Homespun Christmas by Aimee Thurlo

To save her town

Independence, New Mexico, needs a lifeline, and Myka Solis is determined to provide one. She thinks her craft business can transform the dying town into a vibrant, creative hub. And she knows exactly the person who can help: Joshua Nez, the confident big-city architect who's back in town to rebuild his own life.

Thanks to Josh's expertise, Myka finds herself leading a revitalization effort that draws in the entire community. But working with Josh has to stay a business-only arrangement. Josh has dreams, too, and his involve opening an architecture firm far away from Independence. If only Myka can show him they both have a future in their hometown…together.

 

This is a well written and edited book. It is a book that can be enjoyed by all ages. The story is a believable one and the characters are well developed and likable. This story has heartwarming light romance, a smidgen of suspense and believable characters. This is a sweet romance full of love and kindness. The book draws you in to a world where true love and sweet timeless marriages really do exist. You will become a part of an extended family that you won't want to let go of.

 

Although the relationship between the two main characters didn't go entirely smoothly, they did find love very quickly and with someone very deserving of their love. My personal experience is that it can indeed happen in just that way. I read the book in a day because I enjoyed it so much. The author has a very easy style about her writing, and the story had plenty to keep you wondering what would happen next.  I'd really recommend this book to lovers of a good romance.

Cold Case, Hot Accomplice by Carla Cassady

Roxy Marcoli cares about three things—her restaurant, her sisters and her aunt Liz. When Liz disappears, she's forced to turn to shameless playboy cop Steve Kincaid. Every time the sexy detective turns on the charm, he gets Roxy's hackles up. 

 Despite his reputation, Steve is no ladies' man. His casual flirting hides the pain of an unbearable loss. As they search for clues, he discovers what lies beneath Roxy's prickly exterior and sharp tongue. As his desire grows, so does his fear. Because it's not just Aunt Liz the killer wants—but Roxy, too.  

 

Cold Case,Hot Accomplice was a light romantic read with some good old-fashioned mystery tossed in. I do like a book that is told in both the male and female POVs, so that was a plus. The characters were likable, the backdrop was quaint, and the mystery had me guessing until the end. The chemistry between Steve and Roxy was restrained given that neither were looking for love.The story kept a steady pace which i very much enjoyed.There seemed to be quite a bit of story and character development that took up a good third of the book. But once the story was fully on its way, it was a book I did not want to put down and the ending was a  surprise...

 

Strong characters and non-stop action keep you turning the pages on Carla Cassidy's newest Romantic Suspense. Our heroine has more than one reason to be looking over her shoulder and thinking about her protector makes her feel much more than safe. To have his help is she willing to risk her heart?  Loved reading this story and watching a woman finding her strength and her hope for a "happy ever after".

Friends to Lovers by Christi Barth

As florist and co-owner of a successful Chicago wedding planning business, Daphne Lovell has been there for the happiest days of other people's lives. As for her own life? Well, it's hard to be perfectly happy when you're carrying a torch for your sexy, womanizing and oblivious best friend. So when the lights go out on New Year's Eve, she seizes the opportunity to kiss him senseless.

British expat Gibson Moore has a lot on his plate. The hotel he manages is being bought out, his family is crazy and someone just kissed him in the dark. When the lights go on, he searches the room, trying to find the mystery pair of lips. Only, he never thinks to ask the woman standing by his side. He's shocked when he discovers that Daphne is the woman he's been searching for. But Gib's also eager to act upon the attraction for her he's always fought to ignore.

It takes trust to move from friends to lovers, and as Gib's work situation worsens, he is no longer sure he can risk the friendship he relies on most. It's up to Daphne to convince him that some things are worth fighting for…

 

Right off the bat I fell in love with these characters, both completely locked in to only seeing things their way but instant attraction that can’t be denied. Daphne and Gib are meant for each other, but even though they are in love, things sadly happen in the last quarter of the book that forces one to possibly hurt the other one, in order not to see them get hurt in the long run.

 

This is a romance pure and simple but this story is about all kinds of relationships and that makes it special. The story line is amazingly complex and interesting, the dialog moves at a good pace and it’s funny when appropriate and serious when it needs to be, but it’s the entire cast of characters that makes this book so intriguing. This is absolutely a group of people that I would like to know and spend time with. If you want to read an enjoyable series, with wonderful couples, then Friends to Lovers which is the third book in the Aisle Bound series is a wonderful addition to this series.Friends to Lovers offer's up everything I have come to expect from Christi Barth.

RUINED: An Ethan Frost Novel Spotlight and giveaway

If you loved Sylvia Day, J Kenner and their strong sexy heroes prepare for Ethan Frost in RUINED on sale 1/7/2014:

He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.
 
Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.

He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.

But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we we share will only tear us apart.

Every Friday on www.romanceatrandom.com we're featuring snippets from the story - readers love this and we hope you do too -- feel free to attach our widget onto your site -

http://www.romanceatrandom.com/category/frostonfriday/">http://www.romanceatrandom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/FrostonFriday1-300x100.jpg
" />
BUY LINK

http://www.randomhouse.com/book/237040/ruined-by-tracy-wolff

Serena Bell's AFTER MIDNIGHT New Year's Eve tour and giveaway

The clock is ticking down to midnight on New Year’s Eve, and all Nora Hart and Miles Shephard can think about is kissing each other—even though they met just minutes before. Then, as fast as Miles enters Nora’s life, he’s gone… and she never even gets the name of the man she thinks might just be "the one." One year later, Nora and Miles are reunited. The chemistry between them is just as strong as they remember. But Miles broke her heart once before—and this time around, Nora’s not sure whether she can give love a second chance.
　

