#MFRWHooks
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If you're interested in bad boys, danger, intrigue, hot sex, love, and happily ever afters, keep on reading...
Once you’re in a prison gang, you’re in it for life. That’s what Mason Harding thought until the boss accepted his resignation. After the State releases him on parole, a sexy divorcĂ©e behind the wheel of a car almost ends his life quicker than a shank. His chance encounter with Mia Eddison results in a night of passion, but her brother—his parole officer—catches them together and doesn’t approve.
Mia falls hard for the cocky ex-con, but not because of his chiseled body. She vows to break through his walls and discover his secrets, but never expects those secrets to threaten her life.
When members of an organized crime ring kidnap Mia to force Mason’s return to the gang, he goes up against an old friend to save the woman he loves. Will his sacrifice be enough or will everything fall apart in a blaze of gunfire?
Tagline
Their chance encounter resulted in a steamy affair, but will his former gang and a parole officer tear them apart?
Excerpt
Mia scowled at her brother as he
headed up the stairwell, and she used her body to block his entrance into her
home.
Jim didn’t seem to notice her
tense body language and pushed her aside to enter. “Good morning.” He hugged
her with one arm and frowned at the hardwoods. “There’s something sticky on the
floor.” He scraped his shoes over it a few times and headed toward the kitchen.
“What’s for breakfast?”
“Why are you here?” Mia shut the
door, grabbed the towel she’d left on the sofa, and used it to cover the
evidence of her desire on the floor. The last thing she needed was for her
brother to realize what that sticky
substance was. Her gaze darted toward the telephone and answering machine combo
in the living room and back to Jim as he picked up the pancake mix. The
U-shaped kitchen occupied one half of the loft’s airy floor plan, and she could
see into the kitchen through a gap between the upper and lower cabinets. “You
know to call first. I don’t have any messages on the machine, and I doubt you
called my cell phone.”
“I’m in the neighborhood to see a
parolee for an unexpected visit—well, unexpected for him—but I thought I’d stop
by to see you first.” Jim sat the box aside and opened the fridge door. “You
have any more blueberry muffins?”
“No, you cleaned me out the last
time you showed up unannounced.” She crossed her arms and glanced at the closed
bedroom door. “Jim, you need to leave.” She’d rather shave her legs without
aloe-infused shaving cream or live a whole month without a hairdryer than
introduce her parole officer brother to her parolee—boyfriend, perhaps?—the day
after the best sex of her life. Talk about awkward.
“What’s the rush? I haven’t seen
you in a few days.” He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter and rubbed
it on his polo shirt to shine the fruit before he sank his teeth in. “Why are
you so uppity?”
“I’m in a bathrobe, Jim, and
you’re irritating the crap out of me. I have plans today and need to get
going.”
“I bought you that robe for
Christmas last year. It’s nice to know you use it.” He glanced at the food on
the marble countertop. “Looks to me like you were about to fix breakfast.
Pancakes are fine since you’re out of muffins.”
Her blood pressure rose. She
wrapped her hand around Jim’s arm and dragged him out of the kitchen as a noise
resonated from the bedroom.
“Wait a minute. What was that?”
“Just rats. Come on.” Mia jerked
on his arm again, but he refused to budge.
Jim shook off her hand, took a
step toward the bedroom, and stilled. “Oh God, there’s a man in there. No wonder
you want me to leave.” He scowled at the splotches on her neck as though he
just noticed them. “That’s very professional. What will all those snooty ladies
say tomorrow after you open the store?”
She clasped her neck. “Leave,
Jim. I don’t want you to ruin this.”
“Fine, I’ll go.” He patted the
gun he always wore beneath his loose blazer. “Don’t worry. I won’t have a
problem with him as long as he’s not Evan.”
She doubted that. Evan was blond,
gorgeous, and an up-and-coming photographer with a great body. Jim hated him on
sight. Mason, a tattooed ex-con who worked at a garage, wouldn’t stand a chance
unless Mia buttered Jim up first.
“Just to be sure.” Mia grabbed
her brother’s arm again. “We can meet for lunch tomorrow and I’ll tell you
about him.” A door creaked open behind her, and she whipped her gaze toward the
bedroom just as Jim did.
Mason paused in the doorway,
dressed in his jeans and wrinkled dress shirt. The shirt hung open and revealed
his sexy snake tattoo. His eyes widened like saucers.
“What the hell?” Jim dropped the
apple on the floor and jerked free from Mia’s hold. A dark glower morphed his
face into a mask of anger, and he leveled that hate-ridden stare on her new
lover. “Mason Harding. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Mason folded his arms across his
chest and leaned against the doorframe. His lips sealed together in a thin line
as his right cheek twitched. Tension palpitated so strong between the men she
feared the windows and light bulbs would shatter at any moment.
“How do you know him, Jim?” Mia
swiped damp strands of hair behind her ears, a little afraid to know the
answer.
Her brother spun toward her and
fisted his hands. “He’s one of my parolees.”
Oh God, no. She covered her mouth with her hands. I’m gonna throw up.
Buy Links:
Amazon – http://amzn.to/2ppcmEJ
Barnes and Noble – https://bit.ly/2uOj90J
iTunes – https://apple.co/2FVAQMP
Kobo - https://bit.ly/2KgwJxg
The Wild Rose Press store – http://bit.ly/2FSVvBa
That's pretty tense if she's "worried" light bulbs will shatter.
ReplyDeleteTweeted.
Oh, yeah. Major intense!
DeleteShe's been caught. Problems are promising for the future.
ReplyDeleteBig time!
DeleteI found this excerpt really compelling! For one thing, it went from making me laugh out loud toward the beginning to building suspense quite seamlessly. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I really appreciate that. This is one my favorite scenes from the book.
DeleteWell, that was awkward.
ReplyDeletehehe
DeleteOh yikes! I can only imagine the family argument to come! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's killer!
DeleteA nicely humorous awkward scene!
ReplyDeleteI totally forgot what day it was and thus didn’t go to the signup page until after it closed. I do have a hook, though, if you get around to visiting it. https://eahoornaert.com/2020/05/12/mfrwhooks-42/
Visited yours!
DeleteThat feels really intense. Definitely intrigued
ReplyDeleteOh, boy is she in trouble. Enjoyed the blurb and excerpt great hook, Arresting Mason is on my TBR List.
ReplyDelete