Bait & Switch by Kendall Ryan…. Teaser

RELEASE DAY: February 9^th, 2016

Bait & Switch

Alphas Undone Book 1

Love is a trap, a trick only other people fall for. Former Navy SEAL Nolan has no such illusions. The only things real in his life are his beloved bulldog and the two women who regularly share his bed. One is light—soft, innocent, and tender touches. The other is dark—and gives him all of the wicked things he craves behind closed doors. It’s not cheating when each is aware of the other. But when he begins to feel much more than he ever bargained for, the order of his carefully crafted world is shaken, and he stands to lose everything.

Nolan thinks we met by chance. We didn’t. I sought him out, seduced him, and in return got the sanctuary I needed to survive. But now, impossibly, I’ve fallen in love with him. I don’t care that he has another lover, because when he finds out who I am, it’s going to ruin any chance I ever had with him anyway. She’s the least of my worries.

Bait & Switch is Book 1 in a new contemporary romance series by Kendall Ryan.

Exclusive ibooks preorder: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bait-switch/id1043398083?mt=11

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27175281-bait-switch

First Touch by Laurelin Paige….. Excerpt

Now available for Pre-order!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1jxIMYq

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

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1QcYftH

iBooks: http://apple.co/1QcYmW7

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

REEVE IS COMING!

Meet Reeve & Emily in First Touch releasing December 29th!

Blurb

When Emily Wayborn goes home to visit her mom while on hiatus from her hit TV show, she receives a voicemail from her former best friend, Amber. Though the two were once notorious party girls, they haven’t spoken in years. Although the message might sound benign to anyone else, Amber uses a safe word that Emily recognizes, a word they always used to get out of sticky situations during their wild days. And what’s more chilling than the voicemail: it turns out that Amber has gone missing.

Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she’s drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she’s forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?

Excerpt

The room began to close in around me, blanketing me with acute heaviness. I drained my champagne in one swallow then set it on a waiter’s tray as I pushed through the crowd and out to the overflow area that had been set up in the parking lot. Once the chill night breeze hit me, I gasped in a deep breath, swallowing the air in long gulps, as though I’d been underwater and had finally reached the surface.

With Amber, I’d been a glorified hooker. In Hollywood, wasn’t I pretty much the same thing? I’d simply left one bed to move to another. I chuckled at the paradox. It deserved a laugh, at least.

Footsteps sounded behind me, and I stifled the last bit of humor threatening to escape. Without looking over my shoulder, I felt the air change. The hair at the back of my neck bristled and the sting of electricity huddled around me.

I turned, somehow knowing what I’d find—who I’d find.

He leaned against the concrete doorframe watching me with eyes that pinned me in my place. He was captivating and magnificent, his tux fitting him better than clothing had the right to fit a person, better than any one of the pretty men that filled the room beyond him. Those men, my peers, they were a sea of beautiful—calm and serene. Reeve was the ocean, dark and commanding and turbulent. They moved in gentle waves. Reeve stood still and set the world crashing around him.

That easily, the breath I’d just managed to get under control was knocked from my lungs.

He spoke before I could regain my composure. “What a coincidence that you’d be at the same event that I’m at.”

The boldness of his accusation shocked me into response. “I’m not following you, if that’s what you’re insinuating.” My pulse fluttered in fear, in excitement. In irritation. I didn’t like the way he agitated me. Maybe I’d deserved it at his resort, but this? This was my turf.

With a surprising display of fierceness, I locked my eyes to his. “I’m the one who belongs at this event. Not you.”

He laughed and the sound of it fueled my indignation. It also sent heat rushing up my thighs, heat that turned my rage inward as well as out.

Hands in his pockets, Reeve stepped toward me. “Calm down, Emily. I was only teasing. Of course you aren’t here because of me. Perhaps, I’m here because of you.” He paused long enough for panic to jolt through me with reminders of the ominous words he’d delivered to me the last time we’d seen each other. “Perhaps, this time I’m the one who’s examining.”

My anger stepped up another notch, overwhelming my unease. “Examining me? Like, why—to scare me? To see if I’m as fun to mess with when you’re outside the home field? How dare you? Come here, into my world and prod at me just because you feel like it. Proceed to make it your playground. How dare you?”

His lip curved into a chiding smile. “Now you know how I felt.”

