Category: Guest blogs

Down & Dirty in the kitchen with Rose Nichol #DownandDirty #D&D @romancerebels69 @RoseNickol

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Today we have fellow Down & Dirty anthology author Rose Nichol here to share with us one of her family’s favorite recipes, along with her story, Rescuing Trent!

 

 

 

Trent Simmons has spent his life rescuing others. Can Pricilla rescue him from himself and teach him it’s okay to love again?

 

 

Blurb:

Trent Simmons had spent his life helping others. While recovering from the injury that got him discharged from the service, he met the woman he thought he was going to spend his life with, but it was not meant to be. He spent the next several years infiltrating a human trafficking slavery ring recusing countless women. Pricilla Wilder had decided she was happy living alone. She had watched her mother raise two children on her own and do a wonderful job. She didn’t need a man in her life. Then an insane madman targeted her and her sister trying to extract revenge on their father. Trent was assigned to be one of Pricilla’s bodyguards. The woman was smart, and sexy. Trent can’t ignore the feelings she awakens within him—feelings he thought had died years ago. Can he convince her to give him a chance or will fate once again destroy his world?

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3X69KL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/down-dirty/id1331942239

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1127784443

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/down-dirty-10

 

Recipe Intro:

I found this recipe on the web about a year ago and it quickly became a family favorite.  This is not an original recipe.  It can be found on this website.  https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a46964/tamale-pie/

Recipe: 

Tamale Pie Ingredients

YIELDS: 8 SERVINGS

 

1 box JIFFY corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. creamed corn

1/3 c. red enchilada sauce

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 lb. ground beef

1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 c. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

small handful cilantro leaves, chopped (optional)

kosher salt

ground pepper

Directions

PREP TIME: 0:10

COOK TIME: 0:40

TOTAL TIME: 0:50

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Prepare cornbread base. In a medium bowl, combine corn muffin mix, sour cream, creamed corn and egg. Whisk until evenly combined. Pour into a large cast iron skillet and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool slightly in pan.
  3. Meanwhile, make your taco meat. Sauté onions over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper and spices and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground beef and stir to break up meat. Season to taste and sauté until cooked through. Remove skillet from stovetop and drain excess fat.
  4. Poke entire surface of cornbread with a fork. Pour enchilada sauce over the cornbread. Add the meat mixture and top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake until the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil until cheese begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
  5. Top with cilantro, if desired.

 

 

Author Bio:

  Rose Nickol started writing in high school and although she played with it for years she wasn’t published until June of 2014.  Since then she’s published twenty books with more to come.  She’s mother to a 15 yo daughter, 8 yo puppy and 1 yo kitten.  She lives with her family in central Florida enjoying the sun. 

 

Author Social Media links

Facebook Author Page:  https://www.facebook.com/rosenickolauthor/ 

Facebook Readers Group:  Petal of Rose  https://www.facebook.com/groups/402075540218527/ 

Website:  http://rosenickol.com/

Twitter:  @RoseNickol

Instagram:  nicko.rose

Newsletter subscribe: https://rosenickol.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b8ee549f2028fa1133ca91153&id=ef6d40c51a

 

Down & Dirty in the kitchen with Lucy Felthouse #DownandDirty #D&D @romancerebels69

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Today we have fellow Down & Dirty anthology author, Lucy Felthouse, sharing one of her favorite recipes as well as her story, Good With His Hands!

 

When Layla is driven to shelter by inclement weather out on a walk, she discovers a sexy park ranger who’s good with his hands.

Blurb:

Layla is enjoying a beautiful moorland walk in the English countryside when suddenly, clouds start to roll in. The weather was forecast to be fine all day, so Layla is woefully unprepared when the heavens open and her visibility is reduced to next to nothing. Trying hard not to panic, she carefully makes her way towards a remote hut she spotted before the fog descended. When she arrives, though, she discovers park ranger Stuart already there, and luckily for her, he’s much more prepared than she is, and they soon find a way to pass the time until the storm blows over.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3X69KL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/down-dirty/id1331942239

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1127784443

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/down-dirty-10

Recipe Intro: 

 I am no kind of cook. If I can take something out of the fridge or freezer and put it in the oven or into a saucepan, I’m all good. Otherwise, I’m not interested, LOL. Having said that, though, I can be tempted to “make” some things…

Recipe:

Oreo “bark” (nothing to do with your dog):

Ingredients:

Oreos

Large bar of white chocolate

Method:

Crush the Oreos into small pieces

Melt the white chocolate, then stir in the Oreo pieces

Put the mixture in a flat baking tray of some kind and spread it out so you have a huge flat slab of chocolate/Oreo mix

Allow to cool in the fridge

Eat

This can, of course, be switched up easily to include your favourite types of chocolate and favourite “fillings”, but the combination of the flavours here is amazing.

