BLACK DAWN by Cristin Harber releases on July 14th – but we couldn’t wait that long to share the first chapter with you! Check out the first part of chapter one, plus enter to win a gift card + a Titan mug by spotting the highlighted word in the excerpt below. Be sure to stop by each stop on the excerpt hop every day this week for more chances to win, plus the rest of chapter one!

Excerpt Hop:

July 6, 2015 – Reviews by Tammy and Kim
July 7, 2015 – Grown Up Fangirl
July 8, 2015 – Red Cheeks Reads
July 9, 2015 – InkSlinger PR
July 10, 2015 – Obsessed with Myshelf

Chapter 1 Part #3 from BLACK DAWN

Lexi wandered through the crowd. A few high fives and a couple hellos later, she was posted in another corner, eyes peeled for Shadow. Her broker dealt with the upper echelon of the hacker world. As a rogue independent contractor, he knew every important corporation and government contact interested in buying her high-tech projects: patches, programs, codes, and exploits. Over the years, he’d made himself her father figure as well as her business adviser.

Lose the douche. Those were Shadow’s only words of wisdom when she mentioned the engagement.

As if it were that simple. Shadow had been by her side since she was seventeen. Last year, for their ten-year working relationship anniversary, he took her to Paris, where they disabled the security and paid off the guards for a private tour of the Louvre. Shadow had a lot of friends in dark places.

“Silver.” His familiar voice caught her from behind.

“Hey.” She smiled then watched him nod hello as he handed her a fresh drink, switching out the one in her hand. “Good times, right?”

“Not bad. How’s life?” He always asked the same question, recently with undertones about concern over the wedding she hadn’t started to plan yet.

For how close she was to Shadow, it was peculiar that he hadn’t met Matt—that she knew about. Actually, now that she thought about it, given how confident his dislike of her fiancé was, Lexi was sure that Shadow had met Matt.

“Same as it always is.” She stared at her new cup.

Carefully, he touched her chin, turning her face, and pushed away one messy curtain of platinum hair. There was a fading bruise on her eye that she’d caked makeup over. In the dark strobe lights, it’d be hard to see, especially given the smoky smudges of black and gray she’d painted over it, but nothing ever got past Shadow. He prided himself on it. Steal from him, he’d steal back. Lie to him, he’d force the words back in your mouth. Ignore the truth—even if it was a black eye that was impossible to avoid—he’d make sure that it was most certainly not ignored.

“Care to explain?” he asked simply.

“No.” She toyed with the leather strings on her wrist.

Shadow would read into that and would be right. Nothing had changed, at least not for the better.
The lines around his eyes tightened. “You ready for Monarch?”

“Absolutely.” The website hack that exploited the social media site was her best work to date. Flawless maybe, definitely untraceable. Program had been absurdly complicated to put together, but it was a beautiful work of code.

Monarch’s social media site had a security hole. Lexi had mapped out and rewritten the code to access and/or fix that hole. It would go to auction if the company didn’t want to purchase the program. Shadow had made the offer privately, but they’d declined, as expected.

That was how those things worked. When Shadow put the code—which she generally just referred to by the site’s name, Monarch—on the auction block, it would likely sell in a hotly bid contest. Her cyber creation would give its new owner access to all of the data the social media site housed: names, ages, credit cards, family, locations, and more.

Everywhere she went, Lexi wondered how many people around her plugged their information in Monarch. It was just as popular as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but offered a slightly more niche focus for military families. Every time she caught a glance of someone in the real world using Monarch, she wanted to tell them not to post that picture, not to notify the world of where their significant others were stationed, details on their kids, or when they left on vacations. Just stop with the oversharing.

She almost wished Monarch bought the program just to be safe. But even had she given it to them, they might not have touched it. So typical of a mega-corporation. Most of those companies didn’t buy the fixes to their website problem on the zero day market. It was cheaper to let a malicious, black-hat hacker steal consumer data than it was to fix mistakes. A public apology and a year’s worth of credit monitoring, and they were out of trouble in the public eye.

Lexi wasn’t malicious, but she did earn a living in that shadowy area between right and wrong. Exploit sales were huge business. Governments bought various hacker programs like they were equipping an army—because they were. She was a manufacturer of cyber bullets. Every country with an intelligence agency bought them to spy on everyone. Their own people. Foreigners. Governments. Allies. Enemies. Whoever.

The auctions were as legal as buying a can of mace, and Lexi happened to be really good at creating products for Shadow to sell.

