Spotlight Tour & Giveaway: Defying Destiny (Forsaken Sinners MC Series, #3) By Shelly Morgan

Genre: MC Romance/Suspense 
Publisher: Limitless Publishing 
Date of Publication: April 19, 2016 
Buy The Book: AMAZON

Word Count: around 74K 
Cover Artist: TOJ Publishing Services

Book Description: Twenty-six-year-old Louie Creighton knows there is something inside him he can’t control…

Ever since he can remember, Louie has had a short fuse. People always said he’d amount to nothing. He wasn’t smart enough to get into college. He wasn’t tough enough to be a Marine. No one believed in him.

No one except his father, Mike Creighton…

Louie’s father always taught him to turn the other cheek. He was a true mentor, teaching him how to be a man in a world of cowards. But when his father is murdered the day after scratching a winning lottery ticket, Louie’s inner monster can’t be contained. He becomes determined to track down the suspect at any cost. All along, he struggles to live by his father’s motto—To find out what you live for, you have to discover what you’d die for. 
Then he meets Harlow McPherson…

Her entire life has been a battle. Harlow grew up in the system, bouncing from one foster home to the next. Most weren’t that bad, but some were hell.

The only comfort was the fact she wasn’t alone. Her twin brother, Hendrix, was always there—until he took his own life years later, abandoning Harlow in a cruel world. Unable to forgive, it’s Louie who reminds her there’s still hope.

When Louie unleashes his inner monster, and Harlow finally faces her demons, will they lose themselves to the darkness, or risk it all Defying Destiny?  

 EXCERPT

Trailing my hand down his face to his stomach, I hear his sharp intake of breath when I touch below his belly button. Not low enough to hit pay dirt, but enough that he knows where this is leading. My heart rate picks up in anticipation and my hand starts to shake with nerves. I haven’t done this since the first and last time that Louie and I had sex—my first and only time—but I need this. I want this.

“What are you doing?” he says, voice raspy from sleep.

“Tell me to stop if you don’t want this, but I need you, Louie. I need to feel you inside me. I need you to make me feel alive again, like I know only you can do,” I say before finally moving my hand down further, touching his hard cock straining against his jeans.

“Fuck, I need to you too, Low, but are you sure? We can wait. After last night—” he starts to say, but I cut him off by grabbing him firmly in my hand.

“I’m done talking, so if you don’t want this, you better stop me now.” I don’t waste any time grabbing the button on his jeans and lowering his zipper, but he catches my hand before I can get any further.

Nerves jump out at me again and I worry that he’s actually going to tell me no, to stop, but my fears are quickly dashed aside when he pushes me onto my back and takes my lips in a rough kiss.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” he says between kisses.

Not giving me any time to reply, he leans back in to drink from my lips. And I mean that almost literally. It’s like he’s trying to devour me, starting with my mouth, but you won’t hear me complaining. I’ve missed him so much these last couple years; I can’t believe I even made it an hour without him to at least talk to, let alone have him kissing me, touching me, loving me. The night we shared before I left town was one of the happiest days of my life, but being in his arms now and with his lips on mine, I know that it will soon be overshadowed by better days and memories.

With my head back in the game, and my body screaming at me to move faster to get him naked and inside of me, I reach down to unbutton his jeans, but am pleasantly surprised when I notice they are already unbuttoned. That’s good, because I really didn’t want to waste time fumbling with his button in my haste to get them off of him.

Going for his zipper, I start to lower it when Louie lifts his head slightly and stops my movements with his concerned gaze.

“Are you sure about this, Low? I mean, I can wait—fuck, it might kill me—but we don’t have to do this today. You’ve been through hell, I’m sure I don’t even know the half of it, but last night had to have taken a lot out of you too. So if this isn’t something you want right now, I’m okay with it.”

My heart almost breaks with the compassion and love I hear in his voice. I know he means well, and a part of me loves him even more for thinking of my feelings and what I’ve been through at a time like this, but the rest of me just wants him to fuck me already.

“Louie, I don’t know how to put this lightly, so I’m just going to come out and say it. I want this. I want you. So will you shut up already and just fuck me?” 


About the Author:

Shelly Morgan grew up in a small town in Iowa. She has 2 older sisters and amazing parents. Growing up, she was always a daddy’s girl, hanging out with him in the garage, fishing, and building stuff. She loved to play softball and swimming, but reading, telling stories, and writing were her passion, even at a young age. She took a break from writing for a while, but you could always find her with a book in her hand.

