Jilly

Review….Down To You by M. Leighton

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Synopsis:

The scorching tale of one girl, two brothers and a love triangle…that’s not. Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white. But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins.

Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her. Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together.

Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them. Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire. She wants them both. And they want her. How will she ever choose between them?

My Review:

So this is a title that I’ve had on my to-read shelf for entirely too long and was so excited to FINALLY get to it and I loved it! Talk about one hell of a story!

Olivia Townsend is stuck living with her uppity cousin, Marissa, and hoping to finish up school and her accounting degree quickly so she can get back to her father and their farm. She misses her old life and she hates dealing with her snooty cousin. One thing she doesn’t mind is catching glimpses of her cousin’s uber attractive boyfriend, Nash. Talk about yum. Nash is a young, sexy, law student working for Marissa’s father’s firm and is, unfortunately, taken and totally off-limits. Lucky for Olivia, Nash has a twin brother, Cash who is very much available. The only thing standing in Olivia’s way is that Cash is a bad-boy bar owner and she has sworn off the bad-boy type for good. But soon enough, Olivia finds herself involved with both Cash and Nash. She takes a job working in Cash’s bar and is fighting a losing battle against her attraction to him. She’s also fighting the same losing battle against her attraction to Nash when she has to fill in for her cousin at an art gallery event. Olivia finds herself wanting both men….but really, she wants a mash-up of the two. If only Cash were more like Nash or if Nash were more like Cash…she would have her dream man. What’s a girl to do? Olivia sure has her work cut out for her….and just when she thinks she knows what to do, the brothers drop a HUGE bomb that will change everything.

Oh. My. Yum….this book was freaking fantastic. Nash and Cash are equally delicious and like Olivia, I had a hard time deciding whom I liked best! Cash is the sexy bad-boy you know is nothing but trouble, but can’t help being attracted to. Nash is the sexy intellectual that screams GQ. Tough choice indeed! Olivia is hilarious. Her personality is totally unique. She’s got a sense of humor that had me laughing out loud too many times to count. Her one-liners and quick-witted retorts are some of the best I’ve ever read. I freaking love her!

There are sexy scenes in this book that are totally drool worthy and had me glued to the pages. There is also a twist that I did NOT see coming…and damn, it made me “WHOA” out loud! It added so much to the love triangle road we were traveling down and pulled us down a whole other direction. Freaking fantastic!

If you’re looking for a hot and sexy read with a bunch of heroine snark and a twist that sneaks up behind you and bites you in the ass, then get this book on your list! I loved it and can’t wait to start the next book and see what is in store for Olivia!

Thank you, Ms. Leighton, for a fantabulous read!

Four-and-a-Half Loves

Review….Protecting What’s His by Tessa Bailey

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Synopsis:

She’s running from the law, and the law wants her bad.

The opportunity was just too damn delicious for Ginger Peet to pass up. The purse full of money she finds—$50,000 to be exact—could give her and her teen sister the new start they need. So she grabs the cash, her gothy sibling, and their life-sized statue of Dolly Parton, and blows outta Nashville in a cloud of dust. Chicago, here we come…

Turns out, Chicago has some pretty hot cops. Hot, intense, naughty-lookin’ cops like Derek Tyler, who looks like he could eat a girl up and leave her begging for more. And more. Tempting as he is, getting involved with the sexy homicide lieutenant next door poses a teensy problem for a gal who’s on the lam. But one thing is certain—Derek’s onto her, and he wants more than just a taste.

And as far as he’s concerned, possession is nine-tenths of the law.

My Review:

Protecting What’s His is the first in the Line of Duty Series by Tessa Bailey and actually came as a recommendation from the super awesome Laura Kaye. Well, to say that I was hooked on this book after the first chapter would be an understatement….I de-freaking-voured this book….in a day.

Ginger Peet has had enough. She’s lived this hellish life for far too long. She is so damn tired of her alcoholic mother turning tricks and disappearing and tired of having to shield her little sister from all of it. Sure, it sucks that she’s had to deal with it for all of her 23 years, but her 17-year-old sister deserves more. More than her poor excuse for a mother can give either one of them. So, when her mother comes home one night, as shocking as that was, what is more shocking is the wad of cash Ginger finds sticking out of her mother’s purse. Well, isn’t this exactly what she needs to stat a new life for her and her sister…..cue Steve Miller Band’s “Take the Money and Run”.

Derek Tyler can’t even attempt to hide his irritation with all the hooting and hollering coming from the people moving into his nice, quiet apartment building. They had better not be moving all that noise into the apartment across the hall. Being a lieutenant with the Chicago P.D. he really counted on having this quiet space as his haven away from all of the stress that came with the job. Not only that, but today was an above average stress level day. Today they were burying one of their own. He needed to get these people under control out there. Only when he opens his door prepared to give them a piece of his mind, he is completely unprepared for Ginger. Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance….immediately struck by her beautiful face and killer body he knows this is one neighbor he’s gonna have to get to know better. Hopefully she’s willing to lend him some, ahem, sugar.

To say their “friendship” starts off rocky would be understatement of the year. But the thing is, right off the bat, Derek and Ginger have undeniable chemistry that oozes off the pages. Good Lord…the sexual tension between them from just that very first meeting in the hall, when he reads her the riot act for being too loud and she basically tells him to shove it, is delicious. To say I found this book hot would be the second understatement of the year. Seriously, Derek Tyler will go down as one of the hottest book heroes ever with a skill for dirty talk and hot lovin’. Damn, that man is sex on a stick! Ginger is perfect. She may be young, but she’s got one hell of a head on her shoulders and talk about spunk! That girl gives it right back to the hot Lieutenant. Not only was this book smoking hot, it had some hilarious moments that had me laughing out loud (I have a class room of 5th graders who can attest to that…don’t ask). Together, Ginger and Derek are a great pair who fall hard and fast and have to wade through some rough currents to realize that what they both want, and both need, is right there in each other’s arms. Mix in the smart ass potty mouthed 17-year-old sister, Willa, and this book kicked some major ass!

This is a book that I say you must get right now and start reading this very instant. You will NOT be disappointed! Thank you, Tessa, for a story I will be re-reading time and time again and for a series I am SURE to be hooked on! Oh, and thank you to Laura Kaye for getting this title out there!

Five Loves

…And for some extra fun with the Lieutenant and Ginger…I snagged the playlist Tessa has on her website:

PLAYLIST: PROTECTING WHAT’S HIS
1. Bad Man’s World by Jenny Lewis
2. Stop Stop by The Black Keys
3. Backwoods Barbie by Dolly Parton
4. Love Affair by Regina Spektor
5. The Twist by Frightened Rabbit (Willa and Denny’s song)
6. In the Cold Cold Night by the White Stripes
7. Holy Roller Novocaine by Kings of Leon
8. I Wanna be Adored by the Stone Roses
9. I’m Shakin’ by Jack White

Release Tour & Review…Surrender Your Love by J.C. Reed

I’m honored to be a part of the Release Tour for Surrender Your Love by J.C. Reed! This is the steamy debut from J.C. and in honor of that excitement, she is giving away a $50 gift card and eCopy of Surrender Your Love! So, check out the book blurb and review and don’t forget to enter to win in the RaffleCopter below….. (How bout that cover!? YUM!)

