Jess Dee's Blog, page 8

The End Of The World Party has begun

It’s all happening over at International Heat.

Go, quick!

Read the blog, join the party, win a prize…or ten!

Red Hot Weekend Releases In Print

Yep,  it’s here. The print version of the ebook anthology, Red Hot Weekend, featuring novellas by Lexxie Couper, Delilah Devlin and myself:

Three stories. One weekend. Hundreds of fantasies to fulfill.

Dare Me by Lexxie Couper

Nothing prepared Emily for the Aussie who strode into her alternative cancer clinic and dared her to cure him. Eight months later, Rob is out of danger…and Emily’s in too deep.

Rob never thought he’d survive, much less fall for his oncologist. The problem? Her Hippocratic Oath hangs between them.



Hidden Fire by Jess Dee

Jenna is all set to spend the weekend wallowing in misery. Instead she’s tied to a chair, knee to knee with the man who broke her heart.

With one chance to show his partner in captivity that his love is real, Garreth methodically, wickedly, sets out to dismantle her defenses. One dirty word at a time.

Lone Heart by Delilah Devlin

Lone Wyatt is in no rush to find his one-and-only, until he spots Charli Kudrow. One look into her haunted eyes, and he’s ready to tear through every objection she can think up.

One killer smile from the cowboy, and Charli feels something she hasn’t felt in a long time—a spark of attraction. Thinking she’ll never see him again, she succumbs to temptation, only to discover that spark is a raging wildfire.

Product Warnings: Contains scorching passion, shattering desire, heartbreaking angst, Aussie sarcasm, no-holds-barred demands, and enough sexin’ up to knock you heart over bootheels.

Red Hot Weekend is available now from Samhain Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Happy reading.

Jess

Get ready to party at International Heat

Mari Carr’s Bachelor Bait Releases Today

My good friend Mari Carr has a new release today:

Bachelor’s Bait…

Bachelor’s Bait: The Blurb

Cocktales, Book Three

Sophia Kennedy is determined to chase her own success, rather than ride her father’s coattails. She’s devoted herself to Books and Brew, the business she owns with her three best friends. She doesn’t feel the need to explain herself to anyone, least of all the free-aid lawyer who’s determined to judge her as a society princess. She’d ignore him altogether . . . if it were up to her mind. But nooooo. Her body just has to have its say-and it’s using words like “gorgeous”, “hot” and “sexy”. Soon, annoyance turns to attraction, verbal sparring to physical satisfaction as the couple is drawn together by a common cause.

Marc Garrett has no time for a relationship. And he certainly doesn’t want a rich society fixture, though the damning evidence below his belt suggests otherwise. The more he comes to know his hardworking princess, the more he wants her, again and again. Marc’s falling hard, but after holding Sophie’s wealth against her, how will she react when she learns of his own rather prosperous roots?

An Excerpt:

“Charlotte?” Sophie was annoyed to find the coat-check room unattended. She’d been an idiot to trust Charlotte to keep an eye on it. The woman was too flighty to take the task seriously. She was a regular at the bookstore and when Sophie had foolishly mentioned her problem finding volunteers to help work the event, Charlotte had stepped forward. Sophie had accepted the offer, ignoring the voice telling her Charlotte only wanted to help so she could ogle the cream of society’s crop in a glitzy setting.

Now she was staring at an unprotected room full of expensive shawls and jackets.

“Shit,” she muttered. “Can anyone say liability?” She stepped behind the check-in counter and into the room, intent on finding the extra flyers. Then she’d track down her “volunteer” and read her the riot act for leaving her post unattended.

Spotting the box in a corner, she crossed the small space and bent to retrieve it.

A wolf whistle sounded from the doorway.

Sophie rose quickly but the damage was done. Clearly she’d given someone an eyeful of her ass wrapped in its tight skirt.

Marc leaned against the doorframe, looking far too pleased with the view she’d offered.

“Wow. Sexist much?”

He gave her a seductive grin. She wished her body would stop responding to him so forcefully. Her stomach clenched, her pussy dampened and she was grateful for the box in her hands or Marc would see them trembling.

He was unapologetic. “When I see something beautiful, I feel the need to appreciate it.”

“And being the classy guy you are, you thought you’d whistle at me like a construction worker.”

“I thought you might prefer that response over the first idea that popped into my head.”

“Which was?”

“Stroking my hands over that gorgeous ass you just displayed for me.”

The battle between Sophie’s head and body flared. Her ass cheeks clenched, longing for that caress. Her less visceral side offered a reply. “Then you made the right call because I would have kneed you in the balls. Hard.”