AFTER MIDNIGHT – Excerpt from Chapter 1

Her top was halter style, and she had great shoulders, strong and round. She wore a gray tweedy skirt and smooth black knee-high boots, and his unruly mind served up an image of her, naked except for those slick boots.

Jesus.

It wouldn’t go away, that picture of her. It wasn’t the flotsam and jetsam of his brain. It was a fully-formed idea.

He seriously considered the possibility of it.

Maybe the year didn’t have to slink out in shame. Maybe he could put a more emphatic end on it.

"Let me refill your drink," he said, reaching for the empty martini glass in her hand.

She gave him a big, genuine grin. "I’ve got a better idea."

"Yeah?"

"Let’s dance. I love dancing. I love this music."

She didn’t say it in a vampy way, but it shorted out something in his brain. It seemed like sexiness was something that happened to her accidentally while she was having more fun than the average woman could wring out of a New Year’s party. That was what made her so hot, he realized. She wasn’t trying particularly hard. She was just more here than most people were. More present, more vivid. And so she’d penetrated the fog he’d been wearing, like rifle fire through body armor.
Here was the thing. Numb had felt good. Numb had felt safe. Numb was what you were supposed to feel in his situation, when you were falsely suspected of embezzling more than three hundred thousand dollars from the non-profit organization you’d helped found and your fiancée told you adios, she didn’t think she was the stand-by-your-man type. You were supposed to lick your wounds and hide out for weeks, months, years. You were supposed to have as much life in you as a glacial boulder. You weren’t supposed to go to a New Year’s Eve party and spot some hot elf-witch chick with joie d’vivre busting out all over and get all hot and bothered.

Numb had felt good. This—alive, buzzing, raw, wide-open—felt dangerous.


"Hey, I get it," she said. "I’m not your type."

He shook his head. So far from the truth, it couldn’t find it with a lie detector.

"Is that a ‘No, you’re not my type,’ or a ‘No, you’ve got it all wrong.’"

"You’ve got that part dead wrong," he said, with some heat.

Her smile began at the corners of her mouth. "You like ’em younger."

Shake.

"Prettier?"

Shake.

"Less busty?"

They were grinning at each other now, and it felt good, something shaken loose inside. Freed.

"Less bossy. You’re not in the market. You’re married. You’re gay."

He laughed out loud at that, and he knew he’d dance with her. And probably not stop there. He’d think about the consequences, how it fit with his broke-ass life, later. After midnight. Next year.

"Okay, you’re not gay. Good, then, come on." And she grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the dance floor.

There was some kind of eighties theme going on with the music and ACDC’s "You Shook Me All Night Long" was playing. Well, that kind of erased all subtlety from the situation, didn’t it? And maybe that was for the best because his body had also decided to bypass subtlety and go for broke, and by the time she got her arms around his neck and slid against him, he was hard. Like really hard, so the shimmy of her hip against his crotch found him, no problem. She did it again and he wanted to simultaneously ask her to stop and beg her to do it again. Maybe it was something about the lyrics, which had always done it for him, even though he wasn’t quite old enough to have bumped and ground to this song at middle school dances.

Her breasts pressed to his chest, her thighs moved across his uncomfortably engorged dick, and she tilted her pelvis to grind on him. Okay, that wasn’t accidentally sexy, that was overtly take-what-you-want, go-for-broke sexy, and it notched his own arousal up about six levels. She smelled unbelievably good, strawberry-scented hair to match the color. He knew because he had his nose in it, and somehow his hands had found her ass and were guiding her movements against him. The friction there was the epicenter of something disturbingly fast-building, and he had to pull back a little from her, take it down a notch, because she was too much energy in his arms, too much pure, raw temptation.

He tried to think whether he’d ever wanted a total stranger like this, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t. He could blame the song, he could blame the speed with which she’d thawed his numbness, he could blame the evening, the anonymity, the unfamiliar city, the beautiful scenery, the holiday with all its Auld Lang Syne bonhomie, but at the bottom and the center of all the thinking and explaining there was just the feel of wanting her.

The music stopped, and he stepped back. The pressure that had been building in his dick waned enough for him to have a semi-coherent thought in his head, and it was this: I like this girl. A lot. Fuck.

"OK, people, we’re turning on the big TV! Five minutes to go!" Someone had stood on a chair to make that announcement, and now one wall of the room lit up with Times Square, a split screen between the crowd and the suspended disco ball.

She stood next to him. He didn’t look at her but he could feel the distance between them, exactly how far he’d have to lean to jostle her with his arm, his hip, his shoulder. Exactly how far he’d have to turn to press himself against her.

The countdown was at 4:06:52. All around them, people shifted and jockeyed for position, an unsubtle effort to end up near the person they'd least hate the idea of getting kissed by at midnight. Owen was still beside the tall blond. Go, Owen.
If Miles couldn't get him a medal for his acts of friendship this week, standing back while Owen got laid would be a good consolation prize.


