First Look: No Cowboy Required

 Author: JoAnn Sky

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 14, 2018

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Series: A Biggest Little Love Story

Format: Digital eBook / Print

Digital ISBN: B07CLLWWLN

Print ISBN: 9781640635012

Synopsis:

Enemies make the best partners…

As a photographer in NYC, Grace Harper is a pro at handling the unexpected--which comes in handy when she inherits the ranch home she ran away from seven years ago…along with a young, autistic stepbrother she’s never met. And because nothing ever goes easy for her, Grace finds her frustrating, sexy ex-flame, Noah, taking care of JJ. But she’s getting out of this nowhere town fast, so she’ll have to find a way to keep from throttling Noah—without kissing him first.

Noah Taylor may be enemy number one to Grace, but she needs his help. He knows the girl he used to love is still there, beneath the heels and fancy clothes, so he’ll help her—and keep his distance like she says she wants. Only the more time they spend together, the closer he wants to get. Grace has no intention of staying, but she belongs in his arms—he just has to prove it to her.

Excerpt:

Copyright© 2018 No Cowboy Required

JoAnn Sky

He leaned against the kitchen entrance, his own half-eaten sandwich in hand, watching her. “Are you going to avoid me all day?”

She stiffened. She was the New Yorker, used to being direct and dealing with people who got in her face. Yet when Noah did it, it unnerved her. “I’m not avoiding you.” Her pitch was a half-step high, the trait of a liar.

“We’ve got to talk about last night.”

She smacked her bread together and turned to face him, using her sandwich as a shield. She straightened her pose, planted her feet apart, and hoped the Wonder Woman stance would give her Amazonian strength. “Last night was a mistake.”

His dark-blue eyes flashed with a determination that told her he disagreed. Her stomach clenched, and the strength she sought eluded her. Instead she stood there, too frightened to move and too weak to stop where they were going.

He came up on her slowly, as if he knew she’d spook and scatter at any sudden movement. He reached out and tucked one blond curl behind her ear. His fingers skimmed her skin. Goose bumps blossomed down her neck, her spine, to her toenails.

“And it won’t happen again,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster. “End of discussion.” Her voice squeaked, again betraying her, though no worse than the rest of her body.

He leaned in until his lips were inches from hers. Her breathing hitched. She should have put some distance between them, acres of distance, but her feet stuck to the floor. Her eyes flickered to his lips. They’d been so soft last night and were so close right now. One little taste wouldn’t hurt, would it? She reflexively licked hers.

He moved in. His breath trailed her cheek, and his lips hovered at the edge of her jaw, just below her earlobe. She arched her neck back, giving him more access, then shivered, closed her eyes, and waited to feel his lips on her neck.

Instead, his breath fanned her ear. “Liar,” he whispered. Then he was gone

🔗 Add to Goodreads

🔗 Amazon ... 🔗 Kobo

JoAnn is a two-time Golden Heart® finalist (YA category and Contemporary Short category). Originally from the Midwest, JoAnn currently lives in northern Nevada with her husband a.k.a. love of her life, three teenage children, and three crazy rescue dogs.

🔗 https://joannsky.com/

🔗 www.dogsandbooks.com

🔗 http://twitter.com/JASkyBooks

🔗 Facebook 

🔗 Rafflecopter

RWC: Living With Her One-Night Stand

 Author: Noelle Adams

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 24, 2018

Publisher: Noelle Adams

Series: The Loft

Format: Digital eBook / Print

Digital ISBN: B079QBFN82

Print ISBN: 9781386003724

Synopsis:

Jill has never been good at taking risks, but she spends one hot night with a sexy stranger, knowing she'll never see him again. Then Lucas shows up the next morning as her new roommate. He was supposed to be a one-night stand, but now he'll be living in the empty room in her shared apartment for the next six months.

Jill needs stability and a long-term relationship, and she knows Lucas can never give her those things. He's looking for a life free of commitments or obligations. She knows he's wrong for her. She shouldn't want him for more than one night.

