HUGE Deal on Fantasy Romance!

I'm a sucker for a series. I love finishing one book and steamrolling right on to the next one. What else do I love? Fantastic world-building. So I couldn't wait to tell you about this sale. You can grab the first book, Ruined, and the second book, Denied, in the Shadowed Love trilogy for only $2.99 each. Why? To get you ready to snap up book 3, Endured, when it releases on May 15, of course!

Jessa is one healing away from death. Under the thrall of her gift, the Court's Senior Healer risks giving her life in exchange for her patient's.

Vale is a rebel ruler. When his brother is killed, he's given the throne and the decree from the Court to produce an heir or lose his family's hold on the land--and his deceiving advisors aren't afraid to use murder as a weapon if their directive to stay away from the Senior Healer goes unheeded.

But Vale burns to possess Jessa. The heat between them leaves a wake of smoke, and even the powerful forces above want to bind them in a union that lasts forever. Vale taking another would be a betrayal neither could survive.

Their enemies fear a child born of such a powerful Healer and Warrior, but the true threat lies in the bond forged in shadows and fused in fire.

When invaders brutally massacred the women and children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who challenges his limits.

Refused the right to join the king’s guard because of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the foundation of his culture.

When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb must come together not only to fight, but to find the strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they revere most--including each other.

Kick Off The Weekend With A Werewolf Romance!

This week is just chock full of exciting releases! Today I'm sharing with you werewolf goodness - Survive to Dawn, Book 3 of the London Undead. Don't be deterred by the fact it is #3 in a series. It can absolutely be read as a stand-alone.

The zombie epidemic in London has been contained, but that’s all the werewolf pack that protects the city has been able to manage. Danny, as pack medic, is concerned the epidemic isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. And that the pack’s Alpha is too focused on eliminating the deadly threat to consider working toward a cure. When a team of American scientists arrive, talking of a vaccine, Danny is quietly hopeful.

Deanna thought she was prepared for anything. But an argument with the London pack leaves her research team exposed and alone, on their own against countless hordes of the walking dead. Within hours, her colleagues are slaughtered…and it’s only because of Danny that she manages to get out alive.

Deanna unhinges Danny in every way, tempting him beyond reason. She also pushes him to face the one thing he’d been avoiding: his Alpha is wrong. Simply surviving isn’t the answer…it can’t be.

***

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Danny decided to give the humans two more minutes to argue their cause with Seth before he stepped in to save them from themselves. His alpha had a firm leash on his temper, but it was notoriously short. This particular group of scientists was clearly trying the limits of his patience.

“The cage is integral to our purposes, you see.” The old human kept his eyes down, his posture relaxed, and used no sudden hand gestures to punctuate his argument. No movements to trigger a defensive and potentially violent response. “We need tissue samples.”

“Plenty have been taken, but if you’re in need of more, our teams can hold the zombies.” Seth ground out his assurance.

True. Seth himself had held one or two of the mindless dead while Danny had taken the samples. As shapeshifters, they were immune to the zombie virus that could turn the human scientists into the very blighters they were trying to study.

“But if your people hold the zombies, they’ll kill them right away.” A young woman stepped forward, right up to the quarantine line, too fast in her urgency. Danny’s attention, as well as his alpha’s, fastened instantly on her. The British soldiers on the outside would’ve been too slow to stop her from crossing into London even though they were standing just a meter or two from her. She dropped her chocolate brown eyes a second late, but at least she’d remembered. Looking a werewolf in the eye was a challenge, aggressive behavior, especially when entering their territory. Werewolves, like all predatory shifters, tended to deal with such acts immediately and definitively. Primal instincts were an integral part of who they were. Anyone attempting to cross the quarantine line was supposed to receive a werewolf primer now, as the London pack had absolute authority within the city. Based on this team’s behavior and the relaxed attitude of the military guards, it might be time to look into reinforcing those. Luckily for the girl, Danny and his alpha had more control than most and could allow her the leeway.

Seth let loose a low growl. The color drained from her tanned face, but she held her ground even as a couple of the other scientists retreated a few steps. Several of the soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons.

Jumpy around the big bad wolves, eh?

They might be on constant guard on the quarantine line, but they didn’t have direct dealings with Seth often. Danny fought to keep a properly stern expression. Based on his alpha’s relaxed posture and the lack of anger in his scent, Seth was amused. But then, the both of them appreciated a woman with a spine. And this one was a right beauty to boot.