Miles was feeling a lot better now about having chosen to stick this party out. Partially on Owen’s behalf, but also on his own. Because the woman next to him wasn’t the person he’d least hate the idea of getting kissed by at midnight. Not at all. Despite the fact that it wasn’t what he was supposed to feel, despite the fact that it made no sense and scared the hell out of him, she was the person he most wanted to kiss at midnight.

At that moment, he realized he’d never asked her name.
About Serena Bell

Serena Bell writes stories about how sex messes with your head, why smart people sometimes do stupid things, and how love can make it all better. She wrote her first steamy romance before she was old enough to understand what all the words meant and has been perfecting the art of hiding pages and screens from curious eyes ever since—a skill that’s particularly useful now that she’s the mother of two school-aged children.

　

Connect with Serena Bell

http://facebook.com/serenabellbooks
http://twitter.com/serenabellbooks
http://serenabellbooks.com

About HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS

As leftover turkey and stuffing give way to stockings and little black dresses, this tantalizingly sexy eBook bundle offers up holiday-themed novellas from a trio of beloved romance authors. http://facebook.com/lisareneejones   Lisa Renee Jones gives a dedicated reporter and a powerful businessman a chance to count their Thanksgiving blessings in Play with Me; http://maryannrivers.com Mary Ann Rivers presents Snowfall, the story of a woman who confronts a life-changing event—hopefully with a special man by her side—just in time for Christmas.

Serena Bell – AFTER MIDNIGHT giveaway!

 

Complete Me by J. Kenner

For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes the third novel in the erotic, fast-paced trilogy including Release Me and Claim Me.


This book was up and down rollercoaster of emotions. It literally felt like I was being whip lashed from the constant back and forth. It is powerful and slightly confusing if you haven't read the first two books. The story its self is fast paced and seem to be a lot going on at once. But it is still an interesting read. If you liked Fifty Shades of Grey you will like this.

Complete Me is the final book of this trilogy. You learn that Damien Stark has more skeletons in his closet than he has let on. Yet he has this wild passion that consumes himself and Nikki. He tries so hard to shield not only himself but her from the craziness of the world but it still consumes them.

Snow White and the Vampireby Marina Myles Blitz

Book Description:

Fog and Fascination

Alba Spencer thought her past in Romania and the dark magic that haunted it was behind her forever. She is one of the first female barristers now, safe in London. But London has its dark side, too. A man called the Ripper stalks the midnight streets. There are rumors that her hated stepmother has found her again, suggestions that the nightmares of her childhood are returning. And with them appears the cursed Gypsy boy she once loved, grown into a man more seductive and more terrifying than she ever could have dreamed…
Dimitri Grigorescu has become a surgeon, a gentleman—and a vampire. The lusts that drive his body are scarcely under control, and even he does not truly know what he is capable of. To fight evil and confusion, Alba must rely only on her wits—and a desire that overwhelms her doubts…


Excerpt

"I’m very grateful for Teddy’s friendship—and for the opportunity to be introduced to the people he’s acquainted with." The surgeon lowered his tone. "People like you, Miss Spencer."

His words encouraged the spattering of nervous blotches across Alba’s chest. "You’re too kind," she murmured. "So you find this city a pleasant enough place to live?"

"Pleasant but for the brutal murderer who lurks in the Whitechapel District."

"Are you referring to the killer the newspapers are calling ‘Leather Apron’?" she asked.

He evaluated her with interest yet said nothing.

"I understand this monster killed two unfortunates by ripping their abdomens wide open," she went on, making no attempt to sugarcoat her words since she was speaking with a surgeon.

"Where did you hear that, Miss Spencer?"

"It said so in the penny dreadfuls. Oh, not that I read them frequently…"

Drake raised an eyebrow.

What am I saying? She didn’t normally babble on so, but this man had lit a fire beneath her, though she couldn’t say why.

To her great relief, the doctor didn’t seem to notice her jittering nerves. "Nasty business, preying on those unknowing women," said. "I can’t imagine a man treating any female that way. After all, women are beautiful creatures to be coddled. Admired. Cherished."

"That’s a lovely thought." Alba repressed a girlish sigh. "It’s a shame the killer does not share your school of thought."

Drake wrapped his hands around his back. "I daresay the police believe this murderer will strike again."

"I fear that is why fewer people came to your party this evening than Teddy anticipated. The city is gripped with fear." She paused to take a sip of champagne. "Perhaps we should talk about something more uplifting than murder."

"Yes." The surgeon took her glass and deposited it on a servant’s tray. With his hand pressed to the small of her back, he guided her to a quiet corner of the drawing room. As she turned to face him, she could smell hot liquor fumes and the scent of expensive aftershave. Surprisingly, she found that she liked the mixture of aromas.

"Teddy tells me you hail from Romania as well, Miss Spencer. What are the

chances of that?"

"Slim, I daresay."

"You’ve lost a great deal of your accent, but if I had to guess, you are from Bucharest."

"I am." How did he know?

His features darkened. "It appears we were destined to meet. And since we have, I’d be fascinated to know more about you."

