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Title: Tainted Forever
Series: Tainted Knights #5
Author: Terri Anne Browning
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
Through ups and downs, Jace and I have faced everything head on.
Until he started keeping secrets.
I loved him too much to just give up on us, but when I was confronted with proof I could no longer ignore, I left.
Yet having Jace clear up what he was hiding didnât magically mend my heart back together.
His secrets broke us completely.
Now the forever I dreamed of us having was tainted.
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Terri Anne Browning is multiple USA TODAY bestselling author. Being dyslexic, she never thought a career in writing would be possible, yet she has been on best selling lists multiple times since 2013. Reese: A Safe Haven Novella was her first Indie published book. The Rocker Who Holds Me changed the tables and kicked off The Rocker... series featuring the sinfully delicious members of Demon's Wings. The Rocker... Series is now complete with 12 books and the occasional novella. Other books by Terri Anne include the Angel's Halo MC Series, as well as The Lucy & Harris Novella Series, The Vitucci Mafiosos Series, and The Tainted Knights Rocker Series.
Terri Anne lives in Virginia with her husband, their three demons---err, children--and a hyper Frenchie named Grunt.
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Title: Brazen
Series: Brazen Duet #1
Authors: M. Malone & Nana Malone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
Wham, bam, thank you maâam? Thatâs my motto.
Thereâs no room in my life for anything more complicated than a one-night stand. Iâm a bodyguard. Itâs easier to put my life on the line when thereâs no one worrying if Iâll make it home for dinner. But then the one woman who made me want more waltzes back into my life needing my protection. Despite our explosive chemistry, we canât go there again. What happened in Vegas, has to stay in Vegas. Except the marriage vows neither of us remember.
NYT & USA Today bestselling author M. Malone lives in the Washington, DC metro area with her husband and their two sons. She holds a master's degree in Business from a prestigious college that would no doubt be scandalized by how she's using her expensive education.
Independently published, she has sold more than 1/2 million ebooks in her two series, THE ALEXANDERS and BLUE-COLLAR BILLIONAIRES. Since starting her indie journey in 2011 with the runaway bestselling novella "Teasing Trent," her work has appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than a dozen times.
She's now a full-time writer and spends 99.8% of her time in her pajamas.
Nana Malone
USA Today bestselling author Nana Malone's love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense novel she "borrowed" from her cousin.
It was a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana, and Nana was a precocious thirteen. She's been in love with kick-butt heroines ever since. With her overactive imagination constantly channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters.
While she waits for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, Nana works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as brazen and kick-butt as she thinks she is.
Title: Reaching Refuge
Series: Shelter Me #2
Author: Annie Anderson
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
A couple in secret. Two warring families. This town isn't big enough for the both of them.
Slinging whiskey is all Avery Wells knows how to do, and soon she won't even have that. If she can't change her uncle's mind, her dreams of owning the family watering hole will soon go up in smoke.
Being an outcast is nothing new for Graham Foster, but when it comes to Avery, being on the outs was never apart of the plan. Despite their past, Graham never lost hope that they could find their way back to each other. Convincing Avery of that fact might be a harder sell.
But fighting their pull is the least of Avery's problems because someone doesn't want her to win the family bar, and murder isn't off the table.
Be careful where you seek your refugeâ¦
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Excerpt
âYou canât.â Smack. âSpray water.â Smack. âOn a goddamn gas fire, you fucking idiot.â Smack, smack, smack.
âOkay, okay. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Avery. You coulda just told me, no need for violence.â
No need for violence. I ought to smash his testicles with my boot heel and see what he says about violence.
I looked over my shoulder to make sure the flames were actually out while simultaneously worrying that the smoke alarms and sprinklers didnât go off, upset that Graham and my brother were in the same damn room, and fretting over the fact that we were out of tequila and spiced rum and all my waitresses almost quit on me.
I didnât have time for this brand of family drama.
âTell that to my wrist, fucknut,â I muttered, unleashing the full power of my perfected âMom Stareâ â a single raised eyebrow along with my usual resting bitch face.
Remyâs eyes widened, looking down at my now-red wrist and back up to my eyes again. âIâm sorry, A. I didnât mean it.â
My raised eyebrow held some heft, and he appeared adequately shamed. Remy always said that my singular raised eyebrow reminded him so much of our mom it hurt. I didnât pull it out often, but I wasnât now â nor had I ever been â a woman he could push around, so the shithead deserved it.