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Synopsis:

Meeting Jett was like lightning. Dangerous. Better left untouched. And better forgotten. But lightning always strikes twice.

Brooke Stewart, a realtor in New York, doesn’t do relationships. When she’s sent to a remote estate to finalize a real estate deal, she discovers her new boss is no other than the guy she left naked in bed.

Sexy, dangerously handsome, and arrogant Jett Mayfield attracts trouble, and women, like a lightning rod. But the night he meets Brooke he gets more than he bargained for. The green-eyed millionaire playboy isn’t used to taking no for an answer, and he isn’t about to start now.

When he proposes two months of no strings sex, Brooke is intrigued and accepts his proposal. Little does she know Jett’s determined to claim the one woman he can’t have, pulling her deeper into his dangerous world.

A man who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

A woman afraid to surrender to love.

Two lives that are about to cross…and secrets laid bare.

My review:

Surrender Your Love is the first in a new series by newbie author by J. C. Reed. I enjoy finding new authors and am really happy J.C. asked me to read Surrender Your Love….it was a great story with a twist at the end that has me needing to read the next book!

Brooke Stewart is a realtor in New York City enjoying her career with a smaller firm while dreaming of a position with one if the big dogs. So, when her boss asks her to meet with Jett Mayfield, the head of one of the largest and most successful real estate companies in the U.S., she can’t refuse. But Mr. Mayfield ends up being anything like she had expected…..and he also ends up in her bed.

Jett Mayfield is used to getting what he wants. Brooke Stewart is one of those things. He knows it the minute he meets her. So, like any acquisition, he does what it takes. Making her an offer she can’t refuse, she is now employed by his company, as his personal assistant. Lucky for her, one of the perks for that position includes a trip to Italy to work on a real estate deal….alone, with him.

I will admit this story started out a little slow for me and I had a hard time figuring out what Jett’s motives were with Brooke. Sure, I’ve read many books where the attraction between two people is sudden and intense and as a reader, we kind of just accept that, but with this story, it felt a little off. Well, after getting through the whole story, and realizing there was a definite reason for my suspicions of Jett’s motives, all I can say is: well done, J.C.! Not only did it all come together at the end, but it came together with a huge “NO WAY!” and it was pretty awesome to realize things were not what they seemed. Add the super hot and sexy love scenes and this book has it all. I will warn you, it ends with a cliff hanger that left me gaping, open-mouthed at my eReader but it also left me dying for the next installment so I can see what comes next!

Amazing dramatic twist at the end, a hot and sexy man, delicious love scenes and a kick ass heroine makes this book worthy of a spot on your to-read list. Thank you, J.C., for a great story and I look forward to see what you have up your sleeve for the next one!

Three-and-a-Half Loves

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To find out more about J.C. Reed and her work, you can follow these author links:

http://jcreedauthor.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/jcreedauthor

http://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Reed/295864860535849

ARC Review….Shades of Passion by Virna DePaul

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Synopsis:

Shades of the past

Detective Simon Granger has devoted his life to solving high-risk cases, and he’s vowed never again to get involved with a woman whose work is equally as dangerous. But when the Special Investigations Group teams him with a beautiful psychiatrist, his resolve is shattered by the tense and emotionally charged partnership….

Shades of intrigue

Determined to outrun the grief over her sister’s death, Dr. Nina Whitaker reluctantly agrees to use her training to help the police. Despite Detective Granger’s disdain for her profession, she believes she can change his mind. But then a grieving father begins a deadly game of revenge, threatening Nina’s life, challenging her beliefs, and drawing Nina and Simon together in an explosive endgame of intrigue…and unstoppable passion.

Shades of passion…

My Review:

This is the third book in Virna DePaul’s SIG (Special Investigations Group) series and the very first one I have read. I am happy to say that not reading the first two in the series didn’t take away from my enjoyment in reading this third installment.

Dr. Nina Whitaker is a psychiatrist who relocated to San Francisco to rebuild her life after leaving her hometown, and tragedy, behind. She had been responsible for implementing a successful program with law enforcement in South Carolina educating the police on better ways of handling situations when mental illness was involved. Unfortunately, even that success couldn’t outweigh the grief she carries over her sister’s death. The distance also won’t allow her to outrun the blame of the father of a former patient whose suicide he blames her for. Now, her current supervisor wants her working her magic with the San Francisco P.D. It’s the last job she wants to do but, when she starts to receive death threats from the dead patient’s father, it just may be the very job that saves her life.

Detective Simon Granger has been dealing with the grief over his ex-girlfriend’s murder for a little while now and is dealing just fine, if you ask him. She was a psychiatrist who was murdered by a serial killer. A serial killer he had warned her about….and she hadn’t listened. He’s ready to put it all behind him and start over as a captain in SIG. So, to say he was less than thrilled to hear he was being asked yet again to seek the help of a therapist before even being considered for a management position would be an understatement. Fortunately, a beautiful doctor catches his eye on the way to his appointment. Unfortunately, she will end up working alongside him while making a bid to the city to start a new program training the police on mental health issues…. something he has no interest in learning about. Even the beautiful doctor couldn’t change his mind on his feelings about the mentally ill, not after the violent way his ex was murdered…or can she?

I really enjoyed this story. I found the mystery surrounding Nina and her past intriguing and thought it was developed well throughout the story. I also thought questions were answered at the perfect points through the book. The buildup of the facts lead you in one direction, but you knew there had to be a twist, and there was a terrific one! (my lips are sealed!) The chemistry between Nina and Simon was really well-developed as well. They went into things knowing they didn’t see eye to eye on the whole mental health issue. However, they both were willing to see things through the other person’s eyes and were ready, even if reluctantly, to learn. Ultimately, they were willing to give other ideas a chance, and it made both of them better people in the end.

I will definitely be looking in to the first two books in the SIG series and will be keeping up with it in the future. Thank you, Ms. DePaul, for a fast paced and captivating read!

Four Loves

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy for an honest review.

Review…Wait Until Dark by M. L. Buchman

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Synopsis:

Name: Big John Wallace

Rank: Staff Sergeant, Chief Mechanic and Gunner

Mission: To serve and protect his crew and country.

Name: Connie Davis

Rank: Sergeant, Flight Engineer, Mechanical Wizard

Mission: To be the best…and survive.

Two Crack Mechanics, One Impossible Mission

Being in The Night Stalkers is Connie Davis’s way of facing her demons head-on, but mountain-strong John Wallace is a threat on all fronts. Their passion is explosive, but their conflicts are insurmountable. When duty calls them to a mission no one else could survive, they’ll fly into the night together—ready or not.

My Review:

This is the third book in the Night Stalkers Series by M.L. Buchman and after falling in love with the first two books I was so excited when release day for Wait Until Dark came. This book was fantastic and a great addition to the series!

