Carly Phillips's Blog: Carly's Web Blogs, page 36

Welcome Erika Wilde!

A big thank you to my BFF and critique partner, Carly Phillips, for inviting me to post on her blog! I know there are some familiar faces here from my Plotmonkey days (when I was writing under the name of Janelle Denison), and some new faces, too! I’m very excited to be here today!

I’m also very excited to announce the first book in my new Players Club series (written as Erika Wilde), called PLAYING WITH TEMPTATION! This story features Raina and Logan, and is a spin-off series from The Marriage Diaries. However, this book can be read without reading the other series.  This book stands-alone, and it’s a complete and full-length story (no cliffhangers, YAY!)

Temptation has never been so hot . . .

When Raina Beck is given an invitation to The Players Club, all she wants is a night of decadence with a gorgeous, sexy stranger. The seductive, mysterious man she meets fulfills her deepest desires and most erotic fantasies, giving her a night she’ll never forget.  But forgetting him isn’t quite so easy.  

Logan Cruz prefers his women submissive and compliant in the bedroom . . . everything the independent Raina is not. Yet from the first moment he lays eyes on her, he’s determined to make Raina his.  Despite her resistance.

When Logan is assigned to protect Raina from a stalker, everything between them changes. Sex becomes more than just physical, and emotions run deep. Falling in love was never on Raina’s agenda, but can she let go of the past and surrender the one thing he wants the most . . . her heart? 

 

Currently, I’m running a special pre-order price of $2.99.  When the book releases on March 23rd, the price will increase to $3.99, so if you like sexy, dirty-talking heroes, you might want to pick this one up while it’s on sale!

PRE-ORDER LINKS

 KINDLE / NOOK / iBOOKS / GOOGLEPLAY / KOBO

 

If you’d like a free “sneak peek” into Raina and Logan’s hot love story, you can download PLAYING WITH HIM, which is FREE to read!  It also includes the first volume in The Marriage Diaries series for FREE, if you’d like to see what that is all about, too!!!

DOWNLOAD HERE:

KINDLE / NOOK / GOOGLEPLAY / KOBO

iBOOKS  (Click on “Get Sample” to download)

 

Now, for some fun Q&A’s with the sexy Logan Cruz!

 

 

 

 

 Today’s question:  how many of you enjoy reading a story with a hot, dirty-talking hero in the bedroom?

A la Jimmy Kimmel Mean Tweets

As authors, we don’t expect everyone to love our books. We also have to find a way around the piercing pain a bad review can cause so we can pick ourselves up and keep going. In the spirit of Jimmy Kimmel’s Celebrities Read Mean Tweets … we bring you Bestselling Authors Read Mean Reviews. If you’d like to read the books featured and form your own opinions, there are links below.

Featuring (In Order Of Appearance):

Carly Phillips – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 47 books with Dare to Love
Ranae Rose – Amazon bestselling author of 29 books with Sleepy Hollow
Jayne Rylon – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 40 book with Powertools
Lori Foster – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of more than 80 books with A Perfect Storm
Sidney Bristol – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 26 books with Falling For His Best Friend
Janelle Denison – USA Today bestselling author of 71 books with Born to be Wilde
Bianca Sommerland – USA Today bestselling author of 14 books with Defensive Zone
Mark Henry – author of 9 books with Road Trip of the Living Dead
Melanie Marchande – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 8 books with His Secretary: Undone
Lorelei James – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 45 books with Hillbilly Rockstar
Jennifer Probst – NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 25 books with The Marriage Merger
Rebecca Shea –USA Today bestselling author of 4 books with Unbreakable
Michelle A Valentine – NYT and USA Today Bestselling author of 8 books with Phenomenal X
Desiree Holt – award winning author of 169 books with Joy Ride
Saranna DeWylde – author of 28 books with How to Lose a Demon in 10 Days
Dakota Cassidy – national bestselling author of 54 books with The Accidental Dragon
Ann Mayburn – award winning author of 46 books with Dimitri’s Forbidden Submissive

 

What are you Reading?