He nodded. “That’s what I thought. Hence my whistle from all the way over here.”

His tone was light and friendly, making it impossible to take offense at his comments. The closet wasn’t that large but his assessment was correct. Several feet protected his balls from her knee.

Sophie subtly pressed her legs together and tried to force air into her lungs. Apparently the space between them wasn’t that safe after all. She flushed as her body heated at their proximity—and semi-privacy.

The observant man’s dark-blue eyes narrowed.

He must be hell on juries. He notices far too much.

He stepped into the room. She tried to hide her shock when he closed the closet door behind him. The darkness was cut by a mellow glow provided by the low-watt fixture hanging in the center of the ceiling, and instantly she was reminded of nights spent beside a dying fire in her family’s large living room. She was a sucker for a fireplace.

Marc’s deep voice cut through the silence. “Maybe I was wrong.”

Her eyes tried to adjust to the dim lighting as he continued to move closer. “About what?” Her throat tightened, making her words sound thick and far too loud in the small room.

Marc didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he took the box of flyers out of her hands, setting it on the floor. “You know I’m going to start coming by the bar, right? I feel the need to become a regular.”

“Why? You get some sick pleasure out of annoying me?”

He shook his head, his voice laced with humor. “No. That’s just a bonus.”

The answer was completely unsatisfactory, even though Sophie liked the idea of him stopping by. Despite her better judgment, she wanted to see him more too. “Then why?” she repeated.

“Because I’ll want to do this again.”

He leaned forward and kissed her.

——————

Bachelor’s Bait is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Mari Carr

http://www.maricarr.com/

New York Times Bestselling Author

I have gorgeous new cover art

Look, look, look!

It’s the cover for Rhythm Of The Night, the print anthology of the first two Speed books: See You In My Dreams and Colors Of Love.

What do you think?

Rhythm Of The Night releases on the 7th of Jan, 2014.

I know, that’s like in forever. Still, I’m happy to enjoy the cover art in the meantime.

Jess

Now Available: “The One That Got Away”

It’s here.

My short, sweet (okay, maybe not so sweet) story from Musa Publishing: The One That Got Away.

This little book releases as part of Musa’s Finally Ever After line.

The One That Got Away: The Blurb

Sometimes its impossible to know whether he was the one who got away or the one you’re definitely better off without…until he comes back into your life.

Lily Kember never dreamed a causal introduction to a friend’s friend would change her life, but three days after meeting Kai Jettison, she’s fallen deeply and irrevocably in love.

Kai falls just as hard, yet minutes after telling her as much he has no choice but to rip her heart to shreds, leaving whatever has blossomed between them lying in tatters on the ground.

It’s been five months since that fateful day. Five months of no contact. Now Kai is attending the same end of year bash as Lily, and bumping into him seems unavoidable. Lily’s choices are limited: either steel her emotions against Kai or risk losing her heart to him all over again.

The One That Got Away: A (short) Excerpt:

Lily was on her feet before she realized she’d moved. “Keep hoping, Kai. You smooth-talked your way into my heart and my life once before, then ripped them both to pieces when you finally found the guts to be honest. Do not think, even for a second, that I might give you a chance to do it again.”

She turned and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster, taking one cautious step after another, ensuring she didn’t trip over her own heels. She smoothed her dress down as she walked, aware of its less-than-chaste length. One sharp gust of wind and Kai and everyone else at the party would be treated to a view of her lace underwear.

Before Lily made it to the door leading back inside, Kai grabbed her hand and tugged it hard enough that Lily stumbled. Kai caught her against him, pulling her close, holding her upright. Without giving her a choice, he took several steps backward, leading them into a darkened spot in the garden. From there Lily could hear the music, but the only part of the house she could see was solid wall.

His arms wrapped around her, clasping her against his muscled abdomen, trapping her. Her nose was buried in the groove between his shoulder and neck, so when she breathed, his unique, spicy scent inundated her senses.

Claustrophobia and desire slammed into her in equal measures. A desperate need to escape, to free herself from his steely embrace and breathe fresh air warred with the ache to rub herself against him, press her breasts firmly into the wall of his chest and nip at the salty skin beneath her lips.

He surrounded her. She could see nothing but his shoulder, smell nothing but his spicy scent and feel nothing but his strength.

Awareness didn’t just slither through her veins. It hit her with the force of a hurricane, blowing away her rationality, vanquishing her logic. All she knew was Kai, his aroma, his body and her devastating need to get closer.

