Shiloh Walker's Blog, page 59

Break For Me…

Kindle

So… did you meet Tate from BURN FOR ME?

It’s time to meet Dean…and Jensen, Tate’s younger sister.

That attitude of hers shouldn’t be so appealing.

He understood the need for the attitude—he’d learned young to cover his, though. Cover the attitude, cover the teeth, all until he had reason otherwise. Jensen had either never learned to hide that attitude, or she just didn’t see the point and as he came to a stop next to her, she all but snarled at him.

“Yes?”

He didn’t even have a chance to figure out what to say—a problem with her, because looking into her eyes had a habit of leaving him temporarily dumbstruck. It only lasted a second or two—his mother had a habit of teasing him that she’d know he was serious about a woman when he found the one that made him shut his mouth for more than two seconds, and that woman, apparently, was Jensen.

But those two seconds were two seconds too long because a man he thoroughly disliked decided to make his presence known.

“You know, if it was me,” Detective Jeb Sims said, edging his way into the knot of people, one hand gripping a cup of coffee while the other rested on the butt of his weapon.  He constantly seemed to be touching it.  “I would have gone for the bigger problem anyway, Bell.  Pruitt is a pimple on society’s ass, but you shoulda known he wasn’t going to do much time.  It wasn’t a big bust or anything.  Don’t go getting your panties in a twist.”

Dean tensed, something ugly building in his throat.

Jensen’s eyes went tight around the corners, something so minute, gone in a blink.  She turned her head, the sleek fall of her hair shielding her face from him as she looked at Sims.

“Well, you see, that’s the difference between you and me, I guess, Jeb,” she drawled, her voice cool and lazy, like she didn’t give a damn about anything Sims had to say.  “You see, I was focusing on the man, the meth lab, the laws . . . and the safety of his family.  I’m a cop, you see.  To serve and protect. The size of the bust wasn’t the issue.  The safety of that kid and his mama were my number one concern.”  She shrugged and looked away. “And don’t get too concerned about my panties, either.  I’ll take care of them.”

“I just think—”

“I think you need to not worry about Bell’s cases,” Sorenson said, his voice mild.  The look in his eyes was anything but.  “Don’t you have some of your own to deal with anyway, detective?”

Jeb’s face went a slow, ugly shade of red, but he pasted a wide smile on his face.  “That, I do.  Sir.”

He ignored Dean completely.

After Sims moved out of the area, Dean tried to catch her eye but she looked directly at the chief.  “I’m done for the day.  You have a nice night.”

“You did good work today,” Sorenson said.

She nodded at him, tried to avoid looking at Dean.

You are not just going to completely ignore me. He moved to intercept her.

Her mouth flattened out.

“If you’ve got a minute, detective?” he asked.

“Actually, I’m afraid I don’t have many of them.  I need to wrap things up for the day.  I’m meeting my family in a bit.” She edged around him, moving to her desk with fast, easy strides.

He doubted he was the only one who noticed the looks the two of them got—not that anybody made any effort to hide them.  Nosy fools.  Ignoring the cops loitering in the area, he waited by her desk as she collected some files, moved them into her bag.

“It won’t take but a minute.  I’ll just walk you to your car.”

Something flashed in her eyes, but she gave him a tight smile and strode past him.

He matched her quick strides easily.  She moved damned fast, he’d give her that.  Five foot two, he’d bet, and she moved like the entire world was an obstacle course she had to conquer and she only had a finite amount of time to do it.  They hit the doors and he paused to see which way she’d go.

They were outside in the brilliant light of the summer sun in a moment and he fell into step beside her as she headed down the street.

“You made a clean arrest.”

A withering look came across her face.

“I’m well aware of that, Mr. West.  But thanks for the seal of approval.  It means the world to me.”

Ouch.  She had a bite to her.  Another thing he found all too appealing about her.

There was very little about her he didn’t find appealing.  That just served to make moments like this harder.

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Last minute release day party… BURN FOR ME

Kindle

With the madness of getting ready for Scotland and other assorted madness, I had no time to prepare the whirlwind sorta blog parties that I try to do with my big releases.

So…let’s try a last minute release day party.

I’ll bring the door prizes.

