Friday, February 28, 2014

Victoria Ashley's This Regret Release Day Blitz with Giveaway 02/28/14




 


EXCERPT:

Phoenix has been stumbling through life since her brother Adric's tragic death but after eight years, she is finally piecing what remains together. She has a nice apartment, a steady job and not to mention a fresh new 'relationship' with her childhood friend, Kade Haze. He's the sexy boy next door she never even dreamed of falling for, but can’t seem to stop the pull she feels toward him. Just when life began to make sense again and a feeling of normalcy was on the horizon, Phoenix's carefully constructed walls come crashing down. When walking into the tattoo shop one day, the last thing she’s expecting to see is Kellan Haze, Adric’s best friend no one has seen or heard from since the day they found her brother’s body. He’s nothing as she remembers him as a child, with his wild messy hair, tattoos that cover most of his undeniably sexy body and eyes so intense it makes her legs quiver with one look. The one thing even she can’t deny is the instant rush she feels just by being in his presence. But how can you choose between love and lust when one of these hold a dark secret, one that can crush your world to pieces and leave you gasping for air. Who can you trust when your mind is pulling you in two different directions and your heart has to choose for you? The Haze brothers are sexy, daring and possibly . . . dangerous. This Regret is a story of love, lust, betrayal and danger with an ending that no one saw coming.







EXCERPT:

The blast of a .38-caliber revolver sends me crashing to my knees, landing in the road, with gravel digging deep into the flesh of my knees. My hands grip the gritty ground, as if my life depends on it, making my fingers bleed. Who knows, at this point, maybe it does. Even with my eyes closed, I can feel the world spinning around me, my body threatening to give up and lose what control I have left. Tears stream down my horror-stricken face and a silent scream is threatening to form in my throat. It hurts. It hurts like hell. That’s when I hear it. A bloodcurdling scream that makes my blood run cold. Except, it’s not my screaming that is roaring through my ears as I expected. It’s the screaming of a woman. A very angry, hysterical woman. The only thing I can decipher is, “Call 911. Somebody fucking call 911. There’s blood everywhere.” I can hear bodies shuffling nearby, some of them even tripping over me to get away, but I can only process one thought. He’s gone. Please don’t let him be gone. With force, I am yanked to my feet, a large hand smacking me across the face, causing blood to taste on my tongue. I try to focus, but my vision is too blurred to make any sense of who has control of my body and at this point, I’m not so sure it even matters. “This is your fault,” the deep voice growls as I spit blood onto his filthy boots. Narrowing his eyes, he wraps my hair securely around his hand and yanks my head back, hard, while his other hand tightens around my throat, squeezing. “You’re going to pay for this if it’s the last thing I do, you stupid bitch.” He lets go of my neck and shoves me down to the ground so my face is pressed into the gravel, his boot crushing into the back of my skull. Dirt and rocks dig into my left eye, making it even harder to see through the tears. I desperately look for the man that hasn’t only crushed then stolen my heart just to crush it again, but has also replaced a part of me that I thought was long ago lost. Realizing that my search is pointless, I just lay there defeated, feeling half-alive, but mostly dead. “Go ahead,” I whisper. “See if you can hurt me anymore than you already have. I dare you.” My body’s trembling, but I look him dead in the eye anyways. I’m not scared of dying. Not after losing the biggest part of me, my heart. “Losing him will be my last regret.” I shift so that I’m looking at the deep scars that cover his face. They make me sick. He makes me sick. “That and not killing you when I had the chance.”









ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Ashley grew up in Rockford, IL and has had a passion for reading for as long as she can remember. After finding a reading app where it allowed readers to upload their own stories, she gave it a shot and writing became her passion. She lives for a good romance book with tattooed bad boys that are just highly misunderstood and is not afraid to be caught crying during a good read. When she’s not reading or writing about bad boys, you can find her watching her favorites shows such as Sons Of Anarchy, Dexter and True Blood. She is the author of Wake Up Call and This Regret and is currently working on more releases for 2014.
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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Skye Callahan's Bound and Unbroken Release Day Blitz (with Giveaway) 2/25/04


Title: Bound and Unbroken
Author: Skye Callahan
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Genre: Erotica

Synopsis
Lena is about to discover pleasure in the things she can’t control. To get even with her roommate for dragging her to a sports bar on a Friday night, Lena begins flirting with the handsome stranger who sits at the bar next to her. Their anonymous conversation leads to a shared cab ride, but Lena’s conscience puts a damper on the evening—leaving the near-fling to become a memory. Until she finds him roaming the halls of the school where she teaches. Will she submit to his desires? Eric’s only reason for returning to his hometown is to care for his recently orphaned nephew. He knew the return would involve dredging up his past with family and friends, but he didn’t expect a lone girl to capture his interest and offer an escape within his new life. Will his binds be enough to keep her?

Note: This book contains explicit sexual content (including BDSM themes), graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: M/f anal play, bondage, spanking, exhibitionism.





Buy Links
Book Trailer
[youtube=http://youtu.be/J7jjqN-PtzQ]
About the Author
Skye Callahan Logo
Skye Callahan has been coming up with stories for as long as she can remember, and by elementary school she was writing them down to share with friends and teachers. Ghosts and vampires were always her favorite beings to write about and those interests led to her debut novella Fractured Legacy in 2013. With Bound and Unbroken, her characters led her on a departure from the paranormal world and into the realm of BDSM romance. When she isn’t spending time with the voices in her head, she works to help other women design their own style of freedom as a consultant for Jamberry Nails, and spends time with her Husband and ferrets.





Giveaway
$10 Amazon Gift Card



Cover Reveal: Take Me Home by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt 02/25/14



Title: Take Me Home
Author: Theresa Marguerite Hewitt
Genre: Military Romance/Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: March 17th-ish, 2014






Can bridges be mended in the name of love, or are they better left in ashes?

Four months after a life altering decision, Ellie is trying to keep her head above water. She takes it day by day, trying not to lean too much on her friends and family. Fighting her demons from the past, is she strong enough or ready to love again?

Bobby isn't proud of the way he left Wakefield, and Ellie, behind, but he’s trying to make himself a better man. The desert and his security detail hold a lot of twists and turns for Timmons, but he never goes a day without thinking about the feisty woman who has his heart. When he makes it back to Wakefield, will there be enough left between them to mend the broken hearts?

This fourth installment in this loved military romance series brings us some bumps in the road for Chad and Rhea as well. Because, as we all know, no one in the little town of Wakefield, Virginia has it easy in love. Be ready to travel with the characters on a path filled with physical, mental and spiritual healing, along with more than a few HOT tumbles in the hay and one ending that might make your heart melt.















I grew up in a very small town and will always be a country girl at heart.






Sunday, February 23, 2014

Alison Beightol's Blood Beginnings Book Tour & Giveaway 02/23/14 @AlisonBeightolPublisher


                     Virtual Book Tour Dates: 2/11/14 - 3/11/14
                     Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy









Blurb:

Only a day after Eamon Rutherford destroys a cadre of vampire hunters sent to kill him, he decides to take his human lover Amelie to London to turn her into a vampire and look for Bernard Townsend, the vampire who sent the hunters to kill Eamon and declared a blood war on him.
This war isn’t just to settle a rivalry. It’s a war for power.
Bernard wants control of the European Shadow Government, the vampire governing board, and bring his plan to fruition, a plan that begins with the revelation of vampires to humans and ends with the domination of the human race. He knows that this will never happen as long as Eamon is alive. Bernard also knows that to get to Eamon, he has to get what he cares about most. To ensure the success, Bernard brings forward his secret offspring Reinhard Heydrich, the Butcher of Prague, who will kidnap and kill Eamon’s beloved Amelie.
Eamon must find and save Amelie before Heydrich kills her and Townsend’s plan unfolds. If he doesn’t, there is no limit to what a vampire like Heydrich might be capable of. But saving Amelie won’t be easy. Everywhere he turns he finds intrigue and deception. Even from those he trusts the most.