I’ve read 2 Carrie Ann Ryan Redwood pack novels! Awesome if you love PNR! Now … if you want #FREE reads … here are a few (including DARE TO LOVE!)

Check out these great reads!!!
Author Sawyer Bennettt’s Make it A Double: http://amzn.to/17EaVak
Erika Wilde Author‘s Playing With Him http://amzn.to/1DAx5Wx
Carly Phillips (Official)‘ Dare to Love: http://amzn.to/1zmyYAY
Melanie Shawn‘s Tempting Haley: http://amzn.to/1ABYNCm
Author J. S. Scott‘s Mine for Tonight: http://amzn.to/1vH1zG0

DARE TO HOLD PREORDER!

DARE TO HOLD PREORDER!

Meg & Scott

AVAILABLE April 14, 2015
TEASER:
“One night.” He reached out and rubbed his thumb across her lower lip.
His touch made her tremble and her nipples tightened into hardened points and the intensity in his gorgeous eyes had need building even stronger inside her.
“Is that what you want too?” he asked again, his gaze hot on hers.
His distinctive scent, a hint of musk she associated with Scott alone, filled her nostrils. Her stomach fluttered and the desire to wrap herself around him and take what he offered built until it was a tangible thing, living and breathing inside her tightly strung body.
She nodded, unable to speak. Her throat had grown too dry.
“I need you to say it.”
Say what? She didn’t remember his question. Only the thought of letting him into her apartment … into her body filled her mind and her senses.
A low rumble sounded from deep inside his chest. “Say … I want you, Scott. I need the words or I’ll send you inside alone.”
“I want you, Scott.” The words tumbled out, an easy capitulation that had been anything but. Another Meg Thompson decision she feared would alter the course of her life. And she was powerless to stop it. CP Publishing 2015

PREORDER NOW:
Kindle – http://amzn.to/1BCvAcJ
Nook – http://tinyurl.com/ozctnnl
Kobo – http://tinyurl.com/plm2vrm
iBooks – http://tinyurl.com/nhyogod
Links for print preorder coming soon!

#FanFebruary Friday Winner

The winner of the $25 Amazon GC is ….

# 235 – Mary Lynn Hayes

Congratulations! Please email me at: carlyphillipsbooks @ gmail . com (No spaces) to claim your prize!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

Dare to Surrender $0.99 – Excerpt

Giving you guys a big old chunk of DARE TO SURRENDER now on ‪#‎SALE‬ for $0.99! BUY LINKS at end of excerpt!