Although Alba was taken aback by his boldness, nerves propelled her to continue their conversation in a blabbering rush. "I came to London when I was fourteen—to live with a family friend who runs the dormitory apartments of the Royal Opera’s corps de ballet. Just this year, I graduated from law school. That’s where Teddy and I met—at King’s College. Recently, I’ve been assisting Teddy’s father, Harold Rollingsworth, in the hopes that—"

"—you will become London’s first female barrister." Drake completed her thought. Tilting his head to the side, he gazed at her with admiration. "Lovely, intelligent, and a pioneer. You are a rare gem, Miss Spencer."

The Romanian’s hungry stare closed the small distance between them. Alba’s cheeks burned. We hardly know one another!

Desperate to steer the conversation away from herself, she cleared her

throat. "I have yet to wish you a happy birthday, Dr. Griffin."

"Thank you." The guest of honor did a cordial bow. "But ‘Griffin’ is merely my professional name."

Alba frowned. "What is your real name?"

"Dimitri Grigorescu."

Alba’s limbs froze and the room started to take on a slow whirl. "That’s curious," she murmured. "I knew someone by that name in Romania."
And I once knew a girl named Alba ZÎpÎda, Dimitri said as a curtain of desire passed over his face. You.

His lips thinned into a familiar smile and Alba's hand flew to her gaping mouth. Curse my poor eyesight! Now that she was this close to him she knew precisely who he was: Dimitri, the handsome Gypsy boy she’d fallen in love with at the tender age of fourteen.

Words escaped her while she gasped for air.

"Life is too short to be without the ones you love," Dimitri purred. "Don’t you think?"

All at once, memories of the summer Alba spent in the Balkan countryside flashed through her mind:

The first kiss she and Dimitri shared amid a field of white poppies.

Simona, Dimitri’s raven-haired friend.

And the terrifying night the three of them spent in a haunted graveyard.

Her blood raced and the room spun in faster circles.

"I’ve been waiting an eternity to return this to you," Dimiti whispered as he slipped a dried white poppy into her hand.

"But I thought you were dead," she said before everything went black.

　

About the Author:
 Although Marina Myles lives under the sunny skies of Arizona, she would reside in a historic manor house in foggy England if she had her way. Her love of books began as soon as she read her first fairy tale and eventually led to degrees in English Literature and Communications. Now, with her loyal Maltese close by, she relishes the hours she gets to escape into worlds filled with fiery—but not easily attained—love affairs.

She’s busy being a wife and a mother, but she is never too busy to hear from her amazing readers.

http://www.marinamyles.com

http://www.marinamyles.blogspot.com  
GIVEAWAY
20 free downloads of SNOW WHITE AND THE VAMPIRE

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112f502/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jordan Rose Spotlight

Jordan loves vampires. But if you know anything about Jordan, you already knew that detail. What you didn’t know was it wasn’t long ago that she began writing about them.

A few years back Jordan received a copy of Twilight from her husband as part of her anniversary gift. By the end of that week she’d read the entire series and moved onto Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Eight weeks and eighteen vampire books later the idea for her first book, Perpetual Light came to her followed very quickly by Eva Prim.

In October of 2013 The Demon Mistress, the first Eva Prim Novel is available along with four short stories. For continual updates on Eva please join the Snack Of The Week Club at www.evaprim.com.

Coming November 2013 Black Magic Rose, Book One of The Alliance Series. Join Jordan’s newsletter for updates.

Jordan is a member of the national Romance Writers of America organization and several chapters.

When she’s not writing about one vampire or another Jordan enjoys spending time with her husband, Ken and their lovable Labrador, Dino on the beautiful beaches of New England.

Find Jordan at:

Find Jordan on her website at www.jordankrose.com.

Follow her tweets on https://twitter.com/#!/jordankrose

Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jordan-K-Rose-Author/307285709309992


Follow her Pinterest boards at: http://pinterest.com/jordankrose/boards/


Friend her on Goodreads at: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5751865.Jordan_K_Rose

　

　

　
Black Magic Rose Blurb:
Is it possible to reduce the amount of workplace violence in an organization run by vampires and werewolves? Sofia Engle, the new Employee Relations Manager at Cader House Hospital is about to find out, and she may not like the answer, or the series of firsts she experiences: first human employee at Cader House, first day tardy, first kiss with a dead guy. Well, maybe kissing the dead guy wasn't the worst of it after all.

　

For nearly 600 years Dragomir Petrescu has fought for The Alliance. As one of the most skilled warriors the Alliance has ever seen he's killed a lot of people and won many difficult battles. But his newest human adversary is turning out to be a worthier opponent than any he's met. Just the scent of her disarms him, never mind her endless policies and silly ideals about civility.

　

Can he possibly keep her safe from Alliance enemies, hospital employees and himself? The term Employee Relations is about to have a whole new meaning.

Black Magic Rose Chapter One

"Dr. MacDuff to the ER! Stat! Dr. MacDuff to the ER! Stat!" The overhead page sounded for the third time in less than ten minutes. First calling Osgar, then Meg, now Dr. MacDuff. Whatever was happening in that ER must have been traumatic if they needed the head of security then the Director of Nursing and finally the Chief Medical Officer.

The young lab tech sitting across the desk from Sofia flinched and glanced toward the door, then he fidgeted in his chair. Tears welled in his eyes.

"Patrick, though you’ve been doing fine in this interview, I want to remind you this is just a job, not a gladiator challenge. No need to cry."