Shelly has three children – two boys and a girl. They are her whole world. Even when she’s having the worst day ever, they brighten up her day and can always put a smile on her face.

A few years ago, Shelly had this story in her head that wouldn’t go away; it would always play over and over. No matter how many times she went through the idea—from beginning to end—the story never faded. So Shelly decided to put it on paper. She never planned to publish it, but when her story was almost done, a friend read it and said that it need to be shared. And that’s what stared Shelly’s writing career.

Shelly loves all genres of books, and even though she started with writing MC Romance, she has a whole book of ideas, so you can expect more from her than just MC, though romance is in her blood.

Shelly currently works part-time, but her ultimate dream is to become a full time author. She wants to be able to spend her days filling pages with stories. To be the reason people find a reason to smile or laugh from lines on a page. Reading a book always allows her to live in someone else’s shoes, even if for a few minutes. She thinks it’s a way to leave her life and troubles behind, so she wants to be able to help others do that as well with her words.
 
Connect With The Author:Website / Facebook / Twitter 

 
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REVIEW: One Step Too Close: Coffin Nails MC Louisiana (Sex & Mayhem #6) by K.A. Merikan

Genre: MM Romance/ Contemporary / Crime
Buy The Book:  AMAZON
Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Twitter / Website

Synopsis On GR:

--- One love. One motorcycle club. Two stepbrothers. ---

Ryder. Controlling. Ambitious. Protective.
Jed. Self-destructive. Trapped. Lonely.
Their love? Forbidden. Taboo. All-consuming.

For Jed, the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club is family. With them, he learned how to think, what to enjoy, and how to fight, but there is one thing he knows his friends can’t find out about. They would never accept him as gay, and so his life is a constant struggle with desires that fill him with despair. Only there is a much darker secret lurking in Jed’s heart. His feelings for his stepbrother, Ryder, go far beyond brotherly. Trapped with a yearning that can never be fulfilled, Jed spirals out of control and unwillingly puts the love of his life in danger.

Ryder is climbing up the ranks. Recently promoted to sergeant-at-arms, he has it all: drive, respect, and the love of his biker family. When his stepbrother gets into trouble with the law, Ryder decides to take the blame and save him from a long sentence. Deep inside, he knows there is nothing he wouldn’t do for Jed, but through a desperate attempt to suppress his own hidden desires, he might irreversibly break the man he secretly loves.

But finding out what they feel for each other will test their loyalty to the Coffin Nails MC and change their lives forever.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: Outlaw motorcycle club, criminal activity, forbidden love, stepbrothers, blackmail, homophobia
Genre: M/M dark romance, suspense, drama
Length: 135,000 words STANDALONE novel
WARNING: Adult content that might be considered taboo. Explicit sexual content, strong language, violence. Reader discretion advised.

REVIEW

Ueber-hot bikers with bodies covered in muscles and tattoos and piercings on the most interesting (read: sexy) parts involved in the criminal and dark side of the gangsta world, in the middle of which is one turbulent, all-consuming and forbidden love- love between two stepbrothers.

Oh boy...I know that stepbrother-stepsister romances are currently one of the hit romances in the readers' world, but somehow they never appealed that much to me, but after reading One Step Too Close by K. A. Merikan I guess stepbrother-stepbrother romance most certainly does. Yup, I'm a perv that way and I have no shame. :P Btw. I don't get why people consider this type of romances taboo. It's not as if the persons involved are blood related. Okay, it does sounds creepy if they are raised together since they were babies which wasn't the case when it comes to this book, so while I run the other way from incestual romances, I had no problems with this one. In fact, I really , really liked it.

Action-packed, gripping, suspenseful, deeply emotional and smoking hot with a little dose of forbidden. The best part of this book for me was definitely the romance and the two bikers it revolved around- the strong, responsible and controlling Ryder and the fun, broken and self-destructive troublemaker Jed, while I wasn't that much interested in the occasional biker crime world drama. Probably, because I haven't read the previous books of the series yet, but I definitely plan to.

Therefore- 3.5 stars! I definitely need more stepbrother-stepbrother romances in my life, so feel free to recommend. Recommended to fans of dark romances!

