THIN LINES
by Bethany-Kris Donati Bloodlines #2
Publication Date: July 5, 2016
Genres: Adult, Organized Crime, Erotic Romance
Synopsis:
Calisto Donati Calisto had never been a fan of pain, but he found it provided a certain relief. It was a high that couldn’t compete with anything else he experienced. That was why he fought bare-knuckled, why he drove fast, despite knowing he might crash, and why he still enjoyed looking at Emma Donati—no matter her current status. Pain felt good. He might have been a fool for doing so, but as long as he got what he wanted from it, he didn’t really care. When he fought, he was given release. When he drove, he was given freedom. When he looked at Emma, he was given memories. All of them brought a certain level of pain. All three might kill him someday. Calisto glanced at Emma, taking her in again when she didn’t know he was looking. He realized then that only one might actually be worth dying for.
Emma Donati Emma kept her gaze on the book in her lap, pretending like there wasn’t an argument going on across the room. She had become terribly good at acting like she didn’t hear. Calisto watched her out of the corner of his eye while he argued on with Affonso. She was too focused on Calisto to care about their fight. His anger. The tightness of his jaw. Searing soul-black eyes. The two men were not the same. They might have shared blood, but their hearts were entirely different. One man never let her out of his sight when he was nearby. The other acted like she didn’t exist. This was what it was like, she realized, to be in love with someone she couldn’t have. Calisto Donati would never be hers. This wasn’t a fairy tale that would end happily. They weren’t star-crossed. They were impossible.
WARNING: The first two books in the Donati Bloodlines Trilogy end on a cliffhanger, the third is a HEA.
EXCERPT- WALK THAT LINE
"Of course I care.” “A lot more than you should,” she pressed. Calisto’s chest constricted with pain. He’d convinced himself long ago that it was only imaginary where Emma was concerned. He couldn’t possibly feel something for someone that didn’t belong to him and that he could never have. He just couldn’t. “Thank you, Calisto.” Those three, seemingly innocent words struck him straight in his blackened, worn heart. She’d spoken them so quietly, but surely. Confident, even, like she knew exactly what they would do to him. It hurt. God. But he liked it. Calisto liked that she acknowledged him and what he did. He had needed it, and while every part of him screamed how wrong it was, it made him feel like a fucking king. Before Calisto could think better of his actions, he stepped forward and grabbed the door, shutting it without even looking out to see who might be watching. Emma’s enforcer must have been around somewhere, but was he close enough to see? Calisto was close enough to Emma that the silk of her dress brushed against his arms. He could smell the hauntingly sweet perfume she wore, and he took another breath, wanting to have more of it soaking into his lungs. “Where is your driver?” “Carter is at a table,” Emma told him softly. “He’s ordering for us. I told him I would invite you out to eat with us.” Calisto watched her mouth move, and the way her two front teeth peeked out through her upper lip. It was still a goddamn tease. He still hadn’t gotten this woman on her knees below him like he’d wanted to. Jesus. Why was he walking on this tightrope again with her? “We can’t do this,” Calisto murmured. Emma’s bottom lip disappeared beneath her teeth. “We’re not doing anything, Cal.” “We are.” It didn’t have to be labeled to be something. It still was. “Thank you for reminding me that I wasn’t alone,” she said. “You’re not, Emmy.” “Not when I have someone who cares watching out for me, right?” Calisto knew better, but he snagged Emma’s wrist in his palm and held tight. The heat of her smooth skin siphoned straight into his bloodstream, like a shot of adrenaline right to his heart. It was bad, but it was right. It was good, but it was wrong. “Right?” she asked again. Her green gaze, jaded with pain and seeking something, watched him with an understanding that he didn’t know how she had gotten. He’d been careful with her, not wanting to bring her too close but never keeping her too far away. Clearly, Calisto hadn’t been careful enough. “Right,” he finally said. Emma took a tiny step closer, her heels clicking on the tile floor. Her warm breath washed over his jaw when she tilted her head upwards so that she could stare at him again. “We’re not doing anything,” Emma said so quietly that he strained to hear. “Someone has to know we’re doing something for there to be anything, Cal.” “I’m not sure if I want to walk that line, Emmy.” “Liar.” Calisto’s jaw ticked. “I—” “Liar, you do. Because you care.” He didn’t even get the chance to blink before Emma lifted up on her tiptoes, and pressed her mouth to his. For a quick second, Calisto was stunned. All he could feel were her silken lips covering his, and her hand fisting into his jacket. He couldn’t think beyond the sweet-smelling perfume that reminded him of candied cherries, or the emerald eyes watching him, demanding he deny her what she was asking for. How could he deny her? After everything, how was he supposed to do that? Calisto was far too selfish to stop Emma or to push her away. He cared too much. When she grabbed his jacket tighter and pulled, making him stumble into her warm body, Calisto was gone. His one hand landed to her waist while his other tangled into the chignon at the nape of her neck. He pushed her backward until they came to stop against the door. Emma laughed—breathy and low—against his cheek. It made him fucking ache.