âI know you didnât mean to.â
âDidnât mean to what?â a growl vibrated behind me.
Shit sticks.
I really didnât want to, but I turned, looking up, up, up at Graham. His eyes were like two clear pools of blue fire, a mix of wrath and vengeance making them burn bright.
âRemy didnât know you couldnât put out a gas fire with water. We fought over the sprayer nozzle. Itâs what siblings do. Iâm fine,â I said, the calm I injected into my voice the exact same one I used on rowdy drunks though not one Iâd ever had to use on him. I donât think he drank more than one or two beers at a time maybe ever.
Grahamâs gaze dropped from my eyes to my wrist, and I watched as his already strung-tight body turned to a hunk of living stone. Everyone in town knew about Graham Foster. They knew about his mama turning him out at the age of ten when he stepped between her and his step-father.
They knew every bit of the gossip.
I did, too.
We all knew about how he ended up broken and bloody on Mrs. Petersonâs doorstep in the middle of a Colorado winter. How he still watched out for his mama even though she turned him away. That same ten-year-old grew up to be the nearly twenty-one-year-old man who stepped in a Wells mess that completely changed the course of his life.
Iâd never been so ashamed to look someone in the eye as I was when I looked at Graham. Because Graham was a protector. He was a protector at ten, at twenty.
And at thirty-five he still was one â especially when it came to me.
Even when protecting me nearly cost him his life.
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Author Bio
Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, sheâll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, an old man of a dog, and a young pup that makes life⦠interesting.
In her past lives, Annie has been a lifeguard, retail manager, dental lab technician, accountant, and now she writes fast-paced romantic thrillers with some serious heat.
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Giveaway
Title: Build: A Bad Boy Snowed In Romance
Series: Burns Brothers #1
Author: Gillian Archer
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
Welcome to Bad@ss Builds where the motorcycles are as sexy as the brothers building them.
Austin Burns:
I thought she wasnât real the first time I saw her. To be fair I was a hungover mess when I woke up and looked into her gorgeous eyes. After getting the second worst news of my lifeâthat my father would be paroled soonâIâd escaped to my buddyâs posh cabin near Lake Tahoe. Now the maid with the gorgeous eyes is snowed in with me, and I wonder if she might be a better distraction than the mountain of booze Iâd planned on drinking. Sheâs curvy in all the right places, and the snow is falling faster.
Rachel Tannenbaum:
As a single mom, I donât have time for men, especially irresponsible tattooed bad boys like my ex. But Austin is hot. And sexy. And stuck here in the cabin with me. I canât say no to a fling with this bad boy, especially since Austin is so gorgeous and awkwardly sweet.
One night becomes two, and I donât know if I can risk my heartâand my little boyâsâif Austin wants it to become more when we get through the snow and back to reality.
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Excerpt
Iâd just straightened up the pile of mats when a scraping sound caught my attention. Raising the blinds, I looked out the window and saw Rachel standing in the middle of the road, shovel in hand, pushing the snow into big piles. Sheâd got about ten feet of road cleared in addition to her car.
Did she really think she could plow the fucking road between here and the highway? It was miles of road!
âSon of a bitch.â I ran out of the room. Three steps later, I almost tripped over Blue in the hallway. Heâd taken up a post between me and the doorway, almost like he couldnât decide who he should be guarding. âHey, boy. You okay?â
Blue sat up with a whine and swung his head toward the front door.
âYeah, I think we gotta talk some sense in her. She canât plow the fucking road all by herself. Come on.â I grabbed my coat next to the door and pulled it on over my naked chest. My shirt was balled up somewhere in Coleâs home gym. I shoved my bare feet into my boots next to the door and half-assedly laced them up. Blue whined next to me, urging me to hurry. I ripped open the door, and Blue bounded out, with me close on his heels.
âWhat the hell are you doing, woman!â I shouted before I met up with Rachel.
