Free Read THE FIFTH KINGDOM Romantic Suspense

One of my favorite books that I’ve written is THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense story that I did for Carina Press. There was something about the hero, CIA Agent Bill Santana, that hooked me from the moment he showed up on the pages. Add to that a heroine who is so not ready for love much less adventure, toss in some ancient ruins and a kidnapping and the story just came alive for me.

Here’s what RT Book Reviews had to say about THE FIFTH KINGDOM:

RT Book Reviews: 4.5 Stars, ““This story is an Indiana Jones-style thrill ride infused with just the right amount of romance and sexual tension…The mystery, the family dynamic and the love story all blend together perfectly in this delightful adventure. Who needs Harrison Ford when you’ve got a tale like this?”

Also check out RT’s Morgan and Whitney as they dish about the book by clicking here!

For now, I’ll leave you with this free read. This scene is just after someone has tried to grab the heroine, Deanna, from in front of the prep school where she teaches. Bill has taken her to a safe house, but was injured during the kidnapping attempt when he was shot. Luckily his vest stopped the bullet, but he is still feeling the impact of it. In this scene, Bill and Deanna start to feel attraction growing between them.

If you can’t see the excerpt below, you can click here to read it!

THE FIFTH KINGDOM Romantic Suspense from Caridad Pineiro and Carina press

Thanks for taking the time to check out this book!

Order

Carina Press
Amazon
B&N
Kobo
MobiPocket
Sony Reader Store

Switching it up – Mina and Caridad Trading Places (kind of)

We’re doing a little switching up today! I’ve got my friend Mina Khan visiting today and sharing her wonderful new release and I’m visiting The Naked Hero to talk about Rey Peralta from AMAZON AWAKENING!

So please switch it up by dropping by The Naked Hero to visit with me and by checking out Mina’s wish list for Christmas!

How About A Genie for Christmas?

I think a djinn or genie would be the perfect Christmas gift! Of course, I’m biased as I wrote about a sexy djinn assassin – Rukh O’Shay– in my recent paranormal romance release, THE DJINN’S DILEMMA.

But think about it…

    1. A genie can grant wishes and is a present that can keep on giving. Some, like Rukh, can grant your heart’s most hidden desires.

    2. A genie can take anywhere around the world, without the hassles of security, passport or cramped seats in airplanes, trains or vehicles. Rukh can melt into shadows and fly through the ethereal plane.

    3. A powerful genie can protect you from the bad guys.

    4. They can appear an instant! Rukh surprised the heroine in the shower, and he can be on your eReader with one click!

    5. I don’t know about other genies, but Rukh tastes like dark chocolate. A sexy djinn is just what you’d want to heat up cold winter nights.

How hot is how?

Here’s an excerpt to give you a taste!

    Oh heaven and hell, stop with the tears. Given the day Sarah had just had, the tears were logical. But watching her face crumple, hearing the gut-deep harsh sobs, filled Rukh with an irrational need to pull her into his arms, wrap her in a hug.

    As soon as the urge had gelled into conscious thought, his essence hardened into visibility and his arms slid up around her shivering, wet body.

    Sarah’s eyes popped open and she staggered back with a yell.

    His arms tightened around her, steadying her, keeping her close. Well, shit. At least, she’d stopped crying.

    Fear-bright green eyes stared at him instead.

    Given he was an assassin, sent to kill her, her response was natural, even intelligent. Yet, bitterness churned in his gut at the thought of her fearing him. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”

    “Am I hallucinating?” Her question came out as a croak.

    “Yes, yes you are.” That seemed a much better answer than the truth.

    She pinned him with her dark, direct gaze. “You’re just a figment of my imagination. A fantasy?”
    “Yes.” He didn’t dare move.

    “Then why are you still wearing clothes?”

    He made the clothes disappear and stood there as naked as her. Skin against skin, the heat from her body melted into his. Warm water washed over them like rain.

