Update:  The winner of IGNITED and SINGED is…Erica Gonzalez!

Happy Friday, everyone!!! I hope that you are all gearing up for a terrific weekend! And, to get weekend started right…I’ve got a special guest visiting the blog today. Romantic suspense author Kaylea Cross is here to chat about her new release, BURNED. (I can’t wait to read this one!).  Kaylea also has a wonderful giveaway, so please–read on! 😉  And, Kaylea–welcome!

Feel the Heat With Kaylea Cross’s Burned

A big thank you to Cynthia (Ahem, recent #2 NYT Bestseller, I might add! Woot!) for having me on her blog again.

I’m thrilled to announce that the third book of my new Titanium Security series released this week. To celebrate Burned being out in the wild, I’m giving away a digital copy of both Ignited (book #1) and Singed (book #2). To enter, please tell me what you love most about romance books.

 Without further ado, please meet Sean and Zahra!

Blurb:
A woman with a dark past…

Forced into hiding after her NSA-sanctioned task force lands on a terrorist cell’s hit list, cryptologist Zahra Gill must rely on the skill and experience of her ex-Special Ops Titanium Security teammates to keep her safe—including former Force Recon Marine Sean Dunphy. The impossibly sexy man has the unnerving ability to shatter her concentration by simply walking into the same room. Even though she’s sworn to keep him at a distance, his charm and protectiveness weaken her resistance. Drawn to his strength and magnetic sensuality, she finally gives in to the passion she’s denied herself for so long…even though she knows she might lose her heart in the process.

The man strong enough to win her trust…

Sean’s had his eye on the guarded, proud analyst from the first day they met. He knows she’s hiding something from him, but nothing could have prepared him for the shocking truth of her past. When a targeted attack brutally exposes Zahra’s dark secrets, Sean will do everything in his power to protect the woman he’s fallen for. Unfortunately the cell hunting them has powerful connections and their enemy is closer than they ever imagined.

Excerpt:

When he turned back to her, Sean’s dark eyes glittered with an erotic heat that stole her breath. He stood close enough that she had to tip her head back to look into his face, and held up a chocolate covered strawberry to dangle it in front of her mouth. “Open up, sweetness.”

Combined with the sexual awareness in his eyes, that deeply intimate tone sent a flare of heat into the pit of her stomach and between her thighs. Held prisoner by his intense gaze, she parted her lips as he placed the berry against them. And he didn’t stop the seductive move there. Instead of popping the morsel into her mouth, he eased it partway between her teeth and held it there, watching her closely as she bit down and sucked the juices away so they didn’t spill down her chin. Sean flashed a predatory smile and bent his head, stopping only when his warm breath feathered over the corner of her mouth.

“Wider.”

The erotic whisper made her grow slick and swollen as she envisioned another naughty scenario. Him holding his erection out to her like he was offering a treat, one hand gently pulling her head close enough for him to brush the slick head against her waiting lips. She shivered, struggled to concentrate.

As though he knew what she was thinking, he smiled and pressed the berry more firmly against her parted lips. “Come on, sweetness, open wide. I know you want it.”

God, did she. The suggestive way he said it made her go liquid. Licking her lips, she parted her mouth and allowed him to slide the berry in. She bit down, taking the rest of the fruit up to the stem, closing her hand around his strong wrist to hold him still. Meeting his stare, she boldly slid her tongue out to stroke across his thumb and fingertip, then closed her lips around them and gave a slow, firm suck.

*end excerpt*

Whew! Sean is one sensual hero, I’ll tell you that much. Zahra doesn’t stand a chance at keeping his distance from him.

Burned is on sale now at:
Amazon Kindle (US)
Amazon Kindle (UK)
Amazon Kindle (CA)
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Kobo

To celebrate Burned’s release even more, I’m also hosting a “spread the word” contest and giveaway. It runs until September 1^st at noon EST, so if you’re interested please check out the details on how to enter at this link to my blog.

Thanks and happy reading!

Kaylea Cross

Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her family. You can find Kaylea through her website, Twitter, Facebook, and her blog.

THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all of the readers, the bloggers, and the reviewers who have supported WICKED FIRSTS! WICKED FIRSTS is #2 on the New York Times ebook list, and it is #3 on the New York Times combined ebook and print list. AND it is #7 overall on the USA Today bestseller list! Wow!!! That is so incredible!

And it is all because of you.  Thank you for buying the anthology. Thank you for reading the stories. Thank you for sharing news about this anthology with your friends and reading buddies. Thank you for just being so amazing!

Love is the most dangerous obsession…

Skye Sullivan is trying to put the pieces of her life back together. She survived a brutal stalker and escaped his abduction, and now she is looking to the future—a future that includes Skye’s lover, billionaire Trace Weston. Skye thinks the danger is finally over for her.

She’s dead wrong.

When Trace’s past comes back to haunt him, Skye discovers that the man she loves isn’t quite who he seems to be. Trace has been leading a double-life. An ex-special forces agent, his military training turned him into the perfect killing machine. He made more than his share of enemies during his time in the military—and as he built his security empire—and one of those enemies is striking back.

He won’t lose her.

Skye is the one weapon that can be used against Trace—his only vulnerability. But he won’t let her go—he can’t. Trace will do anything necessary to protect Skye. Anything. Yet when she discovers the secrets that he’s tried to keep hidden, Skye’s pain and rage may send her running directly into the cross-hairs of a killer…

MINE TO KEEP continues (and concludes) the story for Skye & Trace. It is a full-length, sexy romantic suspense, and when it is released, it will be set at a price of $2.99.   MINE TO KEEP will be available at all e-retailers (and a print copy will be coming  in the future, too!) on 9/16.  Amazon gave me a pre-order option with this book (I am so glad b/c a lot readers had asked about pre-orders).  The MINE TO KEEP page is now live at Amazon.  😉

And, like I said, it will be available on the Nook, at Kobo, All Romance eBooks, Smashwords, and iTunes.  I am planning to distribute as widely as I can for my readers.

