Love that shatters all barriers – #UrbanFantasy #SciFiRomance #EroticRomance @tinadonauthor.bsky.social

Blurb

Pleasure that destroys all thought. Love that shatters all barriers.

Marked for extermination, Lukan has miraculously escaped E4’s Pleasure Palace. There, sex slaves satisfy the cravings of E2’s rulers for voyeurism, bondage, dominance, submission, punishment, and more. However, his freedom is not enough.

He left behind Arez, who once saved his life and captured his heart. Within her fragrant, heated caress, he knew everything denied him…rapture born from yearning, contentment fueled by tenderness and love. Determined to deliver Arez from certain death and have her for his own, Lukan embarks on a rescue he may not survive.

Arez has known only carnal submission and loneliness before Lukan. She aches for his strong arms, his fevered kisses. Upon his return, he offers danger and hope for a future. How can she resist? Never fully tamed, she wants Lukan more than life. But to flee from this twilight dimension to another, to find freedom and their destiny, they must first outwit this plane’s human predators and its monsters.

AMAZON: https://tinyurl.com/yamzv7k9

 

Excerpt

The gentle illumination revealed the stubble on Lukan’s chin, cheeks, and upper lip, making him exceedingly male. Virile. Dangerous. Behind the shutters, night finally pressed in, the sun withdrawing.

With the windows darkened, Lukan pulled back his hood and removed his sunglasses.

Regina gaped, unable to help herself. His shoulder-length hair was thick and wavy, a light golden blond, the color warmer than Damir’s and simply beautiful, while his eyes… Given his sunglasses, she’d expected his irises to be filmy from cataracts or damaged in some way.

In the candlelight, they were a clear blue-green, similar to waters off Bermuda and other exotic locales.

Never had she seen such an exquisite and perfect man. “Who is he?”

Meelo stepped closer. “I created him, along with the others.”

He wasn’t human? He was an android or whatever they called those things?

His skin looked unbelievably real, surely soft and warm to the touch. His chest rose and fell with his quiet breathing, like someone alive rather than a machine. If that was what he was.

It didn’t seem possible, but scientifically, Nikoli’s people were far more advanced than anyone on this side. “Others?”

“Pleasure slaves.” Shame colored Mello’s explanation, surprising from someone raised to show no emotion. “Designed and born to service our government’s rulers on E4.”

So many questions swirled through Regina she couldn’t decide what to ask first. As far as she knew, robots couldn’t be born. She had no idea why Meelo would call machines slaves. Unless they weren’t machines, which led to a more disturbing conclusion. Nikoli’s rulers were even more corrupt than the various government officials on this plane. Those in power over there went beyond extramarital affairs or keeping their people in ignorance and poverty while conducting wholesale genocide. They actually created their victims and indulged in their basest desires, allowing themselves whatever they wanted while demanding order and obedience from their populace.

No wonder Nikoli wasn’t bothered at his leaders believing he’d died heroically in service to their realm. He hadn’t known about this any more than his father probably had. His tightened jaw and the disgust on his face proved as much.

“You’re saying Lukan’s real? That is, human?” For his sake, she hoped he wasn’t.

“Of course.” Damir scrunched her nose then lifted her chin. “What else?”

The woman’s quick defense, the kind a mother would show, convinced Regina there was an emotional bond, at least from Damir’s end.

Despite their discussion about him, Lukan hadn’t commented or shown any emotion. Maybe he didn’t understand English. She spoke to Meelo. “You said designed.”

“On E2, I was a genetic engineer, the same as Damir.” He tightened his fingers on his injured arm, the only indication he had difficulty controlling his feelings. Unlike Damir, who frowned with her mounting agitation, he spoke with stoic composure, the same as others on E2. “We manipulated the genetic code to produce a variety of specimens different from our people. Individuals with a wide spectrum of hair and eye color, features closer to the many races on this dimension, rather than ours. They grew in artificial wombs.”