He bent to her ear to fight off the loud music. “I put out some whispers. Everyone’s curious. Uncle Sam is salivating. They want Monarch in a bad way.”

GIVEAWAY

Want to win a $10 Amazon gift card and a Titan mug? Find the highlighted word in the above excerpt and enter it in the rafflecopter below! Make sure to stop by each stop on the excerpt hop for more chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt Hop Stops:

July 6, 2015 – Reviews by Tammy and Kim
July 7, 2015 – Grown Up Fangirl
July 8, 2015 – Red Cheeks Reads
July 9, 2015 – InkSlinger PR
July 10, 2015 – Obsessed with Myshelf

ABOUT BLACK DAWN

What happens when nothing is as it seems?

Lexi Dare is on a one-woman mission to stay alive. Both at home and at work. Because how did she end up with a ring on her finger and an abuser in bed as she readies to hit the high point in her career? Everything should be perfect. Amazing job. Handsome fiancé. It’s all a disaster.

Parker Black is the brains behind Titan Group, an elite security firm. In his world, everything is ordered and controlled, except what he feels for his buddy’s girl. Something in her eye screams for help, but he has no idea what.

When Lexi disappears, Parker realizes what he should have known. The lines blur between friendships and work, and they must find each other to survive a terror attack that only Lexi can stop.

Black Dawn can be read as a standalone and does not have a cliffhanger.

BLACK DAWN releases July 14th – add it to your Goodreads list here!

Preorder it now: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Black Dawn Release Party!

Want to celebrate the release of BLACK DAWN by Cristin Harber? There’s a release party on facebook on July 16th! Join the event here for more details!

ABOUT CRISTIN HARBER

Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy, steamy romantic suspense and military romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon’s Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.

Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Team Titan Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Sometimes the past bleeds into the future.
Bess, a wild party girl running from herself, literally falls victim to her demons when she collapses in the most unexpected of places.
Lane, a tightly wound, up-and-coming CEO who can’t seem to stop enabling his brother, doesn’t know what hit him when Bess falls at his feet and into his life.
It was a night she doesn’t remember, and one he can’t forget.
But rather than stay and help the needy college coed, Lane decides to teach his brother a long overdue lesson––a decision that later comes back to haunt him and only adds fury to the transgressions of his past he is already fleeing from.
Years later, Bess and Lane meet again. She doesn’t know him, and he doesn’t share that he knows what happened on that ill-fated night when she almost died. After all, he has a web of complicated lies from his own youth to protect.
Both are seeking salvation in the arms of others and ignoring the truth—that the only road to redemption lies in confronting your past.
When the past and present collide, is there any chance at redemption?
“Redemption Lane is a complex story with even more complex characters, but then, that’s what I love about Rachel Blaufeld’s work. She makes you think and feel and as you read their stories, you can’t help but fall in love with these imperfect characters as they try to overcome their struggles.” ~ Bookaholics-Not-So-Anonymous

Amazon US Amazon UK Barnes and Noble Kobo IBooks

We are so excited to bring you the Release Week Blitz for Kristen Proby’s EASY CHARM! EASY CHARM is a Contemporary Erotic Romance novel and is the 2^nd book in The Boudreaux Series. It is due to be released on July 7, 2015!

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

ABOUT EASY CHARM:

Gabrielle Boudreaux, the youngest of the Boudreaux clan, is a single mother of her young son, Sam. Running a Bed and Breakfast at the family plantation house at the edge of the Mississippi River, Gabby loves her inn, her boy and her family. She meets new people every day, and takes pride in the house and land that has been in her family for more than five generations. Blessed beyond measure, she’s also lonely, although she would never admit that to anyone. Until Rhys O’Shaughnessy walks through her door, brooding and wounded and the sexiest thing she’s ever laid eyes on.

Rhys has been at the top of his game as a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs for more than ten years. Baseball is in his blood. But when he tears his rotator cuff and has to sit a season out, he retreats to Inn Boudreaux at the recommendation of his cousin, Kate, to heal and work toward building his shoulder back to perfect shape with only one goal in mind: to return to the game he loves. But he didn’t plan on being utterly charmed by a devastatingly beautiful woman and her baseball-loving son.

When Rhys’ shoulder has healed and he’s given the chance to return to his team, will he leave the family he’s come to love behind, or will he stay with Gabby and Sam?

And don’t forget to grab the first book in the Boudreaux Series!

