Monday, May 4, 2015

NEW RELEASE!‏





Many might envy Alixandra Quinn. She rubs shoulders with the rich and famous at glitzy society balls and fund-raisers as a photographer for a popular magazine. But, do the envious notice Ali always goes home alone? She has cut herself off from personal relationships and emotional entanglements. It’s a strategy to cope with her past, and for ten years, her strategy has worked.

That is, until she meets Bryce Steede, a young and bold Silicon Valley entrepreneur. When Ali becomes the center of his attention, suddenly her world gets turned upside-down. She may have convinced herself that life is fine the way it is, but he is determined to break down her carefully constructed walls, free her mind and body, and show her pleasures that she couldn't have imagined.

As Ali navigates through this uncharted journey of self-discovery, she must find the balance between her head and her heart. Is Bryce just another heartache waiting to happen? Will a secret from her past come back to haunt her? Or will Ali make peace with her past and find true happiness . . .


I awaken with a jolt, thinking I’ve fallen out of my seat. As usual, when I fly, I end up scrunched all the way down on the seat as far as I can go. If I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt, I’d be on the floor. Did we hit something? Confused, I sit up, trying to assess the situation only to notice we’re in some awful turbulence. Angry, dark, purple to black rain clouds surround us. My heart starts pounding in my chest. The plane rocks side to side, bouncing us all over the sky. I pull out my earbuds hoping to hear the Captain’s voice saying everything’s okay.
Bryce pries my hand off the armrest and interlocks our fingers. I look over at him, my eyes wide with terror. He’s talking to me, trying to give me reassurance. The only thing going through my mind right now is how afraid I am.
“Shhh, it’s going to be okay, Ali.” He has such a soothing voice when he’s not being an ass. I try to say something, but I can’t speak. Nothing will come out of my mouth.
“Focus on me.” His thumb strokes the back of my hand. It’s serene and has an instant calming effect on me until we hit another pocket of air. Images of the Captain fighting for dominance over the weather and control of the plane against the storm flash through my mind. I know he’s doing all he can so we don’t spiral downward.
Other passengers cry out in panic. My head jerks back toward the window. I can barely breathe. I don’t want him to see me like this - raw emotions, so vulnerable. Weak.
He places his hand on my face, turning it towards him. “Don’t cry. I’ve got you. Just keep looking at me, okay?” He’s trying to calm me but the only thing I can do is nod. I tighten my grip on his hand and he lets me know it’s all right.
My heart is beating so fast, so hard, I can feel it in my ears and can hear each beat. Tears roll down my face and he gently wipes them away with his thumb. In this moment, as much as I despise him, I’m glad he’s here with me.
“I need you to take deep breaths. Can you do that? Do what I do, okay?” I watch his mouth and listen. We hit another pocket of air, but not as violent as the others. My eyes grow wider as more tears stream down my face.
“I’m here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Keep looking at me. Ali, I need you to focus on me and listen. Breathe with me.” All the while, he’s still stroking my hand.
When my breathing gets under control, he leans over the armrest wrapping me in a blanket of calm in the comfort of his arms. I collapse into him. My cries are silent as he holds me and strokes my hair. He inhales deeply, gripping me tighter.


Natalie Money is a former corporate travel agent, a wife, and a cat wrangler. As far back as she can recall, she has always loved to people watch and make up stories about their lives. After many years of creating and getting to know the characters and their stories in her mind, she has finally decided to bring them to life on paper in her first novel, Closely Guarded Secret.

With her husbands job, they're known to relocate often, so when people ask where she lives, she describes herself as a World Citizen.

