MY EYES FLICKER OPEN when I hear a thump. The first thing I see are my hands still laced together over my stomach. When I lift my head, a dull pain resonates in my neck from staying in the same position for so long. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back and twist it from side to side, loosening the muscles. When I scoot my ass back in the seat, I notice the nurse call remote has fallen to the floor. I pick it up, then stand to wind it around one of the rails to keep it from slipping off again. My body locks in place and my jaw damn near falls to the floor when I look at Jules. She’s lying there with her eyes wide fucking open looking at the ceiling. The first thing I notice is the brilliant color of her eyes. Just like in my dreams, they’re a bright golden amber. She blinks slowly a couple times. She must not see me, because she keeps looking at the ceiling like it’s the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen. I hold still, not wanting to startle her, but also desperately wanting her eyes directed at me. Swallowing to wet my suddenly dry throat, I murmur softly, “Jules.” Her lips part. She blinks a couple more times before her head slowly turns in my direction. The minute her eyes lock on mine, a rush of air leaves my lungs. Fuck, but they are striking. I don’t get a chance to enjoy her eyes being on me before they fill with fear. I frown, confused at the stark terror forming on her face. I reach out a hand to her to try to quell the fear but drop it when her lips tremble. Her hands clutch the sides of her head as her mouth opens and she lets out a god-awful scream. I stumble back a step and knock into the chair, stunned at her hysterical behavior. She starts thrashing on the bed, her legs kicking the blanket off her as she presses herself as close to the railing as she can to get away from me. The whole time, her wide eyes stay connected with my astonished ones, like she’s accusing me of something. A nurse rushes in, and I numbly step to the side to give her room. Another rushes in seconds later with a doctor following closely behind. They both go to the other side of the bed. “NO!” Jules screams over and over again, clutching her head. “NONONO!” The ache in my chest that’s always present in my dreams is back, except it’s ten times worse. The pain I feel seeing her suffer in the flesh makes the pain of seeing her suffer in my dreams feel like a fucking paper cut. It’s agonizing and all-consuming and takes my damn breath away. I want nothing more than to go to her, to hold her against me, and make all her fears go away, but it’s me she fears, and that thought tears me apart. “Mr. Hendrix, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I ignore the nurse trying to usher me out of the room. I can’t take my eyes off Jules as she fights the doctor and nurses. They yell back and forth to each other as they try to calm her down. I grow angry when they hold her down and stick a needle into her IV. I force my legs to hold still, instead of rushing over and yanking them away. I know they’re professionals and only trying to help her, but I still don’t fucking like it. “Mr. Hendrix.” The nurse tries again, grabbing my arm. “Theo!” It’s the use of my brother’s name that has me ripping my eyes away from the distraught girl in the bed. I stare down at the nurse, and her eyes soften in sympathy. “Please, just wait outside until the doctor calms down your wife and assesses her. He’ll come talk to you as soon as he can.” I don’t correct her on her mistake of thinking I’m my brother. I just give her a stiff nod before looking back at Jules one more time. She’s no longer screaming due to the medicine now running through her veins, but her eyes are still on me. Tears fall from them, soaking the pillow beneath her head, and it makes me want to fall to my knees and scream. Instead, with one final look and my chest feeling hollow, I turn on my heel and leave the room.



 

The sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs snatched her from the window. She stumbled into the side table and smacked her shin. Breakfast churned in her stomach. When the front door creaked and opened, she froze, almost blinded with fear and nerves. Jackson filled the doorway. They stared at each other from across the room. This was Jackson. The adult Jackson. His facial features, delicate when they were young, had hardened into sexy contours. His body was more substantial, thick and muscular. An invisible hand wrapped around her heart and squeezed until the pain was nearly unbearable. “Jackson,” she whispered. Tears burned her cheeks. His face contorted into a dozen spasms. “Is it really you?” She nodded, sobbing now. He crossed the room with his arms outstretched. She moved toward him through the blurry fog of her tears. When they reached each other, he grabbed her and pulled her against his firm chest. They trembled as they clung to each other. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He dropped his face into her hair. “I’ve wanted to tell you for twelve years how sorry I was. I never thought I’d have the chance. There was nothing worse than to think you left the world without knowing how much I loved you—how wrong I was to do what I did.” “We were young and silly,” she said. “I was young and horribly stupid. So careless and selfish. I’m sorry.” “It was so long ago.” She brushed the side of his face with her fingertips. He held her away from him for a moment, searching her face. “It was both a second ago and a lifetime ago.” She lost all sense of time as she stared into his blue eyes and breathed in the scent of his skin. Had his lashes always been so thick and black? “Here, let’s sit,” he said. “Good, yes. I feel like I might faint.” “I’m not feeling too hot myself.” When they were seated, he held her hands. “Your eyes are the same.” He grazed her cheekbones with the tips of his fingers. Her stomach dipped like it used to when she rode the surf. “Yours too.” He caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. “Freckles like a starry night.” She resisted the urge to rest her cheek in the palm of his hand. “That metaphor was always all wrong. Stars aren’t the color of nutmeg.” “They should be,” he said. Maggie flushed. Could he see how her heart pounded inside her chest? She traced the tiny lines at the edges of his eyes that made a roadmap to his hairline. “You have crow’s feet.” “Medical school.” “You did it. I saw the sign on the office,” she said. “Doctor Waller and Doctor Waller.” “It took a long time, but yes. I’m here for good now.” “I’ve wondered...how you were...if you’d gone to medical school. If you were married and had children.” She looked away, willing herself not to blabber and sob. Strong. Remain strong. Set him free. “There was never a day I didn’t think of you,” he said. “Oh, Jackson,” she whispered. “There wasn’t one day that I didn’t miss you like hell. Not one single day.” “For years my prayer was to wake without any memory of you. What a relief it would’ve been. Like a strong painkiller.” She smiled to take the edge off her words, but it didn’t matter. From the mournful look in his eyes, she knew he understood it to be an absolute truth. “I couldn’t even look at photographs of us,” he said. “I burned all mine.” She swallowed as a dull knife twisted in her stomach. They both looked away. Suffering between two people was palpable. Pain molecules hovered in a charged mass between them. At any moment, the mass could unleash and spill agony all over Zane’s clean floor. “There were a lot of good times,” he said. “They were almost all good when we were together.” “Until we weren’t.”


Jackson Waller has loved Maggie Keene since they were six years old, but their dueling dreams ultimately tore them apart. First love—true love—wasn’t enough to overcome their individual desires to pursue dreams on opposite coasts. When Jackson learns of Maggie’s tragic death on her way to college on the east coast, his heartbreak, compounded by grief, renews his focus on his own future. He vows to do nothing but work toward his goal of becoming a doctor, and maybe enjoy the companionship of his new college buddies, The Dogs. Maggie Keene left Cliffside Bay with two things: a broken heart and her ambition. For twelve years she relentlessly pursues her dream of a musical theater career in New York City, but when she learns her father is dying, she returns home to find the truth about her family’s ugly past. There, she discovers two things that will change everything: one, the bitter old man has spread a wild rumor that she has been dead for over a decade; and two, Doctor Jackson Waller is also back in Cliffside Bay—with his brand-new fiancée. The second installment of The Cliffside Bay Series by bestselling author Tess Thompson follows the interwoven stories of five best friends, the beach community they love, and the women who captivate them. Prepare to get lost in a wave of small town charm, men you would love to take home to your mother, and smart, resilient heroines you wished lived next door.


Like most of her characters, Tess Thompson hails from a small town and will always feel like a small town girl, despite the fact she’s lived in Seattle for over twenty-five years. She loves music and dancing, books and bubble baths, cooking and wine, movies and snuggling. She cries at sappy commercials and thinks kissing in the rain should be done whenever possible. Although she tries to act like a lady, there may or may not have been a few times in the last several years when she’s gotten slightly carried away watching the Seattle Seahawks play, but that could also just be a nasty rumor. She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington with her brand new husband, the hero of her own love story, and their Brady Bunch clan of two sons, two daughters and five cats, all of whom keep her too busy, often confused, but always amazed. Yes, that’s four kids and five cats. Pray for her.

 

 

How to kick off a great summer in the Hamptons:

Snag a gorgeous rental on the beach. Check.

Get a job at a trendy summer haunt. Check.

How to screw up a great summer in the Hamptons:

Fall for the one guy with a dark leather jacket, scruff on his face, and intense eyes that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the tony looking crowd. A guy you can’t have when you’ll be leaving at the end of the season.

Check. Check. Check.

I should add—especially when the guy is your sexy, tattooed God of a boss.

Especially when he not only owns your place of employment but inherited half of the town.

Especially when he’s mean to you.

Or so I thought.

Until one night when he demanded I get in his car so he could drive me home because he didn’t want me walking in the dark.

That was sort of how it all started with Rush.