Excerpt:


You Don’t Declare a Blood War on Me and My Line without the Expectation of Retaliation


Kill Townsend. That was what needed to happen. And as soon as possible. Eamon Rutherford rubbed the bridge of his nose and again tried to come to grips with the events of the past twenty-four hours.
A scowl appeared on his face and the muscles of his shoul- ders knotted before he could even process anything. Eamon took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Destroying a makeshift band of vampire hunters in his former companion’s nightclub wasn’t something he would have chosen, but he was forced to do that very thing. And it had been ages since a hunter had threatened him personally. Or tried to threaten him. The ones last night were far from what he remembered from centuries past. The group he destroyed were nerds and armchair warriors, not organized, well-practiced hunters. However, before Eamon killed one of them the hunter mentioned a name, the name of an ancient rival, Bernard Townsend.
Bernard Townsend was a half-assed, one-time knight from centuries ago, an on-again-off- again problem for Eamon. Townsend fancied himself to be more powerful than Eamon despite the age gap of many centuries. In the late seventeen hundreds, Eamon almost imposed a final death on Townsend, but at the last moment Eamon spared his rival, figuring that leaving Townsend with the humiliating knowledge that he only survived through Eamon’s mercy was enough to keep the repugnant man away once and for all.
Since that time, Townsend had avoided Eamon and any- one, human or vampire, that Eamon knew and Eamon had all but forgotten about him up until last night. And his sudden reappearance raised an alarm in Eamon’s mind. Why would Townsend send a group of poorly trained vampire hunters after him?
Eamon rose from the bed and walked to the window over- looking Amelie’s back garden. Normally, he enjoyed the col- orful, fragrant roses and oleander bushes filling the quaint yard, but not today. He rubbed his shoulders, removing some of the tension, and sighed. The phone in his pocket vibrated, but he ignored it. The vampires of his line had nagged him the better part of the day, leaching as much of his time as they could before he left. His phone had vibrated non-stop with their calls and text messages. Should the meeting of the United States Shadow Government be arranged? Could they call him while he was in London or was he serious that he wanted no contact while he was gone? The main question was when was he coming home? He wondered if he was leaving children or vampires. But that was part of being a Primigenio of a vampire line. You were a father to them and had to deal with many of the same issues as a human father.
Because of this and Bernard Townsend’s unknown motives plaguing his thoughts, Eamon had gotten little day sleep. Fortunately, at his age, he didn’t require much rest. He also had the added benefit of being a day walker, a vampire who could move about without a problem when the sun was up. It was a lucky trait the vampires of his small line carried. Eamon looked back at Amelie and remembered they were leaving soon. He sent a text message to Jason, the pilot of his private plane, and verified the departure time. Eamon didn’t want any last minute surprises or problems.
Eamon returned to the bed and kissed Amelie’s forehead. He hated to wake her, but they’d be leaving for London in a few hours. He took a moment to watch her sleep. She was snuggled up next to him with a tiny, contented smile on her lips. Whatever she was dreaming about seemed to make her happy, and he wanted that for her more than anything. He wanted her to have a life of happiness and love with him and to never have any worries. If he had his way that would always be the case.
His phone vibrated again, shattering the moment of much-needed quiet Eamon craved. He hesitated before answering, thinking it was one of his vampires trying a last minute grab for his time and attention.
Yes?” Eamon said and climbed back out of the bed.
So you killed Sanchez and his followers? I expected as much. I didn’t honestly think they would succeed but they wanted to do it.”
The caller’s voice reignited a centuries-old anger within Eamon. He paced back and forth, wanting to reach through the phone and snap the caller’s neck. It was Bernard Townsend.
Instinctually Eamon checked on Amelie, who still slept. He turned away so as not to disturb her, his rising angst causing him to grip his phone until the plastic cracked.
I’m coming for you, Townsend. You don’t declare a blood war on me and my line without the expectation of retaliation.” Eamon would rip Townsend’s throat out right now if he could, and put an end to whatever scheme Townsend was formulating.
Townsend laughed his hearty, jovial laugh. “The humans I sent after you last night were a warm up, a bit of target practice. I felt it would give you a sporting chance.”
I will find you and when I do, you’re dead,” Eamon said.
Rutherford, you’ve been a problem for me for as long as I can remember. Now, I have the advantage.”
You’re nothing but a two-bit gangster.” Eamon looked around the room, calming himself. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
But you didn’t, which shows how weak and short-sighted you truly are. Well, until we see each other, Eamon. And we will see each other,” Bernard said.
The sudden dial tone cooled Eamon’s ire and he withered with regret as he turned back to Amelie. Their trip to London would not be the same. Townsend would see to that. Eamon wanted the trip to be perfect for Amelie. He wanted to show her London, the city he had known for centuries, not the What’s On version of the city. For a moment, he considered not taking Amelie with him. He could find and kill Townsend and then bring her over afterward. But he knew how much she wanted to go and he wanted her to go as well. After their recent separation, he didn’t want to be away from her any longer than he had to be. No, he refused to let Townsend ruin this. After all, Eamon had waited too long for Amelie.
And he could kill Townsend at any time.