But she lives with him. He's around all the time--with his sexy smile and his hard body and the soft heart he pretends not to have. Not wanting him isn't really an option.

Excerpt:

Copyright © 2018 Living With Her One-Night Stand

Noelle Adams

On Monday morning, Jill overslept.

She set her alarm for seven, but it was seven thirty-five when she finally woke up. As soon as she registered the time, she flew out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

She hated being late. As much as it annoyed her when other people were late, she hated it even more when it was her.

She took a three-minute shower, grabbed an outfit that wouldn’t take any effort to pull together—a knee-length A-line dress in a vintage print—and snatched a handful of jewelry that might possibly work with it. She’d barely gotten her shoes on before she was rushing into the kitchen to get some coffee.

Michelle was at the counter with her laptop as she always was, eating cereal and working. But what surprised Jill was finding that Lucas was up too.

He didn’t have to work. He didn’t have a schedule. He could still be in bed.

But there he was, sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee, putzing on his phone. Wearing nothing but a pair of old sweatpants. His hair was mussed, he needed to shave, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

So the first thing Jill saw as she came into the kitchen was a whole lot of gorgeous male back and shoulders and arms.

She didn’t need to see that this morning.

She dumped her pile of jewelry on the counter as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Morning,” Lucas said, sounding friendly and casual.

What was he even doing up this early?

And why did he have to sound so awake? Awake and masculine. Awake and masculine and sexy.

First thing on a Monday morning.

She did her best to suppress a snarl.

“You’re running late,” Michelle said, without looking up from her laptop. “Did you oversleep?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Jill was trying to drink her coffee and put on her earnings, bracelets, necklace, and rings at the same time.

Lucas was watching her with laid-back interest in his green eyes.

She tried not to snarl at him again.

His eyebrows went up slightly, and she realized she must not have done a good job at the suppression.

She turned her back to him, reaching into the cupboard for a breakfast bar. She preferred to eat cereal, but she didn’t have time this morning. She kept her back to Lucas as she gulped down more of her coffee.

“You missed a button.”

She stiffened, glancing over her shoulder to verify that Lucas had been talking to her. “What?”

“You missed a button.” He gestured toward her dress. “You want me to get it?”

“I can get it,” she gritted out, contorting her arms until she could feel which button on the back of her dress was undone. Discovering it, she stretched her shoulders painfully so she could button it.

When she glanced back over at Lucas, she saw that his mouth was tilted up slightly.

He was laughing at her. Silently but definitely laughing.

She didn’t try to hide her snarl this time.

He didn’t have to be up and dressed and at work by eight in the morning. He didn’t have to sit there in her kitchen, looking smug and gorgeous and amused and irresistibly rumpled when she could barely pull it together.

What kind of malicious turn of fate had made him her roommate at all?

When she’d managed her button, she poured more coffee into her cup and took it with her, grabbing her bag on her way out as she left.

She did remember to mumble out a “See you later,” before she closed the door.

It was just the first Monday morning of Lucas living in her apartment.

It was going to be a long six months.

🔗 Add to Goodreads

🔗 Amazon ... 🔗 Barnes and Noble

🔗 Kobo ... 🔗 iBooks

About Noelle Adams:

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

🔗 Wesite ... 🔗 Twitter ... 🔗 Bookbub

Rafflecopter

Blurb Blitz: Heart of a Seal

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dixie will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

They’re brothers in arms, Navy SEALS risking their lives for their country . . . and the women they love.

This is Luke Harding’s story.

Six months in a desert hellhole taught Navy SEAL Luke Harding things he never wanted to learn about life and death. Only tender memories of the beautiful brunette he met a few weeks before his deployment helped get him through the torturous days and nights. Back in the States after a perilous rescue, physically and emotionally damaged, Luke’s about to plunge into a new kind of war. In a seemingly bucolic Idaho town, Sally Duncan faces real—and unpredictable—danger.

