That sudden fascination…the nervousness of being around him but yet the compulsion to seek out his company… Can anyone forget their first crush, finally understanding why there is so much fuss about “love” and “romance” and “soul mates?” The feeling that there is no place else and no other person with whom you want to be? For most of us, a first crush is an initiation into the wonder and beauty of being in love, left behind as life goes on. A full understanding of all the nuances of love, and meeting the one who’ll give us our “happily ever after,” generally doesn’t come until we are older. But for some, that first crush matures into a lasting love, the once-in-a-lifetime relationship. So it is for the hero of my latest release, STOLEN ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DUCHESS. When David Tanner Smith first meets Faith Wellingford, he is a penniless farmer’s orphan, his only assets a bold dream and a powerful sponsor. Faith is a girl trembling on the brink of womanhood, soon to embark on her first Season, whose connections of blood and friendship with all the great families of England guarantee she will be a success. Over the course…

This excerpt is a conversation between the hero, Jayson Harmon, a wounded Special Forces lieutenant, and the deputy director of the Department of Covert Ops, Dick Coleman. While readers (and almost everyone in the X-OPS Series) knows that Dick is always up to no good, Jayson, who is in a bad place in his life right now, sees a different side to him (or at least believes he does). So, when Dick offers Jayson a way to get back everything he lost when he was wounded in Afghanistan, he doesn’t realize the deputy director is using him to get what he wants. While the experimental serum Dick wants him to take could make Jayson practically superhuman, it’s also beyond dangerous. But Jayson’s girlfriend, feline shifter and newest DCO agent, Layla Halliwell, just went on her first mission and he’s insane with worry. He knows taking the serum is risky, but sitting at home worrying about Layla is worse. If taking the serum is the only way he can watch her back, that’s what he’ll do. “You can’t just go barging in there. I need to announce you!” Jayson ignored Dick’s secretary, walking past her and pushing open the deputy director’s…