 

RATING: 3.5 stars/5 stars 

xoxo,

Purple

Spotlight Tour + Giveaway: Too Hard To Handle by Julie Ann Walker

Hi everyone!  Julie Ann Walker here, delighted to be talking today about my mad love for men on motorcycles whose hearts happen to be as big as their... ehem... hogs.  (That's slang for their bikes!  Get your heads out of the gutter, you naughty readers! *wink, wink*) 

But seriously, from the King of Cool, Steve McQueen, to Marlon Brando in The Wild One, to Charlie Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy, there has always been something about a guy riding around with rolled steel and a V-Twin engine between his legs.  It sets our hearts aflutter.  And in my Black Knights Inc. series, I try to take those badass bikers to a whole new level by also making them covert government operators.  The series is all spies on bikes, leather and chrome, romance and redemption, action and adventure.  So, what's not to love?  Nothing!  I guarantee it. 

Read on for an excerpt of  TOO HARD TO HANDLE.  You'll see the men of Black Knights Inc. have heart, humor, and everything a woman could want in a man... 

  

Excerpt: Too Hard To Handle by Julie Ann Walker

“Luke Winterfield,” Dan growled. “Under the authority granted to me by the government of the United States of America, I hereby inform you that you’re totally screwed. You made a choice to sell out your country and now you’re gonna face the consequences. Reap the whirlwind, asshole.”

“Nice,” Zoelner said. “Have you been holding on to that one for a while?”

“Came up with it in Bogotá,” Dan admitted, a definite grin in his tone.

“I like it.”

“Thought you might.”

“Really though,” Zoelner went on, “I was expecting some quote from Ted Nugent or Eminem.”

“I can come up with my own material, you know,” Dan insisted. “It’s just I like to give credit to my hometown whenever I can. To make up for the place getting such a bad rap.”

“Maybe it’s because so much bad rap has come out of there,” Zoelner mused. “Insane Clown Posse comes to mind.”

“Hey,” Dan whispered urgently, “don’t say that too loud. You’ll have groups of juggalos beating down your door.”

Zoelner snorted.

“And just so you know,” Dan went on, “what I’ve learned out of this lifetime is you should be proud of where you come from.”

“I’m waiting…”

“Kid Rock said that. Via his Twitter account.”

“And there it is.”

***

About the Book

Title: Too Hard To Handle

Author: Julie Ann Walker

Release Date: September 1, 2015

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Summary

"The Man" is back
Dan "The Man" Currington is back in fighting form with a mission that takes him four thousand miles south of BKI headquarters, high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. He's hot on the trail of a rogue CIA agent selling classified government secrets to the highest bidder, when Penni DePaul arrives on the scene. Suddenly the stakes are higher, and keeping Penni safe becomes Dan's number one priority.

And this time she's ready
A lot has changed since former Secret Service Agent Penni DePaul last saw Dan. Now a civilian, she's excited about what the future might hold. But before she can grab onto that future with both hands, she has to tie up some loose ends-namely, Dan Currington, the man she just can't forget. And a secret that's going to change both their lives-if they can stay alive, that is.

Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1M9j6Mn

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1Q5vXyc

iBooks: http://apple.co/1RfS4En

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/1OUhLZ0

Author Biography

Julie Ann Walker is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling Author of the Black Knights Inc. romantic suspense series. She is prone to spouting movie quotes and song lyrics. She'll never say no to sharing a glass of wine or going for a long walk. She prefers impromptu travel over the scheduled kind, and she takes her coffee with milk. You can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission. For more information, please visit www.julieannwalker.com or follow her on Facebook www.facebook.com/jawalkerauthor and/or Twitter @JAWalkerAuthor.

Social Networking Links

Website: http://julieannwalker.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jawalkerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JAWalkerAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5342916.Julie_Ann_Walker

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Mini REVIEW: Bare-Knuckle Love (Rabid Mongrels MC, #1) by K.A. Merikan

Genre: 

MM Contemporary Romance/ Adult

Buy The Book: 

Free On MMRomanceGroup !!!

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Twitter / Website

Synopsis On Goodreads:

--- Fight to the death. Love to the bone. ---

Jason is back in his home town and trying to make money the only way he knows - in an illegal MMA fight. Bare knuckles. Hardly any rules. All he needs to do is... lose. 

The Rabid Mongrels Motorcycle Club bet against him, and they are set to make a killing, but when Jason spots his high school crush in the audience, he can’t bear to lose. All he wants is to have Hyde notice him. He gets more than he bargained for when Hyde turns out to be the president of the MC, now out for his blood. 