Good God. This got worse by the second. “So they could be born and used as pleasure slaves?”

“No.” Damir narrowed her eyes. “You don’t understand.”

She matched the woman’s glare. “Actually, I do. Ever hear of Josef Mengele? He tortured countless innocents, murdering them or ruining their lives to create what he considered the perfect race.”

Color rose in Damir’s cheeks. Meelo took her hand. She pulled it away and spoke. “It was our duty to explore the infinite varieties possible within the human genome. We believed our experiments had a biological basis, so we could study and prevent any future disease. We never meant to harm anyone. In the beginning, our rulers said the babies would go to those in high office who were childless and unable to breed.”

Regina didn’t want to ask but couldn’t help herself. “Where did they go?”

Damir hung her head.

Meelo’s hard stance cracked, humiliation seeping through. “As Lukan was our first, he remained with us until he reached what you call majority on this side. We wanted to make certain he was healthy. That he would thrive. We learned later the others were taken after birth to an area within E4’s Pleasure Palace, where they were seen to by a scientific team, given the shelter and nutrition they needed.”

Not love or freedom.

Damir clutched her throat. “Too late we realized what our leaders really wanted. An endless supply of pleasure slaves, delivered to the rulers when they reached maturity. Our people didn’t know about this. Meelo and I found out by accident. By then, we weren’t able to halt the experiments.”

 

Begin Outlawed Realm with book one Unending Desire

AMAZON: https://tinyurl.com/2p8t73s

Blurb

His hunger for one woman will make him a traitor to his world…

From a portal in his lab on E2, one of the five dimensions of Earth, quantum physicist Nikoli Zorr gazes on everything forbidden to him. Passion. Desire. The exquisite pleasure of running his hands over the lush curves of a young woman he should have stopped watching weeks ago.

His duty is to close the portals that keep the monsters out of E2—and never interfere with the inevitable fate of those on the other side. Yet he can’t bring himself to abandon the woman who has captured his soul.

Psychologist Regina Page is trying to focus on her client, and off the mysterious, unbearable sexual cravings that consume her when she’s alone in her bedroom. The next moment she’s attacked by vampires, then swept into another realm by Nikoli, a stranger whose touch awakens that same raw desire. Whose eyes are already filled with farewell.

Yet beneath their undeniable carnal lust, something else stirs. The beginnings of illicit love. The unexpected need to protect him. Even if it means risking body, blood, and soul to defeat the merciless horde…for a future that was never meant to be.

About the Author

Tina’s an Amazon and international bestselling novelist who writes passionate romance for every taste – ‘heat with heart’ – for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. She’s won Readers’ Choice Awards, was named a finalist in the EPIC competition, received a Book of the Year award, The Golden Nib Award, awards of merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competitions, and second place in the NEC RWA contests. She’s featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.

On a less serious note: she’s an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, brakes for Mexican restaurants, and has been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally while wolfing down tostadas. She’s flown a single-engine airplane (freaking scary), rewired an old house using an ‘electricity for dummies’ book, and is horribly shy despite the hot romances she writes.

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/tinadonahue

Bluesky: @tinadonauthor.bsky.social

Website/Blog: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/

Newsletter: https://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/p/newsletter.html

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/146988.Tina_Donahue

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/tinadonahue

Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/1ChWFkO

Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas: https://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/AuthorTinaDonahue 

“What a surprise! A gun instead of the promised gold.” – #Giveaway #MFRWHooks #SteampunkRomance

It’s time for another MFRW Book Hooks blog hop!

I recently had a very encouraging interaction with Amazon’s support team. The e-book version of my steam punk paranormal ménage BDSM romance Rajasthani Moon has been out since 2021. Last year, I started publishing my novels in print as well. In the other cases so far, the e-book and the print book editions were automatically “linked” on Amazon, so that they share reviews and other information. For some reason, that didn’t happen with Rajasthani Moon.