EASY LOVE

About KRISTEN PROBY:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kristen Proby is the author of the popular With Me in Seattle series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong characters who love humor and have a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type—fiercely protective and a bit bossy—and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, and sunshine. And naps. Visit her at KristenProby.com.

Website**Facebook**Twitter**Author Goodreads**Novel Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

​

Josh North won the title fight, but did he win the girl?

 

Sophie Garner answered yes in front of the entire world when Josh popped the question and the diamond ring dangled from his title belt, but is she really ready to take the plunge? She’s been a single mother for almost three years, and she’s set in her ways, not used to sharing her life with anyone but her daughter, Charlie. Plus, she doesn’t know that she can ever escape the shadow of a past that still haunts her.

 

Sophie and Charlie are everything Josh wants in the world – but the heartthrob bachelor is learning that commitment and fatherhood are both tougher than training for the title fight! And even though he’d give his life for either of his girls, he’s not so sure he’s got what it takes to be a husband and daddy.

 

Will Josh win the roughest fight of his life, or will he go down for the count?

 

 

 

Allie Juliette Mousseau is a USA Today Bestselling Author.

She can always be found writing, playing in puddles with her children, hiking with her husband, or adventuring somewhere in the world. Her favorite place to write on warm days is outdoors, but when the weather gets too cold, she’ll be inside at her desk inspired by the mountain view from her home office in Montana where she lives with her loving husband, children, and golden retriever. She loves to travel and lived for three years in her RV with her family while visiting the national parks and forests of the U.S. and a couple Canadian provinces. She is excited to add all of Canada and Alaska in the near future!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Add to Goodreads Amazon Amazon CA Amazon UK Amazon AU B&N Kobo	Add to Goodreads Amazon Amazon CA Amazon UK Amazon AU B&N Kobo

Meet Killian in Pepper Winter’s new MC Romance!

NOW AVAILABLE

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1HGr7ac

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1f574HK

iBooks: http://apple.co/1RdQhDd

Nook:http://bit.ly/1G1y53T

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1S1hy76

Google Play:http://bit.ly/1LQNjRE

Blurb

“We met in a nightmare. The in-between world where time had no power over reason. We fell in love. We fell hard. But then we woke up. And it was over . . .”

RUIN & RULE

She is a woman divided. Her past, present, and future are as twisted as the lies she’s lived for the past eight years. Desperate to get the truth, she must turn to the one man who may also be her greatest enemy . . .

He is the president of Pure Corruption MC. A heartless biker and retribution-deliverer. He accepts no rules, obeys no one, and lives only to reap revenge on those who wronged him. And now he has stolen her, body and soul.

Can a woman plagued by mystery fall in love with the man who refuses to face the truth? And can a man drenched in darkness forgo his quest for vengeance-and finally find redemption?

“Ruin & Rule is a full-length book at 436 pages and ends on a cliffhanger. Cleo and Kill’s story continues in SIN & SUFFER.”

Prologue

We met in a nightmare.

The in-between world where time had no power over rhyme, reason, or connection. We met. We stared. We knew.

There was no distortion from the outside world. No right or wrong. No confusion or battles from hearts and minds.

Just us. In our silent dreamworld.

That nightmare became our home. Planting ghosts, raising fantasies. Entwined together in our happily skewed reality.

We fell in love. We fell hard.

In those fleeting seconds of our nightmare, we lived an eternity.

But then we woke up.

And it was over.

Chapter One

I always believed life would grant rewards to those most worthy. I was fucking naïve. Life doesn’t reward—it ruins. It ruins those most deserving and takes everything. It takes everything all while watching any remaining goodness rot to hate.

—Kill

[ORN_SB]

That was my world now. Literally and physically.

The back of my skull hurt from being knocked unconscious. My wrists and shoulders ached from lying on my back with my hands tied behind me.

Nothing was broken—at least it didn’t feel that way—but everything was bruised. The fuzziness receded wisp by wisp, parting the clouds of sleep, trying to shed light on what’d happened. But there was no light. My eyes blinked at the endless darkness from the mask tied around my head. Anxiety twisted my stomach at having such a fundamental gift taken away.

I didn’t move, but mentally catalogued my body from the tips of my toes to the last strand of hair on my head. My jaw and tongue ached from the foul rag stuffed in my mouth and my nose permitted a shallow stream of oxygen to enter—just enough to keep me alive.

Fear tried to claw its way through my mind, but I shoved it away. I deliberately suppressed panic in order to assess my predicament rather than lose myself to terror.

Fear never helps, only hinders.

My senses came back, creeping tentatively, as if afraid whoever had stolen me would notice their return.