He swiped the tear away. "You don’t understand. Cader is the most secure hospital in Rhode Island. I need to be here. And I’ll devote myself to this place. Forever." He folded his hands as if praying to the hiring gods. "This is where I belong."

He was right. Cader House Hospital was the most stable hospital and the oldest and the smallest and the only one Sofia knew of whose entire staff was currently comprised of werewolves and vampires and her. Who’d have thought little Wooddale could be so exciting?

"Ms. Engle, when can I start?" Patrick slid his certification across the desk. "And here’s my reference list. Charlie knows me and Donald Cooper, your lab manager, is a friend of my family. He’ll vouch for me. He’ll tell you he wants me here." He grabbed Sofia’s hand. "When can I start?"

There wasn’t any reason why she wouldn’t hire him based on the interview. He was certainly eager, and clearly, this was where he wanted to be. "Patrick, let me check your references. I’ll call you by the end of the week."

"End of the week? Can’t you finish them today? I can call Charlie and Donald now. They can tell you I’m really a good worker, and I’ll do anything needed."

"What else is going on, Patrick?" Recruitment had been a very easy task at Cader. Applicants were literally banging the door down to get into the place. However, Cader did have some very discriminating practices.

For example, you practically had to be superhuman to survive working here.

"I know Dr. MacDuff wants you to hire more humans, but Charlie said you’d still consider me." Patrick bit his lip.

It was true. Dr. MacDuff wanted to change the hiring practices and bring on more humans. This was the major goal of Sofia’s employment and her second biggest challenge. Dr. MacDuff’s love of humans spawned the theory that vampires and werewolves should be able to work side by side for extended periods with humans without any unfortunate mishaps.

"Yes, well. I have to hire the best person for the job, human or otherwise." She could barely believe she’d heard herself say those words. Female or otherwise. Black or otherwise. Those were classifications she was familiar with. Human or otherwise was an altogether different perspective.

"I was a patient here once." Patrick stared toward the door. "Got good care, too."

"I’m glad to hear you had a good experience." Sofia knew all too well how good the care was at Cader. It was only days before she’d been recruited to work here that she’d been taken to the ER by ambulance. She’d managed to thwart the burglar but not without sustaining a concussion and several bruised ribs.

The memory of that night made her pulse quicken. Until that attack in her own home, she’d always felt safe.

Patrick picked up the phone on Sofia’s desk. "Just call Donald, Ms. Engle. He’ll tell you he wants me to start tonight. I swear." He shoved the phone toward Sofia.

She kept her attention on Patrick, ignoring the phone he’d placed less than three inches from her face. The young werewolf sighed and replaced the receiver in its cradle, then sagged into the chair.

Being the only human employee here was so far not only a new experience, but odd to say the least. She’d never had a job where she lived with the weird feeling that everyone thought she smelled way too good.

"I need to be here. Please, Ms. Engle. It’s not safe for me anywhere else." Staring down at the desk with shoulders slumped, he mumbled, "My family’s gone. Bas Dubh killed them all. I’ll be dead by nightfall if you don’t help me." He lifted his head and tears streamed from his sad blue eyes.

If there’s one thing Sofia was not, it was a hard-ass. In spite of what every employee and manager in the world thought of every Human Resources professional, Sofia was not mean.

And she certainly wouldn’t be responsible for anyone’s death, not at the hands of another human or Bas Dubh.

"Okay. Wait in the lobby down the hall. I’ll see what I can do." She handed him a tissue. "And stop crying. This is a job interview. There’s no crying in job interviews."

Less than an hour later Patrick’s references were complete, he’d filled out all the employment paperwork, and was downstairs in the ER waiting to be seen for his employment health screening. His new residence was listed as Cader House and his training would begin in the evening.

Sofia had wrapped up her day and was headed for the door in hopes of avoiding Dr. MacDuff, who’d been paged down to the ER once again. No such luck. And their argument from early that morning continued. "But Dr…"

"No."

"But…"

"Sofia, no. If you want to avoid having a guard, then reconsider my offer of housing here at Cader." Dr. MacDuff stopped walking to level a stern gaze at her.

"No," she answered without a second’s hesitation.

"Then that’s the last I’ll say about this." Dr. MacDuff walked away, leaving Sofia standing in the hospital’s lobby, coat hanging open, handbag and lunch box slung over her shoulder, keys in hand.

She glanced toward the man waiting to the right of the entrance, and although his stone-faced expression never changed, she knew he was laughing at her.

"Well, it’s not the last I’ll say about it." She zipped past the guard’s desk, trailing after Dr. MacDuff, ignoring Jamieson’s warnings to let it go.

"You can’t win this one, Sofia," the old guard whispered before reaching for the ringing red phone on his desk. "Not with everything that’s happening."

"Dr. MacDuff, I absolutely refuse to allow this. You can’t force me to accept a bodyguard I don’t want or need. I don’t like or trust him. He’s scary and mean and dead." Not to mention he had a reputation for being a cold-blooded killer who didn’t bother to ask questions first, later, or ever. She’d heard he thought of only one thing. Kill. Kill. Kill.

"That’s a bit discriminatory, wouldn’t you say?" Dr. MacDuff asked, tossing a casual glance her way.

Sofia frowned and peered back into the lobby.