She glanced at me then bent down to pet Blue. âWhat does it look like?â
âIt looks like youâre fucking insane. You do know thereâs like five miles of road between us and the highway, right? Are you planning on plowing the whole fucking thing by hand?â
âI have to do something!â Rachel waved an agitated hand as she stood back up to face me. âI canât just sit here and wait for someone to call or show up. I have people waiting on meâmy family is counting on me.â
âYou think I donât know that? You think the same fucking thing isnât happening to me right now? I was supposed to be at work today too. Our scariest fucking client is expecting a bike delivery today, and Iâm not gonna be there to stand between him and my brother. Thatâs my job! Thatâs what Iâve done my whole life, and today Iâm not gonna be there. I wonât be there to protect him.â
Rachel stared back at me with wide eyes, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish.
I sighed as some of my anger melted away at Rachelâs bewilderment.
I hadnât meant to reveal so much. My shit was my shit. No one else needed to know what was really going on in my lifeâleast of all a piece of ass Iâd hooked up with for a night. I just had so much anger pent up. Booze hadnât helped. Exercise hadnât helped. Really the only thing thatâd worked was when I had her naked and under me, but thatâd never happen again.
I needed to get my shit under control.
âLook, Iâm sorry, okay?â I reached over and gently took the snow shovel out of her hands. âWe all have shitâthatâs all Iâm saying. Well, that, and thereâs no way either of us is going to be able to dig our way out of this mess. Thereâs too much road between us and the highway. Itâs dangerous. Weâre better off waiting until the plow comes. I donât know where the hell Coleâs business manager is, but he still hasnât called me back. If youâd like, I can call around and see if I can find another service.â
Rachel bit her lip and looked down the long, snow-covered road, her brow wrinkled.
âIâll even pay.â
Rachelâs eyes shot to mine. âItâs not the money thatâs bothering me. Well, it is, âcause I canât afford it, but Iâm worried about the weather. Thereâs supposed to be another system moving in this afternoon. If we canât get out of here by noon, I doubt youâll find another outfit willing to come out in the middle of another storm. We could be trapped here overnight again.â
I nodded slowly. âIâll get on the horn and see if we can get you home to your little boy sooner than later.â
âThank you.â
Author Bio
Gillian has a bachelorâs degree in mining engineering but prefers to spend her time on happily ever after. She writes the kind of stories she loves to readâthe hotter the better!
When Gillianâs not pounding away on the keyboard, she can be found surfing the couch indulging in her latest reality tv fixation, baking something ridiculously tasty (and horrible for her waist line) or snuggling with her husband.
Home is currently in the wilds of Nevada with her amazing husband, ridiculously cute kiddo, and goofy dog.
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Title: Broadway Beans
Author: Karen Cimms
Publisher: Lone Sparrow Press
Genre: Romantic Comedy/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
Aiden Winchester: Call it self-preservation, but I need to get out of Hollywood. My heartâs just been shredded by my longtime girlfriend. Worse yet, we have to pretend weâre still Americaâs sweethearts until after our next picture is released. With the next six months looking more like American Horror Story than a Lifetime channel love story, Iâm heading east to make my stage debut.
Broadway, here I come.
Franky Marchesi: I love my close-knit Italian family. Iâd probably love them a lot more if they werenât in my face all the time. So when my best friend begs me to move into her Upper West Side brownstoneârent freeâto take care of her new pup whenever she travels, Iâd be crazy to say no. But while my living expenses are covered, I still need to make some money if Iâm ever going to save enough for college. So with a little luck and no experience, I land a job as a barista at Broadway Beans, a coffee shop in the theater district. But on my first day, I almost kill the hottest guy Iâve ever seen. With a latte. Who knew making over-priced coffee could be so difficult?
Itâs a hell of a great way to meet someone though.
A modern-day âMoonstruck,â BROADWAY BEANS is a friends-to-lovers romantic comedy.
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Excerpt
It was nearly two oâclock when we stopped in front of an Italian deli. The entire scene looked like a movie set. Kids played in the street. Old women in black coats and kerchiefs waited on a bench in front of a bus stop. A group of teenagers hung out on the street corner, wearing flat-brimmed baseball caps and blasting hip-hop music until a woman opened a window from the second story of a nearby building and threatened to call the cops.
And all this in temperatures that had my nose at a near-constant drip and my blood turning to slush.
The driver opened his door to step out, but Franky was already out of the car.
âDonât sweat it,â I said, patting him on the shoulder. âThanks for catching my signal earlier.â
âNo problem, sir. What time would you like me to return?â
I didnât have a clue. Dinner with my parents was usually an hour tops if I could help it. But I already knew Frankyâs family was nothing like mine.