 

Author Bio:

Lucy Felthouse is the award-winning author of erotic romance novels Stately Pleasures (named in the top 5 of Cliterati.co.uk’s 100 Modern Erotic Classics That You’ve Never Heard Of, and an Amazon bestseller), Eyes Wide Open (winner of the Love Romances Café’s Best Ménage Book 2015 award, and an Amazon bestseller), The Persecution of the Wolves, Hiding in Plain Sight and Mia’s Men (The Heiress’s Harem Book 1). Including novels, short stories and novellas, she has over 160 publications to her name. She owns Erotica For All, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more about her writing at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk, or on Twitter or Facebook. Sign up for automatic updates on Amazon or BookBub. Subscribe to her newsletter and get a free eBook: http://www.subscribepage.com/lfnewsletter

 

Down & Dirty in the kitchen with Maia Dylan #DownandDirty #D&D @romancerebels69 @Maiadylanauthor

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Today we have fellow Down & Dirty anthology author, Maia Dylan, here to share one of her favorite recipes as well as her story, Scout’s Honor!

 

 

 

His rig. His job. His Honor.

 

Blurb:

As the manager of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the safety of the men under his control was the most important thing to Cooper. That was until Dr. Honor Jennings stepped from a helicopter and proceeded to show him that playing it safe wasn’t always the best way forward.

When Honor arrived onboard the rig, she was fully prepared to uncover the safety breaches an anonymous source had advised her were taking place. She was completely unprepared for her reaction to the rig manager. The cold-blooded murder she witnessed came as a downright shock!

Can Cooper keep Honor safe with a murderer on the loose and a storm keeping them isolated from the mainland, or will the risk prove too much and cost them everything?

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3X69KL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/down-dirty/id1331942239

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1127784443

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/down-dirty-10

Recipe Intro: 

THE LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON LAMINGTON

Now, the lamington is a kiwi icon.  An afternoon tea delight that reminds me of lazy Sunday afternoons spent with my family, making these for school lunches, but taste testing a few for quality assurance purposes only — honest!  My Aussie authors in this fabulous boxset might contest and argue that the humble lamington is theirs but trust me… this is all Kiwi!

Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

Sponge Cake

½ cup self-raising flour

½ cup plain flour

½ cup wheaten cornflour

6 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup raw caster sugar or just plain caster sugar

1 Tbsp boiling water

15g butter

4 cups shredded coconut (for rolling pieces in)

 

Icing:

100g dark chocolate

¾ cup water

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

1 cup cocoa, sifted

½ cup milk

 

METHOD:

 

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C conventional or 170°C fan forced. Grease a 30cm x 29cm lamington tin. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang slightly.
  2. Sponge cake Sift the combined flours three times into a bowl. Using an electric beater whisk eggs in a large clean, dry bowl until thick and pale. Gradually add raw caster sugar or caster sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition until mixture is thick and sugar dissolves.
  3. Sift the combined flours over the egg mixture. Combine butter and boiling water and pour down the side of the bowl. Use a spatula to gently fold in until just combined.

Pour mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn cake onto a wire rack to cool. Place in an airtight container. Cake is best made the day before cutting.

  1. To make lamingtons Cut sponge cake into 18 pieces. Put coconut into a wide bowl. Make icing by combining chocolate and water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
  2. Sift icing sugar and cocoa over chocolate mixture, stir until smooth. Add milk and mix until well combined. Work quickly as chocolate sauce will thicken on cooling.
  3. Using a large fork, dip sponge cake pieces into chocolate mixture, drain slightly then roll in coconut. Leave to set on a tray.

 

 

Author Bio:

I write the kind of books that I love to read. Love stories between strong men and their independent soulmates. Usually, their path to Happily Ever After is a bumpy one, but there is always a Happy Ever After.

In the world’s I create there is someone (or two, or three) for everyone! Love comes in many forms and I believe it is all beautiful and should be celebrated!

I live, love and write in New Zealand, married to my husband of twelve years with two beautiful children.

Author Social Media links:

WEBSITE  I  FACEBOOK  I  TWITTER  I  INSTAGRAM

NEWSLETTER

 

Down & Dirty in the kitchen with Eva Moore #DownandDirty #D&D @romancerebels69 @AuthorEvaMoore

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Today we have fellow Down & Dirty anthology author, Eva Moore here to share her favorite cookie recipe as well as her story Dirty Demo!

 

 

Homebuilder Winston never bargained on reality TV lust turning to love off-screen, but can he and Trina build a future on a foundation of lies?

Dirty Demo Blurb:

When Winston Hartwell’s construction crew ends up on a reality TV show, there’s no way he’s going to sing for his supper, no matter how nicely the curvy camera lady asks. He’s terrified of the limelight, and he doesn’t trust these Hollywood types as far as he can throw them.