Medium height, a touch on the slender side, with the natural bronzing of someone who spent a lot of time outdoors someplace sunny. Her dark hair was pulled back in a serviceable ponytail but a few escaped strands framed her heart-shaped face. Very pretty. Though currently, her lips were pressed together in a thin line of stubborn determination.

“We need samples from the same specimen over time. Your people can’t eliminate the ones we catch right away. There’d be nothing left to test after the accelerated decomposition leaves us with just...potting soil.”

“Actually, what’s left after a zombie is well and truly dead is a bit drier than the stuff they use for plants.”

Danny scratched his chin, enjoying the woman’s surprise when he spoke up. Very focused, this lass. She forgot to lower her gaze. Since it didn’t prick his temper, he gave her a wink. “But then, nobody I know has been mad enough to try setting up a garden from the stuff. Might be worth a go, see if it’s actually good for something.”

She blinked. At the sight of her baffled expression, Danny could hold back no longer. He grinned at her.

Her gaze darted back and forth between him and Seth, but lingered on him. “Th-the hypothesis we’re testing revolves around the effect of our experiment over time, like I said. Samples from different individuals would skew the results, introduce unnecessary bias to the findings.” Deep rose stained her cheeks.

Good, the interest was mutual. “As much as I personally do enjoy the very lovely sound of science passing your lips, lass, it doesn’t change a hard and fast rule. If you’d have sent your study protocol on ahead to Brian, he’d have told you the same.”

Danny would’ve been interested to read it, regardless. Their experiment sounded structured more to test a potential treatment. The usual kill-the-zombies-instantaneously solutions the science-types had been trying to develop generally meant a one-time, lethal dose.

“The protocol and the related investigational drug product are proprietary.” She pressed her lips back together, just for an instant. “It wasn’t available for dissemination to anyone without top-level security clearance. Plus we require a signed nondisclosure agreement.”

The way she shaped words, took a breath as she was about to let loose a long sentence in one go... he liked it, wanted to coax her into a more in-depth conversation. The bigger the vocabulary, the better, as far as he was concerned.

Oy. Talk science to me. It’s a bit of a thing for me.

A Clear-Your-Calendar, Series Ending Book Release!

I have been in LOVE with the sexy and tortured Anemoi gods since I read the very first draft of North of Need. So I'm both thrilled and heartbroken on this release day of the final book of their saga.

Annalise Fallston made peace with postponing her big-city dreams to care for her ill father, but lately she's been filled with a restlessness not even her beloved painting dispels. Worse, the colors don't speak to her as they always have, and all her efforts produce dark, foreboding images of a dangerous man and a terrifying future. 
 
Devlin Eston, black-souled son of the evil Anemoi Eurus, is the only one who can thwart his father's plan to overthrow the Supreme God of Wind and Storms. But first, Dev must master the unstable powers he's been given. Distrusted and shunned by his own divine family, he never expected to find kindness and passion in the arms of a mortal.
 
But Devlin's love puts Annalise in the path of a catastrophic storm, and in the final Armageddon showdown between the Anemoi and Eurus, sacrifices will be made, hearts broken, and lives changed forever...or lost.

Here's a note from Laura herself and a terrific excerpt:

You guys! I can’t believe release day for East of Ecstasy is finally here! This is the final book in my Hearts of the Anemoi series, which includes: North of Need, West of Want, and South of Surrender. The Anemoi were wind gods the Greek associated with controlling the wind, weather, and seasons. In East of Ecstasy, hero Devlin Eston is the heir to the East Wind which has long been associated with unluckiness, misfortune, and, thanks to Devlin’s father, even evil. Devlin himself has been the victim of father’s evil, and thereby finds himself an outcast among his own divine family. In this scene, heroine Annalise Fallston—who gets visions that she’s forced to paint in order to quiet them in her mind—sees Devlin for the first time. Here’s what she says:

Forcing the chaos in her mind away, Anna dipped her brush into the gray and stepped to the canvas. Motion captured her attention from the corner of her eye.

The Dark Man, the subject of her recent paintings, stood in the doorway and leaned against the jamb.

