#TeaserTuesday A HOT Excerpt from ALL FOR YOU

It is freezing - well, below freezing, actually - outside. So I'm sharing an excerpt today designed to heat you up from the inside out!

Zane curled his palm around her jaw. Thumbed across the apple of her cheek to gently stroke the soft contours of her pink lips. “Hi, Casey. It’s nice to see you.”

“Ditto.”

“I didn’t stop thinking about you the whole time I was gone.”

“Me, neither. I dreamed about you,” she admitted, color flooding into her face.

He liked the sound of that. Might even insist on a play-by-play re-enactment to see how it meshed with his waking fantasies about her. “Wanna make out?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Zane twisted from his core to roll her beneath him in one, swift move. Then he paused. Just…looked. Pink still flushed her cheeks. Anticipation sparkled her eyes. And her lips…yeah, that was enough looking for now. Zane bit her bottom lip and gently tugged. She responded by extending her tongue to lick the edge of his top lip.

“Tease.” God, he was grateful for it. Women who took sex too seriously bored the pants right back onto him. Nobody should check their personalities at the edge of the mattress.

“You started it.”

He pressed his wrist into the small of her back, urging her to arch against him. Casey flowed up like water. Her hips pulsed once. His cock gave an answering lurch that tripped a moan from her. Zane locked his lips onto hers, tongue mimicking the motion of their hips. She tasted of chocolate and heat.

It was hard to concentrate on the friction and slide of their tangling tongues. The shockwave of sensations from their kisses mingled with the goose bumps erupting on his back. Casey had worked her hand beneath his new Sagamore T-shirt to make long sweeps along his spine. The slow, undulating rhythm reminded him of a tide pushing against the shore. Or the way he’d move once he finally got inside her.

Casey expressed her passion in her soft touch, the way she constantly moved beneath him, the breathy way she urged him on with the almost purrs emanating from the back of her throat. Zane needed no urging. “Want more, gorgeous?”

Bringing both hands up to frame his face, Casey deliberately opened her eyes to lock that forest-green gaze onto his. “Whatever you’ve got,” she challenged.

Zane captured her wandering hands. They were too much of a distraction, would push him too fast. So he locked both wrists in one firm hand above her head. Used the other hand to trace a line down the underside of her bare arm, tracing the delicate blue veins to her elbow. Casey shivered. He kept going, all the way to where the armhole of her white tank pulled taut against the rise of her breast. From there, it was an easy sweep with his thumb to pull the stretchy fabric down.

The late afternoon sun streaming in the windows pooled conveniently across her chest. Her bra was all lace, swirling patterns that in no way hid the change in color from her tan breast to the pale coral of her nipples. Zane’s breath caught in his throat. “You know you’re beautiful, right?”

A moment of silence. Almost silence, rather, as the open windows let in the rustle of the breeze through the trees. “Not all of us are as self-assured as you.”

“Casey, you’re a work of art. Soft, like gold, but laid over a strong core of platinum. With the glorious textures and colors of an oil painting. The delicacy of a spun sugar orchid. I could stare at you all day.”

“I hope you’re going to do more than just stare.”

“You interrupted before I could tell you what I’d like to do all night.” Zane lowered his head. Didn’t bother with any tentative licks along the edge of her tan line. No, he just planted his mouth right on the center and sucked. Hard. Hard enough that the nipple immediately pebbled into a rigid nub. Perfect. Zane pulled again, and then flicked his tongue quickly to push it against his teeth. The added pressure set her body to squirming beneath him.

“That’s so good,” she whispered.

Zane couldn’t answer. Not with a mouth full of the most perfect breast he’d ever tasted. With his teeth, he tugged at the wet lace, knowing the slight scratch of it would…ah, yes. Casey surged up, almost pulling out of his grip. Quickly he switched hands on her wrists and moved to the other breast. Equal time was important.

As though she’d read his mind, Casey murmured, “Hey, I want to be fair. Isn’t it your turn?”

So weird. How come women never got how much it turned men on to pleasure them? “Trust me, I’m taking my turn.”

Her brows drew together in the classic signal that she didn’t believe him. “Are you just trying to impress me?”

“Buttercup, if I was trying to impress you, we wouldn’t be on the floor.” 

Purchase at: Carina Press // Amazon //Barnes & Noble //  iBooks

Release Day of ALL FOR YOU - A Steamy, Small-Town Contemporary Romance!

I'm so excited to share with you the second book in my Shore Secrets trilogy, All For You. Why am I so excited? Because I've got a hero who is a cross between Indiana Jones and Rick Castle. A heroine who puts loyalty above everything else - including what could be her best shot at true love. Steamy kisses (and more!), bromance, banter, and small town quirkiness. The best part? This book stands alone - no need to go back and read the first in the series (although you can....I'd be fine with that....)
 