I refused to acknowledge my humiliation, though the flush that swept down my neck more than likely gave it away. “Thank you for the lesson, Mr. Sallis,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady. “I assure you that I have more than gotten the point. You won’t be having to give me any further demonstrations.” I started toward the venue doors, praying I could manage the walk. High heels and weak knees did not make for a good combination.

I circled widely around him, wanting to keep as much distance between us as possible. But I could still feel the warmth pulsating off him like the driving beat of a dance club. It trembled through me, coming up from the ground, shaking me, gripping me. I fought through it, forced myself past him.

“Emily.” His address caught me mid-stride. Five more feet and I’d be back in the Expo. Just a few more steps…

I couldn’t help myself—I stayed. I didn’t turn toward him, though. That was my single act of restraint.

“What I did to you at the spa—”His voice was silk and stubble all at once. The texture of the sound, as much as the mention of the spa, was bait on a hook. I practically leaned into his next words. “It wasn’t very nice.”

I spun toward him. “You think?”

“I like my privacy. I was mad.” It wasn’t an explanation so much as it was a reminder. You provoked me, he was saying. You deserved it.

“So you made me think you wanted to kill me?” Admittedly, I had earned his admonishment. I hadn’t earned a death threat.

“Eh. I never said I wanted—”

I cut him off with a point of my finger. “You did. In every way you could without the specific words.”

He opened his mouth as if to defend himself further. Then his expression changed, his features darkened, his eyes gleamed. “Did it scare you?”

“What do you think?” A shiver ran down my spine. He knew he’d scared me. It had been his intent to rile me up, make me afraid. What I hadn’t realized was how much he liked that he had.

About the Author:

Laurelin Paige is the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She’s a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones and the Walking Dead, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.

STALK HER: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Bait & Switch by Kendall Ryan… Teaser

RELEASE DAY: February 9^th, 2016

Bait & Switch

Alphas Undone Book 1

Bait & Switch is Book 1 in a new contemporary romance series by Kendall Ryan.

Exclusive ibooks preorder: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bait-switch/id1043398083?mt=11

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27175281-bait-switch

First Touch by Laurelin Paige…. Excerpt Blitz

Now available for Pre-order!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1jxIMYq

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

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1QcYftH

iBooks: http://apple.co/1QcYmW7

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

REEVE IS COMING!

Meet Reeve & Emily in First Touch releasing December 29th!

Blurb

Excerpt

The first time I shared a man with Amber had been on my seventeenth birthday.

She’d been hanging around the neighborhood for the better part of the six months before that, and we’d become friends. We had the same taste in food and music and movies and, unlike the other girls we knew, we both preferred a line of coke to a bowl of weed. “Champagne taste,” Amber would say. “That’s us.”

Though we were both the same age, our lives had been very different. I’d go to school during the day, trying to pretend that my grades were salvageable as she’d watched The Home Shopping Network and ate Cheetos on the neighbor’s couch. Amber had dropped out of high school, and since she’d also runaway from home, no one was pushing her to go while graduation was the one thing my mother demanded of me.

I’d hated everything back then. School. My mother. My neighborhood. My body. Everything but Amber. She’d been fun. Sassy. Sexy. She was electric and electrifying and everything I wanted to be. And she cared for me. Maybe even loved me. If I had gone to a shrink they probably would have said that was why I latched onto her—that I thought of her as the mother mine had never been. I knew how screwed up everything seemed. But who could ever know why a person fell for another? I only knew that I had been dull and dim and that Amber made me less so.

She’d also had things I didn’t. Things that money bought. The clothes she wore were designer, her nails were always done. She’d lowered her panties once to show me her Brazilian. Whenever I’d asked how she paid for things, she’d always answered simply, “My uncle.” Even as we’d grown closer to each other that was all she’d tell me about the mysterious relative.

“For your birthday,” she’d said two days before, “I’ve got a surprise. Plan to spend the weekend with me.”

So that Friday, I slipped out of school early and met Amber at the bus station where she purchased two tickets to Santa Monica. Though I couldn’t get her to give me even a hint as to where we were going or what we were doing, I spent the two-hour bus ride buzzing with excitement. Whatever Amber had in mind, I knew without a doubt that this trip would be the beginning of the next phase of my life. I was ready. I was so ready.