Trina McCallister is one last reality show away from her dream job of filming movies. She’ll do whatever it takes to get the footage she needs and get the hell out. But she isn’t prepared for the sexy giant with a voice of gold to demolish her carefully constructed defenses.

When lies and fear shake their newly laid foundation, only an act of bravery and trust will save them from ruin.

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3X69KL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/down-dirty/id1331942239

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1127784443 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/down-dirty-10

Recipe Intro:

My mother always told me the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. My husband would not disagree. So when I started writing my first romance novel, Someone Special, my heroine made an epic first impression with a plate of to-die-for chocolate chip cookies. My readers were up in arms demanding cookies to satisfy their urgent cravings. How could I refuse? I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as they have.

 

Recipe:

Dani’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 cups of flour
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
1 c butter, softened
½ c granulated white sugar
1 c brown sugar, tightly packed
2 t vanilla
2 eggs
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c dark chocolate chips
½ c walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale yellow and fluffy, either with a mixer or a wooden spoon. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together and add to the wet mixture. Mix until well combined. Add chocolates at the end and mix again. Drop heaping teaspoons of dough two inches apart on greased cookie sheets. For larger cookies, use a measured 1/3 cup and flatten a little before baking. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. If you want them soft, remove them when lightly browned. Let them go a little longer for a crisper finish. Leave them to set on the baking sheet for 1 minute before moving to a cooling rack. Makes 6-7 dozen, depending on size.

 

Author Bio:

Eva Moore began reading steamy books when she was 12. Now, she writes sexy contemporary romances in between soccer practices and glasses of rosé. Eva now lives in Silicon Valley, after moving around the world and back, with her college sweetheart, her three gorgeous girls, and a Shih Tzu who thinks he is a cat. She can be found most nights hiding in her closet-office, scribbling away, and loves to hear from the outside world. Please visit her at www.4evamoore.com.

 

Author Social Media links:

www.facebook.com/4evamooreauthor

www.facebook.com/4evamoore

www.twitter.com/AuthorEvaMoore

www.pinterest.com/authorevamoore

www.instagram.com/authorevamoore

Friends For Eva Reader Group : https://www.facebook.com/groups/602016323302421/

 

Down & Dirty in the kitchen with London Saint James #DownandDirty #D&D @romancerebels69 @LSJRomance

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Today we have fellow Down & Dirty anthology author, London Saint James, here to share one of her favorite recipes, as well as her story, Destiny Happened.

 

 

When it comes to luck in love, well…let’s just say I had none. That is, until the day I kissed a stranger.

Destiny Happened Blurb:

Desi
Of course, I noticed Mr. Shirtless. With a bod like his, who wouldn’t? But his hot-factor didn’t matter. What did? My asshat ex and the need to make him jealous. So, I strolled up to the panty-melting stranger as though I knew him and laid one on him, hoping said asshat would see I’d moved on just fine without him. Only, he never saw me kissing another man.

Kash
I spotted her—honey-blonde hair gleaming in the sun as she came my way. I’d flirt. Smile. Maybe get her number. I sure the hell didn’t expect her to toss her arms around my neck, mashing her body against mine, and kiss the ever-loving shit out of me. Then, she stopped. Stepped back. Blushed. Whispered “Sorry” and blended into the crowd.
 
I never got her name that day. Or her number. However, fate had other plans and Destiny happened…again.

 

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3X69KL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/down-dirty/id1331942239

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1127784443 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/down-dirty-10

Recipe Intro:

I will confess. I am a chocolate lover. Yes, I love the stuff. And you know what? I happened to catch a man—or maybe he caught me *Wink*—who loves to indulge me. Soon after we first met, he made me a chocolate pie from one of his grandmother’s recipes. I knew then he was a keeper.  

Recipe:

Deliciously Decadent Chocolate Pie

Ingredients

Makes Two Pies 

  • 2 pre-made pie shells (this saves time but for those of you who love to bake, feel free to make the pie shells from scratch)
  • 2 cups of white sugar
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of self rising flour
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/3 cup of Hershey’s Cocoa
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 4 cups of whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 large tub of Cool Whip topping

Directions

  1. Pre-bake the pies shells in your oven until golden brown and flakey then let them cool.
  2. In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together, white sugar, self rising flour, salt, and cocoa. Blend well.
  3. In a large sauce pan mix the eggs yolks, the whole milk, the vanilla, and the butter together. Add all of the dry ingredients once the better melts completely into the liquid ingredients. Stir well over a medium heat.  Do not let the mixture stand without continuous stirring until the contents becomes thick.
  4. Once the pie filling has reached a thick, chocolaty consistency, pour the filling into the pre-made, pre-backed pie shells.
  5. Let the pies cool. Once the pies are cool, add Cool Whip to cover the top of the pies. Then serve, and enjoy.

