DEEPER THAN THE OCEAN, a sexy, pulse-pounding suspenseful romance from New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Julie Ann Walker, is available now! Scroll down for an exclusive excerpt and a chance to win a copy of the eBook!
“Walker blends the tender romance of a reassuring touch with lusty sex scenes… Readers will be panting.” ~Publishers Weekly
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie Ann Walker delivers perfect pulse-pounding romantic suspense! The former Navy SEALs of Deep Six Salvage thought they could retire to the sea and hunt for treasures of the deep, but when trouble comes to visit, there’ll be hell to pay.
Ray “Wolf” Roanhorse took one look at Chrissy and knew she was the woman of his dreams. There’s a hitch, however. He screwed things up with her. Big time. Now all she wants is to be friends. He’ll have to be his most charismatic and charming self if he has any hope of changing her mind. And winning her heart.
Christina Szarek knows all about sexy, brooding men like Wolf. She grew up watching her mother fall for – and be broken by – plenty of them. If she had her way, she’d avoid Wolf altogether. But they’re partners in the hunt for the Santa Cristina’s legendary treasure. Avoidance is impossible. And the longer she’s near him, the more he chips away at the walls she’s erected against him.
The danger to Chrissy doesn’t only come from her burgeoning feelings, however. There are mysterious players who would see her silenced – for good. And Wolf, with his wicked grin and spec-ops training, is all that stands between her and a date with death in the deep.
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EXCERPT:
“Chrissy!” Both syllables exploded out of Wolf’s throat like cannon blasts.
He didn’t feel the pavement pounding beneath his flip flops. Didn’t feel the hot air filling his lungs. Didn’t even notice the scrape of the bay cedar shrub as it grazed the denim covering his back shin when he hurdled over it. All he knew was that the only woman he had ever loved was inches away from becoming a hood ornament, and—
Damn, this is gonna hurt, he thought as she turned to him a split second before he caught her in his arms. Her eyes were wide with shock. Her sweet mouth was open around a startled scream. But she didn’t have time to let loose with it. The Toyota was upon them and he jumped into the air, taking her with him.
Twisting his body so it was his back that slid across the hot metal hood of the speeding car, he did his best to protect her injured shoulder. And then they were airborne again, the unyielding pavement coming up to meet them way, way too quickly.
He heard himself grunt when he hit the ground, Chrissy’s weight driving him into the surface. His lungs felt like they’d been flattened by a mallet, and he would have liked nothing better than to lie there and catch his breath, take stock of his body and Christina’s, but the Celica was making for the parking lot exit and—
“Get—” he wheezed, flinging his arm toward the fishtailing sedan when he saw the uniformed policeman sprinting in their direction. “The plate!” he finally managed.
“No need.” Officer Ryan shook his head as he squatted beside them. “I know exactly who that was.” He activated the radio clipped to his bulletproof vest. “Dispatch, this is Officer Ryan over at Lower Keys Medical Center. Be advised, Cliff Barnes is behind the wheel of his Toyota and headed south on Kennedy Drive. Get officers to take him off the road. He nearly ran over a couple of folks, and God knows he might not miss next time.”
“Roger that.” A crackling voice sounded from the officer’s radio. “Dispatching units now.”
Apparently, when it came to drunken bumper cars, this Cliff character was a repeat offender. Just my luck, Wolf thought, patting Chrissy’s uninjured shoulder and taking comfort in the sound of her ribald cursing.
He lifted his chin to check on her and found her face-first in his crotch. He’d managed to protect her from the impact, but he’d skidded afterward. Apparently she hadn’t done the same.
“You okay, darlin’?” His vision had returned to normal and he could clearly see the look on her face was equal parts did that truly just happen? and holy shit!
She made an unequivocal sound at the back of her throat that could’ve passed for either a yes or a no. Tentatively, she felt of the bandage over her shoulder and then nodded.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Szarek.” Officer Ryan was still squatted next to them. “I was on the phone and didn’t hear—”
“It’s okay.” Chrissy cut him off. “Wolf was Johnny on the Spot.” She pushed up on her good elbow and then stared down at his crotch.
Now that the danger had passed, the devil that lived in Wolf had him saying before he could think better of it, “You don’t have to do that, darlin’. A simple thanks for keepin’ me from gettin’ my ass run over will do.”
Her lips flattened into a straight line. “Did you binge eat asshole flakes this morning?”
His lungs hadn’t fully recovered, so the laugh that burst out of him sounded wheezy.
“I swear, right when I’m starting to like you,” she added, “you go and prove you’re a…a…”
He used her fumbling to help her stand, taking quick stock of his injures. A cherry on his elbow that would burn like a bitch when he washed it, and maybe a bruised tailbone.
Not too shabby. Considering.
“A what?” he prompted when they were both back on their feet.
“A guy,” she finished with a huff.
Wolf blinked at Officer Ryan, feigning bewilderment. “She says that like it’s a bad thing.”
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About Julie Ann Walker:
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Julie grew up in a house full of women – she has three older sisters. As you can imagine, there was no lack of drama… or romance. Her mother enrolled her in a book club as soon as she began to read and it was the small spark that ignited her voracious appetite for the written word.
Because of Julie’s early immersion in literature, she found writing came quite naturally. In high school, she won multiple writing contests and was the proud senior editor of The Tiger’s Tale – her school newspaper.
During her college years, however, she longed for a challenge. “Reading and writing felt like second nature to me, so I looked for a way to flex my mental muscles,” she recalls. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree, Julie began teaching advanced high school mathematics.
“I loved working with the students and facing the challenges of the classroom, but I longed for the occasional snow day when I could race to the local book store, buy two or three new novels, and curl up in front of the fire to read.”
It wasn’t until a fortuitous move to Chicago that Julie once more returned to her first passion.
Now Julie loves to travel the world looking for views to compete with her deadlines. When she’s not writing, she enjoys camping, hiking, cycling, cooking, petting every dog that walks by her, and… reading, of course!
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Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading and writing. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and a chocolate lab. Lacey loves shooting guns and should only consume one mixed drink because she’s a lightweight.
