Wednesday, February 24, 2016

MELT MY HEART BY MARIE TUHART

Title: Melt My Heart

Series: A Candy Hearts Romance

Author: Marie Tuhart

Genre: BDSM, Erotic Romance
Pages: 90
Publisher:  Wild Rose Press
SYNOPSIS: Veterinarian Lexi Mallory wants to submit to the sexy Dom from the club, but trauma from her past keeps getting in the way.  It’s a good thing Gabriel Huntington has a special way with difficult subs and sees the gorgeous Lexi as a delicious challenge.  Unfortunately, Lexi fears her inability to relinquish control will finally test Gabriel’s patience and he’ll end their contract. Can Lexi lower her barriers and allow Gabriel’s touch to melt her heart?


REVIEW: Lexi has had to be in control of herself her whole life. Even from an early age she was taking care of herself. Now she finds it hard to let go and give control to a man. Gabriel is the Dom to tame her and make her feel safe. Lexi is a vet and when Gabriel finds a puppy at a job site he immediately takes the puppy to Lexi. He lets her take complete control of the situation and he appreciates how confident she is in her job. Gabriel decides to keep the puppy and takes Lexi shopping for him.


They both have been working on trust and letting go. Over the past few weeks Lexi has let Gabriel dictate certain aspects of her life. It could be small things like ordering food for her at lunch but eventually she begins to let go. They share some steamy nights together at Gabriel’s home and he decides he doesn’t want to end their relationship. He wants to get rid of the contract and be with Lexi. She is worried that the time for them to end the contract is coming soon but doesn’t want to end their relationship either. They both are afraid to say anything.


The time comes for Lexi to submit to Gabriel at the club and he knows she is very nervous. He makes her feel completely comfortable with touching her and moving around to observe the different scenes playing out. He goes to their play area and Lexi hesitates for a brief moment then takes her place at the cross. She becomes nervous when she notices people around watching. Gabriel blindfolds her so she can feel what he is doing to her. She actually reaches subspace and she has never done that before. Gabriel and Lexi have to figure out where to go now with their arrangement.


I loved this story. I was pulled into the story from the beginning and read it in one sitting. The title is very fitting since not only does the characters melt your heart but having the puppy, Zeus included just makes the whole story come together. Gabriel was such an understanding man and even though Lexi was so down on herself for being a failure he continued working with her. He saw strength in her and didn’t want to give up on her. He got to know her before he rushed her into anything. It was baby steps but it all worked out in the end.


I highly recommend this story.



Tuesday, February 23, 2016

PRECIOUS CARGO BY BRENNA ZINN

Title: Precious Cargo

Series: An Omega Team


Author: Brenna Zinn


Genre:  Erotic Romance


Pages: 88


Publisher:  Amazon Kindle Worlds


SYNOPSIS: Master Sergeant Duke Gunnison sucks at retirement.  He has no intention of turning in his combat boots for golf shoes.  His former life in Special Ops, where he protected innocents and fought dangerous enemies, provided the rush he continually craved.  Without the constant missions to feed his adrenaline addiction, he’s lost his sense of purpose and he struggles to find meaning in his new life--until he gets a life changing phone call.


Grey Holden, a founder of the prestigious private security agency The Omega Team, offers Duke a chance at a second life doing what he was born to do--a special op to safeguard the daughter of an important Ukrainian diplomat.  But Mila Bartosh is not only a special envoy’s daughter, sent to accompany her father as he negotiates the removal of troops in eastern Ukraine.  she’s on a secret mission of her own--to exact revenge on a powerful Russian mob boss, guilty of unspeakable crimes.


Mila is determined to help protect her father and accomplish her treacherous undertaking at all costs.  But as her tasks become more complex, she unexpectedly reunites with the man who stole her heart and then vanished into the night, never to be heard from again, until now.  Her love’em and leave’em paramour is none other than her new American bodyguard Duke Gunnison. With innocent lives on the line, can she carry out her missions while avenging her broken heart?
 
REVIEW: Duke is a lost man. He has been raised his whole life in the military to protect innocents and he finds himself retired and not knowing what to do. He lived for the missions and the action and now he is turning into a couch potato. He has put on some weight and needs to find something to do.


He is called upon to help with a special mission from a private security company ran by an ex-military man named Grey Holden. He has formed the Omega Team to take on these type of missions. Duke is ready and willing to go once he finds out he will be guarding, Mila Bartosh, a Ukrainian diplomat’s daughter. She is the nurse that had cared for him when he was injured on one of his missions. Duke fell in love with her. He was working under an alias and couldn’t tell Mila goodbye and he hasn’t been the same since. He knows that she is his other half. He only hopes that Mila will give him a second chance.


Mila Bartosh is on a mission of her own. She wants to protect her dad but also she wants revenge on the person who killed her mother. She goes alone to a bar to spy on this person and is drugged and almost kidnapped. She knows her mission won’t be easy now with added security.
She also is shocked to see Duke is the bodyguard. She feels she never really knew him. His name was fake and she figures everything he did and said were all made up too.


They find themselves in a race to get away from the head security guard who they didn’t trust. They were ambushed in a hotel and got away. Mila trusted Duke to protect her from harm but didn’t know if she could trust him with her heart.


Brenna Zinn has done it again. This action packed love story was enthralling. I couldn’t put the book down.  I was pulled into the story from the beginning with Duke finding himself kind of put out to pasture and not knowing which direction to go. He gets a second chance with the Omega Team. Also I liked the fact that Mila even though she was a diplomat’s daughter was a down to earth person who actually had nursed Duke back to health. This showed her caring, loving side.