Gabe glanced at his brother. “Didn’t you say you were off at eleven? I thought we’d go check out the club I’m thinking of taking over.”
“Are you really looking for a new club? Or is this trip an excuse to find some new woman to warm your bed?”
His sibling doesn’t pull punches, I thought, glancing away, not wanting Gabe to see my reaction to the thought of any female in his bed.
“I’m still with Naomi.”
My stomach still twisted uncomfortably.
His brother frowned. “She’s a bitch.”
I cleared my throat, unwilling to sit here a minute longer and listen to details of Gabe’s love life. “Hello? Prisoner still here!” I reminded them with a wave of my free hand.
Gabe grinned at me.
I looked away, not wanting to acknowledge the utter rush of pleasure that small gesture brought me.
“What’s she in for?” he asked his brother.
“Grand theft auto, but her boyfriend dropped the charges.”
Gabe swore under his breath. “That son of a bitch had you arrested?”
I latched onto the latter part of his statement. “Lance dropped the charges?” Relief swamped me, and if I’d been standing, my knees might have given out.
“Charges dropped,” the cop restated. “As long as you agree to relinquish the car.”
My head whipped up. “That bastard.” He was still trying to control me. He knew I’d left with next to nothing, yet he still had to strip me of the one thing he knew I loved. Realistically, however, since I couldn’t afford to park my baby in the city, Lance had done me a favor.
“Deal,” I said to Gabe’s brother. “He can have the car.”
“I wasn’t negotiating,” the cop said.
“Decklan.” Gabe’s tone held a definite warning.
I didn’t need or want Gabe going to bat for me, and I ignored his hot—and I do mean hot—stare.
“Release me?” I jangled my chain.
Decklan—I now knew my jailer’s name—nodded. “Your boyfriend said he’d come down to get you so you two could talk out this … misunderstanding. In which case maybe you can keep the automobile.” He glanced at his watch. “He’ll be here in about thirty minutes, give or take.”
“Oh hell no.” I wasn’t going anywhere with Lance, and I certainly didn’t want the confrontation sure to come if he showed up. I jangled my cuffed wrist, suddenly desperate to escape. I had to get out of here now, and I needed a head start.
“Decklan! Unlock the damned cuffs,” Gabe barked at his brother in a baritone that ironically settled me.
His officer brother, however, jumped to do his bidding.
I shook out my hand and glanced down. A red stripe bruised my skin, and I rubbed my sore wrist.
Gabe’s gaze followed my every movement, his eyes darkening once more. With a low growl, he lifted my hand and stroked my marked flesh with his strong, tanned fingers. A sudden vision of him gripping me harder, pulling me roughly against him, grinding his muscular body into mine, took form, and I trembled, aroused by his tone, his sensual touch, and my torturous thoughts.
“Are you okay?” Gabe asked gruffly.
His voice returned me to my current location and predicament. “Yes. Fine.”
An intimate smile curved his lips, and I would swear he knew exactly how hot he’d made me, how wet.
Shaken by the thought and my impending reality, I grabbed my sweatshirt from the chair. “I’m free to go?” I asked, pulling on the light jacket.
“You are,” his brother said. “Stay out of trouble, Miss Masters.”
I would, I thought, once I escaped his brother. I held out my hand, and Decklan handed me back my money.
“Thanks,” I said and winced.
What was next? Gratitude for arresting me?
At least I hadn’t gotten as far as the booking process and mug shot. I ran a hand through my wild curls, suddenly aware of how I might look.
“See you guys around,” I said on a wave and a forced laugh.
“Wait!” Gabriel’s deep pitch almost had me melting toward him again.
“What?”
“Do you have someplace to go?” he asked, too kind for me not to be embarrassed, and I refused to look him in the eye.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Isabelle—” Gabe’s voice deepened.
“Oh no,” his brother said. “Absolutely not.”
“Shut up, Decklan.”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering what conclusion the cop had arrived at that I wasn’t privy to. My gaze swung back to Gabe, who merely nodded at his sibling, as if all had been decided.
“You’ll come home with me,” Gabe said, his tone definitive.
Dare to Surrender, CP Publishing 2014

‪#‎FanFebruary‬
The book of my heart, erotic & emotional, first person read!
BUY NOW:
Kindle – http://amzn.to/1tyN9DL
Nook – http://tinyurl.com/k24rjmo
iBooks – http://tinyurl.com/lk4vn9u
Kobo – http://tinyurl.com/ntyonu8
GooglePlay – http://tinyurl.com/phj2a3u

SURPRISE GIVEAWAY

#FanFebruary continues! $25 Amazon Gift Card! Whose/which DARE TO LOVE book are you dying to read? Comment below for a chance to win! GO!

 

#FanFebruary – Dare to Surrender Sale

Thanks to everyone who supported the Invitation to Eden series! We’ve all been given permission to recover our books and do what we want with them now … and I’ve made DARE TO SURRENDER a Dare to Love series cover – I think it’s my favorite of the bunch! To celebrate, GABE & ISABELLE are on sale for $0.99 through March 2nd!

 

DARE TO SURRENDER – NEW COVER CELEBRATION!
‪#‎FanFebruary‬ ‪#‎SALE‬ 0.99 for a limited time only!
The book of my heart, erotic & emotional, first person read!
BUY NOW:
Kindle – http://amzn.to/1tyN9DL
Nook – http://tinyurl.com/k24rjmo
iBooks – http://tinyurl.com/lk4vn9u
Kobo – http://tinyurl.com/ntyonu8
GooglePlay – http://tinyurl.com/phj2a3u

“Steamy, sexy and emotionally charged!” J. Kenner, NY Times Bestselling Author

“Dare to Love is one of my favorite reads this year.” HM Ward, author of NYT best selling series The Arrangement.

