The first book in my Ash trilogy, (one of my best, if you ask me), is on sale for $1.99.<\/p>\n
more…<\/p>\n
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The scream Lena Riddle hears in the woods behind her house is enough to curdle her blood\u2014she has no doubt that a woman is in real danger. Unfortunately, with no physical evidence, the local law officers in small-town Ash, Kentucky, dismiss her claim. But Lena knows what she heard\u2014and it leaves her filled with fear and frustration.<\/p>\n
Ezra King is on leave from the state police, but he can\u2019t escape the guilty memories that haunt his dreams. When he sees Lena, he is immediately drawn to her. He aches to touch her\u2014to be touched by her\u2014but is he too burdened by his tragic past to get close?<\/p>\n
When Ezra hears her story of an unknown woman\u2019s screams, his instincts tell him that Lena\u2019s life is also at risk\u2014and his desire to protect her is as fierce as his need to possess her.<\/p>\n
First in a new romantic suspense trilogy<\/em><\/p>\n from the unedited copy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAre we going to hide now?\u201d he asked, stopping in his tracks and turning in a slow circle.\u00a0 \u201cIf I find you, does that mean I win?\u201d<\/p>\n A sound caught his ear.\u00a0 Cocking his head, he listened.\u00a0 It was faint, that low, soft moan. The erratic gasps as she struggled to breath.\u00a0 Quiet, but not quiet enough.<\/p>\n Laughing, he followed the sound.<\/p>\n \u201cCome out, come out, wherever you are\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t ever realized how much it would be to chase them.<\/p>\n Such possibilities\u2026<\/p>\n The voice of reason advised caution, though.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t be wise to make such a drastic change in his game plan, not now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Lena was dreaming.<\/p>\n She knew it and she had to admit, it was one damn fine dream.<\/p>\n In the dream, she could see.\u00a0 She had vivid memories from back before she\u2019d gone completely blind and sometimes, those dreams taunted her.<\/p>\n This dream wasn\u2019t so bad, though.<\/p>\n She was outside and the sun shone down on her, brilliant burst of light and warmth raining down on her.\u00a0 Tipping her face to it, she stared into the sun until her eyes watered and burned.<\/p>\n \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t stare at the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n The voice was low, rough\u2026sexy.\u00a0 And familiar.<\/p>\n Ezra. Damn him.<\/p>\n Couldn\u2019t he leave her in peace, even in her dreams?<\/p>\n Lena was a sucker for a sexy voice and he had such a fine one.\u00a0 Hands came up from behind, rested on her waist and then slid around her, pulling her back against a hard, strong body.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to dream about you,\u201d she said, but she didn\u2019t pull away from him.\u00a0 No, she rested her head against his chest and continued to stare at the golden-white burn of the sun.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you that you shouldn\u2019t look at the sun,\u201d he murmured, stroking one hand up and cupping her breast.\u00a0 Something hot and liquid flared to life inside her.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if I look at it or not. Not now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I\u2019m just dreaming.\u00a0 Those pesky UV rays can\u2019t hurt me here.\u201d\u00a0 As much as she hated to look away from the sun, she did, turning in his embrace to study his face.\u00a0 She wanted to see him, too.\u00a0 See what her subconscious image she had cooked up to go with that sexy voice.<\/p>\n And damn, her subconscious had delivered just fine.<\/p>\n Although sometimes she suspected her sighted memories weren\u2019t as clear as they could have been, she wasn\u2019t going to complain.\u00a0\u00a0 He looked just fine to her.<\/p>\n Right now, she could see\u2026<\/p>\n Right now, she could touch.<\/p>\n And more\u2026she could be touched.\u00a0 Touched by somebody that wasn\u2019t moved by curiosity or pity, or even worse, some fucked-up male desire to get a unique score he could tell a bunch of his loser friends over a beer.<\/p>\n No, she was being touched by somebody that very obviously wanted to touch her right back.\u00a0 So what if it was only in a dream?\u00a0 At least here he couldn\u2019t disappoint her by saying he\u2019d call and then not follow through.