All Sally ever wanted was a safe place to raise her nine-year-old daughter. Her identity hidden behind a façade of secrets and lies, can she trust Luke—a man she barely knows—with the truth? Even as they give in to long-denied passion, a killer with a personal vendetta is setting an ambush that will leave them praying for a miracle and fighting for the future they may not live to see.

Read an Excerpt:

Luke stepped from the shower and made quick work of drying off before wrapping the towel around his waist. Sandy-colored clumps of wet hair stuck out every which way as his image stared back at him from the mirror. He raked his fingers through the strands, in serious need of a haircut, and called it good. Grabbing the shaving cream from his kit, he applied it evenly to his whiskered face and dragged the razor down his rough skin, systematically shaving from right to left. He paused for a heartbeat when he heard a knock.

“Be right out.” Luke turned the water on as hot as he could get it and let it run. Jen probably had to use the bathroom. He’d throw on some clothes and finish up in here later. A smile formed beneath what was left of the shaving cream. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for that little girl.

An instant later the door opened behind him, and the razor went still in his hand.

He stared at Sally’s reflection in the steamed-over mirror. Her in that damn shirt of his, leaning against the bathroom door, both hands behind her back. A good deal of shapely thigh led his gaze to well-toned calves. He followed them down to pretty pink toenails on bare feet. Did she know what coming in here like that would do to him? He took the last two swipes of shaving cream off with the razor, rinsed his face in the hot, running water and patted it dry. Barely able to swallow and momentarily unable to form an articulate sentence, he turned slowly.

Her blue eyes went wide as her gaze dropped below his waist, immediately answering his unspoken question. Evidently, she could see the hard-on he sported beneath the form-fitting towel that hugged his hips.

He took a step toward her. “Sally?” That was all he managed to force from his mouth. It sounded more like a command than the question with which he’d intended to rule out the possibility something was wrong.

A secretive smile played on her lips as she brought one hand up and raised it in front of her with a dismissive shake of her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. This can wait till you’re finished.” Her gaze dipped once again to the towel draped around his hips, and she swiveled with a hand on the doorknob.

Oh no. Hell no. He wasn’t letting her escape that easily. He was damn sure she’d stepped out of her comfort zone for a reason and her baby blues were daring him to find out why. He closed the gap and caught the door as she opened it a sliver. Peering through the opening, he saw Jen, still intent on her game. A glance toward the motel room door confirmed that the dead bolt was thrown and locked. They could have a few minutes of privacy.

About the Author:

Dixie Lee Brown lives and writes in Central Oregon, inspired by gorgeous scenery and at least three hundred sunny days a year. Having moved from South Dakota as a child to Washington, Montana and then to Oregon, she feels at home in the west. She resides with two dogs and a cat, who are currently all the responsibility she can handle. Dixie works fulltime as a bookkeeper. When she's not writing or working, she loves to read, enjoys movies, and if it were possible, she’d spend all of her time at the beach. She is also the author of the Trust No One romantic suspense series, published by Avon Impulse.

Please visit her website: http://www.dixiebrown.com
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/Dixie-Lee-Brown-311618418919108/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DixieLeeBrown
Or join her street team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/309603219231692/

Order today at:

Amazon - http://amzn.to/2n6Wzt1
Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/2EpY38y
iTunes - https://apple.co/2GblJ2l
Google Play - http://bit.ly/2n5CpPT
Kobo - http://bit.ly/2DCARY2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Don't Call Me Cupcake

Author: Tara Sheets

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 24, 2018

Publisher: Zebra Shout – Kensington Publishing

Series: The Holloway Girls

Format: Digital eBook / Print

Digital ISBN: 1420146264

Print ISBN: 9781420146264

Synopsis

There’s a very special kind of sweetness to life on Pine Cove Island …

Most families have a favorite recipe or two, handed down through generations. The Holloway women are a little different. Emma Holloway, like her grandmother before her, bakes charms into her delicious cupcakes, granting the recipient comfort, sweet dreams, or any number of good things. It’s a strange gift, but it brings only happiness. Until gorgeous, smooth-talking newcomer Hunter Kane strolls into her shop, Fairy Cakes—and Emma makes the mistake of selling him not one, but three Sweet Success cupcakes.

Hunter, it turns out, is opening a fancy new restaurant and bakery right on the waterfront—Emma’s competition. To make matters worse, the town committee has decided to split the upcoming summer festival contract between the two, forcing Emma to work with her nemesis. But she can’t afford to split her profits. The solution: create a recipe that will make Hunter leave town permanently.

The Holloway charms are powerful. But there are other kinds of magic in the world—like red-hot first kisses, secret glances, and the feeling that comes with falling truly, madly, inconveniently in love . . .

🔗 Add to Goodreads ... 🔗 Amazon

🔗 Barnes and Noble ... 🔗 iBooks

Copyright© 2018 Don’t Call Me Cupcake

Tara Sheets

That half smile ghosted across his face again and he crossed his arms. It was a simple gesture of relaxed ease, but Emma didn’t buy it. There was a hunger in his dark green gaze that she remembered all too well. The lion was on high alert.

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked.

“It was wrong,” she blurted.

Hunter’s posture shifted slightly. “You think last night was a mistake.”

“Totally. I mean, I never do that kind of thing. Ever. I don’t know what I was thinking, you know?” Here came the babble. She always babbled when she was nervous. “But I know it’s not a good idea to mix my personal life with business. And you and I are just business, so I hope you understand it’s not going to happen again because, you know, I can’t really believe it even happened in the first place.”

His gaze was intense, like he was imagining the things they could do. The things they had done. A delicious shiver skittered up her spine. She forged ahead. “I mean, I just don’t think it should have happened at all. It was kind of crazy and well, contrary to what you may have heard, I’m not actually crazy. Weird, sure. But not reckless like that. At least I never have been in the past. So anyway, I would like to forget about it and, you know, just go on like before,” said the queen of Babble-on. “Normal and stuff.”

Hunter nodded once and glanced down at the floor. He seemed deep in thought, as if he was trying to make a decision.

Emma tried not to notice his muscular arms, crossed against his chest. Nothing sexy about those. Nope. La la la. She could hear the second hands ticking on the wall clock. Tick. Tick.

He pressed his lips together and she suddenly remembered the feel of them, warm and hot against the sensitive spot on her neck. Focus!

When he finally lifted his head, her knees almost buckled. The lion stared back, all wild and hungry and seductive, like he was about to lick zebra chops. He leaned closer.

She should probably back away.

He watched her beneath thick, dark lashes and lowered his gaze to her mouth.

Yup. Definitely backing away soon. She could almost feel the heat of his body on hers and her traitorous limbs ached with the desire to step closer.

His face hovered inches from hers, as if he was waiting for some sign.

Any second now, she would back away. Any second. Emma’s mouth opened on a tiny indrawn breath.

It seemed to be exactly what he was waiting for. The moment his lips touched hers, her limbs flooded with heat. Her body remembered him and was instantly ready.

He gripped her hips and lifted, pulling her flush against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, completely lost in the kiss that spread like wildfire through her blood. He carried her to the back room, knocking over a bag of sugar on the way as he braced her up against the pantry wall. She gripped the edge of the shelf, sending stainless steel mixing bowls toppling to the floor. The two of them were like a hurricane, demolishing anything that got in the way, and she was helpless to do anything but hang on.

Emma suddenly wanted to feel his skin against hers. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it up, breaking away from their kiss just long enough to tear it over his head.

A low growl escaped him as he ran his hands up under her apron, sending a jolt of pure desire rocketing through her.

Screwed. She was so screwed. But in this moment, who cared?

She smiled against his mouth and licked his lips. If he was the hungry lion, then she was happy, slow-roasting zebra chops.