But let’s not forget the diplomat, protective father of Mila. He was a very important character that I think I should mention that in the end made it possible for Duke and Mila to be together. He was providing a solution to the two for their happiness.


I can’t say enough good things about this story. I look forward to the other Omega team’s story. I also hope we will hear how Mila and Duke are doing in the future. Keeping my fingers crossed for an update on them.



Saturday, February 20, 2016

ASK ME BY LAURA STRICLAND

Title: Ask Me

Series: A Candy Hearts Romance
Author: Laura Strickland
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 72

Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS:  Alone on Valentine’s Day, Leo Rankin attends the library’s Blind Date With a Book event hoping for something he can take to bed with him that night, and finds himself competing against Gerri Webb for the last remaining book. Wild child Gerri is not his usual type. Yet he feels an immediate, sizzling attraction and agrees to share the book and its accompanying bag of candy hearts.

The whole idea of a Blind Date with a Book is to go off genre, so Gerri doesn’t mind when their flirty conversation suggests they unwrap each other rather than the mystery book. When a candy heart advises, “Ask Me,” she asks Leo back to her apartment.  She never expects button-down Leo to hit all her buttons, but by the next morning she fears her heart’s in danger. Can one night spent of genre translate to real life?

REVIEW:  This story was a great read. Such a great idea for a blind date, I really could relate with the two characters and how opposites did attract on this blind date. Leo is a history teacher and Gerri is a tattoo artist. Could you get these two any different but they seemed to click together. I really enjoyed this story.

I recommend this story.


Friday, February 19, 2016

DEVILISH DELIGHTS BY LEIGH PAUL

Title: Devilish Delights


Author: Leigh Paul

Genre: Erotic Romance

Pages: 32

Publisher: Wild Rose Press




SYNOPSIS:  Artist-for-hire, Laura Chambers, has been commissioned to create a collection of paintings capturing the essence of the tarot.  She’s nearly finished with each card but has left the scandalous for last – the devil card.  In her search for the perfect muse, Laura hires Todd Drake, a nude model with a sinful body and a naughty gleam in his eyes. Though his panty-melting smile and fiendish essence will ensure her devil will be caught on canvas, he just might driver her to delicious distraction in the process or… capture her heart.

REVIEW:  Laura is an artist who needs to find a muse to complete a painting of the devil or her interpretation of the devil. She hires Todd to do the nude modeling and she can’t concentrate once he disrobes. She decides to take a break and then asks him to come back the next day. She is still struggling with getting the inspiration she needs. Todd gives her that evil, tempting grin and she decides to have some fun if he is willing? She hasn’t been able to work staring at him so she releases some of her sexual tension. Once they have exhausted each other she has a clear picture now of the devil’s painting.  She finishes the painting and gets the complete set of paintings to the buyer.

Todd and Laura wind up together. They are lucky they found each other.

This is a very short story but in the few pages you read you will be drawn in and turned on by it. This is very smoking hot and I couldn’t put it down.

I recommend this short story.


Thursday, February 18, 2016

WANTON WORDS BY LAYLA CHASE

Title: Wanton Words

Author: Layla Chase

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 63

Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS: A corporate retreat provides laid-back Tadeo Xalvador with the opportunity he’s been waiting for—close quarters with co-worker Kit Emelin.  She’s brushed him off in the past, but he’s banking on her brusque manner having less to do with the professional competition between divisions…and everything to do with avoiding the attraction sizzling between them.

Her type A personality drives Kit to view the forest retreat as another place to display her leadership skills. Nowhere in her plans does she allow for a board game of wanton words with the sexy wonder boy of sales.  She clings to her rule against dating a colleague.  But when coyotes drive them into an empty cabin, adrenaline and lust lead to unquenchable passion she can’t deny.

REVIEW: To say Tadeo and Kit have chemistry is an understatement. They can’t be in the same room without having heated stares and both getting turned on by the other. Kit fights it until the board games portion of the retreat starts to find Tadeo is playing scrabble with her and using very descriptive and sexy words that make Kit all hot and bothered.

They wind up in the same cabin on the way back to their own cabins due to wolves. Tadeo is grateful for the wolves appearing to help his seduction along. They steam up the sheets and Kit wonders what tomorrow is going to bring.

Tadeo knows that this is more than a romp in the sack. He decides to convince the stubborn Kit he wants to be with her.

I enjoyed this story. It shows that body movements can mean different things. Kit felt Tadeo was ignoring her and acting like a hot shot salesman, when all along he was trying to hold himself back from attacking her like prey. His restraint was the hardest thing he had to do. He wants Kit and makes it his mission to get her.


Wednesday, February 17, 2016

FORGED BY LOVE BY LAURA STRICKLAND

Title: Forged by Love

Series: The Lobster Cove Series
Author: Laura Strickland
Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 100

Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS: Newly returned home to Lobster Cove from the War Between the States, blacksmith Douglas Grier can’t forget the horrors he’s witnessed or the beautiful young woman he helped break free from her shackles one dark night after her master’s plantation burned.  He wishes he had at least asked her name, even though she and her family disappeared into the darkness and Douglas has no expectation of seeing her again.

Josie Freeman can’t remember the last time she felt safe.  Even though she and her family are freed, they’re being pursued by slave hunters hired by their former owner.  When their ship is damaged on the way to Nova Scotia, Josie is thrown into contact with the one man she never expected …the very man she wanted to see. But will her past catch up with her before Douglas can free her heart?  

REVIEW: Douglas remembers the war and has flashbacks about the night he rescued a slave family. They were shackled together and he and some of his buddies let them free. He wished he would have gotten the beautiful young woman’s name. He has a good life but wants for more. He is longing for that person to make him whole.