Sound: the squeak of brakes, the creak of a vehicle settling from motion to stopping.

Touch: the skin on my right forearm stung, throbbing with a mixture of soreness and sharpness. A burn perhaps?

Smell: dank rotting vegetables and the astringent, pungent scent of fear—but it wasn’t mine. It was theirs.

It wasn’t just me being kidnapped.

My heart flurried, drinking in their terror. It made my breath quicken and legs itch to run. Forcing myself to ignore the outside world, I focused inward. Clutching my inner strength where calmness was a need rather than a luxury.

I refused to lose myself in a fog of tears. Desperation was a curse and I wouldn’t succumb, because I had every intention of being prepared for what might happen next.

I hated the sniffles and stifled sobs of others around me. Their bleak sadness tugged at my heartstrings, making me fight with my own preservation, replacing it with concern for theirs.

Get through this, then worry about them.

I didn’t think this was a simple opportunistic snatch. Whoever had stolen me planned it. The hunch grew stronger as I searched inside for any liquor remnants or the smell of cigarettes.

Had I been at a party? Nightclub?

I hadn’t been stupid or reckless. I think…

No hint or clue as to where I’d been or what I’d been doing when they’d come for me.

I wriggled, trying to move away from the stench. My bound wrists protested, stinging as the rope around them gnawed into my flesh like twine-beasts. My ribs bellowed, along with my head. There was no give in my restraints. I stopped trying to move, preserving my energy.

I tried to swallow.

No saliva.

I tried to speak.

No voice.

I tried to remember what happened.

I tried to remember…

I can’t remember.

“Get up, bitch,” a man said. Something jabbed me in the ribs. “Won’t tell you again. Get.”

I froze as my mind hurtled me from present to past.

I’ll miss you so much,” she wailed, hugging me tighter.

“I’m not dying, you know.” I tried to untangle myself, looking over my shoulder at the final call flashing for my flight. I hated being late for anything. Let alone my one chance at escaping and finding out the truth once and for all.

“Call me the moment you get there.”

“Promise.” I drew a cross over my heart—

The memory shattered as my horizontal body suddenly went vertical in one swoop.

Who was that girl? Why did I have no memory of it ever happening?

“I said get up, bitch.” The man breathed hard in my ear, sending a waft of reeking breath over me. The blindfold stole my sight, but it left my nose woefully unprotected.

My captor shoved me forward. The ground was steady beneath my feet. The sickness plaiting with my confusion faded, leaving me cold.

My legs stumbled in the direction he wanted me to go. I hated shuffling in the darkness, not knowing where I came from or where I was being herded. There were no sounds of comfort or smothered snickers. This wasn’t a masquerade.

This was real.

This is real.

My heart thudded harder, fear slipping through my defenses. But full-blown terror remained elusive. Slippery like a silver fish, darting on the outskirts of my mind. It was there but fleeting, keeping me clear-headed and strong.

I was grateful for that. Grateful that I maintained what dignity I had left—remaining strong even in the face of the unknown terrors lurking on the other side of my blindfold.

Moans and whimpers of other women grew in decibels as men ordered them to follow the same path I walked. Either death row or salvation, I had no choice but to inch my way forward, leaving my forgotten past behind.

I willed snippets to come back. I begged the puzzlement of my past to slot into place, so I could make sense of this horrible world I’d awoken in.

But my mind was locked to me. A fortress withholding everything I wished to know.

The pushing stopped. So did I.

Big mistake.

“Move.” A cuff to the back of my head sent me wheeling forward. I didn’t stop again. My bare feet traversed…wood?

Bare feet?

Where are my shoes?

The missing knowledge twisted my stomach.

Where did I come from?

How did I end up here?

What’s my name?

It wasn’t the terror of the unknown future that stole my false calmness. It was the fear of losing my very self. They’d stolen everything. My triumphs, my trespasses, my accomplishments and failures.

How could I deal with this new world if I didn’t know what skills I had to stay alive? How could I hope to defeat my enemy when my mind revolted and locked me out?

Who am I?

To have who I was deleted…It was unthinkable.

“Faster, bitch.” Something cold wedged against my spine, pushing me onward. With my hands behind my back, I shuffled faster, negotiating the ground as best I could for dips or trips.

“Step down.” The man grabbed my bound wrists, giving me something to lean against as my toes navigated the small steps before me.

“Again.”

I obeyed.

“Last one.”

I managed the small staircase without falling flat on my face.

My face.