Sergeant Connie Davis is one of the few female members of SOAR, and damn good at what she does. She’s known since she was a child, and being the daughter of a military pilot, that she was born for mechanics. Her gift for remembering schematics and instructional manuals word for word has gotten her to where she is today. She can fix anything…..except her broken and battered heart. She’s been alone since she was a teen. Losing her mother at the age of 3 was tough, sure, but losing her father when she was 13 was devastating. She had idolized him, admired him, and loved him with all she had. He was the only one who truly understood her love of all things mechanical, and the only one who encouraged her gift. He was all she had. When he was killed in action, she knew she would never be the same. So she lived her life as an outsider who no one understood. She really never fit in anywhere…until now, on her current assignment. She’s on a crew with Big John Wallace and right off the bat she knows there’s something about him. He just may turn out to be the only one besides her father who ever really understood the constantly misunderstood Connie.

Big John Wallace has always had a love for life. He’s flying with the best crew there is, is a mechanic second to none, has some great friends and a family he adores. He grew up in farm country with a big, close-knit family in an equally close-knit community and flies and serves to protect those very people. He’s always confident and has a way with people….he’s always watching and observing them and their true nature and can always figure a person out. He’s always been able to assess problems and fix them. Ever since Connie entered their crew, he’s determined to fix what he can see is definitely broken.

Together, John and Connie will venture on what I can assume is the toughest mission for them both. John’s determination and Connie’s reluctance to let anyone in prove to be a battle neither one are prepared for….but one that will ultimately put the separate pieces of Connie and John together to make a perfectly working whole.

This was an awesome book. Some say this series is overly heavy on the military lingo but I don’t feel that way. This is one of the only series I read written by a male author and I really appreciate the tough heroes and heroines he creates. Connie is a no-nonsense, straightforward woman in a man’s world. She has worked hard at getting to where she is and in doing so, has had to learn to shut down her emotions and move forward from her personal loss. Unfortunately, in doing so, she never truly dealt with that loss. John proves to be the balm her broken heart and soul need. He is everything a woman could want. Warm, kind-hearted, fun loving, focused, determined, brilliant, loyal and tough wrapped up in a big, handsome package. Connie and John paired together were simple, opposites attract perfection!

Meanwhile, there’s action packed flying sequences that had me white-knuckling my e-reader and reading wide eyed. Add a whole top-secret mission weaved into the romance between Connie and John and this book was a win for me. We also got to see more of our favorite Majors, Mark and Emily, from the first book, The Night is Mine.

I truly enjoyed this installment of The Night Stalkers and definitely look forward to continuing on with the series! Thank you, Mr. Buchman, for yet another pulse pounding, action packed romance!

Four Loves

Review….One Night With A Hero by Laura Kaye

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Synopsis:

He wants just one night…

After growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father, Army Special Forces Sgt. Brady Scott vowed never to marry or have kids. Sent stateside to get his head on straight—and his anger in check—Brady’s looking for a distraction. He finds it in his beautiful new neighbor’s one-night-only offer for hot sex, but her ability to make him forget is addictive. Suddenly, Brady’s not so sure he can stay away.

…what they need is each other.

Orphaned as a child, community center director Joss Daniels swore she’d never put herself in a position to be left behind again, but she can’t deny herself one sizzling night with the sexy soldier who makes her laugh and kisses her senseless. When Joss discovers she’s pregnant, Brady’s rejection leaves her feeling abandoned. Now, they must overcome their fears before they lose the love and security they’ve found in each other, but can they let go of the past to create a future together?

My Review:

This is the second book in The Hero Series by Laura Kaye and focuses on Brady Scott, the older brother of Alyssa Scott from the first in The Hero Series, Her Forbidden Hero. After loving Her Forbidden Hero, I knew I would love this book as well, and let me say…Laura delivered yet again!

Army Special Forces Sgt. Brady Scott is back in the States and is trying to get his life back on track and his head on straight. His current mission is to deal with the mess of emotions when it comes to his father…his abusive, alcoholic and poor-excuse-for-a-parent father. How is he supposed to do that when it’s what he’s been avoiding since as long as he can remember? After going for a run, yet another unsuccessful attempt to release some stress, he finds a welcomed distraction in a beautiful young woman sitting on a blanket in the park. Luckily for Brady, the Memorial Day fireworks happening that night in that very same park seems like the perfect excuse to introduce himself, ask her to share dinner and maybe find that welcomed diversion he needs.

Joss Daniels is trying to enjoy a nice day at the park after seeing her ex and his new fiancé at the store that morning. Unfortunately she can’t shake the sadness that had crept in since realizing the “I’m not ready to commit” excuse he gave her when they broke up wasn’t exactly right…it was more like he couldn’t commit to her. And that hurt. So when a sexy solider in nothing but a pair of running shorts and dog tags asks her to share dinner and her blanket for the fireworks in the park she really doesn’t see why she should refuse…after all, it would be a nice distraction from her current gloomy mood.

But fate has something in store for these two. Joss and Brady turn out to be neighbors, and after a few hot and heavy sessions (and I mean HOT with all capitals and tons of exclamation points), Joss soon finds out she’s pregnant and let’s just say, things kind of get a little rocky from there.

I knew going in to this story that I was going to love Brady. I mean, he is the loving and protective older brother of Alyssa and best friend to Marco…what’s not to love? Well, I will admit, I wanted to kick his ass a few times while reading. I still loved him, but man, he really needed to get his rear in gear! His immediate reaction and behavior to Joss’s pregnancy was, um, well, yeah….not great. The emotional struggles Brady had to go through killed me. It was a journey I know he had to make but it didn’t make it any easier to read. Joss is an amazing character and put up with so much adversity and challenge her whole life and now, has to decide what to do with Brady and the baby. She is one tough cookie. Luckily for both of them, Brady finds his way and eventually, after a LOT of begging and apologizing (and the cutest damn gifts in the history of all baby gift giving) Joss relents and lets him back into her life.

What makes me love Laura’s writing so much is her characters have to earn their happy ending. They always deserve it, but they have to find their own ways, and sometimes it’s not an easy road….but I know it will it end perfectly. That’s the magic of what she does…it’s in how she pulls emotions from the reader and connects them to the words on the pages. This story was no exception. I loved every second of this book. Every laugh, every cry and of course, every hot and steamy moment!

So, thank you once again, Laura, for bringing us characters we adore and I look forward to more stories!

Five Loves

Review….Her Forbidden Hero by Laura Kaye

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Synopsis:

She’s always been off-limits…

Former Army Special Forces Sgt. Marco Vieri has never thought of Alyssa Scott as more than his best friend’s little sister, but her return home changes that…and challenges him to keep his war-borne demons at bay. Marco’s not the same person he was back when he protected Alyssa from her abusive father, and he’s not about to let her see the mess he’s become.

…but now she’s all grown up.

When Alyssa takes a job at the bar where Marco works, her carefree smiles wreak havoc on his resolve to bury his feelings. How can he protect her when he can’t stop thinking about her in his bed? But Alyssa’s not looking for protection—not anymore. Now that she’s back in his life, she’s determined to heal her forbidden hero, one touch at a time…

My Review:

This is the first book in The Hero series by Laura Kaye and having read Hearts in Darkness by Laura, I knew this would be a great story….but great isn’t the right word, really. More like fantastic, amazing, incredible…you get the idea here. I loved it!