After ending a relationship to a cheating, domineering man, Isabelle Masters takes off in her leased Mercedes, only to be arrested for grand theft auto and hauled to a local police station. To her surprise, she is rescued by the most unlikely person possible, Gabriel Dare, a man she’s been attracted to for far too long. Gabe offers Isabelle freedom along with an invitation to Eden, an exclusive island resort where everything and anything is possible.

Although Gabe yearns to possess Isabelle, he knows all too well he must fight his primitive need to bind her to him, and instead help bring out the independent woman she yearns to become – or risk losing her for good.

A woman who needs to run her own life. An Alpha man who needs to exert control. Can she surrender to his demands without losing her sense of self once more? (love story, contemporary romance, alpha heroes, beach reads, sports heroes, bad boys, billionaire)

DARE TO LOVE series
Book 1: Dare to Love (Ian & Riley)
Book 2: Dare to Desire (Alex & Madison)
Book 3: Dare to Surrender (Gabe & Isabelle)
Book 4: Dare to Submit (Decklan & Amanda)
Book 5: Dare to Touch (Olivia & Dylan)
Book 6: Dare to Hold (Scott & Meg) coming in 2015
Book 7: Dare to Rock (Avery & Grey) coming in 2015
*each book can stand alone for your reading enjoyment

 

Sunday Winners!

The winners of Claudia Connor’s eBooks – Worth the Fall and Worth the Risk (each gets one book and no worries they really stand alone despite being about brothers) are:

1. # 9 Sue Lutz

2. # 3 Cindy

CONGRATULATIONS! Sue and Cindy please email me at: carlyphillips author @ gmail . com (no spaces) and I will forward your email to Claudia! I know you’ll enjoy!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

Welcome Claudia Connor

It’s a rare, rare author that blows you away on their first book (Worth the Fall), then follows it up with their second (Worth the Risk)!  Meet Claudia Conner! You guys are really going to want to read these books!

WORTH THE RISK … in Claudia’s words:

Three things that inspired my new release:

 My Favorite Restaurant:
Sometimes I picture real places when writing a scene, usually because I had a vision of the scene when I was actually there. In this case, it’s the restaurant Stephen and Hannah go to on their first date. My apologies to the people I was having dinner with. My mind is more often attuned to those who aren’t really there in the flesh.

Songs:
A single word in a song, sometimes just the emotion in their voice, can set me off on a writing marathon. Many times it’s like the background music of a movie scene. No dialogue, just watching them, feeling whatever they’re feeling. In Worth The Risk, Oats In The Water by Ben Howard played in the background of a particular rough time for Stephen.

Real Events:
It’s rare for any character in my mind to be based on a real live person, in fact this is the first time ever. But the tragedy of Stephen’s fiancé is the true story of a friend’s sister. After hearing the pain of her family’s past, I couldn’t stop thinking of the man left behind. How did you move on from something like that? How did he recover? Did he recover? I don’t personally know the man who was left to put himself back together, but I do know that after almost twenty years he did find love again.

WORTH THE RISK

New York Times bestselling author Claudia Connor follows up her heartfelt debut, Worth the Fall, with a novel about Matt’s brother, Stephen—and when a McKinney brother falls in love, powerful emotion and overwhelming desire are never far behind.

Two hearts locked away . . . Hannah Walker spends her days coaching children through injury and trauma, one therapeutic horseback ride at a time. She knows all too well how violence can change a child and leave scars that never heal. It’s easy for her to relate to the kids; what isn’t easy is the thought of facing her own harrowing past.

Millionaire playboy Stephen McKinney could use a little coaching himself. Five years ago he encountered his most horrible nightmare—and the nightmare won. No matter what he achieves, nothing can make up for that awful night . . . or so he believes.