The dead guy loomed in the entranceway. His broad shoulders and height nearly filled the entire space. He stared in her direction. Black hair hung in his face and stubble shadowed his chin and cheeks. But she could still see his dark eyes tracking her every move like a panther stalking Bambi. She ducked into the security office, knowing full and well he’d heard her. They all seemed to have supersonic hearing. It made her nuts.

Dr. MacDuff leaned around her and checked the lobby. "He appears alive to me, lass." The doctor sighed and shook his head as he walked to the back of the room.

Sofia followed him to the far wall where he punched in his security code on the panel hidden just inside a fake closet door, another of Cader’s many tricks and secrets. "I suggest you decide what you want to do. If you’re going home, Dragomir is going with you. If you’re not, then you’re coming to the Lower Level with me." The back wall of the closet rose to reveal a stairwell.

She shook her head at yet another attempt to get her to move to Cader. She hated the Lower Level. They slept down there. Sofia bit her lip. They wouldn’t be asleep now. They’d be awake like him. She glanced toward the door.

"Dragomir is like me," Dr. MacDuff said. "You forget."

"I only forget because you don’t act like him. You act…human," she said. Three weeks in and Sofia continued to struggle with acclimating to the vampires. Though she knew she needed to, and had agreed to be available to staff on all shifts, she had not been able to develop a comfort level with the night staff.

The wolves covered the hospital during the day and early evening. The vampires worked the late evening and night shifts. Sofia preferred to work days, basically only the sunlight hours, which was getting to be difficult as autumn rolled toward winter.

She’d managed to legitimately avoid working the later shift because with the recruitment and new hires, so much kept happening during the day. Thanks to Bas Dubh’s tactics, she’d been up to her eyeballs getting frightened new recruits processed and ready for orientation. The nighttime assaults had increased since she’d started, and that meant more recruits came to Cader for refuge. She simply hadn’t had the stamina to work past sunset.

Then, two nights ago she’d had her first opportunity to spend some time on the floors with the staff. She’d gotten the once-over from a vampire named Carl and hadn’t been able to shake the creepy feeling since. His gaze raked across her like someone rubbed freezing gel over her body. She shivered just thinking about that night.

"Dragomir didn’t have to do that," she said. The memory of Dragomir's actions played in her mind. Her stomach turned as she remembered his hand shoving through Carl’s skin and into his chest. As if it was happening all over again, the sound of squishing muscles and breaking bones echoed in her ears. She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat.

Dr. MacDuff sighed. "I’ll agree he responded very quickly. But he did make a clear point."

Sofia gaped at Dr. MacDuff. "The violence is outrageous!"

"Aye. You’ve told me."

"Yes! And you agreed not to let these…these…" She waved her hand in the direction of the dead guy. "…vampires and wolves use death as an option for addressing behavior." She slung her bag back up onto her shoulder. "I developed a progressive discipline process for those types of issues."

"Aye. I know."

Her voice rose. "But you haven’t done anything about him! You think he’s safe for me!" She threw her hands in the air.

"Aye." Dr. MacDuff patted her shoulder. "He is, lass. He doesn’t need corrective action. He handled that situation just as I would have."

And this was Sofia’s number one biggest challenge—the bizarre belief that death was the appropriate response to every performance, behavior, or personality problem. She was fairly certain it was this perspective that gave Dr. MacDuff the odd belief Dragomir was appropriate.

Sofia hadn’t been able to make a case to get rid of the brute in spite of sending several well-written emails, including reference material about violence in the workplace, impact on morale, and her own fear of the monster. Both Dr. MacDuff and Fergus, the president and werewolf alpha, responded with, "We’ll take your requests and all the accompanying information into consideration." Then two seconds later a second email would arrive. "We determined the appropriate outcome is to leave everything as is. Thank you."

She’d taken to yelling and hissing, banging her fist on the desk and finally giving up in complete and utter frustration. It was like talking to a wall. Or yelling at one.

"My counsel on this issue doesn’t seem to have any impact," she huffed.

Dr. MacDuff merely offered a slight nod.

Though Sofia had known about vampires most of her life, she’d only ever known two—Dr. MacDuff and Noelle Duluth, Cader’s Director of Nursing. As Sofia grew up, they visited her parents now and again, but their condition was never a topic of discussion, so Sofia never thought twice about them. Nor did she consider that as her parents aged they did not.

Dr. MacDuff still had the dark curly hair and youthful skin of a man in his late twenties in spite of being hundreds of years older.

The wolves, though they hadn’t really accepted her, treated Sofia like she was accustomed to being treated. They liked her when they felt she’d done what they wanted and didn’t like her when she disagreed with them. For the most part, they were completely ambivalent toward her. It was the same way that every other employee in any organization felt about Human Resources, and very familiar.

On the other hand, with the vampires she felt like she had a giant spotlight shining over her head. She literally felt them looking at her. It was as though their gazes held temperatures. Some were cold or downright frigid. Others were warm. Sometimes she’d swear someone was touching her, but she’d turn to find no one near her, just a vampire down the hall.

Dr. MacDuff smiled, and his green eyes sparkled against his pale skin. When he touched her cheek, his hand was warm.

He’s fed. She recoiled at the thought.

