I deal with those things every day. My name is Jason Avery, one of the best undercover agents in the country. I have yet to fail on a mission, which is why I’ve been sent to Vegas. Countless women have been abducted, tortured, only to show up dead in the middle of the night. It’s my job to find out which sick fuck is responsible. Unfortunately, every lead sends me to a dead end; at least, until Aylee McFadden shows up at my door.
Aylee is a stubborn, headstrong FBI agent and also one of the sexiest women I’ve ever seen with a gun. In joining me, it gives us the leverage we need to get on the inside. She fights me at every turn, but soon realizes there’s more to me than tattoos and a dirty mouth. I can’t get enough of her. Now that we’re in the game, we’re one step closer to solving the crime. However, gambling with money isn’t what the big boys want. They want the one thing I’m not willing to give.
It’s a no limit game, and if I back down I lose everything. I will lose her.
“Pick which room you want and I’ll take the other. I made sure they were on opposite ends so you couldn’t hear the screams of pleasure about to ensue. Wouldn’t want you to get jealous.”
“Jackass,” I mumbled under my breath. “Doesn’t matter much to me.”
“And then once you’re settled we’ll have to work out a system.”
“For what?”
“Like hanging a sock on the door knob when you’re horny and looking for a little of this.” He gestured down his body.
“Oh, good grief. That will never happen. Ever.”
NYT and USA Today Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is a southern belle residing in North Carolina along with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she even began her literary journey she worked in Periodontics enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries. Not only does she love to write, but she loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes, white water rafting, and you can’t forget the passion for singing. Her two number one fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime and those songs usually consist of Christmas carols. Aside from being a wife and mother, L.P. Dover has written over nine novels including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, and her standalone novel, Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read is romantic suspense and she also loves writing it. However, if she had to choose a setting to live in it would have to be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.
If there’s one thing Rye Holcomb hates, it’s small, tight-knit towns with high virtues and zero tolerance for outsiders. Fidelity is just such a town. And Rye is just such an outsider. So when he and his brother, Cash, take jobs in Fidelity, Rye decides not to get too comfortable. Which is why he is avoiding some rather confusing feelings for his new boss, Cora McKay.
Cora was born, raised, and baptized in Fidelity. She owns a thriving construction business, has a close circle of friends, and is the breadwinner for her mother and four sisters. The one thing she lacks is a sex life, something she’s never longed for until now. One conversation with Rye sparks her sexual awakening, and, in spite of his reputation as a man-whore, Cora can’t resist giving in to his advances.
As Rye enjoys initiating his virgin employer, and Cash experiences a relationship with a man for the first time in his life, they begin to think of Fidelity as home. But small towns have brought them trouble in the past, and it appears Fidelity holds trouble for their future. Can their newfound relationships be enough to overcome a past that relentlessly follows them? Can two men who have been burned by love learn to trust again?
He took one step toward her, closing the distance between them a little bit. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Cora. I’m sorry for what I did Sunday. That was just really shitty of me, and I got no excuse. But I figured out that I’ve done this to myself. You have every right to think badly of me. I walked into this town figuring it was just like any other town, so I might as well get mine while I could. I already had my mind made up, so when something sweet and amazing came my way, I didn’t have a fucking clue how to handle it.”
Her heart pounded hard in her chest, and she found she couldn’t keep staring into his eyes.
“Cora, when you smiled the first time, you changed my life. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head this whole time. I’ve been praying to God all week that I haven’t messed things up for good.”
Now she felt she could barely breathe.
“Did I? Did I mess things up for good?”
She couldn’t even turn to look at him. He must have sensed it because he touched her chin with the tip of his finger and turned her head toward him. His eyes were so incredibly beautiful and earnest.
She cleared her throat and in a husky voice, asked, “What is it you want with me?”
“Just a chance. Let me prove to you that the guy you’ve known the past month isn’t really who I am. It’s just who I became after giving up on people. I can fix this, Cora.”
She opened her mouth to answer though she didn’t know what to say. Thankfully, the sound of trucks approaching interrupted them. She turned toward the noise. “We should get back—”
He spun her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers as he smoothed her hair off her forehead, leaving his hands to gently cup her face. The urgency and sincerity in his kiss undid her. She fisted her hands in his shirt and held on.