#STARCROSSED
#THINLINES
CALISTO AND EMMA AREN'T STAR-CROSSED. THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE. READ WHERE IT ALL STARTED IN THIN LIES, BOOK #1 IN THE DONATI BLOODLINES SERIES, #FREE WITH #KINDLEUNLIMITED!
Purchase (#FREE with #KindleUnlimited): Amazon | Amazon CA | Paperback
Synopsis: Calisto Donati She was just a woman. That’s what Calisto wanted to tell himself; that’s what he wanted to believe. Emma was nothing more than a woman. There were other women for him to want. To obsess over. It couldn’t be Emma Sorrento. Not for Calisto. She was taken. She was claimed. She was not his. In a few days, Calisto would hand her off, and that would be that. He wondered why it wouldn’t be that easy to let her go. What good had saving her done? He had simply taken her from one monster to give her to another. Emma Sorrento Emma slid on her mask. All someone would need to do was look close enough to see what was really beneath the sheer falseness of her smile. At the other end of the table, Emma found her lies staring her right in the face. He smirked. And winked. Calisto Donati was her worst mistake, her greatest shame, and the one thing she still wanted more than anything. Emma could still feel him all over her, long after his touch and kiss was gone. In thirty days, her entire world had changed—he had changed her. Emma had a feeling that if she played another game with Calisto, she would surely lose. She had already lost once. Wasn’t it enough? WARNING: The first two books in the Donati Bloodlines Trilogy end on a cliffhanger, the third is a HEA.
#CalistoDonati
#EmmaSorrento
ABOUT BETHANY-KRIS
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Release Blitz
Title: Reapers Creed MC: Damon's Salvation
Series: Reapers Creed MC
Author: Ana Rosso
Cover Designer: Indies InDesign
Release Date: June 23, 2016
When Reapers Creed's single, sexy VP, Damon,has one night with a trick, the impossible becomes reality.
Lyra, a slave for Los Diablos MC, needs to find a way to escape her terrible life. One night she gets offered to please a client.
Can she work this to her advantage?
Get the freedom she so desperately wants?
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AMAZON
I was born and raised in a Caribbean island surrounded by sun and beautiful beaches. Now give me mountains, silence, cold weather, canvases, paint, and a bunch of books and I'm happy. I love happy endings, romance, fairy tales, and alpha males. I always dreamed of putting my thoughts and dreams on paper. I wanted to share my happy place where everything is possible and the ski is the limit. I have everything in the world that you can dream of. A lovely husband, three amazing kids, two annoying cats and four dragons(bearded dragons but still dragons). Great friends and the rest of the world to share my passion with.
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Book Title: WILLEM (The Witches of Wimberley, #1)
Author: Victoria Danann
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 24, 2016
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions
He took the card for the sake of being polite and planned to throw it away, but didn’t He called the number, entered the annual competition to win a witch, and won. To his amazement, he got everything he’d ever wanted from life. There’s only one problem. Willem can’t accept what’s being offered because he doesn’t believe in love.
EARLY READERS SAY…
"So entranced I almost missed my subway stop."
"Now, I need to know is Wimberley real?"
"...just what I expected from the 'Witchy Woman' herself".
"Now I'm seriously craving sweet tea!"
"Had me sitting on the edge of my seat."
"Characters so memorable I fully expect to run across them."
"Excited, happy, laughing, in awe, happy ..madder than a wet hen! Shed a few tears., back to being happy again."
"Damn you Victoria you made me cry again."
He took the card for the sake of being polite and planned to throw it away. But he didn’t throw it away. He called the number, entered the annual competition to win a witch, and won. To his amazement, he got everything he’d ever wanted from life.
