Distraction arrives
via sexy screenwriter, Noah Reynolds. His take-me-to-bed looks mask a past ripe
with scandal. He knows he should stay away from Lauren, especially when the
worst night of her life unlocks his writer's block and while he's dealing with
a stalker of his own, but ethics are his weakness.
Attraction sizzles
beneath Caribbean sunshine. As their relationship grows, Noah's stalker
intensifies her torment. Lauren wonders if her paranoia is justified or a
carryover from her past. What's real? What's imagined? Tentative trust is
tested as their love is swept up against a riptide of deceit, murder, and
revenge.
The
World Needs Romance by
Amber Lea Easton
When people discover that I write romance, I usually get the
following questions as a response: Why write romance? Don't you want to
write something more serious, more relevant? In return, I ask, what's
more relevant than love?
Love
makes a life.
I loved my late husband. He made me laugh, told me every day
how much he loved me, opened my mind to things I would never have tried, and
balanced my frantic energy with his more mellow self. But when he killed
himself, people wanted me to hate him. I have actually been asked,
"why don't you hate him?" I don't hate him because I loved him.
He was more than a guy who killed himself. He was the guy I married, the
father of my children, the man who made my heart skip a beat every time I saw
him. He lived well and died young. How he died is irrelevant; how well he
loved is all that matters now.
Love
heals.
It is often easier to be angry or bitter rather than
forgiving and loving. I don't know why this is, but I have found it to be
true. People tend to see anger as a sign of intelligence or as a signal
to others that they can't be messed with. Back off, the anger or bitterness
shouts to protect a wounded heart. I know this tactic. My former
mother-in-law and I have had our differences since Sean's suicide. We
played the blame game. What we both lost sight of was the fact that we
both loved the same man--she her son and me my husband. From that mutual
love comes healing for ourselves and for the children involved. As with most
things, underneath the anger and bitterness is love waiting to be recognized.
Love
hopes.
I am fortunate to know a lot of great couples--happily
married or simply building a life together. They have endured loss,
trauma, financial issues, health challenges, alcohol abuse or gambling problems
yet are still standing. They stay together through the ups and downs not
out of co-dependency or need, but because they love one another. Their
love gives them hope that tomorrow will be better. Their love gives them
hope that the bad times are temporary. Their love gives them hope because
they know that no matter what loss or challenge is thrown at them, they have
each other. They walk with the gods because they know love is not always
blissful or secure--rather it is messy and needs attention. They know the
secret.
I write about love because I believe in its power to
overcome everything--even if my storyline throws in some spies, human
smugglers, kidnappers, murderers or what-not. My intent as a romance
writer is to lift people from their everyday troubles and entertain them for a
few hours. Maybe I will make a difference in a small way if I can make
them smile or forget. More importantly to me, writing about love--with
some twists and turns thrown in for fun--makes me happy.
I believe that the world needs more romance and
laughter. When we are old or sick or scared, what is more relevant than
love?
EXCERPT:
His two days on board the Angelfish with Larry had
been good for him. Larry had convinced him of the absurdity of his theory that
Alicia still walked the earth and assured him that he’d help find out who was
bringing up the past. Sometimes there was nothing better than an old friend,
even one who tended to piss him off more often than not.
He toweled himself off, his thoughts centered
around Lauren and their last date. It hadn’t exactly gone as planned given the
dead guy face down amidst the fish. Not that he’d helped the situation with his
not-so-smooth-moves-on-the-beach later. The past two days had given him
perspective. He wanted her. Right or wrong, mistake or not, he needed to see
where this could go. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. Maybe tonight he’d
get another chance if he could track her down.
“Noah.” Lauren cleared her throat from where she
stood outside the open bathroom door. She leaned against the wall in a
Caribbean blue tank dress that hugged her body in all the right places, legs
exposed from midthigh down, ankles crossed, long hair glistening over lightly
tanned shoulders, gaze averted to the floor and smile playing across lips he
desperately wanted against his skin. “Sorry to barge in. You left the deck door
wide open.”
“No problem.” He cinched the towel around his waist
and wondered exactly how long she’d been standing there. The thought of her
watching him shower and dry off did crazy things to his nervous system. “I’ve
been looking for you.”
“Erin told me.” She leaned her head back against
the wall and dragged her gaze from his toes upward. “Heard you were on private
charter for the past few days.”
He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and
let her gaze soak him up. He liked the way she looked at him as if he were
dessert.