 

Author Bio:

London Saint James has lived in many places, but never felt “at home” until she met the real-life man of her dreams and settled down in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. London lives with her husband and their fat cat who thinks he owns them.

As an award-winning, international bestselling author, London is living her childhood dream. She knew all the scribbling she did, that big imagination of hers, and all those clamoring characters running around in her head would pay off someday.

Author Social Media links:

Website: http://www.londonsaintjames.com

Twitter: @LSJRomance

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/londonsaintjames/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LSJRomance/

Join London’s Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SlipBetweenthePageswithLondon/

Sign up for London’s monthly news letter: http://eepurl.com/cHacXb

 

Down & Dirty in the kitchen with CR Moss #DownandDirty #D&D @CRMoss @romancerebels69

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Today we have fellow Down & Dirty author CR Moss with us to share one of her favorite recipes, along with her story in the anthology, Keep You Safe!

 

A stalked artist. A sexy wrangler. She’d watched over him once upon a time. Now it’s his turn to keep her safe.

Keep Her Safe Blurb:

I’m Professor Arianna Perez, and I’ve been asked if I’ll ever trust, let alone love, another man again. After dumping an abusive boyfriend, I doubted I would. At least, that’s how I felt until fate had sexy wrangler, Kian Bishop, reappearing in my life in a way I never expected.

Against my better judgement, I fell hard for the cowboy, believing everything he said, including how he wanted to treat me like a queen and keep me safe. Little did I know, though, that the circumstances that’d brought us together could also tear us apart…and possibly claim my life.

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B3X69KL/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/down-dirty/id1331942239

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1127784443 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/down-dirty-10

Recipe Intro:

I have a thing for potatoes. I have thing for soups, too. Put them together and… Yum! So one day when I was craving some Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana, I started searching the web for a copy cat recipe. I came across this link: https://happyhooligans.ca/zuppa-toscana-olive-garden-knock-recipe/ The recipe looked easy enough, and the author’s claims seemed interesting. I figured I’d give it a go. And, OMG! So good! There was one day that I bought enough items to make a super huge batch, and I ended up having to grab one of my husband’s beer brewing pots to be able to fit the soup in to cook it. Luckily, the five-gallon pot fit on the stove! After we gorged ourselves on the soup, we froze the rest. It’s a nice surprise to find containers of soup out in the garage freezer when you’ve forgotten you have them. LOL! Below is the original recipe from the link I provided above. After the recipe I’ve shared my tweaks to it. Enjoy!

 

Recipe:

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

    1 lb spicy ground sausage (I often just chop up 3 jumbo sausages.  I like the “medium-spicy” ones, but use mild if you’re opposed to heat)

    1 large white onion, diced

    4 slices fried, chopped bacon

    3 cloves garlic, crushed

    9 cups water

    1 cup heavy cream

    5 cubes of chicken bouillon (or as much liquid bouillon as you’d need for 9 cups of liquid water)

    3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

    2 cups fresh kale, chopped

To make your soup:

Sauté your sausage in a large pot until it’s cooked through.  Drain the grease, and remove the sausage, and pop it into the refrigerator.  You won’t be needing it for a while.

Leave a little bit of grease in the pot (maybe a tbsp or so).

Now you’re going to fry your bacon in this pot.  You want to use the pot that you just cooked your sausage in because it has all that flavourful sausage goodness in there.

Sauté your bacon until it’s half-way cooked, and then add your onions and garlic, and continue to cook over LOW heat until the bacon is fully cooked and the onions and garlic are soft.

Add a bit of your water to deglaze your pot, and then add the rest of the water and the bouillon, and bring it all to a boil.

Toss in your cubed potatoes, and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are cooked.  This generally takes about a half-hour.

Stir in the cream.

Add your sausage and chopped kale, and heat through.

Serve your amazing Zuppa Toscana with a crusty loaf or my easy bread-machine dinner rolls.

 

My tweaks that help to save a bit of time…

I use a package of ground hot sausage (example: Johnsonville All Natural Fresh Italian Hot Ground Sausage) and cook it as one would do ground beef. Then I drain all the grease and put the meat aside. The onion is sweet. Bacon… Well, I like bacon, so I usually go overboard with it. I tend to buy the pre-cooked kind that you can microwave in a few seconds (example: HORMEL® BLACK LABEL® Fully Cooked Bacon). This I’ll cut up and throw in the pan, let it cook a bit and then add in the onion. As for the water & chicken bouillon, if salt/sodium is an issue, I found that doing about 4.5 cups of water and 4.5 cups of chicken broth works just as well. These amounts you can play around with as you make batches to see what fits your tastes. Potatoes – I’ve used regular baking potatoes, and I’ve used red potatoes with their skins left on (peeling red potatoes is not fun, IMO). Again, depending upon your tastes you can use what you want. Granted, if you go with red, since they’re usually smaller, I suggest cutting up about six to seven. The kale I use is pre-chopped, bagged organic. After I’ve done most of the prep work and got the soup going, I’ll work on plucking the hard, thick stems from the leaves and just use the leafy bits in the soup.