I did some research and tried to fix the problem according to the directions on the KDP website. This just made things worse; after unpublishing and republishing the paperback, the edition somehow got stuck in limbo. It was in “publishing” state for more than two weeks, and listed as “unavailable” on the Amazon website.

In desperation, I turned to the chat option on KDP. My expectations were low, and sank further when the person I was chatting with couldn’t figure out the issue. He promised to refer the query to others and email me within four business days. I sighed and went on to other tasks.

Imagine my delight when the book reappeared on the site within 24 hours. Even better, when I asked the support person who emailed me with this news to help with the linking, they handled that, too.

So, to celebrate this success, I've selected Rajasthani Moon as my book for this week’s Book Hooks. I’ve got a rather humorous excerpt for you, which will give you some notion of the over-the-top tone of this novel.

Meanwhile – if you leave me a comment, I’ll enter you to win a free copy of the e-book edition!

Blurb

A bandit prince cursed into beast form under the full moon.

A brilliant but sadistic Rajah whose robotic sex toys mingle torture and delight.

A voluptuous spy on a mission from Her Majesty, tasked with discovering Rajasthan’s secrets.

She has never faced such a challenge.

When Rajasthan refuses to remit its taxes, the Queen calls on her most lethal and seductive secret agent, Cecily Harrowsmith. Cecily expects to have little difficulty persuading the rebellious Rajah to submit once more to the Empire. Instead, she is the one forced to submit – to endure unprecedented extremes of pleasure and pain.

Kidnapped by the ruler's half-brother Pratan and delivered into the hands of the handsome but depraved Rajah Amir, she soon finds herself fighting against her own lascivious nature as much as the schemes of her captors. Her sympathy for the moon-cursed wolf-man Pratan only complicates her situation. Cecily has never failed to complete an assignment, but now she risks betrayal by both her body and her heart.

And here’s the lovely new linked page on Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DBMLQQG#

The Hook

Cecily struggled to right herself but the damp and twisted fabric of her skirt hampered her movements. Hitting the floor scattered the last vestiges of her lascivious daydream. Instantly her mind was clear as crystal, sorting theories and weighing strategies like clockwork.

Bandits seemed the most likely explanation for their sudden halt. If they’d lost a wheel in some wretched gully, the coach would not have been level. And if the driver had been seized by some affliction, the vehicle would have slowed gradually.

A gunshot rang out, followed by a bloodcurdling yell. The door slammed against the outer wall of the carriage as it was flung open. A swarthy, black-haired scoundrel wearing a mask thrust his torso in the aperture. He released an ominous chuckle when he saw that the only passenger was an apparently defenceless woman.

“Your money and your jewels,” he growled in Hindi. “Quick now!”

Cecily lowered her gaze, feigning modesty. Meanwhile, she tightened her hand into a fist to release the knife. Nothing happened.

Her fall must have damaged the mechanism. Bloody machines…

And, in the interim, the bandit had produced his own much longer blade, which he now held to her throat. “Do you understand me, woman?” He switched to Rajasthani. When she still didn’t respond, he tried Gujarati. “Give me your valuables. Now!” Apparently losing patience, he plucked the gold hoop from her left earlobe with his other hand, while still pressing the cold steel against her skin.

“Ow!” she protested as the wire tugged at her flesh before pulling free.

“Aha! You can speak after all!” He glanced around the plush interior, no doubt noting brocaded cushions, the silver tea service, the crystal goblets secured to the wall in their polished wood racks. “You look like you’ve more than enough to share. Give me your purse before I get tired of waiting and slit your lovely throat.” Despite her Indian costume and the dusky complexion she’d inherited from her Ceylonese mother, the brigand addressed her in English this time, probably cued by the obvious provenance of the artefacts that surrounded her. The clarity of his pronunciation surprised her.

