Photograph by Christopher Correia from CJC Photography
Cover Model: Jonny Sobel
Cover Model: Alli Theresa
Cover designer: Rebecca Pau from The Final Wrap
Caden
I knew she was the one the moment I laid eyes on her.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and I never dreamed of
finding her in my hometown. Savannah Owens seems lost and wants to find a place
where she feels as if she belongs. What she doesn’t realize is she’s already
found it. When I uncover a long buried secret, I know it’ll change everything
Savannah and I have. Secrets never stay hidden, and once the truth about
Savannah’s past is revealed, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her and make her
mine forever.
Savannah
All I’ve ever wanted was to find a place where I belong.
A place that I actually fit in and don’t feel like an
outsider. When I met Caden Harlow, I thought I found my home. He’s everything I
need to make my life seem almost perfect. No matter how much I try to stay
away, something always pulls me back to him. But the urge to get the answers
I’ve longed for, outweighs my feelings for him. I have to find the truth, if
only to put an end to my insecurity of never being wanted and truly loved. *** This can be read as a standalone. ***
Book #1: Carter
The Harlow Brothers Series (Standalone)
Carter She was the one for me. The one that I knew would be mine forever until I made the biggest mistake. I pushed her away and I’ve regretted that decision ever since. I’ve tried to move on, tried to put the memory of her behind me, but she’s always consuming my thoughts. Now, she’s back in our hometown, trying to rebuild a new life. I know she’s keeping secrets. She tries to hide them from me, and I will do whatever it takes to prove that I’m the one she needs. Because Shelby Ross is the other part of me that I can’t live without and I refuse to let her go again. Shelby He broke my heart. I never thought I would be able to pick of the pieces he left behind. When he let me go, I ran away from it all, thinking it was the easiest thing to do. But, running has a price and I’ve paid it in full for years. Now, I’m back where it all began, back to putting my life together and starting over. It should’ve been easy, but Carter Harlow is reawakening long buried emotions that I thought were gone. He wants to make me his again. I can’t let that happen. He ruined me, broke me, and I’m afraid I’ll never survive it a second time around.
Brie Paisley is a
small town gal from Mississippi. She always wanted to write at a young age and
was always filling journals with her thoughts and short stories. Brie started
with the idea of Worshipped a year ago and with the encouragement of her husband
and sister in law, she was able to write her first book. When she is not
writing, you can find her reading a good book, painting, scrapbooking, or
watching a good movie with her husband and her boxer.
Today we are celebrating the release of IF WE FALL by K.M. Scott. It is a contemporary romance title and is the final book in the Corrupted Love series. Check out the teasers and buy links below to grab your copy now!
Ryder I've protected Serena from everything I could in her father's world, but with each horrible act he committed, I knew the time would come when protecting her wouldn't be enough. When that day comes and it's either Robert or me who survives, I will do what I have to so the woman I love and my child are safe.
May heaven help me.
Serena Every day I grow stronger as the child Ryder and I created grows inside me. I'm no fool, though. I know my father will do everything in his power to keep his control over us. But I'm not that scared little girl I used to be anymore, and the time is coming when he will realize that.
We're fighting for even more than love now. This time, we're fighting for family.
K.M. Scott writes contemporary romance stories of sexy, intense, and unforgettable love. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she's been in love with romance since reading her first romance novel in junior high (she was a very curious girl!). Under her Gabrielle Bisset name, she writes erotic paranormal and historical romance. She lives in Pennsylvania with a herd of animals and when she's not writing can be found reading or feeding her TV addiction.
Carrie Ann Ryan's INKED EXPRESSIONS releases June 6th - but we have plenty of exciting to content to tide you over until then! You can read the first chapter of INKED EXPRESSIONS below, see the book trailer, and find out who your Montgomery Ink hero is - and which Montgomery Ink heroine you're most like!
Add INKED EXPRESSIONS to your Goodreads list here!
ABOUT
INKED EXPRESSIONS
The Montgomery Ink Series from NYT
Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan continues with the brother who keeps his
secret and the one woman he shouldn’t want.
Everly
Law married the love of her life and on the eve of giving birth to their twins,
lost him in a tragic accident. Now she’s a single mother working overtime at
her bookstore trying to make sure her boys have the life they deserve. Her life
is busy enough without her adding dating a Montgomery. As past secrets come to
light, she’ll need Storm more than ever—even if she doesn’t realize it.