Josie Freeman and her family have been on the run since that fateful night that Douglas set them free. She is on a boat traveling to Nova Scotia when they have to stop for repairs. They dock in Lobster Cove. When everyone exits the boat for repairs, Douglas is called to work on it. They can’t believe who they see coming to the dock.  They discover they will be in Lobster Cove for a few days and need shelter. No one will open their homes for Josie or her family. Douglas gives up his little home behind the blacksmith shop he works at. He then sleeps on his best friends’ porch. He makes it a point to get to know Josie while they are repairing the boat.

They stroll through town and talk about their lives and everything. Douglas is falling in love with this woman and wants her to be his. Josie is also falling in love but knows it will never work between them. The day comes when Josie has to decide will she leave with her family or stay with the man she loves. She makes her decision and says goodbye to her family. Douglas marries Josie so that their life starts out on the right foot.

They start setting up their home. Josie goes to work sewing for Douglas’ best friends’ wife. They have taken to Josie and love her as family.

But you know the day was coming when the slave hunters show up and want to take Josie forcibly if necessary. Douglas will risk his life for her and Josie faces her enemies head on. What she finds out is that the town has accepted her and Douglas and they all stand up for her.

I really enjoyed this story. I don’t usually like historical romance but because of the way this was written it wasn’t focused so much on the past. It had some flashbacks which really worked for me. I loved that no matter what, Douglas and Josie loved each other truly. Also the little town of Lobster Cove protected their own and wouldn’t let an outsider come into the town and cause problems.

I highly recommend this story.



Tuesday, February 16, 2016

RED HOT BY KAYDEN CLAREMONT


Title: Red Hot
Series: A Candy Hearts Romance
Author: Kayden Claremont
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mature 
Pages: 55
Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS:  Treena Stanton, artistic coordinator of Sierra’s Cowboy Theme Park, wants to exact revenge on Clayton Wagner.  She had a crush on him in school, but he never acknowledged her existence. Revenge is sweet but not as sweet as the pleasure of his touch.

Strategic accounts manager, Clayton Wagner lost a bet and has to work the next twenty-four hours at this buddy’s theme park. But when his “boss for the day” with mouth-watering curves demands he wear a cowboy costume, all he can think about is finding out what’s under her petticoat.

But when the truth is revealed about their past, will the sparks of passion fizzle or burst in Red Hot Flames?



REVIEW: Short story but packed with humor and sexy scenes. Dress up hasn’t been so much fun for Treena. Now she gets to dress up Clayton Wagner who never acknowledged Treena in high school. She goes into this with revenge in mind. What she finds out that Clay is a good sport and is very interested in her. Also that revenge isn’t that important now that she and Clay have a connection. She can finally let go of the past and look to the future with Clay in it. Clay is charming and very sexy. He turns into a standup cowboy for the show and for Treena.

I recommend it.





Monday, February 15, 2016

SAY YES BY KATIE O'SULLIVAN

Title: Say Yes

Series: A Candy Hearts Romance
Author: Katie O’Sullivan

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 79

Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS:  Darby Malone has trouble saying no. Hosting a children’s Valentine party at her recently renovated gallery is the last straw, and the last time she intends to say yes to anything.  That is, until she meets Ben, a well-known Cape Cod artist with eyes as deep and blue as the ocean. He stirs feelings in her that have been dormant for too long. Can she afford to say yes to him?

Ben Phillips needs this gallery show.  His life has been empty since his wife died four years ago, his paintings the only things giving him solace. But his style has changed, his art completely different than the breezy shore paintings he staked his reputation on. Can he convince Darby to give him a chance—and to consider him for more than just a place on her gallery walls?  Will she give him a place in her heart as well?

REVIEW:  Darby Malone has moved home from New York to open up an art gallery. She had had it with the big city and the artists she had been involved with. It never turned out good. She had just given in to her sister to have a little girls Valentine party at her gallery and said no more favors as she is cleaning up blue juice off of her gallery floor.

Ben Phillips walks in and watches her clean up the floor. He is an artist that is known in town. He has moved back to his parent’s house. He needs a favor and Darby is hypnotized by his ocean blue eyes. He has been shut off from the world and wants to display his art in her gallery. It signifies the dark times he has had since his wife died. He warns Darby that it isn’t his famous beach scenes. He wants to have the showing on Valentine’s Day.

Through the whole story I could tell Darby really wants to help Ben but is holding herself back. She doesn’t want to make the same mistakes with her heart. She is falling for him and she doesn’t see it. They had a great chemistry and the whole story is about the show. I felt that it wasn’t complete at the end. I think if the gallery show would have taken place that would have made a better ending for me.
They did get together in the end but again I felt their story wasn’t finished.


I recommend this story.



Friday, February 12, 2016

YOU & ME BY STEPHANIE KEPKE


Title: You & Me
Series: A Candy Hearts Romance
Author: Stephanie Kepke
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 59
Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS:  Forty year old Alex Spencer has given up on love. Having escaped five years earlier from the verbally abusive and two decades older, Trent Peterson, her life revolves around her daughter, sixteen-year-old Josie, even if Josie wants nothing to do with her.

But with Valentine’s Day looming, Alex’s high school sweetheart, Billy Leibowitz, whom she kicked out of her life twenty years earlier thanks to Trent’s demands, has been invading her thoughts. Alex searches for Billy in vain-it seems as if he’s simply disappeared. Suddenly, Candy Hearts, which Billy sent to Alex every Valentine’s Day, start arriving in the mail.  Is Billy sending the Candy Hearts? Will this finally be her chance at happily ever after?

