I’m so excited! One of my favorite books, first published by Ellora’s Cave, is available at Amazon and Kobo, with more vendors, from Nook to iBooks, coming soon. To celebrate, I thought I’d give readers a peak into Anna and Kyran’s romance. Please keep in mind, this book has been substantially rewritten, re-imagined, and revamped, with additional chapters, scenes, stakes, and launches a three-book series featuring professional football players and the Alexandria Griffins.
Check out a blurb:
All Anna James wants for her fortieth birthday is a ladies’ night out, her plans stalled when she ends up stuck in her griffin costume. As the mascot for the Alexandria Griffins, she never expects to be rescued by the star of her midnight fantasies, quarterback Kyran Black. Dubbed “The Rebel” by the press because of his long hair, tattoos, and playboy stats off the field, he’s everything she should avoid…but still craves and Anna agrees to celebrate her birthday with him.
Certain she’s too old for him, she intends to guard her heart, but he blitzes her defenses, proving to be so much more than a legendary athlete with a media-driven reputation. But when their romantic weekend evolves into love, a blast from his bad boy past returns with a vengeance, threatening to tear their worlds apart.
Can their love overcome the pressures of living in the spotlight, or will they lose the future they’ve only begun to build?
Excerpt with a hint of mystery:
Checking his phone, he noticed a text from Dallas letting him know the coast was clear. Good, one less thing to worry about. Sending a text asking his friend to bring his duffel bag to the hallway outside the women’s locker room, he hoped he wouldn’t need to go into an explanation. When he got an okay emoji in response, he relaxed and put the phone next to Anna’s purse.
He’d just withdrawn his hand when a terrible scream sent him running toward the shower room that wasn’t much different than the men’s.
“Anna,” he called out over the sound of water, steam flooding the whole room, her yips and yelps making his heart race like a jackrabbit. Sliding to a halt when he reached the last stall, he slid open the curtain only to panic when he realized he couldn’t even see her.
“No, don’t come in here. It’s too hot and I can’t reach the faucet to shut off the water.”
“Fuck that,” he growled, charging forward, the water pelting his shoulders making him hiss. “Shit!”
At last, he found the knob, requiring three turns before the water shut off. Waving at the steam, he found Anna sitting in the corner of the stall, hugging herself, her head bowed, the skin on her shoulders bright pink. Hating to see her that way, he sat down next to her, his back against the wall, his knees bent.
“Go home, Kyran, I’m sure you’ve a thousand things to do after a game.”
“The only thing I need to take care of right now is you,” he assured, meaning it. “Can I get you anything, first aid cream, aloe? I’m an excellent masseuse.”
“That’s kind of you, but unnecessary. It was weird, you know? The warm water suddenly went cold and when I tried to turn the knob, it became way too hot and I panicked. I’m sorry to have frightened you.”
“That is weird and I’m going to take it up with stadium management ASAP. That should not happen, Anna.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’ll ask how you knew about the hot water mix up.”
“Trust me, I can inform them of the fault in the plumbing without bringing your name into it. I sure as hell can’t let anyone else use this shower until it’s been checked. Come on, let me see if you’ve been burned.”
“Um, I’m naked.”
“That’s okay, most people take showers without clothes on.”
“And, there’s still shampoo in my hair. This was the last straw in a day from hell and all I want is to curl up in bed, watch a movie that’ll make me cry, and eat a gallon of rocky road ice cream,” she grumbled, her panicked breaths muffled when she dropped her head onto her forearm and cried.
“Don’t cry. Please don’t, that’ll kill me,” he urged, getting nowhere. Didn’t matter that his ass was sitting in water that was still too hot for comfort. All he could do was turn to her, take her elbow and tug, next thing he knew, she’d crawled onto his lap, snuggling up against him. God have mercy, she was the sweetest thing he’d ever known, felt. His need for her more than physical, it was down deep, refusing to let him so much as look at another woman since they’d met.
Frances Stockton 