She struggled against him, using her fists to pound his arms and squirming her hips to break free, but all he did was tighten his hold and pull her nearer.

“Let me go.” She tried to yell, but her voice came out muffled. “Damn it, Kai, take your hands off me.” He had no right to touch her. No right to trap her like this. He’d had his chance five months ago, and he’d blown it.

“No. Not yet.”

____________________

You can get your copy of The One That Got Away for the bargain price of $0.99.

It’s available now at Musa Publishing and at Amazon.

The book will soon be available from Barnes and Noble, but if you can’t wait til then, you can buy it in .ePub format direct from Musa.

Jess

A Touch Of Confidence releases today

Several long months ago, I opened my emails to find a jolly exciting post from Jayne Rylon and Lorelei James. They were keen to write a follow-up series to the Three’s Company/Menage and More Anthology. This time though, instead of focusing on a menage relationship, they thought it would be good to focus on a M/F romance. And just like that, Two To Tango was born.

But once we’d agreed to write the anthology, I was faced with a question: What do I write about?

I would have loved to create a sequel to A Question Of Trust (my story from the Three’s Company antho), but that would have been difficult…seeing as I’d already done that – and called the book A Question Of Love. So I explored other avenues, seeking another way to connect the books. I revisited the characters from A Question Of Trust, with a particular interest in the heroine, Maddie Jones.

Why Maddie? Two reasons:

1) She owns a children’s bookstore.

2) She runs that bookstore with her two sisters, Claire and Julia.

And it was in Claire that I found the answer to my question. I could write her story and use the bookstore as the setting.  A Touch Of Confidence was born.

Yep, Maddie makes an appearance in A Touch Of Confidence, but it’s a brief appearance, as the book revolves around Claire and her developing relationship with her gorgeous giant of a hero, Jack Wilson.

A Touch Of Confidence: The Blurb

He kissed the girl and he liked it. Now to convince her it could be love…

A Two to Tango story

When a coveted retail space opens up in Rose Bay, Claire Jones and her sisters waste no time grabbing the perfect spot to relocate their expanding children’s bookshop. But when Claire arrives to sign on the dotted line, she discovers someone else got there first.

Worse, the new tenant is shaking hands with a man who is definitely not the elderly Jack Wilson with whom she made a verbal agreement three days ago. This Jack Wilson is a tall, hunky giant—and no amount of righteous indignation can mask her body’s bone-deep sexual response.

Jack never planned to take over the family company; he’s a teacher, not a businessman. But with his grandfather in the hospital, he’s taken up the reins—and steered straight into trouble. Now he’s faced with a serious mistake, and a beautiful, Amazon warrior of a woman who’s demanding satisfaction.

He’d love to give it to her, but his idea of satisfaction has nothing to do with business, and everything to do with getting the curvy goddess naked. The sooner the better…

Product Warnings: If you’ve never made love to a man who quotes Shakespeare during sex…be warned. You’re gonna want to after reading this book.

A Touch Of Confidence is available now at Samhain Publishing and Amazon.

It’ll also be available at Barnes And Noble any time now. (Please be patient. A glitch in the system has resulted in the entire antholgoy vanishing from the store. But I promise to let you know the second they’re back up again.)

The book releases alongside Lorelei’s Ballroom Blitz and Jayne’s Where There’s Smoke.

Hope you enjoy all three books.

Jess

Awesomely awesome cover art

I love it!

This is the cover for A Touch Of Confidence, from the Two To Tango Anthology.

I don’t have the official blurb yet, so I’m posting the unofficial one here:

———–

He kissed the girl and he liked it. Now to convince her it could be love…

From the Two To Tango Anthology

When a coveted retail space opens up in Rose Bay, Claire Jones and her sisters waste no time grabbing the perfect spot to relocate their expanding children’s bookshop. But when Claire arrives to sign on the dotted line, she discovers someone else got there first.

Worse, the new tenant is shaking hands with a man who is definitely not the elderly Jack Wilson with whom she made an verbal agreement three days ago. This Jack Wilson is a tall, hunky giant—and no amount of righteous indignation can mask her body’s bone-deep sexual response.

Jack never planned to take over the family company; he’s a teacher, not a businessman. But with his grandfather in the hospital, he’s taken up the reins—and steered straight into trouble. Now he’s faced with a serious mistake, and a beautiful, Amazon warrior of a woman who’s demanding satisfaction.