Buy Links:




About the Author:


Alison Beightol formerly lived in an active haunted house in rural northern Florida but now lives in a non haunted but still active house with her author husband, Scott Baker, her daughter, two ice cream craving Boxer dogs, a rescued cat that thinks he’s a dog and a rabbit. For as long as she can remember, she's loved vampire stories, romance and gothic tales that keep her up at night. Although she works as a registered nurse, she studied both history and theatre at the University of Florida and loves intertwining history with a theatrical touch in her writing. She is the author of Blood Betrayal: Book One of The Primigenio Tales and its sequel Blood Beginnings, which introduces a sinister historical figure as an adversary for her vampires. Alison is hard at work on the third and final installment of the Primigenio Tales.



Connect with Alison Beightol:

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Publisher



Giveaway:

The author is giving away a tote bag filled with swag and goodies... Valued at over $150! Includes a t-shirt, a copy of the book, an amazon gift card, an iTunes gift card, vampire themed pins and knick knacks. USA only, please! The giveaway runs through the length of the tour.


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Friday, February 21, 2014

Alexandrea Weis's Cover to Covers Blog Tour 02/21/14


                                                 Title: Cover to Covers

                                                 Author: Alexandrea Weis

                                                 Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance


                                                 Tour Host: Lady Amber's Tours
                                                               http://ambersupernaturalandya.blogspot.com   


                 
GOODREADS LINK:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19547372-cover-to-covers?from_search=true




BLURB:

A man driven by his desires

Tyler Moore is considered cold, ruthless, and determined to get everything he

wants. CEO of a flourishing oil company, he thrives on order and never gives up

control to anyone.

The woman from his past

Monique Delome has left her unhappy past behind to pursue her dream of

becoming a writer. Love is something she believes is better suited to the pages of

her novels and not meant for real life.

Whether in the boardroom or the bedroom, Tyler Moore is always in charge. But

when Monique Delome walks back into his life, everything changes. A successful

romance author, all the sexy leading men Monique writes about strangely remind

everyone of Tyler. Intrigued, Tyler sets out to seduce the one woman he could

never forget. Soon Tyler gets more than he bargained for, and his grip on his well-
ordered life is turned upside down.

Tyler Moore is about to find out what happens when a romantic tale jumps from

the pages and comes to life between the sheets.




AUTHOR BIO:


Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New

Orleans. Her first novel, To My Senses, introduced readers to the world of Nicci Beauvoir

and garnered numerous awards and rave reviews. Her popular second Nicci Beauvoir novel,

Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The Reader’s Favorite Book

Awards 2011, and was named best Romantic Suspense novel by the Spring 2011 NABE

Pinnacle Book Awards. Her fourth novel, Broken Wings, won best Contemporary Romance

by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2012, was a Silver Medal winner in the ForeWord

Magazine Book of the Year Awards for Romance, as well as a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite

Book Awards for Contemporary Romance for 2012. Her last novel, Acadian Waltz received

honorable mention at the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards for Best Contemporary Romance and

was a Best Southern Fiction Finalist. A permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife

and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets

in New Orleans.







EXCERPT:


 “If I can be of any further assistance, Mr. Moore,” a peppy blonde with too much black

eyeliner said to the man in the impeccably tailored, dark blue Hugo Boss suit. “Please, let me

know. I have your suite key.” She pushed the white key-card over the surface of the front desk.

“Your usual order of Veuve Clicquot and strawberries will be waiting in your room,” she added

with a welcoming smile.

 The self-assured gentleman removed his dark Porsche sunglasses and let his deep-set dark

brown eyes linger over the young woman’s attractive face. “Afraid I won’t be needing that this

time, Missy,” he murmured, getting a glimpse at her nametag.

 “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Moore. I was informed you are always to have a bottle of Veuve

Clicquot waiting in your room whenever you stay with us.”

 Wandering over Missy’s stout figure, his eyes fixated on the way her blue blazer clung to her

ample bosom. “I usually do when I’m staying here for a relaxing weekend. This time, however,

is all business.” He placed his sunglasses in his jacket pocket.

 Missy leaned forward, revealing her cleavage as her blue eyes meandered up and down his

body. “I am very sorry to hear that, Mr. Moore.”

 The flirtatious pout that puckered her red lips made Tyler Moore wipe his hand across his

chin, attempting to hide his cocky grin. At six-foot-one, with black, wavy hair outlining his

chiseled cheekbones and determined, square jaw, he was used to getting such suggestive looks

from the opposite sex. But he knew that looks could only get you so far with a woman.

 “How sorry are you?”

 Missy’s eyes popped with interest. “I…I’m not sure what you mean, Mr. Moore.”

 “How sorry are you that I won’t be having any fun this weekend, Missy?”

 She fingered the lapel on her blue blazer adjacent to her right breast. “I would hate to think

your stay here would only be about business, Mr. Moore. If there was anything I could do to

change that….”

 He felt a kick of satisfaction as he gazed into her hopeful eyes. “Perhaps you might come up

with a few suggestions of other ways I could spend my weekend in your wonderful hotel? We

could go over them later…at the bar, after you get off work.”

 The pale blush blossoming on her cheeks was so becoming that Tyler almost began to

believe their playful repartee had been worth the effort.

 “I’ll think about it, Mr. Moore.”

 “You do that, Missy. When you have an answer, you know where to find me.” He motioned

to his overnight bag and black suitcase by the desk. “Be a sweetheart, and have the porter take

my bags to my room. I have to meet a client in the bar before I go up to my suite.”

 The flush on Missy’s cheeks was positively radiant. “Yes, Mr. Moore. Right away.”

 Tyler turned from the polished reception desk, unable to hide his smug grin. No matter

where he went, the lust in a woman’s eyes never got old. The entire episode with the desk clerk

had only reinforced his belief that it was his confidence, and not his looks, that always got a

woman to give him what he wanted. He had learned long ago that his handsome face could only

take him so far in life, and had made a concerted effort to take control of any situation. It was a

philosophy he had incorporated into every arena of his life.

 “I’ll have to check back in with sweet little Missy. See how she looks without the blazer.”

He strutted across the lobby toward the arched entrance of the Rattlesnake Bar.

 A warm glow of honey, onyx, and a contemporary Western-theme greeted him as he stepped

into the cool bar. Perched on the brown leather barstools, an array of women sipped on a myriad

of colorful alcoholic concoctions while trying to chase away the sweltering afternoon heat. Tyler

noted how more than one set of eyes turned his way as he strolled up to the bar. He checked his

confidence at the door and pushed all thoughts of possible late night hookups from his mind.

 His flourishing oil and gas business was always more important than women. Besides,

women were nothing more than a distraction at this point in his life. Having just passed the

milestone of his fiftieth birthday, Tyler pondered that perhaps it was time for him to stop

pursuing such meaningless liaisons and settle down with a tolerable woman who could cater to

all of his needs.

 “Two divorces is plenty,” he reasoned as he arrived at the onyx marble and teak-topped

bar. Lightly stroking the smooth surface of the marble, he remembered many of the encounters

he had experienced in that very bar. Snapshots of blurred faces and forgettable names

skipped across his mind. Some of the women had been exciting, a few horrific, but none had

been…memorable.

 You know who was memorable, don’t you, Ty? his inner voice taunted. She was the one you

let slip through your fingers.

 Tyler snickered at his self-remonstrations. He hated to admit his inner demon was right, but

it was. She had happened so long ago, but he found it funny how advancing age only seemed to

make the memories of youth more poignant. It was as if growing older brought into focus the

emotions that the impetuosity of youth seemed to blur.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Deviant by Callie Hart Release Day Blitz with Giveaway 02/20/14


   
 



Synopsis:

SloaneI'm not proud of the things I've done. The things I've had to do. The things I've given away. but I'd give it all over again to find her.Even if i die trying, I have to find Alexis.Zeth She wants me to help her, But I won't. She wants me to save her sister, But I can't. She wants me to be her hero, But I'm not a good man. I am her damnation.

GOODREADS:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20564453-deviant?from_search=true

Excerpt:

“You’re sick, you know that?” I say into the darkness. A soft rustling sound greets me, followed by the shift of movement. Yes, the lights are off but the corridor is lit behind me so it’s not like last time. I can see enough to make out the looming figure that slowly paces toward me. “I know I’m not normal, if that’s what you mean.” A terrible devil’s mask appears before me, two feet away; Zeth is dressed entirely in black, the suit he wears obviously a thing of beauty even in the half light. His dark eyes shine from within the mask, sharp and hungry. “You’ve surprised me, Sloane. I like being surprised,” he rumbles. “Well you’ve surprised me, too. Although I can’t say the feeling is mutual.”</ em> He laughs, his voice so deep and powerful I can feel it in the soles of my feet. “You should open up a little. You never know what you might enjoy until you try it.”</ em> “I know exactly what I enjoy, Zeth, and standing around watching fifty naked people grind on each other isn’t it.” The eyes behind his mask flicker with annoyance when I say his name. He stalks toward me and reaches out, tracing his fingertips across my jawline. He seems pensive, intrigued by my stillness—I can’t freaking move—as he touches my skin. “If you don’t like watching, Sloane, you can always join in.”


About The Author:

Callie Hart is a bagel eating, coffee drinking denizen of the greatest city on this earth. Born in Colorado, she moved to The Big Apple to study and undertake the Bar exam, and in the meantime she wrote this book! She lives on a ridiculously high floor in a way-too expensive building with her fiancé and their pet goldfish, Neptune. Deviant is the first instalment in her Blood and Roses series. The next instalment, Fracture, is scheduled to be released in April. Stalk the Author: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calliehartauthor Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7771953.Callie_Hart Twitter: https://twitter.com/ _callie_hart    

Purchase the Book:

iBooks: http:/ /buff.ly/1cydPNI Amazon US: Amazon UK:  


  


 
           

Giveaway:

Win a Kindle Paperwhite or GC of same value, a Signed paperback of Deviant or one of 4 Deviant bookmarks! a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Finding Us by Harper Bentley Blog Tour 02/20/14



                                                               Title:  Finding Us (True Love, #2)

                                                               Author:  Harper Bentley

                                                              Release Date:  February 25th, 2014


                                                              Tour Host:  LipSmackinGoodBooks
                                                                                       http://lipsmackingoodbooks.blogspot.ca






Finding
 Us Synopsis:
Jag Jensen and Ellen Love had been best friends their whole lives until he turned thirteen and started noticing girls his own age, but that didn’t mean he stopped watching out for eleven-year-old Ellen. By his senior year in high school, baseball had taken the front seat in his life, with a scholarship to college and a pro career looming on the horizon, when sophomore Ellen caught his attention and they struck up their friendship again. Although Ellen wanted more, Jag didn’t want to drag her into what he knew would be a crazy life, but love has a way of deciding one’s future, and eventually they became a couple. Ellen followed him to California as he began his pro career, but his wild and hectic lifestyle screwed everything up. 

Now Jag is lost, realizing he’s never been without his best friend in his life. Learning to live without Ellen doesn’t settle well with him, so while trying to remain at the top of his career, he also wants to get his girl back, which proves to be more difficult than he thought it’d be. Will Ellen give him another chance or does that sort of thing only happen in the sappy romance novels she always used to read? Jag hopes she’s willing to try again as he puts his heart on the line for the woman he knows will always be his forever and a day.



Prologue  (Jag's POV)

I don’t have any fancy fucking quotes to explain how I feel, but if I had anything to say it’d be that you don’t die from a broken heart. You just wish you did.

My name is Jagger Jensen, I’m twenty-seven, should be in the best place in my life as a star pitcher for the Dodgers, making a mint for every ball I throw, yet I can’t get my head in the right place because of all that’s happened with my girl over the past couple years which is why she’s not here with me now.

To say I screwed up royally with her would be an understatement, but it’s damned near as close as I can get to telling the truth.

The love of my life walked out on me because I’m an asshole.

See, Ellen Reese Love had been a part of my life since I was six or seven and she was four or five. Hell, I don’t remember stuff like that, specific ages or dates, but guys aren’t supposed to remember that shit, right? That’s why we’re always getting in trouble for forgetting anniversaries or birthdays. But I swear, women have built-in calendars in their heads or something because El remembered every date there was. Like, she knew that July 24th was the first time we met and that August 26th was National Cherry Popsicle Day (which I only remember because when we were little, she’d insisted that her mom buy us several boxes of them, and we’d eaten them for an hour straight until our tongues seemed to be permanently stained red, which we, of course, had to show to everyone by sticking them out every five seconds. And then we’d both thrown up on her driveway).

So as far as dates go, I’m a typical guy. But thing is, when it comes to El, it seems I remember just about everything. And I’ve yet to decide whether that’s a blessing or a curse.

Anyway, we met when we both ran to the ice cream truck that was making its way through our Chicago suburb neighborhood. The Spiderman pops that we both ordered seemed to cement our friendship from the start. A girl who liked superheroes was awesome, I decided, and from that moment on, she became a part of my life.

We played together nearly every day since there were no other kids in our neighborhood, but that was fine by me because El was cool as hell to be around. She challenged me to see who could climb the massive oak tree in my backyard fastest, and it almost always ended up a tie, which, if I’d developed my fragile male ego at that age, I’m sure it would’ve pissed me off. But as it was, I was in awe of her since she was an agile little thing, and I was just glad to have a friend to play with.

Summers we’d compete to see who could swim from one end of the pool in her backyard to the other, and my little boy mind couldn’t comprehend why she’d cry when I beat her. I’d end up calling her a baby, she’d yell back through bitter and abundant sobs that she wasn’t, punch me in the arm, sniff a time or two, wipe her eyes free of tears then all would be well and we’d move on to the next thing on our playtime agenda. Winters we’d have snowball fights, building our own little forts across the yard from each other, compiling clusters of ammo, and let me tell you, the girl threw a wicked screwball. I’d think it was going to go one way, I’d move to get away from it, and end up being nailed right in the head. I couldn’t help but smile that she was as adept as she was at throwing especially since I’d begun pitching lessons by that time and knew all the pitches, so I told her she should become the first woman to play in the pros.

El and I were inseparable until puberty hit and the testosterone in my body arrived guns blazing. Suddenly, girls were all I saw. God, they smelled so good, were so pretty and most were just so sweet it was hard to ignore them.

Funny thing was, I tried looking at El as if she were a girl, but I just didn’t see her in that way. She was my friend. The friend who laughed when I bit it hard after attempting a pop shove it nosegrind nollie flip on my skateboard. The friend who called me a sissy when a grasshopper landed on my head and I wigged out trying to get it off until she walked over, picked if off me and proceeded to coddle the fucking thing in her hands before setting it free.

So it’s easy to see where this is going. Yep. I totally ditched her… for five years. I know. I was a dick. But that was the problem—my dick. For some time, it seemed to be doing all the thinking for me. But by senior year, I’d matured a bit and finally started thinking with my bigger head some, but by then I figured it was probably too late to reestablish things with her.

Oh, I’d kept an eye out for her over the years we were apart, but I hadn’t paid much attention to her in the guy-checking-out-a-hot-girl way. It was more the we-were-best-friends-when-we-were-little-and-you-saw-me-squirt-milk-out-of-my-nose-once-so-that-made-us-buddies-and-now-I’m-just-making-sure-you’re-okay way.

But when I was a senior and she was a sophomore, I happened to be driving by her house one day when she’d gotten home and was walking up the driveway to go into her house. I almost slammed on the brakes and did a damned double-take when I saw her.

She had on a short skirt and somewhere along the way, she’d grown legs that seemed to be a mile long. Her long, auburn hair flipped around her shoulders as she walked, catching the sun and shooting out blondish sparks here and there. When she stopped and bent down to tug on the strap of her sandal and I saw that her breasts swayed gorgeously with her movements, not to mention her skirt that rode up a little in back teasing me with a glimpse of her gorgeous ass, I almost ran into a car that was parked on the side of the street. Damn.

As much as I wanted to ask her out, I knew I’d be heading off to college soon to continue playing baseball, and I didn’t want the responsibility of having a girlfriend possibly thousands of miles away.

I know, I know. I had a huge ego because I’d just assumed that she’d want to be with me. What can I say? I was eighteen.

But not wanting the burden of a long-distance relationship was the reason why I’d broken up with Blair Adams. Well, one of the reasons. To say she was clingy was an understatement, and I hated clingy. To say she was easy was more of the same, except I didn’t hate easy so much. Yeah, I dated girls who’d been around the block a time or two and knew I could score with. Already told you I was a dick. Sue me.

So I let things go with El almost the entire year until March 27 (See? She’s burned this shit on my brain for eternity) when I couldn’t stay away any longer.

After baseball practice that day, I was driving out of the parking lot in my badass ’69 Camaro when I saw a group of guys at the south end standing around laughing. I drove over to see what was going on only to find that they were surrounding El who was sitting on the rail pretty much ignoring all their tactics to get her attention. I couldn’t help but chuckle because it was so typical teenage guy.

Seeing her sitting there looking so goddamned beautiful, the wind blowing her ponytail everywhere, oblivious to the guys’ antics, made my heart stop. I knew I should’ve just driven away, but I kept telling myself it’d be okay. We’d just start up our friendship again and that was it. Nothing more.

I asked if she needed a ride, and after a little contemplation, which was a total slam to my ego, mind you, she agreed and got in my car. And I’m telling you, when she did, it was all I could do to keep from putting the car in park and jump out to pound my fists against my chest, showing the guys that I’d won the prize.

And that’s where it all started.

What comes next explains how she and I got to the mess we were now in. And how I continued being a prick, earning my Assholes Anonymous card. But don’t be too hard on me. I’m just a man who had it all and lost it… and has lived to regret it each and every day thereafter.







ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Harper Bentley has taught high school English for 21 years. Although she’s managed to maintain her sanity regardless of her career choice, jumping into the world of publishing her own books goes to show that she might be closer to the ledge than was previously thought.

After traveling the nation in her younger years as a military brat, having lived in Alaska, Washington State and California, she now resides in Oklahoma with her teenage daughter, two dogs and one cat, happily writing stories that she hopes her readers will enjoy.

You can contact her at HarperBentleyWrites@gmail.com, Harperbentleywrites.com, on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @HarperBentley