There’s only one problem. Willem doesn’t believe in love.
He squinted his eyes and gave me a little smile like he questioned my sanity.“You do know we’re talking about witches, right?”
“I know there are a lot of people who call themselves witches, but what it means is they like burning candles, dancing naked sometimes, I guess. Are you saying you think there are women here who really are touched by the supernatural?”
He laughed. “Man. I don’t know how you’re sitting on that stool next to me. How did you manage to get this far without knowing anything about what you’re doing here?” He shook his head. “Yes. I do mean there are women here who really are touched by the supernatural.”
I had to admit that I felt a thrill start in my nipples and run all the way through my body producing goosebumps, a cock twitch, and a half hard. What if it was true? I’d spent my whole life secretly hoping that I’d be lucky enough to have an actual encounter with the other side of reality, while not really believing that such a thing might be possible.
That’s when I realized that I’d been on the wrong path. For the first time I recognized and confronted the fact that I didn’t really want to be an actor. I hadn’t wanted to be a college student taking a foreign language I’d never use or studying geology, which I would never use. But I hadn’t really wanted to be an actor either. It was just Plan B more or less suggested by other people. My heart wasn’t in it at all.
Acting as my heart’s desire? Don’t make me laugh. Actually there’s not much laughable about wasting ten years pursuing something I didn’t even want.
That revelation made me feel like the dumbest guy sitting on a counter stool anywhere. Why hadn’t I clued in before? And what if I couldn’t get jobs acting because I wasn’t supposed to be acting.
That follow up revelation almost blew me right off the stool.
“If that’s true, it would be beyond incredible.”
“You scared?”
It hadn’t occurred to me to be scared before and maybe that just meant I was revealing an expanded capacity for stupidity.
“Should I be?” He shrugged. “Do you believe there’s a ghost at the hotel, too?”
Roger laughed again. He had a nice laugh. I wondered if that’s what they were looking for. All of a sudden I cared what they were looking for.
I wasn’t interested in contemplating a lifetime contract of marriage, but I could do a year with anybody if it meant doing actual hands-on research. Maybe I should change that to on site research.
He lifted a well-toned shoulder. “Who knows? I can’t say I’ve seen anything like that, but ley lines do intersect at the crossroads.”
I jerked my gaze back to his. “Ley lines? You know about ley lines?”
“I know enough.”
Deciding to let that go, I said, “So we’re going to meet the witches at the barbeque tonight?”
He shook his head while still taking a pull on his IBC. When he swallowed he said, “I think it’s just contestants and former winners. Our chance to talk to them about life in Wimberley or whatever. They’ll be at the big event tomorrow night though. The Witches’ Ball.”
Her writing is fresh, modern, and thoughtful. She could make a dead person emote.
Book Title: I'm Not Going Anywhere (Fabulous Five Series, #3)
Author: Virginia C. Hart
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions
While the rest of her friends, otherwise known as the Fab Five, were away starting college, Chloe was left alone to endure a hellacious senior year of high school. Surrounded daily by a sea of familiar faces, she shared no bonds or friendships with her classmates. Everyone else had a place in the high school social scene. Everyone but Chloe. Bad enough was her label as the class outcast. But her dysfunctional home life made matters worse. An already fragile relationship between she and her mother began to unravel, turning Chloe’s once perfect existence into a nightmare. Worst part, though? The one person she’d counted on to help her through it – Flynn Caulder, her best friend’s brother and the secret object of her affection – was nowhere to be found. It was obvious he still resented Chloe for the decision she made years ago. Above the catty remarks and whispered gossip of others, Flynn’s actions were the ones that hurt the most. Flynn simply treated her as if she didn’t exist.
Right up until the one night he didn’t…
Handsome, popular, athletic and smart, Flynn Caulder made life look easy. Whatever he wanted, he got. Except the one person he couldn’t have. At some point, Chloe Ryder became more than his sister’s best friend. Brave enough to finally tell her so, she waffled with uncertainty, which he took as rejection. It was then he vowed to shut Chloe completely out of his life, determined to forget her. Though, he never could. With his sister, Suzanna, no longer around, Flynn’s resolve to keep Chloe at a distance is tested and eventually breaks. He takes off his mask of indifference, showing his true feelings for Chloe haven’t changed, but instead grown stronger. It leads to one magical night together neither of them will ever forget. But for entirely different reasons.