To survive, Jason will have to make a deal with the blond devil. No matter how manipulative and vicious Hyde can be, he is a dark wet dream come to life, and Jason can’t keep his hands to himself. Soon enough, the self-destructive lust he has for Hyde becomes a dangerous obsession that takes Jason to the most forgotten corners of his soul. 

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

Themes: Outlaw motorcycle club, criminal activity, abuse, sexual orientation issues, second chances, enemies to lovers, first time, coming home, alternative family, blackmail

Genre: M/M dark erotic romance, suspense, drama

Length: ~34,000 words

WARNING: Adult content. Explicit gay sex, strong language, violence, mentions of past animal abuse, mentions of past child abuse. Reader discretion advised.

RATING: 3.75/ 5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

I rarely rate short novellas/stories more than 3 stars, because they always seem lacking in comparison to full length novels, but I was so tempted when it comes to Bare-Knuckle Love by K. A. Merikan. 

Dark, raw, thrilling, emotional & deliciously dirty.

Bare-Knuckle Love is not for those faint of heart, because despite the story's shortness (around 90 pages) it dealt with some heavy subjects, such as: cage fighting, other scenes of violence and a bit of humiliation kink, so if these things are out of your comfort zone I think that it's better for you to stay away from this freebie.

I didn't rate it with full 4 stars because:

~ it ended just when it became so good.

~ I wanted to see more of Hyde's emotional side and more emotional scenes between him and Jason.

You should definitely give it a try:

~ if you're a fan of dark & kinky mm romances

~ if you're a fan of biker ft. mm fighter romance

~ if you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers romances

My dirty mind says: Bring on the next one! ;)

xoxo,

Purple

ARC REVIEW: Ruin & Rule by Pepper Winters

Buy the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

Author's:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Genre: Erotic MC Romance

Expected publication date: July 7th 2015

Book summary:

"She is a woman divided. Her past, present, and future are as twisted as the lies she's lived for the past eight years. Desperate to get the truth, she must turn to the one man who may also be her greatest enemy . . .

He is the president of Pure Corruption MC. A heartless biker and retribution-deliverer. He accepts no rules, obeys no one, and lives only to reap revenge on those who wronged him. And now he has stolen her, body and soul.

Can a woman plagued by mystery fall in love with the man who refuses to face the truth? And can a man drenched in darkness forgo his quest for vengeance-and finally find redemption?"

MY RATING: 2.5/3 stars

Possible spoilers!

    SHORT?  I gave it a chance. Kept an open mind. It had potential, but in the end, it still disappointed me. Will I read sequel? Probably, because I want to find out what will happen next.

      First of all, I have to warn you that I have complicated relationship with Pepper Winters novels. There is something about her stories that get my attention, and I cannot resist to the temptation to read them. Not to mention all those pretty covers - Ruin & Rule might have the prettiest so far. My issues start somewhere around third chapter when I get annoyed by characters or story arc or writing. Ruin & Rule lasted longer than that. 

      What I liked? Until the chapter fifteen I truly believed that I would love it. Such an intriguing start! Reader finds out things gradually along with main female character, so there are no clear answers. You are confused, trying to figure out who is who, to make difference between enemies and those who could help out. Along with the MC you are figuring out rules of this crazy new world. And then there is Arthur "Kill" Killian. The president of Pure Corruption MC. Anti-hero. (With kick-ass tattoo! That's something I'd like very much to see!). Even writing was captivating. Yes, it gets melodramatic sometimes, but that first half of the story was so good.

      When did things start to go downhill? At chapter fifteen. The loooongest chapter. Where nothing actually happened. And everything was dragged. And all problems are solved with sex. Hot sex. Until they start to talk.

      What I didn't like?

• Flashbacks. I was seriously disturbed with those because how overly sexual and mature characters are considering that they are just kids (she is barely fourteen - but there are parts where she's eight). 
• Memory loss. Great idea, but at times felt a bit forced. 
• Convenient "situations".  Some things got resolved too easily, just when needed. Like she remembering bits about her past. Very specific bits, all of a sudden. 
• Biker gang. What biker gang? Unlike any other book of the genre, do not expect "club business" storyline. There isn't much, everything is about our main female character and Kill. Even when there is mention of what they do, it's just superficial. That is why I had a feeling like the world-building was lacking, there's no actual background story to the described events, and answers we do get in the end, aren't shown, but told. Just dropped in one chapter told from Kill's POV. After the lot of  I-can't-tell-yous. Which brings us to the next thing that bothered me.
• Melodramatic dragging of the story. It was fun to be in the dark at the beginning, but when you read for the hundredth time: "I will tell you everything, but not now. You have to trust me." and then they have sex, or read about her temper tantrums, you just get bored and start skimming. Second half seriously tested my patience. 
• Kill in the second half of the book. From the badass he became pussy-whipped idiot. Over the night. Just no. 