<\/p>\n As he ran his hands down over her body, stripping away her clothes, Lena lifted her eyes upward and stared at the sun again.<\/p>\n Lost herself in the warm golden glow and the feel of a man\u2019s hands on her body.<\/p>\n She could see\u2026see his face as he guided her to the ground and knelt between her thighs.<\/p>\n She could touch\u2026touch his shoulders and fist her hands in his hair.<\/p>\n She could feel\u2026feel the fiery hot pleasure blistering through her as he levered up over her and pushed inside.<\/p>\n She could hear\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cHelp me!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Lena came awake with a gasp. Her heart knocked against her ribs and she shivered as cool air danced over her sweat-slicked body.\u00a0\u00a0 A breeze drifted in through the open window.<\/p>\n It was cool\u2026not cold.\u00a0 But she was freezing.<\/p>\n Hearing one low, questioning yip, she held out her hand.\u00a0 Puck pressed his nose against her palm and she heaved out a breath.\u00a0 The dog\u2019s body was tense\u2014all over tense and he had his hackles up.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, boy.\u00a0 Just had a bad dream,\u201d she muttered.\u00a0\u00a0 She\u2019d gone and freaked her dog out.<\/p>\n As she started to lie back down, she heard it.<\/p>\n A voice.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026help me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Puck growled.<\/p>\n Jerking back up, she turned her head towards the window, tried to breath past the knot in her chest.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat in the hell\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 She closed her eyes, listened.\u00a0 Concentrated.<\/p>\n Puck growled again, louder this time, his voice rough, full of menace, full of warning.\u00a0 Lena shushed him, her voice sharp, her own fear edging its way in.<\/p>\n Through the window, she could hear\u2026something.\u00a0 Thrashing in the forest that bordered the western edge of her property.\u00a0\u00a0 The western edge\u2026the woods.\u00a0 That strip of land where lately, her dog didn\u2019t like to go.\u00a0 Not for the past few months.<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody, please help me!\u201d<\/p>\n The sound of the woman\u2019s screams, raw and agonized, sent a shudder racing down Lena\u2019s spine.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, God,\u201d Lena whispered.\u00a0 Her heart slammed against her ribcage as she reached for the phone by her bed.<\/p>\n There was another scream and she dropped the phone.\u00a0 Swearing, she crawled out of the bed, patting around on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cDamn it, damn it, damn it.\u201d\u00a0 Icy, cold sweat dripped along her spine as she listened through the window.<\/p>\n Branches snapping.\u00a0 A ragged moan.\u00a0 Then all was silent.<\/p>\n Where\u2019s the fricking phone??<\/p>\n Making a sound halfway between a sob and a growl, she stuck her hand under him the bed and heaved out a sigh of relief as her fingers brushed plastic.\u00a0 Scuttling across the floor, she pressed her back to the wall and listened, phone clutched in her hand.<\/p>\n Call 911, damn it! She tried to get her fingers to move but terror made them clumsy.<\/p>\n Outside, she heard nothing.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t hear anything\u2026wait.\u00a0 Yes, yes, she heard something now, but it was quiet\u2026somebody, moving so quiet and so soft as they moved through the trees.<\/p>\n If her room had been any farther away from the trees, if she had lived any closer to town\u2026hell, if she\u2019d had the radio playing, she never would have heard it.\u00a0\u00a0 So, so quiet\u2026<\/p>\n There was another short, sharp scream\u2013one that ended all too abruptly.\u00a0 The sound of it was enough to get her frozen fingers to move and she dialed 911.<\/p>\n Puck made a rough sound low in his throat and nosed her leg. She patted the space next to her and as he pressed his big, furry body against her leg, she wrapped an arm around him.<\/p>\n \u201cNine-one-one.\u00a0 What\u2019s your emergency?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I hear a woman screaming.\u00a0 She\u2019s screaming for help.\u201d<\/p>\n Order<\/p>\n Amazon<\/a> | BN<\/a> | BAMM<\/a> | Indiebound<\/a>\u00a0| Book Depository<\/a>\u00a0| iBooks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"