Outside the station in Santa Monica, Amber bummed a smoke off a street musician and I scanned the street, taking in the sights of a place I’d never been. A red convertible parked nearby caught my attention, more specifically, the man leaning against it. He was older, maybe as old as my mother, but attractive. Not because he was all that good looking, exactly—though his body was definitely fit and trim—but because of what he exuded. Confidence. Assurance. Money. He drew my attention, and in the way that a restless, sexually charged young girl often did, I found myself wondering about him. What it would be like to kiss a man like him. What it would feel like to be beneath him. I’d had plenty of sex before. With boys from school. I’d yet to meet one who knew what he was doing, and though I would never have admitted it out loud, I was dying for it, thoughts of it never far from my mind.

When Amber followed the line of my sight, she dropped her cigarette with a squeal and exclaimed, “There he is, Em! Come on.”

“There who is?” I asked as she tugged me toward the very man I’d been staring at.

“My uncle!” After throwing her duffle bag into the back seat, she jumped into the man’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Then she proceeded to make out with him like I’d done on more than one occasion with the boys under the bleachers at school. Never out on a public street. Never with a man who had to shave everyday.

When they had finished their display and Amber was back on her feet again, she made introductions. “Rob this is Emily. Em, Rob.”

He may have said something to me. I didn’t really know because I’d been too busy staring at her, my jaw gaping.

“Oh, Emily, he’s not really my uncle,” she told me as she jumped into the passenger seat. “Get in.”

She’d misread the cause of my surprise. I grinned—only one of the many times I’d grin that day—and climbed in the backseat. If Amber hadn’t been the coolest person I’d ever met before that moment, she’d certainly proven herself now.

About the Author:

STALK HER: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

THANK YOU!

Reign by M.N. Forgy…Cover Reveal Trailer

One bad biker. One gorgeous sheriff.

One intense biker romance.

Reign releases on January 27th!

Now Available for Pre-order

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1PW98BW

iBooks: http://apple.co/1R8tNCO

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1QdBQy7

Reign by MN Forgy from Becca the Bibliophile on Vimeo.

Blurb

As the president of the Sin City Outlaw Motorcycle Club, l I fuck as hard as I ride and rarely go to bed alone.

The women are fast and the violence is intense.

I excel in both.

People either respect me or fear me. I’m not arrogant. It’s just the truth.

I was a king, reigning over Vegas without complication, until one gorgeous sheriff made everything fall apart.

When I saw her, I became a Neanderthal, wanting nothing more than to be between those legs.

I guess that’s where I went wrong, because my reality was shot to hell real

fucking fast.

One kiss caused her to step over that blue line.

One night in her bed made me a traitor.

And now… we’re both screwed.

About the Author

M.N. Forgy was raised in Missouri where she still lives with her family. She’s a soccer mom by day and a saucy writer by night. M.N. Forgy started writing at a young age but never took it seriously until years later, as a stay-at-home mom, she opened her laptop and started writing again. As a role model for her children, she felt she couldn’t live with the “what if” anymore and finally took a chance on her character’s story. So, with her glass of wine in hand and a stray Barbie sharing her seat, she continues to create and please her fans.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Bait & Switch by Kendall Ryan….Teaser

RELEASE DAY: February 9^th, 2016

Bait & Switch

Alphas Undone Book 1

Bait & Switch is Book 1 in a new contemporary romance series by Kendall Ryan.

Exclusive ibooks preorder: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bait-switch/id1043398083?mt=11

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27175281-bait-switch

Tattooed Scars by Alicia Rae….Cover Reveal

The second book in Alicia Rae’s Tattooed series, TATTOOED SCARS, releases on Tuesday, December 8th – and we’re thrilled to share the cover with you today!

Check it out below – plus, get the details on a .99c sale of TATTOOED EMOTIONS!

We love the covers for this series so much – so eye-grabbing!

About TATTOOED SCARS

Raelyn Jennings knows one thing for certain. She loves Damien Heathman with every fiber of her being. A life without him wouldn’t be one worth living.

Damien has never loved a single soul—until Raelyn. She heals the pain that has tainted the deepest part of his heart. She is his everything, his single reason for breathing. Damien’s relentless determination refuses to let anyone or anything stand in his way of being with her.

But soon, Damien’s and Raelyn’s pasts begin to collide with their future in ways they never thought possible, testing their undying love for one another.

Damien’s dark secrets from the scars hidden beneath his tattoos threaten to reveal themselves while Raelyn is faced with impossible decisions that need to be made.