       Who will like Ruin & Rule? Most definitely everyone who liked Pepper Winters previous novels, especially Monsters in the Dark trilogy. Fans of dark, erotic stories.


Happy reading,

*Copy of the book provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

SPOTLIGHT TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Breaking Away Series by Meli Raine

Breaking Away Series by Meli Raine 

(Breaking Away #1-3) 

Publication date: March 2015

Genres: New Adult, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis:

Finding Allie (Breaking Away #1)

Chase Halloway’s father is the president of Atlas, the drug dealing motorcycle gang that terrorizes most of our desert town.

My stepfather turns out to be a rival drug dealer, and I’m pretty sure he killed my mom two years ago.

I’m not supposed to fall in love with Chase. He’s not supposed to know I even exist.

But when he finds me, he can’t let go.

And when I find myself in his arms?

I hold tight.

I have to.

Because if I don’t, I might just die.

With or without him.

Chasing Allie (Breaking Away #2)

It turns out my stepfather has plans for me.

Plans that make dying look like a walk in the park.

He’s selling my virginity to a Mexican drug lord to get out of debt.

Chase just found out and is here to take me away to safety. To the ocean. To my dreams.

But while I’m gone, a murder takes place back home.

I receive a phone call. It’s the police.

I’m the prime suspect.

And if I go back, I may become the prime victim.

They say love conquers all, but can Chase save me from this?

Keeping Allie (Breaking Away #3)

Help.

I’m alone, tied up, bleeding and terrified.

I’m a prisoner at the Atlas motorcycle club compound. Someone kidnapped me, and it looks like it’s Chase.

No one knows I’m here. Then again, I’m no one, right? No mother, no stepfather, and my sister may have been kidnapped, too

They can make me disappear. Or worse. It turns out there are worse things than disappearing.

I thought Chase was my only hope.

Now he turns out to be my worst nightmare.

Something flickers in his eyes, though. A glimmer of love. If I can get him alone, maybe I can convince him to let me go. To let me live.

To let me go back to a time when I thought he was a good guy.

Only Chase has the power to make that happen.

Everything I am is in his hands right now.

And those hands are about to touch me.

** Add On Goodreads **

Purchase:

(all 3 books in the series will be on sale for .99c)

AMAZON

EXCERPT

I feel the rumble of the motorcycle engines before I can hear them. The glasses on the bar start to shake and I slip, dropping one. It falls on the polished wood bar with a thud. Thank God it doesn’t shatter.

And then I hear them. Tires scraping against gravel. Engines without mufflers. The air changes. I’m filled with worry, like someone’s injected it into me. I reach up to put my fingers against my throat. I don’t know why. I haven’t done that since I was a little kid, afraid of the dark.

Just plain afraid.

My stepfather comes running from the back office, his eyes wild and arms tight with tension. His face is twisted with something I’ve never seen before. For a second, it makes me want to smile. For once, he looks like he’s nervous about something.

Good.

“Allie, you stay calm. Keep washing glasses.” His dark eyes narrow and he goes back to being cool and collected. The deep grooves of wrinkles in his face settle back to normal. His eyes are thin and tight, brown underneath the loose skin. 

He’s tall and wiry, fingers stained from chain smoking unfiltered Camels. He looks at least ten years older than he is. My mother’s death two years ago aged him. It aged me, too, but I wear it on the inside. He wears it on his face.

Jeff has two emotions. Angry and neutral. I’ve seen a lot of angry, but not much neutral.

He looks like he feels fear right now. That’s new.

I push my long, black hair behind one ear. I wish I had a scrunchie to pull it back in a ponytail. August in the dry, desert heat of inland Southern California means it’s always hot. Any other summer and I’d be getting ready to go back to school, but I graduated this year. Late summer stretches out like one hot, empty void.

Like the rest of a life I need to live but can’t.