Now, three years later, Chloe and Flynn find themselves pulled together again by the magnetic connection that just won’t go away. Though they try to fight it, it becomes apparent time apart has done nothing but strengthen their feelings for one another. Can they make it last this time? Or will the pursuit of dreams once again take precedence over their relationship? They only have a summer to figure it out. And the clock is quickly ticking…
Only when the well of tears has finally dried up, do I relinquish my firm grip around Brian’s body. He looks down into my red, swollen, watery eyes. Wiping the last of the wetness from my face, Brian places a soft kiss on my forehead. “Feel better now?”
“Maybe just a little, yeah.”
“Think you’re ready to talk about it?” Brian asks with trepidation. I’m sure he’s scared any second now I’ll start another round of boo‐hoos.
“I don’t know, Brian. It’s some pretty heavy shit.” Heavy is an understatement. In the past three years, I’ve been living like I’m carrying the weight of a two-ton elephant on my back. There’s one piggy‐back ride you don’t want to find yourself on the bottom of.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Hold on,” Brian says as he jumps off the bed. He immediately goes to his constant travel companion, his mini-camcorder and tripod. He begins setting up his equipment at the end of the bed, the lens pointing toward me. As he tests for the appropriate camera angles and adjusts the tripod height, he starts to explain. “Okay, pretend you’re auditioning for the character in my series. And since it’s an impromptu audition with no lines to memorize or scripts to read from, I’m gonna need you to improvise. You have all the creative freedom to do or say whatever you want_”
“Good, because I’m about to get real creative when I call you every name in the book!” I retort. Seriously, has Brian lost his freaking mind?
“Just do it, Chloe. You’re vulnerable and raw right now. Use those emotions to give me your story. You don’t have to use real names. Heck, I’ll even make up the names as you go. You’ve already peeled away layers of hurt and angst. Now, you just need to let the words flow like the flow of your earlier tears. I promise you’ll feel better at the end. Plus, I’ll have some excellent footage to show casting, guaranteeing you an audition for my drama series. Ready?” Brian goes back to fiddling with the camera all set to hit the record button. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of sharing something so secret with someone outside of my immediate group of friends. But to be honest, Brian is the perfect confidant to spill my secrets. Having no relationship other than causal friendship with the rest of the Fab Five, only having met them this weekend, I know Brian’s loyalty is reserved just for me. Plus, I think he can be impartial once he knows all the players and details of my story. I can’t say Suz, Landon, James, or Patrick could remain unbiased.
“Seriously, Brian? You really want me to reveal my deep, dark secrets in front of your camera? Seems kinda silly if you ask me.” Actually, I’m closer to agreeing than I’d like to admit. I’m always best in front of a camera. I can go into character mode, removing myself from the story, pretending to be someone else. But with something that really happened, something that left me permanently scarred, could I really separate myself?
“Would you just do it already? Confession is good for the soul, you know. Plus, I’ll soon be moving across the country and you refuse to go with me. Least you can do is give me this recording of your exquisite beauty and abundant talent. Footage I’ll need to ease the ache of missing you so much,” Brian says through a smile. Boy, he is laying it on thick.
“Alright, enough of that. Gee, you’ve resorted to stroking my ego just to get me on film. You’re ruthless! Now I know you’re going to be just fine out there in Hollywood…the land of cut throat/back stabbing deals. Okay, I’ll tell you my story. But I better not see any of what I say written into your drama script,” I warn. Although the things I’ve lived I’d never wish on anyone else, they could be the makings for some fantastic storylines.
“Oh, it’s that good, huh?” Brian teases, trying to lighten the mood and get this pseudo- audition started.
“Good, no. Bad, sad, heartbreaking, depressing, hopeless…well, you get the picture.” Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves I exhale slowly. “Okay, here it goes…” So begins the story of how I came to love and hate Flynn Caulder. And why I’ll never be able to completely wipe him from my memory or my heart.
When she’s not teaching or chauffeuring her kids to cheer or soccer, Hart is likely to be found typing away at a new book, furiously reading yet another book, or visiting her favorite South Carolina coastal spots.
I’m Not Going Anywhere is the third novel in Hart’s Fabulous Five series.
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