BLURB:
Since her
divorce two years before, Kelsie Collins has been determined to guard her heart
and steer clear of seemingly ‘perfect’ men. An easy task considering the kind
of men her matchmaking mother and her best friend, Nanci, keeps setting her up
with. She allows them to set her up, knowing their hearts are in the right
place and that there is no risk of her letting any man close enough to hurt her
again. Her growing experience in ways to slip out of those ‘dates from hell’
prompts her to start writing a bad date survival guide. One aptly titled -
OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE. And it’s during one of those escapes that sexier than
sin firefighter Cole Maxwell comes to her rescue.
Cole isn’t sure
what to think when the sexy redhead he’s just ‘rescued’ from a bad date informs
him that he’s too ‘perfect’ to date. That’s a first. He’s had relationships end
because the women couldn’t handle the risks that go along with his chosen
profession, but never because he’s too perfect.
When his crew
gets called out to rescue someone who is stuck in a tree, Cole finds himself
once again coming to Kelsie’s rescue. This time he’s not about to let her get
away without agreeing to give him a chance, even holding her high heels hostage
to make it happen. She finally gives in and things heat up between them like a
3-alarm fire. But there’s more than passion between them and Cole sets out to
prove to Kelsie that he’s nowhere near ‘perfect’, but he is the ‘perfect’ man for
her. Can he get past the wall she’s built up around her heart? Or will he end
up being just another chapter in her book of men she ran from?
*Operation: Date
Escape was a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist as well as a
finalist in the American Title III Competition put on by Romantic Times and
Dorchester Publishing.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
He turned into
his driveway and pulled into the garage even as the door was still lifting,
giving her room to park in the drive behind him.
“I hear there’s
a party happening here,” she said to him as she stepped from her car.
He gave a deep,
husky chuckle, eyeing her up as he did so.
“You’ve come to the right place.”
“What kind of
party is it?” she asked with playful innocence.
“Pajama.”
Excitement moved
through her, making her body tingle.
“Sounds like fun. Only problem is
I left my P.J.’s at home.”
They stepped up
onto the porch. “No problem,” he said as
he unlocked the door. He motioned her
inside. “You wouldn’t have had them on
very long anyway.”
“Promises. Promises,” she tossed back as she stepped
past him into the kitchen.
“I’ll show you
promises.” Closing the door behind them,
he pulled her into his arms, capturing her mouth beneath his own in a hungry kiss.
She sank into
him, the soft curves of her body molding against his much harder ones. A body toned from years of the physical
demand that came along with being a firefighter. Her fingers threaded through his dark hair
and then slid down the back of the dark gray t-shirt that clung to his muscular
back.
They moved
through the kitchen, peeling away each other’s clothes on their way back to his
bedroom. Lips and hands connecting with
heated flesh.
“I never
realized this hall was so damn long,” Cole complained as he kicked free of his
shorts.
“Too long,” she
replied in a breathy groan as her shorts joined his on the floor.
He stopped and
turned, pinning her against the hallway wall.
His dark eyes sought hers as his fingers moved to tangle through her
hair. Their labored breaths echoed in
the confined space. With a coaxing tug,
he tilted her face up to his.
“Cole,” she
whimpered, wetting her lips in anticipation of what was yet to come if the
heated look in his eyes was any indication.
His gaze settled
on her lips as if he wanted to devour them.
Then, he did. He captured her
mouth beneath his in a frenzied kiss that nearly took her breath away.
“I can’t get
enough of you,” he muttered against her parted lips and then kissed his way
along her jaw and down the curve of her neck to the sensitive flesh at the top
of a bare shoulder.
She knew the
feeling. Tipping her head back with a
soft moan, she urged his mouth to continue its sensual assault.
He did, moving
lower to tease the tip of an aching breast.
She clutched at
his head, gasping with pleasure as he took more of her breast into the heat of
his mouth.
“Mmm...” he
murmured, urging her legs apart with an impatient knee until she was imprisoned
there between the wall and his hard, naked body. Then his large hand slid down her bare leg to
the back of her knee, lifting it.
She looked down,
watching as Cole’s long fingers eased beneath the slender strap of her leather
sandal, pushing it down over her heel.
The shoe clattered onto the hardwood floor below.
Closing her
eyes, she enjoyed the sensation created by the friction of flesh against flesh
as her freshly shaven leg slid down his muscular thigh. Thank God she had shaved.
Her bare foot
had barely touched the floor before he was reaching for her other leg, his knee
still planted firmly between her parted thighs.
Liquid heat pooled, dampening the crotch of her silken panties.
“Cole,” she
pleaded, needing him inside her.
“Sorry, doll,”
came his husky reply. “This is my party
and I get to pick the games.”
She nodded in
total compliance, more than willing to let him lead the way. “So what are we playing?”
“A little game
of Red Rover, Red Rover, Hand All Your Clothes Over.” He removed her other sandal and then ran his
hand slowly up her bare thigh until he reached the lacy edge of her silken
panties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Romance author Lindsey
Brookes grew up reading romance novels. She penned her first romance, a
historical, at the age of seventeen. From there she went on to join Romance
Writers of America where she learned the ins and outs of the publishing
business and ways to hone her craft. She switched to writing contemporary
romance and has finalled in/or won more than 75 RWA chapter sponsored contests with
over a dozen different manuscripts. She is also a four time RWA Golden Heart
finalist as well as a past American Title III finalist and winner of
Harlequin's Great American Romance Novel contest. She's married to her
childhood sweetheart, her hero, with whom she has two beautiful daughters.
Check out her websites:
Facebook page:
Twitter:
Operation: Date Escape
purchase links:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/operation-lindsey-brookes/1115662939?ean=2940016420349
GIVEAWAY:
Lindsey
will be awarding a $10.00 Amazon gift certificate to three randomly drawn
commenters during the tour, and a $10.00 Amazon gift certificate to one
randomly drawn host.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The
tour dates can be found here:
What a tease to end the excerpt there.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
:) Glad you liked it!
DeleteThanks for hosting Operation: Date Escape today!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the great excerpt and the giveaway. Sounds like a great book. evamillien at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Eva!
DeleteSounds intriguing
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks, BN!
DeleteI enjoyed what I've read so far. Thanks :)
ReplyDeletelorih824 at yahoo dot com
Thanks for checking it out!
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