Small-town park ranger Casey Hobbes has spent her life under the radar, carefully guarding a secret. "The forest flirt," as her best friend calls her, keeps things casual with men. That way she'll never care enough to be tempted to share the truth about her past. But when she spots a half-naked stranger on the lake's edge, Casey can't resist his muscles or his charm and she's all-in for enjoying both, while keeping emotion out of it. What could be the danger of one summer fling?

Professor Zane Buchanan has built his entire career on exposing the dark realities of cults, but one—the Sunshine Seekers—remains infuriatingly impossible to crack. Zane's shocked to discover its sole anonymous survivor is hiding in his new hometown. It's nearly impossible to concentrate on work, however, when he's derailed by his attraction to the beautiful blonde in khaki uniform shorts.

As things between Casey and Zane heat up, she struggles with keeping her past from him. And Zane's on a quest to expose the truth, no matter the consequences. Will their growing emotions finally unseal Casey's big secret? Or will she turn her back on love to keep the past safely buried?

Purchase at: Carina Press / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

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Here's a peek at the very beginning to get you hooked!

When Casey Hobbes got an eyeful of the half-naked man emerging from Seneca Lake, she pulled onto the shoulder without even signaling. She could justify the move because he was technically breaking the no swimming after sunset posted rule, even though she was off-duty. Much of her job as a New York state park ranger comprised of reminding people that rules were for their safety. But deep down? Casey wasn’t even kidding herself. It was that impossibly broad chest and shock of dark brown hair mussed over the top of the scuba mask that drew her like a moth to a bug zapper.

Moving fast now, he emerged the rest of the way from the water. It was black, the same color as the night sky above. So although he wasn’t pale, his legs starkly contrasted his surroundings, making him easy to spot in the moonlight. His long, strong legs. Well muscled. Casey liked the looks of a man who worked out. She couldn’t stand the over-pumped gym rats who resembled nothing more than anatomically correct balloon people. No, this guy was just hot. Yummy hot. S’mores melting over a campfire hot.

Or maybe not so hot. Cause he’d wrapped his arms around himself without even removing the scuba tanks strapped onto his back. Even from across the road she could tell he was shivering. See? It didn’t pay to break the rules. What kind of idiot didn’t wear a wetsuit, even in June, to dive in the Finger Lakes? Casey swung her Jeep into the parking lot of the lakefront park and grabbed for the emergency space blanket she kept tucked behind the passenger seat.

Sticking her head out the window, she asked, “Sir, do you need help?”

He shook his head. But his teeth were chattering so hard he couldn’t actually answer. Geez. Why were the hot ones always so dumb? With a sigh, she hopped out. Hurried over, unsnapped the belt at his waist and slipped the straps of his gear down his bare arms with no resistance from him. Probably because his arms were absolutely ice cold. Now they hung limp at his sides.

So she wrapped the blanket around him tight herself. Its foil crinkling scared a flock of geese straight up into the starry sky. Casey rolled her eyes up towards the Big Dipper in exasperation. Great. What was she supposed to do with a six foot tall mansicle frozen in place at the edge of the lake? Knowing body heat was the quickest way to deal with hypothermia, she wrapped her arms around him, too. Tried not to notice that it brought her flush against ridged abs. Or how well her head tucked into the hollow of his collarbone.

This was strictly basic first aid. If he were a woman, or a sixty-year-old guy with a pot belly and a bad comb over, Casey would still be responding the same way. His core temp had to be raised ASAP. But still, it didn’t suck that he was a wall of sheer, solid muscle against her torso. She tucked her thighs and calves along the outside of his, almost hissing at the cold searing every exposed inch between her uniform khaki shorts and the tops of her boots.

“Thanks.”

Surprised his teeth had stopped chattering already, she jerked her head up. But Casey couldn’t see anything behind his fogged-over mask. Only a well-formed pair of lips beneath it. Generous. Curved up just the tiniest bit. Lips that made her want to throw caution to the wind and start nibbling.

“How do you feel?”

“Cold. Prickly, like I’m getting acupuncture from a hundred doctors all at once.”

Whew. No ambulance needed, then. Just her blanket and time. “That sensation will pass. It’s good news, actually, that you aren’t numb at all.”

“Nope. Definitely not numb. ”

Was that a twitch of…seriously…when most of his body still felt like an unthawed surprise from the freezer? Casey released her embrace a split second after he began to push away.

“God, I’m sorry. Really.” He stumbled back a few steps, and his mouth hung open. “That was an involuntary reaction. I mean, you’re beautiful, so it wasn’t entirely involuntary. But it was a purely physical reaction to stimulus. To all of you pressing up against all of me. I swear I’m not trying to accost you.”