Anna jumped and her pulse raced, but this time, anger flooded in instead of fear. “I will deal with you on my own damn terms,” she said, taking a perverse amount of pleasure from putting a figment of her imagination in its place. Because that’s all he was.

He didn’t move or speak. Not that he could, since, you know. Figment. Of. Imagination.

Anna rolled her eyes, done with being scared and so pissed to have to do this again that she was nearly out of her mind. “I’m doing your damn painting already. So just leave me alone.” She cut her gaze back to the expanse of white, but the desire to see if his image would still be there if she looked again drove her to distraction.

Finally, she gave in and…he was still there.

Completely still. Blatantly scowling. Totally unfathomable.

Was this a vision? Another image she’d have to paint?

Her heart tripped into a sprint, and she couldn’t look away from him. Like the compulsion that forced her to paint these images, Anna couldn’t help but return his stare and memorize his masculine features. The sharp angles of his face, the harsh set of his mouth, the dark shadows around his even darker eyes. Black eyes. Blades of black hair hung low over his forehead and just touched the hooded shirt he wore under his short, scuffed leather jacket. He’d crossed his arms over his chest, and the position caused his biceps to bunch up under the worn leather. In fact, everything about him appeared worn—the coat, the threadbare jeans, the scuffed boots. None of it struck her as the kind of shabby chic you could buy in some upscale store for a small fortune, either. The whole effect was rough. Dangerous. Deprived.

Deprived? What a strange way of describing him. But as Anna’s gaze swept over him again, the thought stuck. For his height, he seemed thin, with his lean hips, clad in old black jeans, a trim waist, and pronounced cheekbones. Her fingers twitched around the nearly forgotten paintbrush. What would it feel like to cup that harsh face in her hand?

Anna gasped and tore her gaze away. She had to blink to pull herself out of the haze of thoughts. Frustration surged through her and tensed the muscles of her shoulders and neck. She didn’t want to be working on another of these paintings as it was, so the last thing she needed was to lose a bunch of time daydreaming. Or would it be daynightmaring?

As she stared at the blank canvas, the image of the shackled man behind the prison bars filled her mind’s eye.

Definitely the latter.

Curiosity pulled her eyes to the left again. The doorway was empty.

So, did you have a favorite line from the excerpt? Thanks for reading!

Laura

Buy at Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Catch up on the whole series with the Hearts of the Anemoi box set featuring the first three books: North of Need, West of Want, South of Surrender!

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

 On top of all that goodness, there is a release day launch giveaway!  a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Sexy & Fun - Release Day for Betting the Billionaire!

You guys hear me brag all the time about new releases from my Maryland Romance Writer peeps. But I also belong to the awesome Washington Romance Writers, who are equally talented and fun. So today I have the great pleasure of sharing the release of my WRW chaptermate, Avery Flynn. You like hot billionaires and sassy heroines? Then you need to rush right out and get Betting the Billionaire.  Scroll all the way down for a gloriously NSFW excerpt!

 

If that man calls her one more time... So what if Gabe Campos is a model-dating billionaire who gets Keisha Jacobs hotter than a Ferrari's engine on the straightaway? He keeps pushing her to sell her family's furniture business, but she'll never give in--not unless she wants to give her father a second heart attack.

All Gabe should be thinking about is how he'll finally get revenge on the man who killed his father. But when he meets the man's daughter, Keisha, instead of focusing on destroying Jacobs Fine Furnishings, he can't get her warm-whisky voice out of his mind.

Forced by a snow storm to spend the night together, their passion ignites. The next day, however, it's back to business. The only way Keisha can save her family is to win a bet with the billionaire. But neither realized their hearts are part of the bargain...

 

 

Keisha tried to maintain a blasé attitude about the set of five Good Time Smexy Elves that Ellen had found online, but she couldn’t keep the embarrassed giggle out of her voice.

Of course, Gabe didn’t have that problem. He picked up each cavorting pair and eyed it as if it were a precious Degas instead of an offering to the altar of all that is tacky.

God knew what kind of website Ellen had been trolling when she discovered the lusty ceramics. For the entirety of their twenty-year friendship, Ellen had loved shoving Keisha out of her sheltered comfort zone. She’d scored big with this Christmas gift.

Keisha wasn’t just out of her zone, she was out of her regular orbit.

“Are you a big elf collector?” Gabe sat the last set of elves down on the coffee table, right next to the latest copy of Interior Living Today.