What do I look like?

A loud scraping noise sounded before me. I shied back, bumping against a feminine form. The woman behind me cried out—the first verbal sound of another.

“Move.” The pressure on my lower back came again, and I obeyed. Inching forward until the stuffy air of old vegetables and must was replaced by…copper and metallic…blood?

Why…why is that so familiar?

I gasped as my mind free-fell into another memory.

“I don’t think I can do this.” I darted away, throwing up in the rubbish bin in the classroom. The unique stench of blood curdled my stomach.

“Don’t overthink it. It’s not what you’re doing to the animal to make it bleed. It’s what you’re doing to make it live.” My professor shook his head, waiting for me to swill out my mouth and return white-faced and queasy to the operation in progress.

My heart splintered like a broken piece of glass, reflecting the compassion and responsibility I felt for such an innocent creature. This little puppy that’d been dumped in a plastic bag to die after being shot with BB gun pellets. He’d survive only if I mastered the skills to stem his internal bleeding and embrace the vocation I was called to do.

Inhaling the scent of blood, I let it invade my nostrils, scald my throat, and impregnate my soul. I drank its coppery essence. I drenched myself in the smell of the creature’s life force until it no longer affected me.

Picking up a scalpel, I said, “I’m ready—”

“Holy fuck!” The man guiding me forward suddenly whacked the base of my spine. The hard pain shoved me forward and I tripped.

“Wire—get me fucking reinforcements. He’s started a motherfucking war!”

Wind and body motion swarmed me as men charged from behind. The darkness I lived in suddenly came alive with sound.

Bullets flew, impaling themselves into the metal sides of the vehicle I’d just stepped from. Pings and ricochets echoed in my ear. Curses bellowed; moans of pain threaded like a breeze.

Someone grabbed my arm, swinging me to the side. “Get down!” The inertia of his throw knocked me off balance. With my wrists bound together, I had nothing to grab with, no way to protect myself from falling.

I fell.

My stomach swooped as tumbled off a small platform and smashed against the ground.

Dirt, damp grass, and moldy leaves replaced the stench of blood, cutting through the cloying sharpness of spilled metallic. My mouth opened, gasping in pain. Blades of grass tickled my lips as my cheek stuck to wet mud.

My shoulder screamed with agony, but I ignored the new injury. My mind clung to the unlocked memory. The fleeting recollection of my profession.

I’m a vet.

The sense of homecoming and security that one little snippet brought was priceless. My soul snarled for more, suddenly ravenous for missing information.

I skipped straight from fumbling uncertainty into starvation for more.

Tell me! Show me. Who am I?

I searched inside for more clues. But it was like trying to grab on to an elusive dream, fading faster and faster the harder I chased.

I couldn’t remember anything about medicine or how to heal. All I knew was I’d been trained to embrace the scent of blood. I wasn’t afraid of it. I didn’t faint or suffer sickness at the sight of it pouring from an open wound.

That tiniest knowledge was enough to settle my prickling nerves and focus on the outside world again.

Battle cries. Men screaming. Men growling. The dense thuds of fists on flesh and the horrible deflection of gunshots.

I couldn’t understand. Had I fallen through time and entered an alternate dimension?

Another body landed on top of mine.

I cried out, winded from a sharp poke of an elbow to my ribs.

The figure rolled away, crying softly. Feminine.

Why aren’t I crying?

I once again searched for fear. It wasn’t natural not to be afraid. I’d woken up alone, stolen, and thrown into the middle of a war, yet I wasn’t hyperventilating or panicked.

My calmness was like a drug, oozing over me, muting the sharp starkness of my situation. It was bearable if I embraced courage and the knowledge that I was strong.

My hands balled, grateful for the thought. I didn’t know who I was, but it didn’t matter, because the person who I was in this moment mattered the most.

I had to remain segmented, so I could get through whatever was about to happen. All I had was gut instinct, quiet strength, and rationality. Everything else had been taken.

“Stop fighting, you fucking idiots!”

The loud growl rumbled like an earthquake, hushing the battle in one fell swoop. Whoever had spoken had power.

Immense power. Colossal power.

A shiver darted over my skin.

“What the fuck happened? Have you lost your goddamn lovin’ mind?” a man yelled.

A sound of a short scuffle, then the fresh whiff of tilled dirt graced my nose.

“It’s done. Throw down your weapons and bend a fucking knee.” The same earthquake rumbled. The weight of his command pushed me harder against the damp ground.

“I’m not bending nothing, you asshole. You aren’t my Prez!”

