By
Ashe Barker (Guest Blogger)
I’m
really
excited
about
Hardened.
I’ve
written
quite
a
few
M/f
stories,
and
they
mostly
tend
to
start
out
with
the
male
hero
in
a
position
of
power
or
influence.
Hardened
is
different.
When
we
meet
Jared
and
Molly
he
is
a
prisoner
serving
time
for
armed
robbery
and
she’s
a
prison
officer.
The
chemistry
between
them
is
off
the
scale
sexy
though,
and
even
though
it
spells
trouble
for
them
both,
but
especially
for
her,
they
can’t
keep
their
hands
off
each
other.
For
a
while
I’ve
been
thinking
about
a
story
that
starts
out
a
bit
different
and
this
is
it.
Jared
is a
bad lad
(don’t
we all
just love
one of
those?) but
he’s
bright too,
and talented,
and can
see where
he’s
gone wrong.
He’s
made some
bad choices
when he
was younger
but he’s
determined to
forge a
different life
for himself,
though it’s
not always
that simple.
I suspect
the same
is true
for most
ex-offenders –
it can
be hard
to completely
walk away
from your
old associates
and as
Jared discovers,
the past
has a
habit of
never being
that far
behind you.
Blurb
Despite
the fact that he is doing time for armed robbery, Molly MacBride is
drawn to Jared North almost from the moment she sets eyes on him.
Even behind bars his confidence and dominance are undeniable, and
soon enough she is willingly baring her bottom and placing herself
across his strong thighs, surrendering to both firm punishment and
intense pleasure.
When
all hell breaks loose during a prison riot, it is Jared who saves
Molly’s life, but she is so shaken by the incident that she quits
her job and does her best to put him out of her mind. As the years
pass, however, Jared never relinquishes his place in her heart—or
her fantasies—and when she learns that he has been released on
parole Molly cannot resist seeking him out.
Through
a combination of hard work and natural talent, Jared has forged a
career for himself as a world-renowned photographer, yet in spite of
his newfound sophistication and wealth he is no less dominant than he
was when she first met him. It isn’t long before Molly finds
herself submitting to both his stern discipline and his masterful
lovemaking, but can she truly risk falling for a man whose criminal
past could come back to haunt them both at any moment?
Publisher’s
Note: Hardened
is an
erotic romance
novel that
includes
spankings, sexual
scenes, elements
of BDSM,
and more.
If such
material offends
you, please
don’t
buy this
book.
Review
Quotes
Wow!
I was really surprised by this book….the story is about Jared and
his choices and the consequences of those choices. The writing is
very good and the story absolutely kept me turning pages until I
finished the book. This book really earned its' 5 stars.
This
was a good page turner as I was keen to see where their journey took
them.
Excerpt
“Pearson,
you’re
going to
be late.”
He has
plenty of
time, but
I want
to talk
to North
alone.
“No,
miss. I’m
fine for
a bit
yet.” Pearson
seems quite
content to
continue shoving
clothes into
the steam
press and
slamming down
the lid.
I watch
him for
a couple
of minutes
before I
try again.
“We’re
short-staffed
today, everything
takes longer.
Better get
a move
on, Pearson.”
“Is
someone else
coming, then?”
Pearson switches
off his
laundry press
and ambles
over to
where I’m
stationed by
the door.
The regulations
require at
least two
people to
be present
when the
laundry is
in use
in case
of accidents.
“Soon.
I’ll
let you
out then
I’ll
stay with
North until
Jackson arrives.”
It’ll
be at
least half
an hour
before the
next prisoner
is detailed
to come
down and
take over
from Pearson,
which should
be ample
time to
ask Jared
North about
the camera.
I precede
the prisoner
down to
the gates
at the
end of
the utility
wing corridor
and let
him through.
From there
another officer
will let
Pearson back
onto the
wing, and
onto the
visitors’
suite. I
relock the
security gate
and return
to the
laundry room.
North
is still
occupied with
his task,
though he
does glance
at me
over his
shoulder as
I re-enter
the huge
room, then
he switches
his attention
back to
his work.
“I
want my
property back.”
His curt
remark is
delivered without
even looking
at me.
He straightens,
flexes his
muscles, and
drags another
wheeled bin
of dirty
laundry in
the direction
of an
empty washing
machine.
“You’re
not supposed
to have
a camera
in here.
You know
that.”
“Neither
are you,
Miss MacBride.”
Now he
does turn
to regard
me fully,
one hip
propped on
the edge
of the
bin, his
expression
inscrutable.
“Care to
explain?”
I
don’t.
I don’t
care to
explain at
all. I
have nothing
even vaguely
resembling an
explanation to
offer, either
to North
or to
myself.
“Where
did you
get it?”
I try
to inject
a note
of authority
into my
question.
He simply shakes his
head.
I
try again,
piling on
the officiousness
as best
I can.
“Someone
brought it
in for
you. I
want to
know who
that was.”
More head-shaking.
“I
could put
you on
report, you
do realise
that?”
Now
he just
chuckles. “But
you won’t.
You can’t.”
“I—”
He
continues as
though I
hadn’t
spoken. “Because
if you
do, you’ll
have to
also explain
why you
didn’t
report it
yesterday. Why
you hid
it, and
I assume
took it
home with
you. And
why you
brought it
back. I
hope you
did bring
my camera
back, Miss
MacBride.”
“Why
did you
take pictures
of me?”
I blurt
out the
question, homing
in on
the one
aspect of
all this
that makes
me most
uncomfortable.
And most
exhilarated.
He smiles and meets my
gaze, though he appears rather calmer than I am right now.
“Because
I like
looking at
you.”
“What
do you
mean? That’s,
that’s…”
“You’re
prettier than
Mr.
Drummond.”
“That’s
not saying
much.” Our
wing supervisor
is certainly
no oil
painting, I’m
not sure
I appreciate
the comparison.
“Perhaps
not. So,
are you
going to
give it
back to
me?” He
holds out
his hand,
one eyebrow
raised in
what could
only be
described as
a direct
challenge.
I
tilt up
my chin;
assertiveness is
everything in
these
confrontational
situations
between officers
and prisoners.
“No, North,
I’m
not. It’s
a contraband
item and
it’s
been
confiscated.”
He
appears quite
unruffled. “I
see. Very
well, I’ll
apply to
the governor
for it
to be
returned.”
“No!
No, you
can’t.”
I take
a step
toward him,
then pause,
uncertain how
best to
proceed.
“Can
I not?
Oh, I
understand,
because then
you’ll
have to
explain how
it found
its way
into your
pocket during
the cell
search. Yes,
I can
see that
might be
awkward. Still,
that isn’t
really my
problem.” He
starts to
load the
laundry into
the machine.
“Could you
close the
door as
you leave,
Miss MacBride?”
I
stand, glaring
at his
muscled back,
intensely aware
of the
camera nestling
in my
pocket. He
has me,
it’s
as simple
as that.
I have
no choice.
“Okay,
you can
have it
back. But
you have
to delete
the pictures
of me.”
He
turns to
face me
again. “Are
you still
here, Miss
MacBride?”
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Ashe Barker
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2 comments:
Hi, Ashe!
Welcome back to Beyond Romance!
This definitely sounds like a bit of a departure for you. Hope it does really well.
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