Alyssa Scott has little money, a freshly earned degree in restaurant management and event planning, and a whole lot of determination. She is convinced that getting a job at Whiskey’s Music Roadhouse is exactly the start she needs. Throw in the fact that Marco Vieri, her older brother’s best friend, former Army Special Forces Sgt. and object of her desire since as long as she can remember, works there is more than enough for her to prove this is exactly where she needs to be. When she sees Marco at the bar, after not seeing him for two years, she is hell-bent on getting him to think of her as a woman, and not just his best friend’s kid sister. Only she soon realizes Marco may not be the same guy he was when she knew him two years ago. Can she help get back to the Marco she remembers? The Marco she cares for desperately?

Marco can’t believe his eyes. Standing at his bar is Alyssa Scott, the little sister of his best friend; only she’s not so little anymore. Surely it isn’t right for him to be noticing how much she’s *ahem* grown? Besides, even if she wasn’t totally off-limits for being practically family, he’s not any kind of anything she needs. His war-damaged soul isn’t what Alyssa should have to deal with. Sure, he and his family protected her from her from a dreadful, abusive dad, and in those days he would have done anything for her just to see her smile. But now, the best thing he could do for her is to keep his distance. But when he finds out she has nowhere to stay and no money, keeping a distance is going to be quite hard…since he’s invited her to stay with him. None too soon, Marco realizes it’s going to be hard pushing Aly away, when she’s the one that can truly help him regain some kind of peace.

To say Marco broke my heart would be an understatement. He is the epitome of the wounded hero, which, I’m sure, had every reader wanting to scoop up and take home with her and fix him. I fell in love with him after the first chapter. He is honorable and kind but is in such a dark emotional place, it had me crying many, many times. I probably looked like I was in pain when I was reading because I so wanted him to just be ok. He is a book hero I won’t soon forget. Not to mention he is gorgeous and sexy and drives a ’67 Mustang, one of the hottest cars EVA! Alyssa, thankfully, is like a dog with a bone and refuses to let go of the idea that she can help Marco and bring some joy back into his life. The joy and happiness he deserves for just being Marco.

This story had so many highs and lows and I loved every one. There are scenes in this book that will stay with me probably forever. Um, the lake scene is one of the hottest scenes ever and damn if I didn’t cry like a baby when Marco tries to pick up playing the guitar again after being injured in combat. I know I’m not usually a spoiler type of gal, but if reading about those scenes gets you to dive into this book, then I say YAHOO and no spoiler apology needed!

Laura does such a kick-ass job of getting the reader to feel every emotion both Marco and Alyssa experience. I feel like I know them and I could pick up the phone and see how they’re doing! Because of that talent, I have become a huge fan of all of her work and always look forward to new releases. Thank you, Laura, for giving us Marco, a hero that truly deserved a happy ending!

Five Loves

ARC Review….Always On My Mind by Bella Andre

Releases March 5, 2013

Pre-order from Amazon

Synopsis:

Lori “Naughty” Sullivan finally falls in love in ALWAYS ON MY MIND, the new book in Bella Andre’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling series about the Sullivan family.

After a tragic loss three years ago, Grayson Tyler left his life in New York City behind and started over in the rolling hills of the California coast. He’s convinced himself that all he’ll ever need again is the blue sky, a thousand acres of pasture, and the crashing waves of the ocean. Until one day, Lori Sullivan barges into his life and promptly blows his emotionless and solitary world to shreds, driving him crazy as only a woman nicknamed “Naughty” can. But will Lori be able to convince him that it’s safe to love her…and that forever isn’t actually out of reach?

My Review:

Always On My Mind is the 8^th book in The Sullivans, a series by Bella Andre. I have read a few of the others, and really enjoyed them…this book, however is my absolute FAVORITE of all of the Sullivan family books I’ve read.

Lori Sullivan has been dating a total ass for the past two years that her family despises, and were never afraid to tell her just how much they hated him. He was never good enough for her. Now, she finally sees what her family has been harping her about for those two years. After walking in on Victor and her lead dancer getting hot and heavy, she calls it quits, on everything. She leaves Chicago, Victor and her show behind and blindly heads back to California. She knows she can’t go home yet, though. She’s not ready to face her family. She needs time…and a change of scenery. What better chance of her every day norm then deciding to answer an ad she found at a general’s store for a farm hand? Sounds like just the distraction and adventure she needs right now. What Lori wasn’t planning on finding, however, was a kindred spirit with a broken and hurt soul….

Grayson Tyler has been living on his farm for the past year and is doing just fine…if you count being alone with only his animals as “living”. Three years ago, he lost his wife and left his old life behind in New York in exchange for the solitude of this farm. He doesn’t need more than that. But when a saucy spitfire of a woman answers his ad for a farm hand, and refuses to take his immediate “no way” for an answer, he knows this is a recipe for disaster. He recognizes from the minute she steps out of her car, that she is going to make him realize just what kind of dismal existence he’s been leading. The question is, is he ready to face the truth of his miserable, unhappy life?

I literally just finished reading this book and am so sad……so sad that it’s over! This story had me from the very first minute I realized Lori Sullivan, the dancer/choreographer, dressed in glitter and high heels, would be working on a freaking farm. I mean, you just KNOW this is going to be good! Add to the mix a rugged and handsome farmer, and I was hooked!

Lori is one of my favorite Sullivan’s. She has a personality that pirouettes off of the pages with such a love of life that you can’t help but adore her. I was so happy she left that ass, Victor, behind and wanted her to find happiness. Boy, did she finally hit the happiness jackpot at that farm, but not without a whole lot of anguish before finding it.

Grayson broke my freaking heart, and at the same time, pissed me off to no end. He is so emotionally broken and miserable but isn’t ready to admit it. He was such a jerk to Lori in the beginning that I thought there was no way she’d get through to him. I wasn’t even sure he deserved her efforts. Damn, I am so glad Lori is stubborn and kept at him because he is a hero who deserved a rescue. Once he opens up, I fell in love with him. I can’t even tell you how many tissues I went through reading the parts Grayson shows us his emotions and how amazing he really is.

Together, Lori and Grayson are the ultimate example of opposites attracting. Their personalities play so well off of one another. She pushes every one of his buttons and he secretly loves it, even if he gets cranky about it. The ending of this story goes down as one of my favorite book endings ever. It was so blissfully romantic, well written and just so damn perfect I was crying big fat happy tears. The icing on the cake was we got to see all of the Sullivan crew and got to spend a little time with the matriarch, Mary. That was such a special touch and I truly enjoyed it.

Ultimately, this is a delicious, romantic, emotional read that has reminded me just how much I love this genre and how great it is to find authors like Ms. Andre. Thank you, Bella, for Lori and Grayson and for giving us a book I will be enjoying many more times….most likely I’ll have my first re-read after I finish typing this!

