Thursday, March 27, 2014

Uncovering You...


Uncovering You
Part One: The Contract
By: Scarlett Edwards
Releasing March 27th, 2014


Blurb
When I wake up in a dark, unfamiliar room, I have no idea what's waiting for me in the shadows. My imagination conjures up demons of the worst kind. 
Reality is much worse: 
A collar with no leash. A prison with no walls. And a life stripped of meaning. 
I am presented with a vile contract and asked to sign. It outlines the terms of my servitude. The only information I have about my captor are the two small letters inked at the bottom: 
J.S. 
Armed with only my memories, I must do everything I can to avoid becoming ensnared in his twisted mind games. But in the end, it all comes down to one choice: 
Resist and die. 

Or submit, and sign my life away

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Lilly.”
Oh God. It’s him. There’s no mistaking that rich, masculine treble.
What’s he doing down here?
“M-Mr. Stonehart,” I stutter, turning. I curse my inability to hide my surprise. He totally caught me off-guard. I have to look up to meet his eyes. Then up some more.
The face that I find is so striking it should belong to a Greek god.
He’s younger than I expected. Late thirties, maybe early forties.
That means he started his company when he was younger than me!
Dark scruff lines his angular cheeks. His jet-black hair is styled in long, natural waves. My fingers itch to run through it.
Totally inappropriate.
He has a prominent nose that might be too big on a less imposing man, but on him, it’s perfect.
In short, he’s a package of the purest masculinity I’ve ever seen.
And then there are his eyes. Oh my God. His eyes. They pierce into me like honing missiles. They are the deepest black I have ever seen. They would be frightening if they weren’t so beautiful. When the light reflects a certain way, you catch a glimpse of the purple underneath.
They are like midnight sapphires. His eyes reveal a cunning intellect. Those eyes do not miss a thing.
Add all that to his towering height, his wide shoulders, his confident-yet-at-ease posture… and Stonehart cuts an intimidating figure.
My gaze darts to his left hand before I can stop it. No ring. He’s unmarried.
He looks down at me, expectantly. His eyes narrow ever so slightly, and I feel like I’m being dissected, measured up, and tucked away in some small corner of his brain. I imagine this is what a gemstone feels like under the magnifying class of the most critical appraiser.
Stonehart clears his throat. I come to with a start, realizing I haven’t said anything in ages. I open my mouth, but the capacity for speech seems like a foreign concept to my brain. “I—”
Somebody bumps into me from behind. I stagger forward. I’m not used to these shoes, so my heel steps the wrong way. My ankle twists under me, and I start to fall.
I don’t fall far. The hand still on my elbow tightens, and Stonehart pulls me into him.
I plaster myself onto the solid steel wall the man has for a body. I catch a scent of his cologne. It’s a deep, musky smell with a hint of charred spruce that is all male. It scrambles my thoughts even more.
“Sorry!” a rushed voice calls out. From the corner of my eye, I see the postman giving a hurried, apologetic wave.
Although the sequence lasts less than a second, it feels like an eternity. Pressed up against him like that, I don’t want to move. I know that I couldn’t have made a worse first impression.
Stonehart eases me off him with a firm yet gentle grip. Our eyes meet. I flush the most vibrant red. His fingers graze my forehead as he brushes a lock of hair out of my face.
Any tenderness I may have imagined vanishes when Stonehart takes out his cell. He long dials a key and growls an order. “Steven. See the delivery boy leaving right now? Have his building pass revoked.”
I gape. Stonehart keeps speaking. “Wait. I thought of one better. Bar his company from accessing the building.” There’s a pause. “For how long? Indefinitely. FedEx can talk to me when they have an improved employee selection program in place.”
The phone call gives me just enough time to compose myself. My heart’s still beating out of my chest. But nobody has to know that.
I speak without thinking. “You’re going to restrict the entire company from serving this building because of that?”
Stonehart humors me with an answer. “A company’s employees are its most important asset. Their behavior reflects the organization as a whole. If FedEx decided that clown is good enough for them, it tells me they’re sloppy. I do not do business with sloppy organizations.”
“What about the other tenants in the building?” I ask. “Won’t that piss them off?”
When I hear myself and realize how improper my question is, my cheeks flame red again.
Stonehart’s eyes darken, as if he cannot believe I asked that question. I open my mouth to apologize for my imprudence, hating the way my professional skills have evaporated into thin air. I’m cut off by a short, barked laugh.
“Miss Ryder.” He sounds amused. “I believe that is the most direct and honest question anybody has dared ask me in weeks.” He takes my elbow again and leads me to the elevators. I have to take two quick steps to match one of his long strides.
“Yes,” he continues. “They will be ‘pissed off.’ But the perk of owning a building—” he hits the elevator call button, “—is that you get to make executive decisions.” He gives me an unreadable glance as the doors open. “That is, at the risk of being questioned by inexperienced interns.”
If that isn’t a loaded remark, I don’t know what is. I flush scarlet red for the third time since I’ve met him. I’ve never had a man throw me so off balance.
The elevator is packed, for which I’m infinitely thankful. The trip up will give me some time to properlycompose myself.
Gratitude turns to panic when the crowd files out, meek as mice, when Stonehart steps in. None of the people waiting in the lobby follow us.
The doors close. I’m alone in here with him. My heart’s beating as fast as a hummingbird’s wings.
He catches me staring. “Impressed?” he asks.
“They know you,” I manage.
His dark eyes flash with amusement. “Astute.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I’m Scarlett Edwards. I wrote my first book as a college sophomore. After six months of edits, it made its debut as Yours to Savor.

That was at the start of 2013. I’ve written more books since then. You can find them all here.

It’s funny how quickly life changes. I used to think I’d need a degree to get a “Real Job.” Then I wrote a few books, they got somewhat popular, and now I’m living the life as a full-time romance author.

Thanks to all my readers for making my dreams come true!


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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Sin For Love Review...


Synopsis

Tessa “Rain” Donahue believed she was happy. Dancing in a burlesque show at the ‘Happy Valley Cabaret’ gave her a sense of power. Shots of tequila gave her courage. One-night-stands gave her variety. Her nights usually ended as the sun was rising. Her head held high as she walked away from a stranger’s warm bed, high heels in hand. Tessa thought she had all she ever wanted.
Reese Nichols, owner of the custom motorcycle shop ‘Deadly Seven’, was living his dream. He was his own boss, never having to answer to anyone. To him, money was no object. What he lacked, however, was something that money couldn’t buy. Reese woke up every morning knowing she was out there—his soul mate. One drunken night years ago Reese met Madame Miranda, the carnival fortune teller who instructed him on how to find the one who was meant for him. With his plan in place, Reese searched for the only one who could pass the test. Tragedy kept Reese and Tessa from realizing their fate years ago. Destiny brought them back together for another chance. Would Reese recognize that she was something special? Would Tessa figure out that it was all a test? Through it all, would they both sin for love? 
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Excerpt

I heard the drums start to boom and I knew it was time for Ginger to start her solo. She was one of my favorites to watch, and I had learned so much from her since I’d started dancing. She had a Jane of the Jungle theme this month, complete with animal noises, a huge python, and a vine to swing from. It was really going well. I turned around to watch her, but what I found instead was someone watching me.
He was leaning up against the railing that overlooked the floor full of tables. While everyone else was staring at the stage he was staring at me. I let my eyes roam over him as he stood about fifteen feet away from me. He was wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket over a simple gray t-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. He must have been just over six feet tall and his shirt and jacket weren't doing much to disguise what had to be an amazing body.
How is this shit even legal? I thought to myself. Shouldn't he have to carry a badge or at least come with a warning that looking at him would lead to a bunch of conditions—increased heart rate, shallow breathing, panting like a dog, and instantly wet panties?
The drums for Ginger's dance were pounding in my ears, and I swear they were speeding up to match my quickly increasing heart rate. When my gaze came back up to his face, I felt a sucker-punch to the chest that knocked the breath out of me. His eyes locked on to mine and it was like he was laying me open in front of him, like I couldn't hide any part of myself from him. I had never felt so naked in my entire life even though I took off all of my clothes in front of a crowd four nights a week.
"Fuck me," I sighed under my breath.

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Reviewed by Jenn:

5 stars
This book actually surprised me. There were a lot of twist and turns. 
They have crossed paths before and did not know how the incident changed them both. 
Reese has been looking for his soul mate ever since the night they first almost met 
Tessa has been through he'll from that night. 
There is so much to tell yet I can't spoil it except to say you are in for quite a ride ! Don't miss this one !

MeetTheAuthor

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Claudia currently resides next to the mountains but dreams of the beach. She is married to her hottie husband, her lost then found again high school love. She has a teenage daughter who gives her stomach aches from laughing so hard together. Claudia has an almost super human ability to obsess over whatever strikes her fancy. She spends her time between adding to her ever growing tattoo collection, writing, and perfecting the Tequila-O with her always present 7 bottles of Jose.

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