the room toward the little sitting area. Good. I have no intention of getting out of bed today or any other day just because someone told me to.

Rolling over on my side, I shifted the pillow enough to peek out. From my vantage point, all I could see was a pair of canvas shoes. The television turned on. I heard her flip through channels, finally settling on some home improvement show.

“Nobody watches those stupid shows anymore.”

Either she didn’t hear me or she was ignoring me.

“Those shows are ridiculous.” I made sure to project my voice from under the pillow.

“No more ridiculous than a grown man hiding under a pillow and acting like a two year old.”

I threw the covers off and shot up to a sitting position, ignoring the burning pain in my leg. “What the fuck is your prob…” Holy shit. The woman sitting on the couch looking at the television and completely ignoring me was neither old nor fat. She wasn’t hideous or horrible. In fact, she was fucking hot.

“Who the hell are you?” Way to be charming, Landon.

She looked over at me, boredom in her expression, before returning her attention to the television. “The nurse your father hired. Who the hell do you think I am?”

“I don’t need a nurse.”

“I agree. You need a nanny.” She flipped the channel to a news program and grimaced.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I turned so I could swing my legs over the side of the bed, the brace making my movements jerky not angry and pronounced like I’d intended.

“It means, you can’t even dress yourself so how can anyone expect you to do anything.”

I dropped my gaze down and with a curse, grabbed the sheet and pulled it across my lap. I’d totally forgotten about falling in bed naked the night before. Unfortunately, other parts of me were not only aware that they were unclothed but they were announcing themselves quite loudly.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Whatever. I’m a nurse. I’ve seen worse. Of course, I’ve seen better too. Much better.” She clicked to another station. I could have sworn I saw her lip twitch as I growled over her insult.

“Just get out. I don’t need you. Tell my father to go to hell.”

She tossed the remote control on the coffee table and checked her watch. “You have ten minutes to get ready for physical therapy or I’m taking you the way you are.”

I crossed my arms over my bare chest. “I’m not going.”

“You are going so get dressed.” She stood and looked him over. “You’re down to eight minutes.”

“And just how do you expect me to get down all of those stairs?”

“The same way you got up them. Walter showed me the elevator.”

Damn it. I was hoping she hadn’t found that yet. I waved a hand in the air. “Whatever. Are you going to watch?”

“Watch what?” She dropped her gaze to my lap and gave me a little smile that was more taunting than friendly.

This woman was absolutely infuriating. “Fine. Suit yourself.” I whipped the sheet back and reached for my wheelchair. Instead of turning away, she stayed right where she was with that little smile dancing around on her lips. With about as much grace as a bull in a china shop, I managed to get from the bed to the chair while she just stood there and watched.

“I thought you were supposed to be here to help me.”

“You didn’t say you needed my assistance.”

“Really? I had to ask? Isn’t that what you are here for?”

“Let’s get something straight, Mr. Reed.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “I’m a trauma trained RN. I am not your maid or your gopher or any other thing. It is my job to get you back on your feet both literally and figuratively. I’ll handle your medical care and your personal care as needed but I am not at your beck and call.”

I'm also very proud to say that In the Shadow of the Shield has been getting some great reviews!

 

Thank you to all who have read it. Please feel free to add your review to Amazon as well!