âI donât know. Letâs say around six. If it will be any earlier or later, Iâll call. Otherwise, meet us here.â
I slid across the seat and joined Franky on the sidewalk.
âNow listen.â She squinted up at me, her eyes lit by the sun, reflecting the richest dark chocolate and a kaleidoscope of greens and golds. âI texted my mother already to let her know you were coming. I told her we were friends but because youâre a guy, theyâre going to jump to conclusions. My dad will probably give you the stink eye and look threatening. My brother will say something stupid because he canât help himself. My mother will ask you a million questions. And my nonna will say something wildly inappropriate, but since she only speaks Italian, you wonât even realize it.â She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and tucked a curl behind her ear. âAnd thatâs a heads-up for who I know will be here. There can be any number of aunts, uncles, or cousins showing up to dinner. My Uncle Al and Aunt Pip will probably be here with their kids. They live at the end of the block. And probably my Uncle Gae.â
âHeâs gay?â
She waved her hand. âNo. Gae. Gaetano. But everyone calls him Gae.â She moved in closer, as if there were a chance someone on the street might hear what she was about to say.
âUncle Gae has a couple of little . . . quirks. From the war. He has a nervous tic, so he might look like heâs winking at you, but heâs not. Itâs pretty obvious, especially if heâs nervous or irritated. He tends to yank his shoulder up when he does it. Just donât stare at him. It makes him angry, and when he gets angry, he starts to turn in these little half-circles.â She began to demonstrate, turning first one way and then the other. With a limp, which sheâd failed to mention.
I couldnât help it. I laughed. She had to be pulling my leg, from the foul-mouthed grandmother to the shell-shocked uncle.
She stopped spinning and glared at me.
âYou think itâs funny my Uncle Gae was hurt fighting Mussolini?â
âMussolini? You have an uncle old enough to have fought in World War II?â
âGreat-uncle. Heâs my nonnaâs oldest brother.â
Had I always been such a jerk, or was it something that unveiled itself only in cold weather? It seemed that since Iâd arrived in New York, I was saying and doing the stupidest things.
I swallowed and schooled my face to look remorseful. âIâm sorry. I would never laugh at a war hero.â
âHero?â The way she looked at me, youâd think Iâd shoved my foot farther down my throat. âWho said anything about being a hero? He was trying to save wine casks near Bologna when Allied artillery fire blew up the building where they were stored. Heâs an idiot. But heâs family.â
She gave me a baleful stare and shook her head.
A window opened overhead and an attractive older woman leaned out. âFrancesca! You gonna stand there all day or are you coming inside? You want we should starve waiting for you?â
With her hand shielding her eyes, Franky hollered back.
âWeâre coming! Jeez.â She could be very loud for such a little girl.
âYou ready?â she asked, squinting up at me.
âHonestly, Iâm not sure.â I glanced overhead as the window snapped shut with a bang.
âYouâll be fine. Just donât let them get you all flustered. If they spot any weakness, thatâs when theyâre most likely to attack.â
Author Bio
Karen Cimms is a contemporary romance writer, editor, and music lover. She was born and raised in New Jersey and still thinks of the Garden State as home. She began her career at an early age rewriting the endings to her favorite books. It was a mostly unsuccessful endeavor, but she likes to think she invented fanfiction.
Karen is married to her favorite lead guitar player. Her children enjoy tormenting her with countless pranks because they love her, or so they say. She currently lives in Northeast Pennsylvania, although her heart is usually in Maine.
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span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: x-small;">
Title: Ruthless River
A Men of Mercy Series Novella
Author: Lindsay Cross
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
Laney was a woman on the run. Her ex-husband, who just happened to be a cop, had a penchant for violence and, after Laney took their daughter and ran, he had a promise for revenge. She'd made a new life with a new name and had plans to stay hidden forever, but even the best laid plans go wrong⦠Forced to rush her daughter to the hospital Laney's location is revealed.