REVIEW: This story is about second chances at love. Both Alex and Billy are at different places in their life now. With Valentine’s Day looming ahead, Alex is wondering what happened to her first love, Billy Leibowitz. She has searched internet and every other way she could with no luck. It is like he disappeared off the face of the earth. When she starts receiving candy hearts she has to wonder if they are from a co-worker or from her first love.

She also tries to connect with her daughter to no avail. Her daughter, Josie is a sixteen year old girl who loves her romance books. Alex decides to look at the book she is reading and is shocked to see the writer looks a lot like Billy. The author’s name is Blake Lincoln but Alex is convinced that is Billy.

She gets a note to meet her mystery candy hearts sender at an ice cream joint that Billy and Alex used to go to. Alex is trying not to get her hopes up but when Blake gets there she knows it is him. It is chilly so they wind up going back to Alex’s house. They aren’t inside but a moment before they starting kissing and tearing each other’s clothes off.

Josie decides to pick today to come home early. Alex runs in the bathroom and Blake aka Billy puts his shirt on before Josie gets in the door. Josie is so excited to get to meet the Blake Lincoln that she can hardly speak.

They agree on meeting later in the week for pizza and Josie goes to her friend’s house. Alex and Blake picks up where they left off. Alex and Blake will get there happily ever after even though they had to wait for each other.

I really loved this story. I liked how Alex and Blake got a second chance. I was pulled into the story and I honestly was surprised that the author was Billy. I didn’t see that one coming and I usually can guess what is going to happen. I also liked that Josie started to interact with her mom even if it was to talk about romance books.


I highly recommend this story. 


Wednesday, February 10, 2016

ME + YOU BY BRENDA GAYLE

Title: Me + You

Series: A Candy Hearts Romance

Author: Brenda Gayle
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Later Life

Pages: 86

Publisher:  Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS:  Teacher Lori Tait has always wanted a family, but now she’s 40, she’s pretty much decided all the good men are taken.  Instead, she devotes herself to her students, particularly one little girl whose struggle with math seems inconsistent with an otherwise brilliant and artistic mind.

Mark Wilder hadn’t planned to become a father, but when a fling resulted in his daughter, Grace, he whole-heartedly embraced the role. Raised in a family of boys, what does he know about women and girls? Once he learns of Grace’s inability to comprehend basic math, he welcomes the role of tutor as a way to connect with his daughter; the opportunity to spend time with her sexy teacher is an added bonus.

When Lori crack’s the mystery of Grace’s problem, Mark’s world is thrown in to turmoil; he’s the last person who can help his daughter. He pushes everyone away, confirming Lori’s theory about men.  Grace, however, has other plans. Using her new-found understanding of math, she sets out to prove to her father and teacher that, together, they add up to the perfect match.

REVIEW:  I really liked this story. It showed Lori as a great teacher worrying about her students and trying to help them succeed. It also shows two parents, Mark and Jade, who are divorced still get along for their daughter, Grace. Grace still seems to be a happy child and wants her dad to be happy.

Grace is a very smart little girl and she comes up with a plan for the Valentines party at school to get Lori and Mark back together. It works out and as they say they get their HEA.


I recommend this book.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

TWEET ME BY DESIREE HOLT

Title: Tweet Me

Series: A Candy Hearts Romance
Author: Desiree Holt

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 32

Publisher: Wild Rose Press


SYNOPSIS:  Don’t call. Don’t text. Tweet me…

Married to her work, event planner Avery Kurtz runs her life and her business on a private message feed. She has no time to waste on emails or a love life, and Valentine’s Day means just more parties to plan.

But when Tanner Voss, best mans in Avery’s best friend’s wedding, is assigned to help finalize plans, her world is turned heart-side up.  The hotshot attorney might be a player-he’s hit on her before and she avoided that mistake-but he’s also surprisingly cooperative, focused on making the perfect choices for their friends, and even on board with her messaging preference.  Between the erotic dreams about the sexy litigator and her body urging her to forget caution, Avery is wondering if she was wrong about Tanner and wants him to do more than “tweet me.”

REVIEW:  Desiree Holt has a way of making this short story so exciting that you won’t want to put this down. You have the event planner, Avery Kurtz very uptight and on a rigid schedule. Then you have the playboy lawyer, Tanner Voss. They are best friends with Janice and Will. They have to come together to plan their best friends’ wedding in 3 weeks for Valentine’s Day weekend. Avery can’t say no and when she finds out Tanner is going to be helping her she can’t believe her luck or lack of that is.

Avery and Tanner both fantasize about each other under the sheets but remain focused on making the wedding a huge success. You have to give Tanner an A for effort he sure tries to persuade Avery to go out with him. She wonders has he really changed and eventually can’t hold herself back anymore. Their chemistry is sizzling hot. Tanner lets Avery know he is in this relationship for the long haul, just what she wanted to hear.

I highly recommend this book.



Monday, February 8, 2016

LOVE IS IN THE AIR



COME & MEET SOME AMAZING AUTHORS AND SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

GIVEAWAY & BLOG TOUR - RED RIVER - A PACK STORY BY CARDENO C

Red River - header

WLK synopsis
Two Alpha shifters join together to lead their pack and build a family.
Commitment, loyalty, and strength aren’t enough to make Wesley Stone’s birth pack accept an Alpha with a physical imperfection, even if it’s a meaningless mark. Putting the safety of his pack above his own wellbeing, Wesley trades himself for another Alpha and agrees to mate with a stranger in a mysterious, insular pack.
Alphas from Jobe Root’s family have led the Red River pack from the first day shifters walked the earth. Now the time has come for Jobe to fulfill his destiny, but to do that, he needs his mate by his side. Spiritual, easygoing Jobe reveres Mother Nature and trusts in fate, yet he can’t help being nervous about how his mate will react to his new life in Red River, his new life with Jobe.
Two Alphas with contrasting personalities, different upbringings, and divergent beliefs come together for the good of their packs. But to stay together, Wesley and Jobe must see beyond the surface and embrace every facet of themselves and their union.