Author Bio:

Hi everyone, my name is Casey, and I write under the names C.R. Moss for erotic and mainstream romance and Casey Moss for mainstream dark fiction (horror, suspense, urban fantasy) and sometimes the stories have an erotic flare to them. My professional bio for C.R.: An eccentric and eclectic writer, C.R. Moss pens stories for the mainstream and erotic romance markets, giving readers a choice of sweet, savory or spicy reads, usually within a sub-genre or two — paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, time travel, or western flare. The bio for my other persona: Casey Moss delves into the darker aspects of life in her writing, sometimes basing the stories on reality, sometimes on myth. No matter the path, her stories will take you on a journey from the light-hearted paranormal to dark things unspeakable. What waits around the corner? Come explore…

Author Social Media links:

Website – C.R. Moss: https://crmoss.com/  

Website – Casey Moss: http://caseymossbooks.com/  

Blog: https://caseymscorner.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRMoss

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_crmoss/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dl_rin

Amazon – C.R. Moss: https://www.amazon.com/C.R.-Moss/e/B002DBE49W

Amazon – Casey Moss: https://www.amazon.com/Casey-Moss/e/B0080RC9DQ

 

THE MARINE’S SEDUCTION by Lori King @LoriKingBooks

.Reading time 6 minutes.

The Marine’s Seduction

by Lori King

Storm Corps, Book 1

 

 

Best friends since childhood, Bristol Abbot and Roan Storm wouldn’t dream of mucking up their relationship with sex, until his deployment going away party and too much tequila drive them together.

Six weeks later, there’s more than just friendship at stake.

Bristol is pregnant while Roan is stationed overseas for six more months, and neither knows what comes next.

As the weeks turn into months, their friendship morphs into a shared devotion to their child and each other. Bristol is determined to honor her promise of including Roan in their child’s life, she just has no assumptions of a deeper relationship no matter how much she wants more.  For Roan, what once seemed impossible, now feels as necessary as breathing, and he comes home with a new set of orders in mind.

This Marine has seduction on the brain…

Purchase Links

#Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BM8WLNS/

#ibooks: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1361963324

#nook: Coming soon!

#kobo: Coming Soon!

Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/Storm-Corps-Series-565188477165130/

 

 

Excerpt

 

“Whose idea was it to get an apartment on the third floor of a building with no fucking elevator?” she groaned, holding her head.

“If I recall, you wanted this place because of the rooftop deck. Said you could watch the sunrise whenever you wanted like you were on top of the world.”

“Yes, the roof!” Bristol nodded and clapped her hands excitedly. “Let’s go up there and look at the stars.”

“You need to get some sleep, B,” he protested as she pulled him through the small apartment to the stairway he knew led above.

“I will, but we can look at the stars now, then when you’re gone, I’ll think of you every time I look up at them. I’ll know you’re looking at the same stars, thinking of me.”

Roan knew she probably didn’t intend her words to be so sentimental, but the alcohol was acting like a truth serum, and it shut down her inhibitions. She rarely allowed anyone to see this side of her. Following her up the tiny flight of stairs, he was soon seated on a wooden lounge chair, with her between his legs, her back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her to keep her warm.

“See, there’s my favorite, Ursa Major, the Big Bear,” she pointed upwards.

“Isn’t that the Big Dipper?”

“Yes and no. The Big Dipper is part of the Big Bear, but they’re still two different constellations,” she explained. “My dad taught me that when I was tiny.”

Her voice was wistful when she spoke of her recently deceased father, and Roan hugged her tighter. Having lost his own mother to uterine cancer when he was eleven, he sympathized with her pain.

“Roan, how much longer do you think you can take doing these missions?” she asked randomly.

Stunned silent, he could only shrug behind her.

“You’ve been gone more than you’ve been home. Don’t you get lonely?”

“Sure, every Marine gets lonely occasionally, but I’m one of the lucky ones because I get constant contact. You and my family send me packages, letters, and cards, and I can use FaceTime on some missions, Skype on others. There are plenty of guys over there who don’t have access to any of that.”

“Would you stay if they gave you the option?”

Roan tensed and frowned down at the top of her head, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I just hate when you’re gone. My world seems off-kilter somehow.” She sat up abruptly. “I’m like Lucy with no Ethel.”

“Excuse me?” He felt his eyebrow arch in question. “I am no Ethel. If anyone here is Lucy, it’s me.”

“Nah, Lucy was always instigating trouble, and Ethel just went along with it.”

“Which is exactly why I’m the Lucy in this relationship,” Roan laughed. She shivered, and he tugged her back against him. Instead of resuming their spooned position, she lay sideways against him, her shoulder on his chest, her hands dangerously close to forbidden territory. “If you’re cold, we should go back downstairs.”

“I don’t want to yet. I like having you all to myself,” she sighed and tipped her face up, the pale moonlight barely lighting her face properly. “Have you ever thought about giving it up? The Marines, I mean?”

“Aw, B, of course, it’s crossed my mind. Every man who’s had to watch a friend die or had to kill someone has second-guessed his career choice, but I was born to be a Marine. Giving it up would be like giving up air. My body just wouldn’t work anymore.”

She nodded, “I figured you would say something like that.”

“I always come back.”

 

Spring Fling Anthology by Lynn Burke and various authors @AuthorLynnBurke

.Reading time 7 minutes.
Spring Fling

A romance collection
Winter is fading into the distance and the season of love is upon us.
With desires building, passion explodes in this collection of steamy and must-read romances.
Come and join us, won’t you? Spring is in the air…
 
 Featured Stories:
Bossy Boots by Nicole Morgan
Hero by Stacy-Deanne
Inner Girl Rising by Jan Springer
An Unexpected Twist by Krista Ames
Love Potion by Cara Marsi
Fiery Kisses by Khardine Gray
Mister Write Now by Nikky Kaye
The Millionaire by Lisa Marbly-Warir
Why Not by Dana Kenzi
Without Reservation by Lynn Burke
Tempting Asher by Ja’Nese Dixon

Without Reservation
Sandy Ridge #1
by Lynn Burke
MMF Contemporary Romance

 Art studio vandalized and her mother in a fresh grave, Meg Winters heads off on vacation with her two best friends. She hopes for peace from her grief and the return of her muse. She doesn’t expect to run into the two men she idolizes, Trevor and Jack, the secretive wonders of the art world whose work she’s long admired. She certainly doesn’t expect them to be sex-on-legs gorgeous and determined to fulfill her number one sexual fantasy. They not only awaken her slumbering body, but also her creativity and the life she used to wield with her brushes.However, Meg carries a secret of her own which holds her back from surrendering herself fully to their desires. Will Trevor and Jack be able to overcome her reservations, or will the truth of her past ruin their chance for love?

GRAB YOUR COPY FOR ONLY .99 CENTS!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Fling-Limited-Collection-Romance-ebook/dp/B079WNPVH8
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spring-Fling-Limited-Collection-Romance-ebook/dp/B079WNPVH8
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spring-fling-nicole-morgan/1128179687
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/spring-fling-8

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM WITHOUT RESERVATION!


Meg’s feet moved on their own accord, turning her around. She grabbed her pen flashlight and the throw off the foot of her bed to cover her nakedness, slipped on her flip flops, and made her way silently out of her room and toward the back door. It closed with a click behind her.Heart racing and the inside of her lip between her lower lip, she picked her way through the blueberry bushes, her gaze flitting to the lit bedroom window. The floodlight flared to life as she stepped up onto their patio.

Their back door opened before she reached it, and she pulled up short.

Jack stood in the doorway, shirtless, his jeans slung low on his hips.

The silence rang in Meg’s ears as energy crackled between the short distance separating them.

“Just one night,” she finally whispered, her need moving her forward.

Jack opened the door wide and stepped back, his hazel eyes glued to her while holding his hand out.

She slipped her hand into his while crossing the threshold, and he tugged her forward into his arms. Jack’s full lips swiped across hers, slow and completely knee-weakening. The flashlight clanked as it fell to the floor beside them. Meg sagged against his hard chest and grasped at his back with her free hand, her hold on the throw covering her slipping enough it fell from her shoulders.

He licked the seam of her lips, and Meg opened with a sigh.

A groan sounded from beside them, but Meg was lost to the taste of Jack’s sweetness, inhaling his exhales as their tongues sought the other’s taste.

The door clicked shut behind Meg, and Trevor pressed against her back, his lips finding her neck, his hands grasping the flare of her hips, keeping the slipping throw from swishing to the ground and leaving her naked.

Jack’s hands tangled in her hair, angling her head to deepen their kiss.

Wetness coated her thighs, and she wiggled between the two hard bodies, needing to find the release she’d been riding the edge of since making her decision to give in.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I first saw you,” Trevor whispered against her ear, tugging the blanket from around her.

Jack released her lips and tilted his forehead against hers. “God, yes.” He grabbed her ass and picked her up, and Meg wrapped her legs around his waist, her soaked core settling against the hard ridge inside his jeans.