Can Damien convince Raelyn to take a risk in hopes of securing the longevity of their future? Or will Raelyn choose the safe path that also comes with a limit?

There isn’t any time to waste, for the clock never stops ticking.

TATTOOED SCARS releases December 8th – add it to Goodreads here!

Did you miss the first book, TATTOOED EMOTIONS? You’re in luck! TATTOOED EMOTIONS is on sale now for just .99c for a very limited time only – find out more below!

About TATTOOED EMOTIONS

Raelyn Jennings has survived the unthinkable. She’s been given a second chance to live, to breathe, to feel. Her ability to overcome such a traumatic hurdle has created armor around her heart. But beyond her shield is fear, a consuming deep one, of the unknown. Raelyn vows to herself that she’ll solely focus on the one constant in her life, her career as the CEO for a prestigious accounting firm.

Damien Heathman’s unrelenting determination has made him a powerful, respected man. He’s sexy and confident and utterly breathtaking. His dominance and strength is evident in every purposeful stride, every meaningful look, and every soft caress.
Raelyn has worked with Damien’s company, Heathman Enterprises, for many years, but they’ve never crossed paths—until now.

Damien’s presence fills a room. He steals Raelyn’s breath and sparks her broken heart back to life. Once Damien sets eyes on Raelyn, there is no turning back. He wants her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Not even the dark secrets hidden behind his tattoos will stand in his way.

The chemistry is undeniable. The passion is palpable.

Can Damien convince Raelyn that he is worth the risk? Or will Raelyn allow her past to control her future, feeling the chance of another heartache is too great to bear?

Buy TATTOOED EMOTIONS now for just .99c: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Read a sneak peek of TATTOOED SCARS:

“You know,” he began softly, “there is plenty of room in my closet for you to keep some of your clothes here.”

His comment caught me off guard, and my heart constricted with one hard squeeze before it sped up with an uneven rhythm.

“Uh,” I stammered before closing my mouth, unsure of how to respond.

He inquisitively stared at me as I parted my lips to try again.

“I don’t know.” I blinked in shock. “I think it’s too soon to be thinking about that.”

Damien arched a brow, and I just knew he was going to hit me with a comeback.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he teasingly narrowed his eyes at me as he said, “Nothing is too soon with you.”

He took deliberate steps toward me, and that domineering persona that I loved about him was evident in every single one of his purposeful strides toward me.

“In fact, we are going to your place tonight after work to pack some things for you to bring here.”

“What?” I screeched, gaping at him. “I’m not moving in with you!”

Without saying a word, he lifted his phone in his hand, which I hadn’t noticed he was still holding, and he tapped on the screen.

A devious smirk appeared on his face before he spoke into the line, “Zoey, something came up that I must deal with. I’ll see you at ten.”

Just when I thought my mouth couldn’t possibly hang open any more, it did. “You have lost your mind.”

He continued to stalk toward me.

I glared at him as I backed up to the headboard behind me, increasing the distance between us. I wouldn’t be able to keep my head straight if Damien put his hands on me. My body would willingly cave to his over-the-top demands.

Damien was my weakness and my strength, rolled into one massive wave of passion.

He knelt on the bed and slowly came closer. All the while, the look in his eyes darkened with unmistakable desire.

He was going to devour me.

“What are you doing?” I lifted my right foot and pressed it to his stomach to halt his advance. “Stop right there.” My voice, laced with warning, trailed off as my attention caught on his erection.

It was heavy and hard.

I drank in each defined muscle of his abs as they flexed with each of his movements.

Strength and dominance rippled out of him.

Damien gently grasped ahold of my ankle. “I’m giving you a reminder.”

“A reminder?” I wiggled my leg in an attempt to shake it free. “Of what?” I asked, damn well knowing the answer.

This was one of those times when he wanted control, and I refused to give him the satisfaction of surrendering so easily.

Who am I kidding?

It was useless. I was a goner.

About Alicia Rae

Alicia Rae is a Contemporary Romance Author who lives in Dekalb, Illinois, with her husband and three beautiful boys. Alicia has a passion for reading all types of romance, writing to bring a story to life, and wedding photography.

Alicia loves to hear from readers! Text RAE to 22828 to join her mailing list

Cunning by Aleatha Romig….Cover Reveal

“He owns you. Whatever he tells you to do you do”.