BUY LINKS

goodreads-small
Prologue
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
Wesley Stone reached for the volume dial on the cracked dashboard and turned it to the right. Maybe if he could make the music loud enough, it’d drown out the voice in his head.
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
Time for what? There weren’t any other Alpha wolves in the Purple Sky pack, so everyone knew Wesley would eventually be leading them. What exactly were they waiting for?
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
Unfortunately, the sound in his head was louder than any rock song. He turned the knob again. He could concede that twenty-three was young to be a pack Alpha, but it wasn’t too young. And his uncle Paul was already sixty, well past the age when Alphas normally handed over the reins. It was time for him to transition leadership to Wesley.
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
He raised the volume and wished, not for the first time, that his old Civic had a better sound system. Wesley had spent three hours a day in that car during the four years he had driven back and forth to the nearest college. Getting a degree had been his uncle’s idea. He had said it would give Wesley extra credibility, but very few people in their small pack went to college, so they weren’t impressed with Wesley’s hard work and newfound knowledge about environmental engineering.
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
Memories piled up of those long days: waking up early, driving away from his pack and the woods into a concrete jungle, attending classes in huge buildings, holing up by himself in the musty library, and then driving home and falling into bed exhausted, only to do it all again the next day. And for what? If anything, the time away had put even more distance between him and the shifters he should be leading.
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
Once Wesley was truly their Alpha, they were certain to see his strength, his devotion, his skill in leading them, and they’d know the mark on his skin didn’t matter. Maybe then the pack would respect him.
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
Of course, for Wesley to be Alpha, his uncle would first have to step down. At six feet, one inch in height with a muscular one hundred eighty-five pound frame, Wesley had the advantage of size and youth over his uncle. If the man kept clinging to the position, Wesley could challenge him for it and he was bound to win. But at what cost?
His uncle, though not as strong as he had been during his youth, was a good Alpha and he had always treated Wesley well. His mother would be horrified if he went against her beloved brother, and the pack was already wary of Wesley, so taking the position by force wasn’t likely to endear him to them. Winning in a challenge against his uncle might earn him the position of Alpha, but he’d lose the respect of everyone who mattered, himself included. He had no options, no solutions. He was stuck waiting.
“You’re only twenty-three. Give it time.”
The radio knob he had turned yet again, snapped off in his hand.
“Dammit!” Wesley yelled in the empty car.
The music was already on full blast so he couldn’t hear himself, but his throat felt the strain. For that matter, so did the rest of him. His heart raced, his lungs worked overtime, and his muscles stretched so tightly they could have snapped at any moment. He needed a way to release the tension and frustration, and when he glanced out the windshield at the streets he had been blindly driving past in his effort to put space between himself and the maddening conversation he’d had with his uncle, he found the perfect solution: a human bar.
Most shifters had fated mates, but Alpha wolves needed to focus on their pack, not a mate, so instead of settling down with one wolf, they gave their energy to their pack and sated their bodies with shifters who weren’t yet mated. Wesley had a mirror so he knew he was attractive and there had been no shortage of admiring glances and come-ons from the humans at his school, but he hadn’t been receptive to their advances because he dedicated all his remaining free time and energy into socializing with his pack. Unfortunately, the shifters who should have been falling all over themselves to get attention from an Alpha gave him a wide berth because of the scar he’d carried since birth. As he jerked the wheel and skidded into the parking lot, the last thing Wesley wanted was to focus on wolves who held him at arm’s length.
The scar, though large—the oddly textured skin bisected his stomach from just under his bellybutton to the top of his groin—didn’t keep him from shifting quicker than others, running faster, or being stronger. When he’d scuffled with other wolves as a youth, he had always come out on top, demonstrating his strength and proving that his skin anomaly should be irrelevant. But shifters were animals as well as people, and animals perceived an abnormality as a weakness, so to them, the scar mattered.
In a bar full of drunk humans, though, it wouldn’t matter. They’d notice his strength and appreciate his appearance. They’d want him even with his clothes off. And in that moment, Wesley desperately needed a reminder that, as an Alpha shifter, he was revered, not excluded. Even if it was from people who had no idea he was an Alpha or that shifters existed.
***
As it turned out, Wesley’s decision to focus on his pack and his education rather than engage with humans meant he didn’t have a full understanding of their drinking holes so he had missed whatever clues denoted the bar as one catering exclusively to men. Or, more specifically, men who enjoyed the company of other men. In fact, he had been there for half an hour already, downing one beer after another in an attempt to calm down, when he first became aware of the absence of women and, shortly after that, the way some of the men interacted with one another.
His gut reaction was to get up and leave before anyone noticed him and considered his presence at a gay bar yet another difference that made him unworthy of serving as Alpha. But then he remembered that he was far from the Purple Sky pack lands at a human bar where nobody would recognize him, so he sat back on his stool, ordered yet another drink, and considered his options.
Between his time away from his pack and the hesitancy shifters exhibited around him, Wesley didn’t have the level of sexual experience befitting his status as an Alpha wolf, and the experiences he had managed to acquire all involved women. In truth, he found the males in his pack as attractive as he did the females, but he had never approached men because he hadn’t sensed interest from any and, even if he had, he would have worried about exhibiting any trait that some people considered less than optimal.
But none of these humans knew him and, given where they chose to spend their evening, none of them would think lesser of him for being with another male. He was already willing to deviate from his usual rule about sleeping only with shifters, why not take the opportunity to sample something else he’d likely never try again—sex with a man. With that decision made, Wesley curled his fingers around his pint glass and raised it to his lips as he turned around and surveyed his surroundings.
The bar wasn’t big or crowded, so it didn’t take long to catalogue the available humans. Unfortunately, he was the only person alone so the obvious choice of who to approach wasn’t possible. Those people seated in pairs exchanging touches, he immediately dismissed. Although Alpha wolves rarely had mates, they realized the value in their pack members finding their other halves and therefore didn’t approach mated wolves for sex. Humans didn’t have that same bond, but Wesley saw no reason to seek out a man who was already with someone else, so he instead focused on the larger groups and tried to determine who among them was unmatched. The process wasn’t as easy as he would have expected because, unlike the humans in his university classes, the people in the bar were as touchy with one another as wolf pups, perhaps due to the alcohol they’d been consuming.
After a few scans of the room, he noticed a small blond watching him. When Wesley settled his gaze on him, the other man’s lips turned up in a shy smile. Wesley looked him over, his Alpha senses useful given the dim light and distance between them. The human was well-groomed, attractive, and based on the way he stared at Wesley, clearly interested. His search criteria met, Wesley rose from the stool, intending to make his way over to the man to implement his plan of setting his frustrations aside, at least for one night.
But before he could take a single step toward his target, something, or rather someone, in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Twisting his head to the side, Wesley squinted toward the large metal door at the front of the bar and assessed the new arrival. He looked to be about the same height as Wesley, his hair was dyed a brash green and it stuck up in odd angles, there was something shiny in his right eyebrow—a piercing—and his pants were bright red. Everything about the man’s appearance should have put Wesley off because he had always preferred smaller and milder sexual partners, likely stemming from his dominant Alpha nature. Maybe it was due to the alcohol flowing through Wesley’s body, but despite the new arrival’s height and colorful appearance, he captured Wesley’s attention so thoroughly that he couldn’t look away.
Within seconds, the man’s gaze met Wesley’s and his eyes widened, first in surprise and then in excitement. Without hesitation, he moved toward Wesley, ignoring everything and everyone in the room. The show of desire was exactly what Wesley needed to soothe his feelings of rejection from his pack and he easily forgot about the blond at the other end of the bar as his heart raced in anticipation of spending time with the intriguing new man.
“Hi,” he said as soon as he was within arm’s distance of Wesley.
Despite his unorthodox appearance, the man in front of him managed to push almost all of Wesley’s buttons. Almost because he didn’t have the wild, warm, comforting scent natural in shifters. But everything in the bar smelled unfamiliar—liquor, sweat, stale cigarettes, and musk—so Wesley had already resigned himself to ignoring his sense of smell for the night.
“Hello.” Accustomed to socializing only with shifters he’d known his whole life, Wesley considered what he could say to a prospective human conquest. He could try a pickup line, but the only ones that came to mind were from cheesy movies and there was no way he was asking the guy if he came there often.
“Wow,” the man said appreciatively as he flicked his kohl-lined eyes from Wesley’s face to his feet and back up again. “You’re more gorgeous than in my fantasies.”
Relieved they were both in the bar for the same reason and he wouldn’t have to play games or wait to get to the point of the evening, more tension bled from Wesley. He even managed to chuckle.
“My fantasies generally involve fewer clothes.” Wesley rested his palm over the human’s chest and moved his thumb back and forth over his T-shirt covered nipple. “Want to get out of here so I can show you what else they involve?”
“Sure.” A flicker of hesitation crossed the human’s face. “Do you want to…get some tea and talk?”
Oh, no. Conversation was a bad idea because the constant stresses regarding his role within his pack had exhausted Wesley and he didn’t trust himself not to accidentally say something that would strike a human as unusual. That aside, he hadn’t come to the bar to make friends. He had come to get laid without worrying the entire time that his bed partner was looking at his scarred stomach and judging him as unworthy to lead. He had seen the appreciation and interest in the green-haired man’s eyes from the moment he spotted Wesley and he wasn’t going to let them move backward.
“Actually, I don’t.” He slid his fingers up to the man’s neck, wrapped his hand around it, keeping his hold gentle, and walked them toward the door. “I want to take you home.”
Swallowing thickly, the man bobbed his head. “Okay. You live close by?”
As they stepped out into the cool night air, Wesley shook his head and then blinked away the sudden spinning in his head. “No.” He pointed at his car with the out-of-state license plate. “I meant we should go to your place.”
The man stayed silent for several long seconds, his brow furrowed and his eyes seemed to examine Wesley’s face. “I’m not from around here either,” he finally said. “But I can get a hotel room and—”
“That’s perfect.” Wesley grasped the man’s elbow and led him toward a hotel at the end of the street. “A night in a hotel is exactly what I had in mind.”
***
Unable to completely shake his concern over being seen and judged for getting involved with a male and a human, Wesley hung back while his new friend got a room. The silence continued as they walked up the stairs and down the dimly lit hallway and a frisson of unease trickled over Wesley’s spine, as if he was overlooking something.
Unable to identify any potential problem aside from his choice of bed partner for the evening, Wesley reminded himself that even an Alpha deserved a night when he could think about his own needs rather than those of his pack. And in that moment, Wesley wasn’t sure he could do right by his pack unless someone touched and looked at him with desire rather than apprehension.
“Hey, whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”
The softly spoken words snapped Wesley back to the present. He must have been lost in his thoughts longer than he realized because they were standing inside the hotel room, the door clicking shut behind them.
“I’m fine,” he said reflexively.
“You sure are,” the other man said as he pointedly dragged his gaze up and down Wesley’s body.
They hadn’t turned the light on so he doubted the human could actually see him, but the sentiment rekindled his earlier desire.
“Glad you think so.”
“I need to kiss you.” The comment was whispered just before careful hands cupped Wesley’s face and soft lips pressed against his own.
The action wasn’t aggressive per se, but Wesley was accustomed to leading all interactions so it caught him off guard. Instinct had him grabbing the man’s wrists even as desire caused him to part his lips and open himself to the kiss. The human’s flavor was richer than Wesley would have expected, more potent. It sharpened his arousal and fogged his brain.
Seemingly having the same reaction, his companion moaned. With their mouths pressed together and their tongues tangling, they stumbled deeper into the room, blindly found their way to the bed, and fell onto the mattress. All thoughts of asserting his power flew from Wesley’s brain as they rolled from one side of the bed to the other, their bodies writhing together. The replacement of soft curves with hard muscles pleased him soul deep, as did the hard ridge of arousal sliding against his thigh. Nothing had ever felt so right, so necessary, and Wesley wondered how he had gone his entire life without it.
As they moved together, the human skated his hands from Wesley’s cheeks to the sides of his head, tangling his fingers in Wesley’s curls and taking the kiss deeper. Wesley clutched at the sinewy body against him and thrust his hips, the friction necessary. Lightheaded from the lack of oxygen and the influx of hormones, he wasn’t aware of how he ended up on his back with an unexpectedly strong body on top of him, but his legs reflexively spread, making room for the human to get closer.
“So good,” he whispered as he grazed his lips across Wesley’s jaw. He flicked his tongue over Wesley’s earlobe and rolled his hips, causing his erection to slide against Wesley’s balls and shaft.
Needing more of that sensation, Wesley tilted his pelvis up and, before he knew it, a hard dick was rutting against his butt. Although the layers of clothing prevented them from making actual contact, Wesley could feel the friction in his sensitive channel and his hole flexed in reaction.
Taking the receptive role during that evening’s hookup hadn’t been on Wesley’s agenda. So despite his body’s seeming hunger for that very thing, he would have taken control of the situation and gotten onto more familiar footing—one in which he led the interaction—but then hot hands rolled his shirt up and reached for his stomach, his scarred, imperfect stomach, and the only thing Wesley could think to do was flip over and press his shame onto the mattress where it couldn’t be seen.
Interpreting the change in position as a request, the human rocked his hips against Wesley’s ass and asked, “You want me to fuck you?”
Although that position would allow him to keep his belly hidden, Wesley could have accomplished the same thing in other ways or he could have let the human see his scar. While he might not find the textured skin appealing, a human wouldn’t assume that a less than perfect body meant a less than perfect leader.
“Yes.” Wesley’s own response surprised him, but the truth was, hiding his scar was only a small part of why he’d rolled over. The main reason was because he was swamped with an urge to know how the hard ridge rubbing against him through clothes would feel skin to skin and, even more, how it would feel pressing into his body.
This night away from the pack was, if not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, at least a rare one, and Wesley didn’t know when, if ever, he’d have another chance to have sex with a man without repercussions. Even if he found out a male pack member was interested in him, Wesley could never take the submissive role during sex. But the pack wasn’t in their hotel room and the human he was with wouldn’t think him a weak Alpha for relinquishing control because he had no idea Alphas, or shifters in general, existed. So when firm hands grabbed Wesley’s butt and massaged the muscled globes, he told himself to relax and enjoy the sensation rather than flipping over and taking the lead.
“I need to get these pants off and feel your skin.” The human’s voice had gotten huskier, sexier. He pressed his chest to Wesley’s back and kissed his nape while he circled his arms around Wesley’s waist and fiddled with his button and zipper. All the while, he continued humping against Wesley’s butt, reminding him what they’d soon be doing.
By the time Wesley’s pants were unfastened and yanked down to mid-thigh along with his underwear, his body shook and all he could think about was having more friction, more touches, more everything with the man above him.
“Yes,” he hissed when a gentle hand made its first contact with the bare flesh of his ass. He kept his shoulders down and raised his backside up, the vulnerable position completely unfamiliar but in that moment, right. “I want you.” Those words didn’t convey the intensity of what he felt. He’d had no idea his sense of isolation within his own pack had gotten so acute, but it must have. There was no other explanation for why a simple touch from a stranger burned him from the inside out.
“I want you too. More than you know.” He rucked up Wesley’s shirt the rest of the way, exposing his entire back, and then kissed, nibbled, and licked his way across the suddenly sensitive skin. While his mouth worked, his hands kept busy, caressing Wesley’s thighs and hips, until he eventually cupped one of Wesley’s cheeks, pulled him open, and then dipped his fingers into Wesley’s crease and explored the never-before-touched channel.
“Oh.” Wesley gasped, surprised by how much he enjoyed that sensation. He spread his legs farther apart, opening himself as much as he could.
“It’s hard to make myself get up, but I need to go see if they have something slick in the bathroom.” He pressed his finger against the puckered skin of Wesley’s hole and moved it in circles, giving Wesley pressure but not penetration.