Oh, and good news for Sullivan fans….this is NOT the last of the series! *HAPPY DANCE and a YAHOO* Bella is giving us the first of the Seattle Sullivan’s this summer with Rafe Sullivan’s story in The Way You Look Tonight! Rafe is the super sexy private investigator cousin of our original Sullivan family! How exciting is that!? Bella also has some other special things planned so be sure to keep an eye out!

Five Loves

Review….The Education of Caroline by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Buy from Amazon

Synopsis:

Ten years after their broken affair, Sebastian and Caroline meet again: this time in very different circumstances, against the background of the war in Afghanistan

Now a successful journalist, Caroline meets Chief Sebastian Hunter, US Marine. Will this chance encounter rekindle the erotic madness of her passionate affair with a younger man?

My Review:

This is the second book in the “Education of…” duet by Jane Harvey-Berrick. The first book, The Education of Sebastian, was really damn good….but, The Education of Caroline will go on the list as one of my favorite books of all time.

We met up with Caroline ten years after she left San Diego, and the love of her life, Sebastian, behind. She has made a life for herself in New York City as a freelance reporter with a successful following and a knack for her reporting on military life overseas. It’s that knack that lands her on her current assignment…and running into a certain blue-green eyed, tanned San Diego surfer boy. Only now, that surfer boy is a Chief in the Marines and is assigned to help train the journalists going overseas, the journalists she is a part of.

Sebastian can’t believe his eyes. Sitting in the hotel conference room in Switzerland is the woman he has loved since as long as he can remember. She is also the woman who left him…and took his heart with her. Now he was supposed to brief her on the dangers of reporting in hostile circumstances in dangerous countries. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate on anything other than the anger, pain, frustration, desire and long-buried feelings of love and lust toward her? Now way was he going to let her get away this time….

Dear God. This book was freaking INCREDIBLE! I loved the first in the series but damn; this book was that much better. The emotional turmoil starts from the very beginning and doesn’t let up until the very last page. Caroline and Sebastian have mastered the art of push and pull and just can’t seem to catch a break. They’ve lived a long ten years apart and have given up on ever ending up together, and now, they almost don’t have a choice. Fate was surely on their side this time…of so we think. They go through some amazingly loving high points and crushingly devastating low points. I bawled my freaking eyes out the last 25% of the book! But don’t worry, the ending is totally “dreamy sigh” worthy and I was delighted with it. Sebastian is one of my all time fave book men. Totally swoon worthy…the whole sexy, bad-assed, romantic, occasional-bumbling-idiot, delicious package. Caroline is finally happy within her own skin at forty and is a great match for Sebastian, level-headed when he is fanciful but playful when he is lost in his head and needs distracting. She also realizes Sebastian is just amazing now as he was when he was seventeen. Better even. Amazing book couple…even if I want to hate Caroline for having Sebastian to call her own and I’m seething with jealousy!

I read this book in a day. I could NOT put it down. I loved every word on every page…laughed and cried and thought it was blissfully perfect! I already recommended The Education of Sebastian and I HIGHLY recommend The Education of Caroline. Thank you, Ms. Harvey-Berrick, for writing the newest member of my favorite books.

Five Loves

Review….Never Too Far by Abbi Glines

Buy from Amazon ~ Buy from Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

He had held a secret that destroyed her world. Everything she had known was no longer true. Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him. Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.

What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately? You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out.

My Review:

This is the second book in the Too Far Series by Abbi Glines and picks up where the first book, Fallen Too Far, leaves off. After loving the first book, I was DYING for this book to release. I read it in a day…..and I already miss Rush.

I’m going to do my best to give this review without spoilers, and damn, it’s going to be tough!

Blaire is back in her hometown in Alabama, and trying to get on with her life after leaving Rush. Is there such a thing though? Life after Rush? She also comes to realize that the small town she grew up in no longer feels like home. She had grown to like Rosemary. Had friends there, and misses them. She needs to find her own place and find where she truly belongs in the world. Now, circumstances will arise and lead her back to Rosemary….and she will have no choice but to see Rush again.

Rush is a miserable bastard. He realizes he can’t live without his sweet Blaire, but also realizes he totally screwed up and chances are she will never take him back. Now, after three long weeks without her, she’s coming back to Rosemary. He had no idea why she was coming back, and had no clue what to do to make things better, but one thing he did know….he was going to do his damnedest to get her back. He wasn’t going to live without his sweet Blaire for another minute.

Together, Blaire and Rush have more obstacles to hurdle than I can even begin to tell you (trying to keep this spoiler free ARGHHH!) and damn, if it didn’t make me love the two of them even more than I already did.

This book was freaking amazing. I got a text from a good friend letting me know it was released a day early, which happened to be the day we left on our family ski vacation. I downloaded it on my phone and started reading immediately…and finished it that day. The intensity of what is going on between Rush and Blaire was something I could NOT stay away from and was glued to the story from the very first page. Rush is even more amazing than he was in Fallen Too Far. He turns into the book boyfriend we knew he was capable of being. Damn, I do love me some Rush! Blaire is just as amazing as she was when we met her. Strong and determined and always willing to do what she needs to do to survive on her own. Together, their chemistry is delicious. The emotions in this book go from each end of the scale in the most incredible way. I went from laughing, to crying, to wanting to throw my eReader across the room. I’m sure people think I’m insane after the amount of gasping I did while reading this in public. There were quite a few twists in this story I didn’t see coming….and they kicked ass! Again, without getting into spoilers, which is REALLY TOUGH, just know that it ends how you would want it to end!!

Abbi, thank you, thank you, thank you for another taste of Rush and for an emotionally charged, beautifully written, insanely devourable read! I will be not-so-patiently waiting for Wood’s book and know it will be yet another kick-ass story!

Four-and-a-Half Loves

Book Tour…The Nightlife Series by Travis Luedke

Read-Love-Blog is happy to be a part of Travis Luedke’s The Nightlife Series Blog Tour!

Below you will find information on each book in the series as well as excerpts and you can enter in the RaffleCopter below to win the SET OF 3 NIGHTLIFE BOOKS eBooks!

Also, Travis needs our help! Please help by voting on which gorgeous cover you like best for The Nightlife Paris! Tough decision since all the cover choices are kick ass!

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The Nightlife New York

Synopsis:

Vampires, strippers, escorts, night clubs, gangs, pimps and corrupt cops, the Nightlife of New York is never boring.

Is she a beautiful blond guardian angel as he imagined, or something else entirely? When Michelle saves Aaron’s life she shares the benefits of her blood (after getting him shot accidentally). He awakes a changed man, living in a purgatory of eternal night, never to see the sunrise again.

Michelle drags Aaron through a hardcore learning curve of vampiric slavery. Forced to adapt to servitude, Aaron is subject to her authority of compulsion. She orders him around like a puppet on a string, a dog on a very short leash. First things first, he must learn to feed properly without creating bloodslaves (humans addicted to the powerful drug-like effect of their venomous bite).