The air conditioners have been groaning all day. The sound of the motorbikes drowns them out now. 

They are in the parking lot. Two. Three. Four. I can’t keep track of how many bikes pull up. My heart races but I keep it together. The last time a motorcycle gang came in, the bar got trashed. They beat Jeff up and the sheriff came.

Jeff can’t afford to have that happen again.

Blood rushes through me, pulsing hard. My fear is loud and clear.

He also got angry. Very angry. 

I can’t afford to have that happen again. 

Working at the bar is my only way to save money to move out of this town. I want to go live with my sister in Los Angeles. If the bar shuts down I don’t know what I’ll do. My hands polish the same shot glass over and over, like it’s a piece of silver. 

My heart dances in my chest. I look down at my t-shirt and see drops of sweat trickling down from my neck.

The air is not that hot. I’m nervous. Terrified. 

One of the bikers roars his engine outside. Another one does the same. Jeff comes back out with his cell phone in hand and starts talking angrily to someone on the phone. He is careful not to say anything loud enough for me to understand. I can’t hear a word. I can hear his fury, though.

I finish the shot glasses and load them on the shelf where they go. I’m shaking from the inside. 

The main door opens a tiny sliver. Blinding sunlight pours in like it’s invading.

And then he walks in through the door. The sunlight behind him is a halo, like he’s an angel. A rough one. The most amazing vision.

Thick, scuffed leather boots with hard wooden heels crack against the bare wood floor, one at a time. My eyes start with that first boot. Then I see another. He wears jeans, the kind that are used to being on a motorcycle rider’s body. His pants mold to thick, muscled legs. 

He wears a red and blue patch with an insignia I can’t see. Sunlight bounces off a thick belt buckle.

My blood runs cold and I freeze in place, my legs turning to jelly. I lean against the counter for support. I’m glad it’s there. My fingers need something to grab. My world is disintegrating under me. Looking at him replaces the world.

He’s a member of a motorcycle club.

I gaze at the patch he’s wearing but I can’t see it very clearly. It has a blue figure with red crescents on both sides. A warm rush of blood fills my face. His thick leather jacket is dirty and well-worn, dark as my hair and creased with age. A light-blue T-shirt sticks to his belly, slick with sweat. I can see the ridges of his abs. My fingers want to reach out and trace the lines of his muscles. I clench my fists so I won’t give in to the impulse.

“Jeff here?” His first words sound like ragged smoke and sunshine. My eyes meet his and he stays serious. We look at each other and time stops. Just...stops. His eyes widen and his jaw tightens as he searches my body with a look that says something I don’t understand.

But he feels what I feel. I can tell.

Pinpricks of heat from something other than the summer weather shoot through me. He looks like he’s older than me, and he’s steady and commanding. His hair is thick, the color of sand, and it’s messy, like he just rolled out of bed. Wolfish eyes skim over me, but he’s not in a rush. 

I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I can’t do anything when he’s looking at me like that.

Please keep looking at me like that.

“Cat got your tongue?” he asks, his lips curling up in a half smile. His cheek moves the lines around his eyes. Light brown eyes with yellow chips, like someone shattered a gemstone. His eyes are like a lion’s, the color of a mane.

His eyes are dangerous and predatory. I can’t look away.

“Uh, Jeff’s in the back,” I say as the door closes slowly behind him, blocking out most of the light. I’m amazed that my mouth works at all. My mind can’t think. My body sure can feel, though.

I pause. What if I said the wrong thing? Jeff might not want anyone to know he’s here.

Vroom! Vroom! Engines blare outside. There are even more out there now. How many could there be? The man’s eyes narrow. He’s studying me. I like it. I don’t think I’m supposed to like it.

I can’t help myself.

“What’s your name?” he asks, a low rumble in his voice making me shiver. I’m not cold. 

“Allie.” I shift and jut out my chin to show him I’m not afraid of him. “What’s yours?”

His grin widens and now he takes one more step forward. I can smell him. His scent is sunshine and dust with enough musk to make me take another deep breath.

He smells so real.

“Chase.” His name rolls off his lips. “Nice to meet you, Allie.” He reaches one gloved hand out to shake, then stops.

Pulling the glove off, he waves his hand in the air. “Sweaty.”

I clasp it anyway. It’s hot and slick. The touch of skin on skin makes everything else in the world disappear. Our eyes meet and we can’t stop staring. Am I imagining this?