This will be the last story about Skye & Trace. I want to thank everyone for the incredible support that you have given to these characters. I received so many great notes asking about a longer story for Skye & Trace, and I sure hope you all enjoy this one!  And, while this book will end the main story for Skye & Trace, I do have plans to write more “Mine” books–more sexy romances about obsession, danger, and dark heroes.

Thank you, again, and have a wonderful Wednesday! I’m off to write more!

And it’s another release day! Yay! The print version of GLITTER & GUNFIRE is out now! (Harlequin will be releasing the digital version on 9/1/13.)

He was assigned to protect her—not make her his own—in this installment of USA TODAY bestselling author Cynthia Eden’s Shadow Agents series. 

Cale Lane had his orders: keep Cassidy Sherridan alive at all costs. But who sent six armed men storming the Rio ballroom to take her out? The gorgeous party girl wasn’t giving it up. Now he had a more urgent mission: uncover Cassidy’s secrets…one by one.

Cassidy didn’t need the former Army Ranger to play hero and blow her cover. Using herself as bait was the first step in bringing a killer to justice. How could she do that with Cale shadowing her every move…and awakening feelings that tempted her to put her life—and heart—on the line?

***

For the readers who have enjoyed my Shadow Agents–I’ve got news! There are 4 more spin-off books coming for the Shadow Agents (Two are already written and will be released in early 2014. I will be working on the other two very soon!)  I think the titles for two of the books are pretty set at this point, so I can reveal that one book (Feb 2014) will be called UNDERCOVER CAPTOR, and another title (March 2014) will be THE GIRL NEXT DOOR.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the support that you have given to this Intrigue series!

I am so excited–the WICKED FIRSTS anthology is out now…and it’s on sale during release week for just .99!

Here’s the blurb for you:

Six New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors bring you six all-new contemporary and super sexy suspense stories of first loves, first attractions, first temptations, first times and first obsessions.

FIRST EXPOSURE by Elisabeth Naughton

A film that could make her career. A weekend that will change her life…

When actress Avery Scott’s assistant goes missing researching a role for Avery at an exclusive adults-only resort, Avery finds herself with only one choice: travel to the resort herself and look for clues. She hires an elite operative from Aegis Security to accompany her. She just doesn’t expect to get former undercover FBI agent Cade Blackwell—the man who ripped out her teenage heart twelve years before. One weekend at the sexiest resort in the world with the only man she’s ever loved will expose her to more than just a kinky new lifestyle. It’ll expose her to numerous wicked firsts that will test every ounce of her self-control. And if she’s not careful, she could lose her heart—and her life—in the process.

FIRST RAPTURE by Alexandra Ivy

Madison Philips has only one reason to return to Las Vegas: Luc Angeli. The tall, dark bad boy took her virginity on her eighteenth birthday and then walked away, now she’s back, and ready for revenge. Luc Angeli spent his youth trying to earn the approval of his philandering father. Now he’s his own man, but there’s still something missing from his life. He doesn’t know what it is until he catches sight of Madison across a balcony. Suddenly he knows this woman is what he’s been searching for, and this time he’s not walking away.

FIRST TASTE OF DARKNESS by Cynthia Eden

Hot sex. No regrets. Jess Delaney has spent her life playing the role of the good-girl. On a trip to Vegas, she decides to walk on the wild side when she meets mysterious Blake Landon. Rich, powerful, and carrying plenty of secrets, Blake is unlike any man she has ever met before. But as the passion burns between them, danger waits in the darkness…a danger that may just claim Jess’s life…

FIRST INK by Laura Wright

Rush
Women in his bed, celebs and rockers in his chair, life is pretty freaking swell. Then she walks back into it again. Not for pleasure, but for pain. For Ink. A bleeding heart to match the one she left him with five years ago.

Addison

She can’t forget him or the pain she caused him. All she has is a hope for redemption. But it’ll only work if he lets her inside his exclusive world, under his famous artist’s needle and into his bed—once again.

FIRST SURRENDER by Katie Reus

He’s dangerous, sexy, and everything she wants. And he’s about to make his claim…

Hayden, the dangerously sexy, tattooed ex-SEAL is one of the best friends Sierra has ever had—and the main star in her wildest fantasies. But he doesn’t see her that way. And she’d die of embarrassment if he found out she was still a virgin.

Hayden’s struggled to keep his attraction to the beautiful, dark haired casino chef a secret. But when an attacker targets Sierra, Hayden’s protective instincts go into overdrive. With the attraction between them burning out of control, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her and make her his.

FIRST TEMPTATION by Joan Swan

Counterterrorist agent Taft Walker is up for the challenge of posing as an adult store owner with a new female undercover partner who is also a sex-toy virgin. At least until he sees the real woman beneath her tough façade.

Border Patrol Agent Zoe Brooks is ready to get off the front lines. She’s willing to tolerate a swaggering partner like Taft for a new opportunity. But she’s not prepared for the way he understands her deepest, sexiest desires.

***

I had so much fun participating in this anthology, and I sure hope that readers enjoy the tales!

And, hey, if you haven’t registered for the WICKED FIRSTS twitter party, there is still time!  Lots of great prizes are up for grabs. 😉