"He will no’ hurt you. No matter what you’ve heard or believe. I trust Dragomir with my own life. I’m absolutely certain he will safeguard yours as well." He unrolled his sleeves and pulled two cuff links from his pocket. Black dragons on ivory backgrounds. The Cader House crest. He wore them every night.

"How can you be so sure? He’s like an animal."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Sofia stopped, knowing she was caught in a sticky situation.

Dr. MacDuff raised his eyebrows. "An animal? More savage than say Donald or Meg or Fergus? What about Osgar? Is Dragomir wilder than a werewolf?"

She shook her head, never taking her eyes off his hands as he cuffed his sleeves. "You know what I mean."

His fingers worked the cuff links with such speed she hardly had time to process the movements.

"Nay, I don’t." Dr. MacDuff placed his hands on her shoulders and held her gaze. "You feel safer with werewolves than with a vampire who has sworn a blood oath to me? I’m at a loss, child. I’ve no idea how to comfort you. But I will not risk your safety. You can come down to meet with The Alliance or go home. Either way, Dragomir will be present."

Meet with The Alliance? Nope. Sofia did not want to do that.

She sighed. "What if he just follows me and then leaves?"

"Absolutely not. Have you so quickly forgotten the break-in and the brush fire behind your house? What about the blown-out tires on the drive home?" Dr. MacDuff stepped toward the entrance to the Lower Lever. "I haven’t. Those were not coincidental."

"I could get an alarm," she offered for the four hundredth time.

"By the time anyone responded, you’d be dead." He didn’t budge.

In two months her entire life had completely changed. She’d become an adult orphan, moved back home to her parents’ house, lost her long-time job at what she thought was a stable company, and been recruited to Cader. She’d had to finally accept that not only did vampires exist, but werewolves did too, and together they ran the hospital as a front for The Alliance, the organization tasked with maintaining balance in the supernatural community. Cader’s chief vampire was her dad’s best friend who just happened to be a bit overprotective.

"Bas Dubh is on the move. We are at war, Sofia." Dr. MacDuff’s gaze hardened. "I never should have…" He touched her chin. "What’s done is done. Now I must ensure your safety. Kiernan knows you work here. If I don’t send a guard, he’ll come for you."

Sofia scowled at the floor. There was nothing in the world like being a prisoner in your own life. She couldn’t argue. She’d completed enough workers’ comp reports to know Kiernan didn’t play nice. And if Dr. MacDuff hadn’t sent Bernie, Cader’s electrician, to install motion detectors at her house the day of the brushfire, she’d probably be renting a room at the local motel.

"And if he takes you, it won’t be to help decrease the amount of workplace violence in his organization." Dr. MacDuff had a way of tying everything to Sofia’s number one personal agenda. She’d never worked in a place where it was not only perfectly acceptable but encouraged to beat the hell out of new staff during the training period. She could not allow it to continue.

"Can’t Osgar come home with me?"

"Osgar needs to train the new recruits. He cannot spend all his time guarding you."

"He’s monitoring all the trainers?" Sofia asked, stressing all. She’d already had a run-in with Rick, Osgar’s second in command. He clearly disagreed with her definition of acceptable training practices.

"I’m sure he is."

She’d managed to convince Dr. MacDuff to assign Osgar to her for day duty. If she’d thought quick enough, she’d have suggested that simply being at Cader during the day was enough and that Osgar could guard her at night. Instead, she thought she’d save herself from being guarded by another werewolf, a very pleasant, very young man who talked her ear off, making it completely impossible for her to get any work done.

Dr. MacDuff gave her what she wanted. Osgar by day. And then got what he wanted and assigned her Dragomir by night.

Sofia sucked in her cheeks and glanced into the lobby. The dead man faced the exit. His black leather duster covered all but his boots and a couple inches of his jeans.

"As much as I enjoy spending time with you, Sofia, I do have a meeting to attend. Are you coming or going?" He stepped toward the stairwell.

"Dr. MacDuff…"

"Sofia." One word and his tone said it all.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c1119314/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tes Hilarie Interview

Interview Questions

What is one of your favorite Myths/legends to write about?

Tes: Besides my love of the Paladin warriors? Well… I also have a thing for some of the Greek mythology. In fact, I have a young adult novel, Fifteen Forever, that takes a twist on the Pandora legend in a modern day setting.

If you could live back in time, what time period would you choose and why?

Tes: I have to admit, if I visit the historical shelves, my hands always gravitate towards those hunky highland, tartan-clad warriors. But would I want to live in that time? Uh, no… I love my indoor plumbing too much. And heat, I definitely like a consistent, somewhere well above freezing, heating arrangement. Now traveling forward in time? That’s something I might be very interested in doing :-)

Have you ever come across a song that might fit the theme of one of your books?

Tes: Hmmm… I think I more have character songs. Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, Uninvited by Alanis Morrisette, Demons by Imagine Dragons, Hurt by Johnny Cash… I’ll let you try and guess who belongs to each song :-)

Do you remember what you felt when you had your first kiss?

Tes: I remember feeling clumsy and excited. I think clumsy won though! LOL!

What was the most creative pick up line you've ever used on someone or someone used on you?

Tes: "Did you happen to lose some earrings?" Okay… it doesn’t sound all that awesome, but it worked for my husband! We had been working together on a college project and he happened to find some earrings, which turned into a great excuse for him to talk to me later outside of the school setting…and well, the rest is history ;-)

When writing do you have a playlist of music you like to listen to? What are a couple songs on it?