Laney had vowed to never seek help from a man again, until Riserâs 200 pounds of packed muscle made her his own personal mission. He vowed to protect her and her daughter from her ex, but could she trust him with their lives when she'd been burned so badly in the past? Riser Malone was an admitted adrenaline junkie whose distraction on a crucial mission last year had resulted in complete failure of his objective: protect the girl. Unable to face his failure, Riser accepted every mission put before him, but a lull in the terrorist tempo left him with too much time on his hands back home. He needed a distraction, and he needed it badly. And that distraction showed up in the form of Laney and her daughter. With an abusive ex bearing down on her, Riser saw his second chance at redemption. And after one night with her, Riser knew his bachelorhood was over, but if he ever had any hope for a relationship with Laney in the future, he'd have to make sure her abusive ex-husband would never harm her again.
***previously released as Risers Resolve novella in Kindle World
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Title: Drawn Into Love
Series: Fluke My Life #4
Author: Aurora Rose Reynolds
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Blurb
From New York Times bestselling author Aurora Rose Reynolds comes a flirty romantic comedy of big love and second chances.
Courtney Williams wanted forever. She got six years of empty promises, a divorce, and a well-deserved settlement thatâs paid her way to Manhattan. She has a new home under renovation, a new job, and a do-over as a happy âsingle in the cityââuntil she meets an architect with designs on more than her beams. Heâs also a devoted single dad, a great cook, and has dark lashes to die for. Too good to be true. Now all Courtney can do is whisper, Oh no, not again.
Divorced Lucas Fremont isnât looking to get swept away. But how can he not with a woman this sweet and sexy? Sheâs making his broken heart beat fast. His sister-in-law, Fawn, says go for it. But as cautious as Courtney is, Lucas has to do more than that. He has to fight for it. Now all he can do is think, Donât let this one get away.
But Courtney comes with a secret. And Lucas comes with a bitter ex. If love is to stand a chance, theyâre going to have to take a chance.
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Author Bio
Aurora Rose Reynolds is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author whose wildly popular series include Until, Until Him, Until Her, Underground Kings and Shooting Stars.
Her writing career started in an attempt to get the outrageously alpha men who resided in her head to leave her alone and has blossomed into an opportunity to share her stories with readers all over the world.
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Manda's 5 Star Review
I am such a huge fan of this author. Her books never disappoint and I just fall in love with the characters every single time. The writing and storyline are fabulous and the characters are just amazing. I loved everything about this book. I didn't want to put it down once I started so I just didn't. I was tired the next day but it was so worth it. Such a fantastic book. So I hadn't read the other books in the series before starting this one I have no idea how I missed them. I must have been living under a rock but they are now on my list to read next. Can't wait to jump in.
Title: ReWined: The Complete Series
Author: Kim Karr
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: January 28, 2019
Blurb
My life is one big party until the day I turn 27 and everything changes. Before I can take over my grandfatherâs vineyard, I have toâ¦
1) Move back to my hometown.
2) Stop partying. 3) Get married. Wait! What?
Before I know it, Iâm buying a huge-ass diamond ring. Throwing a balls-out engagement party. And making the wedding a quickie before the bride has a chance to change her mind.
Marrying me isnât her first choice. She says this party boy is anything but husband material. That Iâm cocky, arrogant, presumptuous, and even manipulative.
With both of our failing businesses merging and a contract that states only one winery can survive, weâre spending a lot of time negotiating, and not the kind I prefer.
Still, our perfectly unstable marriage is right on track until I go and screw everything up.
Now I have to win her back, and short of rewinding time or riding in on a white horse, Iâm at a loss of how to do that.
Unless⦠Hey, every girl dreams of a Prince Charming. Right? Well, I can redefine this party boy, and turn him into one. Just wait and see. ***Contains all three volumes of the Party Ever After series.***
Excerpt
âWhat do you want?â
âYou,â he growled.
As he stood, my gaze drifted appreciatively over him. The expensive three-piece suit made my mouth water. âIâm not part of the deal?â
One half of his mouth turned up. âThen Iâll negotiate.â
I was in such trouble.
Author Bio
Reader * Chocolate Lover * Writer * Coffee Lover * Romantic * Beach Lover * Yoga Beginner
Kim Karr is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of eighteen novels. Best known for writing sexy contemporary love stories, she enjoys bringing flawed characters to life. Her romances are raw, real, and explosive. Her characters will make you laugh, make you cry, make you feel. And her happily-ever-afters are always swoon worthy. From the brooding rock star to the arrogant millionaire. From the witty damsel-in-distress to the sassy high-powered business woman. No two storylines are ever alike. Get ready to fall in love.