Both desperate for a second chance . . . Stephen is used to getting what he wants. And he wants Hannah. So when she turns him down, he’s intrigued. What he doesn’t know is that her secrets will lead him to a place he never wanted to go again . . . to a side of himself he’s tried to forget . . . a side that would scare Hannah away from ever loving him. Now his only chance to win her trust is to bare his soul, risking everything he tried so hard to protect.

READ ON FOR CHAPTER ONE … and at the end for an eBook Giveaway of both Worth The Fall and Worth The Risk courtesy of Claudia!

Chapter 1
Hannah’s eyes burned and her head ached from the effort not to cry as she pulled into a parking spot at Foodland. At eight o’clock that morning she’d walked into the veterinarian’s office a dog owner. Three hours later she’d walked out . . . not.
She cut the engine, her forehead dropped to the steering wheel. She’d known Max wasn’t himself, that he might be sick, that eleven was old for a dog, especially a large shepherd mix. But she hadn’t expected to hear the words nothing we can do, or best thing for him.
Biting her lip against tears, she forced herself out and into a spring day so bright and beautiful she couldn’t decide if it was cheerful or a slap in the face.
She grabbed a cart and mentally planned her route hitting produce first. Avocados, jalapeños, tomatoes. She searched her fuzzy brain for what else she needed for guacamole, her standard contribution when she went to her brother’s. Exactly where she did not want to go tonight. She didn’t want to watch the brothers who’d raised her tiptoeing around, giving each other worried looks, thinking they needed to fix it like they always did. They couldn’t fix this. A lot of things couldn’t be fixed.
Finished with that, she silently repeated the rest. Chips, bread, beer. Chips, bread, milk, beer. She added things and ticked them off as she went. But old habits were hard to break, and like a car on autopilot, she found herself in the dog food aisle.
All she saw were Max’s big eyes fixed on hers. Trusting her when she said it would be okay, not understanding the vet’s syringe was filled with enough anesthesia he’d never wake up. The lump in her throat swelled until she couldn’t swallow past it. Her nose burned and the bags in front of her blurred.
Just get the beer and go. She wheeled around and turned the corner of the next aisle.
She couldn’t handle a pity party tonight. Of course if she didn’t go, if she said she just wanted to hang out at home, they’d cancel the whole March Madness deal and insist on coming to her house. Her house, where a certain brown-eyed shepherd wouldn’t be waiting. An enormous weight settled on her chest.
Don’t cry. She scanned the beer case and swiped at her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry. She bit down on her bottom lip.
Damn it. She was. No wonder her brothers treated her like glass. Broken glass.
“Bad day?”
Hannah jerked at the deep voice beside her. Right beside her and way too close. Dark, tall and wide, the man filled out his expensive-looking black suit like an athlete entering the stadium tunnel before a game.
“I’m fine.”
He angled his head, smiled, and her heart actually stumbled. “You know, people usually cry in their beer after they drink it. Just saying.”
He continued to study her with soft brown eyes, and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t want to look away. But she did. And pulled the sides of the long-sleeved shirt she wore open over a tank top closer together. Because of the frigid air coming from the beer case, and because no matter what she had on, no matter how covered, she could never shake the feeling people could somehow see through to what lay beneath. “Well, I’m done now.”
He looked back to the case as well, but even from the side she could see a smirk pulling at his lips. “That’s good.”
She grabbed a six-pack of AmberBock, spun her buggy around, and headed to the front, feeling the stranger’s eyes burning her back the entire way.