Sprawled on the floor, tangled in her clothing, Cecily glared up at him. A swathe of dark cloth wrapped around his head hid everything but his deep brown eyes. Sheltering under elegantly arched eyebrows, those eyes glittered with malice and craft. He had long, lush eyelashes that any woman would envy and a high forehead that bespoke considerable intelligence. A brute, no doubt, but scarcely dumb. She’d have to move with the utmost care.

“If you will put somewhat more distance between your blade and my flesh,” she began, keeping her voice sweet and level, “I will be able to reach my money. It’s pinned into my waistband.”

The bandit’s eyes flicked to her bare midriff. She let her hand drift down towards the concealed pistol as though she were about to extricate a hidden pouch of coins.

Before she could reach her goal, he shot out his hand, catching her wrist in an iron grip. “Allow me.”He slipped his dagger into a sheath slung across his chest, then grabbed her other wrist and pinned it with the first. His hand was large enough to encircle both of hers.

“Now, then…” He trailed his fingertips across the naked gap between her blouse and her skirt. Electricity sizzled up Cecily’s spine. The next thing she knew, he slid his hand under the fabric of her skirt, rooting around for items more solid than her soft, round belly.

He groped for a moment, while she held her breath. His calloused fingers struck sparks from her flesh. Of course, he discovered her weapon almost instantly. He drew it out, chuckling once more when he saw its size. Her skin mourned the loss of his touch.

“What a surprise! A gun instead of the promised gold.” He tightened his hold on her wrists until she feared the bones would snap. “Who are you, my lady? Not, I think, a common traveller.”

“That’s none of your concern…sir.” Cecily decided that it might be wise to be polite.

“Oh, I think it is. Not many women travel on their own across the wastes of my country, especially in the most modern of conveyances. Those that do are wise to carry a weapon—but this one will not help you. Who sent you, madam? What is your business here?”

“I’ll not share my business with a common brigand.”

“And if I were someone else? Would you tell me then how and why you happen to cross my path?”

Cecily of course had a cover story. Her documents attested that she was the sister of a wealthy Bombay textile merchant, come to Rajasthan looking for business contacts. She was not, however, about to divulge anything to this rogue.

“I will tell you nothing.”

“Indeed? I think I may be able to change your mind.” After tucking the pistol into the folds of his garment, he drew out a length of what, aside from its strange silvery colour, looked like common rope. He dangled it near her trapped wrists. “Bind,” he said.

The rope came alive, coiling like a snake. Quick as a cobra strike, it looped itself around her forearms—once, twice, half a dozen times, pulling tighter with each cycle. Before she could devise a plan, Cecily found her crossed arms were laced together as firmly as the back of a corset.

“How dare you? Untie me at once!”

“So that you can stab me? Or shoot me? Who knows what other cunning devices you have hidden about your charming person? No, on the contrary, I think I’d be wise to bind your legs as well.”

He climbed into the carriage, bringing with him a strong odour of horse and male sweat. Although the vehicle was designed for two passengers, his considerable height and broad shoulders made it feel distinctly crowded, especially with Cecily’s non-trivial bulk occupying a significant area of the floor. He crouched down and reached for her ankle. She scooted away, kicking out at him. Her boot connected solidly with his shin.

“Shiva’s balls!” he cursed. “That hurts!” She cocked her knee back for a second blow, but he caught her foot in mid-kick and raised it until her leg was almost at right angles to her prone body. Her skirt slipped down, baring her knee and part of her thigh, and releasing a flood of her woman-scent.

The miscreant’s eyes widened. No doubt his nostrils flared as well, but they were hidden beneath his impromptu mask. Had Cecily been a fair English rose of a woman, her cheeks would have burnt bright pink. Her mixed heritage allowed her to hide her embarrassment.

“Unhand me, sir!”

Instead, he seized her other ankle, brought her leg parallel to the first, and whipped out another of his devilish self-binding ropes.

“No, please, sir!” Seeing that outrage would get her nowhere, Cecily decided to try deception. If he bound her legs, she would never be able to escape him. “Stop, please. I will reveal everything to you.”