You bring a date and something else…munchies or drinks or both.  (I’m partial to buffalo wings.)

FIRST!  Pick out your date… there’s a bit of a twist here, though.  The date has to come from the Secrets & Shadows series.   Here’s my story board…

Me?  I kinda liked Dean, Noah & Caine…

Dean…image via Hello Beautiful

 

Caine …image via Model Mayhem

Noah…image via IMDB

And since I’m hosting the party, I guess I oughta bring something…I’ll order in some pizza and there are two bottles of rum, plus some coke and diet coke. I have some scotch I got in Scotland, but that’s mine.  And I’m greedy.

(It’s gotta be easy…I’ve got to finish getting things together!)

Things…like this?

Everybody who comes to the party…(meaning you bring a date and a ‘cyber’ offering of food or drink) gets their name entered to win an ebook reader…either a Kindle Paperwhite, a Kobo Touch or a Nook Glowlight.

One party goer will win an ebook reader. All you have to do to enter is drop your name in comments below and tell me which of the characters from the series you want to bring as a date, and then tell me what you’re bringing to the party.  Food, drinks… (if it’s a drink and you wanna leave the recipe, that’s awesome!)

This party will last all week, so be prepared.

A quick look at today’s release!

 

Scarred long ago by the disappearance of his mother, Nichole, Tate Bell aches to spend his days and nights with Ali Holmes, a woman he’s loved for years. But while Ali’s heart pines to be with Tate, her head has reservations… Ali knows that Tate has never forgiven his father for the fight he had with Nichole right before she left the house—and was never heard from again. Ali thinks that Tate’s unresolved anger is a force to be reckoned with…even though the heat that blazes between them is undeniable. Now both Tate and Ali are left to wonder: Can love really conquer all?

~*~

I’m not going to cry because it’s over.

I’m not going to cry because it’s over.

I’m not going to cry—

She hiccupped as a sob broke free.

Bringing her knees to her chest, she buried her face against them.

Lost in the hurt, she didn’t hear his footsteps.  It wasn’t until he closed his hands around her ankles that she even realized she wasn’t alone.

Jerking her head up, she stared into Tate’s gaze.  His eyes, so dark they were nearly black, bore into hers.

“Tate . . .”

He tugged her legs down and she curled her hands around the edge of the porch swing, her heart slamming against her ribs.  He went to lean in and she lifted a hand, pressed it to his chest.

“Don’t.” Her voice cracked. “I’m not . . . we can’t do this anymore.  I can’t do this anymore.”

He didn’t seem to realize she’d even spoken as he reached up and closed one hand around her wrist, his thumb stroking against her inner wrist as she continued to press against his chest.  “Ali . . .”

His heart slammed against her palm and his shirt, soaked by the rain, was no barrier between them.  She felt the scalding heat of his skin.  Drops of rain clung to his hair and as she stared into his eyes, one of the drops fell, caught on his cheekbone, and rolled down.  It hit her wrist and she was surprised it didn’t sizzle, as hot as she suddenly felt.

It was a heat that echoed deep inside her, down low in her belly and every beat of her heart sent that heat pulsing through her until she thought she might explode.

The seconds drew out and she took a slow, deep breath.  His gaze dropped to her mouth and she had to bite back a moan.

“Tate, stop,” she whispered, forcing the words out. That hunger continued to pang inside her, making her skin feel tight, hot.  She had to curl her fingers into a fist to keep from reaching for him.  “I’m tired of only having part of you.  I told you.  It’s all or nothing and you won’t give me everything—”

He lifted her hand to his mouth, pressed a kiss to her inner wrist.  That gentle caress sent shivers racing through her.  Blood started to roar in her ears, so loud it took her a minute to realize he had started to speak.

Look for stories from the other Bell siblings in late April and early May.

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Quick rundown on rules, because it’s a contest and that means I have to have them.
Open worldwide, but you’re responsible for requesting the device that will be functional in your place of residence…not me.
As this is supposed to be fun, please don’t just…enter me to win…go along with the way the contest is set up…yanno, pick a date, bring a ‘cyber’ food or drink…
You must be eighteen or the age of majority in your country of residence to enter.
The winner’s name will be posted to my blog next week.  Please check back to see if you’ve won. You’ll have two weeks to claim the prize.  If you fail to claim the prize, it’s void.  A new name will not be re-drawn, per my contest rules.  For the rest of the rules, please see my disclaimer.
FYI…ENTERING the contest means you’ve read and agreed to the rules laid out in the disclaimer.
 
Full disclosure… I kinda got the idea from Barbara Vey and her awesome parties that she’s done over the years.
 

Burn for Me… due out tomorrow!

Kindle

The first book in the new Secrets & Shadows series…

“I just want you,” she said, her voice stark.  “All of you.”

What the fuck did that mean? It wasn’t like he was seeing anybody else. He thought about her all the time.  She was in his head, in his blood.  He could smell the scent of her skin even when she wasn’t there and he dreamed about her.  Except . . . no.  Not a good time to think about those dreams.

Shaking his head, he tried to make her understand.  “I’ll take you out.  I’ll stay the night.  I . . .”  Pleading, he stared at her.

“That’s not enough.” The pain in her eyes sliced at him, straight through the heart.

“What is?” Hands clenched into fists, he fought the urge to grab her, haul her against him.  Why was she doing this?  Desperation filled him, made him want to yell, but he managed to throttle everything down, kept his voice flat and empty as he watched her.

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So. Scotland.

Kindle

I can’t describe it.  Can we just do this instead?

Stonefield Castle

Kilmartin Church & Graveyard

Urquhart Castle…and Loch Ness

Elgin Cathedral

Loch Fyne

In the distance, you can see Greenland…flying back home.

Burn For Me…

Kindle

Due out next week…. have you preordered?

 

 

Just do it.

But then, as she tried to brace herself to do just that, he dipped his head and rubbed his cheek against hers.  There was no deep, breath-stealing kiss.  She might have been able to find the strength to stand against the want.  She always wanted him and she had to find a way to live without that.  The strength drained out of her legs and she had to brace her body against the wall just to stay upright.

His gentleness was even harder to handle just then.  If he had just pulled her against him, shown her all the heat and hunger that raged inside, then she might have been able to handle it.

“What’s wrong, Ali?” he whispered, his lips moving against her skin.  “You look so sad.  I hate it when you’re sad.”

 

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Bladed Magic…

Kindle

My blog was broke when this was ready, so I posted about it on the JC blog, but…in case ya missed it…

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The book

A Colbana Files Prequel

The events of this short story take place between A STROKE OF DUMB LUCK and BLADE SONG.  It can be read as a stand-alone.

For the first time in her life, Kit Colbana’s life was going just fine.  She had a nice, easy job.  She’d managed to escape the not-so-loving attentions of a family who’d rather see her dead than look at her.  She had a roof over her head and she didn’t have to fight for every little thing she had.

Then she finds herself tangled up with a green-eyed witch by the name of Justin.  He’s looking for somebody and for some bizarre reason, he seems to think she can help.  All she has to do is say no, and she can go back to her safe little existence.  That’s exactly what she needs to do and she knows it.

Too bad she’s not very good at following her own advice.

“So, who wants to talk and who wants to die?”

The voice coming from the alley behind TJ’s was cheerful, just a little too cheerful, considering the grim message in his words. It was a little scary, though, because that cheer was not false. Whoever he was, he was all too excited about the thought of making somebody talk, then bleed, then die.

In that order.

I could smell the blood in the air and it wasn’t shapeshifter blood. I knew that smell all too well, but that was just because I worked in a bar where blood was spilled. A lot. Shapeshifters liked to fight, after all, and those fights led to bloodshed. Lucky me, I got to clean it up.

Go inside. That was the voice of common sense.

I was done working. Nothing for me to do, really. I never did anything, other than work. Well, other than lock myself in my room and read. Or lock myself in the little gym TJ had let me set up and work out. I could do either one of those and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.

This one night, I’d felt an odd little pull, something that had tugged me out of the bar. Go back inside, I told myself.

Something sizzled in the air and I felt it dance across my skin.

Then there was a yell, followed by a grunt and a series of thuds.

It was getting really hard to pretend this wasn’t happening. If I went back inside and acted like I hadn’t noticed anything, I’d have a hard time facing myself in the morning.

My inability to mind my own business will be the death of me.  Here lies Kit Colbana, killed by her own curiosity. That will be my epitaph. Still, I couldn’t stay there, shifting from one foot to the other while I listened to somebody getting the hell beaten out of them.

Keeping to the shadows, I moved down the maze of twisting, narrow little paths and paused when I reached the junction up ahead. It was there. Just ahead and to the right. The smell of blood was stronger and I could hear somebody laughing. It was the man I’d heard earlier—

“Oh, come on, you can do better than that…”

His voice sounded thick now. Not quite so eager to make something talk, then bleed, then die.

Of course, he was the one talking, in a voice that was thick and wet. He was bleeding, too. I could see that when I peered around the corner. There he was, caught between two wolves—shapeshifters—while a third drew back a hand and slammed it into his gut.

He crumpled around the fist.

“Who are you working for?” A new voice now, somebody big and mean. He drove another fist into the man’s gut as he spoke. I raked him with a look, sized him up. A werewolf.

The entire tableau was surreal. There were three weres, the one doing the pummeling, while the other two held a brown-haired man immobile.

“One more time, you little fuck.” The were smashed a giant fist into the man’s face and I winced as blood splattered out in an arcing spray. “Who are you working for?”

There was no answer, just a nasal sort of groan.

The werewolf in front of him fisted a hand in the man’s hair and jerked his head up, leaning in to snarl at the man. He looked…human. I didn’t feel that weird kind of energy I sensed around all shifters, which meant if this kept up, he’d be dead.

Nervous, I glanced behind me. Could I get back to the bar and Goliath?

I didn’t know.

Sliding a hand inside my vest, I touched one of the silver knives.

“Come on, witch. You aren’t down here asking about night just because you want to.” The wolf reached up, caught the man’s face, started to squeeze.

Horrified, I bit my lip to keep from making a sound. I couldn’t look away as I watched those fingers dig in. I knew how strong shifters were. They could crush bone, stone, metal.

The man groaned hoarsely.

Shit. I can’t watch this. I had to do something—had to help.

Abruptly, it was like the fight drained out of him.

“There. That’s what I thought.” The wolf backed up and now, all I could see was his back. “Give me the name, boy. You don’t want me telling TJ you been running around behind her back and fucking her over, do you? Selling drugs to kids, skimming her profits?”

What?

“Did you hear that?” One of the other wolves looked up, eyes narrowing.

Oh. Shit.

I’d bumped something on the ground. It wouldn’t have been loud enough for anybody human to hear.

But we weren’t dealing with humans. The NH—non-human—population had sharper senses and I had all but shouted my presence.

“Sounds like…”

I gripped the knife and shot a look once more toward TJ’s. If I ran, they’d catch me. If I called for Goliath, he’d hear me, but probably not in time.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

I should have gone to my room and finished my damn book.

A shadow stretched out along the ground in front of me—so close.

Instinct moved me and I lunged out, threw the knife.

I hadn’t taken out a target since the night in the sewers, but I never once doubted my aim.

I am aneira—

The words echoed in the back of my mind. I’d heard them, so often, in the years before I’d run away. Time seemed to slow.

My aim is true.

And it was. The blade flew, straight and true and so very fast. So fast the shifter didn’t even have time to avoid it. The silver buried itself in the shifter’s heart. Without waiting to see what happened, I lunged at him and as he hit the ground, I wrenched the knife around, twisting it. The scent of smoke filled the air. I didn’t waste another second. I came up and dove forward in a somersault. I landed in a crouch as I faced the other two shapeshifters.

The man pinned to the wall looked at me with greener than green eyes. To my surprise, he grinned. “It’s about fucking time.”

Wrapping up a series…

Kindle

I’m just about done (probably will be by the time this posts) with the next book in The Grimm’s Circle series.

I bawled through the second to the last chapter. Something really rough happened-caught me by surprise. As I’m not a plotter, exactly, I didn’t see this coming, but knowing what I knew about this series, I’m not surprised.

I’ve been planning to wrap it up for a while and this puts me in the position to do just that. As sales were dropping off, it seems like the ideal time to get it done, but I didn’t want to leave it hanging–I don’t like doing that, but sometimes, you’re almost left with no choice. Fortunately, I can make the choice here and I’m hoping there’s one more go left in me.