Stephen McKinney watched her go, enjoying the way she moved in tan riding breeches that hugged her legs before they disappeared into tall, brown leather boots. He smiled, enjoying it a little longer. Golden-blond hair hung in a long, loose braid nearly to her waist. He had a flash of it tangled in his fingers, spread across silk sheets. Beautiful. And gone.
He loosened his tie and opened the top buttons of his dress shirt as he made his way through the express lane.
Still feeling a stab of disappointment, he exited alone. But the sun warmed him and, it seemed, blessed him, with extreme luck, because, as he stashed his items in the tiny trunk of his Porsche, he caught sight of Goldilocks pushing her cart straight toward him.
Grinning, he pretended to search his bags as she made a wide birth around him and stopped at the neighboring car—a black 4Runner that had seen better days. She rearranged some piles in the back then stashed her groceries, not once looking at him.
While she delivered her basket to the holding pen, he closed his trunk and stepped around to lean against the side. He waited, watched, noting the deliberate way she walked. Tall and lean, though he still had a good six inches on her.
Still several feet away, she slowed, a touch of fight-or-flight in her eyes. She took a few more steps, maintaining a certain distance he felt compelled to close. But he stayed where he was, legs crossed in front of him, effectively blocking her way. “Have dinner with me.”
Golden eyes blinked up at him. Not the shade of the gold bars stacked inside the national reserve, more like the dark whiskey he’d drunk too much of not so long ago.
“What?”
“I’m asking you to dinner.”
She looked around again, seeming more concerned with the parking lot than with him. “Oh.”
Not exactly an answer and not the effect he usually had on women. “Stephen,” he said and offered his hand.
She hesitated so long, he thought she might leave him hanging. But finally, and with obvious reluctance, she slipped her small hand into his. He got a little buzz from the slide of her palm against his. He imagined the rest of her would be just as soft. “Your name?”
“Hannah.”
“So, Hannah,” he said, wanting to tug until she was flat up against him. “Will you please have dinner with me?”
“No.” She didn’t consider it for even a second and pulled her hand free.
“Ah.” He inclined his head toward her bags. “Chips. Beer. You have plans. Another night then.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Give me your number and I’ll call you.”
“Yes. I mean . . . no.”
“Not sure?” Now he was getting somewhere. She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. If she was playing hard to get, he could play too. And he would win.
“I mean I can’t give you my number and yes, I have plans.”
She flicked her eyes toward her driver’s side door.
Nervous? It was broad daylight and not like they were standing in a darkened alley, but he straightened, gave her a bit more space. Though there was no way was he about to leave things like this, just watch her drive away. Not when he was dying to touch her, brush back the wayward strands feathering around that gorgeous face.
“Maybe just a drink then. No pressure.”
Seconds ticked by and she bit at her lip again, making him think about biting it too. She seemed to weigh her options, possibly deciding which was the better offer. If he’d been interested before, now he was damned intrigued.
“I guess I could meet you somewhere.”
He cocked his head, resisted giving her the head-to-toe perusal he wanted to. “Is that the best deal I’m going to get?”
“It’s the only deal you’re going to get.”
In the second their eyes connected, he caught a touch of sass, before she looked away. Cute. Very cute, on top of being very beautiful. “Okay. Reno’s.” If she was surprised at Norfolk’s exclusive, impossible-to-get-into restaurant, she didn’t show it. His phone rang and, without taking his eyes from hers, he slipped it out of his pocket. “Seven thirty?”
She gave a swift nod and escaped to her car.
As a businessman he knew compromise could often get you farther. And sometimes, he thought, sliding into the deep black leather, it was best to let your opponent think they’d won.
He brought the cell to his ear. “Hey, Adam, what’s up?” As he listened to the young intern he’d recently taken on, he watched Hannah leave the parking lot.
“So how should I reply?”
Stephen started his own car and pulled out. “You tell them the deal’s off. They want to sell more than we want to buy. That’s the point. Find out why they’re so eager and then we squeeze. Three to one he caves by midweek.” Which were better odds than his date showing up tonight.
“And that’s why you’re the shark.”
Stephen smiled at the young man’s enthusiasm. “I’ll be back in the office in twenty.” He ended the call and dropped his phone into the console, his mind more on a golden-haired angel than a major land acquisition. He had other acquisitions in mind.