And then she puts him to work-a male escort in the sex trade-same as Michelle. Aaron walks a tightrope of strictly controlled feeding regiments and intensely erotic sexual adventures while catering to the neurotic control-freak tendencies of his new master. It’s do or die, Michelle vows to eliminate him if he proves too difficult to control. The real kicker-amidst all these shocking and degrading adjustments, Aaron finds he’s falling in love.

Can he maintain and keep a sliver of his humanity intact? Innocence is a luxury few can afford in the decadent nightlife of New York. In a world where sex, blood, and power over women is so readily accessible, Aaron struggles against the predatory instincts deeply rooted in his new psyche. He must find his way quickly, practicing rigid self-control, or risk the consequences of Michelle’s wrath.

Excerpt from THE NIGHTLIFE NEW YORK:

Aaron burned, outraged at the audacity of the grotesque, fat, ugly bulldog of a man assaulting the blond goddess. An involuntary cry tore from his throat, “Hey! Leave her alone! Get your hands off her!” He couldn’t believe either of these crude creatures would dare lay hands on the beautiful blond vision of perfection who spoke in an intoxicating stream of French obscenities.

“T’as une tête à faire soutier les plaques d’égouts!” She blasted the bulldog. Aaron recalled just enough French to know she’d told him his face could blow off manhole covers. She continued with, “Voulez-vous cesser de me cracher dessus pendant que vous par lez”, further expressing her disgust by telling him to stop spitting on her while he spoke.

Never ceasing her tirade of lovely French filth, the blond struck at the bulldog in a blur. In one swift move, she broke his hold on her wrist and clawed his face, leaving a trail of bloody slash marks across his left cheek. Without pause she instantly pivoted and punched Barney Fife in the nose with a gratifying crunch sound, and a backward head snap. A splat of blood flew through the air. She pivoted a split-second later to face the bulldog with a Taser in hand, magically snatched from Barney Fife after breaking his nose. The combat unfolded before Aaron’s eyes like a scene from a martial arts film. The heroine had the appearance of moving with super human velocity. By comparison to her whip-like actions, the detectives seemed to be in slow motion.

Aaron’s jaw dropped. He stood in complete awe of the scene taking place before him. He had difficulty accepting these bizarre events for reality. As the shimmery cocktail dressed wonder woman fired her stolen Taser, Aaron recognized the bulldog was not truly as slow as he had seemed. He had a pistol drawn and moving upward in a sweeping arc.

Aaron’s dream state shattered along with his heretofore unremarkable and short life when the Taser struck the bulldog at precisely the point when his gun sights aligned with Aaron. The electric shock of the Taser began a domino effect. All muscles and tendons in the bulldog’s body clenched, including his trigger finger. The sharp crack of the gun resulted in a slug passing through Aaron’s chest and out his back, knocking him to the ground with the impact.

The pain came seconds later, delayed. When it hit it was all-consuming, overpowering. Nothing existed beyond the horrible agony of his body torn to shreds by the wicked projectile. He wasn’t brave or manly or noble like all these scenes of bullet wounds from Hollywood films. He screamed and howled like a baby, and promptly blacked out from the overwhelming agony.

* * * *

SMACK, SMACK, SMACK. Aaron felt someone smack him three times. He beheld an angel with a halo of light around her tousled blond curls like the corona encircling the sun. She had the most succulent puffy lips and a benevolent shine of concern and compassion.

“Are you an angel?” His beautiful seraph began swearing in a stream of melodic French.

“Le réalité’ et toi vous ne vous entendez pas, n’est-ce pas?” She remarked on his disconnect with reality. He didn’t know what to say. How do you greet the angel of death?

She resumed her obscenities, “C’est vraiment des conneries!” The words seeped in slowly, sparking a memory from French class––this was bullshit. Are angels supposed to curse?

He was so tired, cold, numb. Is this what it feels like to die? He drifted back into unconsciousness content in the belief that heavenly hosts carried him off to a better place

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The Nightlife Las Vegas (Book #2 in The Nightlife Series)

Synopsis :

Vampires, Aaron Pilan and his master Michelle, live by one rule — no bloodslaves. EVER. Aaron breaks that rule when he meets Anastasia. All Anastasia wants is to be loved and cherished, but the predatory men she’s attracted to bring her only pain and abuse. Escaping one train-wreck relationship for another, she finds happiness with Aaron and Michelle as a bloodslave, a ‘pet’. When Aaron uses his telepathy to win thousands at the gambling tables, he attracts the deadly attention of the Colombian Cartel and Aaron and Michelle are ‘disappeared’. Addicted to the bite of her vampire lovers, Ana is desperate to find them. But, Las Vegas isn’t ready for vampires mixing heroin, sex and vengeance. Ana is trapped in the spiraling chaos.Find out what happens in the second novel of the Nightlife Series.

Excerpt from THE NIGHTLIFE LAS VEGAS:

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but what the hell do they know? Twenty-two year old Aaron Pilan could testify from experience that significant gambling losses––or winnings––definitely follow you home.

After three weeks of hitting the gaming tables, he was practiced at the fine art of gambling. He knew the truth behind the veil of glamour. As P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a fool born every minute.” Many a fool arrived in Vegas with a wad of hard earned cash fantasizing about winning big and coming home to boast of the thousands they reeled in during their brief stint as a high roller.

He joined the foolish masses in their desire to hit it big. He fully intended to beat the odds and walk away from the gaming tables, winnings intact. It looked damn good for him at the moment. Of course, being an exceptionally gifted telepath afforded him a decidedly unfair advantage –– definitely contributed to his good luck.

Another caveat to the Vegas rule would be murder. An untimely death by strangulation definitely puts a kink in the high roller status. Aaron read his opponent Alexander Demarco’s mind as the man contemplated this very thing. Poor Demarco had been suffering the systematic and thorough fleecing of his poker chips. He was a very unhappy man.

* * * *

Demarco envisioned a number of ways to kill Aaron Pilan, starting with the quick and dirty double-tap bullet to the back of the head. Upon further consideration, that seemed almost too merciful, too quick and easy. He graduated to fantasies of Aaron begging and pleading for his life out in the Vegas desert. He imagined Aaron hog-tied at the bottom of a six-foot pit as the dirt hit his face while being buried alive. Demarco had personal experience with both methods of murder.

He finally settled on a slightly more violent alternative. Strangulation would be the most satisfying method of killing the punk. He imagined the strength of his own hands wrapped solidly around Aaron’s throat, squeezing out his life as he flailed about feebly. God I wish I could do it right now. He had always preferred the ‘hands on’ approach.

I know that son-of-a-bitch is cheating somehow. His gut instincts were rarely wrong in these matters. The punk always knows exactly when to fold and when to call, he’s impossible to bluff. He could smell a con from the end of the room. No way could Aaron clean him out so consistently by pure chance.

His intuition was sharply honed from the years he spent hustling on the streets of west Humble Park Chicago, between Grand and Arlington, smack dab in the center of Latin Kings territory. He bore his gangland battlefield scars proudly, a soldier displaying badges of merit. The dog-eat-dog survival-of-the-fittest lifestyle was second nature. He couldn’t enter a building without staring down every person in sight and watching all the exits.

This punk can’t weigh more than a hundred sixty pounds. I could take him any day of the week. He sized up Aaron, measuring him against his own two hundred ten pounds of lean muscle and six foot frame of a professional athlete. Why am I lettin this white devil bitch run the show? I wonder if he’s a Fed? Maybe this is a setup. He had an overwhelming feeling he was being taken for a ride. He much preferred being the one doing the taking.

By sheer luck and opportunity he’d been one of the select few who escaped the Federal Racketeering indictment leveled against the Chicago Latin Kings when he moved to Vegas in 2004, a year before the indictment was issued. Everything changed when he setup operations in Vegas. He graduated from small time movements of heroin and cocaine by the gram to major deliveries measured in kilos. His buddies back in Chicago became the end consumer. Long gone were the days of pushing dime baggies out on the street. Now he sold wholesale, fat transactions with sweet profit margins and far less risk of being snitched out by a punk ass junky popped off for banging a gram in a public bathroom.

And here he was a high roller, a shot caller, a badass, punked-out for thousands of dollars by a pinche gringo white devil with a smug smile. He scowled at the pair of fives in his hand and continued fantasizing about murdering Aaron.

* * * *

Aaron was well aware of Demarco’s malicious intents. He read all the sordid details in his mind as he raised the pot, smiling at Demarco all the while. He knew his pair of kings would win the hand unless the last card pulled a surprise. Not having learned his lesson yet, Demarco foolishly called his bet and slid another stack of chips forward on the table.

When the dealer laid out a queen, Demarco’s losses tallied up to $26,000. More than enough to justify murder. Demarco had once beaten a man to death over a thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine on the streets of Chicago. He now had twenty-six reasons to kill Aaron.

When his hand won again, Aaron knew it was time to leave the table. He bid everyone a good night, collected his winnings, and winked at Demarco. It was the wink that finally did it. Demarco literally saw red. The color of everything around him turned a violent shade of pinkish red as his blood pressure skyrocketed, hitting his temples in a pounding throb. The white devil had given him a migraine. He folded his hand and sat there fuming.

Aaron walked away tens of thousands richer. Worse, a drop dead gorgeous blond wrapped herself around the white devil as if she would bang him right there.

“You left them with their pants?”

“Yes love. Shirts. The phrase is ‘lose your shirt’. I feel merciful tonight. They’re still fully dressed.” Aaron caressed Michelle’s face as she cuddled with him, aligning her curves to all his sharp angles.

Demarco’s mind broadcast clearly as he watched Michelle holding Aaron intimately. Demarco seethed with a rare combination of envy and hatred. In his opinion, a woman like that deserved a real man, not some arrogant young prick. Back in the ghettos of Chicago, Aaron was what they called soft.

He glanced over his shoulder at Demarco with a look. It was not a soft look. In this one instance Demarco’s instincts were dead wrong. He was young, but not soft. Not by anyone’s definition of the word.

He scanned Demarco’s mind one last time before walking away. Green-eyed jealousy consumed his every thought. They always want what they can’t have. Aaron had become accustomed to this reaction. He and Michelle were a strikingly attractive pair. He knew onlookers considered his dark haired, dark eyed, five foot eleven frame of model caliber, but Michelle was a whole different level of attractive. If not for her petite five-foot two, she could have been a world famous runway model. Her lazy golden curls framed flawless pale skin and vibrant green eyes. Her shapely hourglass curves could win international beauty and swimsuit contests.

All who crossed paths with the couple felt the effect of the magnetic attraction they exuded. They had a phenomenal stage presence drawing the eye of any observer. As several sets of eyes tracked the couple, Aaron remembered his first night spent with Michelle. Just five weeks ago, he awoke to her angelic face and adorably incomprehensible French accent explaining, “This is the magnétisme animal of the vampires.”

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Blood Slave

Synopsis:

Her mother named her Esperanza de Salvador – Hope for Salvation. But when a girl works as an escort for Colombian cartel in the ghettos of Spanish Harlem, there wasn’t much hope, or salvation.Hope’s telepathic ability keeps her a step ahead of ruin, but her unusual gift attracts the attention of a psychotic vampire bitch. Trapped in a Manhattan penthouse with the psycho, she thought she was dead meat.

Her survival lies in the hands of Vampire Master Enrique. He seems to respect her, perhaps even care. As a measure of protection, he makes her his personal Bloodslave. Helplessly addicted to his bite, Enrique rules her every moment. As always, Hope must adapt to survive.

Swept into the decadent nightlife of Manhattan’s elite, she falls in love with Enrique and prays someday he may grow to love her, too. But is it simply a relationship of convenience? Is she nothing more than a concubine desperate to satisfy his nightly demands for blood and sex?

And forever in the background is the fear that one day the cartel boss she abandoned will hunt her down to collect on old debts.

Excerpt from BLOOD SLAVE:

I awoke in the afternoon alone in bed. I could still smell him on the sheets. Like the fool I am, I thought he’d be there. Wake up sex can be awesome, but I rarely if ever have someone there when I wake up. And it usually isn’t someone I really want there.

A dining cart awaited me with pizza, bottled water, a couple cans of Ensure protein shakes, and a note. The pungent aroma of the chicken pesto pizza had me ravenous. I inhaled two pieces as I read Enrique’s little love note:

Dear Hope:

Please eat and drink as much as you can. You will be anemic constantly. You must take very good care of your health. The Ensure supplement will help. There will be plasma and blood transfusions available soon, you will probably need them. Take the sublingual strip Suboxone to hold off withdrawals until we meet again after sunset around 7:15 p.m. The Suboxone goes under your tongue.

I apologize for your situation. I hope we can find a way to work through this and become friends.

Love

Enrique

Okay … Suboxone. Some of the guys at the Towers mentioned it once. It helps fight off heroin withdrawals. One guy said it gave a slight buzz, but nothing like heroin. I have never and will never try heroin. I’ve seen what addicts look like, it’s really fucked up.

So why would he give me Suboxone?

And why wait till seven? Three hours from now. I didn’t want to wait for him. I wanted him here now. Right now! I wanted him to bite me again right now!

“Son of a bitch! He got me with that fucking bite. That’s what he’s been talking about. He’s got me hyped on his bite! Fucking vampires!”

I had a craving, a need, an unscratchable itch for Enrique. Three more hours to go.

* * * *

I was bouncing off the walls by 5:30 p.m.. The Suboxone helped get rid of my headache, and I had a decent buzz going. None of that solved the craving I had for Enrique, or more specifically his bite. A warm bath didn’t help, the three cans of Ensure didn’t help, nor did the half bottle of chardonnay, although it kicked up my buzz nicely.

By 7:16 p.m., I was ready to strip the floral print wallpaper off with my nails. Every part of my body ached for Enrique. I don’t mean pain, I mean need, desire, angst. By 7:17 p.m. I kicked at the locked door, front kicks and sidekicks. I took a few steps back to do a jumping side kick when he opened the door with the most infuriatingly calm comment on his lips.