“I am. Have been for the past four years.”

“You’re not. You’re his bitch. Don’t think his power is yours.”

Another fight—muffled fists and kicks. It ended swiftly with a painful groan.

The earthquake voice came again. “Open your eyes and follow the red fucking river. Your chosen—the one you hand-picked to slaughter me and take over the Club—he’s dead. Did you ever stop to think Wallstreet made me Prez for a fucking reason?”

Another moan.

“I’m the chosen one. I’m the one who knows the family secrets, absorbed the legacy, and earned his way into power. You don’t know shit. Nobody does. So bend a fucking knee and respect.”

Another tremor ran down my back.

Silence for a time, apart from the squelch of boots and heavy breathing. Then a barely muttered curse. “You’ll die. One way or another, we won’t put up with a Dagger as a Prez. We’re the Corrupts, goddammit. Having a traitor rule us is a fucking joke.”

“I’m the traitor? The man who obeys your leader? Who guides in his stead? I’m the traitor when you try and rally my brothers in a war?” A heavy thud of a fist connected with flesh. “No…I’m not. You are.”

My mind raced, sucking up noises and forming wild conclusions of what happened before me. Was this World War Three? Was this the apocalypse of the life I couldn’t remember? No matter how I pieced it together, I couldn’t make sense of anything.

The air was thick with anticipation. I didn’t know how many men stood before me. I didn’t know how many corpses littered the ground, or how such violence could be permitted in the world I used to know. But I did know the cease-fire was fragile and any moment it would explode.

A single threat slithered through the grass like a snake. “I’ll kill you, motherfucker. Mark my words. The true Corrupts are just waiting to take you out.”

The gentle foot-thuds of someone large vibrated through the ground. “The Corrupts haven’t existed for four fucking years. The moment I took the seat, it’s been Pure Corruption all the way. And you’re not fucking pure enough for this Club. You’re done.”

I flinched as the sulfuric boom of a gun ripped through the stagnant air.

A crash as a body fell lifeless to the grass. A soft puff of a soul escaping.

Murder was committed right before me.

The inherent need to nurture and heal—the part of me that was as steadfast as the beat of my heart—wept with regret.

Death was something I’d fought against on a daily basis, but now I was weaponless.

I hated that a life had been stolen right before me. That I hadn’t been able to stop it.

I’m a witness.

And yet, I’d witnessed nothing.

I’d been privy to a battle but seen nothing. Knew no one. I would never be able to tell who shot whom, or who was right and who was wrong.

My hands shook, even though I managed to stay eerily calm. Am I in shock? And if I was, how did I cure myself?

The woman beside me curled into a ball, her knees digging into my side. My first reaction was to repel away from the touch. I didn’t know who was friend or foe. But a second reaction came quickly; the urge to share my calmness—to let her know that no matter what happened, she wasn’t alone. We faced the same future—no matter how grim.

Voices cascaded over us, whispers mainly, quickly spoken orders. Every sound was heightened. Being robbed of sight made my body seek other ways in which to find clues.

“Get rid of the bodies before daybreak.”

“We’ll go back and make sure we’re still covered.”

“Send out the word. It’s over. The Prez won—no anarchy today.”

Each voice was distinct but my ears twitched only for one: the earthquake rumble that set my skin quivering like quicksand.

He hadn’t spoken since he’d condemned someone to death and pulled the trigger. Every second of not hearing him made my heart trip faster. I wasn’t afraid. I should be. I should be immobile with fear. But he invoked something in me—something primal. Just like I knew I was female and a vet, I knew his voice meant something. Every inch of me tensed, waiting for him to speak. It was wrong to crave the voice of a killer, but it was the only thing I wanted.

I need to know who he is.

Wet mud sucked loudly against boots as they came closer.

The woman whimpered, but I angled my chin toward the sound, wishing my eyes were uncovered.

I wanted to see. I wanted to witness the carnage before me. Because it was carnage. The stench of death confirmed it. It was morbid to want to see such destruction, but without my sight all of this seemed like a terrible nightmare. Nothing was grounded—completely nonsensical and far too strange.

I needed proof that this was real.

I needed concrete evidence that I wasn’t mad. That my body was intact, even if my mind was not.

I sucked in a breath as warm fingers touched my cheek, angling my face upward and out of the mud. Strong hands caressed the back of my skull, fumbling with my blindfold.

The anticipation of finally getting my wish to see made me stay still and cooperative in his hold.

I didn’t say a word or move. I just waited. And breathed. And listened.