Storm
Montgomery has spent his life atoning for sins that only few know he’s
committed. When he lost his best friend, he promised his widow that he’d always
be there for her—even when she wanted nothing to do with him. But when a single
touch ignites passions they’ve both buried deep inside, he’ll have to remember
exactly who is in his arms and that taking chances might be far more dangerous
than they bargained for.
INKED EXPRESSIONS releases June 6, 2017 - preorder now!
The babies kicked, sending a shockwave
through Everly Law’s bladder. She winced, rubbed the large swell of her
stomach, and tried to remember the last time she’d seen her feet.
“Storm?” she called out, now running a hand
down her back since that ached, as well. Being eight months pregnant with twins
wasn’t an easy task. “Yeah?” her husband’s best friend called out from the back
of the house. “You need me?”
That
man, she thought with a smile. He always put
everyone else first no matter what. Here he was on his evening off, hanging out
at her house making sure things were ready for the new babies and finishing up
the back deck that Jackson had never gotten around to. She honestly didn’t know
why the man was single. Some woman should have snatched him up years ago.
“I just need you to tell me if my shoes
match,” she yelled back.
He chuckled as he made his way into the
living room where she stood, sorting through the mail. “Your shoes match, Ev. I
would have told you if they didn’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “You say that, but I
still remember the time you let Jackson walk around campus with toilet paper
tucked into the back of his pants.”
While she was a few years younger than both
Jackson and Storm, she’d been an undergraduate at the University of Denver
while both men were in graduate school finishing up their degrees— Storm his
Master’s in Architecture, Jackson his Ph.D. in Anthropology. From the moment
she’d begun dating Jackson over a decade ago, Storm had been a part of their
lives. The men had been childhood friends, and as such, she’d formed a
friendship with Storm also, though it was nothing like what the two men shared.
Storm ran a hand over her belly— the only
person other than Jackson she’d ever allow to do that— and smiled. “Jackson
deserved that. He pissed me off that morning.” He shrugged, his dark hair
falling over his forehead. The man needed a haircut, but he seemed to like it
longer on the top than the sides anyway. “I don’t even remember what he did,
but I remember that not telling him about what he missed was decent revenge.
I’d never do something like that to you.” He winked, those blue eyes of his
sparkling. “Not because I’m a nice guy, but because I’m pretty sure you could
take me.”
She waved her fist at him, her fingers so
swollen she couldn’t even wear her wedding ring. “And don’t you forget it,
Storm Montgomery.”
He let out a breath and rubbed her belly
again. The babies rolled, enjoying Uncle Storm’s touch, apparently, since they
weren’t kicking her bladder again at the moment. “Your shoes match, and you
even have pants on, but how about you relieve my stress and sit down on the
couch while you look at the mail. You’re like days from your due date and starting
to freak me out.”
She let him lead her to the couch since
he’d just annoy her if she didn’t— though her ankles had swollen up like her
hands, so maybe he wasn’t all that wrong about her needing to sit down.
“I’m a couple of weeks away, Storm, not
days,” she countered once he’d settled her on the couch with a couple of throw
pillows at her sides.
“You’re having twins, and they don’t
usually like to take their time. Believe me, I know. I am a twin.” He winked
again, and she snorted.
“Your poor mother,” Everly teased. “Not
only twins with you and Wes, but eight children altogether. I have no idea how
she did it.” She rubbed her belly, that familiar tension sliding through her.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”
Storm frowned and sat down on the table in
front of her. “You’re going to be a great mom, Ev. You already take care of
Jackson and me. What’s one more set of boys?”
She laughed, despite the worry in her
veins. Something was off tonight, she could feel it, but she hoped it was just
nerves from the upcoming labor and delivery— and then the whole raising twin
boys thing.
“You handle yourself just fine, and
Jackson’s not that bad.” She rolled her eyes as she said it, and Storm grinned.
“I’m serious,” she said with a laugh as Storm shook his head. “Jackson is
always in his head, thinking and working, but he’s not immature or anything. I
just like to make sure he’s taken care of because he sometimes forgets daily
things.”
Storm narrowed his eyes. “And who is taking
care of you?”
You
are.
She blinked at that thought and firmly put
it away. “Jackson takes care of me, as well. And now we’ll both take care of
these babies.”
Storm nodded. “And I take it he won’t be
going on as many trips as he has been lately? I mean, this is like the fifth or
sixth conference he’s flown to since you found out about the twins. I hope he’s
just getting it all out of his system before he comes home and stays here for a
bit.”