Face buried in Jack’s neck, breathing in the woodsy remnants of his cologne, Meg gave over to the shivers of nerves pebbling her skin and sending tremors through her body. “I’ve never done this before,” she whispered against his skin. “Don’t worry.” Jack strode across the living room and toward the hallway leading to the bedroom. “We’ll take good care of you. Promise.” 

 
 

ABOUT LYNN BURKE 


Lynn Burke is a full time mother, voracious gardener, and scribbler of spicy romance stories. A country bumpkin turned Bay Stater, she enjoys her chowdah and Dunkin Donuts when not trying to escape the reality of city life.

Website: https://www.authorlynnburke.com/
Blog: http://authorlynnburke.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Lynn-Burke-555282497937461/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorLynnBurke


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ASPIRE TO LOVE by Allyson Young

.Reading time 5 minutes.
NEAR PERFECTION
Haley Snider thought Warren Chalmers was the perfect
Dom, so she transformed herself into the perfect sub. A woman in love is truly blind,
because Warren can be such an ass.
Warren doesn’t really know what he wants, and
questions the very perfection he apparently sought. Haley leaves Warren before
he can reject her, unveiling a surprising temper and steely determination. He
is both intrigued and forced to look at himself. He doesn’t much care for what
he finds, and is determined to change, to seek Haley out and really get to know
her.
Realizing that her obsession with Warren has kept her
from being true to herself and him, Haley decides to embrace life differently.
Upon reconnecting with her, Warren discovers his best friend Gordon Sinclair
has a different idea in mind for them all, and that life can be filled with
both friendship and love. And hot sex.
 
TRUE PERFECTION
Haley Snider left her selfish Dom and sought solace
with her best friend. Gordon Sinclair facilitated Haley and Warren Chalmers’s
reunion—with a twist. He proposes a ménage relationship. But Haley isn’t so
sure. She’s afraid of getting hurt again and also wants to pursue her career
and live her life outside of the bedroom, something Warren hadn’t accepted
before. She resists their attempts at building a relationship and then tragedy
strikes.
She blames herself, believing she has been selfish and
her desperate, guilty feelings cloud her thinking. She won’t walk away this
time but will wait for Gordon and Warren to realize she’s brought them too much
trouble and tell her to leave. In the meantime, she will try to make amends,
reverting back to pretense.
It takes considerable effort on her men’s part to help
Haley face reality and accept what she truly needs and deserves.
 
ABSOLUTE PERFECTION
Georgios Andreas’s wife, Jane, left him and died
under mysterious circumstances. Afterward, he avoided relationships outside of
club play.
At a ceremonial claiming, he meets the sister of
the submissive, there to bear witness to her sister’s claiming. Iris Snider
draws him, initially because she looks like Jane, but he quickly realizes she
is so much more. He is powerless against the attraction.
Georgios sweeps her off her feet, insisting she too
is submissive. Iris, for the first time in her life, leaps before she looks.
She falls in love and submits to Georgios, hoping for more than a D/s
relationship, and he, too, dares hope for more.
Iris then sees a picture of Jane and is devastated
by her resemblance to Georgios’s dead wife. She refuses to take the leavings of
a ghost. Georgios gives her space, inadvertently putting her in danger. Jane’s
killer is still out there, and he, too, has seen the resemblance. And he hates
George.

Buy Links:

Universal- https://www.books2read.com/u/4EDXVM
Ibooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1355500386
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aspire-to-love-allyson-young/1128111022;jsessionid=9E976046F4F12E45C61A3CDA14A0F261.prodny_store01-atgap13?ean=2940155004448
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BC681W3
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/aspire-to-love

Author Bio:

Allyson Young lives in cottage country, Manitoba,
Canada with her husband and numerous pets. She’s always enjoyed the written
word and after reading an erotic romance, quite by mistake, decided to try her
hand at penning one.
A bestselling Amazon author, a hybrid author, as of
December 2017, she, along with her alter ego and three coauthors, has published
four series and several standalones in contemporary, sci fi, fantasy and
suspense genres—50 books in total.
Allyson will write until whatever inside is
satisfied, until the heroes man up and the heroines get what they deserve. Love
isn’t always sweet and Allyson favours the darker side of romance.

DIVULGING SECRETS by Lynn Burke @evernightpub @AuthorLynnBurke

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Divulging Secrets

by Lynn Burke

Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Art Work: Jay Aheer, Simply Defined Art

Blurb:

Candace Lake’s testimony against her father landed her in the Witness Protection program. With a new identity comes a new beginning, one based on lies and loneliness. How can she find someone to share her future with when a relationship without trust at its foundation won’t stand the storms of life? 

Tom Berkley didn’t expect his new tenant to make him question his solitary lifestyle in the backwoods of Maine. He also didn’t expect to be caught up in the secrets of her past that bring his own tragic ones to the forefront of his mind.