“About the other night...I’m sorry. Can I make it
up to you? Dinner tonight? Etcetera?” he asked.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth, gaze
lingering on his chest. “Are you sure this time? No running away when things
get hot?”
Electricity zapped in the three feet separating
them.
Damn, the woman did insane things to his rational
thinking. He’d decided on the boat that he needed to see her, make things
right, take it slow, get tangled up in some strings. Seeing her live and in
person threw common sense out the window.
“I can’t decide if you’re hotter when wet or
dry...I’m thinking it might be a tie,” she said.
Oh, what the hell. With an opener like that, how
could a man resist? He crossed the space between them, slipped his hand behind
her neck, and kissed her on that mouth he’d been fantasizing about all week.
Her hands slid over his damp chest while her mouth
moved slowly beneath his, her teeth lightly catching his lower lip. Eyes open,
they smiled against each other’s mouths.
“Miss me?” he asked.
“It would be very uncool of me to answer that.” She
slid her hands over his abdomen and lingered on the towel. “Are you still
wanting to back off, or have you come to your senses?”
He braced his hands over her head. The only thing
he wanted to do was kiss her slowly and make her beg for more. He looked into
her eyes. “You’re making me forget all of the reasons this is a mistake.”
“A sexy mistake.” Her fingers touched his chest in
a featherlike caress. She licked her lips.
“Good point.” He smiled. “We’re headed into the
danger zone.”
“You have no idea how dangerous.” She tugged on the
towel, a wicked grin in her eyes.
Oh, he had an idea about the level of danger. He’d
thought of nothing else for the past forty-eight hours and ranked this
situation a solid Level Red. Despite that, all he could think about was how
good it would feel to have her long legs wrapped around his hips while her
nails clawed against his back. He needed to pull the emergency brake. Slow, he
reminded himself. Slow.
He leaned against her, enjoying the way her body
arched toward his like a magnetic pull. He tangled his fingers in the hair at
the back of her neck. “What do you want, Lauren? After the other night, you
know I’m more complicated than I seem.”
Her gaze flicked up to his. “I know what I’m
doing.”
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself
into.”
“Show me. Let’s make some mistakes together. We’re
both consenting adults. What the hell?” she whispered, her teeth pulling at his
lower lip.
“You’re reckless.”
“Does that scare you?” she asked.
He paused a fraction over her lips and looked into
her eyes. Yeah, she was scary reckless, but that turned him on more than he
could say. So what if she wanted to use him for a distraction from her own
demons? He knew that had something to do with it—the woman oozed intensity.
Her mouth widened, taking his like a woman starving
for the taste of him. Ravenous. Her fingers fisted in the back of his hair. Her
bare foot slid up the outside of his leg. Tongues clashed in a passionate dance
that left no doubt about mutual desire.
He pressed her against the wall, uncaring about the
slipping of the towel down his hips. This woman made him want more than he had
dared want in years. His hands roamed up her sides, thumbs caressing the
outline of her breasts. Closer. He couldn’t get close enough.
She pressed her hips against his. “Five days ago I
didn’t think I’d feel any emotion ever again. Now here I am making out with
you. Insane.”
“A little bit of crazy is good for a person.” He
wrapped his hands in her hair, holding her face close to him. “What do you feel
now?”
“You. I feel you.”
“You say all the right things,” he said against her
mouth. His skin rippled beneath her touch. He couldn’t explain his reaction to
her...he felt like an addict in desperate need of a fix.
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BOOK TRAILER:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amber Lea Easton is a
multi-published fiction and nonfiction author. For twenty years, she's worked
in the fields of journalism and advertising with a brief detour into the
financial industry. Although she holds a BA in
Communications & Journalism, she is a perpetual student of life who enjoys
taking post-graduate courses on a wide variety of subjects when time allows. Smart
is sexy, according to Easton, which is why she writes about strong female
characters who have their flaws and challenges, but who ultimately persevere.Easton currently lives with her two teenagers in the Colorado Rocky Mountains where she gives thanks daily for the gorgeous view outside her window. She finds inspiration from traveling, the people she meets, nature and life’s twists and turns. At the end of the day, as long as she's writing, she considers herself to be simply "a lucky lady liv'n the dream."
Visit Amber at:
Email - amber@amberleaeaston.com
Website - http://www.amberleaeaston.com
Thanks for hosting me! I appreciate it.
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