And then little by little, some of the walls of this hardass man started to come down.

I never expected that the two of us, seemingly opposites from the outside, would grow so close.

I wasn't supposed to fall for the rebel heir, especially when he made it clear he didn’t want to cross the line with me.

As the temperature turned cooler, the nights became hotter. My summer became a lot more interesting—and complicated.

All good things must come to an end, right?

Except our ending was one I didn’t see coming.

Rebel Heir is the first book in the Rush Series Duet. Book Two, Rebel Heart, will release six weeks later on May, 22, 2018.

Add to Goodreads ➜ Rebel Heir (Book One)

Add to Goodreads ➜Rebel Heart (Book Two)

     

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EXCERPT & COVER REVEAL  

Irish Kiss By Sienna Blake 

Releasing February 5, 2018

Saoirse
I wanted him since the day I met him. Long haired, tattooed and tall as an Irish giant. He was more than just handsome, he was drop dead gorgeous. And the only one who ever truly cared. It didn’t matter to him that my father was a criminal and my mother a whore. He saw me, understood me.

I could be anything I wanted, he said.
Except his.
Because I was too young and he was my Juvenile Liaison Officer.

Diarmuid
It’s been years since I last saw her. No longer a girl, she has a body of a woman. When our eyes met again, I saw the only one who ever broke through my asshole mask. She never judged me. She saw me, accepted me.

She could be anything she wanted.
Except mine.
Cause she’s only seventeen and I’m trying my hardest not to fall for her.

If I give in, she will ruin me.

*This is a slow-burn, angsty love story spanning across a seven-year time period with sexual situations and drug-use involving characters under the age of eighteen.
Irish Kiss is a complete standalone novel with a Happily Ever After, but damn, it is going to hurt along the way

Add to your Goodreads to be read shelf now! 

Sienna Blake is a storyteller & ink slinger, word spinner of love stories with grit, and alter ego of a USA Today Bestselling Author.

She loves all things that make her heart race — roller coasters, thrillers and rowdy unrestrained sex. She likes to explore the darker side of human nature in her writing.
If she told you who she really was, she’d have to kill you. Because of her passion for crime and forensics, she’d totally get away with your murder.
Sign up for my newsletter and get Paper Dolls, a full-length romantic suspense as a thank you gift. You'll also be the first to hear about new releases, sales and giveaways ► www.subscribepage.com/SiennaBlake
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The Plan by Ella James is coming

November 13th!

 
             
 

   

From USA Today bestselling author, Rebecca Shea, comes a new, heartbreakingly beautiful standalone romance, FAULT LINES. Don’t miss the stunning and captivating excerpt below, and pre-order your copy today!

About FAULT LINES:

At eleven he was my first crush. At sixteen he became mine. At nineteen he broke my heart and destroyed me. That was ten years ago and the last time I saw Cole Ryan.

They say you never get over your first love...I beg to differ. I left my shattered heart buried in a town I never expected to return to. I erased every thought of him and buried the memories never to be found.

I moved on...now ten years later I have the perfect life, the perfect fiancé, the perfect career. Everything I ever wanted until I'm forced to go back and face my past and the man that destroyed me.

He won't stop until I know the truth no matter how hard I fight it. In the end, lies will be uncovered, hearts will be broken, and my life as I've come to know it destroyed.

 

FAULT LINES is coming October 30, 2017! Pre-order your copy today!

 

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EXCERPT: PROLOGUE Frankie Ten Years Ago My fingers dig into the brown dirt between the patches of dead grass that used to once be a lush front yard. A jagged stone cuts into the soft flesh of my knee as I try to get control of the involuntary lurching of my stomach, which has me crippled on all fours. Tears fall in streams, and I gasp for air as I hear the sound of heavy footsteps near me.

“Frances—” “Get away from me!” I scream at the soft voice. “It’s not—” “I said get the hell away from me!” My stomach clenches against another wave of nausea as I hear her footprints begin to move away. “Goooooo!” I shout at her again.

I manage to look over my shoulder and see Whitney Carson’s long blonde hair swaying as she walks quickly back across the cul-de-sac to her piss yellow, beat-to-hell Mustang.

I barely make out the swell of her belly as she slides into the driver’s seat and slams the door behind her. The roar of the engine tells me she’s leaving. One last heave and there is nothing left for my stomach to expel, leaving me with only my tears.

My throat burns, my breaths coming in small gasps when I feel soft arms around my shoulders. I hear the creak of the old screen door and my mama’s worn shoes come into sight just before I feel her arms around me. “Baby girl, what’s wrong? We weren’t expecting you home from school until tomorrow…”

Her voice is quiet, yet panicked as she kneels next to me, her white uniform dress getting dirty. I finished my finals early so that I could come home early and surprise Cole and my mom, but the surprise was all mine.

“Mama,” I cry between ragged breaths. “I came home early to surprise you and—” “Stop,” she cuts me off, looking over my shoulder behind me. “Let’s get you inside. If this has anything to do with that girl that’s been coming around, he’s not worth your tears. You’re going to put your chin up and enjoy your summer.”

She tugs at my arm in hopes to get me to budge. I shake my head back and forth violently. “No. I can’t stay here,” I manage through my tears. I can’t stay and watch this happen. I can’t stay and watch them.

“What do you mean? Where would you go?” Her voice grows with concern. “I don’t know, but I can’t stay here.” The hot summer air hangs heavy around us, and sweat beads along my forehead at my hairline. The thought of Cole touching Whitney Carson causes my stomach to flip again, and I dry heave as I pinch my eyes closed. Mom rubs her hand over my arm as I try to gain my composure and move from all fours to sitting on the dirt.

“Well, come inside until we figure this out.” Her voice is soft and sad. “I’ve always told you he was—” “Please, stop—” I cut her off now, not wanting to talk about Cole with her. I hear her deep sigh. “Come on. I’ll run you a hot bath. We need to get you cleaned up.”

The tears still fall in waves as my heart breaks with each step I take toward our house and away from Cole Ryan. As I think about it, the last few months begin to make sense. I sensed Cole pulling away from me. He’d become distant, not returning my calls or answering text messages.

Mama called me and had told me about the rumors she’d heard, but we chose to chalk them up to small town gossip. Crescent Ridge is just that, a small town where no one has anything else to do but talk about other people and spread rumors.

Suddenly, realization hits me that the one person I trusted more than anyone in the world betrayed me. He’s been my best friend since I was eleven, my first crush, my first love, my first everything. No other person will ever etch himself so boldly into my history as Cole Ryan did. No other person held the cards to destroy me like Cole Ryan did. And did he ever.

I bite my tongue, tasting the slightest hint of blood as Mama walks me up the raggedy old front porch of our house. “Keep walking, baby girl.” She guides me through the front door. “Keep your chin held high,” she says quietly, the screen door slamming hard behind us. She looks at me with sympathetic eyes and her voice cracks as she speaks. “Now you can fall apart, Frances. Don’t ever let him see you crumble; don’t give him that control. He is not worth your tears.”

And crumble is what I do as I sink to the faded wood floors of our living room, Mama rocking me in her lap, her fingers stroking my hair and wiping my tears. I cry and scream for the love I believed in, for the boy who owned my heart, and the loss of the one person I long for—the one person I had planned to spend my last breath with.

Mama holds me for hours as my tears come and go. At the first hints of the morning sunlight, I peel myself from Mama’s lap, my head pounding from the hours of crying. I pull my cell phone from my back pocket and press the name of the only other friend I have. “Ash.” My voice breaks and I barely make out what she’s saying, but one thing is certain. I’m getting the hell out of Crescent Ridge and never looking back.

“I’m coming,” I tell her.

Between my tears and gasping breaths, I disconnect my call and see Mama swipe at the tears on her aging cheeks. She sat here all night comforting me as I lay helpless in her lap. In the end, she’s the one person who believes in me and has loved me unconditionally, and here I am about to leave her behind. Leave everything I know and love behind, without a second thought. For good. I know that when I drive away from here today, I’ll never be back—I can’t come back. I’m leaving my broken heart behind, along with the only man I’ve ever loved.

I toss my bag and one small box of belongings from my childhood bedroom in the trunk of my car and slide into the driver’s seat of my old Honda. Without a second thought, I put the car in drive and glance just once out my rearview mirror as I pull away.

The last thing I see is Cole Ryan, hunched over the paint-chipped railing of his front porch as I drive away from Crescent Ridge, leaving him, my past, and my mama behind.
 

About Rebecca Shea: Rebecca Shea is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Unbreakable series (Unbreakable, Undone, and Unforgiven) and the Bound and Broken series (Broken by Lies and Bound by Lies). She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. From the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for books. Rebecca spends her days working and her nights writing, bringing stories to life. Born and raised in Minnesota, Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters. When not working or writing, she can be found on the sidelines of her sons’ football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margaritas, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever afters.    

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