Tes: I have a whole list of songs that I listen to while writing the Paladin novels. Lots of Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, some One Republic, Mumford & Sons, and then throw in some heavy stuff like Nine Inch Nails for good measure.

What do you do when you think nobody is watching?

Tes: READ! It’s my guilty pleasure. Not that reading isn’t wonderful, but with the amount I read, my husband thinks I am an addict. ;-)

What was your favorite childhood book?

Tes: Naming a favorite is hard so I’ll name the one that first touched the little bit of me that wanted to be a writer: The Secret Garden.

What is your favorite addition to chocolate?

Tes: Chocolate and toasted hazelnut coffee.

What does your husband/significant other say about your writing erotic stories? What about your family and/or do they read your books?

Tes: My hubby thinks it’s great. He’s always offering to help with the research *rolls eyes.* My kids just know mom writes "books for adults." My mother, on the other hand… well she loves my stories, just wishes there was more closed door scenes…like all of them!

Besides your own, what is one of your favorite series to keep up with?

Tes: My go-to series tend to be urban fantasy ones: Mercy Thompson, Kate Daniels, MacKayla Lane…to name a few.

What do you think you would be doing if you weren't writing?

Tes: At this stage in my life, with the kids the ages they are, I would probably be even crazier into things like PTO and volunteering at the school. I might also cook more "from scratch" meals and do more homey crafts. Laundry though, can wait!

Do you have any hobbies or activities you enjoy doing?

Tes: I love to hike, kayak, quilt, cook, scrapbook…to name a few. I try and make time for the healthier hobbies simply because I feel they are important, but the crafty hobbies take up too much time that I don’t have.

What is something you do to de-stress?

Tes: I recently began taking taekwondo with my kids. I was spending so much time sitting watching them that I decided I could make better use of the time by joining them! It’s been a great stress reliever and is definitely good for me.

We all know about muses...what do you think inspires you to allow your creative juices flowing?

Tes: For me, I think it’s an empty house and my writing playlist. If people are around, I find it very difficult to get into the groove. Even if no one is currently demanding my time, I just know that the demand is coming. That said, I can’t really create in a quiet house. There are too many real world distractions…the dishes on the counter, the clothes in the dryer, the thin (okay… thin for me) layer of dust on my shelf. I find that a good playlist is the cureall for these real world woes, helping me to block out the things I should be doing to escape with my muse into my creative world. :-)

10 Fun Facts (please list 10 things the fans don't know)

1. I was the girl with the tangled hair and the scraped knees

2. I believe in ghosts

3. I’m afraid of cars, yet always want to be the one who drives

4. Pineapples and strawberries make my tongue swell up

5. I craved chocolate covered strawberries all through my second pregnancy

6. I once wanted to run a pet hotel

7. All my pet’s names start with S…

8. And all my kid’s names end with the sound "in"

9. I dream of being a kick-ass heroine

10. and I still sneak under the covers with my book and flashlight to read late into the night

PRINCE OF SHADOWS BY TES HILAIRE – IN STORES DECEMBER 2013

It's Forbidden for a Warrior of the Light to Love a Creature of the Dark...

Valin has never quite fit in with the rest of the Paladin warriors. His power to manipulate shadow has always put him at odds with their purpose of using heavenly Light to eradicate evil. His warrior brothers have no idea how close he is to being lost to his dark nature.

But Maybe He Was Never All That Light to Begin With...

When Valin meets the vampire Gabriella, she awakens within him something he thought long buried. But as he watched Gabriella's need for vengeance to drag her down into the same dark hell that he's living, he knows his only chance at redemption is bringing her out of the dark...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daphne Award-winning author and former Tennessee native Tes Hilaire doesn’t remember how old she was when she wrote her first story, but she’s pretty sure it had something to do with a boy and a girl and a happily ever after. Displaced at an early age to "the north country," her stories turned darker as she started creating whole new worlds to escape the harsh, upstate NY winters. Now back in the South, her stories remain edgy, exciting, and bring a hint of dark fantasy to paranormal romance. Best of all, no one ever has to shovel snow. For more, visit her website at http://www.teshilaire.com follow her on Twitter, https://twitter.com/TesHilaire @TesHilaire, and find her on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TesHilaireAuthor.

To Purchase Prince of Shadows:

http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Shadows-Paladin-Warriors-ebook/dp/B00DD4TFUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381953288&sr=8-1&keywords=prince+of+shadows+tes+hilaire

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/prince-of-shadows-tes-hilaire/1114581343?ean=9781402284885

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Prince-Shadows/Tes-Hilaire/9781402284885?id=5782451908591

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/prince-of-shadows/9781402284885-item.html?ikwid=prince+of+shadows+tes+hilaire&ikwsec=Books&gcs_requestid=0CKCe9puRnLoCFYo65wodzVQAAA

http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781402284885 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/prince-of-shadows/id727086499?mt=11

http://www.sourcebooks.com/store/prince-of-shadows.html 

http://www.discoveranewlove.com/authors/tes-hilaire.html

GIVEAWAY1 copy of Prince of Shadows 1 winner, US and Canada only

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e1375436/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway