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Out of Control ~ Excerpt from 'Mission: Impossible to Forget'

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. Her every curve pressed against him, teasing him. “Emily, I’m barely in control. It isn’t the way I want our first time after how I’ve screwed up. I want you to be treated the way you deserve.”

“Having you out of control is perfect—not thinking, not protecting, but you as a man, needing me as your mate, your woman. Not the responsible US Marine captain, but Nick Jenkins, the man who needs my love.”

Emily, her head and shoulders thrown back, her mane of dark curls flowing around him, was like an avenging goddess. She was a force to be reckoned with, and he was the man who’d step up.

“I was so bitter and exhausted when I came to Sausalito. And there you were, all light and joy. I’ve been lost without you.”

She cupped his face into her hand. “I’m here now. And I’m not leaving, no matter what crazy ass ideas you get about protecting me from yourself. Take me how you would have if we hadn’t been interrupted. How you fantasized.”

He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her with everything he had while he walked her back until she reached the bedroom wall. He gripped both her hands in one of his and forced them over her head, opening her to his stare, his touch.

“I’ve dreamed about punishing you for making me want a life I could never have with you. For ruining me for any other woman or any other future without you.” He kissed her, stroking his tongue against hers before he lifted her against the wall.

She clasped her hands behind his neck and locked her ankles at the small of his back. Nick shifted his hold, lifting her, aligning their bodies for the perfect fit. Heat burned through him. In that moment, he felt as if he had been cold all his life until Emily.

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First Kiss ~ Excerpt from ' A Code of Love'

His arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her on top of him. Being inebriated didn’t have any effect on his strength. Abbie was pressed against his hard body. “They killed me, didn’t they? I’m in heaven and my reward is to kiss you.”

Before she could protest, his lips touched hers. Gently. He sighed. “Pillow soft. Just as they look.” He traced his tongue along the border of her lips. Abbie was mesmerized by his tenderness and leaned closer, wanting to know how it felt to be kissed by the infamous Jack Bonnington. She had no experience with men, but she imagined when Jack Bonnington was awake, his kisses would be quite memorable.

“Open your mouth for me, sweetheart.”

His rough words sparked something in Abbie. She softened against him, wanting more of what he offered.

His tongue searched her mouth tasting and testing then he thrust his tongue in and out. Abbie wiggled against him, wanting something unknown. Her tongue touched his.

His breath quickened and his hands grabbed her bottom, pulling her against him, as he thrust his hardness against her. Then his breath roughened, his hands dropped, and he lay still.

She opened her eyes and looked down. He had passed out in the middle of their embrace. Her first kiss and the notorious man had passed out.

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Falling for the Code Breaker ~ Excerpt from 'A Code of Love'

Preoccupied, Cord didn’t register her outrage. He spoke matter-of-fact. “I’m trying to find a clue to the thief’s intentions. Does your uncle have a secure area for his confidential work? There are two different sets of handwritings on these notes. Is this your handwriting?”

Her heart thumped loudly, as if it might leap out of her chest. “Yes, it’s my handwriting. As you know, I help my uncle with his work. Do you need to go through my uncle’s papers at this time?”

She had almost slipped and called them “her papers.” She needed to be careful not to reveal anything that might hurt her uncle.

Cord stopped his search and came around the desk. His face was creased with concern.

“How is your uncle this morning?”

His quiet strength made her want to confide all the secrets that she had just sworn not to reveal. She was drained. If he so much as touched her, she would cave. “He’s napping but awoke earlier with a headache.”

He stepped closer and his voice softened. “You’re exhausted. You mustn’t worry. Lord Harcourt will recover and return to his normal brilliant self.”

She longed to tell him that her uncle would never return to the man he had been; he hadn’t been that man for years. But once informed, how could he, as the head, ever allow the situation to continue with her uncle?

He took her into his arms, pressed his mouth against her hair, and slowly rubbed her back in slow circles. His touch was gentle and loving. “You’ve had a hard night.”

She inhaled his smell, an earthy mixture of lime and starch. Tilting her head upward, she looked straight into his intense blue eyes and was lost in the deep tenderness.

He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks. “You’re not alone. I’m here.”

Henrietta relaxed into his strong hands. This is how it feels to be cherished. It was a feeling she had never experienced and it filled her with longing and hope.

Click here to keep reading A Code of Love, The Code Breakers Series Book 1

Hearing Loss and Military Heroes

The road to happy ever after is never easy, especially in romance novels. The harder the struggle, the more significant the conflict, the wider the gap between the hero and heroine, the sweeter the moment they come together.

When I was plotting the story for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET, I knew the heroine would be a professional musician but what–aside from her life being in danger–would create barriers between her and the hero?

How about a man who can’t appreciate music because he can no longer hear it? To torment my hero even more, I created a story in which the hearing loss has cost Special-Ops Marine Nick Jenkins his military career.

Hearing loss may not be as dramatic as losing a limb, but experts estimate that more than 50 percent of combat soldiers suffer moderately severe (or worse) hearing loss. It’s an injury that impacts more military personnel than any other type of injury. Sometimes the hearing loss is just an inconvenience; sometimes it robs soldiers of their hearing completely.

Our military personnel sacrifice time, health, and so much more. Writing about these real-life heroes is my way of honoring them.

Here’s a short excerpt from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET, coming February 2020.

“Let me take you out for a drink. We both need it after this funeral.” Ben leaned closer, his thigh pressing against hers and squeezed her hand. Ben Massine, the successful and charismatic tenor with the voice that had the world at his feet, was seated next to Emily.

Her eyes darted to his. The compassion in his dark eyes and expressive voice would be her undoing. All she could do was nod since the grief was lodged somewhere between her chest and her throat.

Emily pulled her hand into her lap, now unsure if Ben was making his usual moves or was as upset as she was. Emily never trusted Ben’s motives in pursuing her. Was she just another notch on his bedpost? He could have any woman. He did have any and every woman if People magazine was correct.

His Sicilian roots with olive skin, black hair, and Grecian profile made him irresistible. Unlike his hordes of fans, it wasn’t his dramatic looks and powerful presence that made Emily susceptible. It was the bright warm timbre of his voice, his soulful passion for the music, his ability to transcend the music. He was a gifted artist, and Ben should be the perfect match for her.

But the heart was a contrary organ that didn’t listen to reason. It was time to wipe the memory of the dark-haired, over-loaded-testosterone male, the hardened Spec Forces Marine Nick Jenkins, who didn’t have the voice like a choir of angels but a rough bass steel drum.

Coming February 2020

Available for preorder on Apple Books | Kobo | Nook | Google Play

Professional cellist Emily Hewitt loves nothing more than creating music. Sharing her gift with the world is all she lives for. Until her life is threatened. Caught up in a treacherous conspiracy, Emily becomes the pawn in an international play for power and must be assigned a bodyguard.

Former Special-Ops Marine Nick Jenkins is out of a job and out of patience. Discharged from the Corp because of hearing loss, the last thing he wants to do is babysit someone who’s surrounded by the haunting sounds of music he can no longer appreciate. When danger turns deadly, will Nick be able to save Emily?

Quite an Adventure ~ Excerpt from 'A Code of Wonder'

“You’ve had quite an adventure for a country miss.”

She squeezed Derrick’s immense arm and looked into his familiar comforting eyes. “Will there be a scandal? I just couldn’t bear to bring any more pain to my mother. She’s suffered badly after our banishment in the country… all because of the cruelty of my father.”

“No. Wessex is a gentleman. He can be trusted to reveal nothing.”

“And I won’t be forced to marry him? Won’t I be ruined if anyone finds out about Lord Wessex undressing me?”

Derrick paused on the landing.

“Did more happen between you and Wessex…? Did he…?”

To hear the brave man, viewed as invincible, stammer, made her smile for the first time in a while. The blush spreading across his cheeks was so out of character.

“Only that he kissed me.” She tried to sound nonchalant as if being kissed by a virile and handsome naked man was a routine occurrence in her life. “I can’t fault his desire since I believe any man near a naked woman might attempt liberties. And he did explain that he was only trying to wake me.” She would never forget how tenderly he’d treated her. The way he’d cupped her face between his big rough hands. His lips had been soft and warm, causing heady and unfamiliar sensations.

A Code of Wonder is part of the Regency holiday anthology, Snowed in with a Rogue.

You can read A Code of Wonder and six other romantic stories for just $0.99.

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