There’s one line in it that left me really choked up…

He stole a bit of it, though, then and there, pressing his mouth to hers. “If I could have let myself, I would have loved you.”

Gah…

Anyway.  I’ll post more on what’s up with the book when I know.

To those who’ve been waiting, thanks for being patient.  If by chance you haven’t read it and you’re curious?  You can read a free story here on my site.

Leaving…on a jet plane

Kindle

Since I’m gonna be gone for a few days, I’m going to leave with something to remember me by.  (see below the cut)

The first chapter of BURN FOR ME is up. GO here to read.

I’m preloading some posts, so be sure to check below for those…

Dabwaha time… my first bribe.

Kindle

So, it’s DABWAHA time!

I have a book in there!  Lookit! WRECKED made it into the finals…

 

read more on WRECKED

“Friends make the best lovers and soul mates in WRECKED. A beautiful look into true and enduring love…” Carly Phillips, NYT Bestselling Author

In the nineties, Abigale Applegate and Zach Barnes were the most beloved sitcom child stars in the world. Then they grew up and left Hollywood behind…

Whatever happened to Abigale Applegate?

She’s been wondering the same thing.

With her Hollywood dreams long gone, Abigale now has a nice, neat, uncomplicated life—until the day her perfect fiancé needs to talk. Dumped, a little more than shattered, and totally confused, Abigale turns to Zach, her best friend since forever, to help her pick up the pieces. He does it with a gift—a copy of Wreck This Journal. She can vent her frustrations, and sketch out a new plan. Zach just hopes he’s part of it. Because he’s been in love with Abigale his entire life.

When the journal falls into Zach’s hands, he discovers Abigale wants a new man. And fast. Nothing more than a hot distraction. Zach has a strategy, too. He’s going to be that man. It’s his last chance. Abigale might be out to shake up her life, but Zach’s out to reinvent it. Now, all he has to do is convince Abigale that life can go as planned.

 

So, in the DABWAHA (pronounced dah-BWAH-ha-an important fact according to Smart Bitches & Dear Author) way of things…trash talking, bribes and sexy menz are part of the game.

I offer my first bribe… A scene from RAZED.  RAZED is the second Barnes brothers book, featuring Zane & Keelie, but this scene is Zach & Abby…at their wedding.

 

Zach came up behind Abby and pressed his lips to her brow.  “Can we leave yet?  Can we leave yet?”

Abby turned her face to his.  “You’re awful.  You just asked that ten minutes ago.”

“I meant it just as much then as I do now.”  He cupped her face, stroked his thumb over her lips.  “You look beautiful.”

A dreamy smile curved her lips.

“You two are killing me.”

Keelie glanced up at Javi settled in the seat next to her, his wife taking the other seat.   “Javi, be nice,” Aida warned, her eyes dancing with humor in her round, friendly face.  She smacked her husband in the arm before propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her palm.  “The two of them are adorable.”

Keelie slid Zach and Abby a look.  “Adorable sums it up.”

At that moment, Abby gave them an amused look.  “If you keep calling Zach adorable, he’s going to find somebody to arm wrestle just to prove his manhood.”

“I don’t need to prove my manhood.” He pressed his face to her neck and then groaned as Abby pushed him back.  “Can we leave now? Can we leave now?”

“Hush!” Abby said, but there was laughter lurking under the words.  “This is my wedding and I’m going to enjoy it.”

Zach leaned in, murmured something to Abby that had her face going red.

 

If you give me votes and help get me through to the next round when it starts next week?  I’ll offer another snippet, or maybe write a scene, just the two of them.

Come on…Zach is asking real nice…

Image from Model/DJ Mateus Verdelho’s FB page

Image via Mateus Verdelho’s FB Page

So… it’s almost time for my next romantic suspense series…

 

 

 

The first story in the Secrets & Shadows series… Tate & Ali.

 

Mini snippet!

 

She didn’t look at him and that hollow ache in his chest spread.  If he was smart, he’d walk away.

He didn’t have the strength yet.

Maybe in a few more months.

He’d said that a year ago.

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