TARA SHEETS is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Her work has earned first place recognition in literary contests nationwide and her debut novel, Don’t Call Me Cupcake, won the 2016 Golden Heart® award sponsored by Romance Writers of America®. Tara began her career as an author in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the rain and the misty mountains and the rivers of Starbucks coffee.  She now lives in the warm, wonderful South where she can stand outside with no coat on, and she finds that pretty inspiring too. When not writing, Tara enjoys life with her book-loving family and a book-eating dog named Merlin. She is represented by Sarah Phair at Trident Media Group.

🔗 Website ... 🔗 Facebook

Rafflecopter

Spotlight: Return of the Lycan King (Lex & Elizabeth)

Lex and Elizabeth can finally be together as mates. But the Lycan who killed her is back, and he's threatening the King. Will they be able to bring down the threat to their future happiness, or will Elizabeth's fears tear them apart? Find out in the newest edge of your seat title in Candace Blackburn's Return of the Lycan King Trilogy!

Synopsis

Lex thought he'd lost her, but Elizabeth is back and she is his mate. But between her getting used to life as a Lycan, threats from dangerous elements looming over their heads and very odd changes in the Lycan kingdom happening all around them, nothing will be easy. Lex and Elizabeth's love has to be the strength to pull them through.

Copyright © 2018 Return of the Lycan King: Book 2 Lex and Elizabeth

Candace Blackburn

"Alexei, are you okay?"

"No. I'm not." He turned, facing her now but still staying by the window. Keeping distance between them. "If those two... damnable women had not drugged my stew. If you hadn't seen me with them. If you hadn't been attacked. So many what ifs, and so many lost years. All this time, we could've been together. We could've had every night together. Met every morning in each other's arms." He slashed his arm through the air. "No weeks or months spent wondering if I'd get to see you again. No missing you with every beat of my heart."  The tears steadily flowed. His canines had dropped, and his eyes held the unmistakable telltale yellow of a transitioned Lycan. Claws tipped his fingers. Wolf and man seemed to battle for control, and Lex was emotionally raw. "So many nights I wished you were there, so I could tell you I loved you. Every night, I prayed you were safe. And many nights, I asked God why you couldn't be mine. But. You. Were. And the idiocy of three people cost us two thousand years of happiness."

"You're right," she said as she rose off the bed. "I can't understand why any of this happened. I've questioned the very same thing, and can find no answer. But we're here together now. And isn't that what counts?" He watched as she took slow steps toward him, and his expression slowly began to soften. "In a matter of speaking, you claimed me that night in Portugal, and we've been together since."

His eyes momentarily widened in surprise. "Yes, but we spent so many nights apart. Nothing should have separated us. Nothing." He was right. There was no sense trying to talk him down when she believed what Lex said just as strongly as he did. "You mentioned Portugal. Were you following me?"

Nodding slowly, she now stood in front of him. "Yes. Jules made sure I had control of my hungers, and taught me how to use my strengths. Once that was done, and I was confident in my abilities, I went in search of you. By that time, you were serving the King. And I followed you on your missions."

"When I saw you, I damned near lost track of what I was doing."

She smiled, remembering making eye contact with Lex for the first time. The sensation was electric, the pull of a Lycan mate bond weakened, but still present. "But you did your job, and then you came to me."

His claws retracted, and a smile curling his full lips, he nodded. "And then I came to you." He pulled her into his arms, and embraced her firmly. "I mourn all the moments we lost."

"As do I, Alexei. But we have the future."

His chest shook as he exhaled a ragged breath. "Yes we do. I can't lose you again, Elizabeth."

"I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere.”

About Candace Blackburn:

Candace makes her home in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart husband and their two sons.  She's an indie author who has published two previous romances (with a bit of fantasy in each), Tristan's Redemption and Nate's Forgiveness.  Her current works are all paranormal romance (her favorite genre to read!) and are set in her home state.  She loves coffee, cold weather, the Boston Red Sox, the Carolina Panthers, and hearing from fans.

🔗 Goodreads ... 🔗 Website

🔗 Amazon ... 🔗 Facebook

🔗 Barnes and Noble ... 🔗 Twitter

GIVEAWAY