DUKE OF DESIRE Long Excerpt Iris tasted of red wine—the red wine she must have drunk at dinner—and all the reasons he shouldn’t do this fled his mind. A vital chain broke in his psyche and everything he’d held back, everything he’d restrained with all his might, was suddenly set free. He surged into her mouth, desperate for the feel, for the taste of her, his wife, his duchess, his Iris. She was soft and sweet and warm and he wanted to devour her. To seize her and hold her and never let her go. The deep unfathomable well of his urges toward her frightened him, and he knew that if she became aware of them, they would frighten her as well. But that was the thing—she wasn’t aware of them. She thought she was simply consummating their marriage or some such rot, God help them both. She gripped his naked arms and the beast within him shuddered and stretched, claws scraping against the ground. Dear God, he wanted this woman. But he had to remember—to keep that human part of his mind awake and alive—that he mustn’t seed her. Must never do as his cursed father had done. He…

I’m so excited to share the gorgeous cover of my upcoming release SHINING THROUGH, the fifth and final book in my Red Hot Russians sports romance series. It’s Dirty Dancing meets Olympic figure skating as Russian bad boy Daniil Andreev, and American ice princess Tabitha Turner try to keep their eyes on the gold in the midst of all kinds of sexy distractions. Helping out along the way are PAIRING OFF‘s Red Hot Russian hero Anton Belikov, who is now Daniil’s coach; and some other familiar faces from the series. But don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the previous books. Each story works as a standalone. My cover designer Dani Barclay created a beautiful scene of the book’s Winter Games host city, Grenoble France, and her depiction of the Olympic torch figures into one of my favorite scenes! With the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyongChang South Korea coming up in February, now is a great time for a romance that follows two top level figure skaters through the season that leads up to the Games! SHINING THROUGH by Elizabeth Harmon Red Hot Russians The Biggest Season of her Career… America’s sweetheart Tabitha Turner is on track to win figure-skating…

For about an hour, he chased the wolf through the underbrush of the misty forest, the birds diving for cover in the Douglas fir and western hemlocks as soon as they saw him coming. Vaughn wondered where the wolf was going. He’d been looping around as if trying to reach a location, but then moving in another direction, most likely fearing Vaughn would catch up to him. Then somewhere in the deep forest ahead, the wolf suddenly howled. Calling for help? Out there? That meant he’d stopped long enough to howl. Vaughn raced forward to close the gap, trying to reach him before he ran off again. Or before reinforcements arrived. Why else would the wolf howl? Other members of his pack must be out there. Maybe he thought he could scare Vaughn off, making him think a wolf shifter pack was out there and would back him up any minute. Vaughn had even used that ploy himself a time or two. He wasn’t giving up on his prey no matter what. He had to learn the truth. Had the wolf standing next to the bloody mess on the cabin floor been the same wolf who had torn into Douglas?…

Excerpt from KNIGHT ON THE TEXAS PLAINS “Don’t mean to pry, and if it’s none of my business, just say so. This man who’d be looking for you, is he your husband?” Duel shot her a cursory glance while he wrested both ears from Marley Rose’s steel grip. They were the latest part of his anatomy to capture the child’s fascination. Jessie’s chin quivered an instant before she forced her head high. “No. The ones who come want justice.” For the second time since he’d met her he wanted to pull her against him and hold her safe. His throat clogged with a thick huskiness. “The only justice they’ll find if they come is a piece of hot lead.” His boots crunched on the hard ground when he stood. Jessie seemed oblivious to him as he strode to retrieve the child’s bottle from the bedroll. The battered woman was once again lost somewhere inside herself. Lost and so alone. “I’m taking Marley Rose home to Tranquility.” He tugged the nipple off the bottle. It released with a plop, and the smell of curdled milk reached his nose. Marley giggled excitedly, riding piggyback to the creek to rinse out the container….

“Don’t even think about it,” Julian warned as he leaned back on the plush seat of their limousine. “Think about what?” Kristin asked angrily. “If you jump from a moving vehicle, you’ll more than likely end up breaking your neck, and that would be a shame. You’d miss Vegas and the wedding.” It irritated her that he not only had known exactly what she was contemplating, but had quickly come to the same conclusion as her. There was no way she was taking a swan dive from a moving vehicle. She’d been so shocked by his outrageous behavior that she hadn’t been able to speak until now, even though they’d been riding for several minutes. How he’d gotten the fancy limo down a closed street, she didn’t know. But Kristin was fairly certain it had a lot to do with the chief of police being Julian’s cousin, Dante. The old chief had retired just a few months ago, and Dante Sinclair had taken the promotion when it was offered to him. Kristin shot Julian a furious glare. Even though it was already getting dark, the vehicle had lights in the passenger area. As far as Kristin could tell, the fancy…

Adult(ish) Excerpt from The Dead of Haggard Hall by Marie Treanor As I skirted the throng, which was broken into several smaller ones, like satellites around my mother, I cautiously opened myself further to their emotions. I felt my gaze tugged once more towards the open doorway to the hall. And there he was, my sceptic, looking right at me. Something jolted inside me. I had been right. Full-on, his face was dramatic. Angular, almost bony, it was dominated by black, straight brows over dark, harsh eyes that concealed layers of turbulence and profound, conflicting emotions; a hard mouth with a sensual curve. Tall, straight, and broad shouldered, his body gave the impression of being only loosely flung together. His dress was respectable and yet hung on him with such carelessness that it somehow suggested the entirely disreputable. His unblinking regard washed over me in waves. Anger; constant anger. Curiosity and annoyance. He didn’t want to be here and yet needed to know what would happen. Contempt, disbelief. And a sudden surge of lust that made me gasp and spin away from him in shock, for my own body flamed in wicked reply. It was hardly the first time I…

“It’s good to see you, Danica.” His voice sounded as though sand was lodged in his throat. The gritty sound raised the hair on her forearms, and her nipples grew harder. “Good to be back?” she ventured. Resting his elbows on his knees once more, he dropped his head into his hands. When he scrubbed his jaw, a rasping noise sent her into a bigger spin than the F4 that had wiped out their town. Finally, he raised his head. “I can’t answer that yet. But it’s good to be stateside.” There it was—that burning in his eyes again. It took the dark brown to a whole new level of intensity. She unfolded her legs and reached across the short distance to rest a hand on his arm again. He let her touch him, offering a millisecond of comfort. The hair under her fingers was wiry and his skin warm. This was Brodie, not some stranger. They’d climbed trees together and fallen out of them too. He’d carried her, with a badly sprained ankle, to the house on his back. She’d cried so much she’d snotted on him, and he hadn’t come near her for a week. They were practically…

“Hey.” My mouth went dry. Staring out at the city, I said, “So, um. I talked to Nate. About what’s going on.” “Oh.” Something rustled in the background. Was he still in bed? I wasn’t even sure when he got up these days. “Um. How did he take it?” “As good as we could’ve expected, I guess.” Theo exhaled. “I should call him. It might be good for him to hear from both of us.” “Yeah.” I turned around, watching Nate’s sleeping form through my semitransparent reflection. “Give him a little while, though. He’s not up yet.” “He’s—” Theo paused. When he spoke again, his voice was cold. “So he’s still there.” “Yeah, he’s—” I faced the city again. “Is that a problem?” “No.” His tone suggested it clearly was a problem. “Just…could you pass the message along for him to call me when he has a chance?” I ground my teeth and tried not to get defensive. If I’d been the one in his position, five hundred miles away while Theo broke the news to Nate, I’d probably not feel great about the situation either. “I’ll tell him.” “Thanks.” Silence set in. I fixed my gaze on the road…

The lights came on and I whirled around. A short, plump woman in her early seventies, with a mass of auburn-and-white hair untamed by a blue crocheted beret, dressed in jeans and an army jacket covered with protest slogan buttons, stood in the doorway holding a laundry basket. A small tan, mixed-breed dog, still a puppy, ran inside, danced around my feet, barked with much enthusiasm, then sat and looked up at me with adoration in its deep brown eyes. “Boo-Boo! Hush. What’s the matter with you, mutt? Have you gone loco? Chill, puppy.” I wasn’t in the mood to make nice. Two long strides brought me within a foot of the doorway in case I needed to make a quick exit. “Who the hell are you, and why are you waltzing into my apartment?” I demanded. A gasp, wider eyes, and then a beautiful smile flashed across her perfect peaches-and-cream complexion. “I am not waltzing. I am trudging. I save my waltzing for the dance floor, although I prefer the tango.” She squinted. “Oh sweet Mother Mary. I’m talking to an auditory hallucination. What the hell did my bartender put in the last margarita? Boo-Boo? Are you seeing this?…

Mitchell searched his memory. “The calling-card murder count was at twenty-four when I left the force six months ago.” “The overall number will have climbed since then, but it’s the victims who possess the sight that I’m most concerned about. Certainly, the others matter, but their deaths—how can I put this?—provide nothing more than operating money for Leshad. They keep the cash flow up and his filthy operation in the black. Very comfortably in the black, I suspect.” “Why are you most concerned about the victims who possess the sight?” “Partly because I’m one of them, like my mother and her friend Twila Black. Twila’s sister, Tallulah Black, possessed some vision as well, but not a sufficient amount for Leshad to use.” Was this intriguing him or annoying him? Mitchell wasn’t sure. Maybe it depended on what Phoebe expected him to do. “Where does your fading appeal enter into this?” he asked, although he had a feeling he could guess the answer to that one. She maintained her benign expression. “I’m Madeleine’s daughter, cher. I possess certain modest sensory abilities. Leshad assumes I inherited my mother’s full gift of second sight. I didn’t, but it’s what he thinks.” “So you…