There was an edge to his tone that Everly
couldn’t place, but she was far too tired to deal with it. The babies had kept
her up all night, and she frankly hated having half of the bed empty without
Jackson there to warm it.
“He said it won’t be as bad when the babies
come.” Though Jackson hadn’t sounded all that happy at the time about not being
able to do as many guest lectures and conferences, and that did tend to worry
her a little. Everly loved the fact that he was so passionate about his work,
but she was also happy that he was going to stay at home for longer periods of
time to help with their babies. While she knew she was strong and capable,
raising twins on her own was not something she desired to do.
“I hope so,” Storm grumbled. “A man needs
to take care of his family.”
Everly sighed. “And a woman needs to do the
same. We’re fine, Storm, stop fretting. It’s going to turn that beautiful mane
gray one of these days.”
His cheeks reddened, and he let out a
curse. “You’re just mean, Ev. Plain mean.”
“I’ve had to be if I wanted to keep up with
you and Jackson.” She frowned and looked down at her watch. “Speaking of
Jackson, he was supposed to have landed already and he hasn’t texted. I hope
his flight isn’t delayed.”
Storm stood up and rubbed his back. “He
probably just forgot. You know Jackson.”
She did, sadly, so him not texting or
calling wasn’t all that surprising. He just got so in his head with his work,
he forgot those around him some days. Another thing she hoped would change with
the arrival of the twins. He seemed so excited about them, so she figured they
would at least keep him out of his head for longer periods of time than he was
now. “
Thanks for taking care of me, Storm,”
Everly said after a moment. “And taking care of the back deck tonight, though I
know you’re not really in the mood.”
He shrugged. “It needed to be fixed since
that bottom step rotted out. Jackson’s not exactly handy, and I do happen to
own half a construction business. It’s sort of my thing.” He rubbed his back
again, and Everly frowned.
“What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?” She
tried to lever herself up, but he held up a hand.
“I’m fine, Ev. Don’t get up and jostle the
babies. I’m just a little sore, is all. Nothing a few stretches won’t fix.”
“Are you sure you should be working on the
deck tonight, then?” she asked, worried. “You’re the architect of Montgomery
Inc., not the contractor, so I don’t know how much pressure you usually put on
your back if you’re this sore. I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
He fisted his hands for a moment before
stuffing them into his pockets. “I’m fine, Ev. Stop fretting. Just sit there
and relax and before you know it, Jackson will be home, and your deck will be
ready for you to actually stand on.”
She huffed a breath. “If that’s some kind
of fat joke, I’ll hoist myself off this couch and kick your ass right now.
Don’t think I won’t.”
He pulled his hands out of his pockets and
held them up in mock surrender. “Dear God, woman. I would never make a fat joke about a lady, let alone a pregnant one. I
have three sisters and a mother who can kick my ass just like you can. I know
better.”
She smiled sweetly. “I’m glad they taught
you a few things.”
He muttered under his breath as he walked
away, and Everly grinned, feeling a little better than she had before, though she
wasn’t about to tell him that her sitting down had helped. There was only so
much ego stroking she could handle.
The doorbell rang a few minutes later, and
she frowned. She wasn’t sure who it could be, but Jackson’s parents did live a few miles away and liked to
show up unannounced. Just thinking about that set her teeth on edge, so she
ignored it and somehow levered herself off the couch. She wasn’t sure Storm
could hear the doorbell from outside, and since it was her house, after all,
she might as well answer it.
Everly waddled over and opened the door,
blinking hard at the sight in front of her. The two officers gave her a sad
smile, their chests broad as they took deep breaths. Her hands shook as she
gripped the doorknob with one, the frame with the other. “Can I help you?”
“Mrs. Law?” the older of the two officers
said softly. “May we come in?” Everly’s throat went dry, and she tried to keep
the sense of foreboding from rushing into her, but she couldn’t quite manage
it— or think.
“What’s going on, officers?” Storm asked
from behind her. He put his hand on her shoulder, steadying her. Everly’s knees
went weak, and she leaned into him, knowing she couldn’t stand on her own.
Both men looked up at Storm, frowns on
their faces. “We need to speak to Mrs. Law. May we come in?”
“That way, she’s not on her feet,” the
younger one added softly, and Everly’s heart raced.
She moved back, pushing Storm out of the
way softly. “Come in,” she whispered, her voice hollow.