The man’s breath was heavy and low, interspersed with a quick catch of pain. His fingers were swift and sure, but unable to hide the small fumble of agony.

He’s hurt.

The pressure of the blindfold suddenly released, trading opaque darkness for a new kind of gloom.

Night sky. Moonshine. Stars above.

Anchors of a world I knew, but no recognition of the dark-shrouded industrial estate where blood gleamed silver-black and corpses dotted the field.

I’m alive.

I can see.

The joy at having my eyes freed came and went as blazing as a comet.

Then my life ended as our gazes connected.

Green to green.

I have green eyes.

Down and down I spiraled, deeper and deeper into his clutches.

My life—past, present, and future—lost all purpose the second I stared into his soul.

The fear I’d been missing slammed into my heart.

I quivered. I quaked.

Something howled deep inside with age-old knowledge.

Every part of me arched toward him, then shied away in terror.

A nightmare come to life.

A nightmare I wanted to live.

If life was a tapestry, already threaded and steadfast, then he was the scissors that cut me free. He tore me out, stole me away, changed the whole prophecy of who I was meant to be.

Jaw-length dark hair, tangled and sweaty, framed a square jaw, straight nose, and full lips. His five-o’clock stubble held remnants of war, streaked with dirt and blood. But it was his eyes that shot a quivering arrow into my heart, spreading his emerald anger.

He froze, his body curving toward mine. Blistering hope flickered across his features. His mouth fell open and love so achingly deep glowed in his gaze. “What—” A leg gave out, making him kneel beside me. His hands shook as he cupped my face, his fingers digging painfully into my cheekbones. “It’s not—”

My heart raced. Yes.

“You know me,” I breathed.

The moment my voice webbed around us, storm clouds rolled over the sunshine in his face, blackening the hope and replacing it with pure hatred.

He changed from watching me like I was his angel to glowering as if I were a despicable devil.

I shivered at the change—at the iciness and hardness. He breathed hard, his chest rising and falling. His lips parted, a rumbling command falling from his mouth to my ears. “Stand up. You’re mine now.”

When I didn’t move, his hand landed on my side. His touch was blocked by clothing but I felt it everywhere. He stroked my soul, tickled my heart, and caressed every cell with fingers that despised me.

I couldn’t suck in a proper breath.

With a vicious push, he rolled me over, and with a sharp blade sliced my bindings. With effortless power, so thrilling and terrifying, he hauled me to my feet.

I didn’t sway. I didn’t cry. Only pulled the disgusting gag from my mouth and stared in silence.

I stared up, up, up into his bright green eyes, understanding something I shouldn’t understand.

This was him.

My nightmare.

About the Author:

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:

Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)

Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:

Destroyed

STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

New York Times bestselling author Nicole Edwards revisits Tag and McKenna, a power couple who have gone from infatuation to adoration in Adored (Club Destiny #7.5)

Tag has waited two years for this. Sure, he knows he’ll need to be persuasive in order to get McKenna on board, but nevertheless, he’s up for the challenge. Even when the tables turn and he’s the one in the spotlight, Tag knows that the payoff is absolutely worth it.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nicole Edwards lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, their three kids, and four rambunctious dogs. When she’s not writing about sexy alpha males, Nicole can often be found with her Kindle in hand or making an attempt to keep the dogs happy. You can find her hanging out on Facebook and interacting with her readers – even when she’s supposed to be writing.

Nicole also writes contemporary/new adult romance as Timberlyn Scott.

 

We’re celebrating the release of TAMING LILY by Monica Murphy! 

TAMING LILY (The Fowler Sisters #3) by Monica Murphy

Adult Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

iBooks : http://tinyurl.com/p4ps38y

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/nclrbez

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/qf2fo48

Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/o56xzbu

BLURB:

I’m in trouble. Again. And instead of facing my problems head-on, I’ve run away. Far away this time, and no one can catch me—not my two younger sisters, Violet and Rose, not my father, my grandmother, or that witch Pilar who wants to take control of my family’s cosmetics company. Now I’m in Hawaii, enjoying the sun and sand and water, where nobody knows the hot mess known as Lily Fowler. And I’m loving every minute of it.

But someone is watching me. Following me. He’s gorgeous. Soon we’re talking, and against all my instincts, I reveal bits and pieces of myself to Max. It feels good, though I know he can’t be the man for me. These sudden feelings we share are way too complicated, too fraught, too intense.