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Title: Ricca
In Loyalty Lies Trust
Author: Esther E. Schmidt
Genre: Standalone Mafia Romance
Release Date: January 22, 2019
Blurb
Chiara was raised into the mafia world the hard way. Enduring the assault at the hands of her father until she was kidnapped and forced to marry a mob boss. One sheâs sure is even worse than her father.
Ricca never backs away from a challenge. When the woman he kidnapped sneers he would never own her, heâs more than happy to prove her wrong. It doesnât matter he is being forced into this marriage by The Syndicate, to cover-up the kidnapping.
An enemy is forging a plan to take Ricca down. Can a marriage, even one forced by the decision of others, turn into a solid band of trust, loyalty, and eventually love? Or will either oneâor their enemyârip out their heart to stop it from beating? Dive into this Mafia Romance where the value of human life is worth less than loyalty.
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Esther E. Schmidt, author of Areion Fury MC, Broken Deeds MC, Wicked Throttle MC, Lost Valkyries MC, Death by Reaper MC, The Dudnik Circle series, and The Swamp Heads series. Sheâs a graphic designer that also loves to write. She released her first series âAreion Fury MCâ in October 2015. Esther lives in The Netherlands with her family, three daughters, and a crazy bulldog. She loves to write about bad boy Alphas with a heart for only one woman. To make it a bit interesting, that woman needs to be a badass herself. She loves to work out and most of her story lines come from doing cardio.
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Title: Kings of Mayhem
Series: Kings of Mayhem MC #1
Author: Penny Dee
Genre: MC Romance/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 28, 2019
Blurb
When a King loves
He loves hard
CADE
Iâve loved her since we were five years old.
We grew up side by side.
Two kids tied together by the Kings of Mayhem Motorcycle Club.
But I broke us.
I broke her.
So, she fled.
Now sheâs back after twelve long years.
And Iâm going to show her all the reasons why we should be together and make her forget all the reasons why we shouldnât.
INDY
Iâm back in town but only because I have to be.
Iâm here to help my mom bury my father.
And the sooner we get it done, the better.
Because I want to see Cade as much as I want a hole in the head.
He broke me onceâno, he broke my everythingâ and Iâll be damned if Iâll let him do it again.
Get in and get out. That is the plan.
But you know what they say about best-laid plans.
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Excerpt
CADE
I heard her as soon as I entered the building.
âItâs a classic, sonny boy, and you donât fuck with the classics. Do you hear me? Or has that combover blocked your ears?â
I couldnât help but grin. The voice belonged to Sybil Calley, my formidable, charismatic grandmother. Seventy-something-years old, she was a force to be reckoned with and very rarely backed down in an argument. Any poor soul who took her on was in for a fierce fight, and by the sounds of it, Tito was about to feel the full force of hurricane Sybil.
âItâs blasphemy! Thatâs what it is. Blasphemy! Why, I bet Deborah Kerr is rolling in her grave, God rest her beautiful soul. How dare you stain such a beautiful story with your weirdness, you rude little boy!â
As I rounded the corner, Sybil and Tito came into view. Tito was standing with his back to the wall with his arms in the air, while my formidable grandmother yelled at him. He looked terrified.
âGrandma Calley,â I interrupted, trying to contain my grin. Seeing me walk in, Tito looked relieved and relaxed his arms.
Sybil wasted no time in getting straight to the point. She held up a DVD so I could see the cover. âDid you know about this?â
I took it from her and couldnât help but grin at the cover. Pure spank bank bullshit that sells. But definitely not what you wanted your grandmother looking at in front of you.
âHow on Earth did you even know about it?â I asked.
âI might be edging close to buying the farm, Cade, but Iâm not quite dead yet. You know I like to keep my finger on the pulse. Itâs Tuesday, and I know you drop into this pit of despair on Tuesdays, so I came down to speak with you.â She gave Tito a withering look. âRan into this little twerp and found this . . .â
She ripped the DVD out of my hands and held it up. The cover was a rip-off of An Affair To Remember, except it was titled, An Anus to Remember. Gay porn. It was a bestseller.
âItâs a disgrace, Cade. An absolute disgrace.â She pushed the DVD into Titoâs chest. âYou should be ashamed of yourself.â
âAinât nothing wrong with a bit of man-on-man love, Grandma,â I said, trying to diffuse the situation. Sybil could be unpredictable at times.