“Of course you will, madam.” The mockery in his voice stung, especially when she remembered that most of her lower body was now visible to his sharp eyes. “Back at my quarters. Bind.”

In an instant, the robotic shackles wound themselves around her calves and ankles. She tried tensing her muscles, so as to create some slack later. The device clamped down with relentless power, forcing her to relax.

“There. I hope I’ll be safe now from your most unladylike aggression.”

Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s hop. And don’t forget to leave an email, if you’re curious about Cecily’s adventures!

---

A lonely future, a failing career, a fresh chance... #WomensFiction #Giveaway

Blurb

At her fiftieth birthday party, Tess Thomason, a plain-Jane, divorced mother and decidedly unprepared women’s newspaper columnist, is blindsided by her well-meaning family with a stack of gift cards she interprets as meaning she’s fat, frumpy, and wrinkled. Facing a lonely future and failing career, Tess embarks on a journey of self-discovery, taking her readers along for the ride. But her resolve is nearly derailed by a hilarious season of family chaos that includes a surprise pregnancy, rushed wedding, and unexpected houseguests. In the midst of it all, Tess is drawn into a confusing new relationship with a man who is impossibly perfect for her. But if she can keep herself, her family, and her willpower firmly seated on the crazy roller coaster of her life, maybe Tess will find her own self-worth and a new love in the bargain.

Excerpt

“Tess, Tess, I’m not expecting you to write like Sylvia. I’m not even expecting you to write about fashion. What I have in mind is a column to women, for women, about women. Real women. Like one of those influencers on the Internet. You know…funny, wise, poignant, and… relevant.”

The creeping dread, now fully formed, tossed a grenade into my stomach. She might as well have asked me to write like Shakespeare. “You want me to be funny, wise, poignant, and…relevant? Are you insane?”

Okay, I may have stepped over the line with that last bit, because Ruth’s face twisted a little in the ominous way I had seen so often just before she pounded her fist on the desk. “Just write the damn thing, Tess. I don’t care if you’re funny, wise, poignant, or what was the other thing?”

“Relevant,” I murmured.

“Relevant, for God’s sake. Just do it. I need a column for the women’s page starting next week, and you’re it. Write about what you know. Family. Food. The laundry. You’ve got family. You’ve got laundry. It’ll be a cinch.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just do it. It’ll be good for you. You need to get out of your rut.” She turned her attention to her computer screen.

As if in a trance, I rose from the chair and turned to leave. “Oh, Tess?” she said without looking at me.

“Yes?” Maybe she’s changed her mind; she saw my outfit, and she changed her mind.

“Happy birthday.”

About the Author

Cindy Causey taught herself to type in the 8th grade because she couldn't write in her diary fast enough in longhand. A degree and career in advertising were the result. A fifteen-year stint as a copy chief at JCPenney Catalog led to the position of Internet Marketing Manager for JCPenney.com.

After 20 years at JCPenney, Cindy retired in December, 2007, and began working full time with her husband Scott in their multi-media production company, Dallas Media Center. They specialized in audio/video production and editing, vintage media transfer to DVD and CD, as well as website design and hosting. Cindy shuttered the company in 2021, three years after Scott passed away.

After her first book, a non-fiction work called Cherish the Gift: a Congregational Guide to Earth Stewardship, was published, Cindy began writing fiction. She found her voice in romance, the stories of the struggles two people endure on the road to happily ever-after. Her debut novel, A Different Drum was published in May 2009 by The Wild Rose Press, followed by A Hot Time in Texas that same year.

In early 2025, her latest novel, Sensible Shoes, a humorous look at a woman struggling with life after 50, was published by The Wild Rose Press. It will be followed in late 2025 by a romantic suspense novel entitled Saving Samantha.

Cindy makes her home in Dallas, Texas. In addition to writing, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her 5 grown children and 4 grandchildren. She would like to see the edges of the entire world from the deck of a cruise ship.