Then everything explodes and I’m forced to return home. My intentions have always been true, but now everyone’s mad at me. I don’t know who to turn to anymore . . . except to Max. He’s the one I want to trust. But I’m not so sure I should. Maybe it’s worth the risk—what-ifs be damned. . . .

Excerpt

“Looks like Maui agreed with you.” Violet greets me as I walk toward her, practically falling into her welcoming hug. I
squeeze her back, closing my eyes for the briefest moment as
I absorb her love and warmth, so incredibly thankful to be with
her again.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in person,” I tell her
before I withdraw, though I don’t let her go my hands still
clasp her shoulders and she’s holding on to my arms.

“I know.” Violet’s smiling at me, looking gorgeous with all
that dark hair falling down her back in luxurious waves, her
dark eyes sparkling as bright as the giant diamond on her finger.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Violet look so genuinely happy.

I could almost get choked up, having her here in front of me.
I didn’t realize I missed my sister so much until now. “Skype just
doesn’t cut it, you know,” I say, my voice rough as I clear my
throat past the emotional bubble clogging it.

Violet rolls her eyes and smiles. “I totally agree. But guess
what? You’re stuck with me now. No more going back to Lon-
don for us except to visit.”

I’m so grateful for her warm acceptance of me that I can feel
the tight knot in my chest slowly unravel. I was scared to death
this morning as I prepared to come into Fleur. Seeing Daddy, Grandma, Rose, and Violet . . . and worst of all, that evil witch
Pilar . . . I wasn’t looking forward to it, and that’s the understatement of the year.

I was petrified really, afraid of what any of them might say.
I’d rather pretend the fact that I ran away to Maui to escape my
problems—especially a problem that neither I nor Pilar wants
made public knowledge, I’m sure—was swept under the rug.

I don’t even want to talk about Maui and what happened
there. The man I met. The man who somehow, some way,
double-crossed me. Stole from me . . .

I have my suspicions about why Max did what he did. Nothing confirmed yet, but come on. I had jewelry in my suitcase—
expensive jewelry. Cash in my wallet and stashed away in my
travel bag. Yet he took my laptop and that’s it. The fucker stole
from me.

Why?

 

Could he be working for Pilar?

 

No. It couldn’t be possible, just some weird coincidence.

Maybe he didn’t steal from me. Maybe one of the hotel employees snagged my Mac. I hadn’t checked on it in days. For all I
know, it could have been missing since the day I stashed it up on
the shelf in my closet.

That’s the problem. I don’t know what happened, when it
was stolen or why. I can suspect Max all I want. It makes sense
in a way. He held me close until I fell asleep and when I woke up
in the morning, groggy and hung over, he was gone. Disappeared
like he’d never existed in the first place. He didn’t even leave a
note. I searched for him everywhere. By the pool, in the lobby,
down by the beach, in the hotel restaurants, but he wasn’t there.

I went to his hotel room only to find the door cracked open
and the maids inside, cleaning. His stuff was gone. The maids let
me know he’d checked out that morning.

He didn’t even bother saying goodbye.

 

It hurts that he didn’t believe me worthy of a goodbye. Worse, he lied to me. Said that we would see each other again and then
ditched me. I don’t get it.

What did I do wrong? That last night, when we had sex, I
gave him everything I thought he wanted. I wanted to please
him, wanted to be the submissive woman, not only to make him
happy, but because it made me feel…good. I liked handing
over the control to Max so I could get lost in the pleasure. It
aroused me, his controlling ways, the words he said, the demands he made on my body. I wanted more. I wanted all of
him . . .


And he didn’t want me at all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/a4a59a0b174/?

 

AVAILABLE NOW!

NOW AVAILABLE: 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1uzhezR

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Fm3HSv

B&N: http://bit.ly/1xPXYnw

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1E5td0l

Books a Million: http://bit.ly/YUMZLj

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1vjcaVl

STEALING ROSE (The Fowler Sisters #2) by Monica Murphy

Adult Contemporary Romance

Goodreads

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1w9k9Ab

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1y1NaDL

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1xePjqb

Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1B85RX6

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1xT9q25

B&N: http://bit.ly/1AGzTzJ

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1tYkHcz

Books-a-Million: http://bit.ly/17yNfVe

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Monica Murphy is a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite with her husband and three children. She’s a workaholic who loves her job. When she’s not busy writing, she also loves to read and travel with her family. She writes new adult and contemporary romance and is published with Bantam and Avon. She also writes romance as USA Today bestselling author Karen Erickson.

Facebook | Twitter | Website