âI know that! Man on man. Woman on woman. I donât give a goddamn! What I do care about is taking a classic and turning it into smut. Now that is not right, Cade. Not right. You donât fuck with the classics.â
âCade, this canât keep happening,â Tito moaned.
Sybil turned back to Tito. âIâm seventy-three years old but I ainât dead yet, sonny. Iâm the original biker queen and Iâm still packing as much attitude as I did back when my old man started the Kings of Mayhem more than fifty years ago. If you ever mess with one of the classics again and put your perverted stamp all over it, I will knock you on your ass, do you hear me?â
Again, I struggled to contain my grin.
Tito, however, looked unraveled. And he had every cause to be because I had no doubt Sybil meant what she said. She was a classy lady who never left the house without taming her bright red hair and putting on a thick coat of red lipstick. But she was a biker queen first. Tough. Fierce. With a mean right hook.
You didnât fuck with Sybil Calley.
Taking pity on Tito, I slunk an arm around Grandmaâs shoulders and guided her toward the front door.
âNow, Grandma, you canât come in here and get up in Titoâs grill about things. Head Quarters is off limits to MC women, remember?â
That rule had come about after Sybil had swept through Head Quarters like a hurricane and upset an entire cast of actresses on the set of a movie we were making called Some Like It Hard. Sybil was a die-hard Marilyn fan and managed to put the fear in all the actresses who were on set, leading to a mass walk-out and halting production for three days.
Not that Sybil paid any attention to rules. She was the original rule breaker. She did what she wanted, when she wanted. And if it suited her, sheâd blame her forgetfulness on her age to get away with it, despite being sharp as a tack.
She waved off the mention of the rules.
âIf that little pervert canât handle a seventy-year-old woman, then he needs to take a cup of cement and harden the fuck up.â She glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at Tito as we were walking away, and muttered, âlittle pussy.â
I tried not to laugh because that would only encourage her, so I asked, âGrandma, why are you here?â
She relaxed and smiled. âNow, Cade, you know youâre my favorite grandsonââ
âYou say that to all your grandsons . . .â
â. . . and I love you. So I wanted to see how you were feeling about Indy coming home.â
âThis isnât her home anymore, Grandma. She lives in Seattle now.â
âThank you, Captain Obvious. But you know what I mean.â Her face softened as she took my hand. âI know the affect that girl has on you. I just wanted to make sureâ¦â
âWhat?â
She smacked me hard on the arm. âThat youâre not going to be an ass about it.â
I couldnât help but grin. Good on Grandma Sybil.
âA lot of water has passed under the bridge, Grandma. Iâm not an eighteen-year-old psychopath anymore.â
Sybil didnât look convinced. âYouâre a Calley and weâre passionate sonsofbitches. When we love, we love big, and if that love dies, then we die a big death along side it. I should know. When your Pappy died, my heart went with him.â
I couldnât help but smile at my feisty grandmother.
âIâm sure Jury wouldnât like to hear you say that,â I said.
Jury was my grandmaâs sixty-year-old boyfriend.
âJury isnât the love of my life. Your grandpappy was. Jury knows Iâm just after his body.â
I raised an eyebrow at her. âGrandma, there are certain things a grandson should never hear his grandmother say, and thatâs right up there with them.â
She waved me off. âThe body may be old and the reflection in the mirror might be slightly different, but the mind is still twenty years old. I might not be able to do it the way I used to butââ
I stuck my fingers in my ears. âLalalalalalalalala . . .â
She rolled her eyes. âFine. Iâll let you think that I donât do the things I still did when I was twenty.â
âSeriously, Grandma . . .â I begged, pained by the mental images.
Sighing dramatically, she changed the subject. âYour mom is making dinner for Lady and Indy. Somehow I was extended an invitation. I assume youâll be there.â
To say Sybil and my mom didnât exactly get along would be an understatement. The civil unrest had ended years ago, but in its wake was a frosty cold war of mammoth proportions. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didnât exactly see eye to eye.
I nodded. âIâm heading over there now.â
âFine. Iâll follow you. Lord knows Iâve had my fair share of pussy and cock today.â
I opened the front door for her and shook my head. âJesus Chri
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