BLOG: https://thewidowwoman.com/

WEBSITE: https://cindycausey.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.ubbencausey

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/cindycausey2/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@cucausey

 PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/causey3994/

Cindy Causey will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Riddled with guilt, entangled in secrets – #RomanticSuspense #CrimeThriller #Giveaway

Blurb

He’s riddled with guilt. She’s annoyed with the status quo.

The death of a crime boss’s daughter forces Detective Neil Caldera to leave NYC. He seeks refuge in the tranquil embrace of a small town, where he finds himself entangled in the labyrinth of a teenage girl’s murder.

Tess Fleishman’s pale skin and extreme weight loss portray a disease she wants others to see. While inside, a compulsion for Neil fuels her passion to have him or destroy him.

As Neil delves into the heart of the town's secrets, will truth deliver solace? Or will Tess prevail?

Excerpt

Happenstance played no role in the display now before him. The artist’s rendition displayed evidence of a warped mind. Malevolence flaunted in the form of a portrait painted with blood.

Neil widened the beam of light with a left twist of the flashlight’s head. Shock jolted him. The likeness on the barn wall stared back at him with remarkable resemblance.

“Holy mother of Moses. I understand why you didn’t want to come back.”

Neil looked at the front and rear doors. Light from an approaching vehicle rose on the front of the barn. Gaps around the door allowed enough streaks of light through to make shadows look as if the light infused them with life. The vehicle continued onward. Every shadow around Neil returned to stationary ominous forms. He half-turned toward the front and listened. The whine of tires on pavement diminished. Silence again filled the barn.

The hinges squawked against Neil’s shove on the right-side door. Chad turned his head in Neil’s direction. He was sitting on the ground with his back to the weathered wood. Knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them and his right hand clamped on his left wrist.

“It’s you.” Chad shuddered, tilted his head toward the barn. “In there. The picture on the wall looks like you.”

Neil glanced inside. The image renewed in his mind. “Is that the reason you called me? To have me look at someone’s depravity smeared on a barn wall?”

Chad shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Then why?”

“I know what you did.”

About the Author

Steve Rush is an award-winning author whose experience includes tenure as homicide detective and chief forensic investigator for a national consulting firm. He worked with the late Joseph L. Burton, M.D, under whom he mastered his skills, and investigated many deaths alongside Dr. Jan Garavaglia of Dr. G: Medical Examiner fame. His specialties include crime scene reconstruction, injury causation, blood spatter analysis, occupant kinematics, and recovery of human skeletal remains.

Steve’s book Kill Your Characters; Crime Scene Tips for Writers was named finalist in the 2023 Silver Falchion Award for Best Nonfiction and Honorable Mention in the 2023 Readers’ Favorite Awards. Lethal Impulse won the 2022 Public Safety Writing Association’s Writing Competition for an unpublished novel, longlisted in the 2022 Page Turner Awards and joint first prize in the 2020 Chillzee KiMo T-E-N Contest.

Publishing credits

Kill Your Characters; Crime Scene Tips for Writers, Genius Books, June 2022

Blood Red Deceit, Wings ePress, (thriller) September 2023

After Her Deceit, Wings ePress, (thriller) October 2024

Lethal Impulse, The Wild Rose Press, (romantic suspense/crime thriller) October 2024

Upcoming 2025 releases:

The Shocking Truth (crime thriller) presale 02/15/25, and Deadline 4:59 (crime thriller), Wings ePress

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCC8KC8Y/ref=sr_1_1

https://wildrosepress.com/product/lethal-impulse/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lethal-impulse-steve-rush/1146046139?ean=2940185631614

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781509258130

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781509258123

Social Links

https://www.steverush.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-rush-a20302149/

https://steverush.substack.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5217876

https://www.amazon.com/author/steve_rush

Steve Rush will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

He'd probably seduced half the female population of London – #VictorianRomance #SlowBurn @katehillromance.bsky.social

Blurb

When wealthy businessman Max Barnes takes in two orphans to rear as his own, he has no idea that the governess he hires to care for them will change his life.