“Did you miss me?”

I screamed and launched forward. “You son of a bitch!”

He caught me right out of the air in a graceful embrace, absorbing all my impact in his iron hard arms. Before I could react, he bit me fast and hard, right in the neck, robbing me of all sense and reason. Anger, hatred, need, frustration, all obliterated in the blast of sweet, sweet euphoria so intense it brought tears to my eyes. He carried me to the bed as I convulsed with orgasms, still held in the leech’s embrace as if he cared for me. It’s a good thing I didn’t have any underwear on beneath my bathrobe, I would’ve had to change them. My inner thighs were soaked by the time he let up.

I hated and loved him. I wanted to kill him, fuck him, and kiss him, all at the same time. What a mess. Hate won the toss up as the strongest sentiment of the moment.

“I hate you.” I spoke in a quiver, breathless from his bite.

“I expected as much. It’s regrettable, but under the circumstances you left me no choice.” He sighed.

“That’s all you have to say? What did you do to me?”

“I know this seems bad. I understand you’re upset, and rightfully so. I apologize, but it was necessary.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had to assure your loyalty. I had to bind you to me. There was no other way.”

“What do you mean bind? How am I bound? I can’t read your mind! You have to tell me what you’ve done to me. Why do I want to be with you all the time? Why do I need you to bite me?”

“I understand. It must be upsetting you can’t get in here.” He tapped his finger on his skull. “The only name for your condition I have ever known is an archaic terminology I learned from my master over a century ago. He called them ‘Bloodslaves’. I think it’s an inappropriate title. I have no intention of making you a slave.”

“If I’m not a slave then why don’t you let me go home?” I whined.

“Querida, you know too much. It was bad enough you knew of our existence. Then Lia brought you here. She is a constant strain on my patience. If she had let you be, the situation would’ve diffused itself. I imagine you considered her an eccentric. As it stands now, I can’t let you go. To be truthful, your particular talents are intriguing. I’m beginning to like the idea of having you around.”

He had me crying by then. I couldn’t go home, ever. He’d never let me go. Hating him for my captivity, I still felt this inexplicable desire to touch him, coerce him into biting me again. The bastard had me hooked like a damn heroin junky! As I stood there with tears streaming down my face, the son of a bitch hugged me.

It didn’t seem real. Like a bad dream I couldn’t wake up from. He had to let me go home.

“What if I promised I would never say a word to anyone? Who would believe me? This is all so crazy! I can’t hurt you or expose you in any way! I’m an illegal immigrant! I can’t call the police or any other government agency! Your secret’s safe with me! I don’t care who or what you are, or where you live. I just want to go home!” I begged him shamelessly. “I don’t want to be a bloodslave! And I can’t stand it here. Your mind is locked up solid. You could be lying to me! I don’t know anything about you!”

“Shush, Shush, Shush. It does no good to lament. What’s done is done. Querida … you are bound to me. The bond cannot be broken. Surely you’ve noticed the connection between us, the way you need me?”

“OH MY GOD! You did this to me on purpose!”

“Though I’m not proud of it, I’ll not lie. Yes … I did this.”

“Oh God, I’m a slave!”

“That’s not really correct. I’ve no need to stoop to such degradation. I respect you. Enough drama – let’s look at some of the positives here.”

“What’s positive?”

“I know this seems bad, and it is, but there are some benefits to this life. Come with me.”

I followed him reluctantly into the luxurious bathroom attached to my bedroom prison cell. The nicest bed/bath combo I’d ever stayed in. If I could come and go at will it would be perfect.

We stood before the mirror. “Do you notice anything different about yourself?”

I looked in my eyes. I had a post orgasm flush, anger and frustration evident on my face. My eyes were wet from crying. Nothing seemed different from the person in the mirror an hour ago when I’d taken a bath.

“What’s supposed to be different?”

I took him seriously, a new sense of fear bloomed in my gut. What had he done to me? Was I changed? Was I like him now? I opened my mouth to inspect my teeth, looking for the tell-tale fangs. Nada. Nothing changed that I could see.

Enrique snorted laughter. I elbowed him in the ribs. My temper flared up. This was my life he laughed at! The asshole felt so damn solid, like hitting a piece of wood.

He had a twinkle in his eye. “Look at your face. Do you see any bruises or black eyes?”

The bastard hadn’t even flinched when I hit him, he was impervious. He stared at me expectantly with a faintly amused expression. I looked in the mirror again. I scowled, not a very attractive look for me overall. No bruises, no black eyes, not a mark on me from yesterday’s scuffle. My elbows didn’t have any raw spots from when I’d hit the floor. The bite marks that should have been on my neck were nowhere to be found.

I again asked the question, “What did you do to me?” My voice filled with fear and awe.

“There are some pleasant advantages of repeated exposure to our bite. With each bite a small amount of venom is released into your system. This causes the euphoria. Our venom is quite beneficial over time. You’ll heal much more quickly. Your immune system will improve, a higher resistance to communicable diseases. And you’ll age more slowly than the average person. You could live to be well over a hundred. How old are you? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?”

In shock from his words, it took me a few seconds to answer. “Twenty-two”

“Oh … well you seemed a bit older. So very young to have lived through so much. It’s to your advantage. You’ll look as you do for many years to come. A good situation for someone so young, to enjoy youth for a few extra years.

“How old are you?”

“Very old.”

“You don’t look a day over thirty five.”

“Why thank you.”

The bastard had calmed me down. I chatted with him like old friends. He was so damn easy to talk to. Attractive, intelligent, kind, beautiful hazel eyes staring at me without blinking. Damn. I was falling under his spell. And why tell me all this? The more he revealed the more dangerous I became to him. He’d never let me go now, I knew too much. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! And still he stared at me with those beautiful unblinking eyes.

“I thought vampires were immortal, what’s all this hundred years shit? I could live that long just by being careful.”

“We live very long lives indeed, several hundred years or more. But you’re not a vampire.”

“Oh I get it. I’m just here for you to bite and fuck. I’m just food – a bloodslave.”

“Calmate querida. Vulgarity is so unattractive coming from such a beautiful woman. Listen to me carefully. You are not a slave. You’re my guest, permanently. That’s how you’ll be treated, that’s how it is.”

“A guest who can never leave the bedroom. That’s the same thing as a slave.”

“No more strife. Let’s get you some clothing, a few amenities. Lia has provided clothes temporarily. Get ready and I’ll return for you shortly.”

“We’re leaving? I actually get to leave the bedroom? Where are we going?”

“Yes, with me of course. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I’m taking you shopping as a gesture of goodwill. Isn’t that what all women want to do in Manhattan?”

______________________________________

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About the Author:

Travis Luedke is a husband, father, and author of Urban Fantasy thriller, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, and Sci-fi. He is currently catching a 3rd degree sunburn in San Antonio, Texas, and loving every minute of it. His recent works include “The Nightlife New York”, “The Nightlife Las Vegas” and “BLOOD SLAVE” the first novels in the Nightlife Series.

You can find him on Twitter, GoodReads and be sure to visit his blog and website!