The two officers could have been there for
any number of reasons, and yet Everly knew. She knew that no matter what
happened next, her life would forever be altered.
As soon as they sat down, the officers
spoke, and Storm gripped Everly’s hands, but she couldn’t hear anyone clearly.
It was as if she were in a vacuum and everything was taking longer to reach her
ears than normal.
Her husband was dead.
Gone before she could take her next breath.
The commuter plane that Jackson had been on
had crashed outside of Boston. There were no survivors. No hope of finding her
husband alive and whole, or even his body to put to rest.
The babies kicked at her bladder again, and
she pressed her hand against her stomach, numb yet knowing she had no right to
be that way. She couldn’t sit here and listen to them talk of grief councilors
and who would be in touch with her shortly. Storm spoke for her, and she
couldn’t care. She’d deal with everything later.
Right now, she needed to protect her
children.
Jackson’s babies.
Babies he’d never see. Never hold. Never
know.
She stood up then, only just aware that
she’d interrupted whatever the men in the room had been saying. “I have to
pee,” she blurted. The officers gave her an odd look, but Storm kept his grip
on her hand.
“Everly.” His voice was deep, soothing, and
a little bit worried. Yet she couldn’t focus on that.
“I need to take care of the babies,” she
rasped. “I’ll… I’ll be right back. Can you…” She swallowed hard. “Can you take
care of… just take care of it?”
He nodded before letting her hand go, and
she waddled away from the living room, not looking at the officers who sat on
her soft loveseat. Storm would take care of them and tell her what she needed
to do. She couldn’t focus on anything else just then, only her babies.
They were the most important things.
Tears slid down her cheeks as she locked
herself in the hall powder room, her legs shaking. The numbness settled in once
more, and she looked at herself in the mirror, wondering who stared back at
her, because that wasn’t the Everly she knew.
Jackson
is gone, she reminded herself.
Gone.
And when the pinch inside her echoed
throughout her body and liquid pooled around her feet, she once again knew
nothing would ever be the same.
The babies were coming, but Jackson wasn’t.
He never would be.
And Everly wept.
Now
“I need you to breathe in, baby,” Everly
said softly as she held Nathan to her chest. Her three-year-old wheezed into
the nebulizer, and she tried not to let herself go numb again. She refused to
allow that sensation to take hold as it had once before. She didn’t have time
to ignore the panic running through her veins, but she could take that panic
and turn it into the focus she needed.
Nathan looked up at her, his big eyes full
of fear, an emotion that made her want to cry right along with him. James, her
other sweet baby boy, held onto her shirt from where he stood beside the bed,
tears running down his face.
We’ve
all been here before, she thought, though tonight
seemed like a far worse asthma attack than usual. She held back a curse and
bundled Nathan in a blanket in her arms.
“Okay, Nathan honey, we’re going to go to
the doctor just to make sure you’re okay.” She kissed his little face, a
thousand things going through her mind as to what needed to be done.
“Uncle Storm,” James said from her side. “I
want Uncle Storm.”
Everly looked down at James before looking
at Nathan, who nodded beneath the mask. She honestly didn’t want to call Storm
because that’s all she’d been doing for the past three years, at least until a
month ago, but tonight wasn’t about her. It was about her boys and the fact
that, frankly, she needed help.
“I’ll call from the car, now come on,
babies. Let’s go.” She bundled them up quickly and got them into the car within
five minutes. The fact that she’d gotten into such a routine because of her two
boys’ health issues made her heart hurt, but she ignored it. The twins came
first.
Always.
And that meant if she had to call Storm for
help once again, she would.
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.
Today we are celebrating the release of HAREM NIGHT by Bethany Lopez. Harem Night is an erotic short story that is available to read on KindleUnlimited or you can buy it for .99¢.
This erotic short was originally included in the Incognito and Revealed Anthology.
When Scarlet is offered the opportunity to work one night in a popular sex club, her initial reaction is to say no. Learning that the amount of money she'd earn by being part of a Harem-themed event would get her out of debt and give her a nice nest egg, she throws her Inhibitions aside.
What she doesn't expect is that the procurer of the Harem night scene is someone from her past. That discovery has Scarlet participating in the event rather than blending into the background. What begins as one night might just change the rest of her life.
Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. She's a lover of all things romance: books, movies, music, and life, and she incorporates that into the books she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible. Some of her favorite things are: Kristen Ashley Books, coffee in the morning, and In N Out burgers.