“God, no.” She couldn’t miss the teasing glint in his blue eyes or the way sitting next to him on the chaise lounge sent tingles of excitement ricocheting through her body like she’d just inhaled a whole package of Pop Rocks. “Ellen just likes to give me a hard time.”

“I can see why. You’re pretty cute when you blush.” He brushed his finger across her cheek and dipped his head close to hers. “I’ve spent the whole night wanting to kiss you. Tell me you’ve been thinking about it, too.”

Keisha’s breath caught, but not before she inhaled his scent, a teasing mix of sandalwood, fresh snow, and dangerous destiny. She should say no. She wasn’t that girl who made out with a stranger. She was the girl in the church choir as her granny expected. She was the one who baked a week’s worth of dinners for her parents and loaded up their freezer with them every Sunday night. She was prim and proper and everything that made her family proud.

But she didn’t want to be that girl tonight.

She wanted more.

She wanted to be Keisha.

“Yes.” She didn’t wait for him to make a move. Heart thundering in her ears, she—the most cautious person in her family—threw it all to the wind.

Her lips covered his, her tongue sliding across the seam of his mouth and tasting the hot toddy’s ginger ale-tinged kick. Their tongues tangled as she leaned forward into the kiss, devouring him like a long-denied dessert. She opened her mouth, and his tongue swept inside, teasing and tempting her.

But she was done with denial.

Pivoting, she laid her palms against his broad shoulders and pressed him back against the overstuffed chaise lounge. She slid her fingers up the cool, brass-colored zipper holding

his coveralls closed, the metal teeth rough against her fingertips. As soon as she pinched the metal tab between her fingers, uncertainty yanked her out of the moment.

This was crazy.

The short hair of his beard tickled her jaw as his lips traveled across her sensitive skin to connect with the spot where her jaw met her earlobe. A spot that, until this moment, she hadn’t realized had a direct line to her clit.

This was amazing.

She straddled his lap, her yoga pants proving to be more of an enticement than a barrier. God, she hadn’t made out fully clothed on the couch like a teenager since—well, since she was one. But it wasn’t enough. She needed more. Keisha rocked her hips, gliding herself against his

hardness. Wanton. Demanding. Necessary to keep the itch from driving her crazy. “I want to touch you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” His words tickled the side of her neck as he worked his way south, pushing her comfiest cardigan off her shoulder.

Goose bumps popped up on her newly exposed skin, but it wasn’t because of the cool air. Gabe’s lips grazing her shoulder as he slid aside the straps of her tank top and bra took full credit for her body’s reaction. Her nipples peaked, pushing against her red satin bra and demanding attention. Her body revved like a finely tuned race car during the Brickyard 400.

For the first time since her broken engagement, she wanted to be with a man. This man. Right now. In the morning, she might well blame it all on the strange circumstances brought about by the snow storm, but tonight wasn’t about tomorrow. She tugged the coveralls zipper down, revealing a mile of toned muscle, and slid her hand inside.

Gabe threw back his head as his fingers dug into her hips, pulling her hard against the large bulge still hidden underneath the mechanic’s uniform. His heated response emboldened her as her own warmth soaked her panties.

Keisha scratched her short nails through the coarse hair across his pecs, her core quaking when he moaned his approval. “I’m going to ride you so hard you might regret seeking shelter here.”

“If you don’t, I’m gonna need to go back out and throw myself into a snowbank just to cool off.”

She reached down between them and stroked his hard dick through the baggy coveralls. “You feeling overheated?” Her hand almost circled his covered girth as she moved her hand up and down.

“Fuck me,” he groaned.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do.”

In the next breath, the radio blared to life, the lights snapped on, and her landline rang, piercing her bliss. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden onslaught.

Sometime between his lips on the base of her throat and his fingers inching up her shirt, the power had returned, blasting reality into the room. She did not want to stop now, but ignoring a call wasn’t in her make up.

She pushed against Gabe’s hard chest. “I have to get it.”

He gave the sweet spot at the base of her neck a quick kiss that liquified her body, then he sat up. Desire darkened his eyes, turning her from warm to molten. It took everything she had not to blow off whoever was on the other end of the line. But…she grabbed the phone off the end table.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Baby Girl.” Her father’s voice had a tightness that set off every alarm bell she had. “Are you sitting down? Something’s happened.”