One year. No future. A past that won’t go away.

Lennox “Nox” Demetri broke his own rule by making a deal. It may not have been directly with the devil, but that doesn’t mean Satan himself isn’t watching. Was it fate that brought Charli into his life and his bed? What will happen when rules are broken and secrets are revealed?

“New rules…my rules.”

Alex “Charli” Collins found pleasure with Nox like she’d never known. That was before she knew his last name. Now that Infidelity is involved and the rules have changed, what will result when real life and fantasy collide?

Is it really cheating if you’re doing it to yourself?

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a sexy, new dominant hero who knows what he wants and a strong-willed heroine who has plans of her own. With classic Aleatha Romig twists, turns, deceptions, and devotions, the depth of this new, epic dark romance reaches new levels and will have readers swooning one minute and screaming the next.

Have you been Aleatha’d?

CUNNING is a full-length novel, 360 pages, and the second of five books in the INFIDELITY series.

Infidelity – it isn’t what you think.

PREORDER

iBooks AMAZON

EXCERPT

I did my best to appear nonchalant as the bellman used my key to open the door of the executive suite. As he flipped the switch in the dark entry, I scanned the luxurious suite. Beyond the light illuminating the foyer, the furnishings appeared modern and sleek, while the walls were covered in heavy drapery keeping the late afternoon sunlight at bay.

“Ma’am, I apologize,” the bellman said as he hurried across the living room. “Your suite has a spectacular view. Let me open—”

His feet and words stopped. My heart leapt to my throat. Stepping from a darkened doorway was a man who immediately dominated the executive suite.

“Sir, I didn’t know that anyone…”

I no longer heard the man in the Mandarin uniform. Nox was all I saw. His silence filled the air muting anything else. His pale eyes narrowed capturing mine. Without words his icy gaze bore through me, planting my feet and sealing my lips. Displeasure radiated from his every pore. Rage rippled from his chiseled jaw as the muscles in his face and neck flexed. My knees grew weak as I realized this wasn’t the man I remembered, but rather the man whose voice I’d heard on my call.

Only minutes earlier there had been so many things I’d planned to say and questions that consumed me. Yet, now, with Nox before me, none of them surfaced or made their presence known; instead the suite warmed as my heartbeat raced. I gripped tighter to my purse. With the winds of his displeasure swirling about the suite, I needed an anchor, something to ground me.

One week. No future. No past. No more.

Alexandria Collins has one week to live carefree—no ghosts of her past or pressures of her future haunting her. Reinventing herself as “Charli,” she is knocked off her feet by a sexy, mysterious man who brings her pleasure like she never imagined. With her heart at stake, she forgets that decisions made in the dark of night reappear in the bright light of day.

“Some of my tastes are unique. They aren’t for everyone. I understand that.”

Lennox “Nox” Demetri is wealthy, confident, and decisive—he knows what he wants. From the first time he sees Charli at an exclusive resort, he knows he wants her. Although he is usually the one to make the rules, together they agree on one:

One week. No more.

When betrayal comes from those closest to Alexandria, she must decide how far she is willing to go to survive. Choices are not always easy, especially when they involve the heart, body, and soul. After all, Infidelity is a business, and some rules are meant to be broken.

“Is it really cheating if you’re doing it to yourself?”

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a sexy, new dominant hero who knows what he wants, and a strong-willed heroine who has plans of her own. With classic Aleatha Romig twists, turns, deceptions, and devotions, this new epic dark romance will have readers swooning one minute and screaming the next. Have you been Aleatha’d?

BETRAYAL is a full-length novel and the first of five in the INFIDELITY series.

Kindle Amazon UK B&N iBooks Kobo

Aleatha Romig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Aleatha has raised three children with her high school sweetheart and husband of nearly thirty years. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her other pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!

Aleatha released her first novel, CONSEQUENCES, in August of 2011. CONSEQUENCES became a bestselling series with five novels and two companions released from 2011 through 2015. The compelling and epic story of Anthony and Claire Rawlings has graced more than half a million e-readers. Aleatha released the first of her series TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, INSIDIOUS, in the fall of 2014. These standalone thrillers continue Aleatha’s twisted style with an increase in heat. In the fall of 2015, Aleatha will move head first into the world of dark romance with the release of BETRAYAL, the first of her five novel INFIDELITY series.

Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Browne & Miller Literary Associates.

NEWSLETTER WEBSITE FACEBOOK AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE GOODREADS INSTAGRAM TWITTER PINTEREST

First Touch by Laurelin Paige….Excerpt Reveal

Now available for Pre-order!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1jxIMYq

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

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1QcYftH

iBooks: http://apple.co/1QcYmW7

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

REEVE IS COMING!

Meet Reeve & Emily in First Touch releasing December 29th!

Blurb

Excerpt

“I hope you’re nice and relaxed, Emily. Because we need to have a chat.”

Apprehension fluttered in my belly. Chatting was definitely not the direction I wanted to go in from here. Whatever he had to say, I couldn’t possibly listen. I was too agitated.

But without him spelling it out, I knew that was the terms of this arrangement. He’d touch me—in his way. And I’d listen, whether I wanted to or not.

So I propped myself up again and gave him as much of my attention as I could.

“It’s interesting,” he said, his thumbs doing that amazing thing on the bottom of my foot, “how people respond to you when they believe you’ve gotten away with murder.”

My stomach dropped. No speech that started with murder had a happy ending.

“Most people are frightened of you,” he said as his hand stroked up my shin. “They pull their business. They stop attending your events. They certainly won’t let themselves be seen with you. It’s not really anything to fret over, losing those connections. You don’t want cowards in your court. Good riddance to them.”

“I’m not a coward,” I managed to say defensively. Though I wasn’t sure why I was defending myself. Or why I was anxious that he might mean good riddance to me when that was probably exactly what I should be wishing he meant.

He glanced up at me, amusement in his features. “No, you’re not. You’re not scared. Or you’re not scared enough.”

I barely fought the shiver that begged to stutter through my body. It was a menacing statement, and I wanted to deny it as well. Tell him that I was definitely scared enough. But what the hell did that mean, anyway? Considering how turned on I was despite everything I’d learned about him, still turned on despite the foreboding in his tone, well, maybe he had a point. I really wasn’t scared enough.

The amusement transformed to what looked more like awe. Then his attention fell back to my leg and I couldn’t see his face well enough to read him. But after he pushed my ankle back so that my knee bent, his touch changed. A single finger traced the line of my inner thigh. Softly. Sweetly. Just as he got to where I so wanted him to go, he abruptly stopped. One second passed. Two.

Then he resumed the firm pressure from before, reclaiming his restraint. For now.

I could wait.

His speech continued, his voice firm, icy. “There are other people, too. Those that respect you. They aren’t necessarily your friends, because they’re also scared—probably even more so than those who keep their distance. They continue their financial support of your endeavors. They invite you to their parties. Their children’s weddings. They look out for you. Because, you see, they’re afraid that if they don’t…well.”

My heart hammered in my ears. Suddenly I was feeling vulnerable in a way that had nothing to do with my nudity and all to do with the frailty of my size compared to the strength of his.

As if to prove that point, Reeve increased the pressure of his kneading, digging his fingers into the flesh of my thigh with a bite that sang and stung. “It’s a very intense form of power, actually. Much like having money. I’m sure you’ve gotten a taste of that with the recent success of your show. Imagine that but multiplied by a billion.”

“Mm hmm,” I said, a response that served as an answer though it was mostly an involuntary reaction to his hands. He’d reached the top of my limb again. Like before, the tips of his fingers brushed against my folds.

Goddammit, I was wet. And trembling. And overwrought with anticipation. This time, would he let his touch wander farther up? In?

His hands left me. He pushed my leg down, pulled the sheet back over my leg and pinned me with narrowed eyes. “It’s also not unlike the power of being a very attractive person. Another privilege that you understand.” He scanned the length of my body, the sheet still a barrier between us, and let out an audible breath. “I imagine you must understand it very well indeed.”

It was an accusation. The grit in his voice and the weight of his stare said so. Fucker. Whatever hopes I’d had for this whole scene of his, it was clear now that his intent was not friendly. Punishing, more like. I still wasn’t sure for what exactly. For being in his pool. For using my beauty to draw his interest. For coming onto him without his permission. I’d thought his humiliating body search had been all the reprimand I was getting. Guess I’d been wrong.

My eyes fell. However, a glance at his crotch gave me the slightest smidgeon of satisfaction. He was unmistakably hard. He might be punishing me, but he was punishing himself too.