His smile grew at the thought as he muscled into midday traffic and took the I-4 into downtown. Breast-hugging tank top he’d only gotten a peek of thanks to the shirt she wore over it. That shirt had also partially blocked his view of a very fine ass. Just the right curves in addition to a sinfully sexy mouth. And a single tear tracking down her cheek that had twisted something inside him. Not at all the kind of thing he liked.
He preferred happy and carefree, conceited and self-involved. All of which turned the spotlight on someone else and turned both parties away from matters of the heart. But he was a man who got what he wanted, and the longer he’d stood there beside her car, the more he’d wanted Hannah. Plus, she’d said no. That alone had sealed her fate.
Feeling triumphant, Stephen pulled up to his office located in one of Norfolk’s newest high-rises—his high-rise. All glass and sleek metal, the silver edges gleaming in the afternoon sun, the space between reflecting the clear blue sky.
Damn, he loved this building. And he should, he’d had a lot to do with the design. More than that, it had come at a time when he’d needed it most. His tangible proof that he’d made it through the nightmare that had almost destroyed him.
But it hadn’t. The glass building stood, breakable but surviving. And so was he.
He crossed the cool lobby, his dress shoes clicking against the smooth black marble, and keyed into his private elevator. He gave a smile and a nod to the young blonde manning the main desk as the doors closed, taking him swiftly to the top of his own company, Trace Development.
He strode down the hallway to his home away from home. He’d been gone longer than he’d planned, working hard for a date with an alluring woman who’d shown a hint of sadness.
He didn’t slow down as his admin got up from behind her desk. “You have six calls. Tanner and Associates and Robert Sinclair are the most pressing. You have a conference call with Mr. Jiāng at two.” She quick-stepped to keep pace with him. She had no choice.
Stephen smiled at his straightforward administrative assistant. In a black skirt and standard white blouse ruffling out at the top, she looked as formidable as ever. Her crisp voice and gray bob only added to her air of efficiency. “Thank you, Dee.”
First order of business was to cancel his prior commitment for the evening, easy enough. He sat at his desk and pulled up the number. He’d had a fun couple of weeks, but things between him and Nicole had run their course and they both knew it. She’d been the one to cancel last time. Women used him for his money and prestige. He used them for . . . some would say sex. He thought of it more as sleep aid without the pills.
Nightmare suppressers.
When that was done he dug into the Shanghai file, barely looking up when his partner, Dave Pietro, strode in. His tie was a blast of orange against a navy pinstripe. And that was Dave, from his three-thousand-dollar shoes to his slicked-back hair and shrewd black eyes. Dave’s favorite saying was “shock and awe.” More often than not, it was just shock. But he was sharp, and he enjoyed playing the political side, something Stephen had no patience for.
“Congratulations.” Dave waved a magazine, one he’d already seen.
Stephen McKinney, Norfolk’s Most Eligible Bachelor.
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I forgot.” Since making his first million in college and being dubbed the Stock Whisperer by Forbes, it was always something. He’d been recognized in Top Ten Young Professionals more times than he could count. One article had even called him a young Donald Trump. That one he appreciated, as he had great respect for the man.
He’d strategized, negotiated, and outsmarted, gaining power and leverage with surprising speed. But it was the bigger, more recent, risks that had gotten him farther, faster. It wasn’t hard to risk everything when you had nothing to lose. Nothing to live for.
“So, how many women did you have to screw to get that Most Eligible status?”
“I don’t know,” Stephen answered dryly, thinking Dave actually sounded jealous. “I didn’t count.”
“Well, either I’m not screwing enough or not the right ones. Better up my game.”
Stephen looked up just in time to see Dave cover his tone with a smile as he passed him a file.
“New property. I want it.”
Always with the new deals, the quick and easy profit. Stephen wasn’t against quick money, but he held majority in Trace and small projects offered little challenge, in addition to wasting time. While Dave went on about an empty stretch of land and the commercial opportunities, Stephen’s mind wandered to a real challenge.
Hannah. The name suited her somehow. Soft and earthy. Full lips and a mouth he could spend hours exploring. He was well aware he might never see her again.
It wasn’t at all like him to care.

BUY WORTH THE RISK (Stephen book 2)

BUY WORTH THE FALL (Matt book 1)

COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN an eCopy of WORTH THE FALL & WORTH THE RISK – 2 winners. Claudia will send one book to each. Check back Sunday for winners. (Personally I wouldn’t wait to win, buy & start reading at least one of them, they’re that good!)