Hump Day Hook and Giveaway

Today I’m joining in with other authors, who share little teasers /excerpts from their work in the Hump Day Hook. Click here for more information.

For this weeks hook, I’m sharing another excerpt from Rendezvous with Danger, book 2 of the Reunited Series. I’m also giving away a $5 gift card to one lucky commenter (details below).

Description

Alandra Pargas, ex-CIA counter-intelligence officer, plans to wreak vengeance on the people who tried to kill her. A little rendezvous with danger is not what scares her, though. It’s seeing the tall, dark, and dangerously sexy man she vowed to love forever that has her running for cover.

Former U.S. Special Operative, Quinn Hamilton, left the world of covert operations after the love of his life died in his arms during a black op. Three years later, he still loses sleep wondering if maybe he could have done something more to save her – until Alandra shows up on his doorstep. With her lies and betrayal, he wants nothing to do with her, yet, his heart won’t cooperate. It’s not until unknown enemies come after her that he must decide if he can leave the past behind and protect the woman he’ll always love. Will they survive this last mission and rekindle the love and passion they once shared?

Excerpt

Alandra stripped out of her clothes, took off the wig and stepped into the shower. Tears she fought back blended with the tepid water and all she wanted to do was wash tonight, and the last three years of her life away. Quinn probably thought she was crazy running out of the room and leaving him standing there, but she couldn’t deal with him right now.

Deep sobs racked her body as defeat and frustration mingled at the thought of all that she’d lost: a job she enjoyed, freedom of not looking over her shoulder at every turn, and most of all, Quinn. She would never love a man the way she loved him and someone took that away from her. Instinctively, she touched the five-inch scar on her chest near her right breast, the result of the gunshot wound she had obtained that night in Tzbekystan. Looking back, there were so many things she should’ve done different, but when she heard Quinn needed her, she reacted before thinking.

Too exhausted to do much else, she closed her eyes and stood under the powerful spray, praying for relief from the pain in her heart. She placed her palms on the wet ceramic tile, her head bowed, and water rolled down the back of her neck and over her spine. Her shoulders shook violently and she gulped hard trying to stop the tears. She couldn’t do this anymore. No more chasing leads, no more looking over her shoulder and no more yearning for a man who may no longer love her. It was time to leave Chicago, and head back to California where she could start new. But would she be able to leave Quinn now that she had found him?

“Lan.”

Alandra jerked around, one hand still on the tile and the other over her pounding heart. So caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard Quinn come in. His height and broad shoulders dominated the small space, but it was the look of concern shadowing his features that immobilized her, keeping her glued to that spot. Despite her nakedness, all she could do was look at him through the warm water pounding down over her head.

He stood outside of the shower, a bath towel held open for her, and love glittering in his eyes. When she didn’t make a move to step out, he reached in and pulled her out. Securing the towel around her, he shut off the water and hugged her close to his body and she cried all over again.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” He kissed the top of her wet hair, then her cheek and then her lips. Pushing curls away from her face and out of her eyes he said, “Everything is going to be all right.”

They stood that way for several minutes, him whispering sweet sentiments and her unable to control her tears. Alandra eventually pulled back and looked at him, her vision blurred. She searched his eyes, then touched his face, and zoned in on his delicious mouth. Those tempting lips. Lips that had brought her more pleasure than she ever thought possible, and lips that had kissed plenty of bad days away. If he said everything would be all right, she believed him.

“Te extrañe mucho,” she sobbed. “These years have been the worse years of my life…because…I didn’t have you.”

His large hands cradled each side of her face. “I know, baby.” He wiped her tears and stared into her eyes. “I know.”

Though she tried, she still couldn’t stop crying. It was as if someone had turned on the faucet to her tear ducts and they were stuck in the on position.

“Lan, baby, you’re killing me here. I promise you we’ll get through this. No more tears all right?”

She nodded and then cried more. Without another word, he lowered his head and captured her lips. His arms coiled around her waist and he pulled her closer. The gentle, slow kiss was like no other between them. They had always had a powerful connection, but this, this was different. He tossed out a lifeline to her and she grabbed hold, allowing him to reel her in. He hadn’t spoken the words – I love you – but she felt it through every stroke, every probe of his tongue and through the warmth of his hands on her body.

She pressed against him when his kiss became harder, more demanding, his body melded to hers, and her heart thumping against her chest. Oh how she’d missed him. The way he held her, the taste of his sweet lips, and the power behind every thrust of his tongue made her forget everything else and savor the feel of his well-built body against hers.

“I want you.” He yanked the towel from around her without warning, and she gasped when his large hands palmed her butt and he lifted her off the floor. All she could think about was how much she needed him at that moment. He pressed her back against the wall and her breath caught when he kissed her with a raw, scorching need, sending electric jolts throughout her body. She swung her legs around his waist and clawed at his shirt, ripping it open, buttons flying across the room, all so that she could feel his muscular chest beneath her hands. She moaned when he ground his stiff erection against her, but this wasn’t enough, she wanted more. Her pulse accelerated and her body shivered from sheer ecstasy. She wanted him like a starving woman wanted food. Horny and wet, she needed him inside her.

*

Want to read more? Click here to get your copy today!

Giveaway Details

What you will win: $5 Amazon.com gift card

What you have to do to win: Leave a comment in the comments section below by 9p.m est, today, May 29, 2013

Winner will be chosen: A winner will be randomly drawn from those who leave a comment. I will announce the winners (in the comments section below) the morning of May 30, 2013.  The winner will also be contacted via email. Note: Those who are subscribers to my blog or follow my Facebook Fan Page, names will be entered into the drawing twice. Good luck!

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Hump Day Hook and Giveaway

Happy Hump Day!

Today I’m joining in with other authors, who share little teasers /excerpts from their work in the Hump Day Hook. Click here for more information.

For this weeks hook, I’m sharing an excerpt from Rendezvous with Danger, book 2 of the Reunited Series. I’m also giving a $5 gift card away to one lucky commenter (details below).

Description

Alandra Pargas, ex-CIA counter-intelligence officer, plans to wreak vengeance on the people who tried to kill her. A little rendezvous with danger is not what scares her, though. It’s seeing the tall, dark, and dangerously sexy man she vowed to love forever that has her running for cover.

Former U.S. Special Operative, Quinn Hamilton, left the world of covert operations after the love of his life died in his arms during a black op. Three years later, he still loses sleep wondering if maybe he could have done something more to save her – until Alandra shows up on his doorstep. With her lies and betrayal, he wants nothing to do with her, yet, his heart won’t cooperate. It’s not until unknown enemies come after her that he must decide if he can leave the past behind and protect the woman he’ll always love. Will they survive this last mission and rekindle the love and passion they once shared?

Excerpt

Two days after Alandra’s reappearance, Quinn sat in the parking lot of the hospital where she worked. Dark clouds with the threat of snow hung low, and Bonnie Raitt’s, Since I Fell for You, played through his truck speakers, adding to his already crappy mood. He couldn’t get Wiz’s words out of his head. Had Alandra really risked her life to protect him? If so, why? Though Wiz didn’t have concrete proof, he had a good argument to back up his theory – Alandra was in Tzbekystan that night because of something or someone she felt was a threat to him.

Quinn shook his head. It didn’t make sense. He was a trained assassin. What did she think she could accomplish by being there?

He inhaled a deep breath, released it slowly and rested his head against the headrest. Seeing Alandra again had aroused old feelings and unease he thought he had put behind him the day he found out she was dead. Could he be near her again without giving into the longing, the ache that had left his heart frayed and battered years ago?  

He focused his attention on the hospital entrance. He had been sitting in the lot for fifteen minutes hoping to catch her before she went in to work. Either she was late, or he had gotten her work schedule wrong.

When her four-door Honda tore into the parking lot his chest tightened. An odd reaction for a man who told himself the night before, he wanted nothing to do with Alandra. Why should he help her when she didn’t care enough to let him know she was alive? He rubbed his forehead. I’ll help her with whatever mess she’s involved in and then move on. What was it about her that made him want to protect her? He’d been with plenty of women, but no one else took his breath away like her, or tempted him to throw caution to the wind just to be with them.

Alandra stepped out of her car. Rust caked the bottom of the doors. There was a noticeable dent near the front bumper, and the driver’s side door was gray where the rest of the car was brown. The thought of his wife driving around in that death trap made him sick. My wife. He had a wife. Was he ready to reclaim her as his wife? He shook his head. How could he when he still couldn’t believe she was actually alive? And part of him felt there was something she wasn’t telling him. He could feel it in his gut.

Alandra grabbed a black messenger bag from the backseat of her car and rushed toward the entrance. Quinn jumped out of his truck and hurried to meet her.

“Alandra!” he called out.

She stopped and her back stiffened before she slowly turned around. The look she gave him would’ve made a weaker man turn and hightail it out of there, but he was no ordinary man.

“What do you want?” she snapped, her voice low and frosty.

Her attempt at intimidating him with her coldness had the opposite effect. She was sexy as hell when she was angry. Her cheeks, crimson red, burned with anger and the nostrils on her delicate nose flared. A vein in her long, tempting neck twitched and those hypnotic eyes that he had lost himself in plenty of times grew dark and insolent. Oh yeah, she was pissed. The only thing missing was her speaking Spanish, which she used to do when she was angry or making love.

“We need to talk.”

“Oh, so now you want to talk?” She looked at him through narrow slits and inched toward him. “The other night you didn’t want anything to do with me. You kicked me out of your house like I was some two-bit tramp that you screwed and was tired of looking at.”

He sighed and pulled his wool cap lower on his forehead. Apologizing had never come easy for him and now was no different, but if he wanted to find out what was going on, he’d better come up with something, and it had better be good.

When several people exited the hospital, Quinn attempted to pull her off to the side, but she jerked out of his grasp.  “Look, I’m sorry, all right?” He tossed up his hands. “You shocked the hell out of me the other night. I was confused, angry, and shit…I didn’t know what to think.”

She glared at him, pulled her lightweight jacket closed and tugged her bag strap higher on her shoulder. She turned and walked away, moving to a small alcove just shy of the hospital entrance. Quinn followed.

“Since you want to talk, talk, because I have nothing to say to you.”

“Look, Alandra.”

Her head snapped up and her chin jutted out. “Stop calling me that! It’s Velvet.” She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. “My name is Velvet Aguilar.”

Quinn cursed under his breath and closed the distance between them with one determined step. “Alandra,” he repeated, emphasizing her name. “I don’t know where you got that other name from, but I’m not about to refer to you as anything other than Alandra Pargas…Hamilton.”

She looked about as shocked as he felt by his words. One minute he wanted nothing to do with her, and the next he claimed her as his wife. What the heck is wrong with me? The sudden vulnerability he saw in her eyes made Quinn want to pull her close and cover those sweet pouty lips with his own. The magnetic pull they once shared was stronger than ever and by the look in her eyes, she felt it too. He so wanted to kiss her, but that would be a mistake since he knew from experience that one kiss from her wouldn’t satisfy him.

“Quinn.”

Her voice quivered and Quinn wasn’t sure if it was from emotion or if it was from the cold gust of wind. He shook out of his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Holding on to the lapels he pulled her close, their faces within inches of one another.

“Listen to me. I’m not here to argue with you. I don’t know what brought you to Chicago, but I want to help if I can. You have to tell me what’s going on.”

She shook her head, tears suddenly lacing her eyelashes. “I can’t,” she mumbled. “I—” Her voice cracked.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you’re involved in.”

“No. Just stay away from me. I can’t explain, because there is so much I don’t know, and it’s not safe. Please, just stay away.”

Instead of fighting the urge to wrap her in his arms, he placed his hand on the back of her head and with a gentle tug, captured her lips with a hunger that rocked him to the core. The kiss immediately exploded into something more powerful than he could imagine, and dragged his memory back to what once was. His arm snaked around her waist and hers circled his neck. He didn’t care about the thirty degree weather, or that she was late for work. All he wanted was to recapture a little of what he had missed. He would face the consequences later.

Want to read more? Click here to get your copy today!

Giveaway Details

This drawing/giveaway goes from May 1st – May 5th (9pm est). I will be rewarding a $5 Amazon.com gift card to a randomly drawn commenter in the comment section of this post (don’t forget to include your email address). The winner will be announced May 6th in the comments section. Note: Those who are subscribers to my blog or follow my Facebook Fan Page, names will be entered into the drawing twice. Good luck!