He’d love to give it to her, but his idea of satisfaction has nothing to do with business, and everything to do with getting the curvy goddess naked. The sooner the better…

Warning: If you’ve never made love to a man who quotes Shakespeare during sex…be warned. You’re gonna want to after reading this book.

————-

The eBooks of A Touch Of Confidence, Where There’s Smoke and Ballroom Blitz release on the 2cnd of Oct, and are available now for pre-order over at Samhain.

I’ll leave you with a peak of hte three other covers in the anthology: The print cover, Two To Tango (which releases next year), Jayne’s Where There’s Smoke, and Lorelei’s Ballroom Blitz.

Jess

Afternoon Rhapsody – Chapter One (part two)

Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding released on Tuesday, and to celebrate, Lexxie Couper, Sami Lee and I have posted the first chapters of our stories on the Down Under Diva blog, and on our own blogs.

We’ve each shared the first half of our first chapters on the Diva blog, and placed the rest of our chapters on our own blog. So, for your reading pleasure, please find below the conclusion of Afternoon Rhapsody’s Chapter One:

Brody hadn’t released her hand. Instead he stared at it as though he’d never seen a hand before. Or maybe he was staring at the white band of flesh around her ring finger. She knew she stared at it a lot. Perhaps to the point of obsession. Not long ago a simple gold ring had covered it, but she’d removed that when the divorce papers arrived. No point wearing it anymore, now was there?

“I am,” he answered eventually. “Well, kind of. I came for a wedding. So I guess you could say I’m here with lots of people.”

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence? I’m here for a wedding too.”

“Bianca…Rogers? Would I be right in assuming you’re here for Mack and Aidan’s wedding?”

She grinned at him. “You would indeed. Savvy mind you have there. Aidan’s my brother. You here for the same wedding?”

He grinned back, and the sheer warmth in his smile heated her blood. It had been a long time since a smile had affected her like that. “I am.”

“On the bride or groom’s side?”

“The groom. Although I know the bride too. We all go back a long time.”

It was her turn to look at him speculatively. “So you know the bride and groom, and you have for a while. It’s interesting that we’ve…uh…never met before. I thought I knew all of Danny’s mates.”

Brody took a long time to answer. Once again, Bee fancied she might be able to read his thoughts in those beautiful eyes but immediately decided she had to be wrong.

“Are you sure we’ve never met?” he asked finally. “You look…familiar.”

Bee shook her head. “Nope. I’d have remembered if we had. You’re not the type of person one would forget in a hurry.” He wasn’t the type of person she’d forget ever.

He tilted his head to the side, regarding her thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to say something, must have thought better of it, closed it again, then said, “Would you like to have a drink with me, Bianca?”

And just like that, Bianca’s mouth was drier that it had ever been. Her throat was parched too, as though she hadn’t had liquid in a year, at least. A drink with him was exactly what she wanted. Needed. “I’d love to.”

His smile was blinding. “Excellent.”

He gave her a swift once-over, making Bee instantly self-conscious. Wearing nothing but a bikini had seemed like a good idea in this heat, but having Brody’s gaze—brief as it was—take in every inch of her lily-white skin was a little inhibiting.

“Looks like you’re all ready for a swim,” he said. “Tell you what, I need to change, put on a pair of boardies. How about I meet you at the poolside bar in…ten minutes?”

Ten minutes? That felt like a veritable lifetime. “Ten minutes would be perf— No, shoot!” Bianca slapped her forehead. “Sorry, sorry. It won’t be perfect. I already have a meeting in ten minutes. Actually, more like one minute now, and if I’m late, Mack is gonna let me have it.” More like Kylie was gonna let her have it. The woman ran a tight ship. Her only instruction to Bee had been not to be late.

Uh, yeah. About that…

“Look,” she hastened to say, “I can’t do drinks. How about lunch instead? They serve a killer salad nicoise at the Seaspray Bistro.”

Brody wrinkled his nose at the very suggestion. “Tuna salad?”

She grinned at him. “Not a fan, huh? Me neither. But Mack’s friend recommended it to me, so I thought I’d recommend it to you.”

“How about a simple grilled cheese sandwich and a bottle of red wine instead?”

Bee’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t help it.

She and Rick had shared that exact meal on the night of their wedding. In the cheap hotel they’d chosen for their honeymoon. Gourmet food it hadn’t been, but Bee had never eaten anything more delicious.

She swallowed at the memory. “G-grilled cheese sounds really good.”

