SLOW BURN is out!
iBooks
Nook
Kindle US
Kindle UK
Kindle AU
Kindle CA
Smashwords (all formats, international)
All Romance eBooks
Kobo
Paperback: In about 10 days—we’re working hard!
We were up till 3 a.m. working to keep my promise to you that the book would be out on Sept. 20, and we did it. We’re still waiting for the book to go live on Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and I will update those links as soon as they’re available.
Thanks to all of you who were waiting early this morning and snapped the book up before I was even out of bed. Your support means so much! I hope you enjoy Lexi and Austin’s somewhat unconventional wedding and the week of craziness that leads up to it — followed by another HEA.
So what do I think you’ll love about this book? That’s easy: 1. Firefighter hero 2. Sexy, hot, funny 3. Lexi and Austin's wedding 4. The HEA.
Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:
Victoria Woodley is done with men. Fresh off a dating nightmare, she flies from her home in Chicago to Scarlet Springs to take part in her best friend’s wedding. Who picks her up at the airport? Eric Hawke. Of course. She made a fool of herself over him last time she was here. He’s cocky, charming, and sexy as sin. But the fact that she’s attracted to him is all the proof she needs that he’s bad news. She would ignore him if she could. But he’s the best man, and she’s the maid of honor. She can’t just tell him to jump in a lake—especially not when her lips are locked with his.
Eric isn’t looking for a relationship. Between running the firehouse and volunteering for the county’s search and rescue team, he has enough on his plate. He doesn’t need to get tangled up with a woman from the big city, especially one whose idea of roughing it is going without designer coffee. Yet from the moment he looks into Victoria’s big brown eyes, the attraction he feels is too strong to deny. Faster than he can imagine, the spark of desire that has smoldered between them since the first day they met will flare into full-blown passion.
But can Eric convince Victoria to set aside her doubts and trust him with her heart before their time together runs out?
How about one last excerpt? Hey, it’s my party, and I can share if I want to.
From SLOW BURN
Eric drove from his cabin to the inn fidgeting with his damned bow tie. He knew he hadn’t gotten it right, but then he’d never worn a bow tie before. He was into jeans and T-shirts, not Ralph Lauren. But if Lexi and Austin wanted to play Casino Royale and blow a bunch of money on food, booze, and gaming, he would dress up and go with them—and he wouldn’t complain.
He pulled into the inn’s long driveway, parking in the area reserved for family and friends, double checking to make sure the condom case was in his trouser pocket. Rose and Kendra sat together at a table on the back porch, the two of them bent over Rose’s tarot cards, a bottle of wine and two glasses sitting between them. They stopped talking when they saw him, smiles on their faces.
Rose wolf-whistled at him. “Victoria won’t be able to resist you.”
“Don’t you look pretty?” Kendra teased.
Bob opened the back door, rubbing a hand over his bare, hairy chest, a beer mug in his hand. “I thought the wedding was Saturday. Should I get dressed?”
“Hey, Bob.”
Bob pointed with his thumb. “They’re all waiting by the guest elevator.”
Eric walked through the house and out the door that led to the main entrance hall, and stared. “Damn. You lot clean up nice. Moretti, I almost don’t recognize you. Lexi, Britta, Win—you look gorgeous.”
Lexi was living up to her nickname—Sexy Lexi—her red hair in a fancy updo, her body sheathed in a short, silky dress of white with silver beading. Britta wore a dress of shimmering purple, her hair swept up in a twist, while Winona looked amazing in a long spaghetti strap dress of dark green satin, her shoulder-length dark hair pulled into a stylishly messy bun. But something was wrong.
Eric looked down at himself, then at Taylor, Moretti, and Belcourt. “Why is my tuxedo jacket white and yours are black? I’m not the bride.”
“Thank God.” Taylor shrugged. “Some kind of mix-up, I guess.”
“Where’s Victoria?”
“She texted to say she’ll be down in a minute,” Lexi said.
Eric made his way over to Taylor and gave him an update, keeping his voice low. “I called the head of security at the casino and explained our concerns. He told me that any man who accosted her would be escorted out. We’re supposed to check in when we get there. I’d like to do it without Vicki knowing.”
Taylor arched a brow. “So it’s Vicki now?”
Belcourt walked over. “Is Victoria in some kind of trouble? Does she have a stalker or something?”
Shit. He’d overheard.
“Or something,” Eric answered.
But Moretti had heard Belcourt. “Vic has a stalker?”
“What about Vic?” Britta asked.
Lexi glared at Eric and Taylor. “Don’t say anything, okay? Just watch out for her. After what happened in Buena Vista, she wasn’t going to come tonight, but Eric and Austin changed her mind.”
Moretti’s gaze went hard. “Any man who tries to fuck with her is going to have to go through us.”
Winona looked out the window. “The limo’s here. Wow. It’s huge.”
Then the elevator car began to move, heading up.
For some reason, Lexi looked over at Eric, a little smile on her lips.
“Do you know something I don’t?” he asked.
She got a wide-eyed innocent look. “Me?”
The elevator was moving again, coming down this time. It reached the ground floor, the doors sliding open with a ding.
Victoria stepped out.
Eric’s heart knocked against his breastbone, and he stared. “Jesus.”
She was wearing it, that dress—the tiny black one he’d seen in her closet—and damned if she didn’t look good enough to eat.
“Wow.” That was Moretti.
From behind him, he heard Belcourt. “Hoka hey.”
The dress wasn’t low cut, and it wasn’t any shorter than Lexi’s or Britta’s. It even had long sleeves. It just wasn’t really there.
Made of whisper-light translucent fabric scattered with black beading, it looked as if it were painted on, a sheer, shimmering second skin. He could see her belly button, the curve of her hips, the dark line of her cleavage. The beading was dense enough over her breasts and those lovely female parts between her legs to conceal them from view, but his mind was happy to fill in the blanks.
“You are beautiful.” He held out a hand to her.
“Thanks. You look pretty amazing yourself.”
It was only then he noticed the loose curls in her hair, the strappy three-inch heels on her feet, and the vulnerability in her eyes.
“That looks so good on you. I love it!” Lexi motioned with her finger for Victoria to turn around. “I want to see the back.”
Victoria did a slow turn, and Eric felt the ground shift beneath his feet. The back was very low cut, exposing silky skin, thick beading hiding her amazing ass.
God in heaven.
She frowned at him. “What’s wrong with your tie?”
Eric had forgotten he was even wearing a tie. “I’m not very good with these.”
“I emailed instructions,” Lexi said.
“Obviously, I didn’t read them.”
While Victoria re-tied Eric’s tie, the others walked out to the limo. “I thought firemen were supposed to be good with knots.”
“I’m better with hoses.”
“Is that supposed to be sexy?” She pretended his lame joke hadn’t almost made her laugh, a smile tugging at her glossy lips.
He shrugged. “Those hoses are big and hard and tough to handle.”
“Speaking of tough to handle, I want to show you something.” She stepped out of the view of the open door, Eric helpless to do anything but follow.
Then she lifted the gown to reveal …
No panties.
“Holy shit.” The breath left his lungs, blood rushing straight to his groin.
How in God’s name was he supposed to survive the next few hours?
~ ~ ~
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I’m thinking Jesse Moretti’s book is next. Some things happened to him in this story that make him good hero fodder for the next book. I hope you’ll be as excited about his books as I am.
Thanks for reading and following along!
Copyright (c) 2016 Pamela Clare