Huh. His rapid backpedaling rang true. The stranger appeared to be a genuinely good guy. She’d cut him some slack. Besides, he was still shivering. Whatever little heat she’d imparted to him had all pooled in that overachieving organ tenting the front of his trunks.

“I’m not worried. I can’t imagine anyone committing to hypothermia on the off-chance that a woman might drive by, decide to try to rescue them, and then stick around to get kissed.”

“Kissed? Who said anything about a kiss? Not that I wouldn’t be on board with the idea.” His voice turned smug, even as he tugged the blanket tighter against another round of shivers.

Damn it. Casey certainly hadn’t meant to mention a kiss. She blamed the slip on working overtime three days straight. The height of tourist season here in the Finger Lakes, and yet she’d stupidly offered to cover so one of her rangers could attend a wedding over the weekend. Exhaustion was her only excuse. It had nothing to do with how she could see the leading edge of brown hair across his chest over the criss-crossed top of the blanket.

A Country Music Romance You'll Want to Grab!

Am I about to tell you to buy a book just because a friend of mine wrote it? Sooooooort of........ You see, Carina Press put me in an anthology with Alison Packard, and we got friendly online prepping for the release. Then we met at a conference, where I flat out bullied her into going to the best party of the year (cause I'm mean like that). But - and here's the kicker - she writes one HECK of a story! So yes, I'm sharing this post 'cause we're friends. But you'll buy the book because it flat out ROCKS.

Country music star Jessie Grant has it all. An amazing voice, a string of multi-platinum albums, and a sold-out concert tour. But just before her Hearts on Fire tour rolls into Las Vegas, her lead guitarist is badly injured and is unable to play. Desperate to find a replacement before the night of a televised live show, Jessie is forced to accept help from the last person on earth she wants to see again.

Drew Carmichael has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best up-and-coming musicians in Nashville, without cashing in on his renowned father’s name. When Jessie’s manager calls and asks him to fill in for her band’s injured guitar player, he agrees to help Jessie out even though she cut him out of her life four months ago.

In Sin City, sparks fly between Jessie and Drew, and it isn’t long before they give in to their mutual attraction. But when the dark past Jessie has successfully hidden for ten years explodes in the media, their tenuous bond is put to the test, and both Jessie and Drew must learn to trust each other if they don’t want their newfound romantic relationship to go up in flames.

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Here's a peek at it:

 Jessie Grant stared at the cheery yellow wall in her dressing room, and fought the overwhelming urge to throw something. Anything. Her agitated gaze fell on the lovely vase of flowers that had been delivered just before the show, and she had to remind herself that violence, especially towards a perfectly innocent bouquet of pink roses and white calla lilies, wouldn’t solve anything.

But then again, it might relieve the tension that was coiled inside of her like a tightly wound spring.

“Calm down.”

“Calm down?” Jessie whirled around and met the exasperated eyes of her manager. “You expect me to calm down when my guitar player, who, unbeknownst to me, was half-wasted during our set, and decided to stage dive into the audience.” She pointed a finger at him. “That broken arm of his isn’t gonna to heal in four days. I need another guitar player, and I need one now.”

“Relax,” Wally Lindell said in a soothing voice. “I’m working on it.”

“How are you working on it?”

She propped her hands on her hips and gave him her best glacial stare. It didn’t faze him. It never did. He’d been her manager since she was fifteen years old, and he knew her better than anyone. So he should have known that she would be totally freaked out about losing her lead guitar player four days before her exclusive gig in Las Vegas, after all, he was the one who had dubbed her a perfectionist.

“I put in a call to Drew.”

Jessie’s already churning stomach lurched wildly. “Drew Carmichael?”

“How many other guitar players named Drew do you know?” Wally shot her a wise-ass grin.

Only one.

“So you talked to him?” she asked, as she moved to the make-up table. She picked up the bottle of water her stylist had left out for her and took a sip. Maybe the simple task would soothe her frayed nerves.

It didn’t even come close.

“What did he say?”

“I left him a message. He hasn’t called me back yet.” Wally shoved his hands into the front pockets of his black jeans and looked her straight in the eyes with an unflinching directness.

She’d seen that look before; the one telling her that while she might be the star, he was the one who’d gotten her there, and before she went off half-cocked, she’d better let him have his say. And of course, she would. She respected Wally far too much not to listen to him.

“He’s the only guitar player we can get on such short notice that knows your set list,” he continued. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but whatever it is, you need to put it aside for the sake of this gig, and maybe the rest of the tour.”

“What makes you think something happened?” she asked with feigned nonchalance.

It was best not to let anyone, especially Wally, know how much she cared about Drew.

“Because you two were as thick as thieves last spring, and now it’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth. Did you have a falling out?”

“No.” Jessie scowled, as she returned the bottle to the table. “We didn’t have a falling out. I’ve been on the road for months now and he…he’s got a life.”

A life that didn’t include her.