“To me too.” His smile was warm, but his eyes…

“Shall we say twelve thirty? At a table outside?” Aidan was arriving on the island then, so Mack would ensure they’d be done by that time.

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

As Bee waved goodbye and headed off to her meeting, she couldn’t help but think how incredibly appealing the idea of Brody Evans waiting for her sounded.

————-

Don’t forget, you can read the beginning of the chapter over at the Down Under Divas. And…you can purchase all three books at Samhain, or at your favorite ebookstore.

I do! (Or Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding releases today)

It’s been a long time coming, but Mack and Aidan’s big day is here.

If you’re not sure who Mack and Aidan are, well, they are the bride and groom of the biggest wedding of the year. The wedding taking place at the stunning, tropical Bilby Island, at the gorgeous, luxurious Bandicoot Cove resort.

And to celebrate, we have written three sexy, romantic love stories to make you go ‘Aaaaaaaah.”

And “Oooooh.”

And maybe “Ooooooh, yeah!”

So without further ado (because we really want you to get to the Ooooooh, yeah! parts) here they are. The three books that make up Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding:

A second chance at love is worth fighting for.

Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding, Book 1

Bianca Rogers is one signature away from finalizing her divorce. And she will finalize it just as soon as she gets home. But for this weekend, she’s putting her troubles aside and enjoying the gorgeous, sunlit luxury of Bandicoot Cove, the resort where her brother is getting married. The last thing she expects is to be knocked off her feet—literally—by gorgeous Brody Evans.

The fireworks are instantaneous. Brody is just her type: sexy, warm, friendly, and in the same boat as her: in the process of getting a divorce.

Spending time together is a mutual no-brainer. Attraction quickly grows to full-blown lust. But flying sparks come with increasingly personal conversations, and soon neither of them can ignore their past mistakes or the circumstances that have led them to the island.

Now it’s time to determine whether old hurts and sudden doubts will prevent love from leading them to a whole new happily ever after.

Warning: If you don’t believe in second chances, never thought it was possible to fall in love again and aren’t interested in scrumptious, hot love scenes, then this story probably isn’t for you. You’d be missing out – big time – but yeah…it’s probably not for you.

A photographer, a firefighter, a rake. Let the debauchery begin!

Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding, Book 2

When Kennedy bolted after a mind-blowing one-night stand with a sexy Australian firefighter, she never expected to be standing in front of him four months later on a tropical island resort. Naked, thanks to her phobia of butterflies.

Trouble is, she’s equally turned on by Luke and his hunky British cousin. Not exactly how she’d intended to spend her first day as Bandicoot Cove’s official photographer.

Luke never planned on falling for the feisty, flirty American he met at a New York bar. Now that he’s face to face with her again, he has two questions. Why did she run? And why can’t he stop thinking about sharing the woman of his dreams with his cousin?

Addison invited himself along on his cousin’s trip for a weekend of no-strings-attached sex. But he wants to get to know Kennedy on all levels. Seriously, this is no way for a rake to behave. And how the hell is he going to tell his cousin he’s interested in the very woman Luke can’t get out of his mind?

Warning: The setting sun isn’t the only thing heating up Bandicoot Cove, because when the word “threesome” gets thrown into the mix, it’s seduction on a global scale. (Note: No butterflies were scorched during scenes of burning passion.)

A new lover, an old flame, sultry moonlit nights. Why let inhibitions stand in the way?

Bandicoot Cove: The Wedding, Book 3

Two years ago, Hayley Bryant left Australia on a round-the-world odyssey that changed her life, and her attitude. After that, coming face to face with the man whose rejection sent her packing shouldn’t affect her at all, right?

Except there’s one thing that hasn’t changed—her former boss Mitchell Wood makes her burn as hot as ever. The difference is, Hayley’s now a grown woman who knows how to get what she wants, and she wants Mitch. Trouble is, she hasn’t come to her friend’s wedding alone. Her very sexy friend with benefits, Ty Butler, might pose a problem.

Business was always Mitch’s first love…at least until he hired his little sister’s friend as an intern. Pushing her away was the right thing to do, but now his sister’s wedding has Hayley re-entering his life—and the empty place in his heart. Soon he’s acting less like the consummate workaholic and more like a man crazy in love. But Hayley’s “plus one” is an unexpected obstacle.

Fortunately, Mitch has never been one to shy away from a little competition…

Warning: Bilby Island’s sensual spell strikes again. Book contains hot lovin’ made in beautiful tropical surrounds, some exhibitionism, voyeurism and bondage. Best read with a margarita in hand and the fan switched to high.