“Nice to meet you too, I guess.” I look behind him, at the door. “Why are you here?”

He laughs, tipping his head back. It makes him seem less dangerous. “For a drink! This is a bar, after all.” 

I smile, unable to tear my eyes away from him. 

He’s staring right back. 

The engines all trickle to silence. Boots scrape outside on the mottled gravel parking lot. Are they coming in? My heart swells and slams against my ribcage. If trouble is coming, I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been here before during an actual fight.

“All of you coming in?” I ask. If they’re paying customers, then this is fine. Jeff acts like this isn’t fine, though.

“Allie!” Jeff shouts from the back. “Get back here.” That sounds like an order. Jeff likes to order me around.

Chase frowns. “He always talk to you like that?” His words come out like a growl.

Surprised, I give him confused look. “Like what?”

“Like he doesn’t have to be nice.” His voice pounds through me like a heartbeat. He is being possessive, like a protective boyfriend. I only just met him. 

The words sting because Chase is right. I swallow hard. Chase’s eyes are combing my face as if he’s trying to memorize me. I look away even as I wish he would watch me forever. 

Chase. I want to say his name aloud simply to hear it on my tongue. To feel it roll over my lips. If I say his name then he’s really here, he really shook my hand, and he really is looking at me like he wants to.

Like he needs to.

“Whose stepdad is nice to them?” I ask lightly, like I’m trying to blow off the comment. This is too intense. Too unreal. He’s right, though. A little too right. 

Chase’s fingers twitch and then his hand forms a fist. He’s staring in the direction where Jeff’s voice came from. He looks back toward the door where he entered.

“Good point,” he mutters, running his bare hand through that mop of hair. It makes him seem stronger. Darker. More in command.

“One second,” I say, turning away. I can feel his eyes bore into me. If I turn around now, I bet he’s staring at me. As I walk through the threshold to the back hallway I pause. Pretending to adjust something on a shelf, I look in the mirror behind the bar and catch his reflection.

I’m right. A shiver runs so fast through me I have to inhale sharply. This is a new feeling. I don’t know what to do. He’s gorgeous and frightening and the first of many bikers to show up now.

“Allie!” Jeff barks. I scurry back, cursing him in my head but knowing it doesn’t matter. I turn the corner into his office and his voice is so sharp he might as well cut me with it.

“You stop talking to Chase Halloway.”

“You know him?” Chase Halloway. The name makes me buzz all over.

Jeff’s face tightens. I asked the wrong question. By now I should know better. The butterfly of panic flaps its wings in my chest. How could I be so stupid?

He gives me a look that makes my stomach burn.

“What I know isn’t any of your concern. You just serve those bikers and don’t make trouble. No checks. It’s all on the house.”

“What?” My jaw drops. I can’t help it. Jeff never comps drinks for anyone except the sheriff. And he knows I can’t serve drinks. 

“You heard me. Don’t question it.” His voice is pure venom. 

I won’t. Not again. Jeff is not a violent man. Not toward me, anyway. When he has his bad moods, though, life can be hard. Very, very hard.

Loud voices interrupt us. I turn away and rush down the hallway to find at least twenty men and two women standing at the bar, lined up in a confusing group of laughing and angry faces.

A wolf whistle cuts the air. “Hey there, pretty girl.” A man older than Jeff, with all-grey hair in a fringe around his balding head, whistles again. 

“Where’s your daddy?” grunts another man. This one is huge, taller than Chase, but with features that are similar. Chase’s dad, maybe. It’s hard to tell. All the bikers are covered with a layer of road dirt. Their faces look tanner than they really are. 

“I’ll be her daddy,” shouts someone in the crowd. “Her sugar daddy.” A bunch of men laugh. My whole body goes cold with fear. I shut down. All I can think about is the baseball bat behind the bar. If I can get back there, maybe I’ll be safe.

“Cut it out,” Chase says, louder than the laughter. I look to my left and see him, alone, standing right where I left him.

His eyes are on me. Only me. But his words are for the crowd.

“Claiming her already?” someone shouts. There’s a challenge in the question.

Chase steps forward, closer to me. When he’s only a foot away, he pauses. I can feel his heat reaching out to pull me in. His arms don’t, though. 

Chase turns back to face them. “And if I am?”

AUTHOR BIO:

Meli Raine rode her first motorcycle when she was five years old, but she played in the ocean long before that. She lives in New England with her family. 

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Purple