The sizzling chemistry between them can’t be ignored, but when the threats from Candace’s turbulent past catch up with her, can she trust Tom enough to protect her from the price on her head?

 

 

BUY IT ON SALE NOW FOR ONLY $2.99 AT EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING!

Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/divulging-secrets-by-lynn-burke/

 

OTHER RETAILERS:

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4HHWM6
Amazon UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B4HHWM6
Smashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/view/797332
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1128078387
Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/divulging-secrets

 

PG-rated EXCERPT:

I followed the two marshals carrying the four suitcases I’d been allowed to pack. Nothing personal, no documents. No electronics. I had been forced to leave behind Butter, my old tabby that I had gotten for my tenth birthday. The locket my late mother had inscribed with my name and gifted to me on my sweet sixteenth birthday still lay inside its velvet box, left with one final longing, loving gaze, same as I’d done with her in a satin-lined coffin five years earlier.

Boston’s spring air chilled me through as we stepped outside, and I gladly climbed into the dark-windowed sedan, wrapped my sweater tight around me, and allowed myself one last look at the condo Papa had bought for me.

Papa.

My throat thickened, and welling tears blurred my vision. I had unknowingly helped him smuggle millions of dollars’ worth of stolen gems and jewelry to and from overseas.

I had knowingly helped put him behind bars in return for leniency in my own sentencing. But freedom had cost me my life.

Everyone and everything I had known for twenty-five years lay in my past, and a new beginning loomed before me. Where, I had no clue—and I couldn’t bring myself to care. My luxurious condo … gone. My group of friends … gone. The gym I’d been going to for yoga classes since moving to Boston for college … gone. The diploma I had received from Harvard Law School with Lila Scorzoni written on it would never hang on my wall.

I followed the marshals aboard a small, private jet inside a hangar at Boston’s Logan. Settling onto one of the seats, I tipped my head back and shut my eyes.

The knot in my stomach had twisted months earlier when my lawyer suggested testifying against Papa to save my own ass. The nauseating twist had yet to relent, but at least I’d lost those damn freshman twenty I’d picked up over the years spent in college.

The only good thing to come from the fucked-up situation that was my life.

I heaved a sigh and turned my head, opening my eyes as the plane sped down the runway. We lifted into the air, leaving my home behind. Forever.

Drawing easy breaths had proven difficult since finding out Papa wasn’t the successful business man—honest one—I’d always thought. His communications business at the office building downtown worked as a front for his shady dealings. The board of six who had helped to oversee said company, nothing more than a band of thieves.

Witness protection.

My mind chewed on the two words, but I wondered how protected I would be. Four of Papa’s associates were in the slammer, thanks to me, and two who had last been seen overseas—one in Rome, the other in Paris—still wandered free. Two men with the connections and motive to do away with me. Money at their disposal and without doubt, thugs or hitmen on their payroll.

Where could the WITSEC plant me that would be safe from such men?

Nowhere, I feared.

 

R-rated EXCERPT:

She set her wine down on the chair beside mine, and I didn’t breathe as she moved through the water, settling herself on my lap, her pussy mere inches from my throbbing cock. Mind blank, my hands moved on their own beneath the water, settling on her tiny waist and pulling her close. Our mouths collided.

So much for restraint.

She ground herself against my cock and tangled her fingers in my hair, moaning. “I want you so bad it hurts, Tom.” Breasts pressed against my chest, she attacked my lips again.

I couldn’t form the words to tell her I felt the same, my mind was so damn focused on the feel of her curves against me. The taste of her mouth. My hands slid down her ass, squeezing and holding her still as my hips moved, thrusting my cock against her softness.

Candace reached between us and grasped me through my swim trunks. I grunted as she squeezed. “I want you inside of me,” she murmured against my lips and slid her hand beneath my waist band.

“Fuck.” My head fell back as her hand closed around me, skin on skin. Talk about seeing fucking stars. I thrust into her grasp, gone.

She wiggled and tugged, yanking my shorts down enough to free my hard length.

“I-I can’t do this,” I heard myself whisper.

“Yes, you can,” she whispered against my ear, moving her hips forward. She’d untied her fucking bathing suit bottoms.

I groaned a few curses as she rubbed her bare pussy against me, her blue eyes overcome by the black of her pupils.

She lifted and lined up my cock, sinking down an inch before I could breathe.

 

 

ABOUT LYNN BURKE:

Lynn Burke is a full time mother, voracious gardener, and scribbler of spicy romance stories. A country bumpkin turned Bay Stater, she enjoys her chowdah and Dunkin Donuts when not trying to escape the reality of city life.

 

Website: https://www.authorlynnburke.com/

Blog: http://authorlynnburke.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Lynn-Burke-555282497937461/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorLynnBurke