#ManCandyMonday – Owen Pierce from ONE SUMMER NIGHT

It’s been a few weeks since I tempted you with some Man Candy, so today I’m sharing sexy Owen from ONE SUMMER NIGHT. I loved Owen’s loyalty to his brother as well as his long term love for Maggie, the heroine in the story. While Owen sometimes had a tough time with balancing his love for Maggie with his desire keep the feud between their families out of their relationship, he made the right decisions at the end so Maggie and he could have their happily-ever-after. So without further ado, here’s Owen!

As a side note, the ONE SUMMER NIGHT e-book is specially priced at 99 cents. That’s a great deal for a Publishers Weekly Top 10 romance! You can order this beach read just in time for early summer reading at the following retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2ik8EfG
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL
Audible: https://amzn.to/2l2D0S2
Radish: Read three chapters for free – http://bit.ly/2AERQFk

#TeaserTuesday – Summer is already here!

With spring just a day away, I’m already having dreams of summers at the Shore! Here’s the thing: You can already be spending summer at the Shore with ONE SUMMER NIGHT, the first book in the At the Shore contemporary romance series. Especially since the e-book is specially priced at 99 cents! That’s a deal for this Publishers Weekly Top 10 Fall Romance that was also featured in the NY Times Roundup of Romance.

And now for the teaser! In this scene, Maggie and Owen have just shared a dinner with all their friends and after some teasing, have gone down to the beachfront for some time alone. But what will they do with that time alone? Time to find out.

If you cannot see the preview below, please click here for the ONE SUMMER NIGHT excerpt.

You can purchase ONE SUMMER NIGHT at the following retailers:
Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2ik8EfG
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL
Audible: https://amzn.to/2l2D0S2
Radish: Read three chapters for free – http://bit.ly/2AERQFk

#TeaserThursday – Bring Summer Back

I hate the cold! We just don’t get along. This morning as I trudged to work with a fine snow coming down, all I could think of was warm sunny days spent lazing on the beach. So I thought I’d take you back to the beach this morning with an excerpt from ONE SUMMER NIGHT. In this scene Maggie and Owen have just had breakfast after Maggie cancelled on Owen for their first weekend alone at the Shore. As the talk gets personal, Maggie realizes just how much Owen understands her and cares for her and soon the attraction pulling them together just becomes too much to resist.

Warning – this teaser is for mature adults!

Teaser

As she pressed into him, she dug her fingers into his hair and cradled his head in her hands. Opened her mouth to invite him to enter. Taste. Savor.

God, but she was so sweet and responsive.

When he danced his tongue across perfect white teeth, she playfully chased it and then lightly bit his lower lip, jerking a groan from him.

He was hard, so hard, that he had to bring a stop to this or there would be no turning back. And as soon as he thought that, she shifted away slightly and met his gaze.

“I want you, Owen. I want this,” she said, laying her hand on his chest directly over his beating heart.

“I want it too, Maggie.” He’d wanted this since they were eighteen and he’d kissed her on that moonlit beach. Maybe even since they were children, playing on the beach together happily. Being with her back then had always seemed to make any day special.

Maggie smiled and pointed an index finger heavenward. “My bedroom is two flights up.”

“Good thing I work out,” he teased, bent, and scooped her up in his arms.

Maggie grabbed hold of his shoulders and laughed out a halfhearted protest. “You don’t have to carry me.”

Owen grinned. “I know what you spent all your summers reading in the gazebo,” he said as he hurried to the stairs and began the climb to her bedroom. Without any strain or hitch in his breath, he said, “I know what the heroes in those books do.”

She chuckled, pulled herself close to nip his earlobe, and whispered, “Bet you can’t guess what the heroines do.”

“Sweet Lord, I can’t wait to find out,” he said and quickened his pace up the stairs.

He entered her room and, with a muttered “Wow,” marched straight to her antique four-poster bed, with its artfully draped canopy of gossamer-light fabric.

Her body skimmed along his as he released her, and she slowly sank to her feet. As soon as she touched the ground, he rested his hands just above where the jeans ended, his palms slightly rough against that sensitive skin and hot. So, so hot.

With a gentle sweep upward, he bracketed her body beneath her breasts and urged her close, her hips grazing against his erection, trapped beneath the khaki he wore. The tips of her breasts, tight and hard with her need, just brushed the starched cotton of his shirt.

She inched her hands up to the first button of that shirt and half glanced at him as she deliberately, leisurely, slipped each button free until his shirt hung open.

“You’re killing me, Mags.” He didn’t need to say what he wanted, because it was obvious she wanted it too.

***

Maggie laid her hands on his chest, cupping his nicely defined pecs, brushing her thumbs across the hard paps as he eased his hands upward and mimicked her actions, cradling her breasts. Teasing the hard tips between his thumb and forefinger, each little tug blasting straight to her center, creating a sympathetic twist of need.

He grabbed the hem of her crop top and drew it up and over her head. Stopped to gaze at her in the sexy lingerie she was glad she’d worn.

He idly traced the swell of her breasts with the tips of his fingers and said, “You’re so beautiful, Maggie.”

She felt more than beautiful with him gazing at her like that. She felt…cherished.

Reaching behind, she undid the bra and slipped it off, baring herself to him, delighting in the swift inhale of his breath and the jump of his arousal against her belly.

He cradled her breasts again, his touch slow and unhurried. Patient as he learned just what she liked. A little tweak of her nipple followed by his sweet kiss. The long pull into his mouth and a crazy swirl of his tongue that made her knees buckle.

She grabbed hold of his shoulders, encountering the soft cotton, but she wanted to feel him. Only him.

She swept away his shirt, and he broke away from her only long enough to let it drop to the floor and then met her lips in a kiss.

Unhurried. Searching. Over and over, their mouths met as he hauled her close, her breasts crushed against the hard wall of his chest.

She opened her mouth and accepted the slide of his tongue. Danced hers along his until they were both breathing hard and there was no holding back.

Faster than a New York minute, they finished undressing, shoes, socks, khaki, and denim flying free until she stood before him in just the tiny bikini bottoms.

His touch was restrained, almost reverent, as he cradled her breast and then tenderly skimmed his hand down her body to the lacy edge of the panty. He dragged the back of his hand back and forth across the flatness of her belly, just above the low waistband. Then he dipped his hand lower, eased the fabric down her legs, and helped her step out of them.

Special Pricing for a limited time!

FYI – My publisher has dropped the price of ONE SUMMER NIGHT to .99 cents for a limited time! If you haven’t already picked up your e-book, you can do so at the following retailers:

Audible: https://amzn.to/2Lgyz2e

You can purchase #2 in the series, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER, at the following retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2y6hi4h
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2y92UIQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/2BJNcov
B&N Paperback: http://bit.ly/2sHmY3l
Google: http://bit.ly/2hKg3BW
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2HlVlly
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hKgP1J
Kobo: bit.ly/koboWHS
Audible: https://amzn.to/2M2ZWfY

#ThrowbackThursday Goodbye Lord & Taylor

Since 1914, Lord & Taylor has had its flagship store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Sadly it was announced earlier this year that the current owner, Canadian company Hudson’s Bay Co., has sold the lovely landmark building to WeWork (other locations will remain open). For years the Lord & Taylor Christmas windows were the highlight of my family’s holiday outing to New York City. The demise of this location hits hard because of that and because it reminds me of another venerable retail institution which was shuttered and which was like part of my family – B. Altman’s. My dad worked at Altman’s for over twenty years and I worked there as well to pay for high school and college expenses. I actually based the store in ONE SUMMER NIGHT on Altman’s which is still so dear to my heart.

So today’s Throwback Thursday is an homage to the Lord & Taylor Christmas windows. Thank you for so many wonderful years and memories. You will be missed.

FYI – Hudson’s Bay also owns Saks Fifth Avenue. Wonder if that location will be the next with a “For Sale” sign?

#TeaserTuesday A Second Chance at Love and an Upcoming Book Signing

Good morning! The summer seems to be flying by and so are the days until my upcoming signing at the Edison Barnes & Noble! Please join me on August 4 to sign some of my latest releases! Here’s the info for it:

    Romance at Menlo Park
    Author Event, Special Event, Author Signing
    Saturday August 04, 2018 12:00 PM
    Join us from 12PM-4PM and meet your local romance authors!

    Menlo Park Mall
    55 Parsonage Road
    Edison, NJ 08837
    732-548-4179

And now for today’s Teaser and a Thank You! Thank you all for your support of the At the Shore series! You have really made it special for me! Today’s teaser is from Chapter 1 in WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER In this scene Connie and Jonatha are about to see Jonathan for the first time in many years. They are both still the same in some ways and very different in others. They are both still wondering about the “What if?” I hope you enjoy this teaser!

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Jonathan Pierce stared hard at the mirror, wondering what Connie Reyes might see tonight when she and her friends came over for the dinner his brother Owen had arranged. What Connie might think after so much time had passed.

The teen she had known seven years earlier was gone as was the man she’d run into shortly after Hurricane Sandy. That man had been replaced by one who had known his share of hardship and success. Barely perceptible laugh lines that hadn’t been there that last summer bracketed his mouth and eyes. There was a thin scar above one brow thanks to a crash while testing a new vehicle prototype on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Another jagged white line on his jaw was courtesy of shrapnel when a hydrogen fuel cell had unexpectedly exploded in their lab.

He looked away and leaned heavily on the edge of the vanity, noting the other assorted nicks and scars on his hands. They were the hands of a man who had lived life to the fullest and made himself what he wanted to be and not what others expected. He knew he’d sometimes hurt people with his choices, especially his older brother Owen, who’d had to shoulder the burden of the family business as well as their father’s ire whenever one of Jonathan’s escapades caught the attention of the media.

He’d gotten used to the interest the press had in him. After all, he was the renegade son of a wealthy family. A self-taught inventor who had sold his first small invention for millions. He was now revolutionizing the motor vehicle and battery industries with his innovative designs, unconventional methods, and fearless experiments.

He had brought idea after idea to life with detailed research and hard work. There had been failures along the way, but that had only made the successes that much more enjoyable. He had celebrated those successes with his team, his brother, and a bevy of actresses and models who were only too keen to be seen on the arm of a rebellious multi-millionaire who might soon be a billionaire if his company’s stock prices continued to climb.

Only… none of those women could hold a candle to Connie.

Connie, who he would see in just a few hours thanks to his brother. Owen had finally decided to fight for Maggie Sinclair, and he was happy that his brother was following his heart. But while Jonathan would do almost anything for Owen, he wasn’t happy about having to spend time with Connie.

Smart and beautiful Connie, he thought with a sigh and a shake of his head.

He’d managed to avoid her for the last several years. Sure, he’d seen her after Sandy and occasionally from afar when Maggie and her friends had come down to Sea Kiss. Or every now and then when he’d gone to some business event in the city.

He’d tried to tell himself he didn’t like the sleek professional woman she’d become. That she wasn’t prettier than ever. He tried not to imagine peeling off those elegant business suits to reveal the real woman beneath. But he was lying to himself.

He had never really gotten over the Connie Reyes that had emerged that summer they had shared. The woman who had learned to live for the moment and have fun. Who had been carefree and willing to explore their love. He doubted he would ever forget that women and wondered if she was still there, trapped inside her very prim and proper suits.

Maybe he’d find out tonight, he thought, and prepared himself for what might be a very difficult dinner.

***
Connie Reyes splayed her hand across the nervous butterflies in her stomach that were beating their wings so violently, she felt like throwing up. She was tempted to beg off from dinner with the Pierce boys, only Maggie needed her moral support and Connie never disappointed a friend. Especially Maggie, who was like a sister. She’d do anything for Maggie, even suffering through a meal with Jonathan Pierce.

“You feeling okay? You’re looking a little . . .” said Emma Grant, her other BFF. Emma eyed her intently, her green-eyed gaze inquisitive.

“I’m just fine,” she lied, but it was clear from Emma’s meaningful stare that her friend suspected something was up as they followed

Maggie onto the patio and to the long row of tall privet hedges that separated the two Jersey Shore mansions.

She tamed the flutters much as she did when arguing a case before a judge and trudged along behind Maggie as they eased through the hedges and approached the entrance to the Pierce mansion. They had barely reached the front porch when Owen threw open the door, a big friendly smile on his handsome face.

He welcomed them warmly, but Connie couldn’t resist mumbling to Emma, “Said the spider to the fly.” As much as she wanted things to work out with Owen, she still worried about how Maggie would be hurt if they didn’t.

Emma jabbed her in the ribs and luckily, it seemed as if Owen either hadn’t heard her comment or if he had, was choosing to ignore it. She gave him props if it was the latter, since it indicated he was truly trying to be nice for Maggie’s sake.

They quickly walked through the foyer and living room and back to the dining area. Jonathan was in the kitchen, an apron over his jeans and T-shirt. The T-shirt hugged his broad, muscled chest and laid bare the powerful muscles of his arms. His light brown hair still had the kiss of the summer sun and was tied back from his face, revealing the sharp lines of his features.

He looked older, but still so handsome.

She had thought she could handle this dinner for her friend’s sake. That she could face Jonathan and not get caught up in the emotions from years past. But it was impossible to forget the way he’d held her in his arms, a dimpled smile on his lips, his sea-blue eyes bright with humor and love. With that memory, the flutters in her stomach were replaced by an ache in the region of her heart.

Please also take a moment to explore WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER at these retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2y6hi4h
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2y92UIQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/2BJNcov
B&N Paperback: http://bit.ly/2sHmY3l
Google: http://bit.ly/2hKg3BW
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2HlVlly
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hKgP1J
Kobo: http://bit.ly/koboWHS
Audible: https://amzn.to/2M2ZWfY

Don’t forget you can download ONE SUMMER NIGHT for #99cents at these retailers:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2ik8EfG
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL

#ManCandyMonday – Jonathan Pierce from WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER

When you plot out a series, you have to think about who will be the heroes and heroines in subsequent books. I always knew that #2 in the At the Shore Series, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER, would feature rebellious younger brother Jonathan. What I didn’t expect is how much I fell in love with Jon in #1 ONE SUMMER NIGHT. As he came alive on the page I realized he was a tortured soul that needed love so badly because he had already lost it twice. First when his mother abandoned him as a child and then when Connie pushed him away after their summer fling. Not to mention that for all his rebelliousness all Jon ever wanted with a place he could call home surrounded by family and the friends to whom he is loyal. That’s why I love Jon and I hope you will too. When I saw this model, I knew he was just how I pictured Jon to look, right down to that sexy grin! So what do you think about today’s Man Candy?

Jonathan Pierce What Happens in Summer

You can purchase WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER at the following locations:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2y6hi4h
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2y92UIQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/2BJNcov
B&N Paperback: http://bit.ly/2sHmY3l
Google: http://bit.ly/2hKg3BW
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2HlVlly
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hKgP1J
Kobo: bit.ly/koboWHS
Audible: https://amzn.to/2M2ZWfY

Also, don’t miss out on the special pricing for ONE SUMMER NIGHT! It’s just 99 cents for a limited time!

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2ik8EfG
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL
Audible: https://amzn.to/2l2D0S2
Radish: Read three chapters for free – http://bit.ly/2AERQFk

#WickedWednesday – A Deleted Scene from What Happens in Summer

When you write it’s good not to have a self-editor that keeps you from putting certain words or scenes on the page. It’s important to let the story flow and then step back and see how a scene works and how it fits into the story you want to tell. That stepping back sometimes shows you that a scene doesn’t belong somewhere and Snip! It ends up on the cutting room floor. That’s what happened with this very sexy scene between Connie and Jonathan in WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER. It was just too much too soon sadly, but don’t worry. The story has other sexy and emotional and tender bits between Connie and Jon. LOL!

WARNING: For Mature Audiences

“I missed you,” she said as she tumbled back onto the mattress and brought him down with her, all earlier trace of playfulness gone as she stared up at him, her exotic green-gold gaze serious as she swept it over his face. Her wavy hair was a dark cloud against the bleached white of the linens.

“I missed you, too,” he said and knew it was more about the separation to come in a week and not about the long hours since last night.

He bent his head and kissed her, his touch tender and caring, and she answered in kind, her lips soft and coaxing. Inviting him to join with her.

Reaching down, he slipped his hands beneath the hem of the cotton nightshirt she wore and eased it off her body. He touched every inch he revealed, savoring the womanly curves. Bending to kiss the tan lines just below her navel and then higher, along the swells of her generous breasts. Feathering his lips across her passion-tight nipples. How he’d wanted to see and taste those breasts last summer when she’d first caught his eye as he’d been surfing down on the beach.

Although Maggie had been bringing her friends to the Jersey Shore every summer since they’d met freshman year in college, he’d never really paid much attention at first. He’d had his share of the girls from his high school class fawning over him.

But when Maggie and her friends had come back the next year, he had finally, gratefully, noticed what a real woman should look like. Like Connie, all luscious curves and gorgeous breasts, he thought as he bent his head and kissed the tips once more. Caressed them into harder nubs with his fingers and sucked them deep into his mouth.

She keened his name and threaded her fingers through the longish strands of his hair. Bumped her hips against his erection and he couldn’t be patient.

Neither could she as together they undid his jeans and peeled them off. He paused only long enough to pull a condom from his wallet and she took it from his hands, opened the packet, and rolled it down his length.

A shudder worked along his spine at her caress and at the knowing smile she gave him from beneath half-lowered lids.

“You’re a hard woman, Connie Reyes,” he teased.

“And luckily you’re a hard man, Jonathan Pierce,” she teased right back and her smile promised he wouldn’t be disappointed.

He slipped between her thighs as she lay on the edge of the bed, eager for him, but he didn’t want to rush. As impatient as he might be to make love to her, he wanted her to know how much this meant to him. How this wasn’t only a summer romance for him.

He leaned over her, his gaze locked on her face. He wanted to say the words, Lord how he wanted to, but they stuck in his throat and so he let every kiss and touch tell her what he couldn’t voice. He reaffirmed his love with caress after caress of her body until she was straining beneath him, wild with need. Begging for him to be with her, not that Connie was normally the kind of woman to beg.

His Connie was proud, smart, and independent. That she pleaded with him to take her only made him that much more aware of how careful he needed to be with the gift she’d given him. Slowly he entered, possessing her inch by tempting inch until he was buried deep inside her warmth. He watched her face as he took her, their gazes locked together as they lost themselves to the pleasure they could bring each other.

Her gaze became molten, golden, as her release pulled her upward and she moved beneath him. She ran her hands all over his body, her every touch a fiery brand against his flesh. Her hot hands smooth against his harder body.

Her breasts moved with each shift of his hips, enticing him until he could no longer resist. He bent his head and tasted and sucked as he drove into her over and over, forcing desire ever higher until her release burst over him.

She grabbed hold of his shoulders, digging her fingers into his muscles as she cradled him with her knees and pushed up, deepening his possession. Her body convulsed around him, embracing him until with a rough shout, he came, shaking and sweating from the force of his release.

He dropped onto her and she held him close. Ran her hands across his shoulders as he gulped in a few rough breaths. Against his ear her heart was pounding wildly beneath her passion damp skin. Her breath was shaky until little by little, peace enveloped them both.

He’d never had such peace with anyone else before. Okay, maybe his brother Owen, who always stood up for him and had his back.

But never anyone else. Never a woman, especially one like Connie.

Order

You can purchase WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER at the following locations:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2y6hi4h
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2y92UIQ
B&N: http://bit.ly/2BJNcov
B&N Paperback: http://bit.ly/2sHmY3l
Google: http://bit.ly/2hKg3BW
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2HlVlly
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hKgP1J
Kobo: bit.ly/koboWHS
Audible: https://amzn.to/2M2ZWfY

Also, don’t miss out on the special pricing for ONE SUMMER NIGHT! It’s just 99 cents for a limited time!

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2krMwfE
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2kYLWZV
B&N: http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2ik8EfG
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qsqdwx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fuEphL
Audible: https://amzn.to/2l2D0S2
Radish: Read three chapters for free – http://bit.ly/2AERQFk

Sexy scene What Happens in Summer
Sexy scene What Happens in Summer