Leather for Two


Book: Leather for Two
Author: Rhonda Lee Carve
Genre: Contemporary Romance/MC
Synopsis
Brotherhood or love. Blaze can’t have both.
Rena Rose belongs to Diesel, the leader of the Wings of Steel Motorcycle Club.  However, her heart secretly belongs to Blaze Donavon, Diesel’s right hand man and friend. 
One night, when boundaries slip, Blaze professes his feelings to Rena in a heated moment of passion. They break the rules of the club, and what is so wrong feels so right. They both realize there is little hope for them being together. Blaze lives and breathes MC. And Rena wants out. 
Diesel can’t keep his fly zipped, and when Blaze finds his friend with another woman, all hell breaks loose and Blaze’s secret love for Rena is exposed in a violent twist of fate.  Diesel is dangerous and Blaze would do anything to keep Rena safe, even if staying away from her is the only way.
Now, three years after leaving the club, Rena is working as a first grade teacher and life is stable, comfortable, exactly how she wants to keep it.
But her life is about to be thrown a curve ball.
Blaze shows up at her door with horrific news…Diesel is dead—murdered in cold blood.  But bad news isn’t the only thing on Blaze’s mind.  Feelings resurface as they face evil. Is the real enemy an outsider, or an internal tug of war within Rena?
Thrown into a web of lies and deceit, Rena and Blaze scramble to find the secret to Diesel’s murder. With Agent Peterson of the Federal A.T.F. breathing down their necks, the pressure continues to rise, as well as the heat between Rena and Blaze. 
The only problem…. who else is watching them? And will Blaze make the right choice—brotherhood or love?
Excerpt
“I can’t allow you to do this to me.”
“What, sweetheart?” he whispered.
“Make me lose all sanity. I don’t want this again.”
“Your eyes tell me something very different,” he whispered. His breath swept across my cheek. “I think you want me to take you to places you’ve never been.”
“My eyes are telling you to fuc—”
He pressed his finger against my lips. “Tsk, tsk, schoolteacher. What vile language you have.” His eyes sparkled. “Don’t make me put you over my knee and spank you.” His words held promise and my toes curled. The thought of his hand on my bare ass did pleasant and naughty things to my secret places.
I could only stare. My eyes filled with tears and my body awakened from years of being in a comatose state. His talent of disorienting me never ceased to amaze me. Why could no man erupt such a powerful force within me as Blaze could? I understood the influence he had on me, my body. He could drag me down a heated path of uncertainty and I’d go willingly.
He threaded his fingers into my hair and the clip snapped, a lot like the unlocking of the gates guarding my heart. The locks fell to my shoulders and across his tanned arm. I noticed the tattoo of a cross wound in ivy. I looked closer and my mouth fell open. “Blaze, my name, it’s in the tattoo.” My heart beat so loud it vibrated my eardrums.
“Yes. I got it after you left. Two of my favorite things. You and faith.”
I couldn’t hold my emotion any longer. 
“Aww, now. Don’t cry, baby. If I see tears, I’ll have to lick them away, one by one, and I don’t think I could stop there. I’ve been dreaming of tasting all of you.”
I jerked and tried closing my legs, but he stayed between them. He moved deeper, spreading my hips wider. His belt buckle rubbed my inner thighs, exploding a burning need in my core. I pushed the heel of my hands into his chest. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to fight the urgency within me—the driving desire pushing me to let myself fall into him. The boundaries were slipping. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want to give in.” The cloud of desire welcomed me, enclosing me in its warmth and comfort.
“Remember when I told you how I wanted to sink myself deep into you? To hear you call my name. I wanted you to rip your nails into my skin and mark your territory, just as you marked my soul with your sweet love. I’ve thought about it over and over—thought about the things I could have done differently. And now, I’m lost. I’m brainwashed in your fucking heat, Rena. I want to ease this torture in my body.”
The moment turned tense. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of help easing the strain behind your zipper.” I hated my bitter words that sounded like jealousy. I was jealous. I hated knowing another woman touched him, brought him pleasure. I squeezed my hands into fists, dragging the leather material of his cut between my fingers.
“I’m glad to see you’re still green-eyed with jealousy.” He winked.
“You’re a pig!” I pounded his chest, but not hard. Not enough to send him backward. I didn’t want him going anywhere.
He grabbed my wrists and held them easily in one hand, tight against his chest. He lowered his face so close that our noses touched. “There’s nothing to keep us apart now. You know why I came. And you’re glad I’m here.”
“What do you want?” The words slipped through my trembling lips. Would he kiss me?
“The same thing you want. What is that, baby? Say it…”
“I’ve always been weak when it came to you. My body wants your touch, but my mind is screaming that this can’t happen. I can’t go back.”
He dropped his free hand to my knee and slowly moved his fingers along the quivering flesh between our bodies. My crease throbbed and an irrefutable craving built inside of me. I knew it had always been there and he only disturbed it from the cave—uncovered it like a hidden treasure chest that I’d buried long ago. His fingers moved to the elastic of my panties, rolling the wide pad of a finger along the seam. I knew I should make him stop. He would if I asked, but for the life of me, I wanted more. I wanted him inside of me. “Do you like this, sweetheart?”
“Yessss!” I relaxed my muscles. Parts of me stirred alive. Fire lapped at my veins. I opened my knees wider, gyrating the apex of my thighs against the bulge in his jeans. Tingles moved at the pace of thick molasses through my secret parts until spasms took over. His finger continued creating havoc on the pearl nested in my pussy lips. A tremor scorched through my muscles and I squeezed my legs around his sides while deep moans slipped from my lips. I tucked my face into his shoulder as heat washed over my skin.
 “Before long I will have you in my bed. Wet and pleading for me to put out the fire consuming your intoxicating body. But it won’t happen now, not until your mind and body are on the same page. I want more than a fuck.”
Author Bio
At an early, Rhonda fell in love with romance novels, knowing one day she’d write her own love story. Life took a short detour, but when the story ideas would no longer be contained, she decided to dive in and write. Her first rough draft was on a dirty napkin she found buried in her car. Eventually, she ran out of napkins. With baby on one hip and laptop on the other, she made a dream into reality—one word at a time.
Her specialty is men who love to get their hands dirty and women who are smart, strong and flawed. She loves writing about the everyday hero.
When Rhonda isn't crafting sizzling manuscripts, you will find her busy editing novels, blogging, juggling kids and animals (too many to name), dreaming of a beach house and keeping romance alive. Oh, and drinking lots of coffee to keep up with her characters.
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