Grace Martin has spent years protecting her country. Now she's ready for a quiet, normal life as governess to a pair of young orphans. What she doesn't count on is the children's charming father stealing her heart and a vengeful assassin from her past targeting her through Max and his children.

Max and Grace must reveal their darkest secrets or risk losing everything.

Note: This book contains references to sexual abuse, child abuse, and mental health issues in a historical setting. It also has some sensual scenes and some violence.

Buy Links

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Grace-Barnes-Family-Book-ebook/dp/B0DP8DLWXR

Barnes & Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/warriors-grace-kate-hill/1146615769

UBL:

https://books2read.com/u/4EvvXO

Excerpt

Grace had learned to expect the unexpected, but she was still surprised when she met Maxwell Barnes. Andrews, the butler, escorted her to the parlor to introduce her.

She had been wrong about Mr. Barnes being an older man. He was not only young, but incredibly attractive. Tall and lean with dark, curling locks, he carried himself with an air of confidence. Still, the sparkle in his blue eyes revealed a sense of humor.

He stood by the hearth, examining the brass clock resting on top of it, but his gaze shifted toward them and fixed on Grace. She couldn’t help noticing how his large eyes were far too beautiful. He had probably seduced half the female population of London with those eyes.

“Sir, may I present Miss Grace Martin.”

Mr. Barnes nodded and flashed a charming smile. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Good afternoon, sir.” Grace held his gaze.

Andrews left them alone to talk.

The thought crossed her mind that maybe the children weren’t orphans after all. Maybe they were Maxwell Barnes’s illegitimate offspring and he was trying to be decent by caring for them.

Speaking of the children, the pair sat side by side on the brown velvet couch. Though well dressed, they were rather thin, but Andrews had told her that they had been sorely neglected before Mr. Barnes took them in just under two weeks ago. He had quite literally taken them off the street.

Both children had straight, silky brown locks and large blue eyes. The girl looked a couple of years older than the boy, who had yet to lose his baby-like innocence.

“Miss Martin, please meet Jane and Sam.” Mr. Barnes gestured toward the children.

Grace offered them a slight smile. “Hello, children.”

“Hello,” they replied in unison.

“I understand you worked for the same family for the past year,” he continued.

“Yes, sir. It was only temporary, since I replaced their usual governess while she attended to family business in France. Once she returned, my services were no longer required.”

“Even so, they spoke highly of you. Please sit.” He motioned for her to take a chair near the couch.

She did as he asked, and he walked to the couch and sat beside Sam.

For the next half hour, the interview went smoothly, though Grace and Jane did most of the talking. Sam was rather timid, but after a while he responded to her more openly. She noted that he seemed particularly attached to Mr. Barnes.

The children were engaging and intelligent, but their poor background was apparent in their speech. Since they were so young, this would be relatively simple to correct.

Maxwell Barnes spent most of the interview observing her interaction with the children. He sometimes joined the conversation with pleasant and even humorous comments as well as questions about her previous post and her views on teaching. As she had guessed, he was a charmer. In her career, she had known all kinds of men and found his sort to be the most dangerous. Outwardly, he was easy to like, but what was his true nature beneath the handsome looks and boyish charm?

Finally he said, “Thank you for your time, Miss Martin.”

Was he dismissing her? Grace scolded herself for already imagining herself in this house, teaching these children and warding off the charming Mr. Barnes.

About the Author

Kate Hill is a vegetarian New Englander who loves writing romantic fantasies. When she's not working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out, watching horror movies, and researching vampires and Viking history. She runs the Compelling Beasts Blog that is dedicated to antagonists, antiheroes, and paranormal creatures. Kate also writes as Saloni Quinby.

Visit her online at https://www.kate-hill.com. Join her newsletter at https://kate-hill.com/index.php/newsletter.

Contact Links

Website: https://www.kate-hill.com

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