A completely foreign noise slipped from Wesley. It sounded like a whimper, but he didn’t whimper so it must have been something else.
“Hold that thought, okay?” He licked a swath from the bottom of Wesley’s butt cheek to the base of his spine. “I’ll be fast.” The mattress squeaked as the man jumped off the bed.
If he had been left in that position long enough for the lust to clear from his mind, Wesley likely would have called off the entire encounter, or at a minimum changed the rules of engagement. But within seconds, the mattress dipped and Wesley was gifted with the now-comforting sensation of a warm body blanketing him.
“I found a little bottle of lotion. It’s probably not as good as lube, but it’ll do.” The finger came back, this time slippery and wet. “You’re so hot here.” He pushed against Wesley’s pucker again, continuing the pressure until he slipped his fingertip inside. “So hot,” he said huskily, pressing deeper.
Moaning, Wesley relaxed his muscles, opening himself to the surprisingly erotic sensation of another person inside him. When the finger grazed his prostate, his soft moans turned into hoarse gasps. “Oh lord.”
“I hope those are happy sounds because I need to feel this tight heat on my dick.” The human gently pulled his finger out and then slid it back in, wiggling it from side to side. “So smooth and soft.”
The sensations set fire to his body, robbing him of words. “Uh-huh.” It was the closest Wesley could come to assuring him that he wanted to continue. “’S good.”
“The best,” the man said, sounding awed. A brush of lips against his back and then the finger disappeared.
Wesley looked over his shoulder and squinted in the dark. The human was kneeling behind him, drizzling lotion on his erection. “This should be enough,” he whispered as he tossed the bottle aside. He flattened one hand on the small of Wesley’s back, keeping him in place, and circled the other around the base of his own cock, holding himself steady as he approached his target.
Wesley had never had anal sex with the women he’d taken to bed so he didn’t know if the act was supposed to hurt, but as the heated shaft pierced his core, all he felt was relief and pleasure. He pressed his forehead to the mattress and closed his eyes, blocking out all distractions so he could revel in the sensation.
“More,” he mumbled, the word slipping out without his permission. “Want you to fill me.”
“Ungh.” The groan from behind him sounded equal parts pained and turned-on. “I will.” The steady slide into him continued until crinkly pubic hair brushed against his ass and then the human draped his chest over Wesley’s back, wrapped his arm around his waist, and caressed his stomach. “I’ll fill you completely.”
His malformed span of skin had never been an erogenous zone—how could it be when Wesley did everything he could to hide it—but when the warm, strong palm made contact with his scar, Wesley’s arousal spiked impossibly higher.
“Oh!” he shouted in surprise and then he groaned. “Yes.”
“You feel so good.” The human licked and mouthed Wesley’s nape as he pumped in and out of his hole and slid his hand from side to side over his scarred stomach. “So right.”
Though he didn’t touch Wesley’s dick directly, the back of his hand brushed across it when he moved it over Wesley’s stomach. That, added to the friction from the soft sheet, was enough to bring him to the precipice.
“I’m close,” Wesley rasped, jaw clenched and lungs working overtime.
“So am I.” Teeth scraped over his shoulders and neck as the thick cock continued stretching him, warming him from the inside. “Wish I could do this forever. Don’t want to stop.”
“Me too.” For the first time in his life, Wesley wasn’t thinking about his pack, about his role as Alpha, about the obligations he was born to fulfill; he thought only of the elation overwhelming him. He rocked back, meeting the man’s hips as he thrust forward. “Lord, me too.”
Time stood still, Wesley’s mind clear of anything except the strong body above him, inside him, and then he fell over the edge, his seed shooting onto the mattress as he shouted in joy.
“Yes!” The man moaned behind him and then his hot breath ghosted over Wesley’s cheek. “Yes.”
Wesley twisted his head to the side and their mouths met in a fierce kiss—lips, tongues, teeth, and passion. When their bodies were spent, their balls empty, and their hearts slowing, the kiss gentled, the touches softened, and Wesley found himself pulled into another man’s arms for the first time. Instead of pulling away now that the haze of lust had waned, he pushed closer, holding tight to the person who had given him a soul-deep sense of satisfaction he had never experienced and hadn’t thought possible when he had driven off the Purple Sky pack lands in a fit of anger only hours earlier.
Tangled in Wesley’s arms, the human fell into a deep sleep. Wesley held him, feeling unexpectedly protective of the stranger, but, he supposed, he likely was projecting his need to protect his pack onto the human. So far, his uncle had denied him the role of Alpha and the pack had held him at arm’s length. But if he wanted to be their leader, he’d need to be patient and give them time to see that a surface scar didn’t alter his strength or his ability to provide for them and keep them safe.
With the reminder of his obligations in the forefront of his mind, Wesley sighed and pulled away from the human. Neither of them had removed their clothes completely, so he doubted the man would be cold, but he tugged the edge of the blanket up and covered him as best as he could anyway. “Thank you,” he whispered and then he brushed aside the green hair, kissed the sleeping human’s forehead, and quietly left the room, forcing himself to keep the memory of the perfect night behind that closed door so he could focus on his responsibilities.

WLK Author Bio
Cardeno C - Logo
Cardeno C. - CC to friends - is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few "awwws" into a reader's day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno's stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever- after sunset.
Cardeno's Home, Family, and Mates series have received awards from Love Romances and More Golden Roses, Rainbow Awards, the Goodreads M/M Romance Group, and various reviewers. But even more special to CC are heartfelt reactions from readers, like, "You bring joy and love and make it part of the every day."
WLK Giveaway
EBook of choice from author's backlist (excluding box sets and anthologies)
presented by:
promo button