So in the spirit of the season…

Genie bells, genie bells
Genie all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
A Genie all daaaaay! 🙂

The Djinn’s Dilemma Book Blurb:

Rukh O’Shay, half-djinn and assassin, is used to taking out the bad guys. But his latest assignment, Texas Journalist Sarah White, is nothing like he expected. A glimpse of her bright aura reveals her gentle spirit, while her beauty makes him long for only one thing—to taste her.

Sarah shares the raw desire to connect with Rukh. He can turn her on with a glance, and satisfies needs she didn’t even know she had.
But Rukh had been hired to kill her—and the only way to save her is to find out who wants her dead before someone else finishes the job….

Author Bio:

Mina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes them down as stories. Between stories, she teaches culinary classes and writes for her local newspaper. Other than that, she’s raising a family of two children, two cats, two dogs and a husband.

She grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction.

You can find Mina at:

http://www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author
http://minakhan.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/SpiceBites

Wicked Wednesday – SINS OF THE FLESH

sinscoversmallThe cover gods have been very very good to me! Just look at the stunning front and back covers for my November release SINS OF THE FLESH. A big thanks to my publisher – Grand Central Publishing – and all involved with producing such works of art! And because its Wicked Wednesday, I’m giving you a little tidbit from SINS OF THE FLESH as well as the enticing back cover copy!

Back Cover Copy:
Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment – a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body — and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.
sinsbacksmall
Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s hunting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.


Prologue

The day the music died, Caterina Shaw did as well.

Not physically, although she understood the death of her body was inevitable. She had come to terms with that reality some time ago. She had even managed to deal with the blindness caused by the tumor eating away her brain. But then the pain had become so great that it had silenced the music, stealing away the only thing that had made life worth the anguish.

“You understand this treatment is new and uncertain,” Dr. Rudy Wells explained, his voice smooth and comforting. The touch of his hand, warm and reassuring, came against hers as it rested on her thigh.

“I understand,” she said and faced the direction of that calming voice.

Another person abruptly chimed in, his tones as strident and grating as a badly played oboe. “We’ll begin with laser surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor followed by two different courses of gene therapy.”

Two? she wondered and sensed Dr. Wells’ hesitation as well from the tremble that skated across his fingers. He removed his hand from hers and said, “Dr. Edwards believes that we can not only shut down the tumor growing in your brain, but possibly regrow the portion of your optic nerve that the tumor damaged.”

Caterina’s only wish when considering the experimental treatment had been to stop the pain so that she could play her cello once again. So that her last months would be filled with the vitality her music provided.

It was through her music that she lived. That her mother lived, Caterina thought, recalling the passion she had felt as a small child when her mother had played the piano for her; the way her mother’s fingers had coaxed life from the keys much like she now did with a stroke of her bow and the deft touch of her fingers on the strings of her cello.

Or at least like she had up until the cancer had put an end to her music, bringing her life to a close. Except now she was being told something different.

Caterina had never thought about eliminating the tumor. Every prognosis so far had been that she was terminal. Now these new doctors told her not only that might she live, but that she might actually see again too. She didn’t dare believe that she would be able to get her old life back completely, as well as her sight but . . .

“You think I’ll be able to recover? To see again?” Caterina asked, needing to be sure she had understood correctly.

“The risks are great, my dear,” Dr. Wells urged gently.

“But you qualify for the human trials because of the advanced state of your illness, Ms. Shaw,” Dr. Edwards added, annoyance at his partner evident in the staccato beats of his voice.

Her advanced state which could possibly bring death even with this treatment, Caterina thought. Not that she feared her end. What she did fear was letting the pain in her head rob her of the one thing she could not live without.

Her music.

She knew without hesitation that it was worth any risk to regain that part of her. To drive back the illness so she could play her cello once more and reanimate her heart for as long as she had left if the treatments couldn’t stop the tumor.

“What do you need me to do?”

Copyright 2009 Caridad Pineiro Scordato