“I want you,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you, Cora.”
Carter Ashby is a hardworking housewife and homeschool mother by day, and a romance reader and writer by night. She lives in rural Missouri with her husband, three children, and two dogs.
Weary from a messy break up two weeks before her wedding Coldra Ashe decided to start over in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Returning home for the first time in many years she soon discovers secrets from her mother, Lauren Ashe’s past. Her mother’s lies quickly wreak havoc on Coldra’s life and her mother’s secrets will test her tenacity.
CHAPTER ONE: The First Sign
Coldra
2012
Our wedding is only five months away. I sat across my dining room table. Jamal kept playing with his cell phone. His text messages kept pinging. In the past few months he was always busy when it came time to discuss wedding plans.
"So here is the final proof for the wedding invitation.” I pushed it across the table.
Jamal let out a big sigh. "Is everything alright babe? We're just getting started. That is unless you want to cancel." I let out a chuckle. Jamal continued to stare at the invitation.
Jamal sighed again.
"You look tired maybe we can pick this up tomorrow”, I said.
"Col, we need to talk."
I pushed him out the door. "We can talk tomorrow."
I sat down on my couch and began to cry. Maybe I was the fool by refusing to believe what was obvious. I knew it was over. Tomorrow I'd meet him for lunch and I would ask him point blank.
“Dressed for the spring, I see. You couldn’t wait to put your capris on. Could you?”
“As a matter of fact, I think I look exceptionally good in my capris for my age. And besides, you are living on the waterfront, so I had to look the part.”
Living right off of the river was going to be perfect, which was why I didn’t have to visit the apartment before signing the contract. I knew my city which influenced my decision to move back home. Lord knows I needed some peace and tranquility. At night I would be able to sit on my deck and watch the city lights reflect on the river’s water. In the morning the sun would shine on my deck. Unfortunately, the beauty of my hometime also reflected the darkness of the economy. There were many abandoned factory buildings up for sale.
“How was your trip?” my mother asked me right when I walked in the door.
“It was uneventful. I packed my bags and left. I hope my furniture has made it to the apartment.”
“It did. I had the movers place everything by room.”
My mother started eyeing me. I hate it when she does that.
“Uneventful. When my clients used to say it, it meant the exact opposite.”
“Mom, it’s stuffy.” I walked over to the factory-size window and attempted to open it.
“Ow…oww.” I had put my all into punching Jamal. He didn’t even have the decency to wait before he moved his other woman into our home. How did I find out? Well, the day I was supposed to get on the road, I had to pick up one last box. He was adamant about me coming to get it. This a-hole answered the door with the same executive assistant who was at his beck and call. He put the box in my car and expected a hug. Well, he got my fist instead.
“Are you okay? Let me see. Your hand is swollen. You need to see a doctor.”
“Ice will be fine, Mother. I am fine.”
“Your hand is swollen. You should see a doctor soon. Uneventful…yeah, right,” my mother said. “How about telling me how your hand became swollen? How are you supposed to hold babies with a swollen hand?”
“Babies?” Jill’s mother, my mother’s cousin, had wasted no time telling my mother that her daughter would be my boss.
Can anyone keep a secret in this family? I thought.
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything, Mother.”
Her eyes widened, then became like slits, a sure sign she was perturbed. “You know your cousin can’t keep a secret. I already knew you were going to work at the daycare. I personally think it is beneath you to work in that science experiment.”
“Just because she is not in a nice neighborhood does not mean the daycare is a science experiment.”
“I want to know what happened to your hand!” she replied.
I rolled my eyes. “Mom, it is so not important. I sorta, kinda hit Jamal.”
“You hit Jamal!”
“Yes, I went to pick up my last box, and his ‘other woman’ answered the door.”
“You hit him?”
I threw up my hands, waving her off.
“Go ahead, Mom, I’m ready. Let me have it.”
Brookita R Braxton, an Air Force Veteran and a government employee, has always been intrigued by the mother/ daughter relationship dynamic. After being given up for adoption at an early age and losing her adopted mother to a terminal illness, her curiosity evolved into story lines. Brookita lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She attends church and spends time with her family and friends. This is her first novel.
